From: [r--dd--n] at [ttidca.TTI.COM] (John Redden)

Subject: Other Suns : Ice World







The following is material from an unpublished supplement to Other 

Suns by Niall C. Shapero and J. Andrew Keith:



Introduction



ICE WORLD is a supplement for Other Suns dealing with  operations 

in sub-zero, arctic environments. Extreme cold can affect a party 

of adventurers in many ways; just surviving in arctic  conditions 

can be a major endeavor in itself, and movement, combat and other 

activities become correspondingly more difficult as the  environ-

ment becomes more hostile. Representing the hazards and difficul-

ties  of arctic adventuring in Other Suns is the subject of  this 

booklet.



Despite  its name, ICE WORLD is not necessarily limited in  scope 

to  dealing with planets which are entirely ice  locked.  Indeed, 

although science fiction film and literature is filled with  "ice 

planets"  and "jungle planets" and "desert planets," the fact  is 

that  no world is likely to be so monolithic in nature. There  is 

room  on  any planet for a variety of  environments,  and  arctic 

conditions  may  be encountered somewhere on almost any  type  of 

reasonably Earth-like world. Whether the entire planet is  locked 

in  perpetual  cold, or is a perfectly  terrestrial  planet  with 

frigid  zones at the poles, or even if the adventure in  progress 

just  happens  to be set in an ordinary temperate  region  during 

that  hemisphere's  winter months, the rules  presented  in  this 

booklet will be equally valid and useful to the referee who  must 

administer the situation the adventurers must meet and overcome.



The  material presented here is intended to expand, not  replace, 

the rules in the basic Other Suns booklets. These rules should be 

considered  as optional additions to the original game,  concepts 

and  guidelines to be implemented or ignored as desired. None  of 

these ideas need be regarded as gospel; it is up to the individu-

al referee to use or discard these different rules' concepts,  or 

possibly  to expand upon them even further to develop  even  more 

detailed  approaches to the problems of arctic  environments  and 

operations. The referee always has the final word on how the game 

should be played.



ICE  WORLD  is divided into four separate  sections.  The  first, 

Rules,  deals  with  game rules for handling a  wide  variety  of 

arctic  conditions  and situations, from weather  to  terrain  to 

skills  to  movement  and combat effects  and  beyond.  Equipment 

presents a number of equipment types, with information  capabili-

ties, availability, reliability and price. In the third  section, 

Encounters and Events, and extensive set of encounter tables  and 

rules  are  presented  for use in Other  Suns  adventures.  These 

tables  are  generic, applicable to almost any  world  or  locale 

where arctic conditions are found, and can be further modified as 

desired  to broaden their applicability. Various events  are  de-

fined and discussed in this section as well.



ICE  WORLD may be used in conjunction with other,  similar  Other 

Suns  supplements, both published and forthcoming. Arctic  condi-

tions  can be found on high mountain peaks, so that  ICE  WORLD's 

rules can be combined with those in MOUNTAIN WORLD [forthcoming]. 

The entire series of forthcoming World Supplements is designed to 

link  together, so that the Other Suns adventurers can move  com-

fortably  from one environment to another using this common  game 

system.



Rules



All  of the rules and procedures found in Other Suns are  assumed 

to remain in force when using ICE WORLD, except where alterations 

or  conflicts  are specifically noted. In  such  instances,  this 

booklet  should prevail, but the Referee should always feel  free 

to alter or disregard any of this material in order to tailor  it 

to  the  tastes and abilities of the specific  group  of  players 

involved in the game. It is important to remember, however,  that 

a  change in the structure of these rules could affect more  than 

just  the  one rule altered, and the Referee should  always  take 

care  to  see  to it that no modifications that  are  made  cause 

unforeseen damage to the rest of the game system.



SKILLS



Four skills must be added to Other Suns to reflect the ability of 

individual  characters to deal with the hazards of arctic  condi-

tions: Arctic Travel, Arctic Survival, Skating and Snowshoeing.



Arctic Travel: This skill is available as a secondary subfield to 

First-In  Colonists  and Soldiers. It is a  primary  subfield  of 

Survival Experts.



Arctic Survival: Arctic Survival skill is available as a  second-

ary subfield to First-In Colonists and Soldiers, and as a primary 

subfield to Survival Experts. As an option, the Referee may allow 

the skill as a secondary subfield to Permanent Colonists who come 

from or settle a planet where arctic conditions are common.



Snowshoeing:  This skill is available as a secondary subfield  to 

First-In Colonists and as a primary subfield of Survival Experts. 

As  an  option, the Referee may allow the skill  as  a  secondary 

subfield to Permanent Colonists who come from or settle a  planet 

where arctic conditions are common.



Skating:  This  skill  is available as a  secondary  subfield  to 

First-In Colonists and as a primary subfield of Survival Experts. 

As  an  option, the Referee may allow the skill  as  a  secondary 

subfield to Permanent Colonists who come from or settle a  planet 

where arctic conditions are common.



SKILL DESCRIPTIONS



Arctic Travel: This skill represents the character's knowledge of 

the  special difficulties involved in travel under severe  arctic 

conditions.  It is a limiting skill for Skiing, Snowshoeing,  and 

Vehicular operations under these special conditions.



This  is a Knowledge skill, with a 3% base for non-Altani  and  a 

30%  base  for  Altani.  The  training  costs  are  as   follows: 

50/150/350/500/650.



Arctic Survival:



This  is  the  adventurer's ability to cope with  the  rigors  of 

staying alive in sub-zero conditions.



The  Arctic Survival skill is used in many different  situations, 

whether  it be to locate sources of food and water,  constructing 

or  finding shelter, or staying alive for the longest  period  of 

time under extremes of temperature and harsh weather. Many  exact 

rolls  and procedures are noted throughout this  booklet;  others 

may  be invented by the Referee on the spot to deal with  unusual 

situations.



When characters are cooperating and in communication, the surviv-

al  skill of the GROUP is set equal to the Arctic Survival  skill 

of  the  highest skilled character -- only  the  highest  skilled 

member need make his skill roll for the entire group to  benefit. 

Should  the best trained individual in the group FAIL  his  roll, 

the  remaining  characters may still attempt to  make  their  own 

skill rolls; however, if the group's resident expert fumbles  his 

Arctic  Survival skill, the remaining characters may NOT  attempt 

their  skill  rolls. Thus, an expert will generally  improve  the 

group  survival chances through his guidance and assistance,  but 

he  may  also lead the group astray -- and into  disaster  if  he 

fails too badly.



This is a Knowledge skill with a 0% base for non-Altani and a 30% 

base   for   Altani.   The  training  costs   are   as   follows: 

50/100/200/400/800.



Skating:  This is a measure of the character's ability to  travel 

on ice skates (and is applied as per the Skiing skill).



This is a Manipulation skill, with a 6% base for non-Altani and a 

30%  base  for  Altani.  The  training  costs  are  as   follows: 

50/150/350/500/650.



Snowshoeing:  This  is a measure of the  character's  ability  to 

travel through snow conditions effortlessly.



This is a Manipulation skill, with a 6% base for non-Altani and a 

30%  base  for  Altani.  The  training  costs  are  as   follows: 

100/200/400/800/1200.



While snowshoeing, a character must make his Snowshoeing skill or 

expend 1D4 END points (on a temporary basis) every hour.



While  Skating  or Skiing, a character must make his  skating  or 

skiing roll or expend 1D3 END points (on a temporary basis) every 

hour.



In any hour period in which a clean action roll is made, there is 

a  possibility of recovering 1 END point previously lost  through 

snowshoeing,  skating or skiing: if a roll on 1D100 is less  than 

or  equal to the WIL of the character, one point of END  will  be 

recovered.  In any hour spent snowshoeing, skating or  skiing  in 

which a critical roll is made in the snowshoeing skill, one point 

of  END lost through snowshoeing will be recovered on a  roll  of 

WIL x 5 or less on 1D100.



As  described later, Snowshoeing constitutes HEAVY activity,  and 

both Skating and Skiing constitute MODERATE activity.



THE SUBZERO ENVIRONMENT



The  problems  of surviving in arctic conditions  stem  primarily 

from  two factors (or, more exactly, two facets of a single  fac-

tor)  --  terrain  and weather. Determining just  how  severe  or 

hazardous  the conditions to be faced will be is the province  of 

the  Referee,  but the guidelines given in  this  section  should 

provide a fairly effective starting point.



Subzero Regions:



In  general, there are three basic regions where  subzero  condi-

tions  will be encountered. Each has its own  characteristics  in 

terms of terrain, weather, and problems to be overcome.



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.



Hard Pack Snow: Hard pack is the term used in the rules to  refer 

to "old" snow, which has accumulated on previous days. The weight 

of  new  snow compacts the older snow,  producing  a  potentially 

slick base. Each day, new snow from the previous day becomes hard 

pack  if  the  temperature does not rise high  enough  to  permit 

melting.  If hard pack snow is present under spotty  snow  cover, 

movement is more difficult for both vehicles and walking  person-

nel. By the time snow becomes deep, however, underlying hard pack 

is no longer relevant.



Limitations on Snow and Ice:



If  a world has no water vapor (values for "S" in  the  planetary 

atmosphere equation between 0.56 and 0.32), then snow and ice are 

obviously not going to be present. Cryogenic worlds, like  pluto, 

may  well have hydrogen "ice" on the surface, but in these  rules 

we are assuming basically terrestrial type oxygen-nitrogen atmos-

phere worlds



WEATHER



Several tables elsewhere in this booklet can be used to establish 

weather  conditions.  They were prepared for use  on  terrestrial 

type worlds; the Referee should feel free to modify these  tables 

to cover unusual or extreme conditions on specific worlds in  his 

campaign.



Snowfall is based on humidity, which is in turn derived from  the 

general  cloudiness  of the area. Every day, the  Referee  should 

roll  for cloudiness percentage (on 1D100). Reading  across  from 

the result, the Referee finds a Cloudiness Factor and a  Humidity 

Factor for the world (the Snow Cover Chance is used, as described 

earlier,  only  when creating initial terrain  conditions;  daily 

weather changes do not randomly alter the snow cover). Use of the 

"Cloudiness  Factor" is covered in a later section. The  Humidity 

Factor gives the chance for snowfall.



Every  eight hours (three times per day) the Referee should  roll 

1D100 and compare the result to the Humidity Factor. If the  roll 

is less than the number shown, snow will fall during that  period 

of time. Should the temperature be above freezing, rain will fall 

instead of snow.



The three Snow Storm tables are used to determine the  intensity, 

duration, and nature of the snowfall once it is established  that 

a  snow  storm  is taking place. Roll first on Table  I  for  the 

intensity,  using 1D10. The result describes the snow  fall  rate 

and  accumulation, and gives a die modifier to be applied to  the 

roll on the second table. A roll on 1D10 is then made on Table II 

to  determine  the number of hours that snow will  fall.  Another 

1D10  roll  is made and Table II used to determine type  of  snow 

(wet or powder).



Snowfall may continue for more than one 8 hour period. If a storm 

is determined to last all the way through a given period, no  new 

roll for snow storms is made. If it is to end in a given  period, 

new rolls are made, and the current storm duration is extended by 

that  of  any new storm that might occur. New  cloudiness  ranges 

should  be determined every 24 hours, though in some  cases  they 

will not influence the day's weather.



For the sake of convenience, itast. Once the storms end, however, new  areas  en-

tered  should only have the snow cover that is  established  from 

the terrain determination process, and no more.



The Referee, however, should feel free to make any  modifications 

in  procedures or results that seem reasonable for a given  world 

or  situation. Additional tables to provide for wider  variations 

between  worlds or climate zones can be developed,  or  elaborate 

rules  for  movement and behavior of storm fronts  and  the  like 

could  be  introduced. The basic procedures  here,  however,  are 

quite  sufficient to simulate the most important aspects of  snow 

storms in the game.



Cloudiness  and Visibility: Clouds may serve to  make  navigation 

difficult, or to inhibit the effective use of aircraft or  space-

craft. Visibility is determined from the Cloudiness and  Humidity 

chart.  First  roll  1D100 once every 8 hours  to  determine  the 

percent  cloud cover. Roll 1D100 again and if the result is  less 

than or equal to the Cloudiness factor, there is a low overcast.



When  the  sky  is overcast, navigation  without  instruments  is 

impossible for characters or vehicles on the ground. Air vehicles 

must  fly  in "Nape Of the Earth" mode (NOE) to  maintain  visual 

contact with the ground -- and are fully subject to ad verse  ef-

fects of wind and weather when doing so. At high speeds,  modifi-

ers must be applied to the appropriate skill (piloting or vehicu-

lar operations) to avoid accidents in NOE mode. Pilots may  avoid 

risk  and  fly above cloud level, but they lose visual  con  tact 

with the ground. They must descend below the cloud cover to land, 

risking local weather problems as they do so.



Vehicular situations are discussed more fully in a later  section 

of the booklet.



                     ICE WORLD I (PART 6 OF 28)



TEMPERATURE



The basic mean day temperature of a world is given in the  tables 

in book 2 of Other Suns. This temperature represents the mean day 

temperature  found at 30o north or south latitude on the  planet. 



On  a  typical Terrestrial planet, the mean day  temperature  de-

clines  at  a rate of 1.5oC per degree of latitude north  of  30o 

North or south of 30o South latitude. On a world with a mean  day 

temperature of 25oC (298 Kelvin) the mean day temperature at  76o 

N latitude would be -44oC.



Moving  inward  from the 30o latitude line towards  the  equator, 

temperatures  increase at a basic rate of 1oC per two degrees  of 

latitude shift. At the equator, a world with a mean day  tempera-

ture  of 25oC (298 Kelvin) would have a mean day  temperature  of 

40oC.



Axial  Tilt also affects a world's temperature variations.  Axial 

tilt  for  a Terrestrial world is (8D6-8)  degrees  (this  yields 

tilts  of from 0 to 40 degrees, with 20o being average  --  Earth 

has  an axial tilt of 23o). Once the axial tilt has  been  deter-

mined, two other factors are established: the tropical bands, and 

the rate of temperature variation enjoyed by the world.



The  tropical  bands are set at the lines of latitude  north  and 

south  of  the equator equal to the axial tilt itself;  thus,  on 

Earth,  the tropical zone runs between 23o N and 23o S  latitude. 

Within  this band there are no seasonal variations.  Outside  the 

tropics, apply the following seasonal temperature modifiers:



Summer: Add 0.6oC per degree of axial inclination.



Winter: Subtract 1oC per degree of axial inclination.



By way of example, our sample world, with a mean day  temperature 

of 25o has an axial tilt determined to be 17o. At 30o N latitude, 

the  temperature varies from 8oC in winter to 35oC in summer.  At 

76o N latitude this figure ranges from a winter low of -71oC to a 

summer high of -34oC.



These basic steps -- base temperature, modifications for latitude 

and modifications for axial tilt and season -- enable the Referee 

to determine the expected local temperature for any point on  the 

globe for any time of year.



Once this temperature has been established, additional  modifiers 

are  applied to cover specific situations that may arise  in  the 

course of the game.



Altitude:  Temperatures derived from the steps above are for  sea 

level.  For every 200 meters elevation above sea level,  tempera-

ture decreases by 1oC.



