Cluster Details #
Once you’ve made a basic map of several worlds and their attributes, flesh out each world with the following details. World details will inform each other, and details added to one world may lead you to change details on another. Let the process be iterative, and your worlds will feel more deeply connected to one another.
Before the first session, keep these details as brief as possible. Just one or two sentences each. The players might latch onto any particular detail and turn it into many sessions of play. Or they may ignore something completely. Follow their lead, add details as necessary between sessions. If you play old-school dungeon games, consider giving each world no more detail than you might give an important room in a dungeon. The scale is just zoomed out.
Imports and Exports #
Based on the world’s attributes, which types of goods are in supply and which are in demand? Make the goods more specific. For example if a world supplies Organics, is there a specific crop they export? If they need to import necessities for survival, how do the people deal with that precarity?
Example Organics Goods #
| Roll(d66) | Good | Roll(d66) | Good |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 - 12 | Arachnid silks | 41 - 42 | Fruit juice |
| 13 - 14 | Tea | 43 - 44 | Bovines |
| 15 - 16 | Pure water | 45 - 46 | Fortified rice |
| 21 - 22 | Flowers | 51 - 52 | Refined snuff |
| 23 - 24 | Spices | 53 - 54 | Mushrooms |
| 25 - 26 | Essential oils | 55 - 56 | Bean curd |
| 31 - 32 | Milk | 61 - 62 | Raptor eggs |
| 33 - 34 | Insect protien patties | 63 - 64 | Fish roe |
| 35 - 36 | Saplings | 65 - 66 | Bee hives |
Example Cultural Goods #
| Roll(d66) | Good | Roll(d66) | Good |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 - 12 | Jewelry | 41 - 42 | Rare books |
| 13 - 14 | Abstract sculptures | 43 - 44 | Gene-engineered pets |
| 15 - 16 | High fashion clothes | 45 - 46 | Pastries |
| 21 - 22 | Prayer Beads | 51 - 52 | Skincare products |
| 23 - 24 | Flash-frozen haute cuisine meals | 53 - 54 | Sleek but uncomfortable furniture |
| 25 - 26 | Starship model kits | 55 - 56 | Fancy tableware |
| 31 - 32 | AI Pets | 61 - 62 | Lighting fixtures |
| 33 - 34 | Antiques | 63 - 64 | Oil paintings by an AI |
| 35 - 36 | Handmade Puzzles | 65 - 66 | Tabletop Games |
Example Contraband Goods #
| Roll(d66) | Good | Roll(d66) | Good |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 - 12 | Subversive zines | 41 - 42 | Books of heretical mantras |
| 13 - 14 | Obscene holotapes | 43 - 44 | Astral mushrooms |
| 15 - 16 | Moonshine | 45 - 46 | Organs |
| 21 - 22 | Stolen artifacts | 51 - 52 | Whale fur |
| 23 - 24 | Invasive plant species | 53 - 54 | Illegal pets |
| 25 - 26 | Gun parts | 55 - 56 | Joltleaf powder |
| 31 - 32 | Vials of slowdown | 61 - 62 | Combat stim hyposprays |
| 33 - 34 | Endangered reptile sausages | 63 - 64 | Dream tea |
| 35 - 36 | Restricted tech | 65 - 66 | Unredacted histories |
Example Tech Goods #
| Roll(d66) | Good | Roll(d66) | Good |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 - 12 | Self-sealing stem bolts | 41 - 42 | Hydrospanners |
| 13 - 14 | Holodisplays | 43 - 44 | Antimatter injectors |
| 15 - 16 | Graviton projectors | 45 - 46 | Plasma valves |
| 21 - 22 | Game consoles | 51 - 52 | Spools of tetryon relay cabling |
| 23 - 24 | Gyrostablizers | 53 - 54 | Power converters |
| 25 - 26 | Bio-neural gel packs | 55 - 56 | Tachyon shunts |
| 31 - 32 | Pattern buffers | 61 - 62 | Photic lenses |
| 33 - 34 | Silicate lattices | 63 - 64 | Phase inverters |
| 35 - 36 | Degaussing canisters | 65 - 66 | Quantum condensers |
Key NPCs #
Describe one or two important NPCs in about a sentence each. These are often people in positions of power and influence, but can be anyone with a stake in the world and an opportunity for the PCs. What do they want? How will they get it? How can the PCs help them? How are they tied to the world’s economy, imports and exports?
Example Key NPCs #
| Roll(d66) | NPC | Roll(d66) | NPC |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 - 12 | Politician | 41 - 42 | Artist |
| 13 - 14 | Clergy | 43 - 44 | Military Officer |
| 15 - 16 | Revolutionary | 45 - 46 | Labor Representative |
| 21 - 22 | Imperial Official | 51 - 52 | Black Marketer |
| 23 - 24 | Planetary Noble | 53 - 54 | Terraformer |
| 25 - 26 | Gigacorp Executive | 55 - 56 | Information Broker |
| 31 - 32 | Crime Boss | 61 - 62 | Merchant |
| 33 - 34 | Celebrity | 63 - 64 | Cult Zealot |
| 35 - 36 | Ancient Technology Collector | 65 - 66 | Spy master |
Opportunities #
Write at least one opportunity for the PCs. Just a couple sentences describing a job somebody wants done, or a rumor about how a profit can be made. If you need NPCs for the opportunity, give them names and a Skill rank. If you have purchased or written adventures, include hooks to them here.
Visuals #
Come up with one or two strong visual details to capture the feeling of the world, use these in play to describe the world to the players. A binary sunset reflecting off gleaming towers. A moldering mountain of cast-off ancient tech. Ancient temple ruins choked under the roots of a great tree. A warren of cramped tunnels under a radiation-soaked surface. A local knight riding a giant flightless bird. Decadent nobles in a hovering skiff, watching peasants toil in the fields below.