Places:Realmspace Updates:BkI:Ch3c

Chapter 3c:Toril:Kara-Tur

Note:The sections in the Realmspace accessory on Kara-tur were perhaps the
worst researched of a very poorly researched book. The headquarters of the
Shou Lung fleet according to SJR2 is Chumning, for instance. That is quite
a coup, considering that Chumning is actually  in Tu' Lung, Shou Lung's
archrival! With that in mind expect much of that material to be deleted and
severely altered below. Also note that details of the spelljamming fleets
of Shou Lung  and Wa appear in Book II.

        The eastern portion of the main continent on Toril is called
Kara-tur. Kara-tur is the home of the Torilian nations most active in
spelljamming, and is thus the area most visited by spelljamming traders.
While generalities cannot hold true concerning the populations and
topography of this vast region, the educated folk here are more likely to
know and accept spelljamming then any other region on Toril. In fact, two
Kara-turan nations are major powers in Realmspace.

Shou Lung
        The vast empire of Shou Lung is undoubtably the most powerful
nation on the face of Toril. With an immense population, vast territory,
and governed by an efficient and generally honest bureacracy the Shou
could, with a great deal of effort, come to completely dominate the planet.
That they do not is due to cultural rather then military or economic
factors. The Shou have been expansionistic in the past, but the current
emperor finds more pleasure in knowledge and culture then military
conquest. This tendancy has been reinforced by the recent Horde invasion,
which devastated many of the northwestern provinces, decimated the armed
forces, and left the upper ranks of the Mandarinate in a leaderless
shambles. The nation is thus still recovering from the upheavals. So, while
this nation controls the largest military fleet in Realmspace (45 War
Dragons) those vessels are employed in a strictly defensive role, rooting
out pirates and acting as a counter to the fleets of Wa and the Elves.
        Shou Lung remains a fairly popular destination within Realmspace.
The popultion is civilized, enlightened, and spelljammer aware. The taxes
are (mostly) reasonable and laws concerning spelljamming vessels follow
common sense guidelines (flying over cities at low altitude is prohibitted,
for instance). The nation's primary port, Karatin, is as welcoming to
spelljammers as it is to any other foriegn trade.
        Karatin is the capital of the Hai Yuan, or Maritime provinces, and
is said to be the home of the legendary Sea Lords of Karatin. Besides
acting as the headquarters of the fleets of the Ministry of War and the
Ministry of Glorious Flight, several nobles and temples from the region
have dabbled in spelljamming themselves. The people of Hai Yuan province
are particularly confident and adventurous, vessels seeking crew should
have little trouble hiring sailors here.
        The landlocked Kao Shan province holds the only other important
spelljammer port in Shou Lung, the semi-independent city of Kai Shan. A den
of vice, corruption, and shady dealings Kai Shan is ruled by the Tsui Tong,
the largest of the criminal organizations in Shou Lung. The Tsui are
permitted a free hand in Kai Shan due to aid they gave to Wo Mai, the
Emperor who brought Shou Lung back from the brink of ruin during the Black
Cycle (985 Shou Reckoning). Kai Shan can only handle vessels able to set
down on land, but it sees a steady traffic in pirate Wasps, smuggler's
Dragonflies, and other vessls. It is rumored that the Tsui have contacts
with the Chainmen (though selling Shou citizens to slavers would surely
bring the wrath of the Emperor down on the city, if discovered), the Tenth
Pit, and even the Zhentarim of Faerun. The accuracy of such rumors is
doubtful, but the Tsui certainly have contacts among the space going Wako,
and this port is considered the best place in Realmspace to sell items of
doubtful origins, no questions asked.
        There are no Imperial troops stationed in Kai Shan, nor are there
any magistrates or town guard. The city's reputation is its greatest
defence, though the Shou Spelljammer fleet would certainly counter any
attempts by outsiders to invade the city, as it is technically still a part
of Shou Lung, and surrounded by other Imperial territories.
        The dragonships of the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Glorious
Flight are the official representatives of the Shou in Realmspace, but
there are many nonofficial vessels as well. The Order of the Dragon (a
monastery devoted to the Path and the Emperor) sponsored several vessels,
as have several of the richest noble houses. The Society of the Purple
Lotus, a group of noble artists, has also sponsored several dragonships.
This is disturbing to some, as it is rumored that this group of decadent,
languid nobles is secretly a group dedicated to restoring the power of the
nobles and destroying that of the bureaucracy. It also seems that the
Kuo-tan, a secret society dedicated to supporting the Emperor, has
established a branch on the Rock of Bral. This branch calls itself Yakuza,
a term more properly applied to Waan or Kozakuran criminal groups, those in
the know say this is simply to cover its tracks. The Kuo-tan is led by the
Shou Emperor's maternal grandfather and they are deadly enemies of the Tsui
Tong.

