Poisson SJ Conversion

SJ City Detail and Conversion:  Poisson

This town is referred to but not really detailed in the free modules
The Secret of the Windswept Wall and The Sea Witch which can be found
at:
http://www.wizards.com/dnd/article1.asp?x=dnd/oa/oa20011021a,3
http://www.wizards.com/dnd/article1.asp?x=dnd/oa/oa20011005a,3

The presentation of this town, sparse though it is, includes a number
of problems.  The most significant is that the area is so small yet has
so many things crammed into it that should reasonably be located
further away.  Most notably is the presence of pirates in the Hag
Needle and Old Rock Isles.  These are within site of the town and thus
effectively blockade it from merchants.  As such there would be no sea
trade for Poisson and no need for a lighthouse, the focus of the second
adventure (The Sea Witch).  These problems do not apply as greatly in
SJ, however, and this conversion assumes no such blockade opportunity
exists, though the area is definitely wild and dangerous.
        The following uses both 2e and 3e to describe things.  Generally
creatures (specifically Reela^Òs inhabitants) are described based on 2e
since a greater number of monsters exist for 2e and most have been
converted, conversions of which can be found on the net.  3e has been
used to describe most everything else.  A simple 2e conversion is at
the bottom.

Fix:
        Not even a summary listing is given for Poisson in either source,
though the modules both presume some level of interaction with it.
That is what this detail is meant to fix along with adapting the
setting to SJ.

