Realm Overview – Oceans of Contest

This wide ocean is dotted with numerous small tropical islands and at the centre, the towering Mount Olympus. The 3 Pirate Lords rule the oceans, while the Herculean defend the land from both pirate and Aquatalis alike. Enormous sea monsters prey on the ships foolish enough to risk their territory and defend glorious treasures.

Poseidon’s Realm

Poseidon, God of the Ocean, has created a realm teaming with opportunity and challenge in equal measure. Like the ocean, the realm will reward the bold but crush the unprepared. He has created his races to be at a disadvantage in their own home, leaving them with no choice but to learn, adapt and push harder than many others just to survive.

Many of the grandest rewards are guarded by the deadliest threats, as Poseidon wants to force the people of his realm to push for the impossible in order to prepare them for the unpredictable horrors of the other realms.

Personality Traits

Poseidon is a distant God. He created his realm to self govern and to need as little external input as possible. This isn’t due to a lack of caring for the Game of Gods or his realm, but because his ideals dictate that his peoples must be given space and opportunity to grow in a natural way. For someone to become a master of the seas, they must be given un-aided access to overcome the challenges of the ocean.

When creating the realm, Poseidon knew that the open adjacent realms were not aquatic and as such, would be difficult invade using the skills his people would develop. Due to this, he took steps to make his realm incredibly difficult to invade in return. The gateways into the Oceans of Contest are very difficult to find and guarded by monstrous guardians.

Poseidon’s Representative

Poseidon’s representative is an enigma in the Oceans of Contest. Many have heard rumour of their existence but there have been no confirmed interactions in the realms history.

Deep below the ocean, in the centre of a dangerous, winding, underwater labyrinth, you can find Neptune, Poseidon’s representative. Neptune appears as a muscular male human with his legs replaced by the tail of a killer whale. He is a fiercely solitary entity and stoically enjoys his isolation. No one has ever found him so his powers and willingness to provide aid are entirely unknown, yet he will likely help those who’s goals further the defence of the realm.

Mapping Out The Realm

The Oceans of Contest is a realm mostly consisting of a series of archipelago islands. At the center of the realm sits the largest landmass, Mount Olympus, the capital of the Herculean human nation. The Oceans of Contest is a realm split across three distinct nations. The Herculean nation of Athens rules much of the lands to the North and East of the realm. The Pirate Lords and their vast population of brigands control the Southern and Western territories. Deep under the Eastern oceans, the Triton kingdom of Scotos and the cursed people of Hells Basin battle for control the sea floor. 

Aside from the deep and vast oceans of rolling waves and aquatic mysteries, the Oceans of Contest hosts numerous small islands. These range from dry, coniferous forest to sandy desert islands. Semi-aquatic beast stalk the islands in search landlocked prey and large aerial reptiles migrate from island to island. Due to the dangers of the high seas, even those humanoid races that can swim with ease usually choose to use mighty ships to traverse the realm. The advantages of a crew that has your back, powerful weapons that can tear through a sea monster and a defensible spot from which to rest is undeniable. Perhaps the only exception to this, is the grotesque Aquatalis, a population of destructive once-humans that were cursed by the ocean itself, to take on the appearance and properties of the ocean creatures they had treated so awfully.

Many of the realms become completely inhospitable if a person was to venue beyond the ‘developed’ world. In the Oceans of Contest, however, trying to sail to far into the ocean will result in a fate terrible for those foolish enough to try. At the edge of the realm, the ocean gives way to infinite waterfalls as the seawater tumbles into the darkness.

The Oceans of Contest has many exciting points of interest to explore. From the Herculean capital of Mount Olympus, to the illusive Seaback Tavern that hails heroes from across the realms. Adventurers that live or pass through the Oceans of Contest are sure to find treasure and trouble in equal parts.

Below you’ll be introduced to some of the main points of interest in the Oceans of Contest. These are not all there is to see as dozens of dungeons, settlements, monster camps, and magical sites exist in the realm. You are free to add or remove anything to suit the adventure your party is looking for.

Mount Olympus

Mount Olympus supports a population of over 50,000 Herculean humans and a handful of other races that have made the stunning hub of culture and learning their home. Exquisite seafood, luxurious wines and plenty of farmland for crops has resulted in a nearly unrivalled quality of life for the citizens of Athens, and those fortunate enough to reside in Mount Olympus get the heights of this luxury. Advancements in magically augmented medicine and the largest organised military force in the Oceans of Contest allows its people to live in relative peace and prosperity. The many threats of the realm are usually kept to the outlying islands and oceans.

