The Unterzee

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"Far calmer than any surface sea: black glass stretching to the fathomless depths of the Neath, glimmering with the light of false-stars. Beautiful in the way that only mirrors are, and deserts. Also positively stuffed with monsters and nine kinds of pirate."[1]

The Unterzee is a massive underground ocean in the Neath.

The Zee is a Harsh Mistress[edit | edit source]

A sunless sea

"In the darkness of the Unterzee, everyone will hear you scream, but not everyone will see you."[2]

The Unterzee, teeming with life in its peligin waters, stretches across much of the Neath.[3] Its name was coined by a group of Dutch explorers who established relations with the Tomb-Colony of Venderbight in 1867. Their linguistic legacy lives on in Neath’s nautical vocabulary: "zailors," "zee-ztories," and "zubmarines" are common parlance,[4] though such excessive “Z” usage is often mocked as appropriative on the part of landlubbers.[5]

The Unterzee is dark, perilous and unforgiving.[6] It is dotted with stalagmites poking up from the zee floor, massive geodes, and the natural pillars of stone that hold up the Roof of the Neath,[7] all of which constitute hazards for an unprepared crew. For a brackish lake sealed within a cavern far beneath the Earth, it harbors a surprising abundance of life[8] - most of which is vast, hungry, and tooth-laden enough to swallow a ship whole.[9] The siren songs of the Drownies drift across the still waters, luring the unwary to a gasping death beneath the zee.[10] From the cavern Roof, massive boulders of glim occasionally plummet into the sea without warning.[11] Ill-prepared voyages often end in starvation, and worse.[12] And of course there are pirates, prowling the currents in search of vulnerable prey.[13]

Climate[edit | edit source]

The Unterzee does not have much weather to speak of. Winds are uncommon and usually mild (except when they aren't),[14] rendering sails useless in favor of steam engines and oars.[citation needed] Its waters are usually placid, though some regions have choppier waves.[15] When perfectly still, the surface of the Zee can act as a giant mirror, revealing glimpses of Parabola, the realm of dreams.[16]

Who Needs A Map?[edit | edit source]

Demeaux's Navigational Chart of the Known Unterzee
Fallen London map

"The Zee is treacherous; maps of the zee, doubly so. The motions of the false-stars disagree with your dead reckoning: you are not where you thought you were."[17]

Thanks to the Treachery of Maps, a peculiarity of the Neath, the Unterzee defies conventional cartography. Its islands tend to shift, and only a few landmarks stay fixed, making most charts unreliable.[18] Zailors deal with these alterations on the fly by relying on the false-stars, landmarks,[19] or simply their intuition.[20] Still, some regions remain relatively constant. London and its neighboring settlements are on the western shore of the Zee; the Elder Continent lies to the south; and the infinite East is the domain of Salt. (Don't go NORTH, if you value your life.)

The Unterzee is roughly shaped like a wheel, and its currents spiral counterclockwise; at the center of the wheel is a treacherous region called the Snares.[21][22] The currents of the Zee are said to carry captured emotions inward toward this region.[23] The pirate haven of Gaider's Mourn was built on an enormous stalagmite at the center of the Snares.[24]

Please note that the following is a sample map, arranged to most closely match the physical Sunless Sea Kickstarter map. The Unterzee is heavily subject to the Treachery of Maps and islands may rearrange themselves at will. The only constant locations are those on or near the western and southern continents, and Irem


London: the Fifth City. Deep, dark, and marvellous.




The Elder Continent is a vast, warm, and humid landmass, bathed in the soft glow of the Mountain of Light, that forms the southern edge of the Unterzee.


The Khanate is a powerful and technologically advanced nation inhabited by descendants of the Fourth City.


The Principles of Coral is a massive coral reef. Its primary port is Port Cecil.


Adam's Way is a port town at the mouth of the blood-red Nameless River. It marks the gateway to the Elder Continent and the Presbyterate.


Saviour's Rocks is an island chain filled to the brim with sorrow-spiders.




Whither is a city located to the far north of the Unterzee, near the Pale Wastes and Codex - or is it?


Codex is an island to the north of the Unterzee, located east of Whither. Many of its inhabitants came from Whither because they dared to answer a question.



Venderbight is the most well-known port in the Tomb-Colonies. It is a frequent destination for traveling tomb-colonists and Londoners fleeing great scandal.



Hunter's Keep is a little island in the Southern Archipelago. It would be as desolate as its neighbors, if not for the solitary country house on its cliffs.


Mutton Island is a small island in the Southern Archipelago. Its primary settlement, Quaker's Haven, hosts the Fruits of the Zee Festival every August.



The Cumaean Canal is a true marvel of engineering that allows for easy passage between the Neath and the Surface.



The Iron Republic is a chaotic, lawless colony of Hell. And by "lawless," we mean that not even the laws of physics are applicable.



The Grand Geode is officially designated as Station V by the Admiralty. Something is not quite right here, however.


