MotM: Nuitari Novius - Krynnspace Update

Hey all,

all the recent chatter about Krynnspace has prompted
me to take a slightly different direction with the
Moon of the Month.  At least for the new few months,
maybe all of '07, I intend to use the MotM to help
create an "updated" Krynnspace, post-Krynn.  So first
out of the gate is the "new" Nuitari, and Reorx's
first attempt to recreate Krynn.  This badboy weighs
in at just over 5 pages! :D

Let me know what you think!  :)  Especially let me
know if you like or dislike the direction I took for
an updated krynnspace.  Oh, and thanks, Dave, for
pointing out the connection the Krynn moons had with
the transit planes!  (I think it was Dave that said
that...)

Adam


Nuitari Novius
Tiny (C) Spherical Earth
Climate: Tropical
Orbital Position: Inner Lunar
Day Length: 2 standard days
Year Length: 8 standard days
Native Races: Any

The dark world before you would be all but invisible
against the black void were it not for the many
scarlet red, glowing fissures that cross its surface
like scars on the face of a hardened veteran.  

Nuitari Novius is a moon of black basalt wracked by
violent volcanic activity.  There are numerous open
lava fissures and lava lakes so vast they can be seen
from orbit.  The rest of the moon is a wasteland of
black volcanic rock and ash deserts, broken by the
occasional oasis of jungle growth.  The whole moon is
spherical and is just over 850 miles across.

The moon is very young, having been crafted by the
Krynnish pantheon of gods only recently.  It came into
existence shortly after Krynn vanished as the gods
attempted to replace their lost world.  Over time,
other moons appeared as well as the world Nuitari
Novius orbits, where Krynn once was.  Sages believe
the gods have abandoned Krynnspace, leaving behind
numerous half-finished worlds like Nuitari Novius and
its sister moons.

The air of Nuitari Novius is thick, smoky, and
difficult to breathe.  The atmosphere is very hot, at
the very least tropical, and some places are as hot as
a fireball.  There is no weather, other than falling
ash.  

Like the moon Nuitari before it, Nuitari Novius is
strongly connected to the Plane of Shadow.  This link
has grown stronger over time as the moon begins to
fulfill the same role that Nuitari did.  Much like how
Nuitari influenced magic particularly that of evil
spellcasters, so does Nuitari Novius does today. 
Indeed, Nuitari Novius means “New Nuitari”.

Landmarks
Roaring Dragon Cauldron: This caldera has several deep
vents that constantly funnel poisonous gases from deep
within the moon, which has the sound of roaring
dragons as it exits.  The volcano is the noted as the
lair of the red dragon Sulfusbane and his brood, who
sometime conduct devastating raids on mining towns in
search of gold and other valuables.  

Dragonhorn Point: A pair of hard granite spires,
shaped like the horns of a dragon rising into the sky,
now bears the name Dragonhorn Point.  The area is
geologically very stable, with few earthquakes and
only a few nearby vents spewing lava and ash into the
sky.  The Dragonfleet has claimed the area and has
begun work turning the spires into a fortified castle.
 Day and night, hundreds if not thousands of slaves
toil away in and around the spires, worked until they
fall over dead, and then animated as zombies to
continue their toil.  When complete, the castle will
easily dock a dozen warships, have barracks for 5,000
men, and lairs for 10 dragons.

Valley of Despair: The Valley of Despair was where
gold was first discovered, and the sight of a massive
gold-rush.  The gold deposits quickly ran dry, though,
leaving thousands stranded penniless.  The
impoverished miners became easy targets for raiders,
slavers, and monsters looking for a snack.  The valley
is mostly empty now but for a few holdout prospectors
still holding onto the dream of “striking it rich”.

Native Creatures
Nuitari Novis is a world in its infancy, and has not
yet had time to develop its own unique flora and
fauna.  In the place of this, imported plants and
animals have not only survived, but in some cases,
thrived.

Tropical plants, particularly various ferns, have
taken root in some areas, especially around towns and
villages where there are sources of water.  The plants
flourish in the rich ash fields, turning the ash into
fertile soil over time.  This allows other plants to
take root as well.  Areas nearest the lava fissures
are obviously barren, burning away any vegetation, but
some small areas have turned into tropical jungles. 
The plants are a welcomed source of food and clean air
to the inhabitants, who encourage their growth.

