Realms and Earth
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In a sci-fi/fantasy hybrid campaign we ran using Endailya, the players were travelers from a futuristic Earth. In this future, science had discovered the existence of various 'hyperspace' layers scattered about the universe and had developed some ability to cross between them.
In the region of Earth's solar system, a single hyperspace had been identified and was believed by most religions to be the physical place of their heaven/hell/afterlife. Telepathy and similar 'psionic' abilities were found to be real and likely a result of the intermingling of the two physical realities. Such abilities began to be studied and some degree of training became possible.
Each hyperspace had its own laws of physics which could be indistinguishable from our own, radically different, or somewhere in between. FTL (faster-than-light) space travel was achieved by slipping into a suitable hyperspace region, traversing some distance, then slipping back into normal space possibly some great distance away.
Because of the variety of physical realities that could be encountered in a hyperspace and the difficulty of measuring such things without first physically traveling there, much of this exploration was done using unmanned vessels. Once the properties of a hyperspace region were studied, travel routes could be safely established. For longer routes, beacons could be placed and automated ship guidance used to make the trip reliable.
Another challenge of FTL travel was the potential harm to living things, even for a short time, in a hyperspace region. Travelers were generally placed in stasis to minimize effects (often psychological - a result of being faced with a different reality).
The adventurers in this campaign were a ship crew on a mission to map a travel route (already explored by probes) and position beacons along the way which would allow safe and efficient transport to a number of planets identified as possible sources of valuable materials. Upon reaching Endailya, the ship encountered the rare situation of multiple overlapping hyperspace regions and, identifying the danger, activated emergency protocols. The ship emerged into normal space and awoke the crew from stasis who managed to crash land on the planet's surface. For a variety of reasons, they quickly became separated from their ship and most of their technology.
The variety of races on Endailya which the crew subsequently encountered appeared to be a result of having multiple hyperspace regions overlapping in the region of the planet. In place of psionics, with which the humans were familiar, a wide variety of other abilities (magic) were practiced. The challenge now was to find a way to contact Earth with their location in order to be rescued.
Page Stats
| Page Created By: | Bremen |
| Created On: | Nov 24, 2007 |
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