Tourism Sites of the Megaverse(Random Generator)
Posted: Wed Dec 09, 2020 11:42 pm
Tourism Sites of the Megaverse(Random Generator)
“It’s a rock.”
“It’s a deep crystalline mythomorphic geological intrusion! ”
“It’s a rock.”
“It’s one of only ninety-two such geological formations discovered in the Three Galaxies!”
“It’s a rock.”
“It’s been dated such that it predates the planet we’re standing on, yet shows no signs of having arrived meteorically! It may have even been the primorial mass seed around which this planet formed!“
“You hauled me across the Anvil Galaxy, through three wormholes and across eight different galactic jurisdictions to see a damn ROCK!”
“The Communion of the Duhai on Sephastus IV; once every four years, conditions are just right that the planet shares phase-space with the homeworld of the Duhai Intelligences, said to be among the Great Sages of the Megaverse. They’re said to have a more enlightened perspective on events in our universe, perhaps because they can see all the possible probability lines in it from their own. For just one day, the Duhai will entertain the questions of others from our universe, and they’re usually spot-on right about what they suggest or predict. Naturally there’s a great draw to the planet, and the locals make an obscene profit auctioning or running lottery on the available limited consultation sessions with the Duhai. Planet’s population virtually triples with pilgrims hoping for a chance to put their questions to the Sages.”
“You do NOT want to miss the annual Festival of Sa’Than on the Roanne homeworld, if you love music at all! Two weeks of pure auditory bless...you’d hardly know it’s a competition, everything seems so in harmony!”
Come see the Wonder and wonder! When travel becomes easy and affordable, tourism inevitably springs up; this is true of planets, and it has become true of the megaverse. Not everybody is cut out to be a rough and tumble adventurer, living off the land and risking life and limb in search of new vistas, so opportunists have sprung up to accommodate the more casual traveler who wants new vistas and new experiences , but wants to experience them in relative safety, comfort, and reasonable scheduling. And tourism affords local economies precious extra income, if they can put up with outsiders tramping around. But first there has to be something to draw the tourists. So, what does your world have?
01-05% Natural Phenomena Unique to the Planet/Location----Like the Plasma Caves of Quin’esh, the Reverse Water Falls of Uehlor, the Crystal Isles of Aburand, or the Singing Mountains of Walhan.
06-15% Natural Phenomena Not So Unique to the Cosmos But Touted By the Locals as Such---Like faces in rocks, geysers, stone arches, and the like. They’re supposedly the greatest in the megavese, and certainly interesting, but the jury’s still out on the ‘greatest’ part. (+ 10 % to Accessibility)
16-20% Cosmological Phenomena---Something about the planet’s orbital mechanics or the solar system’s arrangement can be deemed spectacular. This usually happens only periodically(years apart) or may be a regular occurrence. Or maybe there’s a ‘tame’ black hole, or unique configuration of planets to draw interest. The Triple Sunrises of Albash IV’s single sun, for instance, Felsha’s massive and visible solar debris ring, the Fountain Nebula or the reflected nova light nebula in Valkor’s sky, to name a few.
21-41% Sporting Opportunities----The location offers special conditions for sport, like low gravity cliff-diving, carbon dioxide snow skiing, gas giant cloud-fishing, or hunting Gogorian Land-Eels. (+ 5 % to Accessibility)
41-50% Unique Sporting Event---The planet or station is the site of a sport only played there, because of unique conditions, unique participants, or because the sport is illegal everywhere else in the civilized galaxies. Galootan Blimp-ball, the Running of the God-Prawn on Nacrissa, Nuke Tennis(orbital interception using live nuclear warheads), and most blood sports qualify. (+ 5 % to Accessibility)
51-55% High Sporting Event---The site is where a grand championship game of a particular sport is traditionally held, drawing crowds of thousands, maybe tens or hundreds of thousands, and maybe even millions. The Gameros Interstellar Derby, for example, or the Pantheonic Olympics. (+ 20 % to Accessibility)
56-60% Restorative Site---Something about the location is thought to have curative or restorative properties. This could be a religious sanctuary, healing spring, magical restorative energy field, pathogen-free planet, natives with special healing powers, or free advanced medical clinics.
61-70% Safari Tour---The planet or site has particularly interesting local lifeforms/ecologies. Some of the local lifeforms may have some commercial value, or may be huntable by sportsmen. Crosyar, in the United Systems Alliance, has turned its killer ecology into a moneymaking draw for more extreme hunters looking for excitement, while much more placid Derna, in the Paradise Foundation worlds, markets laid-back tours of its many Lily Archipelagoes.
