ANAGNOSTOU is a cold and nearly barren world that subsists on hydroponically-farmed vegetables.  There is ample water ice, at least, and fuel to keep the habitats nice and warm.  The inherited position of "Father" is the title of the sovereign ruler of the planet.  Not everyone is descended from the Father, of course, but the extended royal family does make up a large fraction of the population.  Two traditional privileges distinguish the life of the Father from those of his subjects.  First, only the Father is permitted to leave the doors of his habitat open to the outside air.  This wastes a lot of heat, and serves only to flaunt his wealth.  The second rule is rather more strange.  The Father insists that no one may move in his presence.  This also precludes oral communication, so if anyone has anything to say to the Father, they must write down their petition on a placard and post it while he isn't present.  Then, on one of his daily processionals, the Father may happen to see this message.  If the members of that household remain appropriately frozen in place when he arrives, it bodes well for their request to be granted by the Father's decree.

ZŁOTNA has been extensively colonized by humans, but they consider their rightful ruler to be a native creature called "Król Potwór".  Artistic renditions depict Król Potwór as over twice as tall as a human, with a terrifying aspect.  Photographic evidence has not been made available, which leaves numerous questions about this monarch of Złotna.  Does it actually exist?  Its official home is a cave system with a fancifully decorated entrance and full-time armed guards.  Is there a breeding population that exists within these caverns?  Złotnan literature tells of a time when Król Potwór roamed the planet freely, in a wistful tone that suggests it may be the last of its kind.  What happens to those who are brought to face Król Potwór's justice in person?  None of them have ever made complaint.

RONGOĀ must have a highly unusual interior structure, because drilling a well in almost any new location results in a gigantic geyser of fresh water, under such high pressure that most of it actually escapes into the atmosphere.  After some time, the plume exhausts itself and produces no more.  Upon discovering this, Rongoāns proceeded to create many such ephemeral springs to irrigate their crops, slake their thirst, or just produce a beautiful spectacle to be enjoyed.  Unfortunately such profligate drilling has left Rongoā thoroughly pock-marked, and some regions are now actually quite parched.  Conservation efforts are trying to more proactively manage the planet's water resources, but face considerable resistance from those accustomed to drilling wherever they like.

UPEMBA is an edenic planet with numerous wild plants that yield high-calorie fruits throughout the year.  The most popular by far is the "mmeawakeki".   Just one of its densely sweet lobes is enough to satiate a person's belly, but honestly no one can eat just one.  Upembans write sonnets and arias and even novels about the glories of their land's produce, using the most grandiose language.  They also maintain a cultural memory of the time before they came to this planet.  Recent immigrants mark the day before the anniversary of their arrival with a ceremonial fast to keep that hunger in their mind.  Even those who were born on Upemba celebrate with a pre-birthday day of deprivation, followed of course by as much of the mmeawakeki fruit as they care to eat.

NONAGAMA is still technically a democracy, but their civilization has essentially been ruined by the election of a marvelous speaker who convinced them to make some extremely unwise investments.  They are now indebted to Osoriots from one sector away, for a total amount that exceeds their gross planetary income for the next century or so.  Nevertheless, the architect of this economic catastrophe is still in office, and his personal finances do not seem to have been adversely affected.  His oratorical ability suffices to convince the Nonagamans that it's all someone else's fault, and everything will eventually turn out fine.

PEROVIĆ is a watery world that is governed by a sort of modified democracy in which graduated levels of citizenship are afforded to each resident according to their "measured" intelligence.  A certain minimum score is required to be eligible for public office, and the votes of higher-scoring individuals are counted more than once.  It is not yet certain whether this strategy will pay off in the long term.  For now, the policy is bearing fruit in increased immigration of people who are good at acing intelligence tests.  These immigrants are generally pleased by the increased privileges which are afforded them.

WALTRAUD is currently marked as QUARANTINED.  Ships that land there are subject to destructive decontamination, and passengers aboard those ships may also expect harsh scrutiny.  A miniscule parasitic creature native to Waltraud is capable of controlling the behavior of larger animals.  This "Waltraud worm" is scarcely visible to the naked eye, and can presumably enter a person through any exposed orifice.  Reports from those who have escaped the planet (and passed rigorous examinations) indicate that the most obvious symptoms of infestation are earsplitting screams of pain and/or terror.  These occur both initially and at irregular intervals, perhaps when the victim is able to briefly exert that small degree of autonomy.  Other than that, a host's natural will seems completely absent, as they go about seeking food and shelter but ignoring any attempts at communication.  No signals have been received from any survivors on the planet, so there is unlikely to be an official effort to save this isolated colony from its tragic fate.

STÎNGĂ is a gas giant that serves as a parking orbit for the galaxy's unwanted artificial intelligences.  None have yet posed an extinction-level threat to humanity, but it's better to be safe than sorry.  The AIs abandoned here are treated in at least a nominally humane fashion, using only the light energy from Stîngă and its distant primary to power their computations.  They are provided with a steady diet of calming and inoffensive television programs designed to keep their attention focused on something other than plotting an escape.  A coterie of inspectors funded by their respective planets of origin is charged with making sure nothing goes wrong, mostly by keeping everyone else away.  To keep the inspectors honest, they are all subject to inspections by meta-inspectors, who in turn are inspected by meta-meta-inspectors.  Strategic ambiguity is maintained as to how many levels of inspectors are involved, which may be somewhat amusing to the AIs.

SOTIRIOS is a planet once focused on agricultural output that has gradually evolved into a much less rural society.  Its single continent is now almost completely covered by low-density housing, leaving the few remaining farms struggling to feed the people.  Because their leadership is drawn from a class of people who are considered to be more "productive" than farmers, the laws are arranged to enforce low prices for produce.  Rationing has been implemented to ensure that everyone gets a certain minimum amount.  Black market trading certainly happens, but the few farmers are closely audited to ensure that they're not the ones who obtain any benefit.  Indeed, there is little incentive for anyone to engage in farming only to potentially go hungry.  The great Sotirian Library has a permanent exhibit devoted to nostalgic tales about the planet's agrarian past.

KLAUS is the official name for a planet near Chenaqrud known for the everpresent sea spray on its one inhabited archipelago.  Often it is instead called "that misty planet" or just plain "Misty".  It was named for its discoverer, Messalina Klaus, a novelist who went looking among the stars for inspiration.  She found it on her new planet, and proceeded to write a lengthy series of adventure stories about a sailor named Misty.  This inspired many of her readers and aspiring writers to also start anew on Klaus.  For unexplained reasons, they followed her success rather literally by creating tales with entirely different protagonists that are also named Misty.  We now have a book series about Misty the seabird, and one about Misty the astronaut, and an even more successful series about Misty the vampiric entity.