Shots At Random: How About That Weather We've Been Having? Part 2

Monday's post introduced the idea that making the weather relatively uniform throughout a game might add a strong element of continuity to the games theme and story. However it's not enough to let this theory stand on base assertion, actually providing a quick overview of a game with a consistent weather effect in place and seeing how it enhances the game setting.

In Darkened Skies our theoretical console action RPG, the previously idyllic realm of Delus is subject to non-stop rain, as a curse from the Gods for the mortals hubris. Clouds blanket the entire continent and no matter where the player goes they are subject to rain in one form or another, obviously this causes serious trouble to the inhabitants of the land, crops get washed out, floods are constant, huge collections of standing water are rife with disease and pestilence, not to mention the general malaise caused by the unceasing poor weather. Obviously it is up to the player character and his plucky band of adventurers to go on a quest to stop the rain and make all right with the world.

We're only one paragraph into the planning phase and already we've hit the standard fantasy cliches of Gods punishing mankind's hubris and epic quests overcome a curse. We will be using a lot of stock fantasy scenarios while plotting out Darkened Skies for two reason: Firstly, we want to focus on how the consistent element of weather improves the plot and having a familiar starting place will make that all the easier. Secondly, the narrative tropes are tried and true in hundreds of previous works of fiction and are often a great place to start when writing. Most stories have already been told by somebody, now all that's left is to put a new spin on these twice told tales to liven them up, here that little something extra is the rain.

To start out, a brief exercise to generate, let's say eight, locations for the players to explore in game, not straying too far from fantasy conventions. We could go back to my old trick of looking at water sources, but I'm guessing in this world just about any settlement short of a major metropolis can support itself with collected rain water, so we're free to get a bit more free form. First we paint them in broad strokes.

1. Obviously the people of Delus need some place to live, so let's start with a city, it's local geography isn't really important except to say it is on some manner of high ground like a series of low hills. To create conflict via architecture we'll say that the city, let's call her Stonewash, is built in two tiers, the upper city reserved for the elite of society, while the poor and needy live down below, instant class conflict. In order to keep the unwashed rabble down, Stonewash has a pretty powerful military, not to mention a healthy population of rich upper-crusters and a pool of easily exploitable labor down in the gutter means they're probably pretty well off economically as well.
2. Let's give Stonewash a rival city, more magically minded, with sorcerer powered street lamps, arcane arms and armor, as well as a whole "sufficiently advanced magic that's indistinguishable from technology" vibe. Stonewash's bitter rival, Highspire, innovates as opposed to the formers reliance on more traditional sensibilities, focusing on a smaller, more elite military and devastating battle magic. Citizens are treated ore equally in Highspire, the city is all on the same level, although some of the populous has moved below ground to out from the rain. It goes without saying that they are at war with Stonewash.
3. A wretched hive of scum and villainy tucked away far from the patrols that would have all in this den of thieves hanged. How about Withermarsh?
4. The Sword Plains, where great armies have met in battle and the unquiet spirits of slain soldiers stalk their former battlefield still fighting battles long since over, and new conflicts await on the horizon.
5. The Sorrow Ridge Mountains, intimidating slopes nearly too high to climb by man, said to be home to vicious monsters.
6. The Twisted Wood, a deep dark forest filled with the scarier parts of nature with many who explore it's depths never coming back out.
7. The Wracked Coast, a long stretch of coastline teeming with the beasts of the deep and pirates.
8. The Sundered Hills, located a short distance from Stonewash, this outlying region rests right on the contested border between Stonewash's and Highspire's territory and as such is heavily fortified. A few settlements lie in the region, mostly farmers eking out whatever they can in the dreadful climate, but some old ruins can also be found in the area that might be worth exploring.

We'll come back to these place in a moment, but first let's develop the general history of Delus to have some idea of what to put in these places. We will do this with a few bullet points consisting of no more than a sentence for each historical epoch, it's important to not get overly involved in histories in the early stages, you can always go back and add more to them later.

• In the beginning the Gods created the earth, and the most favored of their creations were the humans.
• For a time the Gods walked among men and taught them the ways of magic.
• Eventually the Gods got bored with humans and went back to the Skyhall, leaving the humans without much warning or instruction.
• The humans expanded their knowledge of magic to the point where they could control the weather, ensuring bountiful harvests.
• The Gods discovered the humans tampering with the natural scheme of things, which was generally messing with their divine plan, so they put an end to the humans weather magic and cursed them with unending rain.
• In the age of heroes, a group of powerful humans consisting of members from both Stonewash and Highspire set off on a quest to restore the weather to its previous natural cycle, they are lost to history and to all appearances the weather actually gets worse sometime after they stop reporting back.
• Stonewash and Highspire blame each other for the spectacular failure of the expedition and kick off a series of on again off again wars between the two great powers that still simmer to this day.
• Present day, your band gets together and heads out on their quest.

