Garden
Satellites
Dragon Rock (moon) Farworld (moon) Fjord (moon) Glorianus (moon) Grandchild (moon) Knurl(moon) Locci (moon) Peaceon(moon) Retinae (moon) Sunson(moon) Templar (moon) Yerthad(moon)Notable Hazards
Variable GravityReAlmSPACe Checkpoints Distance From Garden*
The Sun 1,200 million miles AnaDia 1,150-1,250 million miles Coliar 1,100-1,300 million miles Toril 1,000-1,400 million miles Karpri 900-1,500 million miles Chandos 800-1,600 million miles Arcus Belt (Inner Edge) 550-1,850 million miles Arcus Belt (Outer Edge) 400-2,000 million miles Glyth 200-2,200 million miles H’CatHa 400-2,800 million miles Frigid Badlands (Inner Edge) 750-3,150 million miles Frigid Badlands (Outer Edge) 1,050-3,450 million miles Sphere Wall 2,000 million miles *rounded to the nearest million
Overview
Garden, the seventh planet from the Sun, has 12 small Class A earth bodies re¬volving around it. The planet itself is actually a cluster of earth bodies lying relatively close to¬gether, anchored to each other by the roots of a gargantuan plant. Each share a common atmo-spheric envelope. The 12 moons, however, are well outside the spherical reaches of the atmos-phere. The asteroids making up the planet Garden are far enough apart to allow sight between them. At times that can be as far as 100 yards, but for the most part, they are no closer than 100 feet. This allows many spelljamming ships to pass between them if maneuvered carefully. Ports of Call: There is a number of places for spelljammers to park their ships, but none are manmade. In fact, not a single location on this planet appears designed especially for a ship from space to park comfortably. This fact makes Garden a very hospitable place for the naturalist character. There are several pirate dens within the planet. The pirates maneuver their ships be¬tween the rocks to hide deep within the aste¬roids that make up the center of the planet. Most people who approach the planet never meet these human inhabitants, mainly because the pirates are unaware of the presence of ap¬proaching ships most of the time.Overview:
Garden is surrounded by 12 other celestial bodies that range from size A to C. Garden itself consists of hundreds of celestial bodies bound together by the branches and roots of a gargantuan plant. These bodies vary from small boulders only 100 feet across to few massive size B bodies up to 80 miles across. For the most part, these bodies are spaced far enough apart to allow sight between them. On Garden’s surface these gaps can extend for upwards to 20 miles though deeper within Garden they are usually no more than 100 feet apart. This allows many ships room to maneuver however a skilled crew is required if the captain desires to explore Garden’s depths. From above, Garden appears to be a brilliant green orb with spots of brown and grey. Garden is divided into two recognizable hemispheres. One side is dominated by a few large earth bodies, while the other consists scores of smaller objects bound closely together by the intertwining stems and branches of the great plant. These areas are called “The Continents” and “The Islands”, respectively, by the planet’s inhabitants. The branches of the great plant twist about each other and sprout from the crevices between the earth bodies and wrap about them in a vine like fashion. The leaves of the great plant, each large enough to be used as sails by most ships, blanket the planet. They create a forest-like canopy across much of the planet except in the central areas of the larger earth bodies. Garden is just that, a garden. Thousands of different types of smaller plants struggle to survive here and many thrive. For game purposes, any plants grown on Garden do so as if they have had the Priest spell “Plant Growth” cast on them. On the side dominated by hundreds of smaller earth bodies, the Islands, the great plant thrives. Its leaves pack in everywhere they can fit, creating a twilight world underneath where smaller plants and mosses struggle for light, feeding on the mulch created by the great plant’s leaves. These conditions are similar to those found in more terrestrial rainforests. On the side dominated by a few larger earth bodies, the Continents, there is more open land, uncovered by the leaves of the great plant. It is here that smaller plants seem to do the best as they don’t have to compete as much with the great plant for sunlight and water. Garden is also home to many species of smaller animals. Most of the creatures that can be found in terrestrial forests can be found here. While birds, insects and small mammals are the most common form of life found on Garden, there are a few larger mammals such as deer and a species of large cat similar to Jaguars. These large cats are Garden’s apex predator and are quite adapt at hunting either on the ground or up among the leaves and branches of the great plant. Some visitors to Garden have commented that these cats seem to climb and dart through the vegetation in a manner more akin to squirrels than other large cats. Fewer still realize the implication of this fact quickly enough to avoid becoming a short lived part of the planet’s ecology. Garden and its moons are home to a number of human and non-human colonies as well as a number of hidden pirate bases. The planet is often used by captains as a place to resupply food, water, and air for the rest of their voyage. However a number of sages have warned that unless care is taken to replenish what is taken; Garden may one day dry out and die. It’s generally considered good manners to dump any waste material one has on board while visiting this world as it return the moisture and nutrients a ship might take away when they depart. Rumors tell of a group of rather militant druids who take steps to ensure that visitors treat their world with respect. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Weather:
There are no large bodies of standing water on Garden. There are a number of large lakes and ponds on some of the larger earth bodies. For the most part, rain and groundwater collects in the depths of the planet where it is absorbed by the roots of the plant. As the sun shines on the leaves, water vapor evaporates off of them into the atmosphere. As night sets in the air cools and the vapor condenses into clouds and eventually rain. What this means is that Garden is a very humid world where it rains nightly. Garden outermost moon is a particularly hot fire body known as Sunson. This moon provides the majority of daylight for Garden; however this is not to say that the sphere’s primary has no influence upon the planet. Once every Garden “Month”, about 160 standard days or 30 Garden days, Sunson aligns with the sphere’s primary this is known as the “Long Day” or “Long Night” depending on which side of the planet one is on at the time. During the “Long Day” the temperature rises to about 10 degrees F, higher than normal and the humidity drops as the suns dry it the day side. At the same time on the night side of the planet, the “Long Night” results in a 10 degree F drop in temperature. As Sunson shifts out of alignment and the day returns to normal, the shift in temperature and humidity results in a mild storm that wracks Garden. This is the harshest weather one ever experiences on Garden, but it’s a sad imitation of the storms one might experience on a more traditional world. The planet rotates rather slowly and this, coupled with its size and strange weather patterns, cause Garden to rarely experience anything stronger than a slight breeze. This unusually pleasant weather allows ships an unusually gentle and uneventful landing. This can change at dawn and dusk, when the temperature change occasionally calls up strong winds. Additionally, due to the funneling nature of the gaps and canyons that separate the earth bodies that make up Garden, the winds in some of these areas can reach hurricane intensity. There is rumor of a pirate base on Garden that uses one such wall of impenetrable wind as a defense against ships of an inquisitive or lawful nature.Resources/Trade
The planet, Garden, is basically that: a garden. Thousands of small plants struggle to survive here, and one ex¬tremely large plant holds the planet together. There are also many small animals that make their homes here as well, ranging from rabbits and mice to small foxes and ferrets. These ani¬mals help maintain the balanced ecosystem that revolves around the plant that the northmen call Yggdrasil’s Child. Most spelljamming ships that enter the space surrounding Garden come only to replenish their air supply or to take on food. As many wise sages tell, this is also a good place to drop off any waste material. The planet needs a constant intake of moisture with the outgo, or else it could end up drying out and dying. The planet’s location is too important to allow it to fade away from misuse.Important NPCs
Clive the Fearsome
