Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Nightdruid 09-08-04, 09:29 PM	Greetings MotM fans, must appologize for the (month-late!) delay; things have been very busy for me lately. Things are better now, so I give to you Everath, the Moon of Eternal Midnight! Evertath Planet Name: Evertath, Moon of Eternal Midnight Planet Type: Spherical Earth Planet Size: C Escape Time: 2 turns Satellites: 1 ice ring, 2 moons Distance from Primary: 1,000,000 miles Day Length: 48 hours Year Length: 160 days Population Analysis: drow, trow Evertath is an odd moon. A medium-sized planetary size C, violet-colored orb of 660 miles, Evertath is under constant twilight conditions. It orbits a world far from the sphere’s sun. The great distance separates it from the planet it orbits, meaning that this moon has a long cycle. This moon is relatively unknown outside of the circles of the Elven Fleet, and the drow. For good-aligned drow, this moon has become somewhat a legend, a refuge against the ravishes and hatreds of their evil brothers. Many seek passage to this moon in search of sanctuary. A small trickle of good-, and even neutral-, aligned drow arrive every year. These drow are a good means for player characters to learn about Evertath: such a drow could purchase passage aboard the characters’ ship. The Elven Fleet is not so sure about what to do about Evertath. Though it is a moon of their enemies, the natives have cast aside their evil goddess and have taken the path of redemption. Many believe it is a trick; others believe that the drow are really returning to good. Many want to believe that Evertath is real, that there is hope yet for their wayward kin. Only time will tell who is right. Climate and Weather Evertath is a temperate world, with little variation from pole to equator. By all rights it should be a much colder world, but ancient magic, probably of drow or elven origin, keeps the temperature at a fairly even and comfortable level. There are seasons that range from warm summers to cold winters. Seasons are uniform across the moon; when it is summer in the north, it is also summer in the south. During the deepest part of winter, there is usually a two-week, world-wide blizzard. This is the known as the Nights of the Wolf, and is usually marked by people hunkering down in their homes, not venturing forth until it passes. In recent years it has become a time of celebration, holiday, and rest. Appearance from Space Evertath is a deep velvet orb in the night sky, difficult to detect. Seas of midnight blue cut the land into continents that are dotted with mountains, forests, deserts, and open plains. There are no ice caps, no tundra lands, or jungles. Lighthouses shed enough light for cities to be located from orbit, but are otherwise invisible from orbit. Continents and Landmarks There is one large, cool ocean that snakes across the moon, dividing it into three significant land-masses. The largest is barely a continent and is named Riztrinolil. The land is bisected by two mountain ranges, dividing the continent into four broad regions. Riztrinolil is a land of forests and plains, with good farmlands in the lowlands. Most of the population can be found on this continent. The second landmass is a large “spray” of three very big islands leading away from Riztrinolil. These lands are the domain of the trow, who retreated to these islands to carve out a living free of drow tyranny. Wilderness dominates the lowlands while settlements can be found in less habitable areas. The trow believe that by keeping to the less desirable areas, they are less likely to be discovered. The last landmass is the Dinor’Ryne, a large island opposite of Riztrinolil. Few settlements can be found here, as it has always been a backwater wilderness. It was largely abandoned two millennium ago when the platinum mines ran dry. There are many moments and ruins across the moon’s surface. The most interesting is the Web of Lolth, the largest temple of that foul goddess. In its heyday, it sprawled over a mile, with a web-like network of walls and towers. At the heart was a grand cathedral with arching ceilings and endless murals of betrayal, chaos, and murder. The Web has since fallen to ruin, as it was the sight of the Final Battle, a thousand years ago. Only the occasional monstrous spiders still dwell here; its halls still echo with the wails of suffering and sacrifice. Native Creatures Centuries of drow rule has twisted whatever wildlife that once dominated the planet into a cruel mockery of itself. Dominate monsters include displacer beasts, giant lizards, wyverns, owlbears, black unicorns, nightmares, harpies, all manner of monstrous spiders and scorpions, and like creatures that match the tastes of the drow. Many plants are likewise monstrous, devouring the careless and feasting on their blood. The natives have only recently attempted to hunt down these creatures and “restore” the moon to a more natural