FR weather generator & calendar [Archive] - Wizards Community

FR weather generator & calendar [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Sean-Khan
12-11-03, 07:12 AM Hi all!

I sent this post first at What's GM to Do, but saw then that it's not a FR -board even if I enterd it through FR-boards.

A little more than a year ago, I created a weather generator for my Wheel of Time campaign and shared it with people at WoT board(I lost my username since that). Now, I've moved closer to DnD and modified the Weather generator to be used with the Forgotten Realms, too. I haven't tested this yet at my dnd-game (haven't started yet), but with WoT -campaign it was a really good aid. It helps to keep track of time and makes the world alive as you remember to describe players what kind of the weather is and the weather changes.

There is something wrong with it when using other browsers than IE, and right now I don't have time and energy to fix it. It's on my list of to-do's though, the problem can't be too overwhelming for the previous version worked well with them. You can see the generator at http://www.iki.fi/~twilek/rpg/gmtool.html

I'm not too familiar with Forgotten Realms, and would be grateful if someone would reveal me if there are any more special days in Faerūn than the ones between months. Also, I'm willing to hear any other comments if there's something that could be done to make it better. I've also thought of bringing other world's calendars to it, but the structure of the calendar seems often a little complicated and seems to need quite an amount of work. I can also add some more climate choises for it later. I can't promise anything, though, I don't have too much extra time...

I hope you'll enjoy and find use for it!

Btw, there are some other generators at my rpg -page, too. None of them is currently dnd -oriented, but it's much possible I'll convert something soon to fit dnd -worlds... And with a little imagination, you can still use them. If there are any encounterlists (preferably dnd-general), it would help me a lot to update encounter generator.
The Heretic
12-11-03, 11:16 AM I actually have an excel spreadsheet that is the calendar of the current year in FR with hidden notes denoting various religious hollidays and significant events that have occurred throughout the years that might be commemorated annually.

Due to all the information on this calender, I actually have one for each region that I use.

One thing that you might want to look at is making different regional weather generators. Obviously the weather in Chult will be different than Waterdeep.
The Heretic
12-11-03, 11:17 AM really good work though! (don't want to sound overly critical)
Sean-Khan
12-11-03, 11:40 AM Thanks!
It actually has choises for different climates. You can currently select from Temperate, Warm and humid, Dry and cold, Cold and Warm. If travelling within a region, you could just adjust weathers to occur a day or more later/earlier. Who could tell the difference? You could always add random chances yourself. And please suggest different climates that are a must to add!
Thomas M. Reid
12-11-03, 12:18 PM This is pretty cool. I did notice that your DAY OF THE WEEK column needs adjustment. The five different seasonal festivals do not actually count as a day of the tenday; the first of each month is ALWAYS the first of a tenday, too.

Also, I generated the entire third quarter for the Warm climate, and the temperature never dipped below 120 degrees F.--for three whole months! Most of the time, it was up around 140-150 degrees. That's too extreme.

Thomas
Sean-Khan
12-12-03, 04:28 AM Hi,
I fixed fixed the problems in the generator and added a possibility to do custom calendars too (only regular, though), so you may be able to use it with other worlds now. I plan to convert it to do earth calendars too when I get some more time.

Thanks for correcting me about the tendays! Temperatures were bad at warm climate due to a little mistake in attributes. That's how environmental catastrophes happen :)
Lashan
12-12-03, 04:08 PM Hey! I really like that! I think I will start to use that. The only thing that I might suggest is to have the key to calendar on the right hand side show up on the page with the results. I don't know if it is possible. I only did a search on 1 quarter. If it was possible to have the key on the results page, it would be good.
ender
12-12-03, 09:17 PM I'm not too familiar with Forgotten Realms, and would be grateful if someone would reveal me if there are any more special days in Faerūn than the ones between months. Also, I'm willing to hear any other comments if there's something that could be done to make it better.

The only source regarding holidays that I know of, other than the Campaign Sourcebook, is in City of Splendors, the 2e boxed set on Waterdeep. It only covers holidays specific to that city, but it does list quite a few.

Another source you might want to look at (if you haven't already) is Elminster's Ecologies. It contains a whole lot of cool environmental information, such as typical tempuratures year-round in Mistledale.
Sean-Khan
12-14-03, 06:49 AM Thanks, ender! I'll try to get my hands on those.

I'm not planning to make the generated window open into a new window. I might later add weather effects to the main page (well, if they fit, otherwise I'll make another page). If you want the current key to be seen at the same time than the calendar, just open it in another window. I primarily meant the results to be printed. Well, now that I think, I'll probably do it into a separate window later, if I make those weather effects...

