Stellar Cartography?

[ARMUS SKIN]

How many people out there use the recent Stellar Cartography book by G Mandel in their games?

LUG had its own version of the Trek galaxy, particularly obvious in the Way of D'era sourcebook map. I've noticed some mention of planets from LUG pop up in recent decipher publications.

Is there any official word out there on what future sourcebook maps will be based on, LUG or Mandel?

I just wish there was one final definitive version on what the Star Trek galaxy looks like (just a fantasy of mine)

I refuse to work myself to death just to keep myself alive.

[Steele1701]

I started using for our newly begun Coda game. The maps are incredibly detailed and useful. Since I am planning to begin our game at DS9 the maps of the area have come in handy.

[qerlin]

Using it, as well. Here & there, if need be, I adjust to fit the campaign. This can usually be explained away with a simple "the [name of power] extends around this section of the Federation to galactic north" or what have you...

[Cochrane]

I kinda like having more than one choice for where things are situated. You can even switch via an alternate universe. If there are infinite universes, then there can be universes with the same players but situated differently.

[Capt. Chris]

I am assuming you mean Star Trek Star charts by G Mandel. for I just got a copy of it and it looks nice but unsure myself if I am going to use it. Any suggestions or help in this area would be appreciated.

[Inajira]

I just got the G Mandel charts as well, and I think I'll be going with them. Its just a matter of what I have available that is in a nice presentable format, with some of that WOW factor. I also like that the book covers the various star and planet types, as well as individual planets and systems. Interesting that the book has the Romulan Star Empire as comparatively small vis a vis the other Powers (although it could be denser as well). I also notice that the Federation extends -around- the Klingon Empire for some distance.

[Ineti]

I like Star Charts. If and when I run Trek again, I'll certainly use it as a reference, but in my games, everything is located relative to the needs of the story. When I'm writing an episode, I don't usually worry about how far one place is from another. If the story needs a week from point A to point B, it takes a week.

I try to keep the distances consistent once I settle on them, though.

[buck rogers]

I now use this source as my "offical" map of the star trek "world map" I think this book is incredibly detailed, and a great work. I can tell the players where they are and where they are going. They decide what warp speed they want to go. BTW I found Zeta 2 Reticuli in the map close to romulan space where Starbase 39 Sierra is. I also figure in ST: II TWOK Kirk might have said warp 5 when they started out but I think he had Sulu speed up to warp 11 or 12 once they hit a major space lane and even then it would have taked around 11 weeks to get all the way out to Spacelab Regula I. I figure that time was simply left out of movie as "dead air" or down time. Then we cut back to the Enterprise when she was only around half a day from Regula and her fateful dance with the Reliant. Meanwhile Kahn had a good time 11 weeks to get familiar with the Reliant and torture the scientist of Regula I. There is still no way to explain ST: V

[buck rogers]

Oops! I forgot to mention the significance of Zeta 2 Reticuli. Its where the Nostromo set down to check out a "distress call" from a derilect spacecraft 2122!

[qerlin]

Originally posted by buck rogers
Oops! I forgot to mention the significance of Zeta 2 Reticuli. Its where the Nostromo set down to check out a "distress call" from a derilect spacecraft 2122!

I can't believe I'm gonna majorly geek here, but I just finished watching the movie a second ago. They were "just short of Zeta 2 Reticuli", but that wasn't said to be the system. I think the second movie calls it LV-427 or some such. doesn't mean it's not, but they never say.

Okay...gonna go wash the geek off...

[Phantom]

I' ll see you, and raise the geekness...He was right, it was LV-426. Mentioned in Ripley's debrief.

[buck rogers]

I'll see that bet and raise you one ALIENS Technical manual that does place LV-426 aka Acheron which is the second moon (class Q) in orbit around a class I gas supergiant Zeta 2 Reticuli IV. Its 36.7 light-years from earth.

[Hadley]

I purchased a copy of Star Charts just after having completed the inital draft of my post-Dominion War campaign, in which the Crew's starship is assigned to the Draconis Outback (as introduced in the LUG Deep Space Nine Core Rulebook).

In this regard, Geoff Mandel's book was a God-send in that I was able to relocate the Outback to occupy the area of space situated 'North' of the Cardassian Union on Page 46 because I intended to use both the Cardassins and the Tzenkethi as the principal advesaries while at the same time placing the Crew in proximity to Bajor and DS9 - their homebase. The maps also gave me plenty of room to develop new alien races to occupy this region as well as proximilty to stellar objetcs (like the Badlands and the Rolor Nebula) to keep the Crew (and, more importantly, the players) interested and busy.

All in all, I feel Mr. Mandel's book is a wonderful asset, both to the gamer and the die-hard Star Trek fan.

[buck rogers]

Here Here Hadley. I have to agree with that. Besides in my humble opinion this reference is no more or less "official" canon than any other source. I also realy like the layout of the book and the way he tries to even explain inconsistencies with "subspace shortcuts". Although I have chosen not to use shortcuts save for wormholes. I decided that it gives the game a better sence of both isolation so they don't try run for help every time they stuck in something and can't get out. They're more motivated when the closest help is three weeks away at warp 9. It also gives them a sense of just how vast space really is.