Home > Rulebook > Environment > Generating a Star System

Star Systems can be hard for GM’s to create on the fly with various important details for the players to explore. Metanoia Engine is a game about travel and exploration, and it is designed to make travelling easier for players, creating a universe entirely from scratch. GM’s do not need to use this system, and are encouraged to use their own methods to make star systems perfect for their campaigns and multiverses

To create a Star System, please follow the tables below!

Star System Name

Generating a Star System Name is simple, simply roll a d100 dice, and follow the numbers, feel free to add spaces between words, add letters, change things around and stop when you think a name is correct enough, if you dislike a choice, reroll to get a different or better outcome.

Table: Galaxy Name Generator              
D% Name D% Name D% Name D% Name
1 Sa 26 A 51 Thal 76 ‘Uum
2 Su 27 E 52 Thu 77 Dia
3 Shi 28 I 53 The 78 Sor
4 Sen 29 O 54 Tha 79 Ak
5 Ba 30 U 55 Thi 80 Bol
6 Bra 31 Ka 56 De 81 Goa
7 Mi 32 Ki 57 Da 82 Goth
8 Ni 33 Ke 58 Du 83 Th
9 Ha 34 Ja 59 Di 84 Goy
10 Fu 35 Ji 60 Do 85 Noy
11 Ku 36 Ju 61 Tho 86 Ep
12 Ro 37 Je 62 Yi 87 On
13 Ko 38 Jo 63 Yu 88 Tri
14 Mo 39 N 64 Fe 89 Ren
15 Lo 40 Na 65 Fi 90 Za
16 Te 41 Ne 66 Fo 91 1
17 To 42 Nu 67 M 92 2
18 Tu 43 No 68 Lo 93 3
19 Ti 44 So 69 Del 94 4
20 Ta 45 Si 70 El 95 5
21 Bu 46 Se 71 Al 96 6
22 Ma 47 N 72 Ae 97 7
23 Ri 48 Yo 73 Am 98 8
24 Re 49 Ya 74 Ir 99 9
25 Ru 50 Ye 75 Ar 100 0

Sun

This section governs most of what generating the suns on the system would be like. Suns are mainly cosmetic in effect to a system but can affect the light levels of various planets and change the colours of the worlds around them.

Amount of Suns

Many systems can come with multiple suns. Roll a d10 to determine how many suns a system has.

Table: Amount of Suns  
Dice Result Description
1-2 0 Suns
3-6 1 Sun
7-8 2 Suns
9-10 3 Suns

Sun Heat

Roll a d20 to determine the heat of a sun, you can roll a d20 per sun to determine it’s heat.

Table: Sun Heat  
Dice Result Description
1-11 Red (<3,500K)
12-13 Orange (3,500K – 5,000K)
14-15 Yellow (5,000K – 6,000K)
16-17 Green (6,000K – 7,500K)
18 White (7,500K – 10,000K)
19 Blue (10,000K – 30,000K)
20 Purple (30,000K>)

Planets

This section details planet generation and fills in all of the physical details of a planet. For factions, government or other more social issues such as day and year cycle, it is recommended you fill your own details in to whatever you would deem as appropriate.

Amount of Planets in System

When determining the amount of planets in a system, roll 3d6 to determine the amount of planets that are located in the system. Systems themselves usually contain a minimum of 3 planets, but if you’d like to make larger or smaller, you’re free to add more or remove some d6’s.

Planet Size

Roll a d20 to determine planet size

Table: Planet Size  
Dice Result Description (Diameter)
1 Large Asteroid (<500km)
2-3 Proto Planet (500km – 2,000km)
4-6 Dwarf Planet (2,000km – 7,500km)
7-10 Planetary (7,500km – 15,000km)
11-17 Super Planet (15,000km – 25,000km)
18-19 Celestial Planet (25,000km – 100,000km)
20 Titan Planet (100,000km+)

Planet Biomes

This table determines the most common biome found on the planet, when building biomes, you can use the table below and roll a d20 to determine the biome of a location. You may roll this as many times as you’d like.

Table: Planet Biomes  
Dice Result Biome
1 Ice
2-3 Snow
4-5 Ocean
6-7 Urban
8-9 Forest
10-11 Plains
12-13 Desert
14-15 Jungle
16-17 Mountains
18-19 Swamp
20 Cavern

Planet Atmosphere

To determine a planet’s atmosphere, you can roll the table below to determine what is the most common atmosphere. Roll a d20 to determine the main chemical inside of the atmosphere of the planet.

