Polyplex Nebula
Stellar Region
Atmosphere: None
The Polyplex Nebula is a vast, dense sector of the Outer Sphere and the chosen sanctuary of the Automaton Concordance. It is a region defined by its chaotic planar energy, which serves both as a perfect cloak and a persistent hazard.
Decompression: Decompression occurs when a creature suddenly transitions from a pressurized environment to a vacuum, such as by getting shoved out of an airlock or being inside a starship that sustains heavy damage.
Dust & Micro‑Debris Fields: Dense clumps of dust, ice crystals, and rocky grains embedded in the gas.
Ionized Gas Storm: Charged plasma flows or EM knots disrupt systems and occasionally lash ships with energy.
Metronomes: Metronomes act as landmarks for Rift travel, relay long-range communications through outer space, and mark the passage of time in 16.6 minute pulses.
Vacuum: Space is a vacuum, meaning it contains no breathable air and has zero gravity.
Mechanics & Rules
Use the Polyplex Nebula as a regional trait and environment template for Outer Sphere campaigns:
Regional Traits. Starships and vehicles operating within Polyplex take a penalty to Piloting checks and sensor‑based Perception checks, and suffer increased mishap risk when using Rift‑Jumps (especially without appropriate Concordance, Chronologist, or Confederation support).
Environmental Hazards. Treat Rift Storms and psychoreactive matter‑clouds as recurring hazards with escalating consequences: navigation errors, planar bleed‑through, temporal slip, or hull‑corroding energy surges; Concordance facilities may include engineered “calm lanes” that reduce DCs but draw hostile attention.
Faction Leverage. Automaton Concordance assets grant advantages to starship combat, heavy industry, and computational tasks; Nebula Confederation allies help bypass environmental penalties and manipulate storms; Q’la Grah Resurgence contacts enable sabotage and bio‑weapon access; Polyplex Lodge support allows limited temporal manipulation or hazard prediction.
You can model the Nebula as a multi‑layered exploration zone: outer salvage belts with moderate hazards, middle storm bands with high DCs and frequent planar events, and inner Concordance cores where environmental challenges intertwine with heavy defenses and political repercussions.