Occupation: Pirate Leader STR: 18 INT: 17 DEX: 16 CHA: 12 WIS: 15 CON: 14 Clive is the leader of the pirate cove on Gar¬den. He commands 12 ships, each smaller than 50 tons. He holds 100 pirates under his direc¬tion, because he is a very smart and very strong man. He is none too attractive, but his strength and incredible intelligence make him a seem¬ingly unstoppable opponent. Strangely enough, the man claiming to be Clive the Fearsome is actually named Orion of Calimshan. He gained the position of pirate leader when the previous Clive retired and ap¬pointed Orion as the new leader. That was over eight years ago. Orion is the eleventh man to take on the name of Clive the Fearsome. It was realized, almost 125 years ago, that a name that struck fear in people’s hearts was a terrible thing to waste. Instead of trying to bring in a new name for people to recognize, the pi¬rates decided to keep “Clive”, and build him to be a man unstoppable even by time. The third Clive—the only one to have died be-fore retirement—was actually killed in a pirate raid on an elven armada. The raid failed, but the name spread like wildfire. It was unfortunate that he died, but soon after that, many ships came, manned by adventurers and bounty hunters looking to gain notoriety or quick and easy money. All they found was death, or a job with the pirates. Clive does not believe in wasting good men, but his crews continually change, because of the number of deaths the pirates see every year.Yggdrasil’s Child
Occupation: Large Planet-binding Plant on Garden STR: ?? INT: ?? DEX: 0 CHA: 13 WIS: ?? CON: 22 It is unknown whether Yggdrasil’s Child, here-after known simply as “the plant”, is a sentient being. Hundreds of attempts at communication have been made, but to no avail, even though it has been around as long as spelljammers have been in Realmspace. The plant grows on a yearly cycle, which lasts 1,022 months at a time. This cycle is directly related to the seasons: growth during the spring and summer, death and diminishment during the winter and the au¬tumn. The plant does not actually die, but ap¬pears to go into a stasis mode in which half of its leaves fall off and die. The plant’s leaves are large enough for a ship to use as sails. A common use for them is for the wrapping of a spelljamming ship’s dead before they are forever given to the bosom of wild¬space. The trunk of the plant is a fusion of sev¬eral hundred trunks, each of them measuring over 100 feet in diameter. It takes the average man well over six hours to completely walk around the plant’s trunk. This takes into ac¬count the necessity of pushing through its vast maze of leaves and limbs. The trunks and limbs of the tree are made of a scaly wood which re¬pels cold, heat, and electrical damage of all kinds. The plant has a series of trunks or very thick limbs that stretch across the whole planet, al-lowing the plant to be touched by the Sun’s rays every moment of every day. This gives it tremen-dous rejuvenating powers. The plant’s root system touches everything inside the planet’s interior. These thick roots, some being 1,000 feet across, anchor the planet together. The huge roots then fork off into pro-gressively smaller roots which delve into the in-teriors of the asteroids as well. In combat, the plant never attacks, and in fact has no attack form whatsoever. It does, however rejuvenate lost hit points in an incredible fash¬ion. On the first round in which it suffers dam¬age, the plant recovers one point of damage. Every round thereafter, this healing process doubles. Thus, in the second round, it recovers two; the third round it recovers four points; and so on. This progressive healing continues until all of the plant’s damage is healed, and until the plant has not been damaged for 10 hours there¬after. This regeneration gives the impression that the plant cannot be killed, but the possibil¬ity does exist. Please note that the plant now has over 1,000 hit points. Every year that it lives it loses one hit point, until it eventually dies. At that point, the plant’s place is taken over by another of its kind that starts with 2,000 hit points. See the entry about Garden’s moon, Grandchild, for more in-formation on this.Moons of Garden
Garden has a number of moons. The precise number of moons has changed over the centuries, as new ones formed and old ones were destroyed. The names apply to them also seem to change every century or so; no one agreeing exactly on what to call them. At present, the twelve moons are: Azuth's Breath, Farworld, Fjord, Glorianus, Grandchild, Jadetown, Knurl, Locci, Retinae, Salseer's Keep, Templar, and Yerthad. Azuth's Breath is a small, blue sun that orbits Garden. It is most visible from Garden at night, its eerie blue light providing illumination for Garden's nocturnal creatures. Old rumours claim that the sun was once an elven outpost that dabbled in forbidden arcane magic; is now permanently consumed by spellfire. Farworld is a strangely shaped world. Once home to trading posts and mining colonies, the inhabitants once dug too deep and awoke an ancient horror. The planet collapsed in on itself, the land falling into a sea of black tar. The only land that remains now are colossal chunks of brightly coloured coral that grow out of the black sea. The only known inhabitants of this 10 world are evil flumphs. Many of these flumphs possess some degree of psionic spellcasting (are able to innately cast spells such as magic missile, telekinesis, disintegrate, and dominate monster). They seem determined to conquer Realmspace; will attack ships that land on Farworld and try to commandeer them so that they may spread their touch to other worlds. Fjord is a spherical moon riddled with a maze of tunnels. The exterior of the moon is airless, but the interior has an atmosphere that is maintained by the strange, bioluminescent mould that grows on the walls. It used to be home to many dwarven mining colonies, though they abandoned it after mining everything of value from the moon. In more recent years, minotaurs have moved into the planet's labyrinthine tunnels. What they are doing there is unknown, but they are likely related in some way to the goristro that is said to lurk at the moon's core. Glorianus is a small crescent-shaped moon is covered completely in soft grass. The only inhabitant is Griffon Broadleaf, a centuries-old human archdruid who originally gave the moon its name. He is an archetypal mad hermit; is prone to spouting mangled aphorisms at any who try to talk to him. Grandchild is an oval-shaped moon. It has a completely smooth surface, unmarred by craters. Its off-white surface is highly reflective. Its name comes from the old belief that the moon was a seed spawned by Yggdrasil's Child. Most folk these days accept that it is artificial in construction; most likely the retreat of an ancient archmage. Despite repeated efforts, none have managed to gain access to the presumed sanctum within. Jadetown is one of Garden's few inhabited moons. It is made of white jade; is carved into the shape of a large dragon. Magical wards prevent the jade from being mined. This moon is said to have been created by an evil mage long ago, as a base from which to study Garden. The moon gets its name from a small spaceport set up in the dragon's open maw. The port acts as a minor trading post and a place of respite for those planning to head down to the planet. Knurl is a spherical moon made up of swirling semi-liquid, multicoloured marble. Different parts of the marble harden and soften at different times, seemingly at random. Unfortunate visitors have had the marble soften under their feet, causing them to sink into the marble. Objects absorbed into the marble are said to be slowly transformed into more semi-liquid marble. Any marble removed from the moon slowly hardens. Good money can be made from creating and selling sculptures made from the semi-liquid marble. Locci is the smallest of the moons. It is barren and has no atmosphere. A century ago, a bored mage transmuted it into a twenty-sided polyhedron and placed magical wards on it, causing any ship that approached it to be struck by a random magical effect. The moon has a wild orbit that causes it to loop round several other moons as it orbits Garden. Retinae is a spherical moon that gets its name from the large crater in the middle of it, that gives it the appearance of an eye. The interior of the crater is home to many exotic plants and mushrooms that only grow on the crater, and are useful as spell components and in crafting potions. A small tribe of grimlocks farm these plants and mushrooms; trade them with outsiders. Salseer's Keep is a flat, disc-shaped moon, that is featureless save for a large castle that stands in its centre. The castle is home to a storm giant named Salseer. He found the uninhabited 11 moon long ago and claimed it for himself; renaming it in honour of himself. A ring of sustenance ensures that he needs no food and drink. For entertainment, he uses a scrying pool to spy on exciting developments across Realmspace. His constant scrying makes him a useful source of information about matters across Realmspace. However, he only accepts visitors who can provide him with some form of entertainment. Templar is another flat, disc-shaped moon. It was once home to many mages and artificers who were tended to by animated suits of armour known as templars. However, the templars eventually grew self-aware and broke free from the mages' control, killing them or forcing them to flee. The templars have since begun to dabble in wizardry and artificing. They are steadily building facilities that will allow them to produce more of their own kind. Yerthad is the largest of the moons and also one of the most dangerous. Surrounding it are yellow clouds of highly corrosive acid. They constantly barrage the surface of the planet with a storm of acid rain. The surface of the planet is said to be completely coated in an ocean of acid. A number of exotic creatures are said to live in this ocean, however only the most acidresistant ship can hope to even approach the planet's surface.The Moons of Garden
