Beyond the Moons stuff to take over to Compendium?

Howdy all,

First off, I took a look at the new Compendium site and IMO it looks great.
:)  I was delighted to see that it now includes a Chronicles and Tales
section, and that my own novel appears there.  That’s very cool to see added
and I’d love to see all the other fiction that’s on Beyond the Moons appear
there as well.  :)

Well, I’ve heard it bandied about that we’d be afforded the opportunity to
cull the Beyond the Moons site for stuff that’s instantly usable and good
enough to be labeled official and put on Compendium.  Still not certain
whether there’s any official countenance for this, but what the heck, here’s
a bit of my dream list of things to take over to Compendium, starting with
crystal spheres.  This is also my chance to review and provide feedback to
the authors of all this great stuff (I didn't realize how much good stuff
there was until I started scouring the site)

A word about how I think they should appear (and this is just a wishlist, so
this may not be possible)  It would be great if there was a map showing all
the spheres of known space, inclusive of everything out there, with plenty
of ‘blank’ and ‘unnamed’ spheres scattered throughout so that as more fans
come up with future spheres, they’ll have a place to put them that'll fit
well.  The Big Three she probably be somewhere on the outskirts, away from
the center of most spelljamming action.  I’d have Flit do the map, because
so far his map of the spheres is the most impressive I’ve seen, what with
being able to click on the sphere and immediately jumping to a description
though Tilaurin's comes damn close and has that same feature, and perhaps
Noah Bonebrake does the best interior sphere maps.  One thing that the map
should make clear is the Flow Rivers - which way they flow, and how many
days journey it is between spheres.  This would be a good section to add to
all sphere descriptions as well, under the heading ‘flow rivers’ detailing
the routes to and from the nearest neighbor spheres.  Which would lead
naturally to an understanding of intersphere trade…

One more thing about how I think things should be linked for maximum
usability.  I think each item should be considered in the light of ‘how does
this relate to everything else on the site’ and then linked to the other
items on Compendium which might have something to do with it.  For example,
if there’s an NPC who happens to be a General of Scro forces stationed on
Gamero Base in Moragspace then we should be able to find links to him under
the NPC section, as well as in the Gamero Base description, as well as in
the sphere description of Moragspace, as well as under the general ‘power
groups’ section of the Scro (assuming that there is such a section detailing
the powergroups like Scro, IEN, vodoni, illithids, etc, and I think there
should be)

Okay, the spheres and my votes:

The Big Three.  Well, of course this is a natural, and must appear in some
form or other.  In my opinion, the general rule of thumb should be ‘if it’s
a sphere that tsr published in any official product, it should be open to
anyone to add to it, as long as the Council deems the work good enough to be
considered official’  whereas ‘if it’s a sphere that a fan completely
created and published online, then said creator has full rights to
expand/develop it, although of course he can throw it open to others to
expand upon as well’   But of course the Big Three should be open to anyone
to expand.  I’ll go into specifics.

Greyspace -  Not too much appears here, but everything that does is first
rate.  The missionaries of Celestian, the dragon raider, the wyvern, and the
Grey Feather ships, and of course Pearball as part of the Grinder.  But
there is a great deal more that could be detailed in this sphere.

Krynnspace – Nothing at all really appears here, but it obviously should
appear on Compendium, so there’s a great deal to flesh out, especially now
that the setting has gone to Fifth Age.  One thing that all these spheres
should have is a good ‘sphere overview’ section that at least refers web
readers to official products detailing more

Realmspace – I doubt anyone would argue that Paul Westermeyer is anything
other than a treasure.  His treating and updating of Realmspace is nothing
less than excellent, and the whole of it should be included on Compendium
and ‘made official’ (so to speak)  Kudos to Noah Bonebrake’s maps of this
and greyspace.

