Armistice is a celestial body in orbit around the system primary of the crystal sphere known as Winterspace. This size F spherical earth body is blockaded by the Elven Imperial Navy. It has three moons.[1][2]
Overview[]
Armistice appears as a grey sphere streaked with white clouds from wildspace.[3] Armistice is a massive world, with an equatorial diameter of approximately 30,000 miles (48,280 kilometres). It is also a rugged world, with numerous mountain ranges, most of which include at least one large active volcano. Volcanic eruptions usually involve just smoke and flame; any lava flows are generally small, and limited to the upper slopes of the volcano itself. Apart from the mountains, the rest of the planet is generally flat. There are few valleys or foothills; the mountains seem to rise straight out of the plains.
Most of the planets' surface is cloaked year-round in ice and snow. Only the upper reaches of the active volcanoes are free of snow, because of the internal heat. The oceans are frigid, and it's only the constant motions of the tides that keep them free of ice. There are many fresh-water lakes, but all of these are covered in a thick layer of ice.
Unlike the vast majority of earth worlds, Armistice does not have earth-normal gravity. In fact, its gravitational field is three times as strong as that of other standard planets. Additionally, Armistice is unpleasantly frigid: at the equator, summer temperatures range from 35°F (2°C) during the day, down to 0°F (-18°C) at night; in the winter, temperatures range from a high of 5°F (-15°C) down to a low of -10°F (-23°C). At the poles, the average temperatures range around 0°F (-18°C) to -35°F (-37°C) in the summer and as low as -30°F (-34°C) down to -60°F (-51°C) in the winter.
Wind is another unpleasant fact of life on Armistice. Powerful blizzards are the rule rather than the exception, and the wind whips the oceans into waves which, due to the higher gravity, travel about three times faster than do their earthly counterparts. Even when snow is falling, cloud cover on Armistice is rarely total, and the sun often shines through to the snowy surface, although it has a minimal heating effect.
There are three major and two minor continental land masses on Armistice. The former are named Ugrek, Taliak and Grishnakh, the latter Toborg and Rakhar. Geologically speaking, Toborg was once a part of Ugrek, and Rakhar was once a part of Grishnakh. Despite the relatively high level of volcanic activity, continental drift on Armistice is very slow. There is a narrow "land bridge" that connects Taliak and Grishnakh; however, most of the time it is sunk underwater. The land bridge is only above water when the three moons are correctly aligned with Armistice, which happens once every 25 Armistice years, and lasts for several days. During this time, the land bridge is inevitably shaken by many earthquakes, making the passage from one continent to the other a decidedly dangerous undertaking. Legends on Armistice tell that there was once a fourth major continent, between Ugrek and Grishnakh. This landmass is said to have sunken beneath the waves several centuries before (hence the name the "Landlost Ocean").[4]
Inhabitants[]
Armistice has few native animals or plants, and none can be classed as truly sentient. On the land, plants are generally limited to primitive lichens and mosses that grow on exposed rocks and mountainsides. Near the equator, large plants grow close to the ground, spreading out their flat leaves to catch as much of the sunlight as they can. In the oceans, there are several species of seaweeds, similar to kelp, which are highly toxic to life that didn't evolve on Armistice.[5]
The most common land animals are exceedingly dangerous predators, including a couple of species very similar to remorhaz, and one that is virtually indistinguishable from a tunnel worm. These prey on each other, on several species of primitive mammals, and on anything else unfortunate enough to wander by. The frigid oceans are ruled by great fish very similar to Megalodon, a type of giant shark, although there are many smaller fish as well. There are no aquatic mammals or reptiles in the oceans of Armistice, although there are rumors that aquatic versions of the tunnel worms inhabit burrows in the ocean floor.
