Topic: Gamemaster Law Weather

[eskla]

Can someone please give me a step by step set of instructions for using the high/low weather generator from FRP Gamemaster Law pages 124-125?  Both charts have sections for high temperatures, and nothing for lows.  I don't feel like I'm using it right, but I love having variable weather in my campaigns.

[netbat]

There is a misprint on the second chart. The chart is labeled low temperature chart, but the column is labeled avg high instead of avg low. To get the daily high, you look at the month on the high temperature chart to get the avg high and variance class then roll on the temp mod chart under the variance class to get the number to add to the avg high. Use the same process on the low temperature chart except you subtract the number on the temp mod chart from the "avg high" on the low temperature chart.
Hopefully that all made sense.

[jdale]

Have not studied this but what I read is that for the lows, you use it the same as the highs, but subtract. I think the "Low Temperatures Chart" is wrong in the column titled "Avg High" and that should be "Avg Low" instead, that may be what is confusing you.

So for example...

Today is December, the last autumn month (winter starts Dec 21st). The average high is 52 (variation class IV) and the average low is 42 (variation class also IV although it's not always the same for highs and lows). We roll a 67 for the high, which on the IV column of the Temperature Modification Chart is +/-7, so the high is 52+7 = 59. We roll 28 for the low (separate roll), which on the IV column of the chart is +/-3, so the temperature is 42-3 = 39. Not a terrible day for December.

Edit: netbat beat me to it, but I already wrote this, so I'm posting it anyway.

[Jengada]

I don't remember the thread or who it was, but there's a poster who has a great set of climate and weather files, if you want to go the complex route.
As a meteorologist, I have a suggestion on how to generate weather. Simply put, pick a real-world location like the campaign area, and use data from that location. For US locations, you can get historic data on National Weather Service websites; left-hand column select "Climate/Local" and then on the tabs that appear, select the "Observed Weather" tab and then "Preliminary...(CF6)" To the right of that, select "Archived data" and a month you think is appropriate.
Why do this instead of random generation? If you're concerned about any sort of realism, the weather needs to have some continuity. What happens tomorrow isn't entirely independent of what happens today. Random weather generation can produce really wacky combinations of lows, highs, winds, and precip on any one day, and the change to the next day can be even more jolting. Most players probably won't care or notice, but it's easier to make up weather than run 8 pages of charts. If you want the realism, just pull the CF6s. (If players in the UK or other countries are interested in that approach, post here and I'll take the time to dig up the equivalent websites.)

[Nightblade42]

For Canadian & US Historical Weather, I've always used the Old Farmer's Almanac Website.  I've used their database for many of my stories (I've written a lot of stories that take place in the 90's & I like to use the actual weather for the dates for which those stories take place).

Nightblade ->--