Too many Amber zones?

[tjoneslo]

I would suggest the following addition:

Environmental hazard - Geological - The world has an active geological feature such as an unstable crust or volcanic feature or other feature.

E.H. - Atmospheric

E.H. - Temperature

One thing here is that there are many worlds where there are dangerous atmospheres, volcanoes, temperatures way outside of human habitable norms, biospheres with dangerous animals, plants, or microbes, etc. Without being amber zones. The descriptions for both Environmental and Biologic hazards needs to an unexpected change, one that the local government and population is unable to handle.

So, for example, an E.H. - Temperature amber zone isn't just that the temperature is out of human habitable range, but it has recently changed in a way that the locals didn't expect and haven't compensated for.

 

[GypsyComet]

In the spirit of not overthinking, I would consider an EH-Temperature rating for a world off the chart (or at its edge) for available forms of protection, or which can reach those limits without warning. Essentially, a particular form of Atmosphere C.

Worlds under extreme tidal stress, like Io but with a broader range of molten materials, might also qualify. Like one of the pivotal worlds in Sheffield's Heritage Universe books, a world like this is capable of simply eating a visitor, but may be traversed safely with some caution. Most of the time.

 

[aramis]

Grammar, folks! It saves lives! Which is funny considering I put "to" instead of "too" in the title line of this thread.

I fixed it for you.

 

[GoblynByte]

I fixed it for you.

You rock!

 

[robject]

Are you using one of the variant DM sets for atmosphere, water, and people? The "Space Opera" and "Hard Science" variants in the main book can really change the feel of a subsector.

I'd like to see examples of subsectors created using these variants.

 

[GypsyComet]

One quick indicator that the Space Opera/Hard SF variant rules are in use is the presence of small worlds (3 and 4) with Exotic atmosphere (code A).

A more subtle effect is a "death spiral" that sends marginal and hostile worlds to the bottom of the heap for population, port, and tech. If you want high pop, well-appointed shirtsleeve worlds separated by large tracts of marginal detritus and the occasional lucky off-spec, these are the rules for you.