A small, uninteresting moon of some minor world, Olkstn does not see much spelljamming traffic. In fact, it sees none at all, as ships that approach it suddenly lose power 15 miles above the surface, and regain it only after the ship has fallen 5 miles into the upper atmosphere. Spelljamming helms fail to operate in a zone 10 to 15 miles above the moon's surface, effectively trapping any ship that gets too close.
Olkstn has few features. A "scar" of mountains runs from the northern pole to almost the southern pole. Opposite of this mountain range is a vast swamp that covers about 1/3rd the moon. Plains, craggy hills, and deep forests fill the land in-between.
The climate of Olkstn is somewhat pleasant, with year-round, fall-like conditions. In the mountains, the wind is bitterly cold. It never really gets very hot nor cold on Olkstn, but biting winds blow down from mountain peaks to chill villagers to their bones. Mountain peaks are snow covered and very difficult to climb.
From orbit, Olkstn appears as a small moon with its features smeared by thick cloud cover. The largest features, such as the mountains and swamps, are easily visible.
None. Olkstn has no bodies of water larger than a small lake.
The small size of Olkstn prevents it from being home to many creatures. It has a few species of native gazelle, hunting cats, badgers, boars, and donkeys. The forests are deciduous in nature, with spruce, beeches, birch, and oaks predominating with some pine and other needle-bearing trees.
The original natives of Olkstn were a few human families living in simple towns. They sometimes fought amongst themselves over the scarce resources and built temples to various minor gods. The Babylonian gods were most popular with the natives, particularly Anu, Anshar, and Ishtar. These humans survive still, but have been greatly reduced in territory they can safely claim. They still have three towns and some villages in the lowlands, but avoid the mountains, forests, and swamps.
Orcs arrived during the Unhuman Wars, and were quickly driven into the newly-formed swamps. The orcs were once proud warriors and buccaneers, but after four centuries of being hunted and stalked, are little more than savage animals cowering in their strongholds. Ghouls and wraiths in the swamps stalk the orcs, killing them off a few at a time. The swamps have claimed any metal the orcs previously had, and now they fight with clubs and crude stone-tipped spears, all but useless against their undead foes.
The last major race is the half-orcs, who arose after generations of close contact between humans and orcs. The half-orcs can go between the human and orc communities, acting much like gypsies. Their small communities are centered around their donkey-drawn carriages.
As a whole, Olkstn is very poor in resources. There are precious few sources of any metal, so most of the people live with Bronze-Age tools and equipment. Weapons and armor are especially scarce, usually crudely fashioned clubs, bows, and spears for weapons, and leather armor as the only armor commonly available. Olkstn conducts trade on a barter-level only, having no value for useless metals like gold and silver. Copper has some value, as it can be melted down and fashioned into tools and even weapons.
In all, there are three human towns, nineteen villages and hamlets, and two orc strongholds. The towns are small and walled by wooden pallistides. The towns are named Ramn, Maruk, and Ushar. Ramn is the largest town, situated along a muddy riverbank It is the agricultural heart of Olkstn. Maruk is somewhat smaller and located in the uplands. Sheep herders bring their herds to Maruk for shearing and even slaughter. Ushar is the smallest town, on the opposite side of the Scar mountain range. It is a logging camp, cutting back the forests to bring back wood for sale to the other communities.
The orc strongholds are the last hold-outs of the Shatterskull and Sunslayer tribes. The strongholds are mud-brick affairs with extensive dungeon levels to escape dangerous sunlight during the day. Each is about as large as a fair-sized town, and support fairly large tribes of orcs. Buried in the mud are the spelljammers that brought the orcs to Olkstn to begin with, rusted and ruin.
The swamp has claimed four human towns, and an orc stronghold. The ruins of these former settlements lie buried under layers of mud and muck. They are bastions of the undead, mainly packs of ghouls and a few wraiths. Also lost somewhere in the swamp is the Grand Cemetery, where thousands upon thousands were buried when the swamp was first created, as the war between orc and undead claimed whole villages. The dead were buried in that common graveyard at the edge of the swamp, but it was abandoned as the swamp consumed the land around it.
There are no true ports of call on Olkstn. None of the towns are large enough to have services available to spelljammers. The ruins of a spelljammer dock can be found in the southern foothills of the Scar Mountains. The dock once welcomed ships from the humans. home empire, but fell into disuse after that empire fell. The ruins have a mild levitation power surrounding them, so that any spelljammer less than 200. long can pull alongside any one of the four piers without having to land on the ground. The piers are stone monoliths standing about 30. off the ground, connected in a star-like pattern leading to a central tower. The magic remains in effect today, though knowledge of this effect has fallen into legend among the natives.