SJ Adaption:
I have chosen to make Poisson much more than just a minor village in
this adaptation.  The modules and maps seem to give it greater local
prominence than that and the SJ world is a very dangerous place so a
larger community was likely in order for it to have any true regional
significance.  In this adaptation Poisson is considered to be the
dominant settlement in a cluster of asteroids, though that doesn^Òt mean
it has sovereignty over the nearby asteroids or that it is the dominant
settlement in an entire asteroid field, just that it is the primary
settlement in its little group of asteroids and has dominion over
several.
        The town of Poisson is located on an asteroid that is nearly flat on
both sides with sheer cliffs around most of its edge.  The asteroid is
almost 6 miles long and elliptically shaped with a maximum width of
over 4 miles.  It is about 1500^Ò thick at the edge.  In two areas the
sheer cliffs are broken by more moderate slope.  The greatest area of
this is the end of the asteroid where the town is established (see the
Misty Bay side view map of the town and its docks to see ½ of the
asteroid^Òs cliffs in this area, the side on the town, or ^Óup^Ô, side of
the asteroid).  Despite its flatness, the asteroid boasts a healthy
ecosystem with scrub and grass naturally covering its surface.  Another
unusual property of this asteroid is that things that end up on its
gravity plane are slowly drawn toward the asteroid rather than being
pushed away.  As such there is little chance for the asteroid to lose
water and soil which has made the gravity plane a prime nesting ground
for birds and set up an interesting cycle as things that fall to the
gravity plane are returned to the surface in other ways.  Since the
asteroid was inhabited, enterprising people have moved much back to the
asteroid^Òs surface.
        Farms have been established on both sides of the asteroid but water is
in especially short supply as the asteroid is a massive slab of solid
stone with only a thin layer of soil.  This has also prevented the
growth of more than a few trees (and then only where the rock has been
hewn away and soil filled in the pit).  Visitors to the asteroid remark
on the especially dry atmosphere.  The asteroid rotates slowly along
its axis, providing a 24 hour day.
        The Town:  Poisson has a population of about 5000 permanent adult
residents.  Only 47% of the population is human with hurwaeti making up
the next largest group at 23%.  Dwarves make up 12% of the population,
gnomes 8%, halflings 6%, and elves and half-elves 3%.  The other 1% of
the population are giff, hadozee, and lizard folk.  A single dohwar
merchant is also resident.  The town has a very mercantile nature (and
thus a N alignment) though the hereditary mayor, Beorn Lammond (LN hm
Ftr2/Ari1), tries to impose law and order more tightly than it
currently is.
        Poisson was originally established as a trading port and farming
asteroid.  It was ideally situated as a nearby asteroid covered in
water was known to possess an arcane beacon, a beacon that causes its
location to show up clearly on all planetary locators despite in only
being a small asteroid.  The beacon existed on an asteroid covered in
several hundred feet of swirling water and was felt unfit for
colonization itself.  The nearby asteroid that was chosen, however,
seemed ideal.  The colonists quickly found that while the soil was
rich, they were lacking in water, however, and the settlement seemed
doomed to failure with pirate and slaver raids disrupting life further
and preventing the transport of necessary quantities of water.
However, the establishment of a church dedicated to providing water
allowed the farmers to begin producing crops regularly and
fortifications were added using the asteroid^Òs own stone.  A visiting
ship captain, (an ancestor of the current mayor) named Poisson, hired
several dwarves and gnomes to take the asteroid^Òs one notable landmark,
an upthrust of rock at one end, and carve it into a fortress.  The keep
that was constructed housed weapons that oversaw the docks and
protected the town^Òs folk from raiding slavers.  Later a wall with
towers was constructed at the gravity plane to prevent unwanted vessels
from quickly flying up to the docks and disgorging troops or from
approaching and docking from the other side of the gravity plane.  The
town guard also uses this controlled access to ensure they can inspect
all goods before they enter the town.
        As the town slowly grew it attracted a number of hurwaeti who let
their people know that here was a town they could come to in order to
be safe from raiders and slavers.  The town^Òs population is now nearly
¼ hurwaeti and they have had a great deal of influence on the town^Òs
policies and character.  For one, illithids, neogi, beholders, and all
types of slavers are absolutely outlawed in Poisson and its surrounding
space (though the latter is not entirely enforceable) and the
authorities enforce this restriction diligently.
        With the discovery of gems on a nearby asteroid dwarves and gnomes
were attracted to Poisson and the population continued to expand.  The
gems brought additional trade to the area and halflings came to join
the human farmers, so that two additional farming asteroids now also
exist nearby.  Poisson^Òs dwarves also looked for additional minerals
and have established a small iron mine on an asteroid and a copper mine
on yet another nearby asteroid.  Things looked most promising, however,
when it was found that a dark and unexplored asteroid not only
possessed an atmosphere but that the dark surface was actually the
incredibly thick canopy of massive, dark-leaved (almost black) trees.
As good wood is hard to find in space and so desired by shipwrights the
large asteroid was felt to be an excellent resource and volunteer
woodcutters set up a camp after penetrating the canopy and finding a
way to the forest floor almost 200^Ò below.  They dealt with giant
insects and arachnids as well as other dangers but the potential wealth
to be had made the terrible risks worthwhile.  And with the felling of
the first tree things seemed perfect.  And then the elves showed up.
Unknown to the humans, a tribe of elves already inhabited the asteroid,
having established a high level of civilization without access to
minerals, instead using plant and animal resources alone.  The elves
had never imagined the slaying of one of the powerful trees they dwelt
in and reacted with violence, forcing the woodcutters to flee.  In time
the elves and humans came to an understanding, with the elves allowing
a few, select trees to be cut at any time in return for goods the
humans could provide.  A few elves also traveled to Poisson to live
there as emissaries of their people and to learn the ways of the larger
world around them.  They have mixed with the small elvish population of
the town but still maintain a separate embassy.
        The town guard of Poisson numbers about 60 warriors and fighters,
mostly giff, humans, and hurwaeti, as well as a human cleric and three
human wizards.  The head of the town guard is Shentle, a hurwaeti male
(N Ftr6) and experienced guardsman and marine.  Part of the guard is
actually a squad of 10 giff mercenaries (9 soldiers and a sergeant) the
town employs.
        The town^Òs current leading merchant is a young dohwar entrepreneur,
Liffir (N dohwarf Exp4).  Liffir moved here within the last decade and
her success at dealing with visiting merchants, wholesaling food and
minerals (but not gems, the dwarves and gnomes have several jewelers
and gem cutters in town they deal through exclusively), and buying and
reselling individuals^Ò belongings has made other local merchants
jealous.  She has invested her profits in several local businesses,
even managing to save a tavern that was going bankrupt and make it
profitable (she is majority owner now) as well as establishing a money
changing business that deals in barter as well as coins and setting up
a type of pawn shop lending business.  She employs 3 of the town^Òs 14
giff (the last is a guard for one of the dwarven gemcutters) as
personal guards for herself and her money.  A few humans and hurwaeti
also work for her as guards and laborers.
        The elven embassy consists of 15 wood elves of the Reela tribe (taken
from the name of their asteroid).  The ^Óambassador^Ô, or leader of this
group, is a druid of Rillifane Rallathil who has attracted followers
from not only the other local elves but also some of the other local
inhabitants.  His religion is frowned upon by most, however, as they
believe without it and the elves standing in their way they would be
able to harvest an endless supply of wood for sale (and thus bring
greater prosperity to the town).  The ambassador also has 3 junior
druids with him and has trained at least two others in Poisson.  The
Reela elves look with pity on half-elves and disgust at elven-human
unions as they believe these are not natural.  They have no issue with
the intermarriage of different groups of elves, however.
        The primary religion of Poisson is the Water Cult.  The Water Cult is
an offshoot of the Path and the Way that worships two very distinct
water deities.  The more powerful of the two is the head of the Indian
Pantheon, Indra.  Indra is not only the head of the Indian Pantheon but
a goddess of storms, the atmosphere, and rain.  It is the latter two
areas that make her religion so powerful in SJ and her clergy is
dominant on Poisson and the area it controls.  Indra^Òs followers
control the price of water carefully, always using it for their own
maximum profit, and constantly vie with the other local religions over
their place in society.  The other god is the Japanese Pantheon god of
storms and the seas, Susanowo.  Susanowo^Òs worshippers believe in place
spirits and the intrinsic value and power of everyone and everything.
This leads them to no end of conflict with Indra^Òs followers and
internal bickering in the cult is rampant.  Fortunately it also means
that most of the cult^Òs scheming and attempts to discredit others are
directed internally, allowing the rest of Poisson to go about their
business untroubled (except by the high water prices).  The Water Cult
not only has clerics but also a few druids and some monks among their
order.  Most of the leaders of the faith are oriental humans.  Those
with access to the 3e Oriental Adventures book may wish to use shukenja
from it in place of clerics and druids.


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