Novem-Build #2: Mapping out a Location

How do I "see" Karum Station in Across a Thousand Dead Worlds

Nov 02, 2025

Yesterday I started a 30-day Challenge based on

’s workbook “30 Days of Worldbuilding.” I neglected to share a link to the book itself, which I will now rectify. The author’s website has more information, and you can order the workbook directly. Naturally, you can also order it via Amazon (USA link here)

Don’t forget to read Day #1 🤭 you missed it, but today, for Day #2, it’s all about drawing a map. Now, as I said yesterday, I’m building my world in the fictional universe of the game, Across a Thousand Dead Worlds by Black Oath.

I spent a good chunk of time yesterday grappling with the Affinity Designer program, which I learned some years ago, but have barely touched for about five years!

Having spent the morning cursing and swearing over the design tools, I finally spat out something vaguely like what I imagined Karum Station would look like. I then discovered that the core book has a map tucked away on page 336.

Arrggghhhhhh…. In space, no one can hear you scream!

So, I had to go back into Affinity and wrestle something into existence. Here is my “map” for Karum Station. Don’t laugh 😎

So what we have is a hollowed-out asteroid filled with hundreds of ships that once belonged to an ancient alien race about which we know almost nothing. Discovered by Drake Industries in 2078, they have developed the asteroid with an outer belt containing an inner ring of residential units, and an outer ring that includes all manner of leisure, commercial, and corporate offices, businesses, and storage.

Yes, we’ve got a 2D representation of something that exists in 3D space, but I don’t know how to work with 3D programs, and since I can’t draw to save my life, this will have to do for now.

We’re going to put a lot of flesh on these bare bones over the next 28 days—that yellow ring on my “map” will get “filled in” with plenty of detail, starting tomorrow when we think about how this distant space station provides water for its residents, visitors and staff.

The genesis of a deep diver

Now it’s time to create our first character—my “Deep Diver”, the protagonist in Across a Thousand Dead Worlds.

The Character Creation in Alex T’s games tend to follow a similar pattern, and I prefer to start with the background rather than jumping straight into attribute and skill point salads. I find it easier to get a sense of “who” my character is before I fill out the statistical parts of the character creation process.

I decided to start with a d10 roll on the Background chart and got a seven. That’s “Petty Criminal.” Hmmm. “Why not?” I thought. I’ve leaned towards sneaky glass-cannon characters lately. So, let’s go all-in with a different trope!

The book talks about “getting by with small robberies and hustles.” Let’s ramp that up and imagine that our guy has committed a serious crime. Karum Station attracts desperate people. Drake Industries doesn’t care about your past as long as you sign the contract and take the risk. The company calls it “redemption through exploration.” Most ex-cons see it as a one-way ticket off the rock…

I’m calling my character Dante Corren. He’s about 37-38—old enough to have served a decent prison sentence, but still young enough to hold his own in a fight! Maybe six feet tall, thick set, muscular, short-cropped hair. Something like this guy:

I need more for Dante, so I flip to the “Life Changing Event” table and grab my trusty d20. It’s a fourteen! “Got caught in a big scandal..”

Ok, let’s say before Karum, Dante ran small salvage jobs across Luna’s shadow ports. His partner and lover, Kelly-Anne Vir, sold him out to corporate security during a cargo heist. Like a lovesick idiot, Dante took the fall and spent eight years in a cell while Kelly-Anne vanished with the payout.

I make a note of Kelly-Anne. Perhaps she will play into my story later…

The experience has changed Dante: He avoids making promises, but when he does, they're solid. His sense of justice is blunt and personal: betrayal earns no forgiveness. The memory of that night—the sirens, the clattering steps of the guards, Kelly-Anne’s face turning away—still flashes when he hears station alarms.

We’re getting somewhere now. There’s a “How did you earn you place on Karum?” table. It’s a d4, but I don’t need to try (and fail) to pick up my d4 to know that option 4 is my path: “You got the money through illicit means.”

I now start to fill in the details. I chose “Somewhere to belong” as my Drive. I’ve spent far too long languishing on my own in the slammer; now I’m looking for a cause larger than myself, and a family that will risk everything for a common cause.