state. Unfortunately, nobody knows what the “natural state” of Evertath really is, so their efforts will likely result in a new natural balance that reflects their views and beliefs. Creatures imported and protected by the natives include “twilight” unicorns, owls, moon wolves, cooshees, elven cats, white stags, and moonstone dragons. After several generations, these creatures are starting to take hold over many habitats, driving the monstrous creatures into smaller and smaller territories. Guide to Groundlings The primary residents of Evertath are the drow. Unlike drow elsewhere in the multiverse, the drow of this moon are good-aligned, hate spiders, and are welcoming of visitors to their world. Evertath is one of the extreme rarities in the Spheres: a place where worshippers of Eilistraee won. As a rule, the drow are good-natured and pleasant. They welcome strangers from other worlds in their inns, their taverns, and their marketplaces. Rarely are they welcomed into a drow’s home, however. Although not strictly forbidden, an outsider entering the private home of a drow is strongly frowned upon, and can cause the drow to become colder and less welcoming of the offender. The truth is that under the overly friendly façade, the drow are still drow. A thousand years of peaceful rule has not yet erased the scars of many millennium of Lolth domination. A drow’s home is considered her most private sanctum, where she goes to mediate to control the violent urges within her. Dwellings are small, multi-story buildings reminiscent of stalagmites. Rooms are compact, giving a sense of claustrophobia that the drow seem to enjoy. The lowest floor is always an underground cellar for storing wine and food. Above this is a functional area, with bedrooms above that. At the summit is a meditation chamber, spartan and the walls painted with images that put a drow’s mind at peace. Drow will typically use this room for one hour a day, more if they feel violent urges setting in. Evertath is ruled by a theocracy, with priestesses of Eilistraee presiding over the masses instead of those of Lolth. They provide spiritual guidance to the masses, own a good deal of property (mostly through donations or property confiscated from the Fane of Lolth), and have the power to choose the King of the Drow. Lin’Welvithra Zaulyl has been crowned King. His servants are the Phaerdril, sword knights dedicated to the defense of Evertath. They are an army with one purpose: to defend their homes against the incursions of Lolth, goblin-kin, and any other threat. Their numbers are small, but are quite potent. The lowest footman is armed with quasi-magical drow weapons and armor, while noble knights are armed with potent magic items left over from the time when Evertath was a more violent and evil place. Other than drow, there are few other races. There are scattered pockets of halflings and goblins, although these communities are tiny and very reclusive. They distrust strangers, and are likely to drive any trespassers away with torches and pitchforks. By far, the most numerous race behind the drow are the trow, a strange mix of human, halfling, drow, and goblin features. The trow are likely the result of centuries of breeding amongst the slaves, although the drow did not have organized breeding programs. A trow is typically a short creature, about four and a half feet tall with ash-gray skin and blonde to white hair. They are wiry creatures with large eyes and a weakness to bright light (-1 to all rolls while in light brighter than a strong lantern). Trow are generally farmers, herders, and laborers, tasks they excel at. Centuries of enslavement have left them a largely ignorant and feeble-willed. Freedom has done little to change their lives, other than the whips have been removed from their backs. Resources and Trade The old trade agreements with creatures like illithids and duergar have long ago vanished. Building new trade alliances have proven a difficult and tedious process. Few are willing to trade with creatures known for their treachery and malice. Despite this, trade has returned to Evertath through new trading partners with various human trading houses, Gaspar Reclamations, and even the Sindiath Line. Evertath is a fairly rich world, which is why the drow were attracted to it in the first place. It has numerous caches of potent magic items left over from the drow wars, many so-called sroomyards, and plentiful veins of platinum. Earthy drow wines are the most popular export, for which the drow import everything their small world cannot produce on its own. A much less-known trade is a black-market of magic items. Secretly, some drow are exporting some of the more dangerous items off-world, mainly just to get rid of them. This practice is extremely frowned upon as misguided at best, but those involved are not harshly punished. In some ways, Evertath is a minefield of unused weapons and dangerous devices with great destructive potential. Dealing