Grandchild
MOON SIZE: 45x13 miles Grandchild is a spherical moon. Its surface is perfect; there are no meteorite pock marks on it at all. The off-white color reflects the light eerily.Yerthad
MOON SIZE: 395 miles This spherical moon is covered in an atmos¬phere extremely poisonous to most living be¬ ings. The air is sulfuric acid, and the planet’s surface is covered with a sea of acid. Merely en-tering the air, which starts about 100 miles above the surface, causes one point of hull dam¬age per round, while inflicting 10 points of dam¬age to all crew members. A saving throw vs. poison allows characters to suffer only half dam¬age. The helmsman must make a critical hit roll as well. All magic items must survive saving throws vs. acid damage to continue to function.Peaceon
MOON SIZE: lx 17 miles Peaceon, a planar-shaped planet, was once a stopping point for spacefaring elves. The moon has long been deserted, but its lone building still stands in perfect condition.Retinae
MOON SIZE: 121 miles Retinae got its name because it looks much like an eye. Where the pupil would be is a large crater. Inside this crater lives a rare type of fungus that can be used in the production of spells and po-tions having to do with vision improvement.Glorianus
MOON SIZE: 3x2 miles A crescent-shaped planet, Glorianus is cov¬ered completely with a soft green grass. The hu¬man druid who named the moon still lives there to this day. His name is Griffon Broadleaf. MOON NAME:Fjord
MOON SIZE: 67 x 69 miles This spherical moon is an airless mass of rock. It once was a great mining colony, but it now stands deserted. MOON NAME:Locci
MOON SIZE: 100 x 300 feet This moon is a perfect rectangle. It possesses no atmosphere. The edges and corners have been nicked somewhat by meteors and comets. MOON NAME:Dragon Rock
MOON SIZE: 121x32 miles This moon is shaped roughly like a white dragon. It was created by an evil wizard, named Darkon of the Earth’s Depths, while trying to delve into the secrets of the planet Garden. The moon is made completely of white jade. It has a weak atmosphere that smells faintly of pipe smoke. MOON NAME:Knurl
MOON SIZE: 60 miles This spherical moon is made of swirling mar¬ble of different colors. There are chunks of the surface missing, where liquid marble oozes in a very slow stream. This oozing marble can be molded into sculptures, for it hardens within ten days of being removed from the moon. MOON NAME:Sunson
MOON SIZE: 200 miles Sunson is a spherical fire body which puts out enough heat to warm space within 1,000 miles of it. It glows blue with a light that can illuminate Garden during the night. This small fire body burns almost twice as hot as the Sun. MOON NAME:Templar
MOON SIZE: 50 miles x 12 feet This circular moon is a mage outpost oper¬ated by 100 mages of all classes. They study Garden, hoping to uncover its secrets. They fi¬nance their continuous operation by selling magic items.Farworld
MOON SIZE: 111 miles This moon is an occupied trading post. Sur-prisingly, even though it is so far away from most inhabited planets, it conducts a great deal of trade. Almost anything non-magical can be found here for sale.Blacksun Base
by David SarkiesOverview
There are two sections to the base, the outer cavern section and the inner constructed area. The outer area is a maze of huge caverns and tunnels that have been formed by the huge boulders that make up the planet of garden. The walls are very rocky and roots of Yggdrissal wind their way along the walls. The caverns are so large that a spelljamming vessel is required to traverse them. The tunnels are very irregular and it is incredibly difficult to navigate of foot and impossible on horseback. A flying creature can navigate the caverns with ease. The only encounters in the caverns are with one of three dragonflies that guard the caverns. The dragon flies all fly a flag identifying them as blacksun and all ships that pass through here also fly the flag. If the flag is not flown then the dragonflies will attack. If it is obvious that the dragonfly cannot win then it will flee and attempt to gain backup. Dragonfly: MC: C, Ton: 10, Crew: 8, AR 8, hp 10, Med catapult - 4hx, 3d6/1d3, C2, RoF 1/3, Thac0 14, CH 20 2 Mages Lvl 5, 5 Black Orc Lvl 3, 1 Warrior Lvl 5 The constructed area is a complex that has been tunneled into one of the large boulders. The area is patrolled by groups of 5 Orc Warriors led by one Black Orc. The area is lit by torches spaced every ten feet. The doors are made of steel and are easily opened. The complex is relatively clean which makes it obvious that it is inhabited. Map of Blacksun BaseMap Key
1. Spaceship Graveyard This is a huge cavern where all of the Blacksun ships, either captured or their own, are placed when they are no longer useful. As the Blacksun are incredibly warlike, they tend to go through a lot of ships. The ships are stripped of their helms and anything of value, though the structure, and even sails, are still there. The structures are so broken up that they cannot be used as a ship, but they can be scavenged for spare parts such as hull, masts, and some sails. Some of the ships have a blacksun flag still on them. A search will reveal little else other than maybe a scattering of useless objects. Generally it would take too long to search all of the ships. 2. Guard Room This room is where the ships that patrol the caverns wait. Along with the three dragonflies that patrol the caverns, there are another four dragonflies and one squid ship in this room. The ships sit on ledges and are fully crewed so they can be deployed quickly. If one of the dragonflies come into the cavern and warn of intruders then the squidship can deploy in four rounds and the dragonflies in two rounds. They are able to attack any ship that enters here relatively quickly. Dragonfly: MC: C, Ton: 10, Crew: 8, AR 8, hp 10 Lgt catapult - 5hx, 2d10/1d2, C1, RoF 1/2, Thac0 16, CH 20 2 Mages Lvl 5, 5 Orcs, 1 Black Orc Squidship: MC: D, Ton: 45, Crew: 15, AR 5, hp 45, piercing Ram Hvy catapult - 3hx, 3d10/2d2, C5, RoF 1/3, Thac0 18, CH 18,19,20 2 Med Ballistae - 4hx, 3d6/1d3, C2, RoF 1/3, Thac0 14, CH 20 2 Mages Lvl 5, 10 Orcs, 2 Black Orcs, 1 Warrior Lvl 5 3. Krajen Lair Not all of this complex is controlled by the Black Sun. In this area lives a Krajen that has been here since the Black Sun first moved in. The Sun decided not to kill the Krajen because it can be used as a guard. The Black Sun do not go here but do not tell anybody else about this. The Krajen Lair is marked on the ships maps so it can be discovered. Krajen: AC 3, Mv 18, HD 12, hp 51, Thac0 9, AT 1+12, Dam 3-18/1-3, MR 30%, xp 8000 There are four wrecked ships in the Krajen lair, three dragonflies, and one Eelship. These ships wondered into the lair and were destroyed by the Krajen. The Black Sun do not bother to go in there and clean it up because the Krajen is hostile to them as well. If the ships are searched then 8678 gp worth of coins will be found. There wrecks have been here so long that the crew are now rotted corpses. One clutches a Mace +1 in its hand. The mace, when held, gives the wielder a healthy glow. Around another finger is a ring of jumping, and two potions of Healing are in a cupboard in another of the ships. 4. Spaceship Graveyard This room is identical to 1 as the Black Sun also dump ships here. The ships here are much more numerous. 5. Black Sun Harbour The southern part of this room is a huge cavern which is large enough for a hammership to turn around in. A wide ledge is on the north wall and protruding from this ledge are five stone piers. Between all of the piers and the walls are large pools of water in which Hammerships and Squidships can float. Two Squidships and One Hammership float in the pools and five Dragonflies sit on the ends of the piers. The ships are docked and it will take ten rounds for the large ships to take off and five rounds for the Dragonflies to take off. Only one big ship and one dragon fly can take off at a time as the crew for the ships are not all present. The ships can fire their weapons while in port though. Dragonfly: MC: C, Ton: 10, Crew: 8, AR 8, hp 10 Lgt catapult - 5hx, 2d10/1d2, C1, RoF 1/2, Thac0 16, CH 20 2 Mages Lvl 5, 5 Orcs, 1 Black Orc Squidship: MC: D, Ton: 45, Crew: 15, AR 5, hp 45, piercing Ram Hvy catapult - 3hx, 3d10/2d2, C5, RoF 1/3, Thac0 18, CH 18,19,20 2 Med Ballistae - 4hx, 3d6/1d3, C2, RoF 1/3, Thac0 14, CH 20 2 Mages Lvl 5, 10 Orcs, 2 Black Orcs, 1 Warrior Lvl 5 Hammership: MC: D, Ton: 60, Crew: 30, AR 6, hp 60, blunt Ram Hvy catapult - 3hx, 3d10/2d2, C5, RoF 1/3, Thac0 18, CH 18,19,20 1 Lrg Ballistae - 2hx, 3d10/3d2, C4, RoF 1/4, Thac0 12, CH 19,20 2 Med Ballistae - 4hx, 3d6/1d3, C2, RoF 1/3, Thac0 14, CH 20 3 Mages Lvl 5, 1 Mage Lvl 8, 20 Orcs, 4 Black Orcs, 2 Warrior Lvl 5 6. Docks This is a large platform in the northern part of the harbour. The ammunition and supplies for the Blacksun ships are stored and loaded from this room. In the east section are 20 crates containing 1000 bolts for medium ballistae and 10 boxes containing 500 bolts for heavy ballistae. Next to the boxes are large piles of stones for the light and heavy catapults. On the other side of the docks are crates which contain salted meat and vegetables for the crew of the ships. There is enough food to keep 50 sailors supplied for a month. Ships usually go out on missions lasting from one month to a year. The food that is given to the sailors is scarce so as to encourage them to plunder towns and villages for supplies. Twelve bugbears work on the docks as dockhands and there is between 2-20 orcs lying around in case the ships need to take off. There are also 2 mages and 5 warriors Lvl 5. A grizzled veteran named Thydacecus watches over the docks. He lives in a small wooden hut next to the docks. The hut is quite bare consisting only of a whetstone, a sleeping pallet, and racks for his weapons and armor. 