rust

For sea trading I once used the rules from the Pilot's Almanac

for the Harnmaster game, and it worked quite well.

So my idea for a Diving Spot Rule for my setting now looks like this:

A diver has to make a skill roll at the beginning and at the end of each dive.

Additional skill rolls during the dive depend on the specific situation. Scuba

divers use the Swim skill, hardsuit divers use the Hardsuit Diving skill.

A Failure always leads to a result on the Diving Mishap Table.[and forces the

diver to end the dive and to return to the surface - deleted.] Other conse-

quences of a Failure depend on the specific situation.

A Fumble always leads to a dangerous and potentially lethal result from the

Diving Mishap Table. The problem can only be solved with the help of another

diver, who has to succeed with a skill roll, for example Hardsuit Diving or Re-

pair (Marine Systems). A Fumble makes additional dives on the same day im-

possible. Other consequences of a Fumble depend on the specific situation.

A Fumble at the end of a scuba dive results in the risk of decompression sick-

ness. The diver has to succeed with a Stamina roll or has to receive medical

care within 2D6-2 hours. If the diver arrives at the hospital in time, he will

have to stay there for a number of days equivalent to the number of points

by which he missed his Stamina roll. If the diver does not arrive at the hospi-

tal in time, the number of days he has to stay at the hospital is doubled.

Hmm, to be honest, I'm surprised the colonists don't make their colony a little more buoyant. At 10-25m or so they could avoid all that nastiness. Lower a pressuring diving bell, elevator to work crews on the bottom (or send down robots). But then, if they were sane, they wouldn't be colonists.

The reason is the weather. On a planet without continents to slow down and weaken

hurricanes, storms can get both very common and quite powerful, and the surface

region of the ocean - down to several dozen meters - is not a good place to be du-

ring such a storm. Besides, with aquaculture, mining and most other activities happe-

ning on the seafloor, it seems logical to have the habitat nearby, especially since a

seafloor habitat also has the advantage to keep the most vital and dangerous parts,

like the fission reactor, safe underground.

As for decompression, I see the colonists' scuba gear as including sophisticated com-

puters, HUDs for their face masks and short range sonar communicators, so that the

diving computer can warn a diver with both acoustic and visual signals whenever he

returns to the surface too fast.

Therefore a mistake on the way back to the surface should be rare, the result of an

equipment malfunction or a really serious diver problem, for example panic. So in my

view a fumbled skill roll is a good way to simulate this, while a failure would mean a

comparatively minor problem only - for example the lost tool Thalaba mentioned.

I think that decompression sickness should be painful and disabling, but not lethal,

given the medical equipment of the setting. Oxygen will be available wherever divers

work, and a decompression chamber usually not very far away.

I like the 2D6-2 to give the diver a "chance" for a cinematic collapse. And I think I

will use the result of the failed stamina roll as the number of days the character has

to spend under medical supervision (e.g. at the hospital), with each point the roll

is missed by as one day in hospital, and if he is not delivered to the hospital in time

(during the 2D6-2 hours) the number of days at the hospital are doubled.

My current idea of the consequences of a failed Stamina roll after a fumbled

Diving skill roll for the return to the surface would be a time limit to take the

diver to a medical facility with a decompression chamber, for example the 2 D6

hours used in the Call of Cthulhu rules.

I have meanwhile decided to use most of the CoC rules for scuba diving

that Atgxtg mentioned (thank you again ).

They include a skill roll for the safe return to the surface, and I think that

a Fumble with this roll could force the diver to make a Stamina roll or suffer

from The Bends.

This could consider both the fact that he needs some diving skill to know

how to handle desompression and the fact that someone with a higher

CON is less likely to suffer severe damage from The Bends.

hope that helps

Thank you very much, it helps a lot.

Reading through the many good ideas on this thread:

- the risk for The Bends while scuba diving will be based on CON and not connected to the skill roll,

- a Fumble with scuba or hardsuit diving will lead to a result on a mishap table,

- the DEX penalty for the hardsuits will be reduced to -5 % / - 10 %.

Yep, thank you all, now I have an idea how to handle this. :thumb:

Thank you very much for your ideas.

It seems to me that underwater adventure will be something of a feature for this setting. In that case I would say that it deserves a little more punch than simply using the swim skill. There's a lot more to scuba diving than just swimming ...

I agree, but in my setting scuba diving will be somewhat rare, because the colony's facilities are about

200 meters below the ocean surface, which makes hardsuit diving the far more common form of diving.

Therefore I am uncertain whether very detailed rules for scuba diving really are a good idea.

For fumbles, I would make a separate Diving Mishap Table with maybe 10 items on it ...

A very good idea.

It seems that I will need some Spot Rules for Diving for my Varun setting, but I am

still undecided how to handle this, and so I would be very interested in your opini-

ons.

For Scuba Diving I could use the Swim rules from the BRP core rulebook, perhaps

with the addition that a Fumble includes a risk to get "The Bends" because of a

too fast return to the surface. I am currently thinking of a chance equivalent to

a failed Stamina roll (CON x 5).

Looking at the diving rules from GURPS Transhuman Space - Under Pressure, such

rules could obviously be much more complex (they cover several pages there), but

I doubt that this would really improve the game in my case.

For Hardsuit Diving, I have currently two different types of hardsuits in my setting.

