Thalassophobia By The Falling Dream
Instruments: 1d6, Provided Hex Grid
Game Description
A game of deep sea exploration, discovering fishes, seeing the depths, and plotting out a hex grid.
Game Content Warnings
These are content warnings that are from the game prompts and are present in all playthroughs.- Deep Ocean Exploration
- Suffocation/Drowning Peril
Playthrough Content Warnings
These are content warnings specific to this playthrough only.- Giant sea creatures
Word Count: 2,247 Played: June 31 - Aug 1
Starting Stats:
Pressure: 0/10
Dread: 0/10
Oxygen: 0/10
Data: 0/10
Day 1
Roll: 3 Empty Sea Floor
Data Entry:
Nothing but sand and floor down here. Nothing of note. Will be moving Northeast tomorrow.
Pressure: 0/10
Dread: 0/10
Oxygen: 0/10
Data: 0/10
Day 2
Roll: 2 Empty Sea Floor
Data Entry:
Still no signs of unexamined life.Only one lonely scallop. Will be moving South tomorrow.
Pressure: 0/10
Dread: 0/10
Oxygen: 0/10
Data: 0/10
Day 3
Roll: 3
Data Entry:
Still no signs of life. Saw a large rock.
Pressure: 0/10
Dread: 0/10
Oxygen: 0/10
Data: 0/10
Day 4
Roll: 5, one bizarre fish, +1 Data
Teeth: 4, Tiny
Eyes: 6, Spiny
Mouth: 3, Gelatinous
Head: 3, Gelatinous
Body: 5, Huge
Fins: 6, Spiny
Data Entry:
Spiny Gel Head
A large fish, with remarkably tiny teeth. It seems to scuttle along the sides of fallen rocks, brushing away at debris with its many spines. Large spines protrude from all around its eyes, protecting it, as it searches for food among the rocks. I observed it squeezing in and out of small holes that I thought would be impossible, but it appears as though the head and mouth is made of a malleable gel.
It is the only one of its kind out here, and I am unable to determine if it is a solitary species, or this one is just lonely.
Pressure: 0/10
Dread: 0/10
Oxygen: 0/10
Data: 1/10
Day 5
Roll: 1, Wonder
Roll: 7, strange and enticing, but it’s trash +1 Pressure, +1 Dread
Data Entry:
I saw something gleaming down below, something that caught the light and shone almost as brightly as if it were on the surface. I have heard rumors of treasure in these parts, and thought, just maybe it might be something of value. But as I descended deeper into the depths it was just a car sun shield.
Pressure: 1/10
Dread: 1/10
Oxygen: 0/10
Data: 1/10
Day 6
Roll: 4, One Bizarre Fish
Teeth: 5 Huge
Eyes: 1 Transparent
Mouth: 4 tiny
Head: 2 Glowing
Body: 5 huge
Fins: 4 tiny
Data Entry:
Crystalline Colossus
A huge, monster of a fish, larger than the sub, and perhaps even the boat. Its body was barrel shaped, and it appeared to have just tiny little fins, which I could not see moving.
But its teeth were nearly as large as its body, all pointed outward in a cone-like fashion. Its entire head was glowing a faint bioluminescence, and its eyes were nearly transparent. I suspect it lures its prey into its mouth via the biolume where the prey impales itself onto the teeth.
Pressure: 1/10
Dread: 1/10
Oxygen: 0/10
Data: 2/10
Day 7
Roll: 1, Wonder
Roll: 7, Something strange, but it’s trash
Data Entry,
Spotted something glowing again, and thought it might be another one of the Colossus, but it ended up being a lost rowboat with the emergency lights still working. I’ve heard they can last for years, but I never believed it until now.
Pressure: 2/10
Dread: 2/10
Oxygen: 0/10
Data: 2/10
Day 8
Roll: 6, Oxygen
Checked the oxygen today, I’m about 1/10 of the way through my supplies. If nothing damages the ship then I’ll be able to stay down here for at least another 2 months. Don’t know if I want to risk it, I’ll start to head back in about a month and a half.
Pressure: 2/10
Dread: 2/10
Oxygen: 1/10
Data: 2/10
Day 9
Roll: 3,
Data Entry:
Nothing but empty sea floor.
Pressure: 2/10
Dread: 2/10
Oxygen: 1/10
Data: 2/10
Day 10
Roll: 2
Data Entry:
More empty sea floor. Better than something that wants to eat me.
Pressure: 2/10
Dread: 2/10
Oxygen: 1/10
Data: 2/10
Day 11
Roll: 2
Data Entry:
Barren sea floor. Saw a rock.
