The Planet of Saharamanji

Saharamanji;

Is a large planet that one could compare size to the Earth's System of Neptune, it has an atmosphere very much like Earth's in many ways. The surface is 65% water with the rest being land mass, the gravity is 5 percent greater then that of earth so not very noticeable at all and easy to adjust to in a short period. The land masses starting at it's poles and moving to the equator consist of thick large jungles at each of it's poles, transitioning to thin band of savannas, before turning into deserts which bands a very wide section on both sides of the planet's equator. This is believed due to two yellow binary suns in this system, Saharamanji is in just the right orbit for these two suns making it just hot enough for it's surface conditions to be as they are. The planets rotation is a 144 hour cycle 72 hours of daylight  followed by 72 hours of night, the days get very hot and the night are cool but are warm due to the heat adsorbed during the planet's day cycle releasing it's heat slowly during the night cycle. There is a region in the southern hemisphere that is still unstable with volcanic activities and lava flows and minor earthquakes.

Rotating around Saharamanji are three moons, one of which is in a stationary orbit around Saharamanji which appears as a consistent full moon during the planets three day night cycle, the planet there for is never really in total darkness. This moon is referred to as the "Stable Moon" due to it's consistent position one could use it to navigate if one becomes lost or in case of navigational equipment failure. from time to time generally once a year there can be three full moons which really lights up the planet on both of it's sides, more often it only likely to have just two full moons about every three months

The planet is pock marked with meteor craters from very small to massively large craters made during it's earlier development when it was pounded with asteroids, creating massive rings of very tall and rugged mountain ranges, many of these mountain are so tall that respirators are need to function in these areas. From orbit you can see the rings of mountains everywhere with some over lapping of these rings even in the oceans rings holding water in them like crystal blue bowls to rings of islands positioned in deeper waters. The only areas to which no craters can been seen is the very deep ocean areas but it is suspected that craters are there just that their covered up by the ocean.

There are two types of deserts on Saharamanji. The one outside of all the craters is rough rocky flats spotted with shrub bush, the rocks littering all over were tossed from all the impact craters ranging from massive boulders to pebbles and sand, most of the rocks are fist size rocks as scattered covering, the rest is a pebble carpet covering the rest of these desert ground flats. Deserts within the mountain rings, containing sand, a very white sand from the air they look like massive large bowls of milk with a catch, in these white sands lives a species of creatures called "Snarks" for a lack of a better imagination from the only surveying team to ever visit this place. "Snarks" basically a creature much like the water creature of Earth's sharks just these live in the sand. The survey team using the two words of Sand and Shark they came up with Snark and of course each of these bowls of sand could hold a different variations of Snarks, not much is known with the limited survey. These pockets or bowls of sand as they are and are referred to as "The Bowls"

In these bowls the sand shifts around a lot exposing different areas of the rocky bottoms with pockets of a black based plant with thick blue reeds, these areas are safe from the Snarks until the winds shift and begins to refill these areas in like an incoming tide, this is how it is believed the Snarks survive with the constant shifting of the sand, trapping other desert creatures that come in to eat on the plants.

The jungles at each of the pole were roughly surveyed from space showing the rough and rugged mountain rings with large lakes of water pooled in the middle, to large areas of mangroves and their twisting winding canals going down to the oceans, to jungle swamps, to include jungle mountain rings in the oceans holding their own bowls of water, plus rings of islands in the deeper waters. Nothing is known about the plant life or the wildlife in these areas. It's  believed that the two jungles being so separated by vast amount of desert and oceans, would have their own different species of plants and animals.

The oceans again covering 65% of the planet surface. All of the coastal areas have shallow flats of water stretching out some three hundred Kilometers or more, the depth of these waters is roughly one to three meters deep making them a clear crystal blue with sanding bottoms containing lots of small plants and aquatic life. People started to refer to these areas of water as "The Shallows"  until it starts sloping downwards to the deeper waters of the oceans.To which nothing is known about these waters or it's depth let alone what it totally contains.

There are lakes as well from large round lakes with crater center peaks as small islands, to very small oasis spotting the deserts and savannas here and there, looking like tiny little emeralds from space. Here to it is believed that each of these oasis are to have their own micro eco system. This speculation is from aerial observation of what is to believe are game trails going in and out of these areas. This is also including the jungle mountain lakes as well. 

The region of volcanic activity is a very large area, thought is that an asteroid impact this area creating a large lava lake in the middle of this section with a large mountain range around it. From there long and wide fissures with lava flows within them, from orbit it looks like a fractured mirror with red glowing light behind with a glowing red hole in the middle. Around this region are volcanos as well adding to the lava flow. Ash clouds in this area make the region below them very dark under them, making some of this region looking like some form of hell in reality. 

The only surveying team to ever come to this place only did a very rough and short survey due to the lost of a couple of their surveyors and researchers to the Snarks in The Bowls and a few other creatures cutting their stay short. Due to the location of Saharamanji and it's small limited system being so off from the path from shipping lanes there was no reason to send any survey teams to be dispatched to the system. So there is very much left to understand about this place and that around it. Saharamanji is the largest planet in this system with five other smaller planets with moons with a large asteroid belt surrounding the everything in this system like a very large ring. Nothing is known about those planet and moons to include the asteroid ring as well.

