Alabeth

Alabeth
Basic Information
Crystal sphere	Unknown
Type	Planet
Size class	G
Shape class	Elliptical
Type class	Air body
Satellites	Ring of Dust 15 Moons
Day length	30 hours
Population summary	Elves, troglodytes, holbags, sky scavvers

Alabeth is a planet in the Spelljammer campaign setting. This size G roughly spherical air world is comprised of alternating layers of clouds and clear air, and has at least 15 moons.

Overview

Alabeth is a huge, roughly spherical "gas giant", with an equatorial diameter of 50,000 miles (80,467 kilometres), and a polar diameter of 46,750 miles (75,236 kilometres). Its rotational axis is perfectly perpendicular to its orbital plane, which means it has no seasons. From wildspace, Alabeth appears as a swollen, ruddy-brown sphere with a small ring of dust, which is only visible at short range, It also has numerous tiny moons, which are easily missed.

Alabeth has a core of liquid fire, about 10 miles (16 kilometres) in diameter. At the center of this core is a portal to the Elemental Plane of Fire. This accounts for the high temperature at the core, and the relative warmth of the planet as a whole. Very few Elemental creatures ever use the portal to visit Alabeth, mainly because the liquid fire core, the only part of the planet comfortable for fire-dwelling creatures, is so small. The atmosphere of Alabeth is breathable throughout.

The defining feature of Alabeth are the many concentric layers of clouds that make up its atmosphere. The cloud layers are usually brown or red in color, and some are mildly toxic. Some explorers report there are as many as 500 layers of clouds alternating with layers of clean air, nesting one within another like the layers of an onion. The first cloud layer lies at the edge of Alabeth's atmospheric envelope. They cloud layers are generally separated by about 50 miles (80 kilometres) of clear air, although some layers might be thinner or thicker. Most cloud layers themselves are about one mile (1.6 kilometres) thick, and are almost completely opaque. This means that the interior of the planet is never lit by direct sunlight. Most of the cloud layers glow with a faint radiance, illuminating the clear air between them at a level equivalent to twilight. Some cloud layers have massive electrical storms raging through them, and the almost continuous lightning flashes add to the level of illumination.

As far as gas giants go, Alabeth is a warm world, and the temperature increases as one goes deeper into the planet and closer to its core of liquid fire. The outer "layer," and the clear air directly beneath it, has an average temperature of 50°F (10°C). Since the heat comes from the core, and not from the sun, there is a maximum variation of 5° in temperature from day to night and from equator to pole. For each "layer" down. the temperature increases an average of 15°F, so the temperature beneath the second cloud layer is 65°F (18°C), that beneath the third is 80°F (27°C), and so on. This increase is believed to remain constant through all 500 or so layers, which would put the temperature of the layer nearest the core at over 7,500°F (4,149°C).

Each "layer" of Alabeth appears to have its own weather patterns. For example, the outer layer is relatively peaceful. Winds are rarely extreme and precipitation is unheard of. Lightning is rare, and only occurs during storms and worse weather conditions. When lightning does occur, it's on a scale similar to that found on Toril. The second layer is a completely different situation, however. Unpredictable gusts of wind powerful enough to damage the toughest spelljamming vessel spring up with no warning. Cold rain falls continuously, and lightning lashes out incessantly. The lightning bolts are much more powerful and a great deal more dangerous than those seen on most standard worlds.

Inhabitants

Each combined cloud-and-clear-air layer on Alabeth has its own ecosystem. One layer may be dominated by a species of peaceful, floating gas bags (like living hot-air balloons), while the next layer down may be inhabited by a species of rapacious predators that would rip the gas bags into ribbons without any effort. Fortunately most life forms simply won't cross over into the next layer. (Exactly why this happens is unknown, but has resulted in an extremely diverse range of life forms.)

Of course, the different ecosystems aren't totally closed systems. Since there is no solid land, virtually all species are fliers of one type or another, and death usually means the corpses, or what's left of them after the scavengers have had their way, fall through the cloud layers into layers lower down, providing food and a continuous source of new biological material for other ecosystems. Conversely, gasses released by the living creatures rise through the layers, supplementing their ecosystems. Also, some layers are home to "aerial plankton," tiny unicellular creatures, that sometimes rise through the clouds on upwelling winds. These plankton are a source of food for creatures in higher layers. (For example, the second layer [the one with the incredible lightning storms], is home to uncounted trillions of these creatures. Winds carry them both up and down, providing food for billions of creatures higher up the food chain.)

Alabeth has on the order of 500 distinct ecosystems, only a handful of which have been studied to any extent. There are unsubstantiated rumors about layers inhabited by winged humanoids, by couatl, or even by dragons. The only way of confirming these rumors is by extensive exploration of the planet. The two ecosystems that have been studied the most are those of the first and third layers. (Nobody in their right mind would want to spend much time in the second layer in case their vessel is blown out of the sky by a lightning bolt.)

