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My friends and I are in a Varisian campaign and its getting into Winter.
We began discussing the material and wondering just how bad the winters got. Considering geography, I was seeing it much like Alaska with very cold, snowy, and icy Winter seasons. I imagined the seas would be treacherous to hazard even with the possibility of frozen in ports. Would shipping lanes close?
Others thought more of Washington or Oregon very overcast, foggy, humid, lots of cold drizzle, and little snow except at the higher elevations.
Would the Mushfens become the Slushfens? Or is that region stay boggy year round.
Thoughts? References?
I don't have the reference in front of me - I think it's in the Runelords area - but I believe the Lost Coast of Varisia is supposed to be similar to the Seattle/Washington coast. So, I would extrapolate from there in terms of what it would be like in the region.
Creative Director
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| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
My friends and I are in a Varisian campaign and its getting into Winter.
We began discussing the material and wondering just how bad the winters got. Considering geography, I was seeing it much like Alaska with very cold, snowy, and icy Winter seasons. I imagined the seas would be treacherous to hazard even with the possibility of frozen in ports. Would shipping lanes close?
Others thought more of Washington or Oregon very overcast, foggy, humid, lots of cold drizzle, and little snow except at the higher elevations.
Would the Mushfens become the Slushfens? Or is that region stay boggy year round.
Thoughts? References?
It's more like winters in Seattle. They get cold; snow is not uncommon, but it's the rainstorms and windstorms in winter that'll get you. It's not nearly as far north as Alaska; that's more like the upper Lands of the Linnorm Kings.
In any event, the Pacific northwest was very much the model for climate when I designed Varisia.
Here in Rochester NY I wish I had a Varisian winter to look forward to. See ya'll when I dig myself out of the snowbanks in early April.
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It's more like winters in Seattle. They get cold; snow is not uncommon, but it's the rainstorms and windstorms in winter that'll get you. It's not nearly as far north as Alaska; that's more like the upper Lands of the Linnorm Kings.In any event, the Pacific northwest was very much the model for climate when I designed Varisia.
So so true. A Famous T shirt design in Washington when I was a youngling was "Washingtonians don't tan they rust" I'm about 80 miles from the Seattle area but yeah the winters are not excessively cold but rain and wind are very prevalent.
So so true. A Famous T shirt design in Washington when I was a youngling was "Washingtonians don't tan they rust" I'm about 80 miles from the Seattle area but yeah the winters are not excessively cold but rain and wind are very prevalent.
It's more like winters in Seattle. They get cold; snow is not uncommon, but it's the rainstorms and windstorms in winter that'll get you. It's not nearly as far north as Alaska; that's more like the upper Lands of the Linnorm Kings.In any event, the Pacific northwest was very much the model for climate when I designed Varisia.
I hear ya. Lived downtown Seattle 4 years. Probably still be there if I'd gotten out into a cooler area like Ballard.
Thanks for the input folks. We are headed into the higher climes so I guess my snow-shoes still won't got to waste.
:)
I never even considered what winter was like on the Cinderlands before this thread...
I have...it's remarkably similar to Central and Eastern Oregon and Washington. Which is to say, very cold, very dry and when it snows, it melts and refreezes a couple times and has multiple layers of ice.
Oh, and then fresh snow (eight plus inches) on top. >.>
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I never even considered what winter was like on the Cinderlands before this thread...I have...it's remarkably similar to Central and Eastern Oregon and Washington. Which is to say, very cold, very dry and when it snows, it melts and refreezes a couple times and has multiple layers of ice.
Oh, and then fresh snow (eight plus inches) on top. >.>
I'm selling this visual to my two Shoanti players so that they have more range than YOUR HOMELAND IS HOT AND ON FIRE ALL THE TIME now.
Seriously, it will give them some new context to work with. I have to admit my portrayal of the Cinderlands has been a bit flat and homogenous so far(then again, it is summer in the campaign.
Thanks!
Here in Rochester NY I wish I had a Varisian winter to look forward to. See ya'll when I dig myself out of the snowbanks in early April.
I'll see your Rochester, NY Winter and raise you my Syracuse NY Winter (or even my old Oswego/ Adams Winters... "Oh look, 5 feet of snow. It must be Thursday.")
Actually, I was working on an HVAC system one night when there was a 15 mph wind. Looking over at the bank clock in Watertown, we could see that, without wind chill, it was -25 degrees F... And a few years ago, my Watertown rep was there on consecutive days when it was +36 F on the first day and -36 F on the second day...yeah, a 72 degree temperature drop in 24 hours, passing the freezing point...That's how I run my winters in Pathfinder....)
