Type: Spherical water body
Size: F
Escape Time:
Satellites: 2 moons
Distance from Primary: 160 million miles
Day Length: 90 hours
Year Length:
Population Analysis: Dragons, lizardmen, sahaugin
Torrent is a size F water-covered earth body. It is nearly a perfect sphere, with an equatorial diameter of 14,000 miles. The polar diameter is slightly less, about 13,950. The equator of Torrent runs almost 44,000 miles along its surface. Torrent rotates upon an axis that is tilted roughly 12 degrees, so the planet has seasons. Torrent orbits Wink on an orbital plane that is inclined almost 45 degrees. A day is 90 standard hours long on this world.
The oceans of Torrent cover almost 90% of the planet. Effectively, the entire surface is one giant ocean that stretches from pole to pole. The depth of the ocean, however, varies from location to location. There are several underwater "continents" that tower above the nearly endless abyssal plains that lie at the bottom of miles deep oceans. The underwater continents vary greatly in terms of their depth, but average 1000 feet deep. The abyssal plains vary little in depth, and all are well over 10 miles deep. Trenches at the edges of the abyssal plains are even deeper, dropping to depths of 20 miles or more. What secrets such depths hide is unknown.
The atmosphere of this world is thick and moist. It is, in fact, thicker than most humanoids are used to, and humans feel uncomfortable while on this world. At the highest mountain peaks, the air thins to a level that becomes comfortable for humans. Lizards and their kin, however, find the air especially comfortable and thrive in the thick atmosphere.
All water in the oceans is salty. Water found on the islands and in the atmosphere is fresh, with a few saltwater springs found from time to time. Almost all creatures dwelling on Torrent are capable of drinking fresh or salt water with little difficulty.
The temperature of the oceans varies with latitude and depth. At the poles, the water is so cold it freezes into gigantic ice bergs that drift away from the poles to melt in the warmer temperate waters. Some monster ice bergs, sometimes 20 miles across, manage to make it to tropical waters before melting. The temperate waters spread over the majority of the planet, and almost 60% of the planet is temperate in temperature. The tropics straddle the equator, and are very hot. When Torrent is closest to Wink, the waters reach temperatures of 150 degrees. Humans, centaurs, and even minotaurs commonly suffer heat strokes and contract deadly diseases when visiting the tropics of Torrent.
Torrent has earned it's name from its numerous and powerful storms. The hurricanes in the tropics are unusually powerful, and no ship has ever entered one and survived. Worst, they can last for great lengths of time, with some particularly powerful hurricanes surviving for months, as there is no land masses large enough to break them up. Hurricanes die when wind and ocean currents turn the hurricanes into temperate waters to die, which may take days, given the strength of some storms. Even the arctic blizzards that rage the polar regions have the strength of hurricane-force winds, which can destroy an unprotected structure with ease.
From orbit, Torrent is a blue-green orb of large size. White, spiraling clouds cover much of the surface, obscuring it from view. Occasionally, green dots can be distinguished from orbit where islands are located.
There are no islands on Torrent large enough to be considered continents. Instead, there are hundreds of island chains that run over thousands of miles. The largest and most inhabited archipelago is Aeonia, which lies in the southern hemisphere at the southern edge of the tropics region. Five islands make up the largest part of Aeonia, with hundreds of tiny specks of islands scattered between the five main islands. Aeonia is shielded from the worst hurricanes by a large area of very shallow water, twenty feet deep at high tide, that disrupts hurricanes and breaks them up before they reach Aeonia. There are at least seven other large archipelagos.
The underwater continents are larger and all eight are located under one of the island archipelagos. In fact, the islands are actually the mountain tops and plateaus of the continents. Surprisingly, the largest underwater continent lies under the smallest and most scattered archipelago, and it has a number of trenches that cut into it deeply.
Torrent is a watery world and thus the majority of the life dwells in the oceans. The array of fish, jellyfish, sharks, and shellfish is so vast that only a fraction of the animals have been cataloged. Literally any type of water-dwelling fish can be encountered in the oceans of Torrent. Additionally, there are numerous species that are unique only to Torrent. Some are detailed below.
The trifin is a variant of the eel found in shallow waters. It has three long fins that run the length of its body, parallel to one another. The trifins are vicious predators, attacking any creature that approaches it with its razor sharp teeth. An adult trifin is over 12' long, has 3 hit dice, and can attack once per round with its teeth that cause 2d4 points of damage per hit. Worst, trifins hunt in packs of 3-18, who enter a blood frenzy when they taste blood in the water. Blood-frenzied trifins attack twice a round and receive a +2 bonus to hit.
