Locations: Elentari the Asteroid Port

Elentari

Spelljammer Asteroid Port

 

Exterior view of Elentari

Overview

 

      Elentari is a good sized asteroid that is hemispherical in shape. It measures 6 miles in diameter and is roughly 1½ miles thick. The rough terrain is covered almost entirely covered by grass. The deeper craters are filled with liquid water. There are several small cottages and farms dotting the landscape. On the top side there are two large craters. The largest of the craters has a stone mesa in it which has a squat tower on it, named Barad'Rasa, bristling with catapults and ballistae which provides excellent cover fire over the entire top of Elentari.

     The bottom side has a single crater with a mesa on it and there is a very well constructed compound on it, named the Twilight Bastille. This is a prison where the Eleven Imperial Navy is housing some of its more dangerous criminals. The water within this crater is very acidic and swimming in the water from the Bastille to the shore will burn the skin off of the hardiest of the prisoners. Even chitinous exoskeletons are broken down by the acid. There are also dangerous predatory fish and plants that live within the water.

     Within the asteroid, which is entered from the side that is on the upper left hand part of the map above, is where the town proper is at.

Barad'Rasa

 

      The tower known as Barad'Rasa was created by a powerful wizard by drawing the mesa from the bottom of the crater lake and making the tower from this stone. The tower was outfitted with several outer towers that house the catapults and ballistae that protect Elentari. The central tower has a dome top that can be retracted and a giant cannon can fire at particularly large or dangerous vessels. This cannon, made by the Giff, requires a significant amount of smokepowder to use it and it fires a cannonball that weighs about 500 pounds. The tower has enough smokepowder and cannonballs to fire this dangerous weapon three times.

     There are tunnels beneath the tower that run through the mesa and allow travel directly to the town proper of Elentari. These tunnels are well patrolled by Sylvane guards and the tower has many Sylvane living within it. The leader of the Sylvane is named Silver Tongue (Fi/Th 15) a male Sylvane who is stern and somewhat gruff but always willing to defend the weak and care for the welfare of his charges.

The Twilight Bastille

 

      This prison was placed on the mesa by the same powerful wizard that created the mesa for Barad'Rasa. Once he created the prison he left behind some dangerous traps for those who would attempt to leave the prison. The greatest defense of the Bastille is that it has been rendered entirely magic dead. No magics work within the walls of the prison and this area extends out from the walls for several hundred yards in every direction. There is also some kind of psionic resonance field in the prison that prevents psionics from working within its walls. The walls also prevent planar travel out of the prison, they do not prevent travel in though.

     There are no guards within the Twilight Bastille. The prisoners are left to determine who is in charge. There are edible fungi growing within the prison that can provide nourishment to a wide variety of humanoid species, the exception being the mind flayers, and they have a single source of fresh water.

The Town of Elentari

 

     Within the asteroid there is a single large cavern that the town is built on. The gravity plane of the asteroid has been warped so that the floor is always "down" and this extends up from there for about 10 to 20 yards. Outside of this area there is no gravity. At the back of the cavern is a large tower with a sunstone on it that gives off sunlight for 12 hours a day and dims to moonlight for the other 12 hours. This tower is also a temple dedicated to the god Celestian.

     Near the large entryway to the town is the docks and the dockyards. There are many warehouses near the docks to house the various goods and to hold the shipbuilding materials. The Shipyard is run by Urulóki (Elf, Male, Fi/Wz 6) and his team of Hadozee and Sylvane workers who have become extremely skilled at ship repairs of all kinds. Urulóki has contacts with Arcane dealers and he can get most common spelljamming equipment for those willing to pay his finders fee (5% of the cost of the transaction).

     The town mayor is Findulas (Elf, Male, 0 lvl Politician) a slick bureaucrat that is more than willing to accept a bribe to get the wheels of the bureaucracy moving for "good friends" of his. The town itself is a plutocracy and without trade the town would wither away.

Taxes and Fees

 

     The town imposes a tax on all sales of 2% as well as several other fees on ships entering Elentari. The air fee is 2 silver per ton of the vessel, there is a 100 gold fine for entering with a fouled atmosphere. Water costs 4 silver per ton of the vessel as the water supply is not great. The city council will pay a handsome sum to a trader who can get hold of a large enough comet to refill the crater lakes. There is also a fee imposed for individuals who wish to carry weapons off of their vessels and into the town. This fee is 1 silver for a sword or bow and 1 copper for anything smaller. Firearms incur a 2 gold fee, which the Giff chafe at but will pay.

     Anyone caught committing crimes is punished by working the fields for a period of a years depending on the crime (use page 11 of the SJR5 Rock of Bral, TSR 9361 for a good guide, they do not jettison individuals but will drop them into the Twilight Bastille).

The Outside

 

     The Outside, as the locals call it, is where all of the food that the town trades in is grown. These farms are leased by the city council and mayor. Slaves work the fields and there is an overseer who keeps track of the workers and pushes them to make their quotas. The overseers report to the Councilor of Agriculture, Ngima Grindstaff (Human, Male, Spy 6) who keeps records of what is harvested and planted to ensure that crops are efficiently managed. Grindstaff has a Phylactery of Remembrance which allows his to perfectly remember and recall all of the information and experiences he has.

     There are four hundred Sylvane commandos, broken into units of 10 with a Sylvani leader, on the surface constantly patrolling and keeping an eye on the slaves and skies. These commandos are highly trained and skilled (Fi 9) as well as well equipped. Their leaders are not only warriors but can be spell casters (Wz 12 or Pr 12 50% chance of either) and will have three to five magic items (scroll, wand, or potion. 10% chance for a permanent magic item) and one magic weapon of (+1 or +2).

Interior view of Elentari

Places of Interest

     There are three taverns and two inns available for sailors in Elentari. The taverns are, in order of quality and price from lowest to highest, the Empty Skull (1 on the Interior map), The Will 'O Wisp Inn (2), and The Smoking Dragon Inn (3). The Dockyard (4) is where ship building and repairs take place. The building at the center of the map is the Temple of Celestian. The City Hall is where the administrative, bureaucratic, and taxes are handled. There is also a small jail in the building to hold prisoners for minor offenses (such and drunkenness and disorderly conduct).
     The remaining buildings are warehouses, homes, and businesses. The majority of the buildings are two story affairs with the notable exception of the Smoking Dragon Inn, which is a four story tall tree.
     Near the entrance to the cavern is a series of hidden ballistae that can fire on ships at the entrance with frightening speed and accuracy. There are four of them, each one is a repeating ballista (1 shot per round, holds 12 shots before reloading is required. Needs a team of three to use effectively) with a magical +1 enchantment to hitting anything greater than 1 ton. The bonus does not apply to objects that are smaller than this.
     The building that has a dot in it on the map is a covered well that is where all of the water for the town come in from the smaller of the two crater lakes above on the Outside.