7. Mess Hall This is a huge room with 20 tressel tables in 5 rows running from north to south. Along the sides of the tables are wooden benches. For an hour twice a day this room is full of orcs, black orcs, humans, and bugbears. The races tend to congregate with their own kind and speak in their own languages. The humans also segregate themselves into warriors and mages. Thydacecus sits with the human warriors and tends to tell them stories of his exploits as a Dragonfly captain. 8. Kitchen This is also a large room with a two huge fire pits. Ten cauldrons are place onto the coals to cook the stew for the masses that congregate in the mess hall. There are large preparation benches and large knives are hung on racks on the wall. This room is dusty and unsanitary, but that doesn't concern the 6 bugbears that work here as cooks. There is also an oven and a spit which is used to cook the more luxurious meals for the base commanders. If the room is searched, numerous exotic spices will be found and so will a Potion of Speak with Animals among bottles of wine. Five large barrels of mead sit next to the southern wall. 9. Pantry This room is a dank and cold room used to store food. There are crates on the floor which are sealed to prevent the food inside from rotting. The shelves hold jars of pickled food and buckets of fruit and vegetables. An icebox in the northern wall holds some large quantities of meat. There is enough food in the pantry to sustain the base for two months, when it is refilled from the homeworld. 10. Store Room This L Shaped room is where all of the odds and ends of the base are stored. The room is a mess, though some gear is stored in boxes. There are barrels of nails, some wood, a box of whetstones, some weapons and tools. There are a couple of magic items amongst the junk, a hammer that will knock any sharp object into something with one blow: like a nail into a plank of wood or a dagger into a rock wall. There is also a saw that cuts through a plank of wood easily and straight. 11. Warrior Barracks This room is cramped with many bunks. Then bunks are three levels high and each of them has a metal chest attached to the end. The bunks are where the warriors sleep. A little alcove in the corner has the beds of the commanders. There are between 4-10 warriors in this room at anytime. The chests contain the warriors' personal belongings 12. Orc Barracks These barracks are far more grottier that the warrior barracks as Orcs are not know for their cleanliness. The bunks are the same as in the warrior barracks but there is no order to them. The possessions are kept in sacks, except for where the stronger orcs sleep, and that is where ever they want to, for they have metal chests. There is between 8-16 orcs in this room and usually they are fighting. 13. Guard Room Two fifth level warriors and four black Orcs sit in this room, quite bored. They sit around a table playing cards, but cheating to an extent that there is no real point in playing. The guards are protecting a secret entrance which comes in from Pirates Port and making sure that no intruders come in. Nothing ever really happens so the guards tend not to pay much attention. The secret door is opened by pushing a rock on either side of the door. There is a poison needle on the other side of the door which does 20 hp damage if a save vs poison is made. There is a second secret door opened the same way, but this leads to a trap. 14. Pit The far end of the passage is a permanent illusion which makes the passage seem to go on for a long way. In reality, when the illusion is reached, a pit will open dumping everybody in a 10' square into a pit. The pit drops to a teleport which sends the occupants five hundred miles away from the surface of the plant. The pit if 80' deep and the walls are rocky enough to enable anybody falling into it to grab hold of the side. 15. Empty Room This is the first room that people arrive at when the come into the base from Pirates Port. This room is designed to guard the passage way incase a mob finds the passage and tries to break in. A wooden wall with slits stretches across the room and behind this wall sit 6 warriors with crossbows. Four orcs armed with Halberds stand to either side of the passage and attack anybody who tries to come through. Another 8 Black Orcs stand aside to provide backup. Unless the base has been warned, this room is generally empty. 16. Guard Room This room is the same as room 15 except they guard the entrance to the inner sanctum where the commander lives. There is also one Lvl 5 mage in the room with the guards keeping them alert. The guards become a little irritated with the mage as they resent being told what to do. The door in the north wall is locked and the mage holds the key. 17. Closet This is a small dark room and cloths hang on a four wooden rods. At the far end of the room are some hooks upon which hang cloaks. One hook has a green cloak and if the cloak is removed, the hook raises and opens a secret door. When the door opens, a bell rings in the Commander's room (room 18). 18. Makeste's Room Makeste is the commander of the base and this is his room. It is large and a little more elegant than the other parts of the base, though it is far from being luxurious. There is a soft bed in the center of the room and a desk upon which are cluttered many sheets of paper and empty ink bottles. A bookshelf is behind the desk which is full of books of many sizes. Two chests against the wall hold Makeste's clothes and a table has been set up for Makeste to eat at for he does not like dinning with others. Two bugbear servants serve him and four Black Orcs are his bodyguard. He also has an 8th Lvl mage, Brillrik, who is his helper. In another chest, which is trapped with a lighting trap, dealing 4d6 hp of damage is the lock is not opened in the correct order (2x clockwise, 1x anti-clockwise). The chest contains Makeste's treasure, which includes 200pp, 156gp, 567 sp, and 1232 cp. There are two potions of healing, a potion of Super Heroism and a potion of wizardry. There is a secret door in the east wall. The east wall is covered with a tapestry of the black sun, and behind it is a loose brick. If the brick is pushed then the door opens in the east wall. 19. Secret Room The secret door to this room is visible on this side and is opened by pushing a brick in the wall. This is the same for the secret door in the west wall. This room is empty but it is also a trap. Some of the bricks in the floor are loose and if they are stepped on then an alabaster jar will fall from the ceiling and break open releasing a poisonous gas. If a save vs poison is not made then the victim will suffer 2 hp of damage a round. 20. Treasury There are 8 chests in this room. Each of them are locked and trapped as is the chest in Makeste's room. They are also bolted to the floor so that they cannot be moved. One of the chests is a Mimic which will attack if anybody other than Makeste opens the chests. Each of the chests contains a various coinage. The first has 2012pp, the second 2212gp, the third 4820ep, the fourth 8112sp, and the fifth 8967cp. The sixth chest contains 12000 iron pieces but they have been coated in gold paint. They look original but a professional metallurgist will be able to tell them apart. The seventh chest contains trade bars from many cities and are worth 10000gp, but if used in the proper city then their value doubles. 21. Teleport This room is a teleporter. Upon a raise platform in the northwestern corner of the room is a pattern made out of black and white tiles. Standing on the platform does nothing, but if a pattern of a corresponding teleport is thought of them the person will be transported to this platform. This platform's pattern is white with two sets of parallel lines intersecting each other. This system of teleports was borrowed form the ancient elves of Toril and the Black Sun believes it to be effective because intruders are not likely to know other patterns. The Black Sun also control some of the ancient elvish ruins of Toril where the patterns are used. Bugbear: AC 5, Mv 9, HD 3+1, hp 19, Thac0 17, AT 1, Da Weapon, xp 120 Wear Scalemail, wield Mace (Da 1-6+3), carries 1-10 sp Surprise Orc Warrior: AC 6, Mv 9, HD 1, hp 8, Thac0 20, AT 1, Da Weapon, xp 15 Wear Leather & Shield, wield Longsword (Da 1-6), carries 1-8 cp Sometimes: Halberd (1d10) Orc, Black: AC 4, Mv 12, HD 2, hp 16, Thac0 18, AT 1, Da Weapon, xp 120 Wear Scalemail & Shield, wield Battleaxe (Da 1-8+3), carries 1-10 gp Short Bow & 20 Sheaf Arrows (AT 2, Da 1-6, rng 5/10/15) Mage: AC 8, Mv 12, Lvl 5, hp 14, Thac0 19, AT 1, Da Weapon, xp 650 Wear Robes, wield Dagger (Da 1-4), carries 1-4 gp Spells: 4/2/1 Read & Detect Magic, Grease, Featherfall, Sleep, Magic Missile, Hypnotism; Strength, ESP, Invisibility; Hold Person, Lightning Bolt. Mage, Master: AC 7, Mv 12, Lvl 8, hp 25, Thac0 18, AT 1, Da Weapon, xp 2000 Wear Robes, wield Dagger+1 (Da 1-4+1, minor power), carries 1-4 gp, gem 10gp Spells: 4/3/3/2 Read & Detect Magic, Dancing