Note from the writer: These endangered species of the Dark Matter ‘Verse are coming back for the 2024 update. Follow the Kickstarter page and be the first to know when it launches!
“His heavy footfalls shook the deck as he stomped up from engineering—Titus Octavius didn’t like being called up to the bridge. When he arrived, the captains were shouting over one another in different languages over the comms. It was a furious, incomprehensible tangle of Avia-Ra, Gnomish, and Elvish, with an undiplomatic number of rude gestures thrown in for good measure. Titus bellowed over the three of them: his colossal voice booming out of his Aqua Suit, first in Common, then in each of their languages. He translated tactfully and an agreement was shortly reached, but everyone knew that the captains acquiesced because none of them wanted to cross the towering nautilid again.”
— Sgt. Larren, recounting his nautilid engineer
A species of universe-spanning travelers, the hulking, fishlike nautilids patrol space in their massive whorl ships, exploring and cataloging any planet with enough water to sustain a colony. Few ever see these creatures’ true forms, for they are most often concealed in imposing suits that look more like antique diving gear than sophisticated survival apparatuses.
ORPHANED SPECIES
Though the nautilids are among the oldest species in the ‘Verse, they are fast dying out. Long after the nautilids discovered Dark Matter technology and started traversing the universe, disaster struck their homeworld, Poseidon, a vast planet of endless ocean. Their star began to swell, first heating the atmosphere, then boiling the oceans away. Within a few short decades, a supernova claimed the planet, leaving only scattered colonies and immense nautilid colony ships. Without their homeworld, the nautilids are an orphaned species, growing up on small colonies and inside massive water-filled ships called whorls, which travel the universe. Their numbers dwindle with each decade, and if nothing changes, the next few centuries might see the end of the nautilids altogether.
ENDLESS ODYSSEY
Ingenious and indefatigable, the nautilids search tirelessly, jumping from planet to planet in pursuit of a new homeworld. The oceans of Poseidon had a very specific aquatic composition of rare elements and dissolved gasses known as the Poseidon Solution. Though nautilids can live in both air and water, they do so uncomfortably, and can only relax (and produce offspring) in a similar solution.
So far, naturally-occurring Poseidon Solution hasn’t been found in any planet’s ocean, so it must be artificially reproduced to fill the nautilids’ whorl ships and Aqua Suits. Finding oceans in the ‘Verse is rare enough, but finding a suitable replacement for Poseidon has been a centuries-long challenge for the entire nautilid species.
NAUTILID TRAITS
Creature Type: Humanoid
Size: Medium (about 7-8 feet tall)
Speed: 30 feet
As a Nautilid, you have these special traits.
Amphibious. You can breathe underwater. However, without your Aqua Suit, breathing air is uncomfortable for you, feeling similar to a human in very thin air.
Powerful Build. You have Advantage on any ability check you make to end the Grappled condition. You also count as one size larger when determining your carrying capacity.
Aqua Suit. Except when you are aboard a whorl ship, you wear a bulky Aqua Suit, which is filled with
Poseidon Solution, in order to breathe comfortably. The suit covers your whole body, including a large domed helmet that allows you to see without hindrance.
You can don or doff the helmet on your turn (no action required), and you can don or doff the entire suit in 1 minute. If damaged but not completely destroyed, the suit rapidly mends itself, leaking a minimum amount of water. While wearing the suit, you gain the following benefits.
Armored Suit. Your base Armor Class equals 13 plus your Dexterity modifier. You can fit armor around
your Aqua Suit and wear both simultaneously, using either armor to determine your AC. You can use a Shield and still gain this benefit.
Fire Resistance. You have Resistance to Fire damage.
Life Suit. You gain the benefits of wearing a Life Suit.
Universal Translator. You can use the suit’s embedded Universal Translator magic item at will.
Life Suit
Wondrous Item, Common
This one-piece jumpsuit comes equipped with a domed glass helmet. The suit contains 24 hours of clean, breathable air. While wearing it, the suit protects you from Extreme Temperatures and Vacuums (see the Dark Matter Glossary). You can wear the suit underneath a suit of armor. To replenish its air supply, the suit must be removed for 2 hours.
Universal Translator
Wondrous Item, Uncommon
This handheld device, a necessity for distant voyages, translates any spoken language. While holding it, you can understand any spoken language you hear. Moreover, when you communicate by speaking or signing, any creature that knows at least one language and can hear the speech or see the signing can understand you.