Daytime:  The temperature derived from the previous steps can  be 

determined  to be for early evening (just after sunset).  In  the 

course of the day, temperatures will slowly increase to a maximum 

temperature,  then fall to this "daytime" temperature just  after 

sunset. Roll 1D10 and divide the result by the atmospheric  pres-

sure of the planet; this amount is added to the local temperature 

(as  modified by altitude) to yield the daytime high. The  actual 

temperature  will increase evenly over the hours between  sunrise 

and  mid-afternoon  (halfway between mid-day  and  sunset),  then 

decrease to the "daytime" temperature at dusk.



Nighttime: The opposite effect occurs at night. Roll 1D10, divide 

by  the  atmospheric pressure, and subtract this value  from  the 

local  temperature  to find the low temperature  for  the  night. 

Again,  the  actual change should be spread over  the  time  from 

sunset  to  one hour before dawn; the temperature  gradually  in-

creases from this low value to the standard local temperature  at 

dawn.



Referee's  note: It should be remembered that rotational  periods 

vary  from  world to world and, moreover,  planets  with  extreme 

axial  tilt will have a diurnal cycle wherein a single "day"  can 

be  six  months  long, even if the rotation period  is  close  to 

twenty-four  hours. Add the possibility of tidally locked  worlds 

where the sun never shines on half the globe and the result is  a 

wide variation in how these day/night temperature changes  should 

be applied.



Temperature  Effects: Variations in temperature have three  major 

effects:  on  the environment, on equipment,  and  on  characters 

themselves.



When the temperature is above freezing, snowfall becomes rainfall 

and  snow  already on the ground begins to melt.  Melting  is  an 

uneven process, but a workable rule of thumb is to remove 1D6 x 1 

millimeter  of snow cover per hour per 5 degrees C.  Should  rain 

fall on melting snow, treat a moderate storm as adding 10 degrees 

C to the temperature, a heavy storm 20 degrees.



                     ICE WORLD I (PART 7 OF 28)



WIND



Wind  can kill in subzero temperatures. The speed of arctic  wind 

can make all the difference between life and death, if a  charac-

ter is caught in the open.



Wind  velocities  should be determined with snowfall for  each  8 

hour period. The Wind Velocity Table is used to determine average 

velocity  and  also whether the winds are steady or  gusty.  Wind 

gusts  will reach twice the specified velocity 1D6  times  within 

each 2 hour period for 20 minutes each time. Wind speed and  type 

is  checked  even if the weather is constant over more  than  one 

eight hour period.



Wind Effects: The principal effect of wind is to alter the  "wind 

chill  factor".  Winds  can lower the  apparent  air  temperature 

dramatically.  Even comparatively mild temperatures can  be  made 

lethal  by high winds. Details are covered in a later section  on 

temperature.



In addition, high winds can pose a threat to air vehicles  flying 

below the cloud layer, and can whip up snow to hamper  visibility 

and cause savage drifts.



MOVEMENT ON SNOW AND ICE



Both snow and ice pose special problems for characters attempting 

to  move  under  their own power. The speed and  safety  of  such 

movement depends on many factors, as outlined below.



The  Basic Movement Rate: For cross-country travel on foot,  much 

use  is made of the standard Basic Movement rate  which  measures 

the average speed of a character. The Basic Movement rate  varies 

from  race to race, and, like the melee movement rates  in  Other 

Suns, is a function of length, method of locomotion, and movement 

class.



The basic movement rates of existing intelligent races have  been 

calculated  below. They are based on the averages for each  race; 

the  player  or Referee who wishes to calculate  an  individual's 

exact  Basic Movement rate may do so using the formula  presented 

later in this section.



For Altani, Dakti (stages I and III), H'Reli, Humans,  Sanchenzii 

and Uquoi, allow 30 kilometers per day (3.750 kph). For Korli and 

Dakti  (stage  II, walking) allow 20 kilometers  per  day  (2.500 

kph). For Skiltaire allow 25 kilometers per day (3.125 kph).  For 

Bjora  allow 50 kilometers per day (6.250 kph). Allow 60  kilome-

ters  per  day (7.500 kph) for Ata'a, and for  Dakti  (stage  II, 

flying) allow 200 kilometers per day (25.000 kph).



If  calculating the basic movement rate for a new race or  animal 

(such  as a riding or pack beast) the following information  must 

be known:



Length: the average (expected) LEN stat is generally used, though 

specifics may be substituted instead.



Locomotory Mode: (bipedal, quadrupedal, flier, or other):  deter-

mined by the description of the being in question.



Movement  Class: Most creatures have a Movement Class (MC) of  8. 

Ata'a  and  Skiltaire have MCs of 12 and  10  respectively  (both 

being treated as quadrupeds).



Length  and Locomotory Mode are cross-indexed into the  table  in 

section 3.3.2 in Other Suns to determine the Meters Traveled  per 

Movement Point expended.



To  determine  the  Basic Movement rate in  kilometers  per  day, 

multiply  Movement  Class by Meters Traveled per  Movement  Point 

expended  and  multiply the result by 1.25. This  produces  a  30 

kilometer  per day Basic Movement rate for the average Human  (in 

agreement with the basic rates given in section 3.3.1.1 in  Other 

Suns).  This  rate assumes 8 hours spent walking each day  --  so 

determine the Basic Movement rate in kilometers per hour,  simply 

divide this value by 8.



Using  the  Basic Movement Rate: When  traveling  across  country 

under  normal conditions of terrain and climate,  characters  may 

move  at the full value of their basic movement rate  and  suffer 

minimal problems from exertion (the movement is considered  Light 

Activity  for  purposes of Endurance losses  --  see  Endurance). 

Movement  at this rate is considered to be broken  by  occasional 

rest stops, and to be, on the whole, steady but not  particularly 

fast  or  strenuous. Characters may make a forced march  of  half 

again the Basic Movement rate (60 kilometers in 12 hours for  the 

average  Human);  however, a forced  march  constitutes  Moderate 

Activity, and so costs more Endurance. Characters may also set  a 

running  pace of 2.5 times their normal Melee Movement rate  (see 

section  5.3.80 for details on the Running skill) but  this  will 

constitute an extreme drain on Endurance.



                     ICE WORLD I (PART 8 OF 28)



When  moving using the Basic Movement rate, any of  three  scales 

may  be  used. Increments of twenty minutes are useful  when  de-

tailed  activities are in order. Increments of one hour are  par-

ticularly  versatile,  and recommended for most  standard  situa-

tions.  Increments  of eight hours may be used to  regulate  long 

marches when very little is happening; these increments should be 

tied into the mapping and weather processes discussed previously. 

In  any  event, actual distance covered depends  upon  speed  and 

travel time; endurance losses and other problems can be  factored 

into  the game according to the scale used. It is perfectly  per-

missible,  even  desirable,  to shift freely from  one  scale  to 

another as the needs of the scenario direct. The various movement 

and endurance tables in this booklet are designed to handle  each 

time scale to ease the bookkeeping burden.



Snow  and  Ice Movement: The basic movement rate  assumes  fairly 

easy terrain and a lack of complicating factors which might  slow 

movement down. Snow and ice are treacherous surfaces to  traverse 

and they slow down foot movement considerably.



Snow hampers rapid movement and limits the ability of the charac-

ter to run, and sometimes masks hazards such as rocks or  depres-

sions. Ice cover also provides the added risk of uncertain  foot-

ing.



The  Movement  Effects Chart is used to regulate the  speed  with 

which characters move over various types of terrain.  Multipliers 

are listed for various combinations of terrain and movement type; 

these multipliers are applied to the Basic Movement Rate to yield 

a  movement rate over that particular terrain type in the  speci-

fied mode. The chart also gives the endurance cost of movement.



Several entries are provided showing movement rates using special 

types of arctic equipment, as follows:



Snowshoes:  Snowshoes are broad, flat, webbed frames designed  to 

distribute  an  individual's weight over snow, keeping  him  from 

becoming  bogged down in deep snow. They are fairly easy to  use. 

Characters using snowshoes apply the modifiers shown to the basic 

movement  rate. Snowshoes are tiring to use, as mentioned in  the 

Snowshoe skill described earlier.



Skis: The use of skis in cross-country travel is one of the  most 

efficient  methods of movement in arctic conditions known to  any 

sophont, though some are better adapted to it than others (either 

through  biology or cultural background). Skis will not  work  in 

the  absence of adequate snow cover, but in shallow or deep  snow 

(or,  less  effectively, on bare ice) skis  make  rapid  movement 

fairly easy. There is a possibility of accident, but if the skier 

is cautious, it is a minimal one.



Movement on skis is not subject to the character's Basic Movement 

Rate.  Instead, maximum ski movement speeds are shown in the  Ski Movement  Chart,  with speeds being primarily  dependent  on  the 

degree  of slope. Most cross-country skiing is done  over  fairly 

level ground, but the Referee may indicate when periods of  down-

hill  or uphill travel take place, and alter maximum  speeds  ac-

cordingly. Truly rugged country is the realm of a separate forth-

coming  supplement/adventure,  Mountain World, and is  not  dealt 

with here. Over bare ice, maximum speeds are cut in half.



Within the limits set by the ski movement chart, characters  have 

considerable  control over their actual speeds. The maximum  safe 

speed  that any skier may move is his percentage skill in  skiing 

(as  limited by his Arctic Travel skill) in kilometers per  hour. 

Thus  with  an Arctic Travel skill of 70% and a Skiing  skill  of 

45%,  a character could safely ski at 45 kilometers per  hour.  A 

skier  must make his skiing roll MINUS 1% per kph traveled  above 

his  safe speed for each ten turn (20 minute) period or  fraction 

thereof that he skis above his safe speed; the skiing roll may be 

modified  further by severe conditions (see the Movement  Effects 

Charts  for  terrain and cover for modifiers). If  the  resultant 

skill value (skill as limited by Arctic travel and as modified by 

speed  and conditions) is still 30% or better, the roll need  not 

be  made  (though  it may still be attempted). If  the  roll  for 

overspeed  is  attempted and failed, in addition  to  any  damage 

resulting  from the resultant fall, a temporary 1D3 END  expendi-

ture is taken for that 20 minute period due to exertion.



Moving  downhill, the problem is to control and limit  speed.  In 

such a case, the skill level provides the allowable reduction  in 

speed from the maximum. For each 1% in skiing, the adventurer may 

reduce his actual speed by no more than 1 kilometer per hour from 

the  maximum  speed given for the slope. The maximum  safe  speed 

described above then applies.



It  should  be noted that the table of speeds  given  for  skiing 

reflects  optimum  conditions; the Referee may  freely  vary  the 

allowable  speeds  by  up to 50% in either  direction  to  handle 

varying circumstances or situations.



Skates:  Ice  skates  can be extremely useful, in  the  hands  of 

skilled  characters, for movement across wide expanses of  fairly 

level ice.



                     ICE WORLD I (PART 9 OF 28)



The  basic movement rate for characters on skates is set  by  the 

character's  skill:  allow  1  kph  per  2%  skill  (or  fraction 

thereof).  Speed can be doubled for a brief period (to 1 kph  per 

1% skill) but the Endurance expenditure is increased  thirty-fold 

(a  skill roll is required once per 2 minute interval,  with  1D3 

END loss and a fall per failed roll).



Tumbles  and Falls: In the event of a failed skill roll,  a  fall 

has occurred sometime during the time period under consideration. 

Armor does not protect against tumbling damage. If a jumping roll 

is  made, reduce the damage done by 3D6 and allow the  player  to 

select  the location(s) landed on. If a roll of LUC x 1 on  1D100 

is  made, halve the damage -- and the luck roll may  be  repeated 

until a roll is failed (the damage being halved for each success-

ful roll). 



Damage from tumbles is resolved as per falling damage: i.e. it is 

done  to the location struck until that location is down to  zero 

END points, then hit point damage is done to that location  until 

it  has  been reduced to zero hit points, and this  procedure  is 

repeated  with the next logical hit location until all  locations 

have  been  reduced to zero hit points and zero END  points.  The 

initial  location struck then takes hit point damage until it  is 

at -8 hit points and remaining damage points are allocated to the 

next logical hit location, (moving on to a new location each time 

the current location has been reduced to -8 hit points).



The base damage done by tumbling is based upon the speed at which 

the adventurer is moving when he falls as follows: (1) at  speeds 

up to 40 kph, damage is 1D6, (2) for 41 to 55 kph, damage is 2D6, 

(3)  for 56-70 kph damage is 3D6, (4) for speeds up to  100  kph, 

add 1D6 damage for each additional 10 kph above 70 kph (or  frac-

tion  thereof), (4) for speeds above 100 kph, add 1D6 for each  5 

kph or fraction thereof beyond 100 kph.



If,  in  addition,  there is a simultaneous fall  from  a  height 

involved, use the Falling rules (section 14.2.2 in Other Suns) to 

determine additional falling damage -- and add this to the  total 

tumbling  damage  before  the jumping and luck  rolls  to  reduce 

damage are attempted.



Endurance:  The charts provide information on Endurance costs  of 

various  types of movement. This is covered in more detail  in  a 

later section of this booklet.



Using  the  Movement Charts: When calculating travel  speeds  and 

other  information, two tables must be consulted. Table #1,  Ter-

rain,  gives  movement rates multipliers,  Endurance  costs,  and 

skill  roll  modifiers for movement over various  terrain  types. 

These  values have been selected under the assumption of no  snow 

cover  on the ground. Table #2, Snow Cover, gives  movement  rate 

multipliers, Endurance costs, and skill roll modifiers for  move-

ment over various types of snow cover.



Movement rate multipliers are cumulative: the Basic Movement rate 

for the character is multiplied by each applicable modifier.  The 

result  is then rounded to the nearest tenth of a  kilometer  per 

hour.  Thus, a human moving over rugged terrain in wet deep  snow 

cover  on foot moves at 0.75 (Rugged Terrain modifier) times  0.5 

(Wet  Deep Snow modifier) times 3.75 kilometers per  hour  (Basic 

Movement  Rate) for an overall travel rate of 1.40625 kph,  which 

rounds to 1.4 kph.



The  largest Endurance expenditure given for the applicable  ter-

rain and snow cover is used. The human character in the preceding 

example  uses the Very Heavy activity Endurance expenditure  rate 

(1D6 per hour).



The  terrain and snow cover tables also provides skill  modifiers 

for  movement skills (snowshoeing, skiing, vehicular  operations, 

etc.) under the specified conditions. These modifiers are cumula-

tive.



VEHICLES IN ARCTIC CONDITIONS



The  use  of  vehicles in an arctic setting can  be  hampered  by 

considerations  of surface conditions or weather.  Some  vehicles 

are better suited to the environment than others, and many  types 

have  their own unique advantages and/or disadvantages, as  noted 

below.



In the Hegemony, vehicles are powered by total conversion (TC) -- 

either  directly,  or through batteries charged  using  TC  power 

generators. The batteries, unlike those of 1st Century Atomic Era 

(AE)  Earth,  are  unaffected by cold. And moving  parts  on  the 

vehicles are lubricated using non-freezing lubricants. In  short, 

under  conditions  that would freeze  First  Century  Terrestrial 

internal  combustion powered vehicles in their tracks, 18th  Cen-

tury AE Hegemonic vehicles will operate without problem or  hesi-

tation.