The Maelstrom – Here comes Adam, and watch out!  :)  Always a favorite of
mine, I can’t think of anything he’s written or detailed that wasn’t at
least as good as the official product lines.  The Maelstrom gives at least
brief descriptions of seven spheres, though only three are really detailed.
But those three are richly detailed, Banesun, Twilitespace, and Tyrspace.
Any dm could adventure endlessly in Twilitespace alone, so much material is
there for him to start with.  I think of course that the Maelstrom in its
entirety should be put on compendium, the other crystal spheres to be
detailed and fleshed out later (ideally by Adam, since it is his baby, but
if he wants to give permission to others to fill in the blanks, that would
be his right as well)

The Vodoni Empire – Like the Big three, these spheres are all the creation
of official products, so they should be open to expansion by anyone that
wants to take a crack at it.  The vast majority of spheres are left
undetailed, but they of course should be included on Compendium for further
detailing.  Tim Goff has done an admirable job in detailing Golotspace,
Lostspace, and Passarspace.  I really like what he’s done with all three,
Golotspace (slowly acquiring the name Dragonspace) foremost.  He wrote it so
that the spheres could be played as having been invaded/conquered by the
vodoni and also included provisions if the dm wants to play it as if the
vodoni never existed (swapping their role with the scro)  I think that per
‘under the dark fist’ the vodoni should stand as the official conquerors
(though a nice update might include one or more of the spheres of the vodoni
empire having been invaded by scro and some nice battles might occur between
them and the vodoni).  That aside, these are also very nicely done and
should be included as official spheres.

Astromundi Cluster – Obviously this is another ‘official’ sphere.  I’ve
never cared that much for it, but the expansions on BTM are definitely up to
par and should be included.

Bralspace – I love Bralspace, it’s richly detailed and very well done.
Another triumph of Paul’s IMO.  I do wonder whether this sphere should be
open to expansion to everyone or not though; I think it’s Paul’s baby.
Though of course Bral itself should be open to others, but there isn’t much
expanding to there anyway.

Cloudspace – Not too much here, but what there is is good.  Should
definitely be included

Grommspace – Another good Paul creation.  Put it in, ‘nuff said.  :)

Omnispace/Solaris – Lots of expanding that could be done for each, but for
fans the Eternal Wanderer series they should be a familiar sight.

Splatterspace – I think this one is a particularly clever idea.

Tauruspace – Well done, well detailed, Paul Westermeyer.  Need I say more?

Terraspace – I’m not faulting the work on this one, I just think the idea is
more a novelty than something that most SJ campaigns would find an asset.  I
wouldn’t make it official, or if it is made official, make it very far away
from Known Space.

Webspace – Obviously from its nature this would be an ‘open’ sphere to
everyone.  I like most of the work in it, though there is a great deal to
expand upon here.

Witchlight – This may be my favorite sphere in terms of atmosphere.  Didn’t
Noah also have a short story to go along with this sphere once?  I seem to
remember someone detailing the origins of the witchlight marauder, and I
also remember it was one excellent story.  Wait… after all this time, I’ve
finally found it, posted right there in the rest of the sphere description!
Hurrah!  :)  There should probably be a link to it from the Chronicles and
Tales section as well though

Now, for the spheres that are linked from BTM.  Well, they vary dramatically
in usefulness, and maybe it’s just that I’m so accustomed the the way
spheres are organized on BTM but for me some of them are hard to navigate
and I’d prefer to see a workup of them in the same organization as the BTM
standards.  That said there are some very good ones.  Hyrkulspace stands out
(no secret I’m a fan of Noah’s) as does Agraspace (Tilaurin has done some
great things with it, and also I like his mapping of the spheres).  And
Magincia is a richly detailed campaign world, complete with a summary of the
sphere for Spelljammer and a listing of portals for Planescape.  The link
jumps to the campaign world itself, which is the focus, and you have to
scroll down the page to get to the Spelljammer-specific sphere stuff, so I
think perhaps if it’s to be linked to it should be the other way around – go
to the SJ part first, but that’s a small quibble.  A’lantaenspace was
difficult for me to navigate and find anything, and Stormspace looks great
on the link page, but again I can’t seem to find anything when I try to
navigate the site it’s on.  Nilespace appears to be a dead link.  At least
my browser can’t bring anything up on it.

Moving to other places of interest:

Adramis – I like this waterworld, it’s well done.  Maybe it could be placed
in Webspace, as one of the undetailed planets.

