This is the third hardcover in the Legends & Lairs series for the d20 system. The book provides a lot of background material for creating scenarios and campaigns dealing with the sea. There is a great focus on underwater adventure as well as seafaring. This book also uses the perspective of underwater inhabitants and gives guidelines for underwater creatures adventuring into the surface world of dry land.
The book begins with a chapter that describes some aquatic races, modifications on some skills when used underwater, some new feats and some new spells. The new races section describes merfolk, aquatic elves and half-merrow as character races. The combat oriented feats add interesting elements to the rules, such as Parry, Riposte and Two-Weapon Defense. Some of the new feats have nothing to do with seafaring or underwater activity. A new selection of water-resistant equipment is described, such as shell and kelp armor. A new item creation feat, create manikin, permits the creation of a small representation of a living person to cast spells on them from a distance, much like voodoo.
This book includes twenty-seven new spells mostly oriented for sea or underwater activity, as well as nineteen new magic items.
A section describes the effects of an underwater environment on characters' activities. This section describes the effects of pressure, cold, perception and water resistance when using weapons and armor. An optional set of underwater maneuvering rules for melee combat adds an abstract three-dimensional element that makes the swim skill very important. Buoyancy is also taken into consideration.
The next two chapters deal with seafaring and underwater campaigns. These chapters give suggestions to DMs on how to create and direct such campaigns. The chapter on seafaring campaigns outlines such elements as geography, motivations for naval expedition (trade, war, piracy, exploration), weather, ships and their crews, port cities, culture and politics of seafaring nations. This is a purely descriptive chapter without any addition to the d20 system. The chapter on underwater adventure describes the geography and environment of the bottom of the sea. This chapter contains some very interesting adventure locations and hooks as well as five new monsters.
The next pair of chapters describes ship design, construction and cost. Here we find a big variety of nicely illustrated ships, from barges to warships, including some exotic vessels such as the Druid Lairship, the Dwarf Ironback armed with cannons and the Iron Whale submarine.
The final chapter provides rules for ship combat. This system is somewhat cumbersome and will accommodate no more than two or three opposing vessels.
This book's strengths are the descriptive parts. It will be mostly useful to those who want descriptions of underwater environments and of seafaring activities, as well as a vast source of inspiration. It is going to be more useful as a narrative tool than as a rules supplement when compared to other products on the market.
New Spells: Aquatic Acid Fog, Air Breathing, Aquatic Form, Buoyancy, Clearwater, Compass, Compass Curse, Improved Water Breathing, Ink Cloud, Iron Fists, Merfolk's Blessing, Message in a Bottle, Nautomancy, Resist Nature, Sailor's Call, Sea Eyes, Sea Hag's Visage, Shape Reef, Shield of the Kuo-Toa, Sink, Sphere of Air, Tidal Wave, Transmute Water to Blood, Underwater Sense, Waterways, Whirlpool, Wisdom of the Watery Grave.
New Magic Items: Amulet of Untarnished Steel, Amulet of Protection against Aquatic Creatures, Amulet of Storm Dispersal, Boots of Water Walking, Coracle of Xaren, Crossbow of the Sea God, Daoud's Marvelous Maritime Map, Figurehead of Protection, Helmet of the Crab, Lacedon Cloak, Master Wheel, Potion of Water Breathing, Ring of Aquatic Survival, Ring of Wind Protection, Rod of the Waves, Ship of the Gods, Sharkskin, Staff of the Kuo-Toa, Trident of the Sea.
