| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| The Emerald Sage |
Posted - 08 Jan 2016 : 12:29:15
I'm looking for something like a climate map of Faerūn, broken down according to each region.
I've run a couple of searches on the boards but have not managed to turn up anything relevant. Is there anything equivalent to a climate map out there? The second ed. source-books, Lands of Intrigue and The North give really good climatological information but an all-encompassing reference is what is really desired.
This could be a very worthwhile endeavour for someone out there who is both informed and dedicated enough to take up the project. It would certainly be a priceless resource for Dungeon Masters. |
| 11 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Delwa |
Posted - 20 Jan 2016 : 14:12:13
Did some digging, and hopefully the following will help. I didn't get specifics on the Moonsea or lands further East, like Thay, but this might help the OP. I listed my sources, as each has a bit more detail than what I've given; particularly Elminster's Ecologies. You'll find tables for weather and such, and some more specific numbers in some areas.
Arctic Climates: Icewind Dale.
Subarctic: The majority of the North, including the Spine of the World. Temps range from -30 to 40 F in the winter, Summer temps can reach the 70's.
The coast between Waterdeep and Port Llast stays warmer and wetter throughout the year than inland regions. (The North: The Wilderness, pg5)
Calimshan: Temperate, but warmer than Tethyr of Amn due to Southerly location, the warming effects of the Shining Sea, and volcanic activity that effects the Lake of Steam. (Empires of the Shining Sea, pg 49)
Tethyr: Temperate, average precipitation 25-30 inches; long, hot summers, with moderate humidity, mild winters; cooler in the Northern and Eastern parts, with the air getting drier as you approach the coast. (Lands of Intrigue: Tethyr, pp 2-3)
Amn: Not as mild as Tethyr & S, but a pleasant climate year round. Slightly warmer along the W. & NW shores of Lake Esmel due to a hot springs. Rainy season from late fall through spring. (Lands of Intrigue: Amn, pg 2.)
Cormyr & Dales: Temperate. (Elminster's Ecologies: The Settled Lands, pg8)
Stonelands: plagued by storms, heavy rainfall. Two seasons: summer and winter. {Elminster's Ecologies: The Stonelands and the Goblin Marches, pg5)
Sea of Fallen Stars: Scarsdale to Yhaunn: Harsh, nearly constant cold winds from the Sea, little plant life, very little sandy beaches, mostly rocky coast.
Sea of Fallen Stars: Selgaunt to Urmlaspyr: More temperate than previous, and more stable. (Elminster's Ecologies: Coastal Aquatic lands: The Sea of Fallen Stars, pp 3&4)
Thar: Typical high Steppe region. (Elminster's Ecologies: The Great Gray Land of Thar. pg4)
Cormanthor: warmer winters, fewer gale-force winds, higher humidity, and more than its share of rain, partly due to the Mythal's effects. (Elminster's Ecologies: Cormanthor, pg 7)
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| AuldDragon |
Posted - 20 Jan 2016 : 10:57:28
quote:
Originally posted by The Emerald Sage
The second map seems about right, thank you very much.
I think that first map is more representative of scale as opposed to climate, seeing how the jungles of Chult are layed over Newfoudland.
The first map is mixing projections. The Earth projection is Mercator, the Toril projection is not (I'd go so far as to say the Toril map has no projection, in fact). The second map's latitudes match up with the latitudes on the map in Faiths & Avatars, which shows the equator running through the very northmost part of Zakhara, and Tethyr around the 30th parallel. I made a series of overlays of the equarectangular map from the Forgotten Realms Interactive Atlas back in the late 90s (which was made from the Kara-Tur and Waterdeep Trail Maps, as well as the Maztica and Al-Qadim maps) with an equarectangular Earth map.
http://www.aulddragon.com/images/toril-overlay-02a.png
http://www.aulddragon.com/images/toril-overlay-02b.png
http://www.aulddragon.com/images/toril-overlay-02c.png
One thing to note is that Toril seems to be in a minor ice age, considering the extent of the northern polar cap in particular, although this could be caused by a weak or non-existent jet stream or very cold oceans. I think the cyan-blue is the winter extent of ice, with the light blue being the year-round ice.
