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Have
you considered the Coriolis effect on the weather system of your
fantasy-adventure campaign world? What? You don’t even know if your world
rotates on an axis or not? Well, there is a book you should consider
purchasing.
If you design your fantasy world within the framework of advice in A Magical Society: Ecology and Culture, not one player will ever look at you quizzically and say, “Well, that doesn’t make sense.” If your players happen to work for the National Geographic Society they will nod in understanding as you explain how the Dwarven mountain was formed by continental plate collision rather than volcanism. Some players may even follow that the Elven kingdom changed from a temperate forest to a taiga because the evil druid altered the annual rainfall from 200cm to 100cm, and dropped the mean annual temperature from 15◦C to 3◦C. But the average gamer, between mouthfuls of Doritos, will probably mumble, “So the Elves can draw green or red mana instead of just green?”
This 160-page soft cover, d20-compatible book is an astounding collection of astronomical, meteorological, geological, botanical, and societal information fine-tuned for use in explaining how a magical fantasy world functions. In high school and collegiate science class, these authors were day-dreaming and paying attention at the same time. You can learn a lot, even if you don’t use it all in your game, because it is more interesting to read than a science textbook. The level of detail far exceeds the needs of the average game master. But if an epic wizard rocks the planet off its axis, the GM can quickly re-calculate the amount of sunlight that reaches each hemisphere in any given season. Whew! Problem solved.
Aside from the extensive scientific minutia, a large section explains in detail the flora, fauna, and seasonal changes in every major habitat on an Earth-like planet, from tundra to scrubland to estuaries. Next, the effect of each of these climate zones on sentient cultures is described. This is useful for making your world make sense. Desert people cook outside their house, rain-forest dwellers build their huts up off the ground, and tundra dwellers make dark-colored tents to absorb solar heat. You learn which crops grow in which climate zones- potatoes and bananas just don’t get along.
An explanation of creation myths and religious rites and taboos creates an added layer of realism for your societies. An overview of traditional crafts and technologies lets you know what the people ought to be doing, given their environment and level of cultural advancement.
An appendix of geological formations allows a gamemaster to competently describe what the players see when traveling. Batholiths, calderas, cenotes (vertical shaft filled with water connecting to a cave), cupolas, eskers, fjords, kames, mangrove swamps, lava tubes, nunataks (mountain surrounded by glacial ice), sinkholes, splattermites, tower karsts and scores of other strange features are explained in descriptive terms for easy reference.
Another appendix describes unique plants, insects, gems, metals, and herbs that you can use to create themes in your campaign. Some are valuable, useful as medicines, or downright dangerous.
Magic is the connecting theme of this book. Each section is grounded in Earth-based science, but extrapolated to include the effects of magic. For example, they explain how Dwarves can survive in an environment of essentially zero food production. By incorporating these concepts, your game world will make sense, and still function given all of the inherent weirdness of fantasy games. Another concept weaving the multitudinous topics together is the storyline of Kierian the Bold, a newly transcended god, who figures out how the world works along with the reader.
The artwork is beautiful soft ink drawings, ranging from geologic features to animals and societal scenes of different cultures. Charts and graphs aid in understanding the scientific data. Maps show how wind patterns work, in case you’re not quite up to speed on the Coriolis effect. Don’t worry, it will make sense by the time you’re done reading. And you’ll probably do pretty well on the SAT, too.
Written by Erik J. Olsrud
(Posted 03-18-2005)