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K, so bullcrapium explanation for naturally colorful flaming flora.
Akiton has a lower oxygen content, which will lead to generally smaller flames and will possibly take longer to light. However, the ambient mineral content in the soil leads to many plants having high mineral content in their leaves and stems.
Witchgrass: The most common plant for a fire is a silvery, fern-like plant with blue to blue-green leaves whose veins are rich in copper, giving them a distinct verdigris cast through the veins and stems. Its structure is near-crystalline with cesium-filled cell walls that cause it to drip silvery-gold fluid as it burns. The fluid pops and sparkles when it ignites, making indigo-colored flickers of light in the blue-green flames. The plant is common along the equator, thinning out as one approaches the poles until there is none to be found within a hundred miles of the permafrost.
Lightmoss: Vast lithium salt deposits also yield a pale yellow-orange moss that emits its own yellow-green phosphorescence when exposed to mild friction (such as rubbing it between the hands). The light is without heat, but glows like a candle for one hour after rubbing. A rock coated in lightmoss can remain viable for up to six months if occasionally given a drop or two of water.
Phoenix dancers: Near the gas vents of Thousand Lights dwell odd tumbleweed-like plants made of a clear, brittle bark. Exposing them to open flame causes rapid combustion, burning white-hot, but for very short periods of time. Tiny ebony spores are released in these conflagrations, destined to root into the soil and grow as much as half a foot in a day. The plant requires some rare mineral in the soil to survive, however, and will reach a maximum size of 10 feet in diameter when it runs out of this important food. The bushes then dry up, detach from the soil, and are carried by the wind, often into one of the Thousand Lights where they are consumed, only to spread their spores and repeat the process for another generation.
Next up: get ready for days, weeks, months, and years: it's Time on Akiton.
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A (Hopefully) Brief Primer on the Roll of Years
There are several calendars used on Akiton, from the simple, instinctual fertility calendar of the native lizard-men to the highly-complex Four Swings of the Shobhad-neh. While many more counts are kept, most natives in the cities across Akiton have found it easiest to track time based off the Great Wheel of Ka.
The Great Wheel of Ka divides the year into 24 months of 28 days each, with four weeks of seven days per month, and each day of slightly more than 24 hours' duration. These years are based on an ancient counting of the 24 Sides of Ka, the great shield volcano near Akiton's equator. Primitive cultures once believed that, taken as a whole, Ka could be divided into 24 different sides, each overseen by a different spirit. These 24 sides were then further subdivided into four seasons: The Calm, Highheat, The Stormbringer, and the Gloaming. These four seasons foughly translate to Golarion concepts of spring, summer, fall, and winter, though each lasts roughly twice as long thanks to Akiton's longer solar year.
The Calm brings an end to the fierce sandstorms that rage across Akiton during the prior two seasons, ushering in the start of the planting season. It is a time of celebration, but also a time of intense work, as the annual storms leave much destruction in their wake.
Highheat refers to the (relatively mild) warm months of Akiton, where that which has been planted may be collected before the worst of the storms renew. Highheat is also a time of frequent hunts for the reptilian creatures that dwell upon Akiton's many upland mesas, drawn from their dark caves by the promise of light and warmth, which they absorb like solar collectors before once more diving into their hidden lairs.
Stormbringer, the Favored Hand of the Shobhad, calls the great sandstorms to tear across Akiton like dusty monsoons. Most natives hunker down during this time, living on the spoils of the previous seasons and working on their industrial and personal crafts. It is a time of reflection, community, and shared wisdom, but also a time of war as desperate tribes and too-proud warriors raid and pillage whatever they can find.
The Gloaming brings the darkness, perpetual twilight to one hemisphere or the other. Horrid things skitter, lit only by fierce thunderstorms as the dry winds crackle with energy. If the tribal raiders were bad, these awful things are much worse, for they know not clan but that of the self, ever hungry and ever wanton. Bright conflagrations are set at any settlement able to afford one, keeping the things at bay until the next year's culling.
Counts of the year vary frequently, but the largest settlements have more or less agreed to use the Arl Count, based on the arrival of the Azlanti in the city of Arl, as best recalled by the ancient texts. Taking into account Akiton's longer year and day, The current count is...
Um.
I'm REALLY bad at math.
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Alright, anyone good with figures? Here's the math breakdown:
An Akitoni year is 672 Akitoni days. no leap years. Akiton lucked out.
