D&D 5E A brief rant about Rime of the Frost Maiden, farming, logistics, and ecology

[Zaukrie]

I had a similar reaction when reading the intro....not sure what I'll do about it yet. Also, the dwarves should be quite established by this timeline, and be able to interact with the towns and give them food, but they apparently just ignore their plight?

 

[doctorbadwolf]

Yes. It's not that I have a problem with "winters that last for YEARS!" as part of a setting.

But if that very extreme scenario is going to be a part of the setting, it's going to have a massive impact on the world.

You can't portray a setting is more or less "generic Medievaland" and then throw in a huge twist like "winter for years" without addressing this major factor. I don't expect a PhD level treatise on farming and economics, but some level of effort needs to be taken to provide a rationale for how civilization keeps going.

To be fair, Europe suffered such a thing right before the French Revolution, and at other times before and since, and the ecology didn’t collapse, even way up north.

Maybe not quite as extreme as the temperatures described in Rime, but the basic idea is what matters, not the specific details.

A winter that doesn’t end, lasting all the way into the next winter, isn’t necessarily an apocalypse. Especially in a world that has magical ecology that is even more adapted to the cold than real world creatures can be.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

I had a similar reaction when reading the intro....not sure what I'll do about it yet. Also, the dwarves should be quite established by this timeline, and be able to interact with the towns and give them food, but they apparently just ignore their plight?

Well, it’s 5e Dwarfs. Have you read Mordenkainen? Dwarves are evil now, and the world just pretends they’re good.

 

[Guest User]

So yeah, its lazy worldbuilding when a creator says "Here's a really cool idea. Now lets ignore all of the obvious ramifications of that idea and pretend everything else stays exactly the same."

It is a module....you the DM build the world, the module is a set of IKEA Blueprints that serves as the inspiration.

Yes, IKEA Blueprints.

In a Gygax module you would probably get a random chart to roll percentile dice to determine the weather outcomes. Some results would be way too harsh, one result would be way too generous.

This ad hoc table from the module, invariably would conflict with a table that Gary already had in the 1e DMG, but you know...Gary just wrote the books...he didn't use the books.

Build the world you want.

 

[Wasteland Knight]

To be fair, Europe suffered such a thing right before the French Revolution, and at other times before and since, and the ecology didn’t collapse, even way up north.

Maybe not quite as extreme as the temperatures described in Rime, but the basic idea is what matters, not the specific details.

A winter that doesn’t end, lasting all the way into the next winter, isn’t necessarily an apocalypse. Especially in a world that has magical ecology that is even more adapted to the cold than real world creatures can be.

Europe has never experienced anything remotely similar to what is described in Rime of the Frostmaiden or alluded to in Game of Thrones. Never. We aren't talking about short summer/long harsh winter.

I think maybe the

no, it’s just different priorities from what you prefer. Nothing to do with quality.

I am personally glad that they don’t worry about stuff like this.

I see it's only page 2 and you're already backpedaling from your earlier "who cares" statement.

 

[Wasteland Knight]

It is a module....you the DM build the world, the module is a set of IKEA Blueprints that serves as the inspiration.

Yes, IKEA Blueprints.

In a Gygax module you would probably get a random chart to roll percentile dice to determine the weather outcomes. Some results would be way too harsh, one result would be way too generous.

This ad hoc table from the module, invariably would conflict with a table that Gary already had in the 1e DMG, but you know...Gary just wrote the books...he didn't use the books.

Build the world you want.

If designers want me to pay out some $$$ for their efforts, they should put in a little work. WOTC ain't giving it away for free.

 

[Savage Wombat]

To be fair, it's not the two years of winter, it's the two years of darkness that kills the ecology. But I'm just going with the "it's magic" handwave because I suspect my players don't care.

 

[Zaukrie]

If this was "normal" winter, I'd agree it doesn't matter. But this is ridiculously cold and dark winter......I suppose we could come up with flora that grows in the cold.....hmmm.....

 

[Guest User]

If designers want me to pay out some $$$ for their efforts, they should put in a little work. WOTC ain't giving it away for free.

Have you read Rime? It is easily, the BEST Official 5e module to date.

I enjoyed reading it. Other WotC modules I can not finish reading, due to disliking it so much.

Adjust the setting thermostat to whatever setting you want and get down to play.
Most Hotel rooms are set to too cold of a temperature, you adjust it.....or you can never leave your home.

Should we assume you don't get out much?

 

[Mallus]

I guess I prefer a modicum of common sense in my settings, but clearly I'm not the target audience.

It's good common sense not to treat fantasy like it's moderately-hard eco sci-fi.

That said, great topic! I'm going to go the opposite route, though. Instead of making the Ten Towns more realistic, I'll leave the implausible elements as is, and simply create fantastical explanations for them.

For example: mead. "Why the mead's made from under-honey, which of course comes from cave bees that pollinate fungi common in the upper regions of the Underdark. Well, 'pollinate' is a bit of a misnomer, because the stuff's spores, not pollen. Also, it sheds ultraviolet radiation. But mead's mead, even when it's mildly hallucinogenic and possible tainted with evil. Not to worry, we have a priest bless each new cask, just to be on the safe side...".