WEIRD  WORLDS/STRANGE  UNIVERSES

Brown Dwarf(BD): Exceptionally large gas giants, Brown Dwarfs are usually up to 10-30 times larger than Sol’s Jupiter. These gas giants are on the edge of being a planet as anything more massive would ignite into a star. Intense radiation and gravity bands circle this star, making it a most unfriendly environment, lethal to ships without DF. There is a chance that the three innermost moons are T-type moons(50%, 30%, 20% chance respectively). Brown Dwarfs have 5 moons and 1d10 additional moons(due to the BD’s massive size and gravity well). No other planet can exist in a system with a Brown Dwarf, but companion stars can have additional planets.

Double Binary System: A rare system(2% chance), Double Binary Systems are two pairs of double stars, one pair rotating around the other at 2,400LM. The primary system always contains the largest starts(usually blue or red giants or white stars).

Hypergiant Stars: Among the brightest objects in a galaxy, Hypergiant stars are Luminous Blue Variables(LBV), a extremely rare class of stars on the verge of supernovaeing and whose temperature and mass approaches the absolute maximum believed possible for a star. It’s surface broils at a temperature that ranges between 20,000 degrees Farenheit and 50,000 degrees F (compared to the surface temperature of Sol, which comes in around 10,000 degrees F). At it’s coolest, Hypergiant stars become the most compact–though it’s size would still be large enough to swallow the orbit of Mercury. When the star’s temperature rises, it’s radius swells and would reach the orbit of Mars or beyond. Once in a great while, it’s surface swells to a diameter of two billion miles, the size of Saturn’s orbit.

   Moreover, astronomers think that LBVs have one of the densest solar winds known, blowing off about .003 solar masses per year, some six trillion tons, or two Earth masses each day. At this rate our sun would evaporate in little more than three centuries. But LBVs hardly notice. Such large, intensely hot objects must periodically shed additional large amounts of mass to remain stable. What causes these larger eruptions remains a mystery, though astronomers suspect the incredibly high mass and temperature play key roles. The most popular hypothesis says that the star’s luminosity is so great that is occaisionally overpowers the gravity that holds the star together. the star becomes unstable; it’s outer layers pulse in and out as if unsure whether they wish to remain in place or gush into space. Eventually an eruption occurs and the outer layers are flung away.

   With the loss of this shell of hot gas, the star cools and it’s surface temperature drops to a relatively low 13,000 degrees F. At the same time, it’s electromagnetic output shifts from the high-energy ultraviolet to the less energetic optical radiation, so though the star is now cooler, it radiates more brightly at wavelengths our eyes can see. hence, while the star seems brighter, its overall output undergoes no intrinsic change.

   After an eruption, these strange stars become stable for long periods, with their visible luminosity generally holding steady(though small, irregular fluctuations are not unusual). Whether the huge outbursts happen more than once is simply not known. If so, they are separated by thousands of years.

   It is also far from clear whether the war between gravity pulling inward and the pressure of radiation pushing outward is the sole cause of these giant eruptions. Some scientists think that turbulence and convection on the stars’ surface either contributes to or causes the outbursts. Others believe that no current theory can be correct because none seems to explain adequately what instigates the eruptions as well as what makes them stop. Only about fifteen LBVs can be found in an average galaxy. Fifteen WP plus 1d10 additional WPs. At the height of a flare up, some WPs may be inside the star. (Bummer coming out into this situation!).

Super Gas Giants(SGG): If a gas giant is massive enough to reduce the next planet to rubble(creating an AF), it is classified as a Super Gas Giant(ISF, pg 14). SGG have an additional 3d6 moons. The innermost moon has a 50% chance of being T-class, which is automatically Harsh and can support a maximum population of Small.

Supergiant Stars: The evolution of stars take billions of years but most make it to the end of their lives, becoming Supergiant stars. There are three types of Supergiant stars:

Red Supergiants(the largest)

Blue Supergiants(second largest)

Green Supergiants(very rare and third largest)

   Rarely(20% chance)  they will have a stellar companion, a red dwarf star(80% chance) or a more rare blue dwarf star(20% chance) at 2,400LM distant. A black hole companion(5% chance) at 1,000LM distance poses a severe danger to intrepid travelers as it draws hot gases from it’s parent star. Most inner planets(first 3 orbits) are always enveloped and destroyed by stellar expansion of Supergiant stars but these stars attract an additional 1d6(-1) “rogue” planets. An additional 20% chance one of the gas giant is a Super Gas Giant(60%) or a Brown Dwarf(40%). Supergiant stars have 1d10 additional warp points!

Omega Worlds: Consisting of a normal surface crust but a light metal/potassium core, a Omega planet is 2-4 times larger than a standard T-world. Because it has a light-metal core, a Omega world does not normally have the crushing gravity associated with a massive planet. These are Rare planets. An Omega world has the surface area of several T-worlds and is able to support a much larger population:

Roll 1d4(-1)

1 x2 size(4,600 PU)

2 x3 size(5,600 PU)

3 x4 size(6,600 PU)

Warp Point Junction: Warp Point Junctions are a rare(1% chance) occurance among warp points. Focused on a subspace tear, cosmic string, quantum filament, or some other massive gravity structure, these warp points are usually located in deep space(always 30LM from a star). Usually associated with a binary star systems, Warp Point Junctions are different from Warp Point Nexus’ in three fundamental ways:

1) Their epicenters(2-5 WPs) are all located within 30 tactical hexes of one another,

2) They are always one type of warp point(ie all Type 10 or all Type 11, etc),

3) They are never Type 7, 8, or 9 warp points.

Trinary Star Systems: A rare star system, there are two types of Trinary stars:

Type A(01-60%): Central star with two other stars orbiting it, one at:

01-25%           50 LM

26-50%           150LM            +an additional 2d10x2 LM

51-00%           250LM

and one star at 700LM(usually a red dwarf star-70% chance, or red star-30%).

                                                OR

Type B(61-90%): Two stars orbiting each other and one star at 2,400LM from Component A and three radians clockwise from bearing of Component B. It takes 4 StMP to travel to or from Component C from either A or B or the warp points. The third star is always a red dwarf.

                                                OR

Type C(91-00%): A primary star with two companion stars(90% Red Dwarfs, 10% Brown Dwarf).

Warden Diamond: In totally terraformed systems, unique planetary orbits can be set up, moving T-worlds to equidistant orbits around their parent star. All of the T-worlds share the same orbit, at equidistant spaces between each other. usually 1d4 worlds. VERY high tech level!

Waterworlds(WW): All HI 10 T worlds are automatically Waterworlds, able to support only 1,200 PU on the entire planet. These residents live on floating pads and stilt cities(Ind1-2) or Arcologies(TL1). Underwater Colonies(UCol) can be built however, increasing the PU by an additional 1,200(20 UCol per facing). Waterworlds are usually protected by orbital bases and asteroid fortresses because PDCs cannot be built on the surface of the planet. These planets are perfect for aquatic races(full PU) like the Chalderescol(a huge crocodile-like race) or the Flouwen(deep-sea gel forms).

White Dwarves: These are ancient stars, at the end of their life cycles, and are the most common star in our galaxy. Although very small, they have the mass of half of Sol’s. They are practically invisible on an interstellar scale and account for up to half of a galaxy’s ‘dark matter’. White Dwarf stars were thought to look red, but they actually appear blue. With a average temperature of 3,500 kelvins(5,800 degrees F), they are definitely on the cool side for a star. Our Milky Way has about 150 billion old white dwarves.