HE SUN THE SUN THE SUN THE SUN THE SUN THE SUN THE SUN THE SUN THE SUN THE SUN THE SUN THE SUN THE SUN THE SUN THE SUN THE SUN THE SUN THE SUN THE SUN THE SUN THE SUN THE SUN THE SUN THE SUN THE SUN THE SUN THE SUN THE SUN THE SUN THE SUN T



The Ragged Crow is an enormous lighthouse in the Stormbones. It serves as a key landmark for zailors that pass nearby, and it attracts dangerous, ship-sized Tyrant-Moths like literal moths to a flame.



Demeaux Island is covered in a fungal forest. Iron & Misery Company runs a dreary harvesting station here.



The Salt Lions are two enormous, ancient basalt monuments.


Wrack is a city of sunken ships on the floor of the Unterzee.



The Shepherd Isles are a small archipelago. Despite their name, there are no shepherds nor sheep here. And don't trust the locals.


Abbey Rock is a tiny island in the Southern Archipelago, and the home of an order of feisty warrior-nuns.


Station III is a top-secret Admiralty facility.



Port Carnelian, located on the coast of the Elder Continent, is London's first and only colony in the Neath.



The Avid Horizon is the frozen and desolate gate that links the Unterzee to the High Wilderness.


The Chapel of Lights is an... eccentric church that lights the way NORTH.



Nuncio is the final destination of the Neath's undelivered mail - and a fair few of its postal workers, too.


Nook is a settlement within the maw of an enormous leviathan, located below the Unterzee.



Gaider's Mourn is a pirate citadel, located at the center of the Snares and the Unterzee as a whole.



Godfall is a stalactite from the Roof of the Neath that crashed into the Unterzee. It is currently populated by a group of boisterous and warlike monks.


Dahut is a city under the zee, inhabited by Drownies.


Polythreme, the birthplace of the Clay Men, is a small island nation ruled by the King with a Hundred Hearts.



Rosegate is a tobacco shop under the Zee.


Visage is an island of masks.


The Isle of Cats is the foremost smuggling port in all the Zee, and the primary source of contraband gaoler's honey.



Mount Palmerston is a large volcanic island, covered in ash and burned ruins.


Anthe is a city of crystal located under the Unterzee.



Khan's Glory is the place of residence for the upper caste of the Khanate.


Khan's Heart is the most populous city of the Khanate.


Khan's Shadow is inhabited by the Khanate's exiles, pirates, and other lost folk.



Pigmote Isle is uninhabited by humans. But it is inhabited - and its residents are positively adorable.



Frostfound is a castle of ice, and a repository of mind-bending secrets.



The Gant Pole is the place where zee-beasts go to die.


The Chelonate is an enormous zee-turtle carcass inhabited by a colony of Monster-Hunters.



The Empire of Hands is the homeland of the soul-loving Pentecost Apes.



The Uttershroom is a giant mushroom in the southern Unterzee.



The Fathomking's Hold is the magnificent coral castle of the Fathomking, most of which is invisible from the surface.


Aigul is a huge, stationary Lorn-Fluke. When a British zubmarine, the Fortas Kettle, was sunk by its spines, the Admiralty turned the whole mess into "Station VI."



Varchas is a sprawling city of light and mirrors, located near the coast of the Elder Continent.



Irem will be a vast city of stone rising from the zee, surrounded by ice and blanketed in roses.



Scrimshander is a giant underwater repository of knowledge, carved in ivory and bone.


Wisdom is a floating prison surrounded by masses of incongruous lilypads. Are the scarlet lily-frogs neighbors or prison guards? It's hard to tell.



Hideaway is an underwater city built on the back of an enormous crustacean. It harbors exiles from all over the Neath.


Aestival is an island located under a hole in the Roof of the Neath. It is bathed in precious, deadly sunlight.



Kingeater's Castle is a castle at the end of the world.




Forces of Nature[edit | edit source]

"'Nearly there,' a zailor mutters. 'King Storm, stay your anger. Queen Stone, preserve our hearts. Salt, tempt us not - ' "'Belay that heathen prattling!" the bo'sun roars."[25]

Zailors are famously superstitious, and their beliefs in the Neath are typically associated with the three Gods of the Unterzee. None of these deities is entirely benevolent or malevolent, but zailors try not to provoke their ire.

Beyond gods, there are other entities that rule over the Zee:

  • The Fathomking, sovereign of the Drownies, holds dominion over all who perish at zee.
  • Lady Black, a solitary and lonely spirit, rules the depths of the zee and claims all who sink into its dark depths.

References[edit | edit source]

