[Johnny1A.2]

I wanted a setting that allowed small groups to use spacecraft of modest size and low (relative) cost to make interstellar journeys, but at the same time I didn't want the full implications of such a tech level.

So most interstellar travel in my Orichalcum Universe takes place through a combination of small ground-to-orbit (or in some cases interplanetary-capable) vessels, which dock with or are carried within enormous FTL vessels called 'star carriers'. The small ships don't have their own onboard FTL drives.

So an interstellar journey might consist of boarding your personal ship at the spaceport (or stretch of level ground on a primitive world) and flying up to parking orbit, where you dock with or are taken within a huge space-to-space star carrier. Such a star carrier might be able to carry your ship and dozens or occasionally hundreds of others. Of course, this FTL ride is not free!

When the star carrier goes into orbit around the destination planet, you fly down in your own ship and land. Thus a personal spacecraft, able to make ground-to-orbit or sometimes Earth-to-Luna trips on its own, can take you on an interstellar journey.

It also means you can't just leave anytime you want! You have to wait for the next available star carrier to show up. Otherwise, you're not going anywhere (except maybe orbit). The natives may be restless and looking to skin you alive, but that doesn't mean you can get away for another two weeks or two months or whatever when the star carrier makes its rounds. So it's possible to easily strand a player party on one planet without being too arbitrary about it.

Since most star carriers follow a strict schedule, it also means that you'd better be ready when it does show up. If the star carrier is up there in orbit waiting and will leave in another 24 hours, it's a bad time for your engineer to have the Number Two rocket motor dismantled! If you don't get your ship flying in time, you'll miss your ride and be stuck until the next carrier comes by. Which might be soon on a settled, civilized world, or might be next year on a backwater planet.

Star carriers vary widely in size, cost, and comfort. Most star carriers have the passengers live aboard their own vessels inside the hold or docked to the exterior (though the carrier usually provides them with 'shore power' and consumables, because that's safer and easier to heat-manage than letting everybody run their own power plants inside the hold, and of course it's also a revenue stream). Many star carriers, but not all, also offer luxurious accommodations for wealthier passengers.

It's possible to build an FTL drive into a small ship, but it's not usually done, because FTL drives are (relatively) cheap to operate but budget-breakingly expensive to construct. Thus most small atmosphere-capable FTL ships are military (and even the military uses them sparingly).