Is the weather in your TTRPG just… there? A bit of rain for ambiance, maybe some snow for difficult terrain? Let’s be honest, it can be a little bland. It’s time to supercharge your sessions and make the environment a dynamic part of the story! A whimsical weather table can add incredible flavour, tactical depth, and fantastic roleplaying opportunities to any game.
The Whimsical Weather Table
Here’s a simple d12 table designed to spark creativity. Roll it when the party enters a new region, at the start of a travel day, or whenever you want to shake things up. Each result offers a unique mechanical and narrative twist.
Whimsical Weather & Its Effects (d12)
- Sunshowers of Petals: A brief, intense shower of flower petals falls. Creates temporary difficult terrain in a 10-foot radius and provides +2 to stealth checks within that area.
- Phosphorescent Fog: Vision is limited to 30 feet. The fog clings to magical items, making them glow faintly. Undead creatures within the fog have disadvantage on attack rolls.
- Singing Rain: The rainfall creates eerie melodies. Creatures that hear it must succeed on a DC 13 Wisdom saving throw or become disoriented for 1d4 rounds (disadvantage on attack rolls and ability checks).
- Dust Devil of Memories: A small dust devil swirls with faint images of past events. Creatures within 15 feet must succeed on a DC 10 Wisdom saving throw or be overwhelmed with a memory, becoming stunned for 1 round.
- Rainbow Static: A shimmering, multicoloured static fills the air. Metal objects lightly shock anyone who touches them (1d4 lightning damage).
- Gravity Snow: Snow falls upward. Ranged attacks have disadvantage. Creatures falling take no damage.
- Diamond Hail: Small, glittering hailstones fall. Creatures struck by the hail must succeed on a DC 10 Constitution saving throw or be blinded until the end of their next turn.
- Liquid Light: Shimmering streams of light fall from the sky instead of rain. Plants grow visibly faster and glow faintly.
- Whispering Wind: The wind carries faint whispers, offering cryptic clues. DC 15 Wisdom (Insight) check to understand the whispers.
- Blood Rain: Crimson rain that imparts vivid dreams. Creatures that rest here experience prophetic dreams.
- Colourless Day: All colours fade to gray for 1d4 hours. Creatures have disadvantage on perception checks that rely on sight.
- Silent Storm: A storm rages, but all sound is muffled. Creatures have advantage on stealth checks, but disadvantage on perception checks that rely on hearing.
How to Use This Table
This isn’t just a random chart; it’s a versatile DM tool!
- Random Encounters: Roll at the start of a session to set a unique mood.
- Planned Ambiance: Intentionally choose an effect to enhance a specific scene. Imagine deploying Phosphorescent Fog for a spooky graveyard encounter!
- Story Hooks: The weather itself can become a quest. Why is the rain singing? Who is causing the Blood Rain?
- Tactical Depth: These effects change the battlefield. Players will have to think creatively to overcome or use the weather to their advantage.
Examples in Action
Think about a frantic chase scene through a city during a Sunshower of Petals—the rogue can use the petal drifts to hide, but the fighter finds the difficult terrain a hindrance. Or picture the party navigating a deadly dungeon during a Colourless Day, making traps that rely on colour-coded clues suddenly impossible to solve!
Make Your World Come Alive!
Using a table like this makes your fantasy world feel more magical and unpredictable. It breaks the monotony of travel and turns a simple combat encounter into something truly memorable. Feel free to adapt these ideas, change the DCs to fit your system, and create your own wild weather to unleash on your players!