Girru -- Rainbow -- Nergal -- Morghazik
Girru
ASTERIOD TYPE: Special
ASTERIOD SIZE: A (3 mile length/width)
DAY LENGTH: 1 hour
YEAR LENGTH: 18 months
MOONS: none
POPULATION ANALYSIS: Several hundred gnomes, several hundred
Invaders, plus several hundred other sapients. Many
mechanical creatures and undead.
Girru is a world sized mechanical and magical contraption, built as a doomsday weapon in the decades prior to the Final War by the Khabullian empire. During the Final War, the insane Emperor Kartos ordered Girru sent against the world of Chian; though that worlds spelljammer navy resisted valiantly, it was not enough; the energies unleashed by Girru blew that planet to fragments, creating the Chian Cluster. But Girru itself was badly damaged in that attack (partly as a result of firing its primary weapon), and was abandoned shortly thereafter, falling into an irregular orbit about the sun. About two centuries ago, a gnomish spelljammer from Groenpak rediscovered Girru; thereafter it received gnomish visitors on an irregular basis. Sometime after that, the Lightbringers became aware of the gnomes discovery, and began to wonder if Girru might not be used to reignite Lostspaces fading sun. Their preliminary work on restoring Girru had just gotten under way when the Invaders turned up; they became aware of Girru's continued existence some thirty years ago. They continued the work on Girru, seeing it as an unstoppable weapon. These days, Girru is (mostly) controlled by the Invaders, with smaller bands of gnomes and lightbringers - plus a great many undead and `rogue' mechanical contraptions - vying for territory here and there.
Seen from space, Girru looks like two huge pyramids joined at the base, with various towers, half domes, and blocky bunkers jutting up from its surface. Despite its size, it is mostly hollow. After descending seven to twelve decks in most places, one comes to a huge open cavity, where sits a huge glowing crystal: a star wretched from the inner shell of the crystal sphere, the source of Girru's power. Complex spells and mechanisms surround this star, directing its energy; these energies are in turn focused further by more crystals at the `tops' of the pryamids. However, these secondary crystals are not nearly as durable as the one at Girru's heart; they tend to `burn out' after only a few discharges by the central star. Firing the primary weapon causes immense structural damage to Girru itself; after two or three shots the `engine of death' would probably be destroyed.
For all its size, Girru can travel at spelljamming speeds; a central chamber contains twenty four Major Helms, linked in series. However, even with powerfull mages sitting on all twenty four helms, Girru's speed is limited (2 max).
Rainbow
ASTERIOD TYPE: Spherical Earth Body
ASTERIOD SIZE: C (180 mile diameter)
DAY LENGTH: N/A
YEAR LENGTH: 18 months
MOONS: none
POPULATION ANALYSIS: 4000+ humans, small numbers of elves,
half elves, gnomes, and others
This world is surrounded by multicolored bands (hence its name). Spelljammers that attempt to pass through these bands find themselves rebuffed, literally bouncing off. Teleporting or gating through this barrier is impossible, or nearly so (1% chance of success per level of caster, target counts as `unseen' regardless of spell type used). A very few carefully hidden gates - just about the only reliable ways on to or off of this planetiod - connect Rainbow with Golgotha.
Prior to the Final War, several powerfull wizards pooled their formidable magical resources to create (reshape) this particular world, turning it into a refuge for various followers, apprentices, and servants of theirs. The original wizards are mostly dead, but a few of their successors (a very powerfull lot) linger on.
Seen from the ground, Rainbows sky is dominated by clouds of differing colors. Some of these clouds are normal enough, others, though, are much more unusual, radiating light and heat, acting as a sort of substitute for the sun. The colored bands normally prevent Rainbows inhabitants from seeing the rest of the sphere beyond their worldlets air envelope - most are not really aware that there is anything `beyond the sky'.
