Aquatic Trolls[ | ]
Trolls are ubiquitous horrors found across the lands of Faerûn where they terrorize the land with their limitless appetites and penchant for wanton destruction.
The thread posed by trolls does not end at the shoreline, for an aquatic variety of this vile species flourishes in lakes and marshlands as well as in the depths of the sea. Those who inhabit the ocean are generally called Sea Trolls to distinguish them from their freshwater kin.
Sea Trolls are a constant threat to shipping, although it is uncommon for these creatures to band together to make raids against coastal settlements.
Commerce Catastrophe[ | ]
More than a century ago, the merchant guilds of Neverwinter lobbied for the construction of a series of tunnels along the High Road that would shave many miles from the route north - saving both time and money and helping to spur commerce in the region. It took many years for the tunnel project to be complete but that ambitious public work fell to ruin in seconds when the tidal wave struck Raven Cliff Beach. Connecting sea caves allowed torrents of sea-water to flood the tunnels, weakening the supports and causing the collapse of vast stretches of the excavation.
Elemental Plane of Water[ | ]
The Elemental Plane of Water is one of four such elemental planes closely linked to the Material Plane. It is a realm of endless water, with neither depths nor shallows such as you might find in a Material Plane ocean, but rather a continuous uniform sea with neither surface nor floor. This plane teems with life. Elemental creatures and a vast variety of aquatic life, both malevolent and benign, thrive there.
Hags[ | ]
Hags represent all that is evil and cruel. Though they resemble withered crones, there is nothing mortal about these monstrous creatures, whose forms reflect the wickedness in their hearts.
All hags possess magical powers, and some have a strong affinity for spellcasting making them potent sorcerers. Their magical power are amplified when they work together in covens.
Green Hags favor gloomy swamps and marshes, while the hideous Sea Hags haunt the depths of the sea and lonely, storm-lashed coastlines.
Olhydra[ | ]
The Cult of the Crushing Wave worships, Olhydra, Princess of Evil Elemental Water, also called the Crushing Wave and the Well of Endless Anguish.
Olhydra surges forth tirelessly and relentlessly, retreating in the face of adversity only to return stronger than before. She erodes that which she cannot batter and drown. Her natural form resembles a great wave, 20 feet high and 15 feet wide, with pearly, opalescent eyes.
Although the Cult of the Crushing Wave worships Olhydra as such, she is not a true goddess but something more akin to a sentient natural disaster.
Sea Elves[ | ]
The sea elves are an aquatic branch of elvenkind, which share strong cultural similarities and a common language with their land-dwelling kin. They are known as the Alu'Tel'Quessir in their own tongue.
They dwell amid the ocean depths where they tend to keep to themselves, only rarely interacting with surface elves or other land-bound races. Although they use less magic then other types of elves they still can boast of several potent spellcasters and they have created several potent magical items useful to those who fare above and below the waves.
Sea elf communities can be found in the Sea of Fallen Stars as well as in the depths of the Great Sea. A large group of these elves dwell off the shores of the elven isle of Evermeet.
Sea elves wage near constant war against evil aquatic races such as the sahuagin and sea trolls. The will, at times, ally with merfolk and other good undersea race against these common foes.
The Drowned Shore[ | ]
In the wake of the defeat of the Blackdagger Bandits trade along the High Road gradually resumed. Rangers of the Emerald Enclave took it upon themselves to guide merchants and travelers through the stretch of coastal forest that surrounds the Blackdagger Ruins, while a group of resourceful dwarves arrived to take up working the abandoned mines around the keep.
Meanwhile, Lord Neverember assigned a small contingent of Neverwinter Guards to garrison the lighthouses at Raven Cliff Beach with orders to prevent those beacons from falling into the hands of pirates and wreckers as happened once before. The Guards were somewhat surprised to find an ornate tower built on the shore. They learned this tower was built by followers of Lliira who called it the Fountain of Delights. Visitors were offered relaxing, scented baths. Seeing no harm in this, the guards went about their business.
When a freak tidal wave suddenly struck the shore wiping out the lighthouses and their guards while leaving the Fountain of Delights unscathed, it became apparent that occupants of the tower were not harmless followers of the goddess of joy, but rather something altogether more sinister.
Water Archons[ | ]
Sentient beings of living water, water archons are natives of the Elemental Plane of Water. These creatures are frequently bound into service by powerful wizards and extra-planar creatures. However, the Water Archons that serve the Cult of the Crushing Wave seem to do so willingly, perhaps indicating that they are followers of Olhydra, ready to advance the interests of their Princess upon the Material Plane.