PRIMARY: "Orcus" Spectral class K8V. ICN S9E0502K8. Mass 0.521 standard. Stellar diameter 0.556 standard. Luminosity 0.056 standard.

PLANETARY SYSTEM: Seven major bodies. Five gas giants. One inhabited world: Asmodeus (1).

1 ASMODEUS: Mean orbital radius of primary 29.2 million kilometers (0.2 AU). Eccentricity 0.000. Period 45.304 days. Diameter 8,160 kilometers. Density 0.92 standard. Mass 0.23 standard. Mean surface gravity 0.58G. Rotational period 11 hours 14 minute 24 seconds. Axial inclination 23°. Albedo 0.260 ... Surface atmospheric pressure 2.00 atm; composition - standard oxygen-nitrogen mix with NBC contaminants. Hydrographic percentage 62%; composition - liquid water with NBC contaminants. Mean surface temperature 13.8°C.

circa 1105

Circling an orange star beyond the Imperial frontier, and on the fringes of the Zhodani Consulate, lies the world of Asmodeus. A world ruined by a prolonged global war that included nuclear and biological weapons of mass destruction. The 20 thousand survivors live in former refugee camps dotted around the globe.

Asmodeus is an unremarkable mid-sized garden world, half covered with water, and orbiting a redish orange-tinged star currently called Orcus by the IISS. The rest of the system is rich in gas giants (some with beautiful rings) and unexploited rocky worlds.

With the aid of the floating ice caps (there is no polar landmass) and the single continent, Asmodeus has 3 oceans and 3 seas. The land either side of the second largest ocean and largest sea is characterised by large rolling plains, dotted with forests, while much of the rest of the land is given over to jungle. It was the eastern plains that was inhabited by settlers, and where the new Zhodani-built starport (little more than some cleared ground and a landing beacon) is located.

Asmodeus had a rich and well developed biosphere ... animals roamed the jungles and plains, fish filled the seas. Then there was a war. While the combatants fought primarily on the central plains, the effects of unrestrained use of chemical, nuclear and biological weapons were felt worldwide. The ecosystem all but collapsed. Poisonous sludge clogged the beaches and killed the fish and wading birds, toxic rain killed the jungles, and the surviving animals were deformed and sickly mutants.

Today the contaminants are starting to clear but it will take a long time for the ecosystem to fully recover. The continent is covered with petrified forests, soil contaminated with heavy metals, and radioactive hotspots. Most of the higher animals are now extinct, but some of the plant life has adapted sufficiently to survive.

Skaro, as it was originally called, was settled by the Darrians sometime during the Darrian Golden Age (shortly before -1000). Two separate colonies where established, they survived the Darrian Maghiz and became vibrant civilisations in their own right.

Then, a few centuries ago, war broke out between the Skaro colonies. As the violence escalated the reasons for the conflict were forgotten, replaced by a genocidal hatred. No peace negotiations were possible. Nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons were used indescriminately until virtually everyone was dead.

In 1005 a passing IISS ship (CNS-2023 Bartholomeu Dias) recorded that hostilities appeared to have ceased and it was unable to make contact with any survivors. The crew of the Bartholomeu Dias renamed this scarred and apparently dead world "Asmodeus".

In fact there were survivors, and today the roughly 20 thousand people remaining (who call themselves "Thals") are scattered about the planet in a number of small tribes. These tribes tend to be pacifist, generous, and cooperative in nature, displaying many characteristics in common with early (pre-stellar) Darrian culture. There is a limited relief effort underway from the Zhodani Consulate (who call this world "Niabritedl").

One curious factor is a relic of the war. A high tech city 'populated' by warbots. These warbots work together as a society of sorts and maintain the city in good working order. The warbots all appear to be of the same design but colour coded as to role: many are overall pale blue with dark blue details (technical ?), some are red overall with black details (lieutenant or warrior ?), and there has been a report of one black overall with gold details (leader ?). These warbots seldom leave their city (some say they cannot) and are extremely hostile to all intelligent life. Anyone venturing too near can expect capture, interrogation, and execution. It is not clear what the exact TL of these warbots are ... they appear to have the capability of replacing damaged or lost warbots (but always to the same design).

Asmodeus has no real economy, no negotiable currency, and little to trade. What little trade there is tends to use the barter system, except the generocity of the Asmodeans means they will happily share resources rather than trade them.