Space Adaptation

The transition to the Earth environment to a zero-g environment takes its toll on the human organism. Body fluids move up from the lower body into the upper body, causing swelling and congestion. The lack of gravity confuses the inner ear, causing space-sickness in 70% of all astronauts for the first two days – vertigo, nausea, vomiting and headaches.

System

Roll a D10 each day. If the result is 7 or less, space sickness persists and the character will act at +2 difficulty (+1 difficulty if given promethazine hydrochloride, a very strong anti-dizziness medication). After space sickness has been mastered it will not return for the duration of the flight, unless a long period of strong accelerations or rotations or occur. The next time a space sickness roll has to be made the difficulty is two less, and so on.

The upper body swelling causes a +1 penalty to dexterity for the first week in space.

Zero-G Physical Deterioration

Over time humans in the zero-g environment will begin to suffer bone decalcification and muscle atrophy unless they exercise vigorously.

System

To avoid atrophy the character needs to exercise for at least two hours each day, increasing with one hour every six months until a total time of six hours per day. Use of a centrifuge environment with simulated gravity counts as exercise.

Without exercise a character will start losing STR and STA at a rate of one dot (alternating between STR and STA; start with the highest) each month for the first two months. There is no drop the third month, one dot less in the fourth, sixth, ninth and so on (the interval increases with one month per step).

A character whose stats reach zero has become severely deteriorated and will likely not survive returning to Earth. People with no strength have extreme muscle atrophy, while no stamina implies serious bone decalcification. In any case their health will not be good, and heart problems, kidney stones and fractures are very likely.

(this system borrowed from the Deep Space module to Cyberpunk 2020)

Zero-G movement

Moving in micro or zero gravity is fundamentally different from moving in a gravity environment. Instead of walking characters climb and drift, and a push can send them tumbling helplessly into empty air – or outer space. Pressing a button will move them backwards unless there is something behind, and unscrewing a screw is a tricky operation as the torque tends to twist not just the screwdriver but also rotate the character.

System

There is a new secondary talent Zero-G movement denoting familiarity with zero-g operations. Characters without the talent suffer +3 difficulty on any skill use involving physical traits. Normally no rolls are needed with the talent, but the number of dice from a physical skill used in a roll is limited by the level of Zero-G movement, denoting the limitations caused by uncertainty with the microgravity mechanics.

Radiation

Space is filled with radiation from the sun, cosmic rays and the occasional nuclear reactor. On the Earth, the atmosphere and magnetic field provide a shield for humans, but in space there is no such protection. Astronauts will accumulate radiation damage from various sources over time.

System

Radiation is measured in rads. A dose less than 50 rads is usually harmless. A human on Earth takes around 0.25 rads per year. In a spaceship or other thin-walled environment the level is 1D6 millirads per hour, or on average 84 millirads per day or 30 rads per year. The background levels in the van Allen radiation belts are a number of times higher, making them unsuitable for manned visits. Contact with an unshielded nuclear reactor such as a NERVA drive contributes 1D10 rads per turn. Solar flares are the most dangerous radiation hazard, producing total radiation exposures on the order of hundreds of rads.

Every time a character is exposed to a substantial dose of radiation they should roll a stamina roll with difficulty 6. The radiation level is the acute dose plus half of all previous doses:

Burns: Radiation burns. Various degrees of nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, reddening of skin, loss of hair, blisters, depression of immune system. Aggravated damage as marked. STA is decreased by one until the damage has healed, disease resistance and high pain threshold (if any) vanishes.

Blood: Haematopoietic syndrome. Damage to bone marrow causing haemophilia and immune system depression. Beside 4 points of aggravated damage from radiation burns, STA is decreased by 3 (one step per week); if decreased below zero death occurs due to damage to bone marrow.

Intestine: gastrointestinal syndrome. Death usually occurs within days and is associated with bloody diarrhoea and destruction of the intestinal mucosa. 5 points of aggravated damage, STA decreased by 4 (one step per day); if decreased below zero death occurs days after exposure.

Brain: Cerebrovascular death. Death occurs within hours from neurological and cardiovascular breakdown. All stats decrease by one per hour after exposure.

Long term effects of radiation

(Rules based from Cyberpunk 2020, GURPS Space and http://www.orcbs.msu.edu/radiation/radmanual(html)/radman96toc.html.)

Solar Flares

The chance of a flare occurring increases as time passes. Roll 2D10 each month minus the number of months since last solar flare. A flare will occur on a result less than 2.

For maximum realism, subtract one from the flare roll when near a solar maximum (occurs in 2000, 2011, 2022, 2033, 2044,… with an 11-year period) and add one near a solar minimum (2006 and so on).

A flare lasts 1D10 days, and has a strength determined as below:

The radiation received per hour is strength D6. Needless to say, survival depends on having a good radiation shielding.

Flares also rend to disrupt space communications.

(Rules based from Deep Space, Cyberpunk 2020)

Frustration

The isolation, close quarters and boredom of space is frustrating to normal humans.

System

Although the effects of being confined to a tiny volume with the same people week after week should ideally be role-played, they might be simulated by rolling random virtue against 6 each week. A failure will increase the difficulty by one next week, a success will restore it to 6.

When a botch occurs, the character has run into trouble:

Conscience: the character behaves rudely or inappropriately to another character, perhaps stealing the last cookie or locking himself up in the washroom.

Self Control: the character lashes out or does something stupid.

Courage: the character has become depressed and withdraws from others.

The number of ones determines the severity of the outbreak; a single one might imply an unpleasant scene, four ones in a courage roll a suicide attempt.

After the crisis, the new difficulty depends on how well it was handled. If the frustration was successfully vented and the situation resolved with the rest of the crew, the difficulty returns to 6. If things went less well, it will still be higher or the frustrated character might even increase the difficulty for all others. If something unexpected happens, a practical crisis, a change in situation or a landmark is passed, the difficulty also tends to return to 6.

Suitability

http://members.aol.com/jstuster/boldendeavors/quiz.htm

contains a test that might determine how suitable a character is to long space missions.

Although having players fill out the quiz in character is best, it is possible to estimate the result by the following formula:

(Charisma + 2 * Self Control + Conscience + Courage)*7/5 + 12

plus modifiers based on the Nature and Demeanor of the character:

Bon Vivant –2

Bravo –3

Caregiver +1

Conformist +2

Conniver –1

Curmudgeon –2

Deviant –2

Director –1

Fanatic +2 (might decrease scores for other characters)

Jester +2

Judge +1

Rebel –2

Survivor +2

Autocrat –1

Autist –1

Avant-Garde –1

Competitor –1

Confidant +2

Jobsworth +2

Mediator +3

Optimist +2

Perfectionist –1

Thrill-Seeker –2

Short Fuse –3

Territorial –2

Calm Heart +2

Self Confident +2

Spacesuits

http://www.woundsunlimited.com/issue4/pages/suits1.html