The New World

Overview

  Discovered over a century ago during the Forgotten Age, the New World is a vast ocean located to the west of the known world. Throughout the years, many have tried to conquer it, explore it and colonise it to very little success. Only one man, Edward Newgate - greatest of all pirates - has sailed through it and seen what lies on the other side.    

Discovery

As with most events during the Forgotten Age, not much is known about the New World's discovery. Who found it, what year, and the time frame are all unknown. What is known was that it was first discovered when the vast empires of the Old World were at the height of their power. At the time, it was believed that the combined territory of all the great empires covered the entire world. Naturally, once the New World was discovered, the various empires rushed to be the ones to be the first to conquer it. Many colonies were put in place, but it is believed that the empires of the time greatly underestimated the ferocity and the danger of the New World, and many of these colonies quickly collapsed.   The remnants of these colonies remain still, seperate from their origins. Many of the peoples hailing from the New World have their roots in these old colonies.  

Geography

Although its exact size is not known, scholars theorize that New World's size is at least the same size as the region known as Old World, if not significantly larger. Attempts to map it by independent organisations have seen limited success, largely in part to the hectic conditions on The New World. A sunny day one minute might be an apocalyptic storm the next. Islands and other landmarks will be at different longitudes and latitudes than they ought to be, compasses spontaneously break, and strange and powerful creatures drag many a vessel to its untimely demise. The best charts are those in possession of the New World Trading Company and closely guarded, but even those maps have limited use. Some suggest that the New World is a sea with a mind of its own, and it resents and repels any attempts to understand or conquer it.   No major continents or landmasses have yet been found on the New World, instead the most land that can be found is in the form of small islands that are spread fairly evenly. Each island appears to have its own biomes and climates entirely seperate and independent from each other. A scorching desert might be only a few miles from a freezing tundra, leaving the seas between the two even more hostile than the norm. The mechanism behind this phenomenon is, like most aspects of the New World, a complete mystery to all.   The New World can be divided into 2 sections: the Known World and the Unknown World. The Known World, as the name suggests, the part of the sea closest to the Old World and is the parrt that is best understood and explored. NWTC trade routes are frequent, most of the islands are populated with civilisation, most of which fall under the NWTC. Thousands of pirates flock to the sea here, and competition is rough. Prospective explorers are just as likely to succumb to other pirates than the New World's perils.   Far into the ocean lies the Unknown World. Few ever reach this far part of the sea, and very few trade routes go through there. The perils of the New World are enhanced here, allowing none but the strong to survive. The only people that can make it there and thrive are the Pirate Lords and their subordinates. Even the NWTC has little influence out there.   Seperating these two segments of ocean is the largest landmass currently known about in the New World: Pangea. This large island was settled by the founders of the NWTC during the Forgotten Age, and has served as its headquarters ever since. Prospectful pirates will have to pass this land to enter the Unknown World, but doing so requires sailing past the HQ of the strongest military in the world. Many a pirate has met their end trying to sail past Pangea.

Inhabitants

The New World is renowned for the many varied and unusual species and people found within its waters and on its islands. Its waters swim and islands crawl with the sort of fantastical and mythological beasts that the people of the Old World would consider the work of fiction. Friendly creatures such as merfolk can be encountered often, but even more likely are hazardous beings like the Terror squid, a colossal beast known to destroy smaller ships with complete ease. Chief among these creatures is one of which many sailors dread to speak, one that spells certain doom for any ship, armada, city or island that crosses its path. A colossal being that many revere as a god... the Kraken.   More sentient life exists in the New World as well across the many islands dotted around, many of which are descendants of old colonies left by empires of the Old World, many more are cultures that existed prior to the Forgotten Age. These cultures tend to feature exotic humanoids that citizens of the Old World might not recognise. Examples of lineages native to these cultures include dragonborn, goliaths, tabaxi, as well as most races not found in the Players Handbook.   Due to the dangerous and isolated nature of the New World, most of the peoples living there rely on the New World Trading Company to supply them with vital resources as well as defend them from the various monsters that lurk in the New World as well as the pirate raids that have become more frequent in recent years. Those that aren't under the NWTC's protection either fall into the territory of one of the Pirate Lords or become extremely hardy and capable people with a strong distrust for outsiders.  

Random Encounters

There are a few types of encounter to be found: natural phenomena, such as weather, creature encounters such as sea serpents, other ships, and more unique encounters.

Early New World

In the relatively calm seas of the early New World, these are some typical encounters. Only about half of any encounters will be on this table, with the rest being an uneventful day, some noteworthy wildlife, shipwreck survivors etc.

