"Welcome to Obol-controlled space. If you intend hostile action, please be advised that we have already received confirmed bids from over three hundred private defence platforms. Otherwise, landing permission will be five hundred credits, after which you may proceed to the private landing site of your choice. Please be advised that landing fees are in addition to the charges for landing permission. Welcome to Obol, and may your stay be a profitable one."

Atmosphere: Breathable

Temperature: Temperate

Biosphere: Immiscible

Population: Several Million

Tech Level: 4

Tags: Trade Hub, Mercenary Culture

Languages: Mandate, German, Dutch

It is said that money can buy anything on Obol. That's partially true. Everything has a price on Obol... everything. Rampant privatization means that people can expect to pay fees for walking down streets (which are privately owned), driving on the streets (same issue), and so forth. The sidewalk on one side may be owned by one company, and the sidewalk on the other may be owned by a different one, requiring additional fees to cross the street. Nothing is free, everything costs money. If you ask a stranger on the street for directions, expect to be quoted a price for the information.

Famously, Obol has privatized planetary defence, resulting in a collection of privately-owned defence platforms and ships surrounding the planet. They provide bids for engaging targets and, if needed, those bids are accepted by the planetary government. Police forces are also simply private security, as are the fire services, and medical care. Advance payment plans are recommended.

Visitors to Obol often struggle to deal with the culture, and of course there are guides who are happy to help smooth over these issues for a modest payment.

Weapons may be carried on Obol fairly freely, with the posting of a sufficient bond to cover expected damages, which is returned on departure... assuming that there has not been any damage caused. The required bond varies depending on the sort of weapon--most melee weapons require only a modest bond of 10,000 credits. For ranged semi-automatic (or slower) weapons, 50,000 credits. For automatic weapons, 100,000 credits, and then 250,000 credits for energy-based weapons. Explosives permits require a 500,000 bond, and heavy weaponry starts at a 1,000,000 credit bond and goes up from there. Armour permits are generally 25,000 for non-powered/force field armours, or 50,000 for powered or force-based. Naturally, most people cannot afford to post the bond themselves, and rely on weapons bondsmen. These bondmen generally charge a rate that starts at 1-5% of the total bond, though those rates can go up substantially for people known to engage in violence, or they may not be able to secure bondsmen. In the event that the bond is broken, of course, the person will additionally owe the full cost of damages to the bondsman, and they are very much inclined to hire bounty hunters to ensure repayment.

Those who do not have means on Obol inevitably fall into debt, where they may be sent to debtor's prisons until someone either agrees to clear their debt (typically upon the debtor agreeing to a contract), or until they work off their debt via labour--prisoners can choose from a variety of bids for their work. These contracts can be extremely abusive, verging on slavery.

Visits to Obol are therefore not recommended unless one is financially stable.