Charon is a planet in the Spelljammer campaign setting. This size C spherical water body was once a moon of the planet Nex.[1]
Overview[]
Charon, also known the "planet of the dead," is a water world with several floating "island continents," and has a breathable atmosphere. The water that makes up most of the planet is very salty, and slightly poisonous to creatures not native to the world. Because of its unbroken cloud layer, Charon appears as a featureless gray-white sphere from wildspace, and has an equatorial diameter of about 1,000 miles (1,609 kilometres). Since its axis is perpendicular to its orbital plane, Charon has no seasons.
Despite the heat that radiates from its sun, Charon is a cold world. This is due to the thick cloying mists that drift slowly in the planet's gentle winds to a maximum altitude of about one mile (1.6 kilometres). Above that altitude, the planet is cloaked in an unbroken cloud layer. For some unknown reason, the underside of this cloud layer glows with a pale and sickly green light, which is virtually the only illumination that reaches the surface of the planet, since the clouds allow almost no sunlight to pass through. This means that Charon's surface is cloaked in permanent twilight. The air of Charon is cold and damp, with an average temperature of about 50°F (10°C), which doesn't change significantly between day or night, or from the equator to the poles. The oceans are very cold: about 35°F (1.7°C), which remains constant from the surface to the core of the world.
The cloud layer is several thousand feet thick. A ship passing through the clouds suffers no ill effects, however. The atmosphere of Charon is almost perfectly still: wind conditions fluctuate between 'calm' and a 'light breeze' but are never stronger than that. On any given day, there is a chance of precipitation, usually a miserable, cold drizzle. There are no currents in the oceans of Charon.
There are six land masses that float about on the surface of Charon's planetary ocean. All are fragments of Nex, the planet that was destroyed centuries ago. None are named. The continents are jagged, uneven shapes, and are small compared to the planet. The largest is roughly circular, and about 50 miles (80 kilometres) in diameter. Most are rugged, with knife-edged mountains and sheer canyons. The force of the explosion that smashed Nex shattered the rock structure of the mountains. There are flat planes, that look like places where a mountain was chopped in two by a sharp axe, and enormous boulders everywhere. The continents float randomly around the planet. They never draw nearer than perhaps 10 miles (16 kilometres) from each other. Nobody knows how massive chunks of heavy rock can float on water, or what forces move them yet keep them from colliding.[1]
Inhabitants[]
Charons native lifeforms all live in the oceans. There are, however, very few native life forms. The vast majority are small, blind fish that swim through the dark oceans, feeding on plankton and occasionally on each other. At the top of the Charon food chain is a carnivorous fish similar to a salt-water version of a quipper. All fish native to Charon are mildly poisonous to non-native life.
Strictly speaking, there are no forms of life on the rocky island continents of Charon. Nevertheless, these areas of land are inhabited. When Charon's primary, Nex, was destroyed, every living thing on the larger world was killed. However, the souls of the evil humans who destroyed their own world hadn't passed on; instead, the island continents of Charon are haunted by undead.
Even before its destruction, powerful undead were common on the planet Nex. Almost all the rulers of the various warring states were mighty wizards who had chosen to become Iiches to increase their power and to ensure their eternal rule. Some few had lieutenants who were spectres, or even vampires. Thus, the world of Nex was ruled by the dead - a necrocracy.
When Nex was destroyed, and fragments of its surface fell into the planetary ocean of Charon, this situation didn't change much. The undead rulers generally managed to escape destruction. Their followers, however, weren't so lucky. Many of the inhabitants of the island continents are wraiths and even spectres, plus a few of the less common incorporeal undead.
Each of the six island continents is ruled by a lich of great power. Of these six, three have one or more vampires as lieutenants, who have remained loyal beyond death. The other undead that occupy the continents are generally loyal to, and follow the orders of, the liches and their lieutenants. There are unsubstantiated rumors that some of the rulers of the island continents have used their magic to build cities of great and awesome majesty for their followers to dwell in. Nobody who has actually seen such a necropolis (city of the dead) with his own eyes seems to have made it out alive, however.
The rulers are well aware of the existence of spelljamming technology, and want to acquire it for themselves. While their initial intention is to use spelljamming vessels to bomb enemy states into oblivion, they know that there's a big universe out there, just waiting to be subjugated. The attitude among the rulers seems to be, "Today Charon, tomorrow the universe!" The rulers will do whatever it takes to acquire spelljamming technology from anyone unfortunate enough to stumble within range of their powers. While some might use great illusions to persuade visitors to help them willingly, most will just take what they want, and the gods help anyone who gets in their way.[1]
History of Charon[]
Charon used to be a moon orbiting a planet called Nex, which was inhabited by a race of evil, warlike, and magically powerful humans. These humans fought great global wars that swept across the surface of Nex. Several hundred years ago, they fought what they called "the war to end all wars." during which they unleashed incredibly powerful magical forces that destabilized the entire planet, causing it to explode cataclysmically, and killing all of its inhabitants. Several fragments of Nex fell into the oceans of Charon, and became the smaller world's current island continents.
With its primary planet gone, Charon continued on alone in its orbit. Other than the few continents floating on Charon, there are no surviving fragments of the shattered planet left in the system. Presumably, they all fell into the sun and were vaporized.[1]