Terraspace
Terraspace, also called the Sol system, is a star system in relatively close proximity to Realmspace and the Astromundi Cluster, in the general direction of Mechanus. Terraspace is a system with eleven planets and their many moons orbiting a yellow-white sun, four of which bear life on their surfaces. Though seeded with intelligent life by the same ancient forces that shaped the Radiant Triangle (the gods, dragons, Aeari, Batrachi, Sarrukh, and Fey), Terraspace obeys stricter laws of nature, and thus the peoples of Terraspace found it more effective to traverse the heavens in enchanted rockets rather than the heavily-magical sailing ships common to many spelljamming cultures. Terraspace has only relatively recently begun to extend their reach into the Midnight Sea, making contact with the other systems around them and exploring ever deeper into the Astral Sea.
SYSTEM MAJOR BODIES
Mercury is a small, airless rocky planet just 4880 kilometers across and only 5.5% the mass of Terra, yet composed almost entirely of metals and metal-rich ores. Orbiting just 58 million kilometers from Sol, the planet is locked in a 3:2 spin-orbit resonance, so its solar days last for months on end. Mercury is covered in mining colonies, and so it is predominantly inhabited by dwarves, earth and fire elementals, and kobolds. A settlement of fire newts from Mars have also built a moving city that stays close to solar zenith as the planet turns, in order to bask in the heat of the sun.
Venus is a medium-sized rocky planet, about 12100 kilometers across and 82% the mass of Terra, orbiting around 114 million kilometers from the sun. Venus has a comfortably dense and breathable atmosphere, oceans of liquid water, and a swampy, tropical environment teeming with life. The planet is quite volcanically active thanks to its two moons, Dione and Cupid, which also create intense tides and stabilize the planet’s spin and tectonic cycle. This volcanism is moderate and keeps the top layers of the crust enriched for the abundant flora. Venus, long ago seeded by the Aeari, Batrachi, and dragons, has a number of native sophont species, including aarakocra, elementals, kenku, dragons and their kin, the several kinds of batrachids (bullywugs, grippli, grung), tortles, and the oldest of all: the elusive thri-kreen.
Terra is a medium-sized rocky planet that acts as the standard for planetary masses in the system (1 Terra mass, equivalent to 1 Toril mass) and radii (6371 kilometers, equivalent to 1 Toril radius its orbital radius of just under 150 million kilometers is likewise the standard for the astronomical unit (AU), a unit for measuring vast interplanetary distances. Terra has a comfortably dense and breathable atmosphere, oceans of liquid water, and a vibrant and diverse native ecology. It harbors the many species of humanoids common to other worlds (dwarves, elves, giants and their kin, gnomes, goblins and their kin, halflings, and orcs) in addition to several species of beastfolk, centaurs, merfolk, and even some dragon-kin (though dragons proper are extinct on Terra). Terra has one proportionally large rocky moon, Luna, which is approximately 3500 kilometers across and 1.2% of its parent planet's mass. Luna, while airless, is heavily populated and highly industrialized.
Mars is a small, arid rocky planet, about 6780 kilometers across and 14% the mass of Terra, with a somewhat thin but breathable atmosphere. The planet is rather cool, orbiting about 196 million kilometers (1.31 AU) from the sun. It is largely arid, but still has some flora near its seas. Despite the cold, the native inhabitants of Mars are mostly reptilian in nature: dragons and their kin, as well as various species of lizardfolk and serpentfolk. Mars has three moons; two small, relatively close captured asteroids called Phobos and Deimos, and a larger, more distant spheroid moon named Nerio which helps stabilize the planet's spin and tectonics.
The Main Belt is a carbonaceous asteroid belt spanning from 1.4 to 5.2 AU. Due to orbital resonances with Mars and Jupiter, there are large gaps in asteroid orbital distribution, funneling the vast majority of Belt objects to the "main belt" between 2.06 and 3.27 AU. The Belt is aflutter with activity, mainly mining done by dwarven and kobold clans. The central hub of the Belt is the dwarf planet Ceres, an object just 1910 kilometers across and 0.2% the mass of Terra, which orbits between 2.6 and 3 AU from the sun. Once a mining colony, Ceres has changed hands many times and is now in the process of being transformed into a micro-terra through futurist druidcraft: the current inhabitants of Ceres seek to enclose it in a worldshell made of space-tolerant vegetation, and create a paradise within. Ceres is orbited relatively closely by the large asteroid moon Vesta.
