Designing Star-Fantasy Races

[Honest Tiefling]

Thanks for understanding, HT. And whilst I appreciate the vote of confidence, I've always presumed I have the DMing skills of a drunken weasel, so I don't think I'd have he courage to run a game even if I could do a play by post game.

Everyone starts off DMing at the level of a drunken weasel or more likely, worse. The only way to get better is to try. If you make it clear this is your first time, people will go easy on you.

Now, on to the topic of celestial locales... Apologies for the cheesy names in advance, I'm really not good at this.

I sorta think the cheesy names are a given, really, considering the pulpy feeling of it.

Glimmergleam: Placed within the depths of the Spidersilk Nebula, Glimmergleam is a moonlet transformed into an enormous market-city. This is a gathering place for mercenaries, pirates, and adventurers of all stripes. Its economy depends upon its grey market; you get almost anything here, from almost anywhere in known space, if you're bold, smart and lucky. It leads towards the shady side of the law, but there are good people living here as merchants, shipwrights, artisans; anything a spacefarer could need in order to set themselves up for another trip into the big black.

1) Is the Spider Silk nebula literal, or figurative? I sorta imagine giant space spiders would put a damper on things for most people. Maybe a race lacks an instinctual fear of bugs because they evolved from an insectivore?
2) Why are the honest merchants here? I'm not saying that it is impossible for them to be there, but I feel like there needs to be a reason, be it a good location, favorable laws, or that's where customers just go.

The Mountain of Flowers and Fruit: One of the jewels of the Aurian Empire, this "pleasure world" is a serene and gentle paradise of subtropical and temperate hills, forests and plains. Reserved for the great nobles of the Celestial Court, it is stocked by legions of serfs who have been bred on this world for generations to keep everything quiet and relaxing. Although access is unlikely at best, the nobles have been known to invite star-raiders here for amusements and entertainments, or as a reward for favors done.

I feel like the idea of a mere pleasure planet is beneath the God-Emperors. It's not a pleasure planet, it's a carefully maintained idyllic farming world growing the best food and supporting several blossoming communes of artists and writers. Not sure what to call it, but Pleasure Planet makes me think of Risa.

The Tree of Life: A marvel of Paxian biomancy, the Tree of Life is a single weeping willow-like tree of planetary scale. So big it has its own atmosphere, it is home to one of the largest populations of Paxians in the known universe, and other races besides. All are welcome here, if they will abide by the codes of peace and diplomacy that natives are expected to adhere to. And which the Tree itself can enforce, stirring rumors that it may be some truly ancient Paxian elder.

What shape is the tree in? I think you could go a lot of different ways with that and explain how people are standing on the trunk.

Castle Radiance: A shining, jewel-like star-fortress, one of many held and maintained by the crusading star-knights of the Quetzalii. This is one of their newer fortifications, and thus always in need of strong souls willing to fight for justice and right.

Needs more. Perhaps it too is a farming colony? See, retired Quetzalii come here. Few retire, but those who do are encouraged to take up a life of quiet, humble work. Also, prisoners are brought here for redemption to keep them away from temptation and escape. Give them some good ol' work on a nice farm! That's the ticket.

Toxus II: A world that succumbed to a devastating war in ages long past, leaving behind nothing but ruins and toxic, barren landscapes. Many valuable artefacts have been plundered from this dead world, but who knows what bounties remain unclaimed?

Why are the artifacts there? I think some basis for them to have a lot of neat stuff helps sell the idea of treasure hunting here, also because the party will meet someone in the bar with a yarn to spin about some fabulous macguffin or another.

Moldholm: Once one of the most renowned centers of healing in known space, a place where miraculous cures were produced by some of the galaxy's best and brightest, that all came to a crashing end when it was overrun by the dreaded Russet Mold, an aelfar weapon gone horribly wrong. Loot of great value, from one-of-a-kind healing elixirs to the jewelry of all those lost in the infestation, could be had by a brave soul, but one must face off against the millions of bloodthirsty Moldies that now prowl its decaying halls.

Other then information about the event (who is the blame, who is blamed, what happened in the aftermath, why was the weapon used, etc). I see nothing wrong with this place, other then a little more description. Who made it? What did it look like?

I for one, would like it if this mystical place of healing looked like crap. Oh, it's comfortable enough but it was designed by a well-meaning but inept architect. Maybe some architectural feature they put in allowed the Moldies to spread, such as improper insulation.

The Crumbling Citadel: Once the stronghold of a mighty pirate king who plundered a thousand times a thousand worlds, when he fell in battle against a force of his mightiest rivals, the star itself imploded, twisting into a black hole. Now the citadel floats on the edge of the black hole, slowly disintegrating into its embrce. But the treasure, it is said, still remains in its crumbling depths, waiting for the bold to rescue it...

