Archives of Nethys

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Deities | Systems & Settlements


Weydana-7

Thriving earthen environment

Source Starfinder #45: The Culling Shadow pg. 62
Location The Vast
Settlements
Diameter ×2; Mass ×2; Gravity ×1
Atmosphere Toxic (55% nitrogen, 21% hydrogen, 20% argon)
Day 16 hours; Year 158,400 days

The farthest planet from the Weydana system’s sun, Weydana-7 is unusual in two regards: first, when planetary formation took place, Weydana-7 solidified into a standard planet rather than becoming an icy gas giant; and second, Weydana-7’s orbit is identical to Weydana-6’s to five decimal places. The latter fact has resulted in Weydana-7 being completely cut off from the light and radiation of the system’s sun, making the atmosphere and soil of the planet extremely cold (mean temperature –371° F). Further, Weydana-7’s position in the system means that it receives most of the comets, asteroids, and other stellar debris headed into the system, resulting in an incessant rain of meteoroids impacting the planet’s surface.
Nonetheless, life persists in abundance on Weydana-7. Vast expanses of colorless, chalky soil consist of quicksandlike grit thought to have a depth measured in miles. This grit functions as the de facto atmosphere for the lifeforms of Weydana-7, who move through it in the same way that humans move through air. The beings observed in the Weydana-7’s soil are various non-sentient creatures, including enormous, mindless grignaqs, squid-like lolligo, burrowing ant-like creatures larger than many vehicles, predatory earth turtles, octopus‑like kalis, swarms of “razor grit,” and titanic lunar worms known as umbracygot.
The lifeforms of Weydana-7 aren’t native to that planet; extreme temperatures and a lack of solar radiation make Weydana-7 incapable of fostering such life. The diverse ecosystem of Weydana-7 and all its earth-based life-forms could only have been placed on or sent to the planet. Portals to the Elemental Plane of Earth might exist deep beneath the planet’s surface, or the planet could have been seeded by entities or a civilization somehow linked to the Elemental Plane of Earth. Hybrid life generators that combine magic and technology, or perhaps a crashed colony vessel from the Elemental Plane of Earth, are also possibilities.
It’s unclear how life on Weydana-7 survives, as the chalky grit of the planet’s soil consists of only a few elements and lacks the exotic atoms and molecules on which creatures of the Elemental Plane of Earth subsist.
The teeming numbers of earth-based beings on Weydana-7 defy the practical reality of the planet’s constant celestial bombardment. It’s estimated that approximately 300 tons of meteors, asteroids, and other stellar debris hit Weydana-7 each day. While the mean meteor is only a few inches in diameter, many are larger— some substantially so. How the life-forms on Weydana-7 survive the impact of the greater meteors, including the planet-killers, is a mystery.

Aliens found at Weydana-7

Collector Crab - CR 6; Large animal
Stralithid - CR 8; Medium magical beast