Wonderland (D22) - Under Control of the Ndoda
“CmC operatives from their free floating Relay submit all known information to Ndoda explorers. Unfortunately the Ndoda find that the region is...not quite right. Reports indicate that the majority of the inhabitants are haunted by nightmares on a near nightly basis. Worse still the nightmares frequently lead to psychic projections that commit mischief in the physical world. Interviews with the victims tell tales of giant centipedes, 8 armed giants, and a figure in yellow. Frankly the sole reason civilization hasn’t collapsed is due to large portions of the population remaining medicated on worryingly high doses of Dream Eating pills, to the point where pill rations are considered a popular currency."

Spoiler: Terrain
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CmC scouts report that the inhabitants of this system refer to their home planet only as Wonderland, and with no well-recorded histories or studies to be found, the Ndoda have continued to refer to this system and the singular planet within as such. The region is bare and unusually simple, with only one planet orbiting a white dwarf star. Most of the space in the region is filled by the dwarf’s planetary nebula and debris from older planets which had been consumed in the degradation of the star to its current state. The nebula is stunning and menacing in color – swirls of purples, blues, and pinks wrap around the system and seem to entangle any incoming ships.

The planet Wonderland itself is small and rocky, filled with ranges of tall mountains and valleys, and dense forests. The nebular gases between the star and Wonderland limit the amount of light that reaches the planet. The brightest day appears no brighter than dusk, and most days on Wonderland are perpetually in twilight before succumbing to a nightfall wreathed in the dancing colors of the nebula.

Civilization is limited to valleys and small stretches of coastline, and few of the forests have been breached to expand cities far into the mountains. Several large and many small islands have likewise been relatively unexplored, the inhabitants expressing a keen unwillingness to venture out into the sea that covers fifty percent of Wonderland’s surface. Fjords and peninsulas border and penetrate the sea, creating jagged coastlines and preventing the creation of a true open ocean. The exception to this is the Disk, a deep, circular expanse of water that is responsible for a fifth of all water coverage on the planet. The strong currents created by the jagged coast all inevitably lead to the Disk, where they recirculate water from the depths. At some periods of the year, strange creatures that would seem more at home in caves are brought to the surface.

There are four major cities, all densely constructed and centered in their own particular valleys as if the architects were trying to get as far from the mountains as possible. Each city is within a day’s travel of the next nearest city.


Spoiler: People
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The inhabitants of Wonderland name themselves as Carides (though some Ndoda call them ‘Red-Eyes’ behind their backs). Humanoid and unscaled, the Carides resemble humans closely, but have incredibly pale skin and hair. An average adult stands at seven feet tall, with females slightly shorter and stockier than the males. Reproduction is slow with only one child being produced between a pair every two years at the most. They are strange creatures with no tail but four arms. They wear thick clothing covering most of the body to keep from the chill of the constant twilight. The cities are full of dilapidated shops, factories, roads, and buildings that suggest that Wonderland used to be full of business, fresh food, and plenty of technology and luxury items that would have created enough jobs for all of the Carides. Now their clothing is worn bare and full of holes with no stores to buy new from or to repair it, most shops have long been ransacked for their goods, and the few Carides still in business only take Dream Eating Pills as currency in exchange for food and essential goods.


Spoiler: Resource Info
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Resource: Dream Eating Pills


Spoiler: Philosophy
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Plagued by nightmares and constantly medicated, the Capillars have lost all vestiges of any former faith. The only god is the next dose, and Hell comes in the form of the Yellow Hat. An old skyscraper, rusted and covered in broken glass, pierces the purple sky. Capillars who can remember past their last dose call it the Treespire. Scouts have found old records and recordings from days past, but the content is indecipherable. The amount of records indicates that it was a place of some importance. Now its base is a premier site for trading pill rations.