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<blockquote data-quote="Pbartender" data-source="post: 3531221" data-attributes="member: 7533">Allow me to apply Occam's Razor here and propose a far simpler explanation...Shipping lanes.Take a look at real shipping for the last two or three thousand years.&nbsp; Whenever a ship goes from point A to point B, there is a certain course that is most advantageous to follow...&nbsp; Because of prevailing weather, dangerous obstacles that must be avoided and sometimes even political considerations, that route will be the one that the vast majority of ships traveling between those two points use.What that means is, anyone sailing within the shipping lanes is very likely to run across other ships on a fairly regular basis -- that where they all are, after all.&nbsp; Take off into the uncharted phlogiston, and chances are you'll get lost in the vast expanses of Wildspace, wandering aimlessly forever until you starve.So, most spelljammers may very well be encouranged to stick to those well-used shipping lanes...&nbsp; They're clearly and thoroughly mapped, and if something does go wrong it's the most likely place to get found and rescued.Plus, this provides a predictable path for piratical excursions against shipping and military invasions of other worlds. Running into an enemy ship might be uncommon, but not necessarily impossible.What's more, the lanes where ships sail is where all the detrius, flotsam and garbage from said ships would tend to drift and accumulate.&nbsp; Naturally, this will attract the natural scavengers of the phlogiston and the predators that hunt them as well, thus greatly increasing the chances of encountering these creatures as well.There you go.Shipping lanes.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Pbartender, post: 3531221, member: 7533"] Allow me to apply Occam's Razor here and propose a far simpler explanation... Shipping lanes. Take a look at real shipping for the last two or three thousand years. Whenever a ship goes from point A to point B, there is a certain course that is most advantageous to follow... Because of prevailing weather, dangerous obstacles that must be avoided and sometimes even political considerations, that route will be the one that the vast majority of ships traveling between those two points use. What that means is, anyone sailing within the shipping lanes is very likely to run across other ships on a fairly regular basis -- that where they all are, after all. Take off into the uncharted phlogiston, and chances are you'll get lost in the vast expanses of Wildspace, wandering aimlessly forever until you starve. So, most spelljammers may very well be encouranged to stick to those well-used shipping lanes... They're clearly and thoroughly mapped, and if something does go wrong it's the most likely place to get found and rescued. Plus, this provides a predictable path for piratical excursions against shipping and military invasions of other worlds. Running into an enemy ship might be uncommon, but not necessarily impossible. What's more, the lanes where ships sail is where all the detrius, flotsam and garbage from said ships would tend to drift and accumulate. Naturally, this will attract the natural scavengers of the phlogiston and the predators that hunt them as well, thus greatly increasing the chances of encountering these creatures as well. There you go. Shipping lanes. [/QUOTE]

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