An Akitoni day is 24.01 standard (gaming/real life) hours. It's close to the Mars equivalent, and easily fudged to allow spells and combat rounds and whatnot to function normally. I could pretty easily just call it 24 hours, but I kinda like the weird extra time in there for flavor (but not math) reasons.
A Golarion year is 364.125 days, thanks to leap years.
A Golarion hour is as per normal.
The current Golarion year is 4712 AR.
I've arbitrarily said the Azlanti arrived in -6700 AR. Far enough back to be during their golden age, but not so far back as it conflicts with too much of established history. For instance, Thassilon was established in -6530, so Xin and his followers prolly knew Azlant was opening these wacky-balls portals, but who cares until later, right?
So, hey. I just met you, and this is crazy. But I got a calendar. So math me maybe?
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Until I get names for the months and days, I'm thinking on doing a simple math listing for dates. For instance, a random day might be listed as 1H.23.XXXXAC (first month of Highheat, 23rd day, XXXX year AC). feels pseudo-sci-fi, and still allows a GM to say, "it's a boiling 72 degrees F on Akiton today as Highheat begins to roll in in earnest. XXXX is, of course, one of the ritual Years of Combat and Breakfast Burrito Cooking, so grab your war-spatulas. It's about to get ugly."
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Until allied mathings...
In the dim mists of the past, Akiton was a world of vast oceans, teeming with aquatic life that would dwarf most world's largest beasts. When the seas retreated and condensed into vast masses of ice, it occurred suddenly by evolution's reckoning, leaving all of these mighty leviathans to die agonizing deaths of suffocation or starvation as oceans became lakes, lakes puddles, and puddles merely damp and drying clay.
To this day, countless ossified bones of great multi-flippered serpentine cetaceans and vast mollusk shells the size of buildings litter the lowlands of Akiton, often serving as shelter for the land-based creatures that survived them. Entire villages might work to build a community around a weathered ribcage, while others re-purpose ancient towering nautilus shells into homes for whole families. Along the walls of the Edaio Rift jut odd fossils and hints of an age long past, where the relatively diminutive air-breathers scavenged beached monstrosities for valuable meat and bone.
The era of these beasts has vanished, but their remains still harken back for the tribes of Akiton, and their bones and shells are used in everything from jewelry to art objects to building materials to armor and weapons. Great scrimshaw carvings frequently adorn the homes of the wealthy or tribal elders, and families pass down etched bone shard necklaces from generation to generation.
They may be dead, but they are not forgotten.
RPG Superstar 2010 Top 16
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In low gravity, weight is reduced. Mass isn't. If you jump as high as you can, you might get up to 30 feet off the ground. Landing will still inflict 3d6 damage, however. (This was one of the dangers of the moon walks. Astronauts could literally jump high enough that the landing would kill them.)
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In low gravity, weight is reduced. Mass isn't. If you jump as high as you can, you might get up to 30 feet off the ground. Landing will still inflict 3d6 damage, however. (This was one of the dangers of the moon walks. Astronauts could literally jump high enough that the landing would kill them.)
Do you have documentation to back that up Chris? That doesn't sound right.
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RPG Superstar 2010 Top 16
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Well, I remember the television commentators discussing that issue. Also, this.
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I think I am not going to deal with all that "realistic" stuff and think of it more like John Carter of Mars. I think that's what my players are expecting.
Edit: Gravity rules from distant worlds will have PCs from Golarion being up able to jump 3 times as far and lift 3 times has much (because items way a 3rd, strength isn't modified). Movement speed will remain the same because they will either be moving carefully or moving in great bounds which can be awkward. Range increments are 3 times as far.
In addition I'll have characters make acrobatics checks in the first combat and have some random jumps happen just for fun especially if they attempt acrobatics checks.
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Masterwork shobhad longrifle, at Akiton prices, goes for 650 gp resale value. On Golarion, that same rifle, if anyone could use it, would be 5,150 resale. But I think 650 as a curio could be acceptable.
An Alkenstar gunsmith might be willing to part with 1,000 gp to study the design, but unless the group travels to Magnimar, they're not gonna find one. Even in Magnimar, there might be, say, a 25% chance of finding a merchant who's got contacts interested in the weapon. If they're willing to set up a buy with a DC 20 Knowledge (local) check and 1d3 weeks worth of work, they can get the full 1,000 gp; kinda an extra reward for the hassle.
