Seashell Helmet

From: Humangutan Vulpodon 862

A sturdy helmet crafted from large, reinforced seashells. Offers protection for the head, while its streamlined shape reduces water resistance.

Lore

• Symbol of the Ancient Ones: Humangutan Vulpodons revere the ocean’s creatures, each having a place in their oral history and myth. Large, sturdy seashells symbolize longevity and resilience, traits they attribute to the great shelled ancestors who thrived through countless changing tides.
• Rite of Passage: When young Humangutan Vulpodons embark on their first solo scouting missions, they craft their own seashell helmet. Symbolically, it signifies protection on their journey, but also embodies a self-reliant spirit.
• Mark of Leadership: Clan elders and those who’ve exhibited leadership wear intricately adorned helmets. Beads, carvings, and woven patterns often symbolize specific deeds or territories overseen.

Uses

• Protection: The primary function is head protection during hunts, territorial disputes, or navigating hazardous underwater terrain.
• Water Resistance: The streamlined shape aids in maneuvering through strong currents.
• Camouflage (Variant): Some are painted or adorned with kelp to blend into specific areas of the reef.

Base Crafting Materials:

• Large, intact seashell (various types depending on regional availability)
• Treated kelp or leather for bindings and straps
• Tools Required: Coral saw, urchin spine awls, polishing stones

Stats:

• +1 Armor
• Skills:
• Craft (Armorsmithing): DC 12*
• Cost: 15 gp (estimated, based on material scarcity and labor)
• Tags: Aquatic, Armor, Head Slot
• *DC (Difficulty Class): May vary within your TTRPG’s system

Additional Notes

• Rarity: While seashell helmets are common, well-crafted ones are valued. Especially those crafted from rarer shells or displaying intricate embellishments.
• Clan/Individuality: Crafting techniques and decorative styles may vary slightly across different Humangutan Vulpodon clans.

Sales & Trade:

• Clan Markets: Within larger settlements, dedicated markets exist for trading in crafted goods. Here, Humangutan Vulpodons skilled in armor crafting display their wares. Seashell helmets range from basic models for young initiates to more elaborate styles.
• Traveling Artisans: Some specialized artisans roam between clans, their skills highly sought after. They might take commissions and barter unique helmets for rare materials unavailable in a specific region.
• Inter-Clan Exchanges: During gatherings of multiple clans, trade plays a pivotal role. Seashell helmets are a practical commodity offered alongside resources unique to one’s home reef.

Environments:

• Coral Cities: Within bustling underwater cities, seashell helmets are a common sight amongst warriors, scouts, and explorers. These are environments built within the reefs themselves.
• Open Ocean Vistas: During hunts, territorial patrols, or long-distance journeys, seashell helmets shield their wearers from unexpected deep-sea predators or strong currents. Consider environments not heavily dominated by reefs.
• Coastal Zones: The shallower water near coastlines is often a transition zone and may pose unforeseen dangers, making seashell helmets a wise precaution for foragers and those interacting with the land world.

End Uses:

• Essential Protection: Most commonly used for basic head protection against aquatic foes, rough currents, or hazardous underwater structures.
• Young Scouts: Symbolizes a rite of passage, worn during early journeys away from the clan. The helmet instills self-reliance and a sense of belonging to a protective tradition.
• Adorned Veterans: Intricate helmets embellished with beads, carvings, or trophies signify veteran warriors or highly regarded clan leaders. The adornments often tell stories of their accomplishments.
• Ritualistic Objects: In rare cases, helmets fashioned from unusual shells or those that once belonged to revered ancestors become relics used in ceremonies or as reminders of legendary journeys.

Additional Considerations: Since crafting materials and styles vary by region, some seashell helmets become markers of a specific clan. This fosters both clan rivalry and healthy competition around skill or design elements.

Sensory “activation perception”:

