Alphatian Undersea Expanded

(Based on work posted on the Vaults of Pandius and discussed on The Piazza forum)

[Image: Logo]

Author’s Note

This article includes expanded details of the sunken Alphatian mainland continent, the New Alphatian Undersea and Alphatian Trench. Over time I have compiled suggestions from many friends on the Piazza forum (thanks to Michele, Havard, Giampaolo, Hervé, Khuzd and Hugin for the collaborations) and back then I tried drawing a quick map of the Alphatian Trench area between Aquas and the Sundsvall Maelstrom (southeast Alphatia) at a scale of 24 mi. per hex.

Later this work was published in the Vaults of Pandius (in 2008). To make this map I used as a reference the maps in the Wrath of the Immortals (WotI) Boxed Set (AC 1009) and in Poor Wizard’s Almanac III (AC 1012—Alphatian Sea); both are at a scale of 72 miles per hex. Then I cross-referenced it with the map of Alphatia in the Dawn of the Emperors Boxed Set, checking the area that formed the islands and zooming in on it. This article revisits the results of this work, expanding the ideas throughout the Alphatian Trench (going beyond what was originally worked on), reviewing various plots and references sown throughout various works on the subject, such as the Mystaran Almanacs, sections of the Atlas on the Vaults, and even some specific articles like Settlements of the New Alphatian Sea^¹ (by LoZompatore) and Alphak’s Gallery of Villains^² (by me).

Spoiler Alert

This article is primarily intended for Dungeon Masters to develop their campaigns in the sunken environment of Alphatia. We present here an overview of intrigue based on themes previously covered in scenario materials (canon & fanon), suggestions about NPCs, lands, plotlines, ideas, and courses of action, so that they can be developed in gaming sessions. Sensitive parts of this information (like the descriptions or suggestions of situations in specific regions) can spoil the element of surprise of the plots for the game, however the decision as to whether you read the article (or not) is up to the reader.

New Alphatian Sea and Undersea

Indeed, the sunken continent of Alphatia contains incredible wealth for undersea adventurers to plunder. Several powerful Alphatian undead—various forms of which abound, either ancient or spawned by the power of Entropy or even by the residual magic of the Doomsday Weapon—survived the sinking and could be working on building their own empires, now that there are not so many competitors for the path towards Immortality in the region (as in the case of Paragon, for example) and there is a lot of space for new landscapes. Explorers will notice some difficulties in accessing these territories, such as the formation of new seas (New East Sea of Dawn, New Sea of Rhuboka) with their own sea currents (SW) and climates, as well as pirates in the region, and strange storms, especially near the Sundsvall Maelstrom (which might transport them to another location like the Hollow World, or even to another plane). The territories below are under dispute from forces linked to the Sphere of Entropy, with some forces from undersea nations and races influencing the region as much as the Alphatians of Nayce and Seashield.

Undersea Kingdoms and Underocean

Each sunken region has inherited ancient secrets and intrigues from ages past—even before the Alphatian Landfall and the Suppression Wars^³. Therefore some of these conflicts are ancient; others are from new magical forces spawned by the cataclysm (and influenced by Immortals); others are threats from either undersea or surface races; others come from other planes; and some even would challenge the Immortals themselves.

[Image: Old Map – 2008]
http://pandius.com/alphatianunderseareduziqx2.jpg
Caption: Old Hand-drawn Map for the Alphatian Trench and Undersea – 2008

In 2008, when I started to produce a first sketch for The Piazza and the Vaults, I considered and expanded on some major features from the maps and events:

Alphatian Trench: Consistent with PWA AC 1010–1012 (atlas of Aquas: notable sites), placed a mile to the north of Aquas (I added some few miles); considered the largest trench of any Mystaran ocean, with a length and breadth that shelters everything that once was the Alphatian continent (including the ruins of its cities). I marked the old borders of the continent inside of the trench in my hand-drawn map.

Colonies of Aquas: Consistent with PWA AC 1010, in which Aquas began explorations for colonization to the north of Seashield (with Archport as the most logical starting point), I included, on what would have been the closest ruins radiating from Aquas, some of the natives of Seashield to represent that expansion and exploration attempt: mermen, tritons, sea giants, nixies, etc.