Table: Planet Atmosphere  
Dice Result Atmosphere
1 None
2-3 Sodium
4-5 Argon
6-7 Helium
8-9 Hydrogen
10-11 Oxygen
12-13 Carbon Dioxide
14-15 Methane
16-17 Phosphorus
18-19 Arsenic
20 Ethanol

Planet Temperature

To determine the average temperature of a planet, you can use the table below to determine the base temperature. Roll a d20 to determine the average temperature of the planet.

Table: Planet Temperature  
Dice Result Temperature
1 Ultra Cold
2-3 Extreme Cold
4-5 Severe Cold
6-8 Moderate Cold
9-12 Average Temperature
13-15 Moderate Heat
16-17 Severe Heat
18-19 Extreme Heat
20 Ultra Heat

Planet Vegetation

The vegetation level of a planet determines the kinds of creatures and food you will find on the planet, typically more vegetation means more difficult creatures are to be encountered and found, however, the bounty of the planet is increased, allowing you to find more resources. Use the table below to determine the vegetation level of a planet. Roll a d8.

Table: Planet Vegetation  
Dice Result Vegetation
1 Barren (-50% to all foraging actions, average creature RL is decreased by -2)
2-3 Arid (-25% to all foraging actions, average creature RL is decreased by -1)
4-5 Average (no effects)
6-7 Abundant (+25% to all foraging actions, average creature RL is increased by +1)
8 Lush (+50% to all foraging actions, average creature RL is increased by +2)

Planet Gravity

Planet Gravity is relatively easy to determine. Simply roll a d6 and follow the table below.

Table: Planet Gravity  
Dice Result Gravity
1 Zero Gravity
2 Low Gravity
3-4 Normal Gravity
5 High Gravity
6 Extreme Gravity

Population Count

This determines the general population count and density of the planet. Roll a d20 and follow the table below to determine the population of a planet.

Table: Planet Population  
Dice Result Population
1-3 No humanoid life detected.
4 100 – 1,000
5 1,000 – 10,000
6 10,000 – 100,000
7 100,000 – 1 million
8 1 million – 10 million
9 10 million – 1 billion
10 1 billion – 10 billion
11-16 10 billion – 1 Trillion
17-19 1 Trillion – 10 Trillion
20 10 Trillion+

Technological Level of Planet

This section details how to calculate the general tech level of a planet and it’s inhabitants, normally, if it doesn’t contain any people, it would be considered primal, but otherwise, with more people it’s more likely to have more advanced technology. Roll a d20 and follow the table below to get your results.

Table: Planet Tech Level  
Dice Result Tech Level
1 Primal, No Technology
2 Tribal, Minimal Amounts of Technology (e.g. Fire, Spears, Bows, etc.)
3 Ancient Technology, equivalent to Ancient Egyptians and Romans
4 Medieval, Basic rudimentary understanding of engineering and mathematics
5-6 Industrial Era, Firearms are prevalent enough here to be seen, Factories common
7-8 Low-Tech, closer to 20th century.
9-17 Average Technology Level. Standard amounts of Technology you’d see anywhere.
18-19 High-Tech, Incredible amounts of technology not normally seen anywhere.
20 Cutting Edge, Electronics are everywhere and integrated into everything. Overengineered masterpieces litter the place.

Planet Colour

This is the main colour of the planet, featuring the colours of the chlorophyll on the planet. While the planet may look different in orbit, you may still use this table to determine that colour if you’d like it to be different. Roll a d20 and follow the table below to determine the main colours of the planet. This can be a good guide to use colours adjacent to the ones on the table.

Table: Planet Colour  
Dice Result Colour
1 White
2 Grey
3 Pink
4 Teal
5 Red
6 Blue
7 Green
8 Purple
9 Brown
10 Orange
11 Yellow
12 Black

Special Planet Effects

This is a list of special planet effects, while not important or mandatory, it does add more flair to your planets and stops the same kind of planet from building up, breaking the monotony. You may roll this table any amount of times until you’re satisfied. Simply roll a d20 and follow the table below.