Armistice is also home to the descendants of the Combined Goblin Fleet, the remnants of which were exiled to this frigid world at the end of the First Unhuman War by the Elven Imperial Navy. In the centuries since their virtual imprisonment on Armistice, the descendants of Gralnakh's few thousand followers have developed an extensive civilization, and mostly live in tunnels and caves laboriously excavated beneath the frigid surface of Armistice. When Gralnakh Longtooth eventually died, the individual tribes of orcs, goblins, hobgoblins, bugbears and ogres went their separate ways. For perhaps a hundred years there was peace among the different settlements, until a few tribes realized that digging new caverns was harder than taking a completed cavern from other tribes. Warfare broke out, and has raged ever since. Small alliances form and break up at the whims of tribal chiefs, and there is no indication that the tribes will ever reunite under a single banner.
After many generations under the crushing gravity of Armistice, the goblinoids have adapted to the prevailing conditions. In appearance, they are much shorter and stockier than their kin on other planets, resembling an unholy cross between goblinoids and dwarves. If the Armistice goblinoids ever reached another planet, they would prove to much stronger than other members of their respective races.[6]
Elven Imperial Blockade[]
The Elven Imperial Fleet has made it clear to virtually every race in the universe that an attempt to sell spelljamming technology to the inhabitants of Armistice would be considered a declaration of war against the Imperial Fleet. So far nobody, not even the Arcane, has tried to break this prohibition. Although the deal between Gralnakh Longtooth and Aldyn Leafbower prohibits any elven presence on Armistice itself, there is always at least one elven man-o'-war patrolling within Winterspace. This ship will warn off any vessel approaching the planet. If the approaching ship disregards this warning, the man-o'-war's orders are to destroy the encroaching vessel.[7]
Satellites[]
Armistice has three moons: named Vesta, Lacerne and Vardig. All three are worlds in their own right, and orbit relatively close to the planet, meaning they appear in the skies of Armistice as huge disks covered in numerous impact craters. Due to the proximity of the three massive moons, tidal forces are exceptionally strong, and (since there are three moons involved, each with its own orbital period) hard to predict. Armistice's frigid seas show an average tidal variation of 50 feet (15 meters), while in narrow bays or inlets this can increase to 100 feet (30 meters).
However, the tides affect more than the oceans. The constant tidal pushing and pulling keeps the molten core of Armistice heated to a very high level. This leads to a high level of volcanic activity, which has caused one of the more poetic explorers to describe Armistice as "a planet of fire and ice." When the three moons are perfectly aligned (which occurs every 28 [local] days)[8] the planet is wracked by devastating earthquakes, lasting for 10 hours.[4]
Vardig[]
Vardig, the first moon of Armistice,[9] is a size E spherical earth body that glows white with a green tinge, and is reputed to be a voidworld, meaning it has no atmosphere.[4][10]
Lacerne[]
Lacerne, the second moon of Armistice, is a size E spherical earth body that glows a deep amber, and is reputed to be a voidworld, meaning it has no atmosphere.[4][10]
Vesta[]
Vesta, the third moon of Armistice, is a size E spherical earth body that glows a pale lavender or violet, and is reputed to be a voidworld, meaning it has no atmosphere.[4][10]
History of Armistice[]
Several centuries ago, the goblin races, including the orcs, goblins, kobolds, hobgoblins and ogres, had a considerable presence in wildspace, and often conducted raids against elven outposts and bases. This came to a head when the elves eventually launched what became known as the First Unhuman War, and came after the goblinoid races with everything they had. In almost all cases, the goblin races fought as individual bands and tribes, never cooperating fully, and sometimes actively hindering each others' plans. For this reason, much of the Unhuman Wars was a full-fledged rout of the disorganized goblin "navy." However, in one case a number of tribes and bands, including representatives of all the goblin races, did something completely unprecedented: they united behind a single war leader, a half-orc named Gralnakh Longtooth. Gralnakh proved to be a gifted leader, a brilliant strategist and a wily tactician. Under his command, the Combined Goblin Fleet managed to hand the Elven Imperial Fleet its first truly significant losses.
