Post/Author/DateTime	Post
tec-goblin 01-22-07, 03:38 AM	*warning. i write everything below in a good hearted and cheerful joking mood. Moderators, please inform me if I need to rephrase etc* I've heard so many stories about banned episodes and rephrased things that happened to remind people about 11/1. But when the disaster is european (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/6277537.stm), it's perfectly ok to play with the public feelings (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/ebsi/20070122a&dcmp=ILC-RSSDND). I am mostly kidding here :P , for me it's perfectly ok to use analogies with very recent real events to motivate player's rp. And I do realize that comparing a mere deadly windstorm to 11/1 is ridiculous, but I would prefer it if the whole strategy was a bit more consistent here ;)* *But Sharn does have its own "falling tower" images and scenarios, for those who've seen the book. I just cannot imagine this book getting published in 2001 or 2002 ;).
goblin_pride 01-22-07, 03:49 AM	I don't see a problem with it myself. I use freakishly foul weather in my own games and right now the winter here in the ol' US of A is pretty freakish as far as normal winters go so the winter in my campaign is looking pretty rough.
tec-goblin 01-22-07, 07:26 AM	Well, there's not too much of a problem. Just the fact that the hook came out while the headlines still speak of people dead from the weather (43 people dead, in 7 countries and of even more nationalities, as foreign students died etc). They could have waited a week, or at least until Tuesday when usually the Eberron news come out ;). While some pokemon episodes still are out of circulations because a huge pokemon was destroying towers or smth. I mean people should either be over-sensitive about everything, or about nothing ;) (and I certainly prefer the latter).
Nived 01-22-07, 04:22 PM	I can't say this for sure... but based on what some writers here have said about Wizard's online content these articles are often written MONTHS ahead of time, only to get trickled out as online content. Keith has made mention of several articles for Dragonshards and Eberron Expanded that haven't yet seen the light of day. The approval process this stuff goes through leads me to believe that this is merely a horrible coincidence. The real windstorm happened on what the 18th? This article while released on the 22nd was probably written weeks if not months before the incident. That being said... horrific weather is a fact of life. 40 some odd people died in the midwestern United States from a freak icestrom this month... stuff happens.
goblin_pride 01-22-07, 06:08 PM	That being said... horrific weather is a fact of life. 40 some odd people died in the midwestern United States from a freak icestrom this month... stuff happens. How is the weather just the other side of the big muddy, Nived, you get the cold snap already or is that just on this side of the river?
Nived 01-22-07, 06:57 PM	Snowy, or at least it was yesterday durring da bears game.
Neutronium_Dragon 01-22-07, 08:42 PM	Less than a month ago, the Pacific Northwest of NA (especially southern BC) was getting whipped by a series of windstorms nearly as bad (and in one case, as bad) as the one that just pounded Europe. I don't have a problem with the article though. I actually think that it may have been chosen because, while some people might be sensitive about it, it's also topical. (And as noted above, it's not as though windstorms are particularly unusual.)
tec-goblin 01-23-07, 04:04 AM	The approval process this stuff goes through leads me to believe that this is merely a horrible coincidence. The real windstorm happened on what the 18th? This article while released on the 22nd was probably written weeks if not months before the incident. The real windstorm started around 18th and lasted up to Monday, and it was released on Monday. Heh, yep, you're probably right and it was just an awkward coincidence and I am too paranoid ;) Hm, I guess bad weather is more common in the States than in Europe. Here it's very very rare to have 40 people die in the same storm. And, thank Goth, we don't have hurricanes :cool: (in other news, there's snow right now in Newcastle, yeeeah :D - my girlfriend is happy, nothing for me in Glasgow yet, damned humidity :P).
goblin_pride 01-23-07, 08:46 PM	Hm, I guess bad weather is more common in the States than in Europe. Here it's very very rare to have 40 people die in the same storm. And, thank Goth, we don't have hurricanes :cool: It's the mountains, the area between the mountains in the US get hammered year after year by harsh winters and windy summers because it's the only conduit of warmth from the Gulf of Mexico travelling north to the Canadian frontiers. Additionally, that one bloody tree in Nebraska is doing squat to stop the cold air masses from rolling across the great plains and bringing near-arctic conditions in the winter.
