Terrain

A feature of The Drop series is that the stories cover a variety of terrains on alien planets. As you might be aware, Earth has its own variety. Trying to keep the terrain in my stories different yet believable is an ongoing lesson in creativity. On our recent vacation to southwest Texas, it struck me how the terrain there is what you see for a very long time when you’re driving. The scenery on the drive through the Big Bend region looks exactly like the desert where I grew up in southern New Mexico. I was thinking of how far in each direction that desert must stretch and I had to look it up - the Chihuahuan desert covers about 194,000 square miles in Mexico, Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona. Wow. No wonder everything looks the same. That won’t do for The Drop, though. From the scenery to the smell, the worlds need to show their differences and what makes them alien. And sometimes dangerous. It’s a fun part of world-building and creating challenges for the players.