Practical Planetology

by Nigel D. Findley
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction ....................................................................... 2 Nubis ............................................................................ 37
The Geonomicon............................................................... 2 Unusual or "Non-Standard" Worlds ............................. ..40
Earth Bodies ..................................................................... 4 Nivil. .............................................................................. 40
Comporellon ................................................ ................... 4 Torus ..... ........... ............................................................. 44
Falx ................................................................................. 7 Plata .............................................................................. 46
Armistice ...................................................................... 10
Radole ........................................................................... 13 Appendix: New Monsters ................................................ 51
Bodi .............................................................................. 16 Dragon, Mithril .............................................................. 51
Fire Bodies ...................................................................... 20 Azer .............................................................................. 53
Ignia .............................................................................. 20 Flame Swallow ............................................................. 54
Garrash ......................................................................... 22 Gyre .............................................................................. 55
Water Bodies .................................................................. 25 Imbul ............................................................................. 56
Thalassa ....................................................................... 25 Holbag .......................................................................... 57
Charon .......................................................................... 27 Scawer, Sky ................................................................. 59
Barbuda ........................................................................ 30 Steelback beetle ........................................................... 60
Air Bodies ....................................................................... 33 Strangler ....................................................................... 61
Alabeth ................................. ........................................33 Zat. ................................................................................ 63

CREDITS
Design: Nigel D. Findley Illustrations: Mark Nelson,
Editing: John A. Nephew John Statema
Cover Art: Paul Jaquays Jim Holloway
Cartography: Steve Beck Typography: Design Partners

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 Captain Trevis Pelor stood on the bridge of his Squidship, in the book, there were probably thousands that weren't
the Far Star, gazing at the planet below him. From space, included. That was why every copy of the Geonomicon he'd
the vast majority of earth-worlds looked the same: white- ever seen had dozens of blank pages bound into it before
swirled blue marbles. It was impossible to tell them apart, the back cover - so each captain could write down
really. From up here, the only features visible were the information about the worlds he or she had explored that
cloud patterns, and of course they changed. Sometimes he weren't included in the concordance. So far, Trevis had
could see through gaps in the clouds, make out a section of expanded his own copy with the addition of twelve worlds.
coastline here, an arc of a bay there. But it was almost Soon to be thirteen ...
never enough to recognize the shape of a land mass. The world below him wasn't in the Geonomicon; to his
Trevis remembered his first trip into space, and his knowledge, it had never been visited by any ship - until now.
surprise that his own planet didn't look like the globe that Once more, he'd have the chance to write down knowledge
had taken pride of place in his old teacher's study. That that, possibly, had never been acquired before. When he
globe had shown all the land masses and seas in detail. His eventually returned to his home, or to another world with a
first view of his home world had been just like this: a major spelljamming civilization, he'd have his own additions
wondrous blue-white work of art, showing none of the transcribed to a master version of the Geonomicon, to be
details of what lay below the clouds. included in all future copies of the great book. And he'd have
Certainly, Trevis had met travellers who'd claimed to be his own name added to the list of contributors - all the great
able to pick out the shape of continents and oceans from explorers of the void - on the fly leaf.
the subtle distortions they caused in the clouds that But that was for the future. Now it was time to investigate
passed above them. But he himself didn't have that skill the globe that hung before him!
and - if the truth be known - he considered such claims to "Take us down," Captain Trevis Pelor ordered.
be foundationless boasts. Welcome back to the SPELWAMMEWM universe!
What all this meant was that he had to trust the star charts Practical Planetology is an accessory for the AO&O®
that his navigator used - trust them implicitly. Looking at a SPELWAMMEWMgame system. It provides the OM with
world from this distance, there was no way based on vision ready-made planets for use when the players are exploring
alone to tell if the planet was, say, Falx or Toril, Gaia or the cosmos. These can be dropped into adventures when
Oerth. Luckily, however, the charts had always proved the PCs have decided to visit a new world that the OM
correct - so far. hasn't had time to fully detail. Alternatively, any of these
There was another consequence, of course. In the case of worlds can form the basis for a fully-developed
an unexplored world, or one that wasn't included in the SPELWAMMEW Madventure.
great book, the Geonomicon, that he kept in his cabin,
there was no way of knowing what the world was actually The planets described herein run the gamut from earth
like under its shrouding of clouds. bodies - more or less like our own planet, but usually with
The Geonomicon, what a great work that was! A collection one or two twists - through fire, water and air bodies, right
of details on almost four st;ore worlds. Of course, four score the way through to "exotic" locales like diskworlds and
was merely a drop in the ocean compared to the number of torus-worlds. The majority of them have some twist or
planetary bodies in the universe. For every world described quirk that makes them unique.

The Geonomicon

The Geonomicon is a large book and adventuring on worlds other than

containing details on 80 or so worlds Oerth, Toril and Krynn. Entries in the
that have been explored by various Geonomicon will generally mirror the
adventurers . Copies of the book are entires in Practical Planetology. Of
rare, and extremely costly: 20,000 gp course, OMs are encouraged to include
would be a minimum price for this some misrepresentations or out-and-out
work. OMs can introduce the lies in the information they pass on to
Geonomicon-or perhaps excerpts their layers, just so the PCs don't know
from it-into their own campaigns as a everything and so they'll have some
way to stimulate players into visiting surprises in store .
 \
I
)
~

Each section contains the following basic information: world. Unexpectedly, the players decide to explore the fire
Overall Data: Size, temperature, atmosphere, gravity, world. The DM can then flip to this books chapter on fire
length of day, etc. If appropriate, this includes a map on the worlds, pick an appropriate one, and thus have important
fold-out mapsheet, usually using what's known as the information ready instantly.
"Eckert Equal Area Projection" (for cartophiles). Such Practical Planetology can also be used as an idea
maps aren't usually relevant in the case of air worlds, water sourcebook. DMs can read through the entire book for
worlds or fire worlds. adventure ideas, or to stimulate their imaginations when
Continents: An overview of the major land masses, they have to create worlds of their own.
including geophysical data where appropriate, such as
volcanic or tectonic activity. Conventions
Ufe Forms: A brief discussion of the native flora and fauna.
Guide to the Groundlings: A more detailed discussion of The majority of the material presented here is potentially
the most developed species on the planet, including available, in one form or another, to PCs in the
attitude to and knowledge of spelljamming. SPELWAMMEWM universe. Those sections which deal
Other Issues: Specific details unique to the world in specifically with rule-related issues are contained in
question, including gravity on a torus world, weather brackets [like this].
patterns on a ring planet, navigation on/in a cluster world, Except where the form of the planet requires it, no
and so forth mention is made of the length of a planet's year. This is, of
Adventure Hooks: These are short "story starters" from course, dependent on the distance of the planet from its
which DMs can build detailed adventures. primary. Including such information would restrict the
Each world is named, but other details - such as the usefulness of this product (as, for example, when a DM
crystal sphere containing the world and its orbital position needs a planet a long way from its primary - and hence
around its primary - are not included. This is so that with an extremely long year - and the only appropriate
individual DMs can place the worlds wherever they see fit. planet in this book has a very short year). Lengths of
For example, a DM has designed a planetary system with seasons depend on the length of the year, and hence are
an earth body - detailed, because that's where the DM not given either.
expects the major adventure to take place - and a fire
Introduction lava. In the high mountain ranges, the larger peaks are
often the source of great rivers of lava that gouge out
While earth worlds are by no means the most common massive valleys on their way to the oceans. Visitors have
planets in Wildspace - that distinction would have to fall to described "waterfalls", almost a mile high, of liquid fire.
air worlds - they are the ones most familiar to, and most Inevitably, however, when others have arrived to confirm
visited by, adventurers. In general, earth worlds are like our these claims, the topography has changed and the
own planet: spheres of rock, with more or less complex waterfalls of lava are gone.
internal structures. The vast majority have atmospheres, Although the majority of Comporellon's surface is land,
while many also have hydrospheres (oceans or seas). there are several oceans of warm salt water. The
Surface conditions vary wildly, as do the number and types temperature of these oceans is kept relatively high - around
of life forms native to the worlds. The overwhelming 55° F worldwide - by volcanic action. Underwater geysers
majority of these worlds have earth-normal gravity, and lava vents heat the depths, while lava flows from the
regardless of their size - why this is true is a mystery - land pour energy into the coastal shallows. Visitors tell
although some few have gravity fields much stronger or wondrous tales of the sheets of steam that surround the
much weaker than the norm. mouths of lava "rivers," where the molten rock causes the
For comparison purposes, worlds such as Toril, Oerth ocean to flash instantaneously into steam. Salt content of
and Krynn - and that mythical world, Earth - are classified the oceans is generally high.
as "standard" planets. In the descriptions that follow, There are smaller bodies of fresh water, particularly on the
worlds are frequently described as standard or non- lowlands away from the volcanic mountain ranges.
standard in certain characteristics. For instance, the world
Comporellon has a crust that is much thinner than Climate and Weather
standard. Context will always make clear which
characteristics are being referred to. The rotational axis of Comporellon is almost perfectly
perpendicular to the planet's orbital plane - in other words,
Comporellon the axial tilt is very small. This means that there is little
difference between summer and winter. In fact, the
Overall Data differences between the seasons are so minor that only
people very knowledgeable in the ways of the weather can
Comporellon is a Size E spherical world. Its diameter at distinguish them.
the equator is approximately 7,900 miles, giving it an Throughout the year, Comporellon is almost totally
equatorial circumference of 24,820 miles. It is considerably covered by clouds. These are mainly water vapor, but also
flattened at the poles (polar circumference of 21 ,500 contain contaminants - largely sulfur and its compounds -
miles), giving it more the shape of a tangerine orange than that are spewed out in great quantity by the volcanos. The
a sphere. The planet rotates faster than standard, making clouds are often mottled brown or red in color, and appear
its day length 14 hours, rather than the standard 24. to be very thick. In fact, however, the cloud layer is
Comporellon's composition is similar to that of Toril, relatively thin, which allows some diffuse light from the sun
Krynn and Oerth. It has a core of liquid metal, - if not much heat - to penetrate to the lands below. The
predominantly iron, surrounded by a mantle of molten undersides of the clouds are often lit by the reflected glare
rock, and finally a crust of solid rock. Compared to the of hundreds of volcanoes, so there is very little difference in
standard worlds, its crust is surprisingly thin: on average, illumination between day and night.
little more than two miles. In many places, the crust is The cloud cover is very consistent. The underside of the
considerably less than a mile thick. In consequence, the cloud layer is at an average of 15,000 feet above sea level,
planet is highly active volcanically and tectonically. and is rarely more than 1,000 feet thick. Some of the
It is a rugged world with many mountain ranges (as a world's tallest mountains extend into, or even through, the
result of its significant tectonic activity). For the last cloud cover, but none of these huge peaks is volcanic.
several centuries, the planet has been in a mountain- The clouds reflect much of the heat from the sun, but,
building cycle, which means that its topography is conversely, they retain much of the heat released by
changing at a measurable rate. In various places, volcanoes, which on other planets would be radiated into
mountain ranges are rising from the plains, or from the space. Thus, Comporellon is considerably warmer than
seabeds, at rates that can be measured in tens of feet per might be expected. There is little temperature fluctuation
year. Almost three-quarters of Comporellon mountains - between the poles and the equator. Much greater is the
and virtually 100% of the large ones - are volcanic to one temperature difference that comes with altitude. At sea
degree or another. Most mountains are topped by plumes level, the average planetary temperature of Comporellon is
of black smoke and gouts of fire. 90° F. This climbs steadily with increasing altitude. At the
On other worlds, the majority of erosion is carried out by underside of the cloud layer, the temperature is generally
water. On Comporellon, that task often falls to molten around 130° F. Above the clouds, temperature drops
rapidly with increasing altitude, as it does on most other array of life, both flora and fauna. Comporellon plants are
planets. The seasonal temperature variation is about 5° very different from those on most standard worlds. Because
between summer and winter. very little sunlight penetrates the cloud layer, few native
Rain is very common on Comporellon, as water vapor plants depend totally on photosynthesis for their energy.
from the oceans condenses in the cloud layer and falls Those that do are bright blue or violet in color.
again to earth. Because the mountains are generally The majority draw their energy from differences in
sources of heat, rainfall is more plentiful over the lowlands. temperature - either between the surface and deep below
Rain on Comporellon is warm and brackish, and tastes the ground, or between different spots on the surface. For
noticeably of sulfur. example, a certain classification of plants grows a root
Because heated air rises, there are strong winds in the system which extend hundreds of feet into the ground,
mountainous regions, blowing consistently and powerfully where the rock and soil is hotter. Another classification
uphill. These winds are definitely strong enough to pose grows long sprouts or "runners" - often up to a mile long -
serious risks to spelljamming vessels in the atmosphere, towards lava rivers. In both cases, the plants use the
but are rarely accompanied by precipitation. [To determine temperature difference between parts of their structure to
wind conditions on Comporellon, use the Weather synthesize food to power their metabolism.
Conditions table on the inside cover gatefold. Year-round, The animal life on Comporellon is very interesting: it
use the Spring/Fall column. In the vicinity of mountain comprises almost exclusively reptilian creatures like those
ranges, add +4 to the dice roll.] from earlier epochs on the standard planets. These reptiles
can be found in virtually every size and description, filling
Appearance from Space almost every ecological niche on land, sea or air, and little
work has been done in categorizing them. [In other words,
Comporellon appears as a yellow-brown sphere because the DM should feel free to populate Comporellon with all
of its almost total cloud cover. The cloud-tops show very the interesting dinosaurs he likes. Dinosaur statistics,
little detail. besides those found in the AD&D® Monstrous Compendium
volume 3, can be drawn from the 1st Edition Monster
Continents ManuaL and Monster Manual II, and converted to 2nd
Edition terms, or can be created from scratch.]
There are three major land masses on Comporellon, and a
number of islands. Two of the major land masses - named Guide to the Groundlings
Zilber and Veraine by the natives - are in the southern
hemisphere. The third - Panaga - is a huge "super- The most intelligent race on Comporellon - and,
continent" which fills most of the northern hemisphere. apparently, the only non-reptilian one - is a species of
Due to the high level of tectonic activity on Comporellon, hairless humanoids called the Ai'ir (ay-EER). The word
these continents "drift" at considerable speed (geologically "humanoid" is used here to refer to appearance; in truth,
speaking, of course). Zilber and Veraine are approaching however, there is little doubt but that the Ai'ir are actually
each other at a rate of about four miles per year, while humans.
Panaga is moving southward at the same rate. Unless The Ai'ir are characteristically tall and thin, with skin that
conditions change, the three continents will collide in about is almost snow-white. Presumably both characteristics have
200 years, which should trigger an increase in the rate of evolved to minimize heat build-up from the atmosphere.
mountain-building. Since little ultraviolet penetrates the cloud layer, skin
Lava erodes rock much faster than does water. Since pigmentation isn't needed to prevent burning and other
most erosion on Comporellon is a result of lava flows, this damage. The Ai'ir are totally hairless, and their eyes seem
means that the geography changes at a rate hundreds of slightly larger than normal. Otherwise, they could quite
times faster than on other worlds. Detailed maps are often easily be mistaken for natives of virtually any other human
out of date before they're widely distributed, and even maps world.
dealing with whole continents sometimes become Culturally, the Ai'ir are nomadic - necessary, since
somewhat unreliable within a few decades. Comporellon's volcanic activity makes it downright
unhealthy to stay in one place too long. They generally
Life Forms depend on a hunting-and-gathering lifestyle. There is no
evidence that they have discovered agriculture or animal
The first recorded explorer to visit Comporellon described husbandry; perhaps, of course, they've just decided that
the planet as a "close approximation of the Hells." He didn't these ways aren't for them. The common organization is a
stay around long, mainly because he expected that such a band comprising up to a dozen families. In general, bands
hostile environment couldn't support life - or anything else stay well away from each other, and neither compete nor
of interest, for that matter. He was wrong, of course. cooperate on a regular basis. Occasionally, unusual
Comporellon might be hostile, but it still supports a wide circumstances arise which drive these normally peaceful
people into major conflicts, however. There is evidence that the universe in which they live. As it is, however, these
three times in the past two hundred years, various alliances mountains are considered to be the "homes of the gods,"
of bands made war on other such alliances. The cause of and hence totally forbidden.
these wars isn't something obvious like territory or rivalry Taboos are incredibly important among the Ai'ir, and
over resources. What little evidence exists points to these proscriptions vary from band to band. In some bands,
distinctions between the religious beliefs of various groups - taboos include such things as touching the band chief or
and very subtle distinctions at that - as the major motive. the priest, speaking to an unmarried female, eating meat at
For example, there are indications that the last major a band gathering, not eating meat at a band gathering, and
religious war was fought between a group who envisioned many other (sometimes contradictory) proscriptions. In
the dominant deity of Comporellon as having long hair, and general, the punishment for breaking a taboo is death.
a group who pictured her as being bald. This evidence was The Ai'ir know absolutely nothing of spelljamming. The
reported by a group of thri-kreen - a race well-known for reception that visitors get on arrival on Comporellon
their own strange religious conflicts - and so should, depends greatly on just which band they happen to
perhaps, be taken with the proverbial grain of salt. encounter and how they comport themselves. Some bands
The various bands of the Ai'ir share a single native are relatively open when it comes to strangers, while others
language, a degenerate form of the common tongue. Many are xenophobic in the extreme. Tales tell of visitors being
sages take this as proof that the Ai'ir are actually all that's accepted as gods, while others describe immediate attacks
left of a colony established by another world. They have no by the Ai'ir and attempts to totally eradicate the
written language, but their oral tradition is extensive. There "outlanders. "
are many epic myths, including some that speak of "the The best way to earn the enmity of an Ai'ir band is to
days when men came from the skies" (giving the colony ridicule their religious beliefs.
hypothesis even more support) .
Apparently, the Ai'ir have no knowledge of the form of Other Issues
magic wielded by wizards, and there are no mages among
their population. They do have priests, however, who The many volcanos on Comporellon pour large quantities
profess belief in a bewildering array of deities. Judging from of caustic substances into the atmosphere. Luckily for
the stories of the few explorers to visit Comporellon, there surface life, most of these are concentrated in the cloud
are at least some 75 deities worshipped on the planet, layer. The level of acidity within these clouds, however,
perhaps many more. Some philosophers doubt that so must be experienced to be believed.
many deities could coexist within a single crystal shell; For each tum that a spelljamming vessel spends within
whether or not all the deities exist, Ai'ir priests certainly the cloud cover, the ship must survive a saving throw
have the ability to cast spells. [Ai'ir priests usually against acid. A failed throw means that the ship suffers 1
concentrate on the spheres of Combat, Creation, point of hull damage from the acid. Luckily for the crew of
Elemental, Healing, Protection and Weather. The vast such a ship, the atmosphere envelope prevents the acid
majority are of levels 1-6 (1d6), but there are some from affecting anyone below decks. Any crewman actually
exceptional individuals who progress to 12th level, and on the deck of the ship - working the rigging, for example -
stories tell of (perhaps mythical) figures who could only be must save vs. spells or suffer 1d4 points of damage from
of level 18 or higher.] Priests are highly respected the acid. This saving throw is made each tum that the ship
members of their bands, but rarely become band leader. remains within the cloud cover. For this reason, visitors to
The position of power is usually held by the woman who Comporellon are best advised to get through the clouds as
shows the best combination of skills at oratory and oral quickly as possible.
history. Rain is generally acidic as well, but nowhere near as
The Ai'ir have no conception of the greater universe that strongly as the clouds themselves. Rainfall causes mild
surrounds their world. Their degenerate language has no irritation to exposed skin, and discolors metals, but causes
words for space, planet, star, or related concepts. (This is no damage or other significant effects.
obviously because Comporellon's cloud cover is too thick
to allow them to see anything beyond the atmosphere.) Adventure Hooks
The light and warmth of the sun is diffused significantly by
the atmosphere and clouds, so there is no single source in • The PCs' ship puts down on Comporellon, possibly for
the sky for this radiation. The Ai'ir know that greater levels repairs. The crew quickly finds that the region where they
of light and heat come from a certain region of the sky, and have landed is volcanically unstable, and soon will be
that this region moves, but they apparently have no inundated in a lava flow. They must get themselves away
conception that this is caused by an outside agency. before this happens ... and must decide whether or not (and
Instead, they think that a certain region of the cloud cover how) to rescue the band of Ai'ir that is also threatened by
itself glows. If the Ai'ir c::mbed a ,y of the mountains that this instability.
penetrate the cloud deck, they might get a better idea of • One PC is "recognized" by the local Ai'ir band as a god or
goddess. Obviously, the Ai'ir will be unwilling to let their of carbon dioxide (C02), which has led to a runaway
deity just up and leave - particularly after the band's priest greenhouse effect. The average surface temperature of the
has learned that he can manipulate the "god" to his own planet is 150° F. At the poles, this drops to a more
personal advantage. The other PCs must find a way to manageable 100°, while at the equator the temperature
rescue their "divine" companion. climbs to 165°. Because most of this heat is a result of the
• The PCs make friends with a local Ai'ir band. They then greenhouse effect, there is no noticeable difference between
discover that a coalition of .:,~: -.-=r bands will soon arrive to daytime and night time temperatures. Seasonal variation in
obliterate "their" band over some religious difference of temperature is almost negligible as well. Temperature
opinion. What are the PCs to do about this? drops steadily with increasing altitude, until it reaches 80°
• While approaching the planet's surface, the PCs' ship is at the lower margin of the cloud deck.
attacked by a large flock of pterodactyls or other flying The cloud cover is unbroken between about 20,000 feet of
dinosaurs. The ship must then "dogfight" with these flying altitude and 40,000 feet. The temperature within the cloud
predators, while trying to stay out of the acidic cloud layer. cover is low enough to allow for occasional rain. However,
this rain never reaches the ground, even at the poles;
Falx instead, it re-evaporates before it gets within a few
thousand feet of the surface.
Overall Data Winds can be extremely strong on Falx, often achieving
speeds in excess of 200 mph. [To determine the weather
Falx is a size F spherical world. Its diameter at the equator conditions on Falx, use the standard Weather Conditions
is about 20,000 miles, giving it an equatorial circumference table on the inside cover, but roll 2dl0 instead of 2d6, and
of approximately 62,830 miles - about 2 1/2 times that of consider all results of 13 or more as "hurricane.") The
Toril. It shows no polar flattening, and so is almost perfectly underside of the cloud deck is often lit by the strobe-flashes
spherical. The planet rotates slightly slower than standard, of massive lightning storms.
giving it a day of 30 hours. Falx's thick cloud cover absorbs most of the light of the
The composition of Falx is similar to that of the standard sun. During the day, the average level of illumination is like
worlds, except that its crust is considerably thicker - that of starlight on a standard world. At night, the blackness
leading to much less volcanic activity - and that its core is is stygian, broken only by the flash of lightning. The clouds
very much smaller than the standard. The fact that its absorb more of the red end of the spectrum, so the light at
nickel-iron core is smaller and cooler than standard means the surface is bluish-green, giving an unmistakable sense of
that Falx has no magnetic field to speak of. Thus magnetic being underwater.
compasses - including lodestones - don't work. The high proportion of C02 in the atmosphere inhibits
The planet's axis is inclined at an angle of 10° to the plane non-magical fire. It is considerably more difficult to light a
of its orbit. This means that Falx has seasons. fire. Once lit, the fire gives off much less light and heat.
Geologically, Falx has been "dead" for a very long time. [Decrease range of illumination and damage inflicted by
Consequently there are no newly-formed - and hence 1/2, rounding all fractions up.) These restrictions do not
rugged - mountain ranges. If there once were mighty apply to magical fire (e.g., fireballs, dragon fire, etc.).
mountains, they've been weathered down over the
millennia to smooth, rolling hills. The maximum range in Appearance from Space
land altitude - from the highest hilltop to the deepest basin
- is only 8,000 feet or so. There are no volcanos, Falx appears as an almost featureless sphere of white.
earthquakes, hot springs, or other signs of volcanic activity. Only the most extreme weather systems are visible, as
Because of its high temperature, there is no liquid water textured swirls in the otherwise undifferentiated cloud cover.
on the surface of Falx. There are indications, however, that
this wasn't always the case: dry river beds and ocean Continents
basins, for example. Today the only liquid water is in
underground lakes and seas. These bodies of water fill Since there is no liquid water on the surface of Falx, the
caves and channels that, during a more volcanically active whole planet must be considered a single continent. This
geological epoch, were once filled with lava and magma. was not always the case, of course.
There are three large but shallow basins that could only be
Climate and Weather the sole reminders of vanished oceans. All three of these
basins are almost perfectly circular. Certain sages take this
Falx is permanently shrouded by a thick layer of cloud. as evidence that Falx was at one time struck by gigantic
Although this cloud cover reflects a greater proportion of meteorites. Perhaps it was these massive impacts that
incident sunlight than does the cloud cover of standard altered the climate and caused the extinction of most forms
worlds, Falx is not the cold world that this fact might imply. of life on the surface.
In fact, the atmosphere contains a relatively high proportion
Life Forms Subterranean Ecosystem
Falx has two totally different - and almost completely During a more geologically active epoch, the crust of Falx
independent - ecosystems. One exists on the surface of the was networked with lava tubes and caverns. Now that the
planet; the other dwells in caverns and tunnels that lava has receded, this bewildering interconnection of
honeycomb the upper crust. passageways is available for habitation. As mentioned
before, the only liquid water on Falx can be found as
Surface Ecosystem subterranean rivers, lakes and oceans in these
passageways.
Ufe on the surface is very difficult, due to both the high Many normally subterranean creatures make their homes
temperature and powerful winds. In general, surface life beneath the surface of Falx. Most populous are the mind
falls into two quite different categories: small creatures that flayers, or illithids. Two huge illithid cities - each spreading
can shelter from the winds, or massive creatures powerful for miles in three dimensions through interconnected
enough to withstand their assault. passageways - have been reported, and there are doubtless
Plant life on the surface is limited to mobile colony-type smaller mind flayer outposts elsewhere beneath the
organisms similar to earth-style mosses. These organisms surface.
form huge carpets over the landscape, often hundreds of There are also known to be populations of orcs and
feet across. In texture they resemble finely-woven rugs, and goblins, although these species are much less numerous
their color is usually a profusion of reds and oranges. than the illithids. It seems very likely that the illithids use
Although there are many different species of such these lesser races as slaves and for food.
organisms, the differences among them are very small and Other intelligent races are matters of legend, although the
matter only to sages (and, presumably, to the mosses sheer number of these legends gives them some credence.
themselves). They are generally clumped together under There is said to be a small contingent of dwarves who were
the category of "carpet mosses." marooned on Falx when their spelljamming citadel was
Animal life is exclusively reptilian. Falx is home to a attacked and damaged by a celestial dragon. Ukewise,
profusion of small lizard-like creatures - typically four- legends tell of a growing population of drow elves, also
legged, although six- and eight-legged varieties have been marooned and unable - or unwilling - to leave. Some
reported - typically between one foot and three feet in explorers report that Falx is home to a relatively large
length. They are all very low to the ground. Most are population of myconids (Monstrous Compendium, Vol. 2;
omnivorous scavengers, feeding on the carpet mosses and AC 10; MV 9; HD 1-6; THACO varies; #AT 1; Dmg Id4 x
on each other. Most have some kind of poison or venom to HD; SA spore clouds; SD poisonous skin; AL LN), who use
protect themselves against other lizards and larger the caverns and tunnels to cultivate great crops of baneful
predators; the method for delivering this poison varies, molds, slimes and jellies. Most disturbing of all are the tales
while its lethality - extremely high - doesn't. A typical that claim some of Falx's subterranean lakes are populated
example of this type of life - the imbul - is discussed in the by the foul race of aboleths (Monstrous Compendium, Vol. 2;
Appendix. AC 4; MV 3 Sw 18; HD 8; THACO 12; #AT 4; Dmg 1-6
At the other end of the size scale from the lizards are the (x4); SA special; SD slime; AL LE).
larger denizens on Falx's surface. Rather than depending on
their low profile and ability to shelter to protect them from Guide to the Groundlings
the vicious winds, these creatures trust to their strength and
resilience to keep them alive. There are few of these large The dominant race on - or beneath - Falx is undoubtedly
species, which is probably just as well. The most populous the mind flayers, or illithids. These hideous creatures are
is indistinguishable from the tarrasque (d. Monstrous growing more and more populous, and their cities and
Compendium, Vol. 2; AC -3; MV 9, Rush 15; HD 300 hp outposts are spreading at a disturbing rate. Unless the other
(approx. 70 HD); THACO 5; #AT 6; Dmg 1-12/1-12/2- intelligent races beneath the surface cooperate in opposing
24/5-50/1-10/1-10; SA "sharpness" bite, terror; AL N). the mind flayers - an unlikely occurrence at best: how
While the true tarrasque is reputed to be unique, there are frequently do dwarves cooperate with orcs, or drow with
several hundred of these enormous monsters spread over goblins? - it seems likely that soon enough the entire
the surface of Falx. (Some sages claim that this world is the subterranean region will be controlled by the illithids. The
home of the tarrasque, and that the unique creature is sole exception will be the regions occupied by the aboleths.
actually a single specimen transported through space for It seems that there is a firm alliance between the mind
some reason. Other sages point out that there might be flayers and the aboleths. In return for guarantees that the
subtle differences between the Falx tarrasques and the aboleths' territory will remain sacrosanct, and promises of
terrestrial version. Space is large, after all, and the similarity more territory later, the aboleths have been passing on to
might be just coincidence.) the illithids some of their great stock of unholy knowledge.
The major consequence of this is that some few illithids
have managed to learn how to cast wizard spells. Luckily, when it passes within the telepathic radius of an elder-brain
these individuals are very rare: 1 in 1,000 as an absolute - the iIIithids take whatever action is necessary to drive the
upper limit. Most are unable to advance beyond 6th level, ship away or destroy it. This will usually involve at least one
although some extremely rare individuals have achieved iIIithid using astral projection to view - and if possible attack
10th or even 12th level. (Needless to say, these high-level - the ship's crew from the Astral plane. If the elder-brain
iIIithid mages are the rulers of the two mind flayer cities.) considers it warranted, small armies of mind flayers can
Spell selection is relatively limited, since their only source levitate up to a hovering ship and attack it.
of spells is from drow or other unfortunate spellcasters they Although these iIIithids have little interest in spelljamming
manage to capture. IIlithid mages are still able to use the for themselves, the same can't be said about the aboleths.
mental powers possessed by all mind flayers. There are frightening rumors that, as part of their non-
The two iIIithid cities are literally half a world away from aggression pact, the iIIithids are building ships and helms
each other: one is beneath Falx's north pole, the other (of some kind) for the aboleths. The thought of aboleths
beneath the south. Since iIIithids are telepathic, the cities rampaging around the universe in ships of their own is
have no names as such. Instead, they have mental "labels" simply too horrible to contemplate.
which, when translated into the common tongue, can be
expressed as Brain-in-the-Skull (the northern city) and Other Issues
Tentacles-Grip-Tightly.
Brain-in-the-Skull is the older and larger of the two cities. The concentration of C02 in Falx's atmosphere is so high
In size, it's staggering: its population exceeds two million that it causes humans and demihumans to tire faster than
iIIithids! Its elder-brain is so well-developed that its normal. If the DM uses rules to simulate fatigue and
telepathic range is in excess of 10 miles - unheard of exhaustion, all characters should find that they become
anywhere else in the universe. Tentacles-Grip-Tightly is exhausted after approximately half the normal time.
smaller and younger, with a population still to reach one Alternatively, DMs can simulate this problem by multiplying
million. While Brain-in-the-Skull has size and tradition all encumbrance values for gear and loot by 1 1/2. Travel
going for it, Tentacles-Grip-Tightly seems to be more on or below Falx should be difficult and tiring. (These
dynamic and active. restrictions do not apply to creatures native to Falx, of
There is apparently no rivalry between the two cities. course, since they have adapted to conditions over the
Instead, they cooperate in all things. Both cities continue to generations. )
establish armed outposts, expanding the territory they
control, and the cities cooperate in maintaining these Adventure Hooks
garrisons. At the present time, the iIIithids seem to be
building up for a major offensive against the dwarves. • While trying to land on Falx, the PCs' ship is forced down
Although the drow are the more dangerous enemy, and and damaged by a sudden storm. The PCs must deal with
should theoretically be dealt with first, the iIIithids seem to the dangerous surface life while trying to repair their ship.
consider the continued existence of the dwarves a personal • While exploring the surface, the PCs are approached by a
insult, to be remedied with all speed. small group of dwarves. The iIIithids are about to
lIIithids can occasionally be found on the surface of Falx, overwhelm a dwarvish garrison, the dwarves tell them. Will
but only when the winds aren't blowing too strongly. These the PCs help?
sorties above ground are seem merely to be to satisfy the • While exploring the surface, one or more PCs are
creatures' curiosity. captured by iIIithids for interrogation and worse. The other
Apparently the iIIithids are well aware of the concepts PCs must stage a daring rescue. As the PCs' vessel flies low
involved in building and flying spelljamming vessels. They over the planet, an assault group of iIIithids levitates up
simply have no interest in exploring the rest of the universe, from the surface to attack.
however. The total conquest of Falx seems to be enough of ~ • The rumor about the iIIithids supplying the aboleths with
a task for the next few decades. After that, however, who spelljamming ships is true! And the PCs are "lucky"
can say? enough to be the first group to encounter spacefaring
The large elder-brains in the two cities, and the smaller aboleths ...
elder-brains in the iIIithid outposts, are constantly scanning
the skies of Falx for inbound spelljamming vessels. The • For reasons of their own (perhaps because of religious
prophesies or something similar), a group of myconids has
iIIithids are very interested in - and quite concerned about -
taken something valuable from the PCs' spelljamming
vessels arriving from elsewhere, since they might be
vessel while it was lightly guarded. (Any sentries were
bringing either reinforcements for the beleaguered races the
immobilized with pacifier spores.) The PCs must now deal
iIIithids are trying to exterminate, or yet another faction that
with the myconids - one way or another - to retrieve their
might unsettle matters even more. For this reason, as soon
valuable item.
as an inbound spelljamming vessel is detected - that is,
Armistice are frigid, and it's only the constant motions of the tides
that keep them free of ice. There are many fresh-water
Overall Data lakes, but all of these are covered in a thick layer of ice.
Armistice is a massive Size F world, almost perfectly Climate and Weather
spherical. Its diameter is about 30,000 miles, giving it an
equatorial circumference of about 94,250 miles. Armistice Armistice is an unpleasant, frigid planet. At the equator,
rotates relatively slowly; its day is 60 hours long. The summer temperatures range from 35° F during the day,
planet's axis is inclined to its orbital plane, so Armistice down to 0° at night; in the winter, the range is from a high
does have seasons. of 5° F down to a low of -10°. At the poles, average
The planet has three moons: Vesta, Laceme and Vardig. temperature ranges are 0° to -35° in the summer and as
All three are Size E, making them worlds in their own low as -30° down to -60° in the winter. These temperatures
rights. They orbit relatively close to the planet, which do not include wind chill. Precipitation - which, on
means they appear in the skies as huge disks on which it's Armistice, means snow - is common. [Snow occurs on a 5
easy to make out numerous impact craters. The three in 6 chance in spring and fall, and a 4 in 6 chance in
moons are reputed to be Voidworlds, without atmospheres, summer and winter.]
although there is no trustworthy record of this. Wind, like the cold, is another unpleasant fact of life on
The proximity of the three massive moons has a more Armistice. There are virtually no days when the wind isn't
important effect than enlivening the night sky of Armistice. blowing at least somewhat, and powerful blizzards are the
Tidal forces are exceptionally strong, and - since there are rule rather than the exception. [Use the Weather Conditions
three moons involved, each with its own orbital period - table on the inside cover, but add 2 to the dice roIL] The
hard to predict. Armistice's frigid seas show an average wind whips the oceans into waves which, due to the higher
tidal variation of 50 feet, while in narrow bays or inlets this gravity, travel about three times faster than do their earthly
can increase to 100 feet. Tidally-generated currents are counterparts.
often as fast as 25 knots, making surface navigation a very Even when snow is falling, cloud cover on Armistice is
risky business indeed. rarely total, and the sun often shines through to the snowy
Tides affect more than the oceans, of course. The surface. Its heating effect is minimal, however.
constant tidal pushing and pulling keeps the molten core of
Armistice heated to a very high level. This leads to a high Appearance from Space
level of volcanic activity, which has caused one of the more
poetic explorers to describe Armistice as "a planet of fire Armistice is a study in white-on-white. The clouds are
and ice." generally bright, pure white, while the snow-covered
When the three moons are perfectly aligned - which surface is a dirty white, sometimes even showing as pale
occurs every 28 (local) days - the planet is racked by grey. The cloud formations are similar to those of Earth,
devastating earthquakes. The alignment lasts for 10 hours. meaning the planet appears as a streaked sphere.
[In each hour, there is a 5% chance that a particular locale
will be hit by an earthquake. The effect is identical to that of Continents
an earthquake spell cast at the 25th level of ability.]
Unlike the vast majority of earth worlds, Armistice does There are three major and two minor continental land
not have earth-normal gravity. In fact, its gravitational field masses on Armistice. The former are named Ugrek, Taliak
is three times as strong as that of the standard planets. The and Grishnakh, the latter Toborg and Rakhar. Geologically
consequences of this are discussed in the section "Other speaking, Toborg was once a part of Ugrek, and Rakhar
Comments". was once a part of Grishnakh. Despite the relatively high
Armistice is a rugged world, with numerous large level of volcanic activity, continental drift on Armistice is
mountain ranges. Most of these ranges have at least one very slow.
large active volcano. When the three moons are aligned, all There is a narrow "land bridge" that connects Taliak and
active volcanos on the planet erupt simultaneously. Grishnakh. Most of the time it is well underwater, however.
Volcanic eruptions usually just involve smoke and flame; The land bridge is only clear of water when the alignment of
any lava flows are generally small, and limited to the upper the three moons takes place in exactly the correct
slopes of the volcano itself. Apart from the mountains, the orientation to Armistice. This happens once every 25
rest of the planet is generally flat. There are few valleys or Armistice years, and lasts for several days. During this
foothills; the mountains seem to rise straight out of the time, the land bridge is inevitably shaken by many
plains. earthquakes, making the passage from one continent to the
Most of Armistice's land area is cloaked year-round in ice other a decidedly dangerous undertaking.
and snow. Only the upper reaches of the active volcanos Legends on Armistice tell that there was once a fourth
are free of snow, because of the intemal heat. The oceans major continent, between Ugrek and Grishnakh. This land

