Jetstreams

Airships connected the world of the Evergreen Realms in ways that were once unimaginable, shortening the travel time between locations by large amounts, as well as making it much safer. They completely changed how people handled exploration, transport, and, of course, war. Airship technology became the main focus of most large factions, as entire nations could fall to an army of faster or more durable airships. Much changed in these times of political turbulence, with many settlements sprouting up that were accessible only by airship. Eventually, Sordalite technology plateaued and most factions were able to create similar-performing ships. For a long time after this point it was believed that there was no faster way to travel aside from teleportation—that is, until the jetstreams were discovered. Allegedly this was done by Rex Coron, a smuggler trying to escape his pursuers by flying higher than most sensible people would recommend at the time. By chance, he got caught in a massive stream of magically turbulent, fast-flowing air—now known as a jetstream. Swept along with it like a boat in a river, he managed to escape the stream after five hours, finding that he had traversed a distance that would otherwise have taken close to a day’s travel.

This smuggler returned to the jetstream and started mapping it, creating the first rough ‘stream map’ that pointed out several streams that connected major cities. During this time, Rex also learned the hard way about the turbulent and chaotic nature of the jetstreams. Along with his trusted crew of powerful spelldrivers and sailors, he devised the basic spelldriving modes jetstream bubble and locate jetstream, allowing them to find jetstreams easier and travel them safely. Not only were Rex and his crew now capable of traveling between far-off places in staggeringly quick times, but they were also the only ones who knew, as far as they were aware, of their existence. Of course, such a powerful thing can not stay secret for long. As people started growing suspicious of Rex’s seemingly impossible ability to traverse the sky to places of greater distance than traditional logic would allow, curious parties began following Rex on his runs and eventually discovered his secret. Needless to say, when it went public, the people of The Evergreen Realms were shaken by this discovery and the ramifications that it had on their security. All nations launched frenzied exploration runs to map the skies above them. Many streams were found but only a small number of them were safe and useful enough to properly map fully. The Evergreen Realms changed after this discovery, as trade and war became largely dependent on the jetstreams. Some built large cities at convergences, while others moved their seats of power to places without a jetstream entry point nearby, preferring the safety that came with this isolation. When a new stream is discovered, it is typically named after the person who found and charted it, with the most prolific being the Coronal stream. It is the longest jetstream on the planet and connects to all of the continents at several points. The most up to date map of the jetstreams can be found here and below.

Source of the Jetstreams

While not everything is known about them, it is thought that the jetstreams are somehow magically tied to the planet’s core. This makes them semi-predictable. They may warp and slightly change direction, but in general, the jetstreams remain constant in their structure and direction. This can change dramatically when convergence storms or other large-scale Sordalite-related events take place.

Travelling through Jetstreams

A jetstream is a fast-flowing, semi-stable air current that meanders through the higher layers of the atmosphere, typically at altitudes between 10,000 and 30,000 feet. A single jetstream may start or stop anywhere. Two streams will never directly cross, but any stream can split or combine into another. To the naked eye, they are all but invisible, but they can be detected with reasonable ease when magic is employed. Though they are hard to locate due to their transparency, once you are inside of a jetstream, what you see changes drastically. The strong winds and tiny Sordalite dust particles refract the light, making the inside of the jetstream look like one is travelling through a tunnel of blue light. A jetstream is typically 1,000 feet wide; however, they can spontaneously fluctuate, causing them to expand or retract. While travelling through one of these jetstreams a ship moves at five times its normal speed.

Jetstream access

To enter or leave a jetstream safely, a special spelldriving mode called jetstream bubble is required. If a ship attempts to enter a jetstream without it, the ship has to roll a Strength saving throw against DC 18 with a bonus equal to the captain’s proficiency bonus. On failure, the ship suffers 42 (4d20) force damage to its hull and 1d4 random ship modules and it is forced out of the jetstream. All sailors are aware of these risks and typically will protest when a spelldriver tries to enter a jetstream without the proper spelldriving mode.

Navigating the Jetstream

Throughout the years, a great many of the jetstreams have been charted and marked with specialized jetstream buoys that show travellers where they are and when to get off for certain locations. These buoys are critical as they stabilize the jetstreams, preventing their walls from moving or contracting too much. Most factions of the world agree on the importance of the streams and their safety. They have very strict laws against vandalizing the arcane buoys and fighting inside jetstreams, that even most pirates respect. Traveling through a jetstream without buoys is extremely dangerous and risks stranding the ship and crew in a far-off, unintended place. Additionally, the random contractions and expansion of a jetstream edge can cause catastrophic damage to the ship when they touch it. Whenever a ship travels through a jetstream without the protection of buoys and the spelldriving mode jetstream bubble active the captain must roll a d20 every hour (refer to Likelihood of Jetstream Disaster for the relevant situation). If a jetstream disaster occurs, roll on the Jetstream Disaster table.