Ecclesia

Ecclesia is the democratic parliament of Athens, housed in Mount Olympus. Through annual votes, representatives are chosen and tasked with portraying the will of each island under the Herculean rule. In the temple known as Parthenon, these representatives discuss, debate and decide upon the kingdoms path through its many trials.

The Megáloi Agónes

Every 4 years, Mount Olympus hosts a competition of athletics. People from across the white realms make the dangerous journey to the Oceans of Contest to both watch and perform in the games. The victors are awarded the gift of guaranteed military aid from all other white realms, for the duration until the next Megáloi Agónes. Currently, in the year 1273, the Golden Lands holds this boon.

Each competition includes 5 contests, which require a various number of contestants:

Game	Number of contestants	Rules
Chariot Races	3 per Realm	The contestants must complete 6 laps of a course. Violent action may be taken against one another.
The Pankration	1 per Realm	The contestants are placed in a small arena. The opponents must be thrown from the ring or knocked unconscious.
Cliff Climbing	2 per Realms	The contestants must race to the top of a tall rough tower by scaling the outside. Flight is not allowed and violent action is encouraged.
Rock Throwing	1 per Realm	The contestants take it in turns to throw increasingly heavy stones. Those that fail to reach the target distance are removed.
Gladiators Arena	3 per Realm	The contestants enter a large arena and battle a hoard of monstrous beasts. The last man standing is the victor.

Locations of Importance

The city of Mount Olympus is located at the peak of the mountain by the same name. Despite its height, the warm sun keeps the city at a comfortable temperature for those living there. The building are crafted from smooth, white marble and accented with bands of polished silver. Many of the homes are two stories and provide ample space for families. The stone streets are wide and spacious to allow for Sphinx-drawn carriages of produce and materials to easily access all parts of the city without causing issues for the general populace. The intelligent monstrous creature are a fairly common sight in Mount Olympus due to their use as both advisor’s and willing mounts for those that earn their favour.

Parthenon: Near the centre of the city, the large temple sits proudly as a site of great importance. Wide, grassy lawns surround the building and provide a peaceful space for relaxation, meetings and reading. The temple itself towers over the surrounding buildings and shines brightly in the sunlight due to the extensive use of silver in its design. Ornate marble columns line the edge of the building and mark the huge entrance archway into the government building and while no doors bar entry, many elite guards protect the parliament chambers.

The Crown Colosseum: On the outskirts of the city, an enormous marble colosseum dominates the silhouette of Mount Olympus. The Crown Colosseum, so named due to the way its pointed design appears as a crown sat upon the mountains peak from afar, houses enough seats to support an audience of 30,000. As the location of the famed Megáloi Agónes, this building has provided entertainment and competition to races from across Veneon. This centre of sport and entertainment is an architectural marvel, combining marble and silver into an awe-inspiring crown that is as much a reason to travel to Mount Olympus as the games themselves.

Fort Sparta: Those that take up the recognised fighting style of Athens come to be known as Spartans. However, before this honour is given to a warrior, they must first complete the many years of training under the masters of Fort Sparta. While the training is far from cruel, it is unaccepting of weakness and can easily prove to be too brutal for many hopeful apprentices. Alongside the years of basic training, the apprentices are also required to spend 2 years aboard one of the warships that contest with the reviled Pirate Lords, and their teachings conclude with a trial in which they are disowned and exiled from the city, only able to return once they have slain a dangerous creature from another realm.

Castle Trench

With a population of nearly 25,000, Castle Trench is densely packed and has been forced to account for many more people than it was ever designed for. Multiple Triton families are expected to share single rooms and tensions are high. The quality of life is regretfully poor for this once proud and expansive nation.

Past Glory

In the beginning, Humans ruled the surface and Triton ruled the ocean floor. Peace between the races was easily achieved and each held great respect for the other. The Triton kingdom of Scotos built beautiful cities made of coral and stone, and spread far across the realm. And for 613 years, peace and prosperity were known to all who resided below the waves.

