Sorry i disappeared from this, real life got interesting for a couple of days.
Why is the planet bigger than Earth? Any particular reason, or just for the sake of it?
If all planets had the exact same orbit and size of earth, it would be boring. Thats my only reason.
Is Wild Magic essentially just a magic mutating bomb, or can it be manipulated by "sentient Ardatians?"
. The magic bomb is a perfect analogy. However, the changes are not always mutagenic. Its called wild magic for two reasons, the first is because it cant be controlled and secondly because it can do even more than ritual magic can, some prices, short of murdering ones entire extended family, their friends, and their friend's friends, are just too steep.
Who are the Ardatians, by the way? One species, as suggested by the Sentient Life number, or a few different species running around?
Covered below.
Where did the breach come from? You say it is in orbit around the planet. That's cool, and I'm curious.
Currently, it is suspected to have been the result of an ancient ritual, though no record of the ritual has surfaced and there are other theories.
Do you consider it an adventuring goal to go into desolate areas and collect fallen Breach Stones? Because I know as a player I'm gonna want to do that, absorb a bunch of my element, and have the other party members absorb the stones of their elements. With that in mind, and with adequate coverage of skills and deficiencies of the group, it would be best if each had their own element.
Theoretically yes, but i'll cover why that may be a bad idea.
Are some stones captured in orbit? If so, how about a magician flying up and grabbing them?
I had actually suspected that someone would try this, thats why I've made the Roefacri, my dragons. Massive winged serpents that fly around underneath the breach sometimes catching the stones that strike their fancy. When they come down to feed, rarely since most of them have lost that need, roughly 10 square miles of the planet is left devoid of animal life. Only one of their elders, suspected to be thousands of years old, has ever been slain. The Wild magic from that event created a habitable floating island roughly two kilometers in the air, with its own atmosphere.
The title Ardatian goes to the planets functional humanity equivalent. Normally, an Ardatian looks almost exactly like a human, different skin tones and they bleed purple at most, but thats not really important. Due to the breach's mutagenic effects, an Ardatian with even one contact with a breach stone can look like virtually anything, though no taller than 3 meters. A mass of mobile crystal, humanoid arachnids, masses of physical shadow, cthulu, etc...
Culturally, Ardatians are diverse and spread out across the planet. Many governments are run by oligarchies and councils, democracies are rare and kingdoms even rarer. Due to the breach's influence, gender roles have completely dissipated, in fact, the ones that are still able to breed after a transformation tend to hold a place of honor. A child's first breach stone is generally given between their 10th and 16th birthdays and pcs will be attuned to 3 or 4 types of stones by the time that the story starts. Population growth is low due to the breach's common limitation to breeding. Those that can breed often have upwards of 6 children.
The effects of Breach affiliation on the Ardatian psyche have been well documented over the years. While a few of the same stone doesn't tend to have any visible effects, a great many Ardatians have expressed increased agression and continued exposure tends to lead to delusions of granduer. Some of the foremost experts on the Breach have ended up becoming mass murdering psychopaths. Athri Bonewitch in particular managed to hide her insanity for years as she accumulated approximately 19 stones and used her power to nearly destroy an entire nation. Her reason for eventually retreating is unknown, but she has been twisting reality in a forest around the equator for nearly a century, turning it into a forest of bones.
Undeath is a common result of Breach affiliation, and while this was originally considered a curse, it has spawned one of Ardat's most successful nations and the undead are generally treated with courtesy. The most common undead seen, though not the only kinds are ghouls, mummies, vampires, liches and skeletons. Ghouls are permanently rotting, though this does not impede them in any way, though they do appear to have issues with their own smell. Mummies tend to actually grow more powerful from other people paying atrention to them, those that engage in combat usually try to cause fear. Vampires are typical and do not sparkle. Liches draw power from any magic cast around them and have not removed any portion of their souls. Skeletons are powered by a kinetic magic that draws energy from the movement around them. Natually they are suited to a more phyisical combat.