71-75% (Il)Legal Haven----The site isn’t anything special with regards to natural attractions, but it instead lies outside the legal norms of other societies and galactic polities; what would be banned or proscribed elsewhere is perfectly legal and even encouraged here. This is typically some sort of vice, such as gambling, prostitution, slavery, narcotics, gladiatorial games, or ethically dubious biomedical treatments(cloning, transplants, rejuvenation therapies, bio-augmentation). Haddlegun(see Rifts: Anvil Galaxy, pg. 157) is a favorite gambling destination, where a successful gambler might even win local political office. The Black Clinics on Esvarch offer clients brain transplants into younger and healthier bodies, though the patients must provide the new bodies. Access is likely (80%) available through special arrangement with a ‘backdoor’ organization fronting as a legitimate travel agency(‘sceneic tours’ that are really ‘medical tourism’ culiminating in a visit to an illegal clinic, for example, or deep space tours that tarvel just outside a poloty’s declared trritory to visit a gambling casino ship or asteroid habitat).
76-80% Unique Culture/Cultural Event --Something about the local social customs or a regular cultural event draws crowds. Music festivals, religious ceremonies, fertility rites, special local art forms, all may draw tourists(and participants). Or maybe the location is a holy site which attracts pilgrims. Or the natives are just so amusing(Those silly Earthlings!). (+ 10 % to Accessibility)
81-85% Trade Attractions---The planet or solar system boasts special trading opportunities, particularly good markets or unique products. Often, duty-free shopping is part of the draw. Center, on Phase World, is considered THE ultimate tourism stopover for this sort of thing. The sub-dimension of ‘Arsenal’ is regarded as a ‘tourist’ site for those shopping for weaponry banned or out of stock elsewhere. (+ 20 % to Accessibility)
86-90% Cultural Center----The location is home to particularly good libraries, schools, or museums. Or perhaps the local architecture is especially fascinating. Or maybe the local food is really REALLY good, good enough to attract food-tourists. Pretty much any metroworld or capital planet of a major star-polity makes this claim, with the Museums of Magic on Alfheim and the Cultural Studies Centers on Noro-Gor being particualrly noteworthy. (+ 25 % to Accessibility)
91-95% Historical Site---The planet or solar system has some historical significance, such as a famous battlefield. Or perhaps it is a religious site, where some event important to a belief system took place. Perhaps it’s the ruins of an ancient city/culture, uncovered and opened to the public. Access can be spotty, depending on the site, and there may be dangers, such as unexploded munitions, ancient traps, or irate scientists/historians who want to run annoying tourists off the site before they do any MORE damage!
96-00% Artifact--- A more singular(and impressive) relic of an ancient culture or some inexplicable, likely artificial, construct that defies analysis. The site may be consideed harmless and access permited, or the artifact may be considered dangerous and off-limits.The Sibalan Ring in CCW space is a good example, the giant, and unexplained, ring around a star drawing its share of tour groups, while another similar artifact attributed to the same builders, the Raldian Dial, lies in Free Worlds Council space, and is thus far less frequently or easily visited, owing to the danger of TGE patrols enroute, and combat in adjacent systems .
(Optional) Accessibility
“So here’s the summary of what we do; I get you to the planet’s surface, drop you off within fifty kloms of the site, and you make your own way there. At the end of a ten-day cycle, I pick you up at the dro-off site. You ain’t there, I wait a local day, unless I detect trouble, in which case, I leave early. Local wildlife or the Kreeghor patrols get you, you’re on your own; I don’t do rescues. Agreed? Good. Enjoy looking for your Forge-Stone.”
How easy is it to visit the attraction? Some sites may be too distant or in hazardous territory to be economically(or politically) viable as a travel destinaion for most commercial concerns, while others may be serviced by large networks and orgianizations that promote travel.
01-15% Charter Only---The site can only be reached by individual effort; no regular service is available. Travelers will either have to pilot their own transportation or arrange a charter, and possibly negotiate seperate terms with a knowledgeable local guide. This is likely to be an expensive undertaking, Depending on how remote the site is, or a possible lcoation in prohibited space, the danger quotient is likely to be high, especially as the charter is unlikely to offer much in the way of support services such as search and rescue.
16-55% Exclusive, But Regularly Scheduled, Service----The tourism attraction is serviced by a single organization(spaceline, travel agency, pilgrimage society, government -run park rangers, etc.) who control access to the site, but offer access ona regular schedule. Exclusive means the organization can pretty much charge what it wants to permit travel and access, but the organization is also likely to provide onsite(or at least nearby) support in the way of travel accommodations, medical assistance, vetted guides, translators, and possible legal aide(if the tourists fall afoul of any intelligent natives).
56-00% Open, Multiple, Regularly Scheduled, Service---The attraction is easily accessed by a variety of carriers who host regular trips to its doorstep. This means that travelers will have a variety of options available to them, and will frequently be able to cash in on the competition between carriers, in terms of lowered fares and offered services.
