Gamaro and Morag Space Pt 1

Gamaro Base Redux

        Moragspace lies far outside the regular lanes of flow traffic between
the known spheres, but lies upon several rivers that connect it to many
nearby spheres, and give the scro easy access and mobility from the
sphere. Moragspace is of smaller size being only 20 days travel from one
end to the other in a straight course. Moragspace was once occupied by
four planets and a large yellow orange sun (size H). Now only hundreds of
thousands of asteroids remain. There are eight that are large enough to
qualify as planetoids, three are size B and five are size A. The
remainder range in size from pebbles to 1000 ton rocks. All but one are
earth bodies and irregular in shape. The asteroid fields of Moragspace
are relatively stable and all continue a clockwise orbit around the sun
much within a single plane of rotation. Most orbit at the same velocity
and therefore rarely collide with each other.
        The single waterworld within Moragspace is a B size world and spherical.
It is freshwater and has some native fish life and plankton like
creatures that continually replenish the water to keep it pure.
        Over six hundred years ago a population explosion of gammaroids
destroyed the planets within Moragspace. The four planets were all hollow
, and like giant eggshells when repeatedly burrowed through by hatching
gammaroid clutches they began to crack and finally shook apart. The Morag
were forced to flee from one planet to another as they watched each
planet suffer the same fate. The Morag learned that the gammaroids were
the cause of the tragedy and had come to feed upon the great gossamer
noble populations that once filled the stars between the planets and were
visible from the planets. These great gossamer clouds would sometimes
sweep the surface of the worlds as each of the hollow planets had a thin
(1 mile deep) atmosphere. The areas swept by these colonies would pick
clean of all life areas hundreds of square miles and so the Morag had
developed on the inside of their hollow world, the second from the sun.
The gravity of their worlds was directed to the surface of the planets
whether in or out of the hollow world. Most of the ecosystems developed
inside because of the gossamer clouds. The Morag discovered spelljamming
and began exploration of their own sphere and learned that  all of the
planets were hollow. The first and third planets were colonized and the
fourth and largest planet was found to be rich in minerals and resources.
It was colonized by miners and workers but it was a cold and harsh world
and only the hardiest would live there. The Morag had encountered few
other races in their travels but knew of the flow and the spheres outside
their own, but they cared little for them.
        Their society became very advanced and capable, but they still chose
seclusion as a race. Then six hundred years ago the gammaroids came and
disaster took hold of their sphere. Within  two hundred years their
worlds were broken and scattered and the Morag disappeared. The
gammaroids began to feed on each other after the gossamer clouds were
gone and those that did not die left the sphere. At least one remained.
        A hundred years later the first unhuman war came to a close and a lone
space witchlight marauder entered the sphere. It met the gammaroid and in
a pitched battle was beaten and devoured. But this proved the gammaroids
undoing as the primary marauders within the space marauder remained alive
and three primaries began to eat the gammaroid alive from the inside.
After they finished consuming the gammaroids soft parts there was nothing
left but the impregnable bones and shell of the great beast. The
primaries fell to devouring their smaller offspring and then each other
leaving only one to remain. The last primary unable to find more
nourishment went into a state of hibernation.
        Two hundred years after that, the first scro explorers entered
Moragspace and discovered the broken planets and the resource rich
asteroids. Artifacts from the gone Morag race were recovered and then the
dead gammaroid was found. The scouts returned later with a small military
force and mining colonists to harvest the resources of the sphere. Gamaro
was intended to be used as an outpost and resupply base for passing scro
ships.
        But then the marauder was found by exploring work crews deep within
Gamaro. Suddenly everything changed. A large military force and thousands
of slave laborers and goblinoids were brought in to work on Gamaro. The
black scromages came to control and study the marauder and the Warpriests
took command of the station. General Falchatz later arrived and modified
the design of the base and implemented many of the new inventions and
ideas that were mentioned above over a period of decades. The black
scromages and Warpriests discovered a way to use the marauder as a power
source since they could not control it. The marauder is used as a huge
life source for special lifejammer helms mounted in 193 Arrow ships. The
marauder can be used to fly as many as 100 at a time with no difficulty
or danger to the beast. The primary is useless to the scro as a weapon
because they cannot control the beast, because they have severed all ties
with Gruumsh who was instrumental in the marauders creation. The lesser
marauders are another story.
        Facilities for mining, smelting, forging and manufacture have been set
up in Moragspace on the planetoids surrounding Gamaro. Gamaro became a
major staging point and resupply during the second unhuman war. A
decisive battle was fought there against the elves, which was heated but
the elves were driven back with relatively light losses to the scro.
Moragspace is now even better defended and well behind the front line of
their area of control.
MAJOR PLANETOIDS
        All celestial bodies in morag space except the water world have a
gravity plane rather than a standard center of gravity.