o
mass is said to have sunken beneath the waves several Gralnakh Longtooth. Gralnakh proved to be a great leader,
centuries before (hence the name of the Landlost Ocean). a brilliant strategist and a wily tactician. Under his
command, the Combined Goblin Fleet managed to hand
Life Forms the Elven Imperial Fleet its first - and only - truly damaging
losses.
There are few animals or plants native to Armistice, and The Combined Goblin Fleet was doomed from the first,
none can be classed as truly sentient. On the land, plants however, and Gralnakh must have known it. As the other
are generally limited to primitive lichens and mosses that fleets of the goblin races were destroyed piecemeal, the
grow on exposed rocks and mountainsides. Near the elves were able to throw more and more of their forces
equator, large plants grow close to the ground, spreading against Gralnakh's beleaguered command. Even against
out their flat leaves to catch as much of the sunlight as they massively escalating opposition, the Combined Goblin
can. In the ocean, there are several species of seaweeds Fleet managed to fight on for years.
similar to kelp. These weeds are highly toxic to life that Eventually, the leader of the Elven Imperial Fleet - at that
didn't evolve on Armistice [save vs. poison or suffer 2dl0 time an admiral and ex-battle poet Aldyn Leafbower-
points of damage). realized that this continued fighting was tying up a good
The most common land animals are very dangerous portion of his fleet, which meant that enemies in other
predators. There are at least two species very similar to spheres could be building up for an attack on
remorhaz, and one that is virtually indistinguishable from underdefended elven worlds. He couldn't let that happen,
the tunnel worm (Monstrous Compendium, Vol. 2; AC 4; but neither did there seem any quick way to end the
MV 6; HD 9+3; THACO 11; #AT 1; Dmg 2-8; SA lunging; conflict. The system that the Combined Goblin Fleet had
AL N). These prey on each other, on several species of chosen as their battleground was filled with tiny worlds and
primitive mammals [treat these as giant rats), and on moonlets, each of which could be used to hide many ships
anything else unfortunate enough to wander by. The frigid for either repair or ambush purposes. Using mighty magic,
oceans are ruled by great fish very similar to the the Imperial Fleet had already reduced two of the worlds to
megalodon, or giant shark (Monstrous Compendium, Vol. rubble, but this hadn't inconvenienced the Combined
2; AC 5; MV Sw 18; HD 10-15; THACO 11-5; #AT 1; Dmg Goblin Fleet at all. The only military option Leafbower had
4-16,5-20 or 6-24; SA swallows whole; AL N), although was to assault each of the myriad world lets one at a time, in
there are many smaller fish as well. There are no aquatic a space-going version of house-to-house fighting. That
mammals or reptiles in the oceans of Armistice. There are would take too much time.
rumors that aquatic versions of tunnel worms inhabit So he chose a daring alternative. He arranged individual
burrows in the ocean bottom - and that these monsters parlay with Gralnakh Longtooth, and offered an official
grow to twice the size of their terrestrial counterparts. It is cease-fire - an armistice. The half-ore knew his cause was
absolutely certain that none of the species native to lost, and that fighting on would only kill all his followers to
Armistice has developed sentience. no gain. Proving himself once again a great leader, he
accepted the armistice, but - as a condition of the cease-
Guide to the Groundlings fire - demanded that he and his people be given a world of
their own, unmolested by elven interference. Leafbower
Just because the native species have failed to achieve decided this was a picayune price to pay for instant peace,
sentience doesn't mean that intelligence is completely so he accepted.
lacking from Armistice. To understand this, it's necessary When he returned to his fleet, Leafbower's officers were
to review a little history. outraged, and wanted to renege on the deal. Leafbower was
Several centuries ago, the goblin races - orcs, goblins, a man of his word, however, and forced the Imperial Fleet's
kobolds, hobgoblins and ogres - had a considerable Council of Admirals to follow through with the bargain.
presence in space, and often launched raids against elven Unfortunately, neither Gralnakh nor Leafbower had
outposts and bases. This ended when the elves launched specified exactly what the planet must be like. In what
the Unhuman Wars, and came after the goblinoid races many still consider to be a decision driven solely by spite,
with everything they had. the Council of Admirals shipped Gralnakh and his followers
In almost all cases, the goblin races fought as individual to the most inhospitable place they could find. The elves
bands and tribes, never cooperating fully, and sometimes named this cold, brutal world "Armistice."
actively hindering each others' plans. For this reason, much In the centuries since the end of the Unhuman Wars,
of the Unhuman Wars was a full-fledged rout of the Gralnakh's few thousand followers have developed an
disorganized goblin "navy." In one certain sphere, however, extensive civilization, most of it in tunnels and caves
a number of tribes and bands, including representatives of laboriously excavated beneath the frigid surface of
all the goblin races, did something completely Armistice. When their leader eventually died, the individual
unprecedented: they subordinated their own individual tribes broke up and went their separate ways. For perhaps
authority to one overall war leader, a half-ore named one hundred years there was peace among the different
settlements. Then some tribes realized that digging new Other Comments
caverns was harder work than taking already-completed
excavations from other tribes. Warfare broke out, and has The high gravity of Armistice - three times that on
raged ever since. Small alliances form and break up at the standard worlds - has several significant consequences.
whims of tribal chiefs, and there is no indication that the Firstly, every object (or creature) weighs three times what it
bands will ever reunite under a single banner. And that's does on TorU or Oerth. Thus, the encumbrance value for
just how the elves want it. The Armistice goblinoids are every item is tripled on the surface of Armistice. So, for
even more brutal and warlike than their fellows on other example, a warrior wearing chain mail and carrying a
worlds (if that's possible). longsword, dagger and medium shield will find that his
After many generations under the crushing gravity of encumbrance value is 165 pounds, not the normal 55
Armistice, the goblinoids have adapted to the conditions. In pounds. Assuming that the warrior has STR 14, and
appearance, they are much shorter and more stocky than checking the Modified Movement Rates table on page 78 of
their fellows on standard planets, looking like some kind of the Player's Handbook, 2nd Ed., we find that the poor
unholy cross between goblinoids and dwarves. If the fellow's movement rate on the surface of Armistice is 1. On
Armistice goblinoids ever reached another planet, they a standard planet it would be 12. Obviously, encumbrance
would prove much stronger than other members of their becomes a much more significant issue.
races. [Armistice goblinoids suffer no penalty to movement In higher gravity, objects - and people - fall faster, and so
or encumbrance due to high gravity. Under normal hit the ground harder. Falling damage on Armistice is 3d6
gravitation, an Armistice goblinoid would be considered to per 10 feet fallen; to a maximum of 40d6 (which represents
have STR 18, giving bonuses of +1 to hit and +2 to terminal velocity).
damage. They do not receive these bonuses on Armistice, Projectiles such as arrows and darts must also be
of course.) considered as falling objects. While they're flying forward,
The Armistice goblinoids know that spelljamming they're also falling freely towards the ground (which
technology exists, but have no helms nor any way to make explains why an arrow drops in flight). On Armistice, each
them. They will see any approaching vessel as a possible range category for a missile weapon is divided by three
way to escape their frigid prison, and so will do anything - (round fractions down). Thus for a light crossbow on
even, perhaps, cooperate to some small degree - to Armistice, short range is 2, medium range is 4, and long
possess the vessel's helm for themselves. Once the ship range is 6. For a thrown dagger, short range is 0 (1/3,
has been captured, however, great violence will ensue as rounded down to 0), medium range is also 0, and long
individual tribes fight for the prize. range is 1. What this means is that any target is always at
The Elven Imperial Fleet has made it clear to virtually long range when throwing a dagger on Armistice.
every race in the universe that an attempt to sell Within the gravity field of Armistice, all creatures that fly
spelljamming technology to the inhabitants of Armistice with wings have their movement rate cut in half, and their
would be considered a declaration of war against the Maneuverability Class worsened by one step (e.g., from MC
Imperial Fleet. So far nobody - not even the Arcane - has B to MC C). This does not affect creatures using magical
tried to break this prohibition. Although the deal between flight, creatures native to the Elemental Plane of Air, etc.
Gralnakh Longtooth and Aldyn Leafbower prohibits any
elven presence on Armistice itself, there is always at least Adventure Hooks
one elven Man-o'-War patrolling within the Armistice solar
system. This ship will warn off any vessel approaching the • Inadvertently, the PCs enter the sphere and are warned off
planet. If the approaching ship disregards this warning, the by the Man-o'-War patrolling the Armistice system. (Most
Man-o' -War's orders are to destroy the encroaching vessel. PCs worth their salt will take this as a personal challenge to
(Remember, however, that a crystal shell is a big place, find out just what the elves are hiding ... )
and the elven ship can be only one place at a time. It's • By blind luck, the PCs manage to avoid "Imperial
quite possible that a ship could reach Armistice without involvement," and land on Armistice. An attack by a large
being detected by the Man-o'-War ... at least, for a time.) predator damages the ship, and the PCs must find a source
Armistice plays a big part in the mythology of the goblin for the material they need for repairs. Unfortunately, this will
races elsewhere in the universe. There are many legends probably mean contact with the goblinoids ...
that claim a huge goblinoid fleet is gathering around • Again, the PCs slip by the picket ship and land. The
Armistice, ready to sally forth and re-fight the Unhuman goblinoids have seen the ship approaching, and try to take
Wars - to a different outcome, this time. The elves seem to her. The PCs might be able to playoff one group against
encourage these legends. They know that no such fleet another, and thus avoid having to fight a whole world.
exists, but think that belief in this great fleet placates the • The PCs land on Armistice. A single young goblinoid
wills of other goblinoid tribes who might be thinking of races to the ship, begging for "political asylum." It seems
fighting the elves themselves. the youth has broken some major law - perhaps he wasn't
sufficiently brutal or something - and his life is forfeit. He
begs the PCs to take him away frort'l this hell-hole. This temperature is high enough to melt tin, lead and other
(Depending on how sly the DM is feeling, this goblinoid can soft metals. Explorers who've managed to protect
be telling the truth, or this might be a cunning attempt to themselves against the killing heat have described a blast-
get spelljamming technology for his tribe or for himself.) furnace environment, with lakes of liquid tin, and slowly-
• Upon leaving Armistice, the PCs' vessel is immediately moving mountains of half-molten lead. There are no
attacked by the elven Man-o'-War, and the PCs have to clouds, and no precipitation of any kind on Sunside. Dry
fight their way out of the system. winds of superheated air whip over the surface. [These
winds are always "strong winds" with regard to
Radole landing/takeoff times and tactical movement modifiers.]
Overall Data Darkside
Radole is a Size E spherical world with a diameter of about The exact opposite conditions exist on Darkside, where
7,400 miles and an equatorial circumference of 23,250 sunlight never falls. At the point on the equator furthest
miles. It is slightly oblate - that is, flattened a little at the away from the sun, the temperature stays around -310° F.
poles - but not greatly so. Its axis is exactly perpendicular This is cold enough to liquify the oxygen in the atmosphere.
to the plane of its orbit. Thus, even without worrying about the killing cold, the air
Radole is virtually unique among inhabited worlds in that it of Darkside isn't breathable by normallifeforms. This
is tidally locked with its primary. This means that it always brutally low temperature increases rapidly as one moves
keeps the same face towards its sun. The lock is perfect, towards the Ribbon, of course.
and the planet doesn't shift or wobble even slightly. The Darkside sports lakes of liquid oxygen. Cloud cover is
"Sunside" of the world is in constant sunlight, while always total, with the clouds consisting of ice and oxygen
"Darkside" never sees the sun. There is a band around the crystals. Precipitation is frequent [2 chances in 6 per day],
world, running from pole to pole, where the sun is always and consists of oxygen rain or snow. Winds are exceedingly
half above the horizon and half below it. This ribbon of half- brutal, whipping up the land's covering of oxygen snow into
light is the only portion of the planet that is inhabitable by massive blizzards. [These winds are always "gales" with
humaniform life. It is this that leads many to call Radole a regard to landing/takeoff times and tactical movement
"ribbon-world." modifiers.]
Radole has no moons. Its atmosphere is standard, easily
breathable by normal life-forms - at least along the The Ribbon
habitable ribbon. Conditions elsewhere are discussed in
later sections. In the 200-mile-wide habitable region, conditions are
The planet is rugged, with high mountains and deep absolutely perfect for humaniform life. The temperature is
valleys on both Sunside and Darkside. The Ribbon itself is always roughly constant, hovering around 75° F with a
characterized more by rolling hills and fertile plains. There variance of only about 5°. Warm, dry air spills over from
are no large oceans of liquid water anywhere on the planet. Sunside, and clear, fresh water runs down from the
On Sunside, the temperature is so high they've been boiled mountains that separate the Ribbon from Darkside. Winds
away; on Darkside, they've frozen solid, and over the are always moderate and very pleasant. [To determine
millennia much of the ice has "sublimed" (evaporated, wind conditions, use the "spring/fall" column of the Typical
without going through the liquid phase). The Ribbon has Weather Conditions table on the inside cover, but roll
numerous fresh-water lakes. 1d6+ 1, rather than 2d6. Precipitation - light, warm rain -
The last mountain-forming epoch ended several million occurs on a 1 in 6 chance.]
years ago, probably before complete tidal lock occurred. A famed elven poet-explorer named Aldyn Leafbower
Geologically and volcanically, Radole is now a dead world. once described the Ribbon thusly: "Between Sunside and
There are no volcanos or earthquakes. Darkside, the Ribbon is a continuous garden swimming in
the eternal morning of an eternal June."
Climate and Weather
Appearance from Space
Because of its tidally locked condition, Radole has three
distinct climatic regions. Sunside is totally free of clouds, and so appears reddish-
Sunside grey from space. Few features can be discerned from orbit.
Darkside is, by definition, dark, so it's difficult to make out
On Sunside, the average temperature is well above the its appearance. Other sources of light, or other forms of
boiling point of water. On the equator at the point where the vision, might be able to detect an unbroken cover of dirty-
sun is directly overhead, the temperature hovers around white clouds. Cloud cover over the Ribbon is broken, and
620° F, dropping off drastically towards the habitable band. appears much like Earth's.
Continents The Ribbon
Since there are no oceans on Radole, the whole planet Alllifeforms on the Ribbon are members of familiar
can be said to be one huge continent. Lakes exist - molten terrestrial species. There are humans, elves, dwarves and a
metal on Sunside, liquid oxygen on Darkside, and water on smattering of halflings, while orcs, goblinoids and other
the Ribbon - but these are too small to break the single potentially baneful sentients are conspicuous by their
land mass into continents. absence. Plant life is all according to the standard terrestrial
model: grasses, grains, flowers, fruit trees, etc. Again, there
Life Forms are no baneful growths present.
There are many domestic animals such as cows, sheep
As with climate, the planet is divided into three distinct and horses, plus a great profusion of harmless creatures
regions, each with its own ecosystem. like deer, birds, squirrels, even (reputedly) a few unicoms.
Sunside The Ribbon seems totally free from any animal that poses a
threat to human life.
The high temperatures on Sunside make it instant death
for most normal forms of life. There are, however, bizarre Guide to the Groundlings
creatures who seem well adapted to the conditions. The History
majority of Suns ide life is roughly insectile. Huge beetles
with reflectant shells - seemingly made of metal - crawl Nobody knows the true history of Radole. The present
slowly over the crust. Since there seems to be nothing inhabitants have records going back several thousand
smaller for them to eat, sages assume that they must prey years - much longer than the life span of even the oldest
only on each other, or perhaps extract the nourishment still-living elf - but these records have nothing to say about
they need directly from the crust. Energy is not a problem, how terrestrial life came to the Ribbon. Most sages agree
since they can presumably use the incredible solar flux that the Ribbon's present ecosystem could only have arisen
falling on their upper surfaces. [One form of beetle, the through careful cultivation. In other words, somebody at
steelback, is discussed in the Appendix.) one time brought all the life forms to Radole, and
There are larger creatures as well . Stout-hearted explorers constructed a stable ecology. The big question is, Who?
This isn't the only puzzle posed by Radole. An even
have reported seeing great metallic dragons soaring on the
thermals over mountains of half-molten lead. Some sages greater question concerns the history of the planet before
claim that these massive beasts can't be related to the the arrival of its demihuman inhabitants, because it cannot
dragons found on other worlds, since the heat would prove be denied that there was intelligent life on Radole long
as lethal to these creatures as it would to humans. Other before the humans, elves and the rest appeared on the
sages refute this, however, claiming that - given time to scene.
adapt - virtually any fire-using dragon could adapt to and In its entirety, the geology and topography of the Ribbon
thrive in conditions on Sunside. Recurring rumors describe has been created - manufactured. Ringing the planet
at least one species of dragon that is unique to Radole, around the boundary between the Ribbon and Darkside is a
however: the mithril dragon (described in the Appendix) . huge, unbroken mountain range, 15,000 feet high.
Everyone who's studied it agrees: the range was built by
Darkside someone or something. And this mountain range can have
only one purpose: to hold back glaciers and to prevent
Life is much more limited here, since energy is in such frigid winds from making the Ribbon uninhabitable. There is
short supply. There are reputed to be great white worms, no doubt that the mountains themselves, and the soft
similar in characteristics to common purple worms, that slopes of the foothills leading to them, are artifacts, created
burrow through the crust. There are also reports of by an intelligence, on a scale orders of magnitude greater
shadowy, somewhat humanoid shapes that wander the than anything seen elsewhere in the universe. Channels for
dark plains, but these have been disregarded as fantasy. [In rivers were also constructed in a regular pattem, exactly
fact, these creatures are shadows, as described in the 10 1/4 miles apart. It's down these artificial channels that
Monstrous Compendium. There is, at the coldest point on the Ribbon gets its fresh water.
Radole, a gate to the Negative Material Plane, and it's Nobody knows jJJst who created the mountains, but it's
through this that the shadows reach the planet. So far none obvious that an almost god-like power was involved. In
have tried to cross the mountains into the Ribbon - fact, the initial theory was that a deity or group of deities
presumably because night never falls on the Ribbon, and was responsible for the mountain chain. More recent
this frightens them off.) The only life that has been research has refuted this, however.
confirmed to exist on Darkside is a sub-species of white In widely-scattered places along the world-girding range,
pudding. huge smooth-walled tunnels lead for miles into the hearts of
the mountains. These tunnels terminate in great cavems,
thousands of feet across and hundreds of feet high. The vessels, just to be sure it doesn't make any untoward
walls of these caverns are decorated with abstract murals moves. On the ground, visitors can leave their ships only
and carvings, and show a recurring motif of three-pointed when escorted by members of the Radole Planetary
stars and three-petalled flowers of alien form. Dwarven Defense Force - a well-armed and well-trained paramilitary
stonesmiths have examined these tunnels and caverns, and group formed for just this purpose. The PDF includes
have concluded that they weren't bored into the mountains; warriors, mages and clerics.
the mountains were built up around them. From this, it's an After reading the discussion above, one would be justified
obvious conclusion that the makers of the caverns also in thinking that Radole society is highly militarized, but this
built the mountains. And why would gods go to the trouble is not so. There are no enemies on the planet to fight, and
of creating the caverns and murals? What possible purpose the entire Ribbon is politically one nation, so there is no
could they serve? The conclusion most widely held on need for a standing army. Apart from the Fleet and the
Radole now is that the mountains were constructed by a Planetary Defense Force - which Radole society sees as
race that used to inhabit the planet, and that the great necessary evils to protect their way of life - the planet is
caverns are their equivalents of temples. totally non-military in character.
Nobody knows what form this ancient race took, or where Radole society is incredibly lawful in outlook, however.
its almost unimaginable power came from. None of the There are laws covering virtually every facet of life, from
murals contains any representation of anything that could birth to death, and from love to revenge. There is no real
be a sentient being. Certain sages believe that the creatures police force , nor need of one. Everyone in the culture
who built the mountains had no physical form whatsoever, recognizes the need for laws, and accepts those that are in
but this isn't a widely held opinion. place. If someone is known to have broken a law, the rest
Legends and myths about this ancient race abound, but of society will tum away from that person, shunning him
most are contradictory. For example, some believe that it and basically expelling him from the society. For the people
was this great race which caused the planet to become of Radole, this is the ultimate punishment, and enough of a
tidally locked with its sun. There are several religions based deterrent to keep the entire Ribbon virtually crime-free.
on worship of the "lost gods" - as the race is often called - Most natives of Radole find it difficult to even conceive of
but followers of these faiths are few. breaking a law.
The most widely held belief about the ancient race is that This can hardly be said of any visitors to the planet, of
it was they who transplanted terrestrial life to Radole. For course. People of Radole have an incredibly low opinion of
what purpose, no one can guess. anyone who comes from another planet, and expect
visitors to be inveterate criminals just waiting for an
Civilization on Radole opportunity to do something heinous. Obviously, with this
All visitors to Radole agree on one thing: that it is the kind of mind-set, the PDF escorts will be looking for the
closest thing to Paradise that they've ever seen, or are likely slightest sign of criminal behavior and - considering how
to see in this life. The inhabitants of the planet are well extensive the body of Radole law is - they're almost certain
aware of this, and one of their greatest fears is that their to see some behavior to confirm their view. At the first sign
idyllic existence will be threatened or destroyed. of criminal activity, the perpetrator and any comrades -
For this reason, the people of Radole are quite read "accomplices" - are whisked before a Judiciary
xenophobic. Settlers are downright unwelcome, and even Committee of the PDF. Here the "criminals" are tried for
transient visitors are treated with grave distrust. After all, their crimes. The burden of proof is on the "criminals" -
might not some tourist, unaware of the way things work on that is, on Radole you're guilty unless proven innocent-
Radole, ruin the civilization the natives have enjoyed for so and ignorance of the law is no excuse. Punishment depends
many centuries? on the severity of the crime, and on the mood of the
The people on Radole are well aware of spelljamming Judiciary Committee at the time, since the Committee has
technology, and use it to defend their home. The Imperial complete freedom in sentencing outworlders. Sentences
Radole Navy consists of 35 ships of the line range from stiff fines, to involuntary servitude, to
(Hammerships) and twice that number of support vessels imprisonment, to summary execution. In most cases,
(Dragonflies, Damselflies and Wasps) . A screen of vessels however, the Committee will sentence visitors to death,
is always in space, ready to challenge any approaching then suspend the sentence ... as long as the "convicts"
craft, and a strike force of larger ships is capable of lifting perform some monumental task, usually something much
off within a couple of hours of the alert being given . too dangerous to risk Radole natives on. Examples include
Ships accosted by the defensive screen must be able to exploration trips to Sunside or Darkside, bringing back a
give a very good reason for visiting Radole before they're young mithril dragon for study, or something similar. Of
allowed to enter the planet's atmosphere and land. No course, the PDF keeps hostages to ensure that the convict
matter how exemplary the visiting ship's reason, however, performs the appropriate duty. On successful conclusion,
it will always be escorted down by one or more Radole the convict's death sentence is usually transmuted to
banishment (on pain of death, of course).
 It is categorically impossible for anyone not bom on board ship - has broken a law, and is sentenced to death.
Radole to become a citizen. It is theoretically possible - The PCs must rescue this unfortunate, then make their own
although exceedingly difficult and unlikely - for a visitor to escape.
so eam the trust of the Radole people that he or she can • The PCs break some Radole law, and are sentenced to
travel the planet without PDF escort. (Historically,this has death ... unless they accept a dangerous mission. Possible
happened only twice. In both cases, the individual involved missions are:
was an elf, who spent several centuries on Radole before • Find out what the pseudo-humanoid "shapes" are on
being granted this freedom.) Darkside.
• Bring back an immature Darkside tunnel worm.
Other Comments • Bring back a supply of some particular metal from
Sunside (a wizard needs the metal for his research).
Although unsubstantiated, there are rumors that Radole • Subdue or kill a small Suns ide dragon.
necromancers have ringed the planet with "minefields" to
deter unexpected visitors. These minefields consist of Bodi
animated skeletons, folded up into small bony balls, and
then scattered through space. If one should fall into the Overall Data
atmosphere envelope of a ship, the skeleton unfolds itself
and attacks anything near it. (This tactic is discussed in Bodi is a small spherical world of Size Class D. Its
more detail on pages 62-63 of the Lorebook of the Void. diameter at the equator is about 2,500 miles, giving it an
The DM should remember the hazards of travelling to equatorial circumference of approximately 7,855 miles.
either Sunside or Darkside. On Sunside, the temperature is This is about one-third the size of Tori\. It shows very little
high enough to melt soft metals. This might have an effect polar flattening. The planet rotates slightly more rapidly
on certain weapons or types of armor. Flammable than standard, giving it a day of 18 hours.
materials will burst into flame in 1d4 tums of exposure to Bodi is unique among the known planets in that it is the
full sunlight. Characters who aren't somehow resistant to only earth world that has a ring. Bodi is encircled at the
fire or heat take 1d20 points of damage per round of equator by a flattened ring of dust and ice crystals. The ring
exposure to the killing temperatures. DMs can add other begins about 1,000 miles above the surface, and is 300
consequences as they see fit. miles wide. It is barely more than a mile thick, however,
On Darkside, the temperature is low enough to and so is virtually invisible when viewed edge-on. This
condense the oxygen out of the air. Thus characters must means that, from the surface on the equator, the ring can't
make some provisions for breathing. Characters who be seen. From other parts of the planet, however, it's visible
aren't somehow resistant to cold take 1d20 points of both day and night as a white arc against the sky. The dust
damage per round of exposure to the brutal cold. The and ice particles are so thickly packed that, from any
temperature is so low that most metals become brittle. distance at all, the ring appears totally solid. Apart from
Each time a metal weapon is used to strike a blow, there creating a spectacular view, the ring has no effect on the
is a 25% chance that the weapon will shatter. A similar planet. It does represent a hazard to spelljamming vessels,
situation holds for metal armor: each time the armor is however, and is massive enough to force a ship to drop to
struck, there is a 50% chance that it will crack, increasing tactical speed. [Any ship trying to sail through the ring will
its Armor Class by 1. When the character's AC reaches suffer 1d8 points of hull damage in the transit.]
10 (or 9, if a shield is used), the metal armor is The composition of Bodi is standard: a solid crust
considered to have been totally destroyed. DMs can add surrounding a semi-molten mantle, with a core of liquid
other consequences as they see fit. nickel-iron. Its magnetic field is about equivalent to that of
Toril, but there is one difference: the magnetic axis is offset
Adventure Hooks from the rotational axis of the planet by 15°. This can cause
problems for compass-based navigation unless the navigator
• The PCs have a run-in with the Imperial Radole Fleet in is aware of the offset. The planet is only slightly geologically
orbit around the planet. Perhaps the fleet mistakes the PCs' active. There may be one or two active volcanos on the world,
ship for one that had tried an unauthorized landing several but they have yet to be mapped. Earthquakes are very rare,
weeks ago, and attacks on sight. and very few of them are strong enough to cause damage.
• The PCs have a mission to deliver an important message The last epoch of mountain-building was several million years
to some influential character on Radole. This means they ago, and the mountains have eroded considerably since then.
have to get past the defensive Fleet - one way or another - Bocii is thus a world of smoothly rolling hills.
land on the planet and seek out the message's recipient. The planet's rotational axis is inclined at an angle of 15° to
This should give them plenty of time to run afoul of Radole its orbital plane, which means that Bodi has regular
law, with potentially interesting consequences. seasons. Its magnetic axis is exactly perpendicular to the
• On Radole, one of the PCs - or an important NPC from on orbital plane.
 There are no oceans as such on Bodi, although there are creatures similar to standard terrestrial species, although
many fresh-water lakes. Some of these are large enough to there are often slight [and, in game terms, irrelevant]
qualify as inland seas, but none are big enough to break the differences. For example, the scavenger niche is filled by
land mass into discernible continents. six-legged rats that operate by hearing and smell rather
than sight, and one of the more efficient airborne predators
Climate and Weather is actually an insectile creature the same size as an eagle,
and with quite similar behavioral traits. [For DMs, the trick
Bodi has a very clement climate, comfortable for virtually is this: figure out what creature would fill the niche on
any demihuman or humanoid race year-round. On the earth, and then ring some changes on it.]
equator the temperature range is 65° (night) to 90° (day) in There are two creatures on Bodi that are found on few
the summer and 40° to 75° in the winter. At the poles, the terrestrial worlds. The largest non-sentient airbome
temperature range is 45° to 70° in the summer, and 35° to predator is a massive creature called the gyre (discussed in
50° in the winter. Thus, Bodi has no ice cap. Near the the Appendix), and the larger lakes are home to monstrous
equator, humidity is very high - 90% relative humidity and fish [same statistics as giant pike, but different in
up, making summers very muggy. At the poles, relative appearance]. Apart from these two, Bodi has no
humidity is nearer 30% - still not dry, but not muggy. "monstrous" animals (with two major exceptions,which will
Rain is fairly common during spring and fall [3 chances in be discussed later).
6], less common during winter [1 chance in 6], and rare in Insect life flourishes on Bodi. Most insects are totally
summer [1 chance in 8]. Snow is unheard of on Bodi. benign, however, except for a species of bloodsuckers-
Winds are usually gentle, and very rarely reach gale force. like terrestrial mosquitos - which live in the tropical rain
[Use the standard Weather Conditions table from the inside forests. These deliver painful bites which raise itchy welts,
cover, but subtract 2 from the dice roll. Treat results of 0 but cause no significant physical damage. (They are highly
and 1 as "Becalmed."] aggravating, however.) Some travellers in the tropics have
Cloud cover is thin. In general, clouds only appear when reported seeing giant, stone-hard mounds that could only
there is precipitation, and even then coverage is almost have been created by creatures similar to giant termites,
never total. but these claims haven't been confirmed. If there are such
giant termites on Bodi, they must be very few in number.
Appearance from Space Bodi is also home to a wide range of bacteria and other
microorganisms. All native life is immune to these bugs,
Bodi appears as an emerald-green sphere streaked with however, and they cause no diseases. Non-native life
thin bands of clouds. There are very rarely weather systems almost always [80% chance] contracts an irritating disease
large enough to be seen from space. within the first 24 hours of landing on the planet, however.
This disease causes inflamed glands, sore throats,
Continents continuous sweating, and fever chills that last for about 24
hours. After that time, the symptoms go away and never
Since there are no oceans as such on Bodi, the entire recur. The disease causes no lasting problems, and there
planetary surface can be considered a single continent. have been no reported cases of fatalities. [The PCs won't
There are two very large fresh-water lakes - more like know this, however, and are quite likely to overreact -
inland seas, really. One, on the equator, is called Iruven<;:: amusingly - when they think they're coming down with
by the inhabitants of Bodi; the oth~r, slightly smaller, is something dire. Normal clerical magic such as cure disease
near the south pole, and is called Eradin<;::. will immediately remove the symptoms.]
Life Forms Guide to the Groundlings
Bodi is a forest world. Its land surface is completely There are three sentient races native to Bodi - although in
covered by forests of one type or another. Near the poles, one case, there is some dispute as to the term "native."
where the temperature and humidity are relatively low, the Bodi is home to a relatively large population of green
forests are generally coniferous evergreens, similar to pines dragons. These creatures are totally indistinguishable from
and firs. In middle latitudes, deciduous trees similar to oaks their counterparts on other planets, and have the standard
and maples are the rule. Near the equator, where it's hot powers, characteristics and personalities as described in the
and damp, great spreading deciduous trees form thick, fetid Monstrous Compendium and the Draconomicon. "Large" is
rain forests. a relative term when discussing such huge predators as
Bodi is a world blessed with a wide variety of animal life. dragons, of course. The whole planet is home to probably
Its ecosystem is as varied and complex as those of Krynn, fewer than 3,000 of the creatures, so it's possible to totally
Oerth and Toril. Every ecological niche is filled by at least avoid their attentions. The green dragons of Bodi speak
one species of creature. Most of these niches are filled by only their own tongue; none understand or speak Common.
 The next sentient race are the tasloi (Monstrous avoid being categorized as enemies.
Compendium, Vol. 2; AC 5 (6); MV 9 C115; HD 1; THACO There is no central elvish civilization as such. The
19; #AT 2 or 1; Dmg 1-3/1-3 or by weapon; SA surprise; population is divided into loosely-knit tribal and family
AL CE). These sly and malicious humanoids frequent the groups, rarely numbering more than 25 individuals. Groups
steamy tropical rain forests, and hunt in the trees, killing cooperate when it's appropriate, but generally prefer to live
and eating anything unfortunate enough to cross their path. their own lives.
The tasloi aren't particularly numerous. Research indicates The elves, of course, have no knowledge of spelljamming.
that there are probably fewer than 20 tribal groups on the Should visitors arrive and prove themselves friendly, the
planet, each with 50 to 100 members. (Of course, it must elves will enjoy hearing tales of the greater universe - if the
be admitted that the margin of error in this estimate is very language problem can be overcome - but will have scarce
high ... ) Most tasloi speak only their own tongue, although desire to leave their home.
there are some who speak a smattering of the green dragon On the topic of spelljamming, the tasloi have no concept
tongue. of its existence, and couldn't care less. Visitors from
Finally, there is a population of perhaps 2,000 high elves another world simply represent more food - food that isn't
on Bodi, spread throughout the temperate regions. familiar with Bodi, and thus will probably be easier to catch.
Although elves did not naturally arise on the planet, they The green dragons, surprisingly, do know that
have been here long enough - perhaps 20,000 years - to spelljamming exists, but have no interest in it. Since a
qualify as "native." Nobody - not even the elves spelljamming vessel represents a potential rival for "air
themselves - knows how this population came to Bodi. superiority," chances are good that the dragons will attack
Folk tales recall that the elves "fell from the skies," which any low-altitude vessel on sight.
might imply that they're the descendants of survivors from
a crashed spelljamming vessel. Over the millennia, Other Comments
however, these elves have "gone native." They have
forgotten their origins, and the fact that they're part of a Bodi is virtually covered with forests, which makes landing
major race throughout the cosmos. Bodi is the only world a problem. There are some clearings, but these are
they know, and hence makes up "the universe" for them. typically small. Most clearings, too, have been made by the
Their language has changed with time, and now they speak green dragons, to allow them to land. For this reason, water
a highly modified form of elvish which is only 25% landings on the many lakes are by far the best choice.
comprehensible to a speaker of modem elvish (and vice
versa, of course). No elf on Bodi speaks any other Adventure Hooks
language, including Common.
The Bodi elves are highly intelligent, and have a well- • The PCs know of another vessel that has crashed on
developed culture, similar to elvish civilizations on other Bodi, and are on a mission to rescue the survivors. These
terrestrial worlds. They are sadly lacking in magic, survivors have fallen into the hands of the tasloi, and
however. There seem to be fewer than 10 wizards on the represent the main course at an upcoming tribal feast. The
entire planet, and none of them are highly skilled [4th level PCs must rescue the "meal" before the festivities start.
maximum]. Their selection of spells is greatly limited, and • The situation is similar to the above, except that the
those spells that they do know differ greatly in verbal, survivors were found by the elves. Because the survivors
somatic and material components from the standard responded to the elves with the paranoia typical of flyers
versions (although the effects and other details are downed on a strange world, the elves decided they were
unchanged). This leads some sages to believe that the enemies, and took them captive for interrogation and
original survivors of the (putative) crash contained no probable execution. The PCs must free these captives.
spell casters, and that the elves have had to redevelop the Since the elves aren't evil, and were only protecting
study of magic from scratch - an amazing achievement, themselves, any rescue should be as non-violent as
even for creatures who live more than a millennium. possible.
Perhaps surprisingly, the Bodi elves have no form of • While looking for a place to land, the PCs are engaged in
religion. This is taken by some as an indication that the the air by one or more green dragons. As a result of the
original survivors didn't include a cleric. ensuing dogfight, the ship may be damaged, and the PCs
The elves of Bodi know of the existence of only three may have to deal with the groundlings to get her repaired.
sentient races: green dragons, tasloi and themselves. Thus • The PCs have been hired by the elvish Imperial Navy to
they will be shocked and surprised to meet any explorers. investigate rumors of a lost elvish colony on Bodi, and
While they are by nature curious, elves are also cautious. report back with details. To succeed, they must establish
Keeping in mind that, on Bodi, anything intelligent that isn't friendly relations with the elves (not necessarily an easy
an elf likes to eat elves, visitors should watch their step to task).
Introduction world's fiery atmosphere. There is also a small, permanent
civilization of efreet on the sole region of solid land.
Strictly speaking, fire bodies are the most common Perhaps because of the size of this central portal, Ignia is
objects in Wildspace ... since, after all, suns and stars qualify extremely hot. Unlike most other fire worlds - whose light is
as fire bodies, and since there are numerous crystal shells orange, red or yellow -Ignia's atmosphere bums a brilliant
that contain suns with no planets orbiting them. For the blue-white.
purposes of this discussion, however, we will disregard There is a single island of solid iron that floats at the
"suns" - that is, fire bodies that are the primaries of their margin of Ignia's flames and its superheated atmosphere.
