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What if the sun stopped rising

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Keep in mind that many D&D settings have quite a few interventionist gods. You can wreck the surface pretty bad without killing everybody, even if you want the damage to be a substantial and on-going feature of your setting going forward. Even if gods don't get involved, powerful magic-users will do what they can to establish habitable zones, if not out of altruism then out of a desire to have some surviving henchmen.

Staccat0 said:
I know what I want to happen, but I'd like to be able to have radiant quests dealing with some of the consequences and fallout.

I'm thinking that, in the world of D&D, dark elves and lycanthropes would see it as their time to strike. What I am curious about is setting up some vaguely "realistic" timelines and establishing some changes in the world to make things feel meaningful and give stuff weight without sitting there and delivering a long stupid monologue to the party.

I'm really curious about time lines, because I would like to create a scenario where the party is doing a lot of forced marching and trying to fix shit in a hurry, pulling in rules about exhaustion and fast overland travel that rarely get used.
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My best advice is to tailor the stages of disaster to the magical profile of the planet as best as possible. Your players probably aren't going to be running astrophysics simulations to check your work, so what they need is verisimilitude rather than realism. I could give better suggestions if I knew more about the setting you're using and what power is removing the sun.

Regarding forced marches, just prohibit teleportation and flight. Flight can be eliminated by constant strong surface winds, and you can handwave teleportation by saying something about chaos in the magical energy field or some shit. Also, kill their horses--but you should always be killing the horses.
 
The sun doesn't rise it is stationary in that respect, it's the Earth's spinning that simulates the sun rising.

And it takes the Suns light 8 minutes to reach Earth.
 
I'd steal like 700 cows and use the methane from their farts to keep a fire going which would keep heat, then make 100 cows make baby cows and we share the baby cows as Kobe beef but it won't be technically Kobe beef because Kobe beef is made in Japan only so it would be faux-be beef and prime and shit.
 
TwinIonEngines said:
Keep in mind that many D&D settings have quite a few interventionist gods. You can wreck the surface pretty bad without killing everybody, even if you want the damage to be a substantial and on-going feature of your setting going forward. Even if gods don't get involved, powerful magic-users will do what they can to establish habitable zones, if not out of altruism then out of a desire to have some surviving henchmen.
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Wait, so this really is a thing? I had no idea.
 
Large temperature difference. One side would be an uninhabitable blazing desert, the other an uninhabitable frozen wasteland. Liquid water would become scarce as it would boil off or freeze.

If the earths iron core stopped spinning, we'd lose the magnetic field around the earth, and all die from solar radiation. Solar winds would slowly strip away the atmosphere, and we'd be a sort of hellish version of Mars, making the red planet look like a vacation spot.
 
One half barren lifeless desert, one have barren artic dead zone, the transitional area would form a ring of lush jungle and be full of tons of species competing for live giving resources.

You could even make some extreme creatures live in the barren regions.

This of course wouldn't happen instantly, but could make for an interesting and fun campaign.
 
These two renowned writers have invented a world not unlike our own--a world on the edge of chaos, torn between the madness of religious fanaticism and the stubborn denial of scientists. Only a handful of people on the planet Lagash are prepared to face the truth--that their six suns are setting all at once for the first time in 2,000 years, signaling the end of civilization!
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aRDqz.jpg


I remember it being mediocre though.
 
i've actually been thinking about this, recently. seriously.

in five billion years, the sun will die out. consequently, so will we.

that's a fascinating thought.
 
TwinIonEngines said:
Keep in mind that many D&D settings have quite a few interventionist gods. You can wreck the surface pretty bad without killing everybody, even if you want the damage to be a substantial and on-going feature of your setting going forward. Even if gods don't get involved, powerful magic-users will do what they can to establish habitable zones, if not out of altruism then out of a desire to have some surviving henchmen.
Click to expand...
Really good points.
This is a custom setting, and I'm thinking the gods in my world are pretty aloof and work indirectly, maybe helping the PCs rather than necessarily just fixing it themselves.
The shit about magic users is brilliant though. I feel like some powerful wizards would probably want to keep the darkness going, with their new found opportunistic god-like positions.
 