• Sight
  • Perceived: Limited field of vision within the helmet
  • Description: Focuses gaze in a forward direction, shielding from peripheral distractions. Reduces glare in sunny, shallow waters.
  • Positives: Improved focus on specific targets (prey, threats). Easier tracking in bright settings.
  • Negatives: Tunnel vision effect reduces awareness of surroundings. Dim light is a hindrance.
• Hearing
  • Perceived: Slightly altered, muffled ambient sounds
  • Description: The shell amplifies certain frequencies of underwater sound. This aids in echolocation or the detection of distant movement.
  • Positives: Detects nearby creatures at slightly greater distances. Offers directional accuracy of sound sources.
  • Negatives: Overwhelming and disorienting in environments with chaotic echoing (caves, turbulent currents). Can dampen certain communications.
• Smell/Taste (Chemoreception)
  • Perceived: Detection of changes in water composition
  • Description: Water filtering through the helmet helps identify distant chemical traces in the water, akin to smell or taste.
  • Positives: Aids in tracking prey species by their scent-like trails. May warn of pollution or harmful substances.
  • Negatives: Highly sensitive to overwhelming or toxic water, can lead to disorientation or illness. Strong scents of certain predators could trigger fear responses.
• Extra-Sensory Perceptions
  • Vibrational Sensitivity
    • Perceived: Movement and disturbances in water nearby
    • Description:  Seashells resonate with subtle vibrations. Provides additional warning of approaching creatures, unseen in murky water or beyond sight range.
    • Positives: Excellent supplement to sight in poor visibility,  allowing for quicker reactions to unseen threats.
    • Negatives: Constant, minute vibrations can be tiring over long periods. Difficulty discerning exact nature of source without other senses.
  • Pressure Sense
    • Perceived: Changes in water pressure
    • Description: Similar to our barometric senses, the enclosed shell provides an amplified gauge of water depth and sudden pressure changes.
    • Positive: Early warning of approaching storms, large sea creatures creating water displacement, or rapid submersion/ascent.
    • Negative: Sensitive individuals may experience discomfort  during sudden and significant depth changes.

Crafting a Seashell Helmet

• Materials Needed:
  • Large, intact seashell: Choose a variety with a sturdy but slightly domed shape for optimal head coverage. Conch shells, helmet shells, or certain abalone shells are suitable depending on availability.
  • Kelp or leather strips: For creating internal padding and support straps.
  • Coral saw: For shaping the seashell and creating openings.
  • Urchin spine awl: For piercing holes for binding straps.
  • Polishing stones: To smooth edges and create a sleek finish.
  • Optional: Beads, shells, natural pigments for adornment.
• Tools Required:
  • Coral saw
  • Urchin spine awl
  • Polishing stones
• Skill Requirements:
  • Craft (Armorsmithing): Proficiency in working with natural materials to create protective gear.
• Crafting Steps:
  • Shell Selection: Carefully examine several shells, seeking the right size and shape for a helmet. Consider its thickness and any pre-existing damage.
  • Shaping and Trimming: Use the coral saw to rough-hew the shell. Create an opening for the head and shape a visor that offers forward protection without blocking peripheral vision.
  • Smoothing and Polishing: Using progressively finer polishing stones, smooth the rough edges. Create a comfortable inner rim that will rest against the wearer’s head.
  • Strap Holes: Punch small, equally spaced holes around the back and side edges of the helmet using your urchin spine awl.
  • Creating Comfort: Treat and soften your kelp or leather strips. Line the interior of the helmet for extra padding, paying special attention to areas that rest against the forehead and the base of the skull.
  • Securing Straps: Thread your kelp or leather strips through the pierced holes. Weave or tie them firmly in place to create secure chin and side straps.
  • Personalization (Optional): Adorn your helmet with beads woven into the straps, etched patterns in the shell, or painted elements using natural pigments.
• Additional Notes:
  • Crafting difficulty may vary based on the chosen shell’s durability and the wearer’s skill level.
  • Individual styles and adornments can signify regional trends or personal achievements.
  • Proper helmet fit is crucial for both comfort and protection.

Song of the Shell-Crowned

In the tongue of long ago, when fins flicked like shadows ‘neath forgotten moons, they tell of Kala the Keen-Eyed. Now, Kala was of shell and spine and shark-song birth, yet wiser than those of larger fang. On her first venturing tide, she sought not food nor foes, but the voice of the Old Deep.

Legend swam whispered that in a realm where light grew weary, there was a great shell, echo of whispers older than sea-stars. Kala dove and dove, till even her keen eyes went milk-blind. ‘Twas then, a hum… low and strong as the earth’s slow turn. ‘Twas the Old Deep itself!

Rising to her gasping breaths was a shell, wide as three tails swum end-to-end. Yet not shimmer-pearl nor coral-red, but dull like worn stone. Then it CRACKED, just a line, and forth poured songs – weeping wail, victory roar, lullaby sung to sea urchins. Histories flowed into Kala like cold currents, the world before eyes was made.

With those echoes in her very bones, she swam back. Some feared the deep-crazed stare, but elders understood. From that great, humble shell she wrought a crown, not for boasting, but for the seeing past-eyes. For every scouting swim, every tide-chart spun, the songs flowed forth from the helmet, guiding all their journeys.

Moral: Knowledge whispers from humble cradles, and true sight looks not outward, but to the echoes within.

Suggested conversions to other systems:

Call of Cthulhu (7th Edition)

Name: Seashell Helmet

• Description Crudely shaped from a large, durable shell, this offers scant protection but seems to attune the wearer to a deeper resonance of the surrounding ocean.
• Armor Rating 1
• Sanity Penalty Initial Sanity loss of 0/1D3 when first donning the Helmet. Wearing it for prolonged periods, especially in deep water, might trigger episodes of unsettling marine hallucinations.

