Agolish
    A "water" world in that it is 95% ocean but it is not water to its core. There are many large island chains which were once home to several separate civilizations. Only one of these now remains and it is fighting to take possession of the remains of the rest before someone else does. There are many ruins to be found of the fallen predecessors [see Procyon] and these continue to be looted but unlike the lizardmen these people wish to preserve the lot. Unfortunately, the government is not large enough or strong enough to prevent the exploitation.

Artone
    A frozen world of ice and snow. There are many "islands" of bare rock with natural caves. These are used freely by pirates and unsavory types, but documented disappearances of even well defended pirate bases tend to keep time spent here brief. [The disappearances are in fact caused by the fact that some of these "islands" are alive (creatures similar to the astereater).]
    It is most probably a water world but the crust has never been breached to find the predicted ocean underneath. The indigenous lifeforms are those commonly associated with cold climates. Meteors are common phenomenon here so another theory associates the rock islands with the meteors.

Auriga
    Large steam oases amid ice and frozen barrens. Some of these contain independent settlements.

Barissidaur
    An earth-normal world and one of the primary worlds of the empire. Accordingly it sports a heavy naval presence but mostly for use in policing duties not protection. Its lifeforms could be said to be of an Australian flavor in that they are often unique to Barissidaur and a tad strange too (like kangaroos, platypus', koalas, anything that doesn't fit a normal mold)

Borumn
    A small world left in a perpetual dark night, being shadowed by its larger motherworld. Its many "continents" are separated by great fissures of flame. Its plant and animal life is often colorful bioluminescent glowing with soft, fascinating hues, but in bright light, such as a Continual Light spell, it is all horribly gray; the ground, the plants, animals, everything. Without artificial light normal vision is limited but it does function in an otherwise normal fashion.
    Several of the more infamous (but not necessarily evil mind you) individuals of the empire have made their homes here, probably because it is generally peaceable. Most people however will prefer a more normal, and thus more appealing setting.

Canocius
    This sea world is home to some of the universes uglier sea creatures. There are large mineral "deposits" around and among the gigantic beds of Keldzu plants. The minerals are "mined" as the primary resource of the planet. Salt is the most common export but many exotic substances abound in these deposits, some of them are even unique to Canocius. Since the Keldzu beds do drift somewhat there is a single, massive port city that has been constructed in orbit which is much easier to find than a settlement below. Most settlements operate by shipping through the port. The settlements themselves vary a little from single, great barges, to collections of raft/huts, to floating ring constructions.

Cepheus
    A fireworld looking much like a pinwheel - most of the time. Its rotation speeds up, slows down, reverses direction, and even stops occasionally, whereupon it gives forth a "pulse" of fire which can and does catch nearby spelljammers unawares. This is almost always fatal for them.

Chaldris
    The unique feature of this world are called the firefields. There, flammable substances are excreted from below into the interconnected pits where they are ignited by lava or hot ash from the volcanoes. It is thought that the firefields are somehow responsible for the steaming hot rains that sometimes fall over Chaldris. It does have seas but these are small and contaminated with minerals or salts. Fresh water is difficult to find.
    The civilized regions are the poles where the temperature is more accommodating and there is significantly more vegetation. Nomad and barbarian tribes can be found almost to the equator. These are mostly non-human races including Thri-kreen and Rastipedes but most of them are friendly.
    Other indigenous lifeforms include a number of gas-bag type creatures like grell, gasspores and the like. Dragonnes and wild boars are also in relative abundance. Two unique forms are a slow, Treant-like race called Denfols, and a creature which is like a cross between a rhino and triceratops (large plated head but only one horn) called a Modor. The Modors are used by native tribes as semi-domesticated animals.

Escuedo
    An air world which is commonly called the Shadow-world as its dark atmosphere blocks out all light leaving the interior impenetrable. It is even extremely difficult to find in space against the black backdrop. It is a source of scary tales over any number of spheres usually dealing with ghost ships and demons. Scaavers and other spooks are plentiful here and are commonly thought to be responsible for the reputation this world has acquired.
    In reality the primary responsibility lies with the secret drow colony here. They have discovered that deep below the upper atmosphere there is a small core whose surface is bathed in the special radiation found in the Underdark of many other planets enabling them to see perfectly. They have operated very carefully to reinforce the reputation of Escuedo and keep their own presence unknown.

