Typhon

Typhon is a world made of 80% landmass and 20% water, and is about 10% larger than Earth. More than half of the water is permanently frozen into the ice caps which dig far and deep underground, leading to huge subterranean rivers that taper off the further they go toward the equator, and spring up here and there to create a series of oases. The largest of these oases are where civilizations spring up, glorious cities that shine like beacons in the otherwise desolate, dangerous wastes. There is no rain on Typhon- though blizzards have been known to happen- only air currents that carry moisture to and from the ice caps, which creates water precipitation that can be harvested by people, animals, and plants alike. Most of the planet is pure desert, in a wide band that cover 60% of the planet from the middle outward, becoming rocky but still sandy badlands as one goes further north or south, with the odd mountain range to break up the sand- none of them are tall enough to hold ice caps, sadly. The sands give way to solid rock between the badlands and the ice caps, with a handful of craters that house small stretches of boreal forests created by artificial water tables and transplanting trees. Like everywhere else, the native wildlife has claimed these forests and does not well tolerate the interference of so-called civilization.

There are 30 some odd major cities on Typhon, each with a handful of connected towns which handle most of the agribusiness. These city-states are ruled by those families and coalitions which control the largest (usually all) shares of the local water rights. These families are referred to as Waterlord Clans, and constitute the highest form of official governing bodies on Typhon. Some are gregarious, some are insidious, but all of them are feared for the power they wield: Potable Water is the most valuable resource on Typhon, and coincidentally the primary form of currency, with "Water Tokens" in place of the old State Credit system, though using a similar means of measurement- 1ml of water (called a Dram) is equal to 1 credit. The hydrophobic, ring-shaped containers used for these Tokens are small as a bracelet can hyper-pressurize water to hold up to a full kilodram (1000 credits) of water.

While most cities are fully independent, some have banded together to form larger territories, but many prefer to be independent fiefdoms due to distance from the others. Distances between settlements tend to be massive, and only those closest to each other can really handle the logistics of creating nations. The Palm Republic, Shemic Union, Mountain League, Shifting Sands Coalition, and Thisaer Confederacy constitute the only real nations with any power on Typhon; and that power is often unstable, largely due to the difficulties of providing effective communications. There is no satellite network above Typhon to allow for planetary coordination or GPS, due to Kessler Syndrome turning local space into a literal minefield. Long range radio transmission and cables (which usually don't run more than a few thousand kilometers, tops) constitute all forms of civilian and military comm networks, anything else must be delivered by couriers. The only reason anyone can even get into space are the few holes in the Kessler Field that can allow spacecraft to wedge themselves in or out.

The Typhonian people are naturally skilled mechanical innovators- all Vehicles (except Hovercraft) are treated as having a free level of Microlight Construction (+3 Mass). Hover vehicles have +2 Mass and +1 Power. Any vehicle with 0 Hard Points is treated as having 1 Hard Point.

Back to Solar Bodies