  1. ↑ The Broad Unterzee, Fallen London
  2. ↑ Illumination, Sunless Sea
  3. ↑ "Caverns measureless to man..." Sunless Sea art direction, Failbetter Games "[...] the Unterzee is actually an underground lake. [...]
  4. ↑ Z?, Failbetter Games ""...in 1867, after the triumphant return of the Vogelstruis from Venderbight, that 'zee' entered the popular usage. [...] sailors were the heroes of the hour. Or, as they quickly became known, zailors. The 'zee-zongs' of Mahogany Hall may be credited for the change [...] Steamer-crews adopted the habit as a means to differentiate themselves from their surface cousins. [...] It has been claimed that the 'z' resonates more powerfully than the 's' in an underground space [...]" - P.F. Fulchard, 'Engaging Customs of the Underclasses', 1878"
  5. ↑ Z?, Failbetter Games "[...] it became fashionable to 'zpeak' of 'zteamers', 'ztowaways' and even 'zhips', seamen disdained the appropriation of their argot. They identified over-use of the 'z' as a landlubber's mark. They reserved the 'z' for 'zee', for 'zailor' and perhaps for 'zong'. (And 'zubmarine', though many zailors consider this a dubious and even impious innovation.) [...] Yet their own rules remain frustratingly inconsistent. [...]""
  6. ↑ Sign on to a glim-steamer, Fallen London "The work is hard and cold and often wet. The Unterzee is brutally dangerous, for all it lacks the savage storms of the surface. [...]"
  7. ↑ "Caverns measureless to man..." Sunless Sea art direction, Failbetter Games "[...] stalagmites poking up from the ocean floor, giant geodes and - occasionally - the gigantic natural pillars that hold the cavern roof up. [...]"
  8. ↑ Hunting the Beasts of the Zee, Fallen London "For a still brackish lake in a cavern beneath the Earth, the Unterzee harbours a great deal of life. Much of it has an improbable number of teeth."
  9. ↑ Sign on to a glim-steamer, Fallen London "[...] There are things down there. Huge, hungry things that could swallow a glim-steamer. [...]"
  10. ↑ What do the Drownies Sing?, Fallen London "A song rises from the calm waters. The eerie singing of the drownies is known to lure men to their doom; one Zailor is already leaning over the parapet."
  11. ↑ Creaking from Above, Fallen London "You can see the purple haze that marks the glim-fall. A diaphanous lavender curtain over the black waters. Quite beautiful, until you're under it. It falls by the crashing handful into your nets. A zailor screams as a sharp little stone rips through his forearm. Still, there's a decent haul here."
  12. ↑ A Worrying Appetite, Fallen London "The ship's stores of food are bare. The zailors have started looking at you in an unsettling way – basting you with their eyes."
  13. ↑ A Pirate Steamer!, Fallen London "The Snares are a nest of pirates and cutthroats, zailing stolen vessels to and from their hunting grounds in the trading lanes between London, Port Carnelian, and the Khanate. They are not above accosting an innocent vessel who dares sneak through their territory – like yours."
  14. ↑ The Killing Wind, Fallen London "There is little breeze on the Unterzee. But the Killing Wind, when it comes, is filled with tiny razor stones from the Elder Continent. It can flay a man to the bone faster than a piranha."
  15. ↑ A Wind from the North, Fallen London "The northern reaches of the Zee are choppy and vicious, unlike its usual placid surface. Rough winds blow; the air is cold and thin. The weather makes men fearful, or worse, maudlin. Work slows. The helmsman's hand drifts."
  16. ↑ Becalmed, Fallen London "The Pillared Sea is ordinarily choppy and rough, driven to turbulence by the cold winds that blow from the northern edge of the Neath. But sometimes one finds patches of stillness; places where the Zee is so glassy, it reflects the false-stars above like a mirror."
  17. ↑ A Navigation Error, Fallen London
  18. ↑ A Navigation Error, Fallen London "The Zee is treacherous; maps of the zee, doubly so. The motions of the false-stars disagree with your dead reckoning: you are not where you thought you were."
  19. ↑ Use your disorientation to your advantage, Fallen London "[...] A lesser zailor would search for a landmark [...] to orient around. But you? You dim the lights and run quiet, trusting in your superior knowledge."
  20. ↑ Listen to the Zee, Fallen London "You stand at the prow and concentrate on the motion of the waves and currents, the light of the false-stars above, the faint noise of the water as it follows the currents of the Zee. After a few moments, you give the helmsman a new heading – an accurate one."
  21. ↑ On charting a course, Fallen London "The Zee is shaped like a wheel. [...] The Snares, the most dangerous waters in the Zee, are the "hub" of this wheel, in the centre. [...] If you need to travel to a further part of the Zee, your route will circle around the dangerous Snares – anticlockwise motion, along the Zee's currents [...]"
  22. ↑ Plot your zailing route, Fallen London "These give me a general sense, but we'll need to chart the currents. The Unterzee flows in a spiral, you know. Shepherd's Wash to the Sea of Voices to the Salt Steppe; then the Pillared Sea, Stormbones, the Fifth City's Home Waters – and back into Shepherd's Wash; with the Snares in the centre, of course."
  23. ↑ Plot your zailing route, Fallen London "London's misery flows into Shepherd's Wash [...] hopes lost overboard [...] will float, frozen, drowned, toward Irem. [...] Dead dreams. Strangled truths. Regrets. Back around the Snares, sinking deeper with each wave that pushes them down [...]"
  24. ↑ Ask about the Mourn's significance, Fallen London "We's at the centre of it all, y'see. The 'ole Neath converges 'ere, in the waters around the Mourn. So many lives, and so many deaths, all circlin' the spire. This ain't just a tall spike o' rock; it's the omphalos. Right 'ere in the middle – this is where the zee mourns."
  25. ↑ Set your course for the lights of Wolfstack, Fallen London
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