Eskulter
    A cold earth world. The equatorial regions are only temperate and this fades to barren cold wastes and then to massive polar regions which begin at what are normally the middle temperate zones. The equatorial temperate zone is well developed and is otherwise "normal".

Galinas
    Most of this planet is uninhabited and uninhabitable but there are oases to be found in the vast tracts of scrub and wastes. The scrub vegetation is garishly colored as are the exposed rock and earth so that from orbit the planet has a mottled, marbled appearance. Only one remarkable indigenous lifeform is found here, and only at an "oasis": a variety of plant with leaves, branches, etc. which vibrate in the breezes and winds. The effect the sound has on races varies somewhat. For example, the elves generally find it disturbing, describing it as a death wail (like a banshee perhaps?); humans find it melodious and haunting; Halflings actually find it soporific and soon fall asleep; Gnomes find it a mild irritation; Dwarves can seldom even hear it. These plants require a great deal of care away from their native environment and there are many gardeners who compete with them as they would with roses or the like.

Garolia
    A barren world covered with dead, unmoving air and mist creatures.

Gault
    A temperate but only dimly lit world. Thin, light forests and plains are the general topography. Creatures found here include Vapor Rats, Black Wolves, Grell, and all manner of insectoids. Also, a few dinosaur species (but only plated ones such as Stegosaur, Triceratops, or Dimetrodon).
    This is considered a garden spot by the Thri-Kreen who keep a growing number of colonies and bases here.

Helios
    This fire world is unremarkable. Like many other fire worlds just like it as a ship travels closer to it it’s tremendous light and heat reach dangerous levels. Effects are typically as follows:

10 million miles: protection for vision is necessary at this distance as simply averting ones gaze is not possible anymore, the sun is just too large. Exposure abovedecks is like being in the hottest of deserts and heat stroke and similar effects will manifest themselves rapidly.

7 million miles: exposed characters must save or take 1 point of damage per turn. Helmsmen are considered exposed due to their intimate connection with the ship. Those below and the ships themselves may experience some effects from the heat (heat stroke) but do not yet suffer direct damage.

5 million miles: exposed characters and ships automatically suffer 1 point per turn. Those below are allowed a save.

3 million miles: exposed characters take 1 point per round. Those below take 1 point per turn. Ships take 1 point per round and in addition take an additional fire critical per round.

2 million miles: ships and exposed characters must save versus death/magical fire or burst into flame and be destroyed. Belowdecks characters still take one point per round.

1 million miles: any ship or character not magically protected against magical fire will instantly foof.

Kiel Maelstrom
    The upper atmosphere is occasionally visited by spelljamming ships to replenish their air but only as long as necessary. The boiling lower atmosphere moves rapidly and creates unpredictable air currents in the upper layer. Sometimes ships are caught in rogue currents, sucked down and never seen again. Rumors persist of some sort of civilization at the core of this world.
    This rumor is actually true. There are a number of asteroid worlds below the violently boiling lower atmosphere sustaining a peaceful people. Getting there however requires passage via spelljammer as teleport, plane shift and other shortcuts don't work. Damage in passage will generally destroy any ship below the size of an Elven Armada - and then there's the return trip.

Kydell
    A mostly Elven populated air world with gravity. It has a typical air world assortment of floating flora and flying fauna including the F'lans which the elves occupy. There were once Elven shipfields here as well but these were over-run in the Unhuman wars. In fact the whole world was given up by the elves at that time. Fortunately the Orcs had no use for it after eliminating the shipfields and were too occupied with the rest of the invasion into the Imperium to bother doing much vandalism.
    Technically ownership is now up for grabs with the Empire in the best position to take over though the Armada may feel differently. They tend to regard anyplace occupied by elves to be part of the Elven empire.

Monaco
    This huge air world has so many independent settlements on the planetoids drifting within that even though it is rightfully claimed by the empire they have been largely unable to enforce their will. They probably could if they wanted to but it could take years and require much too large a portion of the fleet to do it. The Emperor has let it be known recently that a method may have been devised and is attempting to cow the inhabitants into submitting.