It was in the year 613, however, that the human faction known as Kynigós Talis were punished by the ocean itself and cursed to take the form of the creatures they had disrespected with their incessant over-hunting and brutal disregard for life. Shunned by the human kingdoms they once belonged to, they fled beneath the waves in shame and disgust, and clashed with the Tritons of Scotos for land. Being unfamiliar with their new bodies and lacking a knowledge of life upon the ocean floor, they had little chance of standing up to the power of Scotos and finally settled in the darkest, most inhospitable locations around. For 173 years they remained hidden, growing hateful but more importantly, adapting to their new forms. In the year of 786, the race now known as the Aquatalis poured from their home in Hells Basin and launched a surprise war against the peaceful Triton. With the once crippling curse now acting as a powerful boon, the Triton fell before the violence and might of the Aquatalis and for 487 years, the Triton have been chased from their cities, slaughtered en masse, and their pride as a nation has been utterly crushed.

Vasiliás Gregorios

The king, or vasiliás, of the Triton is Gregorios the Watchful. Having ruled for nearly 150 years, he has experienced much of Scotos’s decline and was the one who called for all remaining Triton to retreat to Castle Trench in the year 1204. His title of ‘the watchful’ comes from his strong desire to save the remanence of his people and as such, he is ever perceptive of the realm and the shifting of power.

In a final emergency plan, he has been in regular communication with the people of Athens, hoping to arrange asylum for his subjects should the need arise. Athens has ever been the friend of Scotos but due to the nature of the underwater war, they have been unable to offer military support. Gregorios has been promised an island to the north-west of Castle Trench and the current citizens of this island are being relocated to Mount Olympus in preparation for that day.

Locations of Importance

Castle Trench is a highly defendable fortress that incorporates the deep trench into its design. Due to all its residence being able to swim, there are no roads or streets within the city. The buildings are built directly onto the walls on the trench from stone and coral. Originally, the homes where large and luxurious, however, due to the high density of the population crammed into the space, the houses built in recent years are small and cramped. Many families are packed into these spaces and the quality of life is poor.

Breaching Wall: At the height of the trench, along the length of its opening, a thick wall made of enormous coral and durable stone extends horizontally into the open water. All across its surface, the wall supports stationary harpoon ballista that aim up into the expansive ocean and out along the seabed. Despite the walls immense size, Castle Trench has a large opening that acts as an entrance to the city. A gap 200ft across and 1800ft long remains heavily guarded at all times and despite remaining open for the general population to come and go, this entrance can be blocked in emergencies by a large, durable net that is dragged across the opening.

The Coral Farms: Near the bottom of the trench, space has been cleared out to produce what food they can. This mostly takes the form of edible corals and seaweeds. While not particularly tasty, they grow quickly and allows the city to feed the dense population. Alongside these ocean vegetables, the Coral Farms also care for a herd of deep-sea mammal known as Bloated Bison. These peaceful grazing animals grow very large and as such provide a considerable amount of meat upon their slaughter. Should the Coral Farms be destroyed, it’d likely mean the fall of Scotos and the remaining Triton would have no choice but to accept Mount Olympus’s offer and move to the lands above the waters surface.

The Triton’s Eye: Suspended below the Breaching Wall via durable kelp ropes, the Triton’s Eye is a circular building that hosts the majority of government and military operations. It’s prominent location and upward-facing glass roof makes it the ideal location to monitor the surrounding area and launch defensive measures when necessary. It gets its name due to both its spherical shape, with the glass roof being similar to an eye looking up, and the observatory nature of the buildings dealings. Most days, Gregorios the Watchful can be found in the Triton’s Eye making plans for defences or listening to reports from his many scouts.

Vagrant’s Bay

Having drawn in people from all across the Realms, Vagrant’s Bay has been growing in population for many, many years and currently boasts over 22,000 pirates aligned to Blackbeard. The city is flat and wide, spanning the entire landmass between two coasts, allowing it to benefit from 2 enormous ports. The building of Vagrant’s Bay are built with either stone or wood and typically have 2 stories. Their roofs are made from either slate or thatch and the walls are sometimes painted or stained. All this gives the whole city a diverse and vibrant appearance.

Being a city that is home to piracy, there aren’t a whole lot of laws or regulations to be upheld. People are expected to self-govern and only in exceptionally disruptive situations does Blackbeard or his men get involved directly. Shady dealings, drunken brawls and enjoyment in excess are common sights in Vagrant’s Bay, and while all that live in this city are aligned with Blackbeard, they aren’t required to be loyal to each other. Rival crews using subterfuge, manipulation or even out-right battle to outdo the other is accepted so long as they drop all hostility should Blackbeard call upon them.