It would be time for some thermal spiders hunting.....

Lost1.jpg


Maybe they are just hidding in caves waiting for the day sun stops rising....
 
bud said:
i've actually been thinking about this, recently. seriously.

in five billion years, the sun will die out. consequently, so will we.

that's a fascinating thought.
Click to expand...

if we haven't learned to travel to other star systems in 5 billion years we deserve to die.
 
nacire said:
One half barren lifeless desert, one have barren artic dead zone, the transitional area would form a ring of lush jungle and be full of tons of species competing for live giving resources.

You could even make some extreme creatures live in the barren regions.

This of course wouldn't happen instantly, but could make for an interesting and fun campaign.
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What would happen to the oceans in this scenario? For example, if the twilight line crossed the Atlantic, I assume the surface of ocean in the dark side would freeze, but the bottom would still flow, while the side of the ocean on the light side would eventually evaporate.

What would the resulting divide look like?
 
bud said:
i've actually been thinking about this, recently. seriously.

in five billion years, the sun will die out. consequently, so will we.

that's a fascinating thought.
Click to expand...

If we don't have the ability to live outside the solar system in five billion years we deserve to die.

EDIT: Beaten word for word. Ouch.
 
nacire said:
One half barren lifeless desert, one have barren artic dead zone, the transitional area would form a ring of lush jungle and be full of tons of species competing for live giving resources.

You could even make some extreme creatures live in the barren regions.

This of course wouldn't happen instantly, but could make for an interesting and fun campaign.
Click to expand...
See, I was thinking the PCs would fix it before it got that far, but I really like this idea. I wonder if it wouldn't be worth a god sending them to the future so that they could see the consequences or something like that.
 
Staccat0 said:
Lets throw science out the window for JUST a moment. Lets accept a reality where the sun stopped rising & night never ended.

How long would it be before everyone died?
What are some less obvious consequences?
What would happen?
What systems break down first?

Full disclosure: This is research for a D&D quest.
Click to expand...

There was a DC story from the 90s where this happened called Final Night where a sun eater ate the sun, I think it took three days for the earth to start freezing and people start dying. A less obvious consequence is that after a couple of days it would start snowing as the moisure in the atmosphere started to freeze. It was a pretty neat story. And the worst of it was that Superman lost his powers, and Batman didn't know when it was bedtime! (since he only comes out at night and all).
 
bud said:
i've actually been thinking about this, recently. seriously.

in five billion years, the sun will die out. consequently, so will we.

that's a fascinating thought.
Click to expand...

lets hope in 5 billion years humanity has populated the stars.
 
DurielBlack said:
Large temperature difference. One side would be an uninhabitable blazing desert, the other an uninhabitable frozen wasteland. Liquid water would become scarce as it would boil off or freeze.

If the earths iron core stopped spinning, we'd lose the magnetic field around the earth, and all die from solar radiation. Solar winds would slowly strip away the atmosphere, and we'd be a sort of hellish version of Mars, making the red planet look like a vacation spot.
Click to expand...

Going by this logic, there would also be a temperate twilight zone where people could actually live. I guess it would be hotly contested.
 
This actually happens on other planets and Moons. Mercury, for example, is tidally locked with the sun, so the side that faces away is really cold, despite the planet being so close to the sun. Our own moon is tidally locked to the Earth, hence why it has a 'dark side', only one side is ever facing us.
 
So what would happen to the areas in the middle if the Earth stopped spinning? I mean the way I'm thinking about it is that one side of Earth is facing the moon/away from the Sun while the other half is facing the Sun. What would it be like at the middle/where both hells meet? Would it be like an exact line of desert and ice?
 
