From: redden@ttidca.TTI.COM (John Redden) Newsgroups: rec.games.frp Subject: Other Suns : 18 Date: 12 Oct 90 14:09:55 GMT Reply-To: redden@ttidca.tti.com. (John Redden) Organization: Citicorp/TTI, Santa Monica ------------------ OS.18 ---------------------------------------- This is being posted to the net by myself for Niall Shapero. Others Suns is copyright by Niall Shapero. This gaming material is distributed on a shareware basis. If you do not use the material you owe the author nothing. If you do use it please pay him what you think it is worth at a fair price becasue it took a damn lot of work to develop and playtest. The USmail address is: Niall Shapero 2536 Short Ave Los Angeles CA 90066 USA Those of you with modems can dial into his BBS using this phone number: (213)822-6729 Please email any comments to my electronic mailing address and I will pass them on to Niall. ---------------- end of preamble ------------------------------------------- ICE WORLD I (PART 3 OF 28) Temperate Winter Regions: These are regions of a world where the average temperature is normally above freezing, except during winter months. On an earthlike planet, many temperate zone areas would fall into this category. Worlds with highly eccentric orbits or that orbit variable stars might be subject to unusual and extreme surface temperature variations. Subarctic Regions: Similar to temperate winter regions, save that average temperature is lower (perhaps below freezing). The win- ters are long and cold, though summers can still be quite warm. Arctic Regions: In these frozen zones the winter temperatures will be extremely low, and summer, if it occurs at all, will be cold by temperate zone standards. Tidally locked worlds, or worlds where the illuminance from the primary is low enough will consist mostly or completely of arctic regions. There is, of course, a considerable degree of overlap between areas, and it can be difficult to neatly categorize any specific area of a planet into one of these regions. The assignment of regional classification and characteristics is left strictly up to the Referee's discretion, rather than being tied to any hard and fast set of creation rules. Generally, the Referee will know what sort of region he wants to set a given adventure in prior to the start of the adventure. In cases where random explorations are being carried out, logic, common sense, or an idea of what seems most exciting or interesting for the situation at hand can be applied to choose the overall region type. Once an area has been classified, the Referee will be able to determine many specifics concerning terrain and conditions in that area. Terrain and Snow Cover Determination: Terrain conditions and the presence and extent of snow and ice must be determined when traveling through any region. To do this, the following four step process is to be followed. 1. Determine General Terrain: General terrain type defines the overall nature of the ground over which the adventure is taking place. In many cases, the general terrain will be known already, if the Referee has already prepared a map of the world in ques- tion. In this case, the general location of the party will be known, and hence the overall conditions in that location. General terrain types are open/clear, coastal, open water, or mountain- ous. 2. Determine Local Terrain: Local terrain represents the terrain being traveled through at any given time. Local terrain types can be established through prior mapping or via a free form system. When the Referee wishes to establish the overall picture of the ground to be covered, he would be well advised to map out all local terrain in advance. A scale no courser than 1 hex per 30 kilometers is recommended (this represents one day's march under fairly ideal conditions). The Local Terrain Table may be used to determine map hex contents in advance of the adventure. The free form approach is used when the Referee does not wish to make detailed maps in advance. Roll once on the Local Terrain Table for each eight hours of party movement on foot (regardless of the actual rate of movement). This roll establishes the local terrain to be passed through for the next eight hour period. For parties using vehicles, roll for local terrain on an hourly basis, again regardless of actual rate of movement (provided that it is not zero, of course). 3. Snow Chance Determination: Once terrain has been established, it is necessary to determine the chance of snow cover being present. The Cloudiness and Humidity Table is used to determine this chance. For each mapped hex or area crossed during free form travel, roll 1D100 for Cloud Percentage. Checking under the "Snow Cover Chance" for the current Cloud Percentage in the table gives the percentage probability for snow cover (to be modified by situation as noted) in the current location. 