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Ellye
2010-08-11, 09:55 AM
I'm preparing a homebrew system specific to a certain campaign that I'll be DMing. One of the main characteristics of said campaign is that the players will be almost the whole time in Antarctica.

So the system need ways to deal with cold weather hazards. The campaign has a realistic style and present-day technology. I'm researching what kind of harm can cold do to the body, how fast, how much protection does proper equipments can give, and what actions, if any, can be made to reduce or revert harm done by cold.

As a side issue, Antarctica also has a pretty high average elevation (the highest one among all continents), and is as dry as any desert. So stuff related to this also may interest me. As do any interesting info you might have to share regarding that continent. Stuff regarding the North Pole might also be a bit useful.

Any help is appreciated, thanks in advance!

Edit: Oh, and of course, there's also the issue of the "permanent" sunlight followed by "permanent" night (polar day and polar night). I'm also researching what effects this have on humans, any help is also greatly appreciated.

Yora
2010-08-11, 10:22 AM
For D&D 3rd Edition, there's the book "Frostburn", which has an extensive section on these things.

I think the major dangers of cold are hypothermia and frostbite. There's also snow blindness.

Psyx
2010-08-11, 10:36 AM
Frostburn is actually worth a look, even though it's not for your system.

Other than that: Google, I guess.


The main issues off the top of my head will be:

Cold - Obviously wearing lots of clothing designed for it gets around this. But then you suffer agility penalties and huge dexterity penalties. Taking your gloves off in a storm for 'a minute' might be too long!

Windchill (far worse than just being cold) - Takes the temperature down to horrible levels.

Heat - With all those layers on, do something hard, and you'll be drenched in sweat and overheating, unless the situation is managed.

Visibility/perception - snowstorms or even just the wind whipping up snow can take the visibility to zero. Sunny days can result in snow blindness without tinted goggles. Snow goggles will hamper perception, and big hoods will kill peripheral vision and reduce hearing. Darkness will... be dark. And don't bet on any NVGs functioning in that weather.

Drying off if you get wet. If you don't dry off... you die.

Body armour - Laugh at characters who want to wear full protective wear and body armour. They will suffer huge penalties to agility.

Reliability of equipment - Lots of stuff will stop working. Most electronics are not designed to function at that temperature, batteries may play up and 'normal' lubricants freeze. Firearms and other devices need special low-temperature lubrication. Tin suffers from tin-disease and basically falls apart, and many other materials will not perform as expected/normal. The low temperature can play havoc with devices with very fine mechanical tolerances due to shrinkage. PCs will need to have stuff designed to work there. Maybe increase the price of everything across the board to represent the required reliability.

Food. You need an ungodly number of calories to keep active and warm. Early explorers had to have a massively high-fat diet to stay alive. We're talking at least 6000 K/cal per day. You can forget foraging, so all this vast amount of food will need to be stored. Historically; sled dogs were typically eaten en route.

Movement: walking in snow is tiring. Vehicles break. Skis aren't always viable, depending on the surface. Dog-sledges are still a good way to travel, but you need someone who can look after them. Snow-mobiles and stuff need fuel and if the engines get cold overnight, they might not start again. All-terrain vehicles... aren't. Some terrain is impassable.

Oh: I'd recommend taking a look at the Top Gear special where they drove to the North Pole. There'll be some good stuff on there to inspire you as regards the difficulties faced.

Ellye
2010-08-11, 10:55 AM
Thanks for the tips, people. I think I will be reading Frostburn again too, I've read it once but it was a long while ago.

Lysander
2010-08-11, 11:12 AM
In addition to cold you should also consider the dangers of walking on glaciers. Thin ice might break underfoot, sending the unlucky person into a hidden cave who knows how far down. Chasms might require either huge detours to cross, perilous jumps, or dangerous rope crossings. Irregular terrain might require difficult climbs or slow walking.

Oh and a commonly forgotten fact that bugs me sometimes: Antarctica does not have polar bears. It has penguins.

Kaww
2010-08-11, 11:25 AM
Food. You need an ungodly number of calories to keep active and warm. Early explorers had to have a massively high-fat diet to stay alive. We're talking at least 6000 K/cal per day. You can forget foraging, so all this vast amount of food will need to be stored. Historically; sled dogs were typically eaten en route.


Only case of which I am familiar was Amundsen. Humans eat anything when hungry enough (including other people).

Think of dangers that are possible with snow covering chasms, ditches etc. (fun memories from skiing trips :smallbiggrin:)

And, as said, Frostburn.

subject42
2010-08-11, 11:31 AM
A few quick things, based on my northern travels:

Food is a big deal, not only because you need a lot, like the poster above mentioned, but because you need food that you can actually eat. That tuna fish sandwich isn't going to be terribly helpful when it's frozen solid enough to use it as a building material.

There are very few foods that are actually consumable in antarctic conditions "out of the tin". Chocolate is one of them. True pemmican can work if you keep it inside your layers, but then you have to risk exposing yourself to the elements to get it out. Another alternative to to make sure that you have a heat source, like a camp stove or a self-cooking MRE, but even those will have problems when the cold leaches the heat away

You're going to need to have access to fuel if you want to stay down there. There isn't a nearby propane store nearby and foraging for wood is completely out of the question. Without fuel, you're without heat. Without heat, you're in trouble.

As another small note, you should look up "Paradoxical Undressing". It's an odd behavior that occurs when people have extreme cases of hypothermia. I learned about it once in a search and rescue class.

Caliphbubba
2010-08-11, 11:35 AM
don't know how much this will really help you but the short story

To Build a Fire by Jack London might help you create the sense of urgency and despair you might feel in a situation when you are freezing to death. I haven't read that story for 20 years, and I still remember how creepy and desperate the mood of it is.

http://www.jacklondons.net/buildafire.html

Ellye
2010-08-12, 09:44 AM
Thanks again, all great help. And I'll be sure to read this short story as soon as possible, that's the kind of feeling I'm hoping to achieve.

ericgrau
2010-08-12, 10:45 AM
Weather: http://www.d20srd.org/srd/weather.htm
Cold: http://www.d20srd.org/srd/environment.htm#coldDangers