This is a write up of Galentor, a planet in the Galen Alpha planetary system, and the main setting for the Tyranny of the Daleks scenario, using the Second Edition of the Doctor Who Roleplaying Game from Cubicle 7.
Galen Alpha c
Second Planet of the Galen Alpha system
![]() |
| Dalek shuttle leaving Galentor orbit |
Mass : 0.94 x Earth
Diameter: 12,938 kilometres (equatorial)
Density: 4.95 grams per cubic centimetre
Average temperature: 24.6 degrees Celsius (minimum -56.4 degrees Celsius, maximum 71.2 degrees Celsius)
Rotational Period: 0.997 days
Orbital Period: 11.8 months
Surface gravity : 0.913 g
Semi-Major Axis of orbit : 0.97 AU
Eccentricity of orbit : 0.0272
Inclination of orbit: 0.57 degrees
Obliquity : 7.57 degrees
Surface pressure : 107.9 Kpa at sea level
Atmosphere by volume:
76.45% nitrogen
22.5% oxygen
0.45% water vapour (varies)
0.42% argon
0.029% carbon dioxide
0.12% neon
0.02% hydrogen
0.003% methane
0.001% nitrous oxide
0.0008% krypton
0.0007% ozone
0.00009% xenon
0.005% trace biogenic organics
Introduction
Galentor is the living heart of the Galen Alpha system: a temperate, ocean-dominated world orbiting just inside the system’s classical habitable zone. It is the second planet out from the star Galen Alpha.IItWhere the inner planet Pentaurus is scorched and desiccated, and the outer giants loom in distant splendour, Galentor alone carries a fully developed biosphere and stable surface oceans. It is the natural focal point for exploration, diplomacy, and adventure.
Galentor is widely regarded as one of the finest naturally occurring biospheres known to the Federal Empire. Earth, by the 42nd century, is a ruined world from centuries of overpopulation, destruction of natural ecosystems and climate change. In comparison, Galentor is a pristine, beautiful wilderness and Xafonix, the planetary scientist leading its settlement, has proved conclusively that it is even more suited for life than Earth had been prior to the industrial period and the homeworld’s subsequent devastation by humanity.
To explorers and scientists alike, Galentor represents a paradox: a world of immense biological richness flourishing in one of the most isolated regions of the Milky Way, far from dense stellar nurseries, supernova shocks, or frequent cometary bombardment. It is a living archive of planetary and biological evolution, shaped more by time and internal processes than by external catastrophe.
Formation and place in the Galen Alpha System
Galentor formed approximately 3 billion years ago from the unusually massive and metal-enriched protoplanetary disc surrounding Galen Alpha. Despite the system’s remote location near the thinning edge of the Carina–Sagittarius Arm of the Milky Way Galaxy, the disc contained sufficient heavy elements to allow the formation of multiple rocky worlds.
Galentor accreted just beyond the inner volatile-loss zone, allowing it to retain substantial water and atmospheric gases while avoiding the intense early irradiation that stripped its inner neighbour, Pentaurus. Galentor is thus the second planet from Galen Alpha. From its earliest epochs, Galentor possessed shallow global oceans, a nitrogen-dominated atmosphere, and a magnetic field strong enough to protect its surface from stellar winds.
The planet’s low axial tilt, established early by the stabilising influence of its moon (covered elsewhere), prevented extreme seasonal cycles. Combined with Galen Alpha’s relatively subdued magnetic activity, this allowed Galentor’s climate to settle rapidly into a long-lived equilibrium.
Orbiting Galen Alpha at just under one astronomical unit, Galentor receives slightly more stellar energy than Earth does from Sol. Its parent star, Galen Alpha, is marginally more luminous than Earth’s Sun, yet Galentor’s modest orbital eccentricity keeps seasonal variations gentle rather than extreme. The world’s low axial tilt further moderates its climate, reducing harsh seasonal contrasts.
From the surface, Galen Alpha appears fractionally larger and brighter than Sol does from Earth. In the night sky, the volcanic moon Tarack dominates the heavens, a vast, slowly changing presence whose faint volcanic plumes can occasionally be detected as shimmering auroral distortions.
Galentor sits in a dynamically stable position within the system. The gas giants Volturn and Luradian shepherd the outer regions, preventing inward migration of debris and maintaining long-term orbital stability. The result is a mature, settled planetary environment some three billion years old.