Saharamanji sat in space for a few years drawing no interest from anyone, in fact many space charts don't even have it placed on the maps, most map makers didn't even bother to place it on their maps for is was to much out of the way to be of any interest. Then one day it was bought some years back from the Galactic Government Real Estate and Survey Office for a fraction of the cost of the original survey by a man name Alvin "Al" Styler a man that no one knows anything about.

Shortly there after a small spaceport was established everyone there started calling it "Styler's Point"

My Current Crew

Working a little at a time painting figures on and off  I came up with a small crew for gaming "Five Parsecs From Home, Salvage Crew". It's a mix bag of folks that I believe are going to do well in the game.

Game set up;

Combining two sets of rule or at lease the ideas of the two. Pinnacle Entertainment as a supplement set to rules "The Last Parsec: Jump Corp Guide to Interstellar Salvage" which can be found at https://www.drivethrurpg.com/ . The rules a subset of rules for "Last Parsec Core Rules" the supplement is about recovering massive ships adrift in deep dark space from massive battles long ago, dealing with a wide range of problems and hazard of salvaging such ships, to recovering survivors, running into killer robots already dismantling ships, to Slavers Ships, some hauling great riches some hazardous cargo.

With the rules from Nordic Weasel "Five Parsecs from Home Salvage Crew" a set of solo rules

Background Story;

The crew of the "Celestial Queen" all together.

 

The Great Galaxy War had just dwindled to an end, pretty much all sides basically ran out of rocks to throw at each other. All the boundary lines that all sides are using are the same lines that were of the Front Battle Lines.

The war was quick and massive, no one really knew what the reason for such a massive war was for. The little folks, the ones who actually did all the fighting for many of the government didn't know why, they were all just pushed into service as were any and all ships were pressed into service. Old ships pulled from old mothball fleets to salvage yards were quickly patched together just barely able to operate, refitted with some updated equipment, weapons and crew, rushed in to battle with the off chance they would get a few punches in. This same action was done on all sides for none of the governments thought that the time and cost of constructing new ships wasn't warranted for the battles were quick and fast and ever moving, loss of ship on all side were so great that the time for newer ships was just not possible if you were going to win.

Ships in these massive battle that were to greatly damaged or a drift were left behind as those that survived moved on to the next bigger battle, no recovery or rescue ships were dispatched to retrieve such ships, for many just could not spare ships for this task for all were needed in the ever shifting front lines. Space battles moved so quickly and so far apart with each side so desperate to win that many battles generally ended up with just one or two ships limping away just trying to save themselves little alone other ships in distress. It is plausible that many crew left behind on those ships may have died from failing life support or have been adrift so long they may have died from starvation, other ships may have drift into the gravitational pull of a planet or sun maybe even an asteroid and were destroyed on impact. Some in the battle areas may have drifted into each other causing further damage coming to their demised as metal on metal crushed upon each other, there could be ships out there working together pulling their resources just to survive making one large drifting habitat.

The new sectors and boundaries are setting up their governments many are launching their own search and rescue efforts for any and all ships, outposts and other facilities from all sides and to salvage as much of a those resources that they can of what is left, for resources are very very low, if none at all in some areas. Many civilian centers that would process or manufacture products of all kinds were destroyed or severely damaged. Special Offices are set up to sift through all the military orders to find official orders for ships and facilities to locate their last whereabouts. Not only were there ships sitting out there but there are other facilities out there as well observation outpost, communication  stations, supply depots to include medical stations as well, many at this point may be in dire straights at this time if not disfunctional, serverely damaged or destroyed. To add to the problem these facilities could be anywhere on asteroid, moons, planets of all kinds to even being their own station floating out there somewhere.

These ships, these SRSS (Search Rescue Salvage Ships) are set up roughly to render little medical aid and quarters if needed and to salvage as much of the ship as possible, if they can tow it back to their spaceport they will. If they can't tow it then they will leave a marking buoy to find it later on there return to salvage more of the ship till they can tow the rest home.

Now this may sound all fine and well, but with each ship or derelict encountered are new hazards such as crews still able to fight with their last and final punch maintaining the idea that they will be boarded and destroyed. Depending as to where ships are found such as planets or asteroids others could as well find new unknown creatures that has taken up residence in their new found homes. many other hazards could be engine sitting at a critical stage like a floating bomb from the crew last ditch effort to strike back, even weapons and booby traps could be laying about always standing sentry, may even be another salvage crew working it for the same government or another that are very much not willing to share in their spoils. Pirates and mercenaries as well working for anyone that willing to pay the right price. 

This is the one such ship the "Celestial Queen" and her crew, out of the many out there doing what they can to recover anyone, everyone and everything. They are working out from a small space port and mining facility called "Styler's Point" on a very large planet named "Saharamanji".