                    ICE WORLD I (PART 10 OF 28)



Wheeled  Vehicles: Wheeled vehicles are the least effective  form 

of  wilderness  transportation, and in arctic conditions  can  be 

particularly unreliable. The movement charts include entries  for 

wheeled vehicle movement.



The  movement  multiplier for wheeled vehicles  in  the  Movement 

Effects  Tables is applied to the maximum speed assigned  to  the 

vehicle  in  the equipment descriptions. This regulates  the  top 

speed  at  which the vehicle may move safely; the  top  speed  at 

which  they driver may drive, however, can be less than  this  -- 

HIS  maximum safe speed is 1 kph per 1% vehicle skill  level  (as 

limited  by his Arctic Travel skill). Vehicles may be  driven  at 

above these two safe speeds; however for each kph above the  safe 

vehicle  speed or above the driver's safe speed, deduct  1%  from 

the skill level of the driver. Thus for each kph above the larger 

of these two values, the driver's skill is reduced by 2%.



The  endurance value reflects the endurance expenditure  assessed 

against  the  driver and all passengers, in accordance  with  the 

rules on endurance.



The skill modifiers indicate additional adjustment to the  driver 

skill level. For each 20 minute period (or fraction thereof), the 

driver  of each vehicle must make is vehicular  operations  skill 

roll  (as limited by Arctic travel, and as modified by  speed  of 

travel, terrain and surface conditions).



If the skill roll is failed, roll for tumbling/falling damage for 

the driver and all passengers (as per skiing and skating  earlier 

in this booklet) where the vehicle speed is reduced 1 kph per  1% 

skill of the driver, as modified by circumstances (if the result-

ant  effective  speed  is less than 1 kph, no  damage  is  done). 

Jumping rolls may not be used to reduce this damage, though  luck 

rolls  (as per tumbling/falling) may be attempted. If  the  skill 

roll  is fumbled, roll for tumbling/falling damage as with  fail-

ure; the resultant damage minus the vehicle armor is taken by the 

vehicle and double the rolled tumbling/falling damage is done  to 

the driver and each passenger (vehicle armor is NOT deducted from 

the damage to the driver and passengers).



Tracked  Vehicles: As the Movement Effects Tables  show,  tracked 

vehicles are significantly more effective in both wilderness  and 

arctic  terrain types than are wheeled vehicles. All  procedures, 

however,  remain unchanged from those described above;  only  the 

movement multipliers and condition modifiers are different.



Ground  Effect Vehicles: GEVs (or hovercraft) are vehicles  which 

ride  on  a  cushion of air over the ground,  rather  than  using 

wheels or tracks in contact with the ground. The effects of  snow 

and  ice  are  thus minimal on hovercraft  performance.  But  the 

nature of GEV movement does make it very susceptible to difficul-

ties  associated with terrain. A Ground Effect Vehicle is at  its 

best over water, ice, or broad, open plains (such as most typical 

tundra  regions),  but is at a severe disadvantage in  rugged  or 

mountainous  terrain. Because the air cushion that  supports  the 

vehicle  is only a few feet deep, the vehicle must skim low  over 

the  surface. Sudden changes in ground level can wreck  a  hover-

craft  almost without warning. And, in addition, GEVs are  diffi-

cult to handle in high winds, showing noticeable instability when 

wind velocities mount to the levels common in the arctic.



The procedure for handling GEV movement is basically the same  as 

previously  presented  for the other vehicle  types.  There  are, 

however,  no  modifications  applied (either to  speed  or  skill 

level) from the Movement Effects Table for Snow Cover; the  skill 

level of the driver is, however, reduced by 1% per kilometer  per 

hour of wind.



Snowmobiles:  Snowmobiles are small vehicles especially  designed 

for travel over snow and ice; typical models are included in  the 

Equipment section of this booklet. Snowmobiles use the procedures 

discussed  above for wheeled and tracked vehicles in  determining 

movement and skill modifier effects, but standard snowmobiles may 

be used only when snow cover is shallow, deep, or hard packed, or 

on  ice. In the absence of sufficient snow, a  snowmobile  cannot 

ordinarily be used. However, special adapter kits -- described in 

the Equipment section -- permit the addition of wheels or  tracks 

to  the standard snowmobile. If such special gear  is  installed, 

the  snowmobile can be handled on ground where insufficient  snow 

is present and the appropriate wheeled or tracked sections of the 

Movement Effects Tables are used.



Sleds:  Animal-drawn sleds are a primitive but  fairly  efficient 

form  of transport in arctic conditions. The basic movement  rate 

of  the  sled depends upon the speed of the animals  drawing  it; 

this,  in turn, is determined using the same process as the  foot 

movement  rates  discussed  earlier. Thus  the  Length,  Movement 

Class, and Locomotory mode of the animals must be determined  for 

the animals in question in order to establish their basic  speed. 

The  movement modifiers on the Movement Effects Tables  are  then 

used to modify this basic movement rate.



                    ICE WORLD I (PART 11 OF 28)



Because the animals in question are drawing a burden, the  Encum-

brance  (ENC)  of the animals and the Endurance  of  the  animals 

should  also  be  determined. The mass of the  load  being  drawn 

should be halved (as it is being pulled, rather than carried) and 

then divided equally among the animals used for purpose of deter-

mination  of load for each animal. An average END figure  may  be 

set for the animal team, and then the Endurance expenditure rules 

applied  to the team to track its ability to maintain a  long  or 

hard pace.



Like  snowmobiles, sleds are designed to move over snow and  ice, 

and  so  require  either ice terrain or shallow,  deep,  or  hard 

packed  snow  to  move. Wheels can be mounted  if  desired;  sled 

movement  over bare ground (or spotty cover) is at half the  sled 

movement rate.



A  failed skill roll using a sled means that the driver has  tum-

bled  (minimum  1D6 tumbling damage, jumping and luck  rolls  ap-

plicable as earlier).



Aircraft:  Aircraft (including primitive aircraft of  all  kinds, 

contragravity vehicles, shuttlecraft and spacecraft) are able  to 

avoid  the  effects  of snow, ice, and the  terrain  itself  when 

moving  from  one point to another. They are not,  however,  com-

pletely safe from the hazards of arctic travel.



Take-offs and landings (as any pilot will tell you) are the  most 

dangerous  events  in any flight. Landings in  arctic  conditions 

require  that a skill roll be made (in either vehicle  operations 

or  piloting,  as appropriate to the type of vehicle and  to  the 

skills of the pilot); this skill is limited by the pilot's Arctic 

Travel skill. Take-offs with primitive aircraft also require that 

this  skill  roll be made (in both take-offs  and  landings  with 

primitive  aircraft  the applicable skill reduced by 1%  per  kph 

wind speed). Contragravity vehicles of all varieties (grav  cars, 

shuttles, and spacecraft) are far more capable of slow, majestic, 

and  more importantly SAFE take-offs; if the pilot's skill is  at 

least  30%, subject to a -1% modifier per 5 kph of wind, then  no 

skill  roll  need be made. Landings in CG vehicles  are  somewhat 

more  risky  --  the skill roll (limited by  Arctic  travel,  and 

reduced  by  1%  per 5 kph wind speed) must be made  for  a  safe 

landing.



During  each  flight,  the flight mode of the  aircraft  must  be 

specified  --  either High or NOE (Nape Of the Earth) --  at  all 

times.  High mode represents flight above the overcast  or  cloud 

layer (if any) and above all surface wind effects; such flight is 

never  exposed  to wind or weather problems.  NOE  mode  involves 

flight below any overcast or cloud layer -- it involves flying at 

the treetop level (dangerous in the extreme at high speed).



High  mode  flight over even the thickest cloud  cover  does  not 

prevent  observation of ground conditions. On Earth in the  First 

Century  AE,  the development of synthetic aperture  radar  (SAR) 

first  allowed Man to see deep into Earth's oceans, and far  into 

the  soil  of Earth itself; the successor sensor systems  of  the 

Eighteenth  Century  of the Atomic Era are no  more  troubled  by 

cloud cover and fog than were the earlier SAR systems.  Detection 

of  non-metallic or small collections of organic materials  (such 

as  living  creatures)  is not, however,  practical  using  these 

penetrating sensor systems. Thus individual's in High mode flying 

aircraft  could  have  some difficulty  locating  people  on  the 

ground.



Flight in or through a cloud layer, overcast, or fog must be done 

on instrument alone: the vehicular operations skill is reduced by 

30%  to  represent the difficulty in shifting  from  VFR  (visual 

flight rules) to IFR (instrument flight rules). Spacecraft pilots 

are  taught from the very beginning to rely on their  instruments 

-- accordingly there is no skill penalty in flying through  cloud 

using the Piloting skill.



Attempting to fly NOE is dangerous and difficult, trying to do so 

at  high  speeds can be suicidal. For each 10  kph  (or  fraction 

thereof)  at which the vehicle is being flown, reduce the  flight 

skill (either vehicular operations or piloting as appropriate) by 

1%. This roll must be made for each 20 minutes spent in NOE mode.



During  landing  and takeoff, insufficient time is spent  in  NOE 

mode  (either  by aircraft or contragravity  using  vehicles)  to 

require the above roll be made.



Personal Flight: Characters who fly using natural wings,  powered 

suits,  or  other personal flight equipment always do so  in  NOE 

mode. The applicable skill level is reduced by 1% per kph of wind 

when taking off or landing. Natural fliers apply this modifier to 

their flight skill (a 30% base manipulation skill for such  natu-

ral  fliers)  while airborne; powered suits,  and  other  similar 

small massive "vehicles" do not -- although both types apply  the 

aforementioned skill modifier on landing and takeoff.



The speeds given for flight are in terms of air speed. To  deter-

mine  the  true ground speed it is necessary to add  in  the  air 

speed.  To do this, first plot the character's movement  assuming 

no wind, then move the character in the direction the wind  would 

carry  him a distance equal to the wind speed times the  duration 

of the character's flight movement.



                    ICE WORLD I (PART 12 OF 28)



SURVIVAL IN THE ARCTIC WILDERNESS



The  following  rules simulate the effects of  exertion  and  low 

temperatures on characters working in arctic conditions.



Endurance and Exertion:



The rules in this section are intended to extend the basic  rules 

on  endurance and encumbrance presented in Other Suns.  They  are 

not  intended so much to alter the original rules as they are  to 

expand  them, making it possible to judge the effects  of  cross- 

country travel and other strenuous activities in more detail.



Endurance: Various activities cause the character to lose  endur-

ance  points  on a temporary basis. (The effects  of  reducing  a 

character's  END  to  zero or below are described  in  detail  in 

Section 3.6.2 of Other Suns.)



Endurance  gains and losses should be regulated on the  basis  of 

20-minute  (10  turn, 100 melee round) or 1-hour  (30  turn,  300 

melee round) periods.



Activities:  There are four general levels of  exertion  possible 

for  characters:  Light, Moderate, Heavy and  Very  Heavy.  Light 

activity  includes any form of non-demanding work, such  as  most 

forms  of driving (whether as driver or passenger), any  desk  or 

console-bound  job,  and so forth. Light activity  also  includes 

such  work as normal walking pace movement (30 kilometers/8  hour 

day for average humans). Moderate activity represents the  physi-

cal exertion required to travel at a fast pace over roughly level 

ground  (as in the forced march speed  --  5 kilometers/hour  for 

the average Human). Heavy and Very Heavy activities are  progres-

sively more tiring, and more difficult.



Virtually  any actions or activities can be classified as one  of 

these  four types. The Exertion Table shows how each  sort  takes 

its toll on the character's endurance over the course of both  20 

minute and hourly time periods.



Procedure:  The Referee may use whichever time period seems  most 

suitable.  The  nature  of the activity undertaken  in  the  time 

period  is  determined, either from the movement tables  (if  the 

character  is traveling) or by using common sense --  pitching  a 

tent in open ground could be considered to be Moderate  activity, 

where  digging a trench in permafrost is more likely to  be  Very 

Heavy.  These  are Referee judgment calls,  usually,  but  should 

always be consistent with the situation, the expressed intentions 

of  the group, and the abilities and capabilities of the  charac-

ters  themselves.  Once the activity level  is  known,  endurance 

points appropriate to the activity and time period are deducted.



It is suggested that the Referee keep a record of each new activ-

ity and the endurance cost that he has assigned to that  activity 

together  with the conditions under which it is  performed.  This 

will greatly aid the Referee in maintaining campaign consistency.



In addition to activity effects on endurance, 2D4 END is expended 

for each hour for each 10% excess encumbrance (see Section 3.1 of 

Other  Suns). To ease the integration of 20-minute and  one  hour 

time scales, it is suggested that half of this END expenditure be 

taken  in  the first 20-minute period of each  hour  spent  over-

encumbered, and half in the last 20-minute period.



A character who spends 20 minutes resting (doing nothing at  all) 

recovers  1D6 END points. When attempting to rest as a  passenger 

in  a moving vehicle or in other circumstances which the  Referee 

judges to be distracting or disturbing, either a WIL x 5 roll  or 

a Control of Self skill roll must be made in order for the  char-

acter  to rest properly and recover any END. Endurance can  never 

be recovered beyond the character's initial END level.



If  at  the end of any time period, the character's END  is  less 

than zero, the character is considered to be Fatigued, and he  is 

subject  to physical damage (see Section 3.6.2 in Other Suns  for 

details).



It  should be noted that endurance loses are taken  only  against 

the character's total endurance, not against the endurance values 

for each body location.



Optional Rule: A Referee may wish to allow a character to  remain 

conscious  despite his total endurance having been reduced  below 

zero.  For each 20-minute period for which a roll of WIL or  less 

on  1D100  or  on a successful Control of Self  skill  roll,  the 

character  may remain conscious. The character is  not,  however, 

able  to rest in this condition -- hence no END may be  recovered 

during this 20-minute period, even if the character is resting.



Optional Rule: Exertion and Air Pressure: The given levels of END 

expenditure  assume  that  the activities are  performed  by  the 

character in an atmosphere to which he, she, or it is acclimated. 

Differences in atmospheric pressure or, more importantly, in  the 

partial  pressure  of oxygen in the atmosphere, can be  of  major 

importance  in determining any individual's ability to  function; 

work in thinner than normal atmospheres can be fatiguing, and can 

be dangerous until the character becomes accustomed to the  lower 

partial  pressure of oxygen. [Historical note:  Human  astronauts 

from the old United States of America during the First Century of 

the  Atomic Era commonly flew missions breathing pure  oxygen  at 

1/5  normal atmospheric pressure; it is the partial  pressure  of 

oxygen that is important, not the overall atmospheric pressure.]



Roll  6D6  to  determine the percent of the  atmosphere  that  is 

oxygen.  760 mm Hg equals 1 atmosphere, so determine the  partial 

pressure of oxygen in the atmosphere, multiply 760 by the  plane-

tary atmospheric pressure, and multiply this by the result of the 

6D6 roll divided by 100.



                    ICE WORLD I (PART 13 OF 28)



The endurance costs shown in the table assume that the  character 

is in an atmosphere with an Oxygen partial pressure comparable to 

that for his species (i.e. 160 mm Hg, for humans and in fact  for 

most  of  the races of the Hegemony). When operating on  a  world 

with  an  atmosphere  poorer in oxygen, the  endurance  costs  of 

activities are modified as described below.