Blades in the Dark

Name: Seashell Crown

• Description Not your typical armor, this strangely adorned helmet grants a peculiar edge while submerged. Worn primarily by scouts and navigators of coastal scoundrel crews.
• Tier 0
• Load:  Light
• Effect:
  • Attune: Reduces stress/heat when performing actions of observation (Survey) related to underwater environments.
  • Risks: Can lead to obsession with the depths, or delusions brought on by whispering voices ‘heard’ resonating through the shell.

Dungeons & Dragons (5th Edition)

Name: Seashell Helmet

• Rarity: Uncommon
• Type: Light Armor (Helmet)
• Armor Class: 11 + Dexterity Modifier (max 2)
• Special:
  • Water Breathing: While wearing the Seashell Helmet, you can breathe underwater for a number of hours equal to your Constitution modifier (minimum of 1 hour).
  • Advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks made to hear or detect movement underwater.

Knave

Name: Seashell Crown

• Armor: +1
• Special: +2 bonus to any Intelligence or Wisdom rolls based on underwater knowledge, currents, or marine lore.

Fate

Name: Seashell Helmet

• Aspect: Echoes of the Ancient Deep
• Invoke: For advantage when navigating treacherous waters, deciphering marine sounds and signs, or recalling long-forgotten seafaring lore.
• Compel: Hallucinations, disorientation in extremely deep water, vulnerability to psychic intrusions from marine entities.

Numenera & Cypher System

Name: Resonant Seashell Helm

• Artifact Level: 3
• Depletion: 1 in 1d20 per hour worn when exploring deep ocean environments.
• Effect:
  • Ignore pressure-related difficulties at ocean depths.
  • Understand any water-based language the wearer is exposed to.
  • Grants +1 asset on Intellect-based tasks centered on deep sea knowledge
  • Oddity (GM Intrusion): Wearer begins hearing fragmented cries echoing in the helmet, ancient songs, or pleas from unknown intelligences trapped beneath the waves.

Pathfinder (2nd Edition)

Name: Seashell Helm

• Category: Armor (Helmet)
• Level: 1
• Price: 15 gp
• AC Bonus: +1
• Special:
  • Amplified Echoes: Gain a +2 circumstance bonus to Perception checks made to notice subtle underwater disturbances through sound or changes in water pressure.
  • Water Breathing: The wearer can breathe underwater for a number of hours equal to their Constitution modifier (minimum of 1 hour)

Savage Worlds

Name: Seashell Helm

• Description: Offers basic protection while granting the wearer unnaturally keen perception underwater.
• Hindrances: (Minor): Its unusual shape can snag on kelp or debris.
• Edges:
  • Aquatic: +2 to Notice rolls related to underwater sounds and disturbances.
  • Water Breathing: Ignore penalties associated with breathing underwater.

Shadowrun (6th Edition)

Name: Seashell Echo Helm

• Availability: 8
• Cost: 1,500¥
• Device Rating: 2
• Matrix/Resonance: No
• Features:
  • Armor +1: Basic ballistic/impact protection for the head.
  • Audio Enhancement (Water): +2 dice pool bonus to Perception tests involving hearing underwater.
  • Sustained Spell – Water Breathing: Can sustain a Water Breathing spell (Street Grimoire, p.205) with a Force equal to half the user’s Magic attribute (round up).

Starfinder

Name: Seashell Helm (Mk 1)

• Level: 1
• Price: 250 Credits
• Bulk: Light
• Upgrades: Can accommodate one level 1 armor upgrade.
• Special:
  • Water Acclimation: Provides environmental protection against aquatic hazards (not suitable for vacuum). Grants a +2 bonus to Fortitude saves against pressure-related effects.
  • Sonic Awareness: +2 bonus to Perception checks to detect movement or locate objects by sound underwater.

Traveller (Mongoose 2nd Edition)

Name: Seashell Helm

• Tech Level: 3-5 (depending on regional availability)
• Price: Cr500 – Cr1500
• Effects:
  • Protection: Armor +1
  • Underwater Breathing: Grants unlimited air supply in aquatic environments with habitable pressure.
  • Aquatic Senses: +1 DM to any skill-based tasks concerning sensing creatures or disturbances through sound waves and current changes underwater.

Warhammer (Fantasy 4th Edition)

Name: Seashell Helm

• Availability: Scarce or Rare
• Armour Points: 1 (Head)
• Qualities:
  • Aquatic: Protects against the dangers of underwater environments, allowing the wearer to freely breathe.
  • Sea Lore: Grants a +10% bonus to any Intelligence Tests regarding knowledge of water-based creatures, navigation, or oceanic weather patterns.
  • Unsettling: The constant sound of the sea within the helmet may lead to disorientation or paranoia in some individuals (-5% to Willpower Tests on prolonged use).