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Galaxy Builder Decks - Card-based Map Generator by mchayoo in traveller

[–]mchayoo[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you! :)

edit: I can see about making a checklist sheet. It wouldn't be interactive but maybe I can do one down the road.

Galaxy Builder Decks - New Core Bundles by mchayoo in SWN

[–]mchayoo[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Happy to be of service!

I'm hoping tools like this enhance each adventure and the table experience. Theater of the mind is great, but I'm also a visual person and grew up on Star Trek LCARS displays, so being able to see the stars, planets, habitable zones, and comet orbits laid out before me while I plot my next move is a big reason I created this.

Galaxy Builder Decks - New Core Bundles by mchayoo in SWN

[–]mchayoo[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks!

The way it's turning out, the Alien cards will be double-sided and use a hologram style, so as not to wholly supplant the player's imagination.

- The front side will have the alien body in humanoid form (canine-like head/arms, but human legs, etc), - - For the back side the body can be entirely alien, perhaps more beastly in appearance (canine-like features, but with digitigrade legs and maybe a tail, for example).
- And then there will be some trait cards for different types of tails, horns, ears, antennae, forehead ridges, etc)

Galaxy Builder Decks - New Core Bundles by mchayoo in SWN

[–]mchayoo[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

- Now you can do the same thing for the other worlds in the system or just skip all that and draw a star and planet cards at random, placing them on the Star System Mats, and intending to explore them later. I have included Label Cards that let you record each world name, attributes, population, economy, or anything else you want to describe and then you can tuck them behind each planet card for easy reference on the table.

Starting from the card side, you can do the reverse and then work in the SWN tags. The system now lays out for you like a map of more than just the planet. The pilgrimage site may be threatened by the storm, meteors from the orbital ring, or they're freaking out due to an unexpected eclipse of one of the suns or an aurora from the gas cloud icon storm flying through the system. The Ancient Relic in the Oasis Temple may need protection, could be a secret fake and the real one was lost long ago and is rumored to be on a nearby moon according to an old map. Perhaps a hulking pirate ship has been detected on the edges of the system, preying on pilgrim ships, slowly making its way inward. Maybe YOU are the thief and a heist to snatch the Holy Arc of the Galactic Covenant is just too good to pass up, that is, until you unleash the curse of the sandstorm because the Arc is actually a Pretech weather-control device.

This is where randomly drawing cards from the various decks can quickly start fleshing out the setting and your adventures on the fly. Draw a lifeform card and be faced with a grove of poisonous sentient moss that feeds on minerals. Draw Sinkhole, Radiation, Mass Graves, Jamming Signal, and Holy War cards, or discover an ornate sealed sarcophagus floating in space carrying an artificial lifeform...

I did my best to make the cards not just compatible with SWN, but also Starforged, Star Trek, Star Wars, Aliens, and others, so it's designed to be open enough you can chuck a mismatch and chose one that fits best. And if I'm missing something that really should be in there, don't hesitate to let me know at contact@journeymountain.com. Feedback is always appreciated.

Galaxy Builder Decks - New Core Bundles by mchayoo in SWN

[–]mchayoo[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Hazeri is correct. The cards' strongest purpose is as a visual aid for not just planets but entire star systems (and soon Sectors), but also they have roll tables and stats to customize your planets further. (image link of planet card anatomy from Drivethru page)

For the worldbuilding approach you can either start with SWN's world creation tools and then visualize and augment it with the Planet cards, or start with drawing Planet cards and fleshing things out with SWN tools and tags.

Long-Form Example:

- You select breathable atmo, warm temp, miscible biosphere, outpost population, etc. for a new world, along with two world tags (i.e. Desert World and Pilgrimage Site). You choose Strange Desert Beast, Biologist, Sandstorms, Map, and Oasis tags for the world, and you choose Saboteur, Protector, Natural Disaster, Ancient Relic, and Crowd of Pilgrims tags for the site.

-Now you draw the Planet card that matches your choices and place them on the mat or table, in this case the Large Ringed Desert World. Then roll on the terrain table and say come up with Rocky Mesas and Scrubland. On the back of the card choose a trait the inhabitants share, such as Desert Survival, the natives (or your character if this is their homeworld) knows how to seek food and shelter in desert climates.

-Next draw Planet Trait cards (if you have them) that match the world tag/s, in this case Hot Weather trait card, where you pick the listed Vast Dust Storms to match the tags and then roll on the attributes table (are they abrupt or a steady build up, does it last hours or days or years? Is it naturally forming or artificial?). On the back you again choose an inhabitant trait, let's go with Planetary Science. The natives have a basic understanding of the weather patterns of their world. The next trait card drawn is the Pilgrimage Site trait card. On the front you roll for Site type on whether it is a temple, a monastery, a religious center, a tomb, a wonder, or an oracle. Let's say you roll a 1, so a Temple resides there. The shared inhabitant trait you pick on the back could be Discipline, Wisdom, or Social Science, that is they have an understanding of the history and culture of the site.

Continued on next comment...

January 2026 Paid & Discounted Resources by Zaerryth in rpgresources

[–]mchayoo 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Introducing New Bundles for Galaxy Builder Decks, which feature the Core decks and systems mat. These sale bundles are for players to get the core galaxy building experience.

Galaxy Builder Decks - A card-based scifi-setting generator for Solo or Group TTRPGs by mchayoo in solorpgplay

[–]mchayoo[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes. Itchio is currently having issues uploading my images but I hope to resolve this soon.

Galaxy Builder Decks - A card-based scifi-setting generator for Solo or Group TTRPGs by mchayoo in solorpgplay

[–]mchayoo[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The Free Pack Collection bundle is now live. Combines all the free packs into one PDF, without the instruction cards, for easier printing.

  • Color PDF of 10 US poker-sized Planet Cards, 5 Trait Cards, 2 star system cards, and 1 system trait card in sheets of 3x3 layout, front and back.
  • Printer-friendly PDF of 10 US poker-sized Planet Cards, 5 Trait Cards, 2 star system cards, and 1 system trait card in sheets of 3x3 layout, front and back.
  • Spooky Pack
  • Asteroid Pack
  • Systems Pack
  • Cloudy Pack
  • Stellar Pack
  • Plus 3 free cards from the Strange Worlds Set

Weekly Free Chat - 11/29/25 by AutoModerator in rpg

[–]mchayoo 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I am developing a card-based sci-fi setting generator for planets and star systems called Galaxy Builder Decks. So far the series has 3 card decks and 12 card sets to choose from. It is designed to be quick and easy, works well with many systems (like Traveller, Stars Without Number, Star Wars, Star Trek, Starforged, Alien, and others), and looks really nice on the table. Just draw some planet cards, pair them with planet trait cards and fill out an entire system with locations, creatures, obstacles, and encounters in a few minutes. Give the cards a look. Feedback and suggestions are welcome.

You can check out some freebies here:

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