Jhoutai
Jhoutai is the 2-mooned, ringed planet from which the Sazashi and Verin hail. Only an approximate 16% of the surface is land, with another 20% being Jhoutai Table Coral.
Cradle of Life
Like Eden, Jhoutai is a cradle of life. It is a rich, verdant world, replete with a massive menagerie of life even more varied than Eden both above and below the sea. It's a world that has not seen any extinction-level events, which means that the branches of the trees of evolution where never trimmed and so have only further exploded into increasingly strange expressions of life over time.
The Ring of Destiny
People once believed that the ring, a perfect circle to the naked eye, was evidence that The Wheel has chosen Jhoutai for a higher cause.
One of the most striking features about Jhoutai is the presence of an asteroid belt circling its equator. This influences its tides, temperature, and the ability for ships to take off and reach orbit—part of why the Verin had such difficulty originally visiting space.
Ancient peoples would use the shadow of the ring to determine the time of day, and determined early into their history, by the ring's shadow, the size and shape of the world.
A Seed of Terraformation
With its many rich biomes Jhoutai is a rich basis by which to model many other worlds. Granted, drawing from Jhoutai certainly comes with its own risks and dangers—many of the creatures, bacteria, and flora within those ecosystems are less than friendly to Sophont life—but it's more important to settle a world before you concern yourself with thriving in it.
Sauluea
Ecosystems and Geography
Save for some outlying zones, Jhoutai is an extremely wet planet. While it would appear that 36% of the surface area of Jhoutai is solid landmass, the actual number is much closer to 16%; this is due to the presence of the most prolific life form on Jhoutai, Jhoutai Table Coral, which overlaps almost half of the landmass and extends it out by 20%.
This coral is the keystone of so many other species and ecosystems within the world. It is the basis of the Nege Trees, which run their roots through the corallums, as well as the Purpose Flower and countless more of the flora which Jhoutai is known for.
Don't go into the corralums. There's Rutas down there.
Making a Jhoutaioan
Jhoutai is the home world of the Sazashi, and its grandmother. It was the Verin who rose from the primordial ooze of Jhoutai, and the Verin who made the Sazashi. After long aeons of labor and suppression, the Sazashi revolted, claiming birthwright over the world they had been created to tame. In the ashes of the Verin empire—the Procession—the leaders which emerged from the revolution signed the first of what would come to be many editions of the Pact.
Changes in time and how it handles having a place for everyone and has a safety net and all that. The dangers of anywhere but the deep city and the constant pressure to join the jhoutigari
The Pact divides the world, and unites it. Not everyone agrees with it. Not everyone is treated well by it. It offers a space, safety, and health for everyone—but only if you abide by it.
Does your family Abide by the Pact?
The Pact stood for me, and I have stood for it. Working as universal team left all of us with the best outcome. I gained enough fortune to make a decent living, and I always contributed to what I was best at.
I lived within the Pact, but its rules did not represent my strengths. I survived on my own will and abilities and while my life has never been easy it always been my life to control.
The Pact was my guiding light and fighting spirit. Through it, I had purpose and among my peers I was even stronger. It may be a dangerous life to live, but with the Pact behind me I am indomitable.
The surface of Jhoutai.
Abide
You brought your abilities to bear for the Pact. No matter what skills you used, being part of the Pact meant being part of a larger community.
Nerve is one of your favored Attributes.
Start with the Following: A Basic Raiment of your choice with Rank 1 Armor.
Fulfilling a Mantra restores 2 Sanity and uses up the Mantra until your next downtime.
Choose one of the following and gain it as a Mantra for your character.
We're at our strongest when working together.
I'm as good as my best, as bad as my worst.
If we all play to our strengths, we are unstoppable.
What did you bring the Pact?
Force is a universal constant, and the Pact has plenty of force to bring to bear. You were one of the countless fists, blades, barrels, and spells that carried out the Pact's will. Fighting in the Pact military came with special esteem and ample compensation. What ever reason you left, serving in the Pact had a lasting impact upon your character and skillset.
Choose a favored attribute:
Upper Body or Lower Body
Start with the following:
- Case of Adrenalol Inhalers (6)
- Flywheel Mace
- Chitinous Armor
Progress paves victory, and stagnation welcomes death. You helped bring progress to the Pact, whatever field you worked in. Super facilities on Jhoutai were entirely dedicated to individual projects, laboratories with no expense spared for those who proved themselves noteworthy. You worked in one of these facilities, and it helped hone your brain.
Choose a favored attribute:
Acuity or Metaphysics.