Imported animals include various reptiles and
amphibians, rats, cats, dogs, goats, gulls, canaries,
parrots, monkeys, and even a few more exotic creatures
such as dinosaurs and creatures from the elemental
plane of fire.  Fire toads and fire lizards have
become particularly dangerous menaces, as an
ill-advised experiment to create usable mounts
introduced these beasts to this world.  The monsters
quickly escaped their confinement and began breeding
in the wild at an unprecedented pace.

Recently, creatures have begun to appear from a third
source: the Plane of Shadow.  Thus far, only a few of
the weaker creatures have made their way to this moon,
but their numbers are steadily increasing.  There are
worries that in time, shadow creatures will overwhelm
the moon’s inhabitants.

Guide to Groundlings
After gold was discovered on Nuitari Novius, the moon
experienced a major gold-rush as thousands of sentient
beings from a score of races dashed their way to the
moon in search of fame and fortune.  Not only did
prospectors come from across Krynnspace, but from
other spheres as well, most notably Realmspace,
Bralspace, Greyspace, and Refuge.  

The rapid settlement of the moon has meant that
lawlessness and rule by the sword has prevailed.  Thus
far there has been little effort to reign in the
slavers, thieves, bandits, and raiders who are
commonplace here.  

The overall population is a mixed bag of beings native
to Krynnspace and those from other spheres.  Humans
make up the largest population but are by no means a
majority.  Ogres, minotaurs, goblins, hobgoblins, and
gully dwarves all are quite common, while elves,
dwarves, kender, halflings, and gnomes are rare. 
There are a few tribes of draconians, dracons, giff,
grommam, hadozee, and most other spacefaring and
Krynnish races.

Towns are generally lack surrounding walls and
buildings are black cobblestone or adobe structures
with flat wooden or adobe roofs.  Though they are
usually built with defense in mind, such as narrow
doors and arrow slit-like windows, most were built
hastily and using poor building materials.  It is not
unusual for buildings to suddenly collapse, and minor
earthquakes can level whole towns.

Most of the towns on Nuitari Novius were constructed
in recent memory, and have not yet developed any sort
of “racial districts”.  It is not uncommon for members
of a dozen races to share the same building.  They
also lack any sort of government, and instead towns
are ruled by rival gangs.  Daily clashes over
territory leave many dead in the streets.  Nuitari
Novius is a harsh world, and has become a breeding
ground for dangerous criminals and hardened thugs.

What passes for government on Nuitari Novius are the
gangs who control the towns and mines.  Gangs are
organized around a single leader, usually a powerful
fighter, barbarian, or other warrior-type class, who
takes orders from a rich, often hidden sponsor.  Each
gang leader has several lieutenants, who manage the
numerous individual mobs that do the actual
grunt-work.  The gangs primarily run protection
rackets, extorting money from shopkeepers and miners,
but also dabble in smuggling, brothels, gambling, and
blood sports.

Recently, growing unrest among the shopkeepers and
miners has prompted tentative moves towards creating
law and order on this moon.  Agents of the Dragonfleet
have infiltrated these efforts.  Through a mix of
propaganda, exaggerations, and outright lies, the
agents are working to create an atmosphere where the
Dragonfleet can be greeted as liberators instead of
conquerors, and thus swell their power and numbers
without having to fight bloody street battles with the
gangs.  Indeed, if things work to the Dragonfleet’s
plan, the gangs will soon be working for the
Dragonfleet!

Ports of Call
Blackdog (Town, 3,000): Blackdog is a large mining
town located in an open valley surrounded by mines. 
This boomtown has a very small core section of actual
buildings, surrounded by a tent-city easily ten times
that size.  New buildings are being put up as fast as
possible, but a lack of materials and rival gangs have
slowed progress to a crawl.  The town is currently
seeking a group of able heroes to take the job of
marshal and his deputies to reign in the gang-wars.

