| Oloth |
Player Information
| Realms |
Retired
| Reality Fault |
General Info
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| Realms: Oloth |
Player Background Information
The Oloth Sphere is based on TSR's Spelljammer series, which can be referenced for further information. In this universe, space is just different. A quick description follows:
The universe is an unending sea of phlogiston, which is a highly flammable, unbreatheable gas. Within the phlogiston float indescribably huge, crystal spheres. The individual spheres appear to be made of crystal, but are unshatterable. There are magical spells and technologies that allow one to make a temporary opening in the sphere, so people and objects can enter or leave.
Within the individual spheres, one is as likely to find a world shaped like a gigantic bowl, lifted up by the trunks of four elephants supported on the backs of an infinite number of turtles, as one is to find a perfectly flat world, or planetary system similar to what we are used to in our universe.
One of these Spheres, the Oloth Sphere, contains a planetary system somewhat like our Solar System. There is a yellow sun, just as our Sol is, and three large planets orbit that star. Their combined mass has caused an asteroid (about the size of our Pluto) to be pulled into orbit. Since the asteroid has no moons or natural atmosphere, it also has no tides or naturally-occurring weather, although a bored mage might cause some. The asteroid is referred to as Arcana Base One by the locals, and is quite far away from the sun. The stars show all the time there, and there is no day/night cycle to speak of. It is always dim and shadowy, which accounts for the name of its moderately large city: Arcana City, the City of Night.
Until recently, there was a Rift in the phlogiston outside the Oloth Sphere that was connected to a strange, foreign Sphere called FurrySpace. Several months ago, in-game time, this Rift closed. Many inhabitants of Arcana Base One believe that the rift is not coming back. Some of the technical devices that folks from FurrySpace brought here are starting to fail; their power sources are running out, few (if any) spare parts are available for repair, and none of the local craftsmen or mages know (or care to know) how to duplicate them.
Practical Effects
The former Rift which connected the Oloth Sphere to FurrySpace was a wholly unnatural thing. The other D&D style worlds are actually connected through the phlogiston. Think of it this way: the FurrySpace Rift was a rip in the "Space-time Continuum", whereas Oloth and the other D&D style worlds are all islands in the same ocean. We can still "sail" to other Spheres, but FurrySpace is no longer accessible.
Within the game the players can freely assume there are enough NPCs in the area to keep the PCs comfortable within the economy. The players are also allowed to make up and temporarily play minor NPCs on the fly if necessary. There are a few major NPCs (which will have puppets) that people will be aware of, including the Arcana Mages' Guild's Guildmaster, and the Arcana Council members. There will be other NPCs introduced, primarily through TPs, which will be either enemies or allies the general public is not aware of.
At this point in time the Oloth game is concerned only with Arcana City; it does not play out space travel within the Oloth Sphere, across the phlogiston to other spheres, or to "normal" space as defined within FurryMuck's FurrySpace. This means that purely technologically based PCs are not a good idea, as due to the lack of a connection to FurrySpace there is no way to maintain or repair failing tech.
It is also possible to bring in a "furry" character instead of one of the humanoids, although this would take a bit more explanation and the GM's okay. The worlds of Toril, Oerth, and Krynn, where a few of the standard D&D campaign worlds exist, are merely a few of the existing worlds within the sea of phlogiston. There is the potential for world-spheres within the phlogiston where anthropomorphic animals are the dominant species. Alternatively, furrs might be in Oloth either because they got caught there by the Rift closing and could not return to FurrySpace, or because they are from another D&D world which has furry-like creatures (i.e. the Tiger Folk of Ravenloft, or certain lycanthropic forms). However, much past the time of the Oloth game starting, the furrs that exist from FurrySpace would more than likely have arrived by other means, such as through some sort of spatial phenomena. This, however, would not be common, and more than likely would be part of a complex TP.