Hibb

One of the shepherd moons of Liavara, Hibb was once considered to be a dull, dreary, and—most of all—smelly lump of rock of little interest to anyone except particularly dedicated astrobiologists. Then, in 313 ag, scores of massive vault-towers, moved by unseen engines, rose up from beneath Hibb’s surface. Though many of these towers had been damaged by time and neglect, the handful that still functioned disgorged the entirety of the Bantrid species from banks of stasis-coffers. Leveraging their wide repertoire of skills and the resources found within the vault-towers, the bantrids have positioned themselves for integration into the Pact Worlds. But there’s a catch: between memories fogged by eons of stasis and computers confused by The Gap, no one knows why the bantrids entered stasis in the first place.

Geography

Until a few years ago, the shepherd moon of Hibb was considered an astronomical footnote. Small and chilly, the moon’s low-gravity environment contained only a dearth of natural resources. Short, thickset grass covered most of Hibb’s steppe-like environment dotted with hills and small lakes. However, something about the moon—its soil, its plant life, or the atmosphere—exuded a powerful and hideous stench that resisted all filtration efforts. The handful of intrepid astrobiologists who nevertheless braved the moon to investigate its desolate surface and practically nonexistent ecosystem all eventually had to have their ships sterilized.
Then the vault-towers appeared and changed the geography of Hibb overnight. At this time, 57 vault-towers have been identified, and more might exist beneath the soil, where they lie broken or simply await eventual activation through a mechanism no one has yet identified. While the vault-towers differ in size and purpose, they were clearly built by a single civilization and have several common architectural features. Vault-towers are typically cylindrical structures hundreds of feet tall, with a width one-third their height at the base that tapers toward the top. There are ramps and elevators inside rather than stairs, and most have a ramp spiraling around the tower’s exterior; presumably this placement is for decoration as much as for use, given the multitude of ways to ascend the interior. A tower is often attached to a larger subterranean complex and is designed to retract underground.
Approximately half of the known vault-towers are in good condition and contained stasis-coffers full of bantrid survivors. Another quarter had more stasis-coffers, but they were destroyed, corrupted, or otherwise rendered inactive at some point, killing thousands of their residents—these are now treated as tombs and cenotaphs. The remaining vault-towers held few or no stasis-coffers, seemingly built as communication centers, as computer facilities, or for some other unknown function.

