The Crimson SpheRe: DS & SJ

City-States of the Stars

City-State of Hopa - The asteroid that Hopa is built upon is shaped like a
great coin, about five miles in diameter and 1000' thick. Dwellings are
built not upon the surface of the coin, but in shallow caves in the cliffs.
The top and bottom of the coin is extensively farmed. The individual
dwellings can be easily fortified, making invasion difficult. A network of
tunnels makes the whole city a well-defended fortress.

City-State of K'ydon - this city is ruled by the ruthless Warden-Queen Hu.
Her seat of power is a five-sided ziggurat. Regular sacrifices to her are
made at the dawn of each day. Depending on the day, these sacrifices range
from fruit to roasted animals to sentient beings. After dawn sacrifice, the
citizens begin their daily activities. The heart of the city is a market
square, where anything can be bought, for a price. Above the city, on a
high, steep-cliff hill is Fortress Soom, which guards the approaches to K'
ydon.

City-State of Nijhal - Found at the heart of the Verdant Stones is Nijhal,
the Jewel of the Sextant. The city sits at the top of a hill on a large
asteroid, surrounded by sparse hills. It is in a constant state of turmoil
as various races clash over petty issues. The ruler of Nijhal is the
Warden-King Husam, who ruthlessly seized power ten years ago. He keeps the
various factions at each others' throats instead of his own in a bid to hold
on to power. Nijhal has seen more than one hundred coups, each just as
bloody as the last.

City-State of Mahda - The shadow of Cinder protects this city-state. It is
surrounded by a hot jungle that seems to press down on the city like a
siege. The templars are frantically searching the sphere for anything that
will heal their Warden-King Arun, who was burned horribly in battle. Arun
takes his frustrations out on his people, ordering random executions.

City-State of Sentinel - Hidden from view from Athas by Guthay, Sentinel is
a large, fortified city. It is shaped like a great ziggurat, 10 miles per
side and 3 miles tall. Buildings are along the nine ledges, with the poorest
citizens living at the bottom ledge and templars living at the top ledges.
Dabi, the Warden-King of Sentinel, has not been seen in over a century, and
some suspect he perished.


History of the Crimson Sphere

It is not known what the Crimson Sphere was like prior to the Cleansing War.
Fragments of ancient star charts hint at a prosperous family of planets,
perhaps even ports and civilization beyond Athas. Much like on Athas, the
Cleansing War swept over the rest of the sphere like an encroaching plague.
Rajaat knew well that the Cleaning War would attract those seeking to take
advantage of the warfare to their own ends, not his own. To counter the
threat from other worlds, Rajaat anointed twelve Wardens. One by one, each
Warden constructed a great ziggurat. In each of these ziggurats was placed
one of the twelve Shards of the Zodiac. At the zenith of each zodiac, a
ziggurat lifted into the sky and disappeared into the night. Each bore a
great army within their stone halls, led by their Warden captains.
As Rajaat foresaw, the start of the Cleansing War caught the attention of
beings from other worlds. Alien creatures, known elsewhere as illithids and
beholders, sent their agents and fleets. Others came as well, such as the
elves of the Imperial Fleet, pirates from a hundred spheres, and countless
petty warlords. The Wardens battled them all, leaving much destruction in
their wake.
Sometime during the 162nd King's Age, the Wardens' defense of Athas was on
the brink of collapse. Fearful of being overrun, they brought about the
Black Gulf to cut off the reinforcements of their many enemies. The tactic
worked all too well; the invaders' supply lines were severed, but no one,
not even the Wardens themselves, could escape the Crimson Sphere.
The Wardens played little part in Borys' rebellion against Rajaat. Indeed,
so focused were they on destroying the last of the invaders that the event
passed them by without them even knowing it. Not until the 170th King's Age
did they learn of Rajaat's imprisonment, when they were approached by Borys.
The Wardens were given a choice: side with Borys, or be destroyed. Those
that sided with Borys gained great power that in time became not unlike that
of the sorcerer-kings. Those that did not perished. Borys instructed the
Wardens to continue their vigilance against the surviving invaders. The
Wardens each claimed a city-state and began two millennium of petty warfare
against one another.


Warden-Kings and their Subjects

The Warden-Kings are not unlike the Sorcerer-Kings of Athas. Most are
dragon-like creatures that grant spells to Templar followers. Unlike the
Sorcerer-Kings, the Warden-Kings are limited in their power, held in check
by the Shads of the Zodiac (see below).

Arun - This Warden-King was horribly burned in battle decades ago. Although
his flesh was greatly damaged, he did not die. He locked himself away in his
city to slowly heal. His injuries are magical in nature, and cannot be
healed through time. Instead, he must rely on rare herbs and powerful
healing magic to restore himself. His templar are frantically searching the
whole Crimson Sphere for the magic needed to heal their Warden-King. Those
than return empty-handed are executed. Powerful spells keep the templars
bound to Arun and prevent them from simply fleeing the city.

