Planetary Rundown: The Tundra

[hadrielmods]

The results of the most recent poll on which planet to move to were... a tie! The votes were perfectly evenly split (after ruling out a vote from a journal not in this game) which means that it's down to our good old friend, RNG, to determine- well, technically the gods decide, but seeing as to how they're fairly split on the matter as well (Sorrow/Tranquility/Confusion for Ice, Hope/Fear/Love for Jungle and Rage abstained), RNG seemed easiest. And the winner is....

The Ice Planet!

THE ARRIVAL

This is the first time we're using the Door for teleportation- and thanks to Sorrow's experiments, most of the kinks are worked out so you won't be ripped through a space/time vortex or split in half or teleported inside of a wall or anything terrible like that. As a matter of fact, the teleportation will feel similar to Fear's own: one second you're surrounded by ocean waves and a soft breeze, and the next it's 20 degrees colder and there's nothing but flat, frosted tundra anywhere you look. The city will arrive intact in the formation (and with the map) that it was before the island split it all up, with all of the characters, all of the buildings, the gardens, and everything- oh, except for the gods.

You read that right, the gods will not be teleported alongside the city and therefore, you guys are on your own for the foreseeable future. Guess Sorrow missed a few decimal points in his experimentation, we're sure that everyone will make fun of him for that later... if you guys are ever reunited.

Without the gods, the city has no incoming food or alcohol supplies, no weapons in the armory (save for what's already there), no protection from monsters, and no power supply for any of your vehicles, electronics, or showers. The phones and network will still work for some mysterious reason, but the rest of the evidence of the gods' support on the city is completely gone.

The city will be teleported on November 21st, so pack your bags and get ready!

THE TUNDRA

The Tundra is not quite the ice planet that many folks may have feared- of course, it's frigid and cold as shit, but you aren't traveling across the arctic shelf or anything. The ground is frozen hard and nearly impenetrable, but there are vague tufts of frosted-over purple grass and icy rocks dotting the landscape. Rather than surrounded by snow, you're instead surrounded by rocky, hard ground. There is a lake visible from the city, within an hours' walk from the eastern side- however, the top layer of it is frozen solid, thick enough to skate on, if you had skates. There are large, dark moving shapes barely visible in the brownish water beneath the ice, so you might want to think twice before cutting a hole to go ice fishing.

In the distance- maybe a week's walk from the city- is a hilly area that could be called mountains, but they're a little short for mountains. Still, they're capped in snow and it would be foolish to try and climb them without support from the gods or some other method of survival. Down in the crevice beneath the mountains is a large, alien mechanical structure- but more on that later.

As far as wildlife goes, there's definitely an ecosystem in the area. Small alien mammals flit between the rocks and into crevices where they've made their homes- one example of such is a mousey creature with thick, shaggy fur and an extremely long, purple-tufted tail. When preying insects come to their tail (thinking its grass, of course), the creature darts forward and eats it. Cute! Batlike creatures with four wings make their nests at the top of larger rocks, out of reach of the more predatory creatures on the tundra floor. And finally, the apex predators of this land are small groups (6-8) of circular mammoth-looking creatures. These guys are also very shaggy and roughly the size of a bear, but far less ergonomic. Their bodies are such that they can pull their limbs back into their mountains of fur for protection and to confuse their prey, before snapping their heads out and biting with several sharklike rows of teeth. These guys in particular will take interest in the city, and one or two herds of them may circle around and look for stragglers or lone explorers to pick off, so be careful!

Feel free to make up your own encounter with alien wildlife as well, just remember that the land isn't teaming with animals, and encounters may be somewhat rare.

The various Door-brought animals who have lingered around the city in search of prey are almost all gone, but those that have been brought in with everyone else will no longer be restricted from the city, so watch out for attacks from them, as well as them conflicting with he local wildlife.

The weather is consistently very cold, with temperatures hitting between 30 and 45 degrees. Hadriel was transported to this planet during the receding 'Summer', and so while there is less snow and ice on the ground for now, there is a permafrost that lingers even on the warmest days. During the next few months, as the biome descends into Winter, snowfalls will begin light and dusting, before gradually growing heavier and heavier until the ground is shrouded in snow and most of the surrounding mammals go into hibernation. Fun!

This is the two moon planet that Hadriel had been underground in the past. The night sky is quite beautiful, with thousands of twinkling stars and one close moon with one moon further away, with the closer moon being visible even during the daytime. The day/night cycles are somewhat normal for the biome, with a long nightfall (roughly 12-14 hour nights) and short days where the sun is visible. Again, as Winter begins, night will last longer and longer until your days are only a few sparse hours long.

THE REMAINS OF WAR

There are alien structures nestled between the mountains which are not immediately visible from the city, save for a small, almost imperceptible metallic gleam peaking out of the valley between two of the hills. This seems to be a small cluster of buildings ('city' would be a large stretch) made of a bluish metallic material. These buildings have exceptionally minimalist architecture and are often just one single room with the relevant structures inside. More on these buildings and their contents will be revealed in the future.

Scattered across the landscape, amid and around Hadriel are the remains of war. Scorch marks dot the landscape, with shattered rocks and massive indentations in the earth. Fragments of machines are strewn about, abandoned where they fell and now home to small mammals and plants growing in the nooks and crannies that their broken husks provide. Be careful with some of these, as they may still be operational- and almost all of them are dangerous. Those of you familiar with the Null may recognize some of their more rudimentary weapons in various conditions of operation, however, there are no god killers just lying around at this time.

Some of these husks may still even contain sleeping or deactivated Null, able to reawaken and contact their bretheren at the slightest disturbance, provocation, or people just figuring out where the On button is... so be extremely careful when salvaging these remains.

So have fun! Be careful when exploring, and do try not to freeze to death before the gods find you again- if they find this place again.

Comments

[circumitus]

The Speakeasy actually has a firepit for those who want to find places for warmth. She'll also be immediately working on insulating the place to better keep heat in after the move, once it's clear that they'll be needing it. There's plenty of rations she's hoarded in the cellar so it'll be a good place to gather for food as well as drink (not all is alcoholic, just FYI).

There will be some Chai Po-Russki plus "pot tea" that makes people a little high (courtesy to Carlisle) served at the Speakeasy as well.

Rey herself is super warm all the time so anyone's free to notice that and end up being too close for comfort around her, lol.

She's got a few field rations (MREs) that dropped from the items by the Door, so she'll be taking those with her and going hunting a lot, since protein will be hella vital for survival. I'd love to have others get involved in stuff like that as well, including maybe teaching some how to hunt and skin their own food (she'd offered this kinda thing here). I'd be stoked to do some camping/exploration/hunting stuff!

(In the same aforementioned post she talked with Alphys about making versions of heatsuits via her own Exurosuit prototype, which are based on futuristic winter armor. I'm not sure if those would be available before or after the move since some god guidance will likely be required and there might not be enough time, but it is something that she's working on to help those who are more vulnerable to the cold!)

[soldier_blade]

Rey and Sonya should start a hunting party. Without food being provided by the gods and a need to catch enough prey, it'd be a good idea to have one-Sonya's also trained in survival skills.

[circumitus]

Sweet! I've been meaning for some of that CR with Sonya but it just never came up, so this would be a good chance for them to connect, since Rey will definitely be all about hunting and living off their crappy land.