Twilitespace: Sun's Girdle

As promised, the basics of the Sun's Girdle is ready.  Two of the
nations will be detailed later (much later), but the baseline sketch of
each is included.  Enjoy!

The Sun's Girdle
Planet Name:		The Sun's Girdle
Planet Type:		Asteroid Belt
Planet Size:		A (see below)
Escape Time:		Varies
Satellites:		None
Distance from primary:	60 million miles
Day Length:		NA
Year Length:		240 days (estimated)
Population Analysis:	Dwarves, humans, many other humanoids

	The Sun's Girdle is the "asteroid belt" of the Twilite sphere.  It is,
however, not a true asteroid belt.  Instead, the Girdle seems to be a
ribbon world located within an asteroid belt.  This creates a most
unusual world, which is, in fact, divided into two major parts.  The
first part consists of the ribbon world at the heart of the Girdle.  The
ribbon is a collection of roughly two thousand large asteroids, ranging
in size from 50 to 100 miles across and 1 to 3 miles thick each.  In
between these asteroids is a vast, ribbon-like ocean of blue-gold
water.  The ocean is flat, and is about a mile thick.  It completely
encircles the Sun, as well as the two thousand "islands" drifting in its
currents.  The whole network of ocean and islands has a common, flat
gravity plane.  Day and night is caused by the ocean and islands
rotating inward slowly, spinning on a circular axis.  All islands rotate
at the same speed as the ocean, so the land is not flooded.  A common,
torus shaped atmosphere surrounds the Girdle, and is more than 70 miles
thick.  The atmosphere is thickest at "sea level," but drastically
reduces in thickness at the edge.
	The most striking feature of the Ocean Ribbon is that it has the
effects to distort distance.  Any craft travelling along its surface
travels roughly one thousand miles for every hour of travel.  Yet, in
effect, the craft is only travelling at a mere four knots an hour, in
terms of the speed the wind and water passes the craft.  Because of this
distortion of distance on the ocean water, travel between individual
islands takes days rather than years.  A ship can travel the length of
the entire Ribbon Ocean in two years, but most voyages take twice as
long due to numerous stops.	
	The second piece of the Girdle is the hundreds of thousands of smaller
asteroids, most no bigger than a mile across, that orbit with the
primary ribbon.  These smaller rocks roll about lazily in their orbits,
rarely colliding with each other and never with the primary ribbon.  For
some odd reason, the ribbon repels the smaller asteroids, preventing
them from smashing into it.  The asteroids are never repelled enough for
them to escape the belt, thus random asteroids in the rest of the sphere
are rare.
	The many asteroids of the Girdle are rich in wealth, be it metals,
gemstones, and special stones.  Virtually every know mineral can be
found among the asteroids of the Girdle, with the most common being
iron, nickel, copper, silver, and gold.  Gemstones that are most common
include diamonds, rubies, quarts of all types, and obsidian.  Rumors
abound that mithral, star sapphires, and platinum can be found in some
asteroids, but so far finds have been small.  Still, dwarves are
convinced that several motherlodes are hidden in the asteroids, just
waiting for dwarvish miners to find.  Most of the asteroids have thin
atmospheres, possibly gained from the ribbon world, which makes
prospecting the asteroids much easier.

Climate and Weather 
	The ribbon has weather fairly consistent with weather found on normal
earth worlds.  However, the weather is almost completely predictable. 
Every morning it rains for an hour before the clouds burn off to a
bright and sunny day.  Violent storms are unknown, and the temperature
always remains tropical.  Nights are cool at worst, and days are fairly
hot.  This weather pattern supports lush rain forests on all but a few
islands.
	The asteroids have thin air and no discernable weather patterns.   

Appearance from Space 
	The Girdle is a great, thin torus of blue surrounded by thousands of
tiny asteroids.  The Ribbon Ocean is clearly visible from space with the
islands strung out like pearls on a necklace.  The torus is streaked
with long, thin clouds.  Cloud cover is always along lines; there are no
spinning storms such as hurricanes or tornadoes.  The Ribbon Ocean is
golden-blue, spinning eternally in space.

