7th Sea - Weird Encounters to Have at Sea: Dmitri the Fish

All across Théah, the weather is warming, and thoughts turn to summer. Why not go for a swim, and see what we find?

Should your crew of Heroes spend any amount of time in or near the water, they will inevitably encounter one of the truly weird things that dwells there. Some of these are monsters, sure, but even monsters may have gentle hearts. 

World Ocean Day is June 8, 2022! In celebration of the oceans and the weird little monsters that live in it, all week I'll be sharing a variety of strange creatures and people to encounter below the waves in 7th Sea.

These posts are extracted from a long-shelved project I did called The Forever Reef. I'll be happy to share a copy if you send me a message on Facebook or Twitter.

Photo: Lance Anderson, via Unsplash

In this post we'll meet Dmitri, a kindly soul who made a bargain with Ussura's Mother Spirit, and has at last learned to live with his new situation. Heroes may find him in any of the 7 Seas, where he may act as a guide, an informant, or just a strange encounter along the way.

Arriving in Aragosta filled with tales of monsters and deities learned at his mother’s feet in Ussura, Dimitri was ready to join up with a Rahuri whaling crew and help protect the world from the behemoths

who swim beneath the ships.

He lied his way onto a ship, claiming that he was an expert sailor and whalehunter. Once aboard, he prepared to make his fortune – but it didn’t quite work out. Like so many sailors, Dimitri never learned to swim. While still in Aragosta harbor, he fell from the rigging into the sea and began to drown.

At the last moment, Matushka appeared to him in the deep water, out of the mists of his hazy childhood

recollections. She offered him a chance: learn from her a lesson about honesty, and she would save his life. What choice did he have but to agree?

She gave him the ability to transform into a fish; or, rather, fish, not a fish. Instead of one fish, he became a school of fish, a glittering, flashing crowd of swift swimmers. In time, his mind reasserted itself, though he has never mastered the trick of returning to his human form. In his form of fish, he is able to  communicate without words. Those he wishes to speak with hears his voice in their minds.

He knows a great deal about the deep seas, and is a valuable source of information on the weirder monsters and hazards that lurk there. He tends to notice things that fish notice - currents, temperature, oxygen levels, salinity, predators - so Heroes may have to be patient with him if they want a specific piece of information.

It is said that he has a lover, perhaps a sailor or a fisherwoman. This is true, but the details of this relationship, beyond their shared love of a good joke, are entirely their private affair.

Want to have your own wild adventures I'm the world of 7th Sea? Try this out: Put That Thing Back Where it Came From, or So Help Me... is a brand-new, randomized heist adventure. Perfect for conventions or a one-shot at home!