The Dock
        Deep in the heart of the Wu Pi Te Shao mountain chain, surrounded
by impassable peaks lies a fantastical spelljamming port. Known simply as
the "Dock", this port was established by the Arcane following a series of
negotiations with the Shou Emperor. At the end of the negotiations the
Emperor had 30 new helms and the Arcane had the deed to this relatively
useless piece of Torillian real estate. Both sides still feel they recieved
the better deal.
        The Dock is located at the center of the glacier field which lies
furthest south within the range. The Yikarian Empire is the closet
organized nation, controlling the moutains to the south. Fear of this evil,
destructive, and magically powerful nation has forced the Arcane to place a
permanent band on selling spelljamming equipment to them, fearing that if
the Dock's advantage of a defensive fleet were matched the Yakmen would
soon conquer and control the lucrative city. For their part the Yakmen know
legends concerning a magical settlement to the north, but little direct
knowledge.
        This is the primary port for purchasing helms and other merchandise
from the Arcane, the city itself is completely dependent on imports for
food. The surface is bitter cold year round due to the altitude, the
buisnesses and other inhabitents are all indoors, space is at a premium.
The Arcane have used magic to carve landing zones for ships of many
descriptions, even those vessels normally only able to land on water are
capable of putting down here. Shipbuilding facilities here can build a wide
variety of vessels, and this is one of the few places vessels with special
Arcane modifications can be constructed. The prices, of course, are
exorbitent.
        The Dock is administered by the Arcane Calabrie Zhentle, though at
least three other Arcane are known to make their homes here. She runs the
port in a very open manner, essentially commerce rules. There is only one
rule for merchandise at the dock, besides the import and export taxes; Only
Arcane or their representatives are permited to sell helms or ships of any
sort. Adventurers bringing captured helms and vessels must sell them to the
Arcane, who of course will make a handsome profit on them after resale.
        Calabrie's rule at the dock is enforced by several hired mercenary
companies, the Arcane prefers to hire Giff and Anadian halflings for this
duty. These companies officer themselves but answer to Calabrie's two
bodyguards, Jor Demyse (NE hm F10) and Shoah (N hm F9). Open brawls and
other events which disrupt buisness are dealt with harshly, while descreet
poisonings and kidnappings tend to be ignored. Justice is not the primary
concern, ending the disturbance and preventing a reoccurence is the main
goal. Besides privateers hired on as needed,  the Arcane have permanently
acquired the services of the 97th Giff High Space Flotilla. This fleet
consists of 2 clippers and a Great Bombard, one of the largest
concentrations of pure firepower in the sphere. These vessels all remain
near the Dock, at least one is in the air at all times.

T'u Lung
        T'u Lung has been a seperate state from Shou Lung since breaking
away from its northern neighbor nearly three centuries ago. Since that time
Shou Lung and T'u Lung have officially be at war, the conflicts have ebbed
and flowed, of course, but the provinces along their borders have become
deserted and ruined from the endemic warfare.
        Composed of six provinces T'u Lung is everything Shou Lung could
become but is not. The provinces are ruled by hereditary nobles who pay as
little attention to the T'u Emperor as they can get away with. Taxes go
unpaid, free men are enslaved, and criminals left free. The government is
corrupt on all levels, though in some rare districts a local magistrate may
be somewhat honest and honorable. Poverty runs rampant throughout the
nation. Unless forced to unite by some outside force (in the past this has
most often been an invading Shou army) the nobles of T'u Lung fight
incessently among themselves.
        There are over 45 powerful noble families within the nation, all of
whom feel they have some claim on the Emperorship. Many of the cities and
towns are now in ruins, even those which have not been abandoned have many
ruined buildings within their town limits. T'u lung is obviously not a
popular stop for legitimate spelljammers, taxes are too high, and someone
in power is sure to confiscate the vessel if anyone discovers the vessel
can fly. On the other hand, the nation's corrupt, ineffective government
allows neogi, Chainmen, and pirate raids unheard of access. Only the random
presence of powerful wu jen or shukenja in some of the smaller villages
appear as potential dangers to raiders.
        T'u Lung itself has no permanent spelljamming fleet, the central
government is simply too weak, but despite this T'u lung does have some
impact on Realmspace. Ausa province is ruled by the Ho noble family, the Ho
have a private, provincial navy based in the port town of Keeling
consisting of 75 terrestial warships. Five of those war junks are equiped
with minor helms, though they are seldom used for more then the occasional
flight through the atmosphere. Ho family junks can be identified by thier
sky-blue banners bearing two white daggers and three red stars.
        The small port town of H'sin-to in the Ausa province is the
headquarters of Osu Qyu Lo'ahn (NG hm F3), a local merchant who owns three
furnace-helm equipped junks. Osu Qyu has found new challenges in wildspace,
where his vessels journey in search of rare artifacts and other small, high
value commodities. His expeditions are always carefully planned because of
the high cost of fueling the furnaces, he has extensive trading contacts on
Dragon Rock in the Tear's of Selune. Within H'sin-to itself his ship's
helms are kept secret, folk are only told that he journeys to far foreign
lands. Since the vessels are gone the majority of the year this explanation
satisfies most easily.
        More disruptive by far then the Ho family or Osu Qyu is the growing
impact of the Yellow Lizards of Keeling. A pirate consipiracy based
somewhere near Keeling harbor in Ausa province, the Yellow Lizards are a
band of bloodthirsty pirates. members all bear a purple crane tatooed on
their right arm, but seldom are found on vessels other then those owned by
the band.
        Yellow Lizard vessels always bear black sails and banners depicting
a yellow sea-lizard on a green background. They have been seen in a variety
of vessels in Realmspace; junks, dragonships, and a wasp just to name a
few. The Yellow Lizards began as a purely terrestial band, and still
maintain a large,  mundane fleet which continues to raid up and down the
Celestial Sea. No one is sure exactly where their main refuge is, who their
leader is or how many vessels they posess. It is rumoured that the Ho clan
has some connection to this band.