Life Forms 
	The islands of the Girdle support a mind boggling variety of wildlife. 
Only a handful of species have been successfully documented on a few
islands, with the remainder unknown.  Almost any sort of plant or animal
could exist on the islands of the Girdle, and the isolation of each
individual island promotes the development of wild and bizarre
creatures.  A few plants and animals are common enough to note as worthy
of attention.
	The most common flora in the 'civilized' islands include the following:
Burrleaf-the leaves of this plant are needle-like, much evergreen
pines.  However, the needle leaves of the burrleaf cluster together into
tight balls roughly a foot in diameter.  A typical burrleaf plant will
grow up to forty feet tall and have over two hundred clusters of
leaves.  Touching the leaves can be dangerous as the tips are fairly
sharp.  The leaves themselves are flexible and easily woven together. 
Natives use dry leaves to weave baskets, mats, hats, and occasionally
furniture.  The wood burns cleanly and is a common fuel source.
Tanglevine-a nasty parasitic plant, tanglevine enwraps its host tree and
uses it as an anchor to reach sunlight.  The vine is a blue-gray color,
but its leaves are bright green.  The vine does not have roots, and an
individual plant will grow over several miles and have dozens of host
trees.  Eventually, the vine will kill the host tree by crowding it
out.  Strands of the vine, when treated with a solution of seawater and
lime, harden into a thick and sturdy rope.  The sap of the plant is also
useful in treating certain tropical illnesses when mixed with other
herbs.  The sap acts as a catalysis, 	changing the nature of some herbs
from deadly toxins to healing medicine.  On its own, the sap causes
stomach pains and vomiting.
Pitroot-a virtually unique plant, pitroot is aptly named because of its
habit of growing a small pit with its root.  The root of the plant is
hollow, and grows to a foot in diameter and often is ten feet deep.  The
top is open to the air, and anything that falls into the root is
digested by the acids the plant produces.  The plant can handle all
sorts of matter that falls into its root, including small animals,
leaves, insects, and even waste material.  The whole plant is really
nothing more than a simple, pit-like root ringed by small, flowering
plants.  Pitroot has little value and is more a hazard than anything
else.
Mangletree-a thick and tall deciduous tree, mangletrees is closely
related to the oak tree.  However, the branches of a mangletree are more
intertwined and spread out over a greater distance.  Mangletrees grow up
to seventy feet tall and spread over ninety feet in radius.  The massive
branches of the plant sag, and sometimes drop to the ground and become
supportive trunks.  A single plant may have as many as a dozen
supportive trunks in a circular pattern about the central trunk.  All
mangletrees have a main, central trunk that is the heart of the tree. 
Mangletrees are highly prized because all of their trunks grow straight
and the wood gained is very hard.  Most ships and wooden buildings of
the Girdle are made from the wood of a mangletree.
	The fauna of the Ribbon is just as varied, with many strange and
wondrous creatures.  The most common creatures in 'civilized areas' are
detailed below:
Sabercroc-a vicious relative of the freshwater alligator, the sabercroc
is common on most islands.  It normally inhabits the rivers and lakes of
the various islands in fairly decent numbers.  A typically island is
home to more than five hundred of the nasty beasts, all usually
concentrated in a small area.  Unless hunting for a meal, sabercrocs
tend to gather together and sun themselves on logs and rocks.  What
seperates a sabercroc from a normal alligator is the double row of
extremely sharp ridges on its back.  The ridges of a sabercroc will grow
to a foot in height, and are curved like the blade of a saber.  Why the
alligators of the Girdle developed this way is unknown, but the ridges
are often used when making plows.  Another common use is to make sturdy
shields.
Flying lemur-once thought the result of a magical experiment, it is now
believed that the flying lemur developed naturally.  The flying lemur is
a light tan lemur with a pair of brightly colored, bat-like wings in
place of forearms.  The wings are not large, and the creature cannot
sustain itself in flight for long.  It can only fly a few hundred yards
before it tires and must land.  These creatures make excellent pets and
many natives will have one or two.  They have excellent hearing and
eyesight, and the sight of one agitated is a sure sign of danger.
Quahor-originally named the quad horn, the natives have corrupted the
name to quahor over the centuries.  The quahor is a native species of
goat that is common to most of the islands.  It was so named because the
males of the species had four horns instead of two.  The quahor is found
in great numbers in the wild, but natives have domesticated large herds
of the beasts.  The quahor is a very useful animal, providing wool,
milk, and meat for the natives.  The horns are most often used by
savages as spearheads, while civilized people use them for decorations. 
Another common use it to grind them up and mix them in a paste, which
makes an excellent sealant on ships.

