TIPS ON CREATING A BETTER WORLD

Planet making ideas by Jonathan Hicks

Although I’d love to give some solid ideas on how to improve the quality of the world we live on, that’s not what this is about. This article aims to help the average sci-fi role-player to design and implement planets other than our own, to thrill and entertain the space faring PC’s zipping about the cosmos.

Simplicity is usually the key as far as some games go. For example, in the Star Wars universe a certain type of terrain, such as desert-worlds or ice-worlds, usually represents the planets, but they can be far more diverse than that.

To begin with, make a checklist of what you will have to address when designing a new world. I usually take the approach that I am travelling to a specific point on the planet’s surface from the outer edge of the solar system the world is within. This way you can deal with each point in turn. Bear in mind that I’m not a scientist, astronomer, a xenobiologist or any of those ‘spacey’ scientific disciplines– these points are the very basics. There will be ‘reality’ inconsistencies, here, but it’s what works for your game that counts.

Let’s say you’re on the exploratory vessel the U.S.S. ROLETIPS, and you’re flying to a destination planet from the edge of the system. As you go in you will encounter and learn of each of the details of the new discovery and, finally, the world in question.

a) How many planets are in the system?

b) What position is the world you are travelling to within the solar system?

c) How close are the planets together?

d) How many natural satellites does the planet have?

e) What is the layout of the planet’s surface?

f) What is on the planet’s surface?

g) What is the planet’s mass?

h) What is the atmosphere like?

i) What flora and fauna populates the planet?

j) What are the weather patterns and seasons like?

k) Are there any geological anomalies?

So, to address each point in turn:

a) How many planets are in the system?

As in our own solar system, several planets of varying size and atmosphere may exist circling the same sun. They may be airless planetoids, great misty gas giants, or they may even be habitable, like the world you are heading for. Take into account that moons are capable of retaining atmospheres and may have ecologies of their own. These could be encircling the larger barren worlds, or even the target world itself. There is also the chance of asteroids and comets – adventures in themselves – as many things can populate a solar system.

b) What position is the world you are travelling to within the solar system?

Is the target world the third planet from the sun? Is it the fifth? The closer to the sun, the warmer the world will be, the further the colder. Earth, as an example, exists within a ‘safe zone’, a distance from our own sun that has a heat and radiation level which is acceptable to the magnetic field of the earth and us, it’s denizens. This, in turn, enables life. Does the target world have the same conditions? If it’s too close to the sun then it may be a barren wasteland, or a desert/scrub world suitable for very little life. If it’s too far, it may be a cold and bleak, with great seas of ice populated by the merest plankton.

c) How close are the planets together?

Planets that share or are close together in orbit of a sun could have an effect on each other. As they pass, great gravitational forces push and pull, creating geological disturbances or abnormal weather patterns. Seasonal meteor showers could create a great adventure hook. At the very least it would make a great visual, as the PC’s walk across a new world they could have a great ringed planet hanging overhead, or two moons.

d) How many natural satellites does the planet have?

Does it have one moon? Two moons? Three? Or no moons at all? The moons themselves could be air and rocky like our own, or they could have some kind of atmosphere. They could even just be huge asteroids caught by the planet’s gravity well. They may have minerals and ores essential for the PC’s own organisation or world, which would make them very valuable and worthy of investigation.

e) What is the layout of the planet’s surface?

How are the continents, if any arranged? Does the world have huge landmasses, or is it a smattering of large islands? A map of the world is essential, or at least a map of the area the PC’s will be landing in. Also, the sea to land ratio must be ascertained. Our own world is covered in roughly 75% of water, so how much does the target planet have? And does it have ice caps?

f) What is on the planet’s surface?

Depending on the position of the world and how close it is to the sun, the planet will have varying types of surface. It could be barren and hot, or cold with a smattering of green at the equator. It could be mountainous or flat, or it may even be covered in active volcanoes. Also, are there any cities down there? If so, where are they and whose there? What are they capable of? The denizens may be at a medieval state, with feudal lords and simple sail/horse power. Or they may be interstellar explorers themselves, with great shipyards and orbital facilities.

g) What is the planet’s mass?

A planet’s mass and size will determine the gravity the PC’s will encounter on the surface. A large dense world will mean a heavier gravity – the PC’s may find it difficult to move about when they weigh four times as much as they do normally, and will their ship bear the strain? Remember that size does not dictate mass. A large world may not be very dense and therefore the PC’s can leap long distances and carry more than usual, where in contrast a small world may be so compact and dense that movement may be difficult.

h) What is the atmosphere like?

Put simply, can the PC’s breath it? Our own air is a mixture of nitrogen, oxygen and inert gases, but the atmosphere of another world may be different. It may be high in methane or hydrogen making it unpleasant, even fatal, when breathed normally. This will dictate whether the PC’s will have to travel about in spacesuits or facemasks, and how dangerous it would be if said suits and masks were damaged.

i) What flora and fauna populates the planet?

Is the planet covered in lush, green jungle? Or is it a sparse scrubland? Perhaps the trees go no higher than a man, or perhaps they tower into the heavens, hundreds of feet, with trunks dozens of feet wide. Taking existing locations of our own world and twisting them all out of proportion and colour works wonders to get across a feeling of alienism. Also, what animals are here? If the world is lush and green then perhaps the creatures are herbivores, hardly a threat, with great dinosaur-type animals roaming the land or small mammals snuffling in the bushes. But not all animals will be of no threat – where there are succulent, leaf eating creatures, there are usually predators, large and powerful or small and fast. In contrast, the world may be scrubland, so eking out a living may be difficult. Virtually the whole world may be predatory, living off each other, and visitors, for survival.

j) What are the weather patterns and seasons like?

On average, the Earth encircles the sun every 365 days, and takes roughly 24 hours to spin on it’s own axis once. During those 365 days, the Earth tilts on its axis, creating four distinct seasons; summer, autumn, winter and spring. The length of days and nights change, varying the temperature and therefore having varying effects on the weather. So why did I just tell you what you already know? Well, that’s an example. Your world might be vastly different. It may take decades to encircle the sun, resulting in winter or summer seasons that last for years. This, in turn, would seriously affect the weather. Long, arduous droughts, or continuous rainfall may cover the planet. The entire surface of the world may be one huge dust storm (like the ones that cover Mars sometimes), or tornadoes might pepper the landmasses.

k) Are there any geological anomalies?

Is the surface of the planet smooth, bumpy, or downright treacherous? As on our own world, a planet could have varying levels of landmass, but imagine if the world was covered in great fissures and volcanoes. The land would be mountainous, covered in cracks and earthquakes and noxious smoke. If you think of great places on our own world, such as the mountains of the Himalayas, the great plateaus of South America, or the strange rock formations in mid-west America, then you have an idea of what I’m talking about. The planet itself may be a great pattern of age-old impact craters – weird!

It may be a simple case of taking our own world and twisting it out of proportion – this gives the PC’s something to latch on to visually but then the visual is alien because it is different. Saying that, you’ll find that creating the whole solar system, with attention on the main planet to be used, will help define your setting and add a sense of realism to it. Anything else can be seen as a throwaway world, and you don’t want your players to see it that way.