Difference between revisions of "Equestrian Physics"

Revision as of 03:43, 1 March 2012

The Curious Physical World of Equestria: Part 1, The Sky

Weather within Equestria would be mostly normal if not for pegasi. In many areas of high pony population, there are weather teams where cloud cover is manipulated by Pegasi. Over the years, Pegasi have learned to use cloud cover patterns to manipulate temperature gradients and produce predictable wind patterns. Wind pattern regulation requires extensive cooperation between weather teams in various cities and this is now managed via a central weather command in Cloudsdale. In addition, Cloudsdale, among a few other floating cities (see below), have facilities to produce weather phenomena, which they then sell as commodities. Rainbows, storm clouds, and snowflakes are produced and sold where they are needed. Buyers are mostly city funded weather teams, but some large plantation farmers are known to purchase rain clouds for their orchards. The result of all these weather related ministrations is that many ponies enjoy a veritable "climate controlled" outdoors. The downside, which few ponies dwell on, is that on the boundaries of "controlled" sky, one can see strange and powerful weather patterns, including tornadoes, heavy thunderstorms, and a phenomenon known to Pegasus scholars as "Electro-Rainblooms". Boundary zones exist mainly near the central volcanic region of Equestria and the bounding mountain ranges. Some entrepreneurial pegasi attempt to harvest these severe weather products for sale, but the business is dangerous and most ponies have opted for laboratory grown weather.

The Sky

Table: Height Zones

Height Zones  Altitude     Wind Speed
Low          50-100 ft.   no modification
Medium       100-200 ft.  +/- one category
High         200-400 ft.  +/- two categories

Table: Wind

Condition    Wind Speed    Environment penalty  Dmg/turn CR
Calm         0            -0                  -       0
Breeze       1-10 ft      -1                   -      1/4
Wind         11-20 ft     -2                   -      1/2
Strong Wind   21-40 ft.    -5                  1d6     1
Severe Wind   41-80 ft.    -10                 2d6     2
Storm        81-160 ft.   -15                  4d6     4
Dire Storm   161-320 ft.  -20                  8d6     6
Hurricane    321+ ft.     -30                  16d6    8

Clouds

Clouds are very light and fragile objects, with a density that is only just lighter than air at the surface. The lowest lying clouds with enough cloudstuff for appreciable manipulation (exceeding the size of a pony), are as low as 50 feet from the ground. The existence of these low lying clouds and their vast prevalence has been shown to be a consequence of weather manipulation.

Cloud Descriptions

• Type: Clouds can be of any Size larger than Tiny, up to an enormous mountain of clouds of Collossal III. Furthermore a cloud can be either Light, Grey, or Dark. The color of the cloud signifies which types of weather the cloud is able to produce. A light cloud is only able to refract rainbows, if it is in the right place, or worked for its pristine white cloudstuff. A Grey cloud may be worked for cloudstuff, rainbows, rain, snow or wind. A Dark Cloud, though potentially dangerous can be worked for everything a gray cloud could be worked for plus the really flashy phenomena like hail, thunder or lightning. Some Clouds can have special subtypes like the frozen winter clouds, or strange magical cloud phenomena.

• Fatigue Points: A Cloud consists of a number of fatigue dice according to its size. A medium cloud consists of 1d6+4 Fatigue Points. For each size category of lower than medium divide the dice and modifier by two, for each size category above medium multiply the dice and modifier by two.

• Diffusion Rating: The Diffusion Rating of a Cloud represents its integral consistency. Normally the value is 0, which means the cloud consists of regular Equestrian cloudstuff without tampering, or artificial additives. Clouds can gain a higher Diffusion Rating through a weather manipulation process called "compression" by the addition of Stardust and thereby gain additional stability. Clouds with a negative Diffusion Rating loose a number of Fatigue Points per turn equal to that number.

• Condition Track: Clouds have a slightly different condition track than other object in the game. Light Clouds only have the conditions N and D and can be dispersed instantly by dealing more damage to them than their condition track contains. Grey clouds also have a number of G contitions equal to their number of fatigue dice. Whenever a grey cloud moves along its condition track it becomes a little brighter and it drops a number of its fatigue dice onto the ground, a lower flying cloud (which simply absorbs the downpour), or a lower flying character (who may be hit by the downpour according to the hazard rules). A Dark cloud also may have any number of G conditions, where it acts like a grey cloud and unleashes a bit of its dangerous potential. Whenever a Dark cloud moves one or more steps down its condition track, the Stablemaster rolls for one the dark clouds hazardous effects for every step moved on the condition track.

• Drift: Larger and heavier clouds do not move as swift as the wind blows. Instead they have a kind of dragging motion across the heaven. A cloud of medium size is not influenced in its motion by its size and moves with wind speed across the sky. A cloud of large size moves wind speed -10 ft. per turn, a cloud of huge size wind speed -20, a cloud of gargantuan size wind speed -40 and so on. A grey or dark cloud is also heavy with rain and gains an additional -20 ft. of drifting speed.

