General Is there a Sensor Scan table in the books someplace?

[Spinward Scout]

This is what I've come up with, but I don't want to reinvent the wheel, if you get what I mean.

Quick Sensor Scan Contacts (check)
Roll 1d6
1.) Stars and Planets
2.) No Reading (Empty Space)
3.) Fixed Technology (Orbiting Station, Hollowed Out Asteroid)
4.) No Reading (Empty Space)
5.) Moving Technology (Other Ships, Missies, Derelict Ship)
6.) Anomaly

Stars and Planets
Roll 1d6
1.) Massive Gravity and Heat Generating Mass (aka a Star)
2.) Giant Planetary Mass (Jupiter, Saturn... odd number on a 1d6 gives it a ring)
3.) Small Planetary Mass ( Earth, Venus, Mars, etc...)
4.) Dwarf Planetary Mass or Satellite (Pluto, The Moon)
5.) Rocky or Icy Ring or Belt (an Asteroid Belt or Oort Cloud)
6.) Rocky or Icy Individual Mass (Halley's Comet)

Anomaly
Roll 1d6
1.) Degenerate Matter Body (Neutron Star, Black Hole)
2.) Coronal Mass Ejection (Ion Sorm)
3.) Nebula (Dust Cloud)
4.) Dyson Sphere
5.) Rogue Planet
6.) Misidentified (Roll Again)

The Technology ones should be planned by the Referee maybe?

What should I add to it?

 

[Badenov]

I would expect a sensor scan to just give you the results of ye olde encounter table, when an encounter has been rolled and sensor skill and equipment is appropriate, and nothing, which space is quite full of, when no encouter is rolled or players fail the sensor roll. That's not to say that maybe modern astrophysics has some more interesting additions to the 1979 encounter table, so some reinvention may be justified.

 

[kilemall]

This looks like a wandering monster planet table.

Having a hard time picturing a surprise planet in any kind of system anyone has been to before. More like an initial scout exploring thing.

Derelict anything usually means loot/salvage potentially in millions of credit at least, I would tend to have those thought out.

I guess I would tend to think in terms of the CT animal encounters tables except for space encounters- brand new system, asteroid belt, gas giant, main starport per type, etc.


Probably a lot more satellites, comms relay boosters, etc. Space junk.

 

[bookwyrm]

This is from the Survey Skill in T20. A sensor check is done first with a survey check after to figure out the sensor data. Having the system already rolled up makes it easier to figure out what the incorrect information could/might be with any failed checks.

Stellar Data
System Data
Planetary Data
1. Physical UWP (size, atmosphere, hydrographics)
2. Atmospheric Survey (climate & temperatures)
3. Generate Map (of planetary surface)
4. Population/Societal Survey (population (if any), government, law level)
5. Technology Survey (star port, technology level)
6. Mineral Survey
7.Botanical Survey
8. Biological Survey

You could skip some of these depending on how deep/detailed a scan of the system & planets you want to do.

For the OP, that could be used to determine what might or might not be found in an empty hex or place something very unusual in a hex with a star system.

Hope this helps.

 

[coliver988]

T5 has a LOT of sensor rules. And tables...

but they actually make sense if you can get through it.

 

[Daidoji Dave]

There's a sixty entry Space Encounters chart in both Mongoose 1e and 2e core books. (The same chart, don't run out and buy both books.) Would save you some wheel-inventage.