systems - and concentrate on those rare fire worlds that This floating island is known as Salome, and is home to a
orbit another primary. population of fire-loving creatures.
The most common form of fire world is composed of a The surface of Ignia is dotted with "sunspots": circular
flaming gaseous atmosphere. This atmosphere would areas that appear dark in contrast to the brilliance of the
normally be breathable by normal forms of Iife .. .if it weren't rest of the planet. They are in fact circular storms similar to
raised to such a temperature that breathing it would hurricanes that extend down into the fire. The "eye" of the
instantly bum out the lungs of any normal creature foolish storm is an empty cone, about 10 miles in diameter at the
enough to try. The core of a fire world is often a small top, 50 miles in length, tapering down to a point. The air
sphere of liquid fire, or, more rarely, a portal to the within the eye is much colder than the surrounding fire, and
Elemental Plane of Fire. Most fire worlds have one or more the cone extends - invisibly - outward to the margin of the
portals to this Elemental Plane somewhere within their planet's atmosphere. At the extremity of the planet's
mass. atmosphere envelope, the cone of cold air is 50 miles in
To quote the Lorebook of the Void, "The danger to star diameter.
travelers on fire worlds is the inhuman heat, such that ships [The air within a sunspot is much colder than that which
and their crews will be destroyed unless protected. In game surrounds the storm. Using the discussion of "zones of
terms, think of the fire world as being surrounded by rings damage" in the introduction, at any given distance the air
or zones of heat. As the characters move closer to the within a sunspot is the same temperature as normal air 25
center, the heat increases. At the farthest zone there is no zones farther out from the surface of the planet. How does
heat or fire damage. One zone in, living creatures take 1d6 this work? Normally at the surface of the fire world, any
points of damage per round, and this doubles with each exposed character would suffer 30d6 points of damage per
ring moved into, to a maximum of 30d6 per round. Hulls round from heat. Within a sunspot, however, the character
take similar damage with 10 hit points of damage equaling would suffer only 5d6 points of damage per round. One
1 point of hull damage. Fires will start with the first hull zone out, where the damage would normally be 29d6
point of damage, and at farther zones even rock will liquefy points per round, within a sunspot it would only be 4d6
and steel will melt. The size of these zones depends on the points. Five zones out, where the damage would normally
size of the fire body, but as a rule of thumb, a body falling be 25d6 points per round, within a sunspot a character
uncontrollably toward the sun will pass through one ring per would suffer no damage at all. In the vicinity of Ignia, a
round." "zone" is approximately 33 miles thick. Thus, within a
Adventurers wishing to explore the fire bodies described sunspot, a ship or character could approach to 165 miles
herein must find some way to protect both themselves and (33 x 5) from the planet's surface without suffering any
their ship from the extreme heat. damage.]
Theoretically, a ship could use the cone of a sunspot to
Ignia come relatively close to the surface unscathed. There are
three significant difficulties however. First, the cone of a
Overall Data sunspot is invisible in the atmosphere. Second, the
sunspots move around randomly at relatively high speed
As fire bodies go, Ignia is a dwarf: It is Size C, only 1,000 [equivalent to SR I, tactical speed]. Finally, sunspots are
miles in diameter, giving it an equatorial circumference of given to vanishing with little to no warning. [Each tum,
about 3,142 miles. The world is slightly flattened at the there is a 5% chance (non-cumulative) that a given sunspot
poles and extended at the equator, presumably due to its will spontaneously vanish ... perhaps leaving a ship
extremely fast rate of spin. A day on Ignia is only 6 hours suddenly and catastrophically without protection.] There
long. (Of course, on a fire world "night" is a relative term are usually 2-40 [2d20] sunspots in existence scattered
anyway ... ) over the surface of Ignia.
The core of Ignia is a large portal to the Elemental Plane
of Fire, and many creatures native to this plane use the Climate and Weather
portal to visit the world. Among the efreet, Ignia seems to
be considered a kind of vacation destination, and about a The extreme heat of the surface whips the atmosphere of
score of the creatures can usually be found playing in this Ignia into mighty storms. [To determine the atmospheric
conditions at any time, use the Winter column of the fire-dwelling creatures as well. Whether these creatures
Weather Conditions table on the inside cover, but add 4 to have all come to Ignia through the interplanar portal at its
the die roll.) The weather conditions immediately core, or whether some have arrived at the planet by other
surrounding a sunspot cone are always "Gale," while the means - perhaps by journeying through space - is currently
conditions within the cone are "Ught Breeze." In the unknown, although virtually every sage has his or her own
atmosphere directly above the floating island of Salome, theory.
conditions are considerably less extreme. IUse the Winter There are known to be significant populations of
column, with no die roll modifier.) There is never salamanders (Monstrous Compendium, Vol. 2; AC 5/3; MV
precipitation of any kind on Ignia. 9; HD 7 +7; THACO 12; #AT 2; Dmg 2-12, 1-6 (weapon);
SA heat 1-6; SD + 1 or better weapon to hit; AL CE) and fire
Appearance from Space bats (similar to giant bats, described in the Monstrous
Compendium, Vol. 1, except that they are larger and
Ignia appears as a small sphere of almost blinding blue- immune to fire; AC 8; MV 3, F118; HD 2; THACO 18; #AT
white light. Drifting dots of darker blue - the sunspots - are 1; Dmg 2-6; SD immune to fire; AL N) dwelling in the fires
barely visible, while the island of Salome appears as a of Ignia. The latter also fly through the hot atmosphere,
region of black that moves around the planet's surface. apparently playing in the strong winds and thermals above
the surface. Here, they frequently come into combat with
Continents flame swallows (discussed in the Appendix), which seem to
prey on the fire bats and vice versa. Wandering efreet can
The only continent is the floating island of Salome. This also be found throughout the central fires of the planet.
continent is a jagged oval, 50 miles along its major axis These may be inhabitants of Salome, or visitors to Ignia
and about 30 miles along its minor axis. It floats on the directly from the Elemental Plane of Fire.
margin between the world's central fires and its
superheated atmosphere. Salome drifts with the winds and Guide to the Groundlings
the currents in the fire, and its position can never be
predicted with any accuracy. It seems to spend marginally The most important intelligent race on Ignia is the efreet.
more time near the equator than near the poles, but at any There is an estimated population of 200 of these mighty
given time it might be found anywhere on the planet. creatures on the floating island of Salome. They live in the
Salome is made of solid iron. Although the temperature of city of Morroc, located in the center of the continent.
Ignia's fire is normally enough to tum iron to liquid, Salome Morroc is a relatively large city, and appears capable of
itself remains solid, and doesn't even seem to be softened accepting a population of at least 2,000 efreet. Why the city
by the great heat. The iron glows a bright cherry red, is only one-tenth occupied is open to conjecture. Some
however. IThe effects of touching the surface of Salome are sages believe that the city's population once was closer to
the same as those of touching metal raised to "searing" 2,000, but that most of the efreet left or died out for one
temperatures by the priest spell heat metal. For details, see reason or another. Other sages claim the opposite: that the
the spell description in the second edition Player's population of Morroc is expected to eventually reach the
Handbook.) Its upper surface is generally flat, although 2,000 mark. The efreet know, presumably, but they aren't
there are some low, rolling hills. The landscape is dotted telling.
with small lakes of molten metals - mainly tin, which has a The efreet population in Morroc is highly organized and
considerably lower melting point than iron. In the center of structured. The ruler of the city is an old and very powerful
the island is a large city known as Morroc, apparently built efreeti known as the Padishah Khomos. He is assisted in
from blocks of iron quarried from the surface. (Perhaps governing the city - and the entire island - by five Amirs,
these quarries are now the tin lakes.) who are almost as powerful as he. It is thought that
Sages argue about how Salome can remain solid. Some Khomos has reigned as Padishah for several centuries.
believe that the metal continent is magically protected - All other efreet dwelling on Salome have sworn eternal
perhaps by the actions of the efreet who dwell there - while loyalty to Khomos, and will follow his orders
others claim that the iron island is supported by a very unquestioningly. They will also give their lives to defend
large - and hence very cold - sunspot. The only way to test him, if this becomes necessary.
this latter hypothesis would be to plunge into the fire and The efreet culture in Morroc is strongly lawful, and very
explore directly beneath the island ... and nobody has yet evil. Any other creature unfortunate enough to wander into
expressed the slightest interest in doing so. the area, and not powerful enough to make its escape, will
be captured by the efreet and turned into a slave. Rumors
Life Forms state that there are several salamanders, and even a family
of fire giants, kept as slaves. (Some sages deny this last
Ignia is home to a wide variety of creatures normally rumor, since they consider it impossible for fire giants to
native to the Elemental Plane of Fire, and perhaps other survive long on Salome, despite their resistance to fire.)
 Again, there are recurring rumors that various in its own system. It rotates slowly, having a day of about
spelljamming craft have visited Salome, and that their 200 hours.
crews were taken as slaves by the rapacious efreet. It is Garrash is much cooler than most fire worlds. It bums with
virtually certain that all of these unfortunates would have a dull red light, making it look at a distance like a sullen,
died when the magical protections that kept them safe from dying ember. The world is thought to have a core of molten
the killing heat wore out. iron, rather than liquid fire. There is certainly no transplanar
While the lives of their slaves are generally unpleasant and portal at the world's center, although there may be
short, the efreet of Morroc enjoy an extremely high quality spontaneously-occurring gates elsewhere within its
of life. They practice art and music, and consider immense volume.
themselves the most enlightened of their kind in the [Garrash is so cool - comparatively speaking - that the
multiverse. Many efreet keep flame swallows as pets, and damage its heat inflicts at its surface is "only" 20d6 points
there is much (comparatively) friendly competition per round. Garrash is surrounded by 20 - rather than 30 -
between individuals over the beauty of their winged friends. "zones" of decreasing heat and damage, each 750,000
The efreet almost certainly know that spelljamming miles thick.]
technology exists, but they seem unable or unwilling to use Garrash has one single "sunspot" that seems to have been
it themselves. After all, why should they want to leave their in existence for several decades; it is known as the Great
wondrous home? Salome in general, and Morroc in Storm. It drifts slowly around the equator of the world. Uke
particular, has just about all an efreeti could desire from life. the smaller sunspots on Ignia, the Great Storm appears as
Spelljamming vessels are a convenience, since they a darker circle against the glowing face of the world, and
occasionally bring them new slaves - albeit short-lived seems to be a circular storm of some kind. This storm,
ones. however, is almost one million miles in diameter.
[Unlike the sunspots of Ignia, Garrash's single spot is a
Adventure Hooks cylinder, not a cone. It extends far down into the body of
the planet, and to the margin of the world's atmosphere
• An approaching spelljamming craft is damaged by envelope. The air within the Great Storm is much colder
curious flame swallows, and the pes must find a way of than that which surrounds it. Using the discussion of "zones
repairing their vessel. This might involve landing on of damage" in the introduction, at any given distance the
Salome, and interaction with the efreet. air within the Great Storm is the same temperature as
• The pes have been hired or instructed to discover the fate normal air 15 zones further out from the surface of the
of an earlier expedition to Ignia. They find that the previous planet. Normally at the surface of Garrash, any exposed
vessel set down on Salome, and that the explorers were character would suffer 20d6 points of damage per round
enslaved by the efreet. The pes must rescue these from heat. Within the Great Storm, however, the character
unfortunates before their fire-protection magics wear out. would suffer only 5d6 points of damage per round. One
• As soon as the pes' vessel enters Ignia's atmosphere zone out, where the damage would normally be 19d6
envelope, it is attacked by a group of efreet accompanied points per round, within the Great Storm it would only be
by trained flame swallows. These efreet are either out for a 4d6 points. Five zones out, where the damage would
little fun (in which case, the DM should play them as normally be 15d6 points per round, within the Great Storm
magical juvenile delinquents) or looking for new slaves (in a character would suffer no damage at all. Since a "zone"
which case the raid might be well-planned and executed around Garrash is 750,000 miles thick, this means that a
with military precision). ship could approach within 3.75 million (750,000 x 5)
• The pes have been hired by a sage who wants a live miles of the surface without suffering any damage as long
flame swallow for his studies. (Acquiring such a creature as it remained within the Great Storm. Since the Storm is so
will be a challenge, even without the possible involvement large, and moves so slowly, staying within it should pose
of other fire-using creatures. little problem.]
Garrash is encircled around its equator by a ring of liquid
Garrash fire. This ring begins 5 million miles above the surface, and
is 1 million miles wide. It is only 50 miles or so thick,
Overall Data however, which makes it virtually invisible from edge-on.
[Any ship entering the ring suffers Id4 hull points each
The exact opposite of Ignia in many ways, Garrash is a
round that it remains within the liquid fire; in addition,
colossal world: Size J. Its diameter is 15 million miles,
flammable objects on deck are automatically ignited. Any
giving it an equatorial circumference of 47 million miles. As
unprotected character on deck suffers 10d4 points of
such, it is over 2,100 times the diameter - and over 9
damage each round.]
billion times the volume - of Toril, and larger than all but
Garrash has a single moon - small in comparison to the
the most extreme and unusual suns. In fact, Garrash has
planet, but still a Size E world in its own right - called
the distinction of being considerably larger than the primary
Taran. Unlike most other moons, Taran is in a polar orbit
around Garrash; in other words, it passes over the poles surface. The explorers reported valleys that appeared to
rather than circling around the equator. Its orbital period is have been carved by water, but temperature on Zaberie is
50 standard days. Taran orbits at a distance of 5.5 million such that no liquid water could possibly exist. Some
miles, which means it passes right through the heart of theorists believe that Zaberie might once have been part of
Garrash's ring every 25 standard days. This periodic blast- another world - perhaps another moon of Garrash - that
furnace passage has turned Taran into a featureless sphere somehow was shattered. If this is true, then the river valleys
of semi-molten rock. From just about any distance, Taran might have been carved while this chunk of terrain was part
is dwarfed into invisibility by its primary. of another world.
The explorers chose to examine Zaberie over the other
Climate and Weather continents they'd spotted because of one rather strange
characteristic of the island: it seemed to be somehow
Winds in the hot atmosphere of Garrash are slow, and bound to the periphery of the Great Storm, and never
huge areas are often becalmed for days at a time. [Use the moved far from it. This both intrigued the explorers, and
Summer column of the Weather Conditions table on the also made it much easier for them to approach this chunk
inside cover, but subtract 6 from the die roll. Consider of land. Despite much investigation and the use of
results of 1 or less as "Becalmed. ") The atmosphere divinatory magic, the explorers were unable to discover the
around the periphery of the Great Storm is always in connection between Zaberie and the Great Storm.
"Storm" conditions. Within the Great Storm, the conditions Apart from Zaberie, the continents drift aimlessly around
are "Becalmed." the planet, never seeming to collide or even to approach
There is no normal precipitation on Garrash. However, each other. Most are so large that they could be considered
there are rare cases of so-called "fire-rains" from the independent worlds in their own right. This must be kept in
orbiting ring. When this occurs, sheets of liquid fire pour mind when reading the following sections: the information
down from the ring. [Any creature or ship caught in a fire- on life forms and groundlings refers almost exclusively to
rain suffers damage as if it had entered the ring itself. On the continent of Zaberie. It's possible - and, indeed, quite
any given day, there is a 1% chance of a fire-rain.) likely - that conditions are totally different on other
continents.
Appearance from Space
Life Forms
Garrash appears as a dull red ball of flaming gas
surrounded by a thin ring of yellow fire. The only feature Garrash represents a large number of environments: the
large enough to discern is the Great Storm, which has a fiery planet itself, the heated atmosphere, the moon Taran,
diameter about 1/15 that of the planet. and the multitude of floating continents. Each that has been
examined has its own retinue of life forms. There are even
Continents unsubstantiated reports of life that seems to have evolved
in the gargantuan world's fiery ring.
There are an uncounted number of "continents" floating
about Garrash's fiery surface. Most are discs of metal or The Planet
semi-molten rock, and all are small ... but only in
The fires of Garrash itself are home to many species
comparison to the massive scale of Garrash. The largest
native to the Elemental Plane of Fire. Salamanders, fire
that has been reported - named "Greendale" by someone
bats, flame swallows (discussed in the Appendix), efreet
with an obviously twisted sense of humor - is 10,000 miles
and many others make their homes in the flaming
in diameter, giving it a surface area of about 78 million
atmosphere of Garrash. Although there are some intelligent
square miles, or about half of the total surface area of the
creatures that make their homes here, they are relatively
planet of Toril. Nobody knows for sure how many of these
few. The vast majority of the inhabitants seem to have
continents there are, but the number is certainly in excess
animal intelligence, no higher. It is presumed that most of
of 100.
these creatures have found their way to Garrash through
As with the island of Salome on Ignia, these floating
spontaneous interplanar gates to the plane of Elemental
continents seem to be kept cool and solid by mechanisms
Fire within the world.
- either physical or magical laws - that are not yet
understood. Judging merely by the conditions on the The Atmosphere
surface of Garrash, it would seem that the mightiest iron or
stone continent would be quickly reduced to liquid. Garrash's hot atmosphere is home to competing
Only one continent, a relatively tiny example - only 500 populations of fire bats and flame swallows. These
miles in diameter - called Zaberie, has been explored to creatures are often seen swooping through the superheated
any extent at all. It is a rugged disk of basalt and granite, air in massive "dogfights" comprising sometimes hundreds
boasting impressive mountains and valleys over its entire of the creatures.
Taran it seems that Amaimon had no conception of Garrash's
size. It's absolutely certain that only 10,000 azer couldn't
The moon Taran is rumored to be home to two heat- possibly stake out more than an insignificant portion of this
loving races: salamanders and fire snakes. These rumors gargantuan world.
have not been substantiated, however. The azer outpost takes the form of a complex of towers
Continents built from the basalt and granite of Zaberie. The complex is
ruled by one of Amaimon's nobles, named Aladair. The
In truth, the only "continent" that has been explored to azer civilization is very structured, with law taking
any appreciable extent at all is the floating island of precedence over individual freedoms - even an individual's
Zaberie. The following comments might or might not apply life, if it comes to that. It seems that Aladair is continuously
to the other 100+ continents that drift around the surface of petitioning Amaimon for more azer to expand the race's
Garrash. "beachhead" on what should be a perfect planet for them.
Zaberie has a wide-ranging ecology. The bottoms of the So far, the azer king hasn't seen fit to answer his lieutenant.
valleys and canyons are home to various species of fire- To be truthful, 10,000 azer isn't even enough to control
resistant trees and shrubs. Most have outer skins or barks the entire continent of Zaberie. The azer complex is located
that appear to be metallic, and their leaves are actually atop the continent's highest mountain, and holds
made entirely of metal - in some cases, precious metals. uncontested all territory within 500 miles. Since Zaberie is
(Who says money doesn't grow on trees ... ?) There are some 10,000 miles in diameter, however, this means that
many other fire-dwelling or -using creatures on Zaberie, the azer control only one four-hundredth of the continent's
including (but not limited to) fire snakes (Monstrous surface area. The vast majority is terra incognita.
Compendium, Vol. 2; AC 6; MV 4; HD 2; THACO 16; #AT So far there have been no significant challenges to azer
1; Dmg 1-4; SA paralyzation; SD immune to fire; AL N), dominance. But there are hints that this might change.
fire toads (Monstrous Compendium, Vol. 1; AC 10; MV 6 There are reputed to be other intelligent - and territorial -
hop 6; HD 4+ 1; THACO 17; #AT 1; Dmg variable; AL CN), creatures on Garrash, who are casting acquisitive glances
and salamanders (Monstrous Compendium, Vol. 2; AC 5/3; towards Zaberie. If this is true, the azer might be in serious
MV 9; HD 7+ 7; THACO 12; #AT 2; Dmg 2-12, 1-6 trouble.
(weapon); SA heat 1-6; SD + 1 or better to hit; AL CE). The azer have little conception of spelljamming. They
The most important inhabitants of Zaberie are creatures know that there are other forms of life in the universe -
called azer (see the Appendix) . They are discussed in more creatures that aren't fire-dwelling - but can't conceive of
detail in the following section. how these creatures exist. Any spelljamming crew who puts
Recurring rumors claim that one of the floating continents down in azer territory runs the risk of being captured and
in temporarily home to a creature known as Imix, Prince of interrogated - or perhaps vivisected - by the unfriendly
Evil Fire Creatures. Nothing is known about this creatures.
personage, but rumors claim that he is surrounded and
served by many salamanders, fire elementals, and even Adventure Hooks
efreet. Why this Elemental Prince might see fit to visit the
Prime Material Plane is unknown, so this rumor is dismissed • The PCs land on Zaberie, and must stay out of the
by most sages as a scare story only suitable for terrifying clutches of the azer. Altematively, they must negotiate with
children. the azer to get their ship repaired.
• The PCs are instructed to explore Zaberie and bring back
The Ring samples of a precious-metal tree. This might bring them
The ring of liquid fire that encircles Garrash is said to be into conflict with the azer, who probably want to keep these
home to a massive creature known as the zat (see strange plants for themselves.
Appendix) . Next to nothing is known about this creature; • The rumors are true: a continent near Zaberie is ruled by
indeed, most sages dismiss tales of the zat as the fantasies Imix, Prince of Evil Fire Creatures. And this land is drawing
of heat-befuddled minds. nearer to Zaberie! The azer know they're in trouble, and try
to persuade the PCs to help them out...
Guide to the Groundlings • The PCs approach the fire-ring and find a fI:iendly vessel
in combat with one or more zats. The PCs must either fight
The only known population of truly intelligent creatures on off these monstrous creatures, or convince them that the
Garrash is a society of perhaps 10,000 azer who live on the other ship is no threat to them.
floating continent of Zaberie. These small humanoids are • The PCs' ship is damaged - perhaps by a zat - and they
virtually unknown elsewhere in the universe, unless put down on the moon Taran. They have only a few days in
summoned from their home on the Elemental Plane of Fire. which to make repairs - perhaps hindered by mag men
Apparently, these creatures were sent by their ruler, and/or lava children - before the moon plunges once more
Amaimon, to "claim" Garrash for their race. Unfortunately, into Garrash's fire-ring ...
Introduction water - contains a small amount of dissolved salt. Thus it is
neither truly salt nor truly fresh, but a mixture of the two.
Water worlds show a greater diversity than do fire worlds. This means that both salt water and fresh water creatures
Some water planets are frigid worlds, encircled by a crust of can exist on the planet.
ice, or even solid ice to the core; some are almost boiling.
The majority have an atmosphere, while some few have Climate and Weather
none - the water is separated from the vacuum of space by
a semi-elastic membrane. The water of Thalassa is a constant temperature from the
Most water worlds have at least some solid land: islands surface right down to the planet's core: a comfortable 75°
floating on or within the planet's watery sphere. Most also F. This is thought to be because there is an interplanar gate
have a solid core, although the immense pressure at that to some other, hotter plane at the core of the planet,
depth would crush the most rugged ship like an eggshell. although the intense pressures at the innermost depths
Unless the particular world has islands that float atop the have made any investigation impossible.
water - or unless stranger circumstances hold, as with the There are gentle currents through both the oxywater and
planet of Thalassa, described below - exploring a water normal water, none of them exceeding a couple of knots in
world requires the use of magics such as water breathing speed. Currents do not cross the division between oxywater
or airy water. Of course, these constraints are much less and normal water, so there's no enforced mixing of the two.
than would hold with a fire world. Since Thalassa has no atmosphere, there's no weather of
any kind above its surface.
Thalassa Appearance from Space
Overall Data
Thalassa appears as a featureless blue-green sphere.
Thalassa is a Size D world, perfectly spherical, with a
diameter of 3,500 miles and a circumference of about Continents
11,000 miles. [t rotates on its axis in almost exactly one
standard day (24 hours). Its rotational axis is exactly There is no solid land on Thalassa.
perpendicular to its orbital plane, so Thalassa has no Life Forms
seasons.
Thalassa is one of those few water worlds without either The water-bound ecosystem of Thalassa teems with life.
atmosphere or suspended bodies of solid land. [t is Virtually every form of purely aquatic creature has been
surrounded by an elastic "skin" which may be broken and reported on Thalassa. It's important to point out, however,
reseals after something or someone has passed through it. that Thalassa has no solid ground, so creatures which can
Thalassa has a one-mile-thick "mantle" of water that has only dwell on an ocean floor - such as aquatic elves,
very different properties from the rest of the planet. This vodyanoi, etc. - are not found on the planet. There are no
water has a great amount of dissolved oxygen - and, in aquatic mammals such as whales or dolphins native to the
fact, is referred to by sages as "oxywater." Air-breathing planet.
creatures can breathe oxywater and extract enough oxygen The normal water region of the planet - the vast majority
from it to survive. Breathing oxywater is an unpleasant and of its mass - is home to the larger, and generally more
quite frightening experience, and it takes a significant effort dangerous creatures: giant pelagic sharks like the
of will to do so. Creatures can extract less oxygen from Megalodon (Monstrous Compendium, Vol. 2; AC 5; MV Sw
oxywater than normal, and this has various effects on their 18; HD 10-15; THACO 11-7; #AT 1; Dmg 4-16,5-20 or 6-
abilities. (These effects are discussed in greater detail in the 24; SA swallows whole; AL N), giant squids (Monstrous
section "Other Comments.") Water-breathing creatures Compendium, Vol. 2; AC 7/3; MV Sw 3 Jet 18; HD 12;
are also able to breathe oxywater, with no disadvantages. THACO 9; #AT 9; Dmg 1-6 (x8)/5-20; SA constriction;
Thus Thalassa is virtually the only place in the universe AL N), and evil beasts like the kraken (Monstrous
where both air- and water-breathing creatures can coexist Compendium, Vol. 2; AC 5/0; MV 3 Jet 21; HD 20; THACO
without the use of magic - to a depth of one mile from the 5; #AT 9; Dmg 3-18(x 2)/2-12(x6)/7-28; AL NE). For
surface, at least. At depths greater than one mile, Thalassa some reason, these huge creatures rarely if ever penetrate
is normal water. There is a distinct division between the oxywater layer, and remain in the black depths.
oxywater and normal water, and this division is visible as a The normal water region is also home to a population of
wavy layer of dust and plankton. Air-breathers who sahuagin (Monstrous Compendium, Vol. 2; AC 5; MV 12
penetrate this layer will drown unless they immediately Sw 24; HD 2+2; THACO 16; #AT 1 or special; Dmg 1-2/1-
retum to the breathable area, or unless they have access to 2/1- 4/1-4/1-4 or by weapon; AL LE). Unlike most other
suitable magics. sahuagin populations, these "seadevils" live exclusively in
The water on Thalassa - both the oxywater and normal the open ocean, without the sea-floor cities typical of their
kind. They inhabit the region just beneath the division The Mermen
between oxywater and normal water, but often raid the
oxywater region for slaves and food. The mermen of Thalassa also organize around multi-
The oxywater mantle of Thalassa is home to smaller, less family bands. These bands are usually smaller than
deadly creatures. The mantle is inhabited by a great sahuagin groups, numbering between 50 and 75. They are
profusion of fish, many of surpassing beauty. Few of these not territorial in the normal sense, but do have an innate
are baneful. The mantle is also home to a civilization of understanding of "fish farming" and ecological principles.
mermen (Monstrous Compendium, Vol. 2; AC 7; MV 1 Thus, each band will live in a certain region, and will rarely
Sw 18; HD 1+1; THACO 18; #AT 1; Dmg by weapon; SA encroach on the domain of another band.
grapple ship; AL N). There is also a small number of nixies Mermen are naturally more cooperative than sahuagin,
living in the oxywater mantle. and the continuing raids by the sea devils have enhanced
The division between normal water and oxywater - known this trait. One merman band will automatically come to the
to the inhabitants of Thalassa as the "Layer" - is home to a aid of another should it fall under attack. This cooperation
vast number of plankton species, which form a layer up to is probably the sole reason why the sahuagin have been so
50' thick. Creatures on both sides of this barrier use it as a unsuccessful in defeating their enemies.
convenient source of food. The mermen of Thalassa are more comfortable in the
oxywater mantle, and have no territorial ambitions with
Guide to the Groundlings regard to the normal water below the Layer. This is based
on several good reasons. Firstly, the fish that they farm live
The two most important sentient populations on the planet exclusively above the Layer. Secondly, while the sahuagin
are the sahuagin and the mermen. No-one knows how that raid above the Layer rarely bring with them sharks and
many of each type of creature exist on Thalassa, although other monsters from the depths, should the mermen try to
there are thought to be many thousands of each, spread conquer the sea devils beneath the Layer, they'd have to
around the world. fight not only the sahuagin but also monstrous fish and
sharks. Thirdly, even when it comes to horrid creatures
The Sahuagin such as the sahuagin, the mermen are basically peaceable
The sahuagin operate in multi-family bands of up to 150 creatures, and have no stomach for a war of conquest. (A
members. Each band claims and defends a territory about war of defense is another matter entirely, of course.)
20 miles on a side. A territory rarely extends more than one Over the centuries, the mermen have become suspicious
mile below the Layer, and doesn't extend at all above it. of strangers, fearing that newcomers to the world might be
Sahuagin bands often stage raids into the oxywater above potential allies of the sahuagin. Thus, they'll treat any
the Layer, but these are usually hit-and-run affairs, quickly explorers with grave distrust until the visitors prove their
terminated to avoid counterattacks by the mermen. Under good intentions. Once the visitors have done so, however,
normal conditions, different bands will not cooperate, and the mermen will consider them eternal friends and allies.
in fact often stage raids into each other's territories. There While visitors can become trusted friends, settlers are
are legends, however, that tell of a time some centuries ago another story. The mermen consider the oxywater mantle
when a source of great magical power fell into the oxywater of Thalassa as theirs, and will do whatever it takes to
mantle of Thalassa. (Unfortunately, the legends don't discourage other creatures who want to make it their
describe what this object was, although some sages believe permanent home. This discouragement will initially take the
it was a spelljamming vessel carrying a stash of powerful form of verbal persuasion, but - if necessary - will quickly
magical items.) At this time, four complete bands of escalate into war. So far, there has been no need for the
sahuagin staged a cooperative raid into the oxywater mermen to forcibly expel an invasion from space, but
mantle to acquire this source of power. It was a c1ose- they're ready to undertake the task if it becomes necessary.
fought thing, but the mermen - who are by nature more The mermen have learned that spelljamming exists from
cooperative - managed to repel this invasion. There's no various explorers who have made planetfall on Thalassa in
reason to believe that the sahuagin might not repeat this the past. They even understand a little about how
kind of raid if the potential gains are great enough to spelljamming vessels operate. (Thus they can prove to be
warrant it. invaluable assistants to a crew trying to repair a damaged
Sahuagin by nature are cruel and rapacious, and may the spelljamming ship.) They have absolutely no interest in
gods help anyone unfortunate enough to fall into their leaving their home world, however.
grasp.
The sahuagin have no conception of spelljamming as Other Comments
such, and would have no interest in it - other than as a
potential source of power in their ongoing raids - even if The oxywater of Thalassa's mantle has some significant
they discovered it existed. effects on characters who try to breathe it. Firstly, air-
breathing creatures have an instinctive fear of, and aversion
to, inhaling any liquid. The first time that a character tries to - would give an anchor a good race to the core of Thalassa.
breathe oxywater, he or she must make a saving throw vs. Water-breathing creatures can swim through oxywater at
spells. A successful save means that the character has their normal movement rate, and are totally unaffected by
overcome his instinctive fears, and has forced himself to its special properties.
take oxywater into his lungs. Once a character has Characters can talk normally in oxywater. Fire will not
successfully breathed oxywater, he need never make this burn in oxywater, and electricity-based spells act as they do
saving throw again, no matter how long he lives. in normal water (see the section on "Underwater Combat"
If the character fails the saving throw, however, it means in the Dungeon Master's Guide 2nd Ed.).
that he or she has panicked. The character immediately
bolts for the surface, or for the nearest source of "real" air Adventure Hooks
(presumably the character is entering the oxywater from
such a source of real air). He can't make another attempt • The PCs' ship is damaged, and they must put down on
to breathe oxywater for 1d4 rounds - the length of time it Thalassa for repairs. The mermen will immediately come to
takes for the character to get himself under control. investigate, and the PCs must persuade the distrusting
Only creatures with Low intelligence (tNT 5) or better can creatures that they represent no threat.
willingly attempt to breathe oxywater. Semi-intelligent • The PCs land on Thalassa. The sahuagin of the region
creatures or those with animal intelligence are totally learn that a "great source of magic" - the PCs' ship - has
unable to make a conscious effort to overcome their fallen into the hands of the mermen, and they fear a general
instincts and take their first lungfull of oxywater. Thus, a assault on their territory. (Obviously, they don't fully
ranger's pet wolf won't willingly follow its master into the understand the peaceable personality of the mermen, and
oxywater. An animal can be forced into the oxywater, of judge all races by their own attitudes.) Several bands of
course; unfortunately, it will react to this as an attempt to sahuagin join forces, and stage a major raid to capture the
drown it, and will fight ferociously to escape from those ship. The PCs must either escape, or assist the mermen in
characters trying to "kill" it. Once an animal is beneath the the defense of their ship.
surface of the oxywater, has taken its first breath and • A sahuagin raid is already underway into merman
realized it can breathe, it will immediately relax and "go territory. The mermen beg the PCs to assist them in turning
with the experience." The next time characters try to back these enemies.
immerse it in oxywater, however, it will react exactly as it • A PC or significant NPC falls into the clutches of the
did the first time - a wild attempt to escape. sahuagin (perhaps he or she was captured while exploring).
The lungs of an air-breathing creature can extract much The PCs must stage a rescue mission before their colleague
less oxygen from oxywater than they can from an is tortured to death and eaten. The PCs may be able to
atmosphere. This decrease in oxygen supply has two persuade the mermen to assist them in this task, but it
significant effects. Firstly, while breathing oxywater, an air- won't be easy ...
breathing creature has its Constitution score halved (round • An item of great significance to the mermen has been
fractions down). This will affect the creature's System stolen by the sahuagin. The mermen ask the PCs to "re-
Shock roll, and might affect its hit points. Secondly, the acquire" it for them. As the PCs are exploring the oxywater
creature's Strength is temporarily diminished by 2 - having mantle, a powerful monster from below the Layer enters the
a possible effect on "to hit" and damage calculations. Both mantle to attack them and/or the mermen - perhaps a
of these effects are in effect only while the creature is kraken. The PCs must fight off this hideous creature.
breathing oxywater, and both vanish as soon as the
creature returns to a normal atmosphere. (For example: Charon
Balfas the Warrior has STR 18/01 and CON 16. His high
STR gives him a bonus of +1 to hit and +3 to damage, Overall Data
while his high CON gives him a hit point adjustment of +2
Known as the "planet of the dead," Charon is a spherical
per die. While breathing oxywater, however, Balfas's
Size C world, about 1,000 miles in diameter, with a
effective STR is only 16 - for a bonus of +1 to damage and
circumference of 3,148 miles. It rotates very slowly, giving
no bonus at all to hit - and his effective CON is only 8 -
it a day of 72 hours. (Because of conditions on Charon, this
which gives him a hit point adjustment of 0, meaning he
isn't much of an issue, however.) Its axis is perpendicular
temporarily "loses" 2 hit points per die.) It becomes
to its orbital plane, so there are no seasons.
obvious that adventuring in oxywater shouldn't be
Charon is one of the more common type of water worlds:
approached lightly ...
it has several floating "island continents," and has an
Creatures can move through oxywater only by swimming.
atmosphere. The water that makes up most of the planet is
Their buoyancy in oxywater is the same as it would be in
normal water, not the oxywater found on Thalassa. The
normal water. .. which means that the average adventurer-
oceans of Charon are very salty, and slightly poisonous to
equipped with armor, weapons, miscellaneous equipment
creatures not native to the world. [Any character swallowing
like iron spikes and caltrops, and a purse bulging with coins
some of the water must save vs. poison or suffer 1d4 points Appearance from Space
of damage.]
The history of Charon is fascinating and apparently Because of its unbroken cloud layer, Charon appears as a
unique. It used to be a moon orbiting a planet called Nex, a featureless gray-white sphere. From space, there is no way
Size E world that was inhabited by a race of evil, warlike, to recognize it as a water world.
and highly magically active, humans. These humans fought
continually, in great global wars that swept back and forth Continents
across the surface of Nex. Several hundred years ago, they
fought what they called "the war to end all wars." There are six land masses that float about on the surface
They were right. The mighty - almost god-like - magical of Charon's planetary ocean. All are fragments of Nex, the
forces that were released during this war destabilized the planet that was destroyed centuries ago. None are named.
entire planet, and it exploded cataclysmically, killing all of The continents are jagged, uneven shapes, and are small
its inhabitants. Several fragments of Nex fell into the oceans compared to the planet. The largest is roughly circular, and
of Charon, and became the smaller world's floating about 50 miles in diameter. Most are rugged, with knife-
continents. edged mountains and sheer canyons. The force of the
With its primary planet gone, the erstwhile moon Charon explosion that smashed Nex has shattered the rock
continued on alone in its orbit. Other than the few floating structure of the mountains. There are flat cleavage planes -
continents, there are no fragments of the destroyed planet looking like places where a mountain was chopped in two
left in the system. Presumably, they all fell into the sun and by a sharp axe - and mighty boulders everywhere.
were vaporized. The continents float randomly around the planet. They
Charon's continents all float atop the global ocean. Their never draw nearer than perhaps 10 miles from each other.
upper surfaces are thus exposed to the atmosphere. Nobody knows how massive chunks of heavy rock can
float on water, or what forces move them yet keep them
Climate and Weather from colliding.

