There are seven distinct biomes or terrain groups in the world of Vrahode. Six exist across the Overlands and the seventh is the biome we call the Underlands. But in this article, we’re going to focus on the Oceans – an entirely separate biome and a different experience altogether!
Traveling on the seven seas of Vrahode is actually a different play mode! The first thing you will need is a ship. In order to hire one – because you can’t build one – is to have a means to summon it (a bullroarer)!
Summoning a ship to travel the oceans of Vrahode
Once you have a bullroarer, as long as you’re in a coastal region, then you can call an available ship. That’s when the Lady Virtue, captained by the Sahrhune, Captain Tentori, and his faithful crew will arrive. They’ll take you anywhere you need to go for a small fee and the promise that you will defend the ship from major threats. (What could go wrong?)
So now that you have used the trusty bullroarer, swinging it around rapidly, you wait until the next turn for the ship to arrive. The trusty banner that has represented your party in the Overland regions of Vrahode now moves onto The Lady Virtue and becomes her sail! With a few barked orders from Tentori, the crew prepares the vessel for travel and you set off toward adventures on the far-flung lands of Vrahode!
Differences between Overland and ocean travel
As you set sail, you will note that there are several major differences between Overland travel and ocean travel. For example, each time you or your group enter a new Overland region, each hero must drawn their own exploration card in order to adjust for the increased threat of larger groups. This is not so at sea!
As the ship sails, you need only draw a single card for every other region due to the ship’s speed. Also, the ship is a single large threat to any possible enemies that might lurk beneath the waves of the Gulf of Duwora or the Dravosha Sea. Most short direct routes between Renduur and Duwora or Renduur and Prahaar, for example, are almost certainly safe routes that should not give you any grief at all in your travels! The longer the route, though, the greater the chance of your course inadvertently crossing over the territory of one or more of the hulking denizens of the deep!
The creatures that inhabit Vrahode’s oceans are a bit different than most you will encounter in the Overlands. Overland creatures are fierce, but typically more of a challenge to a single hero in scale and threat. On the oceans, the threats tend to be scaled to threaten the ship and its entire crew as a whole! They are rare, but they are bigger, fiercer, have numerous attacks, and more life than your entire party combined. Taking an ocean creature lightly is just going to get you killed quicker. Each enemy offers some unique attacks and actions that will bring a world of hurt upon the ship and those aboard. There is the Hullbreaker, the Devourer, the Omensong, and the dreaded Storm Hydris!
Fear not! The kind designers at Weathervane Games have your backs!
Regardless of the number of brave adventurers in your party, Captain Tentori has ordered his crew to stand in and help you defend the ship. You will always do battle with a full complement of six defenders. That means if you are solo playing, you will actually get the help of five hearty crew members to thwart that pesky Hullbreaker! If a crew member is killed, Captain Tentori himself might even be obliged to step up and challenge the beasts!