Dealing with less air / oxygen

JCurwen3 · 04-30-2016, 11:31 AM

Maybe I've missed it, but I'm trying to find or come up with rules for what happens when there is air, but less of it than a character is used to.

This could range the gamut from characters hiking / mountain climbing at elevations where the air is thinner, to being on a planet that just has a thinner atmosphere or less oxygen than Earth, for instance.

It seems obvious that, at the very least, when there is less air or oxygen than what you're used to, FP loss should probably happen at a faster rate during physical exertion, or else FP recovery could be slowed, or both. I'm trying to work out how to determine how to achieve this effect, scaled to the % of oxygen in the air (or reduced air pressure overall).

At some point the area between there being less air & no air becomes a bit murky, as if the level of oxygen is significantly low enough, hyperventilation & slow suffocation will occur. Not sure at what point that happens, but again, this would call for a way to scale FP loss to suffocation to the % of oxygen available.

Then there is the phenomenon where people who train or live at higher altitudes with thinner air, when they find themselves in an area where there is a higher % of oxygen, they operate as though they were fitter for a while until the effect wears off eventually if they stay at the lower altitude / higher % of oxygen. I'd like to model this as well. The same thing happens when someone used to "normal" sea level oxygen levels finds themselves in a higher oxygen environment. Healing rates are higher in hyperbaric oxygen chambers too. I'd also like to model how humans can adapt to lower oxygen levels & eventually function normally again.

If anyone has any ideas or rules, or can point me in the right direction, it would be much appreciated!

whswhs · 04-30-2016, 11:38 AM

See Atmospheric Pressure, p. B429, subhead "Thin." Increased fatigue and risk of altitude sickness. Does that cover what you're looking for?

JCurwen3 · 04-30-2016, 11:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by whswhs

See Atmospheric Pressure, p. B429, subhead "Thin." Increased fatigue and risk of altitude sickness. Does that cover what you're looking for?

Thanks... how did I miss that??

whswhs · 04-30-2016, 04:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JCurwen3

Thanks... how did I miss that??

You haven't written as many GURPS books as I have. Each new book requires me to master a few more of the rules.

04-30-2016, 11:31 AM	#1
JCurwen3 Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Brooklyn, NY	Dealing with less air / oxygen Maybe I've missed it, but I'm trying to find or come up with rules for what happens when there is air, but less of it than a character is used to. This could range the gamut from characters hiking / mountain climbing at elevations where the air is thinner, to being on a planet that just has a thinner atmosphere or less oxygen than Earth, for instance. It seems obvious that, at the very least, when there is less air or oxygen than what you're used to, FP loss should probably happen at a faster rate during physical exertion, or else FP recovery could be slowed, or both. I'm trying to work out how to determine how to achieve this effect, scaled to the % of oxygen in the air (or reduced air pressure overall). At some point the area between there being less air & no air becomes a bit murky, as if the level of oxygen is significantly low enough, hyperventilation & slow suffocation will occur. Not sure at what point that happens, but again, this would call for a way to scale FP loss to suffocation to the % of oxygen available. Then there is the phenomenon where people who train or live at higher altitudes with thinner air, when they find themselves in an area where there is a higher % of oxygen, they operate as though they were fitter for a while until the effect wears off eventually if they stay at the lower altitude / higher % of oxygen. I'd like to model this as well. The same thing happens when someone used to "normal" sea level oxygen levels finds themselves in a higher oxygen environment. Healing rates are higher in hyperbaric oxygen chambers too. I'd also like to model how humans can adapt to lower oxygen levels & eventually function normally again. If anyone has any ideas or rules, or can point me in the right direction, it would be much appreciated! __________________ -JC

04-30-2016, 11:38 AM	#2
whswhs Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Lawrence, KS	Re: Dealing with less air / oxygen See Atmospheric Pressure, p. B429, subhead "Thin." Increased fatigue and risk of altitude sickness. Does that cover what you're looking for? __________________ Bill Stoddard I don't think we're in Oz any more.