Eel Grass Ring

     The Eel Grass Ring is an ancient megastructure built by the Phantasmagorics. It is a torus of water orbiting a star like a halo. An interior ring of metamaterials hosts the field affectors that keep the whole assembly together. The waters of the ring are thick with kelp, with some sections completely sheathed. Two large power sources on opposite sections of the ring are detectable by scans. There is also a cluster of S.O.S beacons in one section.

    The ring is an important migration site for cosmic eels on their circuits through the galaxy. They swim through transient astral confluxes from the astral current known as Siren’s Call. The life cycle of the cosmic eels is not well understood; the historical record shows that the current Cosmic Eels were preceded by other, now vanished eels. This implies that Cosmic Eels do in fact reproduce . The current theory is that the eel spawn they shed will grow into new Cosmic Eels, but that process has never been observed. What is known is that the Eel Grass Ring is rich with eel spawn. 

    It is believed that the Phantsmagorics built the ring to attract Cosmic Eels in order to study and replicate them. Certainly in the modern day the Cosmic Eels and their eel spawn play a huge role in the ring ecosystem. Eel spawn are astral amphibians, meaning they can live in astral environments and in material environments. They are naturally self bio-kinetic, meaning they can alter their biological makeup in response to outside stimuli. They frequently exhibit other psychic powers.

    The central ring contains formations of shade stone, a strange metamaterial made by the Phantsmagorics. Shade stone generates shades, creatures that are not made of normal matter but are still able to interact with the material world. Also present on the ring due to the influence of the Phantsmagorics is a diversity of memetic entities, both symbionts and pathogens.

Regions

The reef of wrecks - The kelp here grows amid thousands of wrecked starships, most of which have been gutted and looted. There are dozens of emergency beacons, each leading to an EM mine set up by wreckers from the starport Flotsam. Biome B. 

Screaming reef - Here a reef of shadestone faces grows on the central ring. In the caverns of screaming mouths there is a secret settlement of shade scholars who keep detailed records of the visits by the Cosmic Eels. Biome B

Power pole + - The Kelp here is laced through with phosphorescent veins that pulse with light. The pulse is synchronized throughout all the flora in the regions. Strange bands of EM radiation make comms unreliable. Biome A

Power pole - - Same as power pole + except instead of cycling through warm colors, the kelp cycles through cool colors. Biome A

Diaphanous sea - One the regions where the surface is sheathed in kelp. Beneath the kelp grows in thin flowing sheets. Best place in the ring to see a Cosmic Eel breach into reality.  Biome C

Motley sea - Similar to the Diaphanous sea except the kelp has an odd patchwork apparence to it. Rumors hold that somewhere in the kelp is the ancient laboratory where the Phantsmagorics created the Eel Abohorant. Biome C

Encounter die 1d6. One through three are universal encounters. Three through four are biome dependant. Six is dependent on which Cosmic Eel is in ascendancy; roll 1d5 

Universal encounters 

1. Philosopher Eel - Huge Apex predator. Arrow shaped head with myriad eye clusters. Sapient but highly focused on hunting and eating. Preys mainly on astral lifeforms, including those living in meatspace hosts. It communicates psychically in order to hunt for prey and to seek out new ideas, activities it considers closely related. It specializes in negating psychic powers.  

2. All Seeing Jelly - A transparent jelly covered in eyes. Defends itself by hijacking and redirecting visual input to anywhere in the galaxy

3. Creche giant - A humanoid shade hundreds of feet tall. Its head is a vast cavity swarming with young eels. Harmlessly swims through the sea, unless the baby eels are disturbed.

Biome A  - The flora here pulses with numinous energy. 

3. Power spiral - A spiral cluster of jellies, each a clone. They pulse like the flora but to a slightly different tempo. They feed on energy and will drain the power from technological systems. They defend themselves with directed energy attacks

4. Aura Eel - predatory eel spawn that appears to be covered in a field of lambent energy. The field is actually an memetic symbiont called slime fire that siphons life force from it’s host to empower their physic abilities. The eel hunts with shredding waves of telekinetic force.  When the eel is killed the aura detaches and floats free. It will host on the next organism it touches.

Biome B - Close and dense kelp obscures sight

3. Dollfaced crab - A man sized crab with a strange porcelain doll face. Babbles like a baby, attracting prey

4. Grief Gupper - Small brown humanoid with suckers on it’s hand and glassy eyed, open mouth stare. Despite the name, it feeds on all kinds of negative emotion. Difficult to notice because of it’s astral symbiote, creeping crypsis. Creatures infected with creeping crypsis will experience fugue states, during which it becomes hard for observers to pick out from the background.

Biome C - The kelp here is arranged in thin flowing sheets.

3. Labyrinth Eel - Weaves space and kelp together into insecable labyrinths. Feeds on the helplessness of those trapped inside. The only way to escape is by flushing out the Eel from its hiding place in the center of the labyrinth.

4. Geometroid - A living geometric pattern that moves across 2-d surfaces. Most are harmless but one in four is infected with a pareidile, a type of carnivorous meme. An infected geometroid will stalk and “bite” sapient prey. The bite does minimal damage but transfers the pareidile infection. An infected sapient will become convinced it is being stalked by a monster and will see that monster in random patterns. The delusion intensifies until the victim dies of fright.

Eels specific encounters -  Cosmic Eels visit the ring frequently, and when they do their presence influences the eel spawn. Certain eel spawn phenotypes are only present when specific Cosmic Eels are visiting the ring

6. Abhorrent - Broken mirror eel - Becomes an exact physical copy of the least charismatic member of the party except the chirality is reversed. It will follow the party and make a case that it should replace the original. It feeds on weakening bonds; once it has supplanted its victim in the social scene its meal is complete and it will revert back to its original form and swim away.

6. Dentata - Tooth piper eel - A bone white eel with holes like a wind instrument. Creates a soporific melody when hunting. After its prey falls asleep it uses telekinesis to harvest their teeth.

6. Vaporous - joyrider eel - Appears as a fast moving translucent streak that merges into its chosen host in the blink of an eye. The host experiences an urge to go fast and be up high, as well as enhanced reflexes. If the host is ever in open sky during a freefall, the eel will devour them in an instant before flying away to find a new host.

6. Suburban - time waster eel - Disguises itself as a bureaucratic functionary and feeds off the mental energy its victims waste dealing with it. It projects a “context field” which fools its victims into thinking it is in an environment where the eel’s ruse makes sense, like an office or a school.  

6. Adorned - Critic eel - Long flowing fins. Feeds on self confidence, which it collects by insulting the sartorial choices of others

Flotsam 

A pirate spaceport hidden in the wreck reef. A joint enterprise between the OOB and SOG pirate clans. The port’s “main street” is a large rope that runs between reclaimed wrecks. Most wrecks have either purple markings for OOB or green markings for SOG. SOG specializes in reclaimed hulls while OOB sells reclaimed reactors 

Captain Ooorl’s Lament - An old luxury cruiser converted into a bar/fight pit

Taffy Boy - a drug dealer and local institution. A candy mutant adapted for aquatic living. Sells narcotic balls and additive candy breathing fluid.

House of screams - That’s what it says on the sign. Decorated with curse jars. The proprietors are two neon punks sheathed in thick robes. They buy memetic infections.