CREATING NIGHT SKY MAPS

How many constellations can the Adventurers name?¹⁾

Historically, the night sky held great importance to people around the world.

Many cultures wrote their stories into the sky, leading to the modern constellations which exist today.

A fantasy setting presents a great opportunity for Adventurers to name their own constellations within the setting, or learn much more about the cultures of places visited while adventuring by simply looking up and asking questions.

A modern or futuristic setting can also tie deep lore, rumors and clues into the existing constellations.

How do the constellations change with the seasons?

The night sky changes throughout the year, with different constellations rising and setting each night at varying times.

A few moments thought can prepare seasonal lists of the key constellations Adventurers may encounter at those times.

Equinox and solstice celebrations in the setting make great milestone points for designing a “procession of the heavens” changing constellation table.

Decide roughly how many constellations to place, remembering Earth settled on 36 northern hemisphere and 52 southern hemisphere for a total of 88 in all.

Consider an image which represents each constellation as Adventurers might imagine it.

Plot out the star group and link the key stars into a “stick figure” representation of the constellation.

Pick a name and one-line story or adventure hook for each.

Place them into the main night sky map.

Create each as needed while the game story progresses.

Roleplaying Tips #0863 - How The Stars Could Inspire Your Games

◢ Salvage Space: Night Sky Maps

Creating night sky maps does not require math more complicated than the beloved “roll dice and add or subtract modifiers.”

Generate night skies of Earth for any period of history with Stellarium:
Stellarium

Generate night skies for planets around other stars within Celestia:

1. Select a target star.
2. Choose “Go to Selection” from the Navigate menu.
3. See what the night skies look like from that vantage point.
4. Enable Constellations to see how distorted our familar night sky could look from that location.
5. Recent colonists to this world may select “Sol” to see the way back home.

Fantasy settings can still use this technique by secretly picking a nearby G-class (or other appropriate) star as a stand-in.

Review the changes in the night sky for each equinox and solstice to update the mental picture of how constellations shift over time.

Celestia
The Celestia Motherlode

▲ Chronology :: ◢ References: Locations