MotM: Njord

Bleh, writers block + being busy + holidays = my imagination in a
trainwreck.  Ah well, I have to appologize for missing two months in a row.
I hope you enjoy this month's moon! :)

Njord

Planet Name: Njord, the Ship Moon

Planet Type: Ship-shaped Moon

Planet Size: D

Escape Time: 2 turns

Satellites: 1

Distance from Primary: See below

Day Length: 24 hours

Year Length: Varies

Population Analysis: Dwarves, giants, trolls, dragons



            Njord is a quite unusual moon as it has the overall shape of an
enormous Viking dragonship.  From the snarling dragon-like stem to stern
Njord is 1,500 miles long and 300 miles wide.  White-capped mountains are
the gunwales, running down the sides of the ship.  From the mountains the
land drops drastically into fjords and coastal plains that line the central
sea.  Ethereal masts, sails, and oars rise into the sky, visible throughout
the entire moon, guide Njord through the night sky.

            A gravity plane bisects this moon about a few miles below the
sea floor.  The moon is about 100 miles thick at its thickest parts.  The
gravity plane cuts through this at about 10 miles "below" the mountainous
gunwales.  The result is that the gravity along the top of the ship is
fairly flat.  The underside is a different matter, and is somewhat curved
like that of a sphere-shaped world.  Thus both the topside and the underside
have "normal" gravity, despite a somewhat odd shaped gravity plane.  The
transition from one side of the plane is not difficult and is not
noticeable, due to inner folding of the plane.

            The "underside" of the moon is the part that most resembles the
hull of a ship.  It is buried under mountains and glaciers.  There are only
a few broad valleys that break the mountainous terrain.  The valleys are
warmer than they should be, with temperate climates.  Thick arboreal and
alpine forests grow in these valleys, possibly accounting for the unusual
warmth.

            The movements of this moon are somewhat erratic.  Its course
will not change for centuries at a time, circling its home planet at a
regular interval.  Every few centuries, however, it undergoes drastic course
changes and takes up a new orbit.  The last such change was about three
centuries ago.  Njord's current course is highly elliptical and takes 6
standard weeks for Njord to complete.



Climate and Weather

            Njord is a cold, wet world where spring all but unknown.
Snowfall is common at the higher elevations.  Some lowland plains receive
cold, driving rains followed by thick fogs.  Wind is frequent and can be
quite strong.  Some coastlines freeze regularly, locking ports in thick ice.
Visitors are advised to dress warmly and be prepared for blizzard
conditions.



Appearance from Space

            From a distance that allows one to view all of Njord in all of
its glory, the moon appears as a great, frost-covered Viking dragonship,
complete with wispy sails and oars.  To the inexperienced eye, the moon
could be mistaken for an actual dragonship that is a bit obscured by strange
mists (the moon's clouds).  A common trick for veteran sailors to play is to
raise an alarm that a boatload of frost giants is approaching to send green
crewmen into a panic.



Continents and Landmarks

            There are no continents on Njord, and the standard compass
points do not work.  Instead the directional points are similar to a ship,
with north being bow, east as starboard, south as aft, and west as port.
The starboard coast is known as Fjordlund and the port coast is Sturmlund.
The underside land of mountains and valleys are the Keelfell.

            The most distinguishing landmark of the moon is Jormunhellar,
the dragonhead-like mountain at the bow of the moon.  The mountain is
enormous and impossibly shaped.  By all rights, the mountain should collapse
under its own weight.  At the summit, in the jaws of the dragon, is the lair
of a Flame Linnorm dragon.

            The mountains that line the gunwales of Njord are very large.
Carved into the outward facing mountainsides are gigantic runes.  These are
the personal crests of the dwarven royal houses of Njord, carved into the
mountainsides in the same manner as Vikings who line their longships with
shields bearing the personal crests of the warriors.  The mountains have
become known as the Shield Mountains.

