[normalphil]

So this is more of an AH then. The simplest explanation for an oceanan core is that when the Capricorns disenigrated and then R'yleh fell, there were still some cut off far-flung Oceana deep-sea provinces that hadn't been swept up by the Illithids yet, and those won by default, with their main claim to fame being an organized force of tritons. Which had been years without stepping fin inside a kelp citadel, operating on a shoestring, and had been holding the (rapidly collapsing) line by recruiting and putting into the field whatever the hell they could get their hands on, in whatever fashion their desperate immenant-doom focused intellects could innovate at the time.

The Amber Clan collaberators are as you describe, only end up with the Oceanans and instead of the ruins of the R'lyeh empire for a reason; their act of successor-state mojo was to /get the hell out/ of the collapsing R'lyeh empire as it began to be consumed by insanity, chaos, and it started to become time to pay the piper with the millions of tritons and mermen they bought their continued survival from the Illithids by oppressing (massive disoranized pogroms, throughout the former R'lyeh empire). They present themselves as you describe. The fact that this definately wasn't their grandfathers' amber-clan is initially glossed over, and all sorts of embarassing questions about their current practices and inexplicably expanded abilities and tollerances are pointedly not asked.

The Amber Clan collaberators provide indispensible leadership and noble caste. The Oceanans provide an indispensible small population base for middle-management, organization, and bloodline.

The Ichtyids began as just one conscripted part of the cut-off Oceanan's ad-hoc force (along with the shark-riders, the cannon-fodder lesser tritons, and the what-have-you), and have bred back, and bred up. They're kept subdued with chains of religion, the Amber Clan has found fertile ground corrupting these primitives into something useful. Communion-slave units level, like Pythium has. Also, you could just scrap the ichtyid idea and use mermen.


I wouldn't include blood-magic; not really needed and it doesn't mesh well with under-water. Void-summons as battle-field independants can fill the niche, imagine Ichtyid priest-magi that can do /that/. (although if you're hung up on blood, well... Yog Sothoth-Neblod Zin, Zurorugos Yog-Sothoth. 50 virgins gets you a Vastness.)