Sweetwell (Town, 2,900): Another boomtown, Sweetwell
is noted for a deep well, from which can be drawn
clean, pure water.  The town has survived for just
over twenty years, and because of its well, is
surrounded by thick jungle growth.  The town is ruled
by the ruthless Wellmasters gang, who controls the
well and has used it as a weapon against other gangs
by preventing them from using it unless they bow to
the Wellmasters’ rule.  

Fissurebrink (Town, 3,800): The town of Fissurebrink
is the location of several foundries where raw ore is
smelted into pure metals.  The foundries make use of a
nearby lava fissure to create the heat they need for
the process.  There is a large number of dwarves
working in this town as well as several fire giants,
who actually operate the machines that melt ore and
separate metal from rock.

Resources and Trade
Gold is the most famous resource of Nuitari Novius,
but more commonplace are rich deposits of iron,
nickel, copper, zinc, sulfur, and even silver. 
Extracting these resources is fairly easy, as all
deposits thus far have been very close to the surface.
 However, volcanic eruptions, poisonous gases,
ashfalls, and earthquakes all make working the mines
of Nuitari Novius extremely hazardous.  Vast
graveyards sit side-by-side with the mines, a grisly
reminder of the hazards of working on this moon.

The moon imports food, labor, building materials,
drugs, animals, and water.  Raw ore used to be
exported, but this came to an end after several
refineries were built to smelt ore into purified
metals, making them more valuable to transport.  

History
Shortly after Takhisis stole Krynn, the gods
petitioned Reorx to begin work on a new world. 
Although they held out hope that Krynn would be
discovered, the pragmatic side of them felt it best to
prepare for the worst, that Krynn would never be
found.  So Reorx went to work, crafting a whole new
world.

Nuitari Novius was the first attempt to craft a new
world.  As it had been many ages since the gods last
attempted such a feat, many mistakes were made in its
creation.  The surface was too weak and cracked,
through which magma oozed out and smoke filled the
sky.  The gods quickly abandoned Nuitari Novius,
leaving it to mortals to claim as their own.

Nuitari Novius was first discovered in 5 AK
(After-Krynn) by the tradesman LONGSHOT, who reported
the new world at Reorx.  Soon after, dozens of scout
ships arrived to survey the moon.  At first, they
found little of interest.  Then deposits of gold were
discovered.  This triggered a gold-rush to this
unclaimed moon.  Within ten years of its discovery,
Nuitari Novius sported several boomtowns across its
surface.  Tropical oases began to appear as well, due
to the work of some immigrant druids.

Satellites
Rings of Ash: Because the volcanoes on Nuitari Novius
often erupt so violently, enormous amounts of ash are
hurled into low orbit around the moon.  Most of these
clouds fall back to the moon’s surface over time, but
some have settled into stable orbit, creating broad
rings of ash girdling the moon.  Entering this ring is
extremely hazardous, as it immediately fouls any air
envelope.

Tower of the Black Dragon: A small group of Black
Robed wizards have commissioned a small tower be built
in orbit around Nuitari Novius.  The tower is built
similar to a Starhorse Base, but has the overall
appearance of a black dragon.  The Black Robes are
using this base to study the moon without putting
themselves at risk by traveling to its dangerous
surface.  At any given time there are 7-12 Black Robes
in the base, lead by Anthinus of the Three Thunders
(LE human male Wizard 12).

Other Considerations

Nuitari Novius influences magic in the same way as
Nuitari did before it.  Its effects magic across the
entire sphere, enhancing or reducing the power of all
wizards of evil alignment.  As the position of this
moon and its sisters have such an influence over the
sphere, spellcasters have developed means to track the
moon’s position and phase, no matter where they are in
the sphere.

After the moons of Krynn vanished, 39 years after the
planet they orbit did, rumors began to circulate that
Nuitari Novius is connected somehow with Nuitari, the
moon it is named after.  Some Black Robed wizards
claim that there are roads through the Plane of Shadow
allowing travel between the two moons.  There is not
confirmed evidence of this, yet.

Bibliography
Spelljammer: AD&D Adventures in Space
Krynnspace
Dragonlance Campaign Setting



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