Elysian bronze metal cartridges are basically 20 gp just for the materials alone; they're useless as ammo to current firearms on Golarion, save for the few advanced firearms stashed deep in Alkenstar. Disassembled, they count as Elysian bronze sling bullets, so 10 would be 200 gp, 1 sp.
According to the Shobhad entry in Distant Worlds, the longrifle will only work in Akiton's gravity or similar so I don't really have to worry about it being reused but they definitely will be able to make money off of it. I dissuaded my players from playing gunslingers because guns weren't readily available in Varisia but something like this will definitely make the trip worthwhile as they can make a lot of money off of that rifle from the right collector or engineer.
I'm digging around in ultimate equipment, I'll post a nice treasure hall for the behir lair. I love the idea of them finding a huge treasure hall including the treasure from the shobhad and having to get it past a mother *@&*%ing Behir!
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I'm with Brian on this one; I think it falls into the "realism vs. fun" conundrum, and I usually lurch drunkenly towards fun. This same issue can come up with characters with high speeds and insane Acrobatics checks bounding across the battle-mat; it used to happen a lot with my dwarf ninja from Savage Tide, for instance.
Heck, the zero-G/vacuum rules as given allow creatures with wings to beat said wings and fly around. That dog don't hunt for me, but if it REALLY comes up, I might let it slide if it means the giant space dragon doesn't just float around based on previous momentum.
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I'm using the Mariana Trench to help wrap my head around geologically-impressive fissures. Damn thing averages "only" 43 miles wide. So from popping out of one side of the Rift, depending on where in the Rift you are (sometimes it's prolly that wise or wider, and sometimes it's squeezed tight like a massive crack in the ground), you might see the other side as a distant uplift in the horizon. Sutter mentioned that some stretches create a vast plain. I imagine this adventure being in one of the thinner spots, where vast, hundred-foot ledges wander the sides of the Rift, dropping down to darkness before jutting back up.
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It'll be funny when they haul all the treasure out of Akiton, pop through the portal, and its weight returns to normal. :P
And I'd love to see what you come up with, treasure-wise.
I decided to reward them with the Behir's and the Shobhad's treasure (I'll bank up some treasure rewards by having them defeat some no treasure monsters on the way to the Behir's lair (I don't know why but Red Planet Radiation Zombies come to mind - Zombies that are animated through radiation of the planet and aren't affected by positive energy and have fast healing))
Item Worth
Greater Slaying Arrow (Magical Beasts) 4057 gp
(I swear I roled the arrow randomly, I thought it was cool so I kept it. I don't know how an arrow fits into Akiton flavor though so I am looking for ideas how to keep this in a cool way but still give the party the ability to use it on the behir)
Gold - 53 53 gp
Platinum - 4 40 gp
Cure Mod Potion 300 gp
Spell Immunity Scroll (Divine, CL 7) 700 gp
Greater Command Scroll (Divine, CL 9) 1125 gp
Oil of Purify Food and Drink 25 gp
Divine Scroll of Aspect of the Bear CL3 150 gp
Divine Scroll of Owl's Wisdom CL3 150 gp
Potion of Sanctuary 50 gp
Potion of Sanctuary 50 gp
LongRifle 650 gp
11 Elysian Bronze Metal Cartridges 385 gp
Large +1 Hide Armor 1180 gp
Large Longswords 1 30 gp
Masterwork Large Longsword 330 gp
Potion of Bear's Endurance 300 gp
Potion of Acute Senses 300 gp
Copper key with gold inlay on black intricately knotted cord 50 gp
Crystal Skull 80 gp
Carved Blue Ivory Cartridge Case 60 gp
Carved Blue Ivory Drinking horn 110 gp
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I like the blue ivory. I figure on Akiton ivory/scrimshaw/calcified bone replaces wood most of the time. Akiton's not gonna have many (any) trees.
For an arrow, well, the lizardfolk are still floating around Stone Age tech. They're probably more using javelins for ranged attack, but a few tribes prolly bow it up. And a Magical Beast Bane arrow is the kinda thing a tribe of lizardfolk would need.
This is why I was suggesting they'd gladly take iron weapons as payment for food, water, hospitality, and information. Even a steel dagger would be pretty nice to a lizard man with a stone and ivory tebutje.