Pressure: 2/10
Dread: 2/10
Oxygen: 0/10
Data: 2/10
Day 12
Roll: 1, Wonder
Roll: 7, Trash!
Data Entry:
I saw some debris and hoped that maybe I had found a wreck or something else that would harbor life, but it all ended up just being a bunch of planks. Perhaps there was something here once, but it’s gone now.
Pressure: 3/10
Dread: 3/10
Oxygen: 1/10
Data: 2/10
Day 13
Roll: 4, fish!
Teeth: 5, huge
Eyes: 6, spiny
Mouth: 2, Glowing
Head: 4, tiny
Body: 3, gelatinous
Fins: 2, glowing
Data Entry:
Big Toothed Gel Head
Small fish, around 15 cm in length, with a glowing mouth and glowing fins. This one had one enormous tooth protruding down from its upper jaw, which also contained biolume. Its eyes had spikes covering them, and its body wriggled as if it had no bones.
There were about 10 of them swimming in a school together. I suspect they have poor eyesight, since every single one of them hit the sub as they passed by.
Pressure: 3/10
Dread: 3/10
Oxygen: 1/10
Data: 3/10
Day 14
Roll: 2
Data Entry:
Nothing of note. No rocks, no trash, just nothing.
Pressure: 3/10
Dread: 3/10
Oxygen: 1/10
Data: 3/10
Day 15
Roll: 3
Data Entry:
More of nothing. Not even rocks..
Pressure: 3/10
Dread: 3/10
Oxygen: 1/10
Data: 3/10
Day 16
Roll: 5
Teeth: 3 Gel
Eyes: 3 Gel
Mouth: 4 Tiny
Head: 4, tiny
Body: 6 spiny
Fins: 1 transparent
Data Entry:
Transparent Fin Gel-Face
A tiny fish, about 5 cm long, with nearly invisible teeth, all so small I can barely make them out in the dark, but it appears as though they, and the eyes, are made of gel. They swim in schools with thousands of one another. It was hard to see at first, but they have transparent fins, four on each side, and one on the top and one on the bottom of their body. The scales each have one spike growing out of it, around 1 cm long, similar in appearance to a puffer fish.
Pressure: 3/10
Dread: 3/10
Oxygen: 1/10
Data: 4/10
Day 17
Roll: 5
Teeth: 5 Huge
Eyes: 1 transparent
Mouth: 1 transparent
Head: 3 Gelatinous
Body: 1 transparent
Fins: 4 Tiny
Data Entry
The Tooth Fish
This fish is all teeth, there is no other way to put it. Its mouth, its eyes, its head, its body, nearly all of it is transparent, and it’s fins are practically non-existent. The only thing you can see are the huge, black teeth, and even those are barely visible in the dark. I suspect it cannot see well, as the vessel hit it with the bow. But the fish was unperturbed and merely hung onto the front window for a ride for about 10 minutes before swimming away.
Pressure: 3/10
Dread: 3/10
Oxygen: 1/10
Data: 5/10
Day 18
Roll: 4
Teeth: 4 Tiny
Eyes: 2 glowing
Mouth: 1 transparent
Head: 2 glowing
Body: 4 tiny
Fins: 4 Tiny
Data Entry
Red Headed Slug
A sea slug where the first 1/3 of its body glows red under the light of the vessel. It appears to still have fins, though they are very tiny. The mouth appears transparent as well, but there are rows and rows of tiny teeth.
Pressure: 3/10
Dread: 3/10
Oxygen: 1/10
Data: 6/10
Day 19
Roll: 3 empty
Data Entry:
No fish here. There were some empty rocks and small stones.
Pressure: 3/10
Dread: 3/10
Oxygen: 1/10
Data: 6/10
Day 20
Roll: 2
Data Entry:
No fish again. Not much else but sand. We’ve moved away from the large rocks.
Pressure: 3/10
Dread: 3/10
Oxygen: 1/10
Data: 6/10
Day 21
Roll: 6 Oxygen
Data Entry:
Rechecked the oxygen, and it seems we are doing pretty good! We might have a little more time to spare if everything goes well!
Pressure: 3/10
Dread: 3/10
Oxygen: 2/10
Data: 6/10
Day 22
Roll: 4
Teeth: 3, gel
Eyes: 1, transparent
Mouth: 3, gel
Head: 6, spiny
Body: 5, huge
Fins: 2, glowing
Data Entry:
Blind Oral-jelly Fish
Another huge one! This one seemed to have gelatinous teeth and a mouth. It tried to eat the vessel but didn’t succeed in damaging the hull. Vision must be poor as the eyes were completely transparent. The head appeared to be covered in tiny little spikes, and the small fins displayed some faint bioluminescence.
