[RelentlessImp]

Come all you mast-heads, Come all you harpooneers, Sing out for him, well My order shall be clear All you mast-headers You've heard these words before It's your blood money This broad bright ounce of gold Demons and Wizards, Beneath These Waves

"I have love of a lady who lives on the land But my life with the mermaid is ever so grand. Would you go to my lady and ask her for me, May I marry this mermaid that lives in the sea?" And that was the story she heard from the crew. Her tears, there were many, her choices were few. She went down to the sea, the ships bell to ring And this is the song that she was heard to sing... Excerpt from Captain Jack and the Mermaid

Criminals. Pirates. Sailors. Youth.
Assassin-Murder-Monster.
Whatever your reason, you find yourself on the ship Golden Voyage, a young hopeful out on the seas for their very first time. The sailing has been smooth going all the way, accompanying the accomplished Captain Jack on a standard trading run to Zeritas, to the far north. Black stormclouds have began to gather over the sea, however, impeding the trade route's path...

I am really not sure how to present this game. This will be a sea-based campaign primarily, with twists and turns, and heavy influence drawn from metal music, Gaelic folk songs, a number of novels, and my own twisted imagination. The two songs above are heavy influence for this game, which I hope I can do justice as it rolls around in my skull.

I have already tried this game once, but it failed due to my inability to cope with the classes - primarily because everyone was making their own, and I couldn't hope to manage to balance 20+ classes at the same time, even with help. So here it is, Attempt 2 at Beneath These Waves You'll Sleep, set in the ocean-dominated world of Aalia.

Character Creation

Level: 1, 0 Experience
Wealth: 500 gold pieces
Stats: 36 point buy.

Alright. I've got every 3.5 book out there under the sun (save for Champions of Ruin - I can't FIND the damn thing). It doesn't mean I'll approve what you want to play willy-nilly. I enjoy optimized characters, and expect at least a little optimization. I'll even allow some early-entry tricks - but not DMM: Heighten+Earth Spell, for instance. Stuff that makes no logical sense (floating spell levels, etc) is not permitted.

This also means I'll be banning a few things that I, personally, view as overpowered. Such as Abrupt Jaunt. Ask me about what you want, include the book and page number and I'll say yea or nay.

Ask for anything - absolutely ANYTHING. Don't be afraid I'll shoot it down. I may, I may not, but if you've got something you want to do, I will work with you to make it feasible.

Flaws/Traits: One Flaw, One Trait. That's it.
Level Adjustment: +2 Maximum, no Lolth-Touched, Half-Minotaur, etc. LA Buyoff Is In Effect
Number of Players: We'll start with 4. I work best with smaller groups. I'd limit it to 3, but a 1st level game that isn't gestalt doesn't work with that few.
Races: All races use the Human Aging Chart to cut down on headache. No Aquatic Races, nor any race that can breathe water.
Class Skills: Pick a number of class skills equal to (Your Class Skill Points)+(Your INT mod)+3 as class skills. Make sure these are the only skills on your sheet.
Deities: There is a custom pantheon in the Setting subfolder. Take a look.
Deadline: September 20th, 11:59 P.M. -6:00 GMT. That's 8 days, bordering on nine.

The Rule Is: Moderate Optimization. Early entry tricks that make sense from a logical standpoint (not a twisted interpretation of written rules), maxing out your save DCs, doing good damage and not being superfluous when compared to a caster, etc. Every class has its role.

Final thing: I'm not afraid to take advantage of either Rule 0, or Rule of Cool. You shouldn't be afraid to take advantage of either. DMs are final arbiters, but we're not the enemy. Don't treat us as such. (A thing I've been guilty of a time or two in the past.)