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Cosmology/Cosmology.md

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+---
+title: Cosmology
+description: Introduction to the universe of Vaardspace
+---
+Vaardspace is a science-fantasy setting. Magic exists, and people do science. Some people never leave their hometown, and some people travel to the edges of the galaxy or across the planes. 
+
+This setting is here for you to make a character as outrageous or dull as you like. 
+
+The gods and planes of published DND settings exist within the greater cosmology of Vaardspace. So you can build a character using published options and that character will fit into the setting. You may also borrow from non-D&D mythologies. A good excuse for fitting a character in is, "On this one planet, in this one place, they do this thing."
+
+The story of Vaardspace takes place in a fantasy version of our galaxy. It is called [[The Greater Sagittarian Sphere]]. Nobody knows what the word "Sagittarian" means, it is a phonetic translation of an undefined word from an ancient, lost culture.
+
+Vaardspace borrows the concept of [[Crystal Spheres]] from Spelljammer. Adventurers travel to other planets in crystal spheres floating in space in search of treasure and fame. Read about space travel in [[Spelljamming and Travel]].
+
+Read the articles in this section to learn all about what life is like in Vaardspace.

Cosmology/Crystal Spheres.md

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+---
+title: Crystal Spheres
+description: What is a crystal sphere?
+---
+## The Greater Spheres
+A greater sphere is a galaxy, and within the fiction of the game the word "galaxy" is a colloquial shorthand for "Greater Sphere." Greater spheres contain billions of lesser spheres, each with one or more quasi stellar objects at its center. Innumerable Greater Spheres exist in the cosmos although travel between them is impossible. There are no known hyperspace routes between Greater Spheres, and according to the dragons and the Emerald Armada, any hyperspace routes leading outside the Greater Sphere change course frequently and unpredictably. Nobody who has tried to plot hyperspace routes outside the Greater Sphere has returned.
+
+Vaardspace is a region of planets inside the Greater Saggitarian Sphere, which is part of a large structure called The Laniakea Aspect.
+## Lesser Spheres
+Lesser spheres contain star systems. Imagine a solar system in a fish bowl and you will understand a lesser sphere. Inside of a lesser sphere, ships cannot enter hyperspace, but they can travel at the speed of light using a spelljamming helm. You must be outside the edge of the sphere in order to jump to hyperspace. The journey from the center of a sphere to its edge varies with the size of the sphere, and could be four hours or several days at light speed.
+
+When ships leave a lesser sphere, they can travel faster than the speed of light by entering the phlogiston and following hyperspace lanes. In regions where spheres are dense, you can travel from sphere to sphere in about five days. A typical trip between spheres takes ten to forty days. Travel time from sphere to sphere depends on the between the spheres, which hyperspace lanes you take, and the quality of your spelljamming helm.
+## Intersphereal Space 
+Intersphereal Space is vast and empty. No sane traveler would pass through intersphereal space to reach another sphere. The journey would take too long, and there is a risk of being attacked by space monsters or pirates.
+
+In between the spheres, things  that should not be seep into the cosmos. The bigger and emptier the region, the more likely that such aberrations worm their way into the material plane. Some legends say that such things have always existed, and were present before the cosmos itself came into existence. Others say that they have come from another plane to predate on the creatures in our reality. 
+## Beyond
+If you ask a dragon, it will tell you that no hyperlanes exist that connect one greater spheres to another. This does not seem to be the whole truth, as credible hearsay indicates that the dragons have traveled to far-flung greater spheres. Regardless of what the dragons say, no civilization has ever found or left a record of a hyperlane leading to another greater sphere.
+
+Every now ant then, some brave fool in search of mystery or glory will venture beyond the edge of the greater sphere. Travelling through normal space at light speed, the farthest outside the greater sphere that anyone has traveled has only been a few light-days. When they don't travel too far or stay out too long, which is about half of them, they return alive. Injured and traumatized, but alive. The other half is lost to nothingness, and the horrors therein. 
+
+Never in any records of history has any ship that jumped to hyperspace outside the greater sphere returned. Ships within the phlogiston should follow established hyperlane routes near the edge of the greater sphere extremely carefully. Veering outside known hyperlanes carries the risk of passing beyond the edge and never being seen again.

