Mark F Peoples 1999 1

NEW PLANETARY SYSTEM GENERATOR

The Planetary System Generator presented in the Gamemaster Guide enables the GM to create
solar systems similar to our own, with rocky planets close to the star, gas giants further out, and
smaller giants further still, where the scarcity of planet-building material has arrested the growth
of large worlds. Finally, there are the icy worldlets of the Kuiper belt, and beyond that the Oort
comet cloud that delineates the Solar System.
Until only a few years ago it was universally accepted that most, if not all, solar systems would
follow this plan. With only one example to work from, it is hardly surprising that formation theory
predicted that other systems would be pretty much like our own. The system generator in the
GMG reflects this.
The truth, however, is a little more complicated.
Since the middle of the nineties, approximately twenty planets have been found orbiting a number
of stars. One star, Upsilon Andromedae (which is visible to the naked eye during autumn and
winter - check a star map) is host to at least three giant planets (Jovian worlds like the four giants
of our system are the only planets that can be detected so far).
One of the first things noticed about these new worlds was that they dont necessarily occupy
nice, circular orbits about their primary. Many of these worlds (including the Up. And. system)
have distinctly elliptical orbits.
If this were the only revelation to be had, a simple note at the bottom of the page could fix it. But
this wasnt the only difference. The first planet detected, back in 1995 by groundbreaking new
methods, was a giant planet in orbit about the star 51 Pegasi. It possessed a remarkable trait.
This planet orbits 51 Peg at 0.05 AU, much closer than Mercury orbits the Sun. At least six other
systems (including Upsilon Andromedae) have similar planets, called epistellar planets, or Hot
Jupiters. These giant planets pose much more of a problem for the world generation system in
the GMG, since it is simply incapable of producing planets like this.
All of the above problems have prompted me to create the following revision to the System
Generator.
Revised Orbit Track
A slight revision to the orbit track system is necessary because of the Hot Jupiter problem.
When you run out of orbital rings but still have a planet left, test for planets at distances of 0.05
and 0.1 AU (check at 0.3 and 0.4 for A-type stars, and check at 0.02 and 0.05 for red dwarfs). If
you achieve a positive result, a planet will occupy this epistellar orbit. Note, only ONE planet
can exist in ONE of these orbits per system.
Binary and Multiple Systems
While binaries (and other multiples) may appear a little daunting at first, theyre not actually
difficult to generate. First, roll a d8 and consult table 1 below to determine the distance between
them. Stable planetary orbits can exist up to thirty percent of the distance between the stars (the
closest approach distance in stars with eccentric orbits), and at a distance of greater than twice
the distance between them. Each star may have its own worlds in close orbit (any leftovers from
each star may orbit the pair from the safe outer distance, if there are any corresponding orbit
rings available), and multiples with large separations will act almost like separate solar systems.
Mark F Peoples 1999 2
Brown Dwarfs
A system may contain a brown dwarf companion. Problematic as these objects are, I have
chosen to treat them like planets, since they bear a much stronger resemblance to large Jovian
planets than to red dwarf stars. Massing anywhere from 10 to 50 Jupiter masses, a brown dwarf
will appear in a system on a roll of 16 on 2d8. Use table 1 to determine separation. If this
conflicts with stars in a multiple system, discount the presence of the brown dwarf. The brown
dwarf may have moons in the same way as a large Jovian planet.
Planet Type
System density decreases after a drop-off zone where beyond this point, planetesimals are
scattered too far apart to coalesce easily into large planets. These figures are given in table 3.
The Hot Jupiter problem raises its ugly head here, too. Instead of using Table G62, Roll d20 and
consult the two-part table below (table 2) to generate planet types:
Since we no longer have an automatically generated Hot/Temperate/Cold rating, use table 3 to
determine the relevant zones. Note that each spectral type has been split into two (G0, G5, K0,
K5 etc.). This illustrates the range of luminosity within a spectral type. Note also that the figures
given for type M0 on the main sequence chart only apply to the very brightest M-types, which are
very rare (1 in 20 or so). All other red dwarfs cold zones extend from stellar orbit outwards.
Planets orbiting giant stars are unlikely to have lifebearing planets of their own, but life-
compatible planets would be suitable for terraforming and colonisation.
Orbital Eccentricity
As mentioned above, not all planets orbit their stars in neat, circular orbits. Even in our own
system, both Mercury and Pluto have eccentricities in excess of 0.2. As far as is known,
approximately 1 in 3 planets so far discovered have eccentricities that equal or exceed this figure.
The most extreme case so far is the planet orbiting the star 16 Cygni B. Massing at least 2.4
times the mass of Jupiter, this planet has an eccentricity of 0.57, ranging in distance from its sun
from 0.7 to 2.7 AU. To determine eccentricity, roll on table 4 below.
