TERRAIN EFFECTS, CLIMATE EFFECTS, MINING OPERATIONS
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Only one-third of Alcazzar's surface is land. The rest is taken up by two vast oceans and numerous rivers and lakes. Seventy percent of the land area is virtually impassable to characters travelling overland. Much of the impassable land is mudflats; the remainder is made up of a series of rugged mountain ranges.
The terrain of the planet will greatly affect any travelling the PCs attempt as well as determine the types of creatures they are likely to encounter. This section defines each terrain type, including movement requirements and restrictions and a description of what a typical area looks like.
To determine movement rates for the different terrain types, refer to page 19 of the Expanded Game Rules. The Terrain Effects Table there applies to Alcazzar, with the follow definitions in Table 2.
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TERRAIN EFFECTS TABLE DEFINITIONS
PRAIRIE
This is an expanse of lush green grass, easily rippled by any passage of wind. Growing about one meter high, the soft blades bend readily beneath the weight of a traveller. Mostly grasses grow here, but the scene is still one of incredible fertility.
These grassy areas would be true havens for Alcazzar's herbivores except for one factor: the sky-shrikes. This vicious predators constantly circle over the prairies, searching for the slightest movement that might indicate the presence of something edible.
Occasionally a huge gwerrah shambles across a prairie, quite unmolested by the shrikes. Lokkuku sometimes band together carrying an array of clubs, and move across the prairie with wary eyes toward the sky. Most herbivores stay near the edges of the forests, however venturing into the grass for a quick bite, then scurrying to the shelter of the trees when the shrikes appear overhead. Sky-shrikes keep a respectful distance from all vehicles.
FORESTS
Towering to heights of 100 meters or more, the mighty karakah trees seem to declare dominance over the rest of the planet. These trees sprout from huge bases, 10 meters wide, and shoot straight upward. Long slender branches extend to the sides at about 5-meter intervals, drooping with the weight of heavy pointed needles and fat fruits.
Although the forest canopy is dense enough to practically blot out the sky, the floor is remarkably open. Visibility averages 100 meters. Many overripe fruit, as well as large, hard pits from inside the fruit, litter the ground, but no underbrush impedes progress.
The upper reaches of the forest are draped with long, supple vines, creating easy passage from tree to tree; but no vines fall within 10 meters of the ground.
Forests are the major shelters for the many herbivores on Alcazzar. The karakah fruit is sweet and nourishing, and the pits also have food value. Many hibernating creatures eat the fruit during the warm season and store a large collection of pits for winter.
Lokkuku rule the forests because they travel easily through the trees. Sky-shrikes cannot effectively break through the upper branches, and even the huge gwerrah cannot reach anything higher than 10 or 12 meters above the ground. Many of the smaller herbivores, including the gnawhares, live in burrows excavated among the karakahs' mighty roots.
MUDFLATS
This vast expanse of putrid bog seems to ooze filth and decay. The deep-pitched hum of millions of insects provides a constant drone; and in fact clouds of the creatures are swarming over the central part of the mudflat.
The mud is a rich brown colour occasionally marked by floating patches of dark green scum. Now and then, bubbles of swamp gas burst from the water, causing the already unpleasant stench to assume nauseating proportions. Every few minutes, a small creature suddenly breaks from the surface to snatch a bug from the air and quickly plop back into the mud. Despite all the activity this seems to be a place of stillness and death.
Despite their oppressive smell, mudflats offer little to threaten PCs. Hover vehicles and explorers can cross the mudflats with little difficulty. However other ground vehicles become mired quickly. After several hours, mired vehicles sink below the surface.
Characters attempting to cross the mudflats on foot will find the going very slow--much like trying to swim through pudding or mashed potatoes. The mud is dense enough that a character can lie on top of it without sinking. Travelling on foot in mudflats is so tiring that characters doing so must rest one hour for every hour they travel.
Many kinds of algae grow in the mudflats. Insects are the most common animal in the mudflats. Even fire locusts sometimes cross them. The only other creatures living in the mud are small carnivores that prey on insects, and pose no threat to PCs. However, warm water pools are scattered across the mudflats, and these pools hold many fish, including sea-shrikes.
MORAINES
Moraines are long, high hills of sand, crushed gravel, and clay, covered with a thin laver of topsoil. Alcazzar's moraines are not described in boxed text since the appearance of a moraine varies depending on whether it is in a prairie or a forest.
The moraines on Alcazzar were created by the movements of glaciers thousands of years before the setting of this adventure. Since that time, the topsoil formed and plants grew on the hills. The moraines and their origins will be obvious to any environmentalist.
