Twilitespace: Chaos pt 2

And the rest:)

Dwarves 
	On the minor southern continent of Arie there is a loose collection of
dwarvish nations.  Their numbers are not great, but they have managed to
tame a region between two mountain ranges.  They are descendant from a
failed expedition that journeyed to Chaos to take advantage of the rich
mineral fields that early prospectors had found.  Though miners on the
ground prospered and even grew in numbers, the hazards of navigating the
moons and storms of Chaos proved too much for dwarvish sailors.  Too
many trade ships were destroyed, and eventually the trade routes dried
up.  This left a large number of dwarves effectively stranded on Chaos. 
With no hope of rescue, they dug in and established new kingdoms for
themselves.
	Despite the harsh conditions of Chaos, the dwarves have grown in
numbers and have established at least four minor nations.  Other nations
have risen and fallen since the Great Abandonment (as they call the
disappearance of the trade routes centuries ago), leaving behind a vast
number of ruins and dungeons.  The dwarves of Chaos have become
embittered against their brethren and have adopted an isolationist
attitude.  Fortunately for them, the traditional dwarvish adversaries,
goblins and their ilk, are not present on Arie.  Instead, the land is
inhabited by monsters of all sorts.  While dangerous, the monsters are
largely unintelligent and beaten through use of coordinated attacks and
hunting.
	Dwarvish clan holds are usually small fortresses built into cliffs,
hills, and even mountains.  A typical clan hold has 300-800 dwarves, but
some are twice as big.  The dwarves raise vast herds of cattle, goats,
and sheep, and grow crops in whatever soil they can find.  They have all
the metal that they need for now, and the mines are largely inactive. 
They practice a system of recycling and treatments that keep their metal
tools and weapons in good shape.
	For all purposes, the Chaos dwarves are mountain dwarves.  They prefer
a life underground, where they are safer from the monsters that haunt
the surface.  They are also desperate for trade.  If a non-dwarvish
spelljammer lands in their territories, dwarvish merchants will be
swarming the ship eager to make trades.  They are willing to trade dwarf
made weapons, armor, and tools for almost anything off-world.  Many
young dwarves are eager to sign on as sailors or mercenaries.  Finally,
the dwarves are eager to gain their own spelljammers, and will gladly
buy any helm that the spelljammers may have on hand for a fair price.

Selkie 
	These shape-shifting creatures dwell in an island chain in the southern
hemisphere.  They are among the most recent races to settle Chaos, but
are some of the most advanced, at least from a magical standpoint.  They
wander the oceans of Chaos freely, but rarely wander too far from their
home islands.  The waters around some continents are too dangerous for
them to dare approach.
	The selkie find their origins several thousand years ago when the Raer
Empire was at its height.  The Raer founded a colony on Chaos on the
smallest continent.  The colony prospered, but attempts to expand to
other lands failed utterly.  The Raer colonists were confined to one
continent.  When that empire fell, the colonists were stranded.  They
made the most of the situation, and established their own nation called
Ralsek.  While highly magical, Ralsek could not achieve even a fraction
of the power and might that the Raer commanded.  For the next several
centuries, their situation remained largely unchanged.
	The event that changed the Ralsek people from humans to selkie was the
Nemesis War.  During that war, Nemesis opened portals to the Ralsek
heartland, led by one of his avatars.  Unused to war, the people of
Ralsek were slaughtered by the hordes of goblins.  In desperation, the
mages and priests of the land came together and called upon powerful
magic to strike down Nemesis' Avatar.  They unleashed a killing wave of
light and energy that slew thousands of goblins as it sought out the
Avatar.  When the wave hit the Avatar, both exploded in a massive
fireball.  This explosion triggered colossal earthquakes and tidal waves
that caused the Ralsek homeland to crumble.  The people screamed in
terror and agony as they fell into the sea, knowing that death was about
to claim them.  Yet, Nemesis was not the only god that had taken notice
of the Ralsek people.  Crecus, god of the oceans and XXX, goddess of
magic, both had pity on the people.  Together, they reached out and
touched each and every person that fell into the oceans, altering their
form.  Their bodies became that of seals, and Crecus led them to
safety.  Though not all survived the journey, most made it to an island
just outside the devastation of Ralsek.  There, Crecus commanded them to
rebuild their civilization and always remember and honor the two deities
that saved them.
	The selkie, glad at their salvation, built large temples to both Crecus
and XXX upon that island.  It became holy ground to the race, where
their most holy and sacred cities were built.  Many more returned to the
fallen Ralsek homeland to build new cities upon remaining islands and to
salvage from the ruined cities.  Though their kingdom had fallen, the
selkie were determined to build a new one.
	Today, the selkie have dozens of small cities dotting their island
chain.  The layout of these cities would confound most people, as the
cities are channels of water and the main entrance to most buildings are
underwater.  The people virtually abandon the cities twice a day to hunt
for fish, which are plentiful.  Homes are small and spartan, with only
the bare necessities.  Selkie do not use fire to cook their food, but
will use magical heating to keep themselves warm during the harshest
winter nights (which is rare, since the selkie have thick layers of fat
to insulate themselves during winter months).  Many are mages, who tend
to dwell in buildings shaped like massive sea shells.  Water
elementalism is the most common field of study, in which selkie may
advance as high as 14th level.  Selkie can also study the fields of
enchantment/charm and song, but can only advance to 12th level in those
fields.
	