Dabi - This defiler was the greatest and most powerful of the Wardens, such
that Rajaat named him his "Shield". From the city of Sentinel Dabi directed
the defense of Athas against the invaders. After becoming a Warden-King,
Dabi attempted to take short-cuts to become a full-fledged dragon. His
attempt failed miserably, and is now a terribly deformed, yet powerful and
dangerous, creature. His templars keep Dabi secluded in the catacombs of his
ziggurat, tending him in hopes that he will recover his sanity.

Hananka - Called the Warrior-Warden by his followers, Hananka is the
strongest and most ruthless of the Warden-Kings. He is unafraid to board his
personal warship, a fully-armed hammership, and lead his powerful navy into
battle himself. Hananka has a personal hatred of illithids, creatures he
distastes greatly. At the edges of his city, Hopa, hundreds of illithid
skulls have been placed on pikes, a sign to invaders that Hananka will never
stop fighting them. Three Shards of the Zodiac have fallen into his
possession.

Hu - The so called "Queen of a Thousand Faces", Hu is a most terrible queen.
Every year she selects the most beautiful girl in her city and drains that
girl of all life and beauty. Hu takes the face of the girl she just murdered
and wears it for a year. She ages rapidly, such that by the end of the year,
she appears to be in her 80's. Hu is the most brutal of the Warden-Kings,
subjecting her people to harsh and unyielding rule. Her city is K'ydon, the
most distant and isolated of the City-States, and has thusly been on the
frontline of the war against the Invaders for many, many centuries.

Husam - This king seized power roughly 10 years ago, claiming Nijhal's
symbol of authority, a black obsidian sword known as Slayer. He is an
aggressive, ambitious king who seeks to expand his rule at the expense of
other city-states and to crush the invaders, once and for all. Husam is not
what he seems. In truth, he has been possessed by Slayer, a magical blade
forged by Rajaat himself. Long ago, the Warden who first wielded it
perished, but he transferred his essence into the sword. He then possesses
those who would attempt to use Slayer, and masquerades as that warrior.
Slayer encourages bloody coups so that only the strongest warriors will try
to "claim" him.

Zol - This preserver has the distinction of being the only (known) creature
to have escaped the Crimson Sphere and managed to return. He left the sphere
believing that the means to save Athas lay somewhere in other spheres. After
many centuries of searching, Zol has come to believe that the key to Athas'
salvation is to be found on Athas itself, not in some distant sphere. He has
only recently returned, and has not yet returned to Athas itself. Zol is a
partially transformed preserver metamorphosis, having achieved only a low
metamorphosis stage.

Aarakocra - Despite the vast open spaces of the void, the confining nature
of small air envelopes do not provide the space these wind-loving creatures
desire. All aarakocra in space have been brought there against their will.

Dwarves - The strong backs and single-minded devotion dwarves possess proved
desirable to the Wardens, so they brought many dwarves with them into space.
Dwarves can be found in any of the cities and villages throughout the
sphere.

Elves - The confined conditions of asteroids and ships is too much for the
plains-loving elves of Athas, so very few of them make it into space. Elves
tend to seek out their own kind and form wandering, gypsy-like clans. These
clans are not well-liked, but tolerated for the entertainment they bring.

Halflings - Halflings are virtually unknown in space. They feel extremely
uncomfortable when taken off of Athas, as if they don't belong. After a
while, they become jumpy and agitated a feeling that stays with them until
they are returned to Athas.

Half-Giants - These enormous creatures would not ordinarily be expected to
be found in large numbers in the confined spaces aboard ships. Yet the great
strength of these creatures has earned them a place in the Crimson Sphere as
shock troops for the armies of the Warden-Kings.

Humans - Humans make up the majority of the people in the Crimson Sphere.
They are found everywhere that one can find civilization. A few are
descendants from humans from other spheres; such people must hide their
heritage, as they are greatly hated by the natives. These "invader-spawn"
are a convenient scapegoat for the Warden-Kings.

Muls - Many muls work as slaves and gladiators in all of the city-states.
They are considered property and have no rights, although rare muls have
been able to win freedom if they prove themselves in the arena.

Ptreen - Almost non-existent beyond Athas, the few ptreen in space keep to
themselves. They avoid city-states and most villages. It is suspected they
have their own villages carefully hidden somewhere in the sphere, but thus
far none have been found.

Thri-Kreen - The center of thri-kreen civilization in space is the Suntree,
a large free-floating tree orbiting close to the sun. The kreen are welcomed
in the city-states, but tend to be isolated in ghettos of their own people.