Jupiter is a gas giant of 318 Terra masses, just barely under 140000 kilometers across, which orbits the sun at a distance of about 5.2 AU. It is a cold and violent world, bearing enormous cyclones several times larger than its own moons and overwhelmingly potent radiation belts within its magnetic field. Though inhospitable to almost all kinds of life, magically-fortified gas mining facilities dot its skies. The Jovian moon system contains four major planetoid bodies: Io, a sulfur-laden and highly volcanic rocky world; Europa, a frozen world hiding a vast water ocean between its icy crust and iron-silicate core; Ganymede, the only moon in the system with a natural magnetic field and its own subsurface ocean; and Callisto, a deeply scarred and tidally-locked body outside the main radiation belts; and Juno, a cold ocean world slightly smaller than Mars. Juno is natively inhabited by a modest number of aquatic sapients: Kuo-toa, Locathah, Sahuagin, and Tako. All four of the other major moons also have well-established populations.
Saturn is a gas giant of 95 Terra masses, just a bit over 58000 kilometers across, which orbits the sun at a distance of about 9.6 AU. As a gas giant, Saturn's atmosphere is divided into several faintly visible bands at different latitudes, resulting in turbulence and storms along their boundaries, the largest of which is a giant hexagonal cyclone occupying the north pole of the planet. The planet is dotted with enclosed habitat cities, engineered to rest on the heavier cloud layers and meander across the gaseous surface of the planet according to the whims of the atmospheric currents. This world's most notable feature is its breathtaking ring system composed of ice particulates. It has seven major moons, all icy airless planetoids (save one): Crius, Theia, Hyperion, Coeus, Phoebe, Rhea, and Iapetus. Rhea is the largest moon of Saturn, laden with a dense nitrogen-and-hydrocarbon atmosphere and etched with rivers and lakes of liquid methane. The Saturn sphere is well-settled, especially the megacities and industrial superstructures on Rhea.
Minerva is a pale blue ice giant of 14.5 Terra masses, slightly over 24600 kilometers across, which orbits the sun at a distance of about 19.2 AU. Minerva's rotational axis is 90° relative to its plane of orbit, meaning its precession causes the poles to gradually flip from sun-facing to dark-facing and back again over the course of its solar year. The planet is suffused in methane haze, tinting its deceptively turbulent skies slightly turquoise. Minerva has three major moons, all icy airless planetoids: Victoria, Mnemosyne, and Themis. The Minerva sphere is reasonably well-settled, particularly the academic citadels on Mnemosyne and the cities on Themis.
Neptune is a deep cobalt ice giant of 17.1 Terra masses, slightly under 25400 kilometers across, which orbits the sun at a distance of about 30.1 AU. Its atmosphere is much less hazy than Minerva's, but has significantly larger and more powerful storm systems. Neptune has four major moons, all icy airless planetoids: Salacia, Tethys, Oceanus, and Triton. The Neptune sphere is less populated than the rest of the system, though the industrial helium and methane platforms in Neptune itself have appreciable staff counts.
The Pluto-Proserpina binary planetoid system is a pair of small, icy planets with a highly eccentric trans-Neptunian orbit around the sun at an average distance of 39.5 AU. Pluto is about 2960 kilometers across and just 0.44% the mass of Terra, while its companion Proserpina is about 2440 kilometers across and half the mass of its parent body. There are a handful of frontier towns scattered around both objects, capitalizing on the abundant nitrogen.
The Kuiper Belt is a wide toroidal cloud of dwarf planets and comets that comprises the outer region of Terraspace, from 40 to 95 AU. It is scarcely populated, with only a handful of scientific, military, and industrial outposts scattered around this vast span.
Janus is the most distant planet of the solar system, an airless, ice-covered rocky body 7240 kilometers across and 8.3% the mass of Terra. At 96 AU, Janus orbits just outside the Kuiper Belt, acting as the outer shepherd of KBOs. Its population is largely scientists and support staff, though a few frontier towns have sprung up around the spelljammer ports.
