Seeking a good D&D weather generator

[Ogrork the Mighty]

I tried out Weathermaster and, IMO, it leaves a lot to be desired. There's no way I'd pay $20 for it; maybe $5-10.

Why? It's not exactly user friendly. First off, you can't minimize it - what a pain. Second, it assumes you know about latitude and longitude right off the bat and if you don't, oh well - too bad cuz it's required on page 1. Basically, it's good for creating weather on Earth. But for any type of fantasy world it breaks down. I don't know how to configure lat and long for existing fantasy worlds and it's not something those worlds have even addressed so using the existing lat/long often creates inappropriate weather.

Overall, it looks slick but not good enough for me. I'd rather stick with the DMG and roll on tables. For what it's worth, DM Genie had a really good weather generator BUT the results can't be printed out, which is a pain in the butt.

There used to be a weather generator using the old 1E Dungeoneer's Survival Guide that I found really, really good (and simple!). Unfortuneately the link died but it was on SDZC.net. Anyone know if it still exists? It had "Weather for (Month)" across the top of the printout and then a table beneath with Day, Low, High, Precip, Wind, and Special Weather. It also gave the low and the high for the month. It was incredibly useful and I wish the link was still functioning...

edit: DOH! The link is working again. Thanks for the help everyone!!

 

[Mean DM]

Cool. If WM does work for you, I'm glad you found something that did

I just want to clarify a few points for those who haven't made up there mind...

It's not exactly user friendly.

I think a more accurate statement IMHO would be that it is an advanced weather generating program with lots of options. WeatherMaster has a load of variables that you can use to customize your world (Latitude, Longitude, Climate, Terrain etc.). Now, this may not be to everybody's liking, but some folks do like the level of detail it affords.

you can't minimize it

Huh. I minimizes fine for me.

But for any type of fantasy world it breaks down

I have to respectfully disagree. It only breaks down if one does not know the specifics (year length, perihelion, axis tilt, etc.) of the world you are creating. In this case (and where this info is not important to the GM), you can just create a world using the default earth settings. By doing this, you don't need to worry about or enter any data when creating a world. You will need to select a Lat and Long to determine you specific weather, but this is easy. Just find a close parallel on earth and enter that region's position and you are good to go. I should add that data sets are available on the WeatherMaster site for both Faerun and Oerth.

The one thing that WM gives you is a lot of features. Again, this may not be to everyone's liking. But it is a great program for those who like that level of detail. And certainly worth the price for those who do.

Each to his own....

 

[reanjr]

http://weather.com

type in zip code for a region similar to the player's region.

Alternatively, you can look outside the window.

Easiest way I've ever found.