Alright, now let's take those places from earlier and add in the elements from the history and the weather as well as fleshing out each and giving them one defining feature apiece.

• Stonewash: The upper plate of Stonewash literally overcasts the districts below, continuing the the theme of having the sky blocked out. It occurs to me that having a roof over ones head in a constant downpour is actually a benefit, so let's say that people actually pay a premium for properties beneath the upper plate, most businesses are located their to keep their goods and clientele dry. The less fortunate are forced into the slums that surround the shelter of the upper plate to slog through the muddy streets and survive as best they can. The upper plate is naturally reserved for the wealthy and military leadership of Stonewash, enclosed in a glass dome to keep the rain out. To give it an extra little flavor we can say faulty drainage caused a bit of a flood in one section of the top plate, and the local supports couldn't handle the weight of all the water, causing that section to collapse onto the city below. The section has yet to be rebuilt, and now the few straggling columns of upper plate architecture and the homes below are still left to ruin, rife for exploration.
  Defining Feature- The wealthy of Stonewash have spared no expense to create a magical miniature sun for the upper plate enclosure, ensuring that they live in relative simulated comfort. This is a luxury that the lower classes can only dream of experiencing and is the crown jewel of Stonewash.
• Highspire: Located several leagues from Stonewash across the "Plain" of Swords, Highspire attempts to rise above it all. Treating it's citizens relatively fairly and subsisting on magically treated crops that withstand the drenching rain, Highspire seems to be coping with the curse of the Gods better than anywhere else. This is due largely to their surplus of magic, all bent towards overcoming the ill effects of the weather, magical heating apparatuses warm the soaked bones of the weary citizen, homes are built using techniques perfected by learned sages to prevent leaks and loss of heat. The local government is run by the most powerful wizards, ensuring the most is done for their citizens while ensuring that the world doesn't suffer anymore by preventing research into how to magically alter the weather least the Gods punish them again. Commerce is conducted underground, from where the stone for the cities large towers was quarried, in order to keep merchants dry and happy while conducting business.
  Defining Feature- The Spire of the Heavens is a massive tower that ascends into the clouds and some say even farther beyond than that. Constructed by the founding wizard of the Highspire Cabal, to contemplate the mysteries of the Storm of the Gods. The High Wizard Ivis just summoned it straight out of the ground and disappeared into it's heights some years ago and has not returned since. The winding stairs that lead to the top of the tower are filled with all manner of arcane enhanced monsters, combined with its staggering height have prevented any, save perhaps Ivis from ever reaching it's peak. (I see this as an optional dungeon slog where the reward will be more precious than any loot, a glimpse at the sun, a rare treat for the players, as well as some sick loot too).
• Withermarsh: The rain eventually gets to be too much for everyone in Withermarsh, the shacks are ill constructed and always, always leak, the precipitation comes down in sheets soaking any who venture out side to the bone and worst of all the wind howls like a beast of nightmare driving men mad. The residents of Withermarsh might be criminals all, but they're also raving lunatics and dangerous at that. Only two kinds of people go to Withermarsh, the desperate or the foolish, either they're so desperate they don't have anywhere else to go, or they're stupid enough to believe the rumors of treasure in the caves outside of town. Either way, both types go crazy eventually.
  Defining Feature- The Howling Caves in the bluffs just outside of town are a bane and a blessing to the entire town. The fast wind from the constant storms rips through the caves, creating a distinctive keening that some believe is the main reason most in Withermarsh go mad. However nearly no one would come to Withermarsh if it weren't for rumors of a treasure lying deep within the caves themselves, said to be a lost artifact from the days the Gods walked the earth. The truth of the caves is hard to discern, all that can be told is that the madmen who inhabit the town encourage the explorers who come to town with wild stories, but then follow them into the caves zealously trying to drive them out when they do enter. This odd dichotomy of actions inside the town and the caves seems to be the core of Withermarsh's madness, some sort of secret sect dedicated to advertising, but also protecting the caves.
• Sword Lake: Formerly the Plain of Swords the ancient battleground was long ago flooded when the unceasing tide of rainwater broke the banks of two nearby rivers. It is still an area of contention as it' the shortest route of conquest between Stonewash and Highspire, the means of battle is just a bit different these days is all. Armies come at each other in great battle barges, fighting over tiny scraps of islands in the lake to better launch their offensive from, although it is only a matter of time until the island floods over, so no army can hold them permanently and often lose any gains they have before they can capitalize on them. The dead from battles past still lie below the water, reaching up and grabbing whomever they can get their hands on, slashing them with rusty weapons from campaigns long forgotten. These skeletal legions sometimes come to bear in the armed conflict of today, often one group of undead warriors will rise up and attack any who blunder into their former resting place, although that is little comfort to the opposing commander who will probably have to deal with a counter attack from their unwitting allies former rivals. On top of that wrecks of battle barges play host to huge beasts grown fat off the taste of carrion provided in such abundance by these battles, if aggression has ceased for the time being they'll swim out on the hunt, often accidentally instigating another round of attacks across the border.
