Inside the Sol
System, the locations of the known bodies—Wodan, Freya, Homeworld,
Tyr, the Asteroid Belt, Thunar and Kronos—can be represented by
their relative positions on a single plane. When it comes to the
planets that orbit other stars, however, the system of location
becomes more complicated. Given that they were the first to explore
beyond Homeworld's system, it was the elves who devised a means of
finding one's heading for interstellar voyages.
For this they use
the eighty-eight commonly recognized constellations, names given to
groups of stars based on what people thought they resembled. They
also assigned letters to the stars that comprised them, such as
alpha, beta, gamma, etc. For example, the North
Star, otherwise known as Polaris, is alpha
in the constellation ursa major,
the Great Bear. Taking a heading on it means that a vessel is
traveling straight upward from the plane in which this system's
planets orbit Sol.
More
information about the creatures that inhabit these worlds can be
found in another article, Planetary Ecologies:
Sylvanus
This world orbits
the triple stars Alpha, Beta and Proxima Centauri, some 4.25
lightyears from the Sol System. It was the first planet beyond the
Sol System to be visited by an elf arkship, and the crew of that
vessel was astounded to find it filled with plant and animal life.
Sylvanus is almost a perfect natural paradise, with few intelligent
inhabitants except for the arborlings, creatures similar to treants
who act as caretakers. For this reason the elves have kept the
location of Sylvanus a closely guarded secret, hoping to preserve its
pristine environment.
More information
about arborlings can be found in a supplement from Clockwork Gnome
Publishing.
Wyrdworld
Orbiting a single
red dwarf star, this world lies six lightyears from the Sol System in
the direction of Ophichus. It his home to two main intelligent
species, the shobhad and the kasatha. The prior live in nomadic bands
that survive by hunting fearsome wild creatures, while the latter
form small enclaves and are known to trade with visitors. This world
was discovered by an elf arkship, but has been further explored by an
agent of the Royal Interplanetary Company, Captain Eli Barnard, who
trades imported goods for the shobhad's two most famous
inventions—black powder and firearms.
Details of a
kasatha caravanserai can be found in a previous article.
Interstellar
Space
While it might
seem unusual to include this region—it is, after all, a vast
nothing—it's important to note that the open void is sometimes home
to the greatest dangers that spacefarers can encounter. These include
the oma, which is sometimes used for transporting passengers; the
enigmatic entity known as a sentient nebula; and the massive astral
leviathan. There have also been reported sightings of dragons, ones
different from the kinds that once lived on Homeworld. Finally,
although explorers have not heretofore encountered travelers from
other star systems in craft of their own, most believe that it's only
a matter of time before they do.
The Black Hole
Although the elves
and their arkships have made numerous discoveries on their
interstellar missions, at least one ended in tragedy. That crew had
set out to visit a body shaped like a star, but utterly black. It was
located next to a star from which it continually drained light, heat
and material. Lurking in that volatile area was something that
attacked the crew, corrupting the elves along with the animals that
they were transporting. Some of them turned murderous, and eventually
only a handful of survivors escaped aboard the arkship's longboat.
After passing back through the interstellar portal,
they used magic to seal it against pursuit.
More
information about elf arkships and their missions can be found in a
couple of previous articles.
Other Stars and
Planets
At this time,
elven exploration beyond the Sol System is still in its early stages;
having made contact with the inhabitants of two worlds. They have
other expeditions underway, however; these are left up to the GM to
develop further. For inspiration, Wikipedia has a good list of other
stars with orbiting planets not so far from Homeworld's sun.
