MotM: Hotplate

This month's MotM is Hotplate, a blistering hot world with dungeons that are
a unlike almost any dungeon before them...:)

Hotplate
Planet Name: Hotplate, Cinderplate
Planet Type: Flat Earth
Planet Size: B (24 miles diameter)
Escape Time: 1 turn
Satellites: none
Distance from Primary: 2,500 miles
Day Length: 10 hours
Year Length: 10 days
Population Analysis: Humans

 Hotplate orbits a bright, warm fire body, so closely that most ships are
unable to approach without magical protections.  The fire body is hot, but
not the extreme heat generated by large suns.  The space around Hotplate is
about as hot as a large campfire, thus enough to damage ships, spark fires,
and cause severe burns.
 This moon appears somewhat like a stack of thin coins, with the middle
section the widest.  It is best described as a flat disc perhaps 24 miles in
diameter and a little less than a mile thick, capped by a series of three
plateaus on both sides of its gravity plane.  At its thickest it is about
two miles.  The gravity plane lies perpendicular to the planet it orbits.
 The surface is barren white rock.  It is too hot for most standard
creatures to survive.  Instead, life is found below the surface in the
caverns that honeycomb the moon.  There are twelve dungeon-like levels to
Hotplate, each separated by a hundred or more feet of solid rock.  The
interior levels are brightly lit thanks to numerous skylights that filter
light to every major room in Hotplate.

Climate and Weather
 The exterior of this moon is hot enough that those without magical
protection or resistance suffer 1d6 points of heat damage.  There is a
breathable atmosphere that is dangerously hot.  The interior is much cooler
and balmy, such that protection from heat is unnecessary.  Wearing any
manner of armor is still ill-advised, as the heat is still enough to cause
rapid exhaustion.  There is no weather on this moon.

Appearance from Space
 Hotplate appears as a flat, white coin.  There are no clouds, water, or
even mountains.  There are several sinkholes, some large enough to fly a
ship through, on the highest points of the plateaus.

Continents and Landmarks
 There are no continents but there are a handful of caverns that are
noteworthy.  The Cavern of Four Cascades is truly a sight to behold with
water falling from four separate cascades into a common pool of pebbles and
tiny, ornamental-quality gemstones.  The Cyclone Cave is another wonder, a
circular cavern with an eternal whirlwind that can be ridden by those who
know how to quickly venture from one side of the moon to the other.  The
experience can be quite unsettling.  At the very center of the moon is the
Cavern of Earth and Fire.  Skylights focus intense light into this cavern,
where magical crystals grow.

Native Creatures
 Not much survives on the surface.  A single salamander guards the primary
entrance into the interior, bound by powerful magic.  He merely acts as a
doorman, directing arriving ships into the interior where they can dock.  If
an approaching ship appears hostile, he will slither down a hole and escape
to warn the inhabitants.
 Reflected sunlight from skylights beam light down on internal greenhouse
gardens.  The hardy plants have adapted to the increased sunlight with
almost magical productive capabilities.  The gardens are home to some rather
exotic fruit-bearing trees.  The wildlife is equally exotic.  The most
prominent beasts include six-armed spider gorillas, hydra jaguars,
tree-dwelling behirs, and lightning-breathing centipedes.

Guide to Groundlings
 The dark-skinned humans that inhabit Hotplate are loosely a single tribe of
mages called the Ar'ruuq.  There are about a dozen mages of some power (at
least 9th level or higher) and several hundred lesser mages (1st to 8th
level).  No other classes are present, although the roles of other classes
are filled by all manner of magical beasts and golems.
 The Ar'ruuq is scattered across about half of the interior, the rest given
over to pens for summoned creatures and experiments that have gone wrong.
Despite an almost primitive appearance, due in part to their favoring little
clothing, the Ar'ruuq are very civilized.  The more powerful mages have
their disputes, as people with their level of power sometimes do, but have
rarely come to blows.
 It is no surprise that the mages of this moon favor chromatic, light, and
heat spells.  Combined, they have built twenty stone and five iron golems.
A ruby and a diamond golem has also been constructed but proved far more
expensive than originally estimated, so no more have been built.

Resources and Trade
 The primary exports of Hotplate are crystals used as material components
for spells.  Blue-white prisms are used in detect magic spells and the stone
grants an additional 2 rounds of reading time beyond the limit of the spell.
These crystals sell for 5 gp.  Ruby-red diamonds make excellent gems in Trap
the Soul spells, ranging in value from 4,000 gp to 12,000 gp.  All of these
crystals are grown in the Cavern of Earth and Fire described in the
Continents and Landmarks section above.
 Hotplate is largely self-sufficient, importing only components necessary to
build magic items, golems, and the casting of powerful spells.  As such,
trade ships need not be large nor frequent.  Hotplate typically sees a
single heat-protected trade ship per month.  Viperships most commonly visit.

Ports of Call
 Because Hotplate sees so few ships, it lacks most of the facilities
required for the building and repairing of spelljammers.  What passes for a
port is a single pier capable of docking two ships of 300' or less in a
cavern somewhere near the outer parts of the moon.  There are a few
clearings large enough for a wasp or a dragonfly to land, but generally not
used.  A passable tavern and inn has been carved into a side chamber to
cater to the crews of visiting ships.  There is no place to build or repair
a spelljammer anywhere on Hotplate.

History
 Discovery of the crystal-growing Cavern of Earth and Fire first lured the
Ar'ruuk to Hotplate several decades ago.  Even then the tribe was
constituted entirely of mages.  As their wealth grew from the sale of their
special gemstones, the most powerful mages began construction of golems to
provide a strong sword-arm for the tribe.  The moon's location has thwarted
raiding attempts and keeps the tribe safe from pirate attacks and most
marauders.

Satellites
 Hotplate has no moons of its own.



Look for my coming on the seventh month of the fifth year.  At dawn look to
the world were the Trio (plus one) that is Untouchable reigns supreme