[Astromancer]

The Chesslands

In the Realms chess boards are hexagonal. The colors are White for the Sun, Red for the Moon, and Black for the Stars.

In the Realm there is a place called the Chess Lands. It seems to be a sport of the gods. It is a region of closely packed hexagonal mesas, averaging around forty miles across. Few mesas deviate more than a mile from the average. The canyons between the mesas are between one hundred and fifty feet to eight hundred feet wide.

Due to a whim of the gods three climates are found in the Chess Lands. These are arranged like the tiles of a chessboard. Black lands are cold forests. White lands are tropical forests. Red lands have a Mediterranean climate.

In the White lands, noon is a period of Very High Mana, night is a period of Low Mana. From Dawn until Noon the Mana level rises from Normal to Very High. From Noon until Dusk it falls at the same rate.

In the Black lands the Winter Solstice is the period of Very High Mana. The Summer Solstice is the period of Low Mana. From the Summer Solstice until the Winter Solstice the mana level slowly rises. Then from the Winter Solstice until the Summer Solstice it declines.

In the Red lands, when the Moon is below the horizon or New, the Mana is Low. When the Crescent Moon or the Half Moon is above the horizon the Mana is Normal. When the Gibbous Moon is above the horizon the Mana is High. The Full Moon brings Very High Mana as long as it is above the horizon.

Every individual Mesa has its areas of aspected Mana.

The lands around these mesas are Very Low Mana (-10 to Magic Skills). They are also a harsh desert. The canyons between the mesas are also low Mana and the lands of the canyon floors are infested with Orcs.

Each mesa is a little world into itself. Obscure cults, fell beasts, powerful Mages, and strange societies, abound here.

There are many wonders in the Chesslands. Strange marvels that Mages and the learned would pay fortunes for.