Them two moons

[cupboardgnome]

Given that Trollworld has two moons, what crazy kind of lunar calendar does it have? Is there always at least one full moon? Are they opposite each other? I know I can mod it to suit my game, but I'm curious what others have come up with or if the Trollgodfather has ever spared any thoughts on this.

[cupboardgnome]

So, back to my moons question... 🌒🌙🙂

[zanshin]

maybe one is a spacestation?

[d4caltrops]

I've never thought about this question. Turns out, an astronomer wrote a book on the subject "What if the Earth Had Two Moons?" science.howstuffworks.com/science-vs-myth/what-if/what-if-earth-had-two-moons.htm

This answer looks pretty useful too. I liked the sine wave modeling worldbuilding.stackexchange.com/questions/71/how-would-having-multiple-moons-affect-tides

[cupboardgnome]

Jun 14, 2021 13:01:34 GMT -5 d4caltrops said:

I've never thought about this question. Turns out, an astronomer wrote a book on the subject "What if the Earth Had Two Moons?" science.howstuffworks.com/science-vs-myth/what-if/what-if-earth-had-two-moons.htm

This answer looks pretty useful too. I liked the sine wave modeling worldbuilding.stackexchange.com/questions/71/how-would-having-multiple-moons-affect-tides

Ok, I'm going with the Orbital Resonance theory, otherwise Trollworld is doomed!

[mahrundl]

Interesting links.

My campaign world has more than 1 moon, but they are somewhat smaller than Luna and their orbits are more strongly elliptical. The net effect is that there is moonlight, and there are tides, but the regularity that we see in both features is largely absent. In practical terms, that means that I can randomly determine tide / moon phase as needed without upsetting anything too much, should I need to. And if I need a specific tide or phase, I can decide that it happens. There's a further complicating factor that I won't go into here, so as not to spoil things on the off chance that one of my players is reading...

The lack of regularity could play havoc with flora and fauna, but they have generally evolved to cope with it, much as some life on our world deals with primarily drought / occasional flood situations.

[order99]

Honestly, I just added some extra Tidal action and more storms and hand-waved the rest. I mean, nobody said what size the Twin Moons were, right? Mind you in my personal canon the Twin Moons are near perfect halves...

"In the year 1994, from out of Space comes a runaway planet,hurtling between the Earth and thee Moon,unleashing Cosmic Destruction....Man's civilization is cast in ruins...".

[ProfGremlin]

Jun 20, 2021 9:11:29 GMT -5 order99 said:

"In the year 1994, from out of Space comes a runaway planet,hurtling between the Earth and thee Moon,unleashing Cosmic Destruction....Man's civilization is cast in ruins...".

"Ariel, Ookla, ride!"

One of my favorite cartoons when I was a kid.

[mahrundl]

Got to say, I've never seen it. As far as I can recall, it wasn't shown in these parts.

[oldskolgmr]

Thundarr, the barbarian was also a favorite of mine. Sad that it got less air time than He-man.

[oldskolgmr]

Side note; I'm even sadder that the trio never rode Giant Chickens

Edit <A raid against the Giant Chickens is being planned...>

[cupboardgnome]

Jun 20, 2021 19:50:13 GMT -5 oldskolgmr said:

Side note; I'm even sadder that the trio never rode Giant Chickens

Edit <A raid against the Giant Chickens is being planned...>

Don't worry oldskolgmr, a 'Meet the Cluckers' article is being worked on 😃⚔️🎲

[dungeondevil]

Jun 20, 2021 9:51:55 GMT -5 ProfGremlin said:

Jun 20, 2021 9:11:29 GMT -5 order99 said:

"In the year 1994, from out of Space comes a runaway planet,hurtling between the Earth and thee Moon,unleashing Cosmic Destruction....Man's civilization is cast in ruins...".

"Ariel, Ookla, ride!"

One of my favorite cartoons when I was a kid.

"Ariel, Ookla, ride!"

Ariel and Ookla look at each other for a beat.

Ookla: "Hey, boss, who's Ride?"

When it comes to tides, two moons may have minimal effect, unless they are on the same side of the planet or on exact opposite sides. Then, I'd imagine, things would get dicey. Coastal settlements would be abandoned, with the population taking to higher ground, living in mountain-heights.

[Aramis of Erak]

Jun 20, 2021 19:09:34 GMT -5 mahrundl said:

Got to say, I've never seen it. As far as I can recall, it wasn't shown in these parts.

It's sword and sorcery cast as post-apocalypse and high-tech being used as the means of magic. As a kid, it was fun. Typical late '70's animation work. Prosocial messages as required by the censorship...

[ProfGremlin]

Jun 24, 2021 22:37:30 GMT -5 dungeondevil said:

When it comes to tides, two moons may have minimal effect, unless they are on the same side of the planet or on exact opposite sides. Then, I'd imagine, things would get dicey. Coastal settlements would be abandoned, with the population taking to higher ground, living in mountain-heights.

Interestingly, we're all looking at this from the POV of two moons orbiting one planet. What if one moon was slightly smaller and orbited the other moon which in turn orbited the planet? As the smaller moon orbited the larger, there would be more opportunities for gravitational forces to be increased when its position amplified the force from the larger moon. As the orbits were traversed this could occur in many places around the world, orbital periods and alignments depending.

There could also be some interesting mythologies which could come out of such an arrangement: two lovers lifted into the heavens and given eternity to be together; a pair of siblings, guardian warriors, to stand and protect the people against forces unknown; a balance of might, a warrior and a wizard (where's the rogue? Now there's a mystery...) to protect and guide; the Library and the Arena, mystical locations to which the brave, foolhardy or desperate find magical transport in the hopes of becoming the next champion of their people; etc.

So many possibilities...