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Author Topic: Weather - done better  (Read 2615 times)

GHench

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Weather - done better
« on: September 18, 2021, 08:45:04 PM »
Generating random weather in RPGs never works that well because random tables are ...well, random. One minute it's sunshine, the next it's a blizzard.

Using a 'Weather Hex flower' allows you to generate weather that is more consistent, but still allows for some surprises:

Example image of a Weather Hex Flower:



In the Hex Flower example above you can see 7 days of weather indicated by the red path.

Link to PDF - https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/367072/Weather-Hex-Flower

Shasarak

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Re: Weather - done better
« Reply #1 on: September 18, 2021, 08:47:50 PM »
Generating random weather in RPGs never works that well because random tables are ...well, random. One minute it's sunshine, the next it's a blizzard.

Using a 'Weather Hex flower' allows you to generate weather that is more consistent, but still allows for some surprises:

What happens if the place you live can get all of the weather in your weather flower in the same day?

Should I move somewhere more realistic?
Who da Drow?  U da drow! - hedgehobbit

There will be poor always,
pathetically struggling,
look at the good things you've got! -  Jesus

GHench

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Re: Weather - done better
« Reply #2 on: September 18, 2021, 08:53:32 PM »
Re-design the HF to suit your RPG setting.
:O)

Mithgarthr

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Re: Weather - done better
« Reply #3 on: September 18, 2021, 08:57:26 PM »
Generating random weather...

This is actually a pretty neat idea, OP. Thanks for sharing!


What happens if the place you live can get all of the weather in your weather flower in the same day?

Oh, are you a fellow Okie?  ;D

Should I move somewhere more realistic?

Reality's overrated.

therealjcm

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Re: Weather - done better
« Reply #4 on: September 18, 2021, 09:00:29 PM »
Oh, are you a fellow Okie?  ;D

I was going to suggest that he might live in Denver, the only place I've ever lived that has blizzards followed immediately by warm sunny days.

Shasarak

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Re: Weather - done better
« Reply #5 on: September 18, 2021, 09:04:51 PM »
What happens if the place you live can get all of the weather in your weather flower in the same day?

Oh, are you a fellow Okie?  ;D

I was going to suggest that he might live in Denver, the only place I've ever lived that has blizzards followed immediately by warm sunny days.

A little further south.  No further then that.

New Zealand has the Pacific on one side and the Tasman on the other and sometimes those guys dont co-ordinate with each other.
Who da Drow?  U da drow! - hedgehobbit

There will be poor always,
pathetically struggling,
look at the good things you've got! -  Jesus

Mithgarthr

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Re: Weather - done better
« Reply #6 on: September 18, 2021, 09:13:55 PM »
What happens if the place you live can get all of the weather in your weather flower in the same day?

Oh, are you a fellow Okie?  ;D

I was going to suggest that he might live in Denver, the only place I've ever lived that has blizzards followed immediately by warm sunny days.

A little further south.  No further then that.

New Zealand has the Pacific on one side and the Tasman on the other and sometimes those guys dont co-ordinate with each other.

Oh rad, I've always wanted to visit there. Looks gorgeous. Totally unfamiliar with what kind of weather you guys have; y'all are just a bit out of the tropic line, right? Fairly temperate, I'd assume?

GHench

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Re: Weather - done better
« Reply #7 on: September 19, 2021, 06:04:43 AM »
The replies to this post are more variable than the weather ...
 ;O)

Opaopajr

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Re: Weather - done better
« Reply #8 on: September 20, 2021, 05:09:45 AM »
Thanks for sharing!  :) The 'trend' key helps give a way of visualizing the saddlepoint of 2d6, and functions as a guidepost of how to DIY other climates.
Just make your fuckin' guy and roll the dice, you pricks. Focus on what's interesting, not what gives you the biggest randomly generated virtual penis.  -- J Arcane
 
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zircher

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Re: Weather - done better
« Reply #9 on: September 24, 2021, 06:10:56 PM »
Oh, are you a fellow Okie?  ;D
I may resemble that.  :-)

To be honest, this year has been really good for the garden.  Only one killer frost early on.
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RPGPundit

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Re: Weather - done better
« Reply #10 on: October 08, 2021, 04:50:27 PM »
Since I feel that checking minute weather changes in every campaign day is too much work for most games, I just treat weather as random encounters. You see that in my travel tables in Dark Albion and Lion & Dragon.
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zircher

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Re: Weather - done better
« Reply #11 on: October 08, 2021, 08:02:02 PM »
That would put you on par with your typical weatherman that lives and dies by the computer model.  :-D
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Bren

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Re: Weather - done better
« Reply #12 on: October 09, 2021, 12:11:00 AM »
Using a 'Weather Hex flower' allows you to generate weather that is more consistent, but still allows for some surprises:
I like this idea. It looks nice. Both aesthetically and mechanically. I plan on using this for my Runequest in Glorantha campaign with different hex flowers for each season.
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S'mon

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Re: Weather - done better
« Reply #13 on: October 09, 2021, 02:13:49 AM »
I roll a d8 for the weather, higher = better. What that actually means depends on climate, time of year, and any previous weather roll.

Since it's Free Kriegsspiel the result is always plausible/reasonable to me at least; and my players seem happy.  :D

I think there should be a lot more effort put into teaching GMs FK techniques like this, certainly for simulating all the parts of the world they don't want to use a mechanistic system for.

Prairie Dragon

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Re: Weather - done better
« Reply #14 on: October 09, 2021, 05:46:38 AM »
Since we are bragging about weather in our own state, how many of you have seen lightning during a snow storm?  I have seen it many times in Nebraska...