History

RESIDENTS Hibb has primarily been populated by bantrids, small intelligent creatures who move by rolling atop a dense organic sphere. Only tens of thousands of bantrids survived stasis, and most still live in the vault-towers that first disgorged them. The ancient chambers are downright cozy, adorned with paintings and pillows.
Hibb also has a small population of immigrants and visitors willing to brave the moon’s unique smell. The curious appearance of the vault-towers has drawn explorers and academics from across the Pact Worlds, while the prospect of ancient technology has lured less-scrupulous treasure hunters and scavengers seeking plunder. Most peculiar are the evangelists—once it was discovered that bantrids remember no society of their own, they were inundated by people proselytizing every cultural, political, and economic model under the sun. A majority of these migrants came with the best of intentions, but there’s no shortage of grifters, con artists, and would-be cult leaders among them.
Hibb has almost no ecosystem, being an all-but-barren rock before the vault-towers arose. Beyond the bantrids themselves, the most advanced life forms on Hibb are small insects.
SOCIETY One question animates bantrids more than any other: what is bantrid society? While some bantrids have left Hibb and immersed themselves in the culture of the Pact Worlds, most agree that they need an identity of their own to avoid being absorbed by more culturally pervasive societies. Bantrids have nothing against Pact Worlds’ cultures in principle—they just aren’t theirs.
The hard part is deciding just what a distinctly bantrid identity should encompass. Many bantrids are trying to construct a shared culture. Some explore the Pact Worlds with an eye toward adopting the best elements of other cultures. Others experiment with novel forms of government or social organization. Still others set out to write the Great Bantrid Novel or choreograph the Great Bantrid Ballet. Currently, four social movements have gathered a critical mass of adherents: the Republic of Hibb, AbadarCorp Hibb, the Unbroken Sphere, and the Church of Sleep. They lie somewhere between governments, philosophies, and political parties, each aspiring to the kind of structure that exists on other worlds.
The largest of these factions is the Republic of Hibb, a digitally mediated democracy modeled loosely on the Barathu Confluence. With Confluence already keeping careful watch over its Liavaran cousins, it surprised no one when the first outsiders bantrids met were a barathu delegation led by the Confluence agent Norna Bo Oshaya (NG agender barathu envoy). Norna’s message of cooperation and unity was met with enthusiasm by the bantrids, who promptly put these ideals into action. The Republic is formally a representative democracy with an elected College of Framers. It uses personal electronics to put questions of law directly to the electorate; the College of Framers has the important duty of framing these questions. About half of all bantrids consider themselves members of the Republic, and they’re heavily involved in the creation of a new bantrid identity.
AbadarCorp arrived close on the heels of Confluence, and since then, AbadarCorp Hibb has grown into the planet’s second major faction. Abadaran bantrids tend to be pragmatic and pessimistic, believing the first priority of the bantrid species is to develop an economy, not a culture. They’re keenly aware that Hibb has little in the way of natural resources and no real industrial base aside from a few ancient vault-tower manufactories. The Abadarans fear that if bantrids can’t become economically useful to the rest of the Pact Worlds, they will forever exist on the impoverished periphery, doomed to lose their best and brightest to emigration as Hibb stagnates. Therefore, the Abadarans search for any angle or economic niche that could let Hibb become a full member of the Pact Worlds. Approximately a third of all bantrids support the efforts of AbadarCorp Hibb.
The Unbroken Sphere is a much smaller group formed in reaction to off-worlder influence on bantrid society. Spherites believe bantrids were once a highly advanced technological species who designed the vault-towers. Many of the planet’s inhabitants, including bantrids and other species, also hold this belief. However, Spherites also think ancient bantrids ruled the Pact Worlds and created many mysterious technologies and ruins that dot the system. This philosophy becomes truly dangerous when Spherites insist upon bantrid superiority over all other intelligent species, and claim that bantrids are destined to cleanse Hibb of off-worlders before taking to the skies and conquering the rest of the system. The Unbroken Sphere is still puzzling out how to realize these assertions, but most believe their ancient forebears must have left advanced superweapons on the moon specifically for these purposes. Spherites are characterized by their xenophobia, anti-theist tendencies, and willingness to resort to violence. Publicly, the Unbroken Sphere claims itself a peaceful organization, but Spherite cells have orchestrated many terrorist attacks and murders of off-worlders.
