OSRIC: Religion, Morality and Alignment

One thing's for certain, I really need to find a new name for my War of the Roses OSRIC campaign. Something a little catchier. OSRIC: Age of Anarchy, perhaps. What do you guys think?

Anyway, one of the (slightly) different things about this campaign is the way I'm treating alignment. Rather than doing away with the concept altogether, except for extremes of good and evil (as I often do) alignment with be replaced by moral codes and religions. This is still a work in progress at the moment, but the options at present are:





Religious Alignment Choices:

• Medieval Catholicism
• Medieval Islam
• Medieval Druidism/Paganism
• Medieval Judaism
• Medieval Orthodox
• Servant of the Dark One (NPC Only)

 The religion based alignments are the most nebulous of all in a very real sense. For example, most of the major religions have a variant on "though shall not kill". As mentioned in a previous post though, Catholics believe that only humans have souls, so this rule only counts towards killing humans. That being said, for a Catholic it's perfectly acceptable to kill a human if he (or she) is a non-christian, or if you're a member of the knightly and noble caste (because god has ordained that you are born into a role that requires killing) and have a fairly good reason for doing so.

So, these five choices aren't quite the straight-jacket they might first appear to be.

Then we have the (sometimes) more restrictive, properly fixed moral codes:

Rashi, perhaps the best known medieval Rabbi and Scholar

Moral Alignment Choices:

• Athiest/Agnostic
• Chivalric Code
• Humanist
•  Irreligious
• Secular Devotion

The Humanist and Chivalric moral codes are perhaps the most tightly restrictive in a sense that they have fairly well defined limits. Like everything else, of course, there are loopholes to exploit, but the Chivalric code especially is fairly well defined. The irreligious and atheist/agnostic alignments give the greatest freedom of action of all, perhaps equivalent to true-neutral in the traditional D&D alignment spectrum. Basically, such people are limited in their actions only by the actions and the beliefs of the authorities around them.

Lastly, we have Secular Devotion, which implies an utter adherence to an NPC secular authority such as the King, a Duke or Earl or even simply a friend or loved one. The limitation here is that the character won't do anything to act against the interests of the object of his devotion, but at the same time the character would be reluctant to disobey any instructions from this same NPC, regardless of how abhorrent. Most of the lower-end bad-guy NPC's in this game will have this alignment, which is very similar to lawful neutral in many respects.

Finally, we have good and evil

Salahadin: A great example for Islamic Paladin characters

Good and Evil:
Good and Evil, Law and Chaos no longer exist in an alignment sense, but they do still have a place in the game world. Generally, for a creature of being to be affected by such as a spell, they must have a history of routinely acting in a certain way. For example, angels and demons are always affected by spells that affect good and evil creatures respectively. A knightly character who consistently acts to uphold the law and maintain stability in the land (regardless of his actual alignment) would be affected by spells such as Protection from Law. A robber-knight on the other hand (or one notorious for changing sides during the Wars) would be affected by Protection from Chaos and so on.

Alignment and Clerics:

Clerics, strictly speaking, can be of any alignment, not just the alignment of their religion. However, if they wish to retain their spell casting abilities, they had better ensure that their actions remain consistent with the tenants of the religion they represent. Thus, a Catholic cleric might have the Secular Devotion alignment, and be devoted to the service of his brother, an NPC Lord. He might politic and preach on his brothers behalf without effect, but if he arranges the assassination of his brother's enemies, he can kiss those clerical abilities of his good-bye.

This helps to explain why so many priests in the historical time period (and setting) can act contrary to the interests of their religion and still remain priests. In a gaming sense, the ones that manage to obey the tenants of their religion can perform minor miracles. The ones who betray their religious beliefs in favour of more secular or personal concerns, lose their powers. Often very early in their clerical careers. The few who manage to exist in the secular world and remain true to their faith are essentially minor miracle workers, moving to become widely recognised as living saints (or prophets) at higher levels.

Pope John XXIII. A fine example of a priest who most definitely would have lost his cleric powers in this setting.

 All these concepts are just skeletons at the moment, in need of a great deal of fleshing out. But that's where the alignment system remains at the moment.

Linking Keyed Encounters with Wandering Monsters

One of the things I enjoy most about building a sandbox is created  keyed location encounters and wandering monster tables. One of the things that proves how obsessively anal I am as GM is the fact that these are all updated regularly to take into account campaign events, like not encountering a camp of guys from faction A at hex XXYY if the guys from A are all under siege back at hex AABB. The second thing that proves my status (and oddly the most time-consuming) is the fact that every single possible random encounter is also linked in some manner to a keyed location encounter . Those wondering monsters have to live somewhere right?

Lions, wolves, bears, orcs, giant-elephant eating flying lizards, whatever. If it can pose a threat to a PC and appears on my random encounter tables then that very same individual creature also appears in a keyed-location encounter somewhere (and vice versa). So if one or more wandering monsters creatures are killed or wounded in an encounter, I immediately update the keyed encounter to reflect these changes (sometimes mid-session while the PC's are planning their next move, most often right after the session. Likewise, if a monster is killed in its keyed location, then I quickly update the information on the random encounter table as well.

This is every bit as true for my dungeons denizens as it is for wilderness inhabitants.

I often wonder if my players even notice that the more they clear-out an area the less wandering monsters they encounter (because so many of the wandering monster rolls now come up with creatures who have already been killed elsewhere). I've seen the occasional Eureka moment with my players now and then, mind you. Like the time my players cleared out an orc lair and discovered a magical sword looted from a dead PC by those self-same orcs in an earlier encounter thirty miles away. But did my players simply think this was just a cool way to re-introduce an old magical item to the game? Or did they actually realise they only got the sword back because they happened to track down this particular band of orcs?