At partial pressures below 60 mm Hg, hypoxia sets in (below 20 mm 

for  Dakti). From 80 mm and above 60 mm (20 to 30 mm  for  Dakti) 

all endurance expenditures are tripled and recovery rates divided 

by 3.  From 81 mm to 100 mm (31 to 40 mm for Dakti) all endurance 

expenditures  are doubled and recovery rates are  halved.  Beyond 

400 mm Hg (120 mm Hg for Dakti) oxygen poisoning occurs.



In the hypoxia regime, the character will lose 1D4 END PER  MELEE 

ROUND until he dies. In the oxygen poisoning regime, the  charac-

ter  will be subject to a 1D4 attack vs. CON each day that he  is 

in  the  overly rich atmosphere -- damage done by the  attack  is 

done both to CON and to the CHEST hit location (or to the THORAX, 

FOREQUARTERS, OR BODY if no CHEST location is present).



The range of pressure under which endurance costs are tripled  is 

referred  to  as the Minimal Oxygen regime for the  species.  The 

range  of  pressure under which endurance costs  are  doubled  is 

referred to as the Subnormal Oxygen regime for the species.



To  adapt  to Subnormal regime from Normal  regime  takes  41-CON 

days. To adapt to Minimal regime from Subnormal regime takes  69- 

CON days. To adapt to Minimal regime from Normal regime takes 98-

2xCON  days.  Once adapted to the new  oxygen  regime,  endurance 

costs  return to the "normal" values. Adaptation is lost  if  the 

character  is returned to a normal atmosphere for more  than  1/2 

the  number of days originally required to adapt to  the  lowered 

oxygen partial pressure atmosphere. On the average, an adventurer 

will  adapt to Subnormal regime in 4 weeks, or to Minimal  regime 

in 12 weeks (and lose this adaptation after 2 or 6 weeks  respec-

tively in a normal atmosphere).



NOTE:  Atmospheric  pressures for worlds in Other Suns  are  sea-

level  pressures; high altitudes can cause considerable drops  in 

air  pressures.  A  more detailed account of how  this  works  is 

included in the upcoming Other Suns adventure/supplement Mountain 

World.



Cold Weather Effects:



Distinct  from the problems associated with fatigue are  the  ef-

fects of low temperatures on life forms which are not adapted  to 

extreme cold. Most carbon-based life forms suffer in sufficiently 

low  subzero  temperatures,  and lack of  proper  protection  can 

result in quick and unpleasant death.



Determining  Temperature: The "apparent air temperature" is  used 

to  determine  the effects of cold air on living  beings.  It  is 

found by combining two factors -- the local temperature (found in 

the  manner  discussed earlier) and the force of the  wind.  High 

winds can cause the apparent air temperature to drop quite a bit, 

a  phenomenon  known as the "Wind Chill Factor." The  Wind  Chill 

Table is used to determine the apparent air temperature by cross-

indexing  the local temperature and the wind speed.  [NOTE:  this 

table  does not precisely duplicate the official U.S.  Army  Wind 

Chill table, and should NOT be used to determine danger levels in 

real low temperature survival situations.]



When  base temperatures are much below -54oC, or winds exceed  64 

kph, little additional effect is observed beyond what is shown on 

the table with one very important exception -- when the still air 

temperature  falls  below  -60oC, the air  is  no  longer  safely 

breathable;  it will freeze lung tissue. If the  air  temperature 

falls  below -60oC and heater masks (or other  protective  equip-

ment)  are  not used, 1D4 damage will be done to  the  CHEST  (or 

THORAX, or FOREQUARTERS or BODY locations in cases where there is 

no  CHEST  location)  each 20 minute period  that  the  condition 

continues.



Effects of Low Temperatures: Low temperatures sap body heat,  and 

can  result in a condition referred to as hypothermia.  When  the 

air  is  sufficiently cold, lung damage can occur  (as  mentioned 

above)  and  other effects such as frostbite are discussed  in  a 

later section. Hypothermia results in a slow but steady weakening 

of the body which, unless halted, can only end in death.



Hypothermia  (technically,  a  subnormal  body  temperature)  may 

develop  in any case where the adventurer has been exposed to  an 

apparent  air temperature below his racial tolerance. The  actual 

air  temperature  and  wind speed are modified by  fur  type  and 

protective clothing worn before the Wind Chill Table is consulted 

to determine apparent air temperature. If this resultant apparent 

air temperature is less than the racial tolerance for the charac-

ter,  hypothermia  may develop. Air temperature  and  Wind  Speed 

modifiers  for fur, feathers, and clothing and are given  in  the 

Temperature Protection Chart.



Hypothermia  is  more of a threat to small creatures  than  large 

ones: the surface area to volume ratio is higher, and thus  there 

is  a larger heat loss. The basic time interval  for  hypothermia 

checks  is once per CON+SIZ-20 hours of exposure. A CON  roll  is 

attempted  (roll  CONx5  or less on 1D100) modified  by  -1%  per 

degree the apparent temperature is below racial tolerance  level. 

If  this roll is failed, the character may attempt a  Control  of 

Self skill roll (if he has that skill at a non-zero  percentage). 

If neither of these rolls is made, the character begins to suffer 

the  effects of hypothermia: he can longer recover END from  rest 

and  will lose an additional 3D6 END per hour (1D6 per 20  minute 

period)  until  he loses consciousness and dies, or until  he  is 

warmed to his normal body temperature.



                    ICE WORLD I (PART 14 OF 28)



Racial  Tolerances:  Each intelligent race in Other  Suns  has  a 

temperature  tolerance  range and a daily  variation  range  (see 

Chapter  9  of Other Suns). The second of these  two  ranges  has 

provides the racial tolerances over short intervals. The  minimum 

apparent  temperature tolerated is repeated here,  together  with 

species' normal body temperatures. Altani: -16o C minimum, 39o  C 

body temperature. Ata'a: -10o C minimum, 35o C body  temperature. 

Bjora:  -16o  C minimum, 38o C body temperature.  Dakti:  -60o  C 

minimum,  24o C body temperature. HClothing  and 

natural fur or feather protection is defined by two numbers:  the 

number  added to the ambient temperature before the wind is  fac-

tored in, and the number of kilometers per hour deducted from the 

wind speed before the wind chill is determined.



Type  I  protection has no temperature or wind  speed  modifiers.  

For each greater type, add +5 degrees to the temperature modifier 

and add -10 kph to the wind speed modifier.



Altani (winter pelt):  Type IV

Altani (summer pelt):  Type III

Bjora:  Type II

Dakti (Stage 1 & 2):  Type I

Dakti (Stage 3):  Type III

H'Reli:  Type II

Human:  Type I

Uquoi:  Type I

Korli:  Type III

Sanchenzii:  Type II

Skiltaire (Aquatic, winter pelt):  Type VI

Skiltaire (Aquatic, summer pelt):  Type IV

Skiltaire (Arboreal, winter pelt):  Type V

Skiltaire (Arboreal, summer pelt):  Type III



For  any  of the furred species above with differing  winter  and 

summer pelts, the change over from winter to summer pelt (or vice 

versa) takes four weeks. NOTE: The fur of the Aquatic variety  of 

Skiltaire, when properly groomed, sheds water (just like the  fur 

of  the  terrestrial sea otter), and  thus  immersion  (discussed 

later  in this section) is not a danger to aquatic variety  Skil-

taire.



Recovering  from  Hypothermia:  In order to  restore  the  body's 

temperature  regulating  ability, it is necessary  to  place  the 

character  in  an environment where the ambient  air  temperature 

equals his normal body temperature. The simplest method of  doing 

this is to place the victim in a thermally insulted package (such 

as  an "old fashioned" sleeping bag) together with a heat  source 

--  commonly  a  member of a species with the  same  or  slightly 

higher body temperature. The victim must be kept in this environ-

ment for CON+SIZ-20 hours, or he will slip immediately back  into 

hypothermia  on exposure to cold of ANY degree below  his  normal 

body temperature.



Exertion and Hypothermia: Activity helps to maintain body temper-

ature, at least for a limited time. For each point of END expend-

ed  as  a result of activity or exercise, increase  the  apparent 

temperature  of  the character by 3o C for the  duration  of  the 

activity.



Protection: A modification which can be applied to hypothermia is 

that of protection -- clothing and fur as already mentioned,  and 

shelter. Shelters block the wind even when no sources of heat are 

available, so characters inside shelters do not apply wind  chill 

effects when determining the air temperature. With an  artificial 

source  of  heat -- a fire or a portable heater of some  kind  -- 

shelters  can  be maintained at a  comfortable  temperature  well 

above the racial minimum tolerance level, negating all  hypother-

mia effects.



Protection  values for a number of types of  clothing  (including 

various armor types available in Other Suns) are provided in  the 

Temperature Protection Chart elsewhere in this booklet.



As the head and extremities are major sources of body heat  loss, 

characters  not wearing protective covering over these  locations 

decrease the probability of AVOIDING hypothermia by 50%  (natural 

fur  or  body cover of type III or above  constitutes  protective 

cover for the extremities).



                    ICE WORLD I (PART 15 OF 28)



OTHER ARCTIC HAZARDS



In  addition to problems already discussed, several special  dan-

gers  exist  for characters adventuring  in  subzero  conditions. 

These are presented in the sections that follow.



Immersion:  Individuals  who for any reason  become  immersed  in 

water (from falling through thin ice, for instance) are in danger 

from the effects of arctic cold. For each melee round or fraction 

thereof  that any character is in the water (except  for  aquatic 

Skiltaire  characters),  the character suffers a 1D4  attack  vs. 

CON.  Ordinary  clothes lose all protective value;  only  an  en-

closed, self-contained unit (any of the the Modern Armor suits or 

spacesuits)  will continue to provide normal heat  protection  in 

the  water.  Altani may also panic if immersed in water  that  is 

deeper  than  their heads (see Section 5.3.96 in Other  Suns  for 

details).



Once  a  character has been immersed, all clothing  worn  (except 

modern  suits, as above, or items worn under such suits)  becomes 

ineffective  for protection from cold. Aquatic Skiltaire  do  not 

lose the protection of their fur: other furred Hegemonic sophonts 

do. Stage III Dakti shells will also shed water, and will  regain 

their  normal  protective value once removed from the  water.  In 

addition,  the  wind speed is doubled for purposes  of  computing 

apparent  temperature, and a hypothermia check is required  every 

CON+SIZ-20 MINUTES with HALF normal chance to avoid  hypothermia. 

These  checks continue until the character has been dried off  or 

gone into hypothermia.



Snow  Blindness: Ice and snow are highly reflective not  only  of 

light  but  also of ultraviolet; on a bright day,  the  reflected 

glare  of  snow and ice can dazzle, temporarily  blind,  or  even 

permanently  damage the eyes of characters who are not  protected 

from  it adequately. This is especially true on  worlds  orbiting 

unusually  bright  stars, or occupying an orbit that  results  in 

more light than a being is accustomed to striking the surface.



The  basic chance of avoiding dazzle is CONx5 (rolled on  1D100). 

This  is modified by primary star type and orbital radius of  the 

homeworld  of the character and the world he is currently  on  as 

follows:



(1)  Add  the Dazzle factor for the primary  of  the  character's 

racial homeworld to the basic chance;

(2)  Subtract the Dazzle factor for the primary of the  world  on 

which the character is adventuring from the result;

(3)  Add  the  Dazzle factor for the orbital  distance  from  its 

primary  of the character's racial homeworld to the  result  from 

(2);

(4) Subtract the Dazzle factor for the orbital distance from  its 

primary  of the world on which the character is adventuring  from 

the result from (3);

(5)  If  there is no reflective material present  (such  as  ice, 

snow, or the like), add 100 to the result from (4), otherwise add 

nothing to the result from (4).

Each  hour that the character is exposed to glare conditions,  he 

must  roll  1D100 against the value in step 5. If  this  roll  of 

1D100  is less than or equal to the result from step 5, then  the 

character  is  not  dazzled. If this  dazzle  avoidance  roll  is 

failed,  the character may attempt a Control of Self  skill  roll 

(if  he has this skill at a non-zero percentage) -- if he  fails, 

then the character is dazzled. If the dazzle roll is fumbled, the 

character is snowblind.



Dazzle:  Dazzled  characters halve all sight based OBS,  and  all 

ACC, ATT, PAR skills for the duration of the dazzle. In addition, 

dazzled characters halve all vehicular operations, skiing,  snow-

shoeing, and similar skills.



Dazzle recovers if a CON x 2 roll on 1D100 is made (attempts  may 

be made once for each hour in which the character is NOT  exposed 

to  glare conditions). Each hour that a character is dazzled  and 

remains  exposed to glare conditions, he risks snowblindness:  he 

must roll CON x 2 or less on 1D100 (modified as per the  original 

dazzle  avoidance  chance) to avoid snowblindness (a  Control  of 

Self  skill roll, if made, will prevent the snowblindness  for  1 

hour).

 



                    ICE WORLD I (PART 16 OF 28)



Snowblind: A snowblind character is blind. He uses all weapons at 

the  -50% blinded penalty, and is NOT ALLOWED to use  any  sight-

based observation skill (the psionic talent AWARENESS skill  may, 

however, be substituted). Recovery from snowblindness occurs on a 

CON  roll or less on 1D100, which may be attempted once per  hour 

in which the character is not exposed to glare conditions; howev-

er, if the character is exposed to glare conditions for CON hours 

while  snowblind,  the condition becomes  permanent  (subject  to 

medical aid).



Given a medical facility (the equivalent of a starship sickbay) a 

single exercise of the Medical Skill for the character's  species 

will  restore sight to a snowblinded character. If the  character 

was permanently blinded, a transplant will be necessary  (requir-

ing  4 hours); otherwise, only "simple" medical treatment of  the 

eye damage is required (and 1 hour is needed).



The  following  are  the Star Dazzle and  Orbit  Dazzle  modifier 

tables:



Star type  Dazzle Factor

========   ===========

   F5       729

   F6       538

   F7       428

   F8       240

   F9       149

   G0       144

   G1       108

   G2       100

   G3        91

   G4        66

   G5        52

   G6        37

   G7        28

   G8        25

   G9        17

   K0        13

   K1        10

   K2         8

   K3         6

   K4         5

   K5         4

   K6         3

   K7         2

   K8         2

  K9 -- M1    1

  M2 -- M9    0



These  Star  type dazzle factors are based on the square  of  the 

luminosity of the primary x 100.



Orbit    Dazzle    Orbit   Dazzle

======== ======   ======== ======

 0.5       400    1.81-1.9   31

0.51-0.6   278    1.91-2.0   28

0.61-0.7   204    2.01-2.1   25

0.71-0.8   156    2.11-2.2   23

0.81-0.9   123    2.21-2.3   21

0.91-1.1   100    2.31-2.4   19

1.11-1.2    83    2.41-2.5   17

1.21-1.3    69    2.51-2.6   15

1.31-1.4    59    2.61-2.7   14

1.41-1.5    51    2.71-2.8   13

1.51-1.6    44    2.81-2.9   12

1.61-1.7    39    2.91-3.0   11

1.71-1.8    35      3.0    10



These  orbital dazzle factors are based on the inverse square  of 

the orbital distance x 100.