For the most part, Rainbow is a moon of rolling hills and small patches of forest. There are no seas, but there are three large interlinked lakes. By and large Rainbow is temperate, locked in a sort of `perpetual summer'.
The Invaders have lost several ships trying to land here; likewise their efforts to Teleport in have failed as well. Currently, they are much more concerned with restoring Girru to operational status than in penetrating Rainbow.
Locations:
- Serenity:
- Set at the base of a plateau at the edge of a mountain range, the focus of this small oriental town is the monastery atop the plateau. Folk here lead peacefull, ritually oriented lives; farming is the main activity. A long rough trade road connects Serenity with Pandomar.
- Pandomar:
- Strung out in tiny clusters along two miles of sluggish river bank, this is a town of pedlars, farmers, and petty wizards, most of them human, but including a fair number of gnomes and a few half elves as well. Of note is a large manor occupied by `the' Pandomar, a wizard of considerable power. Among other things, his manor houses one of the very few reliable Gates to Golgotha.
- Brittleleaf:
- This community is centered on a large clearing in the midst of a pleasant forest of spreading trees. A tiny handfull of elves and a surprisingly large number of half elves dwell here in treehouses, leading a hunter-gather existence. Small bands of sylvian creatures - satyrs, pixies, brownies, ect - are found in the area. Pure blooded humans, though, are rather scarce.
- Kybatta:
- Set on a wooded cape jutting far out into a large lake, this is a fishing and trading town, noted for its boatbuilders. With a population of nearly 2000, it is probably the largest community on the planet. A trade road links Kybatta with Pandomar.
- Charen:
- This is a dead place: a row of seven earthen mounds and a nightmare black tower rising from lifeless blackened ground. Nobody seems certain as to the what or the why of this place: some say it is the tombs of the wizards who transformed Rainbow in the first place, others say it was a place where they conducted their more dangerous experiments, a few maintain that horrid beasts are buried or imprisoned here. Nobody lives here.
- Fairgriff:
- This is a low, wooded mountain (one of the few on the planet), deeply honeycombed with tunnels, some natural, some artificial, some of questionable origin. While only a few hermits, homesteaders, and misfits dwell on the surface, the tunnels are home to small bands of gnomes, kobolds, and other, more exotic creatures, including a very powerfull spellcaster of unknown race who claims to be one of those who transformed Rainbow in the first place. A Gate to the Iron Mountains region of Golgotha is found in the depths of these tunnels.
- Lowdon:
- At one time, this was a fairly ordinary village, downstream from Pandomar. It was largely abandoned after a major flood some decades ago; with many of its inhabitants moving to Kybatta. These days it has a sinister reputation; a haunt of bandits and banned cults.
Nergal
ASTERIOD TYPE: Irregular earth body ASTERIOD SIZE: B (approx 80 x 60 x 50 miles) DAY LENGTH: 2 hours YEAR LENGTH: 32 months MOONS: none POPULATION ANALYSIS: several thousand undead
Named after an ancient god of death and undeath, this is a chunk of frozen rock in an erratic orbit that takes it in as close as the Chian cluster and almost as distant as the sphere wall.
Prior to the Final War, Nergal was a major spelljamming base for the Khabullian empire. These days, Nergal is still a Khabullian outpost; except that the soldiers manning its battlements are skeletons and zombies under spectre and lich officers.
Morghazik
ASTERIOD TYPE: (Special) Irregular earth body ASTERIOD SIZE: `C' (400 x 300 x 300 mile diameter) DAY LENGTH: 12 hours YEAR LENGTH: 21 months (approx) MOONS: none POPULATION ANALYSIS: ...
Like Nergal, Morghazik has an erratic orbit; so erratic in fact that it will likely slam either into the sphere wall or the Sun in the next fifty or hundred years. But Morghazik is not exactly a world...
Morghazik was originally a murderiod, apparently recruited by one of the warring factions during the Final War. And as impossible as it may seem, even this world sized creature perished during that conflict...
