[✗] [World Lore] The Abyss Below - Ocean's Depth System

[SlitheryC1 484]

World Lore

The Abyss Below

An IRP system for Ocean Depth Zones!

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(Source: https://wall.alphacoders.com/big.php?i=484832)

 

Beneath the cold blanket of the ocean’s surface, untouched by Man, and ignored by the Sun’s light
Lay a land most unforgiving and unnatural to those not native to it.
Here, in these nigh unholy waters, the still abyss of blue waits.
Here, where sights the Creator intended us to not see lurk within.

Yet here, with madness at the door and blindfolds over our eyes, we dive.
- Local Fisherman Geezer

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Overview
As most folk stare off towards the calm surface of the infinite waters, oceanographers and naval experts used a mixture of estimations and facts we already know about the waters to create a theory in which the Ocean’s depth is cut up into four categories based on depth. These depths are the Sunlit, the Twilight, the Midnight, and the Abyssal Depths respectively.
Each zone has a couple traits that vary from one another, the most obvious ones being the light that is naturally present within the zone, and how deep it actually is in the ocean. The deeper you are, the more cumbersome water is upon one’s body due to the amount of water piling up above you. Specifics will be elaborated upon below.

OOC NOTE FOR EVENT RUNNERS/ST:

Spoiler

Due to how Aevos and most likely future worlds are shaped mechanically, we unfortunately cannot represent each depth with how deep one in game is inside of the ocean.
This system is being recommended as I would find it quite funny/absurd if we mechanically had a normal, coastal nation town then right next to it an atlantis build thats irply thousands of meters deep.

So instead, I have decided on a rather simple solution: Event runners should label the event area’s depth zone. This could be a couple signs oocly placed, or a regional notification.

However, to those that want help for how far out in the ocean they should place their event zones, here's a GUIDELINE in the form of a graph to help- give or take a 100 blocks or so when necessary.

All values present on the graph were put down using measured out distances in mind.

 

White = Safe Zones

White with gray box = Labels

Red = Hazardous Zones

Green = ST only

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Sunlit Zone

 

(Taken from Pinterest. Original image here: https://www.pinterest.ca/pin/801148221185532883/)

 

The area of ocean Descendant kind is most familiar with, and is thus the safest of the four locations. These depth zones are best characterized by the fact that they are upon the surface, and thus the waters are easily penetrated by the sun and other celestials above. This zone, cradled by the sky, is home to the greatest number of aquatic species. Due to its lack of depth it does not require specialized diving equipment to traverse through.

 

Spoiler

General Mechanics/Guidelines
- Requires 0 specialized diving equipment beyond something to breathe with, if they even require such.

- Swimming in half-plate or other lighter suits of armor, while possible, is especially cumbersome.

- Also applies to mundane lakes, rivers, ponds, etc.

General Redlines
- It will take 5 full emotes to become incapacitated if one lacks breathable air, 8 to kill. Varies at ET’s discretion. CAs that do not require breath or can breathe underwater are immune.

- Swimming in anything heavier than a set of ferrum half-plate is impossible.

- One cannot cast effectively during combat while drowning. CAs and creatures that can breathe underwater or do not need to breathe are obviously excluded.

____

 

Twilight Zone

 

(Original image here: https://art.alphacoders.com/arts/view/55970)

 

After sinking for several hundred meters, the sky slowly begins to fade away into a distant watcher of your descent. This zone of the ocean, already unfamiliar to a vast majority of Descendants, is where problems begin to arise for outsiders.

The zone itself has steeply dropped in biodiversity, as the reduced amount of food around here has led to a more competitive and less friendly cluster of lifeforms.

Given the sheer amount of weight upon one’s body, one will find themselves unable to breathe if found without an external means of dealing with such pressure around their chest, even if they had a water breathing filter.

 

Spoiler

General Mechanics/Guidelines
- Requires specialized diving equipment in order for surface-breathing creatures to survive, due to the pressure being placed on their chest.

