Solo TTRPG: Space Cluster Creation using Diaspora
Experimenting with solo ttrpg worldbuilding using Diaspora.
Diaspora shares a lot of DNA with Traveller. The starting point of a campaign is to build out a cluster of connected solar systems. Some are left minimally described for now.
- T = Technology
- E = Environment
- R = Resources
Curiosity
T2 E0 R-1
The Curiosity system includes a captured planetary mass black hole in a highly inclined orbit. The 5th planet of the system has a sprawling city of ancient non-human origin. Materials recovered from this site have isotope profiles that indicate an origin outside the cluster. These features have made Curiosity a leading center for research and development across the cluster. The fourth planet is home to multiple research centers, universities, and technological corporations.
Attempting to unlock these mysteries requires substantial imports of manufactured goods and raw materials. While much of the raw primary research is open, corporations hold monopolies on specific technologies, including slipstream drives and advanced life support systems.
Researchers have confirmed that routes to other clusters exist, but so far, attempts to pass matter between the two points have failed.
- technological monopolies
- scientific mysteries
- academic cultures
- gateway to other clusters
Breadbasket
T2 E3 R1
With multiple habitable worlds, Breadbasket is the agricultural and political center of the cluster. Exports food and slipstream drives to multiple dependent systems.
- slipstream manufacturer
- rich agriculture
- influences dependent systems
Calypso
T0 E1 R-2
Calypso's primary garden world has a conspicuous ring system. This has made it a welcome spot for vacations and resorts. While many in the system welcome the trade they get from more affluent systems, a growing political movement resents the monopolization of slipstream technology and dependence on external technology that limits in-system development.
- resort planet
- untapped resources
- constrained technology
Folly
T-1 E2 R-1
Local politics and conflicts have made this system hostile to us outsiders. The single Garden world is dominated by multiple factions who are in the midst of an extended cold war. The marginally habitable ice world Freedom is used as a prison colony, but also has independent colonies of communities that don't fit with the primary world. The major factions reject trade with the rest of the cluster, but Freedom has a single quasi-legal spaceport.
- isolationist
- system on the brink of war
- repressed secondary world
Steel
T1 E1 R2
Steel is a mining and manufacturing hub. A rich asteroid belt is the primary manufacturer of space frames for the entire cluster. Multiple marginal worlds and larger asteroids have been colonized.
- labor disputes
- heavy industry
- asteroid colonies
Fuel
T-2 E2 R1
- Agrarian primary
- Mining colony on desert world
Lightbulb
T-2 E0 R1
- Self-sufficient colony
- Exports luxury textiles
Timebomb
T0 E-1 R2
Timebomb is a disaster in progress. It includes a white dwarf star in an eccentric orbit around a late-stage variable red giant. The white dwarf siphons off gas from its heavier companion, approaching its maximum mass limits. Magnetic field interactions between the two stars create unpredictable coronal mass ejections. The white dwarf's atmosphere ignites in thermonuclear explosions.
Although the system is officially blacklisted by insurance agencies, it is extremely rich in mineral resources and salvage from a previous T4 civilization. This attracts pirates, prospectors, and freeholders who buy the best radiation shielding they can afford and hope to escape before the system goes supernova.
- high risk, high reward
- ancient civilization
