Re: Moving Towards a Larger Universe: Trade (Part One)

----- Original Message -----
From: Leroy Van Camp III <malacoda@??????.net>

> 1. The "official" worlds of Krynn, Toril and Oerth are in spheres
> off of the common trade routes. Instead of taking a center stage
> role, they are instead relegated to the edges of spacefaring society.
>
> 2. Worlds such as Toril and Oerth, with their vast coverage of
> civilizations and population are relatively rare. That's not to say
> that there aren't worlds that have sizable civilizations or larger
> populations don't exist, they are just don't blanket the planet to
> the degree that Toril's countries do.
>
> 3. Few worlds have the range of resources found on worlds such as
> Toril or Krynn. These worlds are entirely self sufficient. They
> have no need to import the necessities, such as lumber, metal or food.
> Most worlds, though, have far fewer resources. Many such worlds
> have _more_ of what resources they do have, though.

    Your points mirror many of my own.  Most of the players I have dealt
with were used to games like Star Wars and Traveller, sp they were used to
jumping around.  I decided to go for a larger SJ universe because of this
and the fact that I wanted to stay away from the established worlds (Krynn,
Oerth, and Toril) to avoid mixing campaigns.
    I assume that most spheres will not have many worlds and at most one of
these will be similar to earth in size and geography (as well as resources).
Many of these earth-type worlds have small settlements if they are in a
frontier area.
    Most spheres will be limited in resources for various reasons.  For
example, the sphere of Hissaroth contains a couple of small worlds riddled
with old mine shafts.  They were apparently mined out long ago.  The only
viable world does not have any metal resources.  It must export agricultural
products (the spirits are the most popular) to other spheres in exchange for
metal goods.
    In addition, not all spheres are on flows.  Some are isolated in the
depths of the Phlo while others are just off a flow.  Jammers either are
unaware of these spheres or do not want to take the extra travel time
necessary to reach them.  Some of these spheres are "lost," others are known
by old navigation charts, some have beacons in the Phlo that point the way,
and some are found by using a Sphere Locator.

    Here are some related brief points from my SJ universe.  These describe
the rationale for differences in the amount of SJ activity and knowledge.
The Phlo is old and has been traveled for millenia by various races.  Most
of these races are long gone, but some remain.  Most of these elder races
(known as Old Ones or the Ancients) have access to great knowledge and are
more powerful than the lesser races.  These Old Ones include the Arcane,
Reigar, and the Onigri (Ogre Magi).
    The universe can be divided into four general areas.  The first is the
area that the Old Ones come from.  Here the phlogiston is very thin and
light in color.  Spheres tend to have dark, unwholesome shells.  Some
spheres are sealed altogether.  Others contain dead worlds and burnt out
suns.  There are even areas of the Phlo with severe disturbances and dead
zones where spheres once existed but have disappeared.  In addition to the
Old Ones, various creatures (such as the clockwork horror) occasionally
emerge from these areas.
    The second zone is the most populous and has a great deal of
spelljamming.  These were the periphery spheres of the Old Ones' empires and
are now populated by the liberated lesser races (humans, elves, dwarves,
goblins, etc.).  These areas have the best jamming tech.
    The third area is a sparsely populated zone that has been expanded into
in the last few millenia.  Some of these spheres contain great colony worlds
(such as Krynn, Toril, and Oerth).  Consider these spheres as a Wild West
type frontier.
    The final area consists of unexplored zones.

John McCloud
jmccloud@????????.???.net