(Monday) History in Your Game (Women and weather)

[alsih2o]

Weather strikes me as an easy mood setter, difficulty enhancer and plot device. I think we all throw in a loittle rain for that dark, gritty feeling occasionally but we coudl be doing so much more.

Women are harder. Historical women aren't really reflected in the game. IF you choose to dodge modern equality for a more historical in game feel (Remember, bias can be against either gender, it is your game) I have included more Women in hisory links as well.

Tsunami and flood. In Britain? This one makes for a great stry arc..- http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/4397679.stm

Want super-realistic weather? Here is a weather history for the British isles. Amazing stuff.- http://homepage.ntlworld.com/booty.weather/climate/histclimat.htm

The Medieval Warm Period. How owuld this affect YOUR campaign? Would it? sign form the gods?- http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/encyclopedia/M/Me/Medieval_Warm_Period.htm

Weather signs and folklore for oyur ranger, or druid, or local wizard, or whatever- http://www.stalkingthewild.com/weather.htm

More weather folklore- http://members.aol.com/Accustiver/wxworld_folk.html

Women and the Crusades- http://www.womeninworldhistory.com/heroine3.html

Medieval biographies of women. Short but sweet.- http://www.ozedweb.com/history/middle_ages_biographies_women.htm

Sort of animated interactive about medieval women- http://mw.mcmaster.ca/home.html

The IMS covers Sex and Gender- http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/sbook1v.html


Have fun, game well.

(I am thinking of putting together a Yahoo group where some of the regulars can see the topics ahead of time and we can put this together as a team. If you are interested Email me at myscreename@midsouth.rr.com )

 

[Hand of Evil]

Another is Animals and Weather: Weather Lore: http://www.rcn27.dial.pipex.com/cloudsrus/lore.html

 

[fusangite]

I'm very disappointed that I cannot find the full text of Agobard of Lyons' treatise on Carolingian weather wizards, the tempestarii from the 9th century. These guys rode around on cloud ships, summoned storms and attacked people with hail. They are one of the most D&Dish moments of medieval history. And they lived in the cloud realm of Magonia!

 

[Hand of Evil]

I'm very disappointed that I cannot find the full text of Agobard of Lyons' treatise on Carolingian weather wizards, the tempestarii from the 9th century. These guys rode around on cloud ships, summoned storms and attacked people with hail. They are one of the most D&Dish moments of medieval history. And they lived in the cloud realm of Magonia!

May want to try: http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/sbook.html

May have it

 

[Imperialus]

IMC I try and make extencive use of weather. Right now for example the group is caught up on the Furoundian side of a loosing war against Iuz and are trying to collect re-enforcements from Highguard and Veluna in early November. There's freezing rain and brief snowstorms, it's muddy, it's miserable the troops are getting sick, the horses dropping dead, the population was forced to evacuate before the fall harvest came in so the cost of food has skyrocketed, and Iuz is using biomagical beasties that arn't affected by any of that.

I've always hated campaigns where it always seems to be mid summer or early spring with an occaionsal rain shower to spice things up. Unless of course your GM just bought frostburn, in which case it is always mid december and when you create a character and he starts asking for cold weather gear right off the bat without any kind of advanced warning it makes me rather irate :\

Weather tends to be an easally overlooked factor in most campaings simply because we live in a world where we don't need to pay it much mind. The extent to our own concern with the weather generally involves deciding which jacket to wear and when we should throw the winter tires on the car or start plugging the block heater in, and I live in Canada where it hit -42 C after windchill a few times this past winter and it wasn't anything more than a mild inconviniance and an excuse to make hot chocolate. -42 in Greyhawk on the other hand would be lethal.

 

[MonsterMash]

I always like to use weather too - partially for mood, partially to remind players that other things than monsters can be deadly!

Also a nice little bump for this thread