..and Eldritch Suns
Years ago just after the third Pirates of the Carribean movie, I was inspired to design a Spelljammer setting. I called it “Eldritch Suns” and it used a lot of the worldbuilding from Disney’s Treasure Planet. Solar sails, magic cannon, wheellock pistols and cutlasses. Like Treasure Planet, the setting would take 75% age of Sail, Age of exploration and 25% Space Fantasy. The Eldritch Suns have never been far from my mind.
The Astral Sea and the Frontier
The Astral Sea is the void between systems. It is the places on the maps of the cosmos where “Here be DRAGONS” is inscribed as a warning. The Astral Sea needs to be crossed in order for ships to cross from one system to the next.
Systems in the Astral Sea are termed wells, bubbles of matter which function like the star systems we are familiar with. They have a central point where all bodies revolve. Since this is a space-fantasy setting, those central points aren’t stars as we understand them, they are geysers of Æther that flood out, and return in a chaotic network of currents. These wells are distinct from one another, each varying in how time passes and drift among one another like corks floating in a barrel of water.
When two or more wells begin to experience regular travel between them, for trade, or immigration, they will establish a route through the Astral Sea, these are termed “Mains” and they will slowly synchronize how the wells relate to one another. Calendars will slowly begin to synchronize, their relative positions within the Astral Sea will start stabilizing, even the languages of their peoples will become more familiar in respects to one another. In general, the more mains, connecting wells for longer periods of time will accelerate the process of synchronization. An example of a mature result of this process are the seven core wells of the Guild Empire.
The Antagonist; The Guild Empire
The Guild Empire was loosely based on the East India Company from Pirates 3. A mercantile empire that dominated the setting with the resources to launch fleets and armies. It was focused on seven core wells;
- Roidahç; (ROH-ih-dosh)
- Elgen Trencz; (EL-gen TRENZ)
- Jharigo; (JER-ih-go)
- Kazzaq: (kaz-AK)
- Fauchaq: (fow-SHAK)
- Ausaq: (aw-SAK)
- Rhiannon: (REE-ann-on)
These wells have a dense and very old network of mains with each other, and as a result, are fully synchronized. They share a single Imperial Calendar which passes at the same rate among the worlds of all seven wells. They have a single Imperial Language (uncreatively named “Imperial”) which is common to all seven wells (though local dialects still proliferate, making for distinctions between provinces and cultures.)
The Guild Empire has grown more powerful than any realm in this region of the Astral Sea. It is aggressive, expansive, and greedy. Its fleets and armies are comprised of people from all seven core wells as well as the Empire’s colonies. Most enlisted people serving as crew or troops are poor volunteers, recruited on the promise of pay and adventure. Others are virtual slaves, victims of impressment. The Officers are from aristocratic families who have purchased their commissions from the Imperial Guild Directorate. Throughout the setting there are Guild Governors, Directors, Assayers, Brokers and an extensive bureaucracy that exists primrily to extract wealth from the colonies and trading mains of the frontier to return to the Core.
Anatomy of a Well
The heart of a well is the Ætheric Geyser. These are holes in the Astral Sea which connect to the Elemental Plane of Æther (often referred to as the “Etherial Plane”. The flood of Æther flows out from the geyser until the draw of the Elemental Plane of Æther becomes great enough to pull the flood back to the geyser. In systems with no other bodies, this stabalizes into currents flowing in and out.
When material bodies move through these currents they disturb these stable currents, diverting them into endless bends and eddies and stagnant pools, making navigation a specialist job. The currents of Æther can be harnessed with sails and rigging, which allow for vessels to move through the Æther.
Every body in the well blocks the radiant energy shining from the geyser over a limited region behind the hemisphere facing out. These become shadows of the Negative Material Plane, umbral bays where the energies of death replace the spirit power of life.
The Stuff of Worlds
The term “world” refers to planets, moons, asteroids and other material bodies orbiting one another within a well. To varying degrees, each such body is composed of a combination of Air, Earth, Fire and Water, though not all elements need to be present for a world-body to exist. The closer these elements are to balance, the more recognizable the denizens of the world are to the common mortal peoples of the Astral Sea; Humans, Elves, Dwarves, Gnomes, Orcs, etc…
In general, these bodies all orbit the geyser at the heart of the Well, though exceptions, while uncommon can be found. Different ratios of these four elements will exhibit different characteristics that most Astral-faring sages have recorded in catalogues.
The influence of the Guild Empire likewise affects the variance of worlds within it’s dominion. The most extreme combinations of elements are increasingly rare, and the amount of balanced bodies are growing more and more common. Even the orbits of the worlds within the core wells have grown more ordered and regulated.
Out on the Frontier is where the weird extremes can still be found. Worlds permanently in the umbral bay of enormous planets of Air and Water. Systems with two (or more) geysers feeding Æther into the well. Wandering orbits. Rogue worlds drifting through the Astral Sea. This is where the setting focuses it’s attention, far from the rigid structure of the core of the Guild Empire.
Suns Beyond Counting
The Astral Sea stretches on forever. The Frontier is the region closest to the Imperial colonies. Out there, there are few realms that can launch a fleet of ships into the Æther and the Astral Sea and no multi-well empires. Free Traders, Pirates, Adventurers and Explorers travel between wells out here and create faint mains to connect them.
On the Frontier, legendary hordes of treasure can be found, fantastic beings and fabulous locations can be discovered. Campaigns among the Eldritch Suns should focus on near-constant voyages, following the mains, or forging new ones from well to well in search of fame and fortune. No one world should be heavily detailed. Only the adventure locale, and maybe the port needs any attention. Adventurers arrive at port, follow their nose into an adventure and return. Maybe uncovering rumors to their next destination. They fill their hold with supplies and hire some crew and venture forth again.
This brings up the subject of a crew. The vessels that cross between wells, even the smaller ones, require dozens, if not hundreds of people to crew. Most tabletop roleplaying campaigns have only six adventurers or less, which leaves a lot of NPCs. The crew of a vessel can be used as replacements for fallen adventurers, sources of new adventurers for new players joining the campaign. Henchmen, hirelings and prize crew are also excellent uses of extra crew members.
Finally the crew are a source of adventure in and of themselves. After all, a mutiny is always possible on the high Astral Sea.
Lore and Legends of the Dezzyverse 
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