Does anyone else link their keyed encounters and wandering monsters this way? Or am I simply an obsessive freak? The reason I'm asking is that I'm currently creating hex-linked and random encounters for the Expeditionary Campaigns wilderness map, the Isle of the Earth-Shaker. Much as I'm joining the process, I can't help but think I could get this whole campaign up and running a lot sooner if I wasn't so damnably anal-retentive. Is the extra-effort worth the pay-off if the players don't even notice?

Cascade Failure Sandbox: The Mozi of Xianyou

As before, astrographic data is from StarGen. Game Information, setting and background are all me.

XIANYAO (QAO-2)

{Insert Image}

Terrestrial. Earth Like. (N₂, O₂ - breathable)

Mass: 1.0 Earth Masses

Surface Gravity: 0.92 Earth G's

Surface Pressure: 0.934 Earth atmospheres

Surface temperature 14.26° Celcius (-0.6° C Earth temperature)
Normal Equatorial temperature range

Night		Day
9.8° C 49.78° F	-	19.1° C 66.3° F
Min		Max
-11.8° C 10.8° F	-	39.5° C 103.0° F

Equatorial radius: 6378.3 Km (1 Earth radii)

Density: 5.50 grams/cc (1 Earth densities)

Eccentricity of orbit: 0.001

Escape Velocity 11.2 Km/sec

Molecular weight retained 6.3 and above: N, O, CH₄, NH₃, H₂O, Ne, N₂, CO...

Axial tilt 19°

Planetary albedo 0.30

Exospheric Temperature: 1299.79° K (+26..79° C Earth temperature)

Length of year: 398.57 Earth days/ 618.67 Local days

Length of day: 15.46 hours

Boiling point of water: 98.3° Celcius/209.0° Fahrenheit

Hydrosphere percentage: 66.3%

Cloud cover percentage: 48.6%

Ice cover percentage: 1.8%

GAME TERMS:

Atmosphere: Breathable mix. High oxygen content proves dangerous to long-term health during prolonged exposure. Although unlikely, Pulmonary and ocular toxicity may result from exposure to the elevated oxygen levels found on Xianyao (they normally occur only when atmospheric oxygen concentration is greater than 50% at normal earth pressures). Symptoms may include disorientation, breathing problems, and vision changes such as myopia. Prolonged or very high oxygen concentrations can cause oxidative damage to cell membranes, the collapse of the alveoli in the lungs, retinal detachment, and seizures.

While the combination of increased oxygen concentrations in the planetary atmosphere and slightly reduced atmospheric pressure from earth norms should not prove hazardous to most visitors, those from worlds with an atmospheric pressure higher than earth norm (or departing ships where a higher pressure level is the norm) should endeavour to wear properly calibrated oxygen filters at all time. Long residents and Xianyao natives are not at risk from these atmospheric conditions.

Temperature Range: Close to Earth Normal

Biosphere: The garden-world of Xiangyao possessed a pre-existing, advanced eco-system similar to that found on earth, including higher (non-sentient) plant and animals forms. However, local biology's and Terran biology's are incompatible. While a life-from from the local biosphere will not poison a Terran bio-form which consumes it, neither will the Terran bio-form derive any sustenance or nutritional value from the meal (or vice versa).

The local and imported biospheres therefore offer one another only very limited competition and may be found co-existing in certain areas abandoned after the war. However, due to local cultural values, any interference with the worlds natural development is frowned upon and most Terran bio-forms (food animals, plants and the like) are cultivated or farmed under highly controlled conditions. Likewise, while local bio-forms can be consumed for the culinary taste, the local culture also frowns on this practice as an unnecessary and immoral waste of life. Consequently, even the consumption of local plant forms is a serious criminal offence.

Population and Tech Level:

One of the first earth-like “Garden Worlds' identified in the Verge, Xianyao was discovered, colonised and developed by Chinese adherents of a minority philosophical group known as the Mozi. Though a popular philosophy in China during the “Thousand Schools” epoch of the Early Warring States Period, it fell into disfavour during the Han dynasty, although much of the school's philosophical writings survived. In the years leading up to the Great Calamity, when for over a century the likelihood of a potentially catastrophic inter-stellar war became more apparent, a Mozi philosopher named Gee Li began gathering adherents to take the philosophy to the stars. Gee Li hoped that, by setting the foundations for a strong society modelled on the Mozi ideals of universal love and beliefs in the virtues of self-defense, the world of Xianyao might become a force for rebirth in post-collapse human space.

To this end, Gee-Li and his followers bought the rights to this newly discovered, albeit distant, paradise from the Chinese Government and began settlement in the year 83 pre-Calamity (pC). Even before the first colonist set foot on-world, Gee-Li, in keeping with the philosophical tenants he embraced, began making preparations for the worlds defence. The first colony transports were, in fact, decommissioned, re-purposed Chinese war-ships bought from the flagging Chinese state. As well as habitats, pre-fabbed food cultivation units and gene-labs for creation of a terran-friendly enclosed bio-sphere, the first colony fleet carried orbital defence platforms and auto-mine layers in it's holds. As well as scientists, ecologists and agricultural teams, the first batch of colonists included Mozi-trained military theorists, retired military personnel and even weapons-systems developers.

