Archives of Nethys

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Deities | Systems & Settlements


Rtachuuva

A World of Massive Arthropods

Source Starfinder #21: Huskworld pg. 39
Location The Vast (Chuuva)
Settlements
Diameter x1; Mass x1; Gravity x1
Atmosphere Normal
Day 1 day; Year 2/3 year

Though habitable, Atachuuva is unpleasant by most species’ standards. The planet has a climate that borders on severe heat, a thick atmosphere, and very little solid ground. Most of the planet’s surface consisted of saltwater bogs and swamps overgrown with dense vegetation. Abundant arthropods inhabited most of those swamps, and many of those creatures were enormous.

The Swarm stripped most of the organic matter from Atachuuva, leaving a toxic mire covering most of the planet’s surface. Despite this steep decline in the environment’s habitability, a few particularly tough native creatures survived. Adapting to their polluted surroundings, they now roam in search of increasingly scarce food.

Here are a few points of note on Atachuuva.

Emerging Sapience: Since the bulk of the Swarm departed the Chuuva system, a small colony of giant aquatic arthropods started building geometric mounds of silt. These structures are clearly artificial and regular in design. Evidence suggests the builders are an emerging sapient species, but nobody in the system has had an opportunity to study this development or understand how and why the species has changed so suddenly.

Prison Colony: The Ilemchuuvan government occasionally offered criminals the option of exile on Atachuuva, where they could live their lives in whatever manner they wanted without disrupting the broader society. The Swarm attack wiped out most of the small, chaotic settlements these colonists created. However, some survivors have cobbled together water vehicles and instant ground in a makeshift village. They’re looking for a way off world, so they’re likely to be antagonistic toward any visitors to Atachuuva.

Site Z: Few ever knew of the top-secret shirren bioweapons outpost now referred to as Site Z. The Swarm cracked the facility open and consumed most of the research samples, but containment was not among the Swarm’s priorities. Their meddling released at least one of the bioweapons from the facility, and this aberrant flora spread across one of the seas, forming colossal fungal mats, choking out remaining native life. The fact that one sample leaked suggests that others might have as well. Various researchers could be interested in sampling these weapons, their effects on Atachuuva, and the records that could remain at Site Z. Few of these scholars would have noble motives, however.