Pressure: 3/10
Dread: 3/10
Oxygen: 2/10
Data: 7/10
Day 23
Roll 5
Teeth: 1 transparent
Eyes: 1, transparent
Mouth: 3, gel
Head: 6, spiny
Body: 1 transparent
Fins: 4 tiny
Clear Gelled Head Spine
A tiny little fish with even tinier fins. Its mouth appears to have a gel-like consistency and they swarm in large groups, most likely to give the appearance of a larger fish moving though the waters. Along its face and head there are ridges that are tapered like needles. They move very quickly through the water. Further examination will be necessary at a later time.
Pressure: 3/10
Dread: 3/10
Oxygen: 2/10
Data: 8/10
Day 24
Roll: 6 Oxygen
Things are running out a little quicker than anticipated, but there should still be enough left to continue the research. If it gets worse I will need to resurface and end the expedition early.
Pressure: 3/10
Dread: 3/10
Oxygen: 3/10
Data: 8/10
Day 25
Roll: 3
Empty Sea Floor, no fish, no rocks, nothing
Pressure: 3/10
Dread: 3/10
Oxygen: 3/10
Data: 8/10
Day 26
Roll: 2
Still nothing but empty sea floor
Pressure: 3/10
Dread: 3/10
Oxygen: 3/10
Data: 8/10
Day 27
Roll: 6 Oxygen
Re-Checked the oxygen, and I am much further depleted than before. I couldn’t find a leak, so I suspect that my measurements from earlier in the expedition were incorrect. I am nearly halfway gone with it by now, but there is still enough time to finish the expedition if nothing goes wrong.
Pressure: 3/10
Dread: 3/10
Oxygen: 4/10
Data: 8/10
Day 28
Roll: 1 Wonder
Roll: 10 Something enormous moves just beyond the range of light +2 Dread
There is something out here. I couldn’t see it beyond just a flash in the dark. There is something much larger than anticipated and larger still than what I have seen before. I’ll need to be cautious proceeding since I might be entering its territory.
Pressure: 3/10
Dread: 5/10
Oxygen: 4/10
Data: 8/10
Day 29
Roll: 4 One Fish
Teeth:5 Huge
Eyes: 6 Spiny
Mouth: 2 glowing
Head: 5 Huge
Body: 4 Tiny
Fins: 1 Transparent
Clearfinned-Lightmouth Guppy
Another school of smallfish. I can’t stop thinking about that large thing, but these move in schools, perhaps to look big to what else is out there? They are similar in size and shape to guppies except for the large spine-covered eyes, the teeth, and the glowing mouth. It reminds me of the young birds with the fluorescent beaks. I was unable to watch them feed, as they fled as soon as the light touched them.
Pressure: 3/10
Dread: 5/10
Oxygen: 4/10
Data: 9/10
Day 30
Roll: 5, fish!
Teeth: 1 Transparent
Eyes: 2 Glowing
Mouth: 4 Tiny
Head: 5 Huge
Body: 1 Huge
Fins: 1 Transparent
I saw it. It has no mouth but everything else is huge. I cannot find any other word to describe it other than ‘Dragon.’
It was as the old stories go. Long, like a serpent, teeth sharp that seem to protrude from nothing, and nearly completely transparent.
All its fins were like gossamer through the water; I could barely tell where they started and stopped. And then it looked at me. Each one of its many eyes were ten times the size of my small vessel and they all glowed the same cold light.
I did the only thing I could think of, which was shut off all the lights in the vessel and sit as quietly as I could.
It stared at me for a long, long time before it simply vanished. One moment it was there and one moment it was gone, I didn't take my eyes off it for a second but it was just… as if there was nothing down here.
I have my data. I’m surfacing and leaving. This is no place for people.
Pressure: 3/10
Dread: 5/10
Oxygen: 4/10
Data: 10/10
Day 31
Roll: 5 Fish
Teeth: 2 Glowing
Eyes: 6 Spiny
Mouth: 1 Transparent
Head: 5 Huge
Body: 5 Huge
Fins: 5 Huge
Glowtooth Shark
It had a gel-like mouth despite all the teeth protruding from it, each glowing. There were spines along the eye ridges and a large body with large fins. It’s hard to concentrate on the wildlife around here… I’m almost back on the ship.
Day 31
No one will believe me. They all laughed and thought that I’d gotten oxygen poisoning or something. They won’t listen that we can’t go down again. I won’t. I can’t.
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