When you sojourned through your last RPG session, did mountains help or hamper you?
What about a freak snowstorm? Were a river’s rapids gentle and shallow or Class 5 widow-makers? Were any of these even a factor? Geography, topography, and meteorology are inextricably linked and can add a component of true-to-life adventure to your gaming.
I am the author of the award-winning epic fantasy series, The Kinderra Saga. It took me 20 years to launch Trine Rising: Book 1 and Trine Fallacy: Book 2 (Trine Revelation: Book 3 is in pre-publication production as we speak). But before I wrote a single word, I created a map. I knew I wanted a large continent that could hold a variety of climates and a widely diverse population — I wanted our world but on a smaller scale. I created Kinderra to be roughly the size of Australia or the United States, but more vertically oriented than wide. Starting with this orientation, I gave the land mountainous tundra in its farthest northern reaches as well as deserts and jungle along its southern coasts—and everything in between.
Coastlands are a direct reflection of both the ocean, specifically the adjacent ocean currents, and the bedrock from which they are formed. There’s a reason why, for instance, New Brunswick, in Canada has waters as warm as 84F, and Puget Sound, in the State of Washington, at nearly the same latitudes, is a chilly 67F at its beaches. In this example, New Brunswick lies directly in the path of the Gulf Stream, which originates in the tropical waters in the Gulf of Mexico near Florida. In fact, the southern parts of the United Kingdom are also warmed by this. I have it on good authority that some species of palm trees thrive in Ireland!
In my mythical land of Kinderra, ocean currents are directly responsible for the balmy Bermuda-like climate of the far-southern province of Rün-Taran. Jad-Anüna province, a bit farther to the north, has the wetter, more tropical weather of, say, Brazil or even Cambodia, due to the interaction of water marine waters and mountains.
Planning an adventure by coastlands could mean taking into account the ocean tides, water temperature, shoreline features and cliffs, and even moonlight into account. Most famously, the Allies of World War II considered all these factors when planning the D-Day invasion against the German forces in Normandy.
Mountains impact weather in a variety of ways. Elevation certainly comes into play — this is why we get snow in the mountains of Hawaii, and you can ski in Morocco. But more intriguing is the interplay between mountains and weather patterns. In Washington State, the western side of the Cascade Mountains is responsible for the temperate, rainy weather (with an average annual rainfall of 37 in.) we often associate with Seattle. But not far to the east lie deserts—with triple digit temps and a yearly rainfall rarely greater than 9 in. This is because mountains act like walls to weather fronts. Moist air butts up against mountain ranges, forcing the air to condense, form clouds, and finally rain on the windward side. Once the air flows over the mountains to the leeward side, much of the moisture has been wrung out.
Mountains will provide a variety of plotting choices for your next quest. There is solid evidence that Hannibal of Carthage truly crossed the Alps with elephants. Many of us remember the “oliphaunts” or mûmakil ridden by the troops from Harad at the Battle of Pelennor Fields in Gondor from J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings. These elephantine beasts would to have had to cross mountains or at least hilly, rocky terrain to reach Gondor from their lands south of Mordor. Consider a creative alternative like mammoths which could withstand the cold better. What about flying beasts? Soar above the mountains, eliminating a difficult trek. But what would happen if your flyers hit a snowsquall? A stronghold in a remote, difficult-to-reach summit can also be an ideal location as a base. But in the event of a retreat, the terrain works against any quick evacuation. Anyone remember LOTR’s Hornburg? The Resistance base on Crait? One way in also means one way out. For your next mountain engagement, may luck be with you on your next roll of the dice!
Deserts present a very different but no less dangerous set of challenges for gamers. Like the real Northern African country of Morocco, my Tash-Hamar experiences a harsh, dry climate even though it has quite a bit of coastland. Its deep southern latitude is main factor in its climate, but except for mountains on its northern border, the province is otherwise flat and arid. The prevailing winds blowing west to east over Kinderra rush right past Tash-Hamar until they reach the Dar Al-Jad Mountains far to the east where they drop their rain. The desert is as much a blessing as a curse to Tash-Hamar: it has only been attacked once in Kinderran history because of one fundamental — the lack of water.
A prime consideration for desert engagements has to be water. How much can your party or your troops carry? Are there oases or springs you can use? Or control? Are your adventurers of a particular species that can avoid dehydration longer than your opponent? Water is fundamental to life, so you have a myriad of options both working for your players and against them.
