Geography: A world covered by dense, trackless jungles and swamps, dominated by gigantic mangrove-like trees, sweeping vistas, and vast canopy
Population: Estimated 10 Million (Small, heavily fortified colonial settlements, indigenous Death Worlders, and Kroot aliens).
Tithe Grade: Exactus Decimus (Specialised healing flora, exotic fauna, and potentially conscripted manpower levies).
Government Type: Colonial/Corporate Administration (Rule by various trading concerns and Adeptus Biologis missions).
Planetary Governor: None (De facto rule by competing corporate factors and military garrison command).
Adept Presence: High (Adeptus Biologis, Askellian Chirurgeons, Imperial Guard Garrison for protection).
Military: Yanth Planetary Garrison (Heavily armed colonial defence force); numerous alien Kroot mercenaries operate across the surface.
Trade: Powerful healing properties derived from native plants, exotic fauna/specimens, and illicit Kroot military services (Faceless Trade).
“The insects were gigantic; one of them batted a Chimera over like it was nothing. We hid under a tree to try and avoid them, and then the tree ate Jones!”
–Sgt Kellin Areis, Cadian 478th
Located in the Stygies Cluster, Yanth is a world where nearly everything living on it is utterly hostile. A standing Imperial warning beacon is in place near the world, warning anyone who approaches to stay away. In the past, many gave Yanth a wide berth, valuing their own lives more than any exploration of the planet. However, recent discoveries on the world have made it a much more appealing destination, danger or not.
Yanth is a world covered with dense jungles. From the smallest island to the largest continent, every square metre of the world is filled with thick vegetation. The temperatures are sweltering and rainfall is abundant, helping these plants to grow and thrive. Sweeping vistas break up the jungle with waterfalls, gigantic trees, and many other features, providing breath-taking views. Deep below the canopy of leaves, thousands upon thousands of species of flora grow in a complex ecosystem unseen elsewhere in Askellian space. There are few permanent settlements on Yanth, as the voracious flora and fauna can rapidly destroy anything that attempts to intrude upon their lands.
The plant life of Yanth is largely carnivorous, subsisting on the varied species of insectoid life that also call Yanth home. Trees use creeping tendrils to snare prey and pull it back to waiting maws for digestion, while overgrown bushes unleash deadly barbs to poison and stun anything that gets close before consuming it with microbes capable of melting the hardiest carapace. Alongside many of the rivers that flow across the continents, latticework patches of vines and other vegetation cast sweeping nets to grab any creatures that come to the rivers for water.
The never-ending struggle between the plants and insects for dominance of the planet is a hallmark of the world’s ecosystem. Many of the insects feed off of the plant life and in turn, the plants feed off of the insects. One cannot exist without the other, though, for long; as one side becomes ascendant, the other evolves even greater capabilities and resurges to continue the conflict.
While there are some forms of mammalian and reptilian life on Yanth, the primary fauna are various insect species. Many of these reach gargantuan sizes, far larger than would be expected based on planetary conditions such as oxygen levels. They are the apex predators of Yanth and are the overwhelming cause of death, even for the ever-vigilant natives who have learned from birth to be constantly wary of everything around them.
With everything poised to kill, Yanth would seem to be a world devoid of visitors. That could not be further from the truth, however. On an early expedition to the death world, a Magos Biologis team discovered something extraordinary about the planet-a number of the native plants possess powerful healing properties. This remarkable discovery has made Yanth a prime destination for Rogue Traders, Askellian Chirurgeons, and many less savoury individuals. Several permanent settlements have been established across the planet, devoted to processing and gathering these useful species. After generations of living on these heavily fortified facilities, inhabitants have become inured to life on the death world, and some natives are rumoured to have trained the larger insectoid fauna to act as steeds across land and air.