Although the Great Calamity occurred some seven years after Gee Li's death, the by then twelve million colonists on Xianyao were protected by the most in depth orbital and ground defence systems in existence anywhere in the Verge systems. Ironically, this very defensive preparedness made the world a prime target for combative forces from the very beginning of the war, yet the planetary government and it's Mozi schooled generals had anticipated this outcome. Xianyao

Today, the Mozi's have rebuilt their defences and buried their dead. Though the war cost more lives and material than even their grand strategists had anticipated, the people of Xianyao are already stretching out peace-loving hands to the other worlds of the Verge. Mozi scholars, known to the people of Xianyao as Zhizhe (wise councillors) but to the people of other worlds whom they serve simply as “The Mozi's”leave their world in small groups, bringing their philosophy, vital food and medical supplies and, most especially, their theories of defensive warfare, to small settlements throughout the Verge. Each desperately in need of the food, medicines and fighting techniques the Mozi bring. All across the Verge, dozens of small settlements, even whole moons, owe their lives and freedom from the tyrannical depredations of pirates, raiders and slavers, to the teachings of a small band of warrior-scholars from the distant garden-world of Xianyao.

Culture:

The vast majority of the population are of Chinese descent, but regardless of arbitrary ethnic definitions, the entire world (with almost unique exceptions) embraces the Mozi way of life: universal love and developing the skills needed to defend it from a hostile world.

(click this link for more detailed information on Mozi culture and philosophy)

The world is governed by the Shengxian, a council of masters well-versed in both philosophy and the theory and practice of defensive warfare. Election (or rather, elevation) to the Shengxian is for life and each new master is chosen by the existing council. There is no theoretical limit on the number who may serve on the council at any one time. A person is either wise enough to be counted among the Shengxian or they are not. The Mozi see no need to impose artificial restrictions of the development of their brightest stars.

The population is dispersed throughout a number of major towns and cities all over the planetary surface, rather than concentrated in a small area as with most colony worlds in the Verge. Each settlement, from greatest city to the smallest farm, is protected by a network of anti-orbital, anti-atmospheric, anti-armour and ant-personnel emplacements. Only human habitations are found above ground, and these are both expansive and often very nearly open air, with painted rice-paper walls (steel plates fall into place should a dangerous predator or potential threat be detected by the homes auto-sensors).Verandas, picturesque gardens, art, balconies and orchards of cherry-trees. Architecture is universally inspired by ancient Chinese construction and design methods. Agricultural cultivations, work areas, and even manufacturing centres are all located underground in discrete but well protected locations accessed from the home. To an off-worlder, a busy farm might, from the surface, appear to be nothing more than an unusually well-defended and affluent summer home. The people of Xianyao prefer to perform their work and any potentially dirty, messy or odoriferous tasks underground and out of sight. The surface world is reserved for beauty and light.

The Sky from Kut:

Two small moons (little more than captured asteroids bristling with anti-ship weapons) orbit the world in geostationary orbits above each pole. At least one is always visible from the surface regardless of where one stands, an ever-present reminder of the need for vigilance and preparedness which, regardless of such ominous overtones, the people of Xianyao find strangely reassuring.

Outside Relations:
The People of Xianyao are the avowed enemies of any outside aggressor who would seek to impose his will on others -regardless of whether or not the said aggressor has any designs on Xianyao itself. Likewise, any world in need of aid who can contact Xianyao or one of it's wandering bands of Zhizhe is guaranteed to receive as mush aid as they need – but not necessarily as much as they would like. The Shengxian are not yet aware of CalCol's operations on Apanthi, but if they were they would be sure to take action. They would not, in keeping with their teachings, launch an attack on the slave-mining world, but they would almost certainly send a band of Zhizhe to organise and lead a revolt.

Imports: Nothing. Xianyao is perhaps the only entirely self-sufficient world in the Verge.

Exports:  Zhizhe, the Mozi philoophy, relief aid (food, medical supplies, emergency personnel, instructors etc)

Travel Advisory:

See the notes on Atmospheric pressure above. Also note that bad-manners are considered highly offensive and may result in expulsion from the world or temporary imprisonment. The locals are quite well aware of what swearing sounds like, in any language, and will not tolerate such crass and rude behaviour in their presence. Given that each and every citizens is trained in martial arts (including the use of modern weaponry) behaving badly can be very ill-advised indeed.

Finally, the Mozi are extremely stern where their continued security is concerned. Before entering the system or approaching within range of it's defences it is wise to perform maintenance on ones communications. When it comes to defending their home world against potential threats, the Xianyao Defence Forces take no chances.
Finally, the Xianyao day is 15 hours long. Customarily, Xianyao sleep for four hours during the night cycle and remain awake for the other 11. The Work Cycle is one local day of work followed by one local day of rest.  Four concurrent local rest days end every week of 14 local days.

