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total eclipse of Athas

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
adidamps2
Feb 25, 2008 5:38:10 after an quick search of the forum and going over all of my books i haven't found much info on eclipse patterns of Athas and what impact that may have on the lands.
i know there are 2 moons..so how often would an eclispe take palce and how long would these ecplise's last?

although i am sure i can "make" this up on my own, i wanted to know if there was already some good info out there on it or what you guys have come up with.

i am trying to come up with some good back ground story line for it and want to implimant it into my campaign story line. plus if i am not mistaken there is a "area of intrest" location that has creatures that wonder out of it when it is night time, so how would an eclipse effect this "device"?
#2
phoenix_m
Feb 25, 2008 10:49:02 I would think Ral and Guthay is too small to cause an eclipse and might be noted as an oddity. on the other hand Guthay might be large enough to cause one, bairly. With all the images I've seen the Dark Sun is huge.

On a side note though, there are places where astrology is mentioned in the 3rd Ed core rules, Draj and Nibenay even have a Regional Feat for it.
#3
xlorepdarkhelm_dup
Feb 25, 2008 11:05:51 An eclipse would be interesting. I doubt that it would completely block out the sun, but there should be some strong tidal forces possible from it. The lack of an ocean would somewhat prevent ocean tides from being applicable, but there might be tectonic effects (earthquakes), or even the Silt Sea could possibly shift a little from it.

an interesting phenomenon would be if Ral, Guthay, and the sun were all in alignment, which I think would be the strongest tidal force to affect Athas. It would almost be like a fiery eye in the sky.
#4
Band2
Feb 25, 2008 12:08:16
after an quick search of the forum and going over all of my books i haven't found much info on eclipse patterns of Athas and what impact that may have on the lands.
i know there are 2 moons..so how often would an eclispe take palce and how long would these ecplise's last?

I remember a program out of the web called the Merchant Calendar. Not only did it have the calendar days, but also showed, sun rise times, phases of the moons, and eclipses. I think it could help you figure out how often and how long the eclipse would last. Of course, just because there is an eclipse, does not mean that it would be visible everywhere.
I don't remember where that program was, but you may find it out there somewhere.
#5
Pennarin
Feb 25, 2008 13:49:52 Merchant Calendar: http://members.cox.net/dragons_sanctum/MC10.zip
#6
adidamps2
Feb 25, 2008 20:44:27 thanks guys..that calander will really help.

so from i can take though is you guys doubt i would get a "Pitch Black" scenerio out of a total eclipse of Athas...which is really what i was looking for.
hmmm....i wonder what kind of effect this woul dhave on wizardly and elemental magic? would Sun and Fire priest weaken? would Necromancers (The Dead Lands Liches) grow in power?
#7
phoenix_m
Feb 25, 2008 21:07:24 Thank You Penn, that is a wonderful little program. My wife has already figured out her characters birth day...
#8
crusadercitadel
Feb 27, 2008 0:24:59
thanks guys..that calander will really help.

so from i can take though is you guys doubt i would get a "Pitch Black" scenerio out of a total eclipse of Athas...which is really what i was looking for.

The funny thing is, from your original post I was figuring that you were asking about lunar eclipses, not solar eclipses. A double lunar eclipse would be a really awesome event...
#9
phoenix_m
Feb 27, 2008 0:57:17 The Great Conjunction
#10
cnahumck
Feb 27, 2008 10:37:25 The Epic spells involved in the Shadow Transformation spells in Legends of Athas involve the lunar cycle as part of the mitigating factors. They are part of the Shadow Shifter PrC.
#11
adidamps2
Feb 28, 2008 14:19:00
The funny thing is, from your original post I was figuring that you were asking about lunar eclipses, not solar eclipses. A double lunar eclipse would be a really awesome event...

although that would be neat, i think on a planet were the sun beats down on you day and night a total solar eclipse would be much more spectacular.

after some playing with the provided Merchant Calendar i have found that a tota Solar Eclipse involving both moons happens every 11 yrs. so for my game which i am starting 1 yr prior to the death of SK Kalak, my next solar eclipse will be on FY3 month of Morrow day 3 @ 1200PM. thats 4 yrs worth of game time

thanks again guys for all the assistance here with this.
#12
jon_oracle_of_athas
Mar 02, 2008 13:59:31 The moon cycles are covered in Trade Lords, available from athas.org.
#13
ruhl-than_sage
Mar 08, 2008 18:08:41
an interesting phenomenon would be if Ral, Guthay, and the sun were all in alignment, which I think would be the strongest tidal force to affect Athas. It would almost be like a fiery eye in the sky.

I think that is essentially what a kings age is based off of.
#14
flindbar7
Mar 09, 2008 3:59:03 If memory serves ...... (and it's been a while) ..... there was a thread where someone (Brian) postulated that one of the moons were huge, athas orbited it instead of the the sun (ie as a moon itself) and that the sun wasn't the centre of the system.

