Deepwater Enclaves

Deepwater Enclaves is a 32 page zine featuring a self-contained TTRPG about scouts venturing into the dark and dangerous sea from their safe community. It builds on the rules of Hedgemaze Press' Trophy Gold, but is set in the near, post-apocalyptic future. Players create a unique underwater community. 

Background

Just plain old air pollution? A failed weather control experiment? Or more sinister forces? Nobody will know for sure why earth cooled below a dark mantle of clouds in the 1980s. Agriculture could not adapt fast enough and when conventional battles for the few remaining natural resources close to the equatorial line erupted into full-scale nuclear war, humanity was on the brink of extinction. Less than five hundred thousand mostly malnourished, freezing humans were left, when the year 2000 began.

Humanity was hardier than the doomsayers foretold. While much of the oceans froze over, a few states and conglomerates built bases so deep on the ocean floor that the permafrost could not harm them. Scattered thinly all across the globe’s oceans, survivors in 2080 live stable, yet weird lives: Hiding in suboceanic habitats, they trust odd doctrines of nanite priests, battle in family feuds, or serve one of the robot combinats. Brittle alliances and attempts at establishing trade routes are a glimmer of hope in the face of threats of oppression, piracy, and rogue AI-controlled terraforming machines. Whatever strategy you and your kin follow to survive, recent rumors of a grand new civilization in the City of Pharos, have sparked a flurry of activity. You are a scout of your community, at the frontier of a harsh world. You boldly venture into the unforgiving, cold dark sea hoping for a better world.

Overview

This game is about venturing from a safe Community into the unknown. At the core are taking risks for your loved ones; sometimes this is at odds with your individual motives. Players work together to portray their characters and their Community. The GM presents challenges inside and outside of the Community. Even a ruinous Excursion might turn out to be an entertaining, jointly told story. Stories might span several Excursions or only one of them.

The underwater environment is unforgiving, punishing carelessness and foolhardiness, with potentially dire consequences beyond a single player character's fate. You'll decide how grim a game you want to play, but make sure your Community is a warm hearth to come back to. The game is not necessarily about becoming celebrated heroes, and Community building will help to clarify a game’s tone.