Pacific Ocean II: The Offshore Grounds

3) The Offshore Grounds
Between the Equator and the Tropic of Capricorn, 105°–125° W. Longitude, July to October 1845.

A) The Offshore Grounds
Located in the endless expanse between the Galápagos and the Marquesas, the Offshore Grounds are a gloomy desolation a thousand miles from any reasonable shore. Inhabited only by whales—there are no birds, and few edible fish—this watery waste fills even the most hardy mariner with a sense of dread. It was here that the Essex was stove by a whale in 1821, its crew drifting for weeks of delirium, thirst, and starvation. The Quiddity plans to spend the summer and autumn criss-crossing these empty waters, lazily approaching the Marquesas before tacking south towards Easter Island.

B) Greasy Summer
The next few months do not need to be roleplayed, and may be narrated in a montage, perhaps accompanied by a sea shanty! Maintaining her reputation as a greasy ship, a goodly amount of sperm whales are captured in the Offshore Grounds; about 2D6+4. (These are routine hunts, and may be described in a few sentences.)

As the grueling task of whaling become routine, days stretch into weeks. The Keeper should allow the player characters to roleplay any questions, concerns, or conflicts arising from the natural course of gameplay, but there are no “scheduled events” to trouble their days or nights. During this time, the Keeper may spotlight each player character and ask if they’d like to accomplish any goals during these three months of toil. Morgan may be dealing with the Change, while Lowell may find himself adjusting to his new “relationship” with Sarah. And of course, Rachel spends her time recovering from her pregnancy and spending time with her newborn son.

C) The Search for Kith Kohr
As September turns into October, Captain Joab and Mr. Pynchon begin searching for Kith Kohr. The location of the island is unfortunately not fixed; the Captain knows its general whereabouts, but must rely on good fortune and past experience to locate its mysterious shores. One clue to the whereabouts of Kith Kohr is the presence of the Black Sperm Whales, which seem to originate in the waters around the island. As the Quiddity proceeds along its spiraling path, the men begin noticing a difference in the quality of whales being captured—they are bigger, darker, and more aggressive. The men who’ve sailed with Joab before nod knowingly—the captain’s “greasy luck” is paying off again. Meanwhile, the captain himself uses these whales as a guide, living lodestones drawing him closer and closer to Kith Kohr.

D) Peace Dividend
This season of routine allows player characters to recover from their experiences in the Galápagos Islands. Major Wounds are gradually healed, while dismemberments and more permanent damage are scarred over and “normalized” to the best extent possible. Rachel fully recovers from her pregnancy. It’s also the perfect time to allow an investigator development phase.

Restoring Sanity
There are benefits to mental health as well. Characters are relieved of Temporary and Indefinite Insanity, and frayed nerves are mended by the balm of routine labor and the palliative of accumulated riches. A good system here is to calculate the total lost Sanity points for each character and divide by 10. Rounding down, this is the number of D8 SAN points restored. If this seems like too much or too little, change the die to D6 or D10.

White Leviathan, Chapter 5—Pacific Ocean II
[Back to Encounter 2: First Hunt for Mocha Dick | White Leviathan TOC | Forward to Encounter 4, Raging Bull]

Author: A. Buell Ruch
Last Modified: 25 February 2024
Email: quail (at) shipwrecklibrary (dot) com
White Leviathan PDF: [TBD]