[Image: Aquas New Undersea Settlement]
http://pandius.com/Colony13im1607.gif
Caption: Sketch of part of Nayce’s design for the new underwater colony near Aquas – From “Mystaran Almanac” Vatermont 7, AC1016

Ruined Naval Ports and Undead: The ports of the cities would have become graveyards of ships, still laden with treasures and dead crew.

Behemoth’s Cave: As chronicled in PWA AC 1010 the exploration team found this cave near the northern edge of Aquas (thus presumably placing it in the Alphatian Trench), before they spotted the Behemoth leaving the cave. I placed it at a safe distance from the territories of Aquas, but it could be moved closer to Aquas, to the north. While revisiting this article, and with Thorfinn’s maps and Bruce Heard’s articles now available, I am extending the zone to include more marine gargantua of various species, further north at Worldwound Gash in Alphatian Imperial Territories (North of Sundsvall Maelstrom), although the official description in the Almanacs would still put it just a few miles north of Aquas, within the Alphatian Trench—and thus in a deeper region of caves.

Golems Around Fort Lines: I like the idea of golems in deep waters. I believe that during the Great War (AC 1005–1009) many golems would have been mobilized for military service, for heavy lifting and material transportation, or as fighting units; as a result the old forts and military outposts would be a good option for their presence on the map. It would be worth exploring the idea of them still manning the military bases against intruders today.

Wyrds Northwest of Sundsvall Maelstrom: At this point, the ruins of the old Kingdom of Shiye-Lawr begin, a place where some banshees and wyrds would likely have appeared.

Underocean Borderlines: Consistent with the Underocean timeline, the capital of the tritons would be found 100 miles to the north of the Sundsvall Maelstrom (with communities extant to the west, east and south of the maelstrom). The suggested borders are in agreement with the geographical description in the atlas. The creation of the Kingdom dates to AC 1010, so I included it on the map.

[Image: Sundsvall Maelstrom]
http://pandius.com/Alphsea3.png
Caption: Sundsvall Maelstrom, Midjourney AI prompted by Senarch

Devilfish and Aquatic Beholders South of Underocean: Devilfish are mentioned in the Underocean timeline^⁴ as the enemy in a war against the tritons of Underocean (it also mentions a city of aquatic beholders, but the city was not included in the map due to its geographical location: somewhere between the island of Aasla and Monster Island). Even after the war and the withdrawal of the devilfish, some of them could have remained in the ruins to the north of Mt. Thera.

Velya and Blackheart Liches: Included in the map are some velya between the islands of Aasla and Arogansa. I left out the Blackheart liches, but may return to them in a future article based around the denizens of sunken Blackheart.

[Textbox: Underocean and the Sunlit Sea]

About Other Undersea Realms: I suppose the Queen of the Tritons in the Sunlit Sea (as described in PC3: “Creature Crucible – The Sea People”) would send a strong and powerful expedition of tritons to retrieve as many magical objects as possible and map the area, making possible the formation of new nations with good possibilities of hex crawling, as in the Expert and Companion Sets. They would be a match for the challenge if you consider the undead threat in the Alphatian Trench—unless you play the tragic "Fall of Sunlit Sea" campaign^⁵.

The Alphatian Trench

[Image: Flooding Times of the Alphatia Continent]

Caption: This beautiful work by LoZompatore (Michele Carpita) is present in his article “Settlements of the New Alphatian Sea” on the Vaults of Pandius http://pandius.com/newalphs.html.

The trench is a depression of terrain encircling the entire submerged Alphatian continent (currently the largest trench in all of Mystara). It is not known how deep the Alphatian plains now are, but it is estimated (with due contributions from LoZompatore on this data and information) to be about 1,000 feet (330 meters): from TM1: “The Western Countries Trail Map” we know that—before WotI—the height of Sundsvall above sea level was about 700 feet (210 meters). The city itself was made up of very tall buildings (for a Medieval/Renaissance city) with 10 floors or more. Let’s say they were around 90 to 120 feet (30 to 40 meters) tall.