with these problems is a hazardous occupation, one that some would rather dump on someone else. Ports of Call There are ruins of about a dozen port cities across the surface of the moon, and another eight like ruins deep in large caves and at the bottom of extinct volcanoes. These ruins are stark witnesses of the wars and destruction that ravished Evertath a millennium ago. All were once mighty cities with majestic harbors and magnificent buildings. There are six habited cities left, some built on the ruins of older cities. None are as large or as powerful as their predecessors. Growth and prosperity has been slow to return to these cities, a painful process of rebuilding that is constantly interrupted by the unearthing of some ancient horror from the past. Spelljammers will find themselves welcomed at the ports of Zesuit, Hriir’Ghuanvyil, and Spirhrysisstra. There are no port fees; the drow are in no need of the money. Duties on imported goods rate at about 5%. Some goods are not taxed at all, to encourage trade. Any money raised is used to maintain the docks and reclaim docks that have deteriorated after centuries of neglect. All of the cities are on the surface; the Underdark of Evertath has been all but abandoned. Only monsters and a few tiny villages of drow holdouts can be found. There are limits to what can be bought on Evertath. Drow-made weapons and armor are usually not for sale. Standard equipment can be found at the listed prices. Some lesser magic items can be bought, while more potent magic can only be had through the thriving black market. Many drow dream of selling off some artifact for an outrageous sum of money and then live like princes on pleasure moons. Though rare, some have made this dream a reality. Unfortunately for the rest of the Known Spheres, the devices they sell are often very destructive and are the source of much misery and death. Another port of interest is Castle Irreyl, a fey place that guards a great cavern to the Underdark. This place is a secret place for the drow, where they have been quietly building up a fleet of “Ghostwing” Men-O-War. A Ghostwing is statistically identical to an Archaic Man-O-War, except that the wood thrives in twilight conditions. These ships glow with a pale violet light not unlike the effects of a faerie fire spell. There are four of these craft hidden at Irreyl, protected by an army of 500 Eilistraee-loyal drow. The drow are building these craft for the eventual inclusion into the Elven Fleet, a dream of many in Eilistraee’s clergy. These ships are a closely guarded secret, as the drow do not want them discovered until they have convinced the Fleet to allow them to join. History Up until about eleven centuries ago, Evertath was a typical worldlet of Lloth-worshipping, spider-kissing drow. They had long ago conquered surface of the moon, throwing the human, halfling, and goblin residents into slavery. Without a common foe, the drow eagerly turned upon each other in bloody massacres and endless terror. The situation grew worse with each passing day, leading to unbridled chaos. This led the priestesses, nobles, and the mightiest of the drow to a “final battle” that would decide who would rule. The final battle was indeed a terrible thing, as fell and titanic magic was unleashed, treachery abound, and drow slew drow in a bloodbath. Vast armies of summoned creatures were called forth to do battle, which they did all-to-well. In fact, no drow that participated actually survived the battle; indeed, the final hours were simply a mob-scene as the summoned creatures fought one another until they returned to their home planes or wandered off. Following the battle, the surviving drow found themselves without leadership. Into this void came the priestesses of Eilistraee, offering a new way of life, free of terror and death. Although they encountered resistance at first, the simple truth was that the drow were tired and battle-worn. The temples to Lolth were cast down as the drow embraced their newfound faith in Eilistraee. Not long after the fall of Lolth, it became obvious that the priestesses could not handle all the tasks of ruling the drow, so they established a monarchy system. They believed that drow, as chaotic creatures, required a strong leader in times of trouble. After all, monarchies were popular with all elven races, so the priests adopted one for their people as well. Thus far the system has worked; there have been few conflicts between the interests of the Crown and that of the Church. There have been three kings thus far; the first was King Vicshalee Illiamdiin, said to be the Son of Eilistraee. He ruled for about five centuries, and did much to turn Eventath from a world of horrors to a place of beauty. Vicshalee died in his sleep, and was replaced by Qilryn Vornzyne, a warrior and devout crusader in Eilistraee’s cause. His reign lasted twenty-two decades, ending while he was on a crusade on another plane