QAO
5 Planets (size proportional to Sqrt(Radius)) See Key
Stellar characteristics
Stellar mass	0.92 solar masses
Stellar luminosity	0.45
Age	2.925 billion years (17.383 billion left on main sequence)
Habitable ecosphere radius	0.675 AU (0.549 - 0.974 AU)

Planetary Overview
#	Type			Dist.	Mass	Radius
1		Rock		0.382 AU	0.216 EM	0.605 ER
2		Terrestrial		0.671 AU	0.792 EM	0.927 ER
3		Rock		1.049 AU	0.050 EM	0.372 ER
4		Sub-Jovian		1.699 AU	18.835 EM	4.224 ER
5		Jovian		2.976 AU	21.451 EM	4.597 ER

QAO-1
Planet type	Rock Tidally Locked 1 Face Low-G, Hot, Airless, 1-Face
Distance from primary star	5.7E+07 KM	0.382 AU
Mass	1.3E+24Kg	0.216 Earth masses
Surface gravity	579.7 cm/sec2	0.59 Earth gees
Surface pressure	0 millibars	0.000 Earth atmospheres
Surface temperature	83.6° Celcius 182.4° Fahrenheit	+69.6° C Earth temperature +125.2° F Earth temperature
Normal temperature range	Min Max -221.5° C -366.8° F - 264.6° C 508.3° F
Equatorial radius	3857.4 Km	0.6 Earth radii
Density	5.38 grams/cc	0.97 Earth densities
Eccentricity of orbit	0.078
Escape Velocity	6.7 Km/sec
Molecular weight retained	54.4 and above	SO2, SO3, Kr, Xe
Axial tilt	12°
Planetary albedo	0.07
Exospheric Temperature	3972.36° K	+2699.36° C Earth temperature
Length of year	89.66 Earth days	1.00 Local days
Length of day	2151.87 hours
Boiling point of water	-273.1° Celcius -459.7° Fahrenheit
Hydrosphere percentage	0.0
Cloud cover percentage	0.0
Ice cover percentage	0.0

XIANYAO (QAO-2)
Planet type	Terrestrial Earth-like (N2, O2 - breathable)
Distance from primary star	1E+08 KM	0.671 AU
Mass	4.7E+24Kg	0.792 Earth masses
Surface gravity	903.9 cm/sec2	0.92 Earth gees
Surface pressure	1225.73 millibars	1.21 Earth atmospheres
Surface temperature	9.8° Celcius	-0.6° C Earth temperature
Normal temperature range	Night Day 9.8° C 49.78° F - 19.1° C 66.3° F Min Max -11.8° C -10.8° F - 39.5° C 103.0° F
Equatorial radius	6378.3 Km	1 Earth radii
Density	5.50 grams/cc	1 Earth densities
Eccentricity of orbit	0.001
Escape Velocity	11.2 Km/sec
Molecular weight retained	6.3 and above	N, O, CH4, NH3, H2O, Ne, N2, CO... Nitrogen  47.6%    Oxygen  50.9%  Argon  0.5%
Axial tilt	19°
Planetary albedo	0.30
Exospheric Temperature	1299.79° K	+26.79° C Earth temperature
Length of year	398.57 Earth days	618.67 Local days
Length of day	15.46 hours
Boiling point of water	98.3° Celcius	209.0° Fahrenheit
Hydrosphere percentage	66.3
Cloud cover percentage	48.6
Ice cover percentage	1.8

QAO-3
Planet type	Rock Low-G, Cold, Airless
Distance from primary star	1.6E+08 KM	1.049 AU
Mass	3E+23Kg	0.050 Earth masses
Surface gravity	354.0 cm/sec2	0.36 Earth gees
Surface pressure	0 millibars	0.000 Earth atmospheres
Surface temperature	-57.9° Celcius -72.3° Fahrenheit	-71.9° C Earth temperature -129.5° F Earth temperature
Normal temperature range	Night Day -89.4° C -128.9° F - -26.6° C -15.9° F Min Max -114.5° C -174.2° F - -1.7° C 29.0° F
Equatorial radius	2374.4 Km	0.37 Earth radii
Density	5.33 grams/cc	0.97 Earth densities
Eccentricity of orbit	0.017
Escape Velocity	4.1 Km/sec
Molecular weight retained	19.2 and above	Ne, N2, CO, NO, O2, H2S, Ar, CO2...
Axial tilt	26°
Planetary albedo	0.07
Exospheric Temperature	526.17° K	-746.83° C Earth temperature
Length of year	408.36 Earth days	286.50 Local days 1.12 Earth years
Length of day	34.21 hours
Boiling point of water	-273.1° Celcius -459.7° Fahrenheit
Hydrosphere percentage	0.0
Cloud cover percentage	0.0
Ice cover percentage	0.0

QAO-4
Planet type	Sub-Jovian
Distance from primary star	2.5E+08 KM	1.699 AU
Mass	1.1E+26Kg	18.835 Earth masses 9.325 Earth masses dust 9.510 Earth masses gas
Equatorial radius	26937.7 Km	4.2 Earth radii
Density	1.37 grams/cc	0.25 Earth densities
Eccentricity of orbit	0.213
Escape Velocity	23.6 Km/sec
Molecular weight retained	0.2 and above	H, H2, He, N, O, CH4, NH3, H2O...
Axial tilt	26°
Planetary albedo	0.46
Exospheric Temperature	200.72° K	-1072.28° C Earth temperature
Length of year	841.28 Earth days	1589.26 Local days 2.30 Earth years
Length of day	12.70 hours

QAO-5
Planet type	Jovian
Distance from primary star	4.5E+08 KM	2.976 AU
Mass	1.3E+26Kg	21.451 Earth masses 7.676 Earth masses dust 13.775 Earth masses gas
Equatorial radius	29317.6 Km	4.6 Earth radii
Density	1.21 grams/cc	0.22 Earth densities
Eccentricity of orbit	0.094
Escape Velocity	24.2 Km/sec
Molecular weight retained	0.1 and above	H, H2, He, N, O, CH4, NH3, H2O...
Axial tilt	21°
Planetary albedo	0.51
Exospheric Temperature	65.41° K	-1207.59° C Earth temperature
Length of year	1950.44 Earth days	3613.22 Local days 5.34 Earth years
Length of day	12.96 hours

Cascade Failure Sandbox: Apanthi, Rogue Planetoid

Apanthi (Rogue Planetoid)

Apanthi. The Lost World. In Urdu the name means: "Wrong Road". Soaring through space without stellar companions of any kind. Once a world not unlike earth, Apanthi is now a ball of frozen gas hurtling alone through space. Alone- but not uninhabited.