Despite the heat that reaches it from its sun, Charon is a Life Forms
cold world. This is due to the make-up of its atmosphere.
While breathable, it is thick with cloying mist. This mist Charon has two distinct ecosystems: the planetary ocean
decreases visibility ranges to 10% of normal; this effect and the island continents. There is a third potential
applies to infravision as well. The mists drift slowly in the ecosystem - the atmosphere - but the fact of the matter is
planet's gentle winds to a maximum altitude of about one that nothing lives in the air or clouds of Charon.
mile. Above that altitude, the planet is cloaked in an
unbroken cloud layer. For some unknown reason, the The Oceans
underside of this cloud layer glows with a pale and sickly Life forms that are native to Charon all dwell in the
green light, which is virtually the only illumination that oceans. (After all, there was nothing but ocean until
reaches the surface of the planet, since the clouds allow Charon's companion planet was blown to bits.) There are,
almost no sunlight to pass through. Thus, the level of however, very few native life forms. The vast majority are
illumination at Charon's surface is about equal to twilight small, blind fish that swim through the dark oceans, feeding
(with attendant effects on visibility). The oceans are on plankton and occasionally on each other. For these fish,
virtually Iightless. vision has been replaced by an enhanced sensitivity to
The air of Charon is cold and damp, with an average pressure changes: They can detect, localize and identify
temperature of about 50° F. This doesn't change movement within about a 50' radius of their position.
significantly between day or night, or from the equator to The top of the Charon food chain is held by camivorous
the poles. Humidity is high, hovering around the 95% mark. fish similar in appearance and behavior to salt-water
The water, too, is very cold: about 35° F. This temperature versions of quippers (Monstrous Compendium, Vol. 2; AC
remains constant from the surface to the core of the world. 8; MV Sw 9; HD 1/2; THACO 20; :/fAT 1; Dmg 1-2; SA
The cloud layer is several thousand feet thick. A ship swarm; AL N). These fish congregate in great schools near
passing through the clouds suffers no ill effects, however. the surface. Unlike their prey, they have eyes. Thus, the
The atmosphere of Charon is almost perfectly still: wind most common defense that other fish use to defend
conditions fluctuate between "Becalmed" and "Ught themselves - total immobility - does nothing to confuse the
Breeze," but are never stronger than that. On any given quippers.
day, there is 1 chance in 8 of precipitation: a miserable, All fish native to Charon are mildly poisonous to non-
cold drizzle. There are no currents in the oceans of Charon. native life. [Any creature eating a Charon fish must save vs.
poison or suffer 1-3 hit points of damage.]
The Continents their magic, they might create whole fantasy landscapes,
nightmarish worlds to bedevil their prey before the final
Strictly speaking, there are no forms of life on the rocky stroke falls.
island continents of Charon. Nevertheless, these areas of The rulers are well aware of the existence of spelljamming
land are inhabited. technology, and want to acquire it for themselves. While
When Charon's partner, Nex, was destroyed, every living their initial intention is to use spelljamming vessels to bomb
thing on that larger world was killed. However, the souls of enemy states into oblivion, they know that there's a big
the evil humans who destroyed their own world haven't universe out there, just waiting to be subjugated. The
passed on. The island continents of Charon are haunted by attitude among the rulers seems to be, "Today Charon,
undead! tomorrow the universe!" The rulers will do whatever it takes
to acquire spelljamming technology from anyone
Guide to the Groundlings unfortunate enough to stumble within range of their powers.
While some might use great illusions to persuade visitors to
Even before its destruction, powerful undead were help them willingly, most will just take what they want, and
common on the planet Nex. Almost all the rulers of its the gods help anyone who gets in their way.
many warring states were mighty wizards who had chosen
to become Iiches to increase their powers and to ensure Other Comments
their eternal rule. Some few had lieutenants who were
spectres, or even vampires. Thus, the world of Nex was DMs should remember that liches have had centuries,
ruled by the dead - a necrocracy. perhaps millennia, in which to develop new spells and
When Nex was destroyed, and fragments of its surface fell increase their powers. The undead rulers of Charon's island
into the planetary ocean of Charon, this situation didn't continents might well possess spells and powers never
change much. The undead rulers generally managed to before seen, and orders of magnitudes greater than
escape destruction. Their followers, however, weren't so anything the PCs have ever faced before. After all, these
lucky. Many of the more evil of them now inhabit the island were creatures who managed to destroy an entire planet...
continents as wraiths and even spectres, plus some of the
less common incorporeal undead. Adventure Hook
Civilization continues to exist on the island continents, and
is a perverted reflection of the lawful evil culture that once • The PCs land on an island continent. The local ruler knew
was prevalent on Nex. Each of the six island continents is they were coming, and has created an illusory land -
ruled by a Iich of great and fell power. Of these six, three probably something very peaceful and idyllic - to welcome
have one or more vampires as lieutenants, who have them. Telling stories of "rapacious undead" on other island
remained loyal beyond death. The other undead that continents, the ruler will convince the PCs to help him
occupy the continents are generally loyal to, and follow the defend his land. When he's learned everything he can from
orders of, the liches and their lieutenants. the PCs about how to use spelljamming vessels for war,
There are unsubstantiated rumors that some of the rulers he'll drop the illusions, and send his lesser undead to
of the island continents have used their magical powers to destroy the unfortunate visitors.
build cities of great and awesome majesty for their • The PCs have been detailed to rescue the crew of a small
creatures to dwell in. Nobody who has actually seen such a ship that went down on one of the island continents. The
necropolis (city of the dead) with his own eyes seems to crew have so far been successful in dodging or destroying
have made it out alive, however. the lesser undead coming after them, but now there's an
It is thought that the rulers are continuing the wars that organized campaign underway to capture the crew and
destroyed their home planet. There are tales of great navies take them to the continent's ruler for interrogation. The PCs
manned by undead sailing across the oceans that separate must rescue this crew, then escape with their own lives.
the island continents, and of massive battles between • There are rumors that the ruler of one island continent
powerful undead mages. Other than warring on their already has acquired spelljamming technology. He also
neighbors, nobody can even guess at what activities the possesses the power to shatter other planets as he and his
"citizens" of these necrocracies pursue. enemies did Nex. (This power might be a scroll, or some
The vampires, spectres, wraiths and lesser undead retain kind of item.) This ruler has decided that dominating
their eternal hatred of living creatures, and will almost Charon is "small potatoes." His target is another planet in
certainly attempt to kill any character unfortunate enough the same shell or a nearby one. It's this planet that's hired
to come within their ken. The rulers of the island continents the PCs to do a "hit-and-run" raid to destroy this ruler's
are different, however. While they, too, hate the living, they spelljamming vessel(s) and - hopefully - the planet-
also have cruel senses of humor, and will probably taunt smashing item as well.
and play with their victims before finally killing them. Using
Barbuda Continents
Overall Data Barbuda has almost one hundred islands floating on the
surface of its planetary ocean, and about as many drifting
Barbuda is a tiny, spherical planet: Size C, about 750 several hundred feet down. Most of these islands are very
miles in diameter, with an equatorial circumference of small, however: no more than a couple of hundred feet
approximately 2,350 miles. It rotates on its axis in about 18 across, with some as small as a score of feet in diameter.
hours. Its axis is inclined very slightly to the plane of its Only one is significantly larger: a cigar-shaped islan.d call~d
orbit, so it has seasons. Domina, which is three miles long and 1,500 feet wide at Its
Barbuda has a breathable atmosphere, and has many widest point.
islands of rock and coral. Some float on the surface of the The islands that float atop the ocean seem to be made of
ocean, while others drift several hundred feet blow the rock, covered in a layer of coral. Those that drift below the
surface. These islands drift randomly around the face of the surface are almost exclusively coral.
world, never coming closer than a mile or so apart, and These islands drift slowly around the ocean. As on other
never colliding. The water that makes up most of the planet water worlds, nobody knows what supports and moves the
is normal water, not the oxywater found on Thalassa. The islands, and what prevents them from ever colliding.
oceans of Barbuda are salty, but not extremely so.
The core of Barbuda is a small ball of hot iron about 5 Life Forms
miles in diameter. This heats the depths of the water, while
sunlight heats the oceans nearer the surface. The Barbuda supports a diverse and rich ecosystem. As with
consequence is that the waters of Barbuda are remarkably most water worlds, this ecosystem can be divided into two
consistent in temperature at most depths. "sub-ecologies. "
Climate and Weather The Ocean