Currently I have been busy creating another generators, one that's almost ready is a character generator. It now creates FR characters in addition to modern characters. No stats are created, it's more for roleplaying opportunities than combat (but sure will give some foes, too). I thought of adding alignment into it, but it probably would conflict with some of the characters's features if I wouldn't make some more chances. You'll find it on my site.
Lashan
12-14-03, 06:40 PM Oh, I forgot to mention the best sourcebook for religous holidays. Actually, it is a set of books. It's the old 2E Faiths and Avatar, Powers and Pantheons, and the Demi-human Deities books. They all have a section on each god that talks about religious holidays. I think Waukeen wins with the most. She has almost 1 a month.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Sean-Khan 12-11-03, 07:12 AM	Hi all! I sent this post first at What's GM to Do, but saw then that it's not a FR -board even if I enterd it through FR-boards. A little more than a year ago, I created a weather generator for my Wheel of Time campaign and shared it with people at WoT board(I lost my username since that). Now, I've moved closer to DnD and modified the Weather generator to be used with the Forgotten Realms, too. I haven't tested this yet at my dnd-game (haven't started yet), but with WoT -campaign it was a really good aid. It helps to keep track of time and makes the world alive as you remember to describe players what kind of the weather is and the weather changes. There is something wrong with it when using other browsers than IE, and right now I don't have time and energy to fix it. It's on my list of to-do's though, the problem can't be too overwhelming for the previous version worked well with them. You can see the generator at http://www.iki.fi/~twilek/rpg/gmtool.html I'm not too familiar with Forgotten Realms, and would be grateful if someone would reveal me if there are any more special days in Faerūn than the ones between months. Also, I'm willing to hear any other comments if there's something that could be done to make it better. I've also thought of bringing other world's calendars to it, but the structure of the calendar seems often a little complicated and seems to need quite an amount of work. I can also add some more climate choises for it later. I can't promise anything, though, I don't have too much extra time... I hope you'll enjoy and find use for it! Btw, there are some other generators at my rpg -page, too. None of them is currently dnd -oriented, but it's much possible I'll convert something soon to fit dnd -worlds... And with a little imagination, you can still use them. If there are any encounterlists (preferably dnd-general), it would help me a lot to update encounter generator.
The Heretic 12-11-03, 11:16 AM	I actually have an excel spreadsheet that is the calendar of the current year in FR with hidden notes denoting various religious hollidays and significant events that have occurred throughout the years that might be commemorated annually. Due to all the information on this calender, I actually have one for each region that I use. One thing that you might want to look at is making different regional weather generators. Obviously the weather in Chult will be different than Waterdeep.
The Heretic 12-11-03, 11:17 AM	really good work though! (don't want to sound overly critical)
Sean-Khan 12-11-03, 11:40 AM	Thanks! It actually has choises for different climates. You can currently select from Temperate, Warm and humid, Dry and cold, Cold and Warm. If travelling within a region, you could just adjust weathers to occur a day or more later/earlier. Who could tell the difference? You could always add random chances yourself. And please suggest different climates that are a must to add!
Thomas M. Reid 12-11-03, 12:18 PM	This is pretty cool. I did notice that your DAY OF THE WEEK column needs adjustment. The five different seasonal festivals do not actually count as a day of the tenday; the first of each month is ALWAYS the first of a tenday, too. Also, I generated the entire third quarter for the Warm climate, and the temperature never dipped below 120 degrees F.--for three whole months! Most of the time, it was up around 140-150 degrees. That's too extreme. Thomas
Sean-Khan 12-12-03, 04:28 AM	Hi, I fixed fixed the problems in the generator and added a possibility to do custom calendars too (only regular, though), so you may be able to use it with other worlds now. I plan to convert it to do earth calendars too when I get some more time. Thanks for correcting me about the tendays! Temperatures were bad at warm climate due to a little mistake in attributes. That's how environmental catastrophes happen :)
Lashan 12-12-03, 04:08 PM	Hey! I really like that! I think I will start to use that. The only thing that I might suggest is to have the key to calendar on the right hand side show up on the page with the results. I don't know if it is possible. I only did a search on 1 quarter. If it was possible to have the key on the results page, it would be good.
ender 12-12-03, 09:17 PM	I'm not too familiar with Forgotten Realms, and would be grateful if someone would reveal me if there are any more special days in Faerūn than the ones between months. Also, I'm willing to hear any other comments if there's something that could be done to make it better. The only source regarding holidays that I know of, other than the Campaign Sourcebook, is in City of Splendors, the 2e boxed set on Waterdeep. It only covers holidays specific to that city, but it does list quite a few. Another source you might want to look at (if you haven't already) is Elminster's Ecologies. It contains a whole lot of cool environmental information, such as typical tempuratures year-round in Mistledale.
Sean-Khan 12-14-03, 06:49 AM	Thanks, ender! I'll try to get my hands on those. I'm not planning to make the generated window open into a new window. I might later add weather effects to the main page (well, if they fit, otherwise I'll make another page). If you want the current key to be seen at the same time than the calendar, just open it in another window. I primarily meant the results to be printed. Well, now that I think, I'll probably do it into a separate window later, if I make those weather effects... Currently I have been busy creating another generators, one that's almost ready is a character generator. It now creates FR characters in addition to modern characters. No stats are created, it's more for roleplaying opportunities than combat (but sure will give some foes, too). I thought of adding alignment into it, but it probably would conflict with some of the characters's features if I wouldn't make some more chances. You'll find it on my site.
Lashan 12-14-03, 06:40 PM	Oh, I forgot to mention the best sourcebook for religous holidays. Actually, it is a set of books. It's the old 2E Faiths and Avatar, Powers and Pantheons, and the Demi-human Deities books. They all have a section on each god that talks about religious holidays. I think Waukeen wins with the most. She has almost 1 a month.