Cidri's Moon

[Shadekeep]

Got into a chat with JoeT on Discord about the Nosferatu in the Book of Unlife, and we realised that they imply the presence of a moon around Cidri (since their creation cycle is tied to the lunar cycle). There are a lot of astronomical elements about Cidri which are not explicit - "how long is a year?", "is the Sun the same size/color/distance as Earth's?" - and "does it have a moon?" is one of them. It seems that in campaign worlds with nosferatu is must have at least one moon, and if it has more than one then there is a specific moon whose cycles are linked to nosferatu creation. (Interestingly, werewolves are not specifically tied to the moon in the TFT rules, but rather are simply stated as having a four-week cycle of transformation.)

My assumption is that there is a single moon orbiting Cidri in a cycle not unlike that of Earth's moon, and on a similar plane where there are times that it is in eclipse. JoeT brought up the interesting idea that Cidri's moon is actually an abandoned Earth. I added that it could be an Earth that was rendered lifeless and airless from some great catastrophe or human folly, and was placed in Cidri's sky both as a grim reminder and a loving memorial.

Whatever its origin, it does seem like Cidri should have a moon.

[larsdangly]

I love the idea of using Cidri's moon as a way to explore some of the more out-there aspects of the setting, like ultra-tech and the Mnoren.

[Andrew Hackard]

Deep myth content: It's not a moon. It's a space station.

[Shadekeep]

Originally Posted by larsdangly

I love the idea of using Cidri's moon as a way to explore some of the more out-there aspects of the setting, like ultra-tech and the Mnoren.

Indeed. A "Security Station"-esque sci-fantasy adventure on the dark side of the moon awaits!

Ah, and a phrase just popped into my head - "vacuum dragons".

[Jeff Lord]

You think Cidri has only one moon?

[Shadekeep]

Man, thinking more about a quest on the moon really makes me want to write that now. One would pass through a "Moon Gate" to a technological base on the far side of the moon (or beneath the surface, if the moon doesn't always present the same face to the planet like ours does). I can already think of a half-dozen directions to take it in from there.

Originally Posted by Jeff Lord

You think Cidri has only one moon?

I think it differs from campaign to campaign. My current Cidri has one, but there are those with none and those with many. Three seems to be a particularly enchanting number of moons, and would make for an interesting and beautiful sky. Not to mention the astronomical/astrological calculations one could create from the ballet of multiple satellites.

[Shostak]

For simplicity's sake, I use the same night sky as Earth's, so nothing has to be invented and I can use night an astronomy app to put things into position for any date. But the moon is not just an airless, sterile rock, it's an earthlike planet. And yes, gates and skyships can traverse the gulf between it and Cidri.

[hcobb]

What if Cidri was a collection of moons all orbiting the same gas giant?

[thrash]

I'm pretty sure someone would have noticed the enormous orb in the sky by now.

[BobP]

Originally Posted by Shostak

For simplicity's sake, I use the same night sky as Earth's, so nothing has to be invented and I can use night an astronomy app to put things into position for any date. But the moon is not just an airless, sterile rock, it's an earthlike planet. And yes, gates and skyships can traverse the gulf between it and Cidri.

Hmm. And the native inhabitants of the moon once came to Cidri, accidentally bringing the biological triggers that caused vampirism and lycanthropy ... in shame, they renounced exploring and have been a fading people since ... the four-week cycle of lycanthropy and the moon's apparent cycle are just tragic coincidences...