Lights, Spider Climb, Grease, Featherfall, Sleep, Magic Missile, Hypnotism, Taunt, Burning Hands; Strength, ESP, Invisibility, Flaming Sphere, Knock, Web, Tasha's Laughter; Hold Person, Lightning Bolt, Wraithform, Fly; Charm Monster, Fire Shield, Stoneskin. Warrior: AC 2, Mv 9, Lvl 5, hp 45, Thac0 15, AT 1, Da Weapon, xp 270 Wear Plate Mail (Black Sun insignia), Shield with insignia, Full face helmet wield Bastard Sword (Thac0 14, AT 3/2, Da 1-8+4 Dagger (Da 1-4+2), Shortsword (Da 1-6+2 Light Crossbow (AT 1, Da 1-6, rng 6/12/18) carries 1-8 gp, whetstone, 10 bolts Thydacecus: AC 0, Mv 9, Lvl 8, hp 86, Thac0 11, AT 2/3, Da Weapon, xp 2000 Wear Plate Mail (Black Sun insignia), Shield +2 with insignia Comprehend Languages, Full face helmet (Bestows infravision) wield Longsword+1 (Thac0 9, AT 2, Da 1-8+6 Dagger (Da 1-4+3), Handaxe (Da 1-6+3 Longbow (AT 2/1, Da 1-8, rng 8/10/17) carries 120 gp, Gold Beltbuckle (50gp), Silver Ring (10gp) whetstone, 10 Sheaf Arrows Makeste: AC 1, Mv 9, Lvl 5, hp 45, Thac0 12, AT 3/2, Da Weapon, xp 270 Wear Plate Mail +1/+2 vs bludgeoning weapons (Black Sun insignia), Shield with insignia, open face helmet wield Morningstar +2 (Thac0 9, AT 2, Da 2-8+6, KO 18,19,20 Dagger (Thac0 11, Da 1-4+4 Blowgun (AT 2/1, Da 1-4, rng 1/2/3) carries 1-8 gp, whetstone, 10 darts Potion of Wizardry: xp 500 The potion of Wizardry is a potion developed on the moon of Tempus. The potion was made so that non-Magic using class could pilot the helm. The potion allows the imbiber to pilot a spelljamming vessel as a mage of half their level. Thus an 8th level theif will be able to pilot a helm as a 4th level mage. The potion utilizes the innate magical energy that is present in most races (excluding dwarves). The potion does not allow the imbiber to cast spells nor will the potion work on specifically magic resistant creatures, such as dwarves.Yggdrasil’s Child:
The gargantuan plant known as Yggdrasil’s Child or “The Great Plant” has been a sight of known space for as long as anyone can remember. Though it is unknown whether or not the plant is sentient, it either lacks the ability to communicate via spells or it simply has nothing to say. The plant grows on a yearly cycle 1,022 months long. Garden’s seasons are based on the life cycle of the plant. During the spring and summer the plant grows, new leaves sprout, flowers bloom and Yggdrasil’s child bears seedless fruit. During the fall and winter the plant does not die, but it withers somewhat. At this time about half of the leaves will wilt and fall off, and the plant’s grip on the bodies that make up Garden loosens slightly resulting in mild earthquakes. These leaves preserve quite well and a common use for them is burial wrappings for dead sailors. This originated in the Elven Navy as a symbol of re-growth in the natural cycle of life and death, but the practice has become wide spread among the other races for any number of odd reasons. The stems from which the leaves of Yggdrasil’s Child sprout usually vary in size from 50 to 100 feet across. They feel rubbery and soft to the touch and are strong enough to allow men passage across them without causing the plant of bend or sway in the least. These stems twist and wrap around the earth bodies that make up Garden and cling to them like ivy, using thousands of small ropelike tendrils. Within the crevices between the earth bodies, the stems merge into larger branches hundreds of feet across. These thick treelike branches support much of the world and can bear a phenomenal amount of weight. Deeper within Garden, out of the view of the sun, these branches merge into the great trunk. Over 1,000 feet across, the trunk burrows through the whole of Garden, and stretches out from its heart in every direction. Finally it’s from the trunk that the roots emerge. Much like the branches, the roots begin thick and massive and then branch of into smaller and smaller tendrils. These appear a pale greenish white and millions of thin vines sprout from them like hair, some burrowing into the surrounding earth and some hanging freely in the air to catch any free water that might be found. This can make navigation within Garden especially tricky as an explorer can easily find his way blocked by hanging walls of thick, ropy roots. Green flesh of the leaves and stems of the great plant are hard and rubbery, and when cut they release a sweet but very sticky white sap. This sap can sustain a creature’s need for food and water for a full 24 hours, however for each round one attempts this or is in contact with the sap there is a chance that he will become stuck fast to the sap (a successful bend bars is required to free oneself or others). If left there, this can prove fatal as the sap will form a protective shell around the individual and eventually harden into opaque, amber like substance. This makes exporting the sap almost impossible as it will harden into a stony lump within 24 hours, and makes cutting through the stems almost impossible. The branches and trunk of the great plant are formed from a thick, brown, scaly wood that seems to repel all attacks against it. Its outer layers can be hacked away, but after a few inches it takes on an almost steal like toughness. The pale roots share the same characteristics as the fleshy stems; however the thinner tendrils can be easily hacked away with swords and other cutting weapons. For the purpose of combat these are considered to have 1d10 hp. The flesh of the great plant repels cold, heat and electrical damage of all kinds, be they natural or magical. The plant covers the entire planet and is in contact with the sun at all times, which gives it phenomenal regenerative powers. In combat the plant never attacks, and has no defenses aside from the sap produced by its leaves, stems and roots. However, the first round it is damaged it regenerates 1 hp and this doubles for every round thereafter until it returns to full health. For example, the 2nd round it heals 2hp, on the 3rd it heals 4hp, on the 4th it heals 8hp, and so on. This may give the impression that great plant is immortal but the fact is that it can be killed. Though that would prove a truly challenging endeavor, and would earn one the enmity of druids, elves, and magical woodland creatures throughout the spheres. Yggdrasil’s Child currently has 1,000hp and for every year that the great plant lives it loses 1hp and appears to diminish slightly. This change is only noticeable to one who observes Garden for centuries at a time, but to such an individual, the great plant seems to be lush and at the height of its health from its maximum of 2,000hp to 1,500hp. From 1,500hp to 1,000hp it appears to be deteriorating slightly, and from 1,000hp to 500hp it appears to be old but quite healthy. Finally from 500hp to 0hp it appears ancient and slowly dying of natural causes. Please not that these visual changes only account for hp loss through age and not through combat. When Yggdrasil’s Child reaches 0hp, it dies. At which point the leaves wither and fall off and the great plant becomes dry and brittle. Garden is then wracked with great earthquakes as the earth bodies collapse in on each other and its interior fills with brackish water released from the decaying plant. Within a standard year of the great plant’s death a new seedling will sprout forth from Garden. The new plant will have 2,000hp and will grow at a tremendous rate, reaching full size in only half a Garden year (about 40 standard years). However this growth is fast enough that even short lived creatures like humans will notice its swift expansion. During this growing period the new great plant will reabsorb the planet’s water supply and then lift and separate the earth bodies that make up Garden. Every time this occurs, the topography of both Garden’s interior and exterior change dramatically. Once the new great plant reaches full size it blooms. Not to be confused with the smaller blooms that occur yearly, during the Grand Blooming, Garden forms one large flower 20 miles across. The flower remains for a short time (only 10 standard years) before it withers and bears fruit, a single seed. This seed then pulls free of Garden and takes up an orbit around the planet until it’s needed at which point its orbit will diminish and it will crash into the surface of the planet. The moon known as Grandchild is one such seed. Pollen from this giant flower can be used in the creation of Potions of Longevity.Ports of Call:
There are few places on Garden where one land a ship with any ease. The terrain is usually either rough or covered with thick vegetation, making Garden an appealing place for those of a more naturalistic persuasion. While landing is not impossible in these areas, it is quite difficult. There are a handful of manmade landing spots but with rare exceptions, almost none are designed with water landings in mind.Trademeet:
A relatively recent addition to Garden (in the last 50 years or so scattered across the Continents and their surrounding islands are over a dozen small farming communities. Tiny hamlets of a few dozen people each, many of these get by on what they can cultivate on their farms. As their harvests are often and bountiful, these communities are growing quickly and one can only imagine what will become of them in a century’s time. Much of the food grown here is transported to the town of Trademeet where it’s sold to merchants from offworld. In exchange for food they buy manufactured goods and tools. As Garden has no real mining industry, they rely heavily on this business. Trademeet is home to roughly 130 beings (humans are the majority but nonhumans are present) and the surrounding farms support an additional 400. Making Trademeet a very busy place on market day. Trademeet consists of about 23 buildings and 2 large warehouses. The majority of buildings in town are single floor stone dwellings with thatched roofs, while the hall and temple are made using wood from old ships. On the edge of town, near the warehouses lies the dockyard. A rather hopeful name for what is essentially nothing more than 3 circles of smooth earth cleared of rocks and vegetation. In the center of the town, across from the Hall, is the temple of Lothander (substitute for an appropriate Sun or Nature deity if not using Realmspace). The temple is cared for by the Morninglord Eric. Eric does what he can to spread the Morninglord’s blessing upon his followers. He sees Garden as a paradise, an eternal spring where birth and renewal are constant and the days last forever. He is a bit overly cheerful for some of his followers though. The town is governed over by a small council of aldermen. Though the term governed is used loosely. Laws are enforced either by whatever members of the local militia are nearby at the time, whatever strapping youths are around at the moment, or an angry mod of locals. A number of visiting thieves and shysters have learned, the hard way, that while a friendly and welcoming bunch, the locals don’t respond well to cheats and swindling. This is somewhat ironic considering the deals Cedric’s been making on their behalf. Laws are passed when they seem necessary and meetings of the council tend to either end at or take place in the local tavern, “The Dew Drop”. This should not be seen as an indication that the citizens of Trademeet are simple or stupid, only that that they enjoy life and its pleasures. Visitors will find their merchants cunning and clever, if a bit too honest at times. They realize they’re onto a good thing and that there are those out there who will try to take it away from them.Important NPCs:
Cedric Gardin (NG, hm, T6)
Head of the council of aldermen and leader of Trademeet, Cedric is an aging farmer and looks it. Grey haired with skin tan, wrinkled and leathery, he looks like a man in his 70’s though physically he’s in his late 50’s. He started out as a groundling peasant in a fiefdom on another world. A virtual slave to the lord of the land his life of adventure began when he turned 15 and escaped after a sheriff had his home burned and family put to the sword for a crime of his father’s. Since then Cedric has lived a hard but fantastic life and has settled down on Garden to retire. Thanks to some potions he found in his travels, he has the body of a man 10 years younger, however his hard life make him look far older than he is so he figures it all balances out. Cedric is a seasoned adventurer, but he hides it well and prefers the life of a farmer now. His main concern in life, other than the safety and wellbeing of his grandchildren, is the safety and prosperity of Trademeet and Garden. He cares so strongly for his home that he took on Gardin as his new family name. He sees organized government as an oppressive force that enslaves those under it. He runs Trademeet with a rather relaxed hand and will be damned if he’ll see anything happen to it. This attitude had put a rather strange strain on his relationship with the Druids on Garden as they fear the effects the farmers will have on the planet but at the same time they have noted the lengths to which Cedric will go to protect his new homeworld. He has also made a number of deals with some of the pirate captains on Garden. They protect Trademeet and bring in goods and in exchange they get fresh food and water. Few townsfolk realize that half of the ships that come in to trade are actually pirate ships. He is weary from the few dealing he has had with the Tinker Gnomes, but is interested in their giant hamsters as possible herd animals if what the gnomes have told him is true. If asked about his opinion of Fildaern of Saerloon, one had better be ready to listen to a rather lengthy and venomous tirade on the topic. Cedric sees the man as a parasite on Garden and a waste of skin. If only he could do something about him…New Gnomehold:
Located on one of the smaller earth bodies near the equator is a colony of around 200 Tinker Gnomes. Refugees from the disaster at Gnomehold (see Peaceon) this community hopes to start anew utilizing the resources of this lush new planet. Since their arrival 10 years ago, they’ve begun burrowing through the mile wide boulder that is their new home and have carved out a fair amount of space. Though the Architect’s Guild hopes to eventually recreate Mt. Nevermind within the earth body, the other guilds are happy for now and have begun their projects anew. Though there have been many arguments between members of the Guild of Architecture and workshop owners who have suddenly found entire rooms missing or moved around one morning. The real tragedy is that few members of the Architecture Guild exactly agree on what Mt. Nevermind looked like. Similarly, the SpellJamming Guild has been seen around the colony taking measurements and whispering amongst one another while haranguing the rare dwarven visitor with questions about their Citadels. Of course, the Dwarves are now very worried. The top of New Gnomehold consists of a few flattened areas for ships to land and a number of wide basins to catch rainwater. These basins drain into reservoirs underground. Due to a lack of water, traditional Gnomish Sidewheelers can’t land here unless designed to land on ground. Needless to say a number of guilds have taken up the challenge and the topside is littered with dozens of “Non-Aquatic Landing Assistance Support Frames”. Visiting captains may use these at their own risk. The colony currently has a working Bolaship and a “working” Sidewheeler, though the sidewheeler is being worked on (30% chance it’s stable enough to lift off). The Bolaship has been fitted with a gnomish “helm” and is able to reach SpellJamming speeds, however propulsion still relies on the spinning bolas. This ship is used to trade with other settlements on Garden when the Sidewheeler is being “upgraded”. If asked about the pirates on Garden the Tinker Gnomes will confess an honest ignorance (the Bolaship has the local pirates terrified and the gnomes have been avoided like the plague as a result). As on the rest of Garden, the surface of New Gnomehold is covered with thriving plant life, which is currently serving as fodder for the colony’s resident giant space hamster population. While the hamsters have avoided the sheer cliffs that ring the colony out of fear, they have sampled the branches and stems of the great plant that grow near them. Many have been lost to the sap or fallen to their deaths trying to climb the stems. The Druids are horrified and frankly consider this to be an ecological disaster in the making.Important NPCs:
Orick Fancoverhousingscrewinhandleyoke...etc (TN, gm, Tinker10)
Orick is a middle aged, male Tinker Gnome. His brown hair is balding and he wears an eye patch over his left eye, a reminder of the disaster at Gnomehold. He is the current head of the SpellJamming Guild but at the time of the disaster was one of the lower members of the guild. Aside from the normal gnomish obsession with invention, Orick has a second obsession that almost overrides his pursuit of his lifequest (landing gears), and he pursues it with the vigilance normally seen in paladins. He has made it his duty to make sure no one on New Gnomehold ever messes around with dimensional travel again. He was there when the first experiment failed and he almost lost his life when the creatures that used to be his superiors tried to consume his soul. He has become a very vocal advocate against magic of any kind and is willing to tell any magic user he meets exactly what all their fiddling around is doing to the fabric of space-time. He is also the inventor of the Phlogiston-Safe Pipe Lighter (under revision) and the Improved Aquatic Landing Gear Mk XI.Waukeen’s Hope:
Located on a smaller Continent to the north of Trademeet, Waukeen’s Hope is a bustling new settlement founded only a few years ago by the fabulously wealthy groundling merchant Fildaern of Saerloon (LN, hm, F4). He expanded out into wildspace intent on creating a merchant empire for himself and he sees establishing a colony on Garden as the first step. Fildaern possess a fleet of 20+ ships equipped with a variety of different helms. Originally all galleons, he has since traded a number of them for more spaceworthy craft. Waukeen’s Hope is one of the most well built settlements on Garden but its design betrays the groundling origin of its designer. It is a boomtown of sorts and as such has an odd mix of civilization and frontier to it. It consists of about 17 stone buildings at the moment surrounded by a 10 foot high earth and stone wall for defense. Along the wall are 5 square towers two of which contains turreted dual mounted heavy ballista (of which Fildaern is quite proud), and the other 3 contain turreted medium catapults. Fildaern heard Garden had a pirate problem and decided to plan appropriately. Within the wall are workshops, merchants and a fine tavern and inn, as well as the Governor’s Manor. Fildaern has worked to ensure that any nonmagical equipment a ship or traveler might desire is available for purchase in town. Prices vary from time to time, but they will always be at least 10% less than what merchants in Farworld are charging at the time. Immediately outside of the wall are the landing fields and newer buildings under construction. There are currently 6 landing fields in operation and construction is complete on an artificial pond for water landings and is work is starting on a second. A Hammership is stationed at the field at all times and there is a 20% chance per week that Fildaern’s recent acquisition, a Triop, will be at dock. As Waukeen’s hope has expanded, the need for living space has increased and so a number of smaller buildings have been built outside the wall for this reason. In the event of an attack, those living outside the wall will have time to seek refuge in the town proper before the gates close. Fildaern has not made many friends in wildspace in the last few years. He looked out at the vast wilderness of wildspace and realized that its occupants were buying goods at far more than they were worth groundside. His agents on Garden have been making deals with the local farmers to buy up their goods at better prices than they normally get (at least it seems that way at first) and then his ships carry them to the Tears where he makes a killing at Dragon Rock (or Rock of Bral/Brawl depending on GM placement of the city) by undercutting them on food prices. At the same time he steals business from Farworld by providing supplies, repairs and entertainment at a cheaper price. Or at least that’s the plan. His agents have made deals with a number of local farmers and the food is coming in, additionally his people are scouting out possible trade routes in this sphere and in others nearby. However, some of the farmers are proving quite resistant to his agents’ sales pitches, and stealing business from Farworld is proving more difficult than he predicted. The gnomes are a resource that might prove profitable, but these druids are beginning to interfere with his plans. Well, Waukeen helps those who help themselves, and if the Garden colony proves to be too big of a loss he already has his eyes set on Farworld.Important NPCs:
Danlee of Urmlaspyr (LN, hm, P12 no powers, see below)
Danlee was once a Goldeye, a priest of Waukeen, in the Sembian city of Urmlaspyr and he enjoyed it. At banking and money lending he had a goddess given talent. Unlike many others of his faith when Waukeen vanished he remained faithful and he still worships her despite her failure to grant him powers. A Sembian to the core, Danlee is a hard working, cunning merchant, and frankly a bit on the dull side. He fled Urmlaspyr when his high priest converted to the evil god Cyric and found himself in Saerloon where he met Fildaern. In Danlee, Fildaern found the perfect man to run his operation on Garden, and in Fildaern, Danlee found the ultimate business to invest in. Danlee is wholeheartedly devoted to this enterprise. Don’t let that mislead you into thinking he’s dedicated to Garden. For the time the Garden colony is his life, but if it fails he will abandon it as quickly as Fildaern would. Quicker in fact as he often plans ahead and has already begun scouting out property on Farworld. Danlee is a tall, pale, bald man. When working around the colony he is often seen dressed in garb of a rich merchant banker. On Waukeen’s holy days he dons the full, gaudy regalia of his church and proceeds to perform the day’s rituals as though nothing had ever changed. His pupils burn a bright gold color at all times. While this was once a blessing of his goddess it departed when she vanished. Danlee paid a wizard quite well to recreate this effect. Much to his shame, the glow is now bestowed upon him by the ring he wears on his right hand. When his high priest turned to an evil god, Danlee fled with as many of the church’s magical weapons and items as he could lay his hands on. These are his prized possessions and all were brought with him to Garden. GMs may fill out his collection however it pleases them, but should keep in mind this collection includes almost a 3rd of the items belonging to a temple of Waukeen in a major city. He is willing and able to use most of these and even powerless is far from a push-over.Tarak (NG, hm, F9)
Tarak is Danlee’s right hand man. A former marine in the Sembian navy and a skilled pirate hunter, Tarak has spent almost his entire life on the sea or wielding a blade. He sees wildspace and the pirates of Garden as a new challenge. He’s already set his sights on being the man who brought Clive the Fearsome to justice. At Waukeen’s Hope, Tarak helps keep the peace and leads the town’s guards. However, half of the time he’ll be away from Waukeen’s Hope, either visiting Garden’s moons or one of the other settlements in search of information regarding the pirates. Tarak is a thin man of average height, in his early thirties. His long blonde hair is often tied back in a long ponytail. He’s fairly handsome and has a way with people. While not the strongest of warriors, his blade is unusually swift, much to the (short lived) astonishment of many pirates. Tarak wields an longsword+3 named Baneripper (Int 12, NG, detect evil at will). His survival as a marine was in part due to a gift from his father, a suit of magical Elvish Chainmail (+3) that was given to his grandfather long ago for some unknown task. Tarak never goes anywhere without it, wearing this incredibly light armor under his clothing. These items along with a naturally high dexterity make Tarak a lethal opponent in a fight. Tarak is responsible for the idea behind one of Danlee’s more successful attempts at promoting Waukeen’s Hope. Releasing a number of buoys around Farworld, each enchanted with a magic mouth spell that advertises the colony in a seductive feminine voice.The Grove:
Located in the dense, jungle like vegetation of the Isles, is the central meeting place for those druids dedicated to protecting Garden. The grove itself is a simple clearing upon one of the smaller earth bodies (2 miles wide). The branches twist and cling to the earth on all sides and arch protectively overhead. This makes the grove a shadowy place in during the day and an exceptionally dark one at night. This was place was chosen for a number of reasons. First, it’s well concealed from inquisitive eyes. Second, the maze of stems and branches provide swift passage from one Island to another. And third, it’s right next to the home of Garden’s oldest living entity. Across a 200 foot chasm lies Oldroot’s Hill, home to Garden’s only Treant. Once every Garden month (about 160 standard days) the druids of Garden meet at the grove to compare notes and seek the advice from both Oldroot and their leader Griffon Broadleaf. Aside from meeting days, when its population can swell to at least 20 people, there are usually only 2 or 3 druids there accompanying Griffon. Long ago there was just Griffon, who worried constantly about what the pirates and other visitors might be doing to his precious world. But once those farmers started showing up he realized he would need more help, so he flagged down a passing ship, recruited some new young druids from the other planets, and came back ready to get to work. However that has proven somewhat difficult. Garden seems to resist their helping hand. It is a paradise with few strong beasts to aid in its defense and the great plant itself resists their calls for aid and assistance. At the moment the druids do what they can to maintain the ecological balance. They are in contact with the priest of Lothander in Trademeet and together they work to convince the farmers of the importance of bringing water and nutrients back to Garden. The arrival of the Tinker Gnomes and the colonists at Waukeen’s Hope, seems to signal dark times ahead. The merchants will not heed the druid’s advice and change their ways (it cuts into profits) nor will they leave, and the gnomes…Well the gnomes just confuse and frighten them. They’ve gathered that the gnomes did something to one of the moons, rendering it uninhabitable, but they don’t know what. The thought that this disaster might replay itself upon Garden’s surface is terrifying and has become a call to action for many of the new druids. Unfortunately for Griffon, a few of the druids he has brought to Garden are somewhat wilder than most, believing that the desecration of Garden requires a more aggressive response. They have spent the last few years trying to sway the others to their side and in a few cases they’ve succeeded. If he continues along his current path, Griffon will be faced with a schism that may tear apart all he’s worked towards.Important NPCs:
Griffon Broadleaf (TN, hm, Druid 15th lvl)
