What do the numbers mean in the Eposic RPG Weather Forecaster? Since RPG worlds can differ so radically one from another, any tool that generates absolute weather conditions is likely not going to work for all RPG worlds. The Eposic RPG Weather Forecaster generates weather changes in a fashion that is adaptable for use in any RPG world, whether that world be a desert planet, a frozen ice world, or, more likely, somewhere in between. The numbers generated by the Weather Forecaster can actually be used in one of two ways. Both methods are explained below. If you like one method better, use it. Otherwise, you can mix and match, using one method for a while, then switching over to the other method when it suits your needs. In both methods, the numbers represent what can best be described as levels of weather extremes. A result of 0 represents no change in the weather. Other results represent some change in the weather; the further the result is from 0, the more extreme the change in weather. With either method, you must first determine what the normal weather conditions are for the area, depending on the season and any other pertinent factors. You must also determine how much the weather can change from one day to the next. Method 1: This method uses the numbers to represent noncumulative changes from the average weather condition. The following table shows what the numbers mean using this method. Numeric Result Condition -3 Condition is minimum possible -2 Condition is much less than typical -1 Condition is less than typical +0 Typical condition prevails +1 Condition is more than typical +2 Condition is much more than typical +3 Condition is maximum possible For an example, suppose that you decide that the typical weather conditions in a current campaign world is as follows: Clouds/Precipitation: Partly Cloudy Temperature: Warm Wind Speed: Light Breeze Basically, you can view these conditions as level 0 for the area concerned. Suppose in the area concerned that the Clouds/Precipitation and the Wind Speed vary greatly, while the temperature doesn't vary much at all. Suppose also that the Weather Forecaster produced the following set of numbers: Clouds/Precipitation: -2, -1, +1, +3, +0 Temperature: -1, +0, +0, +2, -3 Wind Speed: +1, -1, +2, -2, +3 The numbers in this case would represent the forecast below. The numbers in parentheses are the numbers for that day from the listings above. Day One (-2/-1/+1): Very few clouds, no precipitation; temperature lower than normal, but barely noticeable; wind speed noticeably higher than normal. Day Two (-1/+0/-1): Few clouds, no precipitation; temperature normal; wind hardly blowing. Day Three (+1/+0/+2): Cloudy, scattered showers; temperature normal; winds gusting, makes traveling somewhat difficult. Day Four (+3/+2/-2): Heavy clouds, heavy rain all day; temperature higher than normal, but still barely noticeable, especially given the heavy rain; winds have died down to nearly nonexistent. Day Five (+0/-3/+3): Partly cloudy, and the rain has stopped; noticebly cooler than usual, especially when compared to the day before; gale force winds are ripping through the area, making travel nearly impossible and very dangerous. Note that the above set of numbers is very unlikely to be generated by the Weather Forecaster; there are quite a few extremes in the above set, for purposes of illustration. Method 2: This method uses the numbers to represent cumulative changes in the weather. That is, each change is a change based on the previous day's weather. The following table shows what the numbers mean using this method. Numeric Result Change in Condition -3 Maximum drop in condition from previous day's -2 Large drop in condition from previous day's -1 Drop in condition from previous day's +0 No change in condition from previous day's +1 Increase in condition from previous day's +2 Large increase in condition from previous day's +3 Maximum increase in condition from previous day's With this method, the numbers modify the conditions of the previous day to determine the conditions of the current day. (While it is unlikely, it is possible for a series of all positive numbers or all negative numbers to generate weather conditions that are extremely abnormal for the area concerned. Because of this, you may want to define limits to either extreme beyond which you will not allow the generator to take you. A later example will show what can happen when runs of all positives or all negatives occur.) For an example similar to the one above, suppose that you decide that the typical weather conditions in a current campaign world is as above (and shown again below for your convenience). We'll