I am creating a set of ruins in the Hellfurnaces near the Sea of Dust.
Was the Hellfurnaces range an actual political border of the Suel Empire pre-Twin Cataclysms, so it would make sense to have a border outpost there?
Were the Hellfurnaces always volcanic, or is that a result of the Rain of Colorless Fire? If they were always volcanic, does it make sense to have earthquakes/eruptions at the time of the Rain (to damage the ruins and leave parts of them underground)?
Was the Hellfurnaces range an actual political border of the Suel Empire pre-Twin Cataclysms, so it would make sense to have a border outpost there?
Were the Hellfurnaces always volcanic, or is that a result of the Rain of Colorless Fire? If they were always volcanic, does it make sense to have earthquakes/eruptions at the time of the Rain (to damage the ruins and leave parts of them underground)?
It makes sense that the Hellfurnaces were an actual political border - really a 'borderlands'. Though the Suel Empire was extremely powerful, their energy had to be spent northward against the Baklunish Empire. Any expansion would have to go westward or southward where it would be far easier, and less expensive, geographically. The Hellfurnaces being actively volcanic at that time would make such decisions obvious. The lack of Suel ruins in the Amedio is further support for this hypothesis.
Of course, there were certainly Suel expeditions east of the Hellfurnaces, but I find no evidence on record (in GH canon) that the Suel ever successfully extended their control to the lands in that direction.
I will mention one issue that bothers me, as a student of geography and someone who desires for my magical world to be as 'believable' as possible.
That is the direction of the prevailing winds at the latitude of the Amedio/Hellfurnaces/Sea of Dust.
First, according to the WoG Glossography, prevailing winds across the Flanaess travel from east to west. No mention is made of differing lattitudes. If we take that at face value, it makes sense that the Amedio Jungle would be on the east side of the Hellfurnaces with a more arid land on the west side. The Suel Empirium could still have been a fertile land (think the Mid-West USA).
Unfortunately, Darene's map of the Flanaess indicates that the prevailing winds across the Hellfurnaces are blowing eastward, toward the Amedio (the volcanic plumes). This would be appropriate if we applied earth science to the Flanaess, as the prevailing winds reverse direction every 30 degrees of lattitude. However, that would cause other problems, scientifically. For example, it would mean that the air should drop its moisture on the western side of the Hellfurnaces as it cools while rising to go over the mountains. That's great for the Suel Empirium, when it existed, but makes it nearly impossible for a tropical jungle to exist on the east side of the mountains.
So, you'll have to figure out if magic is to blame, or if science simply works differently in your WoG.
First, according to the WoG Glossography, prevailing winds across the Flanaess travel from east to west. No mention is made of differing lattitudes. If we take that at face value, it makes sense that the Amedio Jungle would be on the east side of the Hellfurnaces with a more arid land on the west side. The Suel Empirium could still have been a fertile land (think the Mid-West USA).
Unfortunately, Darene's map of the Flanaess indicates that the prevailing winds across the Hellfurnaces are blowing eastward, toward the Amedio (the volcanic plumes). This would be appropriate if we applied earth science to the Flanaess, as the prevailing winds reverse direction every 30 degrees of lattitude. However, that would cause other problems, scientifically. For example, it would mean that the air should drop its moisture on the western side of the Hellfurnaces as it cools while rising to go over the mountains. That's great for the Suel Empirium, when it existed, but makes it nearly impossible for a tropical jungle to exist on the east side of the mountains.
SirXaris
SirXaris, would the Amedio Jungle be actually a Savanna type terrain if we apply Earth Science? I know Gary had only a working knowledge of Ecology. If you are correct, then the Amedio Jungle would be called the Amedio Savanna.
SirXaris, would the Amedio Jungle be actually a Savanna type terrain if we apply Earth Science? I know Gary had only a working knowledge of Ecology. If you are correct, then the Amedio Jungle would be called the Amedio Savanna.
Yes, probably.
Again, I was a Social Sciences teacher (History, Geography), so I know a bit about weather patterns, but I am not a scientist, so what I post is based on my limited knowledge in that area.
It could be magic, but I think one could argue that the area between the Hellfurnaces and the Azure Sea/Jeklea Bay is close enough to the sea that the continent scale prevailing winds don't predominate there - smaller scale maritime influences do. So the continent scale prevailing winds are W to E, but maritime winds may be blowing E to W off the Azure Sea/Jeklea Bay.
I think the area (Keoland/Sea Princes) is roughly climatically equivalent to the US Gulf Coast & far S Atlantic Coast (Florida/Georgia/S Carolina)... A bit lower latitude, but Oerth is IMO cooler overall or at least at low latitudes than modern Earth, perhaps in something like an interstadial / "Little Ice Age", or maybe part of the overall moderated weather of the Flanaess.
In my current game I've described coastal Keoland as like S Carolina and the Hold of Sea Princes as like Florida.
SirXaris, I'm glad to find a fellow soul who obsesses over wind direction.
My theory is that the reason that "The Flanaess is particularly blessed with regard to its weather" is that the ancient elves, when they first arrived on the Spindrift Isles, used some kind of (sketchy? forbidden?) magic to change the Flanaess weather on a vast scale, both to make things more comfortable for themselves and perhaps to aid in one of their genocidal wars (as mentioned by Mona in his early elves article). This may have been during the last ice age, and the reason it ended. This is also how I explain peculiarities of wind direction.
I have a couple reasons for doing this:
a) Player's Guide to Greyhawk has a throwaway reference to the elves (of Celene, as I recall) manipulating weather that I don't think anyone's ever developed.
b) I like the Spindrift elves to have a practical as well as mystical reasons for expelling the humans there. Maybe the magics need to be maintained? maybe the magics are failing and the elves are trying to figure out how to keep them going?
c) I'm forever annoyed that CG gets lumped together with TN as nature-friendly. All of the extreme alignments should be equally dangerous, from a TN perspective. Reasons for this are more obvious with LG, LE, CE, so how does CG transgress the natural balance/order? By transforming the environment to make everything more cosy/comfortable.
When they talked about High Summer in either Greyhawk: the Adventure Begins or the Living Greyhawk Gazetteer; there is a reference to magical climate control.
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