The smallest and strangest of Hibb’s factions, the Church of Sleep believes ancient bantrids entered stasis to avoid a dire apocalypse called the Awakened Nightmare. However, since the computers malfunctioned and woke bantrids too early, they believe the apocalypse is imminent. The Sleepers urge their followers to return to stasis, and their missionaries are a common sight across Hibb. Secretly, the Sleepers consider their mission dire enough to justify kidnapping others (both bantrids and off-worlders) and forcing them into stasis for their own good. The question of who to “rescue” first is the subject of vigorous theological debate in the Church, but most Sleepers agree they should prioritize protecting the most innocent and vulnerable: bantrid children.
CONFLICTS AND THREATS Most bantrids believe the most volatile conflict on the planet to be the ongoing argument between the Republic of Hibb and AbadarCorp Hibb. Both factions believe it imperative for bantrids to develop their own identity, their own society, and their own place in the larger Pact Worlds. But they differ over the best way to accomplish these goals, and whether or not Hibb should petition for independence or remain a protectorate.
The Republic of Hibb is most interested in cultural independence and a distinctly bantrid sense of identity. Barathus, with their unique physiology and society, are unlikely to assimilate the young bantrid culture, so the Republic is generally content to remain a protectorate while bantrids figure out their precise identity. Certainly, independence would be a good thing to achieve eventually, but not until bantrids can readily speak with one voice.
AbadarCorp Hibb, meanwhile, pushes for independence as quickly as possible. Abadarans want a vote on the Pact World council and more independence from Bretheda. They have nothing against barathus, but the Abadarans feel uneasy about perpetual dependence on Confluence. With political independence, AbadarCorp Hibb hopes to craft an economic climate that compensates for Hibb’s lack of resources. Cultural independence, the Abadarans think, will then follow on its own.
So far, the debate between the two groups has been loud and heated but civil. Both factions have a strong ethos of dialogue and negotiation, and both know they’re playing for public support. Not to say that representatives of the Republic or AbadarCorp won’t try the odd dirty trick, but this issue is a debate, not war. The Unbroken Sphere and Church of Sleep, however, are more dangerous. Both these factions have relatively small core memberships, but their followers are still quite numerous, willing to risk everything, and supported by networks of silent sympathizers.
While most Spherites acknowledge Zio (LE agender bantrid envoy), a political theorist based in Union City, as their intellectual and ideological leader, the organization consists of dozens of independent cells that have minimal contact with one another. Each of these cells has its own objectives, and while some of these goals are overly complex and wildly baroque, others are frighteningly straight-forward and easily accomplished. For example, one Union City cell has quietly begun murdering off-worlders and dumping their bodies where they’ll quickly be found. At the other extreme, a small cell operating at the Hibb Institute engages in the long-term development of portable nuclear weaponry. A handful of larger cells, including Zio’s, devote themselves to providing financial and organizational support to other groups, giving the movement a measure of cohesiveness.
In comparison, the Church of Sleep is a much more hierarchical and coherent organization with orders coming from a remote monastery in the wilds of Hibb. The Church engages in three major projects. The first is an active missionary push where, to gain more members, the Sleepers aggressively proselytize in Hibb’s communities. However, members of the Church of Sleep often keep the radical implications of their theology hidden from the public when speaking of their faith. The Church’s second project is a widespread kidnapping program. They lure, subdue, and bring bantrids and off-worlders alike to one of several Sleeper-controlled stasis-coffers, chambering them safely inside until the Awakened Nightmare passes. Sleepers prioritize virtuous individuals who are particularly worthy, such as children and the artists, engineers, and teachers necessary for post-Nightmare society. However, they rarely pass up a chance to abduct someone if the opportunity presents itself. The Sleepers realize that kidnapping people one by one can hardly save bantrids from disaster, so their third project involves searching for ways to secure entire population centers. The Sleepers have recently engaged in talks with a Drow house on Apostae, attempting to obtain large-scale chemical and biological agents.
Even without politics and faith, Hibb has its own dangers. While most vault-towers are safe and unremarkable aside from their great age, Hibb has plenty of less-than-friendly ancient technology. At least a few installations still have active defense systems, which have degraded over the years. Computer bugs and faulty sensors can turn even perfectly harmless technology into a deathtrap.

