Awesome ItOpen, now what about Canada? =)

[Glacialis]

Had that and Wildwood on my list for a while, picked 'em both up. A few questions though.

Firstly, are you familiar with the Midnight campaign setting by FFG? If yes, then I'm wondering where the Dornish lands north of the Sea of Pelluria fit in.

If not, let me describe these grasslands a bit. I think they're significantly colder than those described in the 10 page "here's what plains are" document that I love so much.

Six species of sword grass dominate the flora. Stiff and hardy, the plant grows up to three feet tall and provides food for the abundant herds of caribou and skarpin in the north and elk along the Pelluria. Smaller animals abound, including rabbits, grunts, and chukas, and predators such as wolves and grass cats make good use of this prey.

...

Spring thaws cut narrow ravines into the chalky limestone, making sudden drop-offs and defiles common across the plains. Dangerous seasonal flooding of these streambeds scours them clear of vegetation and enriches the surrounding soil. Summers are short, with rampant blooms of beautiful prairie flowers awash in a sea of green as the rich soil yields up new grass. The winters are long, and many say they are getting longer as the Shadow tightens its grip. Along the shores of the Pelluria, the snows are wet and heavy but usually melt away in dreary winter rains. In the north, along the frontier, the snows start in early fall and lay deep on the land throughout the winter until spring. The air there is chill and everything lies still and frozen for much of the year.

Not that I've been there, but it sounds like Alaska to me. Or maybe southern Canada? I've only lived in the pacific northwest, California, Maryland and now Michigan -- don't like the weather, wait five minutes. Anyway. There's around a thousand miles north to south, so that "along the frontier" bits is where it starts to give way to tundra. It sounds like "Moist Grassland", except the rains are sometimes accompanied random snowstorms even in summer. Don't think there'd be many tornadoes.

To the south, beyond a large inland sea, are the large plains that seem identical (minus the wogrens and halflings) to America's prairies. These are described quite nicely in the article, but again, I can't find out where the northern lands fit in.

After rereading what I've written here and reading through the grasslands article once again, I think what I'm asking is this:

Where would Canada, from the southern parts north to the edge of tundra, fit into Mixed Prairie, Moist Grassland and the others?

Thanks in advance, and for an excellent product!

 

[Cassandra]

Thanks for your kind words. I will try to contact the biologist who wrote those terrain descriptions, and see if I can get an answer to your question.

 

[Glacialis]

Thank you!

 

[Cassandra]

OK, here's the reply from our friendly neighborhood biologist:

Antra asked where Canada or the Dornish lands north of the Sea of Pelluria fit the Into the Open grassland kits.

There is great north-south variation in grasslands and ItO focuses on the middle of that range. Canada, especially at the edge of the tundra, would be at the north end of the range. In North America, Texas, New Mexico and the desert grasslands of Mexico would be the southern end. For most of the Canadian Prairie Provinces, at the east side of the Rockies, the shortgrass steppe is the right kit; just extend the winter and shrink the summer.

Real landscapes are complex: a grassland region can have trees (and so, mini-forests) in moist spots and desert species in especially dry spots, all within 100 yards (or meters) of each other. As you get into the ravines, the plants are taller, and will resemble the mixed prairie kit. But unless the ravine-country is very extensive, the animals will be shortgrass steppe animals who enjoy the moisture and better grazing of the ravines when they can.

At the north end it grades into tundra, and that is an environment Tabletop hasn't yet addressed.

K.H. Keeler

 

[Twin Rose]

Do I smell "Bits of the Wilderness: Into the Cold" coming?

 

[Cassandra]

It's "Into the Arctic," and yes, it's on our list.

 

[Glacialis]

Thanks for the responses. I think Into the Open may be a tad closer to Earth-like plains than the campaign setting itself. I was wondering what the colder climate might do, but apparently not too much. Not tundra mind you...that's the extreme north of the region I'm trying to describe. Extended winter, check; the region's famous for it. Shortgrass steppe makes sense, but the setting put longer grass there, as Mixed Prairie. I'm going to try to stick with the Midnight setting's descriptions, but at least I have a much clearer idea of the more likely options now. Then again, it does say "up to three feet tall", not "three feet tall for hundreds of miles!!1!" Hmm. Will have to spread it around.

Farther east in the same climate band of that world, we have the ten foot tall grass forests. Fantasy, mind you, and although it's not described in great detail I'm sure it has a unique ecosystem all its own. That'll be fun, if my players ever get over there.

Thanks again!

 

[Cassandra]

Your comments generated further information from Dr. Keeler, which I pass along here:


Antra

You can certainly use the mixed prairie kit if you prefer. Steppe and mixed prairie in fact blend into each other in the real world (where development has left them intact, that is).

The height of grasses and other herbs that die back to the ground each winter is set by the length and quality of the growing season. In our world nothing can grow while water is a solid (ice/snow). Only when the temperatures top freezing is growth a possibility. If the plants have plenty of water and months to grow in they will get taller than if they quickly run out of water or have only 2 months with above-freezing temperatures. The main complication and one reason your system does approach mixed prairie is that at cooler temperatures, water evaporates more slowly, so from the same amount of rain, more water is available to the plants. The other high latitude complication is that if the summer has 24 hours of sunlight, plants can grow 24 hours a day, so the two month growing season may produce much taller plants than a two-month growing season where the summer days never get longer than 16 hours.

I think Into the Open may be a tad closer to Earth-like plains than the campaign setting itself.

This is a good point. Tabletop wanted generic places to fit diverse games. Making it general means it doesn't fit any one place all that well. Writers and game masters for whom the environment is an important part of the story will want to make changes from the kits. The kits, and Into the Open as a whole, could give the GM a quick set of answers for the players who are just passing through. Or it could be a starting point for creating an environment for a particular game, in which case drop whatever doesn't fit, add more appropriate local animals, plants and indigenous tribes.

Farther east in the same climate band of that world, we have the ten foot tall grass forests. Fantasy, mind you, and although it's not described in great detail I'm sure it has a unique ecosystem all its own. That'll be fun, if my players ever get over there.

10-foot grass forests are (kind of ) the moist prairie of ItO. There are also bamboo forests of SE Asia. (Bamboo is a grass. The reason most grasses don't get 10' tall are a combination of growing season length and support issues. Bamboo solved the support problem.)

 

[Glacialis]

Thanks again for the responses. Growing season...hadn't thought about that, nor the fact that water evaporates slower in a colder climate. Lots of good thoughts. Thank you again, and I'll definitely be purchasing Into the Arctic when it makes an appearance. Already starting to skim through Wildwood, lots of great stuff as expected. Keep up the excellent work!