Planet Name: The Sun's Girdle
Planet Type: Asteroid Belt
Planet Size: A (see below)
Escape Time: Varies
Satellites: None
Distance from primary: 60 million miles
Day Length: NA
Year Length: 240 days (estimated)
Population Analysis: Dwarves, humans, many other humanoids
The Sun's Girdle is the "asteroid belt" of the Twilite sphere. It is, however, not a true asteroid belt. Instead, the Girdle seems to be a ribbon world located within an asteroid belt. This creates a most unusual world, which is, in fact, divided into two major parts. The first part consists of the ribbon world at the heart of the Girdle. The ribbon is a collection of roughly two thousand large asteroids, ranging in size from 50 to 100 miles across and 1 to 3 miles thick each. In between these asteroids is a vast, ribbon-like ocean of blue-gold water. The ocean is flat, and is about a mile thick. It completely encircles the Sun, as well as the two thousand "islands" drifting in its currents. The whole network of ocean and islands has a common, flat gravity plane. Day and night is caused by the ocean and islands rotating inward slowly, spinning on a circular axis. All islands rotate at the same speed as the ocean, so the land is not flooded. A common, torus shaped atmosphere surrounds the Girdle, and is more than 70 miles thick. The atmosphere is thickest at "sea level," but drastically reduces in thickness at the edge.
The most striking feature of the Ocean Ribbon is that it has the effects to distort distance. Any craft travelling along its surface travels roughly one thousand miles for every hour of travel. Yet, in effect, the craft is only travelling at a mere four knots an hour, in terms of the speed the wind and water passes the craft. Because of this distortion of distance on the ocean water, travel between individual islands takes days rather than years. A ship can travel the length of the entire Ribbon Ocean in two years, but most voyages take twice as long due to numerous stops.
The second piece of the Girdle is the hundreds of thousands of smaller asteroids, most no bigger than a mile across, that orbit with the primary ribbon. These smaller rocks roll about lazily in their orbits, rarely colliding with each other and never with the primary ribbon. For some odd reason, the ribbon repels the smaller asteroids, preventing them from smashing into it. The asteroids are never repelled enough for them to escape the belt, thus random asteroids in the rest of the sphere are rare.
The many asteroids of the Girdle are rich in wealth, be it metals, gemstones, and special stones. Virtually every know mineral can be found among the asteroids of the Girdle, with the most common being iron, nickel, copper, silver, and gold. Gemstones that are most common include diamonds, rubies, quarts of all types, and obsidian. Rumors abound that mithral, star sapphires, and platinum can be found in some asteroids, but so far finds have been small. Still, dwarves are convinced that several motherlodes are hidden in the asteroids, just waiting for dwarvish miners to find. Most of the asteroids have thin atmospheres, possibly gained from the ribbon world, which makes prospecting the asteroids much easier.
The ribbon has weather fairly consistent with weather found on normal earth worlds. However, the weather is almost completely predictable. Every morning it rains for an hour before the clouds burn off to a bright and sunny day. Violent storms are unknown, and the temperature always remains tropical. Nights are cool at worst, and days are fairly hot. This weather pattern supports lush rain forests on all but a few islands.
The asteroids have thin air and no discernable weather patterns.
The Girdle is a great, thin torus of blue surrounded by thousands of tiny asteroids. The Ribbon Ocean is clearly visible from space with the islands strung out like pearls on a necklace. The torus is streaked with long, thin clouds. Cloud cover is always along lines; there are no spinning storms such as hurricanes or tornadoes. The Ribbon Ocean is golden-blue, spinning eternally in space.
The islands of the Girdle support a mind boggling variety of wildlife. Only a handful of species have been successfully documented on a few islands, with the remainder unknown. Almost any sort of plant or animal could exist on the islands of the Girdle, and the isolation of each individual island promotes the development of wild and bizarre creatures. A few plants and animals are common enough to note as worthy of attention.
The most common flora in the 'civilized' islands include the following:
The fauna of the Ribbon is just as varied, with many strange and wondrous creatures. The most common creatures in 'civilized areas' are detailed below:
There are three major sentient species in the Girdle and a few minor ones. Each race has carved out homelands for themselves among the islands and asteroids of the Girdle. The major races, ordered in terms of population and overall importance, include troglodytes, dwarves, & humans.
By far the most numerous race, if not the most powerful, are the troglodytes. This race of lizardmen are descendants of a once mighty empire that ruled the sphere ages ago. However, their empire collapsed untold centuries ago, stranding a large enclave at the Girdle. Those lizardmen eventually developed into the troglodytes, who still control little over ninety percent of the islands. The troglodytes are hardly a unified race, and are divided into thousands of bickering and feuding tribes. An island will typically have 2-8 individual tribes of the creatures who constantly war with one another. The troglodytes have little real impact, however, on the local wildlife because their technology has fallen so drastically low. The troglodytes have little more than a stone age level of development. They fear fire and will never use it in battle. What metal weapons they own were taken from dwarvish or human warriors, but they cannot work metal of any sort.
