Weird Locations, part 31!

Another day, another set of Locations.

Today all of them are united by the same theme.

Planets! They are all inspired by very early Sci-Fi,

which are often more Fantasy than Sci-Fi.

Specifically I took a lot of inspiration from John Carter and Lucian's True History.

To this end included an odd addition to make Space more like Fantasy.

There is air in space. You don't have to worry about air bubbles, or suffocating.

There is air and there is space boats. Three kinds, to align with the three regular boats.

Also, I added rules for Gravity. Just a simple High Low No. Which does what I need it to.

Theoretically you could have higher than High Gravity, and lower than Low.

But for what I need this is fine. Now for the planets!

The first up is The Red Sand Star.

Essentially this one is Mars. Low gravity, barren, red.

Originally I was also going to have a Mercury world,

but then I thought you didn't need 2 desert planets.

I took a lot from old ideas about Mars.

The vein like canals are a nod to the idea that Mars once had great channels.

This being caused by a telescope flaw that caused the veins of the eye to appear in the image.

The people of this planet are interesting.

First there's the Formicid, who are ant shaped humans.

Partly inspired by the Green Martians of John Carter,

and partly by the Amazons of Greek myth.

Here I got to go all out with Alien Biology leading to Alien cultures.

They reproduce like Ants, and thus are essentially Matriarchal.

However, the rare men among them have considerable power.

It's a little hard to pin down in human terms, but they're not human.

So it all makes sense. Additionally, I also added a Giant Sand Worm.

Because this is a desert planet. You need a Sand Worm. Facts.

Lastly there is the Mercurials. A race of sentient magnetic gas.

Inspired by the Martians from Olaf Stapledon's Last and First Men.

This planet also has an environmentalist theme to it. As Mars stories often do.

We have often looked at the desert world and wondered if we will end up like that.

I hope not.

Next is the other great theme of Planets. Gas Giants.

This location is a nod to three different worlds in our solar system.

Jupiter, Saturn, and Venus. Originally the last was its own world, but it was cut for time.

A great high gravity planet, covered in lush swamps. This last detail being a nod to outdated,

if romantic, notions about Venus. From before we knew it was a boiling acid hellscape.

The people of this location have very contrasting origins.

First there is the Nusians. Pulled again from Last and First Men,

being based on the aquatic venusians of that work.

Then there are the Jovians. Who are essentially Dragon Ball Aliens.

Specifically the Namekians. But small. Why? Well... why not?

And in keeping with that idea, there is Saturias.

An immortal warrior who spends all day training and seeking new thrills.

Basically Goku mixed with Campbell's Hero of 1000 Faces.

His backstory is based on reconstructions of bronze age myths.

And he is also named for the old mascot of the Saga Saturn.

I told you these locations would be weird.

Lastly, we should touch on the ring. Ringed planets are iconic.

Draw a planet without colors, bet you drew Saturn!

I left the ring rather mysterious. Something could be there!

But I'll leave that to anyone running the game to decide.

Sometimes blank spaces invite creativity.

And finally, the last kind of planet. Dwarf Planets. With The Black Night Star.

This one has the clear inspiration of Pluto. Specifically Pluto as described by HP Lovecraft.

A dark scary world full of strange alien horrors. To this end I added a Ring5 Ruin,

which were also Lovecraft inspired (Specifically the story Rats in the Walls).

This location has another inspiration however. Dinosaurs.

Specifically very early ideas of Dinosaurs being Antediluvian horrors,

or beings like The Leviathan that before God split the waters.

This idea I mixed with my games own lore of The Dragon God.

On this planet you will find an gigantic corpse which brings forth new squamous life.

It is suggested that this whole world may have been created from the endless corpses of this new life.

Originally the Dragons corpse was going to be a separate location

one you could reach by traveling in time, but I decided to combine these two,

as they are both "Lovecraft themed".

Along with the half formed reptile beasts, this location has a unique individual.

The Emissary of Ancient Darkness. Essentially Lovecraft's Nyarlathotep.

A stealer of identities and truths.

A creature who's powers are as socially devastating as they are physically.

Lastly, on an aesthetic level, this location was inspired by The End from Minecraft.

Being a great yellow-white rock in darkest space with a Dragon.

Well, I hope you've enjoyed these three locations.

The next five will likewise be Space Themed.

So I hope you've liked what you've seen thus far!

Regards,

SOTrekNomad