4. Snow Cover Determination: The final step is to determine the nature and extent of snow cover in the area. Choose the appropri- ate terrain for the area, and roll 1D100 (with modifiers as noted) three times to determine the type of snow cover present. Snow cover is defined by type (wet or powder), depth (spotty, shallow, deep) and the presence or absence of hard packed snow, which can extend several meters under the new snow which is being described by the other rolls in this process. Changes in Snow Cover: It is possible for the amount and nature of the snow cover to change significantly over the course of a journey through a given region as snowfall or melting occurs. This process is discussed in the rules section dealing with weather. Explanation of Terrain and Snow Cover: Results obtained from the snow cover and terrain tables each have a distinct nature, and may pose different problems to adventurers who are forced to travel through these regions. Tundra: Tundra terrain typically occurs only in subarctic re- gions. A tundra plain is broad, flat, and treeless; in the win- ter, the ground is frozen solid, but in summer the plain becomes wet and marshy. Because they are open and level, tundra plains are easy to cross, though in the summer, movement on foot can be hazardous. Tundra terrain is ideal for hovercraft, but (again in summer) can sometimes bog down ATVs and other ground vehicles. ICE WORLD I (PART 4 OF 28) Permafrost: Permafrost is very much like tundra, but occurs in regions where there is no summertime to melt the water locked in the frozen ground. Like tundra plains, permafrost regions tend to be level and open, and thus easy to cross. But adventurers who need to dig -- to find minerals, or to build shelters -- soon discover that perpetually frozen ground can be almost impossible to work with. Rugged Terrain: Rugged terrain can slow down a party in the best of weather. In subzero, arctic weather conditions, rugged ground can become far more hazardous. Uneven accumulations of snow over rugged ground can make deceptively level surfaces out of areas where obstacles and dips alike are hidden. The result is a treacherous region where men or vehicles can flounder in unex- pectedly deep snow, or suffer accidents from concealed rocks or barriers. Even hovercraft can be badly knocked about by the uncertainties of rough ground of this kind. Mountainous Terrain: Mountainous regions are even more hazardous than rugged ground. Even the easy parts of mountainous terrain have the same characteristics as rugged ground; beyond that there are the problems of steep slopes, unexpected ravines or preci- pices, and the ever present danger of avalanche. Wilderness Terrain: Wilderness terrain can include a wide variety of specific terrain types: clear, woods, rolling hills, forest, and so forth. The Referee should establish the exact nature of any wilderness area based on planetary conditions and the needs of the adventure. Generally, wilderness terrain will be easier to traverse than any other terrain types, though in wooded or hilly regions, some vehicles might be slowed down somewhat. Temporary Ice: Temporary ice forms over small bodies of land- locked water. When the temperature rises above freezing the temporary ice melts, but prolonged subzero temperatures can cause small bodies of water to freeze solid. Temporary ice can be very hazardous. As on ice, footing on temporary ice can be uncertain; more importantly, the temporary ice is not always as solid as it might appear. Thin ice can break under the weight of a vehicle or even a single character. This makes movement over temporary ice a dangerous task. Pack Ice: Pack ice forms in arctic and subarctic oceans, well away from major land masses. Even in the coldest arctic regions, pack ice is unstable; warming caused by sunlight and by shifting warm ocean currents can cause pack ice to break up. Terrain shifts resulting from these changes can drastically alter the nature of the "ground" over a relatively short period of time. A party could easily find itself cut off by the formation of poly- nyas (open water or very thin ice between floes), or could lose contact with a submersible vehicle forced to leave as the polynya freezes up around it. Shelf Ice: This form of ice has greater stability and permanence than pack ice. It forms near continental land masses, where shallow water and the cooling effect of nearby land keeps temper- ature changes to a minimum. Though major alterations in the local temperature can still cause configuration changes -- particularly at the edges of shelf ice, where conditions gradually shift into the realm of pack ice -- there is less likelihood of major or dramatic shifts over any period of time likely to be covered in a single adventure. Specifics of movement over any of these types of ice are discussed in a later section of the rules. Powder Snow: Humidity and temperature dictate the nature of any sort of snowfall. Powder snow is a soft, loosely packed, type of snow which offers the most advantageous conditions for movement. Wet Snow: Wet snow is a far more difficult to cross than powder snow. Specifics on movement over snow are discussed in a later section. Spotty Snow Cover: Spotty snow cover means just what the name says. Snow has not accumulated significantly, except in spots. These spots can be easily avoided, thus negating the difficulties of movement through snow. Spotty snow over hard pack can still be a problem, however. Shallow Snow Cover: Shallow snow cover is generally optimum for arctic travel. Shallow snow provides traction over underlying hard pack or ice, but is not deep enough to impede travel signif- icantly when traveling on foot or in arctic vehicles. Shallow snow covers range from 0.25 to 8 centimeters depth. Deep Snow Cover: When the new snow exceeds eight centimeters depth, it is classified as deep. Deep snow can be treacherous; it hides irregularities in the ground, may lie in large drifts, and will generally slow both vehicle and personnel movement. It poses the greatest hazards of any form of snow cover to both men and equipment.