Tourism

The following are several notable locations on Hibb.
EVERICE RACETRACK Located near Hibb’s north pole, Everice is a region of hills, valleys, and a few other notable things. For one, Everice lies far enough north that it remains covered in ice year-round. The ice contains many varieties of cyanobacteria, coloring the area in a dazzling array of pinks, blues, and greens. Also, the region has just the right combination of smooth straightaways, pockmarked canyons, and elegantly decrepit vault-towers to serve as the perfect racing concourse. Drawing on the bantrids’ endless movement, racing has become the most popular sport on Hibb. Everice hosts marathons, relays, and a kind of animal riding involving large and ill-tempered wuentrids, but the most popular are the junk races imported from Absalom Station. Off-worlders can compete against hotshot bantrid racers, and off-worlders who win are treated as honorary bantrids. Visitors also look forward to the rare sightings of Eig, a famed racer who crashed in unclear circumstances 2 years ago, and whose ghost supposedly challenges mortal racers.
THE GHOST GUNS Anything that flies within several hundred miles of this ancient defensive installation is first met with a multiband burst of static. If a starship ignores this age-degraded warning, enormous lasers attempt to shoot it from the sky—and so far, they have a good track record. They’re called the Ghost Guns because a mirroring field obscures their precise location and number, creating false cannons out of nothing but light and dust. For now, it’s simpler to avoid the guns than to destroy them, but AbadarCorp Hibb is organizing an expedition to reach the installation and secure the treasure it guards: the guns themselves, which are more advanced than anything the Pact Worlds currently possess. The proposed expedition must traverse the frigid wastes on foot, bypass the mirroring field and other defenses, and then somehow deactivate the guns without damaging them so that AbadarCorp can fly in an armada of specialists.
There’s one catch. The cheerfully dotty Technical Sage Buo (LE agender bantrid technomancer) is secretly an Unbroken Sphere sympathizer and has pulled strings to ensure that plenty of Spherite agents are on the expedition’s payroll. Once the expedition breaches the Ghost Guns, it would have brought in the even-greater threat.
HIBB INSTITUTE Until recently, this small settlement was the only inhabited location on the moon—formerly a tiny outpost consisting of some navigational and communication equipment, a couple of engineers keeping it operational, and the occasional graduate student running an astrobiology project. The outpost used its academic connections to quickly morph into an institute dedicated to the study of Hibb and the newly awakened bantrids. Despite the administration’s best efforts, however, about half the residents still call it the Dead Skunk Institute because of Hibb’s inimitable scent.
Approximately half of the Institute’s hundred-odd scholars and researchers work here, while the remainder spread across Hibb on one research project or another. Dr. Naesh Caideri (N female damaya Lashunta biohacker) is dean of the Institute, having previously worked in exoplanetary epidemiology at the Arcanamirium.
The biggest mystery on Hibb, of course, is why bantrids entered stasis in the first place. Many theories have been proposed; the most widely accepted is that bantrids were avoiding some grave disaster—though it’s still unclear what the disaster was and why it necessitated putting the moon’s population into stasis. Some believe bantrids were trying to avoid a war, while others, including Dr. Caideri, posit a plague or disease, possibly artificial in origin.
JUGGERNAUT Hibb is littered with ancient ruins, but most oblige to stay put. Juggernaut, however, is a massive treaded vehicle the size of a vault-tower that travels the wilds of the moon. While avoiding large settlements, Juggernaut periodically disgorges armies of cat-sized drones which randomly rearrange Hibb’s landscape.
The leading theory is that Juggernaut was designed as an environmental troubleshooter before its programming grew corrupted. No clear explanation exists for why the vehicle sometimes transforms a forest into a lake or a hill into a valley. Moreover, no one has managed to get inside to actually look around; Juggernaut’s drones shoo away visitors with increasing insistence, and the vehicle is perfectly willing to turn its mammoth cutting lasers on anyone who is overly persistent.
Recently, large explosions were reported near Juggernaut, and the ancient machine now sports some new dents and blast marks. The identity of the person who tried to assault the machine is unclear, as is whether or not they succeeded in penetrating the vehicle. Rumors posit that drow weapons merchants or Unbroken Sphere radicals could have orchestrated the attacks.
MEMORY VAULT-TOWER Long ago, the stasis-coffers of the Memory Vault-Tower suffered a catastrophic computer failure, and twenty thousand bantrids in stasis within died from cold and starvation. Although they slept through their deaths, the slow failure of the chemical systems meant they could dream, and their dying dreams lasted for centuries before their end. Today, the Memory Vault-Tower is a haunted and ill-omened place, haven to confused dream-ghosts of dead bantrids. People who venture near the tower report hallucinations, incidents of lost time, and brief bouts of irrational emotions.
