The Salt Sargasso

Some scholars and religious writers claim the Abyss is "below" the mortal world, and that all things dark, evil, and wrong eventually "fall" into it. Whether this is a metaphorical or a physical truth, it does describe the Salt Sargasso, a realm of lost ships, demonic sharks, and, well, salt. Eeeeeevil salt!

It is the ghost of an ocean, covered from one horizon to the next with the ghosts of ships. The Salt Sargasso is one of many seas on the Abyss, each unique in their own special way. Somewhat like the Infinite Maw, it is a place where things from the mortal realms are drawn inwards, but unlike that creature, only objects from the seas and oceans are found here, and also unlike the Maw, there are no living mortals trapped here in torment, at least, not for long.

The sea looks, in part, like a stilled ocean, waveless beneath a windless, eternally blinding white and featureless sky. Its surface, though, it not smooth. Most of it is filled with the tangled wrecks of seacraft, from tiny rowboats and canoes to massive five-masted Men-Of-War. All, except for the very newest arrivals, are tilted and broken apart, and covered with an encrustation of this salts so that, from a distance, they look almost snowbound, oddly beautiful in a grim, morbid, way. (Shadar-Kai, in particular, appreciate them.) (Depending one one’s own campaign milieu and the extent of one’s multiverse, seacraft resembling those of the 20th or 21st century might be here, or even more advanced vehicles.)

The ships drawn down to this place are not chosen at random. Great whirlpools, vortices made of elemental forces, will form at various points in the mortal realms, and will seek out ships containing the most twisted and evil of living beings, delightful food for demons. The ships are then taken to this place, and, in the process, those aboard of good nature, or even not consumed by evil, will be cast off, sometimes to other mortal seas, other times at places within the elemental chaos, but those who end up making the journey with their ships are those who deserve their fate. It is sometimes debated if the power which dwells, seemingly in eternal slumber in the very depths of the Salt Sargasso, is acting purely on his own whim and taking only those whose souls will not be missed by greater gods, or if he has cut some kind of deal with the powers of good, allowing him to take the vilest of mortal seafarers in exchange for some unknown favor, promise, or deed. No one knows, and Ssaragass isn’t talking.

Oh yes, Ssaragass. A great shark, a hundred feet long, covered with immense spines. Her mouth is lined with tentacles, each of which terminates in a maw as vast as that of the largest Great White of the mortal realms. She slumbers at the bottom of the Sargasso, eternally dreaming, and it is her power which reaches out across the worlds. Some demon lords have tried to seize the Sargasso for their own, and it is at these moments that Ssaragass awakes, and after that… well, let us merely note she is still here and no other demon has seized her domain.

Ssaragass is not the only demon living here. The main inhabitants are her tens of thousands of children, twisted demonic beings something like sharks. They have no purpose in existence but to devour, and their prey are the beings who fall to the sea. Any ship which lands in the Sargasso will quickly find itself swarmed by the creatures, who will clamber out of the salt-filled waters to scour the ship of all life. A rare few powerful mortals have managed to hold off the first assault, but there will be a second, and a third… their remains are left scattered about the ships.

 Naturally, all this treasure lying about — many of the ships "taken" were pirate vessels laden with ill-gotten gains — attracts visitors to the Sargasso. As far as any of the various powers of the universe are concerned, any who travel here are left to their own fates, and nothing will stay the hand… or the sharp, blood-drenched, fangs — of the inhabitants.

 4e Rules

The Salt Winds: The dominant weather feature of the Salt Sargasso is the Salt Wind, which is best described as a blizzard formed of hardened, knife-edged salt crystals. Much like water, the winds from a current — trying to move against the wind counts as difficult terrain, and attacking with a Ranged attack through or into a region of Salt Wind provides normal cover if the attack passes through one or two squares, and superior cover if it must pass through three or more squares. This does not apply to any attacks made by natives of the Sargasso. In addition, any creature (again, other than natives of the Sargasso) who begins their turn in a Salt Wind square is subject to a +22 attack vs. Armor, which does 2d12 damage, and a secondary attack, only if the first one hits, at +19 vs. Reflex, which will Blind the target (save ends). Characters may make a Dungeoneering or Nature check, DC 27, to negate the blinding; once this has been made, they are immune to this effect for the rest of the encounter, though not to the damage. Salt Winds are considered a level 19 Hazard, and they are worth 2400 XP. About 1/4 of the squares of an encounter should be subject to the winds.

Survival: The Salt Sargasso is dry, terribly so; characters suffer the effects of thirst within 6 hours of entering the realm, and must make Endurance checks every 6 hours, instead of every day.