Cosmology/Spelljamming and Travel.md

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+---
+title: Spelljamming and Travel
+description: How to get around in the spheres
+---
+## Spelljamming
+The word "spelljamming" refers to piloting a spaceship between crystal spheres through a hyperspace called The Phlogiston.
+
+Spelljamming is the the process of using a spelljammer helm to propel a ship. A spelljammer helm is usually a chair with a helmet-like attachment that captures magical energy. The energy is then transferred to a machine called a phlogistonal phasic engine. The engine converts the magical energy to motion and teleports the ship into hyperspace. Typically one spell slot is all that is needed for approximately eight hours of travel time. A spelljammer helm and engine will allow a ship to move at light speed within a crystal sphere, and will propel the ship into a hyperspace lane once at the sphere's edge. Intersphereal couriers and other long distance vessels will usually employ one or more spellcasters whose sole responsibility is ensuring they have enough spell slots to power their vessel.
+
+Spell slots are not the only way to power a spelljammer helm. The Star Cogs have invented helms that run on intellect known as MindJammers, helms that run on martial energy called KiJammers, even helms that run on luck called LuckJammers. The Neogi invented a helm that drains a user's life force called a LifeJammer. Regardless of the energy source, these helms collectively are called spelljammers and using them is called spelljamming.
+
+## The Phlogiston
+The Phlogiston is a higher dimensional space that allows faster than light travel between spheres. While inside the Phlogiston, it seems as though you are surrounded by a background of swirling prismatic colors. The phlogiston contains no stellar objects, has no cardinality, and no edge. That is because the phlogiston is an energy manifold and not a space manifold. The Phlogiston energies are highly reactive to heat and radiant energy, and can explode when in contact with open flame.
+
+Inside the Phlogiston the distances between spheres is shorter. However, the background of stars is not visible in the phlogiston and so navigation is difficult. If you are not following an established hyperspace route, you could easily become lost forever. The swirling background of colors looks the same everywhere, so there is no frame of reference within the phlogiston by which to navigate.
+## Hyperlanes
+Hyperlanes are established routes through the phlogiston that connect spheres. They are defined by a series of vectors and course corrections made with specific timing. Although hyperlanes are drawn as lines on a map, they are written as a series of instructions to fly the ship and change its heading. There is no objective way to define a course through hyperspace, since the phlogiston has no navigational frame of reference, and so these rotations and timings must be made with careful accuracy.
+
+Navigational instructions for a hyper lane read like this
+1. From your current sphere, orient the ship in a specific direction and rotation against the stellar background.
+2. Enter the phlogiston.
+3. Propel the ship forward using a specific magnitude of spelljamming energy for a defined amount of time.
+4. Cease forward motion.
+5. Rotate the ship to a new relative heading.
+6. Propel the ship forward again.
+7. Cease forward motion and exit the phlogiston.
+
+Steps 3-6 above are repeated as many times as is necessary to remain within the hyperspace lane.
+
+Existing hyperspace lanes were established long ago. The shortest routes were created by a joint effort between ancient dragons and space faring elves. To this day, those routes are almost exclusively used by the Emerald Armada and the dragons. Anyone using these routes without express permission from the Armada or a writ of passage from a dragon are politely and firmly asked to use a different route.
+
+Other routes exist and, while not as fast, are relatively convenient for interstellar travel. Discovering new routes is a difficult and dangerous process. One may accidentally end up lost in Intersphereal space or in the heart of a neutron star.

Cosmology/The Greater Sagittarian Sphere.md

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+The Greater Saggitarian Sphere is the setting of Vaardspace. It is the galaxy in which all the action takes place. Nobody knows why the sphere is called "Sagittarian," it seems to be a linguistic artifact from the Disconcordance. Check out the map below to see the current borders of various interstellar factions.
+![[GreaterSphereMap.webp]]