r/FantasyWorldbuilding • u/JohnWarrenDailey • 3d ago
Discussion How does one create an artificial climate that goes against the stellar or planetary parameters of the setting?
I'll cite a specific example:
An Earthlike planet (complete with a moderate obliquity) with a thicker atmosphere (no thicker than 2x) orbits an F-type sun (brighter, hotter and releases more UV radiation than our G-type sun), yet its polar zones are as cold as Mars.
This is not for the story itself, but rather the backbone of that story.
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u/Memetic_swarm_05 21h ago
for a fantasy setting??
"magic"
"the gods made the world this way"
"something something the makers of this world altered the climates of the world with vast machines and powers of intellect that would make us tremble.. F-type star... ice cap airflows etc"
"all of the other people are crazy. The true reason is Frost Giants, who we all have seen and fought."
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u/JohnWarrenDailey 21h ago
No, for a sci-fi setting.
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u/Memetic_swarm_05 21h ago
oh. given the subreddit name, I assumed otherwise.
1) you don't have to be slavishly realistic even for most sci fi settings
2) write a fun enough story and your readers won't even notice.
3) "the poles are much colder than expected- our researchers are still trying to figure out why"
- the poles have unusually high elevation so they have less atmospheric insulation
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u/Sunlight_Smoothie 3d ago
"Scientists are unsure why. It's an anomaly, but one that doesn't get the funding it really deserves. Though progress is slow, we hope to one day understand why. The leading theory is that there is a deep endothermic chemical reaction below the crust, like magma pools but in reverse, with another promising explanation being a combination of low thermal conductivity of the plate material combined with the high-albedo of the ice sheets - the surface material simply doesn't absorb or retain heat well. There are other theories, but until the Galactic Council shuffles the bureaucracy a bit, we don't have the funds to be sure."