Brand new Sandstorm Code by Xygax the Highlord.

[John]

Remember, we're talking about Zalanthas' very worst storms.

I live in Sydney and occassionally (once or twice a year at the very most) during summer it can rain a LOT, really really bad, so bad you can't see through it to the road, you only know the road's there because it's covered in water whereas grass is on either side In that weather driving a car becomes quite difficult, the wheels might not touch the ground in some places and it'll slip and slide like hell and you can't see at all. I use that to visualise a zalanthan storm.

I guess it'd be the equivalent to a blizzard for those who live in snowy areas

[Angela Christine]

Yes, except that a severe sandstorm could -easily- sweep over and conceal a road completely in a matter of a few minutes.

Remember, we're talking about Zalanthas' very worst storms.

Yes indeedy, except that it doesn't.    If the sandstorm burried the roads, most of them would stay burried, and there would be no roads.  Ok, there could be virtual guys with sandplows (like snowplows, but grittier) that jump into action to clear the roads after each bad storm, but I doubt it.  Even wealthy city-states wouldn't clear the roads more than a few leagues from their own gates, it would simply be too expensive.  Since the _known_ roads have not been burried there must be a reason for it, something in their contruction or nature that makes them obvious.  (The roads that have been burried are unknown, and are only occasionally visible as ruins.  There are probably many ancient roadways burried under the endless sands.)  

My guess is that many of the known roads were made of big blocks of stone set on top of the ground rather than dug into it, with blowing dust and sand long since filling in the gap between the side of the road and the ground below, so that the road itself is effectively at the top of a hill and any new accumulations tend to drift down the sides.  Like the way that you don't get sand dunes on top of the shieldwall, because the sand tends to fall over the side.  It could be something else though, who know what sort of crazy things the Ancients did when they built roads.

The worst sandstorms happen many times per year, there is no evidence of world-wide road clearing crews, and the roads are visible.  Therefore, the roads do not get covered even in the worst storms.


I'm not trying to de-harshinate here.  I usually play rangers anyway, so roads aren't an issue for most of my characters.  However, roads should be better for travel than the open wilderness.  Ok, there already are coded benefits to using the roads that people on foot or riding erdlus take advantage of, but for the average kank-rider they are not that significant.  Many people will choose a wilderness route even when a road is available, simply because it is easier to evade enemies off-road.  It SHOULD be easier to get lost in the open wilderness than on a well-marked path, but everybody has a compass in there ass, so people hardly ever get lost.  (How do people not get lost in the salt flats, there are almost no landmarks!)  Anyway, if roads gave you some protection from the disorienting effects of bad weather, people would be more likely to take the road even durring moderate weather, just in case.  

Keeping travellers on the roads would make life much easier for bandits, raiders, and hungry, hungry halflings.  Predictable travel routes let bandits set clever ambushes, rather than just riding around looking for unguarded loners to randomly attack.  Well-planned and well-executed banditry is more fun for everyone involved.  Established travel routes encourage well-planned banditry.   Encouraging road use increases the chances for all sorts of wilderness encounters, not just banditry, as people pass eachother on the roads.  They can cautiously exchange information on weather conditions, road hazards, and even rumours  --  fun stuff that just doesn't happen if travellers never see eachother from closer than three rooms away.


Making the wilderness more dangerous is an opportunity to make roads more important, and making roads more important is good.  Up with roads!


AC

[Armaddict]

I haven't read over this very thoroughly, so forgive me if this idea was already brought up.  And no, I haven't experienced this new code yet, so I may be out of my element, like Donny.

But it talks in the helpfiles about rangers being helpful guides.  Is it coded in that people following this ranger guide are not at great risk of getting lost, as well?

It would be kind of silly if you're following a guy that knows his way around, but for some reason, you just keep stumbling off on your own.  Would be a nifty way for rangers to get involved with various groups as an independent, solely as a guide through the desert.

If this is already coded, ignore this.

[Trenidor]

I think now would be a good time to address my concern over something off topic...but I won't...I'll save it for someone else to read...