- Being caught without equipment to negate the weight of the ocean will result in the person being unable to breathe, as the pressure prevents the lungs from expanding.

- Creatures that do not need to breathe will require no unique diving equipment. This group includes undead, golems, atronachs, automatons, sorvians, ghosts, paleknights/lords, etc.

- Swimming in chainmail or other lighter suits of armor, while possible, is especially cumbersome.

General Redlines
- It will take 4 full emotes to become incapacitated if exposed to the crushing depths, 6 to kill. Varies at ET’s discretion.

- Swimming in any amount of plate armor is impossible.

- One cannot cast effectively during combat while drowning. CAs and creatures that can breathe underwater or do not need to breathe are obviously excluded.

____

 

Midnight Zone

 

(Original image here: https://www.wallpaperflare.com/deep-blue-dark-ocean-dive-silhouette-one-person-sea-wallpaper-pfmqc)

 

Hundreds of meters turn into thousands.
Any and all traces of the sky vanish from sight, as the waters finally meet the ocean’s floor.

This alien world, forsaken by the sun and stars above lay in a calm grave shrouded by eternal dark.

The variety of fish down here is slim, for there is little room for error. Only the fittest survive within this unforgiving realm, which has given rise to creatures with unusual qualities.

These attributes mirror the absurd environment they live within, allowing them to live off the ‘land’ in an unorthodox fashion- often far larger than their Sunlit Zone counterparts.

The intense quantity of water above will result in the crushing or pulverization of any surface dwellers made of flesh or softer/looser materials in an excruciating process.

 

Spoiler

General Mechanics/Guidelines
- Requires specialized diving equipment for all Descendants and CAs, excluding golems, earth/water atronachs, paleknights/palelords automatons modified to handle the deep, and the intangible.

- Being caught without equipment will result in the slow, painful squishing/pulverization of your character.
- Such CAs that are immune to the crushing depths will still be significantly slower in their movements, being represented by a -1 to blocks in movement per turn, stacking with other debuffs/characteristics.

General Redlines
- It will take 3 full emotes to become incapacitated if exposed to the crushing depths, 5 to kill. Varies at ET’s discretion.

- Swimming in any suits of chainmail/plate armor is impossible.

- One cannot cast effectively during combat while drowning/being crushed.

____

 

Abyssal Zone

 

(Original image here: https://www.deviantart.com/dionix24/art/Underwater-Caves-365871499 )

 

A realm that was at first, only theoretical.

As the midnight zone consistently reaches the ocean floor, the Abyssal represents the caverns carved by the ocean that extend deeper, and deeper.
There is no telling how much further the ocean may reach down into the earth. Some believe that such extends for eternity, while others believe that these are the paths to the other side of our coin-shaped realm.

To those intrepid divers that seek to find the true bottom of this world, this is a treacherous land with naught but greater challenges than the layers of ocean above themselves.

 

Spoiler

General Mechanics/Guidelines
- Requires specialized diving equipment for all Descendants and CAs, excluding golems, earth/water atronachs, paleknights/palelords, automatons modified to handle the deep, and the intangible.
- Such CAs that are immune to the crushing depths will still be significantly slower in their movements, being represented by a -1 to blocks in movement per turn, stacking with other debuffs/characteristics.

General Redlines
- It will take 3 full emotes to become incapacitated if exposed to the crushing depths, 5 to kill. Varies at ET’s discretion.

- Swimming in any suits of chainmail/plate armor is impossible.

- One cannot cast effectively during combat while drowning or being crushed.

- ST ONLY zone.

____

 

 

OOC Purpose:

Spoiler

The intent with this world lore is quite simple- to properly establish and set up the aquatic environment.
This system is, obviously, based off of the real world equivalent with the values shifted here and there, as with this post I wish to help give ocean-based groups more footing for whatever they may do with it. For the sake of the lore team’s creative freedom, I have NOT included the hadal zone in this post. Put some whacky old gods down there or something, idk lol.

