Starting in the mid-to-early 1980’s, Dragon magazine ran a series of “The Ecology of <monster type>” articles. They were a good read, and the younger me thought they added much needed detail to the various monsters and how they fit into the world.
Every coin has two sides, and the older me disagrees with the younger me. The articles are still a good read, but in the words of Aaron E. Steele the series “made the mysterious and inscrutible, mundane.”
These days I feel that a fantasy word should not be 100% grounded in realism. In fact, I feel that eschewing scientific realism creates a better fantasy. Consider that in the middle ages it was commonly held that life forms sprang forth from nothing. Also consider that Greek Mythology stated the the pegsus and other creatures were created by drops of Medusa’s blood falling to the earth. If you provide modern scientific rationale to everything, you lose the ancient or medieval feel.
My Answer: Chaos Storms
As we’ve said before, Gob is the God of Chaos in my world. His powers are limited in heavily lawful areas (just as Hume’s powers are limited in heavily chaotic areas). But he has more power on the fringe areas where the forces of Law are just starting to press in the the Chaos Lands. In order to try to maintain these regions for himself, he will often create Chaos Storms.
Chaos Storms are very powerful thunderstorms. They are often accompanied by large hail and tornadoes. Sometimes they also contain Chaos Lightning, also called Red Lightning. Wherever Chaos Lightning strikes the ground, it creates a group chaotic monsters–complete with lair!
For example: the town of Muddy Falls is a settlement on the border of the Chaos Lands. A generation ago the baron cleared the area of chaotic beasts and monsters. One night there is a Chaos Storm, and some of the town-folk swear that they saw a streak of Red Lightning hitting a few miles to the west. When the party investigates, there is now a small orc village where the lightning was seen.
Epilogue
That’s all there is. It’s a simple idea that doesn’t need a lot of explanation.
I like the idea, but it has to be used lightly. Having a Chaos Storm every week will get old fast. It should be limited to maybe twice in a campaign.
What do you think?
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