Climate of Borderlands, and Ammas Aure as a whole

[twh]

I’ve suddenly realized that Borderlands is not a humid continental climate which I’m used to, but at least sub-tropical, probably even tropical. With a very high humidity due to the moisture coming from the ocean, which has nowhere to go but to drop before the mountains. Maybe even with long rain seasons creating torrential downpour and making rivers impassable ?

So, are “forest” hexes in the Borderlands actually jungle ? Are lands behind the Krysivor river jungle ? I understand that everything south of Tiamak river is savannah, slowly becoming desert, although I wonder what happened to all the humidity, or even if my assumptions are actually correct.

So, how correct I am ? And what’s the climate in other parts ? Southern coasts of Ammas Aure are most likely subtropical, or even Mediterranean climate, with hot summers and everything, but what about other parts ?

I would think that Aura climate is the same as that of Rome, but hot and humid is, for example, Krysea ? What about most of Southern Argolle ? How about Northern Argolle ? What about Celdorea ? Or, well, all of them, really ?

I’m not a climate expert, so I’m hoping someone could help me with dispelling my preconceptions. How was it in other peoples’ campaigns ?

I also wonder what it was in the original campaign, and how much thought was given to it…although knowing Alex, I’m pretty sure there must be a spreadsheet with average high/low temperatures, sunny days and amount of precipitation for every month in at least most areas of the original campaign, if not the whole game world. Or several, haha !

[archon]

The climate of the Ammas Aure region is interesting because it superficially resembles the Mediterranean: It is set at Mediterranean latitude with a huge Mediterrean-sized inner sea. However, it is set on the east coast of a continent rather than the west coast of a continent.

The combination is such that the eastern coasts have climates similar to that enjoyed by the eastern United States or eastern China or Japan. The mountain range that runs north south through Argolle blocks this precipitation from heading west, however, except for the occasional storm that “leaks” through the Gates of Dawn. As such, the eastern coast of Argolle is very wet, with lush forests.

From there, the further west you go, the dryer it gets, until you get to the western edge of the Ammas Aure, where it gets a bit wetter due to a small monsoon effect from the sea itself.

Zhapur, in Kemesh, is at 31.20 degrees north latitude.
Aura is at 39.30 degrees north latitude.
Thure, in Rorn, is at 47.50 degrees north latitude.

Aura is climate code CSa with warm-hot dry summers and mild moderately wet winters. It is ismilar to Izmir, Turkey.

Alakryum, in Opelenea, is climate code BWh, with hot dry summers, and mild dry winters. It is similar to El Arish, Egypt.

Arganos, in Southern Argolle, is climate code CWa, with hot wet summers and mild dry winters. It is similar to Zhengzhou, China, albeit with a weaker monsoon because the Tehonaure is smaller than the Pacific.

Uttar, in Somirea, is climate CFa, with hot wet summers and mild wet winters. It is similar to Izmit, Turkey. (Distinct from Izmir, Turkey, which is CSa.)

Theidag, in Jutland, is climate code DSb/H, with warm dry summers and cool moderate wet winters. It is similar to Mazama, Wa.

The Waste is actually two distinct biomes. The Great Waste that runs south of the Meniri Mountains is a Sahara-like desert. The Zaharan Waste was previously a subtropical region that has reduced to a barren badlands by bad agricultural and grazing practices (similar to desertification in South America) and then later deliberate destruction of the soil and crops. With trees and crops gone, the heavy rains have washed away the top soil, leaving bare rocks on which nothing grows. In some places the land is literally poisoned by ancient magics, or has been burned by magical fires.

[twh]

Wow, thank you, that explained a lot ! So no real jungle yet, I guess I’ll need Ulruk for that. Still, Borderlands could certainly qualify as a subtropical rainforest, as it’s even more to the south from Arganos, with closer mountains, and with an oceanic current moving warmer water from the south (if there is Ulruk to the south and another landmass to the east). Although the last part is probably more important for Northern Argolle. Lucky elves.

Glad I was spot on on the rain season, Borderlands adventures in summer won’t be the same from now on, with new logistical challenges which are quite unique for people living in the continental climate. Oh, hell, not just in summer, in any season really, I had to completely re-evaluate my mental picture of how Borderlands look.

By the way, was I right about spreadsheets, or did you just figure out most of it on the fly ?

And I did notice you mentioning that Tehonaure is smaller than Pacific, which means a large enough landmass relatively close. Is it mentioned anywhere ? Are we to expect Buddhist Aztec conquistadors armed with fighter jets and nuclear warheads like in a wacky (i.e. normal) Civilization game ?

[twh]

I’ve made a very fast and dirty table for weather conditions in Borderlands to use it in play, if anyone needs one. It’s not exactly accurate as it is not intended as a simulation, but just as a simple tool to answer "is it scorching hot again, is it raining again, when is the sunrise and how many hours I have left before it’s dark again. Or even questions like “do we have enough torches to force-march for 12 hours in winter” or even “can we actually endure even a normal march in July” for those like me who live in different environment and can’t easily imagine it on the fly.