Dragons 
	The third intelligent race are dragons.  Dragons have always existed on
Chaos with some power.  The dragons are not social creatures, and come
together only to reproduce.  All chromatic species of dragons can be
found on Chaos, but metallic dragons seem to be lacking.  The creatures
are mostly interested in surviving and collecting bigger and bigger
hordes.  They can be found on almost every continent, but tend to shun
civilized areas.  The destruction of the goblin-kin empires mean more
easy meat to these selfish creatures.  Never has it been recorded that
dragons came together to accomplish anything. 

Resources and Trade
	Chaos is rich in resources.  Fine gems, large gold deposits, and rich
iron concentrations have all been found in the mountains.  In several
areas, panning the local streams will result in the discovery of gold
nuggets, sometimes as large as a human child's hand.  In addition to the
great mineral resources that Chaos has, there are also excellent timbers
for ship building purposes, great amounts of foods, and excellent
hunting.
	The various inhabitants trade with each other but rarely trade with
offworlders.  Given the large amounts of uninhabited areas, a
spelljamming base could be set up to harvest the riches of this world. 
Such a base would have to deal with the many monsters of the area, as
well as remain hidden from any inhabitants who may wander into the area
(many giants and especially goblins are nomadic).

Ports of Call
	There is only one known port currently spelljamming active,
Goldstrike.  A small port, Goldstrike is located on an equatorial
island, which was once highly volcanic.  The island, out in the middle
of the ocean, is completely uninhabited by natives, and easily
defended.  Given that it was once a volcano, it is virtually covered
with mineral wealth.  That wealth attracted a host of harden frontiers
men and vagrants, all out for a quick buck.  Most died from the harsh
environment, but for every miner that died, ten more were willing to
take their place.  A city about the base of the volcano has sprung up in
the eighty years of Goldstrike's existence.  The place is a typical
frontier's town, with virtually no system of government, law
enforcement, or defensive army.  The place is a haven for pirates and
privateers, and at least four spelljammers are here at all times. 
However, none are owned by the city, and those citizens that manage to
gain enough wealth to buy one immediately leave for better worlds else
where.

Satellites
	Chaos has an incredible 40 moons.  These moons orbit Chaos at roughly
the same altitude, and are spread out very much like an asteroid belt. 
However, each of the moons is over 100 miles across, and a small world
in it's own right.  With so much available space, and the riches of
nearby Chaos, the moons have become a common ground for virtually all
races.  Yet, like so much else in the sphere, all of the moons are
wilderness, as the dangers of Chaos prevent all but a trickle of riches
from passing through these space ports.  It is because of this that
prevents the moons from becoming anything more than mere frontier ports,
forever sparsely populated.  A few examples of moons are given below;
DMs should feel free to develop moons as they see fit.

Mindweep 
	While not the largest moon, Mindweep is important to space travelers
never the less.  It is an Illithid breeding colony, where they raise
large number of slaves.  The slaves are forced to grow crops and raise
cattle, which are used to feed them.  The landscape is that of open
plains broken by the occasional mountain range.  The mountain ranges
hide the massive fortresses of the Illithids, where they sit as lords of
all they survey.  The population is not overly large, as the Illithids
control all breeding that goes on here.  The slaves, mostly goblins and
hobgoblins, have had most of their intelligence bred out of them to
minimize chance of revolt.  The brightest of the lot is peer to a
mentally retarded human.  Their culture is of a stereotypical country
redneck, with the slaves working long hours in the fields and spending
their free time drinking ale.  The Illithid strongholds are thick, stone
fortresses guarded by hosts of brainwashed ogres, hobgoblin warriors,
and even monsters.  The Illithid "lords" enjoy the free reign they have
over the people, and have settled into the comfortable life.  Two
nautiloids stand ready to defend this world from attack at all times.

Zorruth
	A fairly barren world, Zorruth has become the last bastion of goblin
power in the sphere.  Here stands the last goblin cities and space
ports, safe from the ravishes of the giants on the planet below.  It is
here that the last of the goblin fleets fled to after their defeat a
thousand years ago, and from which they launched attacks on the elves
during the First Unhuman Wars centuries later.  In the time since the
Nemesis War, Zorruth has seen the rise and fall of well over four
hundred petty warlords and kings.  Currently, the place is divided
between five nations, all warring with each other for power.  In
addition, there is a sixth power, totally neutral, which controls the
spelljammers.  This organization, known as the Warmasters of the Stars,
operates from secret bases hidden atop mountains and secreted in deep
valleys.  The Warmasters have only a handful of ships, but are treated
with respect and fear by the other goblins.  Their greatest foe is the
Elvish Fleet, whom they hate because of their dominance within the
sphere.  Despite their power on Zorruth, the Warmasters do not have
enough ships to seriously threaten the Elvish Fleet.

-- 
Night Druid