Now we have a number, but what does it mean in real terms? All planetary orbits are ellipses, not
true circles. Therefore, a planet has a nearest and furthest point in its orbit, referred to as
perihelion and aphelion respectively. These nearest and furthest distances can be worked out as
follows:
Perihelion = d x (1 e) Where d is the average distance in (AU) and e is
Aphelion = d x (1 + e) the eccentricity figure.
The orbit of the planet dominates the entire distance from perihelion to aphelion. It is entirely
possible to create two orbits which actually cross. In such a situation, the more massive planet
will likely hurl the less massive planet into the sun or out of the system entirely. The Hubble
Space Telescope has taken an image of what is believed to be a planet that has been ejected
from a binary system, together with a streamer of dust and gas. Alternatively, you could rule that
the less massive planet has a strong inclination to the ecliptic plane of your system.
The Importance of Large Moons
It has recently been theorised that the presence of our moon has helped to stabilise our planets
axial tilt. If this is correct, then planets otherwise suitable for life may have only the most basic
microbial life, since more complex forms could not survive the pressure of a randomly changing
seasonal pattern. This would not preclude their suitability for colonisation, since their climates
would change on timescales of millions of years. However, this does mean that the homeworld of
a civilisation (or any world harbouring multicellular life) must have a giant moon like our own, or
else be in orbit about a more massive body itself.
Mark F Peoples 1999 3
A Brief Note Regarding Supergiants
Supergiant stars are not believed to play host to planets, since the immense particle and radiation
pressure produced at their ignition would quickly drive out any planet forming material. Also,
the life spans of these stars are so short that planets would barely have time to form before being
destroyed in a supernova. Type O and B stars of any class have the same problem.
Tables
Table 1: Binary star separation
d8 Roll:
1: 2d8 million kilometres apart, roll d20. On a 20, system is a contact binary in which the
stars are separated by less than a stellar diameter. Intense radiation and particle winds
render the system unsuitable for life or colonisation.
2: 1d12/10 AU apart
4: 1d12 AU apart
5: 1d12x10 AU apart
6: 1d12x100 AU apart
7: 1d12x1,000 AU apart
8: 1d6x10,000 AU apart
In multiple systems, the separation of each binary pair and single straggler is at least one order of
magnitude greater than the greatest separation of a binary pair. For example, in a trinary system
in which the binary pair is separated by 40AU (a roll of 5), the minimum separation between the
pair and the single must be 100s of AU (roll 6 or greater).
Table 2: Planetary Type
Inner (Populous) System
Roll (d20) Planet Type # of Moons Moon Modifier
1-4 Large Jovian 2d12* 0
5-7 Small Jovian 2d8* -1
8-10 Super Terran d8-3 -2
11-14 Terran d6-3 -3
15-18 Sub Terran d6-4 -5
19-20 Asteroid Belt - -
Outer (Depopulated) System
Roll (d20) Planet Type # of Moons Moon Modifier
1-8 Small Jovian 2d8* -2
9-12 Terran d6-4 -3
13-16 Sub Terran d6-4 -5
17-20 Comet Belt** - -
* 1 in 2 of these moons are Tiny. Check before rolling for moon size on table G63
** A comet belt can only exist in a stars cold zone. Otherwise, it will be an asteroid belt.
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Table 3: Stellar temperature zones
Main Sequence Stars
Spectral Type Density Drop-Off Hot Zone Temperate Zone Cold Zone
A0 19AU 0 7AU 7 9AU 9+ AU
A5 15AU 0 3.7AU 3.7 5AU 5+ AU
F0 14AU 0 2.8AU 2.8 3.9AU 3.9+ AU
F5 13AU 0 2AU 2 2.7AU 2.7+ AU
G0 11AU 0 1.2AU 1.2 1.7AU 1.7+ AU
G5 10AU 0 0.9AU 0.9 1.2AU 1.2+ AU
K0 10AU 0 0.6AU 0.6 0.9AU 0.9+ AU
K5 9AU 0 0.3AU 0.3 0.4AU 0.4+ AU
M0 8AU 0 0.1AU 0.1 0.4AU 0.4+ AU
Giant Stars
Spectral Type Density Drop-Off Hot Zone Temperate Zone Cold Zone
A0 22AU 0 9AU 9 13AU 13+ AU
A5 19AU 0 7AU 7 10AU 10+ AU
F0 15AU 0 4.4AU 4.4 6AU 6+ AU
F5 15AU 0 4.4AU 4.4 6AU 6+ AU
G0 13AU 0 5AU 5 8AU 8+ AU
G5 15AU 0 7AU 7 10AU 10+ AU
K0 13AU 0 7.5AU 7.5 11AU 11+ AU
K5 13AU 0 10AU 10 14AU 14+AU
M0 12AU 0 11AU 11 15AU 15+AU
M5 12AU 0 - 13AU 13 19AU 19+AU
Table 4: Orbital eccentricity
Eccentricity Class: (d6)
1-4 Circular Roll d12 and divide by 100 to determine eccentricity
5-6 Eccentric Roll 2d20+18 and divide by 100 to determine eccentricity