OCP - Need help with underwater

[bloebick@juno.com (Benja]

On Fri, 06 Mar 1998 21:02:52 -0800 Jim Cooper
writes:

>This is something that everyone on the list should discuss again,
>since
>the heads of the CoS do control ley lines; since most of the ley lines
>in the general vicinity of the CoA are all taken, these guys must tap
>the ocean or river for their sources of realm magic. Or, does someone
>have a different suggestion? IMO, these wizards would be pretty wimpy
>if they didn't control level source holdings. Perhaps, other wizards
>already detailed (like the High Mage Aelies) are the actual heads of
>the
>CoS? This wouldn't be my first guess, but I'm open to discussion.
>

I believe, from my reading, that they don't really control any sources,
but borrow some from neighboring lands, if need be. The control of the
source (0) in CoA is passed around in the high circles so they can feel
the power of the land, but they don't have any real power left other than
name. Perhaps Hermedhie or Khorien of Taeghas allow them a source for
favors that only the COS can give?

Benjamin

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[Neil Barnes]

On Fri, 6 Mar 1998, Jim Cooper wrote:
> I remember that someone on this list is (or might be) a marine
> biologist, and they posted stuff about underwater sources a while back.
> Could you post it to the list again, or email me if you have it? I
> would appreciate this very much.

If you meant the stuff I did, I've not got it on disk, but it might be
archieved at mpgn? Or perhaps somebosy else has a copy.

From memory:

This is based on a rough composite of biodiversity and productivity - I
don't really see it as being a measure of how 'untouched' an area is,
since I think that could be pretty unbalancing within the game (since
almost all marine provinces are going to be unsettled by humans.

I've put my reasoning for the levels in each section, so people can
adjust to suit their views of how sources work.

Oceans: Oceans are marine deserts - there's very little life apart from
phyto- & zooplankton. A normal Ocean province should provide no more
than a source level 4.

Mid-Oceanic Vents: These are the bases for thermosynthetically powered
ecosystems, which are usually pretty diverse. I'd suggest a very high
source rating for one of these, but it should be really difficult to
access - pressure at several miles depth, total darkness, heat all make
the environment inimicable to humans. Suggested source: 9.

Coastal Marine Provinces: The productivity of a coastal region is much
higher than an oceanic province, since alage and animals settle on the
sea bad, where light can filter down to reach them. Assume a typical
source level of 6.

Kelp Forests: I've forgotten how Kelp is distibuted globally - a kelp
forest would increase a coastal provinces source rating by 1.

Coastal upwellings: In some regions (there's about 6 - 20 around the
world I think) deep ocean water rises up to the surface - this is loaded
with nutrients (Nitrates for the science minded) which allow massive
production at sea. The best example is along the coast of Peru, which is
one of the most plentiful fisheries in the world. They're subject to
twenty-odd year fluctuations when the upwellings stop temporarily - this
is El-Ninio. and is has pretty widespread effects. I'd suggest a source
level of 7 for one of these provinces.

Coral Reefs: Coral reefs are one of the most diverse environments on the
planet, rivalling tropical rainforests. They're also extremely fragile.
I'd suggest a base source rating of 9 - however any significant
disturbance would cause them to drop quickly. I've heard that there may
be coral reefs of some sort on the bottom of the North Sea - this is
pretty odd, and I don't really know any details.

Polar Ice-caps: In spring, when the icecaps melt, they release a lot of
trapped nutrients - there's then a huge boom in biological production -
phytoplankton support huge swarms of Kril (several thousand per cc, and
shoals can be upto several km in size.) These in turn support baleen
whales, penguins etc.

Winter: 4, Spring: 8, Summer 6, Autumn: 5

It should be noted that the North Sea was heavily depleted very early in
history - Basque (and others) whalers had devastated North-Eastern
atlantic whale stocks by 1000 AD.

neil