As mentioned in The Githyanki Main I used the set up of "not enough hands" - a local githyanki regent having to hold down some far-flung reach of the astral with few githyanki and using Letters of Marque and mercenaries to solve problems. This makes this place a great jumping off place for Spelljamming campaigns or a stop-over on astral traverses for Spelljammer or Planescape.
This port is built on the drifting skeleton of a colossal astral whale - the slaying of which was the founding legend of Yvre Tchaltis, first master of the port. These are actual bones not the rocky remnants of a dead god and a roving astral ranger once said it was clear the creature must have been on the verge of death from age if it was this large but noone heeded that liar. The initial butchery and processing of the carcass kept the first crew here busy so long that they did many runs back to other githyanki outposts and the place became known. Some decades of merry anarchy followed before the eye of Vlaakith finally fell upon the activities of her children and since then a Githyanki Knight oversees her will. In practice, Vlaakith mostly wills that the leviathan hunters, pirates and raiders handover a share of their whatever they haul back and otherwise is content to let them about their business.
The port itself has a handful of major locations. The populace is half githyanki, half whatever-came-in-on-a-Spelljammer. Order is held down by House Tschaltis cracking heads if anyone gets too rowdy. The Law extends about as far as Hrin can see. Everything else is at a strangers own risk.
1. Hrin Keep - the fortified residence of the Githyanki Knight Ganza Hrin, his pack of spectral hounds and pair of Kith'rak subordinates Ril'a'an and K'a'dith who act as 'shift commanders' since there is neither day nor night here. While a functioning and well-maintained fortification, in accordance with doctrine, Hrin treats it like a hunting lodge. Hrin is mostly interested in what he can do to advance githyanki interests with the resources he has on hand and will pay coin for maps and scout reports, bounties on illithid heads, etc. but is also very careful that Vlaakith gets her eighth of everything to fund all these deeds in her name. New comers will be thoroughly questioned until he figures out an angle to make them useful to Vlaakiths will.
2. Tower Tschaltis - a far grander fortified tower, it protrudes both above and below the leviathans skull. The seat of house Tchaltis, festooned with the trophys of a myriad of great beasts it is also the main library, astrographers guild, leviathan catalog and arcane research site. With many minor officers in githyanki forces and ship captains it is difficult to visit without running into someone. The core of the tower guards the settlements egg chambers for the githyanki. Any family captains who might be in port at any given time will be found here making it a good place to hire a ship or plan a journey. Prospect of a leviathan hunt will find eager captains and ready ships, all else costs coin.
3. Docks - ship moorings and some minor shipyard capabilities extend from the side of the leviathans skull. Spelljammers and astral skiffs are usually found here, the astral skiffs on githyanki official business but the Spelljammer captains might be returning from or preparing for anything. The incautious and unlucky might find themselves pressganged aboard a desperate Spelljammer as crew is scarce this far out. Hunts depart both for the depths of the astral and a myriad of Wildspace systems - wherever large quarry might be found.
Some ships that might be found here are listed below.
4. Ribs - the old leviathan butchery works - where every valuable shred is extracted from the beasts of the seas, planes and wildspace that are brought back. The furnaces serve as the towns crematorium, the rendering works as labor yards for punitive sentences and the g'lathk cultivate fungus on the scraps remaining from what the ships bring in. Those farms are more important here than many astral settlements to supply the rations the Spelljammers need for the long runs in-system from the astral boundary.
5. Quartermasters - workshops practice the githyanki arts of conjuring items from the astral substance. The few githyanki mlar are heavily supported by non-githyanki bone-carvers who turn leviathan parts into all sorts of things. High quality ship parts are turned out here, expensively. The warehouses are also full of parts stripped from ships seized from captains who fell foul of Hrin, given to Tschaltis for their support.
6. The Wizened Grasp - the long-haulers bar facing onto the docks, where the deep astral sailors gather and trade news. Marked by a dessicated hand holding a crystal chalice outside and lit within by fireflies in crystal lanterns, the bar is tended by Kenguul who avoids knowing anything. The absence of any distinct day or night in the town make for a constant low hubbub but it is rare to see the atmosphere tip over to raucous.
7. Grand Hall - a roofed over market arcade, noone knows why it has the grandiose name. Most trading that is not directly to do with ships happens here. The trader are a mix of local githyanki selling crafts, stranded old sailors trading repaired and recycled things and traders from elsewhere looking to sell their cargoes before loading up with leviathan parts. Most of the merchants well affect extreme disinterest in selling you anything at all or name a preposterous price before starting to haggle.
8. Tailfin - storage for processed leviathan parts - big tusks and bones too large for elsewhere, barrels of oil, bile and more exotic humors - overlooked by a tower that doubles as an auxiliary watch and lighthouse, base to a group of adventurers.
Some ships found at Gaus Tschaltis
Darkling Mirror (hammership) - a leviathan hunter of House Tchaltis, a grizzled crew of githyanki hunters, aged from their long hauls in wildspace. Cpt. Tschaltis has the blithe good cheer of those who have found their vocation. The ship itself was stolen from an death-cult and is decorated throughout with grim obsidian flourishes that the crew finds amusing.
Only Slightly Bent (mindspider) - a small, battered ship covered with rope. Personal vessel of thri-keen warlock Prip'kek who is said to plumb the depths of wildspace seeking the darkest void.
Dark Star / Stranger Here Myself / Star of Hope - an oft re-painted elven star-moth/man-o-war, late of the Xaryxian Empire, crewed by the adventurers who operate out of Tailfin Tower.
Helpless In The Face Of Your Beauty (starmoth) - once-Xaryxian hadozee now turned freebooter on their old ship. Their favourite activity is blockade running but when no good jobs are going they salvage wrecks from the space battles that marked the fall of Xaryxis
Funny It Worked (nightspider) - a colossal neogi vessel crewed by a eclectic mix of freed slaves and disaster refugees, it specialises in long-slow cargo routes through the huge asteroid belts of nearby Smoulderspace but are known to chase down rumours of isolated settlements in trouble to render aid or assist survivors.
Guild of Wings (hammership) - hard-bitten bunch of leviathan hunters under the cranky Cpt. North Wind. Disciplined and ruthless about getting their beast, perfectly willing to chase off or ram out of the sky any competition.
This one was for the much appreciated RPG Blog Carnival organised by Of Dice & Dragons.
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