Nived 01-23-07, 09:02 PM	Heh, I've seen that tree. But yeah no matter where you go in this country there's some risk of killer weather. Earthquakes, mudslides, wildfires, tornados, microbursts, heat waves, blizzards, icestorms, floods, hurricanes... Don't know anywhere in this country that doesn't have some kinda weather that can kill ya. Personally I live in an area threatened by tornados, microbursts and severe winter weather.
taski 01-23-07, 09:45 PM	I live in earthquake, wildfire, flood, drought and heatstroke territory. Nothing quite like attending an outdoor wedding in 120 degree F heat. Bringing this back to Eberron, the article noted that Lyrandar usually prevents storms from coming down the Sound. So what went wrong? Negligence? Probably not, Lyrandar depends on clear weather for shipping business and to preserve its reputation. Weird natural occurrence? Angry druids? Beached Kraken?
goblin_pride 01-23-07, 10:22 PM	Personally I live in an area threatened by tornados, microbursts and severe winter weather. I live about 200 miles from Nived, so I get the same, but Kansas is closer so we get a few more twisters. The weather plays a role in almost everything in the culture of the US, so it stands to reason that it would make itself important in the games we play. I think the point of the article was to give DMs an idea how to use the weather as a focal point in the adventures of their players. Any other meaning that could be inferred from it's posting at a time when Europe was suffering similar freakish weather was mere coincidence.
goblin_pride 01-23-07, 10:23 PM	Bringing this back to Eberron, the article noted that Lyrandar usually prevents storms from coming down the Sound. So what went wrong? Negligence? Probably not, Lyrandar depends on clear weather for shipping business and to preserve its reputation. Weird natural occurrence? Angry druids? Beached Kraken? Ooh, there's an idea. What are your thoughts on it?
Nived 01-24-07, 12:13 AM	The sound is something like 400 miles long, stretching from Stormhome to Thronehold... controlling the weather along the sound for shipping has to be a massive endeavour. Now only characters with the Greater Mark of the Storm can control weather... normally either a 2 mile radius, or 3 if your a druid. With a Crown of High Domination they can control 6 mile radius.... 12 mile diameter. Now the unlikely scenario is that they have 33 greater marks with those helms sitting up and down the coast casting everyday to cover the whole sound. Since with the helm duration is doubled cut that sucker in half 16 or so marks. The cost of that just seems inhibiting. Doesn't seem realistic. Especially considering until 2 years ago that sound was a major and nasty front in a massive war. So I consider it more likely that House Lyrander tries to be smart about it. They use meteorology to predict weather patterns and send raincallers when they feel its needed to try to disrupt weather fronts. This is just my theory. Now if this is the case we have two possibilities. 1: There was a miscalculation. Someone missed something in the weather pattern... the raincaller was sent to the wrong place, the raincaller didn't do it right... or just wasn't enough to make a difference this time. In any case someone screwed up. House Lyrander would never admit it. 2: Terrorist action. Druids (probably children of winter) purposefully spawned this weather event and it was too much for the regular team of raincallers to anticipate and stop... or someone just killed the raincallers what are supposed to take care of this kinda thing. The druids seems more likely since there's no guarantee that killing the raincaller would make bad weather happen. Though a combination would probably be most effective.
goblin_pride 01-24-07, 12:59 AM	The druids seems more likely since there's no guarantee that killing the raincaller would make bad weather happen. Though a combination would probably be most effective. It could be possible that it was intentional. The house could be looking for a bit more renumeration for keeping the weather on the temperate side. But that gives at least three possible alternatives for the PCs to go ferret out, neh?
Nived 01-24-07, 01:22 AM	Excellent side... This of course opens the door to the possibility that the House CREATES droughts so it can be hired to 'call rain'. If PCs ever discovered that and exposed it... oh man... the chaos that would ensue.
taski 01-24-07, 01:32 AM	The sound is something like 400 miles long, stretching from Stormhome to Thronehold... controlling the weather along the sound for shipping has to be a massive endeavour. Ah, I was thinking the regular, well-studied winds would be coming south from the Frostfell. Stormhome would then be in a position to block (or at least slow) it from coming down most of the sound, as long as they predicted the wind and positioned a raincaller accordingly. A sudden wind, a wind coming from a different direction, or a wind generated south of Stormhome, would all be able to slip by Lyrandar. Purposefully neglecting to stave off a storm would be risky for Lyrandar. If they get caught, they get blamed for the deaths and property damage. If the Nations have a contract with Lyrandar that specifies the House must protect the Sound in return for X gold/year, Lyrandar would be in enormous legal trouble costing tons of platinum, and their reputation would be forever tarnished. Some people might even start boycotting Lyrandar, costing them even more. All of that to-do would be great for Orien, however...
