Re: MotM: Nuitari Novius - Krynnspace Update

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Adam Miller" <night_druid3000@?????.com>
Sent: Wednesday, January 03, 2007 11:49 PM


> Hey all,
>
> 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.

I was hoping you would do something like this at some point. I didn't think 
you would do it straight away. Don't forget that we might also need to do 
some updating to the pre-Krynn Krynnspace. If you do any material for 
planets that already exist (e.g. existing towns or cities on existing 
planets or moons), you might want to plot things on the timeline so that you 
can do less advanced version set in the present.

> Let me know what you think!  :)  Especially let me
> know if you like or dislike the direction I took for
> an updated krynnspace.

I love the direction. Although I think that you need to double check certain 
facts (specifically the time this planet arrives).

> 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...)

It was me. But unfortunately that isn't the full story. In the 3e DLCS, two 
of the Moons Solinari and Lunitari are *said* to be connected to the planes 
(by inhabitants of Ansalon), but apparently there is no real connection with 
the moons or their gods. Nuitari is the only moon that actually connects to 
a transitive planet in DLCS because Nuitari himself apparently maintains a 
second home there*. So this moon works, but you might not be able to repeat 
this trick unless Trampas can maybe suggest a hook.

According to the blurb on page 118 of DLCS Nuitari and The Shadow Plane 
*are* connected, because The Shadow Plane connects to The Abyss and Nuitari 
has a second home there*.

* = Note that if Nuitari has a home in The Shadow Plane he will be able to 
try to contact worshipers in all crystal spheres (except those that 
specifically say it doesn't exist).

This implies Wizards of the Black Robes will be able to regain spells in all 
other crystal spheres! I would, however suggest that they need to use 
Contact Home Power (normally a cleric spell) once per week (unless they were 
in Reoxspace or Takhisispace). Wizards wishing to overcome this requirement 
could perhaps build temples dedicated to Nuitari on a moon in another 
crystal sphere.

If Nuitari has access to a transitive plane but Solinari doesn't actually 
have access to The Astral Plane and Lunitari doesn't actually have access to 
The Ethereal Plane then this actually creates an imbalance in the 3e DLCS 
set up. It doesn't hurt Dragonlance, but it makes Nuitari have a big 
advantage.

Trampas are you still reading? We need a bit of help with this issue.

> Nuitari Novius

Great name!

> Orbital Position: Inner Lunar
> Day Length: 2 standard days
> Year Length: 8 standard days

Is this similar to the old moon? You could actually have the moon occupy the 
exact position of the former moon so that they are somehow connected via a 
portal through The Shadow Plane and orbit in unison.

(EDIT: Oops sorry you already suggested they were connected. I'd suggest 
that you make them in-phase too. The phases of Krynn's moons could be well 
documented in local almanacs, and they could suggest that the moon moves in 
the same way.)

[snip - interesting blurb that I have no issues with]

> 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.

This is a continuity problem, because according to Dragonhelm (and I believe 
cannon material), Krynn's moons did not get taken over to Takhisispace until 
39 (or 40?) years after Krynn went. If you make Nuitari Novius appear while 
the original Nuitari is still there, then I don't see a logical reason for 
it to be given a similar name, because people would see it as an additional 
moon rather than a replacement. You would also need to explain the period 
when the place where Krynn used to be had 6 moons orbiting it, instead of 3.

The 3e DLCS starts at the same time that Krynn's old moons are taken away. 
So if you want to do this in a way that clashes you have a problem. You 
would need to create this moon and have an instant population and an instant 
gold rush.

[snip - more interesting stuff including a nice dragon]

> 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.

Dragonhelm's Guide has the Dragonfleet having 12 ships (and a flying base) 
just prior to the Second Cataclysm, but then has it getting defeated after 
Takhisis leaves Krynnspace with Krynn. This seems to clash with that and 
gives us two options:

1) Go against what Trampas had Dragonhelm say about Reoxspace or,
2) Have the Dragonfleet defeated, but allow a some of the ships to escape.

I think it is a shame to remove the Dragonfleet, but I'd like to keep 
Dragonhelm's "defeat" and perhaps make them an organisation that went into 
hiding (for a while). This would make Nuitari Novius a power grab for them.

If the Dragonfleet was dominated by clerics of Takhisis before the Second 
Cataclysm then they would all have lost access to spells. The fleet would 
have lost much of its spellcasting and spelljamming ability. They would have 
been forced to disengage from any combat they were in and retreat to an 
agreed rendezvous point. From there they would have needed to have 
regrouped. When Takhisis failed to return for 39 years they would have had 
to reorganise. Clerics of Takhisis would need to switch religion and new 
replacement helmsmen would be needed. If these new helmsmen included many 
Wizards of the Black Robes then a power grab on Nuitari Novius (where these 
wizards could receive high sanction benefits at all times) would be a 
logical ambition.