Moth
    A hellishly hot earth world due to proximity to the sun although no one is known to have ever visited here. Most people seem to assume that it is actually unreachable so no one tries. There is much volcanism. Water is obtainable but scarce, mostly at isolated, boiling-hot springs which create small oases around them, and there are underground sources as well which are cooler. It has a rapid rotation and the day is only 6 hours long midnight to midnight. Even at night the dark side has a constant red glow from the horizon due to the planets small size. The brightness of the nearby sun during the day requires goggles or face cloths to prevent blindness. Unless counteracted somehow, heat exposure will begin to take its’ toll after the first 6 hour day. Naturally, many fire and lava creatures can be found here.
    A single tribe of barbarian dwarves has also managed to work out a method of survival here. They are actually the descendants of survivors of a long-forgotten crash.

Nesseter
    A dark, air world whose malleable, ever changing form regularly, but unpredictably, "washes over" its moon, Stilos.

Ocelot
    There is a warm, orange glow from the fiery center of this "air" world. The inner planetoids slowly circle the core and cast ghostly shadows on the cloudy upper atmosphere. It is home to mostly avians (and a few dragons) but they make up an ecology closer to that of an ocean than the air. They use the plentiful cloud banks and shadows from the core to hide from predators or surprise prey. Due to the highly dangerous nature of some of these predators all colonization attempts have failed or been abandoned.

Ohas
    Recognizable from space by its ring of reddish-brown dust it is a world of rugged, broken topography. It has no mountain ranges to speak of but is very hilly and has canyons and wind-scoured gorges. The uplands of this earth world are composed of rocky, scrub country and the topsoil is thin and exceptionally porous. The rains drain away quickly through great river canyons to the lowlands. Here there are swamps, marshes, mud flats, and everglades. There are large slow bayous, sloughs and small, shallow oceans (a human can keep his head above the water in most areas of them). At the mouths of the rivers an unexplained tsunami phenomenon is seen. [It is in fact due to underground water storage reservoirs carved by huge beaver-like creatures which also affect the "tides" in local areas. Discovering them and convincing them to work wit the down-river peoples would be cause for celebration.]
    Buildings, indeed entire cities, are built upon stilts. Farming is the primary occupation of course and is done in diked off paddies, or in a few cases in raised fields. Even without the tsunamis heavy rains and high tides are common and these overwhelm the water control systems people create.
    There is little or no upland flora but in the lowlands there is a great deal of wildlife and flora including a number of useful and exotic species. Most of the food crops have been transplanted. Several of the largest canyons have isolated ecosystems.

Olberon
    Made up of shifting ice floes on non-water oceans. It has a few unique lifeforms but is otherwise utterly useless.

Orel
    Without gravity this air world is home to many flying variants of sea creatures resulting in another undersea-style ecology in mid-air. There are numerous inner planetoids with water as well as "trees" and specialized flora which collect water.

Planau
    A water world in an unusual disc-shape. Players might picture it best as having the cross-sectional shape analogous to a Breath Saver - a torus with a solid, but thin center or a thin disc with concave faces. It is otherwise unremarkable except to note that the area is a major breeding ground for Kindori.

Procyon
    An outer world which receives light and heat from a nearby tiny fireworld moon. It is a jungle world of dinosaurs, gigantic reptiles, and insectoids. It is "owned and operated" by the lizardmen but other races are found here occasionally.
    There are one or more lost civilizations to be found here and new ruins keep getting turned up all the time. Mostly human in origin but strong Lizardman presence too. Any Lizardman ruins are considered property of the government - on pain of death - but they don't much care about others. This attitude is actually a carefully calculated plot to "revise history" and remove the contaminating influences from other races.

Ptolomy
    A sizable number of barbarian and native tribes of many races make their homes here.  They usually manage to work together (or at least tolerate each other), even the elves, Orcs, and dwarves cooperate well. This is necessary for their survival as they fight off the various indigenous nasties.
    Occasionally brief but intense rivalries spring up between the tribes but these eventually die down and are forgotten. They highly resent casual trespass on their world by spelljamming ships or any intrusion into their local affairs. In the past such actions were dealt with in extreme violence. They do nonetheless allow "isolated" farms, and villages but these have occasionally been caught in the disputes.

Questod
    It is an earth world which is remarkable in that it has NO monster species. Only earth-normal animals are found here - not even the giant versions of them. They do, however, appear in highly abnormal proportions (bear herds?) and exhibit bizarre, uncharacteristic behaviors (cheetahs only race each other?) and unusual abilities (crickets perform in complex rhythms that can hypnotize?).

