Twilitespace: Avalon (part 1)

The last world of Twilitespace is finally complete.  Hope you enjoy!:)

Avalon 
Planet Name:		Avalon
Planet Type:		Spherical earth body
Planet Size:		D
Escape Time:		3 turns
Satellites:		1
Distance from Primary:	varies from 75 to 600 million miles
Day Length:		35 hours
Year Length:		670 days
Population Analysis:	Elves

	Avalon is a medium size D world, a near perfect sphere.  It has a
diameter of 3,500 miles, giving it an equatorial circumference of 10,990
miles.  Avalon rotates fairly slowly, and thus has a day that is 35
hours in length.  Avalon does have a tilt to its axis, but this tilt is
minor and the resulting seasons are mild.
	The planet has but a single moon, Sehanine.  This moon is size D,
roughly 500 miles across.  It is a blue-white orb.  It orbits at a
distance of 75,000 miles from Avalon.  It's surface is mostly barren and
rocky.  Over 9/10ths of the surface is covered with mountains or
craters, with only a few areas open and free of obstructions.  Many of
the larger craters can be seen from the surface of Avalon.  The Elvish
Fleet maintains a very large base on Sehanine, which is discussed in
greater detail below.
	The interior of Avalon is probably typical of what is believed about
many earth worlds.  The current model claims that a thick crust
surrounds an even thicker semi-molten mantle, which in turn surrounds a
core of solid nickel, iron, and other heavy metals.  The crust is
pierced only in a few places by links to the mantle, and as a result,
volcanoes are very few.  Avalon is blessed with few fault lines, as the
planet does not have many tectonic plates.  Thus, there is little
geological activity present on Avalon.  The majority of the little
geological activity there is takes the form of spectacular geysers, hot
springs, and mud pots.  Only four volcanoes are known on Avalon, and
they have been dormant for several centuries at least.
	There are two major and no less than twelve minor mountain ranges on
Avalon.  The largest of these ranges is the Dragonfangs, which meanders
south to north.  This mountain range is over 2400 miles long and is over
250 miles wide at its widest point.  Its many mountains are majestic and
quite beautiful.  The tallest mountains of this range can reach heights
of 7000' above "sea level."  The second range is the Crown Mountains,
which tower over the Dragonfangs in height.  They cover much less area
than the Dragonfangs.  They run mostly north-west to south-east, and are
700 miles long.  There are no less than eight peaks that reach a height
of 10,000 above "sea level."  All of the known volcanoes of Avalon are
located within the Crown Range.
	There are numerous hills scattered throughout the whole world which
seem to be much-weathered hills.  The resident elves have speculated
that the planet was once much more active geologically, and was once
nearly completely covered with mountains.  Millions of years of erosion
has worn those mountains down into smoothly rolling hills.
	There are no oceans on Avalon.  Instead, there is a large network of
linked inland seas, but they are not large enough or widespread enough
to break the land into continents.  There is a good number of small
rivers and lakes scattered across the land.  All water on Avalon is
fresh.  There is no saltwater anywhere on the planet.

Climate and Weather 
	For the most part, the climate of Avalon is fairly mild.  The
temperature rarely drops below freezing, nor does it rise to
uncomfortable levels.  There is a seasonal variation, but because the
axis tilt is so small, this variation is minor.  The winters a mild and
the summers are gentile.  This is not a normal phenomenon; given the
highly elliptical orbit, Avalon should be wracked by super heated
summers and frigid winters dipping colder than life could normally
survive.  The result of the mild climate is undoubtedly due to powerful
magics cast by the ancient elves when they decided to make Avalon their
homeland.
	Storms are rare, but rain showers are fairly common.  It rains roughly
every three days on Avalon at any given location.  Thunderstorms are
usually annual events, hitting a given region once or twice a year. 
Tornadoes are very rare; there have only been twenty or so confirmed
tornadoes within the last decade.  Gales and hurricanes cannot form on
Avalon because of the lack of a large body of warm water, nor are the
winds strong enough on the planet to fuel the growth of such storms.

Appearance from Space 
	Avalon is invisible to the naked eye until one is within 100,000 miles
of the planet.  When the planet becomes visible, it is a sphere of many
greens streaked by white clouds.  There are a few small seas that can be
seen from orbit, but none are large enough to break up the land mass
into discernible continents.  A small white moon orbits Avalon.

