Cularin is the primary world of the Cularin System. The the planet is inhabited by the Tarasin, a species of reptilian humanoids. The Tarasin are tribal, calm, communal, curious, and protective of land and the forests and rare hardwood trees, in particular. As such, only two off-world towns exist on the surface of the planet, Gadrin and Hedrett, which are located at the base of Cloud Mountain and separated by a 2km wide river. A bridge connects the two towns, and each town is roughly the same size (20,000 inhabitants each) and approximately 15% of each town's population is Tarasin. Despite demographic similarities, politically each town is quite different. Gadrin is ruled by a governor whereas Hedrett is managed by a Town Council. The towns rarely work together, however both have actively (and violently) resisted surface expansion by off-worlders.
The majority of the non-native population lives on massive platform cities that rise roughly 1,000 meters off of the forest floor. Each platform generates its own power and exists at a height that does not disturb the tree canopy below. Each platform has its own spaceport, however there are considerable access restrictions. Only a handful of cities have platforms accessible to free traders, passenger liners, and private ships. As a result, a network of airspeeder taxi services shuttle people around from platform to platform. Access to the surface is even more complicated as no elevating platforms exist. Travel, again, is limited to very small airspeeders or small barges that can navigate the tree canopy and even then, most travel is limited to Gadrin and Hedrett. The height of the platforms rules out virtually any kind of landspeeder, speeder bike and for the most part, swoops (given the 1,000m drop). Company ground operations tend to cluster around the base of each tower and operate there own private airspeeder services.
Commerce occurs on the platforms, each of which is run by a baron administrator. Permits are required for virtually everything, personal blasters require paperwork and where a permit isn't appropriate, a tax often takes its place. Policing varies greatly from city to city. Heavy armor, however, is prohibited.
No single commercial activity dominates the cities; free trade has been the norm but the Imperial occupation of the major platforms (Bollin, Mikish, Soboll, Lissken and Tindark) has given rise to greater control over commerce. Local trade is centered on the export of rare hardwoods and crystals for blaster manufacturing. With the outbreak of the war, mining operations have been taken over by the Empire.
The Imperial presence on Cularin is based out of a former Republic military installation at Soboll. The takeover of crystal mining operations on Cularin and its moon, Tilnes, resulted in an expansion of the military presence. The facility was originally designed to house up to two divisions, but current numbers are classified.
Astrogation Data
| Characteristic | Value |
|---|---|
| Galactic Region | The Expansion Region |
| Hyperlanes | |
| Starport | Standard Class |
Geopolitical Data
| Characteristic | Value |
|---|---|
| Government | Decentralized City-States |
| Legal Climate | Moderate |
| Imperial Influence | Moderate |
| Alliance Influence |
Economic Data
| Characteristic | Value |
|---|---|
| Economic Model | Market Economy |
| Technology Level | Interstellar |
| Exports | Agricultural Products & Food, Crystals, and Minerals |
| Imports | Agricultural Products & Food, Household Products, Medicine, and Technology (Medium) |