 GAME TERMS:

Atmosphere:No breathable air or gasses of any kind. Once an inhabitable terrestrial-type world, in the milennia since it escaped the gravitational pull of it's star, all gasses have frozen solid. Consequently, the surface of Apanthi is coated by snow-like layers of various frozen gasses.

Temperature Range: Very very cold - as close to absolute zero is as likely to be found in nature. Light given off by distant stars combined with a tiny glimmer of life that remains in what was once the planetary core are the only natural sources of heat on this dead vagabond world.

Biosphere: None. No life exists permanently on the surface of Apanthi. Gas mining families in the employ of CalCol Corporation exist in temporary residences carved from the frozen gasses that coat the worlds surface, but these habitations are rarely occupied for more than a few weeks at a time.

Perhaps surprisingly, although a void suit is vital for survival, air supply is hardly a problem. When air stocks run low, it's a simple enough matter to dig down through the "snow" to the oxygen layer. A few scoops of frozen air shoved into the internally heated compartments of a specially modified "Apanthi Vacc Suit" will keep a grown adult alive and working hard for some considerable time.

Population and Tech Level:

As many as ten thousand people live a transitory existence between the surface of Apanthi and Tarri Penu, an orbital space station named after a Cythonic goddess placated by human sacrifice. All but a few hundred of these are miners descended from the original indentured workers brought to Apanthi by Calcutta Colonial Interests Inc some fifty years ago when the world was first settled. The original term of service was some seven years but, following the Great Calamity, indenture is now for life. While previously workers strove to earn enough pay pay to prchase transport and a home-stead on another world, now workers strive to earn enough money to pay for spare-parts, life-support and a brief stay on Tarri Penu. At least until their funds run out and they must return to the planet to earn more.

No more than a thousand such miners are allowed to join the Corporate "elites" - pilots, managers, accountants, engineers and so forth- on the space station at any given time. Stays of more than a few days within the stations artificial gravity field (provided by rotation rings) are rare for the miners and their families. Too brief to maintain muscle tissue at the standards required to operate normally at standard G. Thus ensuring that the miners who occupy berths on the station at any given time are too physically weak to cause much trouble for the corporate security and making any possibility of an eventual overthrow of this virtual slave-society extremely remote indeed.

The surviving tech level, both among the miners and the elite themselves, is remarkably high. As one of the main sources of cheap gasses in the sector, Apanthi (or rather, Tarri Penu) traffic control manages a great deal of traffic in the form of independant traders, CalCol ships and even military vessels from nearby systems. CalCol security takes great care to chase away 'claim jumpers" (referring to both freelance mining operations and slavers come to poach rather than sell), people-smugglers and vessels which openly practice piracy nearby, maintaining a small fleet of system cutters, frigates and corvettes to patrol nearby space around the system (always being careful to remain close to the planets weak gravity well).

Culture: 

The majority of the CalCol elite (including it's security forces) are of high-caste Indian origin and belong to Hindu families. The worker population is extremely mixed both ethnically and religiously. Most of the original miners were males of Indian extraction, yet after the Great Calamity when it became apparent that the Miner population would have to become self-sustaining, a large number of (mostly female) workers were "procured" from various shady sources in order to replace miners lost through (understandably quite high) natural "wastage'. Which, of course, in this context, refers to death in the line of duty.

As a result of what the CalCol elite refer to as this "cultural contamination" the miner population has become even more contemptible in their eyes. Almost as many miners now die while aboard Tarri Penu (executed for even miner misdemeanours) as die on the surface from exploding gasses and the like. So much so that many miners now feel that staying longer "on world" before returning to the station is preferable to spending more time there.

The CalCol elite exist in considerable -almost paranoid- fear of their miners, which in part accounts for the sheer brutality of their rule. They are terrified about the prospect of sabotage, given that their own station (and therefore they themselves) are so literally reliant on trade for survival. However, what they fail to appreciate is that the miners themselves cannot afford to cut their own throats by sabotaging their own production efforts let alone by conducting grand sabotage against the station itself. No, what the CalCol elite fail to appreciate is that they should be more concerned with is the very real threat of revolution. Recent "acquisitions' of mining personnel have not been screened as carefully as they would like to believe.

The mining population now includes a small but significant core of recent arrivals (whose physical prowess have yet to deteriorate overmuch from Apanthi's pathetic gravity) with scientific, engineering and even military backgrounds - and not one has anything to lose except their lives.

The Sky from Kut:

Other than a tiny and relatively bright spec in the night sky that orbits the world every thirteen hours, (Terri Panu itself) there is nothing to be seen save the distant light of stars. On Apanthi there is no dawn, no star-light and no moon. Only the ever present, threatening void of space above ones head.

Outside Relations:
Although the miners are intentionally kept ignorant of just who comes and goes above their heads, ships arrive hourly from all over the sector to offload vital imports and even luxury items in return for stocks of frozen water, oxygen, nitrogen, carbon, methane and -vital for space travel- the chlorine, fluorine, hydrogen and other gasses necessary for modern interplanetary (but not  FTL) spaceflight.

