The two fighters huddled against the cliff face, their breath steamy
in the cold air. They were numb from cold and in a foul mood. The
snow had been falling for six days, and on the second day their aides
had told them where to stick their helms, and left. Now, half dead from
cold, they heard a sound from behind. Turning toward the sound, they
saw two bulky shapes coming out of the murk. Screaming in terror and
cursing an entire Parthenon of gods, they drew their swords and staggered
out to attack. It was a very short battle; the two invaders had just
come from a warm lair, and soon the white snow was stained red with
the fighters’ blood.

If the above story was your idea of a good wilderness adventure,
then the following tables are for you. They are for the fiendish referee;
the one who not only likes to keep the players busy with monsters, but
uses strange terrain, and irate gods to bother the hapless players. The
tables keep the game from being played in a park-like atmosphere. The
tables can add realism to a game that has evolved into a “roll for wandering
monsters, and see if we’re lost” game (after all what good are 10
+2 daggers when the temperature is 20 below, and the character has no
coat).

First, roll a d6; this is either the number of days or number
of weeks (your choice) the following weather pattern will occur.
Next, select the terrain that the characters are in, and roll an eight sided
die; this will determine what type of weather you will be having. If you
prefer to have realistic weather (no four week snowstorms in the desert)
then use discretion with the results. If you don’t like the result, then roll
again for another weather pattern.

While shelter prevents many of the following weather situations to
occur, they can open the door for other problems. If the weather would
act upon the shelter and its inhabitants, then let it take its toll.

Terrain

Die Roll	Clear	Woods	River	Swamp	Mountains	Desert	City
1.	Clear	Clear	Clear	Clear	Clear	Clear	Clear
2.	Clear	Clear	Clear	Clear	Clear	Clear	Clear
3.	Clear	Clear	Clear	Clear	Clear	Clear	Clear
4.	Unusual	Clear	Clear	Clear	Unusual	Clear	Clear
5.	Cloudy	Cloudy	Cloudy	Cloudy	Cloudy	Unusual	Cloudy
6.	Cloudy	Cloudy	Cloudy	Unusual	Cloudy	Stormy	Stormy
7.	Stormy	Stormy	Stormy	Stormy	Stormy	Winds	Unusual
8.	Winds	Stormy	Stormy	Stormy	Stormy	Winds	Unusual

Weather Type

Die Roll	Clear	Cloudy	Stormy	Winds	Unusual
1.	Cold	Dense Fog	Snow	High	Cold/Snow
2.	Cool	Light Fog	Heavy Rain	Medium	Dense Fog/Heavy Rain
3.	Cool	Low Clouds	Medium Rain	High	Light Fog/Warm
4.	Cool	Medium Clouds	Light Rain	Medium	Medium Rain/Cold
5.	Fair	High Clouds	Thunderstorm	Light	Thunderstorm
6.	Fair	Stormy	Cloudy	Light	Thunderstorm
7.	Warm	High Clouds	Light Rain	Medium	Cold/High Wind
8.	Warm	Low Clouds	Medium Rain	Light	Light Rain/Cool
9.	Warm	Light Fog	Heavy Rain	Medium	Thunderstorm
10.	Hot	Dense Fog	Snow	High	Hot/High Winds

-

Disease	Chance of  Immunity	Duration: Days	Days: Incubation	Chance of Communic.	Recovery: Weeks	% Fatal
Pneumonia	5%	10-100	1-6	10%	6	20%
Heat Stroke	-	1-2	1	-	1	7%
Hypothermia	5%	1	0	-	2	15**
Irritation	2%	2-20	1-4	-	1	1%
Flu	10%	2-20	1-8	20%	2	15%
Cold	15%	1-10	2	25%	1	2%

*The victim must rest or fatality increases to 25%.
**Fatality is 75% unless the victim is warmed, and rested.

Seasonal Weather
As a suggestion for the referee who wishes to plan an entire season’s
weather, that spans many types of terrain (thus making an excellent
campaign addition), the following table should help:
 

Winter Season:	Spring Season:	Summer Season:	Fall Season:
(Weather lasts 1-4 weeks)	(Weather lasts 1-2 weeks)	(Weather: lasts 1-6 weeks)	(Weather: lasts 1-2 weeks)
Clear: Use 1-4	Clear: Use 2-9	Clear: Use 5-10	Clear: Use 1-10
Cloudy: Use 1-10	Cloudy: Use 1-10	Cloudy: Use 1-10	Cloudy: Use 1-10
Stormy: Use 1-10	Stormy: Use 2-9	Stormy: Use 2-9	Stormy: Use 1-10
Winds: Use 1-10	Winds: Use 1-10	Winds: Use 1-10	Winds: Use 1-10
Unusual: 1, 2, 4-9	Unusual: 2, 3, 5, 6, 8, 9	Unusual: 2, 3, 5, 6, 9, 10	Unusual: 1-10

Weather Descriptions
Cold: The temperature is below freezing. The party must wear
warm clothing or, there is a 15% chance of Hypothermia. If the party
does not stay warm (clothing, shelter, fires, etc.) then for every week in
the cold there is a 10% chance of contracting pneumonia, 15% chance
of getting the Flu, and a 50% chance of catching a cold. If they stay
warm, the chances are 2%, 5%, and 25% respectively. If the party
travels in this weather, then there is a 25% chance per week of 1-6
points of frostbite. Any combat in this weather is at -1, and all moral is
also at -1. Any reptiles (Dragons, Lizard Men, etc.) cannot move at all
in this weather as it is too cold.