“It’s a rock.”
“It’s a deep crystalline mythomorphic geological intrusion! ”
“It’s a rock.”
“It’s one of only ninety-two such geological formations discovered in the Three Galaxies!”
“It’s a rock.”
“It’s been dated such that it predates the planet we’re standing on, yet shows no signs of having arrived meteorically! It may have even been the primorial mass seed around which this planet formed!“
“You hauled me across the Anvil Galaxy, through three wormholes and across eight different galactic jurisdictions to see a damn ROCK!”
“The Communion of the Duhai on Sephastus IV; once every four years, conditions are just right that the planet shares phase-space with the homeworld of the Duhai Intelligences, said to be among the Great Sages of the Megaverse. They’re said to have a more enlightened perspective on events in our universe, perhaps because they can see all the possible probability lines in it from their own. For just one day, the Duhai will entertain the questions of others from our universe, and they’re usually spot-on right about what they suggest or predict. Naturally there’s a great draw to the planet, and the locals make an obscene profit auctioning or running lottery on the available limited consultation sessions with the Duhai. Planet’s population virtually triples with pilgrims hoping for a chance to put their questions to the Sages.”
“You do NOT want to miss the annual Festival of Sa’Than on the Roanne homeworld, if you love music at all! Two weeks of pure auditory bless...you’d hardly know it’s a competition, everything seems so in harmony!”
Come see the Wonder and wonder! When travel becomes easy and affordable, tourism inevitably springs up; this is true of planets, and it has become true of the megaverse. Not everybody is cut out to be a rough and tumble adventurer, living off the land and risking life and limb in search of new vistas, so opportunists have sprung up to accommodate the more casual traveler who wants new vistas and new experiences , but wants to experience them in relative safety, comfort, and reasonable scheduling. And tourism affords local economies precious extra income, if they can put up with outsiders tramping around. But first there has to be something to draw the tourists. So, what does your world have?
01-05% Natural Phenomena Unique to the Planet/Location----Like the Plasma Caves of Quin’esh, the Reverse Water Falls of Uehlor, the Crystal Isles of Aburand, or the Singing Mountains of Walhan.
06-15% Natural Phenomena Not So Unique to the Cosmos But Touted By the Locals as Such---Like faces in rocks, geysers, stone arches, and the like. They’re supposedly the greatest in the megavese, and certainly interesting, but the jury’s still out on the ‘greatest’ part. (+ 10 % to Accessibility)
16-20% Cosmological Phenomena---Something about the planet’s orbital mechanics or the solar system’s arrangement can be deemed spectacular. This usually happens only periodically(years apart) or may be a regular occurrence. Or maybe there’s a ‘tame’ black hole, or unique configuration of planets to draw interest. The Triple Sunrises of Albash IV’s single sun, for instance, Felsha’s massive and visible solar debris ring, the Fountain Nebula or the reflected nova light nebula in Valkor’s sky, to name a few.
21-41% Sporting Opportunities----The location offers special conditions for sport, like low gravity cliff-diving, carbon dioxide snow skiing, gas giant cloud-fishing, or hunting Gogorian Land-Eels. (+ 5 % to Accessibility)
41-50% Unique Sporting Event---The planet or station is the site of a sport only played there, because of unique conditions, unique participants, or because the sport is illegal everywhere else in the civilized galaxies. Galootan Blimp-ball, the Running of the God-Prawn on Nacrissa, Nuke Tennis(orbital interception using live nuclear warheads), and most blood sports qualify. (+ 5 % to Accessibility)
51-55% High Sporting Event---The site is where a grand championship game of a particular sport is traditionally held, drawing crowds of thousands, maybe tens or hundreds of thousands, and maybe even millions. The Gameros Interstellar Derby, for example, or the Pantheonic Olympics. (+ 20 % to Accessibility)
56-60% Restorative Site---Something about the location is thought to have curative or restorative properties. This could be a religious sanctuary, healing spring, magical restorative energy field, pathogen-free planet, natives with special healing powers, or free advanced medical clinics.
61-70% Safari Tour---The planet or site has particularly interesting local lifeforms/ecologies. Some of the local lifeforms may have some commercial value, or may be huntable by sportsmen. Crosyar, in the United Systems Alliance, has turned its killer ecology into a moneymaking draw for more extreme hunters looking for excitement, while much more placid Derna, in the Paradise Foundation worlds, markets laid-back tours of its many Lily Archipelagoes.
