Dave Dunham:-
>(I used New York as an example merely because I know it, and because
>it's colder than Scotland. It's not necessarily what Dragon Pass is
>like, but I believe it shows that Scotland isn't so cold.)
Hmmm, well as I've already said I'm a Cornishman rather than Welsh or Scots...but I have spent a lot of time kicking round the mountains of both countrys so here's my two clacks...
Depends on how high you are. In the Lowlands water droping out of the sky falls as rain.....the higher you go the colder it gets and it falls as sleet or snow. This is the basic mech for weather in Wales/Scotland.
In the Lowlands /Deep Valleys its wet, cold but not freezing and although not particularly nice to live in its actualy very liveable and given the poor soil of the more rugged bits surprisingly fertile. The Lowlands of Scotland are a major food producing area...mostly meat and hardy grains.
The Highlands are simmilar. Of course the mountains 'catch rain' especially on the sea coasts but even in-land the higher mountain ranges catch clouds that passed over the Lowlands. A lot depends on any one days 'Freezing Level' you can normally see at a glance at what altitude the rain turns to snow. The snow line is easily visible, streams freeze into ice falls, that sort of thing. Of course wind chill is a huge factor also. In the higher bits of Scotland (Ben Nevis, the Cairngorm Plateau) conditions are found that are more severe than anywhere outside of the Antartic/Artic Circle or the High Himalayas. In the Highlands night time lows can be VERY low...having slept out in a tent in -40 Centigrade (without windchill) in a valley which before the Highland clearences was a major population centre I have a great deal of respect for the Highland Clans.
Some of the steads and bothies they lived in are still in use on a permament or semi-permament basis.....small low ceilinged places with maybe a few small windows. Very easy to heat with peat or wood fires. This is a feature of the Sartar IMG. Bothies intended for use by travellers/herdsmen are found in the high hills and remote areas. A fire is always layed in the hearth and if you're lucky you might even find some oats or dried meat left for emergencies. Of course the location of these remote and desolate places is very much down to local knowledge...even today in Scotland the location of some of the better ones are closley guarded secrets. They make perfect places to hide from the Lunar occupation forces and many Outlaws can be found in Mountain bothies...including my PC group.
The atmosphere of these highland bothies is unique....I recomend books like 'Mountain Days Bothie Nights' ('fraid I've forgot the Authors name, anyone?) to capture it......this mixed with movies like Rob Roy, Braveheart and, of course, Astrix the Gaul and some of David Gemmel's work basicaly sums up my Sartarite campaign..which is low level, RQ based and very unlikely to move to HW...although Pendragon Pass may well take over.
DomT slightly off point by the end there....
Powered by hypermail