fighting against minions of Lolth. The crown then passed to King Lin’Welvithra Zaulyl, more of a pacifist and defender than crusader. King Zaulyl is a cautious, protective individual, who guards his people as a father would guard his beloved daughter. He does not look for war, but fears that war will find him, and has been preparing for that eventuality for the last seven decades. Satellites The Elven Fleet runs a small outpost high above Evertath. This is Uthitas Tylialua, a Man-O-War-style ring with 5 “spokes” and has a crew of 200 elves. The base was built to “keep an eye” on the drow after they converted to Eilistraee, as the Fleet does not entirely trust their dark cousins. Two Men-O-War, the Thalen and the Elrethire, have been assigned to this outpost as well, with orders to make sure the drow do not take an interest in spelljamming. They are unaware of the Ghostwing Fleet; discovery of such a fleet would put the commander in a bad position, to decide between the wholesale massacre of a seemingly reformed race and hawks in his own fleet that would rather see all drow, no matter their disposition, eradicated without mercy. Another artificial satellite is Sundered Webs, the remnants of a failed drow-neogi alliance from a time when neogi were all but unknown in the Known Spheres. The wreckage of eight deathspiders are tangled in a massive space web, sprawling over several miles. It is believed that the drow and neogi attempted to betray one another, and the neogi were the losers of that double-betrayal. Since that time, the tangle of ships and web has become the favorite haunt of a hive of phase spiders, which have developed magical abilities. Each creature has the abilities of a 5th level wizard, and can cast spells by silent will. The drow left the ships be, as a perfect reminder for those that would double-cross the drow. Rouges Gallery King Lin’Welvithra Zaulyl: A master of the sword and the spell, King Lin’Welvithra is fanatically loyal to the clergy of Eilistraee, loyalty that is only matched by his vow to defend Evertath to the last breath of his life. He is a tall drow, almost the height of a human, and has a long, drooping mustache. He owns many magic items but does not abuse his power. If he has a flaw, it is that he prefers isolation to welcoming off-worlders, which bring with them the potential for enemies and other dangers. Qualnbryn: Not all were pleased with the rise of Eilistraee. A single, very young priestess of Lolth had survived. Qualnbryn held little power or influence, and was forced to wander from city to city to gather followers. She founded the Nation of Midnight Bane, dedicated to returning Evertath to its previous, chaotic state. Qualnbryn hunts for powerful relics that will allow her to summon Lolth’s avatar and bring about a new Age of Darkness. Age has reduced this once beautiful woman to a crumpled old hag, but that has only intensified her plotting and hatred. Vlonylnue: This firebrand of a priestess strongly believes in liberating drow elsewhere in the Known Spheres. She is young, charismatic, and idealistic. At times she comes in conflict with the more conservative members of the clergy, who advocate strengthening their homeworld before making aggressive moves elsewhere. Vlonylnue is not so patient, and has tried a number of tactics to get her message across. Her current plot is to try to forge an alliance with the Elven Fleet and convince that organization to allow good-aligned drow to enter. Thus far her proposition has been politely refused, but she continues to seek out allies to make her dreams a reality.
Chaosmosis 09-13-04, 10:25 AM	Vlonylnue: This firebrand of a priestess strongly believes in liberating drow elsewhere in the Known Spheres. She is young, charismatic, and idealistic. At times she comes in conflict with the more conservative members of the clergy, who advocate strengthening their homeworld before making aggressive moves elsewhere. Vlonylnue is not so patient, and has tried a number of tactics to get her message across. Her current plot is to try to forge an alliance with the Elven Fleet and convince that organization to allow good-aligned drow to enter. Thus far her proposition has been politely refused, but she continues to seek out allies to make her dreams a reality.Wonderful as always Night Druid... and an interesting spin on alternate drow worship ;). The section of text I quoted above suggests some interesting adventure hooks... one of which I'd like to work on and then post as an addition to your work. I'm assuming you're okay with that?
Nightdruid 09-13-04, 10:59 AM	Wonderful as always Night Druid... and an interesting spin on alternate drow worship ;). The section of text I quoted above suggests some interesting adventure hooks... one of which I'd like to work on and then post as an addition to your work. I'm assuming you're okay with that? Glad you enjoyed it! :) Knock yourself out; I'd love to see what you come up with!