My players want more space encounters, and I've already used "ship graveyard". I'm thinking space minefield could be fun, but it would be great to have some other cool space environments in which to set encounters.

The Maelstrom

Nebula

Tail of a giant comet

Rotted corpse of an enormous dead space slug

Space scaffolding for an old space station

Dyson sphere

Set of massive panel shaped stations that make up an orbital "farm."

Orbital Defense and interdiction system made up of orbital turrets, crash nets, and energy barriers.

37 minutes ago, Ghostofman said:

Nebula

Tail of a giant comet

Rotted corpse of an enormous dead space slug

Space scaffolding for an old space station

Dyson sphere

Set of massive panel shaped stations that make up an orbital "farm."

Orbital Defense and interdiction system made up of orbital turrets, crash nets, and energy barriers.

Nebula in SW will have to be high on the fantasy since IRL nebula have about 10,000 particles per cm3 (compared to about 100,000,000,000,000,000 particles per cm3 in Earth's atmosphere) so might be almost unnoticeable to ships capable of atmospheric flight once you're inside of it. Dust clouds are similar, and have been likened to a few motes of dust in a football stadium.

I'm not a fan of megastructures (like the Dyson sphere) in SW because they make focal points like the Death Star (and even the abominable Starkiller Base) look like child's toys.

The orbital farms sound awesome. I'm rebuilding a fantasy setting for my next SW game, and I will be incorporating that into the "farmland" surrounding the "town and keep" (an old space station).

Accretion disc/debris field around a gravity well.

Just a bunch of flotsam from over the last million years.

A school of flying space critters... coz it ain't SW without critters

16 hours ago, HappyDaze said:

I'm  not a fan of megastructures (like the Dyson sphere) in SW because they make focal  points like the Death Star (and even the abominable Starkiller Base) look like child's toys. 

Scale is a fair point. But you can still do it with modifiers. I mean, technically center point station is kinda the same thing, though surrounding a small... Whatever that is, instead of a full sized star.

16 hours ago, HappyDaze said:

The  orbital farms sound  awesome. I'm rebuilding a fantasy setting for my next SW game, and I will be incorporating that into the "farmland" surrounding the "town and keep" (an old space station  ). 

What got me thinking of that was actually Dunklezahns will from Shadowrun. The dragon left a wad of cash to the first company to grow an acre of wheat in low eath orbit.

Got thinking that once you figure it out, you could make whole arrays and sets of dozens of such space farms in proximity for logistical reasons. In a galaxy where entire planets are urbanized I could see agri-arrays like this as a logical solution to growing food in-system. You could even export biodegradable waste and.. *ahem* "nitrates" from the planet to the farms to help feed the plants.

Might even make a nice booby-prize in the proper campaign. Could see a player grabbing the first ship off planet and ending up on a honey wagon headed to the orbital farms...

You could always go with a Dyson Sphere like the one in Peter F. Hamilton's Commonwealth Saga. The Death Star and Star Killer Base are tiny in comparison and a spaceship would be require to find a way out.

Rotting corpse of a space creature... never considered that one.

Magnetic storms are always nautical and fun; Stormy weather and 'lightning' in space. And while we're thinking nautical, there's always those areas of space plagued by gravitational anomalies to navigate through, that are much like trying to navigate a shallow reef.

Keep trying to think of a way to have leaping flames in space, but short of a sun, or weird asteroids, drawing a blank at that one. You might have better luck though. =D

On 12/29/2018 at 7:13 PM, HappyDaze said:

Nebula in SW will have to be high on the fantasy since IRL nebula have about 10,000 particles per cm3 (compared to about 100,000,000,000,000,000 particles per cm3 in Earth's atmosphere) so might be almost unnoticeable to ships capable of atmospheric flight once you're inside of it. Dust clouds are similar, and have been likened to a few motes of dust in a football stadium.

Really? All the insane fantasy stuff already in star wars, and you're pulling the "well actually" card on the particle density of nebulae?

47 minutes ago, KungFuFerret said:

Really? All the insane fantasy stuff already in star wars, and you're pulling the "well actually" card on the particle density of nebulae?

Obviously. But perhaps you missed a few particles... 😜

One might have some fun in a stellar nursery or the remnants of a star's death.

Kuiper Belt Objects like Ultima/Thule are very likely navigational hazards. No telling when one of these icy rocks will wander into a space lane. In the outer rim, there just no way you could keep track of all of the "dust" out there.

I grabbed this picture from https://www.space.com/42878-ultima-thule-new-horizons-first-color-photo.html

And yeah, they JUST FOUND THIS snowman asteroid.