![]() |
| Galentor’s orbit around Galen Alpha |
Planetary Characteristics and Surface
Galentor is slightly lighter than Earth, with marginally lower surface gravity. Its diameter is similar to Earth’s, but its lower density reflects a somewhat smaller metallic core relative to mantle volume.
The surface is dominated by ocean. Approximately 74% of the planet is covered by interconnected oceans, leaving dispersed continents and archipelagos scattered across the globe. No single supercontinent exists. Instead, mid-sized landmasses and elongated island chains define the geography.
Continental margins are complex and deeply indented, producing vast shallow seas and rich coastal ecosystems. The coastal erosion occurring as a result increases environmental fertility by higher levels of mineral recycling into soils and shallow seas, leading to greater biodiversity.
This fragmented geography also promotes biodiversity by encouraging regional specialisation while maintaining global ecological connectivity.
Polar regions are largely oceanic. Permanent ice is rare and confined to isolated high mountain ranges. The planet’s warm equilibrium temperature and equable climate prevent large-scale glaciation.
Unlike many habitable planets, Galentor has avoided major global resets. There is no evidence of planet-wide glaciations or runaway greenhouse phases. Instead, the geological record shows a slow oscillation between warmer and cooler eras, with the present climate resembling Earth’s Eocene period: warm, humid, and biologically exuberant.
Atmosphere
Galentor’s atmosphere is breathable for humans without assistance, though slightly more humid on average than Earth’s. Nitrogen and oxygen dominate, with trace gases including argon and carbon dioxide. Water vapour plays an important climatic role, supporting a vigorous hydrological cycle.
The dense covering of most of the land masses with forests has produced an atmosphere with slightly higher levels of oxygen than is typical of Earth’s, and slightly lower levels of carbon dioxide, as more CO2 is fixed into the plant-like part of the biomass. This means the temperature is slightly lower than it would be if the atmosphere had the same composition as Earth’s.
Surface pressure is slightly higher than that of Earth at sea level, and the lower gravity makes movement feel subtly lighter without being disorienting. To humans arriving on Galentor, the atmosphere seems “deep” and invigorating, and over the decades, the settlers have adapted to it.
The sky is a deep blue under clear conditions. Cloud systems are prominent and dynamic, particularly over warm equatorial oceans. Storm systems are frequent but rarely catastrophic at continental scale.
Oceans
The oceans are the defining feature of Galentor. They are warm, extensive, and biologically productive. Continental shelves are broad, and shallow seas teem with life. Coral-analog reef systems flourish in tropical belts, forming labyrinthine archipelagos.
Deep ocean basins exist between continents, but the absence of polar ice caps ensures continuous circulation between equator and pole. Warm currents distribute heat efficiently, contributing to the planet’s globally mild climate.
Bioluminescent plankton blooms are common in certain regions, producing spectacular nocturnal displays visible even from orbit.
Tides on Galentor are higher than Earth’s, due to the closer proximity of its Moon. This leads to complex and rich intertidal zones, increasing biodiversity and leading to highly fertile deltas and estuary systems.
![]() |
| Two Dalek battleships in high orbit around Galentor, with a view of Tarack |
Climate and Weather
Galentor’s climate can best be described as similar to that of Earth during its hottest period, the Eocene. It is warm, humid, and relatively equable. Average global temperatures are higher than pre-industrial Earth.
Seasonal shifts are mild due to low obliquity. Tropical and subtropical conditions extend well into higher latitudes. Polar regions experience cool temperate conditions rather than true polar cold.
The rotation period generates active atmospheric circulation. Mid-latitude cyclonic systems form regularly over ocean basins. Equatorial storm belts are persistent but stable. Hurricanes occur, but the planet’s high ocean coverage tends to dissipate their energy before they make prolonged landfall.
Lightning activity is frequent over warm seas. Auroral displays are common at high latitudes, occasionally enhanced by interactions between Galentor’s magnetosphere and volcanic ejecta from Tarack.
Geological and Tectonic Activity
Galentor is geologically alive. Plate tectonics are active, driven by internal heat from a still-warm mantle and moderate radiogenic decay, especially given Galentor’s younger age than Earth’s. Subduction zones ring several ocean basins. Volcanic island arcs dot tectonic boundaries, while high mountain chains rise where continental plates collide.