One of the more fearsome creatures in the shallow seas is the black octopus, which resemble normal octopuses. However, the black octopus is have tentacles that are covered with sharp spines. The spines are used to inject poison (type C) into their prey, slowly killing the creature so that the black octopus can devour the creature with ease.
A deadly predator that haunts the shallows and tidal pools is the crusher crab. Unlike normal crabs, a crusher crab has massive, mantis-like claws to snap open the shells of giant shellfish. Because an adult crusher crab is over 5' tall and 12' across, the claws are large enough to easily crush something as large as a centaur. A crusher crab has 8 hit dice and a thick carapace that grants protection equal to full plate (AC 1). The crab can attack twice per round, each attack causing 3d4 points of damage. Fortunately, a crusher crab is fairly slow, and a centaur can easily escape these deadly predators.
One of the more interesting non-predators is the flying seal. The small seals live upon the waves, using their overly large fins and small bodies to race through the water and jump from wave to wave. The seal actually skips from wave to wave, appearing to fly low along the water. The seals can jump as high as 50' into the air.
The islands are host to a variety of wildlife, much of which many would find bizarre and strange. The isolation of the various islands have promoted nature to create a bewildering variety of creatures, each adapted to fulfill a niche. Reptiles, birds, and small mammals are the most common animal life. All of the animals below are found on the islands of Aeonia, which has the best recorded wildlife. All of the islands are covered by lush forests or thick plains. Deserts and badlands do not exist on Torrent.
The red-back crocodile is a dangerous predator of saltwater swamps and river basins. It has the appearance of a small crocodile about 5' long with a bright, cherry- red back and a short snout. What makes the creature so dangerous is that it's back is actually capable of storing a great deal heat from Wink and releasing it in a single burst. Once it has sunned itself for three days, it dives into shallow water and lays at the bottom. When a school of fish passes over it, the crocodile releases all of its stored heat in a burst that boils the water, killing the fish. It then picks them off the bottom with it's short snout. Characters caught in a boiling burst suffer 4d6 points of scalding damage.
A common pest in the forests of Aeonia is the armored pede. Most pedes are a foot long and have segmented bodies. They have a rough, flattened conical shape with many small legs. The armored pede have segments that are covered by thick, leathery plates on their backs, protecting them from attack. They can curl into a ball if threatened by a predator, effectively protected from most attacks. The pedes are not a threatening species, but have a nasty habit of getting into granaries and devouring food supplies. Normally, they dwell in trees and survive on fruit and leaves.
The open plains of Aeonia are home to the saurps, a breed of sauropod dinosaurs that was likely imported millennia ago and adapted to the climate. The saurps are small, only 40' long and 10' tall, but have developed other defenses against predators. The saurps are quite quick, capable of reaching speeds of 50 miles an hour. Additionally, they have developed thick plates around the base of their neck, where predators make many of their attacks. Finally, their forefeet are tipped by sharp nails or hooves, which they can make terrible slashing attacks that can gut a minotaur with a single strike. A hit from a saurp cause 2d6 points of damage. Saurps commonly travel in packs of 30-50 creatures.
There are three main intelligent races on Torrent. They include the small and energetic sleek, a variant of lizardmen native to Torrent, many thousands of small, psionic gem dragons, and the deep-dwelling sahaugin, who terrorize coastal waters with their bloody raids. Though all three races are fairly numerous, enclaves of all three are divided from each other by vast stretches of water.
The sleek are a race of small, warm-blooded lizardmen who are known for their energy and playfulness. They stand a mere 4' tall and have long, narrow bodies. Their posture more resemble that of a bird, and sleek have many characteristics of birds. However, the sleek are not directly related to birds or lizards, and are a hybrid of the two.
Aside from their birdlike posture, the sleek are distinguished by their light blue-green coloration, small eyes, and powerful legs. A sleek is very quick, capable of keeping up with a galloping horse. Sleek have a small, brightly colored plumes of tiny feathers in a crest around their heads. The plumes have mating purposes, and those sleek with the brightest plume attracts the best mates. Sleek are particularly preoccupied by their plumes, and many are obsessed with having the brightest plume.