And since we are injecting science into this discussion (thank you HappyDaze) 99% of the stuff that your PC's would bump into are rock's like this. Okay not like Snowmen, but single rocks floating around a solar system.

And yes, this would be a great time to go prospecting.

And because of cool, I want to say "throw in a singularity" but because of "science" there's almost zero chance anyone accidentally stumbles on a singularity by accident.

Just now, Mark Caliber said:

Kuiper Belt Objects like Ultima/Thule are very likely navigational hazards. No telling when one of these icy rocks will wander into a space lane. In the outer rim, there just no way you could keep track of all of the "dust" out there.

I grabbed this picture from https://www.space.com/42878-ultima-thule-new-horizons-first-color-photo.html

And yeah, they JUST FOUND THIS snowman asteroid.

And since we are injecting science into this discussion (thank you HappyDaze) 99% of the stuff that your PC's would bump into are rock's like this. Okay not like Snowmen, but single rocks floating around a solar system.

And yes, this would be a great time to go prospecting.

And because of cool, I want to say "throw in a singularity" but because of "science" there's almost zero chance anyone accidentally stumbles on a singularity by accident.

If you put a magic hat on those objects, a new space monster is born that begins by broadcasting HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

What about hyperspace itself?

The newer movies almost give it a tunnel effect/feel. A clever GM could have some creative situations/combat in the middle of that

7 hours ago, Flavorabledeez said:

What about hyperspace itself?

The newer movies almost give it a tunnel effect/feel. A clever GM could have some creative situations/combat in the middle of that

No.

I have studied SW Hyperspace and once a ship is there, it can't interact with anything else, in or out of hyperspace. (Yeah, I know, Rogue One ignored all of the hyperspace conventions established to date). ALL OF THEM <self censored>.

But no.

In TRAVELLER, Jump Space is bizarre and a person could go mad coming face to face with . . . that undefined essence that is Jump Space, Just don't stare into the . . . void? Just keep telling yourself that they'res nothing in that something. And watch yourself if you have to do repairs on your ship while in Jump. Take a buddy with you and make sure you keep your eyes firmly fixed to the hull of the ship. Sure 'nothings' out there in Jump Space . . . right? Just don't look at it.

In the HONORVERSE, the biggest obstacle to hyperspace are the gravitational sheers, but thank goodness that gravitic sensors were developed. THAT's an environment where ships can engage and shoot at each other, but it's ludicrously difficult to pull of. You'd need to know exactly when, where, and how fast the defender is going in order to set up an intercept. (IIRC, the Peeps pull it off once).

But in Star Wars? Nope. Hyperspace is a very very quiet existence. Unless something goes terribly wrong on the ship. Like the poorly maintained reactor having its core control rod driver break and the auto emergency sequence slams the rods into the shutdown position, cutting all power to the ship. Flying through hyperspace on battery only power is not a pleasant place to be . . . But everyone is taking care of their ships. Right?

11 hours ago, Mark Caliber said:

No.

I have studied SW Hyperspace and once a ship is there, it can't interact with anything else, in or out of hyperspace. (Yeah, I know, Rogue One ignored all of the hyperspace conventions established to date).

Didn't Poe's Black Squadron have comms while they hung out in Hyperspace awaiting their signal to attack Starkiller Base? Speaking of ignoring conventions....

12 hours ago, Mark Caliber said:

No.

I have studied SW Hyperspace and once a ship is there, it can't interact with anything else, in or out of hyperspace. (Yeah, I know, Rogue One ignored all of the hyperspace conventions established to date). ALL OF THEM <self censored>.

But no.

In TRAVELLER, Jump Space is bizarre and a person could go mad coming face to face with . . . that undefined essence that is Jump Space, Just don't stare into the . . . void? Just keep telling yourself that they'res nothing in that something. And watch yourself if you have to do repairs on your ship while in Jump. Take a buddy with you and make sure you keep your eyes firmly fixed to the hull of the ship. Sure 'nothings' out there in Jump Space . . . right? Just don't look at it.

In the HONORVERSE, the biggest obstacle to hyperspace are the gravitational sheers, but thank goodness that gravitic sensors were developed. THAT's an environment where ships can engage and shoot at each other, but it's ludicrously difficult to pull of. You'd need to know exactly when, where, and how fast the defender is going in order to set up an intercept. (IIRC, the Peeps pull it off once).

But in Star Wars? Nope. Hyperspace is a very very quiet existence. Unless something goes terribly wrong on the ship. Like the poorly maintained reactor having its core control rod driver break and the auto emergency sequence slams the rods into the shutdown position, cutting all power to the ship. Flying through hyperspace on battery only power is not a pleasant place to be . . . But everyone is taking care of their ships. Right?

