World Builder's Handbook - Suggestions and opinions welcome

[Geir]

I like these forms. One thing I ask you to consider about every entry - how does that effect the player characters and the adventure?

Sure, listing Eccentricity is cool, but so what? is there something explaining what a high eccentricity means to the characters? If not, is it really worth including? THANKS

Eccentricity affects distance to the sun(s) which greatly affects temperature. For Earth, it's the axial tilt that determines most seasonal temperature variation; for a world in a rather eccentric orbit, the distance from the sun changes enough for that to be the most important factor in determining temperature, habitability, and related issues.

So as I said earlier, there are 6 orbital parameters, only two are important to the world creation (hence players), though you need all of them to actually determine position at a point in time in three dimensional space. I will add very short procedures for the other four in a text box (those blue things), because depending on how you map your systems, you could care, and they would affect transit time (and requiring programming, complicated equations or hours of tedious work by hand to compute solutions, which is why they're not on the main from).

 

[Geir]

There is also a category of "super-Earths" that are basically tiny Gas Giants - more atmosphere than planet, but only a couple earth radii. That same sized world, located closer to the star, is a terrestrial Super-Earth. Tough to do Transitional worlds like that though...

Yes. The atmosphere type will have to do, but I do have a table that will tell you (with a little math) what gasses a world could reasonably retain without some sort of replenishment (and whether its a gas, liquid, or solid at various temperatures - standard pressure only, I'm not drawing lots of little graphs with triple points indicated or anything that silly). Mostly intended for exotic and nastier atmospheres.

 

[Lurking Grue]

Geir, from those forms you posted, I can see you're on a very good track. They have all the relevant data points (yes, even eccentricity is relevant as you explained). This book is shaping up to be a worthy successor to DGP's WBH. Keep up the good work!

 

[IanBruntlett]

You've probably got way too much to read and write already. But, nonetheless, can I suggest you take a look at "The Kobold Guide to Worldbuilding" (Volumes 1 and 2)?

 

[tzunder]

Which Traveller world generation system had customs and taboos?

 

[Geir]

Which Traveller world generation system had customs and taboos?

There are some customs and taboos in the Core book Cultural Differences table. The original WBH has what I think are a little too many tables on taboos and habits and not enough trust in the referee to exercise some creativity.

 

[Asimovian]

I truly hope this project does not shy away from Science and Math (with capital letters, no less), in order to keep it simple and digestible. It is about star systems and exoplanets, you know, it's not supposed to be simple, but it can be digestible and it can be simplified - just look at the original WBH! When I bought that way back in the 80s, I knew practically nothing about star types, orbital eccentricity, tidal locking etc., but I did get it after reading that book - and it was all applicable in game as well! In addition to Starship Operator's Manual (from DGP as well) the original WBH is one of my all time favorite supplements of any game! Keep the new version true to its legacy and you're golden - nay, you're mithril!

Very much my hope as well, and my experience with WTH and SOM was the same. Two of the best supplements for any game, any time.

 

[Condottiere]

I'm sure there are naturalists that set up nude colonies.

 

[Geir]

First draft mostly complete, going back to fix all the things I missed or ignored and working (trying to) with the Word equation editor for the first time. Hey look, ma! (this won't paste but here's an image):

 

[briansommers]

Use a 3d coord. System of x,y,z
More odd/strange space phenomenon that effects ships and has actual gameplay effects.
For me more science FICTION instead of SCIENCE fiction.

 

[tzunder]

There are some customs and taboos in the Core book Cultural Differences table. The original WBH has what I think are a little too many tables on taboos and habits and not enough trust in the referee to exercise some creativity.

Oh I remember, actually they really helped my creativity. I never had WBH but they were in the Heaven and Earth programme.

 

[tzunder]

Is it me or did the old WBH and the current T5 system generate a lot of very cold or very hot worlds and not enough in the middle.

 

[Geir]

Is it me or did the old WBH and the current T5 system generate a lot of very cold or very hot worlds and not enough in the middle.

Depends on what you mean. If you mean that across the whole solar system, you only got one world in the habitable zone, then that's accurate - and if you look at our solar system, we get one out of eight (depending on how you count planets, but the eight might go up, so that would be even less). If you mean that those within the habitable zone itself were either too hot or too cold, then that's more of a potential bug.

For the former issue, the relatively wide spacing of planets in T5 and the old WHB, which go back to Book 6, knocks those on either side of the habitable zone out of it. I'm allowing for more packed systems, so there might be two or three in the theoretical habitable zone, but the ones closet to the edges will still be rather warm or cool. But theoretical is just that, local conditions may vary.

 

[Reisender]

What is the release horizon for this supplement? I could use a system for creating star systems at the moment. I really don't want to buy stuff from previous editions just to get that.

 

[Geir]

I'm not supposed to talk about release dates - because it's not my thing, I'm just a free-lance writer - but I didn't promise to turn it in until December 1. I hope to beat that date, but still, I would imagine it would be on the late end of next year. Not a lot of art necessary for this one, but if they want to run it past an editor with an astronomy background to check my assumptions, that could take some time.

 

[Reisender]

I'm not supposed to talk about release dates - because it's not my thing, I'm just a free-lance writer - but I didn't promise to turn it in until December 1. I hope to beat that date, but still, I would imagine it would be on the late end of next year. Not a lot of art necessary for this one, but if they want to run it past an editor with an astronomy background to check my assumptions, that could take some time.

Thank you very much, I was assuming end of next year as well and it was exactly what I meant with "horizon". I'm totally aware that you can not give a release date.

 

[Geir]

Well, one edit pass done. Not 100% feature complete, but 98% or so, as long as I don't change my mind. I'm also not 100% satisficed with the detailed Class IV survey form format, but I thought I'd share it:

 

[Reisender]

Not sure if I understand this correctly.
Each entry on the form will be something that is explained and either rolled for or derived from other data in the World Builders Handbook?

 

[Geir]

Not sure if I understand this correctly.
Each entry on the form will be something that is explained and either rolled for or derived from other data in the World Builders Handbook?

Yes. 223 pages later... t
he Class III form (also very beta) is the whole system view. It's still my intention that the detail in any one section is not terribly closely related or required for the other sections, beyond doing the UWP, that is, so it's not like you have to do any or all of it for a world.

A not very exciting Class III survey form: (there's an expandable table version I'm playing with so as to not waste space on stars and objects not present. And what's a Class X survey, you ask? https://wiki.travellerrpg.com/System_Survey )

 

[Reisender]

Yes. 223 pages later... t

That is a lot of raw data. Nothing wrong about that. I can give accurate data if the characters use the ships sensors or the library of the ships computer.
But in the end the referee needs something he can use to describe the world to the players. What does the world look like when approached from space. How does the atmosphere feel like once the ships enters it. What do the character see once they have passed the clouds. Etc.
I hope the book will contain enough material to help the referee to translate the raw data into some description and of course possible adventure hooks.