            The sea that lies between the Shield Mountains is the
Jormungerak.  Crossing it is a dangerous prospect due to innumerable storms
and icebergs.  Worse still is the great serpent-like Sea Linnorm dragon that
lurks at the bottom of the sea.  It rises from time to time to devour ships
that dare to cross its territory.



Native Creatures

            Little lives on the rugged surface of the moon.  The seas and
underdark have much more vibrant populations of wildlife, most of it
imported by the dwarves.  The surface has wildlife typical to a cold,
sub-arctic climate, with forests of pine trees, peat bogs, wolves, ravens,
reindeer, sheep and goats, Irish elk, and a number of small game animals.
The seas have many types of cold-water fish, seals with some silkies, crabs,
great white sharks, and even a few kraken in the deeps.

            The underground grottos, caverns, and halls are home to many
underdark monsters like undead, hook horrors, slimes, molds, umber hulks,
and even a few grell and beholders.  None of these creatures are very
numerous, but they are individually very powerful and avoided at all costs.
These monsters are confined to a series of caverns and abandoned halls deep
underground, far below the basements of the mountain dwarf halls.



Guide to Groundlings

            The primary inhabitants of Njord are dwarves of various breeds.
Each type of dwarf inhabits a certain niche.  With the exception of the
Sundered dwarves, each clan is ruled by a single dwarf wizard.  The rest of
the clan are his servants, extended family, and henchmen.  In rare cases,
brother wizards will rule a clan.  Only male dwarves may be wizards; female
dwarves are witches (sorcerers) instead.  Sundered dwarves have no wizards
or witches in their ranks, the reason for their banishment.

            Magic use is very important to the dwarves, for they use it in
crafting powerful magic items.  The dwarves prefer subtle spells like
illusions over blasting spells.  Guile and trickery are their way, not
deadly battle-spells.

            The mountain dwarves, with the most wizards, dwell deep within
the mountains, rarely venturing from their secluded halls.  These clans have
the most powerful wizards and thus are the richest clans.  They use their
hill dwarf cousins as go-betweens, clans ruled by lesser wizards.  Hill
dwarves are the traders of their people, dwelling in halls and towns
accessible by off-worlders.  Many witches are born to these clans.  The
Sundered dwarves are poor or outcast clans without halls of their own.
Their crude villages dot the surface, where they scratch out a meager
existence.  Their magic is the weakest and their bloodlines thinnest.
Occasionally a rising dwarf wizard without a clan of his own will accept
Sundered dwarves as henchmen.  For many young dwarves of the Sundered clans,
this is the hope and dream in their otherwise wretched lives.

            Deep dwarves are said to dwell at the very heart of Njord.
These creatures are said to be dwarven wizards who have taken their magical
abilities and forge skills to the limits of their mortal vessels, and shed
their frail bodies to advance even farther.  Little is known about them, for
they are secretive and powerful.  The few that have encountered this breed
of dwarf report they appear to be living stone, able to vanish into the dark
tunnels of their home at a whim.  The limits of their magical might has
never been fully tested.

            The other races found on Njord have little power.  Most are
individual monsters that at best might waylay lone travelers or the smallest
and weakest of parties.  Trolls creep in the bogs and the darkest forests,
wretched creatures said to have once been dwarves but were cursed for crimes
of betrayal and murder.  They are unlike standard trolls, being a bit
smaller and of orange color rather than emaciated and green.  Use the
statistics for dark dwarves in place of the standard statistics of trolls.

            There are no more than a double handful of hill and frost giants
in the hills and mountains.  Their impressive timber halls are found deep
within the mountains.  All of the giants are powerful sorcerers as well;
even the dumbest has enough still to master simple first and second level
spells.  The giants and dwarves largely ignore one another, although
sometimes the giants will commission a dwarf to construct a magic item for
him.