Guide to Groundlings
	There are three major sentient species in the Girdle and a few minor
ones.  Each race has carved out homelands for themselves among the
islands and asteroids of the Girdle.  The major races, ordered in terms
of population and overall importance, include troglodytes, dwarves, &
humans.

Troglodytes 
	By far the most numerous race, if not the most powerful, are the
troglodytes.  This race of lizardmen are descendants of a once mighty
empire that ruled the sphere ages ago.  However, their empire collapsed
untold centuries ago, stranding a large enclave at the Girdle.  Those
lizardmen eventually developed into the troglodytes, who still control
little over ninety percent of the islands.  The troglodytes are hardly a
unified race, and are divided into thousands of bickering and feuding
tribes.  An island will typically have 2-8 individual tribes of the
creatures who constantly war with one another.  The troglodytes have
little real impact, however, on the local wildlife because their
technology has fallen so drastically low.  The troglodytes have little
more than a stone age level of development.  They fear fire and will
never use it in battle.  What metal weapons they own were taken from
dwarvish or human warriors, but they cannot work metal of any sort.
	Of interest to travelers of the troglodyte territories is that these
lizardmen will not eat humanoids.  These creatures are insectivores;
troglodytes cannot chew their food and the flesh of humanoids give them
terrible indigestion.  Thus, visitors need not fear being eaten by the
lizardmen.  They do, however, need fear being slain for their equipment
or taken as invaders.  While troglodytes don't care for human flesh,
they care for trespassers even less.  Quick thinking and promises of
supplies of metal have saved the life of many an explorer.
	The troglodytes of the Girdle are almost identical to the entry in the
monster manual.  However, Girdle troglodytes lack the stench attack that
normal troglodytes have; instead, they can spit stomach acid at a
target, causing 2d4 points of damage.  They can only use this ability
twice a day.

Dwarves 
	Thousands of years ago, a fleet of dwarvish citadels entered the
sphere.  They were refugees from another sphere that was torn by war and
strife.  The refugees settled the Girdle, and would found the kingdom of
Araufaern on one of the largest islands.  That kingdom is the oldest in
the sphere, surviving to modern times.  Araufaern has spawned numerous
other, smaller kingdoms throughout the sphere as dwarvish clans have
left the mother nation to find their own destinies.  Some of these
kingdoms are located in the Girdle, while others are found on any one of
the major worlds of the sphere.  Araufaern completely controls one
island and has colonies on two other and on a dozen or more asteroids. 
It has the largest concentration of dwarves in the entire sphere.
	The dwarves of the Girdle resemble hill dwarves in all regards. 
However, the Girdle dwarves have adapted to the wet, tropical climate by
discarding any armor heavier than leather and using a more limited
selection of weapons.  Most dwarves are armed with smokepowder firearms,
sabers, or throwing daggers.  Heavy battle axes, warhammers, and
crossbows are still used, but rarely.  Additionally, the dwarves tend to
keep their hair cut short and their beards trimmed neatly.  When not
expecting trouble, dwarvish males will strip down to a simple pair of
pants while dwarvish women will wear a loose and flowing dress. 
Footwear is often sandals, if worn at all.  The dwarves of Araufaern are
expert craftsmen, and have turned to creating vast monuments and
trinkets as their mines have played out over the centuries.
	The nation of Araufaern is given more detail in a later section.