“I suppose that at least a few of them survived the destruction of Sundsvall and the sinking of Alphatia. Considering that now these buildings are covered with water but they are still easily reachable by the surface (from PWAs’ info about some submersible expeditions to the ruins of Sundsvall and the CDC) I would cover the city with 300 feet of water or so. From PC3 we know that 300 feet is the limit depth where most of the intelligent sea people races live (below this depth it is too dark to see and cultivate seaweeds), so I don't think this is a bad estimate.

“The total sinking of the continent would be 700 + 300 = 1,000 feet. If Aquas is built at a 300-feet depth (for the same limitations about sea life I wrote above), then the trench in its vicinity is a dark and cold 700-feet-deep chasm graved on the “old” seafloor.” (Text by LoZompatore)

[Image: Sketch of Seashield and of its Surroundings]
http://pandius.com/Aquas_detail_small.jpg
Caption: Sketch of Seashield and of its Surroundings - Art by LoZompatore

The ground near Aquas then suffered some earthquakes. The destruction didn’t particularly affect Seashield, thanks to Zyndril’s use of spells like wish, force field and stone form, thus preserving his legacy for posterity.

The Northern Region

In Ambur, the ruins of Starpoint and the secrets of the Great Observatory can now be on display for more daring explorers. The vast plains of the former Floating Ar allow for ample visibility given the open terrain of former pastures and farms.

Frisland now has its ancient Orzafeth lowlands below the waves in the Alphatian Trench. Its ancient, crumbling buildings may harbor unspeakable dangers from ages past that were previously sealed by Sundsvall’s magical wards. Along the northwest coast of Kerothar Island (popularly called Monster Island in the modern era of Nayce) some survivors of the catastrophe live in the villages and ruins that were not submerged. Already below the waters, there are numerous submarine wrecks from the old Suppression Wars against Ystmarhavners—and perhaps there are some ghost ships and undead marauders in these depths. The Great Foresthome region has become an endless sea of dead trees and dense kelp forests covering a vast region. In the Imperial Territories, where there are ruins from ages before Alphatia itself, a great rift (Worldwound Gash) is said to be located where Gargantuan sea creatures pass by; indeed one of the most prominent creatures to have plagued the nearby seas a little south since AC 1010 is the Behemoth.

[Image: Sunken Forest]
http://pandius.com/Alphsea8.png
Caption: Sunken Forest, Midjourney AI prompted by Senarch

Blackheart’s domain (now submerged) contains several ruins of isolated towers of sorcerers’ houses. Hidden among the dead kelp forests of what has become of the ancient Ugly Woods, creatures of the deep, lost magical experiments, undead, and sunken tree hamadryads (glittering like lightning zombies) plague the cursed woods. The Blackheart golems are horrible monstrosities: parts of dead creatures joined together into horrible new animated aberrations. As golems “made of flesh,” they don’t need to breathe. They survived the Cataclysm and are “alive” and active under the waters, guarding their masters’ treasures. An ancient cabal in the lands now undersea, Blackheart’s Circle^⁶ gathers some of its survivors brought in as undead, be they spectres or Alphadon lightning zombies, in their enduring dispute for their medallions and control of the lost artifact Maggufin^⁷, or even the newly discovered secrets of Radiance^⁸ in Glantri. Alliances and clashes between the undead in these domains aim to control Shraek and all of Blackheart’s Ugly Woods. Other forces seem to be at odds with each other in this undersea clash. The emerging power of a sorcerer known as Talerad^⁹ and his minions is seeking possession of the Phylactery of Agmas, an ancient artifact related to the Sphere of Entropy. Gradually the resurgence of forces linked to ancient Ilmaryl^¹⁰, the elven kingdom corrupted by Atzanteotl in ages past, is taking over the ruined city of ancient Dor-Addon, southern Blackheart, and much of ancient Shiye-Lawr, in the form of a council of ancient warlock sorcerers from elven houses past now turned into wyrds controlled by the power of Entropy. This power is in conflict with the forces controlling the southern lands of Shiye-Lawr, regrouping Alphadon (lightning zombies) and wyrds linked to remnants of the Sphere of Energy (once abundant among Alphatian artifacts^¹¹ in Alfleish) under the banners and symbols of ancient houses that attempt to maintain tradition and autonomy.