Pirate Lord – Blackbeard

As the Pirate Lord with the most crews under his command, Blackbeard is an entity to be respected and avoided. Like his fellow Pirate Lords, his strength has allowed him to transcend beyond his mortal limits to the level of demigod. He towers above his human crew and has lived far longer than any man should. His temperament is described by those close to him as cold yet wise. He is unforgiving of those that disrespect him and rewarding to those that prove themselves.

As settler and ruler of Vagrant’s Bay, he is wealthy beyond count. He takes a small cut of all dealings done in the city, and since Vagrant’s Bay makes dealings with people from nearly all other Realms, this sum adds up very quickly.

His personal ship, Queen Anne’s Revenge is an enormous vessel that towers above the city’s skyline while docked. Red-stained wood is accented by gold, silver and ruby’s. At the hull of the ship sits a beautifully carved wooden figurehead of his deceased daughter Anne, who the ship is named after. Dozens of huge cannons line the sides of the ship, much large than any usual ship could support.

The Cycle of Piracy

For such a large population of pirates to all profit from piracy on a single ocean, there needs to be ample targets to share and enough morally questionable buyers to purchase the stolen goods. What has allowed this ecosystem of piracy to thrive is the amount of cross-realm travellers the Oceans of Contest receives. Whether it’s an adventurer seeking the Seaback Tavern, a tourist hoping to visit the famed Mount Olympus or a bold merchant looking to make a profit in one of the pirate cities, there is always a steady flow of unsuspecting, wealthy people travelling in and out of the Realm. Between these travellers and the luxuries that Athens transports between islands, pirates are usually able to find targets without stepping on each others toes to often.

Once a crew has made a successful hunt, they bring the haul back to one of the two pirate cities, Vagrant’s Bay or Pilfer, and can either sell it directly to the city to sell on their behalf or set up their own shop within the Sinner’s Market and move the goods themselves. It’s likely a crew will make more profits if they sell the loot themselves, however, this takes time and will mean they cannot set out on another hunt as soon as they would otherwise be able too. Profits are split between the ships treasury, Blackbeards cut and the crew.

Locations of Importance

Vagrant’s Bay is a hub of piracy and as such holds all the facilities necessary to support such a lifestyle. Two large ports, multiple shipyards, an expansive marketplace, numerous taverns and much more. The majority of buildings though, are residential. Despite being a city of pirates, a large number of the population set up roots in the city, whether to raise a family or just work a safer job. Busy, rowdy streets divide the city and long spaces of sandy beaches run along side the eastern and western edges. These beaches host hundreds of tents where pirate crews prepare, unload or camp out until their next voyage.

Blackbeard’s Stronghold: In the eastern part of town, a short walks distance from the Bayside Port, Blackbeard’s Stronghold towers over the surrounding buildings. Painted wood and stone of red and black make up the walls of this five story building. Dotted across the height of the building sit balconies adorning permanently manned ballista aimed at the street below. This lone point of protection within the city is Blackbeards home and the location from which he rules and lives while not at sea. On the rare occasion someone of notable importance requests a meeting with Blackbeard, it is within this stronghold that they are brought. The inside of the building is a clutter of riches. Gold, treasures, art, trophies and weapons fill the space and make this house of luxury appear just as crowded and messy as the rest of the city.

Bayside Port & Bold-man’s Port: Vagrant’s Bay has two large, busy ports. On the eastern coast of the city, Bold-man’s Port faces the ocean, allowing for quick and easy docking. This port earned it’s name due to the high visibility from shore that a ship approaching this port would have. It would also be significantly easier to attack this port from the ocean. On the western shore, the Bayside Port sits against a large bay that takes nearly a full day to traverse and is protected by a military village at its entrance. Each port can support up to 50 ships at a time, although there are rarely that many ships in the city at one time.

Sinner’s Market: At the centre of the city, a large public marketplace has formed known as the Sinner’s Market. Within this space, crews sell their hauls and foreign merchants purchase treasures to trade in distant Realms. Tables and black, cloth tents are freely available to use for all crews but there is also a city-run warehouse that allows pirates to sell their loot in bulk, replacing the chance to barter better prices for an easy, convenient sale. The city then sells these goods on.

Ródos ‘Pilfer’

While Vagrant’s Bay is feared and avoided by the people of Athens, a particularly bold or desperate scholar might be willing to enter Pilfer to acquire some rare or frowned upon resource. Despite regularly targeting them, Percius is accepting of the people of Athens entering his city and on occasion has been known to have dealings with Mount Olympus itself.

