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<blockquote data-quote="Johnny Angel" data-source="post: 2391451" data-attributes="member: 13334">Travel technology, as Byrons_Ghost has mentioned, is an important defining factor.&nbsp; It affects not just how much planet-hopping you can do, but also the whole feel of what humanity's horizons are.&nbsp; Note how in some settings, like the Aliens universe, space travel takes decades, during which the crew is kept in cryo.&nbsp; Space travel is a long-term and lonely prospect.&nbsp; You leave your home and do not expect to return until generations have come and gone.&nbsp; In other settings, like Star Wars, there is a hyperdrive that makes the vastness of space such familiar territory that even a craphole like Tatooine gets a lot of action.&nbsp; Communication technology is also an important factor.&nbsp; How far can messages travel, and how fast?&nbsp; Communication has vital importance in military strategy.&nbsp; Slow communication will tend to isolate systems.&nbsp; The whole galaxy may have an interdependant economy, but individuals will be more provincial in a world in which it's not very easy to get to know people of another world.&nbsp; You also need to know what your monetary system is like.&nbsp; Is money hard coin, as it is assumed to be in D&amp;D, or is it negotiable instruments and numbers in a computer, as it is in our world?&nbsp; When you get beyond a direct barter system, you have to have some institution that people put faith in to guarantee the value of promisory notes or lines in some ledger.&nbsp; Solid currency requires some stable institution, even if the whole galaxy is at war.What kinds of governments exist?&nbsp; Designing planets allows you to play around with different models of how societies organize themselves.&nbsp; It also gives you an excuse for adventures.&nbsp; And the nature of governments is going to be a function of what technology is available.&nbsp; Designing individual worlds, it helps to consult a gaming-oriented planetology system.&nbsp; Gurps Space and the Alternity Gamemaster Guide both have nice guides to designing star systems and planetary environment.&nbsp; As for suggestions for pre-designed systems, Dawning Star and Blood and Space have already been mentioned.&nbsp; Until the Helios Rising supplement comes out, Dawning Star can stand in as a good example of a single planet where a colonial population is struggling to carve out a new home.&nbsp; Blood &amp; Space: Prometheus Rising provides a nice model for a single solar system campaign.&nbsp; The Star*Drive campaign setting from the old Alternity game has a beautiful design for a map of humanity's spread across a single arm of the Milky Way galaxy.&nbsp; The Star Wars campaign setting presents an entire galaxy full of details for the characters to bop around in.&nbsp; So, even if you want to design from the ground up, there are examples of any campaign scale you want to use.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Johnny Angel, post: 2391451, member: 13334"] Travel technology, as Byrons_Ghost has mentioned, is an important defining factor. It affects not just how much planet-hopping you can do, but also the whole feel of what humanity's horizons are. Note how in some settings, like the Aliens universe, space travel takes decades, during which the crew is kept in cryo. Space travel is a long-term and lonely prospect. You leave your home and do not expect to return until generations have come and gone. In other settings, like Star Wars, there is a hyperdrive that makes the vastness of space such familiar territory that even a craphole like Tatooine gets a lot of action. Communication technology is also an important factor. How far can messages travel, and how fast? Communication has vital importance in military strategy. Slow communication will tend to isolate systems. The whole galaxy may have an interdependant economy, but individuals will be more provincial in a world in which it's not very easy to get to know people of another world. You also need to know what your monetary system is like. Is money hard coin, as it is assumed to be in D&D, or is it negotiable instruments and numbers in a computer, as it is in our world? When you get beyond a direct barter system, you have to have some institution that people put faith in to guarantee the value of promisory notes or lines in some ledger. Solid currency requires some stable institution, even if the whole galaxy is at war. What kinds of governments exist? Designing planets allows you to play around with different models of how societies organize themselves. It also gives you an excuse for adventures. And the nature of governments is going to be a function of what technology is available. Designing individual worlds, it helps to consult a gaming-oriented planetology system. Gurps Space and the Alternity Gamemaster Guide both have nice guides to designing star systems and planetary environment. As for suggestions for pre-designed systems, Dawning Star and Blood and Space have already been mentioned. Until the Helios Rising supplement comes out, Dawning Star can stand in as a good example of a single planet where a colonial population is struggling to carve out a new home. Blood & Space: Prometheus Rising provides a nice model for a single solar system campaign. The Star*Drive campaign setting from the old Alternity game has a beautiful design for a map of humanity's spread across a single arm of the Milky Way galaxy. The Star Wars campaign setting presents an entire galaxy full of details for the characters to bop around in. So, even if you want to design from the ground up, there are examples of any campaign scale you want to use. [/QUOTE]

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