Tarvigrad (Tar-vuh-grod)

As seen in

Life and Death in the Trenches of Tarvigrad

Length of Day: 78 hours Length of a Year: 1,247 days Gravity: 1.2 Gs Moons: 12 Average Temperature: -27 - 123 degrees F Water Coverage: 6% Population: ~324,527,890,000 Terrain: Similar to Varn, though not quite as extreme, Tarvigrad has seen vast amounts of combat in its history. It is a factory world, nearly its entire surface covered in endless factories and machinery, the sky black with pollution. Many of the planet’s factories have been reduced to rubble in previous conflicts, but unlike Varn, Tarvigrad continues to operate at full capacity, still loyal to the Saurian Empire. Due to the massive pollution of the atmosphere, when outside of a sealed building all citizens of Tarvigrad wear ventilation masks or rebreathers at all times. Culture: Due to being so close to the border, the planet requires a strong defense force and thus, another aspect of life on Tarvigrad is reproduction, both to man the factories and for the planetary defense force. The people of Tarvigrad greatly value time spent laboring at factories and thus soldiers are not very well trained, instead focusing on massive numbers. The massive overpopulation on the planet likely also contributes to the massive number of soldiers drafted into the military. Every person, male or female, on Tarvigrad works in a factory of some kind for 10 hours of Tarvigrad’s 18-hour days. Work in the factories starts at the age of 15 and due to the excruciating work hours are thus expected to feed and care for themselves until they are of working age. Additionally, every family is required to have at least 3 children. Those who cannot reproduce are automatically drafted into the military. Military: Tarvigrad has easily the largest standing army of any Saurian planet, though nowhere near the best trained. Tarvigrad soldiers are considered to be quite expendable at best, cannon fodder at worst. Due to their poor training, they take enormous casualties and thus suffer greatly from poor morale. To “remedy” this, Tarvigrad utilizes commissars to keep their troops in check, executing soldiers who retreat without hesitation. These commissars are additionally essential to the favored Tarvigrad tactic of mass suicide charges, using overwhelming numbers to smother the enemy in bodies. Another tactic that Tarvigradians are fond of is entrenchment, for it makes it much easier for a coordinated charge if all your troops are already formed in massive line. Thus, every Tarvigradian soldier is issued an entrenchment tool, often passed down from its previous owner, to dig these colossal trench systems.