Nomad Planets

[Tom Kalbfus]

Nomad Planets may be 100,000 times more numerous in the galaxy than stars. According to Wikipedia there are 56 star systems within a radius of 16.265 light years of Sol. If we assume there are 100,000 times as many nomad planets as star systems, we get 5,600,000 worlds within that same volume of space. Projecting backwards, there would probably be 700,000 worlds within a 8 light year radius of Earth, 87,500 worlds within a 4 light year radius, 10,938 within a 2 light year radius, 1367 worlds within a 1 light year radius, 684 worlds within a half light year radius, 85 worlds within a quarter light year radius (90 light days), and 11 worlds within 45 light days. Now to establish some probabilities based on the prevalence of planets in our own solar system.
Percental dice rolls
d%
01 to 20 = Large Gas Giant Example Jupiter, Saturn
21 to 40 = Small Gas Giant Example Uranus, Neptune
41 to 80 = Standard Planet Roll 2d6 for size. Example Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars
81 to 90 = Dwarf Planet (Size 1)
91 to 00 = Dwarf Planet (Size S)
Using the d6s we have this table for planet size.

For Longitude we have this table

To find elevation or azimuth we have this table.

To get radius we do this
1d6
1 = 0
2 = 6
3 = 12
4 = 18
5 = 24
6 = 30
then add 1d6 to that number and that is your radius in light days.

 

[Rikki Tikki Traveller]

I'm not sure you can use the general statement as an overall density for local space.

Also, just because there is a planet, doesn't mean you can FIND them. Their temperatures are likely to be at or near ambient background so they will be almost impossible to detect at anything other than standard sensor range (say 100,000 km) - if you do the math there, it is almost infinitismally small chance of finding.

 

[-Daniel-]

I like the idea of a Nomad Planet as part of a particular adventure but I don't think I would add them on a regular basis.

Daniel

 

[Tom Kalbfus]

I'm not sure you can use the general statement as an overall density for local space.

Also, just because there is a planet, doesn't mean you can FIND them. Their temperatures are likely to be at or near ambient background so they will be almost impossible to detect at anything other than standard sensor range (say 100,000 km) - if you do the math there, it is almost infinitismally small chance of finding.

What you do is you send out a swarm of laser pushed microprobes, each one weighing under an ounce, and you send them out by the billions in all directions away from Sol, if there are any planets out there, their gravity will deflect the paths of some of these probes and reveal their location. You ever hear of project starshot?
http://english.tachyonbeam.com/2016/04/13/project-starshot-announced-to-build-interstellar-probes-with-sails-pushed-by-lasers/
Same concept, except instead of pushing these probes to Alpha Centauri, you push them in all directions away from Sol, in fact you might not even need the laser, just send out billions of solar sails, pushed by sunlight, pretty soon they will be out in the dark, you need some means to tract them, illuminate them with a laser, and they send back a ping to give away their location and velocity.

 

[Tom Kalbfus]

I like the idea of a Nomad Planet as part of a particular adventure but I don't think I would add them on a regular basis.

Daniel

They could be used as a substitute for a campaign with an FTL drive. Lets say there is no FTL drive, the nearest stars are decades to centuries away, but the nearest Nomad planets are much closer. We could colonize those, and with fusion reactors, we could make quite comfortable spaces for ourselves, each of them would be only light days away instead of light years. If we have good maneuver drives, we can access them at slower than light speeds, and not have to worry about FTL physics. There can be all sorts of societies on these frozen ice balls, the gas giants will have their own satellite systems as well.