The Southern Archipelago

At the tip of the southern continent in the overworld of

Dragon Quest II is a series of islands, several of which have interesting features. As someone whose gateway drug to fantasy was Greek mythology, and who lists The Odyssey as one of my major influences, it should come as no surprise that I like the concept of strange and enchanted islands with all matter of unusual encounters to be found. For The Saga of the Ortegids, I'd like to treat this region as something like that.

You could easily run a seafaring campaign going from island to island, encountering strange and unique phenomena on each. The islands detailed in the game are listed below.

I'd likely add a few more islands for a campaign of this sort, to give more material. Ideally, each island should have a distinct hook or gimmick, such as a tribe of locals with some peculiar culture or a unique and powerful monster. Here is a post with some ideas. Helpful hint: if you think of islands in this sort of campaign the way Star Trek writers think of planets, you're pretty much there.

Art by DylanvdLinde

• Zahan: The easternmost of the islands, home to a village where all able-bodied men live as fishermen. They are often away at sea, leaving the village populated by their wives, children, and elders. There is also a wizard who lives here. His mansion is warded by traps, but he is in the possession of a loom that can be used to weave a robe from water, giving the wearer protection against fire.
• The island directly west of Zahan has a shrine with a portal that links to the castle in Midenhall. This is one of a few teleportation shrines in the game, serving as a fast travel system.
• The Shrine of Fire is located on an island to the northwest of Zahan. There are portals here that lead to shrines near Lianport, Beran, and Alefgard. These portal shrines are quite similar in function to the ancient Aliahanian ruins from Dragon Quest III, but it's unlikely that they were created by the Aliahanian Empire, as all those portals are restricted to Erdland. If the Aliahanians settled in Torland, you would think they would build at least one portal to there, given that the inner world is otherwise very difficult to access. It's possible, however, that these portals have been lost to time. Alternatively, there could have been a similar world-spanning empire in Torland that built portals to link their colonies, or they could have built by the Ortegid Empire under Aleph Wyrmbeorn, considering that one of these portals is in his capital.
• On the island just east of the mainland, surrounded by mountains and desert (or perhaps, like Empress Castle, this should be interpreted to be a high mountain), there is a grove where a leaf of the Worldtree can be obtained. This can cure people of curses and ailments. I tried to line up the maps of Erdland and Torland, but if we assume that the Pit of Giaga is directly above Tantegel (as that's where it spits you out in DQ3), then this island would be beneath either Suland or Baharata, not the Worldforest, where a similar secret exists in 3. However, it's possible this leaf could come from an offshoot of the Worldtree's roots that extends further east.

Art by Einar Martinsen

• Not shown on the map, but included for completion, is a mountainous island (or, again, another mountain) midway between the southern continent and Dirkandor. At low tide, the island is surrounded by shoals that make it inaccessible, but when the tide rises, ships can sail into a cave on the south shore. Note that in the game, you need to use a fragment of the moon to alter the tides - as Torland is the inside of a hollow world presumably with no moon, this may be the only way to affect the tides. This cave is the site of a hideout of the Children of Hargon, a cult devoted to Malroth, the god of chaos and destruction - they likely chose the location as it's difficult to access, thus making it hard for the authorities to track them here.

Friday Encounter: The Island Fish

Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas

Here's an encounter to bring one of my favorite tropes in folklore and mythology to the table. It should be used while the PCs are traveling by boat, preferably on a voyage through a relatively uncharted body of water.

While traveling the open sea, the PCs come across a small island that is not marked on any of their maps. The ship's crew has grown tired over the long journey, and they petition the captain to stop and rest here, perhaps foraging for food to replenish their meager rations. If the ship's captain is an NPC, they agree to moor the ship here; if they are a PC, that decision is up to the player(s).

If the ship docks, the crew wishes to spend the night on the island, and they suggest the PCs explore before sun sets. PCs exploring the island will find that it is mostly flat and rocky, covered in sparse shrubs and grass, with a few short trees here and there. There are no land animals native to the island, but a few seagulls can be found, and there are some crabs on the shore. The island is 160 feet long and 100 feet wide, with a circle of rocks and trees at the center of the island forming a natural campsite, 80 feet from the ship. Keep track of how far the party ventures into the island - it will become important later.

At nightfall, the ship's crew will make camp at whatever suitable spot the party found, and make a fire from some driftwood and fallen branches to cook some birds and fish they were able to catch. However, this is where the island reveals its secret. The "island" is in fact a gigantic fish that has laid dormant here for years, and over the ages, enough soil has built up on its back to form solid ground. However, when a fire is lit, the fish will wake up, and seek to retreat into the water - with everyone still on it! The fish will also wake up if a fire is lit on the island before the crew does, or if the PCs make any extremely loud noises (such as that of an explosion).

Once the fish wakes up, enter Action Time. The fish takes a turn at the beginning of initiative order every round. On its turn, the fish always sinks two feet into the water. The PCs must use this time to run back to the ship before they sink with the fish! If they make a move or dash action, they must make an Acrobatics or Athletics check (whichever best fits the action); on a failed check, they can only move at half speed that turn due to the rising water. The DC for this check starts at 5, and increases by 5 for every two feet the fish sinks after the first. If any PC is below the water (this would typically be when the fish has sunken six feet for a medium-sized creature, or three feet for a small one), they must swim to their destination, and they must hold their breath unless they have some means of breathing underwater.

You don't need to roll for the crew during this part - you can just assume that enough redshirts drowned to make things suitably dramatic, but enough survived that the ship is still in working order. However, if there are any named NPCs on the ship, you may wish to have them act during the initiative order like the PCs, following the same rules.

If you so desire, you can add other obstacles to overcome during the run to the ship if you want make the encounter more challenging. Do not forget that, although most parties will likely run for the ship, other courses of action are possible and should be allowed according to the DM's judgment. If anyone in the party is able to communicate with the fish, for instance, they may be able to convince it to take them to their destination - though the fish will likely demand something in return.