Despite both being cities of piracy, Ródos has much more structure and regulation than Vagrant’s Bay. Percius prefers to keep a tight grip on his city, countering lawlessness with a highly-trained army under his command. This imposing sense of control comes at the frustration of some and the gratitude of others. One of the primary factors a young pirate must consider when deciding which faction to join is whether they would thrive under the lawless, self-serving nature of Vagrant’s Bay, or the protection and regulation of Ródos.

Pirate Lord – Percius

Percius is a dangerous and intelligent creature. Having ascended from a Herculean hero of Athens, he received a good education and an intense martial training. His mind is sharp and tactical. He is able to maintain a delicate balance of control over his subjects while encouraging piratical behaviour in them. His complicated relationship with Athens is a feat of manipulation and intimidation.

Similarly to his fellow Pirate Lords, when he transcended his mortal limits, he underwent an impressive transformation. Standing high above most mortals, the has seemingly ceased aging and can perform feats beyond what should be possible for a human. His change from hero of Athens to Pirate Lord is commonly considered one of Mount Olympus’s greatest losses. While the true history has been changed by time and retelling, Percius’s betrayal and turn to piracy was not as sudden as people are led to believe. What truly caused him to turn away from Athens is a closely guarded secret only few living Herculeans hold.

His ship, the Olympus Whorl, was once the might of the Athenean navy and Percius was its captain. This sailing fortress has been responsible for the deaths of numerous mighty sea monsters, including the one that once guarded the regularly traversed Northern Gateway. The ship combines ancient wood and marble to create a floating castle. Cannons, harpoons and other siege weaponry cover the protected marble walls. While not as large as Queen Anne’s Revenge, in would likely be a harder ship to aggressively board.

Locations of Interest

Ródos is a merging of Mount Olympus’s architecture and pirate iconography. Large marble building form organised streets and silver is used in excess throughout the city. Sandy beaches give way to stone streets and expansive wooden ports that stretch into the ocean. Percius’s army patrol the streets and guard the docks, keeping order in a city of stolen goods. Smaller than Vagrant’s Bay, Pilfer is is only home to around 12,000 residents at any one time, although the order afforded the city means they get the majority of foreign merchants from other Realms. Taverns, inns, shipyards and other facilities can be found scattered across the city.

The King’s Port: Unlike Blackbeard, who uses their ship as a tool of intimidation, the Olympus Whorl is moored within an enormous private port known as the King’s Port. This private space is a short distance from the city and is extremely well guarded. Percius chooses to live within his fortress-ship while moored as it is better defended and more private than anything within the city itself. Despite its distance, the looming ship can be seen from the city and it is always a spectacle to see it arrive or depart.

The Tradehouse: The protocol for crews operating out of Pilfer is to bring their hauls the Tradehouse where the city provides them with a reward in exchange for the goods. The city then catalogs the items and stores them. Merchants, tradesmen and individuals come to the Tradehouse and fill out item requests which are considered and fulfilled if the requested items are available. The intent of this system is to monitor what dealings are being done within the city, and react accordingly if anything suspicious or dangerous is brought into the populated area.

Rebel’s Titan: Standing half a mile from shore, yet towering above all around, the Rebel’s Titan is a gargantuan marble statue of a masked human wielding a silver scimitar and hand crossbow. This protector has been enchanted to animate in the event of an attack and protect the city. It is not public knowledge who built the Titan or how to activate this defence, but just its existence has worked as a powerful deterrent against an assault on Pilfer.

Hells Basin

With no food source, a brittle ground that is unable to support buildings, and the chance of swimming unawares into a deadly flow of burning water, carving out a life here seems impossible. And for the majority of people it would be. With nowhere else to go, however, the freshly cursed Aquatalis had no choice but to attempt to settle in this land.

Once human, the Aquatalis have been cursed to take on the qualities of the aquatic life they had treated so poorly. Arms replaced by tentacles, head’s morphed into that of a shark or other beast, hair swapped with stinging jellyfish tendrils, the sudden and immediate change caused this faction of humans to flee beneath the waves. Scared and angry, they clashed with the Triton kingdom of Scotos and were forced into the one place all others feared to go, Hells Basin.

