Easy & Simple way to add weather to a game?

[Lostcause78]

Hey all, I'm about to start RotRL with my group and am rolling up a Druid.

I've never really read into that class until now, but I quite like their relationship with nature (certain Archetypes notwithstanding). It'll be a caster druid, possible a Storm Druid in which case his ties to the weather is even more written into his persona.

I brought the matter up with my GM, but she's a little hesitant with the whole weather table system - I can't blame her it's an extra bunch of factors to keep track of, from looking at the Weather Table page and we're all still relatively green when it comes to Pathfinder.

My question is to anyone who've played with weather conditions in their campaigns before: How much of a hassle is it, and would you suggest we just skip that part entirely?
Alternatively, is there a way or resource to simplify it?

Cheers in advance.

edit: Just to be sure, please no RotRL spoilers. :)

[Jhaeman]

I fold note-cards in half (so they stand up) and write down the weather and its effects on it so everyone at the table has a constant reminder. To do this, I have three sets of notecards: 1) Skies (clear, cloudy, rainy, etc.); Temperature (Moderate, Cold, etc.); and Winds (Light, Moderate, etc.).

I use a calendar and determine the weather a month in advance in case a PC makes the Survival check to know what the weather will be like in the next couple of days.

Actually generating the weather for each day is the hardest part. There are some random weather generation programs online that your GM can play with until finding one that suits. The tables in the books are usable as well.

I really like weather as it adds both realism and randomness to the game. One of my favourite encounters ever as a GM was when the PCs had to fight a ghost (planned) during a hurricane (unplanned)! But, admittedly, it is time-consuming to keep track of. If you have a GM who is pretty new to Pathfinder, it would be perfectly acceptable to hand-wave weather as there's far more important things to keep track of.

[Lostcause78]

Have to agree that the more I think about it, the more I like it. It's a good way to add some fluff RP for the players.

I should have added that it's an online game, through roll20. I like your idea with the notecards, I bet there is a way to make a table like that in there.

I haven't had any luck finding random generators online so far, my googlefu is letting me down!

Thanks again.

[Chemlak]

Here's one.

[Ascalaphus]

Yeah, you basically need reminder cards for every weather option listing its effects, and then just prop up the one that applies for today's weather.

Remind the GM that while all of the weather together may seem complicated, using one card to handle today's weather is pretty simple, and he just needs to pick a card for tomorrow that makes sense as a follow-up.