Non OTU: Activity Ideas for Exploration Campaign

[selunatic2397]

My player has been tasked with checking out all the odd discrepencies on his last characters independant survey of the marches...

He was hired by GLIPS, and was told that over 521 masters and 387 doctoral thesis' are at stake here...near constant badgering by hordes of future hopeful professors all wanting thier spotchecks done NOW!

His initial statement was..."Did I screw up my surveys that bad??? I was using my JOT 1 and I had a real scout ship!

Then he rolled an 11 on his admin skill to bump up his pay scale and was much happier.

I used one of our much wiser members [Whipsnade, I believe] suggestion and now have at least the rest of this players natural life to clear up his last characters failings.

 

[Frankymole]

A planet with equally attractive mineral and ecological surveys could lead to some grand Western-style prospector versus rancher claim scenarios, especially if the Big Boys get involved (maybe acting surreptitiously through proxies and infiltrators) so lots of nasty violent espionage / sabotage scenarios present themselves.

 

[Enoki]

Gravitational, magnetic, or other physical variations in major proportions.
For example an extreme magnetic field that polarizes the atmosphere (aka Northern Lights) and is so strong that you cannot carry any item that is magnetic with you and electronics won't work or are fried.

Gravitational variations on a local scale causing weight shifts or things like projectile weapons to have curved trajectories in odd and unexpected directions.

Or, a world where the land masses are sufficiently lighter than the underlying oceanic water that they essentially float and move easily causing them to change location with the current. The party goes to sleep in the tropics and wakes up freezing to death in the arctic...

 

[aramis]

Gravitational, magnetic, or other physical variations in major proportions.
For example an extreme magnetic field that polarizes the atmosphere (aka Northern Lights) and is so strong that you cannot carry any item that is magnetic with you and electronics won't work or are fried.

Actually, the Northern Lights (and southern, as well) are ionized due to inflowing solar wind following the magnetic fields, not so much because of the magnetic field itself. They can only occur where the overall magnetic field poles are; localized disruptions won't do it.

 

[Carlobrand]

...Or, a world where the land masses are sufficiently lighter than the underlying oceanic water that they essentially float and move easily causing them to change location with the current. The party goes to sleep in the tropics and wakes up freezing to death in the arctic...

That's one viciously fast ocean current.

 

[Enoki]

Actually, the Northern Lights (and southern, as well) are ionized due to inflowing solar wind following the magnetic fields, not so much because of the magnetic field itself. They can only occur where the overall magnetic field poles are; localized disruptions won't do it.

Imagine a planet with multiple poles and very strong magnetic fields. You could then have local disruptions not to mention a compass or the like being worthless.

 

[aramis]

Imagine a planet with multiple poles and very strong magnetic fields. You could then have local disruptions not to mention a compass or the like being worthless.

You really can't generate more than 1 N and 1 S by current understood physics. It's the rotation/circulation of the molten metal core which generates the magnetic field.

 

[Enoki]

You really can't generate more than 1 N and 1 S by current understood physics. It's the rotation/circulation of the molten metal core which generates the magnetic field.

o:
Why not? If you have multiple circulating currents of molten iron and masses of stationary iron you will have multiple magnetic fields. It certainly isn't beyond the realm of possibility any more than a fluid world would have multiple ocean currents.

 

[atpollard]

o:
Why not? If you have multiple circulating currents of molten iron and masses of stationary iron you will have multiple magnetic fields. It certainly isn't beyond the realm of possibility any more than a fluid world would have multiple ocean currents.

Just taking a WAG, but if the world did have a core like an egg with two yolks (two solid balls) and by some strange circumstance each ball had its own molten current around it generating a different magnetic field (which I think is a problem in itself because the rotation generates the flow, so how do you get multiple rotations) ... will not the positive and negative poles of the two cores/flows tend to attract each other and draw them together into one core/flow?

 

[aramis]

Just taking a WAG, but if the world did have a core like an egg with two yolks (two solid balls) and by some strange circumstance each ball had its own molten current around it generating a different magnetic field (which I think is a problem in itself because the rotation generates the flow, so how do you get multiple rotations) ... will not the positive and negative poles of the two cores/flows tend to attract each other and draw them together into one core/flow?

That's my understanding.

The only way I can see multiple core rotations is shortly after a violent impact... but in that case, the surface makes any aurora not able to be appreciated for lack of a non-glowing surface.

 

[Carlobrand]

o:
Why not? If you have multiple circulating currents of molten iron and masses of stationary iron you will have multiple magnetic fields. It certainly isn't beyond the realm of possibility any more than a fluid world would have multiple ocean currents.

I understand there are some slight local variations in the Earth's magnetic field owing to those currents, variations in intensity and something called inclination and declination, which I don't really understand well.

What might you be able to do if you could play with those fields? If you had the tech to manipulate the magma flow over long periods, perhaps even induce a multiple core rotation, could you use it for anything besides colorful light shows and restoring protective fields to dead planets?

 

[Enoki]

Just taking a WAG, but if the world did have a core like an egg with two yolks (two solid balls) and by some strange circumstance each ball had its own molten current around it generating a different magnetic field (which I think is a problem in itself because the rotation generates the flow, so how do you get multiple rotations) ... will not the positive and negative poles of the two cores/flows tend to attract each other and draw them together into one core/flow?

You have one core that is semi-solid surrounded by a fluid layer of nickel-iron. Say you have two or three satellites (moons) and these influence the liquid layer such that you have movement similar to ocean currents.
Since these currents are multiple you end up with more than one magnetic field. Sure, they interact but they could do so much like coils in an electric motor do. They can aid or oppose each other and if they are "random" you end up with multiple magnetic fields with multiple poles.

 

[aramis]

You have one core that is semi-solid surrounded by a fluid layer of nickel-iron. Say you have two or three satellites (moons) and these influence the liquid layer such that you have movement similar to ocean currents.
Since these currents are multiple you end up with more than one magnetic field. Sure, they interact but they could do so much like coils in an electric motor do. They can aid or oppose each other and if they are "random" you end up with multiple magnetic fields with multiple poles.

that fluid layer will either be isolated pockets (and thus not circulating) or be dragged into a single current by friction.

The solid core, for what it's worth, won't have a magnetic field of note, a few milligauss at most; it's the moving fluid metal that generates the magnetic field.