Die Roll	Encounter
01-03	Giant Shark
04-07	School of fish picking at a corpse of some kind
08-11	Pod of 1d10 killer whales
12-17	A group of 3d6 merfolk out on a hunt
18-25	A sahuagin high priestess and wave shaper. They avoid direct conflict but return with a raiding party in the night.
26-30	2d8 giant crabs feast on the survivors of a shipwreck
31-35	3d4 reef sharks. They follow the ship for a few days, attacking anyone who falls overboard.
36-38	2d4 hunter sharks that similarly follow the ship, this time until the ship docks.
39-40	1d4 water elementals. Single ones attack randomly. Some may be under the command of a kraken priest or marid who uses them to create a maelstrom.
41	A rank 2 whirlpool (see GoS)
42-45	A group of sea lions sun themselves on an ice flow or some rocks. A giant walrus becomes territorial if approached.
46-47	A harpy matriarch and 2d4 harpies try to lure sailors off of the ship.
48-49	A raiding party of 2d4 merrow. They send a demon ally to cause havoc on deck whilst they harpoon sailors off the side of the ship.
50-52	A sahuagin baron on a chariot pulled by sharks demands the party pay a toll, lest their ship become his palace.
53-57	A friendly group of 2d6 Firbolg float by on 1d4 horizonback turtles
58-59	A group of firbolg berserkers spot the ship on the horizon and attack.
60-61	1d6 plesiosauruses. They don't attack, but their meat and skin can be sold for a high price.
62-63	The ship sails over the lair of a coven of 4 sea hags. They disguise themselves as shipwreck survivors, luring the party into a false sense of security. They retreat once they start to become overwhelmed. Remember regional effects.
64-65	A young sea serpent tries to assert dominance.
66-69	1 hydra
70-71	A marid sultan's entourage goes by, decked out with pathetic looking slaves. The sultan will gladly stop and chat, swapping stories, but with a clear disdain for humans. It can be conivnced to help out in some way, but for a dangerous price. He also loathes rudeness.
72	A Storm Giant appears nearby herding a pod of whales.
73	A curious adult bronze dragon stops by. It demands a toll of a fun story or riddle and then lets them go. 10% chance said dragon is a disgraced Ryoukuni Daimyo, and has turned evil.
74	A dragon turtle that appears as an island.
75-90	A ship
91-99	A mysterious island or bizarre weather pattern
00	The Kraken

Late New World Encounters

Past Pangea, the seas and their inhabitants get rougher. The table here is again about half of all possible encounters, with the rest being shipwrecks, rough weather and the occassional clear sky.

Die Roll	Encounter
01-03	A storm giant. 50% of being friendly, 50% chance to be a member of a pirate crew.
04-07	2d6 giant sharks.
08-11	An exiled marid and his pet/steed sperm whale
12-17	Naval Dreadnaught (seafaring version of an astral dreadnaught)
18-25	1 wastrilith and 2d4 demons of CR4 or lower.
26-30	3d6 hunter sharks tear into the floating corpse of a young sea serpent
31-35	3d4 chuul. They grab the most magically powerful creature they can find and carry them beneath the sea.
36-38	A rank 3 whirlpool
39-40	A rank 4 whirlpool connected to the Palace of Madness, domain of Demogorgon.
41	An ironscale or dracohydra accompanied by 1d3 hydras. (10% chance one of them is Polukranos)
42-45	A pod of starlight whales make their ascent into the skies
46-47	A group of sirens try to make the ship crash into rocks.
48-49	3d6 merrow and two demons are in the process of slaughtering some merfolk.
50-52	A kraken priest and some cultists are about to sacrifice an innocent woman to a sea monster.
53-57	A coven of 2 sea hags and a sea fury. The sea fury sends the hags to attack, but it's actually a ruse to bring sailors down to her lair.
58-59	A dragon turtle (10% chance of being an ancient dragon turtle). It will politely ask for treasure. It attacks if refused.
60-61	1 ancient sea serpent. It hates 'trespassers and demands homage in the form of human sacrifice.
62-63	A supernatural storm coalesces into a Leviathan. It doesn't initiate combat, but the storm it controls may sink an entire island if not stopped.
64-84	A ship
85-95	A mysterious island
96-00	The Kraken

Random Ships

Die Roll	Ship Type
01-09	Rowboat
10-25	Schooner
26-38	Longship
39-60	Brigantine
61-79	Frigate
80-90	Galleon
91-00	Fleet

Die Roll	Purpose
01-17	Cargo
18-24	Passenger
35-45	Fishing
46-51	Giant Warband
52-68	NWTC
69-73	Pirates (unaffiliated)
74-78	Pirates (Jira)
79-83	Pirates (Rochelieu)
84-88	Pirates (Durzo)
89-95	Bounty Hunters
95-00	Ghost Ship

d6	Attitude
1-2	Friendly
3-4	Neutral
5-6	Hostile

d10	Disposition
1	Diseased
2	Emergency (sinking, sandbar, lost, damaged helm)
3	Seeking aid with ship purpose
4	Mutiny
5	Looking to trade
6-10	No special Disposition