Tentōki and Ryūtōki

 Tentōki and Ryūtōki

 

In Japan there are a pair of heavenly demons called Tentoki (天燈鬼) the Celestial Lantern Demon; and Ryutoki (龍燈鬼) the Dragon Lantern Demon, and the myth is that they started out as evil Amanojakus or evil servants of the wicked deity Amanosagume (天探女)

 

But these demons were caught and literally stomped into submission by the 4 Buddhist Kings over a period of thousands of years.  The demons ultimately recognized the error in their ways and repented.  And as penance, they now carry the huge lanterns that put forth the pure white light of stars, benevolent souls and dragon fire to light the path in front of the Buddha, so that he can travel and spread his word.

 

However, in a more sinister retelling, evil demons can never be truly rehabilitated and the two, pre-historic, amanojaku demons are secretly using the celestial laterns as a beacon for the evil over-demon, Amanosagume to directly find and counter Buddha.  Of course the all-knowing Buddha is keenly aware of this deception, but allows it to occur so that Amanosagume can be confronted and defeated once and for all.

 

Adventuring in Island Jungles at Night

One of the things that grounds me in the tropical archipelago setting of the Nebulith is the sound of the island jungle. Jungles are different, they look different, feel different and smell different than any place Ive ever been. This is especially true at night ….the nighttime jungle is eerie to the point of being scary at times. And most importantly it is loud, almost deafeningly so. Deep jungles aren't new-age relaxation listening material as Youtube would have you believe.   It is a cacophony of warnings, mating calls, carnivorous hunts and their subsequent kills.  It has strange crescendos and de-crescendos at random intervals all night, every night with the possible exception of typhoon periods.   Here is a small sample I recorded on my cell phone by just stepping outside at 2am.

In this context,  it would be extremely difficult for a character to perceive someone or something creeping-up on them before it is very close, especially if that creeper is adept at moving through a jungle.  Items traditionally used to aid perception often have the polar opposite effect in the jungle.   A fire or torch has multiple unintended consequences: 

1. Illumination and the bright reflection of firelight off of nearby dense foliage (usually moist and damp) renders sight beyond a few feet virtually impossible.  
2. The jungle moves.  Winds, falling canopy water, rain, insects, amphibians, rodents, and larger animals set the leaves and hanging vines in motion causing constant, moving elongated shadows.  
3. Light is a beacon for life.  Light in the jungle attracts things..... like flying insects or far worse, and lot of them….  Things that buzz, bite, sting and swarm; as well as those things eat the things that buzz, bite, sting and swarm! ...like giant spiders, bats, frogs, mongoose and geckos. The amount of insects is only tempered by the amount of smoke (if applicable) from the light source suppressing them. 

Jungle Light and Sound, Effects on Characters

For characters, insects will lower their perception. One simply cannot see or hear effectively through hundreds of various types of insects constantly swarming a jungle light source. Insects are annoying, if not worse, trying to sleep or rest in the vicinity of a night time jungle light is an exercise in futility. And some insects will harass or attack en masse to the point of minor damage upon characters that remain in the same position in the presence of a light source. Lastly, a light source and any associated rising smoke against a canvas of relative darkness will stand out like a sore thumb in the jungle ecosystem attracting larger predators and possibly much worse, people, as it flickers and glows under the foliage viewed from a distance.

Historically in these islands, no one ventures through the jungle at night. Period.   But if unavoidable, it is best to let character eyes adjust and use no light if the path is known; or, use some type of overhead light (mechanical, magical or otherwise) at a distance away from the characters on an as needed basis then douse, proceed cautiously and repeat.  Sporadic use of paper lanterns on the end of a ten foot bamboo pole is one of the best and classic examples.   

If characters must camp, smoldering fires work the best as the smoke will keep the insects at bay and the smoke will dissipate among the foliage and canopy creating a layer as opposed to a distinct plume which will identify a party’s location. 

For the GM

All of the foregoing, I would let the characters discover or deduce for themselves unless they interact with a local NPC and specifically inquire.  Local NPCs traveling with the party will know these things instinctively.  Characters that move, or generate light, or smoke will cause a dead-spot in jungle noise unless practiced at moving in such terrain, but disruption of the natural audio of the jungle maybe preferable as the lesser of potential evils!   

However, the inverse is also true. Things not adept at moving through the jungle will face the same hurdles as the party.  GMs can use the absence of sound (sudden or otherwise) as a warning;  for tension;  or simply as an indicator that something is not quite right.

Mermaids in the Southern Reach

 Mermaids  

-A lone mermaid = dreamy, mythical, titillating, bewitching.

-An infestation of mermaids that stalk a ship, silently stare at those on deck and multiply exponentially in number every hour  =  Terrifying.

     

Photo courtesy of Peter Pan, 1924, (Silent), Paramount Pictures.

Mermaids in and around the waters of the islands of the Southern Reach, Awa Nikko, and Nebulith have an almost unnatural obsession with metal!  They can taste and detect it in the water and are drawn to large quantities of almost all metals from miles around.   

A mermaid will feverishly try to remove any metal from a person, beast or thing in the water through use of their hands or simply gnawing it free with razor sharp teeth without regard to the subject’s life, limb or condition.  Persons who find themselves in mermaid infested waters are advised to immediately remove any and all metal weapons, items, armor and ornaments to prevent injury.  Of course, the scent of rarer metals in the water serves as a concentrated attractant.  Mermaids will swarm in a frenzied-mass anyone in full metal chain, scale or plate armor that enters infested waters.

Mermaids have the ability of vocalization, but do not speak any known language of man, instead they speak in a series of ultra -high pitched screeches, whines and clicks  (think Darryl Hannah in Splash!) which may be heard up to half a mile underwater even through the pounding surf.  

They are mesmerized by floating metal (ship and boats) and have been known to silently stalk ships while carefully observing and noting the metal visible on board both above and below the waterline while relaying information back to their underwater colony.  When enough mermaids are present, they will set upon the boat.  Prying, gnawing and taking every metal nail, fastener, casting, joint etc in sight.  The removal of a boat’s structural metals combined with collective weight of hundreds, if not thousands, of mermaids clamoring up the sides and on to the decks has caused more than one boat to lose its integrity, and quite simply and completely be pulled under the waves.

Mermaids in a stalking pattern will cause all other wildlife (above and below water) to scatter, rendering the situation as unnaturally quiet.

Mermaids in heavily trafficked human waters have been observed mimicking limited basic human speech and/or use their human attributes to attract, persuade, and unburden those that are visibly laden with metal.  Mermaids are ambivalent to those without any visible metal. 

GM Notes.

-Metal in reasonable volume may be used as an attractant or decoy by players when encountering mermaids.  Ie Dropping a metal ship anchor or throwing a suit of plate mail overboard will sufficiently divert mermaid attention for 1D4 hours. (Possibly allowing passage or escape of person boat.) 

- A new, large infestation of mermaids at a locale may indicate something of note (getting through the infestation is another story!)

Nebulith Mermaids

-Mermaids fear and will flee the approach of Izumi, the Seasnake Medusai……..   However, also out of fear, all mermaids in audible range will heed the call of Izumi…… if so commanded.  Izumi…… speaks their language, or probably more accurate, they speak Izumi’s…….. language.