Serbados
    Endless plains and monster cliffs, yet very little forest or hills. Home to populations of Thri-kreen, Dracons, Wemics, etc. Grain and vegetable production here supports huge portions of the empire and so it is well protected. The Imperial Fleet quarters the bulk of the fleet here although Headquarters is on Scinoval.

Scinoval
    This world has a mix of temperate terrain but these are concentrated mostly on a single, large continent so the population is lower than might be expected. It is, however, the capitol of an Empire. The capitol city is called Sidereal. In fixed orbit directly above Sidereal is Gateway station. All ships must report here before attempting to land at Sidereal or they are assumed hostile. There is only a small fee for docking privileges at either location. Gateway has warehousing and other services but is primarily a military post and not too interesting otherwise.
    Sidereal itself is clean, spacious and orderly. This is partly due to the vast space between all the marble, government buildings. The last Emperor also undertook a ruthless "Beautify the Capitol" program which at least cleaned the unauthorized criminal element out of the heart of the city but also targeted the slums, unsightly businesses and industries. Under the current Emperor, Fera-Nye, the generally poorer sections of the city have continued to be pushed back. He doesn’t actively pursue this course as his predecessor did but it’s obvious he prefers to keep all visitors awed by the city and that they see no sign of dissent or weakness.

Shacta
    This water world is covered with islands of swamp, marsh, and fens. Its shrouds of mist, vapor, and low clouds keep its heat trapped - even greenhouse hot - from pole to pole. It is favored by lizardmen and similar races (naturally).

Stilos
    A moon of Nesseter. The winds and dark skies created by Nesseters’ itinerant atmosphere creates "Dark Days". During these times a strong Ravenloft connection is revealed. Entire cities have been known to vanish or appear and strange and deadly events often occur.

Tachys
    The heat from the core of this world wells up from the ocean depths to warm the shorelines. The inland gets colder but there isn't much land so far from the shores to actually get snow and ice. Evidence exists here of lost civilizations.
    The most amazing feature of this world is the speed with which it orbits the sun - which is just slightly higher than spelljamming speed. In order to land on this planet you must sort of let it "run into you". You cannot leave the atmosphere from the forward direction of the planets orbit as it will only "run over" you again. You must leave from the back and as soon as you do it will leave you behind and in order to land there again you must meet it by plotting an intercept course away from it.
    Because of this speed problem the colonies which are here are quite independent and self-sufficient - they have to be.

Tashnii
    Tashnii is generally thought of as a seedy, overpopulated "dive" planet and the dark corner of the empire. When introduced to spelljamming late in its history this earth world was already well developed and heavily populated then only became more so. Its comparatively smallish size worked against it in this regard so it is completely explored. Whereas other worlds in its situation would have collapsed long ago (often as a result of deforestation) Tashnii still has most of its forests because of the domination of a species of tree whose wood is utterly useless to begin with, as is the ground under it.
    The Scrimmtree isn't even close to hard enough for construction, doesn't burn well, is unusable for any other known purpose, is extremely difficult to uproot and to prevent from regrowing, and ruins the ground on which it grows for any other purpose as well (due to substances it injects into the soil around it). Even most druids find it a despicable plant and one Grand Druid is quoted to have said he found them "uncomfortable". Treants will actually destroy them on sight – even burning them.
    The Tashnii countryside is otherwise normal. All available open, arable land is intensively and wisely farmed. The Ministry of Agriculture is a massive operation. This is a necessity in order to simply feed its own population and even then the amount of food that is imported is massive. The cities are very problem plagued. Not the least of these difficulties is an active population of undead such as ghouls and vampires, and man-feeding monsters in general. These were once mere cyclic aberrations but are now a perennial problem and may even be insurmountable though it has been established that the problem is not getting any worse, at least not yet. So far Tashnii manages to just stay on top of its problems - just. If they ever begin to fail the entire planet may go under rapidly and this would have catastrophic repercussions for the Empire. Most of the military is recruited from here as are colonists, not because they are actually any better prospects for the job but because they need to try everything to keep the population down. Citizens either get used to the problems or are anxious enough to get out that they will become colonists or join the military.

Return to Spelljammer Page
Return to Home Page