[Image: Hamadryad]
http://pandius.com/Alphsea11.png
Caption: Sunken Hamadryad, Midjourney AI prompted by Senarch

Some survivors of Blackheart managed to escape and a few live on islands east of Kerothar in what are now known as the Blackheart Towers. Even some surface Shiye elves, survivors of the Alphatian cataclysm, now dwell in so-called Elvish Reserves, on hilly islands further south of the Blackheart Towers.

[Image: Alphatian Undersea Expanded Map]
http://pandius.com/Underseav3.png
Caption: Alphatian Undersea Expanded Map by author

The Southern Region

The Kingdom of Haven region has left an array of monuments and cities in ruins. The effect of the Doomsday Weapon on Alphatia left a magical alteration propagated from the epicenter of the continent to the outskirts of the region. As a result, the casual visitor will be faced with gleaming statues, promenades and walkways with distorted effects, hostile magical constructs with counter spells and alterations in their effects, magical ships and castles made semi-intelligent by the radiation of Alphatian artifacts or imprisoned beings altering their surroundings. Some of the personalities who have been imprisoned have been powerful sorcerers, such as the Alphatian Council Member Karzamon of Theranderol (he was trapped in the magic sword Fright Corps as reported in Mystaran Almanac AC 1016, for example), and they have been able to retain certain magical powers—becoming artifacts of greater magical power. Stoutfellow now consists of Monster Island (or Kerothar Island), with a chain of ruined castles and towns across the mountains, and the addition of the capital of Nayce built on the ruins of the former capital of Stoutfellow Denwarf-Hurgon, a heavily reinforced citadel. The region became inhabited by all kinds of beings and creatures that managed to take shelter in these high lands during the destruction of the continent, which made the place extremely dangerous – in particular for any troops and/or attempts at military incursions to reclaim the region. Underneath the mountains are an endless chain of caves and ruins of ancient underground cities (now home to the undead and monsters of the deep).

The lands of Limn and Stonewall were flooded and a few ruined cities are visible at sea level (due to the locations on hills and mountains); some survivors live in nearby ruins autonomously. Some marine creatures in the undersea of Trollhattan (reef giants, tritons, mermen) have taken over the cities that were part of the coast, now populated below the sea. Further south in Greenspur, undead spill out of the catacombs of ancient ruined necropolises beneath Eagret, scattering underground and undersea. Observing events in the Alphatian Sea, some Sea of Dread devilfish have moved into these newly sunken regions and now occupy large areas.

Bettelyn was once a land hallowed by Immortals and archons but now its plains are scarred by the effect of earthquakes and flooding. The impressive capital of Citadel is now a pile of ruins on a mountain just meters below the water, with catacombs of dangerous creatures roaming free below. Vertiloch and Theranderol have vast sumptuous palaces of abandoned treasure guarded by golems and enchantments empowered by the magical radiation of the Doomsday Weapon, as well as the ruins of Sundsvall under its maelstrom with portals to other planes and even the Hollow World!. Underocean patrols of tritons can be seen for miles around the region controlling most of these lands, under orders from King Juliast to confront any danger. In some parts of Theranderol to the south of Mersepolis and Errolyn a group of Alphadon are gathering and defending themselves from encroachment from both King Juliast’s troops and the minions of the cult on Herot, who inherited some of the chivalric and court customs of Errolyn, but in a cartoonish and twisted fashion.

