In your games, how do you handle the process of Rogue Traders going to new star systems they've never seen before, and exploring star systems? How do you handle, mechanically, the process of actually surveying an entire system?

My own campaign, I basically told my players that they had a fairly basic starchart of Winterscale's Realm that they had bought, which has a number of star systems on it, all of which I generated beforehand. Once they arrive, usually they've got to spend a couple of weeks doing a system wide survey to really get an idea of what kind of planets and other astral bodies are in the system. Generally, I make it a 12-success Exploration challenge.

Thing is, I'm a bit dissatisfied with this method, it seems a bit slapdash to me, and I'd like to hear how other GMs handle exploration in their own games. Assuming they don't have a star chart to go off of, how do your PCs figure out which system to jump to? After all, I believe most stars don't have planets, and it could get extremely dull game-wise to travel through the warp again and again just to find nothing.

Assuming they find a system with something of interest, how do you handle system-wide exploration? The auspex surveys on starships don't seem to have the range necessary to just make a cursory scan from the edge of the system, after all. What about planetary surveys?

I skip over any time they spend exploring boring systems. When they come to an interesting system, the crew knows to observe as much of the system as they can with passive instruments so they quickly know about the size and location of all the planets and other large objects. They will quickly learn if any of them are emitting anything strongly (radio waves, radiation, etc.)

To learn about a planets atmosphere they only need to have the planet pass between them and one of stars in the system. So at worst, they will have to make one orbit.

http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2009/10/life-ingredients-exoplanet/ < We have the technology to analyse the atmosphere of a planet 150 light years away. Rogue Traders are going to want the best they can afford (and the people who know how to use it), which will be better.

After they get into orbit, they can start using the active sensors in the auger array.

It depends generally it's as follows:

0)Navigator makes a few rolls.

-Chart a course

-Warp transit

-Possibly get lost and repeat

1)Ship arrives in the system and the PCs make 3-6 sensor rolls. Reguardless of the results of the rolls they are given a map of the system and general details on the various planets, moons, and asteriod belts. If all the rolls are horrible I general rule the sensors are screwed up and they need to be taken off line and recalibarated. (At which point I may have the locals if any jump them.)

2)I randomly one or more of the sensor rolls as the roll for detecting any interesting non-obvious features. Up comming solar flares, ships sneaking about the system, space stations....

3)Now it's up to the players. They can leave or approach a planet or what not. The game proceeds from there.

PS- I'm not sure about your idea for this. It really doesn't seem very interesting. I personally find 1 good system is better than a dozen randomly generated systems. I'd take the systems you have now. Look at them. Find one that has promise. Write up background for it. What is it's history? What is the challenge for the PCs. Then just hand wave a few system explorations. "You explore a few system, and find little of interest." Then have them explore the developed system. Also it's good to have a backup in case they avoid the planned system.....

Dalnor Surloc said:

It's not quite a dozen, but I generally write a little background history for it, even if it's skeletal. This leaves room for it to be expanded on, and I can be fairly good at coming up with some improvised "hook" for a system on a moment's notice. One mining colony they recently found, was full of corpses, and they didn't really understand why until they discovered the colony's air purifier had been sabotaged with a weapons-grade hallucinogen. But no answers as to who did it or why.

The reason I do this is because these systems are there for their own endeavours, if they should decide to exploit it through mining or settlement or whatever. And then, every so often, my plan is to spring some kind of story arc I've written out on them, to keep things interesting.

Bilateralrope said:

That's actually really interesting, I didn't know we could do that. That definitely simplifies things immensly, so thanks!

Exploration is a great way to encourage skill uses, or make skill-heavy characters have a useful role, so, I would try and breakdown - as much as interestingly as possible the various tasks and start the rolling.

There are your basic skills that cover the initial arrival within a system, which could be combined or rolled individually:

Scholastic Lore: Astromancy (compositional elements and astro phenomia located within star systems, such as navigational hazards or sporadic emissions, etc)

Scrutiny (detection of anything trying to conceal itself from auspex, intentionally or otherwise)

Tech-Use (the use of the equipment)

Trade: Astrographer, Explorator (the interpretation of raw data into useful workable charts and obvious regions within a system that warrant more investigation.

Once you have your rough data, you have plenty of time to pick your likely route of solar system investigation using additional skills, that might prove useful after your initial survey:

Navigation Stellar (determining the best route to explore a system, based on initial survey, including hazards and obvious points of interest)

Common or Forbidden Lore, if applicable (initial survey reveals something unexpected, but someone with particular information might be able to add additional insight)

Inquiry or Interrogation (If a particular NPC is aware of something, but isn't being forthcoming or looking within a specific resource for more information)

Logic (more arbitrary, but could be used to help convince or determine an important but highly technical detail)

Pilot Space Craft (main vessel and perhaps smaller exploration/survey shuttles or cutters)

Psyniscience (detect daemons and psychic related details)

Trade Archaeologist, Cryptographer and Linguist (discovery of obvious ruins, degraded or encrypted signals, unusual languages or scripts)

A number of the rolls involved could be considered routine or in most situations not worth doing more than mentioning them, but under certain circumstances - it is nice to know where or how they could be used (such as navigational hazards that cause communication or auspex related issues, discovery of pirates, etc). And lots of the skills can be used multiple times at various ranges (initial auspex sweep, initial investigation, further detailed sweep as the vessels gets within the system, en route to first target, etc).

It's also feasible in my opinion, to send out some of the craft on-board your main vessel to perform more detailed sweeps of low risk points of interest to speed up the process (it's faster to send a small craft to a planet for a 3 month trip, then bringing the entire vessel). All of which, help to establish a process for the game master to have as many plausible, juicy hooks to start an adventure.

Of course, a Navigator has specialized skills and talents to really help in exploration of an unknown system (foreshadowing, tracks in the stars, and especially Void watcher) as well.

In order to capture a vast array of systems I expanded the GM's Star System Generation...

http://www.fantasyflightgames.com/edge_foros_discusion.asp?efid=160&efcid=3&efidt=281262

Our GM went further and used it to create entire star clusters - deeming each dot on the map a 'cluster' - eg. the Ntharis Cluster, the Grace Cluster, etc!! It's a BIG Galaxy!

You can pre-roll the system and then get players to roll their sensorium to see how much they pick up - or miss (the station is behind the star, etc).

You could also set stellar exploration up as a skill challenge. DnD 4e/Star Wars Saga edition essentially made this old gaming concept a written reality.

Salcor