(maximum_recorded_temp, average_high | average_low minimum_recorded | 100 roll for weather | day starts->day ends / daylight hours)

Vicelen    -18 -3 | 7  22  | 46Sun 57Rain 99Clouds Storm | 7->18 / 11   (Dec22-Jan18)
Genelen    -17 -2 | 8  24  | 45Sun 59Rain 98Clouds Storm | 7->18 / 11   (Jan19-Feb15)
Juselen    -13  2 | 13 27  | 45Sun 66Rain 97Clouds Storm | 7->19 / 12   (Feb16-Mar15)
Froelen     -3  6 | 19 33  | 52Sun 64Rain 96Clouds Storm | 6->19 / 13   (Mar15-Apr12)
Pendaelen    2 14 | 25 37  | 54Sun 72Rain 95Clouds Storm | 5->19 / 14   (Apr13-May10)
Zigelen      6 17 | 30 39  | 54Sun 77Rain 94Clouds Storm | 5->20 / 15   (May11-Jun7)
Esevelen    12 21 | 32 42  | 53Sun 79Rain 93Clouds Storm | 5->20 / 15   (Jun8-Jul5)
Agitelen    15 23 | 32 43  | 45Sun 84Rain 90Clouds Storm | 5->20 / 15   (Jul6-Aug2)
Innelen     13 22 | 30 40  | 48Sun 81Rain 91Clouds Storm | 5->19 / 14   (Aug3-Aug30)
Nethelen     5 17 | 27 38  | 48Sun 75Rain 93Clouds Storm | 6->19 / 13   (Aug31-Sep27)
Vinethelen  -1 12 | 23 35  | 52Sun 75Rain 95Clouds Storm | 6->18 / 12   (Sep28-Oct25)
Genethelen -12  5 | 16 28  | 51Sun 68Rain 97Clouds Storm | 6->18 / 12   (Oct26-Nov22)
Jusethelen -17 -1 | 9  25  | 49Sun 61Rain 98Clouds Storm | 7->18 / 11   (Nov23-Dec20)

Temperature is exactly that, minimum recorded temperature (over about forty years), then average low (as in, at night), then average high (middle of the day) and maximum recorded temperature. It’s possible to make a table for rolling, but I would think it’s better to just roll something like “d3-d3” to add the variation, or even wing it from weather conditions and time of day. Not that you really need much precision, besides “cold | warm | hot | I’m dying here”, but you never know.

As for weather, you could use “Storm” result to mean “Gale” result on Wind Conditions table (ACKS pg.96), or just remove the last result and use Wind Conditions table instead (minding the prevailing wind direction of course).

Now I’m going to wait on Alex to explain the effect of all that on agriculture ! Or for his own much more detailed table on the subject !

PS: One more thing, I have a feeling I might have to re-do the sunshine/rain/clouds part. I took “percent of possible sunshine” and “average precipitation days”, but the first one doesn’t actually mean “sunny days”, it could be “cloudy days but not cloudy enough to block the sun”.
Any comment from those living in a CWa climate ? Is it usually cloudy in a rain season, but with some sunshine going through, or is it mostly sunny days combined with rainy days like the table is implying ?

PPS: And then I remembered Auran calendar has 13 months And because I just can’t stop playing with tables, I had to re-do it.

[archon]

So no real jungle yet, I guess I’ll need Ulruk for that. Still, Borderlands could certainly qualify as a subtropical rainforest, as it’s even more to the south from Arganos, with closer mountains, and with an oceanic current moving warmer water from the south (if there is Ulruk to the south and another landmass to the east). Although the last part is probably more important for Northern Argolle. Lucky elves.

No true jungle in Aurepos. There is verdant jungle south of the Waste that stretches from the west to east cost of Ulruk.

Glad I was spot on on the rain season, Borderlands adventures in summer won’t be the same from now on, with new logistical challenges which are quite unique for people living in the continental climate. Oh, hell, not just in summer, in any season really, I had to completely re-evaluate my mental picture of how Borderlands look.

Right. It’s only the eastern portion of Southern Argollë and Northern Argollë that have this climate. In the rest of Aurepos it is much more like our Mediterranean.

By the way, was I right about spreadsheets, or did you just figure out most of it on the fly ?

You were right!

And I did notice you mentioning that Tëhonaurë is smaller than Pacific, which means a large enough landmass relatively close. Is it mentioned anywhere ? Are we to expect Buddhist Aztec conquistadors armed with fighter jets and nuclear warheads like in a wacky (i.e. normal) Civilization game ?

That’s correct - it’s approximately the size of the Atlantic. As such the monsoon season that hits the Argolle region is much milder than that which strikes China and Japan, and much more akin to the weather of e.g. Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

As for what lies beyond… There are vague rumors that to the west of the Skysos there is an empire ruled by immortal dragon-sages; and that across the Tëhonaurë, Thrassians are worshipped as gods in a caste-empire built on human sacrifice.

[archon]

Wow! That’s impressive. I haven’t ever dived into detailed rules for weather, for fear that I’d dive in and never surface again. (“We’re not properly accounting for the albedo effect of the increased vegetation!”)

There are actually two versions of the Auran Calendar that I have published at different times. One version had 13 months, and the other version has 12 months with four week-long festivals marking each season. A lot of people disliked the 13-month calendar in play (both because it feels unlucky and because it makes rounding seasons much more choppy) so if I publish an official supplement I’ll likely do the 12-month plus holiday weeks calendar. That calendar can currently be found in Axioms: Cosmogony, alongside the Priestess of Nasga and Nobiran Veildancer.