Nakondis

The second planet from the sun of the Nakon system, Nakondis is a surprisingly temperate world deep in The Vast. The planet is covered with enormous swaths of deciduous forests that thin at the equator, giving way to clearings of tall grasses. Low mountain ranges crisscross Nakondis. Vegetation on the mountains is sparser but still present; none of the planet’s peaks rise very far above the tree line. There are no oceans on the surface of Nakondis, but immense partially frozen and ionized seas exist within the planet’s lithosphere. The heat from the close sun draws forth this water through the soil, resulting in a pervasive, cloying fog across the entire planet. This thick haze shields much of Nakondis’s trees and wildlife from the heat and radiation of the sun, but it also carries a faint electrical charge. This charge usually isn’t dangerous—it simply makes the skin tingle—but when the fog is thick, it can build to levels sufficient enough to damage creatures and wreak havoc on electrical systems. In low-lying areas of the planet, the mist congeals into a soupy morass, and occasional “storms” of thickened fog sweep the forests, crackling with bolts of hazardous lightning.
The native fauna of Nakondis are primarily birds, insects, and small arboreal mammals, all of which have evolved with adaptations to the planet’s electrified mist. Most creatures are either immune to electricity or have developed the ability to sense when electric charges start to build so they can quickly leave the area. These electricity-sensing creatures generally flee from explorers or colonists, as common batteries carry enough latent charge to trigger their flight reflex.
Some of the largest creatures on Nakondis (and most problematic to explorers) are simian animals called hobgars. Generally not much larger than 10 pounds, hobgars have only animal intelligence, but they are curious and travel in packs of up to 20 members. Hobgars not only are immune to electricity but also enjoy gnawing on conductive materials. They are known for sneaking into encampments to eat wiring, crack open datapads, and steal portable equipment for their tree-bole lairs. Hobgars successful in these irritating raids communicate the location of their spoils to other hobgars, so an encampment can be overrun and picked apart in a matter of weeks. Permanent settlements must learn to deal with hobgars, such as by trapping them or bringing offworld domesticated animals to scare them off. Hobgars prefer dense forests, so the mountain ranges and equatorial plains house fewer of the creatures. Rumors persist that substantially larger hobgars live in the thickest, least-traveled forests, towering higher than the treetops, but no confirmed recordings of these reclusive titans exist. Either these “hobgar kings” are merely the product of a fanciful imagination fueled by fog-obscured, half-glimpsed hills, or these massive beasts are cunning enough to avoid detection.

Mist-Shrouded Forest Planet; Diameter: ×3/4; Mass: ×9/16; Gravity: ×1; Location: The Vast; Atmosphere: Normal; Day: 22 hours; Year: 202 days

Type

Planet

Inhabiting Species

• Hobgar