Griffon is a very old man. He learned to watch over nature upon a doomed world long ago. When his home fell into ruin he ran away and found himself homeless among the stars. As he traveled he came across Garden and realized that this was to be his new home. Aside from a few pirates, he would have an entire world of arboreal beauty and wonder all to himself. In exchange for protection and healing the pirates would transport him back and forth between his home, on the moon Glorianus, and Garden. As time passed, more and more people started intruding on his home, The recent influx of new residents panicked Griffon and forced him to bring back some druids who didn’t exactly agree with his stance on certain issues. This moment of panic may prove to be his downfall. Griffon is a pacifist, pure and simple. He believes that wise words and a little manipulation can achieve anything. He’s also spent the last 50 years talking to small woodland animals, a Treant and the occasional, fearful pirate. He’s not naïve, just a little out of touch. Griffon’s plan for Garden is to convince the new colonists the importance of living in harmony with the planet. While many of his druids share this belief, a number of them are calling for more direct action. At the moment Griffon merely disagrees with these other druids and doesn’t realize that his grove is about to be split in twain over the issue. One benefit of being the only druid on a planet is that there’s no one there to slow you down. As he was the most powerful druid on Garden for many decades, he was able to rise to the rank of Grand Druid with little fuss. Whether this will remain so with the arrival of the new druids remains to be seen.Oldroot
Old root is a rather young Treant and an aberration among his people. He’s an adventurer. Hundreds of years ago, while speaking with a number of elven mages, they told him of a world occupied by a single gargantuan tree. As they talked Oldroot’s imagination went wild and he decided (10 years later) that this was a sight he had to see for himself. With the aid of a number of powerful elven mages, Oldroot was able to leave his home and strike out in search of wonders to behold. What he found was terror. The void of wildspace filled him with a fear no other Treant has ever felt and so when they arrived at Garden, the relief he felt was coupled with the awesome sight of Yggdrasil’s Child. For the Treant, it was a moment of religious revelation. Oldroot set foot upon Garden and swore to never leave again. He has spent the last few centuries as the high (and only) priest of the religion he created to worship Yggdrasil’s Child. Though the great plant never speaks to him or bestows spells or powers, he believes it to be a great and powerful tree filled with an unending wisdom. Why, normal Treants are slow to speak and sleep for long periods, so a giant tree must do the same but for even longer periods. So Oldroot spends his days praising the “Great Tree” as he calls it and awaiting the day it wakes up. His social life became fairly active once Griffon showed up with them speaking every year or so, but now his world is buzzing with activity. Every 30 days (well, Garden days) all sorts of druids arrive to speak with him and seek the wisdom of the Great Tree. As he’s told Griffon, if he wasn’t such an active and adventurous Treant all this rushing around would be bound to tire him out.Quicksparrow (NE, hf, Druid 12th lvl)
Oldroot
Quicksparrow is a small woman of average beauty and easily blends into a crowed. She doesn’t stand out much and in the past she’s used this to her advantage. Few expect one like her to posses the talents she has. Her mind is sharp and she is wise for her age (29) and her skill as a fighter is unmatched among her peers. She used this to her advantage when she fought to gain the title of “druid” back home. However her beliefs regarding how druids should go about protecting nature are considered unpleasant by others. Men and other sentient creatures create tools to overpower nature and throw it off balance and it falls to druids to fix things. Nature is not kind nor does it allow weakness so neither should druids. In nature all animals kill to protect themselves, but if it cannot then the druids must. Among the druids on Garden, Quicksparrow is the main advocate of direct retaliation. She believes that the new colonists will not change their ways easily and that if the druids are to convince them, then they must send a painful message. While the farmers and pirates may stay if watched over and guided wisely by the druids, the merchants and gnomes must leave Garden lest they harm the great plant. If they won’t see reason, then as he mother once said “blood makes the grass grow”. In the last year she’s convinced 4 other druids over to her way of thinking and she realizes that Griffon and those under him will never agree with her. She is ready to lead her druids away from Griffon’s grove and to finally do some real good for this world. However she needs more druids on her side before that can happen and a number of them are still on the fence about the issue. With the right push they might join her, but until then she still has ways to strike at the colonists without being noticed.Pirates:
Garden and its moons serve as a rather handy spot for many ships to stop and resupply before heading off to other spheres. These trade ships are easy prey for pirates and aside from the few ships stationed at Farworld, there’s little to stop them. Garden itself makes for an easy escape should any problems occur. Garden is a world of endless canyons and cavern systems, millions of miles long and many miles deep. With a good crew and a keen navigator, a ship could lose any pursuers through the twisting canyons. A popular tactic is to lead one’s pursuers into one of the areas where the winds are funneled through at hurricane speeds. There are at least half a dozen pirate organizations that use garden as a base and safe haven. Some are large and employ 3 or 4 ships, while others have only a single ship to their name. The most well know of these pirates is Clive the Fearsome.Clive the Fearsome:
Clive the Fearsome (CN, human male, CN, Str 18, Con 14, Dex 16, Int 17, Wis 15, Cha 12) Clive is a demonic fighter, and a genius tactician. He's swift with a gun, can fly a ship through the eye of a needle. He once fought the god of death and won, so now he’s immortal. He is the greatest and most fearsome pirate of all time. There are many legends about the pirate Clive the Fearsome, however few mention that he’s been dead and buried for at least a century now. The real Clive was a rather accomplished pirate over 125 years ago. He realized that it was the name that inspired fear and not his actually visage, which was really quite average. People attributed things to him that he didn’t actually do. Most of the time he needn’t fire a single shot as ships would surrender the moment he flew his colors. Well a reputation like that is a terrible thing to waste so when he decided to retire he found an appropriate replacement and bestowed upon him the name Clive the Fearsome. For a small price of course. Clive created a franchise out of his name, and so far only the 3rd Clive was the only one to die in battle, the rest dying of old age in the lap of luxury. The 3rd Clive died in a raid on an Elven Armada. The body was never found though all saw him killed. Luckily his first mate at the time was in on the secret and a short while later Clive returned from the dead. The current Clive is the 11th pirate to go by that name and it’s been 8 years since he bought it off of the last Clive. He’s a strong man with a sharp mind, but only his mother would say he’s handsome. He realizes exactly what he’s bought and he’s come up with a few ideas about taking advantage of the name that none of his predecessors ever thought of. And if he dies in the process? Well the 10th Clive is still around and he’s not against selling the name a second time if the current owner is dead. Clive commands over a hundred pirates and a fleet of 12 ships, none larger than 50 tons. He’s been in this business for many years and he’s not likely to fall for any simple traps or ambushes. Piracy is a dangerous profession and his crews have a high number of deaths each year. However the Clive name is great for recruiting and vacancies are often quickly filled. His forces operate out of his secret base Pirate Cove. The base has been handed down along with the name and it too has become legendary, but the name is very misleading. Pirate Cove is actually a very well hidden underground base. To reach it a ship must first find the right canyon and descend 8 miles. This area is known for its strong and dangerously unpredictable winds but if one knows the way, there is a safe path along one of the walls where one feels nothing more than a gentle breeze. At the bottom one enters into the mazelike depths of Garden. Through caverns a thousand feet wide one finds their way through to a relatively small cavern, only 300 feet high and 400 feet wide. The base is carved into the wall of the cavern, where it meets the floor and a number of stone buildings stand before it. The carved out base contains the pirate’s vault as well as the food stores and an emergency barracks. In the event of an attack, the pirates can seal themselves in and withstand a siege for a few weeks. Unknown to the others, Clive has potions of etherealness and invisibility stashed in there just in case. The floor of the cavern is bowl shaped and filled with rather brackish and undrinkable water. However this serves as a landing pad for those ships unable to set down on land. The rest of the fleet lands on a large flat area not far from the base. The tunnel that leads there is only 200 feet high and 250 feet wide where it connects to the cavern. On either side of the tunnel, roughly 100 feet up are alcoves 20 feet to a side and 30 feet deep (dug out magically). Clive has medium ballistae in each alcove crewed at all times. The weapon crews are always manned by at least one pirate able to see in the dark. The crew can communicate or sound an alarm by using signal lanterns enchanted with continual light spells.
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