assume that on Day Zero (the day before Day One) the conditions are typical (as shown here). Clouds/Precipitation: Partly Cloudy Temperature: Warm Wind Speed: Light Breeze Basically, you can view these conditions as level 0 for the area concerned. As in the example above, suppose in the area concerned that the Clouds/Precipitation and the Wind Speed vary greatly, while the temperature doesn't vary much at all. Suppose also that the Weather Forecaster produced the following set of numbers: Clouds/Precipitation: -2, -1, +1, +3, +0 Temperature: -1, +0, +0, +2, -3 Wind Speed: +1, -1, +2, -2, +3 The numbers in this case would represent the forecast below. The numbers in parentheses represents the cumulative sum of results for a given day. For instance, Day Two has cumulative sums of (-3/-1/+0) because it is the cumulative sum of Day One's results and Day Two's results in the above table. Day Three's cumulative sum is the sum of its results from the above listing plus the cumulative sum for Day Two. Day One (-2/-1/+1): Very few clouds, no precipitation; temperature lower than normal, but barely noticeable; wind speed noticeably higher than normal. Day Two (-3/-1/+0): Nearly cloudless sky, no precipitation; temperature the same as the day before; typical light breeze. Day Three (-2/-1/+2): Very few clouds, no precipitation; temperature the same as the day before; winds gusting, making traveling somewhat difficult. Day Four (+1/+1/+0): Cloudy, scattered showers; temperature slightly higher than normal, but barely noticeable; light breeze. Day Five (+1/-2/+3): Cloudy, scattered showers; temperature lower than normal but not by that much; gale force winds that make traveling nearly impossible. Note again that the above set of numbers is very unlikely to be generated by the Weather Forecaster; there are quite a few extremes in the above set, for purposes of illustration. As a final example, let's compare the two methods against each other using the same typical conditions as used in the previous examples, but using a different set of numbers: Clouds/Precipitation: +1, +1, +1, +1, +1 Temperature: -1, -1, -1, -1, -1 Wind Speed: +1, -1, +1, -1, +1 Using Method 1, we get the following forecast: Day One (+1/-1/+1): Cloudy, scattered showers; temperature lower than normal, but barely noticeable; wind speed noticeably higher than normal. Day Two (+1/-1/-1): Cloudy, scattered showers; temperature lower than normal, but barely noticeable; wind hardly blowing. Day Three (+1/-1/+1): Cloudy, scattered showers; temperature lower than normal, but barely noticeable; wind speed noticeably higher than normal. Day Four (+1/-1/-1): Cloudy, scattered showers; temperature lower than normal, but barely noticeable; wind hardly blowing. Day Five (+1/-1/+1): Cloudy, scattered showers; temperature lower than normal, but barely noticeable; wind speed noticeably higher than normal. Note that using method 1, the forecast for each of the next five days is not much different from normal. Using Method 2, however, we get quite a different forecast: Day One (+1/-1/+1): Cloudy, scattered showers; temperature lower than normal, but barely noticeable; wind speed noticeably higher than normal. Day Two (+2/-2/+0): Lots of clouds, lots of rain; temperature lower than normal but not by that much; light breeze Day Three (+3/-3/+1): Heavy clouds, heavy rain all day; noticebly cooler than usual; wind speed noticeably higher than normal. Day Four (+4/-4/+0): Torrential downpour all day; unseasonably cool; light breeze Day Five (+5/-5/+1): Flooding and continued downpour all day; unnaturally cold; wind speed noticeably higher than normal. Note that this set of numbers is also very unlikely to be generated by the Weather Forecaster; it contains runs of positive numbers and runs of negative numbers, for purposes of illustration. Normally, the Weather Forecaster will generate sets of numbers that consist of nearly equal amounts of positives and negatives. The EPOSIC RPG Weather Forecaster is intended for use by Game Masters of RPGs. It is intended for use in determining changes in the weather in an area whose average climatic conditions have otherwise already been determined. Some of the changes generated by the Weather Forecaster may not fit your world. If this is the case and a generated set of changes is not to your liking, feel free to simply click the Generate button again and generate another set of changes. Never feel compelled to use any random result generated by any tool. You are the ruler of your world. Don't let random results destroy your plans; feel free to ignore or limit any random result that doesn't work for you. Back to the Forecaster Page