In any event, issue #68 included an article by a writer called David Axler entitled "Weather in the World of Greyhawk." Though presented as an unofficial supplement to The World of Greyhawk, the article was eventually canonized by being included in the 1983 boxed set version of the setting. Axler's article was a well-done early example of what would become a staple of Silver Age Dragon articles: a system for introducing "realism" into one's campaign. In this case, it was weather that got the "realistic" treatment, with tables for determining temperature, precipitation, and cloudiness, in addition to discussions of lunar phases, high winds, and "special weather phenomena," such as wind storms and tsunamis.
In truth, Axler's rules are pretty simple to use and presented intelligibly so that even my 13 year-old self could use them with relative ease. And use them I did. Back in 1982, I was all about adding doses of "realism" into my AD&D campaign where I could and, since this article had done all the hard work for me, why wouldn't I use it? Eventually, though, I stopped doing so, because, easy though it might have been to use, I rarely found that knowing just how much rain had fallen or the effects of high humidity added much to my adventures. The extra "realism" serve no purpose other than satisfying my adolescent sense that a good DM should know these sorts of things about his campaign setting. I abandoned that way of thinking a long time ago and I don't think my campaigns have suffered for it.
I think the only practical use for weather, and other types of "realism", is when it has a non-trivial impact on gameplay (mechanical or otherwise) AND player choices can mitigate that impact at the cost of something else. In rain, do you travel with your bow unstrung to protect it from getting wet or stretching. Wind can have an impact on missile weapon accuracy. Cold and wet can affect how well you heal, do you take a chance that it will stay dry, or do you carry heavy tents or special clothing? If there is inclement weather that makes it hard to fight/heal/navigate, do you stay in camp until the weather improves, or risk pressing on? Do you bring extra food in case of delays?
ReplyDeleteThe corollary of this is, any weather that doesn't have an impact on gameplay in some way, even if it is just for setting mood, is too trivial to bother simulating.
Good points Beoric & that's how I use weather. It's sometimes relevant in a chase / search /escape scenario also. But I can get all the weather I need with a couple of d6 tables.
DeleteA real good point. The challenge I have had is how to factor in weather like that. So 99% of the action in my campaign occurs in neutral weather...
DeleteI am curious if using Rob Conley's encounter system where you generate several encounters for a journey and then place/use them as desired, will offer a way. There is a possibility of a severe weather event, and if that is either used as an adventure point by itself, or combined with some other encounter, there's real potential.
Well, you could check for inclement weather pretty much the same way as you check for random encounters. And when inclement weather is indicated, consult a simple table with the types of bad weather appropriate to the region and season.
DeleteWeather is easy fluff text up there with "the scent of mildew emanates from the wet dungeons walls." I keep it simple and use the daily weather from 100 years ago.
ReplyDeleteWeather is useful to determine/force NPC actions. Everyone enters the tavern when it starts pouring out. Or even better, hey Wizard, make it rain so those bastards will come over here into the shelter where we can jump them.
ReplyDeleteFunny, I loved the random weather charts in the Basic set I got summer 1983, my doorway into the game. It fascinated me to think of the effects of climate and weather as an unforeseeable element in unfolding events. We invented the ever-dreaded "blizzardnado."---Jim Hodges
ReplyDelete...two copies for *a year*?!.well, i guess we all now know who's responsible for TSR's financial woes and eventual bankruptcy...
ReplyDeleteWeather can add a lot to a game but unless you are playing with a group of players into survival games it' can get dreary outside of the occasional obvious scenario (cold mountain pass, lost in desert, etc).
ReplyDeleteIssue #68 was my first Dragon and I collected them religiously from there on (until D&D turned so cheesy I couldn’t take it anymore…)
ReplyDeleteAnyway, maybe because of this article weather (and lunar phases, calendars, natural phenomenon, etc) always play a large role in my settings and campaigns.
I don’t get as crazily detailed as the Greyhawk piece, but I think it goes a long way to immersion if the characters know they’re setting out on Sword Day of Harvest Month with a grey sky overhead and a stiff cold wind out of the north.