The First Layer

The first layer is home to a bewildering variety of birds, and virtually nothing else. These birds form a complex, interlocking avian food chain. Every ecological niche, from scavenger to apex predator, is filled by some form of bird. At the bottom of the food chain are small birds the size of terrestrial sparrows that feed on the "plankton" that rises from the second layer. At the top is a massive eagle-like predator with a 20 foot (6 meter) wing span. Most of these birds are similar in appearance to terrestrial species, with one major difference: They have no legs. Predatory species make up for this lack with claws at the ends of their wings, similar to those of some species of bats. The fact that there is nowhere to roost also necessitates another significant difference: females give birth to live young, rather than laying eggs, and these youngsters can fly as soon as they are born.

The Third Layer

The ecosystem of the third layer is perhaps the most interesting of all, since it is the only one known to include sentient species. The most common creature on the third layer is something known as a holbag, an enormous living gas bag that can grow up to several miles in diameter. These great creatures float on the gentle winds of the third layer, absorbing plankton that drifts down from the second layer. Holbags form "floating islands" on which various living creatures make their homes. Apart from the holbags, the most notable creatures on the third layer are the monstrous shark-like beasts known as sky scavvers. These great predators soar through the clear air, attacking small, old or wounded holbags, and anything else unfortunate enough to come into their territory. They also feed on a profusion of bird species that make their homes in the third layer.

The two most significant sentient races in the upper layers of Alabeth are the elves and the troglodytes. Both live out their lives on the flat upper surfaces of holbags, floating through the atmosphere of Alabeth.

The Elves

Nobody knows where the elves of Alabeth came from. In most regards, they are very similar to their kin on other worlds. The only significant difference in appearance is that their eyes are much larger, with enlarged pupils (presumably to make up for the relatively low level of illumination on Alabeth). They speak a language that is obviously related to standard elven, although the written forms of the language is completely different.

Alabeth elves are organized around extended family groups, numbering between 50 and as many as 200 members, and each group lives on one holbag. Holbags mate every 10,000 standard days or so, and at that time, two or more holbags will draw together, allowing the groups living on them to intermix. Alabeth elves are as magically capable as their kin elsewhere in the universe, meaning that they have developed various magical ways of travelling from one holbag to another. Small parties of elves will sometimes use immature holbags as transportation from one "society" to another, and for hunting trips, although this is risky because sky scavvers prey on young holbags.

The climate of the third layer is very comfortable. The air temperature hovers around 80°F (27°C), and there is little precipitation, which means that the elves have no real need for shelter. The elves live in the open on top of their holbag "floating islands." Other ground-dwelling creatures also live on holbags, most notably a harmless rabbit-like creature, which they elves raise to feed themselves. There are also many species of edible plants that grow on holbags. When the elves want some variety in their diet, they hunt smaller airborne creatures such as birds. Occasionally, daring groups of elves, usually heavily supplemented with magic, will set off on immature holbags to hunt the giant sky scavvers themselves.

The Troglodytes

The troglodytes of Alabeth lead a similar lifestyle to the elves. They also live on top of giant holbags, and subsist on the other creatures that make the holbags their home. Unlike the elves, though, they haven't learned how to control and ride the immature holbags, and don't have any magical abilities. Thus they're limited in what other creatures they can hunt, although their favorite food is elf meat. When holbags come together to mate, the elves are at great risk. If a holbag carrying troglodytes mates with one carrying elves, the troglodytes will flood across in an attempt to kill and eat the elves. The elves are always ready for this kind of attack, though, and can usually repel it without many losses.

Spelljamming

The Elves

Because the cloud cover on Alabeth is totally opaque, the elves have no real way of experiencing the rest of the universe: they've never seen the stars or the other planets, and find it very difficult to even comprehend these concepts. The only other humanoid forms of life they're familiar with are troglodytes, and they are their implacable enemies. Thus it's not surprising that the elves are incredibly suspicious of visitors. Depending on the situation, Alabeth elves may attack strangers on sight, or just treat them with healthy distrust. Anyone who can win the trust of an Alabeth elf (a difficult task, to say the least) has made a friend for life. Alabeth elves have no knowledge of spelljamming, nor do they have any interest in learning about it, since they have no desire to leave their home.

The Troglodytes

The troglodytes of Alabeth are not overly intelligent, and have no knowledge of or interest in spelljamming as such. A spelljamming vessel that comes near their holbag will probably attract their attention, however, but only because they believe it is a source of food. The troglodytes will do whatever they can to bring down such a vessel and eat its crew.

Satellites

Ring of Dust

Alabeth has a thin ring of dust, which orbits the planet's equator at an altitude of 3,000 miles (4,828 kilometres) above the outermost cloud-layer. The ring is circular in cross-section, with a diameter of 100 miles (161 kilometres). While the dust is dark and thick enough to be visible, it isn't thick enough to interfere with the passage of a spelljamming vessel, and will not cause any damage to ships passing through. It is, however, massive enough to cause a spelljamming vessel to drop to tactical speed.

Moons

Alabeth has a great many small moons. Up to fifteen have been reliably cataloged, although it is quite possible that some may have been missed. The majority of the moons are size A or size B earth bodies.