N
Ner0
Guest
Before we begin this tutorial we need to clear up a few points.
1: How is this useful in a role play scenario or world?
2: What is a tectonic plate and how does it affect a role play world?
3: Why did I choose such a ridiculously complex acronym for the title of this series?
Firstly, imagine you are doing a time skip. Let's say that the main bad guy has been slain and your characters have all been developed fully with every sub plot line coming to a close in some sort of fashion. Now you and your players still want to continue playing in this world, so instead of continuing your story into the rather repetitive happily ever after, you decide to time skip.
But not just any time skip, let's say a good 25'000'000 years ahead is where you decide to go.
Now this is where things get complicated, so let's start at something easy. We are going to ignore everything that will have obviously changed in this world besides the general look of the world. I find this is a good place to start when recycling a old world like this.
Now, the main factor changing the look of the world will be the tectonic plates moving the land masses on your continent. this will make some seas bigger, some smaller, and not change others at all. This will make new mountain ranges, destroy others, and change the height of some as well. This will also change the places where civilization will have cropped up.
Tectonic plates are defined by the places they meet other plates. The actual plate itself isn't to exciting, just a big blob of rock and other stuff. At the edges of the plates is where all the cool stuff happens, volcanoes, earthquakes, mountains, tsunami's. It's just a grand old time.
The places where the plate's meet is known as the fault line. Their are many fault lines, each behaving a little differently than the other. however science has determined that these fault lines can be generalized into three types of basic interactions.
Transform fault lines: where the plates move beside each other, not necessarily directly pushing against each other, but definitely grinding up on one another. think of your grade eleven dance night, remember that one could that kept grinding up on each other making everything awkward for everyone else? Yeh, they were a transform fault line. These fault lines have average seismic activity (earthquakes and stuff).
Constructive fault lines: These lines move away from each other, the Atlantic ocean is an example of this. The cool this about constructive fault line is that they actually produce almost no seismic activity, so if you live in Newfoundland, you don't have to worry about earthquakes or tsunami's. Promise.
DESTRUCTIVE fault line: THESE FAULT LINES ARE INSTENSE! THEY WILL GIVE YOU NIGHTMARES!
THEY HAVE TWO TYPES OF DESTRUCTION.
one of these types is where the little weak sauce fault line is sucked under the stronger one, allowing for complete takeover by the stronger fault line.
I CALL THIS ONE FAULT LINE DOMINATION!!!
the other type is where the fault lines smash together, creating mountains. THAT'S RIGHT! MOUNTAINS!!!!
I CALL THIS ONE FAULT LINE ERUPTION!!
THESE LINES ARE ACTIVE AS ALL [insert obligatory curse word here]
Seriously though, these fault lines are the sketchiest to live on, daily mini earthquakes and constant tsunami threat's are typical of these areas. I'm looking at you Cali.
Now, with all this fault line interaction, some of you might be wondering why we don't feel all this movement. That is simple. Fault lines aren't moving all that fast, about a millimeter a day depending on the plate's velocity. However, they are an unstoppable force, moving entire continents without so much as a batted eye. Scientists actually discovered two halves of a cave man, one in South America, and another in Africa.
Fault lines.
Now, after about 25'000'000 years the shifts in tectonic movement will cause some serious appearance changes to your world.
Any mountain ranges in your original map would be Destructive fault lines, oceans could be either destructive or constructive, and any transform faults would be spotted throughout. Now, when trying to figure out your plates, head into ms paint or some other basic drawing program with your original world map. Remember that each plate will be traveling in a direction. Use your mountains to determine this direction. Mountains exist where your plates are traveling. So each mountain range has two plates, one on either side. A plates cannot be moving in two direction at once, use this reference to map out your different plates and decide on the sizes and direction. Once you have done that the transform and constructive fault lines will appear by themselves.
So now that this is done you can go on over to this link http://www.platetectonics.com/book/images/Pangaea.gif
Now the time difference between the Permian and Triassic periods is 25'000'000 years, how convenient. Use this model as a general guide for how much your world has changed.
Now just use this guide to draw up your new map, and bam a lam, you are one step closer to opening your brand new role play!