Surprisingly, clothing is not a foreign concept to sleek, unlike other lizardmen races. In fact, sleek love clothing, particularly silk garments. Soft cotton is also quite popular, but leather and wool is not found because of a lack of the creatures to produce such clothing. Sleek cover their bodies and legs, leaving only their heads and tails exposed. They wear sandals in warm weather and thick saurp-hide boots when in cold weather. Their clothing is embroiled with wonderful designs with the sleek find appealing.
In terms of attitude, the sleek are almost childlike. They have an insatiable curiosity and love to explore. However, their curiosity tends to get them into trouble, but their quickness helps get them out of trouble. They have fairly long lives and spend most of their lives constantly on the move. Conversely, there are no sleek- built settlements. When the centaurs established a colony at Aeonia, they migrated to the town in droves. Though this worried the centaurs at first, they soon came to enjoy the company of the playful sleek. Since then, many sleek have managed to get on spelljammers for the purposes of seeking adventure. As small creatures, they don't eat or breath much, but make good crewmen and have an excellent record of loyalty. Many captains have taken small groups of these creatures to other worlds with them, and sleek enclaves have popped up all over the sphere. Most are small, no more than 1% of a settlement's population, but tend to be annoying due to the fact that they get into everything.
Sleek form lifelong friendships with the people they meet. Once a sleek has befriended someone, they consider that person friend ever afterwards. They are unusually brave when their friends are threatened, and will take wild risks when in danger. Males are especially protective of their life mates, and have been known to give up their lives to save their mates or children. Sleek mate every few years and unlike lizards, give birth to live young. Females are especially good parents, and will leave their children alone only to feed.
Sleek relations with other races are good. They consider the centaurs and elves to be somewhat bossy and pushy, but overall good people. The minotaurs are intimidating, given their large size, and sleek cannot understand their spartan lifestyle. Sleek enjoy satyrs best, and attend satyr festivals whenever they can. Unsurprisingly, several gem dragons live on or near Aeonia and are fiercely protective of the diminutive lizard folk. They protect the sleek from the deadly assaults of the sahaugin, who would love nothing more than to overwhelm the island and destroy the lizard folk, once and for all. Sahaugin consider sleek food and nothing else. They wish to destroy the sleek merely to spite the amethyst dragons who guard the islands.
The next major race on Torrent are the gem dragons. They command the highest points on the islands, but hunt the seas for their meals. Large fish are their favorite creatures to devour, and jellyfish are considered delicacies. All dragons are capable of swimming in the seas and are adapted to hunting underwater. Dragon lairs tend towards elaborate, palace-like caves that were created an age ago. Families of dragons will sometimes dwell together in the largest caves, hunting and playing together. One extended clan of crystal dragons is over two dozen members strong.
The gem dragons are fairly small, none growing bigger than 50' long, including tail. Their small bodies actually allow them to swim quite quickly, running down even the fastest fish. Some have developed fairly powerful psionic abilities to warn them of danger or aid them in combat. Combined with their limited spellcasting abilities and powerful natural attacks, the gem dragons can be fierce opponents if angered. Luckily, the gem dragons are generally friendly and welcome interaction with off-world races. They have learned through tragic experience not to trust certain races, such as neogi and illithids, and will rally together to destroy such races. The wreckage of more than one deathspider lays at the bottom of the sea.
The poles and cold temperate regions are dominated by two species of gem dragons, the whimsical crystal dragons and the regal amethyst dragons. The crystal dragons are the smallest of the dragons of Torrent, averaging only 24' long and having the size and bulk of a large warhorse. They suffer from having the weakest spellcasting and psionic abilities, but are the swiftest swimmers and like to gather into groups. In fact, upon one large, cold island several hundred crystal dragons dwell together in the ruins of an ancient city that they have since modified to suit their needs. The dragons have established a kingdom of sorts, ruled by the most powerful of their kind. This king is twice as big as normal crystal dragons and is said to have unusual psionic abilities. King Srunn'lear enjoys a position of wealth and power among his people, but is curious about other races and other worlds after a centaur moray visited the island a decade ago. Since that time, Snowflake Island (as the centaurs have come to call the place) has become a minor port of call. The centaurs trade almost anything they can find to the dragons in exchange for the bones of certain fish, which can be ground into a tasty spice, and Clearbreath ale, a potent drink made from jellyfish that the dragons enjoy.
