Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Nightdruid 10-28-03, 06:57 PM	Kinda bored with stats of all sort, so I've created something that is totally free of stats beyond level ;) I thought about making this an adventure, but I know I don't have the time for that, so I did it as a world-writeup instead :D The Darkmoon of Olkstn Planet Name: Olkstn Planet Type: Spherical earth body Planet Size: B Escape Time: 1 turn Satellites: none* Distance from primary: * miles Day Length: 22 hours Year Length: 16 days Population Analysis: Humans, half-orcs, orcs, undead A small, uninteresting moon of some minor world, Olkstn does not see much spelljamming traffic. In fact, it sees none at all, as ships that approach it suddenly lose power 15 miles above the surface, and regain it only after the ship has fallen 5 miles into the upper atmosphere. Spelljamming helms fail to operate in a zone 10 to 15 miles above the moon's surface, effectively trapping any ship that gets too close. Olkstn has few features. A 'scar' of mountains runs from the northern pole to almost the southern pole. Opposite of this mountain range is a vast swamp that covers about 1/3rd the moon. Plains, craggy hills, and deep forests fill the land in-between. Climate and Weather The climate of Olkstn is somewhat pleasant, with year-round, fall-like conditions. In the mountains, the wind is bitterly cold. It never really gets very hot nor cold on Olkstn, but biting winds to blow down from mountain peaks to chill villagers to their bones. Appearance from Space From orbit, Olkstn appears as a small moon with its features smeared by thick cloud cover. The largest features, such as the mountains and swamps, are easily visible. Continents None. Olkstn has no bodies of water larger than a small lake. Native Creatures The small size of Olkstn prevents it from being home to many creatures. It has a few species of native gazelle, hunting cats, badgers, boars, and donkeys. The forests are deciduous in nature, with spruce, beeches, birch, and oaks predominating with some pine and other needle-bearing trees. Guide to Groundlings The original natives of Olkstn were a few human families living in simple towns. They sometimes fought amongst themselves over the scarce resources and built temples to various minor gods. The Babylonian gods were most popular with the natives, particularly Anu, Anshar, and Ishtar. These humans survive still, but have been greatly reduced in territory they can safely claim. They still have three towns and some villages in the lowlands, but avoid the mountains, forests, and swamps. Orcs arrived during the Unhuman Wars, and were quickly driven into the newly-formed swamps. The orcs were once proud warriors and buccaneers, but after four centuries of being hunted and stalked, are little more than savage animals cowering in their strongholds. The last major race is the half-orcs, who arose after generations of close contact between humans and orcs. The half-orcs can go between the human and orc communities, acting much like gypsies. Their small communities are centered around their donkey-drawn carriages. Resources and Trade As a whole, Olkstn is very poor in resources. There are precious few sources of any metal, so most of the people live with Bronze-Age tools and equipment. Weapons and armor are especially scarce, usually crudely fashioned clubs, bows, and spears for weapons, and leather armor as the only armor commonly available. Olkstn conducts trade on a barter-level only, having no value for useless metals like gold and silver. Copper has some value, as it can be melted down and fashioned into tools and even weapons. In all, there are three human towns, nineteen villages and hamlets, and two orc strongholds. The towns are small and walled by wooden pallistides. The towns are named Ramn, Maruk, and Ushar. Ramn is the largest town, situated along a muddy riverbank It is the agricultural heart of Olkstn. Maruk is somewhat smaller and located in the uplands. Sheep herders bring their herds to Maruk for shearing and even slaughter. Ushar is the smallest town, on the opposite side of the Scar mountain range. It is a logging camp, cutting back the forests to bring back wood for sale to the other communities. Ports of Call There are no true ports of call on Olkstn. None of the towns are large enough to have services available to spelljammers. The ruins of a spelljammer dock can be found in the southern foothills of the Scar Mountains. The dock once welcomed ships from the humans' home empire, but fell into disuse after that empire fell. The ruins have a mild levitation power surrounding them, so that any spelljammer less than 200' long can pull alongside any one of the four piers without having to land on the ground. The magic remains in effect today, though knowledge