SYSTEM NATIVE SAPIENTS
Geography
Terraspace consists of a central yellow dwarf star, called Sol by the locals, and eleven major planetary bodies that orbit it at varying distances. The system also has two major debris fields: the rocky Main Belt between Mars and Jupiter, wherein lies the dwarf planet Ceres; and the icy Kuiper Belt between Neptune and Janus, wherein lies the Pluto-Proserpina binary dwarf planet pair. All of the major bodies except Mercury and Janus have at least one moon, often more. The system's nominal habitable zone extends from 0.7 AU to 1.5 AU, and contains three planets that support life: Venus, Terra, and Mars. One of the major moons of Jupiter, Juno, is also habitable -albeit barely so- thanks to tidal heating and an intense greenhouse effect.SYSTEM MAJOR BODIES
SOL (central star, G2V)
- Mercury
- Venus
- Cupid
- Dione
- Terra
- Luna
- Mars
- Phobos
- Deimos
- Nerio
- {Main Belt} (asteroid belt)
- Ceres
- Vesta
- Ceres
- Jupiter
- Io
- Europa
- Ganymede
- Callisto
- Juno
- Saturn
- Crius
- Theia
- Hyperion
- Coeus
- Phoebe
- Rhea
- Iapetus
- Minerva
- Victoria
- Mnemosyne
- Themis
- Neptune
- Salacia
- Tethys
- Oceanus
- Triton
- {Kuiper Belt} (comet cloud}
- Pluto + Proserpina
- Janus
Celestial Bodies
Sol
Sol, the star at the center of Terraspace, is a very typical G2V yellow-white star of 1 solar mass, 1 solar radius, and 1 solar luminosity -a near-twin of Solis. Its effective surface temperature is about 5780 Universal Centigrade (K), producing a slightly yellow-tinted light. While measuring nearly 1.4 million kilometers across at its equator, it has no true surface; only a turbulent boundary where the roiling plasma gives way to the void of space, called the photosphere. Nothing can survive within eight million kilometers of this "surface," as this is the extent of the star's extremely hot ionized atmosphere.Mercury
Mercury is a small, airless rocky planet just 4880 kilometers across and only 5.5% the mass of Terra, yet composed almost entirely of metals and metal-rich ores. Orbiting just 58 million kilometers from Sol, the planet is locked in a 3:2 spin-orbit resonance, so its solar days last for months on end. Mercury is covered in mining colonies, and so it is predominantly inhabited by dwarves, earth and fire elementals, and kobolds. A settlement of fire newts from Mars have also built a moving city that stays close to solar zenith as the planet turns, in order to bask in the heat of the sun.
Venus
Venus is a medium-sized rocky planet, about 12100 kilometers across and 82% the mass of Terra, orbiting around 114 million kilometers from the sun. Venus has a comfortably dense and breathable atmosphere, oceans of liquid water, and a swampy, tropical environment teeming with life. The planet is quite volcanically active thanks to its two moons, Dione and Cupid, which also create intense tides and stabilize the planet’s spin and tectonic cycle. This volcanism is moderate and keeps the top layers of the crust enriched for the abundant flora. Venus, long ago seeded by the Aeari, Batrachi, and dragons, has a number of native sophont species, including aarakocra, elementals, kenku, dragons and their kin, the several kinds of batrachids (bullywugs, grippli, grung), tortles, and the oldest of all: the elusive thri-kreen.
Terra
Terra is a medium-sized rocky planet that acts as the standard for planetary masses in the system (1 Terra mass, equivalent to 1 Toril mass) and radii (6371 kilometers, equivalent to 1 Toril radius its orbital radius of just under 150 million kilometers is likewise the standard for the astronomical unit (AU), a unit for measuring vast interplanetary distances. Terra has a comfortably dense and breathable atmosphere, oceans of liquid water, and a vibrant and diverse native ecology. It harbors the many species of humanoids common to other worlds (dwarves, elves, giants and their kin, gnomes, goblins and their kin, halflings, and orcs) in addition to several species of beastfolk, centaurs, merfolk, and even some dragon-kin (though dragons proper are extinct on Terra). Terra has one proportionally large rocky moon, Luna, which is approximately 3500 kilometers across and 1.2% of its parent planet's mass. Luna, while airless, is heavily populated and highly industrialized.