Flammenkrypt: This world should not exist. With seas of magma and islands of basalt and obsidian, it certainly shouldn't be inhabited by the deranged, desperate pyromancers and outcasts who dwell there. But something draws them there. Something, it is rumored, that has been sealed away in the planet's core for a very, very long time...

Not much to say about these two, as they seem like good plot hooks. The former would be a race against someone else to get an important doodad, and the later is punching some sort of flame-demon. Sounds good to me, if more high-level. I think some lower level threats and worlds are needed.

The Blood Star: A solar system that has become the object of attention for three Aelfar dynasties. In pursuit of their typical amusements and vendettas, they have seeded three worlds with life, covertly manipulating the dominant species of each world into traveling between the stars and launching an all-out war on its neighbors. Locked in this cycle of vengeance and blood, they have no idea that they are puppets for beings from beyond.

I like this idea. The party could crash land on one and reenact the Ewok scene...

Malebolge: A once-glorious world of advanced magical civilizations, now thrown into ruins by magical catastrophe. Somewhere between "D&D does RIFTS" and "Eberron Fallout". Whilst the modern populace is in no position to reach for the stars, there re ancient star-vessels still amongst the ruins, and star-raiders sometimes risk a trip to the surface to plunder - not all of whom live to regret it.

Skipping this since I assume it is the same Malebolge.

"Warworld": Setting of my Chainmail-inspired setting. This actually needs to be fleshed out a LOT before I can describe it at all - I haven't even figured out why everybody's fighting, ala Chainmail's business with the God of War's panopoly.

Flammenkyrpt (Brandtibur?) has a magical demon/eldritch horror/old god encouraging pyromancers to vacation there. This world has something similar except that it increases empathy with one's 'tribe' and decreases it for outsiders...I'd find it hilarious if this fact basically kept the place in the stone age because people kept building armies to attack other people, but maybe I've been watching too much Star Trek.

This however, reminds of the Red Dwarf episode Meltdown, where andriods of famous people of history fight each other for the amusement of an assumed audience. Maybe this world gets bombed every so often back to the stone age so visitors can wander around the place in bodies from the world (just psychically hijack whatever you want!) to enact their military stories without that pesky issue of dying.

Helhrime: Turbulent and harsh, this is a cool, dark world of icy winters and frequent storms, a planet of rugged beauty and merciless beauty. Beyond this vision of a Sword & Sandals, Viking Style setting, I haven't had any really solid ideas for this world yet.

Could also be the tourist destintation for people wanting to body-jack things to play out stories and the like. Another idea is that someone from an advanced race has been farming either the people or a resource from the planet. They decided to show up every so often as a god to get what they want, have some parties, sleep with some wenches and depart. Could be Aelfar to explain a lot of Loki's behavior...

Also, we got three barbaric planets roughly corres

Kana: A young world where Paxians are slowly coaxing intelligent life to form. Stone Age and Bronze Age adventuring, in a world where everything is new and heroes of today can become the gods of tomorrow.

A silly twist: The life frorm that might lead to intelligent life find the Paxians inherently tasty. The Paxians are still committed to coaxing this race despite a few incidents, because they don't want to condemn an entire race for the actions of a few.

Horae: In a world where races of beastmen take on familiar roles of humans, kingdoms clash and factions war in the great game of thrones, where power is gained and held at the edge of a sword. But what the naive denizens have blinded themselves to is the true nature of their world. Horae is a world where magic waxes and wanes in the Great Years, centuries-long seasons during which powers arcane, primal and divine ebb and flow. Eons ago, the scalykind ruled with sorcerous powers and mighty magocracies. But when the world fell into Autumn, their works crumbled and they retreated into the shadows, leaving the world for the mammals to claim during the long Winter. But Winter does not last forever. Spring is coming. Magic returns to Horae. Nagas slither from their holes, tongues tasting magic on the wind. Lizardfolk stir in the swamps, witch-priests dreaming feverish dreams of fire and blood. In kobold dens across the world, the once-ignored people are shedding off their old skins as they drink in the power that was theirs once and shall be theirs again; the power and the majesty of the dragon. And far out to sea, a nation hidden outside of space and time with the coming of Autumn returns. Scaly titans will soon bestride the earth again. And whether the mammals will retain their power or return to service may depend on who can win the greatest of the thrones...

To sum up that last one, tldr style: Low Fantasy Beastman setting ala Game of Thrones is turning into High Fantasy as ancient scalykind races, including a long-lost empire of dinosaur-people, return to retake the world that was theirs.

You know, you have two medieval planets, a bronze-age/stone age planet, and a renaissance planet. What if one of them was more technologically advance? As a bit of tongue-in-cheek, one of them has technology comparable to the 1980's or the 1940s'.