of this effect has fallen into legend among the natives. More interesting would be the fortress of Starleaf. It is located deep in the mountains, in a hanging valley over 2000' above the surrounding countryside. The stark palace has a ring of towers around the central, domed keep. The fortress is haunted by ghouls, ghasts, ghosts, vampires, and harpies in service of Starleaf. Many of his servants were his former crewmen, while others were created from villagers or orcs to act as foot soldiers in his war against the orcs. Starleaf himself is a creature not unlike a vampire, with greatly exaggerated features, such as long limbs and ears over 1 foot long. He has the abilities of a 7th level fighter and a 9th level mage. History Humans first came to Olkstn about a thousand years ago. Their oral traditions state that they were bold pioneers from some ancient empire seeking to expand its reach into distant spheres. They settled in a handful of towns, ruled by a warrior-priest of Anu. He and his descendants would rule for over 500 years, outlasting even the parent empire (undoubtedly due to the remote nature of Olkstn). The warrior-priest, Haru the XII, would perish at the hands of (elven undead), his body left upon a pike for months as a warning to those that would oppose the might of the undead elf. During the waning days of the Unhuman Wars, three tribes of orcs fled to Olkstn. They were being pursued by the vengeful elven admiral Aerion Starleaf, who sought revenge for the death of his family. Not content with merely putting the orcs to the sword, he chased them to the ground on Olkstn, and then used a powerful artifact to entrap them. In his madness, he made packs with various demonic creatures that allowed him to survive as an undead horror, a bane to the orcs for all time. He would not only take his vengeance out on the orcs responsible for the death of his family, but every future generation as well. Indeed, his desire for vengeance was so great that he even sacrificed the lives of his own men (see Satellites below) in his quest for it. The Coming of Starleaf and the Orcs proved a great disaster for the humans. The orc warpriests, attempting to save themselves, used potent magic of their own. That magic created the great swamps the orcs now use as their refuge. Satellites In orbit around Olkstn is a trio of abandoned elven Men-O-War, overgrown after centuries of neglect. The Men-O-War orbit roughly 25 miles above the moon. They were left close enough together such that their wings have intertwined. The Men-O-War can be seen from the surface, and their yellow color makes them look like a star. The natives believe this star, called the Eye of Nergal, watches over them. It is a bane upon their existence, as its appearance heralded the arrival of the orcs and undead, and thus all the woes that have befallen Olkstn. The Men-O-War are abandoned. If the overgrowth is cut away, the interior reveals elven skeletons slumped over ancient siege weapons. Many were slain in battle, others killed by unknown forces. This crypt is watched over by a ghostly host, the men who were betrayed by Admiral Starleaf. There are 36 ghosts in all, the spirits of the ships' officers and crew. They are trapped in the Men-O-War until such a time as Admiral Starleaf is made to pay for his crimes against them by his destruction. Once done, the ghosts will depart in spectacular fashion, heading for their final resting places. Only then can the ships be salvaged and refitted.
Gellion 10-28-03, 07:34 PM	:cool:
neverness 10-31-03, 12:30 AM	This is inspiring! I found the map I did over 12 years ago of my campaign world's solar system. It was done exactly like the side bar system maps in the old Spelljammer rule book. Looking at it, I realized this was a project I needed to complete. Now, having read what you just wrote, I am truly inspired now to do a treatment just like this for my game! It's a starting point to a lot of cool writing. Thanks for the push!
Nightdruid 10-31-03, 07:20 AM	Very welcomed :) Glad it helped you out :D
IPLAYDND35 10-31-03, 07:11 PM	and you said you thought this up during lunch??? either that was a long lunch or im impressed!!!!!
Nightdruid 10-31-03, 07:39 PM	Originally posted by IPLAYDND35 and you said you thought this up during lunch??? either that was a long lunch or im impressed!!!!! About 1 hour for lunch, 1 hour for cleanup work after I got home. When I'm on a roll, about 2 pages/hour. Still needs probably another hours of cleanup. The article practically wrote itself. :angel:
IPLAYDND35 10-31-03, 10:02 PM	thats still very well done though
Nightdruid 11-01-03, 09:43 AM	Originally posted by IPLAYDND35 thats still very well done though Thanks! Once I'm going, I can crank out stuff pretty fast; its just *getting* started that's the problem :smirk: