Radiations of the Outer Darkness

The lights beyond the sun emit queer and mysterious radiances through the aether, kept at bay by the pneumatic bubble which encapsulates the world. Holes and tears scar the earth, creating places where nothing wholesome grows. Vessels which would ply between worlds must be sturdily built and shielded, by sorcery or cubits of soaking stone. But some stars, at some times, at particular angles, are notorious for certain effects, piercing even the cloudy Low Heavens to shine upon the worldly folk of Anlil.

Shemmiads- Flower Stars

A shoal of pastel stars which occasionally drifts through the sky, adding color to the night. The Flower Stars spur the growth of greenery irrespective of the wishes of the terrestrial gods or tillers of the soil, and are at once benign and vexing, for they beget weeds, roots, crops, and forage in equal measure. They most often appear during the spring, for hours or days at a time.

Zurid- The Green Star

A sickly green glow in the sky, a harsh pinprick resembling no effusive natural light. While the natural radiations of the void easily induce living death upon fresh or well-preserved corpses, the Green Star may do so even to ancient remains if exposed to its light. It is most likely to be seen in winter, often for just hours, but very rarely throughout a whole season, shining on some doomed patch of the world until all that is left is a haunted ruin. Its effects are greatly impacted by the pneumatic layer, with thinness increasing both the potency and scope of its dreadful illumination.

Kihem- The Angled Star

A star whose long rays of bluish light are mathematically equidistant, sometimes 4, sometimes 12, or  many more, but always perfectly radially spaced when you gaze into them. The geometry of the world becomes distorted under its gaze. Edges cut more terribly, flat surfaces seem devoid of footholds or deviation. The world becomes alien, and it is said that a creature of keening sounds and jagged glass comes with this light. The aliens of Raphtel worship it, and say their arts were learned from bathing in its emanations.

Amanis- The Sinner's Star

A harsh white star which reduces all colors to blacks and whites. Unlike most such radiances it does not cover a wide area, and is only ever seen within a 100' cone. Souls under its light are scrubbed clean, becoming blissful amnesiacs. Those strong of will can return to themselves should they so choose, but many do not, seeking the star to be freed from the agonies of their lives in the most painless way possible.

Syrbon- The Mad Star

A star that seems to shudder and gyrate in the sky, and under its red light one may hear the sounds of great thundering waves and a strange, squealing crackling. Living  beings under its light grow quarrelsome and delusional, and often see strange visions. However, those of exceptional intelligence are caught in a strange and fell mood, and may produce incredible, baroque, alien works of art, or terrible weapons which kill with concentrated beams of light. If Syrbon has worlds around it, like our own star, their denizens are surely terrible.

Brs- The Plumbic Star

The Plumbic star stains the world a muddy gray, lengthening shadows under its dimly glowing point, like silver seen under murky water. Everything under its light grows heavier. While survivable, its effects are feared for how they change the ground. In places where the earth's seams are weak, the subtle shifting created by the gravitic light of Brs cause terrible earthquakes, though it may also unearth passage into the Dark Continents. The appearance of Brs is wholly random, but it is believed perhaps half of all earthquakes are owed to its presence.

Heol- The Heretic Star

A gentle white-gold light that makes all seem fair and wondrous, kindling a sense of awe in those underneath. Often worshipped or taken as a good omen, it seems to be off no sorcerous nature, merely an effusion pleasing to the senses. Its name comes from its associations with Heaven despite being of no moral value, a parable of trusting beauty over goodness, and (to those who know of such things) how it is used by the false predator angels of the world Immancon, who refract its light to grant themselves a saintly aura. It is found often in the near-south, and remains favored by artists even if, or perhaps because, of the danger it carries with its beauty. 

Unghozites- The Conqueror Stars

Burning red and white, closely grouped together, huge and looming. Even when you are not at an angle you can see them, you can study their march across the land, which is an immense swathe of burnt, blackened, ashen territory, inhabited by strange monsters like charred tangles of roots or worms of bloody flame, which rode their light down to the world. It is thought they are some manner of living being, and seek to remake Anlil in their own image. But if so, their efforts are blind and fumbling, only appearing sporadically through history as another disaster to strike down hapless peoples. It is known, also, that prayer and faith will keep you from perceiving the angle of their light, and thus avoid their incinerating gaze even if all else burns around you.

Nepiads- The Watching Stars

A cluster of yellow-white stars whose light shines brightly but only in a single concentrated point. Some of them are like directional lanterns, illuminating the land below in a great spot. Others are like focused lenses, beams of heat that ignite anything underneath. They are most often seen during the great darkness common to the cold south.

Gilial- The Howling Star

A pulsating ochre star that gives painful headaches and strange vitality to those under its wailing light. The longer a thing is under the center of its light, the more their physical attributes increase. But should they exceed the natural limit for such things, their grotesquely swollen body will tear itself apart under the strain. Thus Gilial leaves a trail of burst corpses and ferocious beasts behind it, even when its light is not visible from your angle. It is most often seen in the tropical north.

Furrusim- The Cold Star

A pale blue star whose light is chilling, bringing frost and snow. While it brings the risk of frostbite, crop failure, and other localized dangers, its true menace is its impact on the weather, for the cone of Furrusim's light is broad, and vast swathes of air may be cooled in such a way as to produce immense storms or other phenomena. It is most often seen above the sea, but rarely inland. It is thought some property of great bodies of water acts as a lens to make viewing it easier.

Nulfizzar- The Lightning Star

A shimmering purple star whose gentle lilac rays are scarred by stark white lightning that seems to emerge from impossible distances. Despite its danger, it has a curious property, drawing up those struck by it into the sky. As it is otherwise like worldly lightning this is often quite fatal, but if properly shielded it can be survived, and a vessel intended to reach the stars can use it to escape the planet with minimal effort, if precautions are taken to both attract the lightning and avoid its harm. Nulfizzar follows an erratic path across the world, but known, regularly visited places have cities spring up around them, rare places where reliable transport to the void may be found.

 

Focusing Lenses

Sorcerers may construct complex lenses to locate the light of stars even outside their typical range, thus conjuring lesser versions of their effects. While beams and bolts are one expression of such artifice, larger contraptions can bathe immense areas in light of the sorcerer's choosing. It is for this reason that many favor towers, to increase the range and effect of their lens. And it is for this reason that their towers so often move, so as to find optimal places to inflict a particular light, and flee from enraged locals who tire of their meddling.

On Vision:

Mechanically I think these stars should only be visible from certain angles, their light emitted in a "cone". If you were playing a hexcrawl for example, a star might only be visible within a certain amount of hexes, or even just one, if not less. A star's light might be localized to a single hill, perpetually bathing it, or it may appear sporadically, or across the world, but only certain days/months/seasons/years. However, effects of its light are visible outside of this cone. In places with a thick pneumatic blanket, the effects are lessened, but where it is thinned, they are enhanced.