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ferratus
Acolyte
11 Posts |
 Posted - 12 Mar 2022 : 16:04:51
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Hello, I grew up on the land-locked prairies of Canada, so I don't know much about sailing or coastal weather.
I was wondering if there is anyone who would have any insight as to what the best time of year would be to set sail and what the hazards might be in terms of weather at certain points or certain times of year.
I have heard that the Sword Coast resembles the West Coast of North America, which seems to have a sailing season from May to September North of California, and May to October south of it.
My players have arrived in Baldur's Gate in November, and are planning to go on some pirate hunting expeditions in the Nelanther Isles before going South the Calimport and then into the Shining Sea to Tashalar to face off against the Rundeen.
So I am just wondering what weather we could expect over the winter of the Sword Coast and south of the Dragon's Head of Tethyr. Is there any particularly dangerous spots for weather anywhere on the Sword Coast due to geography? And is the Mediterranean the closest analogue to sailing conditions on the Shining Sea, or should I use the warmer waters of the Northern Indian Ocean as a guide instead?
Thanks in advance for the advice.
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TheIriaeban
Master of Realmslore
USA
1289 Posts |
Posted - 12 Mar 2022 : 17:12:17
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The US National Weather Service (https://www.weather.gov/) can give you some of what you are looking for. Especially for things like small craft advisories and other general weather related warnings for the Pacific Northwest.
For general trends in weather, you can look at The Farmer's Almanac (https://www.almanac.com/weather/longrange/region/us/15) for the Pacific Northwest (and other areas). That is handy for general weather trends so that if your players consult a priest (for a weather divination) or ask a local ("does it typically rain this much this time of year?"), you can have something already on hand to give to them if you don't already have weather planned out as part of the adventure.
One thing to keep in mind is that the gods can have an affect, too. If the conditions are not what is needed, maybe a prayer and an offering to Umberlee will provide the needed calm.
Finally, if you want to have something else take care of getting the weather for a specific day in a general location, you can use RealmsHelps' weather page: https://www.realmshelps.net/faerun/weather.shtml |
"Iriaebor is a fine city. So what if you can have violence between merchant groups break out at any moment. Not every city can offer dinner AND a show."
My FR writeups - http://www.mediafire.com/folder/um3liz6tqsf5n/Documents
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ferratus
Acolyte
11 Posts |
Posted - 14 Mar 2022 : 02:31:24
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Thanks for the reply. The weather generator from realms helps is especially useful, for more than just this.
It seems that nobody immediately knows about a writeup, so I'll see if I can use your links and some more "internet research" to see if I can come up with something somewhat plausible for the community.
If anyone knows if someone has figured out the ocean currents for the sea of swords, that would help a lot. |
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questing gm
Master of Realmslore
Malaysia
1452 Posts |
Posted - 14 Mar 2022 : 03:04:43
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quote:
Originally posted by ferratus
Thanks for the reply. The weather generator from realms helps is especially useful, for more than just this.
It seems that nobody immediately knows about a writeup, so I'll see if I can use your links and some more "internet research" to see if I can come up with something somewhat plausible for the community.
If anyone knows if someone has figured out the ocean currents for the sea of swords, that would help a lot.
I don't have a link on seasonal weather affecting sailing on the Sword Coast, but Ed did talk about currents in these two Twitter threads:
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/843287954604867584
quote:
@LowWisdomCzech
Is there a sea current by the Sword Coast? Does it go south or northward?
@TheEdVerse
There is, and it curves from the NW down along the coast, bringing snowy winters to Waterdeep and Baldur's Gate.
@LowWisdomCzech
So it is easier to sail from Neverwinter to Waterdeep than vice versa, right? And with snowy winters comes northfolk and giants.
@TheEdVerse
Yes to both!
https://twitter.com/TheEdVerse/status/1490559947817508864
quote:
@CineastBenRowe
Hey @theedverse - if I'm reading things right, there are two major currents along the Sword Coast - a warm current from the south, and a cold current from the NW, and they meet near Waterdeep which is why its always foggy there and why it's easy to sail there? Is that right?
@TheEdVerse
Yes, that's right. :}
@musiker44
Wonderful! In What season is the fog most prevalent? :)
@TheEdVerse
It varies with the overall weather, but usually in the middle of winter and middle of summer (so, Midwinter and Midsummer) the winds are lowest, so the fog is thickest; the closer one gets to the midst of spring or fall, the stronger the winds, so less fog persists.
And Midwinter is usually worse than Midsummer, as sun burns off fog and is stronger/hotter in summer at that latitude than in winter.
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Sailing Season of the Sword Coast