McNei1y said:
So what would happen to the areas in the middle if the Earth stopped spinning? I mean the way I'm thinking about it is that one side of Earth is facing the moon/away from the Sun while the other half is facing the Sun. What would it be like at the middle/where both hells meet? Would it be like an exact line of desert and ice?
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Nope, a line of habitability that was occasionally rocked by super violent storms. The line would be miles wide.
 
So currently, I'm thinking it will be 3 days for shit to start getting real and at 7 days we are past the point of no return.
People initially freak out and riot, matial law takes hold, then as resources get more and more scarce, governments become more and more strict. People in power protect themselves. Even people who thought they were good, find themselves doing evil things to survive.
Wizards are creating hospitable areas to draw followers, gain power or save lives. Creatures form the underdark are rising up to take the surface. Were-wolves, bats and rats capture cities. The sun god is actively helping the PCs. A rogue sect of moon worshipers (not even an evil god) are indirectly trying to stop the PCs.

Even after the sun returns, there is a huge mess to clean up. IF the PCs fail, we end up with a two sided half desert, have frozen campaign setting, with a hug world war over the narrow strip of livable land.
 
If the sun stopped shining or disappeared, then Earth would become like any planet that does not orbit a star (or orbits a star so distantly that it is not meaningfully illuminated by it). Temperatures will drop, but the rate at which they will drop is not known to me. The rate can be calculated by determining how quickly the planet Earth radiates energy away from it's surface, but I don't know the equations to work that out. The only other mechanism for heat loss is actual direct atmospheric loss, but again I don't know the rate at which this happens.

A rough guestimate could be arrived at by measuring how fast the temperature drops overnight, then extrapolating that a bit. Fudge the numbers, it's just a D&D campaign. My intuition tells me that it will take several days before the Earth becomes unlivable, simply because radiation is a slow way to lower your temperature, but don't take my word for it, do the calculations.

The implications for a civilization are dire, because you must now provide all the energy to grow plants and warm yourself directly, via various fuels. Every power source except for geothermal, tidal and nuclear will now have a very short lifespan remaining on it. My memory tells me that winds are created by differential heating of the atmosphere by the sun and therefore there won't really be winds anymore, but there's something at the back of my head telling me that might not be entirely correct.

Ahhh fuck it, I'm going to sleep now.
 
McNei1y said:
So what would happen to the areas in the middle if the Earth stopped spinning? I mean the way I'm thinking about it is that one side of Earth is facing the moon/away from the Sun while the other half is facing the Sun. What would it be like at the middle/where both hells meet? Would it be like an exact line of desert and ice?
Click to expand...

It'll be the habitable zone
 
Staccat0 said:
See, I was thinking the PCs would fix it before it got that far, but I really like this idea. I wonder if it wouldn't be worth a god sending them to the future so that they could see the consequences or something like that.
Click to expand...

Time travel could be pretty awesome. Maybe being sent to the future could be incorporated into the main quest somehow other that just seeing consequences.

Is this happening naturally or is someone/something causing it to happen?
 
McNei1y said:
So what would happen to the areas in the middle if the Earth stopped spinning? I mean the way I'm thinking about it is that one side of Earth is facing the moon/away from the Sun while the other half is facing the Sun. What would it be like at the middle/where both hells meet? Would it be like an exact line of desert and ice?
Click to expand...


The Earth won't stop spinning, but the effect you're after is achieved on "tidally locked" planets. The same side of the moon always faces the Earth, and the same can be true of planets. Assuming "perfect" locking with no "wobble", you end up with a totally unlivable scorching day side, a totally unlivable freezing night-side, and a thin band of perpetual twilight.

Unfortunately, the twilight realm which is livable in a temperature sense has to content with staggeringly intense winds, as the scorching hot air from one side and the freezing cold air on the other mix together.
 
