SsuwSpace (Since the list has been quiet lately)

Part one of something I hatched up a while ago.  It's a standalone
sphere dominated by goblin-kin critters; it was written in a
"Hackmaster" style of writing, and uses some of the creatures found in
that game.

SsuwSpace

 

            Just beyond the edge of Known Space lurks SsuwSpace.  It was
once barely inhabited, with but a few primitive tribes.  Following their
near-destruction at the hands of the Elven Fleet, broken armadas of
goblins, kobolds, and hobgoblins fled here.  Unlike the orcs, who had a
great leader to forge them into a new fighting force, the goblin-kin
turned to bickering and feuding, degrading into savages more common on
uncivilized worlds.

            SsuwSpace has a central sun surrounded by a shell of thick
clouds that block much of the sun's light.  Beyond the shell is about a
dozen or so asteroid clusters, minor worlds, and the like in dizzying
orbits around the sun.  The sphere has but a single asteroid belt, the
Shield of Havour, but it too is more like a sextuplet of asteroid
clusters that share a common orbit rather than a 'true' asteroid belt.
Nightfell is the farthest world, a cold and dark place where little
survives.  The spherewall is beyond that, out 600 million miles from the
sun, double Nightfell's orbit.

 

Suun

Name: The Suun
Type: Spherical fire body
Size: F
Escape Time: 1 hour
Satellites: 3 Planets
Distance from Primary: 0
Day Length: 80 hours
Year Length: 0
Population Analysis: Efreeti

 

            A normal, if small, yellow-red sun of fire and radiance.
The sun is of typical brightness, but the Cloak of Shrouding (see below)
dims its light somewhat, such that 1/3rd of the time, it is dim enough
such that light-hating creatures are unaffected by the light.

            The Suun said to be home of the deity of the same name.
Somewhere in the fire and flares is a golden palace staffed by efreeti
who are Suun's personal friends.  The heat and fire of the place makes
finding and approaching the palace almost impossible.  Inside its
burning walls, Suun throws all kinds of wild parties.  Suun is very
annoyed when he is called away from his party, and likely he'll send a
drunken efreeti instead.

 

 

Cloak of Shrouding

Name: Cloak of Shrouding
Type: Shell air body
Size: I (F, see below)
Escape Time: Varies
Satellites: None
Distance from Primary: 10 million miles
Day Length: N/A
Year Length: N/A
Population Analysis: Servants of Suun

 

            This shell of clouds completely surrounds the Suun at a
distance of 10 million miles.  The shell itself varies in thickness, as
the clouds are highly irregular in shape and size.  Between the clouds
is empty wildspace, with no air between them.  The clouds have a red-
gold appearance and are extremely fluffy.  They obscure the Suun much of
the time, blocking its light but not its heat.  At any given time, the
Cloak obscures roughly 1/3rd of the Suun, though the clouds are quite
scattered and the light obscurement patchy.

            The clouds are quite warm, easily 180 degrees, but are
otherwise habitable.  Visibility is remarkably good, up to ten miles.
The clouds are not made of water, or anything that can be captured in
any form other than as clouds.  Other than the palaces of the Servants
of Suun, there are no other solid land masses in the Cloak.

            The clouds are largely empty and devoid of life.  All is not
as it seems.  Several servants of the deity Suun keep their palatial
homes drifting in the clouds.  Each is an extremely powerful being,
largely due to Suun imparting within them part of his power.  These
beings are Suun's strong right hand in enforcing his will throughout the
sphere, though they are rarely used for such deeds.  In times of dire
need, priests of Suun may summon one of these beings to perform one
deed.  Each has a palace floating somewhere in the Cloak, staffed by
spirits.  The known servants are:

 

Cinder (Cindy): An efreet and the daughter of Suun.  Cinder likes to be
called Cindy and enjoys nothing more than sun bathing.  She dislikes
dealing with mortals, especially with the goblins and kobolds so common
in the sphere.  She is fascinated by humans and demihumans, and will be
favorably inclined to handsome human males.  She appears as a strikingly
beautiful female efreet with a golden tan and long, black hair.

 

Throttle the Couatl: A speed-obsessed couatl, Throttle loves nothing
more than flying as fast as he can through the clouds.  He is constantly
searching for new thrills that involve speed and can be bribed with
devices that can make him go faster or a new sport that keeps him living
on the edge.  He appears as a brightly colored, feathered, winged snake,
but he has darkly colored eye coverings that he refers to as his
'shades'.

