MotM: Haddtik

Bleh, what a month.  Had this done for ages, but didn't get around to
posting it until now.

Haddtik
Planet Name: Haddtik, the Bugbear Moon
Planet Type: Ovid Earth
Planet Size: A (8 miles diameter)
Escape Time: 1 turn
Satellites: 1 ring
Distance from Primary: 3,500 miles
Day Length: 9 hours
Year Length: 3 days
Population Analysis: Bugbears, slaves

 Little more than a large asteroid, Haddtik's surface is pitted with
hundreds of impact craters.  It appears quite barren, with only a few hardy
plants stubbornly clinging to a few sunny craters.  There are numerous
cracks and caves that hint at a hollow interior.  Only one crack is large
enough to allow passage by ships up to hammership size.  Ships with
extensive rigging, such as galleons, cannot pass through this opening.
 Haddtik is the domain of a large tribe of bugbears.  The creatures are
survivors of both the First and Second Unhuman Wars.  During the course of
the latter, the bugbears managed to turn the scro against them.

Climate and Weather
 Essentially a great rock in space, Haddtik lacks a large enough air
envelope to generate weather.  The air has the feel of a cool autumn day.

Appearance from Space
 From a distance, Haddtik is an unremarkable, dark gray asteroid.  The dark
coloration makes it difficult to spot against a night sky, such that the
best way to find it is when it passes in front of a star or another moon.
It has the overall shape of an egg.

Continents and Landmarks
 The primary cavern is just over 1,200' long, 200' wide, and over 600' from
floor to ceiling.  A vast fungus garden grows in this vast space which
provides most of the food consumed by the moon.  The cavern of chains is the
second largest cavern, about 200' from end to end, with innumerable chains
hanging from the ceiling to lock slaves up.  Several cages also hang from
the ceiling, many filled with the bones of slaves that displeased the
bugbears.
 The most extravagant cavern is Hetman Gokklug's throne room.  The walls are
lined with expensive tapestries, statues, and other large swag stolen by
past Hetmans.  Gokklug's throne is a type I minor helm covered with the
hides of a winter wolf and a cave bear. Sixty-two gemstones (value 100 gp
each) decorate the throne.  Gokklug keeps a trained quartet of dire wolves
to guard this room.
 Somewhere in the twisting caverns is Gokklug's treasure vault.  Guarded
both by magic and beasts, this secret chamber has 15 chests brimming with
loot.  Beware that Gokklug guards his hoard as fiercely as any dragon.  The
coins, gems, and jewelry is valued in excess of 30,000 gp, and includes a
half dozen magic items as well.

Native Creatures
 Nothing lives on Haddtik unless the bugbears decide to suffer its
existence.  There are several standard dungeon dwellers, such as carrion
crawlers, slimes, bats, and rats.  In some places there are gelatinous cubes
at the bottoms of deep pits.  They are used as a garbage disposal system of
sorts, as slaves sweep trash into the pits to be digested by the cubes.
Larger creatures include rothe, dire wolves, and poisonous toads.  Giant
toadstools thrive in Haddtik's environment.

Guide to Groundlings
 There are eight large bands of bugbears dwell in the caves of Haddtik.
Slightly fewer than one thousand of these hairy goblins can be found here.
Of that number, between 350 to 400 are fighting males.  The rest are women
and children, who have no fighting abilities.  Each band is lead by a chief
and 1-4 subchiefs.  The whole tribe is ruled by Hetman Gokklug, a truly
crafty and dangerous bugbear who has the fighting ability of a 8th level
fighter.
 In addition to the bugbears there are several hundred slaves, mostly
humans, dwarves, and some halflings.  They work the fungus farms, build
passages, and in general make life easier for their masters.  There are also
several dozen so-called 'man-goblins', which are the result of human-bugbear
mating.  Man-goblins appear as large, hairy humans, paunchy and yet very
strong.  They are statistically identical to hobgoblins.  These creatures
are trusted flunkies of the bugbears.

