The Weather won't always be a significant aspect of your campaign, but providing this information to your Players will add a touch of color to a roleplaying game.
At the risk of being labeled a heretic, I'd like to correct Benjamin Franklin. In reality, three things in life are incommutable: death, taxes, and the weather. Death (most certainly) and taxes are a part of most fantasy roleplaying games, but virtually all Gamemasters (GMs) ignore the latter. Granted, most D&D garnes take place downstairs and the weather underground doesn't affect play much. But even on those occasions when the GM is called upon to run a "wilderness" adventure, the weather always seems to be late spring, temperature in the lower 70's, a few clouds for effect perhaps, and a dew point right around a comfortable 40 degrees or so.
Doesn't appear quite right, does it?
Incorporating the weather into your game isn't difficult, but it does mean keeping track of both time of day and time of year. Time of day is easy enough-just jot it down at your discretion on a piece of scrap paper as the game progresses.
For the time of year, try this little trick. Get a check register from an old checkbook. For those of you too young to have a checking account, this is the portion of the checkbook where you note the deposits, checks written, and the balance. On the back cover, you'll probably find a three-year calendar. Voila, you now have the next three years of your game calendarized. Be sure to use a paper calendar, though, and not a laminated plastic one like most pocket calendars. You can't write easily on the plastic.
At midnight each day, cross off the previous day. Circle five days a month for the full moon. You can also use the calendar to note the dates for future events.
I created the accompanying chart to determine the weather in a science fiction roleplaying game I ran. Since it's based on the four seasons in New England where I live, you may want to modify it for your own purposes. For instance, if vou live in Canada, vou have only two seasons-hockey season and three months of bad ice. And remember to add in any unique quirks of your own game.
Of course, the weather shouldn't be the same all clay. If it's "Hot and Humid" for three days and you roll "Thunderstorm," wait until late in the day for the storm to come through. Afterward, the weather should he "Pleasant" with cleaner air and less humidity. It's best to make the weather roll around midnight and note it on your time chart.
Don't he afraid to penalize players who think they can ignore the weather. One is not very agile dressed up in thick furs. Nor can one move as fast as normal in deep mud. If you have any doubts about the effect of this on characters in the wilderness, I suggest you react "To Build a Fire" by Jack London.
In general, the more extreme the weather, the more it will affect your party. Most of this will be in the form of restrictions on the players' activities. However, remember that the most severe weather conditions are also lifethreatening and will divert the players' attentions to the minor matter of survival.
Further explanations of some of the conditions on the Weather Determination Chart.
Blizzard:
Potentially life-threatening. Very heavy winds and snowfall. The ten-iperature is often in the twenties (especially if the blizzard Occurs during the clay). This is fairly warm for winter, but the windchilil factor will bring the temperature well below zero. Mobility and visibility curtailed by swirling snow. Heavy drifting also takes place. This can bury all kinds of things, including small people. Snowfall is generally three to four feet with drifts up to ten or fifteen feet in some places. Players may be redigging out. if there is any light source at all, whether artificial or natural (even required to spend one to three days just moonlight afterward), the snow will reflect much of the light making the surroundings much brighter than usual.
Weather Determination Chart
Roll Percentile Dice
December
01-05: Blizzard
06-20: Sunny and Cold
21-30: Occasional Flurries
31-45: Overcast
46-50: Icy Rain
51-55: Rainy and Cold
56-60: Unseasonably Warm
61-70. Windy and Frigid
71-85: Snow
86-100. Same as Yesterday
January
01-10: Blizzard
11-30: Sunny and Cold
31-40: Occasional Flurries
41-50: Windy and Frigid
51-60. Overcast
61-75: Snow
76-80: Unseasonably Warm
81-85: Icy Rain
86-90: Rainy and Cold
91-100: Same as Yesterday
February
01-15: Blizzard
16-30: Sunny and Cold
31-40: Occasional Flurries
41-50, Windy and Frigid
51-60: Overcast
61-75: Snow
76-80: Unseasonably Warm
81-85: Icy Rain
86-90: Rainy and Cold
91-100: Same as Yesterday
Sunny and Cold:
Oddly because of the greenhouse effect of cloudcover, the sunny days in winter are the coldest. Temperatures under these conditions range from well below zero at night up to the midteens during the day. Characters who are improperly dressed will probably suffer frostbite ( 10% to 80% chance depending on the clothing and length of exposure). If adequate shelter is unavailable, the character will freeze to death within 24 hours.
Occasional Flurries:
Total accumulation between onehalf to six inches. Temperatures in the mid-thirties to mid-twenties day or night. Footing can be slippery, hut not really dangerous outside of a small chance of breaking an arm or leg if a character slips and falls.
Overcast:
Generally calm winds and moderate temperatures with daytime highs around 40 and overnight lows around 25.
Icy Rain:
A very dangerous situation. As the rain falls, it freezes on anything it touches. Temperatures are usually in the 0 to 15 degree range night or day. Anything above the ground (such as tree branches or electrical wires) is likely to break under the extreme weight of the ice if the rain is heavy and prolonged. Even roofs can collapse. Footing and traction are extremely treacherous, and this will hamper rescue efforts.
Rainy and Cold:
Generally warmer (around 40 degrees) and less dangerous than icy rain because it doesn't freeze upon hitting the ground. Still very uncomfortable, though.
Unseasonably Warm:
Give'em a break. Let it be around 50 for awhile. Several days of this will thaw out the groundcover making things generally very wet and muddy.
Windy:
Regardless of the temperature, this kind of day makes your fingers tingle and turns your ears solid. The windchill factor makes this frostbite weather, but if characters are suitably dressed, there are no major restrictions except for an agility penalty for having to wear bulky winter clothes.
Snow:
This is pretty much the same as blizzard except that the wind is far less severe, there is little or no drifting, and the accumulation is between one-half foot to three feet.
Lee Enderlin is Director qf Marketing for Nova Game Designs, Inc. and President of MLC Advertising Agency
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© Copyright 1986 by Dana Lombardy.
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