  Defining Feature- The Bridge of Battle, is a heavily fortified bridge split between the forces of Stonewash and Highspire. Nobody remembers who built it originally, and both sides have rebuilt their respective sides of it so often that the building style is inconsistent across the whole of the bridge. At times the two sides send out their champions to fight in the center of the bridge, which have caused some truly legendary battles in the past. Their are even tales of some unlucky traveler, trying to stealthily cross from one country to the other, getting caught in the middle of these two great warriors and having to fight his way out of their conflict.
• Sorrow Ridge Mountains: These impossibly high mountains are made even harder to climb due to their constantly rain slick cliff faces. The constant rains cause all manner of trouble for those trying to climb, mud slides are a constant threat, the weathering of the rock by the rain causes large sections of cliff face to give way. The difficulty in climbing has created an ecosystem of highly specialised (and deadly) wild life. With no competition for food at these peaks most animals have grown to extremely large proportions, while the constant seeping of the water provides plenty of shelter in the form of caves. This inhospitable climate is the perfect protection to keep the Valley of Light free of casual visitors.
  Defining Feature- Titan Falls, the constant streaming of water down the side of the mountain face reaches a confluence at one point, creating a spectacular waterfall. Behind the waterfall is the lair of a terrible rock giant, who hunts down those trying to cross the mountain range.
• The Twisted Woods: This extremely over watered patch of wilderness has become the prime example of how nature is adapting to the rain soaked reality it now finds itself in. Trees tower into the sky, grown large on the sheer volume of water they have consumed. Local wildlife has also taken a few strange turns, the large amount of standing water has done wonder for the insects, who have grown large over the years since the curse was enacted. With insect come disease, most of the dangerous predators are frothing with some manner of illness induced red eyed madness, becoming a danger to local residents. The forest seems especially deadly to spell casters, as the wolves seem to drag downed wizards into the depth to have their power become one with the land.
  Defining Feature- The Rune Tree is the largest tree in the entire Twisted Woods. Many years ago a wandering spell caster dies at its base and his blood seeped into it's roots. The tree took on magical properties and a sliver of consciousness, the tree now compels the creatures to hunt down more magicians to feed its powers.
• The Wracked Coast: The seas in this area are constantly bombarded by fierce waves churned up by violent coastal storms. These waves frequently dredge up leviathans from the depths, beaching them on the shore where they slaughter any unfortunate enough to cross their path. Few people visit except to charter passage aboard the few vessels crewed by those skilled and daft enough to navigate in the swirling seas to lands unknown.
  Defining Feature- The Storm Breaker is a large rock formation off the coast that absorbs the intense waves coming of the ocean allowing for the nearby cove to actually be used as a viable port. The rock itself serves as an alter to a capricious Sea God, with the treasures of an entire fleet of sunken ships offered as tribute in exchange for safe voyage.
• The Sundered Hills: The tops of the Sundered Hills now serve as islands in the flooded Sword Lake, a stable base to launch aquatic attacks across the waterway. The valleys below used to be home of a fairly large city prior to the rains that got flooded out when the Sword Lake formed. The large military presence in the area keeps away most grave robbers who would loot these ruins, but recent military activity has pulled much of the forces who patrol the area away, leaving them ripe for plunder.
  Defining Feature- The ruins of Bezra, the city that was flooded at the start of the rains. Bezra was also a military town, watching over the border just like the Sundered Hills do now. Their armories were well stocked still opened to any who care to take them. Of course any who want to ransack the waterlogged ruins will have to deal with the automated defenses and water born monsters that guard the buildings.

Phew, we could go on from there, but as we can see the addition of rain leads naturally into a lot of different ideas, with cool spins on what are essentially bog standard fantasy locations. A lot could be done with the games tone, after all the heroes main quest is to do something completely impossible, that is change the weather. The weather could even characterize the rest of the characters pretty well, with most people pretty negative about their prospects, the rain having gotten them down. Also you can construe the failure of the first group as the old joke, "Well at least it's not raining too hard..." and then have the weather get much worse.

We might come back to this later on, but for right now use it as an example of how to think about your games environment.