There isn't much known for sure about the inhospitable world of Velkarta. It was first discovered 50 years ago by the universally famous Gozin anthropology team. Unfortunately, after his mysterious disappearance on the planet surface, most of his notes on the planet were classified by the Empire. Some information has leaked over the years to the general public, but this information is heavily mixed with rumor and myth.
What is known:
The general geology and climate of the planet is public knowledge. Velkarta is over 98% water, and most of what little land there is is made up of small volcanic islands. There are three notable exceptions to this: two swamp covered land masses on the equator, and one large barren land mass around a now extinct volcano.
The air on the planet is bad for most empire citizens, and the gravity is too high. Most of the life on the planet is of course in the oceans, but very little is known about it except that is very dangerous. Harsh conditions and limited resources has bred some truly nasty creatures.
There is only one known race of intelligent beings, a primitive collection of lizard men tribes on one of the swamp islands. This is were Gozin’s team spent most of their time, and where they eventually disappeared.
With so little to recommend it, the world was ignored for another 20 years until a Dwarven geology team made a routine survey of the planet’s mineral content. This survey would not only change the course of the planet’s future, but that of the entire Empire as well. The Dwarves discovered the presence of an unknown crystal that contained an amazing amount of energy, and energy that could power both arcane and technological devices.
The empire wasted no time setting up mining operations on the large barren land mass. The crystal has proven so important to the Empire that there is always a large fleet of destroyers protecting the planet from space.
Killing two birds with one powerful crystal, the empire turned the planet into the empires most notorious prison world, finding the forced labor of prisoners much cheaper than paying willing miners to work in such harsh conditions. The bad air and gravity proves too much for most prisoners, and few last the first year. Only Dwarves have shown themselves consistently hardy enough to survive the gravity and air in the mines, and that’s why 90% of the miners/prisoners are Dwarves. Elves have the hardest time, rarely lasting 3 months. An Elf sentenced to Velkarta is usually equivalent to a death sentence.
Rumors about the planet:
The lizard men are rumored to worship some large saurian god who protects them in times of need. They are also rumored to have vast treasures in their temples. Although the empire leaves them alone, there are tales of many pirates making secret raids on the island. It is said the Empire turns a blind eye to them since none of them ever return. Except maybe once. Some people say one pirate escaped and now spends his days in a mental asylum ranting about a 300 foot tall fire breathing lizard.
The other swamp island is supposed to contain some truly nasty creatures, not all of them native to Velkarta. For the right price it is said you can go on a dangerous safari trip to hunt down some of the Empire’s fiercest prey. Since the prey sometimes wins, and sometimes breeds, the island is rumored to have the quite the mix of life forms.
No one knows much about the aquatic life, except that you should avoid it at all costs. There is one well spread rumor that the empire decided to set up an underwater mine to increase production. 10,000 heavily armed aquatic soldiers were sent to secure a base. None of them returned.
Random DM info:
Working in the mines is very hard, but if you do survive you may start to adapt to the planet. The gravity cause you to lose 2 points of Con, Str, and Dex while exposed (you regain this when you return to more favorable conditions for at least 4 hours). The bad air causes are further loss of 2 Con and Str, again regained when you have breathed good air for at least 4 hours.
Every year on the planet where you spend 90% of your time exposed to the air and gravity requires a fortitude save. Rolling under 10 causes you to permanently lose 2 Con and 2 Str from wear and tear. Rolling over 20 gains you 2 Con and 2 Str permanently from adaptation. Dwarves have proven specially resistant to the conditions and gain +2 on their checks, while elves are especially fragile getting -2 on their checks.
The oldest Dwarves in the mines have become quite tough, something the empire is aware of and afraid of. Currently, they are far too productive in the mines to do anything about, but if they ever escaped, they would make an incredibly dangerous and formidable army.
------- Anyway, that's what I have for now. Let me know what you all think. Thanks.
What is known:
The general geology and climate of the planet is public knowledge. Velkarta is over 98% water, and most of what little land there is is made up of small volcanic islands. There are three notable exceptions to this: two swamp covered land masses on the equator, and one large barren land mass around a now extinct volcano.
The air on the planet is bad for most empire citizens, and the gravity is too high. Most of the life on the planet is of course in the oceans, but very little is known about it except that is very dangerous. Harsh conditions and limited resources has bred some truly nasty creatures.
There is only one known race of intelligent beings, a primitive collection of lizard men tribes on one of the swamp islands. This is were Gozin’s team spent most of their time, and where they eventually disappeared.
With so little to recommend it, the world was ignored for another 20 years until a Dwarven geology team made a routine survey of the planet’s mineral content. This survey would not only change the course of the planet’s future, but that of the entire Empire as well. The Dwarves discovered the presence of an unknown crystal that contained an amazing amount of energy, and energy that could power both arcane and technological devices.
The empire wasted no time setting up mining operations on the large barren land mass. The crystal has proven so important to the Empire that there is always a large fleet of destroyers protecting the planet from space.
Killing two birds with one powerful crystal, the empire turned the planet into the empires most notorious prison world, finding the forced labor of prisoners much cheaper than paying willing miners to work in such harsh conditions. The bad air and gravity proves too much for most prisoners, and few last the first year. Only Dwarves have shown themselves consistently hardy enough to survive the gravity and air in the mines, and that’s why 90% of the miners/prisoners are Dwarves. Elves have the hardest time, rarely lasting 3 months. An Elf sentenced to Velkarta is usually equivalent to a death sentence.
Rumors about the planet:
The lizard men are rumored to worship some large saurian god who protects them in times of need. They are also rumored to have vast treasures in their temples. Although the empire leaves them alone, there are tales of many pirates making secret raids on the island. It is said the Empire turns a blind eye to them since none of them ever return. Except maybe once. Some people say one pirate escaped and now spends his days in a mental asylum ranting about a 300 foot tall fire breathing lizard.
The other swamp island is supposed to contain some truly nasty creatures, not all of them native to Velkarta. For the right price it is said you can go on a dangerous safari trip to hunt down some of the Empire’s fiercest prey. Since the prey sometimes wins, and sometimes breeds, the island is rumored to have the quite the mix of life forms.
No one knows much about the aquatic life, except that you should avoid it at all costs. There is one well spread rumor that the empire decided to set up an underwater mine to increase production. 10,000 heavily armed aquatic soldiers were sent to secure a base. None of them returned.
Random DM info:
Working in the mines is very hard, but if you do survive you may start to adapt to the planet. The gravity cause you to lose 2 points of Con, Str, and Dex while exposed (you regain this when you return to more favorable conditions for at least 4 hours). The bad air causes are further loss of 2 Con and Str, again regained when you have breathed good air for at least 4 hours.
Every year on the planet where you spend 90% of your time exposed to the air and gravity requires a fortitude save. Rolling under 10 causes you to permanently lose 2 Con and 2 Str from wear and tear. Rolling over 20 gains you 2 Con and 2 Str permanently from adaptation. Dwarves have proven specially resistant to the conditions and gain +2 on their checks, while elves are especially fragile getting -2 on their checks.
The oldest Dwarves in the mines have become quite tough, something the empire is aware of and afraid of. Currently, they are far too productive in the mines to do anything about, but if they ever escaped, they would make an incredibly dangerous and formidable army.
------- Anyway, that's what I have for now. Let me know what you all think. Thanks.