Start with the following:
- Pack (20) of Meyfar
- Machinist's Toolkit or Gensculptors Toolkit
- Orga Material (20) OR Mecha Material (20)
Perhaps you didn't have strength or smarts to contribute to the Pact, and got by on a mix of daring and dumb luck. Jhoutai, despite being the Sazashi cradle of life, is hardly tamed. There are always stunts and jobs to take, supplies to run to the outer tribes, recon to be run in the depths of the corralum, or readings to gather in the middle of a glow storm, just to name a few.
Choose a favored attribute:
Reaction or Vitality
Start with the following:
- Envirosuit
- Box of Genazine Sachets (10)
- Canister Gun and 5 Impact Gel Canisters
Deny
Rejecting the Pact on Jhoutai meant rejecting the force in power. It did not make life easy, and without the Pact you were only as strong as your wits.
Reaction is one of your favored Attributes.
You start with 15 Orga Scrap
Fulfilling a Mantra restores 2 Sanity and uses up the Mantra until your next downtime.
Choose one of the following and gain it as a Mantra for your character.
Nobody can tell me who I am.
Purpose means nothing without action.
Life changes and we must adapt.
What is your career?
Whether exile or elective you grew up outside of the cities, surviving in the hold of a commune. Life was a fleeting existence staked on knowledge, attentiveness, and a dash of luck. Jhoutai has always been a wild planet, with no shortage of unfortunate ends for those who survived outside the city walls.
Choose a favored attribute:
Vitality or Acuity.
Start with the following:
- Box of Genazine Sachets (10)
- Envirosuit
- Survivalist's Pack
You do not lead a life highly valued by those far above you, but neither have you done anything to invite exile or incarceration. You live in the undercities—the hive of rooms, infrastructure, and coral overgrowth at the base of the tall Sazashi cities—where you're expected to tend to any failings, damages, or dangers.
Choose a favored attribute: Nerve or Lower Body Strength.
Start with the following:
- Pack (20) of Meyfar
- Envirosuit
- Chitinous Armor
You were found guilty of multiple breaks of the Pact. Forced into conscription to earn your freedom, you went where no one volunteers to go. Suicide missions, Deep Corralum Assignments, Old Home Probing all could have been among your duties. The job would break most, it did not break you.
Choose a favored attribute: Upper Body Strength or Metaphysics.
Start with the following:
- Pack (20) of Meyfar
- Canister Gun and 5 Impact Gel Canisters
- Flachette Pistol or Searing Brand
Revere
Metaphysics is one of your favored Attributes.
Start with the following: Raiment Armor Rank 2
Fulfilling a Mantra restores 2 Sanity and uses up the Mantra until your next downtime.
Choose one of the following and gain it as a Mantra for your character.
Perfection is performed, not achieved.
I must guide others to be in step.
We are only our strongest when everyone agrees.
What is your career?
As a knight, you have dedicated your life to honing yourself towards serving the glory of the Pact, and strive to become a Monolith. The Pride of your Kind still runs through your blood, generations strong. You wield your families strength like a weapon and continue to embody your Kind's contribution to the Pact.
Choose a favored attribute:
Upper Body Strength or Lower Body Strength
Start with the following:
- Flywheel Mace or Searing Brand
- Spell Gnasher or Kinesis Bulwark
- Envirosuit
You catch da fishies. You do a very good job at catching the fishies.
Choose a favored attribute:
Upper Body Strength or Lower Body Strength
Start with the following:
- Gutting Knife
- Kinetic Sling
- A Drug of your Choice
You put your body on the line fighting the constant war against the creatures of Jhoutai. You were an Exterminator; a hunter of Rutas and other dangerous flora and fauna. This role came with respect and stable pay, no shortage of bounties to be claimed. That respect comes with risk, as there are few Exterminators that make it to old age.
Choose a favored attribute:
Vitality or Reaction
Start with the following:
- Canister Gun and 5 Impact Gel Canisters
- Box of Genazine Sachets (10) or Case of Adrenalol Inhalers (6)
- Flachette Pistol or Searing Brand
With the volatile border skirmishes that the Pact loves to sustain, the life of a Diplomat was never quiet. You represented the Pacts interests to the rest of the Banners or other troublesome factions within the Pact. Soothing relations was your full time job. Other Banner Citizens might be quick to distrust Diplomats or ex-diplomats, so be wary.
Choose a favored attribute:
Vitality or Reaction
Start with the following:
- Translation Codex Scroll
- Gossamer Vestaments
- Musical Instrument or Cooking Kit
Updating your Sheet
You have chosen your origin. If you are satisfied with your selection, write down your chosen items in your inventory, and make a temporary note of your favored attributes—they will be important to the next step of character creation.
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