In terms of climate, Barbuda is like a planet-sized tropical Ocean life is very prolific on Barbuda. At the bottom of the
food chain are many species of plankton. While these tiny
sea. Water temperature is constant, regardless of depth, at
creatures can be found anywhere within several hundred
about 82° F, and doesn't fluctuate significantly from
feet of the surface, they are most plentiful in the warm
summer to winter. There are gentle currents, and
occasional upwellings of water from nearer the core of the currents that meander through the ocean. Greater
concentrations of plankton lead to greater populations of
planet. These currents are sometimes slightly warmer than
the small fish that feed on the tiny creatures, so these warm
the surrounding water.
currents are also home to a great profusion of darting,
Air temperature ranges from about 90° F by day to 70° F
colorful fish . These small plankton-eating fish are food to
by night. There is only a little temperature difference
many species of predatory fish , up to and including sharks.
between summer and winter, and between the poles and
On Barbuda, virtually all fish, even the largest sharks, are
the equator. Winds on Barbuda are most frequently gentle,
although rarely great storms blow up. [Use the "Summer" brightly colored.
column of the Weather Conditions table on the inside cover, Barbuda is also home to a great variety of plant life. Most
with no modifier to the dice roll.) Precipitation is rare year- plants take the form of sea weeds that grow on the .
round [1 chance in 8 on any given day), and always takes underside of the surface islands, or all over the submanne
islands. In general, the marine ecology of Barbuda is little
the form of gentle, warm rain (except during storms and
hurricanes, of course, when it's heavy, warm rain) . different from that of any terrestrial tropical ocean.
Barbuda has clouds, but they're usually very high up and There are two sentient races native to the oceans of
Barbuda: sahuagin (Monstrous Compendium, Vol. 2; AC 5;
scattered. The only time that cloud cover is complete is
MV 12 Sw 24; HD 2+2; THACO 16; #AT 1 or special; Dmg
during a storm, gale or hurricane. .
Barbuda is renowned for having among the most beautlful 1-2/1-2/1-4/1-4/1-4 or by weapon; AL LE) and sea sprites
(Grey hawk Adventures, pages 30-31; AC 6; MV 6 Sw 24;
sunsets in known space.
HD 1; #AT 1; Dmg 1-4; SA spell use; THACO 17; AL
Appearance from Space CN(G» . These races are discussed in more detail in a later
section.
Barbuda appears as a world of breath-taking blues and The Floating Islands
greens, streaked with thin clouds of the purest white. From
space, most of the floating islands are too small to see. Most of the islands that float atop the oceans have at least
Sunlight often reflects off the oceans, appearing as sparkles some plant life: grasses and reeds, mostly, although most
of gold against the azure seas. have at least some trees. These plants give the islands a
lush, green appearance. Many of the smaller plants, and
almost all of the trees, bear brightly-colored fruit. them out might have a serious impact on the planet.
The islands are home to creatures that eat that fruit. There Second, such a war would require precise coordination
are many birds, and small mammals that fill the same between the different groups of sprites all over the planet,
ecological niche as rats. Larger animals are found on only and this kind of organization also is totally against the
the bigger islands. The largest and most dangerous species nature of the small creatures. Thus the sahuagin are
native to the islands of Barbuda is the banderlog relatively safe.
(Monstrous Compendium, Vol. 2; AC 6; MV 6, 12 in trees; The sahuagin live in deeper water, congregating around
HD 4; THACO 15; #AT 1; Dmg 2-5; SD climbing; AL N). the submerged islands several hundred feet below the
The large island of Domina is unique, in that it alone has a surface. The larger of these submerged islands support
population of sentients. Domina is home to a small family sahuagin cities each housing several hundred of the nasty
group of couatl, or feathered serpents, as well as the creatures. There are often territorial wars between the
creatures common on the other islands. This couatl sahuagin of different islands.
population is discussed more in the following section. While the sprites wouldn't consider a war of extermination
against the sahuagin, the converse isn't true: the sahuagin
Guide to the Groundlings would like nothing better than to rid the oceans of the sea
sprites once and for all. Fortunately for the sea sprites,
The most populous sentient race, by far, is the sea sprites. there simply aren't enough sahuagin to make this possible.
There are many thousands of these tiny creatures, living in The sahuagin know they're outnumbered, and so limit their
family groups throughout the oceans of Barbuda. They activities to occasional raids into the shallows.
usually make their homes in coral caverns within the The sahuagin of Barbuda know that spelljamming
underside of floating islands. Generally fun-loving, they technology exists - presumably they learned of it from the
have absolutely no interest in anything that occurs outside half-orc drift netters before the sea sprites eliminated them.
their watery environment. Sahuagin can breathe air - at least, for short periods of time
Until the discovery of Barbuda, it was thought that sea - and so could theoretically make use of spelljamming
sprites existed only on the planet Oerth. To this day, some vessels, as long as they were set up with a central pool like
sages argue that the sea sprites of Barbuda must have been those used by lizard men. There are certain tribes of
transplanted somehow from Oerth. The sprites themselves sahuagin who have ambitions of acquiring spelljamming
deny this: their own legends state that they were created craft, modifying them to meet their own requirements, and
on Barbuda through the will of the gods. This explains why, putting into space. There are two schools of thought as to
even when given an opportunity, sea sprites will never why the sahuagin have ambitions in this area. One is that
consider leaving their home world. the sea devils want to find another world - one without an
Sea sprites are reclusive, and will generally interfere in the "infestation" of sea sprites - to take over. The other is that
actions of others only if they believe those actions represent they want to seek allies to help them in eradicating the
a danger to the ecology of their home ocean. It's a sprites. Whatever the reason, the sea sprites will do what
documented fact that a group of half-orcs came to Barbuda they can to prevent the sahuagin from getting the ships
and started to fish the oceans with great drift-nets. It's also they want.
a documented fact that, when a supply ship came to The couatl living on Domina are a relatively recent
Barbuda two months later, there was no sign of the half- addition to the ecosystem of Barbuda. Nobody knows
orcs. Their ship was found, run aground on a floating exactly where the feathered serpents came from, or why
island, and totally empty. Although the sea sprites won't they settled on this planet. The couatl themselves won't talk
talk about the incident, the tiny crossbow bolts of sprite about their place of origin, or their reasons for leaving it; all
manufacture that were found in the deserted ship are they'll say is that Barbuda seems to them to be the perfect
evidence enough that the sea sprites had a lot to do with place to live. (Some sages believe that the couatl on
the half-orcs' disappearance. Barbuda were actually banished or exiled by others of their
The sea sprites and the sahuagin are implacable enemies. kind, although these wise men can't even guess what
While the sprites are, in general, easy-going about other action led to such a punishment. As expected, the couatl
races as long as they don't disrupt the fragile ecology of the won't even dignify this speculation with an answer...)
shallows, the small creatures will attack and kill sahuagin The couatl are on friendly terms with the sea sprites, and
on sight. The sahuagin know this, of course, and rarely sometimes help protect the tiny creatures against the
venture into the shallower waters except in groups. There sahuagin. The feathered serpents have much the same
are probably enough sea sprites on Barbuda to allow the protective attitude towards the environment as the sprites,
smaller creatures to totally exterminate the sahuagin, but and so the races get on exceptionally well. They know that
this won't happen for several major reasons. First, a one band of sahuagin wants to acquire spelljamming
genocidal war like this would be totally against the precepts technology, and agree with the sea sprites that this would
of a race as ecologically aware as the sprites; after all, the be a bad thing. Thus, the feathered serpents will do what
sahuagin playa part in the ecological balance, and wiping they can to keep the sea devils from their goal. Whenever a
spe\ljamming vessel enters the atmosphere of Barbuda, - The sahuagin have captured the ship, and are trying to
there's a good chance that at least one couatl will fly up repair it. The sprites and/or the couatl want the pes to get it
invisibly to examine it, and try to determine what its back or destroy it before the seadevils can use it.
intentions are. • For whatever reason, the couatl fear that the PCs are
For themselves, the couatl have absolutely no interest in going to supply spe\ljamming technology to the sahuagili.
spe\ljamming. They're not "marooned" on Barbuda, by any One or more serpents meet the pes' vessel as it comes in
means, since they can use their plane shift ability to leave for a landing, and warn them off.
any time they want to. Spe\ljamming visitors can almost be • The PCs have been hired to retrieve some item of value
guaranteed of help if they're attacked by sahuagin - both from one of the smaller islands. This will involve dealing -
because of the couatl's nature, and because the serpents in one way or another - with the banderJogs.
want to keep spe\ljamming technology away from the • The PCs' vessel falls under attack by sahuagin. This can
seadevils. happen at sea, or when part of the crew is ashore exploring
an island.
Adventure Hooks • While the pes are exploring an island, the sahuagin
capture their ship, perhaps sinking it so they can better
• A spe\ljamming vessel carrying valuable cargo has modify it to meet their needs. The PCs must get their ship
crashed on Barbuda, and the pes have been hired to back if they don't want to spend the rest of their lives on
retrieve it. There are various adventures that can spring out Barbuda.
of this:
- The sea sprites, who believe that "what has sunken in
the sea belongs to the sea," try to prevent the pes from
salvaging the cargo.
Introduction 100 miles. While the dust is dark and thick enough to be
visible, it isn't thick enough to interfere with passage of a
Air worlds are the most common type of planet in the spelljamming vessel, and does no damage to ships or
majority of solar systems. They range widely in size, but are characters who pass through it. ([t is massive enough to
often the largest planets in the systems. cause a spelljamming vessel to drop to tactical speed,
Air worlds vary widely in other characteristics as well. however.
While some are only spheres of gas, with no solid material
anywhere within them - even at their core - many have Climate and Weather
floating or orbiting masses of earth, water or even fire.
Many air worlds have very extreme weather pattems, since The most important weather features of Alabeth are the
there's nothing - or very little - to block and diminish concentric "shells" of clouds, altemating with clear air, that
winds. Most air worlds have a layer of cloud cover, or many are nested one within another like the layers of an onion.
such layers, but there are some that have no clouds at all. These cloud decks are generally separated by about 50
These worlds can be totally invisible, and the first clue that miles of clear air, although some layers might be thinner or
a spelljamming captain might receive about such a world is thicker. Most cloud layers themselves are about one mile
when his vessel drops to tactical speed and he finds his thick, and are almost completely opaque. Thus the interior
ship is surrounded by an atmosphere. of the planet is never lit by direct sunlight. Most of the cloud
Most air worlds have Earth-normal gravity. Some layers themselves glow faintly, however, illuminating the
exceptional cases have diminished or increased gravity, clear air between them at a level equivalent to twilight.
while some have almost no gravity whatsoever. Some cloud layers have massive electrical storms raging
through them, with the almost continuous flashing of
Alabeth lightning adding to the level of illumination.
As such gas giants go, Alabeth is a warm world. The
Overall Data temperature increases as one goes deeper into the planet
and closer to its core of liquid fire. The outer "layer" - the
Alabeth is a huge, roughly spherical air world - a "gas outermost cloud deck and the clear air directly beneath it -
giant." It is Size G, 50,000 miles in diameter, with an has an average temperature of 50° F. Since the heat comes
equatorial circumference of 158,000 miles. Alabeth is from the core, not from the sun, this temperature changes
slightly flattened at the poles, giving it a polar little - a maximum variation of 5° - from day to night and
circumference of 145,000 miles. [t rotates slowly, with a from equator to pole. For each "layer" descended, the
day 30 hours long. Its rotational axis is perfectly temperature increases steadily. The average increase is
perpendicular to its orbital plane, which means it has no about 15° F, so the temperature beneath the second cloud
seasons. deck is 65°, that beneath the third is 80°, and so on. This
Alabeth has a core of liquid fire, about 10 miles in increase is thought to remain constant down through all
diameter (Size A). At the center of this core is a portal to 500 or so layers, which would put the temperature of the
the Elemental Plane of Fire. This accounts for the high layer nearest the core at over 7,500° F.
temperature of the core, and the relative warmth of the Each "layer" of Alabeth seems to have its own weather
planet as a whole. Although the portal exists, very few pattems. For example, the outer layer - the first cloud deck
Elemental creatures ever use it to visit Alabeth. This is and the first dear area - is relatively peaceful. Winds are
mainly because the liquid fire core - the only part of the rarely extreme [use the "Summer" column on the Weather
planet comfortable for fire-dwelling creatures - is so small. Conditions table on the inside cover) and precipitation is
The atmosphere of Alabeth is breathable throughout. unheard of. Lightning is rare, and only occurs during storms
There are many layers of clouds - some explorers report as and worse weather conditions. When lightning does occur,
many as 500 - each of which is at least 50 miles from the it's on a scale similar to that found on Earth.
next. The first cloud layer is at the margin of the planet's The second layer is a completely different situation,
atmosphere envelope. The clouds on Alabeth are thick, however. Weather conditions are always "Gale," and
almost opaque, usually brown or red in color, and some are unpredictable gusts of wind powerful enough to damage the
mildly toxic [characters entering these poisonous clouds toughest spelljamming vessel spring up with no warning.
must save vs. poison or suffer 1d4 hit points of damage for [Such a gust has a 5% chance of occurring each tum, and
each round spent within the layer) . inflicts 1d6 points of damage on a vessel. The vessel is
Alabeth has many small moons; 15 have been reliably entitled to a saving throw vs. crushing blow to halve this
cataloged, although it's quite likely that explorers have damage.) Chilling rain falls continuously, and lightning
missed some. The majority of these moons are Size A or B. lashes incessantly. The lightning bolts are much bigger and
The planet also has a thin ring of dust. This ring orbits the more dangerous than those seen on most standard worlds.
equator of the planet at an altitude of 3,000 miles above the [It is suggested that DMs use these gargantuan bolts merely
cloud-tops. It is circular in cross-section, with a diameter of for "atmosphere" (no pun intended), rather than as direct
threats to the PCs and their vessel(s). As an indication of some layers are home to "aerial plankton" - tiny unicellular
scale, a vessel struck by one of these bolts would suffer creatures - that sometimes rise through the clouds on
2d20 hull points of damage. A character would suffer 20d20 upwelling winds. These plankton are a source of food for
hit points of damage. A successful saving throw against creatures in higher layers. (For example, the second layer-
lightning would halve this damage.] the one with the gargantuan lightning storms - is home to
There are enough "layers" to Alabeth to ensure that uncounted trillions of these creatures. Winds carry them
virtually any combination of weather patterns could be both up and down, providing food for billions of creatures
found somewhere within the planet. For example, in one higher up the food chain.)
layer the winds are such that warm rain falls upwards from The two ecosystems that have been studied the most are
the lower cloud deck, while in another rain falls in the those of the first and third layers. (Nobody in his right mind
expected direction but it is composed of organic material wants to spend much time in the second layer in case his
dissolved in water. [In other words, if the DM wants to throw vessel is blown out of the sky by a lightning bolt.)
a certain weather condition at his players, he should feel
free to do so: just pick a layer, and go to itl] The First Layer
The first layer is home to a bewildering variety of birds, and
Appearance from Space virtually nothing else. These birds form a complex,
interlocking avian food chain. Every ecological niche - from
Alabeth appears as a swollen, ruddy-brown sphere. The scavenger to unchallenged predator - is filled by some form of
top of the cloud layer is virtually featureless. In comparison bird. At the bottom of the food chain are small birds the size of
to the planet, the ring is very small, and so will only be terrestrial sparrows that feed on the "plankton" that rises from
visible at short range. The moons, too, are very tiny, and the second layer. At the top is a massive eagle-like predator
might easily be missed. with a 20' wing span. [This creature has the following
statistics: AC 5; MV 30; HD 3; #AT 3; Dmg 1- 3/1-3/2-8;
Continents THACO 17; AL N.lt can attack by biting with its curved beak,
or by raking with claws that tip its powerful wings.]
There are no true land masses on Alabeth. Some of its
Most of these birds are similar in appearance to terrestrial
inhabitants, however, are large enough to qualify as
species, with one major difference: They have no legs.
minuscule continents in their own rights. These are
Predatory species make up for this lack with claws at the
discussed in the following section.
ends of their wings, similar to those of some species of
bats. The fact that there's nowhere to roost also
Life Forms necessitates another significant difference: females give
As each cloud-and-clear-air layer on Alabeth has its own birth to live young, rather than laying eggs, and these
weather patterns, so it contains its own virtually young can fly from the moment of birth.
autonomous ecosystem. On one side of a cloud deck can The Third Layer
be a species of peaceful, floating gas bags -like living hot-
air balloons - without any means of self protection, while on The ecosystem of the third layer is perhaps the most
the other lives a species of rapacious predators that would interesting of all, since it's the only one known to be home to
rip the gas bags into ribbons without any effort. Luckily - sentients. The most common creature of the third layer is
with one or two very rare exceptions - life forms at home in something known as a hoi bag - a gigantic living gas bag
one layer simply won't cross the cloud deck into the next. that can grow up to several miles in diameter (see Appendix
(Exactly why this happens isn't known. The most widely- for details). These great creatures float on the gentle winds,
held theory is that Alabeth life forms each have their own absorbing plankton that drifts down from the second layer.
instinctive aversion to wandering into a different - and Holbags form "floating islands" on which two sentient
totally alien - environment and ecology. Whatever the species live: unique forms of elves and troglodytes. These
reason, it has given Alabeth a most diverse range of life. species are discussed in more detail in a later section.
Of course, the different ecosystems aren't totally closed Apart from the holbags, the most important creatures of
systems. Since there's no solid land, virtually all species are the third layer are monstrous shark-like beasts known as
fliers of one type or another, and death usually means they sky scavvers (see Appendix for details). These great
can't fly any more. The corpses - or what's left of them predators soar through the clear air, attacking small, old or
after scavengers have had their way - falls through the wounded holbags, and anything else unfortunate enough to
cloud decks into lower layers, providing food and a come into their ken.
continuous source of new biological material for other There are other varieties of life along the same lines of the
ecosystems. Conversely, gasses released by creatures rise holbags, but smaller. There are also a profusion of birds,
through the layers, supplementing their ecosystems. Also, providing the sky scavvers with enough food.
Other Layers magic - will set forth on immature hoi bags and hunt the
giant sky scavvers themselves.
Alabeth has on the order of 500 distinct ecosystems, only a The Alabeth elves have a very simple lifestyle. They have no
handful of which have been studied to any extent at all. There predators to wony about - since even sky scavvers stay away
are unsubstantiated rumors about layers inhabited by winged from the healthy, mature holbags the elves choose as homes
humanoids, by couatl, even by dragons. The only way of - and can spend their time in an idyllic existence. They enjoy
confirming or denying these rumors is a more extensive music and poetry, and most individuals excel at both.
exploration of the planet. [As suggested earlier, this planet Nobody - not even the elves themselves - know how the
represents almost total freedom for creative DMs.) Alabeth elves arrived on this planet. From their adaptation
to the light level, it seems reasonable that they've been
Guide to the Groundlings there for perhaps millions of years. The most logical theory
holds that a spelljamming expedition crashed atop a
The two most significant races in the upper layers of holbag, and was unable to leave. Thus the entire elvish
Alabeth are elves and troglodytes. Both live out their lives population of the planet would have arisen from this one
on the flat upper surfaces of holbags, floating through the small group.
atmosphere of Alabeth. Since the cloud cover overhead is totally opaque, the
Nobody knows where the elves of Alabeth came from. In elves can have no way of directly experiencing the rest of
most regards, they are very similar to their fellows on other the universe: they've never seen the stars nor other planets,
worlds. The only significant difference in appearance is that and find it very difficult to even comprehend these
their eyes are much larger, with enlarged pupils - presumably concepts. The only other humanoid forms of life they're
to make up for the relatively low level of illumination on familiar with are troglodytes, and these are implacable
Alabeth. They speak a language that is obviously related to enemies of the elves. Thus it's not surprising that the elves
standard elvish, although there's been enough "linguistic drift" are highly suspicious of visitors. (The thought process
to make the languages only 25% compatible. (In other words, seems to be, "You're not an Alabeth elf, so you're an
a speaker of "standard" elvish will understand about 1/4 of enemy.") Depending on the situation, Alabeth elves may
anything said in "Alabeth elvish," and vice versa.) The written attack strangers on sight, or just treat them with healthy
forms of the language are completely different, however. distrust. Anyone who can win the trust of an Alabeth elf - a
Someone literate in one form will not be able to read anything difficult task, to say the least - has got a friend for life.
written in the other language. Alabeth elves have no knowledge of spelljamming, nor
Alabeth elves are organized around extended family interest in learning about it. They have no desire to leave
groups, numbering 50 or so to as many as 200. Each such their home.
group lives on one holbag. As described in the Appendix, The troglodytes have very similar lifestyles to the Alabeth
holbags mate every 10,000 standard days or so. At such elves. (This means that, despite their name, they don't live
times, two or more hoi bags will draw together, allowing underground; granted, this is atypical.) They, too, live atop
intermixing of groups (thus preventing problems on in- giant holbags, and subsist on the other forms of life that call
breeding, etc.). Alabeth elves are as magically active as holbags home. Unlike the elves, though, they haven't
their fellows elsewhere in the universe - if not more so. This learned the technique of travelling on immature hoi bags,
means that there are many magically-mediated ways of and don't have any magical abilities. Thus they're limited in
travelling from one holbag to another. Small parties of elves what other creatures they can hunt.
will sometimes use immature holbags as transportation Their favorite food is elf meat, however. When hoi bags
from one "society" to another, and for hunting trips, come together to mate, the elves are at greatest risk. If a
although this is risky because of sky scavvers' appetite for holbag carrying troglodytes mates with one carrying elves,
young holbags. the troglodytes will flood across in an attempt to kill and eat
The climate of the third layer is very comfortable for the the elves. The elves are always ready for this kind of attack,
Alabeth elves. The air temperature hovers around 80°, and though, and can usually repel it without many losses.
there is little precipitation, which means there's no real need Troglodytes aren't overly intelligent, and have no
for shelter. The elves live in the open atop their holbag knowledge of or interest in spelljamming as such. A
"floating islands." Other ground-dwelling creatures also live spelljamming vessel that comes near their holbag will
on holbags, most notably a harmless rabbit-like creature. probably get their attention, however, but only because they
The elves practice animal husbandry, and raise enough of sense that it's canying food. The troglodytes will do whatever
these creatures to feed themselves well. There are also many they can to bring down such a vessel and eat its crew.
species of plants - most edible - that grow on holbags. [Troglodytes are described in the Monstrous
When the elves want some variety in their diet, they hunt Compendium, Vol. 2: AC 5; MV 12; HD 2; THACO 19;
smaller airborne creatures such as birds. Occasionally, #AT 3 or 1; Dmg 1-2/1-2/2-5 or 2-8 weapon; AL CE.)
daring groups of elves - usually heavily supported with
Other Comments clouds of Alabeth, however, these don't form solid "decks."
Instead, they take the form of large, puffy cumulus clouds,
It's important for DMs to remember the massive scale of looking like giant balls of pure-white cotton wool. The
Alabeth. In the outer "layers," the curvature of the planet is average size of a cloud is about 3 miles in diameter,
almost impossible to discern. The horizon would be more although much larger and much smaller clouds exist.
than 100 miles away - greater than the range of visibility Nubis has a single moon, a Size D sphere 2,000 miles in
through even the clearest air. Thus, things would fade into diameter. This moon, called ~b, is a Voidworld (i.e., no
the distance long before they vanished over the horizon. atmosphere) made out of pure granite. It has no known life.
Ob is in an equatorial orbit around Nubis, with an average
Adventure Hooks distance from the planet of 20,000 miles and an orbital
period of 25 standard days. Ob has an interesting tidal
• The pes' vessel is damaged in a clash with giant eagles effect on Nubis: there is always an enormous cloud directly
in the first layer. They must repair it before it drops into the opposite the moon, on the other side of the planet. This
apocalyptic second layer. "tidal cloud" is roughly spherical, with a diameter of about
• Perhaps after a brush with sky scavvers, the pes put 150 miles. It remains about 50 miles below the margin of
down on a holbag inhabited by elves. They must persuade Nubis's atmosphere envelope. For some reason unknown
the elves that they're not troglodytes - or something equally to sages, Ob occasionally releases a "rain" of thousands of
dangerous - and make repairs. fist-size stones, which fall into the atmosphere of Nubis and
• There's a group of elves aboard a holbag that's come burn up like tiny meteors. This "firestorm" of stones never
down with a major disease. The next mating period is a penetrate the atmosphere to reach even the highest clouds,
long time off, and their home isn't going to live that long. but create a spectacular display in the night sky. [Each
Also, the sky scavvers sense the holbag's deteriorating night that the moon is visible in the sky, there is a 5%
condition, and are attacking both it and the elves on its chance (non-cumulative) of a "firestorm." A spelljamming
upper surface. The pes are the elves' only hope of making craft between Ob and Nubis during a "firestorm" will suffer
an exodus to another holbag before their home plunges Id3 hull points of damage from the experience.)
from the sky. (Perhaps the only nearby holbag has a
population of troglodytes who won't exactly welcome the Climate and Weather
refugees with open arms .. .)
• An immature hoi bag is being pursued by sky scavvers, The air temperature on Nubis doesn't change significantly
and tries to "snuggle up" against the pes' ship for safety. with altitude. The average summer daytime temperature is
Besides probably scaring the daylights out of the PCs, it about 85° at the equator, dropping to about 70° at the
makes the scavvers aware of the ship ... poles. At night, the temperature drops by approximately
30°. In the winter, the temperature range at the equator is
Nubis from about 70° (day) to 40° (night), while the range at the
poles is 40° (day) to 33° (night). These temperatures vary
Overall Data little - by perhaps 5° - from the core to the margin of the
atmosphere envelope.
Nubis is small as air worlds go, "only" Size E with a There are winds on Nubis, but they rarely get very strong,
diameter of 10,000 miles and an equatorial circumference even compared to "well- behaved" terrestrial planets. [Use
of about 31 ,500 miles. The planet has no polar flattening . the appropriate seasonal column on the Weather
The planet rotates at approximately the standard rate, Conditions table on the inside cover, but subtract 3 from
giving it a day of 24 hours. Its axis is inclined at 15° to its the dice roll. Results of 1 or less are "Becalmed. "J
orbital plane, so it has normal seasons. Cloud cover is total only directly under the "tidal cloud."
The entire atmosphere of Nubis is breathable, with the The only time there is a chance of precipitation is when this
exception of the central core. The planet's core is a sphere of tidal cloud is directly overhead. [When the tidal cloud is
impenetrable cloud with a diameter of 15 miles. This cloudy overhead, there is 1 chance in 4 of torrential rain.)
core is dirty grey in color, and is extremely poisonous to The skies of Nubis are usually a delicate robin's egg blue.
most creatures. [Any creature attempting to breathe this This color darkens with increasing altitude to a rich
cloud suffers 2d 10 hit points of damage each round. midnight purple.
Creatures receive a saving throw vs. pOison each round to
halve this damage.) There is no solid material at the core of Appearance from Space
Nubis, so a spelljamming vessel could theoretically sail right
through it (presuming that the ship's occupants are Nubis appears as a richly-colored blue sphere, embellished
somehow protected from its poisonous effects, of course). with blotches and streaks of snow-white clouds. Ob is visible
Visibility within this cloudy core is only 10 feet. as a featureless sphere of pale grey. From space, it's
The atmosphere of Nubis is filled with clouds. Unlike the impossible to tell that Nubis isn't an earth world.
Continents and wights, but with a few spectres mixed in for variety -
under the command of one or more vampires or liches. If this
There is no solid land on Nubis. Some of the clouds, is true, it explains why none of the expeditions to the tidal
however, are semi-solid. In the case of some clouds, this is cloud to determine its structure or cause has returned ...
due to the actions of the clouds' inhabitants, while in the
case of others it seems to be a characteristic of the planet Guide to the Groundlings
itself. [These semi-solid clouds have the texture and
resilience of soft foam rubber. Anyone walking on one will The semi-solid clouds of Nubis are home to several
sink in up to the ankle (for human-weight creatures) or to hundred - or perhaps as many as several thousand - silver
the knee or even higher (for heavier creatures). There is no dragons. These great creatures live alone or in small family
way to tell a semi-solid cloud from an insubstantial one by groups of two to five, the family "clan" being the more
observation alone, making flying through a cloud a risky common organization. Each clan - or, in the case of
proposition for a spelljamming vessel. Any vessel unwise solitary dragons, each individual - claims one semi-solid
enough to ram a semi-solid cloud immediately has its hull cloud as home. They don't limit themselves to this home
points reduced by one- third of the total original value. (Thus territory, of course. Silver dragons can be found winging
a Hammership would lose 20 hull points.) In addition, through the air literally anywhere on Nubis, plucking birds
everyone aboard suffers 4d6 hit points of damage (save vs. from the air. Or they can be found, generally polymorphed
death for half damage) from being knocked around.] into giant form, consorting with the good giants that dwell
Approximately one cloud in 100 is semi- solid, with the on other clouds.
rest being the standard insubstantial masses of partially- The silver dragons of Nubis are on very good terms with
condensed water vapor. This figure should not be taken as the storm giants and the good-aligned cloud giants that
categorical, however, since the proportion varies from place share their world. The dragons often spend time visiting
to place. In some regions, there are no semi-solid clouds at their giant friends, enjoying massive feasts and displays of
all, while in others almost every cloud is semi-solid. musical skill. The dragons depend for their food mainly on
Semi-solid clouds drift slowly from place to place, the birds of Nubis. Perhaps surprisingly, the silvers don't
sometimes under control of their inhabitants, sometimes at prey on the wyvems. Instead, they feel somewhat
random. Drifting clouds generally have a Movement Rate of protective towards these great beasts, and are making a
2 (equating to an SR of 2) or less. Unless under conscious concerted effort to train them out of their rapaciousness.
control of some creature, a semi-solid cloud won't come The dragons believe - and will expound at length on this
within 250 yards of another semi-solid cloud. Uncontrolled theory - that wyverns have a glimmering of intelligence,
semi-solid clouds won't come within a mile of the tidal cloud. and all they need is a "helping hand" to develop to almost
Nobody knows just how many semi-solid clouds there are the same level of sentience as silver dragons. For this
on Nubis, but estimates range from 5,000 to well over three reason, the silvers react badly to anyone who hunts the
times that. wyvems, or who kills one without adequate reason (and
"adequate" is in the judgement of the dragons, of course).
Life Forms The silvers have a detailed origin myth which explains how
they came to Nubis. In this myth, the first dragon - a female
Nubis is home to an ecosystem that has two very distinct named Ewa, who was heavy with unlaid eggs - was brought
parts. The first is the true airborne component; the second forth on the planet by a deity named Kraken, who appeared
consists of cloud-dwellers. in the form of a great squid. It was from Ewa's first brood
The skies of Nubis are home to a great variety of birds and that the entire dragon population of Nubis descended.
other non-sentient flying creatures. There are many species According to dragon mythographers, Ewa lived 30 dragon
of hawks and eagles, preying on an even greater variety of generations ago - at a guess, about 7,500 years ago.
smaller birds. There are also more unusual creatures such There are many sages who interpret this myth in a totally
as stirges, hippogriffs and griffons. The largest non- non-supernatural light. Ewa, they say, was a pregnant
intelligent creature known on Nubis is a species of wyvern. female who was transported to the planet Nubis from
This beast is identical to its terrestrial counterparts, except elsewhere, aboard a Squidship that was named the Kraken
that it is a tireless flier and never has to roost (a good thing, (quite a reasonable name for a Squidship, after all). As
since there's no safe place for the beast to set down). partial support for this interpretation, these sages point out
The semi-solid clouds are home to several more powerful, that the silver dragons of Nubis don't worship any deity
intelligent creatures: silver dragons, cloud giants and storm named Kraken. Supposedly this is because they know,
giants. These three races are discussed in a later section. deep down, that the myth describes intervention that is
According to legend and rumor, some semi-solid clouds are totally non-divine.
inhabited by other intelligent creatures. For example, there is The silvers know that spelljamming exists, and have been
one travellers' tale that claims the tidal cloud itself is semi- visited many times by explorers. Visitors who are not
solid, and home to a civilization of undead - mainly wraiths disruptive to the planet, who do not kill the wyvems, and
who are basically good-aligned are welcomed, even the storm giants. Unfortunately, they haven't perfected
befriended, by the silvers. Those who aren't good-aligned these techniques, and their farms yield nowhere near as
are watched closely, and with great suspicion, and those much food as those of the storm giants. Good-aligned
who perform overtly evil acts are driven off or destroyed. cloud giants don't have to worry about this shortfall
The storm giants of Nubis are on the best terms with the problem because the storm giants are all too glad to share
silver dragons, despite a minor alignment conflict (chaotic their surplus crops. Evil-aligned cloud giants have more
good for the giants, lawful good for the dragons). Luckily, trouble, and solve the problem through frequent raids on
neither race is obsessively hard-nosed about its interpretation the farms of storm giants and other tribes of cloud giants.
of "goodness" - as gold dragons might be - and the two Good-aligned cloud giants, storm giants and silver dragons
species get on fine . In fact, each thinks of the other as a will often cooperate in repelling these raids.
balancing influence. The giants welcome the dragons' more The evil cloud giants sometimes wage wars of conquest,
responsible influence, while the dragons appreciate the trying to wrest cloud islands from others. Again,
giants' suggestions to "loosen up" once in a while. coordinated defense usually turns back these attacks, but
Storm giants live in loosely-knit tribal bands of up to 10 they can still prove troublesome.
individuals. Each tribe claims its own semi-solid cloud as Cloud giants of both alignments know that spelljamming
home. The silver dragons gladly ferry young giants back exists. The good-aligned tribes find it intellectually
and forth between clouds, so there's little worry about in- interesting, although they have no great desire to use it.
breeding. Tribes are always on good terms with their The evil tribes, however, covet spelljamming technology. If
neighbors, with the silver dragons, and with families of they had spelljamming vessels, they believe, they'd have a
good-aligned cloud giants nearby. major advantage over their enemies. Plus, they wouldn't be
These giants hunt the larger birds that dwell in the bound to a single world, and could spread their evil
atmosphere of Nubis. They also have found a way to plant throughout the universe. The good giants and the dragons
and cultivate crops on their semi-solid cloud islands. A are careful to do what they can to prevent the evil giants
cloud inhabited by storm giants will have orderly fields in from ever acquiring spelljamming capabilities.
which grow a wide variety of foodstuffs: grains, vegetables
and fruits . There will also be extensive vineyards. The storm Adventure Hooks
giants pride themselves on the wine they make, and enjoy
showing off their best vintages to their friends, and even to • Several wyverns attack the PCs' vessel, forcing them to
visitors who've earned their trust. fight the winged creatures off. The PCs are then faced with an
Storm giants have no origin myth as such. They believe "inquisition" by silver dragons, who aren't at all sure that the
that they've been on Nubis for as long as the planet's visitors' aggression towards the wyverns was warranted ...
existed, but neither know nor care how they actually came • The PCs' vessel is visited by a levitating cloud giant who
into existence. They have learned about spelljamming claims to be a representative from a good-aligned tribe, and
technology - in theory, at least - from the silver dragons, who invites them to join his people for a major feast of
but have absolutely no interest in leaving their homes. The welcome. Of course, things aren't what they seem: the
giants are somewhat retiring, and are made uncomfortable giant's tribe is actually evil, and wants nothing more than to
by extreme displays of emotion. They will welcome any get its collective hands on the PCs' ship.
good-aligned visitors, but will feel particularly accepting of, • A group of evil cloud giants tries to coopt the PCs' ship to
and drawn to, those who respect their privacy. assist in an attack on a neighboring good giants' cloud island.
Cloud giants on Nubis break down into two groups: good- • A group of undead, under the command of a skeleton
aligned and evil-aligned. The former are much more warrior, has somehow acquired a semi-solid cloud island,
common. Cloud giants live in small tribal groups, each and is using it like a pirate vessel to attack other
group taking a single semi-solid cloud as its territory. islands ... and anything else that gets in their way. The PCs
Good-aligned giants congregate in tribes of up to 10 themselves may come under attack, or they may be asked
members; evil giants feel the need to form larger groups, up to help a small group of giants or dragons fight off the
to 50 in number. These bigger groups are, by necessity, undead marauders.
limited to the larger islands. • A PC or significant NPC has been captured by evil cloud
The good cloud giants are on excellent terms with the giants. The giants are holding him or her hostage. In return
silver dragons and the storm giants. As with the storm for the person's life, they want the PCs to assist them in an
giants, the silvers are happy to ferry cloud giants from attack on a group of good giants or dragons.
cloud to cloud. Good-aligned tribes frequently have trained • Relations are strained between a tribe of storm giants and
griffons as pets, while evil tribes often use wyverns as a family of silver dragons over the alignment issue: both
hunting animals. groups are more stubborn than usual about the ethical slant
All cloud giants, whether good or evil, hunt the birds and of their goodness. The PCs have been dealing with one or
other flying creatures of Nubis. They also practice some both of the groups, and are caught right in the middle.
farming on their cloud islands using similar techniques to
Introduction of the ring, the unfortunate mountain climber would "fall"
free into space - directly outward from the sun at 700 miles
The majority of worlds in the universe are "standard" per second, or 42,000 miles per hour!
worlds of one type or another: roughly spherical, rotating Because the entire inner surface of the ring planet faces
about a central axis and orbiting a primary in an orderly the sun, there is no day or night on Nivil: the habitable
manner. But not all worlds are like this, by any means. The surface is always sunlit. Neither are there any seasons. Nivil
universe is big - big enough to encompass worlds strange is perfectly circular, and its center and the center of its
enough to stretch the sanity of even the most seasoned primary are identical. Thus, every portion of Nivil is always
adventurer. exactly the same distance from the sun, and sunlight
There is but one thing that the worlds in this section have always strikes its surface perpendicularly. To someone on
in common: They have virtually nothing in common. the surface, this means that the sun is always directly
overhead, and that it is always high noon everywhere on
Nivil Nivil.
The inner surface of Nivil has a topography similar to that
Overall Data of any standard world. There are mountains, valleys, seas
and lakes. The tallest mountains are about 45,000 feet
Nivil is a "ring planet": a narrow, thin strip of rock and high, while the deepest oceans are only about 500 feet
metal that forms a complete ring around its primary. Nivil is deep.
a strip approximately 50,000 miles wide and about one The outer surface of Nivil - the one facing away from the
mile thick. It encircles its sun at a distance (radius) of about sun - is almost perfectly smooth. It has no atmosphere, and
45 million miles, which means the ring is 283 million miles is always dark. No loose object can remain on the outer
long. This gives the ring planet a surface area - on its inner surface. The ring's rapid spin would immediately hurl it into
face alone - of more than 14 trillion square miles. When space. The only way anyone can explore the outer surface
viewed from space, Nivillooks like a ring of slender blue would be from a spelljamming vessel. This vessel would
ribbon looped around its star. This apparent slenderness have to maintain the same speed as the ring itself - 700
seems to blind most people to the immense amount of miles per second - and keep itself in a perfectly circular
room on the ring planet. For comparison, Toril has a course. According to what is currently known about
surface area of about 177 million square miles. This means spelljamming, this would be impossible: while full
that the surface area of Nivil is almost 100,000 times that spelljamming speed is certainly fast enough, there's no way
of Toril. This immense scale has significant effects on that a vessel could remain at full speed close enough to the
virtually every facet of the world of Nivil. surface for observation. The mass of the ring is more than
Unlike virtually all other worlds, Nivil has no gravity - enough to cause any vessel to drop to tactical speed. Thus
none. The ring planet rotates rapidly around its primary the outer surface is totally unexplored and unknown, and
however - at its surface, the rate equates to about 700 probably will remain so forever.
miles per second - and the centrifugal force generated by Nivil is not volcanically or tectonically active. The
this rapid rotation has an effect equivalent to earth-normal continents do not "drift," and there are no volcanoes or
gravity. other signs of volcanic activity (hot springs, etc.). Neither
The thin ribbon that is Nivil is composed of metal are there ever any earthquakes.
intermixed with hard igneous rocks such as basalt and Nobody knows how Nivil came to exist. There are some
