World of Wind and WavesSource Starfinder #20: The Last Refuge pg. 62
Location The Vast (Suskillon)
Settlements —
Diameter x1-1/4; Mass x1-1/2; Gravity x1
Atmosphere Normal
Day 36 hours; Year 300 days
Utraneus is the third planet in the Suskillon system. Shallow oceans span most of the world’s surface, scattered with islands and small continents. Three moons with wildly differing orbits contribute to the planet’s complex tidal systems and harsh seasonal monsoons. This combination of constant wind, rain, and waves would cause rapid erosion to most landmasses, but much of Utraneus’s surface is composed of the compressed remains of coral and mollusks. Even as the tides wear down the land, the high mineral content of the water rebuilds it. The resulting karst landscape is riddled with caves and pits. Little surface water remains above sea level, due to easy drainage, lack of soil, and sparse vegetation besides lichen and algae. Wholly organic life is rare above the waves, and most such creatures have evolved magical traits to survive. In the seas, aquatic life flourishes, but the shallow depths limit the size natural evolution can attain, and no native life-forms have achieved sentience.
The first intelligent creatures to set foot on Utraneus were the shirrens during their exodus from the Swarm. They constructed a shrine to Hylax on the largest of the planet’s landmasses (later named Aqanat), but a sinkhole caused it to collapse into an extensive cave system. Seeing this as an omen, the shirrens turned these caves into a ritual pilgrimage of their journey so far, with symbolic reenactments of events that would become shrouded in myth. They then moved on, joining with the residents of Suskillon, the fifth planet in the system, and leaving a more permanent colony in the Chuuva system for the Pact Worlds.
Decades later, as the population of Suskillon began to reach the limits of what the planet could bear, the world’s government began the process of settling Utraneus. In 121 ag, they established a space station in orbit around the planet. Called Oddrock, it traveled in an orbit geosynchronous to a proposed landing site on the continent of Aqanat. It took several decades of study to develop chemical and mechanical means of stabilizing Utraneus’s fragile land base, but settlers laid the groundwork for the city that would become New Grakka in 201 ag, named after the birthplace of the engineer who developed the final stabilization formula. Guided by shirren scientists involved with the project, New Grakka was built almost directly on top of the underground shrine to Hylax.
The first New Grakkans were determined. Managing the planet’s constant erosion and sediment deposition drove them to new heights of engineering and improvisation, and now the colony is a thriving metropolis. Powered by the abundant energy harnessed by wind and tidal turbines, factories near the city refine the planet’s silicates into computer and starship components for export. Due to the limited organic material on the surface, most plant‑based agriculture is hydroponic, while aquaculture provides most protein on the planet. Previous attempts to introduce nonnative species to Utraneus resulted in the airborne pests called muottas, so customs and imports are now tightly regulated.
Utraneus’s seas are too shallow, bright, and turbulent for most sapient aquatic species and large underwater beasts, but some manage to survive in those waters. The original stabilization formula worked best on dry rock, but a new variant has succeeded with underwater limestone, and there is now a growing population of kalos from the Pact Worlds.Aliens found at UtraneusJakkerant - CR 5; Small magical beast (aquatic)
Muotta - CR 2; Small animal
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