I also will not be addressing things like oxygen or nitrogen poisoning, as LOTC’s universe has different laws (Alchemy instead of Chemistry) and for the sake of simplicity I'm giving us the benefit of the doubt on that.

Any and all criticism would be highly valued/appreciated, please let me know so I may improve- and I may require help specifying what CAs are and are not immune to being squashed by water pressure.

 

This post is also being placed in conjunction with another post: ‘[Invention Lore] Sinker Apparatus’
 

 

 

Credits:

Spoiler

Hyperdron - checked over for inconsistencies/errors, handed out useful advice and criticism. Absolute mvp here
Aehkaj - reported inconsistencies/errors
Dominic - Provided useful and more importantly practical ideas/suggestions
PrimaQuorum - Offered IRL experience, and gave out useful suggestions like locking the suit behind a proper alch FA
Mannamannaa - Gave proper feedback back in 1.0, gave great suggestions to simplify things mechanically. love em
Olandyr - Gave a big blob of useful comments on the first post
Rdowdy + Nightcastorkitty - Bringing it to my attention that there was no in place system for the ocean’s depths

 

 

Edited November 9, 2023 by SlitheryC1
Very minor typo fixed

[Cheese 2307]

Spoiler

mmmmmmmmmm watr

 

[Hyperdron 290]

With a solid set of guidelines in place for oceanic lore/events, it'll make things a lot more cohesive across the server. Looking forward to seeing this (or a version adjusted under LT supervision) getting through the loremag.

[rdowdy 236]

The seas must be explored! I'm excited to see the potential for underwater events in the future and think this provides a very solid basis for them without forcing a great deal of mechanics. 

This could reasonably be built upon for any events and its awesome that you've compiled an environment for people to expand upon.

[Luxury 603]

I’ve never been more excited for underwater rp.

[Gamma 588]

mineman barotrauma 

[ScreamingDingo 16990]

It's not a bad system, but something where I think it's potential is extremely limited with the setting of LotC and the exact allowances of what would be allowed in these deep dives. This aesthetic and ideas are genuinely unfounded and even though you've made submersible suits, it is something that would require a great amount of planning for maybe a few events where u do slow walking around in a water cave and get eaten by a creature.

Naval / boat RP is already extremely difficult to perform on the server, adding another layer of depth will honestly just have this be used maybe once or twice before it disappears and is never used again.

[SlitheryC1 484]

8 hours ago, ScreamingDingo said:

It's not a bad system, but something where I think it's potential is extremely limited with the setting of LotC and the exact allowances of what would be allowed in these deep dives. This aesthetic and ideas are genuinely unfounded and even though you've made submersible suits, it is something that would require a great amount of planning for maybe a few events where u do slow walking around in a water cave and get eaten by a creature.

Naval / boat RP is already extremely difficult to perform on the server, adding another layer of depth will honestly just have this be used maybe once or twice before it disappears and is never used again.

@ScreamingDingo
A very valid point.
There most likely is a pretty big risk for me trying to write this lore, as it is incredibly niche.

However, I intend on using it quite a bit for my own group to try get it to flourish, as I believe it's worth a shot.
Do you have any suggestions so I can make it easier to use/implement, or is it simply 'doomed' to fall behind due to the very niche topic? How can i more effectively establish such a foundation?

Edited July 11, 2023 by SlitheryC1

[chacmul 274]

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=wwGn8nnlHVU&feature=youtu.be

 

would be amazing for epic barotraumatized mining/expeditionary events

[Turbo_Dog 1432]

Frothing at the mouth. Finally can play iron lung but with more cubes. Such an in depth explanation of each layer. 

[Pinks 306]

oh boy, this looks like great lore

I sure hope a certain company doesnt hear of this..

[ScreamingDingo 16990]

This lore has been denied. You will be sent a forum PM regarding the reasons for denial within the next 24 hours.