Desert Planet

Basic Information

A classic trope of speculative fiction, the Desert Planet is a One-Biome Planet set to Desert. It often comes with some sort of Hydraulic Empire - a form of despotism based on control of access to water.

This trope is old and well-respected, showing up in classics from Dune to Star Wars, despite the fact that it makes no damn sense. Just stop and think about it for a moment - without any forests, without any oceans full of algae, the planet should have no oxygen. Oh, maybe it had some by random luck of planetary formation, and that was enough when it was uninhabited - but stick a million colonists on the planet, and they'll asphyxiate.

Sources

Bibliography

1. Wikipedia

2. TV Tropes Wiki

Game and Story Use

• A smart GM comes up with some sort of explanation (even if it's just a hand-wave for why the planet has oxygen, and has this explanation prepared before the players ask. Don't get caught with your pants down.
  • There may be some sort of oxygen-producing life form on the planet that just doesn't look like a tree. "Sand algae", maybe, or a really cool form of alien cactus.
  • A precursor or sufficiently advanced civilization buried huge terraforming or oxygenating machines beneath the surface.
  • Or the current inhabitants may be manufacturing oxygen. Possibly via a greenhouse or oasis system that's carefully maintained by landscapers and park rangers. Possibly via small machines that chemically or mechanically generate oxygen. It may be that you need a breathing tank or spacesuit if you wander far from settled areas (or just outside at all).
  • The planet has only recently become a desert due to the end of the world as we know it, and it's just a matter of time before people start suffocating.
  • If inhabited by non-humans, they could have alien biochemistry that allows them to survive without oxygen. See Chlorine-Breathing Life, Methane-Breathing Life, or Sulfur-Breathing Life for ideas.
• Desert planets are good for playing with themes of isolation, remoteness, and the conflict of man vs nature. As such, they fit especially well into settings where travel between worlds is difficult.
• The shifting sands let you hide a lost city, artifact, or other macguffin beneath the surface. A big sandstorm can uncover or re-hide it as the plot demands.