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I was going to throw some players into Chaos Earth RIGHT after the disaster started. Then I stopped cause I couldn't picture (GM block?) anyplace (in the US) that wouldnt be 20-40 feet under ash very quickly. Do MDC armors, power armors, and vehicles have sophisticated enough intakes to not be affected by volcanic ash?

According to page 21 of CE, it's just a 300 mile radius around the Yellowstone epicenter that has that much ash - everywhere else has just 1-6 feet.

Page 21 also says the ash "clogs the engines of vehicles and machinery" but that's the extant of what the book says as far as I know.

According to the book, by January 22, 2099 (only one month after the cataclysm) the Silver Eagles and other aircraft are grounded due to falling ash and bitter winter conditions. The book also mentions that there will be no summer in 2099 due to the conditions, and Rifts: Warlords of Russia mentions an 80 year mini ice-age. So this would put many, many power armors and vehicles out of commission.

Now, if I were running the game, I would have a period of several weeks where the power-armor and robot pilots were having to constantly take breaks to exit their armor, and remove/clean or even replace their air filters due to the ash. But gradually, repairs and innovations are made to existing technology to allow them to function better in the new environment. Sort of like how the Snow Speeders in Empire Strikes Back were taking some time to be modified to the cold, so too would be the NEMA equipment.

i would point out that for ~99% of that 80 year iceage, there would be no ash problem. as discussed in this thread, the volcanic eruptions producing that ash could not last for very long, relatively speaking, and that the trubesome ash found have fallen out of the atmosphere within a couple of weeks after the end of the eruptions. (just look at the recent Iceland eruption for example)

so during that 80 year ice age, the skies will be clear of ash.

that said, most conventional aircraft will have been adandoned, since they can't be used for the first month or two, and the resources needed to protect them and maintain them could be better used elsewhere. those that didn't get abandoned, or which were later recovered when the skies cleared, would cease to be useful fairly quickly, since aircraft are complex machines needing a lot of maintence and spare parts.. two things that would be in short supply during the immediate post-cataclysm. so once the skies clear up, you would see airsupport make a small comeback, but not in any large numbers nor for permanently.

I brought up the grounding of power armor and aircraft not only because the entry mentioned ash, but also the "bitter winter conditions". There may be problems in conventional weather conditions like extreme cold, snow/hail/freezing rain, high winds, etc., just as any modern aircraft might have.

The books states that Hong Kong only gets a dusting of ash several inches deep, but I suppose that's not fitting with a U.S. based adventure.

As I see it, the real problem with the ash is that it buries everything it touches and collapses buildings so even after the skies clear survivors will be in a perpetual state of having to excavate if they want most things that aren't poking out of the ash layer (and likely already scavenged). There should be enough to eke out a bleak existence, but anything that would enable you to thrive would take dedicated resources to obtain because under that ash layer (even if it is relatively thin) there's still all the rubble and debris from the cataclysm.

Regarding intakes, the sand skimmer from WB4: Africa is a pre-Rifts design that utilizes lice-sized robots to remove sand deposits from joints, intakes and other sensitive components. It is either a Triax or an Israeli designed system and since they would have probably still been American allies, I would think NEMA would have access to that technology as well.

filo_clarke wrote:According to the book, by January 22, 2099 (only one month after the cataclysm) the Silver Eagles and other aircraft are grounded due to falling ash and bitter winter conditions. The book also mentions that there will be no summer in 2099 due to the conditions, and Rifts: Warlords of Russia mentions an 80 year mini ice-age. So this would put many, many power armors and vehicles out of commission.

Now, if I were running the game, I would have a period of several weeks where the power-armor and robot pilots were having to constantly take breaks to exit their armor, and remove/clean or even replace their air filters due to the ash. But gradually, repairs and innovations are made to existing technology to allow them to function better in the new environment. Sort of like how the Snow Speeders in Empire Strikes Back were taking some time to be modified to the cold, so too would be the NEMA equipment.

Cheers, good comparison.

Grell wrote:The books states that Hong Kong only gets a dusting of ash several inches deep, but I suppose that's not fitting with a U.S. based adventure.

As I see it, the real problem with the ash is that it buries everything it touches and collapses buildings so even after the skies clear survivors will be in a perpetual state of having to excavate if they want most things that aren't poking out of the ash layer (and likely already scavenged). There should be enough to eke out a bleak existence, but anything that would enable you to thrive would take dedicated resources to obtain because under that ash layer (even if it is relatively thin) there's still all the rubble and debris from the cataclysm.