Resources and Trade
 Haddtik has few resources worthy of trade.  Instead, the natives steal what
they can, and sell for the things they desire.  The bugbears mostly desire
ale, and have a special weakness for drow wine.  Smugglers sometimes show up
to trade whatever swag the bugbears have acquired in exchange for weapons,
wine, and other luxuries.
 Their recent adventures in the Second Unhuman Wars have left the bugbears
rich with loot.  Each male bugbear has 1 pp per hit point and all have 1-10
gems worth 10 gp each.  The Hetman has a hidden treasure horde somewhere
worth at least four complete hammerships.  Chiefs and subchiefs have many
sparkling jewels as well.
 Life on Haddtik is ordinarily very harsh.  As recent victories have brought
them great wealth, the bugbears have been improving their lot in life.
Stonework has been improved by dwarven slaves, tapestries hang from their
walls, and fur rugs warm the floors.

Ports of Call
 Through their pilfering activities, the bugbears have actually managed to
put together a serviceable drydock for spelljammers.  The bugbear fleet is
somewhat unimpressive, consisting of a pair of wolfships and a hammership
flagship.  These ships are in excellent condition, thanks to the efforts of
the man-goblins.  Normally, the two wolfships will be out looking for prey,
but have been kept docked until things blow over with the scro.  Or at least
until the bugbears decide to go hunting again.  The drydock is rather crude
and slow, only able to repair 1 hull point of damage per week, and sometimes
runs short of supplies.

History
 The bugbears originated as followers of a great chief known as Ruhhlit, who
in the days following the Unhuman Wars led his people to this moon.  They
settled in for a life of hiding from vengeful elven ships and making the
occasional raid on merchant ships and remote village.
 More recently, during the height of the Second Unhuman War, Hetman Gokklub
was convinced by the scro to join the war against the elves.  For one year,
his forces would fight the elves and in exchange to all the loot they could
take, would receive gemstones worth 25,000 gp in payment.  The bugbears
agreed and left for war.
 As it turns out, the scro had no intention of keeping their end of the
deal.  Once aboard scro ships, bugbear conscripts were treated poorly and
given poor assignments.  And at the end of the year, the scro denied them
the right to return home.  Pressed as they were in the war, the scro could
ill afford to lose their bugbear soldiers.  Gokklub was enraged, but the
crafty goblin knew to bide his time and wait for an opportunity.
 That opportunity came soon enough.  Gokklub was the second aboard a scro
hammership that accompanied a scro mantis.  The two ships ambushed a pair of
Men-O-War inside of Realmspace, and were pressing the elves hard.  That is
when bugbears struck.  Mutinies on both ships made quick work of the scro.
The elves were dumbfounded when the bugbears asked to parley.  In exchange
for all loot aboard the mantis ship, they would leave in peace and even
allow the elves to take possession of that ship.  The elves, hardly in a
condition to continue the fight, agreed.  The mantis was stripped of
everything valuable and the bugbears departed.
 The scro have since become aware of Gokklub's rebellion, namely after he
returned the head of one of their ambassadors back to them on a platter.
Unfortunately for the scro, there is nothing they can do about it.  Taking
Haddtik would require an army a thousand scro strong, twice that in
goblin-kin, and they cannot muster such a force in the sphere the moon is
in.  So Gokklub's tribe is safe for the moment to enjoy the swag they stole
on their adventures.

Satellites
 A loose ring of debris orbits this rock at a distance of 500 feet.  This
ring is made up of the wreckage of past victims of the bugbears, mostly the
wrecks of tradesmen.  Most of the wrecks have been so stripped that no piece
is larger than a few feet across.  Passing through this ring has the effects
of a medium jettison upon the decks of any ship so foolish to do so.

Other Considerations
 The scro have placed a 5,000 gp bounty on Gokklub's head.  His subchiefs
have 500 gp bounties on each of their heads.  The Elven Fleet have not
placed bounties on any of the bugbears and may in fact seek to disrupt scro
plans to slaughter them.  The local elven Admiral is weighing the risks and
benefits of keeping the two groups of goblin-kin at each other's throats.

Adam

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