Humans 
	The human presence on the Ribbon is a fairly new one.  Humans first
established colonies on the Ribbon during the Raer Empire, thousands of
years ago.  The earlier Crux Empire, though centered at Ethwold, the
third planet in the sphere, was built more upon StarGate magics and not
interested in visiting strange worlds such as the Girdle.  The Raer
established numerous small colonies upon the Ribbon, some of which
flourished for centuries.  However, most of these colonies did not
survive the fall of the Raer, and were swallowed up by the jungles of
the Girdle.  A few would hold on for a few centuries more, but
eventually they would all fall.  For a time, humans were again unknown
on the Girdle.
	The situation changed roughly a thousand years ago, following the
devastating Nemesis Wars.  A group of humans, following a
self-proclaimed Empress, founded the Sunflow Republic.  These humans
carved a nation from the Girdle, eventually conquering five islands from
the troglodytes and claiming more than fifty smaller asteroids.  The
Republic remains the most powerful human realm in the Girdle, and may
possibly be the most powerful single human spacefairing nation in the
sphere. 
	With the coming of the Republic, other humans would be attracted to the
Girdle and found their own nations.  The Lateen Band was established two
centuries ago by a group of wanders who were dislodged from their homes
by invaders.  The Lateen occupy a small chain of fifteen asteroids,
which they farm.  The asteroids are linked by a gigantic magical plant
that was created by a wizard's experiment gone wrong.  The plant links
all of the asteroids together into a single life world.  The plant has,
somehow, made the asteroids fertile to crop plants and thickened the
atmosphere to tolerable levels for humans.  The food they grow is sold
on markets throughout the Girdle.  Thrask is another "nation" that has
been founded in the Girdle.  Thrask is little more than a pirate colony
that sometimes raids the trade ships of the Republic, but is of little
consequence.  In all, there is at least a dozen petty human kingdoms
scattered throughout the Girdle.  Most were established by retired
adventurers and are little more than glorified city-states.  None are as
important as the three listed above.
	The Sunflow Republic is given greater detail in a later section.

Major Ports 
	Despite the great wealth, the Girdle is surprisingly sparse in terms of
population.  Other than the major population centers of Araufaern and
the Sunflow Republic, the overall population of any given island is very
low.  Most settlements, even those of the two largest nations, are fewer
than ten thousand individuals.  However, a few ports are of special
importance to spelljammer ships.

Sun's Stone 
	Largest and most prosperous of the dwarvish cities that deal with
spelljammers, the port of Sun's Stone was founded more than four
thousand years ago.  The site was chosen because it was the location of
a huge, 80' tall stone that is said to have come from the sun because it
is golden in color and glows with a life of its own.  The stone made for
an excellent beacon, attracting spelljamming ships of all sorts.  The
port itself is located in a small, protected inlet roughly two miles
across.  The harbor is deep, making Stone an excellent port.  It also
has a large open field so that ships that may only land on solid ground
can use the port.  Spelljammers from any of the friendly races is
welcomed, and at least 1d6 spelljammers are always stopped here.  The
port is well-equipped and can repair most wooden or metal spelljammer. 
Stone has a permanent population of roughly 4,800 dwarves and 800
non-dwarves.  If attacked, Stone can deploy its defensive fleet of 3
squidships.

