Coldness, Wind Chill, and Survival

[David Johnston2]

Originally Posted by Tallor

Once again I return to a question I asked myself when I first read GURPS: Campaigns... isn't 35*F WAY too cold for someone to live indefinitely? As someone who lives in a pretty warm climate, I'm not sure I'd be too comfortable at 60 degrees, and I feel like plenty of humans would be doing HT rolls around 40-50, not a mere 3F above freezing!

The built in assumption is that you are not naked. 35 degrees is a point where...if you are fully clothed, including a winter weight coat, you are no danger of freezing to death no matter how long you are out of doors. You can sleep on park benches all night in those temperatures and be in no danger. You might not be comfortable, if you are accustomed to a warm climate, but actually slightly above freezing is when I find myself uncomfortably warm while walking across town in my sweater and winter coat. Strip me naked and dump some water on me and HT rolls would start being called for.