granite. The laws of physics would imply that the stresses sages who claim it was created by an ancient race - mortal,
on a band of rock and metal only one mile thick, spinning albeit with almost god-like powers - who vanished from the
at 700 miles per second, would instantly tear the band into universe millions of years ago; perhaps this was the same
fragments and spray them outward from the sun. The fact race which engineered the "ribbon world" of Radole. Others
that this hasn't happened - and seems to be in absolutely believe the ring planet was created by the deities of the
no danger of happening - implies either that the laws of crystal sphere in which it exists. It seems very unlikely that
physics don't apply to Nivil, or that powerful magic is anyone will ever learn the answer to this problem.
somehow involved.
Nivil has a breathable atmosphere approximately 50 miles Climate and Weather
thick. This atmosphere is kept confined by a continuous
shield wall of mountains 75 miles tall around both margins The entire surface of Nivil is very hospitable to normal
of the ring. forms of life. At "sea level," the air temperature hovers
The fact that Nivil has no gravity other than the "artificial around a balmy 75° F. This temperature decreases with
gravity" created by centrifugal force has one interesting increasing altitude, at a rate of about 3° F per thousand feet
consequence: It's possible to fall off the ring world! of increased elevation. Thus, the temperature atop a 10,000
Theoretically, one could climb the 75-mile height of the foot mountain would be about 45° F. Atop the tallest
shield wall mountains, and step off into space. Once clear mountain, the air temperature would be about -600 F. The
highest peaks are capped with snow, although snow never virtually every known species - flora and fauna - that finds
falls at the lower elevations. itself at home in temperate conditions. This includes normal
The winds on Nivil are similar in strength to those on a animals and plants, demihumans, humanoids and most
terrestrial world. [Use the "Summer" column on the "monsters." The only creatures that seem to be missing -
Weather Conditions table on the inside cover. I The only and the size of the ring planet makes it virtually impossible
significant difference is that circular storms like tornadoes to be certain of this - are those that must dwell
and hurricanes can't occur on Nivil (since they depend on underground, those that operate on a different chemical
the Coriolis force, which is missing on a ring planet). The economy (e.g., storopers, magmen, etc.) and those
winds can reach hurricane strength, but they always travel creatures that have a connection with another plane of
in straight lines. existence (e.g., salamanders, water weirds, etc.). There
Cloud cover on Nivil is similar to that on standard worlds. also seem to be no undead.
Some regions of the ring planet will have blue skies, while These creatures form interlocking ecologies, and there is
others may be under partial or complete cloud cover. enough space on Nivil for most viable combinations to be
Precipitation is relatively common [1 chance in 6 in any tried through blind chance. On one continent or group of
24-hour period], and the nature of the precipitation continents, it's possible to find an ecology very much like
depends on the air temperature. (Thus, at "sea level," that on Toril; on another, an ecology almost
precipitation always means rain.) indistinguishable from that on Oerth. If an explorer looks far
enough, it should be possible to find a spot on Nivil that
Appearance from Space supports virtually any other ecosystem that the explorer's
interested in. (Of course, totally exploring the surface of
From a great distance, Nivillooks like a fine blue ribbon Nivil would take several thousand life-times for even the
forming a great circle around the sun. From closer in, the most long-lived creature.)
surface of the ring planet appears much like that of any Perhaps the biggest question about Nivil - after the
standard earth world: blues, greens and browns, overlaid question of its origin, of course - is, "how did all the
with white streaks of clouds. creatures get there?" The only places in the known
universe - apart from Nivil itself - where Krynnish kender
Continents rub shoulders with Oerthish Greyhawk dragons are those
where the species were transplanted via spelljamming
There are many oceans on Nivil, some of them vessels. This leads many sages to claim that Nivil was
immensely larger than could exist on a standard world. "populated" by a race that possessed spelljamming
These oceans divide the land area into literally thousands of capabilities: perhaps the creators of Nivil and the engineers
continents. As with the oceans, some of these continents of Radole. Again, as with the origin question, there seems
are considerably greater in area than the entire surface of to be no way to get a definitive answer.
some worlds. The intelligent races on Nivil have no insight to offer. The
There are ten oceans that have come to be called "global records of even the most long-lived creatures go back only
oceans." These are roughly circular, and are about 45,000 20,000 years or so, and none of these records describe any
miles in diameter - almost the entire width of the ring form of "spacegoing immigration" of new creatures. What
planet. Each of these oceans has a clustering of continents this means is that, if Nivil was "settled," the settlement
near its center. must have been complete by 20,000 years ago. The
sentient races have their usual panoply of creation stories
Life Forms describing their own origins (evolution, special creation by
deities, etc.), but these are no different from such myths
Purely from a point of view of size, Nivil should anywhere else in the universe, so researchers give them
theoretically be able to support many different, virtually very little credence.
independent ecosystems. And, as it turns out, that's exactly
how the planet works. There are uncountable distinct Guide to the Groundlings
ecologies spread over the vast surface area of Nivil.
The clusters of continents within the ten "global oceans" Nivil is home to virtually every sentient race in known
have the most distinct ecologies. This is simply because the space except for those that are undead, extra planar or
great distances between these continents and the next land exclusively subterranean. There are dragons and giants of
masses are so great: often more than 20,000 miles, much all varieties, humanoids, demihumans, etc., etc., etc. Nivil
more than most birds can fly. Distance alone isolates these is such a big place that incompatible species are generally
ecologies, allowing them to develop along their own lines able to find a "homeland" of their own - a place where
with very little interference. they're at least partially removed from the races that most
The different ecologies of Nivil all seem to follow want to eat them. If one had enough time - several lifetimes
somewhat terrestrial lines. The ring planet is home to at least - to spend in the search, one could find just about
any intelligent race living in a stable society somewhere on her. [Translation: While lawful, the Alanti aren't obsessive
Nivil. about it.)
Knowledge of and interest in spelljamming varies from The Alanti are ruled by a "constitutional monarch" - a
race to race, and from region to region of Nivil. For hereditary position that's largely figurehead, much like the
example, there are many human civilizations on Nivil that monarch of England on Earth. The hereditary king or
have no conception of spelljamming, while there's one queen is considered the embodiment of the country of
advanced human culture - the Alanti - who use a limited Alanta: a person to whom citizens can feel personal loyalty.
form of spelljamming to travel around the ring planet. The actual business of government is conducted by an
The Alanti are a sub-race of humans native to a large elected parliament. While the hereditary monarch has the
continent in one of Nivil's "global oceans." They call this right to veto any decision of parliament, this power is rarely
continent Alanta. The Alanti are a tall, slender race, with used - mainly because the decisions of parliament are
smooth skin that's a rich brown in color. Their facial almost always good ones. The Alanti are almost unique in
features are broad, and their hair - which is usually black or the universe in that they've got a system of government
dark copper-red in color - is straight and most often worn that actually works the way it was intended to.
at least shoulder-length. The Alanti's native language is a Alanti culture is greatly dependent on a high level of
tongue totally unrelated to any other human tongue heard magical activity. Perhaps one Alanti out of twenty is a
in the universe. Most members of the culture also speak the mage, and magic is used extensively to support the
alignment tongue of lawful good, and some few speak a culture's high standard of living. The Alanti worship a single
"pidgin" form of Common. deity they call Unus, a unitary principle that includes all
The Alanti are highly intelligent, and have raised their seemingly-contradictory elements: male and female, good
culture to a very high level - judging on moral and ethical and evil, right and wrong, etc. There are few priests in the
grounds, as well as by standard of living. Alanti culture is society, but those that do exist are powerful individuals,
well organized to protect and enhance the quality of life of highly respected by everyone else.
every living thing. [In other words, the culture is Lawful A few decades ago, several Arcane visited Nivil. (Nobody
Good in alignment, as are the vast majority of individual knows why, although some people believe the ring planet
AlantL) The culture operates under a well-thought-out scares them because it might represent an artifact created
body of laws, but - unlike many cultures elsewhere - these by a race orders of magnitude more powerful than
laws aren't oppressive in any way, and virtually every Alanti themselves.) The Arcane went directly to Alanta, as the
individual gladly accepts the laws' authority over him or most "enlightened" source of information ... and the best
potential market. The Alanti acquired several dozen second. The body suffers terrible damage from air friction:
spelljamming helms - mainly minor helms - from the 30d6 points of hull damage per round, or ten times that
Arcane, and installed them in small ships. The Alanti use number of hit points (30d6 x 10). Obviously, virtually any
these ships to explore other regions of Nivil. Perhaps creature that falls freely into the atmosphere of Nivil will be
surprisingly, it seems that the Alanti have never used their killed instantly.
ships to leave the ring planet. This may be because they Note that navigation on Nivil is largely a matter of
fear the (actually non-existent) difficulties of transition to convention. There is no magnetic field, so compass
and from a world whose surface moves at 700 miles per navigation is impossible. The sun doesn't move, and the
second, or it may simply because Nivil is plenty big enough stars are never visible, so standard forms of solar or
to keep them busy for centuries without looking elsewhere. celestial navigation are impossible. The most commonly-
The "skyships" of the Alanti are common sights in the used convention uses the terms "spinward," "anti-
skies of lands near to Alanta, and Alanti expeditions are spinward," "port" and "starboard." "Spinward" is the
heading farther and farther afield. The Alanti have an direction along the length of the ribbon that corresponds to
avowed intention to extend the benefits of their enlightened the ring planet's direction of rotation; "anti-spinward" is the
culture to as much of the ring planet as they possibly can. opposite direction. When one faces spinward, "port" is to
They aren't a warlike race, however, and so can't extend the left - across the ring planet - while "starboard" is to the
their domain by conquest. Instead, they simply right. It is very easy to get lost on Nivil.
demonstrate the advantages of their society, and wait for
others to join their "commonwealth" voluntarily. There are Adventure Hooks
certain societies nearby that would dearly love to conquer
Alanta, but fear of the Alanti's magical powers stays these • The pes approach the planet's surface, and see an Alanti
societies' hands. skyship trying vainly to fight off an attack by one or more
The Alanti welcome visitors from other worlds, as long as evil dragons. Without help, the skyship will certainly be
such visitors aren't seen as disruptive or evil influences. If destroyed. Saving the skyship will earn the pes the
this is the case, the visitors will be encouraged to leave. The gratitude of the crew, and an invitation to visit Alanta as
Alanti will use force only as a last resort, if reason totally honored guests.
fails. • An evil-based society - maybe demihumans, maybe
humanoids - believes that the only thing that makes Alanta
Other Comments invincible is the fact that the Alanti are the only ones with
skyships. This society will do anything they can to capture
Landing a spelljamming vessel on Nivil would seem to be a skyship - or the pes' vessel - so they can try to replicate
impossible. After all, the speed of any given point on the the spelljamming helm. The pes must defend their ship, or
surface is about 700 miles per second, much greater than struggle to regain it.
the tactical speed of any ship. As things tum out, however, • Through magical means, the Alanti have received a
a quirk of nature makes it quite easy to land. The technique message from a civilization on the other side of the ring
is as follows: at full spelljamming speed, the vessel planet, some 140 million miles away. It would take virtually
approaches the inner surface of the ring, and positions itself forever for a normal sky ship to make this journey if it
directly over where its captain wants it to land. It then drops followed the arc of Nivil's ring. The only logical way of
into the atmosphere of the ring planet. At the instant that it reaching this other civilization is to leave the ring planet,
enters the atmosphere - at an altitude of 50 miles above cross the intervening space past the sun at full
the surface - the craft drops back to tactical speed. spelljamming speed, and re-enter the atmosphere at the
However, the vessel keeps the same velocity as the ring appropriate place. But the Alanti are unable to do so.
planet itself. The ship is now motionless with relation to the Instead, they ask the pes for help: Would the Honored
surface and to the atmosphere. It can now maneuver within Visitors deliver a message to this distant civilization? (The
the atmosphere at standard atmospheric speeds. DM is free to decide just what this message might be, and
Leaving Nivil is similar. As soon as the ship climbs above exactly who - or what - is awaiting it on the other side of
the atmosphere, it immediately accelerates to the world.)
spelljamming velocity sufficient to match the rotational • The ring planet is unstable! Nivil has started to "wobble"
speed of the ring. In both directions, this shift happens as it spins around the sun. Earthquakes are rocking the
without the helmsman being fully aware of what's surface. The Alanti have legends that describe a magical
happening. There is no risk involved in either maneuver. artifact of great power that is intended to prevent this
The only problem arises in the case of an unpowered instability from happening. Someone must have somehow
object - such as a character or a wrecked ship - falling into "turned off" this artifact. The Alanti beg the pes to help
the atmosphere of Nivil. With respect to a free-falling body, them on a great quest: to find this artifact, and re-activate it
the atmosphere of Nivil is travelling at 700 miles per before the ring planet is destroyed!
Torus four seasons, lasts 200 days on Torus. Thus, each season
is approximately 50 days long.
Overall Data Torus is a very strange world, and it often takes visitors
many days to get used to its pattem of days and seasons.
As its name implies, Torus is toroidal in shape. That is, it Almost every explorer who visits the inner surface initially
is a cylinder that curves in on itself, with its two ends joined: feels some irrational fear at seeing "the arch" overhead.
a gigantic "donut" of rock. The entire planet has an outer (Perhaps it's an instinctive fear that this huge arc will fall on
diameter of 30,000 miles. The "hole" of the donut has a them.) While most people get over this in a matter of days,
diameter of 20,000 miles. The solid portion of the planet some people never manage to shake their fear.
has a circular cross-section, 5,000 miles in diameter. The Torus is completely stable in terms of both rotations and
surface area of Torus is approximately 240 million (2.4 x its orbit around the sun. (This means there are no
108) square miles. For comparison, the surface area of disconcerting "wobbles.") The planet is solid rock right the
Toril is about 177 million square miles. way through; it has no semi-molten mantle or liquid core.
Torus has two axes of rotation. It spins around a point at Thus there is no volcanic or tectonic activity, and no
the exact center of the "donut's hole." It also "tumbles" earthquakes.
around an axis that runs right through the donut. (Thus it Apparently this wasn't always the case. Torus has many
rotates like a coin that's been flipped.) This "axis of rugged mountain ranges, which indicate that there was
tumble" is perpendicular to the line connecting Torus with geological activity in the past. The tallest mountain peaks
its sun. What this means is that an observer near Torus's are 30,000 feet or so; the deepest oceans are maybe
sun would see the planet either as a circular ring (when it's 15,000 feet in depth.
face-on to the sun) or as a narrow rectangle with curved
ends (when it's edge-on to the sun). The rate of spin is Climate and Weather
relatively slow: It takes Torus 200 days to complete a single
rotation. It's the tumble that gives Torus its day: A single The weather pattems on Torus should, logically, be very
tumble takes 30 hours. complex. The fact that they're not implies that some
Torus has a breathable atmosphere that extends 50 miles magical laws - as well as the standard physical ones - are
up from its surface. This means that most of the planet's operating on the planet.
central "hole" is the vacuum of Wildspace. The entire At sea level, the daytime temperature everywhere on the
surface of the planet is habitable. The planet's gravitation planet is around 70° F. This remains constant no matter
extends only to the top of the atmosphere; thus the "hole" what the season. At night, the temperature drops to about
itself has no gravity. 40°. (On the inner surface, this refers to "primary night"
The view from the surface of Torus varies wildly only. "Secondary night" is too short for the temperature to
depending on just where on the planet the observer is. For drop more than about 15°.) As on most worlds,
someone standing on the "outer" surface of Torus - that is, temperature decreases with increasing altitude. For each
on the side of the planet away from the hole - the view is 1,000 feet of increased elevation, the average temperature
similar to that from any standard world. For someone on drops by about 3°. (This means that the daytime
the inside surface, however, the view is different and very temperature atop the tallest mountain would be about -20°
spectacular. The opposite arc of the planet's inner surface F, dropping to a frigid -50° at night.) Most tall mountains
is visible as a massive arch across the sky. This "arch" is are topped with ice and snow, although snow never falls on
5,000 miles wide, and 20,000 miles away, which means it the lowlands.
would subtend an arc of about 14°. Thus, the "arch" fills Precipitation is about as common on Torus is it is on most
about one-tenth of the sky. When the opposite portion of standard worlds. [Each day, there is a 1 in 6 chance of
the planet's inner surface is sunlit, it appears as a blue- precipitation in summer and winter, increasing to 2 in 6 in
green arch, dappled with white clouds; when it's in spring and fall.] The type of precipitation depends mainly
darkness, it appears as a great dark strip occulting the on the altitude. At sea level, precipitation always means
stars. rain. Winds are highly variable, and vary by the season.
The outer surfaces of Torus have normal days and nights. Storms are not uncommon. [Use the Weather Conditions
The inner surfaces have two nights and two days in each table on the inside cover.] Cloud cover is very similar to
24 hour period. An observer experiences "primary night" that on any standard terrestrial world, ranging from zero, to
when his location is facing away from the sun. "Secondary 100% during rainstorms. Ughtning is uncommon except
night" happens around noon, when the opposite arc of the during the biggest storms, and then the electrical displays
planet - "the arch" - blocks the sun. "Secondary night" is are impressive. Explorers report that one of the most
about 3 hours long. spectacular views on Torus is of a lightning storm strobing
Torus also has seasons, but these result from the planet's through the skies on "the arch."
spin, not from its orbit around the sun. A year, or a cycle of
Appearance from Space All creatures on Torus are either mammals or insects; there
are no fish, reptiles or amphibians. There are creatures
The toroidal shape of Torus is immediately obvious. The adapted to every environment on the planet, including the
planet is the typical blue-green of most habitable worlds, sea, and filling every ecological niche. The oceans are home
streaked with grey-white clouds. Cloud pattems are usually to mammalian species ranging in size from creatures like
radial - in other words, they wrap around the shorter seals to great camivorous whales. These whales differ from
circumference of the torus. their terrestrial counterparts only in that they have pelts of
soft fur like those of otters. The Cylindrical Sea is also home
Continents to small populations of selkies (Monstrous Compendium,
Yol. 1; AC 5; MY 12 Sw 36; HD 3+3; THACO 17; #AT 1;
Torus has several large oceans, including one that Dmg by weapon or 1-6; SD can change into human form
extends, completely unbroken, latitudinally around the AL N(G)) and sea lions (Monstrous Compendium, Yol. 2;
planet. This great body of water - the Cylindrical Sea - is AC 5/3; MY Sw 18; HD 6; THACO 13; #AT 3; Dmg 1-6/1-
nearly 4,000 miles wide. There are some islands in this sea, 6/2-12; SA mauling; AL N).
but not many, and the largest is only 200 miles or so along The rolling grasslands are home to many species similar
its largest dimension. to deer, and even larger creatures similar to terrestrial
There are three particularly large oceans, each with an buffalo or bison. The only sentient land animals native to
island continent roughly in the midst of it. These land Torus are a race of centaurs (Monstrous Compendium,
masses are known as Davin, Telaria and Wysdon. There Yol. 1; AC 5 (4); MY 18; HD 4; THACO 17; #AT 3; Dmg
are also several smaller oceans and seas. 1-6/1-6 and weapon; AL N). These are described in the
Torus has no magnetic field, so compass navigation is following section.
impossible. The planet's two axes of rotation make celestial
navigation extremely complex. The problem of navigation Guide to the Groundling
is simpler on the inner surfaces, since the arch is always
visible in the sky to provide orientation. As mentioned above, the rolling plains of Torus are home
to many centaurs, but centaurs different in some significant
Life Forms ways from the creatures with which adventurers might be
familiar. Instead of reclusive dwellers in untouched sylvan
Plant life is very profuse and varied on Torus, ranging from regions, the centaurs of Torus are much more social.
simple mosses and lichens to huge deciduous trees with Family groups join together to form great tribes, and
great spreading branches. Some of these monstrous many of these tribes have confederated to form nations.
baobabs are 500 feet tall, with leaves up to 10 feet long and Tribes and nations vary in behavior and outlook. Some are
half that wide. In some areas, the baobabs grow so close warlike, raiding neighboring tribes for slaves or food, to
together that their branches intermesh. Beneath these trees, prove their courage, or sometimes (seemingly) just for the
very little sunlight reaches the ground. The branches fun of it. Others are very peaceable and cooperative. All
sometimes interlock tightly enough to great platforms of live in close harmony with the land, however. Some few
wood and foliage, solid enough to support animals up to tribes practice limited agriculture, but most live nomadic
100 pounds or more in weight. In these great baobab lives, following the herd animals that make up much of
forests, animal life generally concentrates in the trees their diet.
themselves, eschewing the shadowy ground beneath. There Some centaurs become tribal spell casters - dual-class
are some predatory creatures who make their homes on wizard/priests. These individuals are highly respected by
the ground, then climb into the trees to hunt for food. The their tribes, and this respect often extends to other tribes.
most common - and dangerous - form is a six-legged Even the most warlike group is unlikely to attack one who
creature similar to an oversized giant rat. [These creatures is known to be a tribal spellcaster. The deities the centaurs
are similar to standard giant rats with maximum hit points worship are the deities of the land: storm gods, bison gods,
and a + 1 bonus to hit because of ferocity.] There are no grain gods, river gods, and the like. They also highly revere
evergreen trees on Torus. their ancestors, although this reverence doesn't cross the
Baobab forests are rare, except on some islands that are line into true worship. They are also ever-mindful of the
almost totally overgrown with them. In most regions, the traditions of their band, tribe or nation.
lowlands are savannah-like grasslands: rolling plains The welcome that a visitor to Torus might expect varies
covered with 5 ' -high grasses and grain plants. widely. Some groups of centaurs are friendly and trusting,
Surprisingly, there are very few flying creatures on Torus. welcoming the opportunity to speak with and leam from
There are no birds as such, but there are several species of strangers. Others will attack and kill strangers on sight.
large insects. The largest is a kind of giant hornet growing Even the most friendly group can tum nasty, however, if
up to 6 feet long, with a wingspan of almost 10 feet. they come to believe that the visitors will somehow damage
Luckily, these dangerous predators are very rare. or disrupt their way of life.
 Some centaurs understand the rudiments of win the trust of the native tribes. The warlike human groups
spelljamming, and know something about cosmology. look on others as "centaur-lovers" and revile them for it.
They have absolutely no interest in leaving their homes,
however. The gods have decreed that space travel is not for Other Comments
the centaurs, they believe, although other races are free to
practice it without fear of breaking centaur tribal taboos. The matter of seasons on Torus is actually more complex
The coasts of the Cylindrical Sea are dotted with human than was described earlier. As the planet both spins and
settlements as well. These humans came to the planet tumbles, there are regions and times of year where the sun
some decades ago as part of a very small migration from a is always above the horizon, or always directly on it. DMs
planet named Synex which was undergoing major climatic who are interested in making their seasons a little more
upheavals. The humans now living on Torus were "realistic" are invited to do so. The best way to figure out
supposed to be only the first wave of a major settlement, the seasons is to take a torus - such as a donut - and shine
but Synex blew itself to fragments long before the migration a bright light on it to represent the sun, then both spin and
could proceed to any great degree. The settlers on Torus tumble it, watching the play of light and shadow across its
are now stranded: The ships that brought them here turned surface.
back to Synex to pick up the next wave of settlers, and
never returned. Adventure Hooks
Expecting to be backed up with more waves of
immigrants, the original settlers treated the centaurs as • The PCs land in the middle of a "centaur war." They must
obstacles to be overcome in the most efficient manner, and make a decision: Do they support the humans against the
earned the enmity of many tribes and nations. When it "savages," or support the centaurs against the xenophobic
became obvious that more waves of settlers wouldn't be - and potentially genocidal- settlers?
coming, the original human pioneers realized that their • The PCs encounter a tribe of centaurs. While this tribe
initial approach had got them into a lot of trouble. They've isn't actively hostile towards demihumans, they certainly
spent the last thirty or so years trying to smooth things over don't trust the bipedal creatures after the tales they've
with the centaur tribes near to their coastal homes. They've heard of the "centaur wars." Can the PCs earn their trust, or
had only marginal success with this: The centaurs have will they come into conflict with the lion centaurs?
very long memories, and are very good at holding grudges. • While the PCs are exploring the planet, they see a young
For this reason, the humans have looked to the seas centaur trying vainly to fight off one or more giant hornets.
rather than to the inland regions. The centaurs have an Without help, the centaur will surely die. If the PCs rescue
innate fear of the oceans, and the humans have come to him or her, the young centaur will introduce them to the
depend on this to partially protect them. They've built up tribe.
fishing towns, and their great fishing fleets set sail each • The PCs have become friends with a small tribe of
morning onto the Cylindrical Sea to net or spear the small peaceful centaurs. Unfortunately, a neighboring tribe is very
seal-like creatures that make up most of the humans' diet. warlike, and is planning a major attack on the PCs' friends.
Although more than a generation has passed since the If the PCs don't help out, the friendly tribe will be
pioneers arrived, their stories and tales have kept slaughtered.
knowledge of spelljamming alive. Many of the humans • The PCs land in a human settlement full of people who
dream of a day when spelljamming ships will return to take want to leave Torus. The rulers of the town see the PCs'
them from Torus to another world. Some, however, have ship as a perfect way to get off this "gods-forsaken hole."
decided that they like Torus. These are the people who've The problem is, the PCs probably won't be too eager to
had the most success in befriending the centaurs and hand over their ship ...
earning their trust. To these humans, Torus is home, and • A warlike tribe of centaurs has moved into a coastal
they have no interest in leaving. region, and now threatens a peaceful human settlement. If
The human settlers have split into several groups - the PCs don't get involved, the humans will be slaughtered.
considering their small population, "nations" is much too Will the PCs help the humans defend their homes, or can
grand a word. These groups compete financially and by they find a way to avoid warfare altogether?
proving their efficiency as fishermen. The groups have not
yet come into armed conflict, but many cynics think that Plata
warfare is just a matter of time. Several of these groups still
seem to consider the centaurs as "savages" to be
Overall Data
eradicated. There are thus ongoing "centaur wars" between Plata is a disk world: perfectly circular, 8,000 miles in
these groups of humans and the planet's original natives. diameter, and 50 miles thick. Its surface area is about
These wars poison the attitudes of other centaur tribes, 50 million square miles, about one-third the surface area
those not actually involved in the wars, and those human of Tori!.
groups that aren't warlike are finding it ever more difficult to
 There are other disk worlds in the universe, but so far the day to a deadly -70 0 at night. Most mountains are
Plata appears to be unique: It has a unidirectional covered with ice and snow.
gravitational field. In other words, it has gravity only on one The temperature of Plata's oceans varies quite widely, and
surface. The "underside" of Plata has no gravity and no nobody knows exactly why. While there are some bodies of
atmosphere, and is completely uninhabitable. The water that stay at around 40° F, day and night, there are
breathable atmosphere of Plata forms a perfect some that are a good 10° colder than that, and are always
hemisphere, extending 4,050 miles out from the center of covered with a layer of ice.
the disk. Thus, over the center of the planet the atmosphere Precipitation is common on Plata. [On any given day,
is 4,050 miles deep, but it extends only 50 miles out from there is 1 chance in 4 of precipitation.] During the day at
the circumference of the disk. The atmosphere ends at the sea level, precipitation is usually cold rain, while at night,
gravitational plane of the planet. Theoretically, since Plata snow is common. On the mountains, snow is the rule.
has no gravity whatsoever on its underside, the atmosphere Cloud cover is rarely less than 50%, and increases to 100%
should quickly leak away into space. It doesn't, however, during precipitation. Storms are only rarely accompanied
and nobody has a reasonable theory as to why. by lightning.
It is possible to fall off the edge of Plata. Any object or Winds are much more common, and stronger, near the
creature which falls over the edge drops to the gravity plane center of the disk. [For regions within 1,000 miles of the
and remains there. There is a gentle force that pushes such edge of the disk, use the "Summer" column of Weather
an object outward along the gravity plane. When it reaches Conditions table on the inside cover. Elsewhere, use the
the edge of the atmosphere envelope, 50 miles out from "Winter" column.]
the edge of the disk, the object falls free into the vacuum of
Wildspace. Appearance from Space
Plata rotates about an axis that extends longitudinally
through its disk. That is, it rotates in the same way as a The habitable surface of Plata is generally grey-green,
tossed coin. This rotational axis is perfectly perpendicular covered with extensive clouds of dirty grey. The underside
to the line connecting the planet's center to its primary. is unrelieved dark grey - the color of the native rock - and
One rotation lasts 24 hours, so a day on Plata is exactly 12 shows very little detail.
hours long. When observed from a position near its sun, it
ranges in appearance from a circular disc to a thin, virtually Continents
invisible line. The inhabitants of a planet that orbits closer
to the sun than does Plata call the disk world "the Eye," Most of Plata's surface is dry land. The massive, world-
since it appears to blink every 12 hours. Plata has no girdling continent that makes up the edge of the disk is
seasons, and the length of its day never changes. called Circulus by the natives. There are other land masses
The habitable surface of Plata is similar to that of most and continents that bear various names depending on the
terrestrial planets, with mountains and oceans. There are race and nationality of the speaker. There is a great central
no oceans or lakes within 5 miles of the edge of the disk. ocean - roughly circular and about 1,000 miles in diameter
(Luckily, since water would flow over the edge, spread - that is commonly called Braiemor. In the middle of this
along the gravity plane and eventually spew off into space.) ocean, at the exact geometrical center of the disk world, is
Its highest mountains are about 25,000 feet tall, and its an island continent called Barrakis. The mountains of
deepest oceans are 30,000 feet deep. Many of the taller Barrakis are the tallest on the world.
mountain ranges are riddled with extensive cave and
cavem networks. The underside of the disk is rough and Life Forms
mountainous, with no bodies of water.
Plata is volcanically and tectonically dead, and there is The cold upper surface of Plata is home to many diverse
evidence that it always was so. The existence of its species of plant life, ranging from simple mosses and
mountains is a puzzle, since mountain-building is normally lichens to extensive networks of motile vines known to
a consequence of geological activity. The disk world has no explorers as "stranglers" (see the Appendix for details).
volcanoes, hot springs, etc., and never suffers from The plants of Plata share one characteristic: none grow to
earthquakes. any height greater than about 6 feet. Most are ground-
hugging, spreading widely along the surface to maximize
Climate and Weather the surface area they can expose to sunlight. This is
presumably an adaptation to the extensive cloud coverage
Plata is a relatively cold world. The average daytime air on Plata. There are many forms of aquatic plants, ranging
temperature is 50 0 F, dropping to about 30 0 at night. This from species similar to kelp, to seaweed which form great,
temperature drops with increasing altitude at a rate of about spreading mats on the surface of un-frozen oceans. The
4 0 per 1,000 feet of elevation. Thus, atop the tallest shallows are also home to an aquatic species of stranglers.
mountain, the temperate ranges from about -50 0 F during There are few forms of animal life adapted to the ocean,
making some sages claim that the progression of evolution the idea. Individual bands are led by the eldest female, who
on Plata was the reverse of that on most worlds: land- is often a tribal priest of level 1d4. Members of the band are
dwelling life first, followed by an adaptation to the oceans. free to follow the suggestions - "orders" would be too
There are no fish as such. All aquatic animals are strong a word - of the leader, or not, as their own
quadrupedal, showing much Similarity to their land-dwelling consciences dictate. As it works out, however, most
brethren. There are no large animals in the seas of Plata. members of the band will always obey the word of their
The largest, which is the size of a medium dog, resembles leader. If individuals find themselves in disagreement with
nothing more than a large rat with longitudinal gill slits their leader, the most frequent response is to break away
along its back [use the statistics for a giant rat, but with a and find like-minded individuals to form their own band.
swimming speed of 15J. Although a single individual of this There are no bad feelings on either side when such a
species isn't overly dangerous to something man-sized, schism happens, and the new band is always on very good
"sea rats" are rarely encountered singly. Instead, they hunt terms with the older band that from which it sprang.
in packs of 20 or more, and are exceptionally dangerous to The Chilterik speak their own language. Some 10% of
anyone foolish enough to enter the water. them have learned the Common tongue as the only way to
The most common form of land-dwelling animal is a "sea interrogate the humanoid prisoners they occasionally take.
rat" without the gills and with a thick, shaggy coat [again, The aarakocra are safe from all the native life of Plata ... as
use the statistics for a standard giant rat). Uke their aquatic long as they're careful. They can swoop down on the
cousins, these creatures are dangerous predators, and biggest pack of rats with impunity, and pluck out their prey
travel and hunt in large packs. There are no reptiles, before the others can respond. Occasionally an unwary
amphibians or insects on Plata. All animals are mammals, individual might wander within range of a strangler vine, but
or biologically close enough that the difference matters only this is very rare. The greatest danger to the Chilterik are the
to sages. There are few large land creatures, although various tribes of humanoids, who use bows and arrows to
explorers have come back with stories - possibly fanciful - bring down the occasional aarakocra, and who sometimes
of shaggy rats the size of bears. There are no non-sentient attack their mountaintop eyries.
creatures on Plata that are adapted to life in the air: no The Chilterik have a strong "racial memory" made up of
birds, not even any creatures adapted to gliding. stories and epic remember poems. These oral histories
There is only one sentient species that is generally recall the arrival of the humanoids, and the sight of
accepted as native to Plata. These are avian humanoids spelljamming ships in the skies of Plata. The aarakocra fear
virtually indistinguishable from aarakocra (Monstrous that any spelljamming vessel will contain more of their
Compendium, Vol. 2; AC 7; MV 6 Fl 36; HD 1 +2; THACO racial enemies. The bird-men's actual response to the
18; #AT 2; Dmg 1-3/1-3 or 2-8 (weapon); AL NG). These arrival of a vessel will vary from band to band. Some -
creatures are discussed in the following section . those who've suffered most from humanoid assault - might
The aarakocra aren't the only sentient creatures to be attack the ship on sight. Others might prefer to observe
found on Plata, however. The disk world is also home to from afar to determine what the crew's intentions are. It's
various species of humanoids - orcs and goblins, mainly, important to realize that virtually the only non-avian
but with some kobolds, flinds , bugbears and gnolls mixed in human-like beings the aarakocra have ever met are
for good measure - who live mainly in the caves that riddle humanoids - enemies - and the bird-men are quite likely to
Plata's mountain ranges. Again, these creatures are respond based on this ... regardless of their alignment.
discussed in the next section. If the crew members of an approaching vessel make it
obvious that they're not callous killers like the humanoids,
Guide to the Groundlings the aarakocra will accept them as friends, and try to make
amends for any hostile action. The Chilterik will be friendly
The most important sentient species on Plata is, without a towards demihumans who treat them well, but will be
doubt, the aarakocra - or, as they call themselves, the confused and confounded by the fact that their new-found
Chilterik ("the People"). The Chilterik are organized into friends can't fly without use of magic or without their ship.
small family bands of 10 to 30 members, each band [This can lead to some interesting NPC reactions. The
claiming a hunting territory of about 10,000 square miles abodes and behaviors of avian sentients will reflect their
(Le., a circular area about 56 miles in radius). Members of ability to fly. A PC who blindly obeys an aarakocra's
one band will very rarely enter the territory of another band, suggestion to "follow me" might find that his host
and then only when invited, or when circumstances make it unwittingly leads him over a cliff... )
imperative. Different bands are on friendly terms, and seem Even though they might come to accept that
never to come into conflict. As the humanoid inhabitants of spelljamming ability belongs to species other than their
Plata found out to their detriment, however, bands will natural enemies, the Chilterik will always feel some deep
cooperate closely if conditions warrant. distrust of the technology. They will have no interest
The Chilterik have no central government, no conception whatsoever in leaving their world and travelling among the
of how one might work, and no desire to experiment with stars.
 The humanoid races living on Plata aren't native to this If the humanoids see a spelljamming vessel in the sky of
world. During the Unhuman Wars, the humanoid forces Plata, their first assumption will be that it's a resupply ship
decided to tum the disk world into a fortified stronghold. for their "outpost." Once they find this isn't the case, they'll
They landed with a great many soldiers, expecting to have do their best to acquire the ship for themselves. After all,
no difficulty in subjugating the bird-men. As it turned out, with a ship, at least some of the "army" can leave this
the aarakocra were much more serious adversaries than planet and rejoin the humanoid fleet to continue the
the humanoids had expected, however. The humanoid glorious battle against the elves.
armies were ill-equipped to fight a foe that could fly, and Explorers who've come to Plata in the past have tried to
were quickly decimated. persuade the humanoids that the Unhuman Wars are
As the Wars turned against the humanoids, the ships that over ... and that they've lost. Predictably, the humanoids
were supposed to reinforce and resupply the bases on Plata haven't accepted this news with open minds, and the
were reassigned elsewhere ... and eventually destroyed by "messengers" have generally been eaten for their efforts.
the elves. The humanoids on Plata quickly had to accept
that they'd been deserted. Many died - as much due to Adventure Hooks
despair as to the harsh weather conditions and the
continued attacks of the aarakocra - but those who • The Pes' ship is approached - or possibly assaulted - by
survived learned to adapt to their new home. They quickly aarakocra, who fear it's another vessel full of humanoids
claimed the extensive cave complexes of the mountain coming to attack them. Depending on how the Pes react,
ranges as theirs, and used them as shelter from the aerial they can become trusted friends or hated enemies of the
attacks of the Chilterik. Chilterik.
Because it's their nature, the humanoids still dream of • The PCs land near a humanoid settlement. The
eradicating the aarakocra and claiming Plata as theirs humanoids immediately sally forth to destroy the "elven
alone. They continue to fight the bird-men, and over the expeditionary force" and seize their ship.
generations they've become much better at it. • The PCs blunder into the midst of a major battle between
While the troops who initially landed on Plata were trained aarakocra and humanoids. Depending on how things
and disciplined veterans of the Wars (well, as disciplined as develop, both sides in the conflict might suddenly try to
humanoids can get, at any rate), this quickly changed. The assault them. (The aarakocra might see the ship as
aarakocra were intelligent in their attacks, concentrating reinforcements for the humanoids, while the humanoids will
their efforts on those who were obviously humanoid see it as a way to get back into the Unhuman Wars.)
commanders. With their command structure in ruins, the • If one of the PCs is a half-orc, the humanoids might
humanoid forces soon dissolved into autonomous tribes, decide that the PC is either:
most commonly divided along racial lines. For the first few - a prisoner of the other demihumans aboard the ship,
decades, these tribes cooperated freely with each other, but and someone to be rescued; or,
that has changed recently. As humanoids are wont to do, - the captain of a "prize vessel" captured in the Unhurnan
they've been breeding rapidly, and the creatures are Wars, with a crew of prisoners.
starting to feel population pressures. Since there are only so In either case, the PCs will have to do some fancy
many caves, the obvious answer to a growing population is maneuvering to keep themselves out of trouble.
to wrest caverns away from other tribes. Thus the
humanoids are becoming locked into continuous, ongoing
warfare among themselves. This is taking a lot of pressure
off the aarakocra, and the bird-men are quite happy to
leave the humanoids to the task of killing each other.
Since the disappearance of their resupply vessels, the
humanoids have heard no word from the greater universe.
With no news to the contrary, they believe that the
Unhuman Wars are still continuing. Furthermore, their
general racial biases assure them that their forces must be
winning. (Losing to the "dandelion-eaters" - the elves - is
an idea they simply won't entertain.) Even while the
humanoids tribes are fighting each other, they keep alive
their "heritage" as members of the Unhuman armies.
About the only thing that could possibly stop the warfare
between humanoids tribes is the arrival of demihumans -
particularly elves - on Plata. They'll immediately forget
their grudges, and cooperate in marching forth to obliterate
the newly-arrived "elven expeditionary force."
0®
 Dragon, Mithril IRadoleJ