Mountains and ocean currents are all well and good for broad concepts in weather patterns, but what about the landscapes themselves? Jet streams, storm fronts, and elevation all play a part in the topography of a land. When creating my Kinderra, I studied where the major farming lands were on Earth, where conifer forests stood vs. broadleaf woodlands, and the locations of grasslands and prairies.
The wide expanses of grasslands and cultivation regions tend to form in the landlocked, middle latitudes around our globe. My province of Sün-Kasal mirrors the Inland Empire of California and is the breadbasket of Kinderra precisely because of its unparalleled farming. Kin-Deren province is similar to Indiana or Illinois and is known for its wheat and apples. Both these regions are smack-dab in the middle of the Kinderran continent. Farther north is Varn-Erdal, with a climate similar to the Dakotas and the central provinces of Canada — prairie grasslands and very few trees. Those rolling hills, hot summers, frigid winters, however, have allowed its residents to excel at breeding horses — steeds prized across Kinderra. A danger to prairielands, however, are wildfires during hot, dry summers. A lightning strike is all it might take for a wildfire to consume everything unabated for miles. It would be detrimental to prairie residents, but what if the wildfire struck wheat or corn fields during a drought? Not just horses but people would starve.
While areas known for agriculture might seem ho-hum regions for a quest, they are perhaps the most useful to invade, destroy, and/or control precisely for their resources. In my second book, Trine Fallacy, Defender Prime Sahm Klai of Sün-Kasal rightfully worries about engaging in a far-off battle that might leave his own province exposed to attack. His province feeds most of Kinderra — if Sün-Kasal falls the rest of the continent could starve. This presents a delicious and difficult choice for your quest leaders: aid a neighbor and possibly prevent an attack on your own home — or leave your food resources exposed?
On our planet, robust conifer forests exist in the higher latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere. A pine or fir tree’s needles are wonderfully adapted to the bitterly cold temperatures and strong winds of this region. Less surface area than a maple or oak leaf, for example, and a waxy coating both prevent moisture loss. And because the needles are, in fact, evergreen, they can continue photosynthesis through the cooler months after other trees have lost their leaves.
Much of the northern half of my Kinderra is covered by the conifer forests of Kana-Akün and is based on the climate of Scandinavia and Siberia. Everything wooden from construction lumber to ship spars is harvested from this densely wooded province. The Kana-Akün Fal’kin forces are also known for their archery units —fighting with swords, or even worse, on horseback, is extraordinarily difficult in a dense forest. Sniper archers poised high in the trees, however, can spell doom for unaware invading forces. Pine groves and the thick understories of broadleaf forests provide intriguing options for guerilla warfare and surgical strikes. And its natural resources are a prize for any controlling force.
Gamers tend to think of geography in terms of military conquests if at all. Equally important is how topography and climate impact culture and commerce. While lumber is also harvested from the jungles of Jad-Anüna, its remote location between two mountain ranges makes transporting it to the rest of Kinderra is arduous and expensive. By the same token, its abundance of natural resources, year-round growing seasons, rich ports along its coasts give its residents a bit of a leisure culture — something almost unheard of in a pre-technological society. Like Jad-Anünan lumber, trade in medicinal (and not-so-medicinal) Oil of Poppy from the highlands in Tibet-like Trak-Calan in Kinderra’s northeastern corner is exorbitantly expensive. Both provinces are remote and have mountains ringing them. Shipping trade is an obvious commerce activity for coastal areas — but what weather patterns might affect them? A hurricane slamming into a busy port could stall trade for months or longer. Consider egress over rivers and ravines. What happens if these key byways are destroyed? If you can’t move an army any longer, how does even commerce continue?
Climate and geography impact civilizations in virtually every way. From weather patterns, food and water availability, migration, commerce, and culture are all affected by the landscape. Giving deeper thought to what features are placed on a map, dungeon masters and quest developers have an unlimited number of tools in their toolboxes to create an adventure players won’t soon forget.
C.K. Donnelly (aka Cindy Kibbe) is the author of Trine Rising: Book 1 and Trine Fallacy: Book 2 of the award-winning epic fantasy series The Kinderra Saga. She also held a long career in journalism and healthcare. Follow her on social media @ckdonnellytrine or ckdonnelly.com.
Creative Commons art credits: Warding Swirl by Feael, The Crossing by TomTC and Lightning Monster by Radicaun.
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