Serious answer OP: the only habitable area is a narrow strip running around the circumference along the edge between the facing and away sides.
EDIT: Beaten by seconds.
 
Haly said:
What would happen to the oceans in this scenario? For example, if the twilight line crossed the Atlantic, I assume the surface of ocean in the dark side would freeze, but the bottom would still flow, while the side of the ocean on the light side would eventually evaporate.

What would the resulting divide look like?
Click to expand...

Maybe the divide would just be a stark wall of frozen ice meets the empty ocean and all of the water that evaporated could be a giant layer of clouds precipitation in the upper atmosphere. Maybe there is an area of water between the two where pockets of water form vast lakes due to the ocean bottom holding the water in certain areas not allowing the water to run off to the sun side to evaporate. Maybe the strongest of factions claim and control this new accessible resource and smaller weaker groups must take dangerous excursions into the arctic area to retrieve large ice deposits to create drinking water.

Lots of ways to go for a DnD campaign, but I guess a strong foundation of believability will be the hardest to come up with.
 
marrec said:
Nope, a line of habitability that was occasionally rocked by super violent storms. The line would be miles wide.
Click to expand...

heliosRAzi said:
It'll be the habitable zone
Click to expand...

ThoseDeafMutes said:
The Earth won't stop spinning, but the effect you're after is achieved on "tidally locked" planets. The same side of the moon always faces the Earth, and the same can be true of planets. Assuming "perfect" locking with no "wobble", you end up with a totally unlivable scorching day side, a totally unlivable freezing night-side, and a thin band of perpetual twilight.

Unfortunately, the twilight realm which is livable in a temperature sense has to content with staggeringly intense winds, as the scorching hot air from one side and the freezing cold air on the other mix together.
Click to expand...

wow. This scenario actually seems really cool when thinking about it. I'm sure it would suck as a reality.
 
nacire said:
Maybe the divide would just be a stark wall of frozen ice meets the empty ocean and all of the water that evaporated could be a giant layer of clouds precipitation in the upper atmosphere. Maybe there is an area of water between the two where pockets of water form vast lakes due to the ocean bottom holding the water in certain areas not allowing the water to run off to the sun side to evaporate. Maybe the strongest of factions claim and control this new accessible resource and smaller weaker groups must take dangerous excursions into the arctic area to retrieve large ice deposits to create drinking water.

Lots of ways to go for a DnD campaign, but I guess a strong foundation of believability will be the hardest to come up with.
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My first though was of a sheer wall of ice but as much as I like the idea of it I'd have to admit it's not very practical.

I would think the borderzone would develop a gradual slope as the ice inches toward the bedrock. The water underneath continues flowing into the light zone where the sea is evaporating much faster, but eventually it gets worked into the encroaching ice.
 
nacire said:
Time travel could be pretty awesome. Maybe being sent to the future could be incorporated into the main quest somehow other that just seeing consequences.

Is this happening naturally or is someone/something causing it to happen?
Click to expand...

I'm thinking it's an ancient curse, put down by a rogue god or even a being from outside the planet. A powerful sect of clerics or wizards created a quick fix... an hourglass (or something) that forces the the earth to spin, but it has to be flipped every 1,000 years (or something).
They never found a more permanent fix before they were wiped out by (something), and people slowly started to forget about the hourglass and slowly gave up on breaking the uber-curse.

The story would take place during a war, and would begin on a short period of peace. Something like the Olympics, where the PCs from both sides of the war are brought to compete. The war is called off for the days of the competition, and on the last night, the sun never rises.
The best people from each of the nations (the PCs) in the war are sent to a great library in a neutral zone to figure out what the deal is, and learn about the hourglass.

Right now, I'm thinking that a mad senator looking to end the war, save his people and bring about peace hired someone to DESTROY the hourglass. Sort of a bond villain sorta' guy who killed millions to protect his people and bring peace.

