Jeff M. Hopper
SOC-14 1K
I like the playability of having the star maps be 2D, but I find it to be restrictive to my campaigns (primarily because I like players to make their mischief in out-of-the-way places). So, IMTU, I have instituted the use of Provinces. A province is a subsector or sector that is located either above or below the plane of the ecliptic for adventures to occur. In order to keep it as only a minor stray from canon, all provinces have several restrictions placed upon them.
A province may only have a rift density (12+ on 2d6, like in CT), all stars are type M, all starports are classified as type C or less, world size is found by rolling 1d6-3, and world population is 1d6-3 or 1d4-1. This results in a group of usually unihabitable to marginally habitable worlds that tend to be trade classifications of Poor, Non-Industrial, Vaccuum, and Asteroid Belt. I also use the old Jump Route table from first edition CT. Calibration points are allowed, placed as the referee desires (usually with the UWP of E000000-0 since it is on a cometary type body). Allegiance is also as the referee desires, but is usually that of the territory which the province is near with a scattering of client states and non-aligned worlds. Now care also has to be taken when comparing a province to the OTU map, because there can be sudden jump routes created across small rifts that would get used and would disrupt the background of the "parent" subsector - in a case where this happens, the "parent" subsector astrography is always preserved. Provinces may be entirely unknown to the rest of the universe or an accepted part of the territory, usually this is decided on a case-by-case basis (it makes a great hook for players when they find a star map for a region that is off the Known Space map).
So far, I've found that this lends itself extraordinarily well to player groups of 1-4 people and is well-suited to those that only have T20 Lite as a rules set.
If readers of this like the idea of Provinces and use it in their games, would they mind sending me some feedback on the results? That would allow me a broader information base to refine my own ideas. Thanks.
A province may only have a rift density (12+ on 2d6, like in CT), all stars are type M, all starports are classified as type C or less, world size is found by rolling 1d6-3, and world population is 1d6-3 or 1d4-1. This results in a group of usually unihabitable to marginally habitable worlds that tend to be trade classifications of Poor, Non-Industrial, Vaccuum, and Asteroid Belt. I also use the old Jump Route table from first edition CT. Calibration points are allowed, placed as the referee desires (usually with the UWP of E000000-0 since it is on a cometary type body). Allegiance is also as the referee desires, but is usually that of the territory which the province is near with a scattering of client states and non-aligned worlds. Now care also has to be taken when comparing a province to the OTU map, because there can be sudden jump routes created across small rifts that would get used and would disrupt the background of the "parent" subsector - in a case where this happens, the "parent" subsector astrography is always preserved. Provinces may be entirely unknown to the rest of the universe or an accepted part of the territory, usually this is decided on a case-by-case basis (it makes a great hook for players when they find a star map for a region that is off the Known Space map).
So far, I've found that this lends itself extraordinarily well to player groups of 1-4 people and is well-suited to those that only have T20 Lite as a rules set.
If readers of this like the idea of Provinces and use it in their games, would they mind sending me some feedback on the results? That would allow me a broader information base to refine my own ideas. Thanks.
