(TFT) Terain

["Jay Carlisle" <selfinflicted_wounds@boardermail.com>]

Terain.

I'm thinking that there are a couple of difrent factors that combine to form what we mean by terain.
I'm thinking that there is the issue of footing, and then there's the slope.

Footing is the question of how easy it is to simply take a step.
Ground could be swampy, tangeled, exceptionally rocky or similarly difacult to place ones foot.
Bad Weather can also affect footing.
This is a phylogical situation in the sence that Humans wern't built for this.

Slope is a gravity thing.
Here's some trivia.
To strike out, as in to begin walking, means to follow the Strike of a Dip allong a Slope, i.e. walk at a right angel to the Dip.

Now Jay hadn't ever really lived around the mountains before.
Clatsop County is about half the size of the County described in Goblin @ 5k hexes sts.
So I've made myself a Clinometer and have done quite a bit of strikeing out.

My thoughts here are that what matters is the 1.3m Melee scale.
I need to know where I'm putting my foot.
When walking a road, wet beach, or similar firm, flat surface I can walk on auto-pilot so to speak.

Open fields, woods w/o underbrush and etc. requires you to pay attention to your feet from time to time.

Next are situations in which your required to pay attention to each and every steap.

Then there's stuff that's simply impassable.
Maybe a Cliffs of Insanity situation?

One thing I'd say at this point, I would suggest that issues of footing retain a high degree  of flexability. The difrent situations I've seen suggest to me that it's up to the GM to determine effects of standing in a given hex. Really strange terain will probably end up being described like monsters.

Now hexes bigger than 1.3m are abstractions.
This being a RPG those hexes are just a possable measure of Scale to help make quick and dirty decisions on the fly.
So bigger hexes are basicly marked as the majority of the footing type it encompasses.

Slopes are a bit easier, especally useing Earth data.
Slopes are footing on a larger Scale than Melee.
What's a Slope to Joe Average might just be footing to a REALLY big Giant.
Anyway, climbing a dip line adds Gravity into the deal, meaning more energy.
I figure it costs me about a newton to tip my beer.
Extended strenious activity over the corse of a day (like moving uphill ALL day long) requires more food, or weight loss.
I've got some data on what Jay can do with some pretty wicked slopes, but the footing is just awful too so I'm not sure how informative data about my fat ass puffing up a ridgeline is actually going to be.
But it's not nothing.
It's probably only of value in THIS terain.

Jay stands around 6ft tall.
I'm going to make a BIG assumption and say that the force of my muscels is basicly proportional to my size.
For a human walking, this is basicly the height of my legs, and my 2 legs basicly equal my height.
The force of my muscels working against air resistance along a flat surface comes out to V~L, where V = speed and L = height.
Real world data says Jay averages 4mph, or about 10yds per Melee turn w/pack across level ground.
That's about 6ft per second.

Jay walks uphill (~ >20deg slope till climbing i.e. must use hands) @ about 1ft per second.
This is the reciprocal of my height.

This let's little critters get uphill quicker than big critters.
Also, done corectly, this let's us throw stuff into orbit.
You know, up where we don't need hexes?



Jay

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