Evergloom; World Specifications

Hey! :) I'm working on a project that I plan to submit to the
webzine in the future and was hoping to get some feedback from the
community about the world/system (details listed below). Any feedback would be greatly appriciated! Thanks! Rollo ********************* System Brief: System: Starfall Habitable World: Evergloom (a moon orbiting a gas giant) Moons: None Star: Yellow Total # of planets in the system: 17 Artificial Satellites: None Gravity: .5 g Length of Day: 33 hours Length of Year: 404 days Prevalent Race: None Population: None Trade: None Evergloom is a very large tidally locked moon - the largest of five - that orbit’s a gas giant; the fourth planet from the system's yellow star. The core of Evergloom is heated via friction generated as a result of the massive tidal forces exerted upon the moon by the orbits of the other moons and by the gas giant itself. On the surface of the moon these forces manifest as a tidal pumping action that works much the same as ocean tides, except this affects the entire crust of the moon! Therefore, the very ground ascends and recedes continuously over the course of a full day. This natural cycle can be observed with time-lapse video and would make the planet appear to be breathing! This tidal pumping is slow and continuous (not seismically violent), raising the moon’s surface on average, about 62 meters during the day and then receding 62 meters during the night. Due to the high degree of volcanism on Evergloom, the atmosphere is thick, continuously cloudy and the stink of sulfur is obvious, though not overpowering. The atmosphere is breathable by human standards without any kind of oxygen supply or filtration equipment, but only just. The closer one gets to any active volcano or vent the more such artificial breathing aids will be needed. This thick cloud layer accomplishes two things. First it acts as a buffer, trapping heat generated from the tidal forces exerted upon the moon. Second it severely mutes any light that reaches the moon from the system's star thereby leaving Evergloom in a constant state of twilight during the daytime. Night on Evergloom is a murky darkness that easily surpasses the darkest night that can be experienced here on Earth and stars are somewhat obscured by the thick clouds. Aside from giving the moon the mechanism it needs to create warmth and thereby, sustain life, there are a couple of stunningly beautiful aspects of this thick atmosphere coupled with the volcanic activity. Evergloom’s orbit brings it close (in a relative way of course) to it’s parent gas giant. This proximity places the moon just within an intense radiation belt surrounding the much larger gas giant that bathes Evergloom with energized ions. This helps to strip away several tons per minute of volcanic ejecta spewed into the atmosphere and effectively vent the moon. A side effect of this process allows some of the more energetic sulfur and oxygen ions to tumble along the moon’s magnetic field and back into the atmosphere, resulting in very dramatic, colorful and active auroras during the day and night (though they are somewhat diminished during the day). As well, the ionically charged atmosphere acts as an electrical generator as it passes through the gas giant’s magnetic field resulting in fantastic electrical discharges that zigzag routinely through the cloud layer. These effects can be seen from space, giving the moon a shimmering, iridescent appearance. Also due to the high degree of world-wide volcanism, common volcanic landscapes are prevalent. Such features include lava lakes and rivers near active volcanoes, hot springs (of varying degrees of heat from lukewarm to boiling), acid rain, predictable and unpredictable geysers, ash ’snow’ storms, carbon monoxide ’dead’ zones and the occasional pyroclastic flow. Even though Evergloom exists in a state of constant twilight and darkness it is not a cold world. The warmth generated through friction and subsequently trapped by the greenhouse effect of the thick atmosphere keeps the moon very warm. The moon has vast black sand deserts circumnavigating it at the equator. The moon sports average temperatures of about +27C (+80F) along the equatorial zone, with average summer temperatures of +49C (+120F) and +24C (+75F) over the rest of the moon, with average summer temperatures of +35C (+95F). Winter lasts all of three months on Evergloom, with summer taking up the rest of the year - there is no spring or fall to speak of. The climate on Evergloom is nearly the same on a global scale; arid, warm and desert-like. The climatic extremes that will be encountered will primarily be experienced along the equator which is comprised of vast unforgiving harsh deserts (similar in harshness to the Sahara without all the sunshine). The vast majority of the moon’s surface is comprised of arid scrub-land similar in nature to parts of South Africa, stretching away from the equator and extending all the way to the poles. Evergloom has no oceans, only land-locked