D&D 5E PotA Weather Table

[77IM]

Princes of the Apocalypse goes on and on about odd weather in the Dessarin Valley but unless I'm missing something there's no weather table! I always forget about the weather anyway, unless I have a table to roll on... a table that could cause problems for the PCs. Here is what I came up with:


Princes of the Apocalypse
Weather results in the Dessarin Valley

1d8:
1 Pleasant
2 Pleasant, but several minor tremors throughout the day
3 Pouring rain
4 Sunny, hot, and dry (or humid, if it rained yesterday)
5 Cold and windy
6 Overcast, with rumbles of thunder and strikes of lightning
7 Extreme weather, roll 1d4: 1 Hailstorm, 2 Tornado, 3 Earthquake, 4 Wildfire
8 Same as yesterday (for Extreme weather, re-roll 1d4)

 

[maceochaid]

This is a great table, I was thinking of making a new random encounter table that featured extreme weather on it, help me remember and also I like random encounter tables to not have just combat encounters.

 

[77IM]

Thanks! I am glad you like it. I, too, think non-combat random encounters are a fantastic way to inject little bits of flavor and story into the game. Even little things like "You think you catch a glimpse of a unicorn" or "You come upon the ruins of an old fortress -- no dungeon or monsters, just some crumbling walls and mossy flagstones." Interesting weather would be perfect for tables like this.

I've been using the table above to very good effect (my players' first reaction to the tornadoes was to wonder whether enemy spellcasters had conjured them to kill the PCs). However, I was driving around yesterday and came up with an alternate idea, which wound up looking something like this:

Weather in the Dessarin Valley
1d6:
1 Pleasant. 2+ days in a row: Eerily calm; no breeze, no chirping insects, no birds singing or squirrels scampering. (Next time you get a 2 or higher on this table, use the "2+ days in a row" result: the Eerily Calm days always predict disaster.)
2 Several minor tremors throughout the day. 2+ days in a row: Earthquakes.
3 Pouring rain. 2+ days in a row: Rain storm; torrential flooding.
4 Sunny, hot, and dry (or humid, if it rained yesterday) 2+ days in a row: Wildfires.
5 Cold and windy. 2+ days in a row: Snow, ice, or hail storm.
6 Overcast, with rumbles of thunder and strikes of lightning. 2+ days in a row: Tornado.

Worsening: If facing the same hazard multiple days in a row, the DM secretly increases all check and save DCs by 2 for each day after the first. "Eerily Calm" days count towards the number of days for whatever hazard comes after them, so a string of Eerily Calm days in a row means you are eventually going to get hit with a real doozy...

I might try this table later in the campaign as it has a slightly higher chance of extreme weather.

 

[Daern]

Last week I was rolling this sweet 8 sided weather die. It has little weather icons on each side.

 

[wedgeski]

Last week I was rolling this sweet 8 sided weather die. It has little weather icons on each side.

WHERE BUY

 

[77IM]

Last week I was rolling this sweet 8 sided weather die. It has little weather icons on each side.

DO WANT

 

[gogmagog]

These tables are great, thanks for posting them. I will definitely use them when I run PotA.

I've made a couple of minor tweaks to the first list, mainly to make the extreme conditions slightly less dramatic so the development to the second table is clearer. I also added 'rockfalls/landslides' in as an Earth option less serious than 'tremors'.

1 Pleasant
2 Rockfalls and/or landslides
3 Pouring rain
4 Sunny, hot, and dry (or humid, if it rained yesterday)
5 Cold and windy
6 Overcast, with rumbles of thunder and strikes of lightning
7 Extreme weather, roll 1d4: 1 Hailstorm, 2 Gale force winds, 3 Earth tremors, 4 Brushfire
8 Same as yesterday (for Extreme weather, re-roll 1d4)

 

[ThirdWizard]

This is the weather die I have, but it's a 6 sider. I use it often!

http://www.coolstuffinc.com/p/206631

 

[Rod Staffwand]

I am the DM, the weather changes at my whim. Think on that, ye mortals, and tremble for if thy displease me there shall be storms and vengeance...

 

[Jeff Carlsen]

I like this. I should add something similar to my adventure prep along with the random name chart from another thread.