wet weather - Downloaded from the Wizards Community, all coding removed by Solauren

wet weather

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
plassteel
Sep 22, 2010 19:05:21
I have a question about the weather. OK so the characters are in a mostly dry environment but say we take them to a very wet environment how should this affect the characters or should it?
#2
coffeegoblin
Sep 22, 2010 19:33:20 personally,i'd see it as this:
if you took a ds character,to a wet environment,because their bodies would naturally be working overtime,to draw in any moisture from their environment,they would become over-hydrated.basically,it would be a form of water intoxication.the stuff they would need the most,would end up killing them.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_intoxication
#3
tentagil
Sep 22, 2010 19:37:18 Not to mention that they'd likely have a hard time breathing as their lungs wouldn't be used to the higher humidity from all the moisture in the air and their skin might begin to suffer from it as well. They'd likely also be far more susceptable to any bacteria or viruses in the geneal environment since most of your basic diseases don't handle deserts well. All that moisture after a life time spent in an incredibly arid environment would take a serious toll on thier systems until they adapted.
#4
Nyarlathotep
Sep 22, 2010 19:41:08 I think the effects would begin and end with "They get wet". Now the character may react in whatever way the player thinks is appropriate to seeing so much water at one time buts it's not as if water is a foreign substance that they are totally unfamiliar with either. They still literally see it every day...or else. And there definitely should be no real mechanical effect.
#5
plassteel
Sep 22, 2010 22:35:03
I think the effects would begin and end with "They get wet". Now the character may react in whatever way the player thinks is appropriate to seeing so much water at one time buts it's not as if water is a foreign substance that they are totally unfamiliar with either. They still literally see it every day...or else. And there definitely should be no real mechanical effect.

That is what I thought also but then like the others I began to think if a person from a "wet" environment would go dry environment there are effect to the characters so why not the other way around.
#6
furiousgreg
Sep 22, 2010 23:36:50 I spent six weeks over January and Feb. in and around the Simpson Desert in Australia (high Summer). Dry as a bone with temperatures up to a 125*, six weeks isn't a lifetime but you do adapt the the dry heat pretty quick. As long as you stay hydrated and protect your skin from the Sun you're fine.
I then went to Darwin and the jungle where it rained daily, still damn hot. The weather up North was hot, muggy, and wet. Not really much of a difference as far as how your body functions, just have to watch out for sweat rash around the dangly bits.

#7
Nyarlathotep
Sep 23, 2010 14:20:07
I think the effects would begin and end with "They get wet". Now the character may react in whatever way the player thinks is appropriate to seeing so much water at one time buts it's not as if water is a foreign substance that they are totally unfamiliar with either. They still literally see it every day...or else. And there definitely should be no real mechanical effect.

That is what I thought also but then like the others I began to think if a person from a "wet" environment would go dry environment there are effect to the characters so why not the other way around.

Well, while I will admit I have no data to back it up, anectdotal or otherwise, I feel pretty safe in assuming that in the real world, I could take someone who has lived in the Sahara desert their entire life and whose ancestors lived there for generations and take him/her to, say, the rain forests of South America and he would suffer no major ill effects.

Now granted, I am asssuming the humans of Athas have the same physiology as real world humans, which is a major asumption in a fantasy RPG. However I have to make that assumption or we have no common reference point for discussion and the answer to your OP becomes "Whatever you say happens, from 'Nothing' to 'They melt like the Wicked Witch in The Wizard of Oz"

#8
Alphastream
Sep 23, 2010 15:20:24 The Verdant Passage has a good piece where they discribe altitude sickness. They also describe how foreign it feels for the heroes to be in the moist forest. I used similar descriptions with the players during the Wastewalker adventure. Going from arid to moist or wet should likely be a shock to the system.

I think of it as how I feel when I am in Florida or the Carolinas and I go from super air conditioned interiors to super-hot muggy exteriors. It can leave me reeling for a second. But, in this case it is something you may have never experienced in your life.

However, any mechanical disadvantage should be short-lived. The body adapts quickly. It could be fun to do something for one combat. You would take that into account in encounter design and reduce the XP spent accordingly so it is fun and not "gotcha".
#9
plassteel
Sep 23, 2010 22:01:24
I think the effects would begin and end with "They get wet". Now the character may react in whatever way the player thinks is appropriate to seeing so much water at one time buts it's not as if water is a foreign substance that they are totally unfamiliar with either. They still literally see it every day...or else. And there definitely should be no real mechanical effect.

That is what I thought also but then like the others I began to think if a person from a "wet" environment would go dry environment there are effect to the characters so why not the other way around.

Well, while I will admit I have no data to back it up, anectdotal or otherwise, I feel pretty safe in assuming that in the real world, I could take someone who has lived in the Sahara desert their entire life and whose ancestors lived there for generations and take him/her to, say, the rain forests of South America and he would suffer no major ill effects.

