[Thundarr Thursday] Ancient Armory: Aquagill

An Aquagill is an Ancient facemask that enables the wearer to function underwater as if they were above water. When wearing an Aquagill, the wearer is able to breathe underwater as well as speak. Treat the wearer as having the mutation of water breathing while it is in use.

An Aquagill is a soft rubber facemask with a hard clear plastic see-through faceshield. A large cup-like apparatus (the intake) fits over the nose and mouth. Unlike Scuba gear which acts as a self-contained air reservoir, an Aquagill takes in water through the nose/mouth intake and draws out breathable oxygen for the wearer. The deoxygenated water is then expelled through twin tubes on either side of the intake.

The Aquagill not only supplies air to the wearer, it also acts as a pressurizer on the wearer's body. Through Ancient processes (not fully understood), the Aquagill allows the wearer to descend to underwater depths that would normally crush them. Even at one mile underwater, the wearer will feel a slight pressure on his or her chest at most. An Aquagill uses a standard power cell which allows it to run for 1 hour before being depleted.

Even though the Aquagill allows the wearer to function underwater, this does not enable them to swim any better than they could without it. A set of swimfins or other swimming aid may be necessary to keep the wearer from flailing about helplessly. Also, since the Aquagill uses water as its air source, it cannot be successfully used outside of an underwater environment. Wearing an Aquagill in this situation would ironically be suffocating for the wearer since it is incapable of drawing oxygen from dry air. It will not protect the wearer from poison gasses, smoke, or other airborne contaminants.


NOTE: This item is inspired by the episode "Attack of the Amazon Women" from the classic Ruby Spears cartoon "Thundarr the Barbarian." Stay tuned each week for Thundarr Thursday!