Frostbite: Frostbite is a familiar hazard facing individual's  in 

subzero  conditions. It results when flesh is exposed  to  suffi-

ciently subnormal temperatures for sufficient lengths of time  -- 

and  the  exposed flesh quite literally freezes. The  chances  of 

frostbite occurrence are regulated by the Wind Chill Table, which 

divides various apparent air temperature results into three zones 

of  frostbite hazard: "safe", "danger", and "great  danger".  The 

ambient  air  temperature and wind speeds must  be  modified  for 

clothing,  fur and/or shelter protection (as appropriate)  before 

the apparent temperature is determined.



The  "safe"  zone offers little chance of frostbite:  a  roll  of 

((CON  x 10) + apparent air temperature) or less on  1D100  means 

that frostbite has not developed. If the apparent air temperature 

is above freezing (0o C), frostbite will NOT occur. This roll  is 

made for each two hours that the character is exposed to tempera-

tures in the "safe" zone (where the apparent temperature is below 

freezing). If the roll is failed, either a Control of Self or  an 

Arctic  Survival  skill roll may be attempted --  and  if  either 

succeeds, no frostbite damage is taken.



In  the "danger" zone, a roll of ((CON x 7) +  apparent  tempera-

ture) or less on 1D100 must be made every 5 turns (10 minutes) or 

frostbite  damage is taken. If the roll is failed, a  Control  of 

Self or an Arctic Survival skill roll may be attempted -- and  if 

either is successful, no frostbite damage is taken.



                    ICE WORLD I (PART 17 OF 28)



In  the  "great  danger" zone, a roll of ((CON x  4)  +  apparent 

temperature)  or less on 1D100 must be made every melee round  or 

frostbite  damage is taken. If the roll is failed, a  Control  of 

Self or an Arctic Survival skill roll may be attempted -- and  if 

either is successful, no frostbite damage is taken.



If  frostbite occurs, ALL locations that are not covered or  pro-

tected in some fashion from the environment take 1D4 HIT  damage. 

If  all locations are covered or protected, 1D4 damage  is  taken 

against total hit points. Visibility: Visibility can sometimes be 

a problem in arctic conditions. Reduced visibility can be  caused 

by  snowfall  or  by windblown snow; as  necessary,  the  Referee 

should  roll  on the Visibility table to  determine  the  maximum 

sighting range.



Attacks made against targets at greater than the maximum sighting 

range  are  made blind, with a 50% penalty.  Lasers  are  totally 

ineffective against targets beyond the sighting range.



SURVIVAL TECHNIQUES



Characters in subzero settings are faced with the most  difficult 

of  all survival situations. Some special points must be  consid-

ered when attempting to overcome the hazards of the arctic.



Improvised Shelter: Shelters of varying quality and effectiveness 

can be improvised from natural materials as needed.



An  emergency  shelter  can be built by digging a  hole  in  deep 

and/or  hard packed snow. The sides screen out some  wind  (treat 

winds as half their actual speed before adjusting wind chill  for 

clothing worn), but do nothing against the other elements.



An emergency shelter takes 10 man-minutes to dig per person to be 

sheltered;  two people digging a shelter for five would  take  25 

minutes  to  complete the task (five persons  times  ten  minutes 

divided  by two workers). If hard pack snow is  being  excavated, 

tools  (shovels,  picks, or improvised equivalents  thereof)  are 

necessary or the work time is tripled. A blaster on wide beam may 

be  used  to prepare a shelter able to hold one  person  per  200 

points  of  damage done (this calls for roughly 15 shots  with  a 

handblaster, taking about a minute).



A  temporary shelter can be built in a deep snow drift (only).  A 

successful Arctic Survival roll will locate an area suitable  for 

a  temporary shelter in any area of deep snow (skill roll may  be 

attempted  once  per two-minute turn). Excavation takes  30  man-

minutes per person to be sheltered (or 600 points of damage  done 

with  a blaster on wide beam). Construction of a  safe  temporary 

shelter  (i.e.  one  that won't  immediately  collapse)  requires 

either  that  the  work be supervised by an  individual  with  an 

Arctic  Survival skill of 30% or better or that ALL  workers  in-

volved in the excavation make their Arctic Survival skill rolls.



Temporary  shelters  are enclosed and hence  protected  from  all 

elements.  If a heat source is available,  interior  temperatures 

can  be  raised to a point permitting rest  or  clothing  changes 

without  fear  of frostbite or hypothermia. A  temporary  shelter 

lasts 12+2D6 hours.



A  permanent  shelter  (an igloo) can  be  constructed  from  ice 

blocks.  Such  shelters require the supervision of at  least  one 

individual with a 30% skill level (or better) in Arctic Survival; 

if  no  such individual is present, all workers must  make  their 

Arctic  Survival skill rolls (or the igloo collapses).  The  time 

required for construction is 4 man-hours per person to be  accom-

modated in the igloo. As with temporary shelters, igloos  provide 

a completely protected environment which can be heated to a  safe 

temperature level (if a heat source is available). Igloos  remain 

as  long  as the temperature remains  below  freezing.  Permanent 

shelters require tools for shaping blocks of ice for construction 

to  be attempted; without such tools, they cannot be  built.  Any 

cutting tool, firmer, or continuous emission laser may be used to 

shape the blocks.



Firmers  may  be used to aid in the construction (or  to  compact 

limited  quantities of snow). However, as a firmer can  compress, 

powder, or disintegrate only up to 40 cubic centimeters of  mate-

rial  per  second (see Section 11.3.2 of Other Suns),  their  use 

will be generally limited to cutting or putting finishing touches 

on  large  blocks;  construction of a 2 meter x 2  meter  wall  6 

centimeters thick from ice would require almost 17 hours of  work 

with  a single firmer (though the wall would be  somewhat  denser 

than stone).



Where snow cover is absent, dirt, rocks, vegetation, and the like 

can  be used to construct similar types of shelter, but the  con-

struction  times  given above are doubled. Construction  work  is 

generally  considered to be at least Heavy Activity;  digging  in 

frozen earth is generally considered to be Very Heavy Activity.



                    ICE WORLD I (PART 18 OF 28)



Hunting:  Hunting  for food in subzero  conditions  is  generally 

harder than for other wilderness survival situations. In hunting, 

characters  will need to apply one of several skills --  Hide  in 

Cover,  Set Ambush, Move Quietly, Tracking, or  Trap  Set/Disarm, 

depending upon the precise type of hunting being undertaken.



If  the character wishes to lie in wait and let game come to  him 

before attacking it with some available weapon, he must make  Set 

Ambush and Hide in Cover rolls in order to avoid detection by  an 

approaching  animal.  Of course, the animal may  make  its  Sense 

Ambush and Spot Hidden rolls, thereby spotting the hunter DESPITE 

his  successful rolls. The character is considered to be  RESTING 

while  hunting  in this fashion. Normally, an encounter  roll  is 

made  on  the appropriate encounter/event table  once  per  hour; 

however, if an Arctic Survival skill roll is made, the  encounter 

roll is made once each 20 minutes (the successful Arctic Survival 

roll  indicating  that the adventurer has chosen  a  particularly 

suitable location in which to lie in wait).



If  the  character wishes to actively pursue game,  the  Tracking 

skill will allow him to do so. For each 20 minutes spent  search-

ing  for game, roll once on the appropriate encounter  table  (or 

each  2 minutes if an Arctic Survival skill roll is  made).  Once 

the  animal has been located (and the tracking roll  also  allows 

positive  identification of the animal tracked) Move Quietly  and 

Hide  in  Cover rolls must be made to close to point  blank  dis-

tance.



If  the character wishes to acquire the most small game  for  the 

least  effort, he will set out traps. To set each  trap  properly 

requires  a  Trap Set/Disarm roll (which may  be  attempted  each 

turn).  Roll for an encounter on the appropriate table  once  for 

each  trap  for  each hour period (or for each 20  minutes  if  a 

successful Arctic Survival roll has been made to select the ideal 

locations to set the traps). If the animal does not make its Spot 

Traps  roll,  and  it does not roll under LUC  on  1D100,  it  is 

trapped. Many animals become extremely frantic when caught and in 

certain  types  of traps (leg traps, for example) an  animal  may 

chew  one  of its limbs off (or perform a  similarly  distasteful 

maneuver)  in order to escape the trap (allow for this on a  roll 

of WIL of the animal or less on 1D100).



A  normal trap cannot trap more than one animal;  however,  other 

animal encounter rolls should continue to be made even after  the 

trap  is sprung. A predator might, after all, show up to eat  the 

animal in the trap.



In  all  cases above, the Arctic Survival skill should act  as  a 

limiting  skill  for the skills of Hide in Cover,  Move  Quietly, 

Tracking, and Set Ambush.



Fishing:  Fishing  makes  use of the Trap  Set/Disarm  skill,  as 

discussed  above. A character on temporary or pack ice  may  fish 

through  a polynya (a natural opening in the ice -- see  the  En-

counters and events section of this booklet for more details)  or 

through  a cut he makes in the ice (cutting requires that 1D10  x 

20  points  of  damage be done). Once a hole  is  available,  the 

trapping procedure described above is used.



Gathering Food: Edible plant life is at a minimum in most  arctic 

settings.  On  a roll of LUC or less on 1D100, allowed  once  per 

hour  on  any terrain but ice, characters  will  discover  edible 

plant  life. The quantity obtained is 1D10 x 100 grams of  edible 

matter.  NOTE:  only omnivore and herbivore life forms  can  draw 

sustenance from plant matter; carnivores, like the Altani and the 

H'Reli, need meat to survive.



Going Without Food: The food and water requirements for adventur-

ers  in arctic conditions are as follows: 100/SIZ grams  of  meat 

per  kilograms  of  body mass per day, 1 liter of  water  per  40 

kilograms  of body mass per day. For omnivores, plant matter  may 

be  substituted  for meat in the diet in a ratio of  4  grams  of 

plant  matter  per gram of meat. A character can  go  CON/2  days 

without food (round fractions up) and CON/10 (round fractions up) 

days without water before he suffers unfortunate consequences.



For  each N periods of CON/2 days without food and M  periods  of 

CON/10  days without water, increase the END cost of all  activi-

ties performed and the time required to recover 1D6 END by N+M. 



A  day in which less than the requisite amount of food  is  eaten 

(or water drunk) counts proportionally towards days without  food 

(or  water). That is, if only half the needed food is eaten  that 

day,  the  count of days without food would be increased  by  1/2 

day.



Example:  Mikhail Andreivitch (see Other Suns for Mikhail's  full 

statistics)  has a CON of 9. after 5 days without food or  1  day 

without  water, Mikhail will begin to suffer. On the  second  day 

without water, all Mikhail's END expenditures will double --  and 

he  will  only recover END at half the normal rate  (1D6  per  40 

minutes  as  opposed  to 1D6 per 20 minutes). On  the  third  day 

without  water,  his END expenditures will TRIPLE,  and  he  will 

recover END at a rate of only 1D6 per hour. If he has been  with-

out water for two days and without food for four, he will  expend 

END  at twice his normal rate and recover half as fast; the  next 

day,  if he has had no food or water, he will expend END at  FOUR 

times  the  normal rate (having gone 3 days without water  AND  5 

days  without  food)  and  will recover 1D6  END  only  every  80 

minutes.



After  2 x CON days without food, a 1 point attack is  made  each 

day  vs. CON and the result taken against both CON and total  hit 

points  (if the attack fails, no damage is taken).  A  successful 

Control  of Self roll (one attempt allowed per day) prevents  any 

damage being taken from this source.



After  CON/2 days without water, a 2D4 point attack is made  each 

day  vs. CON and the result taken against both CON and total  hit 

points.  A successful Control of Self roll, one  attempt  allowed 

per day, halves the damage taken from this source; how ever, even 

a  successful  Control of Self roll will not  reduce  the  damage 

below 1 point.



                    ICE WORLD I (PART 19 OF 28)



OPTIONAL  RULE:  Without  food, the body will  quickly  lose  its 

ability to maintain a normal temperature in the face of a subnor-

mal ambient temperature. After N intervals of CON/2 days  without 

food,  increase the chance of hypothermia by 50x(N-1)%.  Thus  in 

our preceding example, Mikhail's chance of going into hypothermia 

would  increase by 50% starting on the 5th day without  food.  If 

Mikhail,  then,  were in air at -3o C with a 16 kph  wind  (after 

adjustments  for clothing) he would normally have a  10xCON-  12% 

chance  of avoiding hypothermia (78% for Mikhail). After  5  days 

without  food,  his daily chance of  avoiding  hypothermia  under 

these conditions would drop from 78% to 28%, after 10 days  with-

out food, his chances of avoiding hypothermia would be less  than 

0%.



Water:  It may seem strange, but water is often the hardest  ele-

ment  to obtain in arctic conditions. A heat source is  necessary 

to obtain water from snow or ice; alternatively, a hole cut  into 

ice (see Fishing, above) can be used to reach a fresh-water pond, 

lake,  stream, or river. Remember that a salt-water ocean  cannot 

provide drinking water; only fresh water may be so used.



Snow can be melted by body heat, but each liter of water obtained 

in this fashion takes 20 minutes and requires an Arctic  Survival 

skill  roll  to  do safely (regardless of level  of  skill);  the 

penalty for failure in the Arctic Survival skill is 1D4 frostbite 

damage to one location (character's choice).



Any energy weapon can be used to melt snow or ice; each point  of 

damage in a normal burst produces 10 cubic centimeters of  usable 

water  (and a good deal of steam); when fired on wide beam,  four 

times as much usable water is produced. One liter of water equals 

1000 cubic centimeters, so a character can expect to get  roughly 

1.68  liters of water if he completely expends the magazine in  a 

typical  handblaster (which he can do in one melee round  if  the 

weapon is set on wide beam).



If  energy weapons are not used to melt the snow or ice,  solving 

the  water  problem becomes a much  more  strenuous  undertaking. 

Gathering  ice  costs 20 minutes of Heavy Activity per  2  liters 

equivalent gathered, gathering snow costs 20 minutes of  Moderate 

Activity  per 10 liters equivalent gathered. Depending  on  local 

conditions, however, snow may not be available.



Fires and Heat: Open fires can be lit only if the winds are  less 

than  16 kph; if a barrier or emergency shelter is in place,  the 

wind  force  is halved for this purpose. Fuel for  fires  can  be 

obtained from wood, carried chemical sources, or from animal  fat 

(this  last  source  requires the character  either  have  Arctic 

Survival  skill  at  30% or above or that he  make  a  successful 

Arctic Survival skill roll).



Direction  Finding: Characters close to the magnetic pole  cannot 

use  magnetic compasses for reliable direction  finders.  Instru-

ments  not  relying upon magnetic fields (such  as  the  inertial 

tracker  described in the Equipment section, to follow)  are  not 

effected.



Improvised Clothing: It is possible for a character to make Class 

I cold weather gear (boots, pants, hooded coat, mittens, and face 

mask  -- see Equipment section for more details on  cold  weather 

gear) from pelts of animals. Class I CWG (cold weather gear) will 

mass  0.6% of body mass per hit number covered -- thus a  typical 

full suit will mass 9.76 kilograms for a SIZ 20 Human (who masses 

80  kilograms). The usable animal pelts will constitute  slightly 

less than 5.5% of the animal mass (loses during curing,  trimming 

and sewing to form the Class I CWG taken into account).