        CHAR (B, earth, irregular) -  Char is the center of all smelting and
forging facilities for the scro in this sphere. They can process up to
ten tons of ore per day and are equipped to work with gold, silver, iron,
copper, and mithril but specialize in the making of fine steel. There is
a plentiful supply of coal in Moragspace and the scro have learned how to
use it make fine steel, and how to do so in bulk. This is the main output
of Char. Char is run and operated exclusively by scro who take pride in
this work and are well paid. Slaves and other races are not allowed on
Char, as they wish to protect their secrets. Char resides in the third
planets track.
        Char is not far from Gamaro, only 15 hours journey by spelljammer. Char
is approximately 40 miles long by 30 miles wide and 15 miles deep. It is
patrolled by scro vessels only and has a few weapons towers scattered
around the perimeter of the factories. Large iron carts powered by steam
engines and running on steel tracks move large amounts of material from
one facility to another thus expediting their tasks immensely. The
factories manufacture mostly prefitted parts for spelljamming ships and
they are taken from Char on cargo barges to the Vice for construction
into finished vessels.
        THE VICE (B, earth, irregular) -  The vice is a 60 mile long cylinder
shaped asteroid about 10 miles in diameter. A mile deep valley along its
entire length makes it resemble the jaws of a vice. Four complete
shipyards are on the vice, three run by scro and the last by hobgoblins.
Each shipyard can build 1 ton of SJ vessel per day. Thus a blade could be
built in two days, a mantis in two months and a warboar in little more
than three. Since the majority of scro vessels are built from steel the
scro shipyards  can only produce steel ships. The hobgoblin shipyard can
work in wood as well as steel.
        The Vice resides in the second planetary track and averages 30 hours
from Char and two days from Gamaro. The vice is also patrolled by ships
from both scro and hobgoblins. Occasionally the ogre fleets are allowed
to come in and use the hobgoblin shipyards to build a vessel. At those
times the ogres will patrol the vice as well. No less than six vessels
patrol the vice at any time. At least 4 mantis ships and 2 scorpions will
be present. See Gamaro main for ship details. Weapons towers also dot the
edges of the perimeter of the shipyards and are manned by scro or
hobgoblin crews.
        MINE 1-5 (A, earth, irregular) The remaining five earth planetoids range
from 8-12 miles in rough diameter. Each is the center of a large mining
operation. These are manned mostly by slaves, but rowdy scro or other
humanoids will often end up here on a third offense for a month.
Mercenaries are often found here as well working off a penalty. Captured
spies never make it to the mines as they are questioned, tortured and
slain, their heads lining the shell of Gamaro base. Their remains go to
the kitchens.   The mines occupy the fourth planetary track being the
closest to the sphere wall. Each mine produces 0-3 (1d4-1) tons of ore
material a day. This is shipped to Char on cargo barges for smelting and
forging. The oldest mines have produced for over 25 years and will likely
play out within the next 10. There is actually a far larger amount of
resources spread throughout the asteroids in the sphere, but it is far
easier to mine the larger deposits for now.
        A few ship based mining crews operate in Moragspace also, but are
comprised of entirely scro crews. They tend to hunt more valuable
minerals (gems, gold, silver, mithril, etc.) and also act as explorers
detailing the sphere and discovering artifacts. They also recover coal
and oil deposits for the forges and mark those that are too large to move
by ship for later use in mass mining. These scro are fairly independent
and tend to have lucrative jobs for now. Some of the scro miner vessels
have entered reserve military status (meaning they don’t have to answer
to anyone unless called into duty by an officer or warpriest) They are
allowed to keep 20% of all finds, a generous amount and all still remain
loyal to the scro cause. Favored ships for scro miners include
mosquitoes, blades and eels as they are small and fairly maneuverable and
can better search about small asteroids. Cargo barges are often used as
well for carrying their finds.
        WATEREYE (B, water, sphere) -  Watereye is the only major source of
water  left within the remnants of the old planets. It is nearly 90 miles
in diameter, but is slowly shrinking because of the usage of the  scro
fleets in the area. It will reduce to a size A body in 20 years and in
another 5 will be gone. The scro are not concerned for now and
occasionally bring large holds of ice to add to the planet but it is a
small step.
        The water world has some native species of fish which are left mostly
alone by the scro because they are poisonous, but some harvest poison
from them to tip their weapons and armor (type D). The fish feed off of
plankton in the water which continually purify it and keep it fresh.
        MINOR ANOMALIES -
        Gamaro 2 -  Among the wreckage of the planets, firmly entrenched in the
side of an asteroid the scro have discovered another gammaroid shell.
This was a younger beast only 500’ in diameter, that was slain by the
morag as it tunneled through their planet. It is not complete, only the
shell remains. The scro are considering freeing it and using it for a
mobile battle platform to back up Gamaro. It would require a great deal
of effort and the scro are not sure they can even move it with wizstone
helms.
        Gossamer Nobles -  The long dormant egg cysts of the nobles have begun
to hatch and proliferate in the absence of the gammaroids. They number
less than a 100 in the sphere. The unhumans hunt and destroy them when
possible. Encounters are rare, but should be considered dangerous.
        Wild Asteroids -  Occasionally some asteroids do collide, and if they
survive a few are thrown into random orbits above the planetary plane of
orbit taking up chaotic orbits. Depending on their size they are easily
avoided or lethal encounters.
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