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#11
The recovery key is actually a random number: BitLocker recovery password details System Integrity Team Blog
You are correct in that you still need the recovery key in case of some BIOS/TPM change. I'll strike out that part from my earlier post to remove confusion.
Veracrypt does not use the TPM. Therefore its keys are stored on the drive itself. I am not too familiar with how Linux encryption is done but it looks like dm-crypt/LUKS don't use the TPM either.
Bitlocker does store the keys in the TPM. And if the PCRs change (due to a BIOS/HW/bootloader change) then the TPM won't unseal the encryption key. That's why you need the recovery key.