Al’malamut – This is a pretty well thought out concept, but obviously it’s
not just a random place that can be put anywhere.  It needs its own sphere,
and alludes to at least four other spheres that neighbor it.  Probably
should be put on the edge of illithid-controlled space as it alludes to
interactions with that empire.

Argentum – I like the concept and the look of it, but it needs more detail.
Also I’m not certain how well it fits in Realsmpace, which is where it’s
set.  If it’s decided to put it there, there should also be a link from the
Realmspace sphere to this station.

Sample Asteroid Empire – Simply put, the name has got to go.  This is an
excellent work and set in the Grinder in Greyspace, (and should be included
with that sphere IMO) but it can’t have a name like that.

Erenia – Well done base, and it should definitely be included.  Maybe it can
be placed in a specific sphere, but it definitely should have a link to it
from the Imperial Elven Navy as it is a training base of theirs.

Farming Asteroid – this is really just a jpeg, not a description of a place.
  It’s a good picture but shouldn’t be included under this section

Flim Flam – Interesting concept that could use more fleshing out.

Gamero Base -  Oh yeah, Adam’s work is excellent as always.  This should
definitely be included.  Also it should probably be linked to from
Moragspace (assuming that sphere is detailed)

Gray Fang – I like the concept and work on this one.  Maybe it should be in
or near Vodoni controlled space, as if was once a base of theirs.  Now it’s
neogi-owned, and should be linked to that empire as well

Hethla – Good stuff

High Temple of the Sun – Took 2nd place in the unique space base contest,
certainly deserves to be included, and maybe a suitable sphere should be
found for it to be in, to make it even more official

Ildirs – A well thought out flatworld.  Include it, maybe find a home sphere
for it.

Leasanar -  I like this former dwarf now drow stronghold very much, plus it
also took 3rd place in the space base contest, that alone should mean it
would be included.  I also think with a little thought it could be placed in
an official sphere.

Lharn – An excellent planet, both in shape and form.  I like the idea of
evil elves and good drow/goblinkin.  It should be included.

Lionheart – There’s probably no need for me to say it, but I still think
this is the most impressive accessory I’ve ever seen.  Of course, I’m a bit
biased, I wrote a story about it after reading it the first time.  IMO it
should definitely be included, and linked to the Imperial Elven Navy, as it
is their foremost base.

Miraburg – 1st place in the space base contest was this entry, and it is
excellent.  It is suggested by the author that it should be set in the
Grinder or some asteroid belt similar to it, I say go ahead and put it in
Greyspace as the author suggests and link to it from there as well as being
in the unique places section.  This of course is a no brainer to include.

Nikarrochezzit – This one is not merely a base but really it orbits a unique
planet as well, and it alludes to perhaps needing its own sphere.  Still
it’s very well done and should be included.

Shackle – I liked the name of this one particularly, and the concept of a
chainman base stationed in the phlogiston is really cool.  I think it should
be included.

Thunderhead – This former dwarf stronghold now orc base is pretty well
thought out.  Maybe it could be placed in one of the orc/scro dominated
spheres.

Treladine Outpost – Er, I don’t like crossovers or approximations to sci-fi
worlds myself (like star trek deep space nine, which is what this is modeled
on)  They’re a nice novelty and some dm’s might want to incorporate them,
but I think if they should officially exist it should be far from known
space.

Twins of Tempest – this is more an astronomical feature than anything else.
It’s a very cool effect, two gas giants orbiting each other with a lightning
storm blazing between, but it isn’t really a space base.  Should be put in a
sphere somewhere (webspace?)

Valendoar – This planet is a good concept but could use more fleshing out
and perhaps a formal placement in a sphere somewhere.  I liked the tie-ins
to the EIN and it should be linked to the EIN

Wayports – These farming islands can be placed pretty much anywhere.  Their
description is pretty general.

Wolfhaven – Cool name, needs a bit more fleshing out, and it’s set in a
sphere called Seaspace.  Could use more info on the sphere as well.

Xenix – I liked Xenix a lot, it’s a good writeup of a planet and the
elevator is pretty cool too.  I think it should be included.

Whew, that’s just a tiny fragment of what there is to harvest from BTM and
make official!  But this post has gone on long enough, so I’ll close

- Sebastian



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