Making interstellar travel interesting

[Sayetsu]

For my Spelljammer game I decided the crystal spheres/Flow model doesn't fit my PC's' backstories well. One is a star genasi whose mother star can't be a hole in the shell, and, similarly, I don't think it would be fun for the constellation the nebula warlock talks to to be a bunch of portals.

Instead, I'm laying things out more like real space, where you can travel between stars directly. I've kept the flow as a replacement for the mists of the Astral and Ethereal Planes, which I have combined. To get to another star system, you engage your "ghost drive" and slip into your system's Border Ethereal, and then travel via phlogiston river through the Deep to another Border Ethereal. Color pools also exist for interplanar travel, or you can go on the "Weird Axes" - spatial dimensions the human mind can't comprehend (so don't be on deck!) to traverse the Great Wheel.

However, I'm unsure how to make interstellar voyages interesting. There will be demiplanes made from ethereal proto-matter floating around, but travel still seems less exciting than surface journeys. Does anyone have any suggestions?

[Chronos]

The obvious choice is to introduce creatures native to those environments. Some are friendly or even helpful, some are dangerous, and some are just there, minding their own business.

[Sjappo]

You might get some insiration out of the Warhammer 40k universe with its void and warp travel.

[Justin Sane]

You might get some insiration out of the Warhammer 40k universe with its void and warp travel.Dungeons: The Dragoning 40k 7th Edition mixes up WH40k, Spelljammer, and Mass Effect's Mass Relays when it comes to interstellar travel. It's worth checking out.Just don't look at the system itself if you value your sanity.

[iTreeby]

It depends on how often your players need to hop on over to a different galaxy... There isn't anything wrong with giving them downtime but they can be attacked by neogi, illithids and other space fairing xenos, find stowaways, discover an adorable Muppet infestation, get stuck in interstellar stargaso, crash into a dead gods dream, or aquire an Artifact that uniquely let's them bypass all the nonsense.

[Dragonsonthemap]

(This is my first post after years of lurking. Hello everybody!)

I've been wondering about this too for a Treasure-Planet-aesthetic homebrew. With my playgroup there's some consensus that space pirates are a favorite random encounter (hence the Treasure Planet aesthetic). Giant space "ocean" life, like space whales or space kraken or Star Trek-esque sentient space wedgies might also make for interesting sightings or skill challenges, etc.

[Biffoniacus_Furiou]

I found this thing with a google search: https://d20multiverse.obsidianportal.com/wiki_pages/random-space-encounters

[Lupine]

(This is my first post after years of lurking. Hello everybody!)

I've been wondering about this too for a Treasure-Planet-aesthetic homebrew. With my playgroup there's some consensus that space pirates are a favorite random encounter (hence the Treasure Planet aesthetic). Giant space "ocean" life, like space whales or space kraken or Star Trek-esque sentient space wedgies might also make for interesting sightings or skill challenges, etc.

On the Star Trek note, don’t be afraid to yoink epidodes, and make them stories. For example, the tribble episode would make a decent intrigue story.

[Sayetsu]

I found this thing with a google search: https://d20multiverse.obsidianportal.com/wiki_pages/random-space-encounters
WHOA! Thank you!