Starbridge 
	The largest, and only, town of the Lateen, Starbridge sees a great deal
of spelljamming activity despite its small size.  It has a population
consisting almost entirely of humans, most of whom are dock workers.  A
few non-humans dwell here as well, mostly the servants of merchants that
trade at Starbridge.  The town sees roughly d4 spelljammers each week,
depending on when harvests are due.  It has five stone docks that jut
into wildspace along its gravity plane, so the port is quite capable of
handling far more traffic than it normally sees.  The town exports
produce, dairy products, and meat in exchange for metal and worked goods
of all sort.  The repair facilities are fairly advanced, but expensive
to use.  All costs for repairs is multiplied by 1.25%.  This is because
workers must be hired and a supply of wood, scarce on Lateen, needs to
be secured.  Starbridge can only repair wooden ships at the rate of 1
hull point per day.  The town has a fairly stable population of 500
residents, which can triple during the height of monthly trading fairs. 
Most buildings stand empty the rest of the month.  If attacked, the town
can defend itself with a dozen large weapons and launch its fleet of two
lampreys.  The town militia is 80 stout men strong.
	The town is directly ruled by the Steward, a 12th level ranger who
nominally rules the whole nation as well.  His rule is fairly loose, and
he pretty much lets the people do as they see fit.  He serves as arbiter
in settling disputes, commander-and-chief when the nation is attacked,
and primary enforcer of the law.  The militia directly serve him, but he
only keeps twenty or so on hand for police matters.  The rest are
allowed to work other jobs.  Providing Steward magical support is
Cristeen, a 11th level druid.  She provides magical healing for the sick
and wounded.  Normally, she keeps to her simple cottage at the edge of
town.

Myrport 
	Once known as Myor's Port, the town's name was shortened after the
death of it's giff founder.  Myrport is notable because it is the only
place in Twilitespace to find giff, hadozee, and grommams.  The town was
established a few decades ago by a group of mercenaries seeking
employment in the sphere.  After fighting in a war for the dwarves, they
decided the pay was good enough to settle down.  Many retired and sent
for their families.  Now, two generations later, the town is a bustling
place of little over 1,200 individuals, roughly evenly divided between
the three races.  Humans, dwarves, and elves all keep representatives
here for the sole purpose of hiring mercenaries if the need arises. 
Ships that land here can expect to hire d12 sailors or marines, if they
desire to do so.  All are considered excellent crewmen, and the demand
for their services is high.  Captains must pay double salary for these
crewmen, but it is money well spent.  The city has no spelljammers of
its own, but it has never been attacked.
	
Arystal 
	The Shining City of Arystal is the primary space port of the Sunflow
Republic.  It is a fantastic, free floating city of ten small asteroids
that share a common atmosphere.  The buildings of Arystal are roofed
with shingles studded with tiny quartz crystals, while the walls are
broken up with numerous large, opulent windows.  The whole city glitters
in sunlight, earning its name as the Shining City.  Spelljammers of most
races are welcomed here.
	The city is actually more of a collection of nine smaller towns under
the direction of the Royal Crown, which commands a castle upon the tenth
asteroid.  Each of the nine lesser asteroids is owned by one of the
Noble Houses of the Republic.  Each town has facilities for a dozen
spelljammers, but the traffic at each town varies with the power and
attitude of the house in question.  Individual asteroids are linked by a
series of magical bridges or by small, magical boats.  The towns have
slowly drifted towards specialization; one town is noted for its taverns
and inns, another has vast warehouses, and another is known for its dry
docks.  Each individual town has a population of 1,000-2,000
individuals.  Each also has a local militia of 120 warriors.
	The central castle is the personal property of the Empress herself.  It
has a garrison of 600 soldiers, including many monsters.  It is also the
naval base for the city's fleet, which is a flotilla of two sunhawk
warships and eight shrikeships.  Additionally, d4 more sunhawks, owned
by the noble houses, will be at Arystal at any given time.  The castle
and the city is ruled by Horus Banefeather, the eagle-winged son of the
Empress.  He has the abilities of a 10th level fighter as well as the
innate abilities of detect invisibility (always active), invisibility
once a day, and produce flame thrice a day.  He is always protected by a
wing of five harpies of great beauty (a result of selective breeding and
magical tampering).  His staff includes 100 scribes, messengers, and
aides.

-- 
Night Druid