The animal life on a moraine is the same as the animal life in the area around the moraine.
Explorers and characters on foot can cross moraines, but all other forms of ground transportation are stopped by the steepness of the climb.
MOUNTAINS
Sheer spines of grey and black stone rise abruptly into the sky. Traces of snow cling to the higher pinnacles, and steep, narrow gullies scar the shoulders and sides of the awesome formations. The clatter of falling rocks is a common sound here, first near then far away--erosion is a living force at work.
The steepness and height of these stone mountains is forbidding. So too, is the absence of life. Only the howling wind and the occasional crash of a rock slide disturb nature's silence here.
Any hexagon adjacent to a mountain ridge on Map 2 is considered mountainous terrain for travel purposes. The ridges themselves are impassable to all hover and ground vehicles, including explorers. Characters travelling on foot take 4d10 hours just to cross a ridge (add this time to the travel time to enter the hex on the other side of the ridge).
Rock slides are frequent in mountainous terrain. Rock slides occur as random encounters on table 10. If a rock slide occurs, each character must roll his RS or less on d100 to leap out of the way of falling rocks. Each character that fails his RS check suffers 5d10 points of damage. If a vehicle is caught in a rock slide, the driver must make a successful RS check to drive the vehicle to safety. If the driver fails his check, the vehicle suffers the result of a 3d10 roll on the Vehicle Damage Table (Expanded Game Rules, p. 32).
Sky-shrikes occasionally drift over mountains on their way from one prairie to another, but very few creatures live in the mountains. Except for some primitive lichens, even plant life is unknown to these barren reaches of cold stone.
WATER
Although most of Alcazzar is covered by water the difficulties of water-travel will probably prevent the characters from spending a lot of time afloat. Nonetheless, they may use explorers amphibiously or even construct rafts or boats, so the following guidelines are included.
Frequent storms cross the oceans, creating huge swells and crashing breakers. No vehicle short of a submarine or powerful ship can travel safely on the oceans.
The breakers smashing against the shore should convince the characters not to travel on the oceans. If they try anyway their vehicles capsize and wash ashore soon after they enter the water. Each character in a capsized explorer takes 1d10 points of damage.
The ocean floor plunges to tremendous depths in places (8,000 meters or more), but the huge lakes sometimes found in the mudflats are no deeper than 3 or 4 meters in their lowest locations. The lakes in mountain valleys often plunge to depths of 500 or 600 meters.
The current in many rivers and streams is too rapid for crossing by explorers or rafts. Most rivers are 50-300 meters wide and average four meters deep.
If the characters reach a river in explorers, there is a 50% chance that the water before them is too rough to cross safely. If they travel up or downstream 2 kilometres, they reach a quiet spot where they can cross safely.
If they attempt to cross at a rough spot each driver must roll a number equal to or less than his technician skill x10 on d100. If a driver's roll fails, his vehicle capsizes.
If the PCs inside a capsized explorer try to escape, they each suffer 1d10 points of damage and lose their rifle weapons, but manage to get to shore. The explorer on the other hand, sinks to the bottom. All equipment carried on the outside of the explorer is lost and all electronic gear inside the explorer is destroyed. The PCs must drag the explorer from the river before it can be used again.
If the PCs inside a capsized explorer shut all the hatches, the explorer floats downstream before grounding on the far bank. Characters inside the explorer suffer 1d10 points of damage. All equipment carried on the outside of the explorer is lost but the explorer and equipment inside it remain undamaged.
Characters travelling on foot can swim across rivers, but must abandon equipment they cannot tuck into their belts or backpacks, including rifles and power back-packs!
Fish are plentiful in nearly all of Alcazzar's bodies of water. Fish range from small pin-fish that subsist mainly on algae to the monstrous sea-shrikes that eat anything they can sink their teeth into.
CLIMATE EFFECTS
Alcazzar's climate and seasonal changes are very unusual because the planet barely rotates as it orbits its star, Rhianna. At any one time, 40% of the planet is in daytime/summer, another 40% is in night-time/winter, 10% is changing from summer to winter, and 10% is changing from winter to summer.
At the start of this adventure, the mining operation region, the area in Map 2, just entered high summer. This region will move into a transitional season in 3000 hours GST (150 20-hour GST days).
WINTER WEATHER
The areas of winter/night are nearly void of active animals, since Alcazzar's creatures either migrate with the more hospitable summer/day, or hibernate deep beneath the thick blanket of snow that arrives with the winter. The only active animal is the snow sloth, loping along the ??, feeding on hibernating animals whenever it can find them. (See the Alien Creatures Update File for more information about the snow sloth.)