The amethyst dragons are rarer and have also adapted to the open oceans of Torrent. Their wings have adapted into large back fins which help propel them through the water. The tails of these creatures are large rudders, with large, brightly colored fins. They have also developed an innate water breathing ability which allows them to remain underwater most of their lives. Amethyst dragons are larger than crystal dragons, growing as large as 45' long and having the bulk of a killer whale. Their favorite prey are sharks and sahaugin, which they hunt mercilessly.
The amethyst dragons dwell in small caves along the sea shore. They are not as communal as the crystal dragons, preferring small clans of no more than five dragons. They are psionically and magically the strongest of the dragons on Torrent, giving them a tremendous advantage over their smaller cousins. However, their small and widely scattered population weakens their overall power, leaving individual clans vulnerable to sahaugin assaults, which sometimes see as many as a thousand of the creatures assaulting a dragon stronghold. Effectively, the amethyst dragons and the sahaugin are at war, but so far, the amethyst dragons have gotten the better of the smaller fish folk, and have twice rallied together to completely destroy a sahaugin city in response to a deadly raid that claimed the lives of dragon clans.
All amethyst dragons are united under a mysterious being known as the Deep King. The dragons claim that the Deep King is a massive dragon, as big as a leviathan, who communicates with all of their kind through psionics and low, deep songs that can be heard for thousands of miles. The Deep King has complete control over his people, able to order them together for war in times of need. When not organizing raids on sahaugin settlements, the Deep King slumbers at the bottom of a deep and vast trench, supposedly in a vast temple complex so ancient that it predates all known ruins by several thousand years.
The tropics are home to two more species of gem dragons, the emerald dragons and the pearl dragons. Both are fairly small dragons, averaging only 30' to 40' long and having the bulk of a small elephant. Like their cold- dwelling cousins, they have adapted to life hunting at sea. Unlike their cousins, the tropic dragons still have wings and are capable of flight, which counters their fair abilities in magic and psionics. While tropical dragons can easily swim, they are not the graceful swimmers that the crystal dragons are and can only "dog paddle" through the water and have some difficulty lifting off from water. Fortunately, tropical dragons float like birds upon the water.
The pearl dragons are the more common of the two tropical dragons. They haunt the islands and the surrounding waters, plucking fish from the sea with their long snouts. They tend to be loners, carving out small sea caves for themselves. Of all the gem dragons, they are the most reclusive and least willing to chat with other intelligent beings and mostly want to be left alone. They only come together once every five years to mate on a certain island along the equator. During mating season, males constantly battle each other over prime cliffs and bluffs, where they attract females to mate with. Younger males constantly try to steal females from older males through trickery, magic, and gang attacks. This chaos lasts a season, ending when the last of the females have been fertilized and leave to return to their lairs to lay their eggs.
Pearl dragon lairs are little more than large caves carved into cliff faces. The dragons fly directly into and out of their caves, but such caves rarely have a second entrance. Their location on the high cliffs make them nearly impossible to assault without magic. Regardless, pearl dragons became reclusive after a group of pirates started hunting down and slaying the creatures for their hides. The group was extremely powerful, managing to slay eight dragons before departing for another sphere. The fate of the group is not known, but because of their murderous hunts, the dragons have become reclusive and avoid humanoid contact. Though some dragons escaped the pirates' attacks, they were unable to identify the group. All they know is that they flew in a giant wooden craft with the appearance of a hammerhead shark.
The pearl dragons are psionic, with a power level equal to their hit dice and 120 PSPs. They have 2 disciplines, 3 Sciences, and 5 devotions. Preferred disciplines are telepathy and psychometabolism. Though psionic, the pearl dragons are not comfortable using their powers for anything other than defense. It may very well be that when the pearl dragons tap into their psionic abilities, their minds touch that of the amethyst dragons' Deep King, which concerns them deeply. Perhaps they fear what they see when they use psionic abilities, but are too proud to admit it.
The best way to deal with a pearl dragon is through flattery and large offerings of foreign treasures, especially art objects and gemstones. They do not like magical items, as the marauders who slew so many of their kind used many such items to track the dragons down in their lairs. The popular story of the events states that the marauders came in peace, offering magical, dragon-sized amulets to their targets, through which they were able to later teleport to and take the dragon by surprise in its lair. Since then, the dragons have a distrust of all beings offering magic items, and may even attack the party making the offer and toss the offending magic into the deep ocean.
