Knorbes¸ Regina Subsector¸ Spinward Marches 1807
Knorbes¸ Regina Subsector¸ Spinward Marches 1807
"Its like a time warp¸ huge sailing ships¸ horse drawn carts and a paranoid religion that won't let the planet develop."
Wendy Overtun¸ IISS mission leader¸ Knobes 1105
Knorbes has an ideal environment for producing agricultural goods and has a population of 89 million. This world contains an archaeological site with artefacts suspected to be from the now vanished Ancients. The world has been set aside to preserve indigenous life forms¸ to delay resource development¸ or for other reasons. This a low technology world with technology competency below the standard for Charted Space. Knorbes¸ as a member world of the Third Imperium¸ holds the estate of an Imperial knight and the fiefdom of a baron. Both are members of the Imperial Nobility charged with overseeing the world. The dense atmosphere is breathable¸ but visitors need to be careful with over exertion. The government is currently under control of the IISS and the Imperial Ministry of Conservation. With the smaller continent a nature preserve and restricted to general entry.
Trade
Trade is governed by the Clipper Ships sail the trade routes and navigate the maze of reefs and shoals. The Knobes Clipper Ship is a tri-hull design with the largest being nearly 100m long with a crew of 180 sailors.
Clipper ships are generally run by family companies¸ the biggest have up to ten in operation at any one time and there is great rivalry between them. Occasionally ships will come to blows usually resulting in minor damage designed to slow each other rather than sink.
There are several pirate operations that prey on the clippers and their cargoes¸ a pirate will generally attempt to board and capture the cargo without damaging the ship too much¸ companies will accept a certain amount of attrition but will not put up with the wanton destruction of property or sinking of vessels.
Pirates are often pursued and controlled by the use of mercenaries or freebooters that were at one time pirates as well¸ it's a fine line between pirate and freebooter.
The low technology has restricted weapons to muzzle loading cannons and very early cartridge rifles. In both cases the breach loader is the latest in technology with only limited production and use. Clipper ships will usually mount three- or four-gun mounts on each outer hull and have ample supplies of rifles¸ cutlasses and pistols at hand to repel boarders.
Travel
Due to its axial tilt of 37deg Knorbes has a seasonal ice cap over the winter months. Large icebergs occupy the Ringsea over this period making navigation difficult. During the winter months the prevailing winds favour east to west travel with the high winds of higher latitudes making for quick travel times.
Land travel is by horse¸ camel or foot while on the sea it is dominated by sail and the trimaran. Knorbes is a world that has chosen to keep itself fixed in a pre-industrial so travel times are slow as is communication. Letters and fright move at the speed of transport so writing to a relative in another part of the country can be a long and drawn out process.
Reefs
Knorbes is famous for its reef systems that cover vast amounts of the planet. There is some conjecture that the reef may be a sentient lifeform. Studies have been continuous for the last twenty years with teams from the Reginian Exobiology Institute working on a research platform in the deep reef.
So far they have discovered that the reefs of Knorbes¸ far from being a single sentient life are many interlocked minds that¸ each one having its own territory and communicating to its neighbours via a neural network that spans the globe. Reefs live for thousands of years so work on a different frame of reference to humans however scientists have