 

 

The Forbidden Islands

Name: The Forbidden Islands, Razortooth's Doom
Type: Cluster earth body
Size: B
Escape Time: 20 minutes
Satellites: None
Distance from Primary: 40 million miles
Day Length: Varies
Year Length: 120 days
Population Analysis: Tasoli

 

            A cluster of perhaps two hundred small earthen islands, the
Forbidden Islands are covered by lush jungles and rainforests.  The
islands form an arc about 20,000 miles long and 1,000 miles wide,
sharing a common atmosphere.  Each individual island is anywhere from 15
to 90 miles in diameter, and all are relatively flat.  Water runoff from
rivers form thick, obscuring clouds that hides most of the islands from
easy view.

            The islands are the domain of the tasoli.  Tribes of the
creatures dwell on every island.  The tribes are highly territorial and
will kill anyone that intrudes on their lands.  They use poisoned darts,
spears, and javelins and hunt from the trees.  Often, the first sign
that trespassers have entered tasoli territory is to be pin-cushioned by
dozens of deadly darts.

            In the initial invasion of SsuwSpace, the scro sent a
company of troops, backed up by three hundred goblins, to explore the
islands and test the resolve of the tasoli.  Fewer than twenty returned
aboard a badly damaged porcupine ship.  Following the defeat, the scro
declared the islands prohibited and rarely travel to them.  They have
had plans for crushing the tasoli for at least seventy years, but never
could gather the resources to make a serious attempt at it.

            The natural resources of the islands are largely unknown.
Obviously the lush jungles are an enormous source of lumber, and there
are persistent rumors of secret caches of diamonds and emeralds.  Of
particular note are legends of an emerald skull lost somewhere in the
jungles that grant incredible magical powers.  Of course, there are also
legends of ancient tasoli cities filled with gold and silver, choked by
jungle grown and overrun by nightmarish creatures.  Brave and somewhat
foolish scro try their luck in the jungles in desperate quests for fame
and wealth.

 

 

The Broken Islands

Name: The Shattered World, Baneblood's Triumph
Type: Cluster earth world
Size: C
Escape Time: 20 minutes
Satellites: 1
Distance from Primary: 80 million miles
Day Length: 21 hours
Year Length: 290 days
Population Analysis: Goblins, kobolds

 

            This cluster of large islands has an overall spherical
shape, much like that of a regular spherical earth world.  However,
where there should be oceans, there is empty space.  The islands hang
suspended in the air.  There are six large islands and about a hundred
smaller islands.  None of the islands are large enough to be considered
a continent.

            The Broken Islands is the center of the goblin and kobold
populations.  Most of the islands have been conquered by the scro,
though the larger islands have large regions of wilderness and
unconquered territory.  The islands are thickly forested, with a few low
mountains rising into the sky.  The islands have modest wealth in ores
of all sorts, especially iron, copper, and tin.  The forests are thickly
tangled such that lumber efforts are difficult due to trees being locked
together through their branches.  Those same forests are also extremely
resistant to fire, as the wood does not burn easily, even when dried.

            The goblin elf kingdom of Briar was located upon one of the
islands, in a particularly fertile hill valley.  Briar was to the
goblins a center of culture and learning, where their best and brightest
traveled.  The goblin elves used the might of their magic to keep the
more aggressive tribes at bay, while at the same time using their wealth
and influence to gain powerful allies with local tribes.  Their
political manipulations, and the overall weakness of their neighbors,
kept Briar safe and secure for over two centuries.  That security
faltered when the scro invaded.

            As the sphere's sole kingdom of any size, Briar was visited
often by the scro prior to their conquest.  At first the goblin elves
welcomed them as guests and potential allies.  However, once the scro
discovered their origins, their relations went cold.  The scro then
attacked, destroying their royal castle and driving the people into the
hills.  The goblin elves never forgot, or forgave, that betrayal, and
have worked to undermine the scro at every opportunity.

            The Broken Islands are a war zone.  The goblin elves lead
fellow goblins and kobolds in a guerilla war against the scro.  They
have little chance of winning the war, but they fight on, as to
surrender is to die horribly at the scro temple.  They have refined
their tactics over the decades and are now experts at using the terrain
to their advantage against the scro allies.  The scro rarely visit this
world any more, instead sending their lackeys to operate strip-mining
and clear-cutting operations.

