SWN:Interplanetary Travel Rules

Interplanetary travel in Elyrion takes place in the Aether, the mysterious dimension that lies like a blanket over the skin of realspace. Using special exotic materials gathered from deep space, it is possible to construct solar sails which harness the arcane radiation of stars and ley-lines to access the Aether, where travel at speeds far in excess of the realspace speed of light is possible.

Ships can enter the Aether when close to a star, or when near the center of a ley-line, by taking advantage of the intense arcane radiations present there. Ships can exit the Aether at any time by bleeding off their aethiric momentum, but may be unable to re-enter the Aether without the use of specially constructed "kick bombs" if they are too far from a star or ley-line.

Making Aether Jumps

Aether travel between star systems requires that they be connected by a ley-line. Many interstellar voyages require multiple jumps.

Aether travel requires time. Ley-lines are described by their rank, which is equal to the number of days required to traverse a single hex. The weakest ley-lines tend to be rank-6. while the Novabridge is a rank-1. It takes ten minutes for a ship within the habitable zone of a star to make the jump to the Aether, half an hour for ships between the habitable zone and the system's edge, and an hour for ships beyond the star's direct influence.