Cool: The temperature is above freezing, but below 60º. The
chances for catching a cold in this weather is 20% for every three weeks
exposed to it. The Chance for the Flu is only 2% for the same period of
time. If the party has shunned warm clothing, then these are checked
every week at 25% and 10% respectively. As it is still cold for a reptile,
they move at ½ speed.

Fair: A beautiful day. There are no checks for diseases, and any
party has moral of +2, and fights with a +1. Reptiles move normally.

Warm: The temperature is between 70 and 90 degrees. Check for
irritation every week; unless no method of protection is being used
against it (baby powder, talc, baths, etc.), then it is checked every 4
days. Both of these checks are made at 10% chance of contraction. As
the weather is still nice, any party’s moral is at +1. However if plate
armor is worn in this weather, the wearer will have a movement penalty
of ¼ (he moves at ¾ speed).

Hot: Above 90 degrees. Check for irritation daily at 15% chance
of catching. The party must be checked for heat exhaustion every day,
at 15% chance of succumbing to it. Double the party’s consumption of
water; but, if they are conserving the water then double the chance of
heat exhaustion. Reptiles become overheated in this weather, and they
move at ½ speed. As it is oppressively hot, moral and combat are both
at -2, and combat cannot last beyond 15 melee turns.

Dense Fog: Thick ground fog, with a visability of only 30 feet. Due
to the spooky conditions, the hirelings’ moral is at -1. Flying is totally
impossible; and all movement is halved. Surprise affects the party
thusly: On a roll of 1-3 they surprise the enemy, and on a 4-6 the enemy
surprises them. Missile weapons are ineffective in fog, and fire at -3.

Light Fog: The visibility is only 180 feet. The penalties are the
same as those in Dense Fog, except that surprise returns to normal
odds.

Low Clouds: No penalties, except that there cannot be any longdistance
flying in this weather. The visibility is about 2 miles.

Low Clouds: No penalties, except that there cannot be any longdistance
flying in this weather. The visibility is about 2 miles.

Medium Clouds: No penalties, except that there cannot be any
long distance high altitude flying. The visibility is 6 miles.

Thunderstorm: In this dangerous weather there is a 2% chance
daily of being hit by lightning. If the party removes it armor, then the
chances are reduced to 1% daily. If the party is massively exposed
(open land, or mountaintop) then the above odds are doubled. Lightning
strikes cause from 10-100 points of damage, and will stun a victim
for 2 days. The weather is a mixture of Low Clouds, and Medium Rain
(add up their effects on the party (remember that everything is cummulative).

Snow: A Cold situation along with a light fog situation (add them
up). The following adjustments are made to the final results: Increase
the chances of a disease by 5%, and increase the damage that frostbite
does, to 1-12 points of damage.

Heavy Rain: There is a movement penalty of ½ of the total movement
ability; unless the subject is wearing plate armor, then the subject
moves at ¼ speed. In this weather there is %5 chance of catching the
Flu, and a 15% chance of getting a Cold. The party’s morale is at -2.

Medium Rain: There is a movement penalty of ¼, unless the subject
is wearing plate armor, then the penalty is ½. There is a 10%
chance of catching a cold in the rain, and a 1% chance of getting the
flu. Morale is at -1.

Light Rain: There is no movement penalty, except for wearers of
plate armor, who have a penalty of ¼. There is no morale change, and
only 5% chance of contracting a cold.

High Wind: This exactly like the Heavy Rain situation, except that
there is no chance of catching the Flu. If the party is in the Desert, then
there is a 25% chance they are in a Sandstorm, in which there is a 15%
chance of suffocation.

Medium Wind: This like the Medium Rain situation, except that
there is no chance of catching the flu.

Light Wind: No penalties, but gives excellent sailing weather.

Unusual Weather: On the combinations involved (Cold/Snow,
Dense Fog/Heavy Rain, Light Fog/Warm, Medium Rain/Cold,
Cold/High Wind, Light Rain/Cool, Hot/High Winds) simply add up
the weather effects for the two types of weather and apply the result
(remember that everything is cumulative). For example: A Cold/Snow
situation gives the following results — 35% chance of Hypothermia,
35% chance of the Flu, 25% chance of Penumonia, 100% chance of
getting a Cold, Frostbite damage is at 55% chance of getting it with 2-
18 points of damage/attack, Morale is at -2, Combat is at -2, visibility
is 180 feet, and missile fire is at -3. If this seems extreme, remember
that a Cold situation is below freezing, and a Snow condition is also below
freezing; so the temperature in this situation is somewhere in the
area of 25 degrees below zero.