Imports:
Medical Supplies, Electronics, Life Support, Food, Alcohol, Recreational Drugs, Slaves, Weapons, Munitions, Spare Parts, Interplanetary shuttles, Space Craft

Exports: 
Water, Frozen Gas.

Travel Advisory:
Due to the extremely high number of violent incidents reported daily in the miner-restricted residential pleasure and residential areas of Tarri Pen, travellers are advised to refrain from entering these areas. There have been occasional reports of crewmen and traders from visiting ships being abducted by slavers for re-sale as miners in recent months. Travelling alone or when inebriated or in the company of strangers is not recommended. CalCol security operatives are know to be brutal and swift in the application of violence against trouble-makers -many of whom find themselves sentenced to the mines below. Discretion is advised.

Apanthi
Planet type	Rock Low-G, Cold, Airless
Distance from primary star	N/A	Rogue Planetoid
Mass	1.3E+23Kg	0.0 Earth masses
Surface gravity	149.0 cm/sec2	0.15 Earth gees
Surface pressure	0 millibars	0.000 Earth atmospheres
Surface temperature	-235.7° Celcius -392.3° Fahrenheit	-249.7° C Earth temperature -449.5° F Earth temperature
Normal temperature range	Night Day -241.7° C -403.1° F - -229.6° C -381.3° F Min Max -254.1° C -425.4° F - -216.9° C -358.4° F
Equatorial radius	2400.2 Km	0.38 Earth radii
Density	2.22 grams/cc	0.4 Earth densities
Eccentricity of orbit	0.043
Escape Velocity	2.7 Km/sec	0.27 Earth Gravity
Molecular weight retained	0.1 and above	H, H2, He, N, O, CH4, NH3, H2O...
Axial tilt	54°
Planetary albedo	0.15
Exospheric Temperature	0.53° K	-1272.47° C Earth temperature
Length of year	N/A	N/A
Length of day	39.26 hours
Boiling point of water	-89.7° Celcius -129.5° Fahrenheit
Hydrosphere percentage	0.0
Cloud cover percentage	0.0
Ice cover percentage	0.0

Cascade Failure Sandbox: The Auqlan A System

Here it is, the first article in my new Cascade Failure sandbox series. You'll note that I'm producing entries for individual systems long before I've even designed the sector map. Don't worry, it's deliberate. I'll be able to start constructing the map once I have an idea of how various systems relate to one another - politically, economically, militarily, etc.

Star and planetary information obtained from Star Gen and thereafter modified. The entry on the settled moon of Kut that preceeds it is all me.

More importantly (for me at least) this is my last ever blog article as a single man. As of the 28th, I'll no longer be able to call myself a bachelor.  That same day, the lass I've been calling my missus for the last four years really does get to become my missus.

I'll be back in a few days. Until then, enjoy.

KUT (Terrestrial Moon of Auqlan A-6)

Mass: 0.7 Earth Mass

Surface Gravity: 0.88 G

Surface Pressure: 0.528

Surface temperature 8.3° Celcius (-5.7° C Earth temperature)
Normal Equatorial temperature range

Night		Day
1.0° C 33.8° F	-	15.2° C 59.4° F
Min		Max
-23.6° C -10.5° F	-	38.5° C 101.4° F

Equatorial radius: 5649.3 Km (0.89 Earth radii)

Density: 5.46 grams/cc (0.99 Earth densities)

Eccentricity of orbit: 0.036

Escape Velocity 9.9 Km/sec

Molecular weight retained 7.4 and above: N, O, CH₄, NH₃, H₂O, Ne, N₂, CO...

Axial tilt 22°

Planetary albedo 0.22

Exospheric Temperature: 1187.55° K (-85.45° C Earth temperature)

Length of year: (orbiting planet) 222.85 Earth days 283.81 Local days

Length of day: 18.85 hours

Boiling point of water: 83.4° Celcius/182.1° Fahrenheit

Hydrosphere percentage: 69.3%

Cloud cover percentage: 32.2%

Ice cover percentage: 4.3%

GAME TERMS:

Atmosphere: Breathable Mix. Air pressure lower than comfortable human norms

Temperature Range: Temperate. Somewhat colder than that found on earth at equivalent latitudes and elevation.

Biosphere: Chemical and Biological weapon releases into the upper atmosphere during the Great Calamity devestated the imported Terran biosphere. Only limited numbers of sealed biosphere facilities survived the war.Atmospheric pressure is somewhat low. Visitors are advised to wear breathing apparatus until fully acclimitised.

Human survivors have begun to repopulate the biosphere outside these facilities, but occasional construction has on occasion released fresh stores of weaponized bacterial spores into the atmosphere. Limited progress has been made towards developing new plant and animal strains resistant to these toxins although a human vaccination has been developed. Thus the remaining biosphere is very fragile. Ecological diversity remains very limited even inside controlled, sealed-environment conditions.

Surviving animal species are limited to Humans, Dogs, Cats, Goats, Rats and Cattle. Remaining plant species include several types of cereal, wheat, hops, turnips, carrots, beat-root, onions, peppers, grasses, flowering plants and apples. Some terrestrial insect life is also extant.

Population and Tech Level:

As little as 5% of the planetary population survived the Great Calamity, the majority of whom were either military or civic government personnel housed in bunkers or else agricultural scientists and farmers operating out of sealed biospheric environments.