Table: Special Planet Effects  
Dice Result Effects
1 The inside of this Planet is entirely hollow, or features multiple hollow layers which can be explored.
2 This Planet frequently is known to teleport and jump between systems and locations, it is unstable in it’s orbit.
3 This Planet is actually split into two planets equal to half of it’s original size for each, these planets are within close proximity of each other (within a couple million kilometres) and rotate around each other gently. Their orbit is entirely stable.
4 The native creatures born on this planet are one size smaller then they normally would be.
5 The planet is of an irregular shape, either a diamond, square, oblong or otherwise.
6 The planet features an outbreak of a plague or other creature devastating the planet.
7 The weather on the planet allows it to rain various minerals and dense objects over other liquids e.g. water.
8 This planet is not made with a solid material, creatures or objects that remain still on this planet sink into it at 1m per round unless standing on solid material.
9 The planet’s moons are often used as geothermic satellites and frequently generate and deposit material on the planet.
10 The gravity of the planet changes every twelve hours.
11 At night, the temperature of the planet shifts rapidly to it’s direct opposite (e.g. Severe Heat becomes Severe Cold)
12 The planet itself is alive, breathing and sentient, completely aware of everything that is going on on top of it.
13 Every day on the planet, the atmosphere swaps to another kind of atmosphere, rapidly changing it’s properties.
14 The native creatures born on this planet are one size larger then they normally would be.
15 This planet features a visible, natural ring (or multiple) around it.
16 The planet emits a frequent EMP pulse, disabling electronics every hour or so temporarily.
17 This planet is fractured, the core is visible in this planet, and the various tectonic plates under the surface change in depth quite often
18 The core of this planet is entirely artificial, and is actively worked on by those who live on the planet.
19 The planet is incredibly volatile, natural disasters happen daily in various locations on the planet.
20 The planet is made of one solid material throughout, man-made or natural.

Moons

Amount of Moons Surrounding a Planet

Table: Planet Moon Count  
Dice Result Moon Count
1-3 0 Moons
4 1 Moon
5 2 Moons
6-7 3-5 Moons
8-9 6-10 Moons
10-13 11-20 Moons
14-15 21-30 Moons
16-17 31-50 Moons
18 51-100 Moons
19 101-200 Moons
20 200+ Moons

Galaxy Miscellaneous

Asteroid Belts

The table below determines how many asteroid belts are found in the system and how frequently they are found. Roll a d10 and follow the table below to determine the amount and frequency.

Table: Asteroid Belts  
Dice Result Effects
1 None
2 One, on the outskirts
3 One, connects with a planet (or multiple)
4 One, directly in the middle of the system
5 Two, both directly next to each other
6 Two, separated by a few planets
7 Two, each colliding with other
8 Three, separated by a planet each
9 Three, colliding with each other
10 Three, on the outskirts of the system.

Miscellaneous System Effects

Table: Miscellaneous System Effects  
Dice Result Effects
1 Pirates are currently infesting the system.
2 All present-day electronics do not function in this system due to EMP interference.
3 Multiple small, rare-earth ores and items litter this system.
4 The fields are strangely clear and open, making navigation through the system incredibly easy.
5 This system “consumed” another system in it’s entirety and has twice the planets
6 An astronomical creature resides asleep around this system, when awoken from being interacted with, it will attack the first thing it sees
7 This system has multiple officers currently patrolling
8 The system is very quiet and gentle (all creatures have the weakened template here)
9 This system is rich with dark matter, allowing only minimal light to pass through.
10 The fields of this system are covered in small meteorites and debris, making navigation very difficult
11 All forms of powers and magic do not work in this system
12 Miasma litters this region, making detection more difficult (-50% to all detection actions with powers and technology)
13 This system was artificially made and isn’t a naturally occurring system.
14 A deep tension fills this system (all monsters have the advanced template here)
15 The system features an intergalactic root which allows travel to an alternate dimension (DC 100 to find)
16 The laws here are generally more relaxed and less punishing then other systems.
17 The system is incredibly close to a black hole and requires careful navigation or being sucked into.
18 Multiple space-vines exist in this system, landing on them grants access to tons of quantities of food and plant matter.
19 The system is under a lockdown and can’t be accessed easily, the lockdown fades after 1d6 days.
20 A wandering collector is located in this system for 24 hours