I think the thread is this one cosmology and mapping thread
#15
flindbar
Mar 09, 2008 4:10:07 At last ......... account migration :D
#16
xlorep_darkhelm
Mar 09, 2008 10:05:10 And here, I decided to go against the grain, and make my account name be a little easier to read.
#17
flindbar
Mar 09, 2008 11:36:20
And here, I decided to go against the grain, and make my account name be a little easier to read.

#18
phoenix_m
Mar 12, 2008 19:14:53 Does anyone have any information for astrology based on Star Signs? I've seen Gary Astleford's Athasian Horoscope page, but that only covers the year and season. I'd really like to know if the constellations have any meaning to them.

There's a star sign list in the Ivroy Triangle boxed set BTW.
#19
phoenix_m
Mar 15, 2008 11:17:26 So I take it the community has nothing on the subject?

Drats... off to the grind...
#20
cnahumck
Mar 15, 2008 12:53:46 I have been (not lately though) talking to a friend who is interested in making PreTandori (I know that's wrong, but I want some chicken) have their own unique powers list based of the astrological signs.

With 4e right around the corner, though, I don't plan on touching it.

A quick thing to do would be to rename the ardent mantles, as these might apply. You could also add whichever you might like.
#21
phoenix_m
Mar 16, 2008 1:59:58
I know that's wrong, but I want some chicken

What the #%*@

With 4e right around the corner, though, I don't plan on touching it.

Rules may change, the fluff remains! Besides, some of us are staying 3.5.

A quick thing to do would be to rename the ardent mantles, as these might apply. You could also add whichever you might like.

A what? Ardent Mantle, source please.
#22
cnahumck
Mar 16, 2008 10:26:02 Ardent mantles are from the Complete Psionics book.
#23
Zardnaar
Mar 16, 2008 13:26:18
Ardent mantles are from the Complete Psionics book.

Anyone used mantles in game? I had a PC asking about them the other day- shes a Psion. Never really looked into it as I hate the Complete Psion as its really bad IMHO.
#24
cnahumck
Mar 16, 2008 13:57:28 Most of it is utter crap, but I really like the Lurk and the Ardent, and I think the Ardent and the Divine Mind (with tweaking) can work for Green Age stuff pretty well.