Several hundred small farms and research facilities are scattered across the planet, clustered on the long, equatorial continent of “Myr”. The combined efforts of these facilities continue to feed and clothe the inhabitants of the three main “bunker cities” of Muscat, Abu Dhabi and Tehran. Each bunker city houses approximately 3000 inhabitants. The local farming and research sites provide the bunker cities with food and fresh water and, in return, are provided with manufactured goods and atmosphere scrubbers produced in the re-tooled bunker recycling centres using freshly mined minerals from the expanding corridors.

Hi-Tech items such as computers and modern weapons require difficult, expensive to produce components and are rare outside the cities. Perhaps the populations greatest asset is it's retention of a hi-tech skill base. Although the planetary populations grip on survival is tenuous at best, it is able to produce a small surplus of food and manufactured goods for trade with passing ships at the Tehran space-terminus.

As the only surviving bunker facility with space-port facilities, Tehran remains the “senior partner” of the three. Despite some recent tensions over trade tariffs, the three cities (though ruled by separate military junta's advised by Shi'a religious leaders) exist in a state of peaceful co-operation, despite frequent military posturing by all party's.

Note that none of the three bunker cities have anything approaching inter-planetary flight capability. A few hover-cars and air-cars remain functional, but that is all. The moon is completely dependant on foreign vessels for interplanetary trade but, due to the small amounts of surplus materials available, rarely receives more than one or two visits a year from traders.

Culture:

Settled by a consortium of Shi'a families from the Arabian Peninsular, faith remains a strong cultural bond between the three bunker-cities, who would otherwise be natural competitors. Though previously ruled in accordance with a corporate model, since the Great Calamity the former Myr corporation's security branch took control of each respective bunker. The three surviving cities each maintained a complete comm's black for several years, explaining why these three facilities survived the war where more than a dozen others did not. Contact between all three bunkers was finally established some 22 years ago. Each city has been ruled by it's own military (or "Public Safety") council since the years of silence. The three councils each send a single representative to sit in the ruins of the old Colony Capitol building (the Al Jalali) for six weeks at the beginning of every year, to discuss matters of common interest.

Gulf Arabic is the only language spoken with any frequency. Several settlers (particularly those who work at the space port) are fairly fluent in either English or Mandorin, but their numbers are few. They are reluctant to teach these languages to outsiders or even to other locals. This ensures that a handful of individuals retain a virtual monoploy on off-world trade.

The Sky from Kut:

At any given time either the Gas Giant (primary day) or the distant sun (night) or several moons (twilight) are visible in the sky of Kut. With more than fifteen other moons orbiting the gas giant however, reflective light is persistent. Even during the “night” cycle, light levels rarely fall below what would be considered twilight on earth.

Outside Relations:
Kut is an isolated world on the fringes of known human space. Other than the infrequent arrival of a few trade vessels from nearby worlds and supply ships from the S.S Ascendant Aurora, it has had no off-world contact of note since the Great Calamity.

Imports:
Medical Supplies, Seed Grain, Building Materials, Power Packs, Electronics, Tools

Exports: 
Food. Small quantities of muniitions.

Travel Advisory:
Due to the extreme number of moons and the influence of the gas giant itself, sea travel (or indeed, travel in coastal areas) is to be avoided. Tidal activity is unpredictable at best and suge tides of up to a kilometre in height are not unknown in some coastal areas. Finally, those who insist on sea-travel should be advised that the waterways remain full of biological sludge and waste from the Great Calamity. Engine failure on surface vessles due to clogged intakes is a common hazard.

Auqlan A 6 Planets (size proportional to Sqrt(Radius)) See Key
Stellar characteristics
Stellar mass	1.09 solar masses
Stellar luminosity	1.60
Age	4.079 billion years (2.733 billion left on main sequence)
Habitable ecosphere radius	1.265 AU (1.029 - 1.826 AU)

Planetary Overview
#	Type		Dist.	Mass	Radius
1		Rock	0.319 AU	0.074 EM	0.423 ER
2		Rock	0.426 AU	0.205 EM	0.594 ER
3		Rock	0.665 AU	0.029 EM	0.312 ER
4		Venusian	0.763 AU	1.044 EM	1.014 ER
5		Sub-Jovian	1.347 AU	0.019 JM - 5.926 EM	2.806 ER
6		Jovian	2.617 AU	0.949 JM - 301.811 EM	9.332 ER

Auqlan A-1 (Wasqah)
Planet type	Rock Resonant Spin Locked Low-G, Hot, Airless, 1-Face
Distance from primary star	4.8E+07 KM	0.319 AU
Mass	4.4E+23Kg	0.1 Earth masses
Surface gravity	402.8 cm/sec2	0.41 Earth gees
Surface pressure	0 millibars	0.000 Earth atmospheres
Surface temperature	261.6° Celcius 502.8° Fahrenheit	+247.6° C Earth temperature +445.6° F Earth temperature
Normal temperature range	Night Day -162.0° C -259.5° F - 479.3° C 894.7° F Min Max -176.8° C -286.3° F - 483.3° C 902.0° F
Equatorial radius	2697.7 Km	0.42 Earth radii
Density	5.34 grams/cc	0.97 Earth densities
Eccentricity of orbit	0.169
Escape Velocity	4.7 Km/sec
Molecular weight retained	570.1 and above
Axial tilt	12°
Planetary albedo	0.07
Exospheric Temperature	20050.77° K	+18777.77° C Earth temperature
Length of year	62.95 Earth days	1.41 Local days
Length of day	1074.10 hours
Boiling point of water	-273.1° Celcius -459.7° Fahrenheit
Hydrosphere percentage	0.0
Cloud cover percentage	0.0
Ice cover percentage	0.0