CLIMATE/TERRAIN: Any
FREQUENCY: Very rare
. ORGANIZATION: Solitary
ACTIVE TIME: Any
DIET: Special
INTELLIGENCE: Exceptional (15-16)
TREASURE: Special
ALIGNMENT: Chaotic neutral

NO. APPEARING: 1 (2-3)

ARMOR CLASS: o (base)
MOVEMENT: 9, Fl36 (8)
HIT DICE: 12 (base)
THACO: 9
NO. OF ATTACKS: 3 + special
DAMAGE/ATTACK: 1-6/1-6/3-12
SPECIAL ATTACKS: Special
SPECIAL DEFENSES: Variable
MAGIC RESISTANCE: Variable
SIZE: G (40' base)
MORALE: Fanatic (1 7 base)
XPVALUE: Variable i

Mithril dragons are graceful, slender creatures with long

necks - which accounts for much of their relatively great
body length - and comparatively small heads. They have Combat: Mithril dragons never seek out combat, unless it
tiny eyes, which are protected from the extreme sunlight by looks as though an enemy is going to harm their eggs or
semi-reflectant silver comeas. Their scales are highly their mates. Normally, they use their incredible speed and
reflectant, presumably to minimize heat absorption. Their maneuverability to stay well out of harm's way. (They're not
color, from hatching to old age, remains a fine burnished above taunting or teasing a prospective enemy, however.) If
silver, similar to the metal which gives them their name. forced into combat, though, they are formidable opponents.
Mithril dragons have all of the standard dragon They use their magic and innate abilities to maximum effect,
characteristics as described in the Monstrous and their breath weapon is absolutely lethal. Their favorite
Compendium. Unlike other dragons, however, they seem to tactic is to swoop down on an enemy from out of the sun,
have no interest in treasure as such. Their sole goal in life make their most effective attack, then soar off again before
seems to be to enjoy themselves by soaring in the great the enemy can respond. A mithril dragon's greatest fear is of
thermals that rise from the semi-molten surface of Radole. losing the ability to fly. For this reason, they are most likely
In personality, they seem more akin to the faerie dragon to break off combat if they believe their opponent is able to
than to any other draconic species. strip them of this facility.

Age Body Lgt. Tail Lgt. AC Breath Weapon Wizard Spells MR XP

1 3'-6' 2'-7' 3 2d8+1 nil nil 1,400
2 6'-14' 7'-16' 2 4d8+2 nil nil 2,000
3 14'-22' 16'-25' 1 6d8+3 nil 5% 4,000
4 22'-31' 25'-34' 0 8d8+4 1 10% 7,000
5 31 '-41' 34'-43' -1 10d8+5 2 15% 9,000
6 41'-52' 43'-52' -2 12d8+6 3 20% 10,000
7 52'-64' 52'-61' -3 14d8+7 3/1 25% 11,000
8 64'-77' 61'-70' -4 16d8+8 3/2 30% 12,000
9 77'-91' 70'-79' -5 18d8+9 3/2/1 35% 14,000
10 91'-105' 79'-90' -6 20d8+10 3/3/1 45% 15,000
11 105'-121' 90'-99' -7 22d8+11 3/3/2 55% 17,000
12 121'-138' 99'-108' -8 24d8+12 3/3/3 70% 19,000
Dragon, Mithril IRadole)

Breath Weapon/Special Abilities: A mithril dragon's breath Mithril dragons are usually solitary creatures, soaring alone
weapon is a beam of blinding silver light, 100' long and 10' in the fierce thermals. The dragons do sometimes gather into
in diameter. This inflicts damage through a combination of small groups, however, and play intricate games involving
heat and other forms of radiation. There is no known form aerobatics and speed runs, combined with intricate wordplay
of immunity that protects against this weapon. Targets and pun-making. The creatures have a well-developed sense
receive a saving throw for half damage. Whether or not of humor, and the best way to get on the good side of a
they succeed in this saving throw, targets must make a mithril dragon is to tell it a joke it hasn't heard before.
second save vs. breath weapon or be blinded for 1d6 hours. Some mithril dragons have a mild curiosity about the
Mithril dragons cast their spells and use their magical inhabitants of the Ribbon on Radole. They never actually
abilities at 8th level, plus their combat modifier. encroach on the temperate band - there are no thermals and
At birth, mithril dragons are immune to fire and heat. As updrafts to play in there, after all- but sometimes come close
they age, they gain the following additional powers: Very enough to watch the comings and goings of spelljamming
young: tongues, continuous duration; Young: forget three vessels. The creatures have no knowledge of or interest in
times per day; Juvenile: blink twice per day; Adult: coryure Darkside, and consider it a nasty place not worth visiting.
(/ire) elemental once per day; Old: telekinesis three times The dragons have no interest in treasure, and so collect
per day; Very old: disintegrate once per day; Venerable: none.
power word stun twice per day.
Ecology: Mithril dragons are the top of the food chain,
Habitat/Society: No one has ever seen an unwounded feeding mainly on the great beetles, such as the steel back.
mithril dragon on the ground, and some sages believe that Sometimes groups of younger mithril dragons will
the creatures spend their entire lives soaring through the cooperate in frying a steelback with their breath weapons,
blistering air. If this is so, how they mate and produce then swooping down on the carcass and tearing off bite-
offspring is a mystery. There are some who believe that sized chunks until their hunger is satiated. The dragons eat
mating takes place on the wing, and that the male carries surprisingly little for such massive creatures, giving some
the single egg on his back until it hatches. This theory is sages to think that the mithrils supplement their metabolic
totally unsubstantiated, however. economy with solar energy they absorb through their skin.
Azer IGarrash)

CLIMATE/TERRAlN: Fire worlds

FREQUENCY: Very rare (common)
ORGANIZATION: Bands
ACTIVE TIME: Any
DIET: Omnivore
INTEWGENCE: Very (12)
TREASURE: Special
ALIGNMENT: Lawful Neutral

NO. APPEARING: 2-16

ARMOR CLASS: 2
MOVEMENT: 12
HIT DICE: 2+ 1 to 5+4
THACO: 19 to 15
NO. OF ATTACKS: 1
DAMAGE/ATTACK: By weapon type
SPECIAL ATTACKS: Heat
SPECIAL DEFENSES: Immune to fire
MAGIC RESISTANCE: 5-20% (by size)
SIZE: M (5' tall)
MORALE: Elite (14)
XPVALUE: 2+1 HD: 40 + 3/hp
3+2 HD: 85 + 4/hp
4+3 HD: 130 + 5/hp
5+4 HD: 225 + 6/hp

The azer are a race of humanoid creatures that normally

inhabit the Elemental Plane of Fire. Except under special Habitat/Society: Azer on their home plane are part of an
circumstances, they are very rarely found on the Prime extremely regimented society, under the command of their
Material Plane. In appearance, they are much like dwarves, ruler named Amaimon. Within this society, every individual
except that they have brass-colored skin and flames for has his or her place. The azer civilization on Garrash is a
hair. Their skin is metallic. They wear only kilts or apron- smaller version of this heavily stratified society, and is
like garments of beaten brass, copper or bronze. described in more detail in the appropriate chapter of this
book.
Combat: Azer use broad-bladed javelins which inflict In general, azer are unfriendly and taciturn, and lack
damage as spears. In hand-to-hand combat, they employ compassion. They are greedy, particularly for gems that
mallet-like weapons equal to a footman's mace in game are a clear purple or red (e.g., rubies, amethysts, etc.).
terms. Due to their great strength, hit probability is always Once given, the word of an azer is a solid bond.
adjusted, as is damage, as follows:
Ecology: It is not known just what - if anything - azer eat.
STR Bonus to hit Bonus to Dmg On their home plane, their only natural enemies are other
17 +1 +1 intelligent fire-dwelling creatures, and even then this enmity
18 +1 +2 is not related to relative position on the food chain.
18/01-50 +1 +3
18/51-75 +2 +3

Creatures not immune to fire suffer 2-5 points of damage

if grasped by an azer, and the heat of an azer's weapons
will inflict an addition + 1 point of damage to such victims.
Azers suffer double damage from cold-based attacks.
Flallle Swallow 'Ignia, GarrashJ

CLIMATE/TERRAIN: Any (fire worlds only) colder than the environs of a fire world. If the ambient
FREQUENCY: Rare temperature drops below that of boiling water (212° F), a
ORGANIZATION: Solitary flame swallow suffers 1d6 points of damage each round
ACTIVE TIME: Any that it's exposed to this "frigid" environment.
DIET: Special
INTELLIGENCE: Animal (1) Combat: Flame swallows will almost never enter combat
TREASURE: Nil unless there's no alternative. If combat is necessary, they
ALIGNMENT: Neutral can deliver a damaging bite, but their main danger is the
flame aura that surrounds them. This aura causes 1-8
NO. APPEARING: 1-4(3-12) points of damage to any creature not somehow immune to
ARMOR CLASS: 3 fire (save vs. breath weapon for half damage), and
MOVEMENT: 6,F130 immediately ignites any flammable clothing or equipment
HIT DICE: 3 exposed to it.
THACO: 17 Flame swallows are totally immune to all fire- or heat-
NO. OF ATTACKS: 1 based attacks. Electrical attacks do normal damage, while
DAMAGE/ATTACK: 1-3 cold-based attacks do triple damage.
SPECIAL ATTACKS: Fire
SPECIAL DEFENSES: Fire resistance Habitat/Society: Aame swallows congregate in small
MAGIC RESISTANCE: None family-based flocks. Occasionally multiple flocks can be
SIZE: S (5' wingspan) encountered, although this is very rare. Next to nothing is
MORALE: Unsteady (5) known about the reproductive behavior of flame swallows.
XP VALUE: 75 Presumably they lay eggs, and - judging by the size of
family flocks - presumably these eggs are few in number,
Flame swallows are magnificent, graceful birds similar in or few are viable. Nobody knows, however, where the eggs
appearance to terrestrial swallows, except that their are laid; no flame swallow nest has ever been discovered.
wingspan is often five feet or more. They have the same The question is even more interesting because flame
forked tail as swallows. Their color is bright red on the back swallows have been reported on fire worlds with absolutely
of the head and down the back, shading to brilliant orange no solid surfaces on which those nests could be built. Some
on the upper surfaces of the wings and on the tail. Their sages theorize that the creatures return to the Elemental
bellies and the undersides of their wings are bright yellow. Plane of Fire to lay and hatch their eggs, but this has yet to
Their beaks are short, but sharply-pointed, and can deliver be confirmed. Further adding to the confusion, no obviously
a nasty bite. immature flame swallow has ever been seen.
Flame swallows are always surrounded by a nimbus of Although not overly intelligent, flame swallows are
bright orange fire. This nimbus extends to a range of about amenable to training by creatures that can survive in the
three feet from the body of the bird, and is hot enough to environment flame swallows need. Efreet on Ignia keep
ignite inflammable materials on contact. Flame swallows trained flame swallows as pets.
love fire in all its forms, and enjoy darting through flames
and playing in the hot, turbulent air above the surface of fire Ecology: Although flame swallows seem to prey on other
worlds. They can live equally as well in the superheated fire-dwelling creatures such as fire bats when these other
atmosphere or in the fiery body of such a world. They are creatures are available, this seems to represent a
exceptionally curious creatures, and will investigate preference rather than a necessity. Flame swallows seem to
anything out of the ordinary. If danger - or apparent danger be able to survive without any such source of food. Sages
- appears, however, they usually flee. The creatures enjoy theorize that they draw the energy they need to survive
starting fires so that they can then play in them, and are directly from their environment. This has yet to be
thus highly dangerous to spelljamming vessels confirmed, however.
approaching fire worlds. Such a ship will often attract Flame swallows in tum are preyed upon by other fire-
several of the beautiful creatures who approach to dwelling creatures. (Fire bats and flame swallows seem
investigate ... and then probably ignite the ship's rigging. particularly inimical, and generally attack each other on
Flame swallows are thought to have arisen on the sight.)
Elemental Plane of Fire, but are extremely rare there. Some Because of their ability to subsist on no food, there is
sages think that the creatures find fire worlds on the Prime much controversy over just what position flame swallows
Material Plane as more attractive homes than their native hold in the food chain.
plane. Flame swallows can't survive in an environment
Gyre ,BodiJ

CLIMATEffERRAIN: Temperate forests flies. The maximum vertical range of this power is 500 feet.
FREQUENCY: Rare Creatures within this fear effect must save vs. spells or flee
ORGANIZATION: Solitary in terror from the gyre. (Note that this makes it difficult for
ACTIVE TIME: Day prey to remain immobile, and hence unnoticed by the
DIET: Carnivore gyre.)
INTELLIGENCE: Animal (1) The arrangement of a gyre's feathers are such that it is
TREASURE: Nil almost silent in flight. Combined with its coloration, this
ALIGNMENT: Neutral gives the gyre a much greater chance to surprise its prey.
Gyres will rarely attack anything of size M or larger. If
NO. APPEARING: 1 (1-4) anything approaches within 500 feet of the gyre's treetop
ARMOR CLASS: 5 nest, however, the bird will attack to try and drive the
MOVEMENT: 3,F124 interloper away. If there are young in the nest, the gyre will
HIT DICE: 5 fight to the death to protect them.
THACO: 15
NO. OF ATTACKS: 3 Habitat/Society: Gyres live in large, untidy nests
DAMAGE/ATTACK: 1-12/1-4/1-4 constructed in the tops of the tallest trees. They are
SPECIAL ATTACKS: Fear, surprise on 1-4 normally solitary predators, but in the spring, they seek
SPECIAL DEFENSES: Nil mates. Courtship displays, performed by the male, involve
MAGIC RESISTANCE: Nil climbing to extreme altitudes then tipping over into steep,
SIZE: H (20' wingspan) screaming glides, pulling out scant feet above the tops of
MORALE: Elite (14) the trees near where females are roosting.
XP VALUE: 400 After mating, the female lays one or two eggs. Fertility
rates are low, however, so there is only a 50% chance that
The gyre is a huge feathered bird similar in appearance to any given egg will hatch. Hatching occurs in high summer,
the terrestrial condor. While its wingspan is 20 feet or even and the parents cooperate in feeding the hatchlings. The
more, its body length is rarely over 6 feet. The upper parents teach the young to fly in late fall, at which time any
surfaces of its body and wings are a rich green, while its encounter with gyre has a 75% chance probability of being
underbelly and the undersides of its wings are a pale grey- with a family group (1 or 2 parents, with 1 or 2 young, 10-
blue. This coloration makes for excellent natural 80% mature). When the young reach full maturity, in late
camouflage. When roosting in the treetops, wings folded, its winter, the family group breaks up.
green coloration blends in with the leaves around it; when The gyre lives for approximately 15 years.
soaring overhead, its grey-blue underside makes it difficult
to see against the sky. Ecology: Gyre are straightforward predators, preying on
Gyres are perfectly evolved for the sky, and can remain other birds and on animals that they can snatch out of the
aloft for tens of hours without landing. upper branches of the trees. When hunting, gyre use an
interesting tactic for picking prey from lower down in the
Combat: Gyres prefer to attack by swooping down on their trees. They go into a shallow dive, then tuck their wings
victims from above. Their eyesight is unmatched at picking and draw in their long neck. Like blunt, feathered
out movement, although they are less capable of projectiles, they smash through the thin branches, snatch
distinguishing targets that remain motionless. When they their prey, then wait until there's enough room for a
swoop on their prey, gyres can bite with their wickedly- wing beat or two to bring them back up out of the trees.
curved beak, or rake with their taloned feet; they are unable Gyre hunting in this manner can be heard at great
to use both attack forms simultaneously. If a gyre hits with distances. (It doesn't always work, of course. Broken
both talon attacks, it is able to carry away any creature bodies of gyres found on the forest floor are mute testimony
weighing less than 75 pounds. A victim so snatched to the fact that the big birds sometimes just don't find the
automatically suffers maximum claw damage on each room to take those one or two wingbeats ... )
subsequent round, and the gyre is able to bite at it with a +4 Gyre are near the top of the food chain. The only
bonus to hit. In addition, the gyre is able to drop the victim creatures that prey upon them are the Bodi elves - who
at any time, for potentially lethal falling damage. sometimes hunt them with longbows - and green dragons.
A gyre has an innate ability to induce magical fear on any Their natural camouflage gives the gyre some protection
creature under 4 HD or levels that is beneath the bird as it against both, of course.
Imbul IFalx)

CLIMATE/TERRAIN: Rocky plains damage potential. The toxic liquid can be absorbed through
FREQUENCY: Uncommon the skin, as with a green dragon's breath weapon, and
ORGANIZATION: Solitary inflicts 4-24 points of damage (save vs. breath weapon for
ACTIVE TIME: Any half damage). Use of this "breath weapon" is highly painful
DIET: Omnivore for the imbul, and so it will use it only if the alternative
INTElliGENCE: Animal (1) appears to be death. Also, the poison mist causes tissue
TREASURE: Nil breakdown in its victim which makes the target inedible for
AUGNMENT: Neutral the imbul. Thus the creature will never use this weapon
when hunting for food.
NO. APPEARING: 1 (3-7; 2d3+1) In personality, the imbul is a bully, preferring to attack
ARMOR CLASS: 3 creatures smaller than itself. It will attack larger creatures,
MOVEMENT: 9 but only if it can do so with surprise. If faced with
HIT DICE: 2 determined opposition, it tries to escape. (This personality
THACO: 16 trait is reflected in the creature's low morale score.) The
NO. OF ATTACKS: 1 only exception to this is in the case of adult imbuls
DAMAGE/ATTACK: 2-5 accompanied by young. In this situation, both parents will
SPECIAL ATTACKS: Poison, surprise on 1-4 give their own lives if necessary to protect their offspring;
SPECIAL DEFENSES: Nil their effective morale score increases to 20.
MAGIC RESISTANCE: Nil Imbuls are partially resistant to heat and fire. Attacks
SIZE: S (3' long) based on fire or heat do only half damage. Electrical
MORALE: Unsteady (7) attacks do normal damage, and cold-based attacks do
XP VALUE: 45 double damage. Imbuls are totally resistant to acid.

