Category: The Frontiers of Space

Wormholes, black holes, rifts in the space time continuum…..all of these things are the source of great entertainment in science fiction stories. Some of the possibilities include the following which come from Star Trek and other science fiction stories:

• The Void – A place devoid of all matter and energy
• Cosmic Strings – Cosmic strings are hypothetical 1-dimensional topological defects which may have formed during a symmetry-breaking phase transition in the early universe when the topology of the vacuum manifold associated to this symmetry breaking was not simply connected
• Black Holes
• Wormholes
• Chaotic Space – A part of the galaxy where the normal laws of physics do not apply. These parts of galaxy appear suddenly and randomly
• Dark matter nebulaes
• Rifts in the space time continuum
• Alternative universes

Ultimately this type of thing can include just about anything that the game master wants to include in space. It gives a more hard science fiction edge to the campaign as the players meet hazards and obstacles in space which are unexplored or perhaps even unknown.

Exploration is one of the key elements of science fiction stories. Going new places and exploring new things is enough to keep the interest of even the most difficult of players. The possibilities for spatial anomalies are increasing daily as scientists and astronomers find new objects in space and create new theories about them.

Aliens are part and parcel to the futuristic science fiction story. Virtually every science fiction series involves aliens at some point in the story line. And why not? Audiences eat that stuff up!

The very essence of the Star Trek series was exploring new worlds and meeting new civilizations never met before. Meeting new alien races is the ultimate goal of space exploration in that series.

Aliens are not always friendly in science fiction. Even in Star Trek some alien species were bad guys. Sometimes they were very bad guys. The Klingons and the Romulans were war like races. The Tholians just wanted their space left alone. So did the Gorn. And some alien races just considered the humans aboard the Enterprise to be play things to toy with. They were not serious beings because they were too primitive to worry much about.

But some aliens were friendly. Some wanted to meet new races like the humans. Others wanted sources of trade and wealth that meeting new races might bring. Some were just curious. The important thing to remember is that each alien race was different and had their own different motivation for how they reacted to the human visitors.

Aliens come from somewhere. But where? Alien worlds of course! Where there is an alien there must be a home world right? This creates new places to explore. And of course…where there are aliens there must be alien space craft too right? Or perhaps the aliens are primitive and have not yet achieved space travel. Imagine what such a race would trade for the ability to jump travel! They would probably give away the farm.

Where alien races come alien diseases might also come! Meeting aliens is not all what it is cracked up to be.

And what about communication? The first time an alien race is met neither knows the other’s language! Actions might be misunderstood. Remember in the Babylon 5 TV series? The Minbari meet the Humans for the first time. The humans open their gun ports in a show of respect and the Minbari take this as a provocation which leads to the near extinction of the human race. One better tread lightly when meeting a new species for the first time!

Where aliens come so do new animal species that are indigenous on their worlds. Every world has it’s own animals and alien worlds would definitely have alien pets and farm animals and other interesting things. In one episode of the original Star Trek fun is made of Mr. Spock having a teddy bear pet by McCoy. Spock replies that his teddy bear had six inch fangs or something along those lines.

A great deal of thought should be put into development of new aliens for your Traveller and Cepheus Engine campaigns. Aliens should have back stories, home worlds, animals and technology far different than those of the humans in your campaign. This is what makes them so interesting.

Black holes have been known about for quite some time. A number of sci fi movies and television shows have discussed them. But in terms of a science fiction game what do they provide the game master?

Black holes would be discovered from time to time. They are potentially a hazard to both travel and inhabited worlds that might get sucked into them. In one original Star Trek episode the Enterprise comes too close to an unknown black hole (or perhaps a micro black hole) and the gravitational pull sends them back in time.

But what if a black hole could be explored? What would one find inside of one? A new world or universe? Perhaps travel back in time? Perhaps lost space ships and worlds that were pulled into the black hole.

Scientist patrons would naturally be curious about black holes in their backyard. They might hire adventurers and explorers to go visit them. Perhaps they would develop space ships capable of visiting and returning from them. Certainly they would want to send probes into them. How close can one get to a black hole and still escape the gravitational pull of one?

Malevolent entities might want to create black holes to cause havoc among enemies in their sector. Pirates might want to see ships become stranded in the pull of a black hole. Perhaps they might have the technology to visit and salvage ships lost in one and want to see others get stranded.

Science fiction stories often include discussions of wormholes. But what exactly is a wormhole anyway? One possible definition comes from Wikipedia:

A wormhole is a hypothetical structure connecting disparate points in spacetime, and is based on a special solution of the Einstein field equations. A wormhole can be visualized as a tunnel with two ends at separate points in spacetime.

Wormholes are shortcuts in spacetime, popular with science fiction authors and movie directors. They’ve never been seen, but according to Einstein’s general theory of relativity, they might exist.

In terms of a Cepheus Engine or Traveller game they have some interesting uses. Anything that allows travel across galaxies and universes at speeds faster than jump technology would allow creates fantastic possibilities. One could find a new sector to explore which might be on the far side of the universe. This sector might only be temporarily available as the wormhole could collapse at any time. New worlds, new aliens and new life forms might be discovered during the interim.

Perhaps a wormhole could even take one back in time. Even more fantastic….perhaps it could take one into the future as well. Who knows?

