Approximate start date of the campaign?

[PonyFlare]

Around what date in-world does this AP actually start? There are seasonal variances in weather according to the Gazetteer in book 2 and I'd like to keep track.

[Blue Eyed Devil]

I had the same question. Unless otherwise specified, I'm starting mine in mid-march. Assuming "realistic" long distance boat travel logic, and the prior absence of trade ships between Almas and Ancorato, it makes sense that Ochymua caused the colony's disappearance in fall, and this is the first ship to make the voyage after the bad winter weather, so if they depart in early February, mid March seems reasonable. Plus it allows for plenty of nice weather in books 1 & 2.

[PonyFlare]

Looking into this a bit more.
An important thing to consider is that the first ship landed 6 months earlier to establish the colony.

Reading the Gazetteer with a bit more thought to the details...
Winters can be cold, potentially reaching temperatures slightly below freezing on some nights, while hot & humid summer peaks can be difficult to breathe in, and late-summer through late-fall sees potential for violent storms.
Mid-March would put the original colonists landing in mid-September.
I'm thinking of reversing these times you suggested, giving the original colonists time to establish buildings and crops in good weather; to be ready before the cool, dry winter.

Makes for a slightly harsher time for the PCs and others arriving with them, but makes a bit more sense to me.

[Blue Eyed Devil]

I also bumped that back to have the first ship arrive a full year previous.

[PonyFlare]

A full year seems excessive. Certainly at least a supply ship would have arrived in that time. Also, Talmandor's Bounty would be much further along in construction at that point, and certain fixed encounters would possibly have already claimed some victims/been dealt with in that time.

[Adam Daigle]

I didn't nail the campaign down to a particular start date to allow GMs to tweak things as they desired, but in my head I imagined it starting in mid to late spring.

[Shay Bella]

Adam Daigle wrote:

I didn't nail the campaign down to a particular start date to allow GMs to tweak things as they desired, but in my head I imagined it starting in mid to late spring.

I've been trying to figure out which in game *year* this starts. I thought at first it was 4712ish (can't recall why), but then in the 2nd book I found a mention of things happening in 4716, but not sure how long before the start of the game that was.

[Haldrick]

I am just starting to prepare to run this AP for the second time. I did not consider this much first time around. So apologies for the Thread necromancy

The Gazetter says:
"Ancorato and nearby islands have a humid subtropical climate.
While temperatures in the region can reach 100° F, for
the most part the temperature ranges from the low 70s
to the high 90s. The air is humid, and when it’s hot, it
often feels like every breath is forcibly swallowed rather
than comfortably inhaled. The temperature in the region
rarely drops below freezing, and when it does, it’s only for
a few hours during the night. While generally wet—as
daily rain showers sprinkle the region in the afternoons
for periods of time lasting from 20 minutes to an hour
a day—the region sees a potential for violent storms,
especially in the late-summer to late-fall months.
Winters tend to be dry."

I read this differently then PonyFlare. The important bits to my mind are "Ancorato and nearby islands have a humid subtropical climate" and "Winters tend to be dry."
The coldness is mention as an exception to my mind.

So while you would not normally start a colony over the winter. The lack of storms would be good. Not so hot while building the colony. Survive on stores transported/foraged food. Plant crops in the early spring ready for the rains.
Then the faceless stalkers come calling.
I am therefore going with Adams thinking

[Yakman]

For funsies, I'd start it late in the year, just as winter is setting in. The pilgrims on the Mayflower landed in Massachusetts Bay, and not knowing about the Gulf Stream, thought that they would be landing in the equivalent of Spain...

Adds a bit of urgency that the settlement has to get dug in and ready for winter, esp. b/c the old settlement is... well...

[Eagle0600]

This is probably too late for the original commenter, but the way to figure out approximately when an AP starts it to get the publishing date for the first book and add 2,700 years AR. So since Ruins of Azlant was published in August 2017, it's probably set in 4717 AR. I usually go a step further and translate the start month similarly, but I'm not sure that's necessary.

Reading the details on the adventure background can confirm this. On page 24 "Captain Ancorato discovered the island in early 4715 AR", and on page 6 "Three years ago, that nation dispatched dozens of ships to survey islands approximately 300 miles south of the old Sun Temple Colony to determine their suitability for building a new colony." That would put the survey expedition starting in 4714 AR and succeeding in early 4715 AR, which makes sense.