High Altitude Combat

[Cdnwolf]

Does anyone have any rules about combat in higher elevations like the Alps or Rocky Mountains?

[pmulcahy11b]

Many Afghanistan vets know about this firsthand.

[kcdusk]

What line are you thinking along Ddnwolf?

High altitude wise, i'd think high intensity activities (ie combat or even maintenance) would leave people gasping for air quicker. So maybe fatigue kicks in sooner (if anyone uses that rule).

If your thinking along the lines of snow, white fatigues are better than the normal woodland camp. Also, movement in snow would be harder and slower. Lack of appropriate clothing might lead to exposure.

I'd like to think that being in a different setting might lead to a wider variety of skills being used. Mountainering maybe? Or more navigation checks?

[StainlessSteelCynic]

I pretty much think like kcdusk
Generally I'd rule that movement in high altitude makes all skill checks one level of difficulty higher unless the group is moving on a good track or level field (e.g. like the meadows you find in some mountainous areas in Switzerland).
However that increase in difficulty can be negated if a character has a skill appropriate to the task, like Climbing, Skiing and so on.

Any areas where they are forced to spend more time moving vertically than horizontally in a four hour period could increase the difficulty of any skill checks by two levels or more.
And I would definitely use the Fatigue rules, even to the point of doubling the amount of Fatigue they get unless the group has had mountain warfare training/experience.

[Cdnwolf]

Thanks guys. I am also wondering about the effect of thinner air on bullet ballistics and explosive rounds? Also what about air intake for vehicles driving in the thinner air? Would you have to modify your engine to account for it?

[kcdusk]

I considered the bullets thing, but too detailed for my liking. Theres so much slop and vageries in the playing system i dont think altitude needs to be added.

And if you chose to include it, then your stuck trying to figure out how far to take the modifiers etc.

[Cdnwolf]

Effects of Air Pressure

Altitude decreases an engine’s octane requirements because of the change in air pressure. The higher elevations have a lower level of air pressure, which means an engine needs less octane to properly fire due to the lower ambient pressure. In certain states, such as Colorado where the altitude is generally above 5,000 feet in the mountain regions, 85 octane gasoline is sold, while in lower elevations 87 octane is the lowest sold.


When an engine requires lower levels of octane to “fire,” the overall efficiency of the engine is also lowered, which means the engine works harder to achieve the same results. However, less fuel burns, which means the overall fuel-per-mile efficiency is increased because the engine is working at a reduced compression rate. In short, you can get higher miles-per-gallon at higher elevations, but the power of the engine is also somewhat reduced.

http://www.ehow.com/about_6744997_ef...#ixzz2WlabP63P


Methanol and ethanol have an octane rating of about 98-99.