Steve Jackson Games - Site Navigation
Home General Info Follow Us Search Illuminator Store Forums What's New Other Games Ogre GURPS Munchkin Our Games: Home

Go Back   Steve Jackson Games Forums > Roleplaying > GURPS

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 05-24-2020, 01:46 AM   #1
awesomenessofme1
 
Join Date: Mar 2016
Default How to classify a region that could qualify as more than one terrain?

The terrain types (for things like Survival) are pretty good broad classifications, but I'm not clear where to put regions that fit into multiple categories. A few examples:

Taiga (Arctic and Woodlands)
Montane forest (Mountains and Woodlands). These can also be cold enough to qualify as Arctic.
Something like the Aleutian islands (Island/Beach and Arctic)
awesomenessofme1 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-24-2020, 04:24 AM   #2
Anders
 
Anders's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Gothenburg, Sweden
Default Re: How to classify a region that could qualify as more than one terrain?

Allow either Survival skill.
__________________
“When you arise in the morning think of what a privilege it is to be alive, to think, to enjoy, to love ...” Marcus Aurelius
Anders is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-24-2020, 08:47 AM   #3
weby
 
weby's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2008
Default Re: How to classify a region that could qualify as more than one terrain?

Quote:
Originally Posted by awesomenessofme1 View Post
The terrain types (for things like Survival) are pretty good broad classifications, but I'm not clear where to put regions that fit into multiple categories. A few examples:

Taiga (Arctic and Woodlands)
Montane forest (Mountains and Woodlands). These can also be cold enough to qualify as Arctic.
Something like the Aleutian islands (Island/Beach and Arctic)
It depends more on the situation. I would use the most appropriate for the situation and in some cases either skill.


Taiga in the winter would be Arctic as the main challenges are likely coldness and similar issues, in the summer more like woodlands.

Montane forest, things that have to do with not falling into crevices and similar would be mountains, but foraging more like forests.

Aleutian islands, are more like Arctic for the cold, but Island/Beach for foraging..
__________________
--
GURPS spaceship unofficial errata and thoughts: https://gsuc.roto.nu/
weby is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-24-2020, 08:58 AM   #4
Turhan's Bey Company
Aluminated
 
Turhan's Bey Company's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: East of the moon, west of the stars, close to buses and shopping
Default Re: How to classify a region that could qualify as more than one terrain?

Some options:
  • Only one: Decide if it's more one or the other and pick that one.
  • More like one than the other: Pick a favored terrain but allow rolls against the other at a small penalty (say, -2 rather than going with a default).
  • Both are good: Allow rolls against either terrain type
  • Both are necessary: Roll against the average of specialties.
Which one to pick? Depends on how complicated you want it to be, I suppose.
__________________
I've been making pointlessly shiny things, and I've got some gaming-related stuff as well as 3d printing designs.

Buy my Warehouse 23 stuff, dammit!
Turhan's Bey Company is online now   Reply With Quote
Old 05-24-2020, 09:59 AM   #5
AlexanderHowl
 
Join Date: Feb 2016
Default Re: How to classify a region that could qualify as more than one terrain?

I would require the lower of the applicable Survival skills.
AlexanderHowl is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-24-2020, 11:53 AM   #6
whswhs
 
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Lawrence, KS
Default Re: How to classify a region that could qualify as more than one terrain?

I treat the types as exclusive. So, for example, I take Arctic to be tundra, because that is clearly not Woodland. I take taiga, temperature forest, Pacific rain forest, and Mediterranean to be Woodland. I don't take tropical rain forest to be Woodland, because it's clearly Jungle, and the same for monsoon forest. I don't consider Mountain to be also Arctic; rather, I take Mountain to refer primarily to the parts of the terrain that are above the tree line, and consider it to be comparable to Arctic but not the same category.

In my current setting, Tela, I have dwarves living underground; elves in Woodland and Jungle; ghouls in Desert; men in Plains; nixies in Swampland and Rivers/Lakes; selkies in Island/Beach and Lagoons; and trolls in Arctic and Mountains.
__________________
Bill Stoddard

I don't think we're in Oz any more.
whswhs is online now   Reply With Quote
Old 05-25-2020, 07:41 AM   #7
Kromm
GURPS Line Editor
 
Kromm's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Montréal, Québec
Default Re: How to classify a region that could qualify as more than one terrain?

In games where I've been the GM, I've usually ruled that the -3 default penalty between specialties is "conserved" and gets distributed. So in pure X, it's Survival (X) or Survival (Y)-3; in mostly X but a bit like Y, it's Survival (X)-1 or Survival (Y)-2; in mostly Y but a bit like X, it's Survival (X)-2 or Survival (Y)-1; and in pure Y, it's Survival (X)-3 or Survival (Y).

There are two exceptions:
  1. Really harsh environments with all the worst aspects of both X and Y (e.g., a mountain in the middle of the Arctic): Use the lower of Survival (X) and Survival (Y).

  2. Really bounteous environments with all the best aspects of both X and Y (e.g., sparsely wooded plains with both lots of grasses and herd animals, and lots of trees and woodland creatures), or environments where one can move between the two terrain types quickly and at will (e.g., a beach on the edge of a jungle): Use the higher of Survival (X) and Survival (Y).
__________________
Sean "Dr. Kromm" Punch <kromm@sjgames.com>
GURPS Line Editor, Steve Jackson Games
My DreamWidth [Just GURPS News]
Kromm is online now   Reply With Quote
Old 05-26-2020, 02:39 AM   #8
Ultraviolet
 
Ultraviolet's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: Århus, Denmark
Default Re: How to classify a region that could qualify as more than one terrain?

I would just gauge it individually in the different situations.

Type of terrain and vegetation is important, as is climate and season. Also, the activities might affect the skill used. As a GM I'mn open for player-negotiations, if there are valid arguments.

In our apparantly never ending Cliffhangers campaign, on wilderness advantures I often ask for HT based survival rolls to avoid fatigue from travel, weather etc.
If they trek across the African savannah under a blazing sun, Desert might be as good to avoid Fatigue loss, while Plains is used to deal with animals, plants etc.
Same with snow covered, forested mountains. Arctic might be used to avoid frostbite etc. but Mountains is used to avoid falling into cracks etc. and Woodlands perhaps to forage.
__________________
Playing GURPS since '90, is now fluent in 4th ed as well.
Ultraviolet is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Tags
krommpost, survival

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Fnords are Off
[IMG] code is Off
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -6. The time now is 06:13 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.9
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.