Next up, I peruse the mannerisms and nervous tic table (did I mention there’s plenty of depth to this character creation?). Here is what I decided:

When he feels confident, Dante walks straight with squared shoulders
When Dante lacks confidence, he avoids eye contact
When he’s bored, Dante toys with the ring that his parents gave him when he turned 18
When Dante feels happy, he tells (often inappropriate) jokes
When he feels frustrated, Dante exhales sharply
Dante has a nervous tic where he grunts at people

Lunar Correctional Authority
Release Report — Inmate #74219: Dante Corren
Date of Release: 22 March 2196
Facility: Armstrong Penal Complex, Mare Serenitatis Sector

Name: Corren, Dante
Age: 38
Sex: Male
Height: 183 cm
Weight: 102 kg
Build: Muscular
Hair: Black, cropped short
Eyes: Brown
Distinguishing Marks: Scar along left jawline; tattoo on right forearm (unregistered symbol).

Background Summary

Corren was sentenced to eight standard years for grand larceny and obstruction of corporate law enforcement. Convicted on evidence linking him to a cargo diversion operation in Luna’s shadow ports. The operation involved the theft of proprietary salvage under the jurisdiction of Drake Logistics Division.

Corren accepted full responsibility during trial proceedings. Testimony indicates the presence of an accomplice, Vir, Kelly-Anne, identity confirmed but currently unlocated. Corporate investigators believe Corren was misled by Vir and subsequently abandoned during the arrest. Corren refused to cooperate with post-trial inquiries.

Behavioral Record

During incarceration, Corren exhibited no violent conduct and earned limited-trust privileges within three cycles of confinement. His interactions with staff were polite but guarded. Psychological evaluations describe him as “methodical, self-contained, and emotionally restrained.” Displays of anger were rare but intense.

Observed tics include frequent throat clearing and brief, low grunts during conversation—interpreted as a stress reflex. When relaxed, subject walks with squared posture and direct eye contact; during disciplinary hearings, he avoided gaze and spoke in short phrases.

Corren frequently handled a metal ring kept as personal property, claiming sentimental value. Item returned upon release.

Disposition

Released to Drake Industries Custodial Transport Unit 19-K, en route to Karum Station under Limited Partnership Contract.
All belongings were inventoried and returned. Behavioural record sealed under Lunar Correctional Privacy Act, section 14-B.

Filed by:
Officer J. Sato
Lunar Correctional Authority, Mare Serenitatis Sector

Now we’ve got a sense of who “our guy” is, it’s time to put some statistical flesh on the bones.

The game is rooted in the standard attributes—Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Will, Intelligence, and Charisma. Each attribute starts at eight and maxes out at 18. We have 12 points to distribute, and it doesn’t appear we can take any attribute below seven to grab extra points.

Remember: the game operates on a d20 roll above system. We roll a d20, add our attribute, and if the total is 20 or higher, we succeed! So, I need to have “better than average” chances of winning a d20 check, which means I need to be greater than 10 in the attributes I’m going to use most.

Thinking for a while about this, I eventually decided to add four points to CON and DEX (taking them up to 12) and two each to STR and WIL (taking them to ten.)

Next, we have Skills. 70 points to distribute between 12 skill sets. Again, I want to specialise in the things I think Dante will be good at. I can’t go above 10 in any skill (again, it’s a d20 check to do stuff), so I’m going to want to be maxing out at 10 for a few key skills. Again, after some thought, I plump for:

Close Combat (10), melee scrapping with knives, clubs and anything to hand
Ranged Combat (10) Dante prefers to get up close, but can certainly handle a gun
Manipulation (10), Sometimes I need to make people do stuff that I want
Medical Aid (10), Dante knows how to patch himself and others
Perception (10) Beware! Nobody gets the jump on this guy!
Resolve (10) Dante needs to withstand the horrors of what he might find.
Survival (10) This speaks for itself!

Finally, we get to choose a starting talent (we can have five eventually). There’s a bunch to choose from, but the one that jumps out is the recommended talent for a melee character, namely, Charge. This Talent means I can barge into the fray with added skill and damage.

And with that, I think we’re done with Character Creation. Tomorrow, Dante arrives on Karum Station and heads into one of the most intractable questions of life under Drake Industries: What happens when the corporation withdraws my water privileges?