Ord Mantell

Ord Mantell is a major planet in the Mid Rim, operating as the heart of Galactic Republic commerce and government in the New Territories. As a major regional capital and commercial hub, Ord Mantell is a wealthy world and an easy place to find work or goods.

Geography

Ord Mantell is a dry continental world with diverse biomes, though most of the planet's surface is covered by tundra and prairie. The planet is highly mountainous with many large plains, resulting in relatively sharp divides between wet and fertile regions and large areas of the planet with little moisture.

History

Ord Mantell was originally settled by Corellians during an early wave of Galactic colonisation, and quickly came to dominate trade and politics in the Inner New Territories. The world's mineral resources and convenient location along major hyperspace routes in multiple directions allowed colonists to easily tariff and tax trade goods coming from the wealthy outer provinces, and the system's initial human population soon expanded into a massive diversity of alien species, resulting in its present-day hyperdiverse population. Ord Mantell's growth was also eased by the relaxed approach of its government to crime, smuggling and the syndicates - so long as they made appropriate contributions to the world's coffers. A grey market for various goods and services soon became a feature of Ord Mantell; and since then, if you pay the appropriate taxes, almost anything can be made legal on the planet.

Institutions

Ord Mantell is governed as a functionally-plutocratic democracy. While all citizens of Ord Mantell are entitled to vote, in practice bribery, corruption and vote-buying are widespread. Several factions typically compete for control of the Ord Mantell Parliament, resulting in single-party governments which typically favour either local aristocrats, galactic merchants, or the 'libertarians' - code for smugglers and crime syndicates. Ord Mantell's economy shapes much of how the planet operates day-to-day, with its position along major hyperspace lanes driving a focus on commerce. The world is also rich in minerals, allowing for a solid extractive industry to supplement the world's trade.

Locations of interest

Numerous large cities dominate Ord Mantell, including the capital - Worlport - as well as Ord Mantell City, Freelonn and Savroia.

Environment

With various cities spread across its surface and its wide open plains, Ord Mantell has relatively controlled wildlife and flora. Perhaps its most notable fauna is the irling, a bug-like, flying creature which nests in the caves beneath the planet's surface.

Ord Mantell City