So the Mushfens would be really wet in the wintertime and waterlevels might rise a bit more in the western part of the mushfens during the rainy season winter months with all that water pooling. The Nowlands would be a lot colder and snowier and the mountain ranges would all get snow, but the more north and east you get the colder it gets...
I never even considered what winter was like on the Cinderlands before this thread...I have...it's remarkably similar to Central and Eastern Oregon and Washington. Which is to say, very cold, very dry and when it snows, it melts and refreezes a couple times and has multiple layers of ice.
Oh, and then fresh snow (eight plus inches) on top. >.>
I'm selling this visual to my two Shoanti players so that they have more range than YOUR HOMELAND IS HOT AND ON FIRE ALL THE TIME now.
Seriously, it will give them some new context to work with. I have to admit my portrayal of the Cinderlands has been a bit flat and homogenous so far(then again, it is summer in the campaign.
Thanks!
I went with the badlands of the Dakota's for my Cinderland visuals, with the geothermic's of Yellowstone, but I honestly never thought of snow since for CoCT my players will visit in the summer.
To whomever started this thread, great question. I really try to use weather in my campaigns. By mid-level its just for mood, as magic pretty much elminates its use as a distraction, but I still like it.
I went with the badlands of the Dakota's for my Cinderland visuals, with the geothermic's of Yellowstone, but I honestly never thought of snow since for CoCT my players will visit in the summer.To whomever started this thread, great question. I really try to use weather in my campaigns. By mid-level its just for mood, as magic pretty much elminates its use as a distraction, but I still like it.
I had a lot of fun changing things around in CoCT as I had the campaign starting in autumn and ending in spring. So the party had the chance to do the Cinderlands in winter. Fire and ice! Took some inspiration from the Gobi Desert in winter. Its pretty bleak. I also slightly modified the Shoanti going a bit more towards a Mongol influence than plains indian. Yurts, bactrian camels, that sort of thing. I'm not sure what it is but I definitely felt the players responded much more to the setting and environment if it had just been a hot burning desert.
Here in Rochester NY I wish I had a Varisian winter to look forward to. See ya'll when I dig myself out of the snowbanks in early April.I'll see your Rochester, NY Winter and raise you my Syracuse NY Winter (or even my old Oswego/ Adams Winters... "Oh look, 5 feet of snow. It must be Thursday.")
Actually, I was working on an HVAC system one night when there was a 15 mph wind. Looking over at the bank clock in Watertown, we could see that, without wind chill, it was -25 degrees F... And a few years ago, my Watertown rep was there on consecutive days when it was +36 F on the first day and -36 F on the second day...yeah, a 72 degree temperature drop in 24 hours, passing the freezing point...That's how I run my winters in Pathfinder....)
I was working on an HVAC system in an attic in Hilton Head a couple summers ago and looked at my probe thermometer and it was 138F. Opposite ends of the spectrum. :-) That was a long eight hours.
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Here in Rochester NY I wish I had a Varisian winter to look forward to. See ya'll when I dig myself out of the snowbanks in early April.
Oh, THAT'S why it's been raining for the last two weeks straight...you brought Seattle weather with you. >:-(
Seriously, welcome to Rochester. Don't write us off until you've tried Dinosaur Bar-B-Q.
Common weather listed for each country and region. High, lows, rainfall, etc would be really nice. I hope something like that is in the new campaign book or gets made as a small PDF. Little details like that is what really brings a setting alive IMHO.
+1
It's more like winters in Seattle. They get cold; snow is not uncommon, but it's the rainstorms and windstorms in winter that'll get you. It's not nearly as far north as Alaska; that's more like the upper Lands of the Linnorm Kings.In any event, the Pacific northwest was very much the model for climate when I designed Varisia.
So, with Magnimar being Seattle (or at least a close approximation) what would Sandpoint and Riddleport equate to?
I'm trying to adjust the average hi/low temps and Precipitation chances for my weather generating spreadsheet.
If I have real world cities to compare, I can look up their yearly averages and fill in the blanks.
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Creative Director
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It's more like winters in Seattle. They get cold; snow is not uncommon, but it's the rainstorms and windstorms in winter that'll get you. It's not nearly as far north as Alaska; that's more like the upper Lands of the Linnorm Kings.In any event, the Pacific northwest was very much the model for climate when I designed Varisia.
So, with Magnimar being Seattle (or at least a close approximation) what would Sandpoint and Riddleport equate to?
I'm trying to adjust the average hi/low temps and Precipitation chances for my weather generating spreadsheet.
If I have real world cities to compare, I can look up their yearly averages and fill in the blanks.
All three of those cities (Magnimar, Sandpoint, and Riddleport) are close enough to all pretty much work the same as Seattle.
All three of those cities (Magnimar, Sandpoint, and Riddleport) are close enough to all pretty much work the same as Seattle.
Groovy, thank you, sir.