Notker is a secondary planet, placeable in an out of the way system. Really, the primary habit should be uninhabitable due to some wierdo atmosphere, and have a starport of 'X'.
Notker:
A medium sized (6) world, Notker now has a 'Thin, Tainted' atmosphere but the Notkerion are confident that it should have a 'Standard' atmosphere with a hundred years. Originally, Notker had a 'Trace' atmosphere. Its hydrographic percentage should be 40% to 60%. Notker is the subject of an energetic terraforming project. The vast majority of the Notkerion live within pressure-sealed habitats from the planet's earlier trace atmosphere phase.
History:
To under stand Notkerion culture one must first understand Notkerion history, fortunately it's extremely well researched and only 250 years long. For the first fifty years of Notkerion history, the planet - then named 'Gwandalan' - was a service and administration centre dealing with outsystem habitats, mining and exploration. An internal war on the homeworld devestated all life; it's still uninhabitated now, and left Gwandalan base without support. Slowly the habitats were abandoned, technological understanding which was in already short supply disappeared, and the habitats started to fail. In the space of a few short years many habitats were lost. A vast demographic reduction (mass death) of 50% occured in the space of a few months, the Gwandalan survivors went through unimaginable mental stress and anguish. Every other person in the population died in a series of sudden events.
One individual stood against what he saw as a tide of ignorance. This individual; Erasmus Notker, resolutely took charge of education and infrastructre in one of the few documentable mass panic episodes in recent history. By training relentlessly and encouraging technical workarounds to buy time, more mass deaths were avoided and the habitats were again fully understood and maintained. The entire planet was renamed 'Notker' in his honour, and his legacy of education above all other things has pervaded Notkerion culture.
Culture:
Notker has an unusual culture. It's UPP descriptors mark it as a Technocracy with a very high law level and tech level, but that doesn't tell the full story.
The Notkerion are obsessed with education, and thier understanding of society revolves around an academic aesthetic not found on nearly any other world. Social status, although given lip service to visitors, means little on Notker. The far more important value is education. Specifically, the Notker Academic Accreditation Register, a vigilantly overwatched function of the technocracy and an indication of a Notkerion's social level. This can be calculated by assuming a character has a base level of 7 and is modified up or down for every point thier Edu stat is away from 'A'. Thus a Notkerion with an Edu of 4 would have a an NAAR of 1, but a Notkerion with an Edu of F would have a NAAR of B.
Offplanet visitors planning to stay longer than two Notkerion weeks must sit the NAAR as part of their entry visas. Those exhibiting an Edu of 2 or 3 are considered a danger to society, and must have someone with a NAAR level of 8+ who promises to make all their important decisions for them during their stay. If this frankly heavy handed demand is not met the visitor is either refused entry or remanded for mandatory education (takes one year, gives EDU 4, Grav Vehicle 0, Computer 0) if they cannot leave.
Notkerion society has replaced the common Imperial ethic of economic success with that of an educational success. Life is thus somewhat austere on Nokter, as the entirety of domestic output is devoted to increasing the current tech level. Note that the Notkerions are quite adept at economical study, but its application is just given less weight than in most other societies. As a result, nearly all goods on Notker are for a social level of 7, and luxury goods are not in demand. It is impossible to spend enough to maintain a lifestyle above social level 8 (this does not harm your Social Status when you leave Notker) and even this is considered vulgar.
However, those with a NAAR of 'A' or higher may well be given access to study or research facilities if they show interest in them, although it should be realised that any results are to be devoted to the advancement of Notkerion knowledge.
This importance attached to education has some rather strange effects on a planetary scale. First of is the phenomenon known (and, of course, studied) as 'Faducation'. Areas of science, arts or other studies gain a popular appeal and students and funds pour into that sector for a short time. Recent areas have been gravitics, then martial arts, and currently genetics. Xenohistory has taken off recently, but no one is sure if it will blow into a fad despite the many studies running.
Secondly is the planetwide examinations. The NAAR sets two exam timetables each year, and much of the population sits for various exams within thier are of interest. This massive biannual spike in stress makes the normally quiet Notkorions quite violent pre exam (the reason for the high law level) and explode in a post exam stress relief. This takes the form of a somewaht unrestrained, spontaneous carnival. As there is little economic imperative to commercialise this onplanet (if an offworlder tries they are studied by droves of curious Notkerions while equal droves of uninterested Notkerions stay away) this relaxed party is one of the best events in the sector to attend. However, offworlders are reminded that the entire planet is an amber zone for two weeks before the exams and a red zone during the exams.
Finally the Notkerions are avid technofetishists. They like to gather and study advanced technical items, or unusual artistic items, and so on. If you don't mind being paid in research grants, Notker is a great place to offload high tech level equipment and educational material.
Notker is an unusual world, heavily invested in robotics, automation and technical answers to most problems. The TL pervades the whole planet, and is not applied unevenly. The guy ordering the cargo loading bots at the spaceport probably could design them!