Seismic activity is frequent and persistent but generally moderate. The planet’s lower gravity produces slightly broader mountain profiles than Earth’s, with expansive plateaus and sweeping volcanic shields. The regular activity sustains long-term carbon cycling.
Hydrothermal vents in deep ocean trenches support complex chemosynthetic ecosystems.
The presence of plate tectonics contributes to long-term carbon cycling, stabilising atmospheric carbon dioxide and helping maintain climatic balance.
Biodiversity and Native Life
Galentor’s biosphere is ancient, rich and diverse. Life emerged early and diversified rapidly. There is no evidence of a single dominant extinction event or a succession of them as on Earth. Instead, evolutionary change has been gradual, layered, and cumulative. Galentor's biosphere has been measured to be more productive and fertile than Earth's was at any point in its history.
Photosynthetic life dominates coastal shallows and inland wetlands. Vast marine ecosystems form the backbone of planetary productivity. Oxygen levels are high enough to support large, complex multicellular organisms.
Galentor’s plant analogues include vast forests of tall, branching organisms reminiscent of terrestrial trees, along with extensive fungal networks that permeate soils, coastlines, and shallow seabeds. These fungi-like life forms play a central role in nutrient cycling and symbiotic relationships.
On land, life has radiated into a variety of ecological niches. Forest-analogs extend into higher latitudes. Many terrestrial organisms exhibit lightweight skeletal structures, adapted to the planet’s slightly lower gravity.
Marine megafauna are particularly abundant. Some are even larger in scale than Earth’s great whales (all extinct by the 42nd century), though taxonomically unrelated. Marine ecosystems teem with complex organisms, including large, semi-intelligent predators and filter-feeders.
Predatory aerial organisms thrive in the humid atmosphere, taking advantage of buoyant air and thermal currents. Mammal-analogues roam the wide forests, including ferocious semi-bipedal carnivores.
Palaentologists are puzzled by certain fossil finds that suggest intelligent animals may have arisen at several points in Galentor’s past, although no conclusions have been reached. It is not thought that any intelligent Galentorian life forms were ever technological or industrial.
The long and undisturbed evolution of life on Galentor has led to rich and complex relationships developing at all levels, including phyla, kingdom and domain. These relationships include the parasitic, symbiotic and even altruistic. The Lentargi Field (see below) is believed to play a role in this highly interconnected biosphere.
The Lentargi Field
Perhaps Galentor’s most mysterious feature is the Lentargi Field, a faint but measurable bioelectromagnetic phenomenon associated with certain living tissues, particularly advanced fungal networks, at deep ocean hydrothermal vents and neural structures of vertebrates.
The Lentargi Field is not a force in the conventional physical sense, nor does it violate known physics. Instead, it appears to be an emergent property of complex, interconnected biological systems operating at planetary scale. The field fluctuates subtly with ecological cycles, population density, and even planetary magnetic variations. Some introduced Earth species exhibit unusual adaptive responses when exposed to the Lentargi Field.
While its effects are weak, sensitive instrumentation suggests it may facilitate long-range biochemical signalling, enhance neural coherence, or subtly influence evolutionary pathways. Some Federation scientists speculate that the Lentargi Field may explain Galentor’s unusual ecological stability and resilience.
Others, such as Xafonix, believe it represents an early-stage planetary noosphere, a transitional phenomenon between purely biological life and something more profound. Federation xenobiologists have mapped correlations between Lentargi Field fluctuations and biological synchronisation events, but the underlying mechanism remains elusive and controversial. No consensus exists, and this unique field remains an active subject of debate and quiet fascination.
A World Apart
Galentor’s defining characteristic is not merely its habitability, but its continuity. Sheltered by distance and circumstance, it has evolved without the frequent cosmic interruptions that shape most life-bearing worlds. Its skies are dark at night, its star fields sparse, and its cosmic environment quiet.
To travellers arriving from crowded regions of the Galaxy, Galentor feels timeless. It is a world that has been allowed to become itself.
As Xafonix, Federation ecologist and biophysicist, famously remarked:
“Galentor is not just alive. It has been left alone long enough to understand what life wishes to be.”
![]() |
| Galentor seen from space |