As a rule of thumb, multiply the mass of the individual who is to 

be  outfitted  by 2.2 -- this will yield the  required  aggregate 

mass  of the animals to be used to make his Class I  CWG.  Please 

note, however: use of blasters for hunting will damage or destroy 

portions  of the pelt. The Referee should exercise  his  judgment 

and reduce the mass contribution of animals killed using blasters 

to the total on a case by case basis.



Exclusive of hunting time, one person takes three or more days to 

dress, fit, and sew the hides. The first day is spent curing  the 

pelts,  a  task  which does not require any  attention  from  the 

characters  (it can be done on the move, or in addition to  other 

activities).  On the second day and subsequent days, though,  the 

material  must be cut, sewn, and fitted; this takes one  man-hour 

per 10 kilograms of animal being used for the pelts. Other activ-

ities cannot be performed at the same time. The resulting  cloth-

ing is treated as Class I CWG for all purposes.



Minimum Times: All tasks whose completion times are expressed  in 

man-hours  take at least one hour to complete, regardless of  the 

number of people working on the task.



Fliers: Beings or animals capable of personal winged flight do so 

at Heavy Activity rates (Very Heavy Activity rates if the gravity 

is  higher  or the air pressure lower than on  their  homeworld). 

Fliers  may not protect their wings from direct exposure  to  the 

air (with concurrent possible hypothermia and frostbite  effects) 

and  still  fly. It is to be noted, however,  that  feathers  are 

typically far better insulation than fur. For more details on the 

subject  of personal flight, the Wings of Fire supplement  (which 

deals  with  the  Auuri, a race of feathered  fliers)  should  be 

consulted.



                    ICE WORLD I (PART 20 OF 28)



EQUIPMENT



A wide variety of gear is available for use in arctic conditions. 

Many such items are discussed in the sections below.



Racial  Variations: Most equipment discussed in this  chapter  is 

designed  (except  where  specified otherwise)  for  Human  sized 

bipedal  characters. Mass (and price) of some equipment may  vary 

with the SIZ of the individual.



In  other cases, other races may need different quantities of  an 

item,  as  well as different sizes. A  quadruped,  for  instance, 

might use four skis instead of two.



Generally,  beings of one race cannot use equipment intended  for 

another race unless the gear is noted as being "multispecies"  in 

the  equipment description. Vehicles can be used by any  species, 

but if it is noted as seating a given number of a particular race 

(say, eight Humans) then members of other races are  accommodated 

on  the  basis  of relative mass (a Bjoran  equals  roughly  10.5 

Humans,  for instance). Where sizes are radically  different,  as 

with  Bjora  to Humans, a great deal of discomfort is  likely  to 

ensue ... try riding a small child's tricycle to see how a Bjoran 

might feel in a designed-for-Humans snowmobile. Vehicles designed 

for  other races widely differing in size from Humans  will  cost 

more  (or  less) based upon the relative expected masses  of  the 

driver and passengers; a ground car designed for six Bjora scaled 

directly  from the standard ground car would mass 10.5  times  as 

much, would cost accordingly and could probably carry 63  average 

Humans  (who  might have a lot of trouble  operating  the  manual 

controls because of the size differential).



COLD WEATHER GEAR



In  addition to the armor discussed in the basic rules, the  fol-

lowing types of special protective clothing are available.



Class  I Cold Weather Gear: A relatively primitive form  of  cold 

weather  clothing using natural fabrics, hides, furs,  etc.,  for 

protection from the elements. This type of clothing is bulky  but 

can  be  obtained on frontier worlds (or even made  from  locally 

available  materials  in  the field --  see  Survival  Techniques 

earlier). Full Class I CWG consists of simple "long johns" or  an 

undercoat,  worn under boots, pants, a hooded parka,  face  mask, 

and gloves. 



Class  I  CWG masses 0.6% of body weight per hit  number  covered 

(thus  full coverage Class I CWG masses 12.2% of body  mass).  It 

costs 3 smu per kilogram of mass, though the "price" in the field 

might  be  far higher; a corpse has little use for  money,  after 

all.  Class I CWG has a +15o C temperature modifier and it has  a 

-30 kph wind speed modifier (as per Type IV natural  protection). 

Class  I CWG is Armor Type 1 and provides 3 points of impact  and 

energy protection.



Class  II Cold Weather Gear: Substituting exotic  synthetics  for 

natural  materials,  Class II CWG is more efficient,  lighter  in 

weight, though somewhat more expensive than Class I CWG. Class II 

CWG cannot be manufactured "in the field".



Class  II CWG masses 0.4% of body weight per hit  number  covered 

(thus  full  coverage Class II CWG masses 8% of  body  mass).  It 

costs  5  smu  per kilogram of mass. Class II CWG has  a  +20o  C 

temperature  modifier and a -40 kph wind speed modifier  (as  per 

Type  V  natural protection). Class II CWG is Armor  Type  1  and 

provides 3 points of impact and energy protection.



Class III Cold Weather Gear: Making use of even more sophisticat-

ed and exotic synthetics, Class III CWG is the ultimate in  ordi-

nary (i.e. non-thermostat controlled) clothing. Again, it is more 

efficient, more expensive, and lighter in weight than Class I and 

II  CWG.  As per Class II CWG, it cannot  be  manufactured  under 

primitive field conditions.



Class  III CWG masses 0.3% of body weight per hit number  covered 

(thus  full  coverage Class III CWG masses 6% of body  mass).  It 

costs  10  smu  per kilogram of mass, has a  +25o  C  temperature 

modifier and a -50 kph wind speed modifier (as per Type VI  natu-

ral  protection).  Class III CWG is Armor Type 1 and  provides  3 

points of impact and energy protection.



Class  IV Cold Weather Gear: A development of the Class III  CWG, 

Class IV gear incorporates a system of heat filaments that can be 

linked  to a small battery pack for thermostatic control  of  the 

temperature  modifier of the outfit. As per Class III, it  cannot 

be manufactured under primitive field conditions.



Class  IV CWG masses 0.3% of body weight per hit  number  covered 

(as  per Class III CWG), however it costs 15 smu per kilogram  of 

mass. With the thermostatic controls off (or the heating elements 

unpowered)  it provides the same thermal and wind  protection  as 

Class  III CWG. The temperature modifier, however, can be  varied 

--  up to +50o C -- for as long as power is supplied to the  suit 

(generally through batteries).



Heatsuit:  A  lightweight skintight  suit,  incorporating  heater 

filaments,  the thermostatic control provided by the heatsuit  is 

the only protection it provides against the elements. A  heatsuit 

may,  however, be worn under other forms of cold weather  protec-

tion (it may not, however, be worn if webbing is worn, nor may it 

be worn by any species not capable of wearing webbing -- such  as 

Altani, H'Reli, Skiltaire, etc.)



                    ICE WORLD I (PART 21 OF 28)



A  heatsuit  masses 0.3% of body weight per  hit  number  covered 

(thus  a full coverage suit masses 6% of body mass). It costs  20 

smu per kilogram of mass, and has a variable temperature modifier 

(0-40o  C).  Power must be supplied to the suit  (either  through 

batteries  or an external power source) for the heater  filaments 

to function. A heatsuit is Armor Type 1 and provides 3 points  of 

impact and energy protection.



Heater mask: When the ambient air temperature is -60o C or  less, 

breathing  the  unheated air becomes dangerous. The  heater  mask 

will  preheat  inhaled  air by up to 10o  C  (adjustable,  0-10). 

Heater masks cover one hit number (01 -- the face) and provide an 

additional  3  points of impact and energy protection.  They  are 

somewhat  fragile;  five points of damage penetrating  the  three 

point protection will destroy the unit.



Heater  masks  may  be worn interchangeably  among  species  with 

similar  facial  structures. Thus, for example,  a  Skiltaire,  a 

H'Reli  and  a Sanchenzii could all use a single heater  mask.  A 

Human  could also use this same Skiltaire/H'Reli/Sanchenzii  mask 

--  but an Altani, with her pronounced muzzle, could not  wear  a 

Human specific heater mask (designed for the relatively flat face 

of Humans).



Battery  Pack: A light battery used to supply power to  Class  IV 

CWG,  heatsuits, and/or heater masks. A battery pack  masses  100 

grams and costs 10 smu.



On a single charge, the battery will provide sufficient power  to 

heater filaments for 900o C-hours of heating. If used for a Class 

IV CWG set to an additional +20o C and a heatsuit set at +10o  C, 

the  battery  would  last for 900/(20+10) = 900/30  =  30  hours. 

Increasing  the  heatsuit  setting to +30oC  would  decrease  the 

battery life to 900/(20+30) = 900/50 = 18 hours. 



Recharge time is 1 turn and recharge cost is 1 smu.



Heat  Pack: A heavier battery used to power Class IV  CWG,  heat-

suits,  and/or  heater masks. A heat pack masses  500  grams  and 

costs 50 smu.



On a single charge, the battery will provide sufficient power  to 

heater  filaments for 10,000o C-hours of heating. If used  for  a 

Class  IV CWG set to an additional +25o C and a heatsuit  set  at 

+15o  C, the battery would last for 10,000/(25+15) = 10,000/40  = 

250 hours. Increasing the heatsuit setting to +50oC and adding  a 

heater  mask  at  +5o  C  would  decrease  the  battery  life  to 

10,000/(25+50+5) = 10,000/80 = 125 hours. 



Recharge time is 1 turn and recharge cost is 10 smu.



Catalytic Heater: A small non-reusable chemical heat source  used 

to  provide  augmentation (see Clothing Protection  Table)  under 

other  clothing. A +5o C temperature modifier is  applied  (above 

and beyond all other clothing modifiers) when this type of heater 

is used. Additional heaters can be used to increase the  tempera-

ture modifier (add an additional +5o C per added heater).



Mass is 0.1 kg; cost is 10 smu per heater. Multispecies. Provides 

6 hours of heat, after which it is discarded.



TRANSPORTATION



The  following equipment is available for  personal  (individual) 

transportation.



Skis:  Basic skis are long, flat runners worn to  travel  quickly 

over  snow. Usually, skis are worn in pairs. Human  skis  measure 

from  150 to 220 centimeters in length; those for  other  species 

are  proportional  to  LEN. All skis are  considered  to  include 

bindings for the appropriate number of feet and types thereof.



Skis  are  tailored to individual  species  requirements,  though 

members of two roughly similar species could use each others skis 

if desired. Skis mass 10 grams per centimeter of length, and have 

10 hit points and 10 points of impact and energy protection. Skis 

cost 7.5 smu per kilogram.



Ski  Boots: Special boots are usually required to ski  that  give 

extra support to the ankle (or equivalent location). One boot  is 

required per foot.



Boots mass 1% of body mass per hit number covered (a typical boot 

only  covers only one hit number, the foot) and cost 10  smu  per 

kilogram mass.



Ski  Poles: Poles are needed to propel the skier over  snow,  and 

assist  in maintaining an upright stance. They measure 0.7 x  LEN 

of user, mass 1 gram per centimeter length, and cost .02 smu  per 

centimeter  length. Poles can be used as the equivalent of  short 

spears in combat situations; they are treated as 10 point weapons 

in this case.



Snowshoes: Snowshoes are a means of cross country travel, measur-

ing 25 centimeters by 100 centimeters (for typical Human  units). 

Increase  (or decrease) the surface of the snowshoe  proportional 

to  the  MASS of the wearer. Snowshoes mass 1  kilogram  for  the 

typical SIZ 20 Human (mass varies proportional to mass of wearer) 

and cost 5 smu per kilogram mass. Snowshoes have 10 hit points.



Snowshoes may be manufactured in the field from available materi-

als  through a use of the Arctic Survival skill.  Manufacture  of 

one pair of snowshoes takes 1 man-hour. Field manufactured  snow-

shoes mass twice as much as indicated above.



Snowshoes  are  designed for a single-species. Ski poles  may  be 

used with snowshoes -- if this is done, the skill is subject to a 

+25% modifier.



                    ICE WORLD I (PART 22 OF 28)



Primitive  Ice Skates: Ice skates manufactured in the field  have 

runners of bone, wood, or low-grade metal (these materials  must, 

of  course, be available). They must be sharpened after  every  8 

hours  of use; a -15% skill modifier is applied for each 8  hours 

of  use without sharpening. Sharpening requires an  hour's  Light 

Activity per pair. Skates cover one hit location each (the  foot) 

and mass 0.0175% of body mass each. They have 10 Hit points.



Ice Skates: Standard ice skates are those typically available  in 

industrial  societies. Edges last indefinitely. Skates cover  one 

hit  location each (the foot) and mass 0.01% of body  mass  each. 

They cost 10 smu per kilogram of mass. Normal ice skates have  10 

hit points.



Stabilized Ice Skates: An advanced type of ice skate,  stabilized 

skates  incorporate  gryostabilizers and  sophisticated  computer 

systems  to aid the skater in staying upright and moving at  high 

speed  (add  20% to skill). These skates mass as per  normal  ice 

skates,  but cost significantly more and require a power  source. 

They  have  8 points of impact and energy protection  and  5  hit 

points.  Stabilized  skates cost 10 times the  cost  of  standard 

skates of the same mass.



The battery pack for stabilized ice skates masses 0.1  kilograms, 

and  will operate one pair of skates for 100 hours.  The  battery 

pack  can  be  recharged in 1 turn at a cost of 0.1  smu.  A  new 

battery pack costs 5 smu.



SNOWMOBILES AND ACCESSORIES



Light Snowmobile: A light, one-man vehicle, the light  snowmobile 

is designed with two forward ski runners and a centrally  mounted 

rear  track. The driver stands at the rear of the vehicle,  grip-

ping  the controls. The driver is exposed to the  elements  while 

driving  --  only one Human sized passenger is  allowed,  and  no 

cargo space is provided. This vehicle masses 150 kilograms.



The body of the light snowmobile will provide 10 points of impact 

and  energy  protection. If 15 points of  damage  penetrate  this 

armor, the snowmobile will be ruined.



The light snowmobile is electrically powered with a range of  500 

kilometers  at  50 kilometers per hour;  battery  recharges  take 

three full turns and cost 0.1 smu. The typical unit sells for 325 

smu.



Standard Snowmobile: This vehicle is larger and more robust  than 

the  light snowmobile. Saddles provide seating for up to 3  Human 

sized characters, and there is 100 kilograms of additional  cargo 

capacity. The driver and all passengers are again exposed to  the 

elements. This vehicle masses 500 kilograms.



The  body of the snowmobile will provide 15 points of impact  and 

energy  protection. If 15 points of damage penetrate this  armor, 

the snowmobile will be ruined.



The snowmobile is electrically powered with a range of 500 kilom-

eters  at  50 kilometers per hour; battery recharges  take  three 

full turns and cost 0.2 smu. The typical unit sells for 500 smu.



Racing  Snowmobile:  An expensive,  short-range,  but  ultra-fast 

version of the snowmobile, the racing model is essentially  iden-

tical to the light snowmobile save in performance characteristics 

and price.