Kozakura
        The island kingdom of Kozakura is a land of beautiful mountains,
thick forests and sparkling seas. The majority of the inhabitents live on
the main island of Shinkoku, but there are nearly a thousand islands
surrounding it. The people live along the coasts, the central moutains are
wild and untamed. This central range is called the Dragon's Spine, refering
to the legndary earth dragon said to sleep beneath it. The peasents of
Kozakura tend to be rice farmers and fishermen. Powerful samurai rule the
land, in theory their power devolves from the Emperor. For many years this
has been a purely symbolic office, however, the real power has reasted in
the hands of the Shogun, the military commander of the nation.
        This office, like all others in Kozakura is hereditary. Following
the Hojo War the current Shogun, Hojo Kawabuko (? hm F?), came to the
position, yet he was not of legal age to hold it, being only 8 years old.
His father, Hojo Todahiro (? hm F8), who should have held the office was
exiled. Power came to rest in the hands of the Takaenaka family through the
office of Shikken (Shogunal regent), Takenaka Okawa (? hm F9) took the
postion as the Shogun's maternal grandfather. Over the years he has angered
his chief supporter and half-brother, Takenaka Sugawara (? hm F14).
        Recently, when it became apparent that Okawa did not intend to
relenquish his power as shikken upon Hojo Kawabuko's majority (Kawabuko has
recently turned 18), Takenaka Sugawara led an army to the Shogunal capital
at Gifu. His army was successful in rescuing the Shogun, but failed to
destroy the shikken, who accepted the aid of those supporting the retired
emperor's bid for a return to power!             Into this chaotic
situation arrived Hojo Todahiro and his supporters who felt the time was
ripe for his own attempted return to power. The result has been a Kozakura
thrown into violent civil war. The Imperial administration is in chaos, and
the constant demands for troops and supplies have decimated most of the
provinces. At least 4 different factions are invlolved, each struggles now
to gain allies among the unaligned houses. The massive battles of the war's
first year have ended, with all sides suffering heavy losses.  The war has
degenerated into a series of raids and guerilla actions while the various
factions replace their losses and jockey for position.
        A nation undergoing a civil war is a poor partner for trade,
spelljammers are advised to avoid Kozakura. The factions are likely to
seize any spelljammers they can, searching for an advantage over their
opponents. The many uninhabitted islands do provide reasonably secure bases
for those wishing to make use of them, and spelljamming raiders of all
sorts occasionally take advantage of the war to raid this or that small
village. The larger cities tend to have an abundence of wu jen, as well as
being militarily alert because of the civil war. They are not a tempting
target.