The final group of dragons on Torrent are the emerald dragons, who inhabit the interiors of the tropical islands. Their preferred homes are extinct volcanoes that dominate those islands, where they build mighty palaces inside the huge craters. There are only a few active volcanoes on Torrent; most mountains are extinct, not dormant. Within the craters of the extinct volcanoes the emerald dragons have used their magic to build beautiful, domed structures lined with hundreds of pillars. Dragon structures are marvelous marble constructions carved with thousands of runes and pictures. The pictures are a kind of dragon racial memory, recounting tales from an age long ago, when the oceans were not so deep and the whole world was lush. Tales of heroism are retold in their pictures, with lizardmen heroes and deadly alien foes. When asked about these tales, the dragons merely shrug and cryptically state that what was, what is, and what is to be are joined.
The emerald dragons are a clannish breed, gathering in their towns as many as fifty creatures. They spend their time communicating with each other telepathically, but spend most of their time slumbering. When hunting, their prey include large birds, clams, and fish. Their jaws are extremely powerful, capable of crushing a clam's shell with one bite. They only hunt when hungry, and an emerald dragon will only feed once every five days or so.
The passion of the dragons is to perform massive ceremonial dances on the slopes of their mountain homes. They have even created gigantic musical instruments, such as flutes and drums, to create strange and wonderful music for their dances. The dances have religious significance, apparently as a means of keeping the universe in harmony. They do serve to bond families together as each family has its own unique dance style and music. The dragons take great pride in their dances, and to insult their dance is to insult the dragon, his clan, and his people.
The emerald dragons are not an overly reclusive race, but they don't care for humans. They remember the days of the Raer Empire, when cruel sorcerers clashed with their noble generals in the skies of Torrent. Centaurs, minotaurs, and other creatures created by the Raer are avoided by the dragons, but they are courteous to them. They like sleek best, inviting them to join their dances. Humans and demi-humans are distrusted and the dragons express their dislike for such creatures.
Finally, it might be noted that a single prismatic dragon on Torrent. This creatures, Shimmer, rules a tropical island along the equator. The island is home to a large colony of playful sleek, who dwell in the large, ancient city that the centaurs have named Ionthen. The city predates any known sleek settlement, but was built for them. Sleek myth holds that Ionthen is the ancient capital of a long vanished kingdom from which the sleek race originated. The city is huge, but the jungle has claimed most of it, burying the majority of the buildings under a thick layer of vegetation. Only a small area around the docks area is clear and still heavily used. From this small clear zone, the sleek trade with any ship that makes Ionthen a port of call. For almost anything the trader has to offer, the sleek will trade valuable ironwood, stone axes that are sharper than any metal axe, and sweet, exotic fruit unique to the island. The fruit is especially prized by centaurs, who will pay as much as 5 silver pieces per piece of fruit. Though the island's location is held secret by a few traders, pirates and raiders who would dare attack the island should be prepared to face the magical fury of Shimmer, who protects the sleek fiercely. Among his magical treasures is a gemstone that allows him to summon a flight of ghostly dragons to deal with any invader. The ghosts are quite capable of attack, and have the statistics of a ghost dragon (Monster Manual Annual #3). Sleek legends tell of a grand battle in the skies between a small fleet of flying sharks and ghostly dragons. Sages who have studied the legend date it at the time of the Raer, and may signify a costly battle between Raer spelljammers and an ancestor of Shimmer. If indeed the Raer were defeated, then the magic at Shimmer's disposal must be extremely impressive.
Lurking in the depths of Torrent's oceans are the fish folk known as the sahaugin. Few creatures are as vile and cold as the sahaugin, who seek nothing less than the total destruction of their enemies, both on the surfaces and those below the waves. It is fortunate for the sleek and dragons that the sahaugin are their own worst enemy. The fish kings constantly war with one another and must fend off countless coup attempts, leaving the fish folk with few resources and limited resolve to attack surface settlements and ships. When they do raid ships and coastal towns, the sheer number of scaly fish warriors is terrifying to their victims.
The sahaugin of Torrent are much like those in other seas, but their fins are brighter and their bodies sleeker, like an eel rather than a fish. They are powerful swimmers, able to race through the water with a movement of 30 rather than 24. This movement increase comes at a cost, as their bodies are weak outside of the water. When not in the water, a sahaugin warrior has an effective strength score of 8 and suffer a -2 penalty to their hit and damage rolls. They cannot survive long out of the water, as they need the water pressure to support their bodies. Merely keeping their skin wet will not keep them alive, as they cannot breathe air. Typically, a sahaugin will not stay out of the water for more than 10 minutes, as that is the limit of how long they can hold their breath. Any longer than that and they will start to suffocate.