Auqlan A-2 (Hartum)
Planet type	Rock Tidally Locked 1 Face Low-G, Hot, Airless, 1-Face
Distance from primary star	6.4E+07 KM	0.426 AU
Mass	1.2E+24Kg	0.2 Earth masses
Surface gravity	569.3 cm/sec2	0.58 Earth gees
Surface pressure	0 millibars	0.000 Earth atmospheres
Surface temperature	189.2° Celcius 372.6° Fahrenheit	+175.2° C Earth temperature +315.4° F Earth temperature
Normal temperature range	Min Max -206.7° C -340.0° F - 396.3° C 745.3° F
Equatorial radius	3790.5 Km	0.59 Earth radii
Density	5.37 grams/cc	0.97 Earth densities
Eccentricity of orbit	0.006
Escape Velocity	6.6 Km/sec
Molecular weight retained	160.5 and above
Axial tilt	23°
Planetary albedo	0.07
Exospheric Temperature	11212.46° K	+9939.46° C Earth temperature
Length of year	97.35 Earth days	1.00 Local days
Length of day	2336.31 hours
Boiling point of water	-273.1° Celcius -459.7° Fahrenheit
Hydrosphere percentage	0.0
Cloud cover percentage	0.0
Ice cover percentage	0.0

Auqlan A-3 (Dahilah)
Planet type	Rock Tidally Locked 1 Face Low-G, Hot, Airless, 1-Face
Distance from primary star	9.9E+07 KM	0.665 AU
Mass	1.8E+23Kg	0.0 Earth masses
Surface gravity	296.1 cm/sec2	0.30 Earth gees
Surface pressure	0 millibars	0.000 Earth atmospheres
Surface temperature	97.1° Celcius 206.7° Fahrenheit	+83.1° C Earth temperature +149.5° F Earth temperature
Normal temperature range	Min Max -225.6° C -374.1° F - 282.2° C 539.9° F
Equatorial radius	1988.8 Km	0.31 Earth radii
Density	5.33 grams/cc	0.97 Earth densities
Eccentricity of orbit	0.005
Escape Velocity	3.4 Km/sec
Molecular weight retained	241.8 and above
Axial tilt	28°
Planetary albedo	0.07
Exospheric Temperature	4607.38° K	+3334.38° C Earth temperature
Length of year	189.67 Earth days	1.00 Local days
Length of day	4552.15 hours
Boiling point of water	-273.1° Celcius -459.7° Fahrenheit
Hydrosphere percentage	0.0
Cloud cover percentage	0.0
Ice cover percentage	0.0

Auqlan A-4 (Qina)
Planet type	Venusian Hot, Arid, Cloudy, Boiling ocean, Unbreathably thick atmosphere
Distance from primary star	1.1E+08 KM	0.763 AU
Mass	6.2E+24Kg	1.0 Earth masses
Surface gravity	995.2 cm/sec2	1.01 Earth gees
Surface pressure	141897 millibars	140.041 Earth atmospheres
Surface temperature	918.0° Celcius 1684.4° Fahrenheit	+904.0° C Earth temperature +1627.2° F Earth temperature +787.0° C greenhouse effect (GH)
Normal temperature range	Min Max 907.5° C 1665.5° F - 918.8° C 1685.9° F
Equatorial radius	6469.3 Km	1 Earth radii
Density	5.50 grams/cc	1 Earth densities
Eccentricity of orbit	0.053
Escape Velocity	11.3 Km/sec
Molecular weight retained	16.9 and above	NH3, H2O, Ne, N2, CO, NO, O2, H2S...
Axial tilt	28°
Planetary albedo	0.52
Exospheric Temperature	3494.87° K	+2221.87° C Earth temperature
Length of year	233.36 Earth days	269.73 Local days
Length of day	20.76 hours
Boiling point of water	315.1° Celcius 599.2° Fahrenheit
Hydrosphere percentage	0.0
Cloud cover percentage	100.0
Ice cover percentage	0.0

Auqlan A-5 (Rana)
Planet type	Sub-Jovian
Distance from primary star	2E+08 KM	1.347 AU
Mass	3.5E+25Kg	5.9 Earth masses 0.0 Jovian masses 72.0% dust, 28.0% gas
Equatorial radius	17895.6 Km	2.8 Earth radii
Density	1.48 grams/cc	0.27 Earth densities
Eccentricity of orbit	0.151
Escape Velocity	16.3 Km/sec
Molecular weight retained	2.6 and above	He, N, O, CH4, NH3, H2O, Ne, N2...
Axial tilt	21°
Planetary albedo	0.54
Exospheric Temperature	1122.03° K	-150.97° C Earth temperature
Length of year	547.13 Earth days	871.75 Local days 1.50 Earth years
Length of day	15.06 hours

Auqlan A-6 (Ganin)
Planet type	Jovian
Distance from primary star	3.9E+08 KM	2.617 AU
Mass	1.8E+27Kg	301.8 Earth masses 0.9 Jovian masses 10.8% dust, 89.2% gas
Equatorial radius	59517.6 Km	9.3 Earth radii
Density	2.04 grams/cc	0.37 Earth densities
Eccentricity of orbit	0.246
Escape Velocity	63.6 Km/sec
Molecular weight retained	0.1 and above	H, H2, He, N, O, CH4, NH3, H2O...
Axial tilt	24°
Planetary albedo	0.55
Exospheric Temperature	297.29° K	-975.71° C Earth temperature
Length of year	1480.91 Earth days	5068.88 Local days 4.05 Earth years
Length of day	7.01 hours