Arogansa also has a number of sumptuous palaces which are now in ruins and the golems which guarded the gates now also languish in state of poor repair. However, its highlight is an active population of conscious and intelligent Alphadon living in a small society, gathering the lore of a past culture that they still don’t understand well, but that they are learning, aided by the visiting explorers from Seashield in Aquas. This phenomenon of gathering Alphadon is also seen in Ambur, Shiye-Lawr, Haven, Theranderol, Vertiloch, and even Randel; however, greater interaction has occurred between Arogansa and Aquas due to latter’s new colonies in the Alphatian Trench and their field surveys. Underocean tritons still view them with distrust and hostility. Little is known about what happens in Eadrin, but there is talk about shadow creatures, dark seas, and beings not dissimilar to undead living in the region of the ruins of Archport.

An Ancient Evil Unleashed

Some emerging powers are operating in the region, apparently in the service of the Immortals of the Sphere of Entropy. The city of Heroth, for example, so resilient and bellicose during the ancient Suppression Wars, became ruled by an ancient heretical cult devoted to Thanatos (who promised them an afterlife free from the Alphatians). Eventually Heroth’s cult was defeated, but its dead were freed from the catacombs by Hela^¹².

On Randel, in the ruins of Telsadun^¹³, the power of the Obsidian Tower has been unleashed by Nyx and the ancient King’s Guard by order of the late King Randel II, and vassals of their commander Deliantra are spreading out to maintain control throughout Randel’s submerged territory and even as far as the northern borders of Bettellyn, which in the Citadel capital is bringing together an order of undead knights devoted to equivalent Pit fiends—and opposed to the ancient cult of Archons.

Beyond the nameless terrors in Frisland, there are reports of cults devoted to the Outer Beings^¹⁴, centered on the old County of Orzafeth.

In addition to the dangers unleashed by the Phylactery of Agmas, the return of Alphaks^¹⁵ in AC 1020 unleashes a campaign to expand in and conquer Monster Island, as multiple clashes between the undead in the sunken lands of Alphatia and the Nayce fleets across the Alphatian Sea brings much confusion to an already turbulent land of strife.

However, as an Alphatian admiral once said: “But then does adventure ever really end on Mystara?”

- “Alphaks Gallery of Villains” by Hausman Santos from THRESHOLD Magazine issue #19

1See more at the Vaults of Pandius http://pandius.com/newalphs.html

2Published in THRESHOLD Magazine issue #19 and also available on the Vaults of Pandius http://pandius.com/alpksgov.html

3See more about this in “The Conquest of Alphatia - The Early Years”

(by Jamuga Khan) on the Vaults of Pandius http://www.pandius.com/alphconq.html

5You can get a lot of good ideas here: http://www.pandius.com/underset.html

6The confrontation of this circle of sorcerers is first described in the First Quest Novel “Son of Dawn” – TSR Publishing.

7As described in the First Quest Novel “Son of Dawn” – TSR Publishing.

8The offshoot of Blackheart’s Circle and their quest and conflicts against Radiance (and fate) are updated in the “Alphaks Gallery of Villains” article published in THRESHOLD Magazine issue #19 and at the Vaults of Pandius.

9See “Mystaran Almanac AC 1018” on the Vaults of Pandius.

10Learn more at “The Fall of Ilmaryl” http://pandius.com/ilmaryl.html by Geoff Gander on the Vaults of Pandius.

11Many of these items were empowered by the resonance generated by the Alphatian artifacts, now so abundant in the sunken lands. You can learn more about the power of these artifacts in the “Mystaran Almanac AC 1016” on the Vaults of Pandius.

12In the “Mystaran Almanac”, Hela took advantage of Alphaks’s punishment in AC 1016 to consolidate her power in the wrecked region of Alphatia and recruit minions; she discovered the cult and suborned them. Potentially this could bring about a direct dispute with Thanatos himself.

13The Obsidian Tower is described by Alex Benson in his work “City of Telsadun” from his series “Cities of Randel” on the Vaults of Pandius. http://www.pandius.com/telsadun.html

14“County of Orzafeth” on Bruce Heard’s Blog and on the Vaults of Pandius https://bruce-heard.blogspot.com/2013/10/Frisland08.html

15As depicted in the forthcoming “Mystaran Almanac AC 1020” after his banishment in AC 1016 by the Immortals due to the events at Alphaks’s Volcano.