The Sphere of Nikos
Gamemaster's Notes: The Sphere of Nikos is a wonder of the world and the narrative device through which strange and exotic races of creatures can be introduced into the geneology of Rhyshar.
Note: Article is still a WIP.
You step off the rickety gangplank and into the bustle of the Sky Docks. Your senses are assailed with a bouquet of vibrant color, rich smells of saffron and cinnamon, sights of exotic street performers, and the cries of buskers and hawkers selling exotic wares from far-away realms. The upper-most deck of the Sphere of Nikos, the Sky Docks is both wondrous and overwhelming to those who visit. The docks are teeming with life and rife with opportunity for those of enterprise and ambition.
The opulent wealth of the Sky Docks' trademasters is displayed for all to see in stark contrast to the soot smeared faces of the dock workers and street urchins who overrun this crowded warren of iron-clad streets. Visitors to this district should be equally wary of both - as the swiftest ways to disappear in the Sky Docks are beneath the pocket shivs of the local gangs or by the silent command of the Captain and his shieks. You recall the advice given to you: be courteous and cautious and you will find these bewildering warrens to proffer a rich bounty - but be brash or reckless and your body will surely plummet to the crags of the Kalkassus far below.
The Sphere is one of the largest and most eccentric cities in all of Rhyshar - a purpose it had not intended to serve on a world it had never intended to visit. The Sphere itself is an incomprehensible and otherworldly construct, a vessel created by an unknown and advanced humanoid race for purposes which are unknown but often speculated upon by Rhyshar's foremost scholars.
One prominent theory holds that the Sphere was intended to transcend the boundaries of the material and elemental plane, allowing passengers to pass safely through the entropic void.
Alternative views theorize that the Sphere is a creation of the gods, or possibly even one of the moons from the Divine Filament itself - cast out much as Rhyshar was exiled from the Strand of Worlds some millienia ago.
More extreme views theorize that the Sphere was sent as a weapon to destroy Rhyshar - but failed in it's catastrophic purpose when it crashed into the Kalkassus.Purpose / Function
[Private] These notes are intended for Gamemasters only but are temporarily public now for the duration of WASC.The Sphere was created by the peoples of Nikos, a sibling planet to Rhyshar in the The Strand of Worlds and the Divine Filament. Like Rhyshar, Nikos too was cast out from the strand for its offenses unto the gods. Facing oblivion of the entropic void, the peoples of Nikos planned a final desperate gambit. They constructed an ark, a great sphere intended to ferry their people to safety beyond the maelstrom. The Sphere of Nikos is a great spherical structure of metal and rock size of a small moon and powered by the molten core of the planet itself. Harnessed through a magical field - the strength of which has never been seen upon Rhyshar - the core is embedded at the center of the Sphere of Nikos. Harnessing the core's power allowed the archmages of Nikos to fuel an elaborate lattice of ablative wards which protected the outer surface of the Sphere from the savage winds of the maelstrom. Within their arc, the peoples of Nikos survived, desperately seeking a sibling world upon which to settle. It was either a stroke of bitter irony, or perhaps the vengeful spite of the gods which caused the Sphere of Nikos to crash with incredible force into the wayward planet Rhyshar - instead of reaching the safe harbor of one of her blessed siblings in the Strand.
Alterations
Upon impact with Rhyshar, the sphere cracked open like a mechanical egg, half of its carapace destroyed and scattered across the peaks and valleys of the Kalkasus Mountains. The remainder of the sphere became embedded within the cleft of the mountains. For years explorers and Dwarven craftsmasters scavenged the Sphere - harvesting the most rare and esoteric materials it contained - leaving it as an empty husk of metal.
The community of scavengers whose livelihood depended on the Sphere simply never left the carcass of the structure - instead forming what began as a sort of shanty-town amidst its metal girders and slanted decks. Over the course of the last thousand years, the Sphere has burgeoned into one of the mercantile capitals of all of Rhyshar. Sphere-dwellers are reknowed for their entrepreneurial spirit and their determination, as well as their broad distaste for law and government.
The society of the modern Sphere depends on informal agreement between its Captains who uphold a peace - of a sort - but that peace is predicated on a normative code rather than any sort of documented legal system. The many decks of the Sphere have become domains - each tailored to the tastes and style of its' Captain.
Architecture
There are 9 surviving decks of the Sphere. The decks are named as follows:
Each deck, its' captain, and social flavor will be described and expanded upon in a future sub-article.
- The Bilges
- Saltmarket
- The Shackle
- The Greaseworks
- Coreward
- The Caravanserai
- The Spice Garden
- The Windslip
- The Sky Docks
History
While its origins and purpose are unknown, the history of the Sphere is clear:
Drawn to Rhyshar by the energy surge originating from The Severing which rippled through the cosmos, the Sphere's extra-planar creators and passengers found themselves stranded as the world's entropic drift caused them to miscalculate their arrival. The entire Sphere crashed with the force of an asteroid into the side of the Kalkasus Mountains where it cracked open under the force of the impact.
The technology within the Sphere accelerated the pace of growth and innovation for centuries after it's arrival, and many of the lessons learned from its artifice were critical in the construction of The Aeldoranth Spire.
Tourism
The Sphere is located in a remote and otherwise inaccessible reach of the Kalkassus Moutains. As such travel to the Sphere, at least by foot, is prohibitively difficult for all but the most intrepid caravans. Most visitors to the Sphere arrive by air, borne upon the back of winged beasts or propelled by magical flight.
The upper reaches of the Sphere are cracked open to the outside air, allowing ingress from above. Airborne visitors to the Sphere typically arrive at The Sky Docks or the Windslips, although the most exclusive and expensive berths are located in The Spice Garden. From there, tourists typically make their way to The Caravanserai or even Coreward - but few dare venture further downwards to the lower echelons.
The decks below Coreward swiftly give way from mercantilism into lawlessness - but for merchants that seek to transact the most exotic or most illegal wares - the Saltmarket and the Shackle provide opportunities for such commerce.
Founding Date
1476
Alternative Names
The Sphere
Type
World wonder
Comments
Author's Notes
The Sphere is a direct homage to the imaginative Tower of Babel from Senlin Ascends. The process of describing and game-mastering the players' experience with the Sphere should resemble the whimsical and chaotic hubbub of the Tower from those books.