Chandos

Overview

Chandos is a huge water-type planet, with hundreds of floating islands. In fact, Chandos is reputed to have the greatest number of floating islands of any of the known water worlds. These floating islands are formed by vast formations of irregular chunks of rock piled one on top of the other, creating an incredibly unstable and precarious formation 100 miles (161 kilometers) thick. Below the floating islands lies the core of this enormous water planet which encompasses a vast stygian abyss, where most life forms have to rely on their own bioluminescence to make their way through the darkness or to hunt prey.

The planetary surface is constantly changing: Chandos has been compared to a box of marbles filled with water. As the planet rotates, the movement of the water causes the precariously arranged rocks to shift and move, causing entire islands to disappear. Even inclement weather can cause catastrophic changes to occur: islands can capsize and sink, flooding subterranean caverns and tunnels, or mountains can rise as new islands are formed. This state of constant change forces the inhabitants into a nomadic way of life, as the only way to survive is to continually be on the move. There is literally no safe haven anywhere on the islands.

Chandos has a temperate climate, due in part to its distance from the Sun. The atmosphere lacks the ozone layer common to most other planets, resulting in a marked temperature rise during the daytime, reaching as high as 80°F (27°C), while the nighttime temperature can fall as low as 30°F (-1°C).

In the polar regions, the islands are blanketed in snow, which doesn't prevent the islands from shifting or changing. The warmer regions of Chandos are shrouded in clouds and heavy rainfall, allowing various kinds of mosses and fungi to thrive. Many of these plants form vast colonies which exhibit distinct predatory behaviour, and some are actually able to move to areas better suited to hunting. On occasion, the clouds lift, allowing the sun to shine. This is when the water-borne predators are most active, and when most other inhabitants seek shelter.

Inhabitants

Chandos features a huge variety of aquatic life forms, most of which are predatory. Notorious for their savagery, the fish of Chandos have gained a rather fearful reputation over the last eighty years, with many visitors claiming they display a high degree of intelligence and cunning. There are even rumors that some species are able to use magic when threatened. Many fish live between the narrow crevices separating the many floating islands of Chandos, as well as within the caverns and tunnels that naturally occur within and between the various chunks of rock that make up the islands. Most aquatic lifeforms possess a form of bioluminescence, allowing them to navigate through the tight crevasses in their search for shelter or to lure nearby prey.

The animals native to the islands are for the most part peaceful herbivores, which feed on the abundant plant life. These animals are usually small and include a variety of rats, mice, rabbits, ground hogs, squirrels and moles (which appear to be quite prevalent). There are no known land based predators, apart from the humanoids that make their home on Chandos, and of course the predatory plant colonies and mosses.

The islands of Chandos are home to three distinct sentient races: humans, dwarves and orcs. All three races are descended from the crews of two spelljammers that were destroyed many years ago when the island they had landed on collapsed, marooning both ships crews. Over the years, the various races have become insular and hostile towards each other, resulting in near constant warfare. That, coupled with the interminable effort required to survive on Chandos, has ensured that all three cultures remain relatively primitive. Due to the nature of their home world, the various tribes are forced to remain nomadic, and are constantly on the move.

The humans of Chandos are primitive hunter-gatherers, and are constantly foraging for food which can take a great deal of time because many of the plant species on Chandos are poisonous, and it takes real expertise to identify the edible plants. Most human tribes are also remarkably xenophobic, and will go out of their way to attack any dwarves or orcs they come across. This racial hatred runs deep in their culture, but no-one can remember what caused the fighting to erupt in the first place. Zachariah Silverblade is a well known human warrior and tribal leader. Well past his prime, Zachariah spends most of his time reminiscing about past victories rather than seeing to the welfare of his tribe. His one claim to fame is that he was the last human warrior to possess a metal sword before breaking it in battle with the orcs.

The dwarves of Chandos are much like the humans: nomadic hunter-gatherers who spend most of their time scrounging for food rather than worrying about shelter. The dwarves have all but abandoned their heritage as miners. On the few occasions that a dwarven tribe has indulged in their need to excavate for resources, it has always ended in catastrophe as the island either sank or capsized, killing them all.

The orcs of Chandos have the most advanced culture of the three races. They realised early on that the only way they would thrive on Chandos was if they worked closely together as a community. Due to the influence of Og Mosgog, the charismatic leader of the southern-most tribe, most orc tribes have established non-aggression pacts with each other. The orcs prefer to stay out of the way of the dwarves and the humans, and are the least likely to start a war with another tribe.

Trade

There is no organised trade on Chandos. The native inhabitants are too busy trying to survive to worry about trading amongst themselves, nevermind offworld merchants from wildspace. In fact, none of the races are even aware of the existence of spelljamming, although both the dwarves and humans have retained vague legends about 'a flight in the blackness'.

Of course Chandos poses a threat to any ship that lands on an island. The vessels weight would most likely cause the island to tilt or capsize, destroying the vessel and possibly killing the crew, Ships that land on water face a similar threat from storm driven islands crashing into them, or the various predatory creatures that live beneath the watery surface.

History of Chandos

Many years ago, two spelljammers - a tradesman crewed by humans and a second ship crewed by dwarves - were en route to Selûne with a cargo of stolen goods and orc prisoners they were intending to sell as slaves to the neogi. However, as they sailed past Glyth they were attacked by a pair of illithid vessels, and were forced to put down on Chandos to refresh their air envelopes and repair the dwarven ship which had suffered significant damage. Unfortunately, the combined weight of the two ships caused the island to tilt, destroying both ships and killing the remaining helmsmen who were the only ones capable of powering the vessels.

The remaining crew members and their orcish prisoners soon fell into arguing amongst themselves, blaming each other for what was essentially an accident. Eventually the three races went their own way, vowing to destroy each other. Unfortunately, so much time has passed that no one can remember why they hate each other.

More recently, two tradesmen named Lliira's Child and Lady's Charm were attacked by the nautiloids Mind Sphinx and Skull Crusher in orbit above Chandos. The Lady's Charm was boarded by the mind flayers, who killed the entire crew and left the ship derelict in a slowly decaying orbit around the planet, while Lliira's Child was fatally damaged and crashed on the planet.

Appendix

External Links

• Chandos article at the Forgotten Realms Wiki, a wiki for the Forgotten Realms campaign setting.

References

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