tec-goblin 01-24-07, 03:35 AM	It is interesting, because you+the article are implying that Lyrandar has access to a good amount of experts with considerable Knowledge (nature) and can spare some of its members with Lesser or Greater Marks, probably Greater, to send in various key areas from which the winds come. They probably have to do it in a clever way: not leave strong winds to pass, but allow for heat to pass steadily from one place to another (in order to avoid building extreme differences of temperature and air pressure that could lead to dramatic effects as soon as the Lyrandar leaves the spot). (btw, in Athens e we have minor floods and powerful earthquakes. Killer weather only if you are on the sea, but in general, ships are not allowed to leave the harbours if the wind is too strong. In Glasgow... just common boring rain :rolleyes: )
Darakhoranon 01-24-07, 08:17 AM	How did we get form "is this kind of article ok" to "did those freaking half-elves create that storm to haul in more cash"?
Nived 01-24-07, 08:24 AM	It happened when Taski said "Bringing the tread back to Eberron"
Darakhoranon 01-24-07, 09:06 AM	So if I say " leaving Eberron" Iīll create another 180°-turn? Tempting...;) Seriously, I donīt see Lyrandar as engaging in that sort of activity. They have to much to lose. Orien, on the other hand (or one of those crazy druid sects) stands to gain quite a bit... Provided they find a way to do it, of course.
goblin_pride 01-24-07, 10:47 AM	Orien, on the other hand (or one of those crazy druid sects) stands to gain quite a bit... Provided they find a way to do it, of course. Look at that, another possibility for the PCs to investigate an eliminate, eh?
Ramses III 01-25-07, 05:44 PM	Just to point this out to the OP, in Sharn:CoT it says that the city observes Crystalfall, the day that one of the towers in Sharn was destroyed by saboteurs during the Last War. OK, it wasn't two of them, but certainly an event that could have been censored from the book due to being "insensitive" regarding 9/11, and wasn't. Nor should have been IMO. Much like the Sharn Inquisitive article, it wasn't a direct allusion to real world events, it was part of the made-up history of a fantasy world and should be considered only as such. Regarding Lyrandar and the storm, I would say that it was a natural occurence that was probably just too large for the Windwright's Guild to contain. Control Weather only works on a fairly small area, and there are only so many heirs with the Greater Mark of Storm to use it. They probably had just enough heirs on hand to keep the storm from hitting Stormhome as well. As to causes, well, who knows how many malevolent krakens there are living at the bottom of that sea?
Neutronium_Dragon 01-25-07, 09:16 PM	It's not like bringing towers down hasn't been done in both fantasy and RL plenty of times before, either. I mean, in the FR you have one city that is notorious for frequent tower-collapses, whether accidental or deliberate.
Darakhoranon 01-26-07, 08:49 AM	And what about "deliberate accidents"? Seriously: I donīt really see a reason for krakens to whip up a storm... A tsunami, sure. But a storm? Whatīs in it for them?
tec-goblin 01-28-07, 10:33 AM	Just to point this out to the OP, in Sharn:CoT it says that the city observes Crystalfall, the day that one of the towers in Sharn was destroyed by saboteurs during the Last War. OK, it wasn't two of them, but certainly an event that could have been censored from the book due to being "insensitive" regarding 9/11, and wasn't. Yep, I've said that in this thread. And my guess for that was that Sharn was published well after 9/11, and I think this would have been cut out of the book if it had been published before 2003 ;) Back to the gloriously hijacked thread now :D. Indeed a druid sect could have caused it. Or the Lyrandar could have caused it to say "bad weather happens, unless you pay us enough to prevent it". Because, as I've explained above, it's a great investment for them to control the weather in such a great area.
Darakhoranon 01-29-07, 02:53 AM	But if found "guilty", Lyrandar would be in trouble... Maybe a faction in the house WAS behind it - in a certain way. Explaining to e.g. Aundair, why your dragonmarked specialists werenīt where they should have been would be quite a bit easier than explaining to everyone else with power in the house how in Khyber you got the mad idea of whipping up a major hurricane. So if Lyrandar was behind it (a BIG if), they just "were at the wrong place at the wrong time". Mistakes happen, sorry for the trouble.