Memory Vault-Tower has but one living resident, the Sleepless Saint Hin (CE agender bantrid mystic). One of the founders of the Church of Sleep, Hin has withdrawn from the world to meditate on the apocalypse to come. Through communing with the ghosts, Hin knows more of Hibb’s past than anyone and is willing to share this information with anyone determined enough to visit. Separating fact from hallucinatory fever-dream, however, is no easy task.
MONASTERY OF UNWAKING DREAMS Hidden by high-tech occlusion fields and labyrinths of subtle enchantment, this ancient vault serves as the center of operations and spiritual heart of the Church of Sleep. Sleeper activities in the facility’s dormitories, armories, chapels, comm centers, grand engineering bays, and humble apothecaries facilitate the functions of the Church. Here the ascetic war-monks, skilled with knife, needle, and strangling cord, train until called for their expertise. Here the Sleepless Saints, the operational leaders of the Church dwell, refusing blessed stasis to instead save as many as possible.
Within the Child-Vaults, the most innocent and holy members of the bantrid species are stored in serried rows of ancient stasis-coffers. Some children were placed here by their parents, in the safest of the Church’s vaults, but many have been stolen away by Sleeper agents who refused to let the children suffer for their guardians’ ignorance.
At the very heart of the Monastery lies the inner sanctum of the entire cult: an ancient stasis-coffer where the corpse of the Dreaming Sage slumbers. The Church considers it a great honor to be brought before the Dreaming Sage, for there are no more fervent converts than those who have heard the Sage whisper in his sleep.
STARWARD Radiating out from the eponymous Starward Vault-Tower, this buzzing little town is the heart of AbadarCorp Hibb’s hopes for the moon’s economic independence. In Starward, one can find everything from last-chancers peddling get-rich-quick schemes to representatives from Pact World megacorporations, such as Life Innovations and the Ulrikka Clanholding. The town is run by a seven-member Executive Assembly, five of whom are elected and two of whom are appointed by AbadarCorp. Uso (LN agender bantrid envoy) is the assembly person who most people see, serving as a sort of ambassador from bantrids to the many megacorporations that want to work here.
The Executive Assembly devotes a great deal of energy to ensuring that Hibb’s development benefits bantrids and that they become partners rather than mere lackeys. Not all outside operations embrace this approach, however; the drow firm Arabani Arms Ltd. was recently fined by the council for exploitive practices.
Starward is also home to Starward Academy, a flight school organized by the Executive Assembly with an eye toward training bantrids, who have incredible balance and a fierce love of speed, to become master pilots. New Possibilities Inc., a private hospital run by a Brethedan, specializes in various surgeries designed to remove the sense of smell. For a very reasonable fee, a patient can have the chemoreceptors in their nose burned out by microlasers, while more advanced surgeries install an anosmatic shunt, allowing the sense of smell to be turned on and off at will. Union City: More of a midsize town than an actual city, Union City is nevertheless the largest settlement on Hibb and one of the few places with a functioning spaceport. The city is named for the vault-tower where first contact between bantrids and barathus took place, serving as home to the Republic of Hibb. Union City has a boomtown atmosphere, as bantrids arrive from other vault-towers to participate in the budding culture of the Republic, while off-world corporations, churches, and NGOs compete to get in on the ground floor of what will probably become Hibb’s capital city. Much of the town is still located inside the spiraling, ramped chambers of the Promise Vault-Tower, but a jungle of prefabricated habitats has grown around the tower in the last couple of years.
Notable locations in Union City include the Chamber of the Framers, where the Republic of Hibb’s government meets, and the Confluence Embassy where Norna Bo Oshaya maintains an office. Parental-Sibling Jui’s Bar, run by the eponymous Jui (CG agender bantrid operative), functions as a combination hostel, restaurant, and night club catering to off-worlders, although it has recently become popular among adventurous bantrids. At the Exhibition Field, off-worlders bring examples of social and cultural innovations to tempt bantrids. Most recently, a squad of Vesk soldiers of fortune has arrived, recruiting bantrid mercenaries with tales of martial valor and glory.
STARWARD LN town Population 16,500 (86% bantrid, 4% human, 3% barathu, 7% other) Government council (Executive Assembly) Qualities financial center Maximum Item Level 14th
UNION CITY NG town Population 28,700 (89% bantrid, 6% barathu, 2% human, 3% other) Government utopia (Council of Framers) Qualities cultured Maximum Item Level 10th

Type

Planetoid / Moon

Location under

Liavara