Anyway it has to do with Caravans...there's definately trade between cities, villages, and towns, and since most agrosy and wagons are way expencive and utterly useless *cough* usefull (well IMO they're way to big, but that's just me) That leaves us with large bunches of kanks that travel the lands in groups trading silk and fine crafts...oh wait that's what the persians,(romans and chinese), arabians, Isreali, turks, and various other middle eastern trading groups did. These large caravans often traveled the same route through the desert, causing a trapleing effect to occur where the ground was compacted, and often times seperated to the side causing the area to 'sink' into a pathway eventually other people came along and used these same routes till eventually they were called roads. I highly doubt a roadway of stone blocks has been created from areas (the north road) because of the amount of storms that pass through, but maybe (don't trust me I haven't looked at the descripion of the room for a long time) the area is a rift like valley, on both sides of the road there are piles of sand and soil that are like a courd high, yet a mount could climb over it if they wanted because of it's hill tendancy. With that, the sand that blows, blows over the road  way blocks, and hits either side, or flys right over the road chanel. Closest to the ground only small amounts of sand land, and the sand that does fall is picked up onto the feet of the next caravan or other group of people.

Simple as that: Add this line of text to the end of the main description of north road rooms: the road is sunken down between small mounds of sand/rock/soil on both sides, protecting the road from blowing sand.

Ok that was kinda corney, but it's a solution, and might have flaws to it....

[Cenghiz]

Yes indeedy, except that it doesn't.

It simply does....

Then my ranger and/or 5000 VNPC rangers start wandering on the road. Because in past roads are constructd on the most suitable terrain. Just because road is invisible by some sand, it doesn't mean it would be easier to walk on pure sand or jagged rocks or grown scrub. With every foot of our mounts, the road would be more visible, and kanks have a lot of feet. So;

1. Roads have a lot of turns or curves. This is because roads are placed on the most suitable terrain. If the road's circling around some area, we may make sure that that area will make your kank struggle.
2. Even when the road is covered with sand, in clear and calm weather an average zalanthan would choose the road instead of entering sand flats, where he's drawn into sand with every step. He wouldn't wander into rocky terrains with jagged rocks or areas with thorny bushes. There would be no storm blinding him so even if he failed to keep on the road, he would find back the road again with ease.
3. Every foot walking on the sand-covered roads would make the road more visible. We know a lot of virtual feet travel on the roads.

So I believe after this storm code's active, my chars will RP struggling to keep up on the road after a storm. But just struggling. Because even when the road's invisible, me and possibly my kank wouldn't walk far from the road.
By the way, I'm not fluent in English that much, I wish I could tell you what I meant.

[Ghost]

It simply does....

No it doesnt.  And AC's post made much more sense than that of yours.

[joyofdiscord]

I'm not trying to de-harshinate here.

Oh, also, I think this is the funniest thing I've read in my life.  What is the etiquette for sig quotes around here.  Do I have to ask?  Or can I just slap it in my sig, with proper credit, of course, and let TEH RESIDUAL FUNNEY spill over onto my own posts?

[Angela Christine]

Oh, also, I think this is the funniest thing I've read in my life.  What is the etiquette for sig quotes around here.  Do I have to ask?  Or can I just slap it in my sig, with proper credit, of course, and let TEH RESIDUAL FUNNEY spill over onto my own posts?

Nah, you don't have to ask, at least I never have and nobody has ever asked before quoting me.  Though if someone asks you NOT to use a particular quotation, then it is polite to not use it.  Like this one time, this guy said something like, "Am I the mistress or the aide?" in a clan forum, and I thought it was pretty darn quote-worthy (particularily out of context) but he didn't want everyone to know he was a dirty, dirty genderbender, so I didn't use it.  I would generally be more careful with things said in clan forums than the public forums, since clan stuff is supposed to be priviliged.  Likewise, they might not expect something said in private email or other settings to come back to haunt them on the GDB.  If you are unsure, I suppose a PM first couldn't hurt, but most of the time it isn't necessary.  Like most areas of life, it is easier to ask forgiveness than to get permission.  



AC
(Hmm, should it have been de-harshenize?)

[Xygax]

This is a pretty useful thread that seems to be derailing, so I'm going to lock it before it gets too noisy.

Thanks,
 X