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I like the blue ivory. I figure on Akiton ivory/scrimshaw/calcified bone replaces wood most of the time. Akiton's not gonna have many (any) trees.
For an arrow, well, the lizardfolk are still floating around Stone Age tech. They're probably more using javelins for ranged attack, but a few tribes prolly bow it up. And a Magical Beast Bane arrow is the kinda thing a tribe of lizardfolk would need.
Behir's have an intelligence of 7 so I can imagine it imagining humanoids it kills as conquests. I'll have the gear moved into piles and the bones arranged nearby in patterns that would amuse the Behir. They aren't cruel but I could imagine it decorating it's lair by feng shueing the bones along the edges of the cave. It will even have a latrine hole in the edge of the cave witch goes down into a river. The arrow can easily be made a bone arrow with the fragile trait.
Example:
gear found with Shobhad arranged along with its bones, the larger (shinier) gear could be propped up against the wall while the gems would decorate the Behir's sleeping area, maybe even in a place where they catch light. The blue ivory items would be "shelved" somewhere as they would please the Behir the most since they match its color.
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On Akiton, behirs don't have to worry about everyone treating them like moronic dragons, too. I could see being the top dog in your region to get grandiose thoughts rolling. Silly little man-things busting in or stalking your turf just means more free lunches and shiny goodies to decorate with.
I love the bone feng shui angle.
One thought, though. Water is way rare. It might have a small stream where it can go for a drink, but I'd probably not use if for me to poop on. Deep crevice with some mold or fungi to chomp on the waste might be a better idea. If the stuff's down deep enough, you don't even have to worry about upping the CR with a moldy threat.
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rather than an arrow, it could be an atalatl javalin if you want something odd.
I'm actually thinking dart. So they have to get really close to pull it off and if the Behir makes its save they have to deal with being close. I could be really mean and make it a small dart (the only small character is the gnomish sorcerer)
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One thought, though. Water is way rare. It might have a small stream where it can go for a drink, but I'd probably not use if for me to poop on. Deep crevice with some mold or fungi to chomp on the waste might be a better idea. If the stuff's down deep enough, you don't even have to worry about upping the CR with a moldy threat.
Nice attention to detail. Akiton fungi? hmmmm that could add a hazard to the cave - slime mold? green slime? Gelatinous cube? An otyugh is too Golarion common, what are some other ideas? it could give me an encounter for the cave before the encounter the behir on the way out.
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I forgot to post this up earlier: a Small dart would be something the Ysoki rat-men would use. They're pretty much it for Small sentients on Akiton, which is like a round, red Texas: everything's bigger there. :P
HOWEVER! A dart could (COULD) be ammo for some kinda yet-unstatted Akiton dart-launching gun. The traditional Shobhad longrifle is a flechette weapon (the one in this hoard will shoot standard metal cartridge ammo) for...
Hey. Akiton dry brainstorm: The ammo could be convertible into darts. Pull the powder charge off the back, and boom.
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Hey. Any requests on what I should jump onto next for concepts? I'm pulling myself in a million different directions on what to write about next.
I'd also like to thank Matt Morris for popping by; I'm glad to have any RPG Superstars other than Ben Bruck (who is kinda glued to me, much to his eternal shame) swing by and chat things up.
Stuff I've been mulling:
Communities (lotsa city-states)
The Poles (not the Polish, those frozen top-and-bottom parts of the planet)
Ecologies/Native Life/Non-Native Invasive Species (Verces is icumen in, lhude sing cuccu)
NPC Roster (stat-blocks ahoy)
Seasons (specifically, how warm/cold things are in various parts of Akiton)
Technology (but I was gonna got to the Tashi station to pick up some power converters)
Vehicles (small sandships, big sandships, sand-caravans, skyships, etc.)
Weapons (maybe new ones?)
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Fun fact: if a bored rich person got MORE bored and built a section of the Edaio Rift to miniatures scale, it would be 264 feet tall, on average. So if you live in a city with 25- to 30-story buildings, take a Medium mini downtown, put it at the base of one, and look up.
Mars has an average visibility range to the horizon of around 3 Km (around 1.8 miles, if I recall my metrics). So assuming Martian visibility (most everything else is comparable), all but the thinnest sections of the Rift would indeed look like long, flat plains from the center.
Ka is obviously based off of Olympus Mons. So it reaches some 14-odd miles from base to summit. That makes it about as tall, to scale, as this. This scale model dips into the peak's crater for 440 feet, and the whole thing is around 25 miles wide.