However, the Combined Goblin Fleet was doomed from the beginning, and Gralnakh must have realized this. As the other goblinoid fleets were destroyed, the elves were able to throw more and more of their forces against Gralnakh's beleaguered command. Even against massively escalating opposition, the Combined Goblin Fleet managed to fight on for years.
Eventually, the grand admiral of the Elven Imperial Fleet, at that time an ex-battle poet named Aldyn Leafbower, realized that Gralnakh's fleet was tying up a good portion of his forces, which meant that enemies in other spheres were free to attack under-defended elven worlds at will. He couldn't let that happen, but neither did there seem to be any quick way to end the current conflict. The sphere that the Combined Goblin Fleet had chosen as their battleground was filled with tiny worlds and moonlets, each of which could be used to hide their ships, either during repairs or in ambush. Using powerful magic, the Imperial Fleet had already reduced two of the worldlets to rubble, but this hadn't inconvenienced the Combined Goblin Fleet in any way. The only military option Leafbower had left was to assault each of the myriad worlds one at a time, in a space-going version of house-to-house fighting. However, that would take too much time, and cost too much resources.
Instead the admiral chose a daring alternative; he arranged to parlay with Gralnakh Longtooth in person , and offered him an official cease-fire - an armistice. The half-orc knew his cause was lost, and that fighting on would only lead to the deaths of all his followers, to no gain. Proving his worth as a great leader, Gralnakh accepted the armistice, but - as a condition of the ceasefire - demanded that he and his people be given a world of their own, unmolested by elven interference. Leafbower decided this was a cheap price to pay for instant peace, so he accepted.
When he returned to his fleet, Leafbower's officers were outraged, and wanted to renege on the deal. Leafbower was a man of his word, however, and forced the Imperial Fleet's Council of Admirals to follow through with the bargain. Unfortunately, neither Gralnakh nor Leafbower had specified exactly what the planet must be like. In what many still consider to be a decision driven solely by spite, the Council of Admirals shipped Gralnakh and his followers to the most inhospitable place they could find. The elves named this cold, brutal world "Armistice."[11]
Appendix[]
External Links[]
- Armistice article at the Forgotten Realms Wiki, a wiki for the Forgotten Realms campaign setting.
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Nigel Findley, SJR4 Practical Planetology, 1991, (TSR Inc.), Armistice section, chapter 2 Earth Bodies, pages 10-13
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Elaine Cunningham, The Cloakmaster Cycle, The Radiant Dragon, 1992, (TSR Inc.), pages 198-199
- ↑ Elaine Cunningham, The Cloakmaster Cycle, The Radiant Dragon, 1992, (TSR Inc.), page 198
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 Nigel Findley, SJR4 Practical Planetology, 1991, (TSR Inc.), Armistice section, chapter 2 Earth Bodies, page 10
- ↑ Elaine Cunningham, The Cloakmaster Cycle, The Radiant Dragon, 1992, (TSR Inc.), Armistice section, chapter 2 Earth Bodies, pages 218-219
- ↑ Nigel Findley, SJR4 Practical Planetology, 1991, (TSR Inc.), Armistice section, chapter 2 Earth Bodies, pages 11-12
- ↑ Nigel Findley, SJR4 Practical Planetology, 1991, (TSR Inc.), Armistice section, chapter 2 Earth Bodies, page 12
- ↑ Elaine Cunningham, The Cloakmaster Cycle, The Radiant Dragon, 1992, (TSR Inc.), page 230
- ↑ Elaine Cunningham, The Cloakmaster Cycle, The Radiant Dragon, 1992, (TSR Inc.), page 238
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 Elaine Cunningham, The Cloakmaster Cycle, The Radiant Dragon, 1992, (TSR Inc.), page 214
- ↑ Nigel Findley, SJR4 Practical Planetology, 1991, (TSR Inc.), Armistice section, chapter 2 Earth Bodies, page 11