It’s here that the curse proved to be their salvation. With their changed bodies, the Aquatalis found themselves uniquely suited for surviving in the Hells Basin. So for over 170 years, they disappeared from thought as people assumed they had failed to adapt and died. In truth, the Aquatalis had been gathering their strength, growing in number, and preparing to launch an all-out assault on the Realm.

In the year 786, they were finally ready. The Aquatalis swept across the seafloor, killing Triton and claiming their towns and cities. Now, in the current year of 1273, the Aquatalis control the majority of the ocean kingdom, using Hells Basin as the heart of their military empire. With all remaining Triton dwelling at Castle Trench, it won’t be long before the cursed Aquatalis launch a final siege and turn their attention to the surface kingdoms.

Hostile Travel

While travelling around Hells Basin, there is always the danger of swimming right into one of the many currents of burning hot water. This is not a location that should be visited lightly and an uneducated adventurer could easily lose their life in this environment. Low level parties should stay clear of the Aquatalis kingdom and even high level groups should be cautious at all times.

If your party visits Hells Basin they are likely to run into many dangerous parties. While travelling, roll on the below encounter table for each half-day of travel:

d8	Environmental Hazard
1	Aquatalis Patrol: The party are attacked by 1d4 (Per party member) Aquatalis. The type of Aquatalis you use in this encounter is at the discretion of the GM.
2	Crumpling Landscape: The party must make a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw or be crushed by brittle, collapsing stone. On a failure, a creature takes 4d6 bludgeoning damage. If the creature is within 30ft of the sea floor, they are pushed to the ground and restrained until the rubble is cleared. If they are not within 30ft of the sea floor, they are pushed down at 80ft a round until they get clear of the sinking rubble or impact the sea floor, upon which they take an addition 4d6 bludgeoning damage and are restrained.
3/4	Burning Currents: The party must succeed a DC 15 Perception check to notice the burning water currents ahead of them. On a failure, the creature swims into a scolding blast of water. The creature take 6d8 fire damage and 6d8 bludgeoning damage and it is pushed 500ft in a random direction.
5+	No Hazard

Pirate Lord – Davy Jones

By far the youngest and cruellest of the three Pirate Lords, Davy Jones ascended from Aquatalis to demigod after a particularly gruesome attack on a Scotos settlement. His tactically malicious and magically-inclined mind made him a devastatingly effective commander in the Aquatalis war effort. Tens of thousands of Triton have died on his order, usually in ways so evil, no one would have ever thought such strategies would even be conceived, let alone planned for.

Having been half man, half beast even before his transformation, Davy Jones has taken on an almost alien appearance. Tentacles, fins and serrated teeth hide what remains of his humanity. Despite this unnatural form, Davy Jones has a keen understanding of magic and uses it to devastating effectiveness. His magical prowess is so great, that he rivals even the arcane masters of Athens.

His ship, the Flying Dutchman, is barely larger than a standard warship. It is certainly not on the scale of the vessels the other Pirate Lords sail. However, it is unmatched in its speed and has been enchanted to travel even faster below the waves than above, making it an incredibly effective ambush ship. Arcane cannons allow the ship to devastate distant ships while ghost-prison lanterns protect the deck of the ship.

Locations of Interest

Due to the nature of the volcanic landscape and torrents of volatile water, the brittle stone that makes up Hells Basin has been shattered and eroded into a jagged landscape of tunnels, cliffs and caverns. Huge areas of landscape can collapse at a moments notice, causing deadly underwater rockfalls.

The Drifting City: The stone ground in Hells Basin is much too fragile to support buildings of any kind. What allowed the Aquatalis to settle in this inhospitable land is the discovery of a gargantuan sea monsters corpse. Once guardian of the Northern Gateway, the Kávouras was an enormous crab-like monster that died at the hands of Percius. Its body has since drifted to Hells Basin where its impenetrable shell has proven a sturdy foundation for the Aquatalis city. The currents keep the shell floating around the landscape, crashing through fragile walls and bouncing from current to current. This movement led to the city being coined, the Drifting City. The buildings of the Drifting City are contained within the empty shell, keeping them protected from the elements. With no wood or stone, the buildings are carved from the bones of whatever creatures are foolish enough to enter Hells Basin. They have been designed to withstand the regular quakes caused by the shell impacting the ground. This means they are wide and flat, and never more than a single floor.

