The planet Harrin Prime is not the place for a leisurely tourist to drop anchor: most areas are safe and hospitable to average lifeforms, but there is some chance, nearly anywhere, that things could turn deadly for the unprepared.

Due to its retrograde rotation, opposite in direction to all of the orbits of its three large moons, this world is plagued by incredibly severe tidal shifts. Often, when two of the moons' orbits bring them close together, entire seas are pulled across long distances. At those rare times when all three moons pass at once over one side of the planet, even the atmosphere itself is stripped away from the farthest opposite regions. Very few races are able to survive unaided in the excruciating pressure extremes which occur on such occasions at either end of Harrin Prime.

While many of the beings in the galaxy would likely be ripped apart in the strongest of these gravitational anomalies that rack the planet, most of the native lifeforms are adapted to travel safely with the tides. Others, mostly large organisms such as the dominant Givin species, evolved in such ways that they can tolerate each disturbance, and then endure through the resulting desolation. Primarily, they are protected by exoskeletons that act as both a frame for their fragile innards and a pressure suit to counteract the unpredictable environment.

The other major evolutionary stride the Givin have made has been mostly mental: their extremely developed and mathematical minds. Only significantly advanced mathematical formulae can predict when and where major tidal movements may suddenly occur, and it was the importance of developing these equations that first incited the highly intelligent Givin towards their famed achievements in mathematics. This extraordinary aptitude has even allowed the Givin to calculate hyperspace coordinates much faster than most navigational computers.

In more recent millennia, the Givin have developed cities sealed inside impenetrable shield domes, which compensate for the peculiar gravity whenever necessary and guarantee a constant pressure level. Unless they are headed directly to one of these cities, visitors to Harrin Prime are urged to consult the local authorities for a gravitational forecast before landing. If the traveler, for one reason or another, does not wish to reveal themselves to the Givin, they should be sure at all times to wear a space-grade survival suit at the very least, though an atmosphere-faring ship is greatly preferred.