The Falx imbul, or rock lizard, is a large, heavy lizard, Habitat/Society: Imbuls are generally solitary predators.
about 3 feet long (4-5 feet including tail), resembling a Every spring, however, adult imbuls seek mates. It is the
pugnacious iguana. Its color ranges from dusty grey to dark females that perform most of the courtship rituals, and non-
brown, and its remarkably thick skin is very similar in lethal fights are common between females contesting for
texture to rock. When the creature remains immobile, it is mates. During the mate-seeking period in early spring,
very difficult to spot (80% chance of not being noticed). female imbuls will challenge anything that moves with a
Its eyes are small and red, and protected by protruding threat display. This involves erecting the head crest, hissing
ridges of bone. It has a crest atop its head which normally and making mock charges. (Obviously, this cuts down the
lies flat along the back of its neck, but which it can erect as number of females somewhat, since making a mock
a threat display. It has stubby legs, but moves rapidly for all charge at a tarrasque has predictable and unpleasant
that. Its wide mouth doesn't have teeth, as such; instead, consequences.) Once a pair has mated, they remain
the creature bites and chews its prey with bony ridges. bonded until their offspring reach maturity. After
impregnation, the female lays 1-4 eggs, which hatch in
Combat: The imbul's primary attack is its bite. The bone 60 days. The newborn imbuls are 1/2 HD, with no attacks.
ridges within its mouth are jagged and sharp, and can inflict They grow rapidly, though, and reach maturity by fall. At
terrible wounds. In addition, the imbul's saliva is highly this time, the family group splits up and the individuals go
toxic. Anyone bitten by the creature suffers an additional their separate ways.
3-18 points of damage (a successful save vs. poison During summer, there is a 50% chance that any encounter
decreases the damage to a flat 2 points). There is no limit with imbuls is with a family group of 2d3+ 1 creatures. Two
to the number of times an imbul can inflict this poison. The will be adults, while the others are immature young, 10-
imbul itself is totally immune to this poison. 80% grown.
The imbul has another attack form which it uses only as a
last resort to save its life. Once per day, the creature can Ecology: Imbuls are by preference predatory carnivores,
regurgitate its highly toxic digestive fluids and expel them in hunting other lizards across the hot, flat terrain of Falx.
a cloud of poisonous mist. This cloud takes the form of a During the winter, imbuls are omnivorous, and will attack
cone, originating at the creature's mouth, that is 15 feet each other. If no live game is available, however, the imbuls
long and 6 feet in diameter at its widest point. Any creature will feed on the carpet mosses that cover the landscape.
that inhales this cloud of mist must save vs. poison or die They rarely kill these great colony organisms, however,
instantly from heart failure. Holding one's breath is no sure preferring to tear off mouthfuls as they get hungry.
protection against this mist, although it does decrease the In tum, imbuls are prey for tarrasques and larger lizards.
Holbag fAlabeth)

CLIMATE/TERRAIN: Third layer, Alabeth

FREQUENCY: Uncommon
ORGANIZATION: Solitary
ACTIVE TIME: Any
DIET: Aerial "plankton"
INTELUGENCE: Animal (1)
TREASURE: None
AUGNMENT: Neutral

NO. APPEARING: 1 (1-3)

ARMOR CLASS: 6
MOVEMENT: F.l£i21~~ ________ ~
HIT DICE: Special
THACO: 3
NO. OF ATTACKS: 1
DAMAGE/ATTACK: 4-80
SPECIAL ATTACKS: Lightning, ram
SPECIAL DEFENSES: Regeneration
MAGIC RESISTANCE: 5%
SIZE: G (see below)
MORALE: Fearless (20)
XPVALUE: 1,000

Holbags are huge, gas-filled bags that float in the

atmosphere of the third layer of Alabeth (refer to the
description of that planet for details on layers, etc.). They
are somewhat like onions in shape: circular when viewed
from above, flattened on top, and tapering to a point to descend. (Since the creatures regenerate rapidly, an
beneath. This lower point is tipped with a dozen short enemy would have to work to keep a puncture from
tendrils. The largest circumference of the creature - which closing.)
is just below the flat top - is ringed with 144 slender spines, Holbags have no eyes or optical organs, and operate
each of which is equal in length to about one-twentieth the solely on senses other than sight. They seem to respond to
diameter of the holbag. pressure changes caused by large objects - i.e., those over
The size of a hoI bag is almost unbelievable for a living 50' in size - moving nearby, but can also detect large
creature. Mature specimens measure between 3 and 5 motionless creatures at a range of 500 yards or more.
miles in diameter, and exceptional specimens up to 10 Some sages speculate that the hoI bags detect the slight
miles in diameter have been spotted. This means that the electrical fields created by all living things.
equatorial spines are between 750 and 1,350 feet long on
an average specimen, and almost 3,000 feet long - more Combat: Holbags defend themselves against natural
than half a mile - on extreme specimens. The shorter enemies - most importantly, sky scavvers (cf.) - with
tendrils attached at the creature's lower tip are about half magical lightning. They can fire a single lightning bolt every
the length of its equatorial spines. 5 rounds. The bolt extends straight outward from anyone
Holbags float slowly about the atmosphere of Alabeth. of the holbag's equatorial spines, to a maximum range of
They are lighter than air because they secrete gas much 500 yards. These bolts always strike their targets, and
lighter than air into a huge internal cavity, and then heat it inflict 4d20 points of damage on impact (save vs. breath
to generate even more lift. [n effect, hoI bags are massive weapons for half damage). A holbag can use its lightning
natural dirigibles. Their bodies are thick and muscular, and against a spelljamming vessel, inflicting 4d2 points of hull
very rubbery in texture. damage; the vessel receives a saving throw vs. lightning for
The amount of damage that can be absorbed by a typical half damage. There is no limit to how many times a holbag
holbag is absolutely immense. Their muscular walls are a can fire its lightning. (Note: This damage and range figure
hundred yards or more in thickness, and it would take reflects an average individual. Exceptionally large holbags
upwards of 300 hit points - all inflicted on exactly the same might have a maximum range of 750 yards, and inflict up
spot - to puncture one. Such a puncture will cause the to 8d20 hit points, or 8d2 hull points, of damage.)
creature to deflate slowly, sinking downwards into the cloud Although they move very slowly, adult holbags can do
deck below, where it dies. With a single puncture, it will significant damage by ramming a spelljamming vessel.
take an average hoI bag 20 turns to lose enough gas to start (The creatures don't have precise enough senses to detect
Holbag IAlabeth)

any creature smaller than about 50' in length or diameter.) A young hoi bag can fire lightning bolts, but only to a
Use the standard rules for ramming and crashes on page range of about 75 to 100 yards. These bolts inflict only
65 of the Concordance of Arcane Space 1d20 hit points of damage, or 1d2 hull points, on a target
Because of their rubbery, muscular structure, holbags (save for half damage).
cannot be harmed by blunt or bludgeoning weapons (note Immature holbags grow slowly, taking about one mating
that this includes blunt rams). Piercing and slashing cycle - 10,000 standard days - to reach full size and
weapons do normal damage. Holbags are totally immune maturity. While it's young and undersized, a holbag will
to lightning; fire- and cold-based attacks do normal usually stay close to its parent, often snuggling up right
damage. Since holbags have no mind in the normal sense against it, so the "baby's" equatorial spines are sunk into
of the word, they are immune to charm, illusions and other the flesh of its parent.
mind-affecting magic. Unlike the adults, which seem totally insensitive to pain,
Holbags regenerate, at a rate of 2 hit points per round. immature holbags react strongly to pain, particularly heat.
This means that a puncture will eventually close unless an They will move rapidly away from a strong source of heat.
attacker makes a conscious effort to keep it open. The elves who dwell atop the mature holbags will often use
this characteristic to control immature specimens. A group
Habitat/Society: Holbags are usually solitary creatures. of elves will climb aboard a young holbag, and then will
Under normal circumstances, adult holbags won't apply heat - usually magically-created - to the margin of
approach within one mile of each other. Every 10,000 the creature directly opposite to the direction the elves want
standard days or so (about 27 standard years), however, to go. The holbag will move to avoid the heat, allowing the
holbags enter their mating season. When this happens, elves to control its movements.
adult holbags "pair up." For several days, pairs of the
massive creatures enact great and cumbersome aerial Ecology: Holbags subsist entirely on the "aerial plankton"
"dances" around each other. Then the two holbags that drifts down from the second layer of Alabeth. They
approach each other slowly until the come into contact. absorb these microscopic creatures through pores in their
The great equatorial spines of each creature sink into the great bodies, and through the orifice in their undersides. The
flesh of the other, and they remain locked together like this holbags have only one significant natural enemy: sky
for as many as 50 standard days. During this period, the scavvers (described below). These monstrous creatures risk
creatures' senses are extremely sensitive, and they can the damaging attacks of the holbags' lightning to dart in and
detect the approach of a possible enemy at almost twice rip huge mouthfuls of flesh from the floating gas bags. These
the normal range. If anything is foolish enough to approach attacks rarely puncture, let alone kill, an adult holbag.
two mating holbags, both of the great creatures will attack Although sky scavvers will attack mature holbags - often
the interloper with their lightning bolts. Bonded hoi bags can to their detriment - they prefer to harry the small, immature
each fire a lightning bolt only every 10 rounds (1 turn), but specimens. When these smaller creatures stray too far from
these bolts have double range and inflict double damage. their parents, they are relatively easy targets for the "sky
After about 50 standard days, the two holbags separate, sharks." Sky scavvers seem to understand instinctively
and return to their standard behavior (Le., never about the young creatures' response of moving away from
approaching within one mile of each other) . Five hundred a source of pain. Thus the sky sharks will always make
days later, one of the holbags gives birth to an immature their first attack on a young hoi bag on the side closest to
creature. (Sages have found no way of'predicting which the creature's parent. In response to the pain of the attack,
individual in a mated pair will actually give birth to the the young holbag will move further from the protection of
offspring.) The offspring emerges from an orifice at the its parent, lessening the risk of a lethal attack from the
lower tip of the mature creature. mature holbag. This technique is very effective, and the
mortality rate for young holbags is high - approaching 95%.
Immature Holbags: At birth, a holbag is tiny compared to Holbags are extremely long-lived. An average specimen
its parent: no more than 250 yards across. In appearance it might live through 20 mating cycles - 200,000 standard
resembles its "parent": the relationships between diameter days, or almost 550 standard years - and exceptional
and spine length are the same as with adults. Immature specimens have been said to be considerably older than
hoi bags are considerably faster fliers than their parents: a this. The population of holbags on Alabeth seems to be
movement rate of 5 rather than 2. remaining roughly constant.
Immature holbags are much less resilient than their Holbags seem totally unaware - or at least unconcemed -
parents. A newly-born hal bag can sustain only 25 hit points that their topsides are home to Alabeth elves and other
or so inflicted in the same spot before it is punctured. The creatures. The relationship between these smaller creatures
young creatures regenerate at the same rate as their and the holbags is pure commensalism: the elves and
parents, however. others receive benefits, while the hoi bags receive neither
benefit nor detriment from the relationship.
Scavver, S.cy fA'abeth)
CLIMATE/TERRAIN: Third layer, Alabeth
FREQUENCY: Uncommon
ORGANIZATION: Solitary/pack
ACTIVE TIME: Any
DIET: Predator
INTELLIGENCE: Semi- (4)
TREASURE: Nil
ALIGNMENT: Neutral (evil)

NO. APPEARING: 1 (1-4)

ARMOR CLASS: 3
MOVEMENT: FI 18
HIT DICE: 22
THACO: 3
NO. OF ATTACKS: 2
DAMAGE/ATTACK: 4-40/3-30
SPECIAL ATTACKS: Swallow, lightning bolt
SPECIAL DEFENSES: Nil
MAGIC RESISTANCE: Nil
SIZE: G (100')
MORALE: Elite (13)
XPVALUE: 12,000
Apart from their size, sky scawers are identical in structure to
the other five known species of scawers: long, fishlike creatures,
do~ated by a single huge, glowing human-like eye at the
leading edge of the head, with a wide, sweeping mouth full of
sharp carnivore's teeth. The sheer size of the sky scawer is This bolt has a maximum range of 250 yards, and inflicts
enough to set it apart from its space-dwelling brethren, however: 2d20 hit points, or 2-4 hull points, of damage (save vs.
the average mature specimen is about 100 feet in length. spells - or lightning, for ships - for half damage).
Sky scawers fly through the air of the third layer of Alabeth Sky scavvers are totally immune to electrical-based
using a modified form of the more well-known scawers' ' attacks. Other attacks inflict normal damage. Although they
innate spelljamming ability. They are pure predators, living have some intelligence, their minds are sufficiently different
off the many aerial creatures that occupy the third layer of from those of demihumans that they are totally immune to
the might air world. While they will eat virtually anything that charm, illusions and other mind-affecting magic.
crosses their path, their favorite food is the holbags - the Habitat/Society: Sky scavvers usually operate as solitary
gigantic floating gas bags native to Alabeth's third layer. pred~tors. When they're attacking holbags, however, they

Combat: The sky scawer's primary attack is a bite from their hunt In packs of 1-4. They are as ferocious as the void
huge, tooth-studded mouth. Such an attack inflicts 4d10 hit scavver, but won't kill other members of their species who
points of damage. The mouth is big enough to allow the try to "muscle in" on their prey. There is a strongly-defined
creatures to bite even something as large as a spelljamming "pecking order" within a sky scavver pack, however, with
vessel, inflicting 1d4 hull points of damage. In addition, an the strongest individuals always feeding first.
adult sky scawer can swallow whole any creature of size L or The intelligence of sky scavvers is sufficient to let them
smaller, and will do so on an attack roll of 13 or more. The plan the best manner of attack against larger opponents.
sky scawer has a gullet poison similar to the brown scawer (The technique these creatures favor against immature
- victims must save vs. poison or die in three rounds - but holbags is discussed in the section describing these great
lacks the ability to expel it into the air. Its interior is AC 5, and gas bags.) Many people who have seen sky scavvers
it is possible for a victim to cut his way out with small hand- operate claim that their intelligence is actively malign.
held weapons. The bellies of sky scawers will sometimes Ecology: Sky scawers are simple-minded predators. They have
contain undigestible residue from earlier meals: metals, no natural enemies as such - that is, creatures that feed on
stones (including gems) and the like. Sky scawers can also them. Attacks against mature holbags are highly dangerous,
deal a punishing tail-slap like that of the kindori. This attack however, and lead to the deaths of many sky scawers. Since
inflicts 3dlO hit points of damage, or 1d3 hull points. the holbags eat nothing but aerial plankton, the bodies of dead
The sky scavver's most dangerous attack however is its scawers simply fall into the lower layers of A1abeth's
ability to fire a powerful lightning bolt from its single ~ye. atmosphere - presumably to be devoured by other creatures.
Steelback Beetle fRadoleJ

CLIMATE/TERRAIN: Any It is theoretically possible - albeit very difficult - to roll a

FREQUENCY: Uncommon steelback over onto its back to expose its underbelly, which
ORGANIZATION: Solitary is AC 5. The steelback's hemispherical shape, however,
ACTIVE TIME: Any makes it fairly easy for the creature to roll back onto its feet
DIET: Special merely by shifting its weight within its shell.
INTEWGENCE: Animal (1) Steelbacks are totally resistant to fire and heat. Electrical
TREASURE: Nil attacks do no damage, and lightning bolts reflect perfectly
AUGNMENT: Neutral off the metallic shell. Fifty percent of lightning bolts reflect
back directly towards the spellcaster who fired them; the
NO. APPEARING: 1-3 other 50% reflect in random directions, possibly endangering
ARMOR CLASS: o the spellcaster's comrades. Cold-based attacks inflict double
MOVEMENT: 9 damage. For each round that the creature is in an
HIT DICE: 9 environment colder than 300 0 F, it suffers Id8 points of
THACO: 11 damage. Steelbacks are totally immune to all forms of
NO. OF ATTACKS: 1 poison (including such things as green dragon breath).
DAMAGE/ATTACK: 3-24
SPECIAL ATTACKS: Charge, trample Habitat/Society: Steelbacks hunt either singly or in small
SPECIAL DEFENSES: Nil groups. It's unknown whether these groups represent
MAGIC RESISTANCE: 15% families, or are just random associations of creatures.
SIZE: H (20') Hunting groups form and break apart seemingly randomly.
MORALE: Fanatic (18) The beetles are all female, and reproduce by
XPVALUE: 850 parthenogenesis (reproduction without the participation of
a male, like certain Amazonian fish on Earth). Every 500
Steel backs are huge beetle-like creatures with highly- standard days, a steelback lays Id4 eggs, which the
reflective metallic shells covering their backs. The large creature conceals in the shallows of a "lake" of molten
shell is an almost perfect hemisphere, supported less than a metal. Fifty days later, the newly-hatched steel backs
foot off the ground by 36 short, multi-jointed legs. The emerge from the lake and go off on their own. New
creature's head is usually drawn in beneath the shell so that hatchlings have the following characteristics: HD 3,
only its long, serrated mandibles are exposed. However, the THACO 17, Dmg 1-8. A charge attack inflicts 1-4 points of
creature can shoot its head out forward with blinding speed, damage, and they are unable to trample. All other
extending the reach of its mandibles by an additional 5 feet. attributes are as for the adult creatures. They grow quickly,
For such a large creature, the steelback is remarkably fast, reaching full size in only 150 standard days. No one knows
and its multiple legs allow it to traverse virtually any kind of exactly how long steel backs live, although there are
terrain. indications that they might live for as many as 15,000
standard days.
Combat: The steelback's main attack is an incredibly Because the creatures require high temperatures to survive,
damaging bite from its long mandibles. If it succeeds in they can never approach the Ribbon region of Radole, and
biting an opponent of size M or smaller, it can maintain its hence pose no threat to the creatures that live there.
grip, inflicting maximum damage on each subsequent
round until its victim is dead, or the beetle disengages to Ecology: Steel backs have been described as mindless
engage another target. killing machines. They are predators, living on the other
The creature's normal speed is fast enough, but it is able beetle-like creatures that dwell on Radole's Sunside. Many
to increase its speed by 16 for a charge of up to 60 feet. If it sages believe that steelbacks absorb the energy that they
chooses to attack with its mandibles at the end of this require to live from the harsh sunlight that beats down on
charge, it receives a +2 bonus to hit. Instead of biting, it can them continuously. If this is true, it follows that they must
simply slam into its target, using its mass to inflict damage. eat only to provide them with the raw materials required to
The targets of such a charge each suffer 2-12 points of enlarge and heal their bodies. Such being the case, it would
damage, and must roll under their Dex + Str on 2d20 or be be impossible to starve a steelback to death, providing it
knocked off their feet and trampled under the steelback. received sufficient sunlight. (This would also explain the
Such a trampling attack inflicts hit points equal to 20 plu~ creature's immunity to poisons.)
the victim's AC.
Strangler IPlata)

CLIMATE/TERRAIN: Plains
FREQ()ENCY: Rare
ORGANIZATION: Solitary
ACTIVE TIME: Any
DIET: Predator
INTEWGENCE: Non- (0)
TREAS()RE: Nil
ALIGNMENT: Neutral

NO. APPEARING: 1
ARMOR CLASS: 4 (7)
MOVEMENT: Nil
HIT DICE: 6
THACO: 14
NO. OF ATTACKS: 1-6
DAMAGE/ATTACK: 1-8
SPECIAL ATTACKS: Paralysis, crush
SPECIAL DEFENSES: Nil
MAGIC RESISTANCE: Nil
SIZE: G (25' diameter)
MORALE: Elite (14)
XPVAL()E: 3,000

Stranglers are camivorous plants native to the disk world

of Plata. The plant's central body is short and stocky-
roughly spherical and about 3 feet in diameter. Extending
out from this center are 8 "tentacles," arrayed evenly
around the plant, each about 10-12 feet long. These subsequent round - unless the creature manages to escape
tentacles resemble thick green vines, about the thickness of - the tentacle continues to crush its target for maximum
a man's wrist, and extend outward along the ground from damage, and attempts to drag it towards the central body
the central body. The tentacles are dark green, while the of the plant. Unless the plant has to contend with more than
central body is a light greenish-yellow. one target simultaneously, it will continue to wrap more
The green coloration of a strangler implies that the plant is tentacles around its prey as the unfortunate animal is
at least partially photosynthetic. But this isn't its only dragged closer to its central body. A single creature can be
source of sustenance. Although the long tentacular vines attacked by no more than 6 tentacles. Subsequent tentacle
are usually stationary, they can under the right attacks receive a +2 bonus to their attack rolls for each
circumstances move extremely fast. The "right tentacle already gripping the target.
circumstances" is the approach of an animal of some kind In addition to crushing damage, the tentacles of a
within range of one or more tentacles. Tentacles lash out in strangler inflict a more insidious attack on their prey. The
an attempt to capture the animal and drag it into a fleshy tentacles secrete an enzymatic mixture which causes
mouth that opens in the top of the central body. Once the paralysis in its prey. Each round that a creature is in the
animal is "swallowed," the strangler's digestive enzymes grip of a strangler, it must make a saving throw vs. poison
dissolve it over a period of several hours. or become paralyzed. This paralysis lasts until the creature
Nobody knows exactly what senses a strangler possesses. is either dead or freed from the grip of the strangler; in the
It is unaffected by either darkness or bright light, and latter case, the paralysis fades gradually over a period of
doesn't react to sound or silence. Most sages agree that the 2d8 rounds. For each additional tentacle in excess of one
creature somehow senses movement, since it will never that grips a single victim, that victim suffers a-I penalty to
attack a motionless creature that it hasn't already captured its saving throw against paralysis.
with at least one tentacle. Once the strangler has shoved its victim into its fleshy
mouth, the victim suffers 1d 10 hit points of damage each
Combat: At the first moment that a potential prey comes round from enzymatic secretions (save vs. acid for half
within range, one or more of the tentacles lashes out and damage). In addition, the victim must save vs. breath
attempts to wrap itself around the animal. This requires a weapons with a -5 penalty each round it's in the plant's
successful attack roll. A successful capture means that the mouth or be paralyzed. The body of a dead creature will be
target creature is grasped by at least one tentacle, and dissolved and unrecoverable after 2d 12 hours.
suffers 1d8 hit points of crushing damage. Each The easiest way to free a victim from a strangler tentacle
Strangler (Plata)

is to cut off the tentacle. A tentacle has AC 7 - as opposed resist the plant's pull. The characters' total Strength is
to AC 4 for the central body - and can withstand only 2d8 35; the strangler's total Strength for the two tentacles is
hit points of damage before it's destroyed. Damage inflicted 32 (16 X 2). Balfas and friends can resist the pull of the
on tentacles isn't counted against the strangler's total "hit strangler .. . just. If the plant scores a hit with another
point pool," and can't kill the creature. Only hits against the tentacle, Balfas and his two friends will be unable to resist
central body can actually kill the creature. A strangler can any longer.) It's important to remember that anyone trying
regenerate a destroyed tentacle in 1d6 days. It can to help a captured victim is by definition within range of at
regenerate mUltiple tentacles at the same time, although least one other tentacle ...
the time complete regeneration takes is increased by one Fire- and heat-based attacks do double damage to a
day for each tentacle in excess of one that the plant must strangler. All other attack forms do normal damage. Since
re-grow. the plant has no mind as such, it is totally immune to
A strong, un-paralyzed creature might be able to tear itself charm, illusions, and other mind-affecting magic.
free from a strangler, or at least prevent itself from being
dragged into the central maw. To free himself from a Habitat/Society: Stranglers are non- mobile and totally
tentacle, a character must make a "bend bars" roll based unintelligent. They cannot communicate with their own
on Strength. A successful roll means the creature has tom kind in any way.
free from one tentacle. Such an attempt takes one entire Every 250 days or so, a single blood-red flower blooms
round in which the character can do nothing else. atop a strangler's central body. This flower is beautiful to
(Breaking free from a tentacle doesn't mean that same see, but smells of carrion. The flower remains open for
tentacle can't attack again on the next round, of course.) several days, then the seed pod below the flower bursts,
High Strength can also let a character prevent a strangler scattering seeds to the winds. Since there are no insects or
from dragging him within range of its mouth. The birds on Plata to fertilize the stranglers, the plants must
procedure is as follows: First, consider that each tentacle jF:pend solely on the wind to do so - not a particularly
gripping the character has a Strength of 16. Now add ;/fective strategy. The relative frequency of the plants
together the Strength scores of the captured character plus proves that this scheme does work, however.
any other characters who are trying to help him pull away.
Compare this to the Strength total of the tentacles currently Ecology: Stranglers are virtually perfect "opportunistic
holding the character. If the characters' total Strength is predators." If animal prey wanders within its grasp, the
greater than or equal to the strangler's total strength - that plant will eat it. If no animals come near, however, the plant
is, 16 times the number of tentacles gripping the victim - is perfectly happy to subsist purely on photosynthesis.
then the plant is unable to pull its prey any closer to its The humanoids of Plata hate stranglers with a passion,
mouth. If the characters' total Strength is less than the and have sometimes tried to wipe the entire species out...
strangler's total strength, however, the plant continues to with little to no success. The aarakocra consider the red
drag its prey closer. (For example: Balfas the warrior blossoms to be the greatest of delicacies, and sometimes
(Str 14) is grabbed by two strangler tentacles. Balfas' will risk attacks from stranglers to snatch the flowers.
friends Adria (Str 9) and Lykan (Str 12) try to help him
Zat IGarrashJ

CLIMATE/TERRAIN: Fire ring (Garrash only)

FREQUENCY: Very rare
ORGANIZATION: Solitary
ACTIVE TIME: Any
DIET: Special
INTElliGENCE: Unratable
TREASURE: Nil
ALIGNMENT: Neutral

NO. APPEARING: 1-2

ARMOR CLASS: Armor Rating 0
MOVEMENT: SR 5
HIT DICE: 20 hull points
THACO: 3
NO. OF ATTACKS: 1
DAMAGE/ATTACK: 6 hull points
SPECIAL ATTACKS: Ram
SPECIAL DEFENSES: None
MAGIC RESISTANCE: 15%
SIZE: G (100')
MORALE: Fearless (20)
XPVALUE: 2,000

Zats are huge, metallic creatures built like delta-winged

planes. Their bodies are cylindrical and about 100' long,
while their knife-edge metal wings span about 150'. The
"stem" of their bodies are blunt, while their "bows" are sharp
enough to act as piercing rams. Zats are made entirely out several million years. Unfortunately, what a zat rnln",n<>lr"
of high-melting-point metal alloys, which has an almost be important isn't the kind of thing a demihuman would
perfect mirror finish. In another universe, they might be want to know. Zats notice changes in thermal and luminous
considered to be artifacts; in the SPELLJAMMEWM game flux from the fire world, changes in the density of the fire-
universe, however, they are definitely alive. They soar ring, and such things. They have no conception that there
through the fire-ring of the planet Garrash, apparently using are living creatures on the planet, and honestly couldn't care
their huge wings to "tack" against the light pressure from less. They speculate endlessly on complex philosophical
the fire world like huge solar sailors. issues that would leave even thri-kreen totally confused.
Zats are highly intelligent, although their mentality follows Any spelljamming vessel approaching or entering the ring
a totally different model from that of most life-forms. They will attract the attention of 1 or 2 zats, who will approach to
communicate among themselves using subtly-changing observe the "strange creature" that has come to visit them.
magnetic fields. This type of communication is virtually (Considering their size, it's only logical that the zats would
instantaneous, and its range is measured in the millions of think that the ship itself is a living creature. It won't be easy
miles. It requires a clear line-of-sight, so although a zat has to convince them that the ship is inanimate, and the
the range to communicate with another such creature on controlling intelligence lies with the insignificant specks
the other side of Garrash, the mass of the planet would scurrying about on deck.)
block the communication.
Communication can be established with zats by using Combat: While zats are basically peaceable creatures, they
telepathy, but not much comes through the link. The share with virtually every other living thing a strong sense
spell caster would receive a colossal sense of surprise, of self-preservation. If they're attacked, they'll definitely
followed by a welter of incomprehensible thoughts. A fight to protect themselves.
spellcaster try~ng to penetrate this confusing flood of Combat with a zat uses the same techniques as ship-to-
thoughts must save vs. spells. A failed save leaves the ship combat, as detailed in the SPELLJAMMEWMboxed set
spell caster confused for 1d 10 turns. A successful save (thus the fact that their movement is described in terms of
means he has established communication with the zat. "Ship Rating"). Their only attack is a ram, which can't be
Zats are peaceable creatures, and very curious about used against anything smaller than 1 ton (e.g., an elven
things that happen in "their" area of space, although they Flitter). There is some characteristic - as yet unexplained-
are indifferent about virtually everything else. They seem to about the zat's sharp "bow" that inflicts more hull damage
be immortal, and have observed the planet Garrash for than a "vessel" of its size should be able to.
Zat IGarrashJ

Zats save as "hard metal," and are totally immune to Nothing is known about zat reproduction. In fact, the zats
heat- and fire-based attacks. Electrical attacks inflict only themselves can't even comprehend the concept when
half damage. Note that a zat's "HD" figure is expressed in they've been asked telepathically. The most widely held
terms of "hull points." It takes 10 hit points of damage - belief is that all existing zats were created - by what or by
inflicted on exactly the same spot - to cause 1 hull point of whom is a key question - at some time in the distant past,
damage. They are totally immune to charm-based magic, and they have no need or capacity to reproduce.
and other magical and quasi-magical powers that affect the If a zat is killed, every other zat within communication
mind (illusions, psionics, etc.). range - about 75 million miles - knows it immediately, and
Although zats are basically fearless, they aren't stupid, receives a "mental picture" of who or what caused the zat's
and won't fight to the death except under the most death. All surviving zats will feel an implacable - and
exceptional of circumstances. They can use their long- eternal - hatred for whoever or whatever killed one of their
range communication to summon more of their kind if fellows. (Thus, any spelljamming vessel that dispatches a
things are getting dicey. Militant pes should soon realize zat will find Garrash's ring a very inhospitable region until
that, no matter how tough their ship is, it's not up to the end of time ... )
"dogfighting" with a whole squadron of zats. All in all, it's
much safer to talk than fight. Ecology: Zats have no orifice through which they can
absorb matter. The only conclusion to draw from this fact is
Habitat/Society: Zats are basically solitary creatures. They that they don't have to. The fire-ring of Garrash is definitely
enjoy philosophical discussions with others of their kind, a high-energy environment, and it seems likely that the
but their long-range magnetic communication means they massive creatures absorb all the energy they need to
don't have to congregate to do this. survive from that source.