Keep in mind….a Wormhole might be a two way street. Who might be coming from the other side to visit your sector? Explorers, raiders or someone else?

Many of the inspirations for my Cepheus Engine adventures are old episodes of the original Star Trek series. Kirk, Spock and McCoy led many interesting adventures to strange new worlds and places. But one recurring theme in the show was time travel.

The show demonstrated a number of possible ways that one might go back in time. These included:

• Alien artifacts
• Getting too close to the sun’s gravitational force
• Getting too close to a black hole’s gravitational force
• Planets which adopted Roman and Nazi forms of government
• Strange machines in libraries on a planet about to go nova which could send one back into history to escape the devastation
• A time traveler who fought with a duplicate of himself causing havoc in the space time continuum.

If the show had gone on for a fourth season I am fairly confident that they would have come up with even more methods. One thing that they neglected, however, was the possibility of going into the future rather than into the past.

With time travel your players could visit historic times in the distant and not so distant past. Think of the possibilities? Some that come to my mind while writing this article include:

• Prehistoric times visiting the dinosaurs
• Prehistoric times visiting the neanderthals
• Visiting the ancient Romans or Greeks
• Visiting Occupied Europe during the second world war
• Arriving at pearl harbor just before the attack (the Final Countdown Movie)
• Finding oneself on the front lines in the trenches of World War One
• Going into the future (and considering that we are playing a futuristic sci fi game that might take some serious imagination)

There are all kinds of things one could do and all kinds of directions that one could go. One could even go into alternative histories. What if?

• What if the Nazis had won?
• What if the Japanese Empire had?
• What if the Germans had won in the previous war to end all wars?
• What if the Roman Empire never fell?

There are many other what ifs that you could probably think of that I have not included here. Those possibilities are endless too.

Those of you who are reading my Cepheus Engine adventures set in the Sonora sector can probably see that I am slowly beginning to expand space outward into the nearby unexplored sector. New worlds are being found. New aliens are being met. And new life forms and hazards are being discovered.

Missions venturing into the next sector have become available. Mapping excursions, rescue missions and other such things have led travelers into the nearby sector. What dangers might be found there? Will the travelers be welcome there or will they be considered trespassers by the locals? Will aliens be friendly or will they be hostile?

Having a nearby unexplored sector gives the game master a world of opportunities. All sorts of missions might take place there and since it is not yet explored it is not yet mapped. The travelers have little or no idea at all of what they might find there. This creates a Star Trek type of setting where new worlds are always just around the corner.

Cepheus Engine and Traveller both have the same underlying themes. Players are involved in various aspects of living and working in a futuristic space adventure. Characters have a pretty open universe to visit. They have a large sandbox to play in. The players can do pretty much whatever they want to do in it. They can take jobs in order to make money. They can commit crimes or acts of piracy. They can explore or meet new alien races. The sky is the limit.

Exploration is but one possible theme for adventure. Exploration could involve mapping massive expanses of space. Or it could involve visiting new unexplored worlds. These worlds may be hostile in more ways than one. Is it a vacuum world? Does it have the same gravity as humans are used to? Does it have an atmosphere? Is it breathable air or poisonous to humans? Do aliens live there? Do humans? Even the plant life could be dangerous.

Moons, planets, asteroids, comets and even derelict space ships or space stations could be objects of an exploration mission.

Not every adventure has to be about combat. Exploring new territory is a fine way to spend an evening at the gaming table. Wondrous things might be found on such a world. Ancient alien civilizations might be found. Relics and artifacts from dead alien races might provide interest. Animal and plant life on such a world can be the object of exploration. Strange and valuable geological finds might create interest. Clues to the origins of humanity itself might even be found!

Over the last few years I have been writing far more Cepheus Engine adventures than OSRIC or 5E ones. This has been for a variety of reasons. While writing these adventures I have found a few very useful web sites which I visit constantly during the writing process. Some of these sites make the work far easier than it otherwise would be.

• Maps – This web site has a ton of them. Most are fantasy related but some are sci fi or could easily be used in a sci fi adventure. Best of all? They are free! And some even come with a license to use them in commercial work.
• Fantasy Names – Need a name for that alien race, alien world or that alien guy holding the laser pistol? Get it here.
• Character Generator – Need stats for a guard, NPC or other person for your adventure?
• Cepheus Engine SRD – Need the rules? They are free here.
• Cepheus Journal – Want a free magazine that publishes great Cepheus Engine Material?
• Dragon Articles – Articles about the Traveller RPG were occasionally offered in the old Dragon Magazine. This is a great index for finding them.
• Sector Generator – This site has a fine sector generator and other generators useful for Traveller
• Sector Generator Specifically for Cepheus Engine – This site has one that uses the Cepheus Engine Rules to generate a sub-sector
• Animal Generator – This one is not perfect but it was about the best I have found so far.

In the near future I have many products planned for Cepheus Engine. Some of these products include:

• Ships of the Sonora Sector
• Combat Ships of the Sonora Sector
• More Animals of the Sonora Sector
• Plants and other Life Forms of the Sonora Sector
• Many more one shot adventures
• War between the major powers of the Sonora Sector

I plan to release many of these in the coming months. Titles may change but that is the gist of what I have planned.