71-75% (Il)Legal Haven----The site isn’t anything special with regards to natural attractions, but it instead lies outside the legal norms of other societies and galactic polities; what would be banned or proscribed elsewhere is perfectly legal and even encouraged here. This is typically some sort of vice, such as gambling, prostitution, slavery, narcotics, gladiatorial games, or ethically dubious biomedical treatments(cloning, transplants, rejuvenation therapies, bio-augmentation). Haddlegun(see Rifts: Anvil Galaxy, pg. 157) is a favorite gambling destination, where a successful gambler might even win local political office. The Black Clinics on Esvarch offer clients brain transplants into younger and healthier bodies, though the patients must provide the new bodies. Access is likely (80%) available through special arrangement with a ‘backdoor’ organization fronting as a legitimate travel agency(‘sceneic tours’ that are really ‘medical tourism’ culiminating in a visit to an illegal clinic, for example, or deep space tours that tarvel just outside a poloty’s declared trritory to visit a gambling casino ship or asteroid habitat).
76-80% Unique Culture/Cultural Event --Something about the local social customs or a regular cultural event draws crowds. Music festivals, religious ceremonies, fertility rites, special local art forms, all may draw tourists(and participants). Or maybe the location is a holy site which attracts pilgrims. Or the natives are just so amusing(Those silly Earthlings!). (+ 10 % to Accessibility)
81-85% Trade Attractions---The planet or solar system boasts special trading opportunities, particularly good markets or unique products. Often, duty-free shopping is part of the draw. Center, on Phase World, is considered THE ultimate tourism stopover for this sort of thing. The sub-dimension of ‘Arsenal’ is regarded as a ‘tourist’ site for those shopping for weaponry banned or out of stock elsewhere. (+ 20 % to Accessibility)
86-90% Cultural Center----The location is home to particularly good libraries, schools, or museums. Or perhaps the local architecture is especially fascinating. Or maybe the local food is really REALLY good, good enough to attract food-tourists. Pretty much any metroworld or capital planet of a major star-polity makes this claim, with the Museums of Magic on Alfheim and the Cultural Studies Centers on Noro-Gor being particualrly noteworthy. (+ 25 % to Accessibility)
91-95% Historical Site---The planet or solar system has some historical significance, such as a famous battlefield. Or perhaps it is a religious site, where some event important to a belief system took place. Perhaps it’s the ruins of an ancient city/culture, uncovered and opened to the public. Access can be spotty, depending on the site, and there may be dangers, such as unexploded munitions, ancient traps, or irate scientists/historians who want to run annoying tourists off the site before they do any MORE damage!
96-00% Artifact--- A more singular(and impressive) relic of an ancient culture or some inexplicable, likely artificial, construct that defies analysis. The site may be consideed harmless and access permited, or the artifact may be considered dangerous and off-limits.The Sibalan Ring in CCW space is a good example, the giant, and unexplained, ring around a star drawing its share of tour groups, while another similar artifact attributed to the same builders, the Raldian Dial, lies in Free Worlds Council space, and is thus far less frequently or easily visited, owing to the danger of TGE patrols enroute, and combat in adjacent systems .
(Optional) Accessibility
“So here’s the summary of what we do; I get you to the planet’s surface, drop you off within fifty kloms of the site, and you make your own way there. At the end of a ten-day cycle, I pick you up at the dro-off site. You ain’t there, I wait a local day, unless I detect trouble, in which case, I leave early. Local wildlife or the Kreeghor patrols get you, you’re on your own; I don’t do rescues. Agreed? Good. Enjoy looking for your Forge-Stone.”
How easy is it to visit the attraction? Some sites may be too distant or in hazardous territory to be economically(or politically) viable as a travel destinaion for most commercial concerns, while others may be serviced by large networks and orgianizations that promote travel.
01-15% Charter Only---The site can only be reached by individual effort; no regular service is available. Travelers will either have to pilot their own transportation or arrange a charter, and possibly negotiate seperate terms with a knowledgeable local guide. This is likely to be an expensive undertaking, Depending on how remote the site is, or a possible lcoation in prohibited space, the danger quotient is likely to be high, especially as the charter is unlikely to offer much in the way of support services such as search and rescue.
16-55% Exclusive, But Regularly Scheduled, Service----The tourism attraction is serviced by a single organization(spaceline, travel agency, pilgrimage society, government -run park rangers, etc.) who control access to the site, but offer access ona regular schedule. Exclusive means the organization can pretty much charge what it wants to permit travel and access, but the organization is also likely to provide onsite(or at least nearby) support in the way of travel accommodations, medical assistance, vetted guides, translators, and possible legal aide(if the tourists fall afoul of any intelligent natives).
56-00% Open, Multiple, Regularly Scheduled, Service---The attraction is easily accessed by a variety of carriers who host regular trips to its doorstep. This means that travelers will have a variety of options available to them, and will frequently be able to cash in on the competition between carriers, in terms of lowered fares and offered services.