A few quick notes: Evermeet is about where southern Italy is, Waterdeep lines up with Brittany/a bit south of Seattle, the Sea of Fallen Stars lines up well with the Mediterranean around Malta, Kozakura is pretty much exactly where Japan is, Cormyr lines up with Virginia, Icewind Dale is roughly where Northern Ireland is, the Moonshaes are where Spain and Greece are, and the Great Glacier would cover pretty much all of Ukraine.
Jeff |
| Dalor Darden |
Posted - 20 Jan 2016 : 01:06:38
quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
I seem to recall some statement somewhere that Waterdeep's weather was most comparable to Seattle, Washington.
Me too...though I don't remember where. To give Waterdeep a more Medieval feel to it though, I tell my players that London (which experiences much the same weather we do here in the Seattle area) is a close approximation.
It doesn't rain here all the time; but that is a common idea among people. |
| Wooly Rupert |
Posted - 20 Jan 2016 : 00:05:01
I seem to recall some statement somewhere that Waterdeep's weather was most comparable to Seattle, Washington. |
| Delwa |
Posted - 19 Jan 2016 : 23:04:36
I very much go with what Dalor said about creating your own feel. There's a lot more to climate than just latitude/longitude. Mountain ranges, local volcanic activity, evaporation off large bodies of water, all can make for a very different climate than one might expect. That doesn't even account for what magic might do to the weather patterns. Using latitude/longitude helps give a baseline, but ultimately, there's a lot more to it.
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| Dalor Darden |
Posted - 19 Jan 2016 : 20:32:30
I've been looking for a nice map that would show the Western Heartlands and so on imposed over a map of Europe to give a better idea of what sort of climate range it might have...but frankly the Forgotten Realms is so far different from Earth that it is a really difficult thing to find information on.
My best feeling has always been that Waterdeep is essentially the "London" of the Sword Coast, and then north of that things get colder and wetter.
To me that puts Calimshan in North Africa, and points south simply further south along the African coast.
For the interior, because of the size of the Inner Sea, you again have to shift gears and think of different regions. The Moonsea is always portrayed as much colder and wetter than even Sembia; so I've often thought of it being similar to the Baltic area of Europe. Going south from there things change drastically though...and I put the Dales in a climate much more similar to what the lands currently occupied by Poland would be, with Cormyr having a climate much like Slovenia/Yugoslavia. Sembia changes things again, and I give it a little more like Southern France.
Really, I've found that it is best to create your own "feel" for where you are playing...the Realms is a huge place! |
| rangerstranger |
Posted - 18 Jan 2016 : 15:27:46
I thought Waterdeep was a bit further North than what that second map shows. However that map is using the 5E map so maybe they've shrunk the realms yet again with the new edition.
http://forum.candlekeep.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=19153
The thread linked above talks about Waterdeep being along the 57th parallel, which would put it up as far North as Jeaneu, Alaska. I know this doesn't help with the original question much but hopefully stops you from going down the wrong path. |
| The Emerald Sage |
Posted - 12 Jan 2016 : 11:50:55
The second map seems about right, thank you very much.
I think that first map is more representative of scale as opposed to climate, seeing how the jungles of Chult are layed over Newfoudland.
Any more information on comparable geographic coordinates out there? Like I said the second map seems accurate but I also remember reading related information on the forums here but I'm not sure where exactly. In the same thread I remember it being mentioned that Faerūn was roughly bigger than north america by a third, I'm guessing that's true. |
| Dalor Darden |
Posted - 12 Jan 2016 : 10:40:43
Try these:
Maybe this helps?
OR
Maybe this?
Much hurry here...hope that helps! |
| The Emerald Sage |
Posted - 12 Jan 2016 : 10:14:55
Sounds promising, is there a link available to any of these resources? |
| Artemas Entreri |
Posted - 08 Jan 2016 : 15:17:39
I've seen maps with the continents of Toril over-layed on the continents of Earth. If nothing else, you could over-lay Earth's climates on Toril using those maps. |
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