 

 

Hex

Name: Hex
Type: Flat earth body
Size: B
Escape Time: 20 minutes
Satellites: None
Distance from Primary: 120 million miles
Day Length: 28 hours
Year Length: 440 days
Population Analysis: scro, hobgoblins, goblins, kobolds

 

            This unusual world is flat hexagon exactly 30 miles across.
It is entirely hilly land dotted with small groves of trees and small
lakes.  The edge is marked by steep cliffs.  Both sides are identical in
general appearance and landscape.  The world is about two miles thick.
Most of the land is given over the pastures for herd animals.

            Hex was always a minor goblin world.  Though rich in
resources, game was scarce, so the planet could support only a small
population.  When the scro arrived, they found a world they could
conquer with ease.  The seven tribes were especially small and offered
no resistance.  The world fell in a matter of three days, and was the
easiest to secure.  They enslaved the locals and built a base there from
which to launch further conquests.

            After the scro conquest had concluded, Admiral Baneblood
decided to build his capital at Hex.  Afterall, it was the easiest
location to defend and had a fairly central location in the sphere, mere
days from almost any planet.  Under the harsh lashes of scro whips,
slaves spent the next ten years building the city of Sakuska.  An
equally big necropolis was build outside the city's walls, a testament
to how many perished in its construction.  Sakuska is a small, walled
city of about 6,000.  About one-quarter of the population is scro or
hobgoblin.  The scro quarter, which they share with the hobgoblins, is
built on a fortified plateau about 100' above the rest of the city.  The
surrounding city is a mix of slums, caves, and shaded flats.  The city
is at the top of a second set of cliffs that drop about 400' and are
riddled with large caves.  The scro have build extensive port facilities
in those hangers for their ships.  A dozen ships can dock in those caves
at once, though almost any more could land in the fields surrounding the
city.

 

 

Shield of Havour 

Name: Shield of Havour
Type: Asteroid belt
Size: A
Escape Time: 10 minutes
Satellites: None
Distance from Primary: 260 million miles
Day Length: Varies
Year Length: Varies
Population Analysis: xeblor, goblins, kobolds

 

            This asteroid belt is fairly typical, save that the
asteroids are clustered together into six clusters rather than as a true
belt.  Each cluster has about a thousand large asteroids sharing common
atmosphere.  A typical asteroid is four miles across and fairly flat.
Most are covered by forests of pines and weathered hills.

            The clusters are the domain of the xeblor race.  They dug
down into the earth to create huge caverns in search of ore and
gemstones.  Caverns riddle many asteroids, offering refuge to goblins
and kobolds that hide in abandoned mines.  The xeblor save the deepest
caverns for themselves, keeping their neighbors closer to the surface.
The goblins and kobolds were spelljamming active before the scro
arrived, but their ships were crushed in the conquest.  Those tribes
that survive either migrated to scro controlled territories, or reverted
to very primitive status.  A few remain to mine the asteroids for the
gold, diamonds, and emeralds they offer.

            The xeblor stubbornly hold onto their holdings, fighting any
attempt at scro encroachment.  The scro usually use tribes of goblins to
battle the xeblor via proxy, largely due to their own limited numbers
and resources.  The scro don't consider the xeblor worth the effort to
eradicate, and content themselves with harassing them with ambushes and
raids.  Because of scro aggressions, the various xeblor tribes have been
cut off from one another and left them with little in the way of
communication.

 

 

Nightfell

Name: Nightfell, Blackrazor's Crypt
Type: Spherical earth body
Size: B
Escape Time: 20 minutes
Satellites: None
Distance from Primary: 300 million miles
Day Length: 7 hours
Year Length: 1300 days
Population Analysis: Undead

 

            Nightfell is a largely dead world of ice and wind.  It is
only thinly inhabited, mostly by survivors of ancient shipwrecks.  A
small world, it has few areas that are remotely habitable, usually dense
but small forests with some game.

            The world was unimportant before the coming of the scro, and
remained so after their conquest.  However, the cruel warpriest
Blackrazor made the world (in)famous when he established vast penal
colonies there.  Thousands of prisoners were brought here to perish in
the howling winds and horrifying famine.  Many that suffered under these
cruel fates rose again as undead, either as ghouls or wraiths.  After
the conquest was completed, the scro abandoned the penal colonies that
remained to perish under at the claws of ravenous undead.

            Blackrazor uses this world as a source of power.  The undead
are his unwilling slaves, forced to do his bidding.  The scro have no
interest in the world, and are largely unaware of the vast horde of
undead on this remote outpost.  When the time is right, Blackrazor
intends to use this horde to slay all that he considers a threat to him,
and rule the sphere directly.