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Worlds & Systems

The enormous expanses that access to oddspace has made traversable have generated the need to map the vastness of the Five Galaxies. This chapter will provide the fundamentals for managing the geography of space and generating star systems.

Space Geography

Normal space is subdivided into 10pc-sided cubes, called sub-sectors.

Below is the conventional scale in which the Charted Space is subdivided:

  • Sub-sector: A region of 10pc3 space in which there are several star systems.
  • Sector: A region of 100pc3 space or 1000 sub-sectors.
  • Cluster: Aggregation of 2 or more sectors, usually defined by political entities.
  • Quadrant: A quarter of a galaxy, containing several sectors each.

To this geography is added the topography of the Wormhole Access Network (WAN). Numerous natural and man-made wormholes are maintained to connect distant sectors and shorten travel times. Usually travel between wormholes is instantaneous and subject to a fee. A pair of wormholes is in exclusive communication, often natural wormholes are single way, while artificial wormholes are always double way, unless disabled on purpose.

Astrography

Space is usually mapped at the local sub-sector level. To represent a three-dimensional space, it is possible to "press" the representation into two dimensions, representing the distances between nearest stars as edges of a graph.

To determine the configuration of a sub-sector:

  1. Roll 2d20 to determine the number of stars of the region.
  2. For each star roll 1d6, then add the values ​​of two nearby stars to calculate the distance in light-years between them.
  3. Draw the resulting graph, noting the distances.

Optionally, it is possible to drop a number of colored d6s (representing the spectral class of the stars) on a sheet of paper, thus drawing the edges of the graph between them and marking the sum value of each pair.

Stellar Systems

The generation of features for a star system can be randomly determined using this procedure. Roll on the relevant tables where necessary.
When prompted 1d3, roll 1d6, divide by two and round down.

  1. Roll for number of stars in the system.
  2. Roll for spectral type and color.
  3. Roll 1d6+4 to determine the number of planets.
  4. Roll 1d6 to determine the number of space habitats.
    • If one of them is a ringworld/Dyson sphere, there are no other planets in the system.
  5. Roll for planet type.
    • Roll 1d3 to determine how many worlds are in the habitable zone.
  6. Roll for planet features.
  7. Roll to determine moons:
    • For gas/ice giant planets, roll 1d20 to termine the number of moons. Roll for determine type and features of each.
    • For terrestrial planets, roll 1d3. Then roll for type and features.
    • For dwarf planets, roll 1-6. If result is 6 they have one satellite.
    • Space habitats and asteroid belts have no moons.
  8. Roll on Population table to determine each moon inhabitants. They always capped to 10mln.

Giant/dwarf planets and asteroids are naturally uninhabitable, but they are settled using domed and underground facilities (see Colonies below).

Number of Stars per System

1-3 4-18 19 20
Single Binary Trinary Multiple (1d6+1)

Star Spectral Type

1-15 16-17 18 19 20
M K F/G A Special
Red-Orange Orange Yellow White (roll below)
1-14 15 16 17-18 19-20
T M B - -
Brown Dwarf Red Giant Blue Giant Black Hole Neutron Star

Star Dimension (don't roll for special)

1-17 18 19 20
Dwarf Giant Supergiant Hypergiant

Planets and Space Habitats

Planet Type

1-5 6-10 11-17 18-19 20
Gas Giant Ice Giant Terrestrial Dwarf Asteroid Belt

Space Habitat Type
1-4 O'Neil Cylinder 15-16 Bishop Ring
5-6 McKendree Cylinder 17-18 Banks Orbital
7-9 Stanford Torus 19 Dyson Sphere
10-14 Bernal Sphere 20 Ringworld

Terrestrial Planet Features
1 Barren 6 Savanna 11 Forest 16 Ecumenopolis
2 Frozen 7 Arctic 12 Archipelago 17 Garden World
3 Arid 8 Steppe 13 Waterworld 18 Hellworld
4 Desert 9 Continental 14 Tropical 19 Tainted
5 Tidally Locked 10 Relic 15 Hothouse 20 Ruined

Moon Size and Type

1-10 11-14 15-18 19-20
Planetary-mass (roll below) Small Rock Big Rock Ring
1-15 16-17 18 19 20
Barren Frozen Vulcanic Hothouse Habitable

Planet/Space Habitat Features

Government
1-2 Corporate 11-12 Anarchy
3-4 Democracy 13-14 Technocracy
5-6 Oligarchy 15-16 Autocracy
7-8 Dictatorship 17-18 Bureaucracy
9-10 Feudal 19-20 Theocracy

Economy
1-6 Agricultural 15-16 Mining
7-11 Industrial 17-19 Political Center
12-14 Finance 20 Religious Center

GDP Level
1-4 Poor 13-16 Good
5-8 Low 17-19 High
9-12 Average 20 Rich

Technological Level
1 Stone Age 6-7 Atomic Age
2 Metal Age 8-9 Information Age
3 Clock Age 10-11 Space Age
4 Steam Age 12-13 Stellar Age
5 Machine Age 14-20 Interstellar Age

Population

Roll 1d20: on 19-20 the planet is uninhabited, else roll on the following table.
1-2 10+ 11-12 1mln+
3-4 100+ 13-14 10mln+
5-6 1,000+ 15-16 100mln+
7-8 10k+ 17-18 1bln+
9-10 100k+ 19-20 10bln+*

Space Stations & Bases

Space stations are quite common in any star system and cannot be determined with a specific algorithm. Usually there can 1d20 stations per planet. They are usually installed in orbit, on the surface of inhospitable planets and at strategic points such as Langrange Points. To inspire the referee who needs it, here are some examples.

1-4 5-8 9-12 13-16 17-20
Wheeled Station Zero-G Station Void Citadel Domed Installation Underground Facility
1-2 Science Lab 11-12 Chemicals Factory
3-4 Astronomic Observatory 13-14 Mining Station
5-6 Military Base 15-16 Solar Power Plant
7-8 Weapon Factory 17-18 Farm
9-10 Electronics Factory 19-20 Idroponics

Colonies

Inhospitable planets, Gas and Ice Giants, and asteroids can still be inhabited thanks to artificial structures generically called colonies.

1-4 5-8 9-12 13-16 17-20
Arcology Modular Ground Installation Floating Citadel Domed City Underground Base