seas were the water table rises to the surface. There are small (no more than 5m in width and about 2m in depth) rivers that have formed due to ground water bubbling to the surface and creating a world-wide series of ‘sinks’ and ‘rises’ where rivers suddenly bubble out of the ground, flow for a few kilometers and then disappear back underground, only to repeat the process several kilometers later. These rivers tend to follow old lava tubes and are occasionally broken by large inland seas or lakes. In areas where these rivers have dried up or have changed course, smooth lava tube caverns can be found that sometimes stretch for kilometers - but always tend to stay close to the surface. These caverns can be extremely dangerous places as many of the planet’s more dangerous fauna tend to inhabit such caves. Aside from the dangers presented by the local animals, cave-ins would also present a serious danger. In areas where old, dry river beds exist it is also common to find sinkholes that descend down to the riverbeds below. These make excellent access and egress points for native fauna (especially the nightwings, discussed in more detail below). Because much of the moisture on the planet is locked up in underground reservoirs, Evergloom is a very dry planet. It doesn’t rain much (the average annual rainfall measures about 12.7cm (5in) in the equatorial zone and about 129cm (20in) over the rest of the planet). Rainfall along the equator is a very rare event, happening on average but once a year. The rest of the world enjoys much more rainfall, but when compared to a single rain event per year, that is not saying much. Evergloom is 27% water, all of which has an acidic pH value to at least some degree. Some pools of water that can be found on Evergloom are acidic enough to actually be dangerous to interact with and can cause acid burns (perhaps 10% of the available water on the moon will be acidic enough to be dangerous). These water sources are usually standing water sources that are located very near volcanic action or might actually be inside of dormant volcanic craters (crater lakes). The pH of such volcanic crater lakes can reach a value of 0.1. For comparison, battery acid has a pH of 1.0 and common manufactured drinks have pH values as low as 2.5. The acid in question when dealing with volcanism is sulfuric acid. The GM should assume that damage should not be applied from such acidic water sources unless the pH value (determined by the GM) is 1.0 or less. If the GM decides that a specific water source is to be acidic in nature (assume at this point that that means pH of 1.0 or less) then the GM should assign an acidic severity to the water source; mild, strong or severe. Mild Exposure: Apply 1 point of damage per turn of exposure followed by 1d10 turns of additional damage (at 1 point/turn) after exposure (assuming the clothing of the PC that was exposed is not designed for volcanic protection - this will simulate acid-saturated cloth clinging to the body and continuing to burn). Strong Exposure: Apply 2 points of damage per turn of exposure followed by 1d10 turns of additional damage (at 2 points/turn) after exposure. Severe Exposure: Apply 3 point of damage per turn of exposure followed by 1d10 turns of additional damage (at 3 points/turn) after exposure Simply rinsing the exposed area(s) with copious amounts of water can cease any further damage. A minimum of 2 liters of water must be used per exposure to a body part/single area to stop any further damage. A minimum of 4 liters of water must be used to rise a whole body. Similarly a dose of Salgel can be used to halt acid damage. In general, water found farther away from volcanic action will not be as acidic and will likely be potable. Most bodies of water on the moon are crystal clear in nature with no discernable turbidity (unless polluted by ash fallout from a nearby volcano). The clean, sandy nature of the soil is largely responsible for this. In addition to being a dry, shrubby moon (on a world-wide scale vegetation is mostly comprised of shrubs - no large arboreal forests), Evergloom has many active volcanoes. Though much of the topography is flat, it is often broken by large mountain ranges, huge dunes and solidified lava outcroppings. The soil of Evergloom is exclusively comprised of jet-black, volcanic sand which adds to the gloomy nature of the moon. Because of this extremely harsh climate, life on Evergloom has adapted into very deadly forms. Predators are extremely powerful so that they can bring down their prey with minimal effort, thereby expending minimal resources. Or they hunt in groups to make up for their lack of power. Similarly, many creatures have developed exceptionally deadly poisons for the same reason; to bring prey down quickly with a minimum of effort. Curiously creatures on Evergloom are generally small to mid-sized; with the largest specimens being less than 200kg and with the vast majority of fauna being less than 100kg in size.

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