I have had a player be an ardent. It has gone well, they tend to be a bit specialized, but that works well. If you want utility, go for a psion instead.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 adidamps2 Feb 25, 2008 5:38:10	after an quick search of the forum and going over all of my books i haven't found much info on eclipse patterns of Athas and what impact that may have on the lands. i know there are 2 moons..so how often would an eclispe take palce and how long would these ecplise's last? although i am sure i can "make" this up on my own, i wanted to know if there was already some good info out there on it or what you guys have come up with. i am trying to come up with some good back ground story line for it and want to implimant it into my campaign story line. plus if i am not mistaken there is a "area of intrest" location that has creatures that wonder out of it when it is night time, so how would an eclipse effect this "device"?
#2 phoenix_m Feb 25, 2008 10:49:02	I would think Ral and Guthay is too small to cause an eclipse and might be noted as an oddity. on the other hand Guthay might be large enough to cause one, bairly. With all the images I've seen the Dark Sun is huge. On a side note though, there are places where astrology is mentioned in the 3rd Ed core rules, Draj and Nibenay even have a Regional Feat for it.
#3 xlorepdarkhelm_dup Feb 25, 2008 11:05:51	An eclipse would be interesting. I doubt that it would completely block out the sun, but there should be some strong tidal forces possible from it. The lack of an ocean would somewhat prevent ocean tides from being applicable, but there might be tectonic effects (earthquakes), or even the Silt Sea could possibly shift a little from it. an interesting phenomenon would be if Ral, Guthay, and the sun were all in alignment, which I think would be the strongest tidal force to affect Athas. It would almost be like a fiery eye in the sky.
#4 Band2 Feb 25, 2008 12:08:16	after an quick search of the forum and going over all of my books i haven't found much info on eclipse patterns of Athas and what impact that may have on the lands. i know there are 2 moons..so how often would an eclispe take palce and how long would these ecplise's last? I remember a program out of the web called the Merchant Calendar. Not only did it have the calendar days, but also showed, sun rise times, phases of the moons, and eclipses. I think it could help you figure out how often and how long the eclipse would last. Of course, just because there is an eclipse, does not mean that it would be visible everywhere. I don't remember where that program was, but you may find it out there somewhere.
#5 Pennarin Feb 25, 2008 13:49:52	Merchant Calendar: http://members.cox.net/dragons_sanctum/MC10.zip
#6 adidamps2 Feb 25, 2008 20:44:27	thanks guys..that calander will really help. so from i can take though is you guys doubt i would get a "Pitch Black" scenerio out of a total eclipse of Athas...which is really what i was looking for. hmmm....i wonder what kind of effect this woul dhave on wizardly and elemental magic? would Sun and Fire priest weaken? would Necromancers (The Dead Lands Liches) grow in power?
#7 phoenix_m Feb 25, 2008 21:07:24	Thank You Penn, that is a wonderful little program. My wife has already figured out her characters birth day...
#8 crusadercitadel Feb 27, 2008 0:24:59	thanks guys..that calander will really help. so from i can take though is you guys doubt i would get a "Pitch Black" scenerio out of a total eclipse of Athas...which is really what i was looking for. The funny thing is, from your original post I was figuring that you were asking about lunar eclipses, not solar eclipses. A double lunar eclipse would be a really awesome event...
#9 phoenix_m Feb 27, 2008 0:57:17	The Great Conjunction
#10 cnahumck Feb 27, 2008 10:37:25	The Epic spells involved in the Shadow Transformation spells in Legends of Athas involve the lunar cycle as part of the mitigating factors. They are part of the Shadow Shifter PrC.
#11 adidamps2 Feb 28, 2008 14:19:00	The funny thing is, from your original post I was figuring that you were asking about lunar eclipses, not solar eclipses. A double lunar eclipse would be a really awesome event... although that would be neat, i think on a planet were the sun beats down on you day and night a total solar eclipse would be much more spectacular. after some playing with the provided Merchant Calendar i have found that a tota Solar Eclipse involving both moons happens every 11 yrs. so for my game which i am starting 1 yr prior to the death of SK Kalak, my next solar eclipse will be on FY3 month of Morrow day 3 @ 1200PM. thats 4 yrs worth of game time thanks again guys for all the assistance here with this.
#12 jon_oracle_of_athas Mar 02, 2008 13:59:31	The moon cycles are covered in Trade Lords, available from athas.org.
#13 ruhl-than_sage Mar 08, 2008 18:08:41	an interesting phenomenon would be if Ral, Guthay, and the sun were all in alignment, which I think would be the strongest tidal force to affect Athas. It would almost be like a fiery eye in the sky. I think that is essentially what a kings age is based off of.
#14 flindbar7 Mar 09, 2008 3:59:03	If memory serves ...... (and it's been a while) ..... there was a thread where someone (Brian) postulated that one of the moons were huge, athas orbited it instead of the the sun (ie as a moon itself) and that the sun wasn't the centre of the system. I think the thread is this one cosmology and mapping thread
#15 flindbar Mar 09, 2008 4:10:07	At last ......... account migration :D
#16 xlorep_darkhelm Mar 09, 2008 10:05:10	And here, I decided to go against the grain, and make my account name be a little easier to read.
#17 flindbar Mar 09, 2008 11:36:20	And here, I decided to go against the grain, and make my account name be a little easier to read.
#18 phoenix_m Mar 12, 2008 19:14:53	Does anyone have any information for astrology based on Star Signs? I've seen Gary Astleford's Athasian Horoscope page, but that only covers the year and season. I'd really like to know if the constellations have any meaning to them. There's a star sign list in the Ivroy Triangle boxed set BTW.
#19 phoenix_m Mar 15, 2008 11:17:26	So I take it the community has nothing on the subject? Drats... off to the grind...
#20 cnahumck Mar 15, 2008 12:53:46	I have been (not lately though) talking to a friend who is interested in making PreTandori (I know that's wrong, but I want some chicken) have their own unique powers list based of the astrological signs. With 4e right around the corner, though, I don't plan on touching it. A quick thing to do would be to rename the ardent mantles, as these might apply. You could also add whichever you might like.
#21 phoenix_m Mar 16, 2008 1:59:58	I know that's wrong, but I want some chicken What the #%*@ With 4e right around the corner, though, I don't plan on touching it. Rules may change, the fluff remains! Besides, some of us are staying 3.5. A quick thing to do would be to rename the ardent mantles, as these might apply. You could also add whichever you might like. A what? Ardent Mantle, source please.
#22 cnahumck Mar 16, 2008 10:26:02	Ardent mantles are from the Complete Psionics book.
#23 Zardnaar Mar 16, 2008 13:26:18	Ardent mantles are from the Complete Psionics book. Anyone used mantles in game? I had a PC asking about them the other day- shes a Psion. Never really looked into it as I hate the Complete Psion as its really bad IMHO.
#24 cnahumck Mar 16, 2008 13:57:28	Most of it is utter crap, but I really like the Lurk and the Ardent, and I think the Ardent and the Divine Mind (with tweaking) can work for Green Age stuff pretty well. I have had a player be an ardent. It has gone well, they tend to be a bit specialized, but that works well. If you want utility, go for a psion instead.