Mars
Mars is a small, arid rocky planet, about 6780 kilometers across and 14% the mass of Terra, with a somewhat thin but breathable atmosphere. The planet is rather cool, orbiting about 196 million kilometers (1.31 AU) from the sun. It is largely arid, but still has some flora near its seas. Despite the cold, the native inhabitants of Mars are mostly reptilian in nature: dragons and their kin, as well as various species of lizardfolk and serpentfolk. Mars has three moons; two small, relatively close captured asteroids called Phobos and Deimos, and a larger, more distant spheroid moon named Nerio which helps stabilize the planet's spin and tectonics.
The Main Belt
The Main Belt is a carbonaceous asteroid belt spanning from 1.4 to 5.2 AU. Due to orbital resonances with Mars and Jupiter, there are large gaps in asteroid orbital distribution, funneling the vast majority of Belt objects to the "main belt" between 2.06 and 3.27 AU. The Belt is aflutter with activity, mainly mining done by dwarven and kobold clans. The central hub of the Belt is the dwarf planet Ceres, an object just 1910 kilometers across and 0.2% the mass of Terra, which orbits between 2.6 and 3 AU from the sun. Once a mining colony, Ceres has changed hands many times and is now in the process of being transformed into a micro-terra through futurist druidcraft: the current inhabitants of Ceres seek to enclose it in a worldshell made of space-tolerant vegetation, and create a paradise within. Ceres is orbited relatively closely by the large asteroid moon Vesta.
Jupiter
Jupiter is a gas giant of 318 Terra masses, just barely under 140000 kilometers across, which orbits the sun at a distance of about 5.2 AU. It is a cold and violent world, bearing enormous cyclones several times larger than its own moons and overwhelmingly potent radiation belts within its magnetic field. Though inhospitable to almost all kinds of life, magically-fortified gas mining facilities dot its skies. The Jovian moon system contains four major planetoid bodies: Io, a sulfur-laden and highly volcanic rocky world; Europa, a frozen world hiding a vast water ocean between its icy crust and iron-silicate core; Ganymede, the only moon in the system with a natural magnetic field and its own subsurface ocean; and Callisto, a deeply scarred and tidally-locked body outside the main radiation belts; and Juno, a cold ocean world slightly smaller than Mars. Juno is natively inhabited by a modest number of aquatic sapients: Kuo-toa, Locathah, Sahuagin, and Tako. All four of the other major moons also have well-established populations.
Saturn
Saturn is a gas giant of 95 Terra masses, just a bit over 58000 kilometers across, which orbits the sun at a distance of about 9.6 AU. As a gas giant, Saturn's atmosphere is divided into several faintly visible bands at different latitudes, resulting in turbulence and storms along their boundaries, the largest of which is a giant hexagonal cyclone occupying the north pole of the planet. The planet is dotted with enclosed habitat cities, engineered to rest on the heavier cloud layers and meander across the gaseous surface of the planet according to the whims of the atmospheric currents. This world's most notable feature is its breathtaking ring system composed of ice particulates. It has seven major moons, all icy airless planetoids (save one): Crius, Theia, Hyperion, Coeus, Phoebe, Rhea, and Iapetus. Rhea is the largest moon of Saturn, laden with a dense nitrogen-and-hydrocarbon atmosphere and etched with rivers and lakes of liquid methane. The Saturn sphere is well-settled, especially the megacities and industrial superstructures on Rhea.
Minerva
Minerva is a pale blue ice giant of 14.5 Terra masses, slightly over 24600 kilometers across, which orbits the sun at a distance of about 19.2 AU. Minerva's rotational axis is 90° relative to its plane of orbit, meaning its precession causes the poles to gradually flip from sun-facing to dark-facing and back again over the course of its solar year. The planet is suffused in methane haze, tinting its deceptively turbulent skies slightly turquoise. Minerva has three major moons, all icy airless planetoids: Victoria, Mnemosyne, and Themis. The Minerva sphere is reasonably well-settled, particularly the academic citadels on Mnemosyne and the cities on Themis.
Neptune
Neptune is a deep cobalt ice giant of 17.1 Terra masses, slightly under 25400 kilometers across, which orbits the sun at a distance of about 30.1 AU. Its atmosphere is much less hazy than Minerva's, but has significantly larger and more powerful storm systems. Neptune has four major moons, all icy airless planetoids: Salacia, Tethys, Oceanus, and Triton. The Neptune sphere is less populated than the rest of the system, though the industrial helium and methane platforms in Neptune itself have appreciable staff counts.