I like the idea of having time travel be more meaningful. On one hand, a fight with some powerful foe, could send them into the future and they could have to try to find a way back... but it might be more interesting to do some weird paradox shit where they need a mcguffin or magic item or whatever that hasn't even been invented yet.
 
Staccat0 said:
Lets throw science out the window for JUST a moment. Lets accept a reality where the sun stopped rising & night never ended.

How long would it be before everyone died?
What are some less obvious consequences?
What would happen?
What systems break down first?

Full disclosure: This is research for a D&D quest.
Click to expand...

If we throw science completely out the window maybe no one would die?
 
I'd probably be happy since it would be a sign of the world ending. Most likely the planet would freeze
 
Staccat0 said:
See, I was thinking the PCs would fix it before it got that far, but I really like this idea. I wonder if it wouldn't be worth a god sending them to the future so that they could see the consequences or something like that.
Click to expand...

That's a bit too "pat", but I think you're on the right track. I'd probably do it the other way around--they're too late to stop the disaster and have to quest through part of its aftermath in order to change the past. If you prepare for it right, you may be able to get them to feel like they've come up with this solution on their own; give them a piece or two of a broken time-travel artifact before they ever hear about this impending crisis. Stuff like a staff that lets you skip 10 seconds into the future, a gem that freezes time temporarily in a 15' radius. In other words, don't let your MacGuffin feel like one.

nacire said:
Time travel could be pretty awesome. Maybe being sent to the future could be incorporated into the main quest somehow other that just seeing consequences.

Is this happening naturally or is someone/something causing it to happen?
Click to expand...

This is also a great idea. The PCs need something that's only accessible by travelling into the possible future of the post-disaster world, and they have to bring it back to the present to prevent the disaster from happening. Victory through ontological paradox is very sexy.
 
Gustav said:
If we throw science completely out the window maybe no one would die?
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We don't throw science completely out the window. We just forget it for JUST a moment. The only part where we ignore science, is where we consider the possibility of the sun not rising one morning.
TwinIonEngines said:
That's a bit too "pat", but I think you're on the right track. I'd probably do it the other way around--they're too late to stop the disaster and have to quest through part of its aftermath in order to change the past. If you prepare for it right, you may be able to get them to feel like they've come up with this solution on their own; give them a piece or two of a broken time-travel artifact before they ever hear about this impending crisis. Stuff like a staff that lets you skip 10 seconds into the future, a gem that freezes time temporarily in a 15' radius. In other words, don't let your MacGuffin feel like one.
Click to expand...

Good call. I think that would require a lot of adjusting of my current idea, but it might be a bit more natural feeling. See my post above for the current plan. feedback is always welcome. This campaign is a ways off.


Fuuuu-
Yeah. I'm getting excited about this. A good way to get the divine element banging would be to have a "god" let them know about the item they need from the future.
 
That habitable zone forming a vertical ring around the planet would always look like sunset (or sunrise). Long shadows and golden light. And every structure, tree, everything would have a dark side and a light side since the low horizon position of the sun never moves. Plants would probably quickly start leaning and growing toward the light.

I bet the current directions, N/E/S/W, would quickly become obsolete and replaced with Sunward and Darkward or something.

The climate would be the same all the way around that ring, too... whether on the former equator or the former poles, you're in the temperate land of eternal sunset.
 
Duane Cunningham said:
That habitable zone forming a vertical ring around the planet would always look like sunset (or sunrise). Long shadows and golden light. And every structure, tree, everything would have a dark side and a light side since the low horizon position of the sun never moves. Plants would probably quickly start leaning and growing toward the light.

I bet the current directions, N/E/S/W, would quickly become obsolete and replaced with Sunward and Darkward or something.

The climate would be the same all the way around that ring, too... whether on the former equator or the former poles, you're in the temperate land of eternal sunset.
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Good shit. Thank you.
I'm thinking the habitable zone should have a cool name like "the gloaming" or "the gold halo" or something
 
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