Celestial Bodies

Celestial bodies are what most groundlings and primes consider to be "the world", and many are clueless about the existence of other worlds. Regardless, a majority of life on the Prime Material Plane spend most of their lives living on a celestial body.
A celestial body can be as small as an asteroid, and some are as large as the sun. Beyond that, celestial bodies come in a plethora of shapes and sizes. Spheres are the most common shape for celestial bodies in The Multiverse, though it is not uncommon to find worlds of unusual shapes like cubes, rings, and tori.
Many celestial bodies in the Multiverse have atmospheres, though not all of them are breathable by the average humanoid. Some worlds have downright toxic atmospheres. Suns are also considered a type of celestial body, and at least one can be found in most crystal spheres.

Classification

Celestial bodies are divided into various types and classifications for easy reference by celestial engineers and cartographers. When referring to a celestial body or bodies, a three-character code is used. First is a definition of size, second a symbol indicating shape, and lastly a word describing the type of celestial body being dealt with.

Size Classes

• Size A - Less than 10 miles across
• Size B - From 10 - 100 miles across
• Size C - From 100 - 1K (1000) miles across
• Size D - From 1 - 4K across
• Size E - From 4K - 10K across
• Size F - From 10K - 40K across
• Size G - From 40K - 100K across
• Size H - From 100K - 1000K (1M) across
• Size I - From 1M - 10M across
• Size J - 10M across or greater

Oerth, and most earth-like fantasy campaigns are Size E.

Shape Classes

The symbol following the size letter denotes the general shape of the celestial body as it appears from space.

• ⚫ - Spherical shape
• ➰ - Amorphous or flexible shape
• ⭕ - Belt of smaller objects in a single orbit
• ✴️ - Cluster of smaller objects within a small area
• ⬛ - Cubic shape
• ➖ - Flatworld - edges may be irregular, sharp, or rounded
• ⚪ - Eliptical shape
• ♦️ - None of the above, but regularly shaped (such as a tetrahedron)
• ❓ - None of the above, but irregularly shaped

Type Classes

The final entry in defining a celestial body is the Type, which is usually determined by the most abundant substance of the object, in terms of the elemental planes. If a body is defined as primarily fire in nature, it does not preclude the existence on its surface of earth, water, and air. All that the type declares is the general make-up of the planet.
The official name used by cartographers is provided first, followed by the common name used by space voyagers (the name used in conversations is often an idea of whether the speaker is a voyager or groundling).

• Fire (Sun) - These celestial bodies provide both heat and light within their shells, and are often (but not always) at the center of the system.
• Earth (World) - These celestial bodies are the most common homes of most fantasy campaigns - the solid earth below, the sky above, etc.
• Air (Gas Clouds) - These celestial bodies tend to be amorphous in nature, and are viewed as oases where the traveler can regain air and supplies.
• Water (Water Worlds) - These celestial bodies are rare, and are usually liquid all the way through (though some have solid cores or clusters at their hearts, like gas clouds).

There is one debatable type, put forward by natives of Kara-Tur and other areas influenced by cultures that include a fifth element (often wood or life) in their elemental models. Plant (Live Worlds)] - Considered Earth type by other scholars, these refer to living (if not sentient) planets, where the entire body is alive. The existence of Liveworlds creates a problem for scholars, as there are a number of other large bodies (such as space dragons) which could be considered celestial bodies as a result.

Other Information

In addition to the main three categories, supplemental notes are often added. These include:

• Presence of moons
• Lack of atmosphere
• Lethal atmosphere
• Hollow planets
• Large extradimensional gates
• Xenophobic natives (marked by an X)

These supplemental notes are like a hobo's code of marking, symbols, and etchings on the starcharts, and often clutter the situation more than they help the user.