Caves and natural shelters are essential features of Not-Hoth, also called Kopan VI. On a planet defined by intense cold, dangerous winds, and a toxic atmosphere for humans without khui, protected spaces can mean the difference between survival and exposure. Mainland sa-khui communities have long relied on knowledge of local terrain, including caves and rock formations, while Icehome's residents must also judge the shelter available near their coastal territory.
Not every cave is connected, inhabited, ancient, or safe. The campaign does not establish a planet-spanning tunnel system, a complete underground map, or an enormous subterranean civilization. A particular cave may be well known to local residents while another entrance remains unexplored. Characters learn the underground world through travel, teaching, and direct observation.
A cave or overhang can block wind and precipitation, offering a place to rest, tend an injury, or wait out dangerous weather. Its usefulness depends on entrance size, ground conditions, structural stability, ventilation, accessibility, and available space. A shallow overhang may provide temporary cover without supporting a long stay. A deeper cave may offer greater protection but introduce darkness and unfamiliar hazards.
Shelter is not the same as comfort. Cold stone, damp ground, poor footing, and limited supplies remain problems. The presence of a roof does not automatically provide food, clean water, bedding, or a safe fire. Characters should assess their circumstances rather than assuming any opening in a cliff is an ideal campsite.
Croatoan is the established mainland sa-khui village led by Chief Vektal. Its people possess practical knowledge of familiar shelters and routes in their region. Such knowledge is built through experience and shared across families, hunting parties, and generations. A known cave can serve as a landmark or a place to seek cover when conditions turn dangerous.
Do not invent a fixed numbered network of Croatoan caves or claim that every shelter belongs to the chief. The village's exact arrangement and distances to individual caves are not established here. A hunter who knows one route may still be unfamiliar with an adjacent passage. Visitors can learn from residents without acquiring instant knowledge of the entire landscape.
The Elders' Cave is a historically important location associated with the ancient Sakh spacecraft Se Kilahi. The vessel crashed on Not-Hoth more than a thousand years ago and is connected to the ancestry of the mainland sa-khui. This makes the cave different from an ordinary rock shelter: it is both a physical place and a site of profound historical significance.
Its exact floor plan, the full extent of accessible ship compartments, and the present condition of every ancient system are not defined by this entry. Do not assume the ship remains fully functional, can launch, or contains limitless food, medicine, weapons, or power. The ancient native People predate the Sakh arrival; the crashed ship must not erase that earlier history. Detailed technological questions belong in the ancient-history pages.
Natural light may reach an entrance but diminish quickly farther inside. Bends, uneven walls, and intersecting passages can make orientation difficult. The two suns and two moons are features of the sky, not reliable light sources deep underground. Without an established means of illumination, travelers cannot see indefinitely through complete darkness.
Characters may use remembered landmarks, careful route choices, and available equipment to avoid becoming lost. Do not give everyone perfect night vision or an innate ability to sense the exit. Shadow Cat physical adaptations must follow their established biology rather than grant unlimited supernatural perception. A person who becomes disoriented may need help and time to retrace a route.
Not-Hoth's open atmosphere is toxic to humans who lack a functioning khui. The living symbiont enables long-term survival in that atmosphere and improves cold tolerance and healing. Entering a cave does not automatically make the air safe for an uninfected human. Nor does a khui guarantee protection from every possible hazard inside an enclosed space.
A blocked or poorly ventilated area can pose dangers independent of the planet's usual atmospheric conditions. Smoke, unusual gases, or lack of breathable air should be treated according to what has actually been established in a scene, not used as an excuse for invented universal cave chemistry. The khui does not confer an unlimited supply of oxygen or immunity to suffocation.
Rock shelters can contain unstable surfaces, loose stone, or narrow ledges. Snow and ice near an opening may change the risk of entry. Characters who move carelessly, overload a fragile surface, or disturb loose material may face consequences. However, caves should not collapse automatically whenever the plot needs suspense.
An injured person may require assistance to leave, particularly if the route involves climbing or squeezing through a passage. Rescue depends on available people, tools, weather, and the physical limitations of those involved. A khui can support healing but does not instantly mend every fracture or make a dangerous fall inconsequential.
An unfamiliar cave may already be used by native wildlife. Signs of habitation could include tracks, disturbed ground, remains, or sounds, depending on the species. The presence of an animal does not mean it will attack immediately, and an empty-looking cave is not proof that nothing lives there. Characters should respond to the behavior of established Not-Hoth creatures.
Do not populate caves automatically with Earth bats, bears, or wolves. Nor should every dark chamber contain a monster, a treasure cache, or an ancient laboratory. Underground habitats must remain consistent with the planet's known ecology. A cave can be important simply because it provides temporary protection.
Icehome is a separate coastal settlement near the immense Great Salt Lake. Its residents may use locally known sheltered places when traveling or working near the shore. Coastal rock, spray, wind, and slippery approaches can create different problems from those encountered on the mainland. The precise cave network around Icehome is not established.
Island survivors may bring experience with shelters from their destroyed volcanic homeland, but that knowledge does not make them experts on every mainland cave. Likewise, Croatoan hunters do not automatically know every coastal opening. Cooperation can involve sharing observations, guiding newcomers, and learning unfamiliar terrain together.
Unknown passages offer opportunities for exploration, but discoveries should emerge through observation and choices. A party might investigate an entrance, mark a return route, or retreat when conditions become unsafe. Finding an unfamiliar chamber does not establish that it contains an ancient ship, rare crystals, or a route to another settlement.
New discoveries must fit the existing geography and be recorded consistently. A hidden passage cannot retroactively make a previously difficult journey trivial without explanation. Information learned by one group does not instantly become known to everyone. Curiosity can lead to useful knowledge, but preparation and caution remain important.
Caves, overhangs, and sheltered rock formations can protect against weather but are not automatically warm, supplied, or safe.
Croatoan's mainland residents may know local caves; Icehome's coastal residents may know different shelters.
The Elders' Cave contains the ancient crashed Sakh ship Se Kilahi, linked to mainland sa-khui ancestry.
Se Kilahi crashed more than a thousand years ago; the native People existed before the Sakh arrival.
Do not assume ancient ship systems are functional or that every cave contains technology.
No universal underground tunnel network, complete cave map, or subterranean empire is established.
Darkness, uncertain footing, blocked access, wildlife, and structural hazards can affect exploration.
The khui enables atmospheric survival and improves cold tolerance and healing, but does not prevent suffocation or all injury.
A cave does not automatically make Not-Hoth's atmosphere safe for a human without khui.
Strong Arm, Tall Horn, Shadow Cat, and other residents have different physical needs when navigating tight spaces.
Do not invent unlimited freshwater, geothermal heat, minerals, or stored provisions in unexplored caves.
New passages and shelters must be established through play and remain consistent with maps, travel difficulty, and prior events.