Sahaugin technology is very primitive. They use stone tools and weapons and build their homes from gigantic sea shells. Nets are fashioned from kelp strands, which the fish folk use to hunt with. They rarely use nets in battle, as the nets are often too valuable to risk being destroyed by sharp stone weapons. Sahaugin wear no clothes or armor, but they do like to pierce their fins with small decorative bones. Gold is very rare, and considered the treasure of kings and nobles. For a non-noble to possess gold is considered a crime punishable by death. The kings will wear any gold jewelry but will hide other gold treasures in secret caches deep in their palaces.
The underwater cities of the fish folk are small, most only 1-2,000 strong. The largest city, found fairly close to Aeonia, numbers 5,000 sahaugin, including the royal court, but is a single city state that has little claimed territory. It constantly skirmishes with nearby towns, attempting to expand its domain, but has been met with strong resistance. They have barely enough hunting grounds to feed their population, but not enough for much expansion. The king is growing more desperate, and has started raiding Aeonia in search of more food, which have been fairly successful. They rob sleek fishing ships of their catches, but few of the lizard folk have been slain. When the sahaugin raid a sleek settlement, the lizard folk flee inland, leaving the town to be sacked. As a result, some hard-hit towns have been relocated deeper inland or moved up rivers, where the sahaugin cannot attack. Though the raids have not been bloody so far, it is only a matter of time before a major clash erupts between the two races. The amethyst dragons have twice raided the city, but were repulsed by the superior number of sahaugin.
Torrent is surprisingly rich in terms of resources. It has thick forests of highly prized lumber that natives and centaurs are only beginning to exploit. As centaurs push deeper into the forests, they have found a variety of plants and animals that have endless uses. Mages have found that certain body parts of red-backed crocodiles are useful in spells involving fire and heat, while pede shells are useful in shield spells, giving the caster a +1 bonus to the effective AC. Fish oil is also highly prized as it is a key component of waterproofing oils for ships. The black octopuses are occasionally caught by less than lawful individuals for their poison.
Traders have learned that sleek are excellent artisans, specializing in woodcrafts. Sleek will trade finely crafted and decorated chests, furniture, and like goods for clothing, jewelry, and almost any sort of metal goods. Because of their skill with woodcraft, some sleek have been hired by centaurs and minotaurs to travel to shipyards to help out in building spelljammers. A venturesome centaur noble is considering building a small shipyard on Torrent to reduce travel costs and take advantage of sleek craftsmen. The centaur hopes to build moray eels at the rate of two or three a year, depending on how profitable his business becomes.
The city of Ionthen has been detailed above, trading stone axes, ironwood, and exotic fruit for almost all foreign goods. Other resources that have been sold on occasion include rare and ancient sleek relics, suits of dragonscale armor made from Shimmer's shed scales, and even extra magical items Shimmer no longer has a use for.
There are three ports of call on Torrent. Two are sleek cities on Aeonia, while the third is the ancient city of Ionthen. All three cities are dominated by large numbers of sleek, but also have minor communities of centaurs, minotaurs, and a few satyrs. Trade ships make regular stops at these ports, but other than trade, they have little to offer spelljammers. None have any sort of dry dock for repairs, few taverns that cater to non-sleek, and few laborers to help with the movement of cargo. Merchants have had to build many of their own facilities to get trade started on Torrent.
The most active is Trobos, the largest settlement on Aeonia. A bustling city of over 15,000, Trobos has the largest non-sleek population on Torrent. At any given time, a half-dozen or more ships will be docked, most likely trading goods of one kind or another. The city is a seaside city, set at the edge of a deep bay protected from tides by a rocky peninsula. The docks are well-built and can handle most water-landing spelljammers so long as their design is not too exotic. There are only a few warehouses, however, and no tanneries, forges, or other industries. Stores are few and are rarely fully stocked. Few spelljammers aside from merchant ships dock at Trobos.
The second port of call is Carium, a far less reputable port than Trobos. Often used by smugglers and pirates, Carium is a ruckus place where pirates unload their stolen wares on unscrupulous fences. The port is surprisingly small, with a permanent population of a mere 900 individuals scattered along the Slowrun River. Actual docks are hidden along river banks, and ships with deep drafts cannot make use of them. Normal eel ships are most commonly seen here, used by the fences to ferry their goods to black markets in other spheres. The town has no law other than the sword, but the rouges that visit Carium follow a code of conduct least face the wrath of their fellow rouges. There are rarely more than four or five ships here, half pirate vessels and half owned by the fences.
