Apostae

Apostae is a rocky planetoid that is much smaller than most worlds in the Pact Worlds system, with an orbit that angles strongly from the ecliptic, almost perpendicular to that of Absalom Station. These telltale clues lead to general acceptance of the theory that the planetoid originated somewhere beyond the system and was caught in the sun’s orbit thousands of years before the Gap. Whether the world was guided to the system intentionally or arrived through some accident remains anyone’s guess.
The few existing records of visits to the planetoid in the centuries prior to the Gap describe a barren, airless surface and a warren of atmosphere-filled caverns and tunnels riddling the rock through to its core. Many of the chambers were empty, but others held ancient machines that still hummed, indestructible doors, permanently comatose and preserved creatures with a range of alien forms, and vaults of advanced technology and weapons. Though a few research teams explored Apostae before the Gap, interacting with a now-extinct race known as the ilee that dwelled inside the tunnels, no group from outside the world ever established a permanent foothold on the planetoid, which most assumed to be some sort of ancient generation ship or otherwise self-contained environment. Strangely, nothing in the records suggest that the ilee themselves had any knowledge of their origin, giving rise to the theory that they may have degenerated over millennia between the stars or else been some sort of captured or servitor race that outlived their masters.

Geography

Apostae is not an actual planet: it has no geological component, and its surface never changes without outside interference. The only major geographical features on Apostae are great cracks, craters with huge sidewalls and glassy bottoms, and towering slabs of rock torn from the surface. Hundreds of chasms criscross Apostae, the largest of which are thousands of miles long and 40 miles deep. These chasms are never mentioned in pre-Gap records, and archaeology points to them being only 8 to 12 centuries old. The drow believe that they are the result of a forgotten weapon test during the Gap; other theories point to this being evidence that Apostae is literally coming apart.
Apostae is a barren, airless world riddled with atmosphere-filled caverns and tunnels through to the planetoid's core. Many of these chambers are empty, but others hold ancient machines, permanently comatose alien forms, or vaults of advanced technology and weapons. The city's barren surface houses only one major settlement, the drow-controlled city of Nightarch. Nightarch is the only known point of entry into Apostae's interior, with several other entrances on the world's surface blocked by huge, locked, and indestructible doors. Most of Apostae's interior have never been explored, and certain chambers mentioned in pre-Gap records like the Chamber of Life have never been found.

Fauna & Flora

In addition to the ruling drow, Apostae is home to various other races that originated on Golarion, like orcs, half-orcs, mongrelmen and troglodytes. Despite centuries of effort to expand their holdings and increase their meager population, the drow still only partially control the world's interior. Despite their lack of complete control of Apostae's interior, and their limited holdings on the surface to one major city, the drow still claim Apostae as their home world and became signatories to the Absalom Pact.
The majority of Apostae's surface is devoid of life, except for the rare few elementals. The interior of Apostae is home to numerous types of constructs, especially wandering berserkers and stoic guardians. Scout teams exploring the deeper parts of Apostae have also described vicious, crab-like carnivores before connection is lost, never to be seen again.
Like the bone sages of Eox, Apostae's drow houses do not work together as a cohesive government. Each house acts independently, most operating as family-run corporations that deal in arms. The most powerful house is House Zeizerer, which controls Nightarch.

• Type: Captured Rogue Planetoid
• Diameter: .20x D_g
• Mass: .004x M_g
• Gravity: .10x G_g
• Atmosphere: Normal or none
• Orbital Period: 243 years PST
• Rotational Period: 7 days PST

Alternative Name(s)

The Messenger

Type

Planetoid / Moon

Location under

The Pact Worlds System

Owning Organization

The Pact Worlds Alliance