You’ve “studied it”? As if it’s scientific fact set in stone?

It’s fiction. Any writer of fiction worth their salt learns to introduce those engaging their fiction to the “rules” and then bends or breaks them in clever ways to challenge their characters (your Honorverse example is a representation of this).

Gm-ing a roleplaying game within a preconstructed universe is the same, you just have to do it in a manner that’s clever enough to engage your players so they won’t focus on the “rule” being broken but instead are excited about the prospect of being surprised with a new challenge.

Should’ve spent less time on the rules in fiction and more on WHY they’re being introduced in the first place.

Lace ‘em up and take a lap.

1 hour ago, themensch said:

Didn't Poe's Black Squadron have comms while they hung out in Hyperspace awaiting their signal to attack Starkiller Base? Speaking of ignoring conventions....

I will not speak of that movie nor the other one. My opinion on . . . them should be pretty clear. To quote Gollum "I hates them. I HATES them!"

48 minutes ago, Flavorabledeez said:

You’ve “studied it”? As if it’s scientific fact set in stone?

It’s fiction. Any writer of fiction worth their salt learns to introduce those engaging their fiction to the “rules” and then bends or breaks them in clever ways to challenge their characters (your Honorverse example is a representation of this).

Gm-ing a roleplaying game within a preconstructed universe is the same, you just have to do it in a manner that’s clever enough to engage your players so they won’t focus on the “rule” being broken but instead are excited about the prospect of being surprised with a new challenge.

Should’ve spent less time on the rules in fiction and more on WHY they’re being introduced in the first place.

Lace ‘em up and take a lap.

I've been actively playing this Star Wars RPG for two years and GM'ing for one year. I'm actually in the market for a new set of sneakers.

(And I've been involved with RPG's as a Player & GM for decades. You'll note that my posts are filled with examples of practical experiences, not theoretical discussion).

1 hour ago, Mark Caliber said:

I've been actively playing for two years and GM'ing for one year. I'm actually in the market for a new set of sneakers.

I’ve seen some of your other posts around here about your games. I want to preface this with “to each their own,” because if everyone is having fun then that’s great, cause that’s the entire point of any game.

But your stuff sounds far too rigid and unyielding for my (and my players’) tastes in roleplaying. It’s almost as if you see it more as a board game than flexible storytelling of any kind.

There’s no way that would work with my group or (I’m willing to bet) many others on here.

Staying entirely rigid in roleplaying games seems antithetical to the concept. Maybe with more experience you’ll find that out.

4 hours ago, Flavorabledeez said:

I’ve seen some of your other posts around here about your games. I want to preface this with “to each their own,” because if everyone is having fun then that’s great, cause that’s the entire point of any game.

But your stuff sounds far too rigid and unyielding for my (and my players’) tastes in roleplaying. It’s almost as if you see it more as a board game than flexible storytelling of any kind.

There’s no way that would work with my group or (I’m willing to bet) many others on here.

Staying entirely rigid in roleplaying games seems antithetical to the concept. Maybe with more experience you’ll find that out.

Nothing wrong with being rigid about how setting elements (hyperspace, time, gravity, erc.) do/do not work within your game setting. Save the flexibility for reacting to player actions within the bounds of that setting.

As for the rest of your post, appealing to the masses shows you have a weak argument, and following it up with a personal jab at someone goes even further at undermining your credibility.

58 minutes ago, HappyDaze said:

Nothing wrong with being rigid about how setting elements (hyperspace, time, gravity, erc.) do/do not work within your game setting. Save the flexibility for reacting to player actions within the bounds of that setting.

As for the rest of your post, appealing to the masses shows you have a weak argument, and following it up with a personal jab at someone goes even further at undermining your credibility.

That wasn’t a jab, just a response to what could’ve been perceived as a lack of experienced based on a (now edited) response.

Let’s keep in mind said response was a result of someone essentially saying “your way of fiction and fun is wrong,” because there’s an inspiration for positive reaction.

7 hours ago, Mark Caliber said:

I will not speak of that movie nor the other one. My opinion on . . . them should be pretty clear. To quote Gollum "I hates them. I HATES them!"

Let me know when you're the new Pablo 😄

On 1/4/2019 at 9:31 PM, Flavorabledeez said:

What about hyperspace itself?

The newer movies almost give it a tunnel effect/feel. A clever GM could have some creative situations/combat in the middle of that

Clever GM does not use the new hyperspace rules.