Is auch nur der alte RT-hintergrund den das Rollenspiel verwendet 😀
Bin ich hier der einizge der noch die gute alte Fluff-bible kennt? 😀
THE PRINCIPLE OF WARPTRAVELA spacecraft drops intothe warp by activating its warp engines. As a ship leaves thematerial universe it enters a corresponding point in warpspace. Theship is then carried along by the tides and currents of the warp.
After travelling in thisfashion for an appropriate time, the ship uses its warp engines todrop back into real space. Because the material universe and the warpmove relative to each other, the ship reappears in a new positionseveral light years from its starting point. This process is called ajump or hop and the process of entering or leaving warpspace is knownas a drop or shift. Journeys are undertaken in short jumps of up to 4or 5 light years. Longer jumps are unpredictable and dangerous. Thetides of warpspace move in complex and inconsistent patterns andships attempting longer hops often end up wildly off course.
If this limitation appliedto all warp travel then humanity wouId not have spread throughout thegalaxy as it has. It is possible to make long jumps of many lightyears by steering a within the warp itself - sensing, responding toand exploiting its currents and thereby directing the craft towardscorresponding point in the material universe. Only the wige humanmutants known as Navigators can pilot a craft through the warp inthis way.
Some people are sensitiveto the movements of warpspace. They can, for example, sometimes tellthat a spacecraft is approaching even 'before it drops back into thematerial universe. This human sensitivity to the warp is notgenerally well developed. However, in a minority of people thissensitivity is far more finely tuned. These people are known aspsykers and they are able to consciously control and use the energyof the warp to affect the material universe. Navigators are powerfulpsykers of a specialised kind who can use their powers to steerspacecraft in the warp.
THE ASTRONOMICAN ANDTHE WARP
The Astronomican is apsychic homing signal centred upon the Earth. It is powered by thecontinuous mental concentration of thousands of psykers. TheAstronomican cannot be detected in the real universe but only in thewarp. It is by means of this signal that Navigators can steer theirspaceships over long distances.
The Astronomican's signalis strongest close to Earth and gets increasingly weaker furtheraway. It extends over a spherical area with a diameter of about 50thousand light years. Because the Earth is situated in the galacticwest, the Astronomican does not cover the extreme eastern part of thegalaxy. Nor is the extent or strength of the signal constant - it cansometimes be blocked by localised activity within the warn itself.Such activity may be compared to the hurricanes or storms of aterrestrial weather system and is known as a warpstorm. Warpstormsmay be so had, and so long-lasting, that entire star systems areisolated for hundreds of years at a time.
A warpstorm not onlyobscures the signal of the Astronomican, it is also dangerous forspacecraft travelling nearby. No spacecraft can venture within awarpstorm and expect to survive, although there are tales ofmiraculous escapes and of ships being thrown tens of thousands oflight years off course. Warpstorms are not the only dangers withinthe warp. There are sentient energies and other immaterial life-formsthat inhabit it: creatures formed from (and part of) the shiftingstuff of the warn. Few are friendly and many are hostile. They areknown to mankind as daemons.
TIME DISPLACEMENT
The time differencesbetween real space and warpspace are quite drastic. Not only doestime pass at different rates in both kinds of space, but it alsopasses at very variable rates. Until a ship finishes its jump, it isimpossible for a ship's crew to know exactly how long their journeyhas taken. Time passing in real space is referred to as real time.Time passing on board a spacecraft is referred to as warp time. Forexample, a 100 light year jump will seem to take from 234 to 934hours to a spaceship's crew, but between 3 days and 3 weeks will havepassed in real space. These times do not include journey times out toand from jump points on the edge of the star systems. It takes fromdays to weeks of travel at sub-light speeds to reach a drop from thespaceship's starting planet, and a similar time to re-enter thedestination system.
The Imperium isapproximately 75 thousand light years from edge to edge. A journey ofthis length would take between 75 and 300 days in warp time, andbetween 6 years and 40 years real time.
WARP NAVIGATION
Once a spacecraftactivates its warp drives it is plunged into a dimension verydifferent from our universe. It is convenient to imagine warpspace asconsisting of a relatively dense, almost liquid, energy which isdevoid of stars, light and life as we know it.
Once within warpspace aship may move by means of its main warp drives, following powerfuleddies and currents in the warp, eventually reaching a point in thewarp corresponding to a destination in real space. The most difficultaspect of warp travel is that it is impossible to detect the movementof warpspace once a ship is in the warp. The ship can only blindlycarry on, its crew trusting that it is going in the right direction.The longer a ship remains in warpspace the greater the chances ofencountering some unexpected current that can turn it unknowinglyoff-course.
Navigation of warpspacecan be achieved in two ways: the calculated jump and the pilotedjump.
All warp-drivesincorporate navigational mechanisms. When the ship is in real space,these monitor the ever shifting movements of the part of the warpcorresponding to the ship's current position. By observing thesemovements in the warp it is possible to calculate a course,corrective manoeuvres, and approximate journey time to a proposeddestination. Calculation relies on the assumption that the'warp-currents observed from real space don't change significantlyduring flight. This method is known as a calculated jump. It is notsafe to make a calculated jump of more than four or five light yearsat one go. The longer the jump, the greater the chances of asignificant change in warp current movement.
The second, and moreefficient, form of warp-navigation is the piloted jump. This methodrelies upon two factors: the human mutants known as Navigators andthe psychic beacon called the Astronomican. The Astronomican iscentred on Earth and is not only controlled by, but is directed by,the psychic power of the Emperor himself. The Astronomican is abeacon that, because it is psychic, penetrates into warpspace. ANavigator on board a ship in the warp is able to pick up thesesignals and can steer a spaceship through warpspace, compensating forcurrent changes as he does so. A piloted jump can safely cover a fargreater distance than a calculated jump. 5,000 light years would bethe normal maximum jump, but longer jumps have been made.