The racing snowmobile is electrically powered with a range of 150 

kilometers at 90 kilometers per hour. The typical unit sells  for 

585 smu.



Wheel  Kit:  This is an adapter kit which permits  wheels  to  be 

mounted  on snowmobiles and snowmobile trailers. One kit  is  re-

quired  per 500 kilograms of vehicle mass. When  mounted,  wheels 

enable snowmobiles to operate as standard wheeled vehicles,  with 

speed  and performance characteristics as given for the  specific 

vehicle type.



Mass  is 10 kilograms per kit, and the cost is 15 smu.  Multispe-

cies gear.



Float  Kit:  This is another adapter kit, used to  mount  pontoon 

floats and a propeller on the snowmobile. This turns the  snowmo-

bile  into  a makeshift boat. One kit is required for  every  250 

kilograms of vehicle mass. Water speed is 1/10th the land speed.



The kit masses 25 kilograms and costs 10 smu. Multispecies gear.



Trailers:  Three  models  of snowmobile  trailer  are  available, 

designed to be towed by any model of snowmobile. With one trailer 

attached,  the  basic speed is 0.75 times the normal  speed.  Two 

trailers  cut speed in half; three trailers reduce speed  to  one 

quarter.  No more than three trailers may be pulled by  a  single 

snowmobile.  Vehicle Operations skill is also reduced by 10%  for 

each trailer pulled. The frames of the trailers provide 15 points 

of  impact and energy protection (and are destroyed by 10  points 

of  penetrating damage). All can be fitted with either wheels  or 

floats. All trailers protect from the environment.



Cargo Trailer: Carries up to 500 kilograms of cargo. Mass (empty) 

is 300 kilograms. Cost is 125 smu.



Passenger  Trailer: Carries up to 4 Human sized passengers.  Mass 

is 300 kilograms (empty), cost is 125 smu.



Combination Trailer: Carries up to 250 kilograms of cargo and  up 

to 3 Human sized passengers. Mass is 300 kilograms (empty),  cost 

is 125 smu.



Driver  Cab: A cockpit-style canopy that can be attached  to  any 

snowmobile.  The cab provides protection from the  elements,  and 

can be heated. Two types are available.



Standard  Cab:  Mass 40 kilograms, cost 225 smu. An  armored  cab 

that provides 10 points of impact and energy protection.



Pressurized  Cab: Mass 150 kilograms, cost 1200 smu.  Pressurized 

for  use  in hostile atmospheres. A small  airlock  mechanism  is 

included,  and both the cab and airlock are armored.  Pressuriza-

tion and life support are provided through tanked air -- 200 man-

hours for a SIZ 20 individual (time varies proportional to  SIZ). 

New tanks are 50 smu each; recharging old tanks requires a stand-

ard  starship  Life Support module, and takes 10 turns  per  tank 

(the usual recharge cost is 10 smu). The armored cab provides  30 

points of impact and energy protection and is self sealing (up to 

a point); 20 points of penetrating damage will destroy the cab.



                    ICE WORLD I (PART 23 OF 28)



VEHICLE ACCESSORIES



Arctic Wheel Adapters: This is a general category of gear includ-

ing  snow tires, chains, spikes, and other methods  of  improving 

traction  in snow and ice. Wheeled vehicles using  these  methods 

add 0.15 to all speed multiples less than 1 in snow or ice condi-

tions.  If adapters are used, 5% is added to the operation  skill 

in snow and ice. One adapter is needed for each wheel.



Mass is 2 kilograms, cost is 5 smu. Multispecies gear.



Jumper  Cables: Simple cables permitting the charge of a  vehicle 

battery  to  be partially drained into that of  another  vehicle. 

Mass is 0.5 kilograms per meter of cable, cost is 1 smu per meter 

of cable. Commonly available lengths are 2, 5, and 10 meters.



OTHER EQUIPMENT



The following items are pieces of equipment with may be of gener-

al interest.



Food  Converter:  This device will convert any  organic  material 

into  a  food paste usable by the species for which  it  is  pro-

grammed. The paste has a pleasant taste, though few sophonts will 

wish  to eat it to the exclusion of more normal foods;  the  more 

charitable  users  refer to the taste as "bland"  and  what  less 

tolerant  (or  more discriminating) individual's  say  about  the 

paste we leave to the imagination of the reader.



In  1  hour, a food converter will process 1  kilogram  of  plant 

matter  and produce 0.2 kilograms of meat equivalent or  it  will 

process  1  kilogram of meat and produce 0.8  kilograms  of  meat 

equivalent. It can be used to produce usable food for  carnivores 

from  plant  matter, or to remove inedible  components  (such  as 

poisons)  from meat. A battery pack will run the  food  converter 

for 100 hours.



The food converter masses 2.3 kilograms exclusive of battery  and 

programming  cartridge.  Both the programming cartridge  and  the 

battery pack mass 0.1 kilograms. The food converter itself  costs 

2500  smu (this includes the cost of one programming pack  for  a 

species  of the purchaser's choice), programming cartridges  cost 

50  smu each, and battery packs cost 5 smu each. A  recharge  for 

the battery pack costs 1 smu and takes 1 turn.



The food converter has 20 points of impact and energy protection; 

10 points of damage penetrating this armor will destroy the unit. 

Both  battery pack and programming cartridge are enclosed by  the 

armor.



Glare  Goggles: Variable polarization goggles, used to  eliminate 

the dangers of dazzle and/or snowblindness. These units are solar 

powered,  and  allow  the user to select any  modifier  to  glare 

factor  desired.  A character wearing these goggles  selects  the 

desired  adjustment to dazzle probability and then  simply  wears 

the goggles; they will automatically adjust to conditions of  low 

light levels (so there is no visibility loss on entering a  dark-

ened room while wearing the goggles).



Mass  is 0.1 kilograms, cost is 10 smu per pair. Multispecies  -- 

adjustable  for  different facial configurations.  10  hit  point 

devices (no armor protection, either impact or energy).



Glare  Lenses (Contact variety): These are variable  polarization 

contact  lenses, used to eliminate the dangers of  dazzle  and/or 

snowblindness.  They are pre-set for a given  dazzle  probability 

modifier, and must be custom made for each individual. They  will 

lighten in darkness and darken when exposed to ultraviolet  light 

(or  any  other  specified type of light); thus,  as  with  glare 

goggles,  there is no visibility loss encountered on  entering  a 

darkened room while wearing the glare lenses.



Glare lenses offer only three advantages over glare goggles:  (1) 

they  are  inconspicuous, (2) they are easier to carry,  and  (3) 

they are not the ugly face covering that glare goggles are.



Humans  diplomats have commonly adopted the glare lens for  their 

use  on the Central Worlds of the Hegemony; even without snow  or 

ice  to  reflect  the sun glare, the normal light  levels  on  an 

Altani, Bjoran, or H'Reli world will blind a Human in a  remarka-

bly short period of time.



Mass  is  negligible, cost is 125 smu per  pair.  Single  species 

design -- custom made for each individual.



Battery  Heater:  A portable, electrically powered  heat  source. 

Batteries  last  36  hours and must then be  either  replaced  or 

recharged (1 turn, 0.1 smu cost to recharge). The battery  heater 

masses  1 kilogram, and will heat a small (1 Human sized  person) 

cabin  or dugout +10o C above ambient. Additional heaters may  be 

used to increase the temperature or the volume heated.



Battery heaters cost 10 smu, and have 10 point impact and  energy 

protection. If 10 points of damage penetrates the armor, the unit 

is destroyed.



Inertial  Guidance Unit: This device (commonly referred to as  an 

Inertracker,  after  the tradename of the best  and  most  common 

unit)  is used to navigate on a single world. It provides a  dis-

play  of position relative to a given starting point. Once it  is 

prepared  for use by setting the start point it will display  the 

current  position on the planetary surface (latitude,  longitude, 

and  altitude  changes relative to its starting  point)  with  an 

accuracy  of plus or minus 100 meters. It must, however, be  left 

in  operation  continuously or it will "lose fix" and  require  a 

reset of the zero position. Using a set of accurate maps on which 

the  starting  point  for the unit has  been  marked,  navigation 

becomes  child's play; units sold for use on a  particular  world 

are typically pre-loaded with maps for that world.



Mass  is  1.5 kilograms exclusive of battery pack  and  map  car-

tridge.  Battery packs mass 0.1 kilograms, and will run the  unit 

for  4 terrestrial years (1461 days). A map cartridge masses  0.1 

kilograms.  The inertial guidance unit costs 800 smu, a map  car-

tridge for a single world costs 25 smu, and a battery pack  costs 

5  smu.  A recharge for the battery pack takes 10 turns  using  a 

standard  portable generator; recharges are  typically  available 

for 4 smu.



The Inertracker has 20 points of impact and energy protection; 10 

points  of damage penetrating this armor will destroy  the  unit. 

Both battery pack and map cartridge are enclosed by the armor.



                    ICE WORLD I (PART 24 OF 28)



Sled: On many newly colonized worlds, animal drawn sleds are used 

for  cross-country travel over ice and snow. On many  more  civi-

lized worlds, they are used for sport. But on fledgling colonies, 

it  is  common  to use animals (which don't break  down  or  need 

artificial  fuel sources, and reproduce themselves) in  place  of 

machines (which, at first, must be imported at ruinous cost).



The  dog sled of old Earth (First Century AE and earlier) is  but 

one  typical  design. Commonly, sleds have a single  Human  sized 

driver  and  can carry up to two Human-sized  passengers  or  200 

kilograms  of  cargo (treat each passenger as  100  kilograms  of 

cargo).  Such sleds mass 10 kilograms empty, and cost 50 smu.  To 

draw  the sled, one or more animals are needed. The ENC load  for 

drawing  the sled is halved (as it is being dragged, rather  than 

carried) and the result is divided evenly among the sled animals. k or run himself).



Larger  sleds  have greater cargo capacities and cost  more.  The 

standard  cargo  of 300 kg (one driver + 200 kg cargo)  costs  10 

smu.  The cost of the sled is directly proportional to the  cargo 

capacity, as is its mass.



Sleds  have  10 points of protection against  impact  and  energy 

damage;  10  points of penetrating damage will  destroy  a  sled. 

These figures are independent of sled size.



Made  from  primitive materials in the field, a  sled  will  mass 

twice as much. To make such a sled requires the use of the Arctic 

Survival skill and 1 hour per 5 kilograms mass of sled.



Training  sled  animals is a persuasion skill  (as  per  Riding). 

Trained sled animals are valuable on any world where such animals 

are used for transport (or sport). A typical animal will cost  10 

smu  (though this may vary depending upon the "pedigree"  of  the 

animal,  the  social value placed on the animals, and  any  of  a 

thousand other factors).



ENCOUNTERS AND EVENTS



In  any Other Suns adventure, the Referee should be  largely  re-

sponsible  for regulating the flow of events and  encounters,  to 

ensure  the  smooth progression from initial situation  to  final 

resolution. For the most part, encounters and events which  occur 

along  the  way  should be planned by the Referee  to  shape  the 

course of the scenario.



There  are times, however, when random encounters or  events  are 

worthwhile. They can be used to add an element of uncertainty  in 

the game -- is a given event important to the ultimate resolution 

of the original problem, or is it a "mere" random occurrence?  In 

addition, random encounters or events can be used when the Refer-

ee  is  at a loss for a logical next step in the  adventure,  and 

they  can be used to create a series of obstacles to be  overcome 

where no hard and fast planned adventure actually exists.



Any or all of these reasons can contribute to a decision to use a 

set  of  random encounter tables. A sample set, tailored  to  use 

within an arctic setting, are included in the tables to follow.



ENCOUNTER ROLLS:



When a party is traveling, one encounter roll should be made  (on 

1D100)  once  each hour, and the  indicated  result  implemented. 

Tables  are keyed according to terrain type and snow cover,  with 

modifiers applied based on the current apparent air temperature.



When a group has halt[Y,n]? 

an unexpected crevasse.



Treat no snow cover or hard pack only snow cover as "spotty" snow 

cover in these tables.



ENCOUNTER AND EVENT DESCRIPTIONS:



Whiteout:  Whiteout is a condition which occurs when  ground  and 

sky  are both so white as to be indistinct from one another,  and 

visibility drops to almost nothing. Periods of whiteout generally 

accompany  heavy  storms and/or high winds (and whiteout  can  be 

mandated by the Visibility Table results as well as by  Encounter 

Table results), but can happen as an incidental event as well. In 

whiteout  conditions, movement guided by the unaided eye  becomes 

impossible; both vehicles and individuals must stop for a  period 

of 1D3 hours until visibility improves. If active sensor  systems 

are available (e.g. in the powered suits) whiteout conditions can 

be ignored.



Avalanche  Zone: Avalanche Zones are areas where there is a  high 

potential for a mass of snow to be dislodged from above,  flowing 

down  mountainsides  and into valleys below like  a  tidal  wave. 

Actually,  there  are several distinct types of  avalanche,  each 

discussed separately below. The Referee should select which  type 

occurs,  keeping local conditions and the information noted  here 

in mind.



Wet Avalanche: Wet avalanches usually occur when the temperatures 

rise above 0o C. The deep snow covering the mountain slopes  then 

melts, loses adhesion, and slides. Wet Avalanches move at  speeds 

of 90-100 kph (88+2D6), often carrying destruction for as far  as 

3 kilometers before losing momentum.



There  is a 1% base chance per hour of a Wet Avalanche  occurring 

once  pre-avalanche conditions develop. Add 5% to this chance  if 

the snow is in direct sunlight, add 5% if the ambient air temper-

ature  is above -5o C, and add 15% if there are loud noises  such 

as  explosions during the hour. These modifiers  are  cumulative, 

and in the event of repeated explosions or other loud noises over 

the  course  of  the  hour, the  +15%  modifier  should  (at  the 

Referee's judgment) be added more than once.



An  Arctic  Survival  roll guarantees  recognition  of  potential 

avalanche  conditions  in an area, and allows the  characters  to 

take  appropriate action so as to avoid being caught in the  ava-

lanche should it occur.



                    ICE WORLD I (PART 25 OF 28)



If a character is caught in a wet avalanche, he will take  impact 

damage  twice  equal to the Tumbling damage  corresponding  to  a 

tumble  at  the speed of the avalanche (this is between  6D6  and 

7D6). As per Tumbles (described earlier) he may attempt a Jumping 

roll  and LUC rolls to reduce the damage taken. These  rolls  are 

made  against the first damage roll (corresponding to the  damage 

done when the avalanche first strikes the character); he may then 

attempt LUC rolls to reduce the second damage roll (corresponding 

to  the  damage  done as the avalanche bounces  him  against  the 

terrain as it slows). A Jumping roll may not be attempted  during 

the  "slow down" phase; it is assumed that the  character's  tum-

bling ability is neutralized by the mass of snow and debris about 

him.  THE VALUE OF PROTECTIVE ARMOR IS DEDUCTED FROM  THE  DAMAGE 

DONE BY AN AVALANCHE IN EACH PHASE (BOTH INITIAL IMPACT AND FINAL 

SLOWDOWN).



