Post/Author/DateTime	Post
bhu 03-17-08, 06:53 PM	Okay I'm designing a monster from Native American legend that causes rivers to rise when he dances. So far the mechanic is the river or lake rises 1 foot per round. What I'm wondering is what should the maximum be he can do? I don't want it to wipe out nearby cities in a matter of minutes, but i want it to be a danger too.
CryoSilver 03-17-08, 07:05 PM	Depends a lot on the area you're in, but 7-8 feet will expand most lakes by quite a bit. You can go to your town hall and ask to see the flood control maps; those will list elevations and give you a good idea of how high water needs to get in order to be dangerous.
icuall 03-17-08, 07:23 PM	Okay I'm designing a monster from Native American legend that causes rivers to rise when he dances. So far the mechanic is the river or lake rises 1 foot per round. What I'm wondering is what should the maximum be he can do? I don't want it to wipe out nearby cities in a matter of minutes, but i want it to be a danger too. Are you talking about a whole river, hundreds of miles, or just like radius of 100' or so?
mplindustries 03-17-08, 07:37 PM	Making water levels rise 1' per round is incredibly fast and dangerous. A foot of rain is usually plenty to cause a flood. At least the Delaware River does...and even smaller local ones do, though with obviously less effect. You might want to consider 2-3'' a turn with the maximum being a full minute of dancing.
bhu 03-17-08, 08:55 PM	Well in the myth, as long as Ahkiyyinni dances the earth trembles, and the rivers rise. It doesn't really say if its the whole river or just nearby, but it does mention peoples boats being swamped pretty fast.
Mad_Jack 03-18-08, 02:12 AM	Yeah, 1' per round is *seriously* fast - unless you're statting this guy out as an epic-level being or near-deity, you might want to go with about 3 inches or less. Living near the coast, I can tell you that raising the water level of the ocean even a few inches will put the water line dozens of feet farther up the beach than it was. Raising the water level of your average 5-10 foot wide stream by 1 foot in a single round is going to instantly flood the surrounding area. You'd end up with several inches of water in an area a couple hundred feet across on either side of the stream. Raising the water level of a small river by one foot would cause it to flood in about two rounds, covering hundreds of yards on either side in six or seven inches of water. Depending on the topography of the surrounding countryside, raising the water level of an average-sized river by three feet could flood the area around the river for several dozen miles. If you do a Google search for floods in New England in the 1800's and 1900's, you should get plenty of information on the subject. We've had some killer wash-outs over the past couple hundred years. :(
bhu 03-18-08, 03:30 AM	Kewl. Thanks guys!
Orchomenos 03-18-08, 11:29 AM	For simplicity, I would suggest to have the river progress by a 5' square out of its bed per minute. The flood front two squares would be Shallow Bogs, then the five following squares would be Deep Bogs. Farther than that (toward the river), you would be in deep, flowing water, with a risk of being swept away.
bhu 03-19-08, 02:27 AM	For simplicity, I would suggest to have the river progress by a 5' square out of its bed per minute. The flood front two squares would be Shallow Bogs, then the five following squares would be Deep Bogs. Farther than that (toward the river), you would be in deep, flowing water, with a risk of being swept away. Works for me! Simple is always good. He'll be in the Mythological creature thread o nthe monster board if you want to peek.