Of interest to travelers of the troglodyte territories is that these lizardmen will not eat humanoids. These creatures are insectivores; troglodytes cannot chew their food and the flesh of humanoids give them terrible indigestion. Thus, visitors need not fear being eaten by the lizardmen. They do, however, need fear being slain for their equipment or taken as invaders. While troglodytes don't care for human flesh, they care for trespassers even less. Quick thinking and promises of supplies of metal have saved the life of many an explorer.
The troglodytes of the Girdle are almost identical to the entry in the monster manual. However, Girdle troglodytes lack the stench attack that normal troglodytes have; instead, they can spit stomach acid at a target, causing 2d4 points of damage. They can only use this ability twice a day.
Thousands of years ago, a fleet of dwarvish citadels entered the sphere. They were refugees from another sphere that was torn by war and strife. The refugees settled the Girdle, and would found the kingdom of Araufaern on one of the largest islands. That kingdom is the oldest in the sphere, surviving to modern times. Araufaern has spawned numerous other, smaller kingdoms throughout the sphere as dwarvish clans have left the mother nation to find their own destinies. Some of these kingdoms are located in the Girdle, while others are found on any one of the major worlds of the sphere. Araufaern completely controls one island and has colonies on two other and on a dozen or more asteroids. It has the largest concentration of dwarves in the entire sphere.
The dwarves of the Girdle resemble hill dwarves in all regards. However, the Girdle dwarves have adapted to the wet, tropical climate by discarding any armor heavier than leather and using a more limited selection of weapons. Most dwarves are armed with smokepowder firearms, sabers, or throwing daggers. Heavy battle axes, warhammers, and crossbows are still used, but rarely. Additionally, the dwarves tend to keep their hair cut short and their beards trimmed neatly. When not expecting trouble, dwarvish males will strip down to a simple pair of pants while dwarvish women will wear a loose and flowing dress. Footwear is often sandals, if worn at all. The dwarves of Araufaern are expert craftsmen, and have turned to creating vast monuments and trinkets as their mines have played out over the centuries.
The nation of Araufaern is given more detail in a later section.
The human presence on the Ribbon is a fairly new one. Humans first established colonies on the Ribbon during the Raer Empire, thousands of years ago. The earlier Crux Empire, though centered at Ethwuld, the third planet in the sphere, was built more upon StarGate magics and not interested in visiting strange worlds such as the Girdle. The Raer established numerous small colonies upon the Ribbon, some of which flourished for centuries. However, most of these colonies did not survive the fall of the Raer, and were swallowed up by the jungles of the Girdle. A few would hold on for a few centuries more, but eventually they would all fall. For a time, humans were again unknown on the Girdle.
The situation changed roughly a thousand years ago, following the devastating Nemesis Wars. A group of humans, following a self-proclaimed Empress, founded the Sunflow Republic. These humans carved a nation from the Girdle, eventually conquering five islands from the troglodytes and claiming more than fifty smaller asteroids. The Republic remains the most powerful human realm in the Girdle, and may possibly be the most powerful single human spacefairing nation in the sphere.
With the coming of the Republic, other humans would be attracted to the Girdle and found their own nations. The Lateen Band was established two centuries ago by a group of wanders who were dislodged from their homes by invaders. The Lateen occupy a small chain of fifteen asteroids, which they farm. The asteroids are linked by a gigantic magical plant that was created by a wizard's experiment gone wrong. The plant links all of the asteroids together into a single life world. The plant has, somehow, made the asteroids fertile to crop plants and thickened the atmosphere to tolerable levels for humans. The food they grow is sold on markets throughout the Girdle. Thrask is another "nation" that has been founded in the Girdle. Thrask is little more than a pirate colony that sometimes raids the trade ships of the Republic, but is of little consequence. In all, there is at least a dozen petty human kingdoms scattered throughout the Girdle. Most were established by retired adventurers and are little more than glorified city-states. None are as important as the three listed above.
Despite the great wealth, the Girdle is surprisingly sparse in terms of population. Other than the major population centers of Araufaern and the Sunflow Republic, the overall population of any given island is very low. Most settlements, even those of the two largest nations, are fewer than ten thousand individuals. However, a few ports are of special importance to spelljammer ships.