The Volcano Field: Hells Basin is the realms entry point for new water. As the oceans pour off the edge of the Realm, fresh water is pumped in via hundreds of large, subterranean volcanos. It is unknown where the water comes from, but upon its entry it is super-heated and propelled at incredible force. The Volcano Field is an gigantic underground cavern where the volcanos appear in their densest numbers. The water boils due to the heat the volcanos put off and explosive torrents of sea water thrash around the area. Due to the dangers of this landscape, the only creatures that can survive here are elements, and the the peace it affords them has resulted in a sizable community forming.

Seaback Tavern

All well-travelled adventurers of great esteem have heard of the legendary Seaback Tavern. Sailing on the back of a large turtle, the Seaback Tavern is an incredibly illusive building that is said to roam the Oceans of Contest and only appear before those touched by destiny. It is foretold that if the Seaback Tavern appears before you, enter its threshold and you will learn of the task that shall define your life. The one mission that will forever change the world.

With such an enticing lore around it, it is one of the most tempting journeys an adventurer might make. Many a hero feels that they deserve to visit the Seaback Tavern, yet only very few get the chance. Some believe the Tavern is a myth, made up by the Pirates to lure rich adventurers into the Realm. Whether this is true or not, the Seaback Tavern his one of the largest sources of cross-Realm travel.

Free Locations

Alongside these main locations, there are many smaller settlements that you are free to use as needed. You can populate these villages and towns with friends or foes in order to craft the story you want.

As it stands, the current territories have the following additional free locations:

Territory	Local & Amount
Pirate Territories	Town / 6
Pirate Territories	Village / 10
Athens Territories	Town / 6
Athens Territories	Village / 18

Realm Gateways

As a central square on the board, the Oceans of Contest has four gateways to other realms. Currently, two of those are open.

Northern Gateway: Machi Vasilikós

The Realm to the North is Ares’s realm, Machi Vasilikós. The entrance to this realm is found on a small island far to the North of Mount Olympus. This gateway was once guarded by the crab-like monster Kávouras but this guardian was killed many years ago. Now, the gateway appears as a shining marble archway, easily accessed by all. A port town has been established on the island, both to keep watch over the gateway and also to provide travel for those that appear upon the island.

Eastern Gateway: Scorching Loop

The Realm to the East is Agni’s Realm, Scorching Loop. While the Northern gateway was guarded by a creature, the Eastern gateway is protected by nature. To enter the burning land of the Scorching Loop, a creature must descend to the Hells Basin and find the correct underwater volcano. Entering the volcano, should anyone survive, will traverse them to Scorching Loop.

Southern Gateway: Unknown

The way is shut.

Western Gateway: Unknown

The way is shut.

Adventure Hooks

There is plenty of adventure to be had in the Oceans of Contest, whether you’re just passing through or basing your campaign here. Here are a few adventure ideas to inspire you or get you started.

Rotten Harvest

The Coral Farms of Castle Trench has begun producing rotten produce. The sickness seems aggressive and unnatural. With the entire kingdom of Scotos relying on this one food source, a solution needs to be discovered.

Let The Games Begin

The famed Megáloi Agónes will be happening in the upcoming weeks. This time, however, there have been rumours of foul play. As the hired protection of your Realms chosen athletes, you must both protect them from harm while also looking into the signs of a potential threat to the games.

A Pirates Life For Me

Riches and reputation await all willing to reach out and take them. As a young, adventurer filled with wanderlust, it’s your time to choose a Pirate Lord to serve and find a crew. Excitement and danger surely await!

Secrets & Ruin

You were in the wrong place at the wrong time. This morning you were just students of Mount Olympus. Now, you’re the group that overheard your professors discussing the true reason Percius betrayed Athens. A secret that could destabilise the entire Realm if it became public knowledge…

The Cartographers Guild

As members of the prestigious Cartographers Guild, you’ve been tasked with mapping out the unoccupied islands of the Realm. However, with monsters, pirates and errant magics plaguing the land, it’s sure to be an eventful journey.

Final Thoughts

Happy New Year! The Oceans of Contest is the third Realm to get a detailed, complete guide written up. I really enjoy these longer projects, although they do take a very long time to complete! Hopefully reading the lore about this Realm will inspire some great stories in your future games! I love the fusion of Greek mythology and pirate mythology in this Realm. It works surprisingly well! Feel free to leave a comment with feedback or your thoughts! I’d love to hear what kind of game you’d run in a setting like this!

Thank you for reading and may your next session be filled with glory!