• Attack: Some clouds are able to react in certain situations to surrounding characters, vehicles or objects. Whenever a Grey or Dark moves along its condition track, or a Dark cloud becomes tempered with by any kind of dice roll, the Stablemaster may select one of the Attacks available in the profile of the cloud and target the character influencing the cloud, or the nearest character, vehicles or object to the cloud, then eventually the next nearest, and so on.

• Space: One unit of uncompressed cloudstuff occupies one square. A cloud consists of as many units of cloudstuff, as it has Fatigue Dice.

Sample Clouds

• Cumulus Sheep Cloud (CR 1/4)

Type: Medium Light Cloud

FP: 1d6+4 (7) DR: 0

Condition Track: N D

Drift: as Wind Speed

Attack: none

Space: 1

• Forbidding Stormcloud (CR 4)

Type: Gargantuan Dark Cloud

FP: 8d+6+32 DR: 0

Condition Track: N G G G G G G G G D

Drift: Wind Speed -60 ft. (-40 ft. Size, -20 ft. raincloud)

Attack: Downpour - , Gust of Wind - , Hailstorm - , Thundercrack - , Lightning Bolt - ,

Space: 8

• Heavy Raincloud (CR 4)

Type: Colossal Grey Cloud

FP: 16d6+64 DR: 0

Condition Track: N G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G D

Drift: Wind Speed -100 ft. (-80 ft. Size, -20 ft. raincloud)

Attack: Downpour - , Gust of Wind -

Space: 16

• Snow Cloud (CR 2)

Type: Large Grey Frozen Cloud

FP: 2d6+8 DR: 1

Condition Track: N G G D

Drift: Wind Speed -30 ft. (-10 ft. Size, -20 ft. raincloud)

Attack: Icy Downpour - , Icy Wind - , Let it Snow -

Space: 2

Cloud Interaction Rules

See the table below for various standard manipulations of cloudstuff one can perform (applies only to pegasi and griffons. All other creatures cannot interact with clouds):

Manipulation Description	        | Rules Description
Push/Pull/Drag	                | Treat as std object with mass of 1 kg per
                                   cubic meter (0.062 pounds per cubic foot)
Break	                        | Treat as std object with -5 hardness and 1
                                   HP per cubic meter (0.062 HP per cubic foot)*
Form	                        | Treat as clay, follow crafting rules to 
                                   determine outcome complexity**
Cause Precipitation	        | Profession (Weather Team) Check DC 15***

• When breaking a cloud, treat the entire cloud as a single object with total hitpoints according to its volume. The cloud will shrink in volume by an amount proportional to the damage you deal to the cloud. Negative hardness means that the cloud takes additional damage equal to the specified negative hardness on a sunder attempt. Finally, cloud sundering can result as a by product of rapid movement into a cloud. If you wish to ram through a cloud, the damage you deal to it is a function of your move speed. Damage dealt to a cloud via ramming it is: Move Speed - 25, which includes a cloud's hardness. In our example Rainbow Dash build, at level 12 she has 160 feet move speed and thus would be able to deal 135 damage to a cloud by ramming it. After a section of cloud has been destroyed, you may continue your move, possibly again encountering more cloud stuff and attempting additional cloud destruction.

• • Clouds can be fashioned to interact with ordinary objects via a relatively inexpensive material called Stardust, which costs 25g per pound. One ounce is enough to "fix" one cubic square of cloudstuff. Clouds affected by Stardust are more resistant to destruction, gaining a Diffusion Rating of +2 per treatment, and will not change their type, or precipitate their moisture. Stardust, which is produced by unicorns by a magical extraction process from fallen shooting stars, is the basis for cloud cities like Cloudsdale. Buildings and roads may be produced from fixed clouds.

• • Profession (Weather Working) rolls:

Action                            DC
move cloud                         10
produce light downpour              15
produces heavy downpour             20
produce torrential downpour         30
produce snow or thunder            +5
produce hail, thunder or lightning  +10
produce rainbow (cost 1 Harmony)    +10
affect small cloud                 -5
affect large cloud                 +5
affect huge cloud                  +10
affect gargantuan cloud            +15
affect colossal cloud              +20
affect colossal II cloud           +25
affect colossal III cloud          +30

Rainbows

Rain has an obvious economic benefit for farmers, and farming demands drive the bulk of weather manipulation market, but in Equestria rainbows are also considered an economic product. Rainbows are a decorative product. Most town festivals require a rainbow or two and several holidays employ rainbow shows, which are similar to firework displays. Rainbows are shipped in a distilled and concentrated form, and this form can also be used as an expensive food garnish. Commercially produced rainbows are somewhat different than real rainbows. They're actually thin partially fixed cloud stuff mixed with optical enhancing organic crystals. The crystals and the cloud fixing agent is what gives these commercially produced rainbows their characteristic spicy flavor. When used as a food garnish, one is not supposed to eat it, but it isn't toxic.

Exotic Materials

Special material components for equestrian magic, artifice and alchemy include, but are not limited to: Gems and Crystals, Rainbows, Sparkle Powder, Parts of Magical Creatures.