            There are no more than a dozen dragons on Njord.  Each is a
unique, named creature that holds some importance.  These creatures are left
alone, for their rages are legendary and they do not like to be disturbed.
Only under the direst of circumstances would a native dare to disturb them,
and always with generous gifts and bribes.  Would-be dragon-hunters need
beware, for these creatures are many centuries old, are devious in their
ways, and have a mastery of magic that vastly exceeds that of any dwarf or
giant, to say nothing of their considerable size and physical strengths.



Resources and Trade

            Everywhere the land is rocky and harsh.  There are few places
suitable for farming.  More common are herds of rugged goats and rothe.
Fish is another source of food, although the rough sea keeps fishing from
being exploited fully.  The forests and mountain valleys have plentiful game
for hunters and trappers.

            Njord is rich is precious metals, "common" metals like iron,
nickel, and copper, and all manner of gemstones.  Likewise the stone makes
for excellent building material, although it is of hard quality.  Masons and
laborers will wear out several tools working with this stone.  Architecture
built from Njord stone is quite durable and resistant to weathering and the
passing of time.

            These resources are not traded, but horded away by the greedy
dwarves.  Magic items are their trade.  The wizards craft and sell a
multitude of magic items, especially weapons and armor, jewelry, and
clothing.  Their items are always of the highest quality and hold potent
magic.



Ports of Call

            There are few sizable communities on this stark moon and even
fewer that are built in places where spelljammers can land and conduct
trade.  Spelljammers generally set down at a small village called Graniton.
There are two rickety piers and a muddy field for ships to put down.  The
town is at the far end of a sheltered bay, probably the most protected port
in all of Njord.  The downside is that the port is also prone to frequently
icing over, either entrapping ships until the ice thaws out or magic is used
to free the ship.

            The town is the domain of three clans of hill dwarves and many
sundered dwarves, with a total population of about seven hundred dwarves.
The dwarven wizards can craft a few low-powered magic items (potions of
healing, continual light lanterns, minor weapons and armor).  If more
powerful magic items are requested, they will send runners to their contacts
in the mountain clans to contact the appropriate clan and see if the clan
wizard is interested in taking the commission.  Depending on the magic item
sought, the process might take a few days to several months or even years.

            The dwarves take payments in gold and gemstones.  They rarely
trade for goods they cannot craft on Njord, such as luxury goods and exotic
foods.  It is unknown what they do with the excess gold that they stockpile,
which must be a trove of remarkable size and value.



History

            Though the dwarves of Njord have a written language, their
preferred means of retelling history is through epic tales often embellished
and modified as time wears on.  Accurate records are kept only by the eldest
graybeards of the mountain clans, and even those are kept in hidden
libraries that none but they know of.

            As the dwarves tell it, Njord began when the Seven Dwarf-Fathers
built a grand stony vessel to sail the stars.  Though it took a thousand
years to complete, the great stone ship as large as the moon rose into the
sky.  The Seven Dwarf-Fathers brought their families aboard the craft, and
set sail into the starry night.

            The rest of dwarven history is a series of epic adventures and
battles against invading giants.  There are even tales of powerful Gods
contacting and commissioning the dwarves to build for them artifacts of
great power.  One tale goes so far to claim that an elven goddess spent nine
nights with nine dwarven smiths to convince them to craft a bejeweled
necklace of great power.  She is believed to have given birth to nine
daughters, and from those daughters arose the sorceress bloodlines of Njord.



Satellites

            Orbiting Njord is a silver-white orb about 5 miles across called
Silvuna.  It is claimed by a cabal of nine dwarven sorceresses who claim to
be the first-born daughters of the elven goddess.  Powerful spell-casters
one and all (minimum ability at 12th level) and they are all also aasimar.
This cabal acts as a go-between for their dwarf brothers and gods seeking to
hire them to craft artifacts.  Their magnificent halls are well hidden; they
can only be found by deities or the trusted agents of deities.  To all
others, the surface of Silvuna is a barren wasteland.