Now granted, I am asssuming the humans of Athas have the same physiology as real world humans, which is a major asumption in a fantasy RPG. However I have to make that assumption or we have no common reference point for discussion and the answer to your OP becomes "Whatever you say happens, from 'Nothing' to 'They melt like the Wicked Witch in The Wizard of Oz"

no set rules yea I see that. I went to a friends house he has almost all the 3.5 and looked at his sandstorm book it had some pretty good rule for a character to go from a normal enviroment to a dry one I was kind of hopeing 4th edition would cover all bases I guess I got to make up my own.
#10
Pashalik_Mons
Sep 23, 2010 23:45:40 Yeah, 3.5 was pretty great about providing needless rules for things like that.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 plassteel Sep 22, 2010 19:05:21	I have a question about the weather. OK so the characters are in a mostly dry environment but say we take them to a very wet environment how should this affect the characters or should it?
#2 coffeegoblin Sep 22, 2010 19:33:20	personally,i'd see it as this: if you took a ds character,to a wet environment,because their bodies would naturally be working overtime,to draw in any moisture from their environment,they would become over-hydrated.basically,it would be a form of water intoxication.the stuff they would need the most,would end up killing them. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_intoxication
#3 tentagil Sep 22, 2010 19:37:18	Not to mention that they'd likely have a hard time breathing as their lungs wouldn't be used to the higher humidity from all the moisture in the air and their skin might begin to suffer from it as well. They'd likely also be far more susceptable to any bacteria or viruses in the geneal environment since most of your basic diseases don't handle deserts well. All that moisture after a life time spent in an incredibly arid environment would take a serious toll on thier systems until they adapted.
#4 Nyarlathotep Sep 22, 2010 19:41:08	I think the effects would begin and end with "They get wet". Now the character may react in whatever way the player thinks is appropriate to seeing so much water at one time buts it's not as if water is a foreign substance that they are totally unfamiliar with either. They still literally see it every day...or else. And there definitely should be no real mechanical effect.
#5 plassteel Sep 22, 2010 22:35:03	I think the effects would begin and end with "They get wet". Now the character may react in whatever way the player thinks is appropriate to seeing so much water at one time buts it's not as if water is a foreign substance that they are totally unfamiliar with either. They still literally see it every day...or else. And there definitely should be no real mechanical effect. That is what I thought also but then like the others I began to think if a person from a "wet" environment would go dry environment there are effect to the characters so why not the other way around.
#6 furiousgreg Sep 22, 2010 23:36:50	I spent six weeks over January and Feb. in and around the Simpson Desert in Australia (high Summer). Dry as a bone with temperatures up to a 125*, six weeks isn't a lifetime but you do adapt the the dry heat pretty quick. As long as you stay hydrated and protect your skin from the Sun you're fine. I then went to Darwin and the jungle where it rained daily, still damn hot. The weather up North was hot, muggy, and wet. Not really much of a difference as far as how your body functions, just have to watch out for sweat rash around the dangly bits.
#7 Nyarlathotep Sep 23, 2010 14:20:07	I think the effects would begin and end with "They get wet". Now the character may react in whatever way the player thinks is appropriate to seeing so much water at one time buts it's not as if water is a foreign substance that they are totally unfamiliar with either. They still literally see it every day...or else. And there definitely should be no real mechanical effect. That is what I thought also but then like the others I began to think if a person from a "wet" environment would go dry environment there are effect to the characters so why not the other way around. Well, while I will admit I have no data to back it up, anectdotal or otherwise, I feel pretty safe in assuming that in the real world, I could take someone who has lived in the Sahara desert their entire life and whose ancestors lived there for generations and take him/her to, say, the rain forests of South America and he would suffer no major ill effects. Now granted, I am asssuming the humans of Athas have the same physiology as real world humans, which is a major asumption in a fantasy RPG. However I have to make that assumption or we have no common reference point for discussion and the answer to your OP becomes "Whatever you say happens, from 'Nothing' to 'They melt like the Wicked Witch in The Wizard of Oz"
#8 Alphastream Sep 23, 2010 15:20:24	The Verdant Passage has a good piece where they discribe altitude sickness. They also describe how foreign it feels for the heroes to be in the moist forest. I used similar descriptions with the players during the Wastewalker adventure. Going from arid to moist or wet should likely be a shock to the system. I think of it as how I feel when I am in Florida or the Carolinas and I go from super air conditioned interiors to super-hot muggy exteriors. It can leave me reeling for a second. But, in this case it is something you may have never experienced in your life. However, any mechanical disadvantage should be short-lived. The body adapts quickly. It could be fun to do something for one combat. You would take that into account in encounter design and reduce the XP spent accordingly so it is fun and not "gotcha".
#9 plassteel Sep 23, 2010 22:01:24	I think the effects would begin and end with "They get wet". Now the character may react in whatever way the player thinks is appropriate to seeing so much water at one time buts it's not as if water is a foreign substance that they are totally unfamiliar with either. They still literally see it every day...or else. And there definitely should be no real mechanical effect. That is what I thought also but then like the others I began to think if a person from a "wet" environment would go dry environment there are effect to the characters so why not the other way around. Well, while I will admit I have no data to back it up, anectdotal or otherwise, I feel pretty safe in assuming that in the real world, I could take someone who has lived in the Sahara desert their entire life and whose ancestors lived there for generations and take him/her to, say, the rain forests of South America and he would suffer no major ill effects. Now granted, I am asssuming the humans of Athas have the same physiology as real world humans, which is a major asumption in a fantasy RPG. However I have to make that assumption or we have no common reference point for discussion and the answer to your OP becomes "Whatever you say happens, from 'Nothing' to 'They melt like the Wicked Witch in The Wizard of Oz" no set rules yea I see that. I went to a friends house he has almost all the 3.5 and looked at his sandstorm book it had some pretty good rule for a character to go from a normal enviroment to a dry one I was kind of hopeing 4th edition would cover all bases I guess I got to make up my own.
#10 Pashalik_Mons Sep 23, 2010 23:45:40	Yeah, 3.5 was pretty great about providing needless rules for things like that.