If LUC roll is made (as a percentage), a character engulfed in  a 

wet  avalanche  will end on the surface. Otherwise,  he  will  be 

trapped  under the snow, with sufficient air for 1D100  turns  of 

life. If a trapped character is not retrieved (or does not extri-

cate  himself) from beneath the snow before his air supply  gives 

out,  he  will  die. An Arctic Survival, or a  Spot  Hidden  roll 

limited  by  Arctic Survival (both rolls may be  attempted)  will 

locate a victim trapped beneath the snow by eye alone; if instru-

ments  or telepathy are used, the character should be  found  ef-

fortlessly.  Once found, retrieval should be a  matter  dependent 

only upon depth of burial and equipment available for excavation.



Dry  Avalanche: Dry avalanches are caused when  accumulations  of 

snow  become excessive, and they can move at speeds of up to  175 

kph for 5 kilometers or more (speed is 1D100+74 kph).



There  is a 1% base chance per hour of a Wet Avalanche  occurring 

once pre-avalanche conditions develop. Add 5% to this chance  for 

each 20 centimeters of new snow accumulated in the zone, and  add 

30% if there are loud noises such as explosions during the  hour. 

These  modifiers  are cumulative, and in the  event  of  repeated 

explosions or other loud noises over the course of the hour,  the 

+30%  modifier should (at the Referee's judgment) be  added  more 

than once.



An  Arctic  Survival  roll guarantees  recognition  of  potential 

avalanche  conditions  in an area, and allows the  characters  to 

take  appropriate action so as to avoid being caught in the  ava-

lanche should it occur.



If  a character is trapped in a dry avalanche, damage  is  deter-

mined  as per wet avalanches (save that the higher speed  of  the 

dry avalanche is used). THE VALUE OF PROTECTIVE ARMOR IS DEDUCTED 

FROM THE DAMAGE DONE BY AN AVALANCHE IN EACH PHASE (BOTH  INITIAL 

IMPACT AND FINAL SLOWDOWN).



White  Death: The "white death" is an extremely rare form of  dry 

avalanche, a variant occurring only when the snow is an unusually 

fine powder. If all snow is fine powder, there is a 1% chance  of 

a dry avalanche being of the "white death" variety.



Individuals  trapped underneath the snow by a "white death"  ava-

lanche will be trapped without air; if they do not have a  sealed 

air  source, he is in danger of suffocation (see  Section  14.2.1 

Drowning,  in  Other  Suns for details  regarding  resolution  of 

suffocation situations).



Other  Considerations: A vehicle caught be an avalanche  will  be 

subjected  to the full damage of the avalanche,  and  individuals 

within  the  vehicle  take whatever damage  remains  after  armor 

protection of the vehicle is accounted for (their own armor still 

deducts from damage taken).



Characters  will almost invar projecting above 

an  otherwise  level surface. As water froze into  ice,  pressure 

forced  more  water together, and upwards to form the  ridge,  if 

freezing was fast enough. A pressure ridge can be several  meters 

in height.



Though individuals can climb a ridge (and aircraft fly over  it), 

ground  vehicles  are blocked by these terrain features.  If  de-

sired,  the  vehicles can detour and search for the  end  of  the 

ridge, moving parallel to it in one direction or another. If this 

option  is chosen, the Referee should roll 6D6 for the number  of 

kilometers the ridge extends (roll twice -- once for each  direc-

tion).  An Arctic Survival skill roll made allows the  characters 

to  know  which direction provides the shorter  detour;  a  clean 

action allows them to know the approximate length of the detour.



Alternatively,  the group may seek to create a gap in the  ridge. 

This  requires  that 1D10 x 1000 points of damage be  done  to  a 

given  section  of the ridge (either through  explosives,  energy 

weapons, or brute physical strength). If this damage is done, the 

result is a breach wide enough for any large ground vehicle.



The  Referee  may freely designate the work as  being  more  less 

difficult  than  indicated above (especially when  the  group  is 

small  or possessed only of extremely limited amounts of  ammuni-

tion), or can choose to designate the task as impossible.



Hovercraft, like normal ground vehicles, are blocked by  pressure 

ridges.



Polynya: A polynya is a gap in the ice, either open water or only 

thinly covered by ice. Polynyas provide open access to the  water 

below, allowing fishing, water collection, or even arctic diving. 

If  the  temperature is much below 0o C, polynyas  will  tend  to 

close  (freezing over completely in 1D10 hours); if the  tempera-

ture is above freezing, polynyas become wider with time.



                    ICE WORLD I (PART 26 OF 28)



Rockfall: The thawing of snow and ice binding loose rocks togeth-

er  occasionally  causes them to plunge down from above.  When  a 

rockfall  occurs,  roll  1D6 to determine  the  number  of  rocks 

dropped on each individual. Assume 1 kilogram rocks and a fall of 

2D10  meters (damage is resolved as per Section 14.2.2.1  Dropped 

Objects  in Other Suns). A successful Arctic Survival skill  roll 

will  allow an individual to spot potential rockfall  conditions. 



Dodge  (rolled as a percentage) will allow a character  to  avoid 

being struck by one rock, Martial Evade may be used to avoid  one 

rock (per 100% Evade skill or fraction thereof).



Suncups: Suncups are irregular depressions in snow and ice formed 

by  uneven melting of snow in sunlight. Movement through an  area 

where  suncups  are encountered is at 75% of normal.  Skiers  and 

snowmobilers  proceed with a -5% skill modifier through  suncups. 

The  suncups last until superseded by a new event or a  different 

terrain type.



Icebergs: Icebergs are large mountains of ice which break free of 

surrounding pack ice and drift free. When an iceberg result first 

occurs, the characters will find themselves isolated on a floe or 

iceberg which has just broken loose.



Characteristics of the iceberg are determined immediately.  There 

is  a 60% chance that the iceberg is of the  familiar,  pinnacled 

type;  otherwise it has a fairly flat an low surface. The  latter 

are  to be preferred, as pinnacled icebergs,  constantly  melting 

from below, tend to be unstable.



On  each  occurrence of an iceberg result when  a  group  already 

occupies  a iceberg, roll 1D100 apply the following results:  (1) 

for 01-15 = collision with land, (2) for pinnacled icebergs,  91-

100 = iceberg shifts; for flat icebergs, 98-100 = iceberg shifts, 

(3) all other rolls result in no change of status.



If the "collision with land" result occurs (and is not impossible 

given  the rough position of the iceberg) the stranded group  may 

escape; normally escape requires assistance of some type, or  the 

ability  to swim or fly over whatever gap has separated the  ice-

berg  from the land. If the iceberg is about to shift, an  Arctic 

Survival skill or an Awareness talent roll will allow the  adven-

turers  sufficient advance warning to prepare so that  they  will 

not be unceremoniously tossed into the water. If neither of these 

rolls are made by any member of the group, a LUC as a  percentage 

roll,  or a Jumping roll is required of each adventurer in  order 

to  avoid a quick swim; however, ground vehicles cannot be  saved 

if  neither the Arctic Survival nor the Awareness rolls are  made 

(though if properly equipped, they may still float).



Bog:  During summer in tundra, glacial streams from melting  snow 

can water-saturate large patches of land, and characters entering 

such  areas may become enmired. If ANY of the following skill  or 

characteristic rolls can be made, the bog will be detected before 

it can become a threat: Arctic Survival, Awareness, Spot  Hidden, 

Spot Trap, Arctic Travel, or INT x 5.



A bog is not impossible to escape even if a character has  become 

enmired;  however, characters can sink and drown if they  do  not 

maintain control. At the start sinking, a character trapped in  a 

bog must roll WIL x 8 or less on 1D100 (or make a Control of Self 

skill  roll)  to avoid panicking. If he panics, a  character  may 

take no action until he comes to his senses (he may attempt  both 

a  roll of WIL x 5 or less on 1D100 and a Control of  Self  skill 

roll  each melee round until he recovers or sinks from  view  and 

drowns).



If an adventurer does not notice a bog, and neither do his fellow 

adventurers  (or, at least, they don't warn him), it  is  assumed 

that he begins with all feet enmired in the bog. Hit numbers  for 

feet  are as follows (those for Dakti are self-evident  from  the 

charts):  Tailed  bipeds -- 15, 19, Tailless bipeds  --  16,  20, 

Tailed quadrupeds -- 6, 9, 16, 19, tailed centauroids -- 10,  12, 

17, 19.



If  an adventurer does not panic, he may attempt to move  out  of 

the  bog. If the STR+DEX of the character overcomes  his  SIZ+the 

number  of hit numbers enmired (see Chapter 6 of Other  Suns  for 

resistance  rolls  and their resolution) then he may  reduce  the 

number  of  hit numbers enmired by 1. If the resistance  roll  is 

failed by more than 25 on the 1D100 roll OR IF THE UNAIDED  CHAR-

ACTER  IS  PANICKING, the number of hit numbers  enmired  is  in-

creased  by 1 (extended logically from the already enmired  loca-

tions).  Once all 20 hit numbers are enmired, the character  will 

begin to drown.



After the first round, other characters may endeavor to assist in 

removing the adventurer enmired. If the trapped adventurer is not 

panicking,  and  his  associates can reach him  (either  using  a 

thrown  line  or by reaching out and grabbing him) they  may  add 

their  STR  and DEX values to his in attempting to  overcome  his 

SIZ+number of hit numbers enmired. Only if the resistance is  not 

overcome  as a result of a FUMBLE does an additional  hit  number 

become enmired. HOWEVER, if the trapped adventurer is  panicking, 

those  of his associates that can grab hold of him must  overcome 

his  STR+DEX+SIZ+number of hit numbers enmired in order  to  free 

one hit number from the bog.



If  a  vehicle becomes enmired, it is assumed  that  all  driving 

wheels/tracks  etc., have gotten onto the bog area. If no  action 

is  taken, the vehicle will sink to the bottom of the bog.  Given 

sufficient  skill on the part of the driver, any of  the  powered 

vehicles will have enough raw power to get clear of the bog.



A  vehicle starts in a bog as if 2 hit numbers were enmired;  for 

each hit number enmired, deduct 10% from the appropriate  vehicu-

lar skill. A successful skill roll reduces the equivalent  number 

of  hit numbers enmired by 1, a failed skill roll  increases  the 

number  by 1, a critical roll decreases the number by 1D4  and  a 

fumble  increases the number by 1D4. When 0 hit numbers  are  en-

mired, the vehicle is free from the bog; when 20 hit numbers  are 

enmired,  the vehicle is lost to the bog. NOTE: the  driver  must 

avoid panicking, or he will fail to act correctly and 1 addition-

al hit number will be enmired each melee round.



                    ICE WORLD I (PART 28 OF 28)



EXPLANATION OF RESULTS



Detour:  The character is delayed 1D6 turns; no forward  progress 

is made during this interval, the time being spent finding a  way 

around the drifts.



Move  Penalty:  The character's movement is halved for  the  next 

hour. This represents the problems of going through or around the 

series  of drifts. END expenditure is increased by one class  for 

this  hour of travel (Light Activity becomes  Moderate,  Moderate 

becomes  Heavy, Heavy becomes Very Heavy, Very Heavy remains  the 

same).



Fall: The character must make a skill roll (either Arctic  Travel 

or the skill roll for the appropriate mode of travel) or fall 1D6 

meters;  Jumping and LUC rolls may be attempted to reduce  damage 

if the fall occurs.



END  Penalty: The character is exerting additional effort  (typi-

cally  needlessly so) in order to fight through the  drifts.  END 

expenditure is increased by one class for one hour of travel  (as 

described above under Move Penalty).



Crevasse: Crevasses are deep cracks in shelf or pack ice,  diffi-

cult  to  cross and time-consuming to avoid. When a  crevasse  is 

encountered, roll 1D4 to determine the number of roughly parallel 

crevasses encountered. It is assumed that a crevasse roll on  the 

encounter tables means that the crevasse lies across the  desired 

line of travel of the adventurers.



A  detour may be attempted around the crevasses -- determine  the 

length  of  the detour required as per  pressure  ridges  earlier 

(except that instead of rolling 6D6 roll 4D6+10 for the number of 

kilometers that the crevasse runs in each direction). As was  the 

case  for  pressure ridges, an Arctic Survival  skill  roll  made 

allows the characters to know which direction provides the short-

er  detour;  a clean action allows them to know  the  approximate 

length of the detour.



There is a 40% chance of a bridge of snow or ice being present on 

EACH crevasse (roll separately) that may allow passage across the 

crevasse.  Roll using the Thin Ice table to determine the  thick-

ness (and load limit) on this ice/snow bridge. An Arctic  Travel, 

Arctic  Survival, or Awareness skill rolls will provide  informa-

tion regarding the thickness of the bridge.



If the crossing is attempted, and the bridge breaks, everyone  on 

the  bridge  who  does not manage to jump  to  safety  will  fall 

2D100+20  meters.  The normal falling rules will  then  apply  to 

determine  damage (see Section 14.2.2 Falling in Other  Suns  for 

details).



Crevasse  with Cornice: As with crevasse, but with an  additional 

hazard,  that of cornices (shelves) of solid-seeming  snow  over-

hanging  the  edge  of the crevasse. Use the Thin  Ice  Table  to 

determine  the  thickness  of  each  crevasses  cornices  with  a 

1D100+25 roll instead of a 1D100 roll (treat results of over  100 

as 100). Any bridges across a corniced crevasse can be no thicker 

than the cornice.



An  Arctic  Travel, Awareness, Arctic Survival,  or  Spot  Hidden 

skill  roll  will  detect the presence of  the  cornices;  Arctic 

Travel,  Arctic  Survival,  or Awareness skill  rolls  will  then 

provide information regarding the thickness of the cornice.



Animal  Encounter: An animal encounter result indicates  that  an 

animal  has  been spotted. The Referee should  choose  an  animal 

already created for the world in question (either picking one, or 

consulting a previously created table of likely animals).



If the result is rolled for a trap, and the animal does not  make 

a  Spot Trap or LUC as a percentage roll, it is trapped  (as  de-

scribed  earlier  in the section on Hunting). In  any  other  in-

stance,  the animal may merely be sighted -- roll 1D10  (with  no 

modifiers  to the roll) and consult the Sighting range table.  If 

the animal encountered is outside of visual range, the result  is 

interpreted as being an opportunity to sight tracks of the animal 

at the limit of of visual range.



It  is up to the Referee to establish the likely behavior of  the 

animal. It may not notice the adventurers; if it does it may stay 

still, flee, attack, or otherwise act in an appropriate  fashion, 

depending  upon  its habits, dietary  preferences,  intelligence, 

instincts,  and  other behavior patterns. The  resolution  of  an 

encounter  is thus wholly dependent upon the Referee's  decisions 

and upon the responses of the party.



In fairness to the players, however, the Referee should  remember 

that  there are few wild animals on any settled world  that  will 

still attack a party of Humans, Altani, or other sophonts. Either 

such  sophonts have become common sights, and thus  their  danger 

thoroughly  driven into the thick skulls of the local life  forms 

or  they  are still uncommon sights in the wild. In  this  latter 

case, they will represent a totally unknown quantity to the local 

predators,  who w.  It is often best to tailor specific tables for  specific 

worlds, adding new results, and changing proportions of others to 

suit  different conditions, and otherwise adapting the  resources 

of  the game to give the greatest variety an flexibility  to  the 

play of Other Suns in the planetary environment.