As for the Acronym, all yall hater's can just deal.
1: How is this useful in a role play scenario or world?
2: What is a tectonic plate and how does it affect a role play world?
3: Why did I choose such a ridiculously complex acronym for the title of this series?
Firstly, imagine you are doing a time skip. Let's say that the main bad guy has been slain and your characters have all been developed fully with every sub plot line coming to a close in some sort of fashion. Now you and your players still want to continue playing in this world, so instead of continuing your story into the rather repetitive happily ever after, you decide to time skip.
But not just any time skip, let's say a good 25'000'000 years ahead is where you decide to go.
Now this is where things get complicated, so let's start at something easy. We are going to ignore everything that will have obviously changed in this world besides the general look of the world. I find this is a good place to start when recycling a old world like this.
Now, the main factor changing the look of the world will be the tectonic plates moving the land masses on your continent. this will make some seas bigger, some smaller, and not change others at all. This will make new mountain ranges, destroy others, and change the height of some as well. This will also change the places where civilization will have cropped up.
Tectonic plates are defined by the places they meet other plates. The actual plate itself isn't to exciting, just a big blob of rock and other stuff. At the edges of the plates is where all the cool stuff happens, volcanoes, earthquakes, mountains, tsunami's. It's just a grand old time.
The places where the plate's meet is known as the fault line. Their are many fault lines, each behaving a little differently than the other. however science has determined that these fault lines can be generalized into three types of basic interactions.
Transform fault lines: where the plates move beside each other, not necessarily directly pushing against each other, but definitely grinding up on one another. think of your grade eleven dance night, remember that one could that kept grinding up on each other making everything awkward for everyone else? Yeh, they were a transform fault line. These fault lines have average seismic activity (earthquakes and stuff).
Constructive fault lines: These lines move away from each other, the Atlantic ocean is an example of this. The cool this about constructive fault line is that they actually produce almost no seismic activity, so if you live in Newfoundland, you don't have to worry about earthquakes or tsunami's. Promise.
DESTRUCTIVE fault line: THESE FAULT LINES ARE INSTENSE! THEY WILL GIVE YOU NIGHTMARES!
THEY HAVE TWO TYPES OF DESTRUCTION.
one of these types is where the little weak sauce fault line is sucked under the stronger one, allowing for complete takeover by the stronger fault line.
I CALL THIS ONE FAULT LINE DOMINATION!!!
the other type is where the fault lines smash together, creating mountains. THAT'S RIGHT! MOUNTAINS!!!!
I CALL THIS ONE FAULT LINE ERUPTION!!
THESE LINES ARE ACTIVE AS ALL [insert obligatory curse word here]
Seriously though, these fault lines are the sketchiest to live on, daily mini earthquakes and constant tsunami threat's are typical of these areas. I'm looking at you Cali.
Now, with all this fault line interaction, some of you might be wondering why we don't feel all this movement. That is simple. Fault lines aren't moving all that fast, about a millimeter a day depending on the plate's velocity. However, they are an unstoppable force, moving entire continents without so much as a batted eye. Scientists actually discovered two halves of a cave man, one in South America, and another in Africa.
Fault lines.
Now, after about 25'000'000 years the shifts in tectonic movement will cause some serious appearance changes to your world.
Any mountain ranges in your original map would be Destructive fault lines, oceans could be either destructive or constructive, and any transform faults would be spotted throughout. Now, when trying to figure out your plates, head into ms paint or some other basic drawing program with your original world map. Remember that each plate will be traveling in a direction. Use your mountains to determine this direction. Mountains exist where your plates are traveling. So each mountain range has two plates, one on either side. A plates cannot be moving in two direction at once, use this reference to map out your different plates and decide on the sizes and direction. Once you have done that the transform and constructive fault lines will appear by themselves.
So now that this is done you can go on over to this link http://www.platetectonics.com/book/images/Pangaea.gif
Now the time difference between the Permian and Triassic periods is 25'000'000 years, how convenient. Use this model as a general guide for how much your world has changed.
Now just use this guide to draw up your new map, and bam a lam, you are one step closer to opening your brand new role play!
As for the Acronym, all yall hater's can just deal.