Out of the millions of plant species (most of which are exceptionally toxic), the Askellian Tech-Priesthood has identified four particular ones that offer very useful properties. They tend to grow in the most remote and dangerous locations on Yanth, perhaps adapted to growing only where natural defenders of terrain and hostile fauna exist to protect them. The Disciples of the Omnissiah dispatched hundreds of servitors to harvest these plants, with very few returning. Attempts to relocate these flora to other settings or growing-vats have proven unsuccessful, which has also led to further studies of Yanth’s unique biosphere.
The Adeptus Mechanicus is currently re-evaluating its procedures for dealing with this operation, a process that has taken many years as they weigh all their options. In that time of indecision, many other groups have swept in to claim the flora for themselves. At least seven different Rogue Trader operations (including agents of Maxellian Vor and Hesiah Luftius) have attempted to harvest the plants, and two separate smuggling outfits have also begun to make regular trips to Yanth. Conflicts between the groups have been rare so far, but all involved are expecting an escalation of violence at any time as the price of the plants reaches new heights on the various black markets in the sector.
This blood red root is part of the massive Absolla tree, and is found in the northern most areas of Yanth’s main continent-where many render colonies thrive. The tree is a deadly predator in its own right, with lashing vines and an insatiable appetite for any creatures that come near it. Once ground into a thick paste the root has remarkable regenerative properties, and when applied to wounds it removes 2d5 points of ordinary damage.
Growing only on the cliffs of the Windreth Falls, the bright purple vines are a beautiful sight to behold. They grow in geometric patterns across the sheer cliff face and resemble massive, intricate designs crafted by an artist. Seekers of the vines must contend with the plant’s unreachable nature as well as hives of envelopers, who nest and lay their eggs in tunnels behind the obscuring vines. The fluids within the vines can be extracted to create a potent elixir that melds ruined flesh, removing 1 point of Critical damage per degree of success on the application test.
The Hypoletta plant is a large, slow-growing bush found on the southern continent, near the banks of lakes. It thrives on the mineral deposits found in the otherwise poisonous waters, which also contain a species of gigantic, amphibious insects uniquely adapted to the lethal environment. The plant’s seeds are used to create a potent anaesthesia useful in treating combat injuries. Crushed and treated with the lake water, the gases released double the number of degrees of success gained in a First Aid test.
Not all plants on Yanth are used solely for beneficial medical purposes. The dusk leaf is little more than a dark purple weed, but is part of a sector-wide smuggling trade. When dried and ground, the resulting substance can be smoked or injected in a careful ritual, giving an unearthly, sensory-expanding experience that is a part of several cult rituals. It is Addictive, and each dose grants the Unnatural Senses (20) trait for 1d5 hours. It can also be taken without the normal application test for Yanthian drugs, but if so the GM can require the user roll on Table 5-3: Hallucinogenic Effects from page 146 of the Dark Heresy Core Rulebook.
Within the thick tree canopies of the Yanthian jungle, something not native to the world has survived and even thrived for countless years. Moving from tree to tree, blending in with the vegetation, a group of survivors have made this harsh climate their home. These tenacious survivors are the alien Kroot, and have existed on Yanth for many years.
Kroot are avian humanoids found on a variety of planets across the galaxy. They have vestigial beaks, and their bones are very light, almost hollow. This allows them to move quickly through the trees and jump distances not possible for most humans. Their skin is dry and rough, ranging in colouration from browns and greens to bright oranges. Their heads are topped with a tight mass of quills, which serve as part of their advanced sensory system. Kroot physiology allows them to absorb traits and abilities from creatures that they eat, providing an interesting evolutionary adaptation. This has allowed the Kroot to thrive on many different worlds.
The Kroot of Yanth make their lairs in the canopies of Deondel trees, one of the few non-carnivorous plants on the planet. The leaves of these trees are very dense, providing adequate cover from both the climate and predators. The Kroot are highly vigilant and always in motion, scouring all areas of their camps for any signs of intrusion. Many areas of their new home are decorated with grisly trophies of their time on the death world, including heads of most of the deadliest predators that stalk the planet. To the Kroot, these displays prove that they are superior and deserving of their place in the ecosystem.