After travelling in thisfashion for an appropriate time, the ship uses its warp engines todrop back into real space. Because the material universe and the warpmove relative to each other, the ship reappears in a new positionseveral light years from its starting point. This process is called ajump or hop and the process of entering or leaving warpspace is knownas a drop or shift. Journeys are undertaken in short jumps of up to 4or 5 light years. Longer jumps are unpredictable and dangerous. Thetides of warpspace move in complex and inconsistent patterns andships attempting longer hops often end up wildly off course.
If this limitation appliedto all warp travel then humanity wouId not have spread throughout thegalaxy as it has. It is possible to make long jumps of many lightyears by steering a within the warp itself - sensing, responding toand exploiting its currents and thereby directing the craft towardscorresponding point in the material universe. Only the wige humanmutants known as Navigators can pilot a craft through the warp inthis way.
Some people are sensitiveto the movements of warpspace. They can, for example, sometimes tellthat a spacecraft is approaching even 'before it drops back into thematerial universe. This human sensitivity to the warp is notgenerally well developed. However, in a minority of people thissensitivity is far more finely tuned. These people are known aspsykers and they are able to consciously control and use the energyof the warp to affect the material universe. Navigators are powerfulpsykers of a specialised kind who can use their powers to steerspacecraft in the warp.
THE ASTRONOMICAN ANDTHE WARP
The Astronomican is apsychic homing signal centred upon the Earth. It is powered by thecontinuous mental concentration of thousands of psykers. TheAstronomican cannot be detected in the real universe but only in thewarp. It is by means of this signal that Navigators can steer theirspaceships over long distances.
The Astronomican's signalis strongest close to Earth and gets increasingly weaker furtheraway. It extends over a spherical area with a diameter of about 50thousand light years. Because the Earth is situated in the galacticwest, the Astronomican does not cover the extreme eastern part of thegalaxy. Nor is the extent or strength of the signal constant - it cansometimes be blocked by localised activity within the warn itself.Such activity may be compared to the hurricanes or storms of aterrestrial weather system and is known as a warpstorm. Warpstormsmay be so had, and so long-lasting, that entire star systems areisolated for hundreds of years at a time.
A warpstorm not onlyobscures the signal of the Astronomican, it is also dangerous forspacecraft travelling nearby. No spacecraft can venture within awarpstorm and expect to survive, although there are tales ofmiraculous escapes and of ships being thrown tens of thousands oflight years off course. Warpstorms are not the only dangers withinthe warp. There are sentient energies and other immaterial life-formsthat inhabit it: creatures formed from (and part of) the shiftingstuff of the warn. Few are friendly and many are hostile. They areknown to mankind as daemons.
TIME DISPLACEMENT
The time differencesbetween real space and warpspace are quite drastic. Not only doestime pass at different rates in both kinds of space, but it alsopasses at very variable rates. Until a ship finishes its jump, it isimpossible for a ship's crew to know exactly how long their journeyhas taken. Time passing in real space is referred to as real time.Time passing on board a spacecraft is referred to as warp time. Forexample, a 100 light year jump will seem to take from 234 to 934hours to a spaceship's crew, but between 3 days and 3 weeks will havepassed in real space. These times do not include journey times out toand from jump points on the edge of the star systems. It takes fromdays to weeks of travel at sub-light speeds to reach a drop from thespaceship's starting planet, and a similar time to re-enter thedestination system.
The Imperium isapproximately 75 thousand light years from edge to edge. A journey ofthis length would take between 75 and 300 days in warp time, andbetween 6 years and 40 years real time.
WARP NAVIGATION
Once a spacecraftactivates its warp drives it is plunged into a dimension verydifferent from our universe. It is convenient to imagine warpspace asconsisting of a relatively dense, almost liquid, energy which isdevoid of stars, light and life as we know it.
Once within warpspace aship may move by means of its main warp drives, following powerfuleddies and currents in the warp, eventually reaching a point in thewarp corresponding to a destination in real space. The most difficultaspect of warp travel is that it is impossible to detect the movementof warpspace once a ship is in the warp. The ship can only blindlycarry on, its crew trusting that it is going in the right direction.The longer a ship remains in warpspace the greater the chances ofencountering some unexpected current that can turn it unknowinglyoff-course.
Navigation of warpspacecan be achieved in two ways: the calculated jump and the pilotedjump.
All warp-drivesincorporate navigational mechanisms. When the ship is in real space,these monitor the ever shifting movements of the part of the warpcorresponding to the ship's current position. By observing thesemovements in the warp it is possible to calculate a course,corrective manoeuvres, and approximate journey time to a proposeddestination. Calculation relies on the assumption that the'warp-currents observed from real space don't change significantlyduring flight. This method is known as a calculated jump. It is notsafe to make a calculated jump of more than four or five light yearsat one go. The longer the jump, the greater the chances of asignificant change in warp current movement.
The second, and moreefficient, form of warp-navigation is the piloted jump. This methodrelies upon two factors: the human mutants known as Navigators andthe psychic beacon called the Astronomican. The Astronomican iscentred on Earth and is not only controlled by, but is directed by,the psychic power of the Emperor himself. The Astronomican is abeacon that, because it is psychic, penetrates into warpspace. ANavigator on board a ship in the warp is able to pick up thesesignals and can steer a spaceship through warpspace, compensating forcurrent changes as he does so. A piloted jump can safely cover a fargreater distance than a calculated jump. 5,000 light years would bethe normal maximum jump, but longer jumps have been made.