Wa
        The island nation of Wa has much in common with Kozakura, despite
(or perhaps because of) the two nations' traditional rivalry. Like Kozakura
it is composed of a series of islands clustered around a large central
island, Tsukishima. Over 80% of Wa is moutainous, the other 20% composes
the strips of habitated land along the coasts. Wa is particularly cursed by
nature, Typhoons and earthquakes are not uncommon, and many of Wa's
volcanoes are still active.
        Waan government is similar to that of Kozakura as well, there is an
Emperor but his position is largely ceremonial, the real ruler of the
nation is the Shogun, Matasuuri Nagahide (LN hm F23). Unlike Kozakura,
however, the Shogunate of Wa is strong and vital, in fact Wa is enjoying
the longest period of peace of any nation in Kara-Tur. Peace has led to
advancements in education and the arts, as well as a general increase in
prosperity.
        But this has not come without a price. A rigid social system
ensures domestic tranquility, distinct social classes are strictly adhered
to, traval is monitored, and religion is regulated. Contact with foreign
elemnts is forbidden, Foreign vessels are only allowed to dock at the port
of Akkaido. Those who have adopted foreign customs and ways are oppressed,
especially those who follow the imported Western deity, Chantea. The
nations prosperity is limited to the upper classes, the peasents stagger
under a dizzying array of obligations, rules, and taxes.
        Spelljamming traffic with Wa is limited by law to vessels landing
at the port city of Akkaido. Such traffic is unwelcome, the port's Daimyo
(governor), Matasuuri Ieysuna (LN hm F2), will go out of his way to make
life difficult for foreigners while in port. He is not above simply
confiscating the vessel and having its crew beheaded, provided he has a
proper pretext. Few vessels make more then one stop at Akkaido,
spelljammers which attempt to land anywhere else in Wa are summarily
destroyed by the Waan fleet.
        Soon after after becoming Shogun Matasuuri Nagahide (LN hm F23)
discovered the existence of the various fleets flying about within
Realmspace. He quickly realized how dangerous this was to Wa and began a
program of crash development on a fleet for Wa itself. This decade long
program resulted in some of the most intriguing spelljammer design
advancements in centuries. First, the Master of the Grand Sky (? hm W?) a
powerful wu jen from the island of Shidekima was able, with the aid of
several monks, shukenja, and the Arcane to develop the Ki-helm, a powerful
helm capable of powering vessel up to 200 SJ tons in size. He also designed
and built the first Rudder of Propulsion, which combined with the ki-helm
allowed the Shogun's's vision for the new fleet to take place.  Taking
advantage of the unique aspects of these two propulsion systems the Tsunami
and locust ships were designed (The Master of the Grand Sky disappeared
into the expanses of wildspace soon after completing his work).
        The Waan fleet consists now of 8 of the huge Tsunamis, 4 are in
space at any one time, usually in close orbit above Wa though occasionally
retributive strikes are made against pirate bases at Garden or in the Tears
of Selune. Each carries at least 20 of the locusts, though they can carry
up to 36. The headquarters and dockyards for this powerful fleet are
located within the bowl of Mount Fo, an extinct volcano and the second
highest peak in the Ikuyu mountain range. Each tsunami has its own massive
cave hanger, and several deep lakes provide landing strips for the few helm
equipped junks that fill out the Wa Imperial Fleet. This is one of the best
guarded sites in the Realms, catapults, bombards, and ballistae dot the
peak from hidden, fortified emplacements.
        The Waan fleet is commanded by Daimyo Akahu Nagasa, a firm believer
in discipline and a former Tsunami captain. Nagasa works very closely with
the Shogun, who takes a great interest in the fleet.
        Ronin and out of work bushi have caused many problems since the
Shogun's adminstrative reforms reduced the numbers of the nobility and
soldiery to more reasonable levels. The Shogun has already used the
creation of the spelljamming fleet to reward the more deserving of these
with positions, he is now considering setting up a colony on Garden for the
express purpose of reducing the number of trouble makers in his realm. A
series of troubling reports seem to indicate that the IEN is attempting to
smuggle weapons and magic to disaffected groups within Wa using their
Men-o-War, one such vessel was destroyed recently by the Waan fleet.
Relations between Wa and the IEN are correspondingly tense.

_Bibliography_
War Captain's Companion Boxed set:War Captain's Guide, TSR
War Captain's Companion Boxed set:Ship Recognition Manuel, TSR
SJR1 Lost Ships, TSR
SJR2 Realmspace, TSR
Forgotten Realms Boxed set, TSR
CGR1 Complete Spacefarer's Handbook, TSR
Spelljammer Boxed set, TSR
Complete Ninja's Handbook, TSR
Kara-Tur Boxed set, TSR
"The Other Orientals", Tom Griffith, Dragon #189
"Campaign Classics The Roof of the World", Wolfgang Baur, Dragon #241
Kara-tur:Trail Map 5, TSR
FR 12 Horde Campaign, TSR
OA1 Swords of the Daimyo, TSR
OA2 Night of the Seven Swords, TSR
OA3 Ochimo, the Spirit Warrior, TSR
OA4 Blood of the Yakuza, TSR
OA5 Mad Monkey vs The Dragon Claw, TSR
OA6 Ronin Challenge, TSR
OA7 Test of the Samurai, TSR