The Mk. I weighs 230 kg, costs 25,000 Credits, has 12 AP and is sufficient for a

depth of 300 meters, the Mk. II weighs 280 kg, costs 40,000 Credits, has 16 AP

and is sufficient for a depth of 600 meters. Both were designed with GURPS and

then converted.

Although both suits are powered, I think they should reduce the DEX based skills of

the diver wearing them, but I am not sure about the size of the penalty. Currently I

tend towards -10 % for the Mk. I and -20 % for the Mk. II.

The next problem would be the Fumble for Hardsuit Diving. In my view it should be

a very serious equipment failure, something that would kill the diver unless he is

saved by his "buddy" (divers in my setting never dive alone), with the "buddy" ha-

ving to succeed in either a Repair (Marine Systems) or Hardsuit Diving roll, what-

ever is his better skill.

Well, that are my thoughts so far. What do you think ?

Thank you.

Just to let you know that the Varun setting is still alive and doing well ...

Meanwhile it has reached a volume of 76 pages of text plus 12 maps and charts, but

much of this are descriptions of spaceships and other items of technology or stats

of nonplayer characters and creatures, the details of the planet Varun and the cul-

ture of the colonists are still not complete.

A couple of spot rules are also still missing, especially those for diving and activities

under water, where I am still unable to decide how much detail these rules should

have. On the one hand I want to give the players a feeling of what life under the

conditions of a water world is like, on the other hand I do not want to make any ru-

les so complex that they get in front of the story.

I have started with the Campaign Plan, basically a description of the various back-

ground events that will influence the situation on Varun, from "news from afar" to

"strange visitors", and also sketched a few outlines for adventures the characters

might get into during their work for the colony's council.

As usual for my settings, this one is also a "sandbox", and the players are free to

decide what their characters will do, so the adventure outlines consist mostly of

descriptions of specific locations with the persons and / or creatures to be found

there, but without a pre-planned plot.

Yep, that's where I am at the moment.

Not really a bug, just an idea based upon the fact that I am somewhat lazy:

If one could access the "What's New ?" page of the forum without having to

log in, one could take a look at the new posts and then decide whether to

log in ...

I've noticed effects like this when I run the site in a reduced window. When I have it full screen it's OK. Could that be the issue?

My Internet Explorer 8 has no problems with a reduced window.

Thank you very much, I will add it to the list.

Um... just so I don't look completely stupid here. Is the rather ugly v bulletin format what I'm meant to be seeing at the moment. Or has the software upgrade been completed and I'm not seeing what I'm meant to be seeing ?

What I see looks like this:

(PS: How come it says "Voters:8" when 11 votes have been cast?)

As I mentioned, it is a multiple choice poll, and I voted for both "Unhappy" and "Turtles" ...

Thank you very much, I will do so.

Edit.:

This here about Korea is also quite interesting:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kisaeng

Why, are they rude?

It seems that "caldaia" is a general Italian word for "cauldron".

In that light, there's little point voting Unhappy/Turtles, imho.

I would have voted Pyraea, but did not because of the combination with Pyraxleflat, which is un-

pronounciable or at least sounds terrible in German, so I went for Unhappy.

And since it is a multiple choice poll I added Turtles, I really like them, especially the marine ones ...

Thank you very much for your ideas.

The BoEF goes a bit too far in a "sexual direction" for my players' taste, I think.

I intend to handle the Courtesan characters more like another character type

with high social skills, many contacts and some indirect influence, but without an

agenda like the Politician's political aims or the Priest's religious obligations.

My setting is rather science and technology heavy, with lots of Engineers and

Scientists and other "technological" professions and comparatively few profes-

sions that are not focussed on such skills, so I think a plausible and colourful

social profession could enrich it a bit.

Thank you very much for your ideas.

Isn't cider just apple-beer?

Apple-Beer :eek:

I once used that word beyond the Hessian border. This is why there are those Wanted

posters ("Preferably Dead - Otherwise torture before, during and after arrest.") in all

Hessian towns, and their armed forces have this "Shoot on Sight" order ... :shocked:

The (generally) girls are registered by the government, are employees with typical employee benefits or contractors and health checks are compulsory.

This is what I have in mind for my setting, with the difference that prostitution there is also a profession that usually

requires at least a basic training in some relevant non-sexual skills. Once prostitution is legal and a "honourable" pro-

fession, as it has been in many cultures throughout history, there is no more connection with crime than in any of

the other professions.

However, at least in my language there also would be no more "red light districts", this term is strongly associated

with crime in German.

Regarding skills, perhaps massage?

Thank you, a very good idea.

Welcome back, smilies, nice to see you again - I hope you are here to stay.

I'm a cider drinker from Somerset ...

Cider is the specialty of our northern neighbours, the Hessians, who produce an excellent

"Äppelwoi" (= "apple wine"), although for my taste many varieties are a bit too sour, bor-

dering on apple vinegar.

Where are they going to put those 10,000 head or all that wheat on Varun? :confused:

Cows and wheat would surely cause no serious ecological problem on Varun, but those "Terra-

formers" could instead introduce something like the algae that are currently ruining much of

the Mediterranean, together with the crabs from Asia that have conquered the Barents Sea

- easier to transport than wheat and cows, but just as dangerous to an ecosystem.

Why wouldn't those devout Hindu (or Muslim, or Sikh) colonists simply bring their wives (or husbands), who naturally are also mission specialists?

From what I see of young, well trained professionals of any nationality, it seems that

no more than half of them are married at age 30, so I think this kind of personnel

could be considered essential, too.