Westphalia

Westphalia is a satellite world orbiting gas giant - one of only two planets which orbit the red dwarf star of the system. It is a relatively barren world in a rather barren system which was selected by Zouman Carmo 37 years ago to be the home of his "better world". The 90,000+ colonists that currently occupy the planet are ruled by Zouman's daughter, Zahira. This is a low-gravity, thin atmosphere, relatively dry world that is just barely within the margins of "tolerable for human occupation". The magnetic field of the gas giant serves to deflect most of the harmful radiation from the many coronal mass ejections of the system's star.

Starports

The system has no highport, and the only downport is a Class D facility at the edge of the planets lone major settlement. Governed by the planet itself, the starport has no real "startown" affiliated with it. Visitors to the starport must pass through customs to enter the main town of Westphalia to access any but the most basic of services. In fact, refueling and self-repair within the designated docking bay are the only things that would not require passing through customs.

Settlements

The system is referred to as Westphalia by, but this was originally just the name of the settlement founded by Zouman Carmo. Westphalia town and its surroundings are somewhat primitive by modern standards; the planet's Tech Level of 4 places them at about the technology level of Terra's early 20^th century. Hydroelectric power is generated; the town is situated near the base of the planet's only significant river/waterfall system. Medical treatment available to the population at large does make use of antibiotics, but not much beyond that technologically. Wireless phone communication is available to residents of the town, though its reach does not even extend to many of the outlying agricultural outposts that surround the town. The settlement does make extensive use of somewhat advanced (Tech 7) air cooling equipment, which residents rely on due to the planet's average year-round temperatures of 50-55C (122-131F).

Government and Law

The planet was founded by the followers of Zouman Carmo, a charismatic dissident who believed that human technology had advanced too fast, and that all of the mankind's problems could be solved by first reverting back to what Zouman perceived as "the last stable civilization", and then only slowly and carefully advancing from there. All decisions were made by Zouman as to what technology was "acceptable" and what advancements were "safe". Zouman initially established the settlement to recreate what he perceived late 19th century Terra to be like - but quickly discovered that on a planet that lacked any source of biofuel, coal, petroleum, or other burnable fuel source, and "advancement" to electricity was quickly implemented. After Zouman's death two years ago, his daughter, Zahira Carmo, has taken up his mantle of leadership, having been groomed by Zouman to do so since her early childhood.

Apart from strict control of technology (and the swift, harsh treatment of those that ignore the technological strictures in place), the people are pretty much left to their own devices. They are fully aware of space-faring humanity in the stars all around them, but for the most part, they consider themselves happy and satisfied with their living conditions. They, of course, know about ships coming and going from their starport, and to some extent rely on the trade they represent. The biggest disruptions to the status quo come from the occasional "interference" brought on by visiting merchants or Travellers that do not understand - or do not heed - the cultural barriers that the Westphalians erect around themselves.