Dragonhelm's Guide also has the remains of the Dragonfleet descending into 
piracy. Dragonhorn Point could start off as a hidden pirate base long before 
the gold rush starts (tying the history in with Dragonhelm's Guide a bit 
more). Many early explorers and prospectors visiting Nuitari Novius could 
vanish, enslaved or killed by the Dragonfleet. The Dragonfleet could try to 
keep explorers away for some time, but as Nuitari Novius has a lot of 
dry-land, a ship would eventually get through. That could have landed in The 
Valley of Despair and started a gold rush that brought in too many people 
for the Dragonfleet to stop. However when the population invasion does start 
Dragonhorn Point can already have a large enough supply of slaves and 
animated servants to protect itself from attack and they can shift from 
piracy to new tactics.

> Recently, creatures have begun to appear from a third
> source: the Plane of Shadow.
[snip]
> Guide to Groundlings
> Not only did
> prospectors come from across Krynnspace, but from
> other spheres as well, most notably Realmspace,
> Bralspace, Greyspace, and Refuge.

Given the timing issue, I mentioned above, you might need to reconsider the 
population sources.

Perhaps between the Second Cataclysm and the loss of the original three 
moons we could have things change on Solinari, Lunitari and Nuitari. 
Dragonhelm's Guide doesn't mention anything except that they vanish nearly 
40 years later. If we make some of the ships returning to Krynn colonise the 
three original moons we can achieve two things:

1) We can create a trade route that will eventually bring ships to Nuitari 
Novius and

2) We can create three spacefarer colonies on these moons that can 
"transport" people from "Reoxspace" to "Takhisispace". (This doesn't help 
you now, but will be useful when we get around to doing the other crystal 
sphere. It will also give us non-native people in Takhisispace who want to 
find a way back home.)

> 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.

If necessary, how fast can you make this happen?

> Nuitari Novius was first discovered in 5 AK
> (After-Krynn) by the tradesman LONGSHOT, who reported
> the new world at Reorx.

FYI: This year is also called 388 AC (After Cataclysm). I think that we 
should also quote AC dates for events in Krynnspace (these can always be 
added in during the proofreading stage if they are holding things back). 5 
AK is written as 5 SC in the terminology of the DLCS. (While it is a 
coincidence for isolated people to use the same terms it might make your 
work more accessible to fans of DLCS. Especially as the crossover community 
forms a good target audience for this crystal sphere.)

388 AC (5 SC) is nearly 35 years before the original Nuitari vanishes. You 
need to address this. I see two options for this:

1) Move the creation of Nuitari Novius forward in time to the year when 
Krynn was rediscovered and the gods took the original three moons away - 419 
AC (38 SC). And then make changes similar to the ones that I have suggested. 
The DLCS is set one year after these events in 420 AC (39 SC).

OR

2) Have Reorx create his replacement for Krynn on the opposite side of 
Krynn's orbit (so that if the real Krynn returns the sun would lie directly 
between both planets). You could then keep the creation of the 3 new moons 
in 388 AC (5 SC).

> 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.

Can you arrange a gold rush and all this stuff in one year? Or is it easier 
for you to adjust the background so that both sets of moons exist on 
opposite sides of the sun at the same time?

(Having two sets of moons, instead of shifting the timeline, would help with 
the Dragonfleet as it would give them a new home a lot earlier and give them 
more time to rebuild.)

> 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.

If you adopt my solution you will need to consider what happens if both 
moons exist at the same time. I would suggest that both sets of moons should 
move in unison, even though they are on opposite sides of the sun (and 
eventually in two different crystal spheres). Perhaps the Wizards of High 
Sorcery could receive double benefits and double penalties during the time 
period between 388 AC (5 SC) and 419 AC (38 SC). After the first set of 
moons vanish magic could return to normal.

> 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.

In the real world this is often done with a "(celestial) almanac". This is a 
book that lists all the positions of moons, planets and stars for the near 
future. In the SJCS a celestial almanac would be a book that contains the 
predicted positions of constellations, planets and moons in a given crystal 
sphere. You could probably buy a Celestial Almanac of Krynnspace from 
organisations in nearby Crystal Spheres.

Another way to do this would be with a clockwork model of the planets.

> 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.

Oops. I just realised that the gods found Krynn 38 years after it vanished - 
*not* 39.

FYI: The DLCS departs from the convention of the AD/BC date system and 
actually has a year zero! The Second Cataclysm happens in year 383 AC (0 
SC). Double check my maths, but I think that this is 38 years (although I 
don't know the actual days both events happened on so the time between them 
could be a few months shorter or longer than exactly 38 years).

> 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.

I do like this. It gives the Planescape fans a way into this crystal sphere 
(or into Takhisispace when that is finished). Krynnspace should be aimed at 
the crossover market and if you can kill two birds with one stone then go 
for it.

However, if you do have two sets of moons in Krynnspace at the same time (my 
second suggested fix for the continuity issues) you will need to think about 
the implications of a portal between both moons. I personally don't see a 
"game balance" problem with two moons in the same crystal sphere being 
connected for a while. Dragonlance players are not going to be playing 
during that period anyway and most Spelljammer players will either be back 
at the Second Unhuman War (I don't know this date in Dragonlance years yet) 
or at the end of your timeline in 420 AC (39 SC).

David "Big Mac" Shepheard
Virtual Eclipse Role Playing Club
http://uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/virtualeclipselrp/links/d20_system_001071937434/Spelljammer_001071430476
http://www32.brinkster.com/virtualeclipse/