Regarding intakes, the sand skimmer from WB4: Africa is a pre-Rifts design that utilizes lice-sized robots to remove sand deposits from joints, intakes and other sensitive components. It is either a Triax or an Israeli designed system and since they would have probably still been American allies, I would think NEMA would have access to that technology as well.

Inches is very different than 20+ feet of ash.

So did Nema just stay hidden, pretty much, when the ash, erruptions, earthquakes, and shorelines disappearing?

No, NEMA is at the forefront of the action and suffers greatly for it. They respond to every call for help and local disaster that they're ever dwindling manpower will allow them to. They definitely don't stay hidden even though it will be to their detriment in the long run.

Grell wrote:No, NEMA is at the forefront of the action and suffers greatly for it. They respond to every call for help and local disaster that they're ever dwindling manpower will allow them to. They definitely don't stay hidden even though it will be to their detriment in the long run.

So was it like fighting in a grey blizzard/snowfall?

Basically. General Sawyer's journal talks at length about the choking conditions, bad visibility and how disorienting the general setting of it all is. Do you have the core book?

Grell wrote:Basically. General Sawyer's journal talks at length about the choking conditions, bad visibility and how disorienting the general setting of it all is. Do you have the core book?

Yes, Im going to sit and give it a complete read shortly, and thank you.

It's my favorite setting, I hope you enjoy the read!

Grell wrote:It's my favorite setting, I hope you enjoy the read!

I do really like it. I am thinking of taking a small group of players from rifts back to this period. Change the feel of the game.

It is a very desperate setting. It would be an effective shock especially for characters that are used to adequate logistical support and not being seen by their fellow sentient beings as food more often than not.

I like running for characters of the golden age and I like a human centered approach, giving them the opportunity to become the first humans to reach in peace across the species barrier. That and violent xenophobia is a big setting element.

Grell wrote:It is a very desperate setting. It would be an effective shock especially for characters that are used to adequate logistical support and not being seen by their fellow sentient beings as food more often than not.

I like running for characters of the golden age and I like a human centered approach, giving them the opportunity to become the first humans to reach in peace across the species barrier. That and violent xenophobia is a big setting element.

Yeah. The character probably knowing more about demons, than most, would also be sought after by Nema to help.

That could be an interesting angle to play or even turn on it's head, the ideal vs. the actual. That characters might think that NEMA would welcome their expertise and ability, but in reality they are seen as perhaps a greater and more insidious threat...

Keep in mind......as the ash dries it can get stirred up again (or any place that stayed dry) and as its really fine, if you add jet exhaust you are back to a huge dust cloud again (from say a SAMAS)

And if it gets wet enough to stay in a mud like state.......when it dries it becomes concrete mixed with crazy glue (letting it dry INSIDE a turbine means time for a while new engine)

Could be used by Nema for emergency material to build ash igloos?

Y'all need Chaos Earth: First Responders. Soon, hopefully.

Good thread!

Jason Richards wrote:Y'all need Chaos Earth: First Responders. Soon, hopefully.

Good thread!

Why yes, yes I believe we do.

Definitely going to be getting all the Chaos Earth books.

Yeah there goes Jason Richards touting that book again, you know the one not in my hands.

Warmaster40k wrote:Yeah there goes Jason Richards touting that book again, you know the one not in my hands.

Telling the staff that you're interested is a great way to bump it up in the queue. Trust me, nobody is looking forward to it being printed than me.

Jason Richards wrote:

Warmaster40k wrote:Yeah there goes Jason Richards touting that book again, you know the one not in my hands.

Telling the staff that you're interested is a great way to bump it up in the queue. Trust me, nobody is looking forward to it being printed than me.

you're not alone there!

Yeah with my one thread on system changes, I'm doing it for the Chaos Earth game, I did have an idea of running a Golden Age Conflict game with a start date of April 16 2035 right after the formation of the NAA, and the initial founding of NEMA, which the Mexican drug lords use as an oppertunity to discredit the Mexican government by going into open warfare, stirring the young NEMA into action in the Mexican theatre. I was thinking of using a hybrid of Ninjas and Superspies with supplemental material from Heroes Unlimited and Beyond the Supernatural for the weird stuff (the Lazlo Society lives).

Try playing civilian survivors from day one. It is a fun survival setting