Notker:
A medium sized (6) world, Notker now has a 'Thin, Tainted' atmosphere but the Notkerion are confident that it should have a 'Standard' atmosphere with a hundred years. Originally, Notker had a 'Trace' atmosphere. Its hydrographic percentage should be 40% to 60%. Notker is the subject of an energetic terraforming project. The vast majority of the Notkerion live within pressure-sealed habitats from the planet's earlier trace atmosphere phase.
History:
To under stand Notkerion culture one must first understand Notkerion history, fortunately it's extremely well researched and only 250 years long. For the first fifty years of Notkerion history, the planet - then named 'Gwandalan' - was a service and administration centre dealing with outsystem habitats, mining and exploration. An internal war on the homeworld devestated all life; it's still uninhabitated now, and left Gwandalan base without support. Slowly the habitats were abandoned, technological understanding which was in already short supply disappeared, and the habitats started to fail. In the space of a few short years many habitats were lost. A vast demographic reduction (mass death) of 50% occured in the space of a few months, the Gwandalan survivors went through unimaginable mental stress and anguish. Every other person in the population died in a series of sudden events.
One individual stood against what he saw as a tide of ignorance. This individual; Erasmus Notker, resolutely took charge of education and infrastructre in one of the few documentable mass panic episodes in recent history. By training relentlessly and encouraging technical workarounds to buy time, more mass deaths were avoided and the habitats were again fully understood and maintained. The entire planet was renamed 'Notker' in his honour, and his legacy of education above all other things has pervaded Notkerion culture.
Culture:
Notker has an unusual culture. It's UPP descriptors mark it as a Technocracy with a very high law level and tech level, but that doesn't tell the full story.
The Notkerion are obsessed with education, and thier understanding of society revolves around an academic aesthetic not found on nearly any other world. Social status, although given lip service to visitors, means little on Notker. The far more important value is education. Specifically, the Notker Academic Accreditation Register, a vigilantly overwatched function of the technocracy and an indication of a Notkerion's social level. This can be calculated by assuming a character has a base level of 7 and is modified up or down for every point thier Edu stat is away from 'A'. Thus a Notkerion with an Edu of 4 would have a an NAAR of 1, but a Notkerion with an Edu of F would have a NAAR of B.
Offplanet visitors planning to stay longer than two Notkerion weeks must sit the NAAR as part of their entry visas. Those exhibiting an Edu of 2 or 3 are considered a danger to society, and must have someone with a NAAR level of 8+ who promises to make all their important decisions for them during their stay. If this frankly heavy handed demand is not met the visitor is either refused entry or remanded for mandatory education (takes one year, gives EDU 4, Grav Vehicle 0, Computer 0) if they cannot leave.
Notkerion society has replaced the common Imperial ethic of economic success with that of an educational success. Life is thus somewhat austere on Nokter, as the entirety of domestic output is devoted to increasing the current tech level. Note that the Notkerions are quite adept at economical study, but its application is just given less weight than in most other societies. As a result, nearly all goods on Notker are for a social level of 7, and luxury goods are not in demand. It is impossible to spend enough to maintain a lifestyle above social level 8 (this does not harm your Social Status when you leave Notker) and even this is considered vulgar.
However, those with a NAAR of 'A' or higher may well be given access to study or research facilities if they show interest in them, although it should be realised that any results are to be devoted to the advancement of Notkerion knowledge.
This importance attached to education has some rather strange effects on a planetary scale. First of is the phenomenon known (and, of course, studied) as 'Faducation'. Areas of science, arts or other studies gain a popular appeal and students and funds pour into that sector for a short time. Recent areas have been gravitics, then martial arts, and currently genetics. Xenohistory has taken off recently, but no one is sure if it will blow into a fad despite the many studies running.
Secondly is the planetwide examinations. The NAAR sets two exam timetables each year, and much of the population sits for various exams within thier are of interest. This massive biannual spike in stress makes the normally quiet Notkorions quite violent pre exam (the reason for the high law level) and explode in a post exam stress relief. This takes the form of a somewaht unrestrained, spontaneous carnival. As there is little economic imperative to commercialise this onplanet (if an offworlder tries they are studied by droves of curious Notkerions while equal droves of uninterested Notkerions stay away) this relaxed party is one of the best events in the sector to attend. However, offworlders are reminded that the entire planet is an amber zone for two weeks before the exams and a red zone during the exams.
Finally the Notkerions are avid technofetishists. They like to gather and study advanced technical items, or unusual artistic items, and so on. If you don't mind being paid in research grants, Notker is a great place to offload high tech level equipment and educational material.
Notker is an unusual world, heavily invested in robotics, automation and technical answers to most problems. The TL pervades the whole planet, and is not applied unevenly. The guy ordering the cargo loading bots at the spaceport probably could design them!
