Interstellar Cartography #

The Commonwealth divides the known worlds into administrative clusters five parsecs in diameter. Each world in a cluster is ranked on four characteristics: Habitability, Population, Authority, and Technology.

To create an administrative cluster, begin with a blank hex flower, five hexes wide. One hex in the center, with two concentric layers of hexes around it.

Starting with the center hex and working your way outward, roll 1d6 for each hex. On a 4-6, the hex contains a star system with a notable world. Draw a circle in the center of the hex.

For each hex with a world, roll for each of the characteristics below, making adjustments for previous characteristics and adding detail as prompted or desired.

Write the characteristics of the world in its hex, abbreviating each characteristic with its first letter. For example: H1 P3 A5 T6.

1. Habitability: 1d6
   • On a 6, 1-in-6 chance of being 7. Habitability 7 worlds are megastructures capable of housing tens of billions comfortably.
   • On a 1, 2-in-6 chance of being 0. Habitability 0 worlds are airless planetoids or asteroid belts.
2. Population: 1d6
   • +1 if Habitability is 5 or greater
   • -1 if Habitability is 2 or less
3. Authority: 1d6
   • Minimum 1, maximum 6.
   • +1 if Population is 5 or greater
   • -1 if Population is 2 or less
4. Technology: 1d6
   • Maximum 6
   • +1 Population is 5 or greater
   • -1 if Population is 2 or less
   • +1 if Population is greater than Habitability
   • +1 if Authority is 5 or greater
   • -1 if Authority is 2 or less

Once you’ve made a basic map of several worlds and their attributes, flesh out each world with additional details. World details will inform each other, and details added to one world may lead you to change details on another. Let the process be iterative, and your worlds will feel more deeply connected to one another

Before the first session of a campaign, keep these details as brief as possible. Consider giving each world no more detail than you might give a single important room in a dungeon delving game, just one or two sentences each. The players might latch onto any particular detail and turn it into many sessions of play. Or they may ignore something completely. Follow their lead, add details as necessary between sessions.

World Characteristic Details #

Habitability #

Any world with less than 6 habitability will have at least one fault. Faults will be more extreme on worlds with very low habitability (1 or 2), and multiple faults may be present.

Faults

Population #

For more granularity, roll 2d6 and multiply the result by the approximate population. For example, if a world’s population rank is 3, and the 2d6 roll is 7, the population is 7 million.

Authority #

Different weapons are outlawed at different Authority levels. Use the Rulers table to determine who holds power here.

Technology #

A world with a low rank in technology may lack the heavy metals or other resources required for advanced manufacturing. These worlds import high-tech devices to fulfill certain important functions like water purification, communication, etc. Alternatively, a low-tech world might be under the yoke of an oligarchic ruling class that maintains order through tight control of weapons and information. Technology rating does not necessarily correlate to the intelligence of the people living there.

For each rank in tech, different technology is readily available:

• Rank 0: Pre-metallurgy. Stone and wood tools, simple structures.

• Rank 1: Pre-industrial. Human and animal-powered machines. Mills, mechanical and hand weapons.

• Rank 2: Industrial. Steam engines and basic electronics; lighting; firearms.

• Rank 3: Computational. Microprocessors, computer networks. Flying and orbital vehicles. Space stations.

• Rank 4: Basic interstellar. Fusion reactors, rotational gravity, artificial intelligence, suspended animation, autoprosthetics.

• Rank 5: Advanced Interstellar. Gate cores, artificial gravity, large energy weapons, antimatter reactors.

• Rank 6: High Commonwealth. Displacers, cloaking devices, personal shields.

Waypoint Stations #

A cluster will often contain worlds, or groups of worlds, not adjacent to any other worlds. These worlds are inaccessible using normal Gatespace travel. To bridge the gap, add a Waypoint Station in an empty hex. Draw a + sign in the center of the hex.

Waypoint Stations are interstellar rest stops placed by the Commonwealth during its peak, equipped with the necessary field tech to enable gate core operation in the absence of the natural gravity wells provided by stars.

Roll for a ship encounter as normal when arriving at a waypoint station. If an adjacent world is sufficiently powerful, use its Authority & Tech levels to determine an encounter. Otherwise, roll 1d6 when placing the waypoint station to find its effective Authority rank, essentially how well its security forces are holding up. Waypoint stations have no other stats, with a minimal station crew and no manufacturing ability.

Waypoint stations offer ship berthing and maintenance, and facilities for a basic lifestyle if a crew decides to spend a week in a station for some reason. Usually, ship crews arrive in the vicinity, allow the gate core to cycle, and continue towards their destination. Waypoint stations feature Tech Rank 5 medical facilities for emergencies.