Mining world with a dangerous atmosphereSource Starfinder #48: Masters of Time and Space pg. 62
Location The Vast
Settlements —
Diameter ×4; Mass ×4; Gravity ×1
Atmosphere Normal (see below)
Day 20 hours; Year 1 years
Falliban’s Dream gets its name from the infamous lashunta merchant-explorer who discovered it, Havi Falliban. Havi was on a years-long expedition through the Vast, looking for uncharted worlds that could be settled or that have materials that could be extracted for profit. He stumbled upon a large lush-looking planet within a fairly unremarkable six-world system, and upon scanning it, he discovered promising amounts of resources and breathable air. Excited, Havi landed and started exploring without first turning on his environmental protections. Unfortunately, he didn’t realize that microscopic traces of powerful hallucinogens permeated through the planet’s atmosphere. These hallucinogens don’t change one’s view of the world, however; they change one’s view of themself. A day later, Havi left the planet with mineral samples and, for several weeks, deeply believed himself to be a feared ryphorian pirate on the prowl. After an ill-fated boarding attempt against a patrolling Hellknight ship on the outskirts of the Pact Worlds, he was arrested while spouting incredible tales of piracy and derring-do to everyone within earshot. Eventually, the hallucinations wore off while Havi stewed within the Hellknights’ brig, and he regained his sense of self. After a quick check of his credentials and a stern warning, the Hellknights sent Havi on his way. The explorer began telling his story in bars across the system, and when others investigated the planet he’d found, they decided to name it after him.
Soon after, a few settlements were built on the planet’s surface to begin long-term mining operations. These small towns are encased in transparent aluminum domes andhave their air heavily filtered, as is any semi-permanent structure on Falliban’s Dream. No one breathes in the planet’s pure atmosphere unless they’re looking for a free high and some fun. All of the planet’s settlements officially outlaw this form of thrill-seeking due to the unpredictable and wild nature of personality changes that people sometimes undergo. Of course, these regulations don’t stop people from trying anyway, nor does it prevent “dream-chaser” tourists from visiting to find some new version of themselves for recreational or spiritual reasons.
During the Drift Crisis, the chemicals in Falliban’s Dream’s atmosphere have begun to mutate for unknown reasons, going from hallucinogenic to polymorphic. A living creature who breathes in the unfiltered air not only undergoes a temporary shift in personality, but they also begin to change on a physiological level. It starts with a small alteration—a different eye color or slightly longer digits—but after several days, those affected transform into an entirely new person, even after they’ve stopped breathing the tainted air. An affected person is unaware of the change, fully believing they’ve been that way all their life. At present, scientists have been unable to change such an individual back.
Most of the planet’s citizens are understandably terrified of this development but have been unable to book passage off Falliban’s Dream due to the ongoing Drift Crisis. A few foolish individuals believe they’ll be able to control their change through sheer will, allowing them to choose their form. Those people leave their settlements and are seldom heard from again—or, if the person returns to civilization, they’re so different that no one they know recognizes them as such.
Reports indicate that repeated exposure to the unfiltered air leads to more and more monstrous transformations, causing an affected individual to eventually lose all sense of self. Recently, citizens have been forced to fend off repeated attacks from these newly created monsters. Settlement leaders worry about sustained damage to the filtration systems from the increasingly tough skirmishes as well as sabotage from cultists who believe that all were meant to breathe deep the air of Falliban’s Dream and be changed forever.
|