Pluto-Proserpina
The Pluto-Proserpina binary planetoid system is a pair of small, icy planets with a highly eccentric trans-Neptunian orbit around the sun at an average distance of 39.5 AU. Pluto is about 2960 kilometers across and just 0.44% the mass of Terra, while its companion Proserpina is about 2440 kilometers across and half the mass of its parent body. There are a handful of frontier towns scattered around both objects, capitalizing on the abundant nitrogen.
The Kuiper Belt
The Kuiper Belt is a wide toroidal cloud of dwarf planets and comets that comprises the outer region of Terraspace, from 40 to 95 AU. It is scarcely populated, with only a handful of scientific, military, and industrial outposts scattered around this vast span.
Janus
Janus is the most distant planet of the solar system, an airless, ice-covered rocky body 7240 kilometers across and 8.3% the mass of Terra. At 96 AU, Janus orbits just outside the Kuiper Belt, acting as the outer shepherd of KBOs. Its population is largely scientists and support staff, though a few frontier towns have sprung up around the spelljammer ports.
Ecology
Terraspace, like many systems, is home to a wide diversity of life across several planets and moons. This biodiversity includes a large number of sapients, closely related to the sapient species of Realmspace.SYSTEM NATIVE SAPIENTS
VENUSIANS
- Aarakocra
- Bullywugs
- Dragons
- Dragonborn
- Grippli
- Grung
- Kenku
- Kobolds
- Thri-kreen
- Tortles
- Beastfolk (Tabaxi, Harengon, Lycans, etc)
- Centaurs
- Dragons
- Dragonborn
- Dwarves
- Elves
- Fey
- Firbolgs
- Giants
- Gnomes
- Goliaths
- Goblins
- Halflings
- Humans
- Kobolds
- Merfolk
- Orcs
- Dragons
- Dragonborn
- Firenewts
- Kobolds
- Lizardfolk
- Naga
- Yuan-ti
- Kuo-toa
- Locathah
- Sahuagin/Malenti
- Tako
History
The modern spacefaring history of Terraspace begins in the local year of 1957 Common Era, with the launch of an extremely simple satellite named Sputnik 1 from the surface of the planet Terra. This was followed four years later with the first manned orbital flight, Vostok 1, enacted as part of a "Space Race" between competing world powers. One of these powers committed themselves to reaching Luna, the only natural satellite of Terra, with a crewed spaceflight program called Apollo. Though some lives were lost, they achieved this goal in 1969 with the Apollo 11 mission.
However, in the intervening time, remote probes had discovered ample evidence of life on both neighboring worlds, prolonging the "Space Race" and driving the two world powers to make contact with their neighbors. One sent a series of missions, called Ares, to Mars; the other sent a series of missions, called Zarya, to Venus. Both projects succeeded in establishing relations with the inhabitants of each planet, and rapidly lead to the blossoming of an interplanetary civilization. In 1988, the three inner worlds sent an expedition to an outer ocean moon, Juno, and made contact with its inhabitants, bringing a fourth member into the fold. It was a hopeful, fast-paced era for spaceflight in a young civilization.
Everything changed in 2002 when a fleet of illithids, thousands of ships strong, began to invade the system. This was the first contact the civilization of Terraspace ever had with intelligent life from outside the solar system, and it was quite a shock. In retaliation, the United Solar Fleet was established, and a long, grueling interplanetary war began. It lasted four years, and the Terraspacers won -at a heavy cost. In the process, however, they had gained robust interplanetary infrastructure suitable to support an extensive spacefaring culture, as well as a form of faster-than-light travel that would open up the wider universe to them. The civilizations of Terraspace launched their first cooperative interstellar expedition, Asteria 1, in 2009, and have since made contact with many other major systems as of the current year of 2022.
Basic Info
System Structure
Endemic Bodies
Asteropolitical Information
- Coalition of Venusian Nations
- United Nations of Terra
- Martian Colonial Confederacy
- Free Belt Ecumene
- (others TBD)
Creator's Note
Terraspace is my attempt to have my cake and eat it too when it comes to rocketpunk, but is also a clever way to justify making pop culture references in character.
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