In winter/night snow falls heavily, often at a rate of .25 meters/hour. There is a 90% chance of cloud cover, and a 50% chance of snowfall at any given time. When snow is falling, there is a 20% chance of a blizzard. During blizzards, visibility is reduced to zero, snow falls at least .25 meters/hour, winds blow at 10-100 kph, and the temperature drops to 5-50 degrees below zero, Celsius.
On those rare occasions when clouds do not blanket the winter/night region, the display of stars is stupendous. However, the absence of the insulating cloud blanket causes temperatures to plunge to anywhere from 45-90 degrees (5d10 + 40) below zero, Celsius.
The snow-cover on the planet increases as the winter passes. A snow base of 3-5 meters develops in the first wave of winter storms. By the end of the season, the snow cover increases to an average of 40 meters. Severe winters with twice this accumulation are possible.
Winter is 4,000 hours long, GST (this is equivalent to 200 20-hour GST days).
TRANSITIONAL WEATHER
The regions of the planet between the winter/night or summer/day areas are in transition, either warming (changing from winter to summer) or cooling (changing from summer to winter). In both cases, the following conditions apply.
The sky is always a dim, twilight grey. In part, the dim light is caused by Rhianna staying near the horizon. Thick, dark clouds also contribute to the grim, grey appearance.
Almost constantly, violent storms rack the land, dumping large volumes of rain or snow. Fierce winds and lighting are very common. Radio communications have only a 5% chance of succeeding in these areas, because of the great amount of electrical activity.
Transition periods last 1,000 hours GST (equivalent to 50 20-hour GST days).
Warming: In transitional areas moving from winter to summer, the snow melts at phenomenal rates. Mud flats become shallow lakes, and all streams and rivers flow with tremendous force. Nearly all of the winter's snow-cover disappears in the violent period of transition.
Cooling: As the cooling transition arrives, animals begin to enter their shelters for hibernation, or begin a panicked stampede eastward if winter starts catching up with them. The weather cools steadily and snow begins to fall frequently. Near the start of the cooling transition the snow melts shortly after hitting the ground.
SUMMER WEATHER
Like the winter, the summer/day period on Alcazzar lasts 4,000 hours GST (200 20-hour GST days). The summer/day season is usually topped with clear blue skies and the gleaming, yellow dot of Rhianna. Clouds cover the sky a mere 10% of the time in summer, and these often bring refreshing, cool rains.
Thunderstorms are common close to the transitional periods, but in high summer the weather is usually hot and calm; even the rain showers seem gentle.
Strong ocean currents carry cool water from the winter regions all over the planet so most of the summer does not become unbearably hot. The same oceans also cool the planet by reflecting a great deal of Rhianna's energy. Of course, heat does build up; at the height of the season, the average surface temperature can climb above 45 degrees Celsius.
Wildlife is plentiful and active in summer regions. A gradual eastward movement of migratory creatures is common all summer long.
MINING OPERATIONS
The facet of Alcazzar that first attracted CDC, and now Streel, was not its weather, but its vast mineral deposits, particularly heavy metals. Gold, silver, uranium, lead, copper, platinum, magnesium, and titanium were discovered at CDC's two initial test sites. The two compounds on the planet were built on those sites.
The metals are locked in bedrock, for the most part. Thus, expensive, large-scale operations are required to remove them. Many violent streams and rivers cut through the planet's mountain ranges, carrying minerals down from the mountain rock. The minerals in rivers are easier to remove, so the test sites and compounds are near rivers where they emerge from mountains.
Placer mining is the process of removing minerals from a riverbed, where they have been placed by the water over many centuries. Typical placer operations on an outpost would involve construction of a compound near a river. The compound houses a small staff and basic processing equipment. Heavy duty robots perform the actual mining. When environmental protection laws are not in effect--and they usually aren't on a newly discovered world--these robots systematically excavate long sections of a riverbed, carrying the raw material to the compound for processing.
On a world as rich as Alcazzar, placer mining can produce anywhere from 1,000 to 100,000 (d100 x 1,000) credits worth of metal gathered every 20 hours. Of course, transport, processing, and personnel costs bite into this; but the profits are still substantial. However, setting up a mining operation costs around 5,000,000 credits and average daily operating costs are between 1,000 and 10,000 credits. Even if the capital can be raised, the risks of claim-jumpers and other thieves are formidable. All in all, mining a wilderness world is a very risky operation.
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