North of the dock is the fortress of Admiral Aerion Starleaf. Known as the Destroyer and the Son of Druaga by the natives, Starleaf has brought much misery and suffering to Olkstn. His lair is located deep in the mountains, in a hanging valley well over 2000. above the surrounding countryside. The stark palace is a ring of towers and curtain walls around a central, domed keep. Starleaf has many creatures as his servants, including ghouls, ghasts, ghosts, banshee, vampires, harpies, and even a few demons. Some were his crewmen, while others were created from villagers or orcs to act as foot soldiers in his war of revenge. Starleaf himself is a creature not unlike a vampire with greatly exaggerated features, such as long limbs and ears over 1 foot long. He has the abilities of a 7th level fighter and a 9th level mage. He has in his possession a magical artifact, the Rib of Blackshimmer, which creates the anti-spelljamming shell around Olkstn.
Humans first came to Olkstn about a thousand years ago. Their oral traditions claim that they were bold pioneers from some ancient empire seeking to expand its reach into distant spheres. They settled in a handful of towns, the whole ruled by a warrior-priest of Anu. He and his descendants would rule for over 500 years, outlasting even the parent empire (undoubtedly due to the remote nature of Olkstn). This noble line came to an end with Haru the XII, who was murdered at the hands of Starleaf. For a month his body rotted on a pike, a grim warning to those that would oppose the might of the new, undead lord.
During the waning days of the Unhuman Wars, three tribes of orcs fled to Olkstn. They were being pursued by the vengeful elven admiral Aerion Starleaf, who sought revenge for the death of his family. Not content with merely putting the orcs to the sword, he chased them to the ground on Olkstn, and then used a powerful artifact to entrap them. In his madness, he made pacts with various demonic creatures that allowed him to survive as an undead horror, a bane to the orcs for all time. He would not only take his vengeance out on the orcs responsible for the death of his family, but every future generation as well. Indeed, his desire for vengeance was so great that he even sacrificed the lives of his own men (see Satellites below) in his quest for it.
The Coming of Starleaf and the Orcs proved a great disaster for the humans. The orc warpriests, attempting to save themselves, used potent magic of their own. In desperation, they tried to summon Demogorgon. It is unclear if they successfully summoned the Abyssal Lord, or attracted one of his lieutenants, but regardless, the creature was far too powerful for them to bind, and it went on a rampage. By the time it was finished, it had created the great swamps the orcs now use as their refuge. The warpriests paid with their lives.
In orbit around Olkstn is a trio of abandoned elven Men-O-War, overgrown after centuries of neglect. The Men-O-War orbit roughly 25 miles above the moon. They were left close enough together such that their wings have intertwined. The Men-O-War can be seen from the surface, and their yellow color makes them look like a star. The natives believe this star, called the Eye of Nergal, watches over them. It is a bane upon their existence, as its appearance heralded the arrival of the orcs and undead, and thus all the woes that have befallen Olkstn.
These ships are the last of Admiral Starleaf's fleet, which once was twice as strong. He pursued the orcs across the Known Spheres, paying for each victory with the blood of his men. Hundreds died in his crusade, until finally he led his last few followers to Olkstn. There, he made a bargain with an Abyssal Lord, selling his very soul for the means for ultimate revenge. That revenge would consume half of Olkstn and most of its people. His own followers were consumed by the Abyssal magicks, sacrificed in cold blood by the admiral they trusted.
The Men-O-War are abandoned. If the overgrowth is cut away, the interior reveals elven skeletons slumped over ancient siege weapons. Many were slain in battle, others killed by unknown forces. This crypt is watched over by a ghostly host, the men who were betrayed by Admiral Starleaf. There are 36 ghosts in all, the spirits of the ships. officers and crew. They are trapped in the Men-O-War until such a time as Admiral Starleaf is made to pay for his crimes against them by his destruction. Once done, the ghosts will depart in spectacular fashion, heading for their final resting places. Only then can the ships be salvaged and refitted.
Olkstn is a tragic world, a victim of a war it had nothing to do with and an elf obsessed with revenge. The tragedy of Olkstn extends not only to the humans, who lost so much of their world and people, and the elven followers of Admiral Starleaf, who blindly followed their commander into death, but also to even the orcs, who are in some respects, innocent. The crimes that they pay for were committed by their fathers more than forty generations ago. Yet they suffer still, as do all connected with Olkstn and Admiral Starleaf.
The good admiral is key to the tragedy. Putting him to rest would allow this small world to begin to heal. Until Starleaf is destroyed, every creature on Olkstn will suffer for his hatred.
