Nergal

Nergal is the fourth planet from Utu. It is a terrestrial world. Like the other inner planets, it has an oxygen/nitrogen atmosphere. This atmosphere is much thinner than standard, however, and offworlders suffer from effects similar to altitude sickness unless they use an oxygen tank or spend a month acclimating. In addition to the thin atmosphere, many travelers must also adapt to the cold. While the warmest regions have highs of around 35 C during the summer, most parts of Nergal drop to well below zero in the winter (the polar regions can drop to -143 C).
Nergal is the driest of the inner planets. Its oceans disappeared long ago leaving massive escarpments of continental shelf descending to the abyssal plains. Now the only water is found in subterranean aquifers or frozen in glaciers and the massive polar ice sheets. The planet also often experiences strong winds that kick up gigantic dust storms as they blow across the dry landscape. The dust storms can have winds of up to 160 kilometers per hour and range from small, local disturbances to planetwide tempests. These storms are often electrically charged, causing a danger to unshielded electronics.
The local flora and fauna are adapted to the dust storms and lack of water. Plants either use enormous root systems to bore down to the subterranean aquifers or have specialized leaves that promote condensation and trickle the resulting water droplets down to their roots. The local sapient species are the so called goblinoids. Many of these orcs, goblins, hobgoblins, and bugbears roam Nergal in nomadic tribes fighting over the best aquifers. The few cities are supplied by ice mining operations.

Major Settlements

Cobalt City: a city ruled by the orcs of the Cobalt Clan. Home to a major spaceport.
Vanadium: a city ruled by the hobgoblins of the Vanadium clan. The city houses the largest spaceport on Nergal.

Type

Planet