To scale.
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That whole thought experiment reminds me of a project I wanted to do, where I was gonna take the colossus stats from the old Shadow of the Colossus article in Dragon, build one, and make it into a big dungeon.
It would be five feet tall. And because the game doesn't do well with REALLY big critters, would have a base of 30 ft. and a reach of same.
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I'm about to step out for a late-night, wine-sipping, smoke-a-thon. In what regards via magic are you considering?
I've mulled over deities, and I can pull class suggestions out my backside all day long.
Are you wondering if Akiton functions like the planes, with diminished or enhanced magic? 'Cuz that's a big "no" on my front, good buddy. Prime is Prime is Prime. I'm not flinging folks back to the 2E side of things, especially not for a planet in a solar system with ascended gods, a Lovecraft world, and a planet full of liches. Akiton's got magic around Golarion levels.
I'll fling myself back in periodically to see if you respond. :)
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That whole thought experiment reminds me of a project I wanted to do, where I was gonna take the colossus stats from the old Shadow of the Colossus article in Dragon, build one, and make it into a big dungeon.
It would be five feet tall. And because the game doesn't do well with REALLY big critters, would have a base of 30 ft. and a reach of same.
and it can awesome blow as an attack action so if you get hit by an aoo you are sent flying through the air!
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I'm about to step out for a late-night, wine-sipping, smoke-a-thon. In what regards via magic are you considering?
I've mulled over deities, and I can pull class suggestions out my backside all day long.
Are you wondering if Akiton functions like the planes, with diminished or enhanced magic? 'Cuz that's a big "no" on my front, good buddy. Prime is Prime is Prime. I'm not flinging folks back to the 2E side of things, especially not for a planet in a solar system with ascended gods, a Lovecraft world, and a planet full of liches. Akiton's got magic around Golarion levels.
I'll fling myself back in periodically to see if you respond. :)
No, I'm more thinking in how is magic integrated in their culture. Are wizards, sorcerers, bards, etc similar to how they are in Golarion or are they very different? Is magic considered esoteric and scholarly like it is on Golarion or is it considered more martial or even more though of as a science or force of nature, integrated into everything. Is it not as commonly practiced because of technology or is it thought of as another form of technology. That kind of thing.
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Heck yeah. An Awesome Blow from 300 feet of stone flings you to the next country. :P
Dunno if you ever played EverQuest, but a former buddy of mine was on a guild raid on one of the deities in that game and took screenshots of his multi-zone fling through the world. Funny stuff.
especially on akiton!
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Here's my thoughts:
The Contemplatives of Ashok are the undisputed masters of arcane magic; even the most dim-witted Contemplative is a genius by our standards. Most Contemplatives study wizardry with a fervor, though some tap their inborn magical abilities and become sorcerers. Alchemy is also a popular pursuit, and Contemplative bards become storehouses of knowledge. Because of most Contemplatives' physical frailty, the path of the magus is rare, and left to the hardier races to take up.
Residents of Arl see divine magic as a calling to state service, primarily because of a tie to the belief that the ancient Azlanti and the thuroks are god-emperors (Aroden might still see a lot of worship here, possibly as an arch-thurok or head of a group of ascended saints). Oracles are common as seers, street prophets, lay clergy, and occiasional dissidents, though the orthodox religious heierarchy is almost exculsively clerics. That said, Azlant was a society filled with potent wizards, so wizardry is seen as a science of the ancients to be studied and preserved by a select few. Sorcery and other spontaneous arcane magic is cautiously accepted, as the potency of their magic is obvious, but it seems to defy attempts to regulate and control.
In the more mercenary city-states like the Hivemarket and Maro, magic is another commodity to be bought, sold, and traded among the wealthy and elite. Pure scholarship is rare, since raw knowledge is harder to commodify than magical gear, healing, or spontaneously summoned goods. In Maro, the recent influx of nouveau-riche has led to a trend of hiring "court arcanists," spellcasters who serve at a master's pleasure to create food, water, and entertainment, and protect them from threats and spies. Some even court divine spellcasters to serve, but most such magic is hard to buy, being considered a gift from the gods by its practitioners and not available to be had for something as base as mere coin.
