Tuesday, December 4, 2012

The Winds of Brun

Mystara Brun Climates

Here is how the information suggested in the previous post may apply to the entire Continent of Brun.  This continent is very close to real Earth North America, which simplifies much of the work.

1. Northwest Coast: Marine West Coast due to the winds blowing from the west.

2. Arm of the Immortals: Mediterranean to Arid on the west coast, just like real world California & Baja California; Tropical Wet & Dry (savanna) to Tropical Wet (jungle) on the east side, which collects moisture thanks to winds blowing from the northeast.

3. Yalu River/Yazak Steppes: Arid to Semi-Arid, essentially due to the presence of mountains blocking the ocean’s moisture.  Much of that area includes therefore grasslands and scrublands. A desert lies in the far southwest, similar to real world Arizona.

4. Midlands: Humid Continental weather, gradually turning to Sub-Arctic, like the American Midwest and Canada.

5. Savage Coast/Savage Baronies: mostly Humid Subtropical weather.  This emulates the US Gulf Coast, from Texas to Alabama.  Micro-climates reflect pre-existing designs, such as the lands of the Master, mostly semi-arid, or the east side of the Savage Baronies that should be Mediterranean (like the real world Balkans).

6. Serpent Peninsula: Tropical Wet & Dry (savanna) to Tropical Wet (jungle).

7. Sind Region: Arid to Semi-Arid

8. Known World: the coastal fringe features Humid Subtropical weather, prone to large storms, or Alpine conditions at altitude.  Ierendi and Minrothad enjoy weather comparable to real world Florida, explaining the number of retired adventurers living there.  Glantri qualifies as Semi-Arid due to its altitude
—ideal for dessicated old wizards.  Ylaruam remains a desert as the result of immortal magic and its location within a ring of mountains.  Ethengar’s vast grassland fits within the appropriate Semi-Arid classification.  The Northern Reaches demonstrate unusually cool Humid Continental to Marine West Coast elements due entirely to immortal magic, weather chilly enough to keep all that wholesome ale nice and fresh.

The map below provides a climate map for North America for comparison.


North America Climates






Here’s a short list of Known World cities listed with their approximate weather equivalents in the real world.

Ierendi-Minrothad: Fort Myers, FL 12°C/54°F to 33°C/92°F (humid subtropical)

Athenos, Darokin: New Orleans, LA 6°C/43°F
to 32°C/91°F (humid subtropical)

Known World Southern Coast: Norfolk, VA 0°C/33°F
to 31°C/88°F (humid subtropical)

Darokin City-Alfheimtown: Raleigh, NC –1°C/30°F
to 32°C/90°F (humid subtropical)

Glantri City, Glantri: Denver, CO –8°C/18°F
to 32°C/90°F (semi-arid)

Central Ethengar: Astrakhan, Russia –6°C/20°F
to 32°C/90°F (semi-arid)

Dengar, Rockhome: St. Moritz, Switzerland –18°C/0°F
to 18°C/65°F (alpine)

Ylaruam, Ylaruam: Damascus, Syria 0°C/33°F
to 37°C/98°F (arid)

Soderfjord-Norrvik, Northern Reaches: Riga, Latvia –8°C/18°F
to 22°C/71°F (humid continental)

Zeaburg, Ostland: Copenhagen, Denmark –2°C/28°F
to 20°C/69°F (marine west coast)

Freiburg, Heldannic Territories: Tartu, Estonia –10°C/13°F
to 22°C/71°F (humid continental)

7 comments:

  1. I'm loving this climate stuff. I wish I had more time to read it in detail and leave better comments.

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  2. Once I get some time (not today...busy with real weather work ) I'll go over some of the extra microclimate features of Brun.

    One tidbit: The Sind Desert has to be magical.

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    1. Thorfinn & Dean -- thanks for your comments. I'm looking forward to some insights from the two of you.

      Dean, I would have guessed Sind to be Humid Subtropical, but I'm running against pre-existing design, so yes, it is magical for some unknown reason.

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  3. Loving this, Bruce, especially the "real world" equivalents -- nice, sharp reference points to work with!

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    Replies
    1. Thanks, RJ. I just hope an expert in climatology doesn't show up and starts calling me every name in the book!

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  4. This article blew me away.... ;)

    Seriously, great work Bruce! The maps are really slick! :)

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