Largest and most prosperous of the dwarvish cities that deal with spelljammers, the port of Sun's Stone was founded more than four thousand years ago. The site was chosen because it was the location of a huge, 80' tall stone that is said to have come from the sun because it is golden in color and glows with a life of its own. The stone made for an excellent beacon, attracting spelljamming ships of all sorts. The port itself is located in a small, protected inlet roughly two miles across. The harbor is deep, making Stone an excellent port. It also has a large open field so that ships that may only land on solid ground can use the port. Spelljammers from any of the friendly races is welcomed, and at least 1d6 spelljammers are always stopped here. The port is well-equipped and can repair most wooden or metal spelljammer. Stone has a permanent population of roughly 4,800 dwarves and 800 non-dwarves. If attacked, Stone can deploy its defensive fleet of 3 squidships.
The largest, and only, town of the Lateen, Starbridge sees a great deal of spelljamming activity despite its small size. It has a population consisting almost entirely of humans, most of whom are dock workers. A few non-humans dwell here as well, mostly the servants of merchants that trade at Starbridge. The town sees roughly d4 spelljammers each week, depending on when harvests are due. It has five stone docks that jut into wildspace along its gravity plane, so the port is quite capable of handling far more traffic than it normally sees. The town exports produce, dairy products, and meat in exchange for metal and worked goods of all sort. The repair facilities are fairly advanced, but expensive to use. All costs for repairs is multiplied by 1.25%. This is because workers must be hired and a supply of wood, scarce on Lateen, needs to be secured. Starbridge can only repair wooden ships at the rate of 1 hull point per day. The town has a fairly stable population of 500 residents, which can triple during the height of monthly trading fairs. Most buildings stand empty the rest of the month. If attacked, the town can defend itself with a dozen large weapons and launch its fleet of two lampreys. The town militia is 80 stout men strong.
The town is directly ruled by the Steward, a 12th level ranger who nominally rules the whole nation as well. His rule is fairly loose, and he pretty much lets the people do as they see fit. He serves as arbiter in settling disputes, commander-and-chief when the nation is attacked, and primary enforcer of the law. The militia directly serve him, but he only keeps twenty or so on hand for police matters. The rest are allowed to work other jobs. Providing Steward magical support is Cristeen, a 11th level druid. She provides magical healing for the sick and wounded. Normally, she keeps to her simple cottage at the edge of town.
Once known as Myor's Port, the town's name was shortened after the death of it's giff founder. Myrport is notable because it is the only place in Twilitespace to find giff, hadozee, and grommams. The town was established a few decades ago by a group of mercenaries seeking employment in the sphere. After fighting in a war for the dwarves, they decided the pay was good enough to settle down. Many retired and sent for their families. Now, two generations later, the town is a bustling place of little over 1,200 individuals, roughly evenly divided between the three races. Humans, dwarves, and elves all keep representatives here for the sole purpose of hiring mercenaries if the need arises. Ships that land here can expect to hire d12 sailors or marines, if they desire to do so. All are considered excellent crewmen, and the demand for their services is high. Captains must pay double salary for these crewmen, but it is money well spent. The city has no spelljammers of its own, but it has never been attacked.
The Shining City of Arystal is the primary space port of the Sunflow Republic. It is a fantastic, free floating city of ten small asteroids that share a common atmosphere. The buildings of Arystal are roofed with shingles studded with tiny quartz crystals, while the walls are broken up with numerous large, opulent windows. The whole city glitters in sunlight, earning its name as the Shining City. Spelljammers of most races are welcomed here.
The city is actually more of a collection of nine smaller towns under the direction of the Royal Crown, which commands a castle upon the tenth asteroid. Each of the nine lesser asteroids is owned by one of the Noble Houses of the Republic. Each town has facilities for a dozen spelljammers, but the traffic at each town varies with the power and attitude of the house in question. Individual asteroids are linked by a series of magical bridges or by small, magical boats. The towns have slowly drifted towards specialization; one town is noted for its taverns and inns, another has vast warehouses, and another is known for its dry docks. Each individual town has a population of 1,000-2,000 individuals. Each also has a local militia of 120 warriors.
The central castle is the personal property of the Empress herself. It has a garrison of 600 soldiers, including many monsters. It is also the naval base for the city's fleet, which is a flotilla of two sunhawk warships and eight shrikeships. Additionally, d4 more sunhawks, owned by the noble houses, will be at Arystal at any given time. The castle and the city is ruled by Horus Banefeather, the eagle-winged son of the Empress. He has the abilities of a 10th level fighter as well as the innate abilities of detect invisibility (always active), invisibility once a day, and produce flame thrice a day. He is always protected by a wing of five harpies of great beauty (a result of selective breeding and magical tampering). His staff includes 100 scribes, messengers, and aides.
