Banesun: Thrikos

And what the heck?  I'll throw in Thrikos tonight for good measure:)

Thrikos 
Name:			Thrikos
Type:			Spherical Earth Body
Size:			E
Escape Time:		4 turns
Satellites:		1 moon
Distance from Primary:	85 million miles
Day Length:		45 hours
Year Length:		300 days
Population Analysis:	Dracons

	The first true world of the Banesun sphere is Thrikos, a barren and
blasted desert world.  Most of the world is uninhabitable; the
atmosphere is deadly except at the poles.  The surface of Thrikos is a
wasteland, peppered with craters from countless collisions with
asteroids ejected from the Banesun.  The thin atmosphere could possibly
be breathable by humans and their kin, but there is so much sulfur,
methane, and carbon dioxide in the atmosphere that makes it poisonous to
humans.  Humans who land anywhere but the poles must save vs. death
every round with a -5 penalty or expire from the poisonous atmosphere. 
Activity of any kind increases this penalty to -10.  
	The world has a diameter of 7,500 miles and a resulting circumference
of 23,550 miles.  There is some polar flattening, but is not
significantly measurable.  As Thrikos has no volcanoes, earthquakes, or
tectonic movement, it is likely that this is a tectonically dead world. 
It is probably solid rock all the way to the core, with little or no
hidden magma chambers and no mantle of molten rock.  The planet does not
have an axial tilt, thus does not have seasons.  The poles are shrouded
in eternal twilight.
	The poles of Thrikos are much more habitable.  Though the most
habitable areas are vast, sweeping prairies, the air is thicker and less
contaminated by deadly gases.  Craters are far less common, and the land
is open plains.  The grasses that grow at the poles seem to filer out
the poisonous material in the atmosphere, making it somewhat more
breathable if dry and hot.  
	The moon is a mirror image of Thrikos, except that it does not have
habitable poles.  The atmosphere is even thinner and completely
unbreathable.  It is nothing more than a lifeless rock of no value or
importance.  
	Water is found only at the poles, usually trapped in the ground.  The
atmosphere is too dry for any kind of participation.  There are no
clouds

Climate and Weather
	Thrikos has little variance in its weather pattern.  It is always hot
and dry, with very little wind.  At the equator, the temperature can
rise to as high as 300 degrees, which is hot enough to badly burn
humans.  The heat gradually decreases as one approaches the poles.  The
whole arctic circle is roughly 100 F evenly throughout the poles from
the 75 degree latitude line to the pole.

Appearance from Space 
	A cold gray sphere peppered with craters pretty much describes Thrikos'
appearance.  There really is nothing that distinguishes Thrikos from
other dead worlds except for the poles.  A tiny circle about the poles
is green and inviting, with open, grassy plains.  The poles have a very
light green color, almost brown in color.  It is easy to miss the more
habitable area that the poles offer.

Continents 
	None.  There is no standing water on Thrikos, so there is no real way
to divide the planet into continents.  The native dracons have named
three broad regions on Thrikos, one for each of the poles and the rest
of the planet.  The area between the poles is called the Vinc-Irfel, the
Bane Lands.  The north pole is Vinc-Othim, the Shadow Lands, while the
south is the Vinc-Andusk, the South Lands.  The north pole is slightly
more habitable than the south.

Life Forms 
	The planet has little life, most of which was likely imported thousands
of years ago in an effort to make it more habitable.  There is fossil
evidence that suggest that many animals were imported in, including
bison, goats, and wild cats.  None of those creatures exist on Thrikos
today.  In fact, the only animals that exist on Thrikos is a type of
small bird that survives on seeds and small leaf stalks.  The north pole
birds are brightly colored, with long, brightly colored tail feathers. 
The south birds have lost the ability to fly; instead, they are quick
runners.
	The only major plant life is a breed of short grass that grows to a
height of about 4 feet.  It has a gray-green color, and a shape similar
to wheat.  It provides nutrition to the birds and dracons that dwell at
the poles, but is inedible by humans.  
	There is no life in the area between the poles, and it is unlikely to
be able to support it.

Guide to Groundlings 
	There is but a single intelligent species on Thrikos is the dracon
race.  They are not numerous, nor do they have any real intention of
increasing their numbers.  They discovered the habitable areas about a
century ago when the Dracon Emirate was in its infancy, and decided to
put a waystation there.  Using a decanter of endless water, they created
a watering post for dracon ships in need of food and water.  The
waystation used to service only dracon ships, but recently opened its
doors to other races.  Only beholders, illithids, and neogi are barred
from the waystation, but the place has nothing to offer them in any
case.
	Some dracons, no more than two herds total, wander the north pole. 
They enjoy the freedom that the plains offer, and wander about exploring
and discovering the secrets the planet offers.
	The southern pole is also important to dracons, but for a much
different reason.  When the dracons discovered Thrikos' poles, it was
because they were led there by a radiant dragon.  Unfortunately, the
dragon was viciously attacked by illithids at that time.  Though the
dragon destroyed the pair of attacking nautiloids, the dragon was so
badly injured that his own death was assured.  Dying, he managed a
controlled crash at the south pole, where he gasped his last words to
the dracons hiding there.  They would return a year later to build a
temple around his bones, holding them sacred and holy.  The temple is
protected by the Holy Guardians herd, a very small herd of 65 dracons. 
Two other dracons wander the south pole, providing their support if
needed.

Resources and Trade 
	There is almost nothing that Thrikos has that would interest traders. 
Water offered at the wayport is the only real resource that the planet
has that would be of any use.  Dracon ships pull into the wayport to buy
food as well, but dracon fare does not interest humans.  

Ports of Call 
	There is but a single port on Thrikos, the dracon wayport of
Dragonclaw.  The temple at the south pole is off-limits to all but
dracons.

Dragonclaw 
	This century-old wayport has a permanent population of just under 80
dracons.  It has no value for anything other than providing food and
water for travelers.  The food it provides is grass harvested from the
nearby plains, thus useless to anyone but dracons.  The water is more
important, and is sold at a cost of 10 gp per barrel.  The waypoint
itself consist of twelve residential buildings, an inn, a small clearing
for spelljammers, and an underground well.  The inn was built with
dracons in mind, but with the recent opening of the port to outside
races, is slowly being adapted to accommodate humanoid races.  The well
is where water magically created by the dracons' decanter is stored
until it is needed.  The clearing is large enough for two spelljammers
to land, but there is no special areas for water-landing craft.
	The port is run by Kaba Ll'keen (LG dracon male F6), kin of Sorika.  He
is a strong leader and is fully capable of unifying all of the dracons
on the planet behind him if the need arises.  This assignment is a
retirement post for him, as he is getting on in age.  He has no less
than 3 shallas of 4th level to support his decisions.  They provide
spiritual leadership for the community, but defer to the Kaba for any
worldly leadership and guidance.

-- 
Night Druid