The multitude of savage tribes that spread across Akiton's surface tend to be more pragmatic in their use of magic. Bards keep the tales, poetry, and songs of their people alive, adding new stories to the communal lore as great triumphs or heartbreaking tragedy merit. Similarly, clerics, druids, and oracles tap into the holy spirits and vast pantheons to bring good fortune and divine the will of the tribe's protectors, and a tribe with many such practitioners is a potent one. Sorcerers are common and beloved by their people, unless their talents turn dark or they work against their kin; in such cases, signs of sorcery can end up taboo for generations and lead to violent witch-hunts. Arcane spellcasting reliant on magical tomes and eldritch writing are virtually unheard of for these people, as the rarity of good writing material (and, occasionally, outright illiteracy) make the practices of wizards, magi, and alchemists difficult to pursue.
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Oh, and on the art front, I did draw an Akitoni lizardfolk and a shobhad. Just sayin'. :P
God, I love that shobhad.
RPG Superstar 2009 Top 32, 2010 Top 8
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Depending on your love of 3pp, I'd suggest alien magic.
Shobhad egotists come to mind, or Lizard Folk binders binding vestiges of dead gods or ancestors.
If you want to make it 'low magic' with bards and inquisitors you can limit the relative power of the magic. Bards may well be held higher than Wizards among the humans of the planet, because of the lost knowlege.
Indeed it might emphasize the dangers of the world if they are dealing with 'half casters' and then encounter the Behir.
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RPG Superstar 2009 Top 32, 2010 Top 8
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Alien Magic = Magic not in the CRB.
tangental
For example, Psionics are not 'native' to Golarion. You could have a psionic character in my game, but we'd make a backstory to show his uniqueness. My Elans are Azlanti who gated to Castrovel, and, for whatever plot related reasons, had to turn to Psionics and made themselves Elans.
By using different systems, or even describing different methods of casting, you catch the players off balance. Imagine if they kill a strange green scaled human and on death he reverts to a 'normal' Akiton human. (He's a binder and when he dies, his aspect connection is severed.) it adds to the 'we're not in Varisa, Toto' aspect of it.
^ 'Lost' Magics are indeed a good idea also psionics are native to Golarion just not the inner sea region. I could see Binders among the primitive tribes wandering the waste binding entire pantheons of 'gods' from the age before the waste. If a player uses such form of magic the Contemplative of Ashok may be interested in picking their minds probing for the secrets of this unknown art.
I also believe there are stats for a psionic version of the Contemplative of Ashok floating around the DSP forums. I could easily see a Shobad related variant of the Half-Giant. Maybe play up some of the elements of the past? What horrors lie in the waste at night and the poles? Would their be alien technology or magic from these horrors unknown on Aktion or Golarion?
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I know canonically what horrors wait at the poles. My addition of horrors coming forth during the darker months was non-canonical. I might write up on that tonight, if I don't crash first; I went out to an event so I'm kinda beat.
As for 3pp/3.X material, I will leave that to individual GMs to include. 'Sides, all my 3.X stuff's in storage, and I don't wanna go dig it out. :P
But yeah. I do see a place for psionics on Akiton, if you allow psionics in your game.
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This will be in non-flowery prose, since it's basically me tying all the threads together from the information in Distant Worlds and such:
1)- Somehow, the Elder Things froze pretty much all of the surface water of Akiton onto the two poles. Don't ask me how, or why. They're Elder Things. Some still remain, mostly hibernating in their hidden cities. Elder Things are also the creators of the shoggoths, so those are most certainly also floating around the south pole, but being CR 19 super-beasts, I wouldn't throw unprepared groups too far into there.
2)- Near the end of the war, the proto-shobhads divided into two camps: those who wanted to keep fighting the Elder Things, and those who didn't. The tribes that kept on fighting became the shobhads, and I'm assuming in time forgot about their ancient enemies and focused their war-like tendencies into the tribal raids we see now. The peace-niks became the witchwyrds, and left in their space vessels to become enigmatic merchants (eventually founding Katapesh, incidentally).
Exactly how far back this war occurred is not mentioned, but obviously had to occur before contact between Akiton and Golarion happened. Actually, no, scratch that. I suppose it could have happened then; primary contact between Akiton and Azlant happened at Arl, a city adjacent to a dry seabed, so perhaps when the Azlanti stepped through, they thought, "hey, sweet, free beachfront property."
But I doubt it. World-shaking events like "all the water's gone OMG" should probably have occurred long, long ago.