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i've done a bunch of research on volcanic eruptions and ashclouds/falls, for chaos earth. enough so i'm thinking of writing a set of guidelines/rules for trying to traverse a volcanish ash landscape, in the same vein as the cold weather rules in WB20 canada. CE doesn't have this stuff (why i do not know, you'd think you'd want to include stuff on ash, and on cold weather, in a game set in a freezing volcanic winter.. *shrug*)

however before i start, i figured i should ask around and find out if a book already had anything like this. specifically "breathing during ashfall", "moving through fallen ash (dry and wet)", and "health issues coming from ashfalls"

These may or may not help, but they come to mind in what has come before in terms of environmental conditions like this:
-Robotech (1E) REF Field Guide (information is NOT in Return of the Masters Revised) in the Factory Satellite Random Tables for the environment might help (pg124 REF FG)
-Elemental Magic spells (Palladium Fantasy 2E, Rifts Book of Magic): Cloud of Ash, Stench of Hades (maybe), Mist of Death (maybe), Miasma (maybe)
-The Alien Generation Tables (HU2E, Rifts DB2, probably a few more) might offer some guidance, possibly even the solar system generation table (DB5)
-Palladium Fantasy: Mount Nimro (might have information buried in it, it is a volcano IINM)
-Rifts WB2 pg10 (might also be repeated in WB7) one of the entries on the random table is for flaming ash

The only thing that comes to mind is the Hades dimension book.

Petty tyrants thrive when they have authority backed by vague regulations.

ShadowLogan wrote:These may or may not help, but they come to mind in what has come before in terms of environmental conditions like this:
-Robotech (1E) REF Field Guide (information is NOT in Return of the Masters Revised) in the Factory Satellite Random Tables for the environment might help (pg124 REF FG)

does not have ash, but does have toxic air of various forms, which might be useful for another part of the project.

-Elemental Magic spells (Palladium Fantasy 2E, Rifts Book of Magic): Cloud of Ash, Stench of Hades (maybe), Mist of Death (maybe), Miasma (maybe)

didn't get a chance to check all of these yet, but Cloud of Ash might be helpful. not quite what i was thinking (it appears to be more of a dense cloud of burning ash from like a fire, as opposed to the cold ash from a distant volcano) but the penalties should help give me a guide for some of the stuff i need.

-The Alien Generation Tables (HU2E, Rifts DB2, probably a few more) might offer some guidance, possibly even the solar system generation table (DB5)

alien generator from HU/AU isn't much help, since it is mainly about bonuses for a character, but not a bad idea to look there. will check for other versions in different books in case another book has a bit more info.

-Palladium Fantasy: Mount Nimro (might have information buried in it, it is a volcano IINM)

checked it. good suggestion. doesn't have stuff on ash per say, so much as traversing both old and recent lavafields, but should help me figure out what i need.. and i might include the "recent volcano" stuff in this set of rules for completeness, since chaos earth certainly has more than a few of those.

-Rifts WB2 pg10 (might also be repeated in WB7) one of the entries on the random table is for flaming ash

good catch. big chunks of flaming ash, so not exactly what i was thinking, but will be useful to represent pyroclastic debris near an active eruption, so will add it to the list for the "being near an active volcano" parts.

The Beast wrote:The only thing that comes to mind is the Hades dimension book.

i'm afraid i don't have that one yet, and with my budget might not be able to get it anytime soon.
will talk to friends i know who do have it and see if they would be willing to check and transcribe.



all decent suggestions, though as i kind of suspected, cold ashfalls of the sort most places in CE see (where it has cooled and is falling like snow and dust to cover the ground) is probably not detailed. but between these and the snow rules in WB20 i can probably figure it out. especially since i think i saw rules for Mud in WB20 as well, which would could certainly represent flows of wet ash before it solidifies.

it also looks like i can bodge something together for being near an active volcano (useful) and for being near burning buildings, forests, etc. (also very useful for an apocalyptic setting)

You may also want to check Rifts Dinosaur Swamp for dealing with hazardous terrain (clogging air filters, etc.), and Canada (enough ash fall can act like snow).

The new Dead Reign book has stats for all sorts of natural disasters, including
Volcanic Eruption.

dragonfett wrote:You may also want to check Rifts Dinosaur Swamp for dealing with hazardous terrain (clogging air filters, etc.), and Canada (enough ash fall can act like snow).

already did WB20 (i typed up the snow and arctic weather rules, with minor changes to make them less region and time period specific.) since chaos earth is also a time of freezing cold (massively bad volcanic winter due to all the eruptions.)
i'll look at Dinosaur swamp, i had forgotten it had rules for things like how fast filters can get clogged.

Reagren Wright wrote:The new Dead Reign book has stats for all sorts of natural disasters, including
Volcanic Eruption.

shoot, another one i don't have.

While I don't think there are hard rules, I seem to recall in a Rifts Book (I want to say Source Book 1 Revised, which is one I don't have but have borrowed in the past from elsewhere, but am not 100% certain) a blurb about conditions grounding SAMAS units due to the Super Volcano's eruption. Some of the "history" bits for Rifts might also have something to pointing to general outcomes if not hard rules.