Utashinai is almost equal to Rumoi in size and grandeur, though in most other resepcts it could not be more different. It is a world of jungles, swamps, deserts and lush grasslands, of crocodile people, Yuan-ti and fire giants, and of dinosaurs - above all dinosaurs, who throng its sultry surface.
Utashinai is dominated by thick bands of mountains which are the result of the constant restlessness of its tectonics. Volcanoes abound; the air is rich with oxygen and the soil packed with fertility, making it the most verdant and populous of Iburi's planets. There are countless different kingdoms, empires, sultanates, oligarchies, kritocracies, chiefdoms, and many other varities of polity patchworking its surface.
All the intelligent races of Utashinai domesticate dinosaurs and use them as beasts of burden, war and transport.
FUCK YES DINOSAURS.
ReplyDeleteIncidentally, I'm assuming that if you were to run this the PCs would probably be from more conventional races... how would you go about getting them? none of the planets so far seem to be inhabited by the common races in any meaningful quantity and you were on about how it helps Spelljammer to stick to one system earlier.
There are humans, elves, dwarves etc. on Utashinai, on the 13 bodies, and in some other places. Might do a "races of Iburi" post at some point...
ReplyDeleteUtashinai is also commonly known as "PLANET AWESOME!" due to its high T-Rex biting the head off other dinosaurs content. (And yes, the name must be shouted in all contexts.)
ReplyDeleteAlso, as far as I'm concerned, unless they're there to be eaten by dinosaurs, the elves and dwarves can just cool their heels on planet Tolkein III. We'll send Peter Jackson down in a drop pod if we want to talk to you tree huggers and dirt duggers...
All facetiousness aside, yeah, you probably should figure out what races have space fleets in this system. Spelljammer's take on the elf, dwarf, tyranid, 'flayer, and neogi fleets was cool, but I bet you come come up with some groovy stuff of your own if you wanted to.
Also, while I'm apparently being too exuberant on people's blog comments for my own good today, I'll add that rereading your planet descriptions has totally got Gustav Holst's "The Planets" running through my head, particularly Mars, Saturn, and Uranus. (I know I'm setting myself up for some bad joke somewhere with that last one. Thankfully I'm not an astrophysicist and don't have to bear that burden every day...)
ReplyDeleteNoisms: Ah. Okay. That's useful to know. I would like just such a post, actually, because at least two members of my own party seem to not have any idea of how freaking cool Spelljammer is, and I think this system would be just right for them.
ReplyDeleteBigFella: ...Tyranids? In D&D? Really?
Dur. I meant Beholders, which somehow portmanteau'd in my brain from Eye Tyrants. I think they had a term for 'em in Spelljammer, but I can't remember it properly.
ReplyDeleteNow that you mention it, Tyranid like critters (like the Formians, maybe) would be cool enuf, but the whole unrelenting, "We eat the galaxy" stuff from them and the Zerg would have to be toned down if you wanted a proper "Sword n' Planet" feel, in my opinion...
BigFella: You're right. Imagine Yak-folk Spelljammmer ships...
ReplyDelete@noisms
ReplyDeleteNow that you said it how can I not? I envision something huge with ram prow horns.
The neat thing about creating a planetary system in Spelljammer is you get to come up with the unique planets that make it up, THEN you get to design a meta level of the phlogiston mariners who overlay the whole thing. Very cool.