Multiverse Corridors

[Kronok]

I would like to preface the following by stating that I chose to discuss the topic here with other Narrator’s to hear their opinions on the subject and how it relates to running their games.

I am presently GMing a Post-Dominion War campaign set aboard a small, research vessel that is working “Double-Duty” to try to fill some of the vacant niches created by the effects of war on the galaxy’s major powers. My group also has another Narrator who will be starting his campaign shortly. Anyway, we both agree that starships move at the “Speed of Plot” regardless of warp factor. Stopping to figure out certain game minutia can really slow a game down, but I often find myself thinking that warp factors would be a great addition to my campaign if only I knew some of the specific distances between certain star systems. It seems my wishes have come true in the form of a new periodical coming out this October called “Star Charts: The Complete Atlas of Star Trek” by Geoffrey Mandell. This month’s “Star Trek Communicator” has a sample page from the book showing most of Cardassian Space and its relation to Federation Space (The top edge of the picture shows a distance chart, but the numbers are cut off. DOH!!!). I plan to incorporate as much of this material as I can into what I consider canon in my campaign.

I was curious how some of you handle stellar distances during gameplay?

Don asked a question in another forum and I have chosen to respond to it here.

Originally posted by Don Mappin
Will be interesting to see how they account for some of the (many) distance/location problems that continually creep up in canon.

The article speaks of a “subspace fudge factor” called the “Cochrane constant” (Their words). In a nutshell, the density of various space matter can affect warp speeds (My words) up to 1,500 times warp factor (Their words). The author writes about the problems of justifying early starships traveling beyond the galactic rim as well as the Enterprise NX-01 making it from Earth to Qo’nos in four days. The article reiterates my “Speed of Plot” thoughts in the following:

“All we need to know is that it makes starships go faster when the story requires it!”

Now, how do we add some Realistic Treknobabble (Whoa is that an oxymoron!)? My thoughts on the subject are that the universe was created using the latest “Multiverse Theory.” These other universes intersect our universe at various points/lines/planes of existence (Remember the TNG episode where they were stuck in the geometric definition of a plane?). The “area” between other universes and ours is rather vacant of what would be considered matter and therefore allows starships to travel through this void (For lack of a better term) at both accelerated and hindered speeds. Certain races have stumbled upon these “Multiverse Corridors” (Just made that up) and have plotted them on star charts. Some of these races withhold this information so as to use it to their own advantage, which is how the NX-01 made it to the Qo’nos so quickly. The Enterprise Era Vulcans seem to withhold tons of information from the Humans. It seems to fit that they would “Logically” withhold information about these corridors from them as well. The Klingon in the first episode needed to get back to his homeworld so as to avoid a diplomatic incident, so the Vulcans gave the Humans the required information to get there quickly.

Thoughts?

[Ineti]

It's as good a technobabble excuse as any other. Personally, I go with the "speed of plot" and not get wound up in the whole distance thing. I have the same issue in my Star Wars game, and it's much easier to just let it go and take as long as the story requires to get from point A to point B.

I chalk it up to the idea that even in the 24th century, there's a lot about science that's still theoretical. Including the effects of FTL travels on time.

[Ramage]

In medieval Arthurian literature it takes a knight one of the following times to reach his destination:

A day
Three Days
A week
Three Weeks
A Month
A Season
A Year
A Year and a Day
Many Years

What actual distances are involved? That is unimportant. What is important is the needs of the plot.

I always looked upon Star Trek in the same light

[Dan Gurden]

Yep... I am in the 'speed of plot' camp too.

Am happy to assign warp numbers... But if a player decides to travel faster it simply moves the events that are expected at the far end onward to suit their arrival time...

[SIR SIG]

Or you could treat it like sailing ships relying on a good wind and current.

Say Earth to Qo'nos on a good wind is a day or two. An average trip could be a week or two and poor conditions could drop it into months or even years.

Plus these 'corridors' could and would change over the years. Just because NX Enterprise did it in 2/4 days doesn't mean E-D can do it any quicker.

[RaconteurX]

The Daystrom Institute Technical Library (http://www.ditl.org/) explores the concept of so-called "warp highways" in its Sci-Tech section. Perhaps the webmaster numbers among Mandel's contributors?

[SIR SIG]

Originally posted by RaconteurX
The Daystrom Institute Technical Library (http://www.ditl.org/) explores the concept of so-called "warp highways" in its Sci-Tech section. Perhaps the webmaster numbers among Mandel's contributors?

He did indeed


But the original concept of Warp Highways and Cochrane's Factor (Chi) was Mandel's himself way back in the 80's with the original Trek Star Charts.

The project has simply come full circle.