Continents 
	As there are no bodies of water large enough to break up the land into
continents.  However, the elves consider the land divided into regions
by the mountains.  The elves divide Avalon into four distinct regions,
each defined by the mountain ranges.
	The largest region is Ilnisvan, which encompasses almost a third of the
planet.  It is a wide swath of forests and meadows, with rocky
highlands, deep rich river valleys, and rolling hills.  Many cities are
located in this area, and it is the elvish heartland.  The second
largest is Simatriathervan, which includes the north pole and most of
the land around it.  It is a cold land defined by craggy hills, swift
rivers, and an ice sheet for a sea.  Opposite of Simatriathervan and
wedged against Ilnisvan is Zaithclavan, a wide area of some of the most
impressive forests on Avalon.  It is also the ancient capital city and
center of power for the elves.  The last region is Halasvan, an
uncivilized, untamed forest thick with briars and tangled trees.

Life Forms 
	Avalon is rich in life.  It has thousands of species of wildlife, from
giant oak trees to the tiniest bee.  Wildlife and local flora is pretty
much that of most temperate to sub-arctic forests.  Deciduous trees
dominate the lowlands and almost the entire globe while evergreens
dominate the poles and the alpine regions.  Deer, elk, bears, wolves,
beavers, ferrets, and chipmunks are the most commonly encountered
animals.  Avalon does have strange and unique plants and animals of its
own.
	A common plant unique to Avalon is pinkleaf, a long vine that cling to
oak trees.  Pinkleaf is a long vine, growing up to 200' in length.  It
is so named because the tips of its leaves are always rosy pink.  It is
a useful plant, providing sap that eases the pain of burns and cuts, but
another use is as building material for armor.  The leaves, when dried
and pressed together, become as sturdy as good, boiled leather.  The
leaves can then be woven together to make suits of leather armor.  The
leaves don't loose their color when dried, and armor created from them
are considered works of art.  When sold off-world, a suit of pinkleaf
armor commands 200-600 gp for artistic quality.
	Brightoak is a rare wonder of Avalon.  It appears like any other oak
tree, but when the sun goes down, it releases stored energy by causing
its bark to glow softly.  The light is roughly equivalent to torch light
at midnight, when it is at its brightest, but dims to nothing by
morning.  The wood is exceptionally receptive to faerie fire magic, and
if such magic is cast upon a tree, the whole tree will glow brightly
until morning.  A branch will serve as a torch for 12 hours if faerie
fire is cast upon it.
	Violetstar is a rare flower unique to Avalon.  It grows only 6" high,
but beds of these plants are sought after because the pedals can be
squeezed to produce dye of rich, royal purple color.  This dye is highly
valued because once a cloth is dyed, it will never loose its luster and
color.
	The animal life tends towards magic in nature. Creatures introduced by
the elves include elven cats, cooshee, moon horses, unicorns, giant
eagles, pegasi, river dolphins, griffons, winged cats, asperii,
feystags, and treants.  In many cases, animals have escaped and gone
wild, making the wilderness dangerous to visitors.  Below are a couple
of creatures unique to Avalon.
	The avalonian deer is a rare and magical creature.  It is a majestic
creature not unlike the Irish Deer, but is much more magical.  The
creature is never hunted for its meat; elves consider the creature too
rare and precious for that.  Instead, the creature is more highly prized
for it's mighty antlers, which are shed each year.  The elves gather
these antlers for a special purpose.  When the antlers are dipped in a
magical solution (of which the exact ingredients are known only to the
elves), the antlers become easily malleable and can be shaped into the
form the artist wishes.  After two days in the sun, the antlers harden
and becomes as strong as steel.  An uncommon use is as armor; a suit of
armor crafted from antlers has the same combat value as a suit of banded
armor (AC 4).  Chiefs of wilder elves are the most common wearers of
antler armor.
	The most common prey animal on Avalon is a large, deer-like creature
not unlike a buffalo.  Such creatures have thick hides but rarely have
heavy coats of fur.  Instead, their fur is very short and of light brown
color.  These creatures often weigh over a ton, sometimes two tons, and
are exceptionally dumb.  They are hunted by elves, griffons, and the
other large predators of Avalon.

-- 
Night Druid