The last fairly active port is Ionthen. With a population of a mere 6,000 sleek, Ionthen is not high on most merchants' places to visit. Those merchants that do know of Ionthen's existence keep the place secret to maintain their monopoly on the trade. The number of merchants that visit here is fairly small, and there is never more than two spelljammers found at the docks.
Two small moons orbit Torrent. Both were uninhabited a century ago, and claimed by Taur. They have become colonies of the centaurs, who have relocated here to take advantage of the many valuable resources located here. Taur is firmly in control of both moons, as they are both under the rule of King Lorn, who was King Kell's most loyal and skilled general. Now ruler over a tributary kingdom, King Lorn knows that his position was a reward for his years of unfailing loyalty and service. His remains unflinchingly loyal to his liege. His army's loyalty to both kings is unquestioned. He commands a total fleet of twelve moray eel ships with full crews.
Type: Crescent earth body
Size: C
Population: 22,000
Primary Inhabitants: Centaurs &
minotaurs
Natural Resources: Tar, stone, pottery,
copper
Exports: Tar, stone, copper
Imports: Water, food, lumber
Closer to Torrent than Ios, Rhone is a large, desert- like crescent world. The whole moon is 400 miles from tip to tip and 100 miles at its broadest. The edges are smooth and can be crossed by foot, but the edges are windy and hit by frequent sand storms. The inner half of Rhone is rocky and hilly, with many hidden water sources. The outer half of Rhone is a large sandy desert with an endless sea of sand dunes. Recently, the centaurs have been shipping water from Torrent to Rhone to make it a more hospitable place. They have several small towns along the inner surface, one of which is a port for spelljammers. The residents have built an artificial lake for water-landing craft, complete with docks.
Despite being largely a desert world, Rhone has numerous resources that the centaurs and minotaurs have exploited. Tar and oil are thick under the surface, sometimes seeping through the surface in deadly tar pits. The tar has numerous uses throughout the whole sphere and is highly prized. The centaurs gather the tar in stone pots made in the towns and shipped to various ports throughout the sphere. The sale of this tar is Rhone's primary source of revenue, which they use to purchase water, food, and building materials. The other minor trade good that Rhone offers is green limestone blocks, which are sold to stonemasons around the sphere. The stone is not overly valuable, used in few buildings. There is but a single active quarry at any given time. Finally, Rhone has numerous metal veins, primarily copper, tin, zinc, and led. King Lorn is interested in building Rhone's bronze-making industry. He hope that Rhone will become a major producer of bronze.
The most famous feature on Rhone are the Triple Towers, a colossus trio of towers that are all over 1200' tall and have bases almost 600' across. The towers date back to the time of the Raer, but were certainly built for centaurs and minotaurs. The towers are very extensive, each with enough barracks and storerooms for a thousand soldiers to withstand a four-year long siege. The bases of the towers have vast chambers that were built to allow spelljammers to dock. The large gates allow access for spelljammers no wider or taller than 40'. Each of the two spelljammer docking levels can hold up two four spelljammers. In the event of attack, massive stone blocks can be lowered to bar passage through that route. The towers have seen very little weathering, no doubt due to residual magics left behind by Raer sorcerers. The towers are located 1000' from each other in a near perfect straight line and connected by solid stone buildings. Despite their Raer origins, the towers are still in use, with a garrison of three Great Lances (about 300 centaurs) and a small Phalanx of minotaurs (about 300 minotaurs). The docks have no permanent spelljammer garrison, but are still often used. The Triple Towers have the only large dry docks found in King Lorn's kingdom. Many merchant ships make use of these ports because of the quality of the work done. Two hundred laborers live and work in the towers, and another hundred or so merchants who provide various goods and services to the crews of spelljammers under repairs. The Triple Towers are fast becoming an important port for spelljammers.
The wilderness is a desert, but not completely barren. The inner side has countless shrubs, cactuses, and desert- loving flower plants. The desert is home to gazelle, a host of insects, giant spiders, coyotes, foxes, lizards, and six metascorpions. The metascorpions are much like their cousins in other spheres, but slightly different. Instead of iron bodies, the higher copper and tin deposits have caused their bodies to become something similar to bronze. Their discarded shells have been found on occasion in the sandy outer side. So far, all were hauled to ports to be stripped and dismantled for their metal content, but King Lorn has expressed an interest in possibly using them as scorpion ships in the future. A scorpion ship made from the shell of these metascorpions is identical to normal scorpionships, but the weaker metal results in a -1 penalty to Armor Rating (AR 5 instead of AR 4).
