A Look at Bastion: Topography, Climate, and Features
Bastion is a huge mountain with a high, relatively flat plateau; it looms massively reaching out of a large lake/inland sea. At sea-level, the mountain is roughly 50 miles in diameter; this tapers, goes up steeply, then tapers again as it goes up, rising over 20 miles.
Subdivided into three levels (Heaven’s Gate - Strata 107 to 96, The Steep - Strata 95 to 13, and and The Terrace Strata 12 to 1), one’s location on Bastion is also characterized by whether you are outside (the Exterior) or inside (the Interior). There are intrinsic differences between the two.
Finally, there’s the UnderWorld, that area that exists even below the SubStrata.
Politics will vary between Exterior and Interior as well below Heaven’s Gate. Though they are typically separated by ¼ to ½ mile tunnels, there is no guarantee that the same group that runs a Strata’s Interior will control its Exterior.
Climate and Physical Features
Lighting for the Exterior of the Strata is somehow amplified and manipulated to give more even day/night cycles despite having a ridiculously huge mountain as your backdrop.Skies, wind, and lighting in the Interior for Strata 15 and higher are done by a complex solution of light and energy projection. Strata 14 and below do not have controlled climate solutions.
Some of the domes of some Strata can be as high as 1 mile (if the Cloudkin must be stuck indoors, at least they don’t feel too claustrophobic - but they don’t worry too much, see below).
On some Strata, there is also warped space. Particularly on the lower strata, at one period there was some experimentation with increasing available space. Strata 32 is the largest strata and is believed to measure at least 150 by 150 miles and has a ceiling of 3 miles with plenty of hills and small mountains (this realm is the home of the Cloudkin).
The climate of the Exterior is governed by systems housed in “The Clouds,” artificial constructs whose undersides are capable of becoming invisible and which control weather. Weather patterns tend to stay consistent with four seasons, though weather magicks can cause short term disruptions in local patterns. Tropical weather dominates within Heaven’s Gate, with slightly more variation in temperature and moisture as you move away from the top. By the time you reach the Terrace, weather produced is similar to that of Virginia - hot and humid during the summer, cool in the winter with snow in some regions. (we can change that if you want more snow)
A final curious feature is that on every Strata, regardless of climate, there is a small hill from which flows a continuous stream of lava into a pool. Not much is known about these pools.
Regions
Different generalized areas of Bastion.Elysium
The largest contiguous land area, Strata 107 is technically not a Strata because it is the “roof” of all Bastion. It’s the home of the key leaders and their households. It is a place of enormous prestige and comfort (think of a carefully moderated Hawaii) with plenty of light and gentle breezes. The makers took advantage of the location to place a few high hill locations to increase the available building area (think houses on hills and in hills).Heaven’s Gate
From Strata 106 to 95 the Strata Exterior rest like rings on top of a conical finger providing anywhere from ¼ to 1 mile wide steppe regions for the upper crust to rest their palace grounds and mansions. Most of these Strata are gentle rolling grassy/wooded areas or large flat swaths of beauty and lush life. The Interior mirrors the Exterior very well. It’s rumored that in some cases you can go from “inside” to “outside” and never know it, which would make for some very neat trickery indeed...Strata 102 and above are actually reserved for the Noble Houses. Strata 101 and 100 are typically given to military and administrative functionaries and their servants. Strata 99 to 96 house affluent non-nobles or high officials desiring a “less affluent” lifestyle.
The Steep
Exterior
From Strata 94 to Strata 13 the upward slope is pretty steep - you’d want to be a mountain goat (or a Cloudkin) for the next 12 miles up or so. Most of these Strata only have an occasional settlement carved into the rockface - and many of these are Cloudkin aeries. Weather on the Steeps tends to be uneventful with most of the systems focusing on providing variety on The Terrace.Interior
The climates of the Interior Steeps varies greatly. On one Strata, you may have a desert. On the next, an idyllic pastureland. On the following, you may have a tundra. And some few Strata have more than one pattern, though this is typically an anomaly. The reasons why this occurred is lost in history.The Terrace
Exterior
The lowest dozen Strata are stepped into sides of the plateau giving one the idea of a huge ringed city-region with multiple levels. Each of the steppes has areas that have been planed and carved in places to give anywhere from ¼ to 1 mile horizontal surface, with some larger towns or cities having grown “over” and or “dug in” (into the sides of the strata wall) These “terrace towns” serve as mundane access ways between the strata above and/or below them, much like towns built on a mountain with stairs, cutbacks and long gentle slopes.This area is heavily settled as it’s the oldest and the most abundant source of fruits and vegetables. Temperature in the Terrace Exterior is the most varied anywhere in Bastion as the temperatures are allowed to be influenced by the planetary norms. Winters tend to be light, but they do experience all four seasons.
There is still some “social stratification” even in the Terrace with the highest couple of levels being the home of the more affluent and the lowest level being left over to the dregs. Except for the refurbished Harbor City, which stretches along the “north face” from levels 1 to 6, the lowest few levels are very pedestrian.
Interior
The Interior of these strata are used, but tend to be less inhabited as the Strata-wide artificial lighting system doesn’t kick in until Strata 15. However, these areas also tend to be more mineral rich than higher Strata, so they are colonized. No one is sure why artificial climate control was not extended to these areas.Sub-Strata and The Underworld
There are Strata below 1. Most of these are considered “Maintenance Strata” or the SubStrata - not that anyone really knows how they are maintaining anything.But it’s rumored that there are places that are not quite fit for polite company, and are certainly more the province of the boogie man. Some even call them hellscapes. Who would want to go down there and visit is beyond. And why can we even reach them using our Glyph System?
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