[Space] Star system with thirty-six inhabitable worlds?

[ericthered]

the uniformity is probably the weirdest part. If you make the moon count vary between 4 and 6 it looks better. Actually, it looks better if you use seven to five moons, despite 7 not being a generateable option.

[Fred Brackin]

Originally Posted by johndallman

I wouldn't use such a system. Players would immediately be sure that it was artificial, and would regard the mystery of how it came about as fascinating. This would distract from any other kind of story set there.

Long ago my players found a single terraformed GG moon. After determing that it contained no revolutionary tech they were really only interested in how much they could sell it for.

[Michael Thayne]

Originally Posted by johndallman

I wouldn't use such a system. Players would immediately be sure that it was artificial, and would regard the mystery of how it came about as fascinating. This would distract from any other kind of story set there.

You mean the 7-10 planet version? I think it depends on the group of players. The biggest improbability there might be that realistically, many and indeed perhaps the vast majority (GURPS Space says 90%) of the plants would be Tiny or Small. But if your players haven't thought much about it, or read Space carefully, you might get a pass.

Originally Posted by Flyndaran

If all other systems in the setting are more realistic, then I'd question the curiosity of the players if they didn't assume this one was artificial.

One benefit of such a system is you can have many densely inhabited planets without resorting to FTL travel. So you wouldn't necessarily have to give players any points of comparison.

[johndallman]

Originally Posted by Michael Thayne

But if your players haven't thought much about it, or read Space carefully, you might get a pass.

My players know a reasonable amount of astrophysics...

[AlexanderHowl]

Precursor remnants should be everywhere in many science fiction settings, so finding aesthetically arranged planets in systems that initially had plenty of raw materials available should not be unusual. It would only have been systems with limited raw materials, like the Sol System, where Precursors would have not bothered practicing their art. In such a setting, the reason why the Sol System lacked Precursor artifacts would be because it was just too boring to visit.

[Phantasm]

Thirty-six inhabitable worlds in a five-star system? Is this the Firefly 'Verse by any chance? (Mind, in Firefly, most of the worlds, planets and moons alike, were terraformed, including having their rotations changed to match Earth-That-Was's 24 hour rotation.)

[Michael Thayne]

Originally Posted by Phantasm

Thirty-six inhabitable worlds in a five-star system? Is this the Firefly 'Verse by any chance? (Mind, in Firefly, most of the worlds, planets and moons alike, were terraformed, including having their rotations changed to match Earth-That-Was's 24 hour rotation.)

Firefly was on my mind when I dreamed this up, though I'm not sure Firefly worried much about the issue of habitable zones.

[AlexanderHowl]

The level of terraforming technology in Firefly is suspicious. How could they have not saved the Earth with that level of technology? It makes you wonder if they were just the malcontents who were exiled from the rest of human civilization, and that everything that people know about Earth-That-Was is a lie.

One thing to consider is that Medium and Large Gas Giants should probably have more possible major moons than Small Gas Giants, as they would attract more matter during their formation. I would suggest rolling 1d for major moons for Small Gas Giants, 2d for Medium Gas Giants, and 3d for Large Gas Giants. With that change, you could possibly have a quadruple system with 144 standard garden moons.

[Flyndaran]

Some try to connect all Whedon's works into a single universe. That would make Firefly the descendants of the survivors from the apocalypse of Cabin In The Woods. Propaganda to hide the horrible truth makes a bit of Lovecraftian sense.

[Anthony]

Originally Posted by Michael Thayne

Firefly was on my mind when I dreamed this up, though I'm not sure Firefly worried much about the issue of habitable zones.

I'm quite sure Whedon had no interest in such issues.