Type: Elliptical earth body
Size: C
Population: 75,000
Primary Inhabitants: Centaurs & satyrs
Natural Resources: Grain, lumber
Exports: Food, lumber, perfume, papyrus
Imports: Tar, copper, silver, weapons.
The outer moon of Torrent is the elliptically shaped worldet of Ios. The major axis of Ios is almost 800 miles while the minor axis is about 600 miles. Ios rotates along its major axis, appearing to spin like an egg on end. Like Rhone, Ios is a dry moon, but has enough water to form two fair sized seas. The first is a large polar sea that dominates the southern quarter of Ios, while the other is a narrow ribbon sea that winds from the southern sea to near the northern pole. The land consists of rocky and dry hills and flat, fertile river valleys. In a few remote areas, the hills rise to heights enough to be considered low mountains.
Ios is much more populated than Rhone because of its richer resources and more hospitable climate. The rich lower river valleys are tightly packed with grain farms, while the middle and upper river valleys are still thickly forested. The richer centaur and satyr farmers raise a variety of grains, while poorer families make due making papyrus from the reeds that grow in the river banks. The majority of the population is found on two rivers, connected by a wide mountain pass. Ios has only been settled in the last century, and as a result, most of the moon is uninhabited and even unexplored. Merchants trade surplus food, wood, and papyrus to other worlds in exchange for copper, silver, and other resources Ios lacks.
The only large settlement on Ios is the capital city of Crossos. A walled city of 35,000, Crossos has a rectangular layout when seen from above. It sits upon a plateau that juts into Blue River, overlooking a short but powerful cascade. The city was built around the series of canal locks that allow ships to bypass the cascade. At night, when there is no merchant traffic, the locks are opened to keep the canal clear and clean. The highest point of Crossos is the site of a huge temple of Therina. The temple is still under construction, and is only half complete. When complete, the temple will be a huge pillared complex capable of holding services for almost four thousand centaurs. Opposite the temple and also under construction is a large arena complex. The arena is nearly complete, and already races and athletic competitions are held here annually. It can hold six thousand centaurs and satyrs, and when complete, will sit as many as seven thousand spectators.
King Lorn rules his city from his palace, which rests above the cascade. The palace is protected by high walls that enclose a garden estate. A small garrison of two Lances (about 50 centaurs) keeps watch over the estate. Crossos has a government structure much like other centaur cities, with a senate of elected representatives that runs most of the day-to-day affairs of the city. King Lorn has a great deal of power due to his command over the military and personal ownership of the twelve moray eels that pull double duty as merchant ships and warships. The senate meets on a weekly basis to decide on how money is to be spent and what projects are next to be undertaken. Ios is a young kingdom, and many individuals have varying ideas on what it will finally be like. There are constant arguments between rival representatives over petty issues. King Lorn allows these arguments to continue to keep his rivals at each others' throats rather than plotting against him.
The mountain valley connecting the two river valleys hold one of the wonders of Tyrspace. The trail on the valley floor is lined with thousands of gigantic centaur statues. Each of these statues is almost fifty feet tall and have a surprising amount of detail. The statues are surprisingly resilient, unaffected by weathering or attempts to deface them. Any damage to a statue is mysteriously repaired by the next morning, with no sign of damage. According to legend, the statues are a legendary lost legion from the days of the Raer who were entombed in stone for unknown crimes. The legend continues to state that during a time of great crisis, the warriors will be returned to flesh and will be granted a chance to redeem themselves. They will defeat a great foe who will otherwise destroy the entirety of the centaur race.
Wilder lands constitute the majority of Ios. A variety of deer, lions, reptiles, wild goats, and birds have so far been encountered on the riverbanks. Rumors put more exotic creatures like sphinxes, basilisks, bulettes, dragonnes, hill giants, and even a few galeb duhr as dwellers in the more remote areas. A popular folk legend claims that the high hills are home to a nomadic tribe of wemics with unusual abilities. The tribe is commonly referred to as the Kin of Earth, Fire, Wind, and Rain but so far have no contact can be confirmed. They are reputedly very shy and dislike meeting foreigners.
