Sandpoint and its hinterlands experience only moderate seasonal temperature swings—it rarely snows in winter, and it rarely rises above 90 degrees in the summer. Fog is a common occurrence in the morning and evening alike, ranging from faint gauzy wisps to overwhelming mists that obscure vision entirely beyond 10 feet.
Sandpoint Campaign Setting
We just have started to play the Rise of the Runelords campaign by Paizo and in order to setup the campaign I wanted to setup the general weather tables for the area as it helps me a lot during prep when setting up the mood. The real-world weather I feel is most comparable to Sandpoint and the Lost Coast would be Seattle. Although Sandpoint states there is little rain and mostly fog, for our campaign I’ve upped the rain chance because… I like rain.
The Average Weather in Sandpoint by Month
Note that the minimum temperature is usually during night and maximum during the day…
January (Abadius)
The coldest month. The average temperature in January is between 3 – 9°C (38 – 48°F). The amount of rain in January is high with an average of 148mm (5.8in). It rains on average a total of 19 days.
You will hardly see any sun with 70 hours of sunshine during the whole month
Chance of Rain/Fog: 63%
Average Wind speed: Light Breeze (2-3 m/s)
February (Calistril)
It is a chilly month with the average temperature between 3 – 10°C (38 – 50°F). The amount of rain in February is high with an average of 99mm (3.9in). It rains on average a total of 15 days.
The sun will occasionally show itself with 109 hours of sunshine during the whole month.
Chance of Rain/Fog: 50%
Average Wind speed: Light Breeze (2-3 m/s)
March (Pharast)
The average temperature in March is between 4 – 12°C (40 – 54°F). The amount of rain in March is high with an average of 107mm (4.2in). It rains on average a total of 16 days.
The sun will occasionally show itself with 179 hours of sunshine during the whole month.
Chance of Rain/Fog: 53%
Average Wind speed: Light Breeze (2-3 m/s)
April (Gozran)
The average temperature in April is between 6 – 15°C (44 – 59°F). The amount of rain is an average of 80mm (3.1in). It rains on average a total of 12 days.
A blue sky and sun is common with 208 hours of sun.
Chance of Rain/Fog: 40%
Average Wind speed: Light Breeze (2-3 m/s)
May (Desnus)
The average temperature in May is 9 – 19°C (49 – 66°F). The amount of rain is average of 47mm (1.9in). It rains on average a total of 11 days.
The sun and blue sky is normal with 254 hours of sun.
Chance of Rain/Fog: 37%
Average Wind speed: Light Breeze (2-3 m/s)
June (Sarenith)
The average temperature is 12 – 22°C (53 – 71°F). The amount of rain is normally an average of 37mm (1.5in). It rains on average a total of 9 days.
The sun shines with 269 hours of sun.
Chance of Rain/fog: 30%
Average Wind speed: Light Air (1-2 m/s)
July (Erastus)
The driest month of the year. The average temperature is 14 – 25°C (57 – 77°F). It is a dry month with an average of only 16mm (0.6in) rain. It rains on average a total of 5 days.
Blue skies and sun is the norm with 312 hours of sun.
Chance of Rain/Fog: 17%
Average Wind speed: Light Air (1-2 m/s)
August (Arodus)
The hottest month! The average temperature is 14 – 25°C (57 – 78°F). August is a dry month with an average of 27mm (1.1in) rain. It rains on average a total of 5 days in August .
Blue skies and sun is the norm with 280 hours of sun.
Chance of Rain/Fog: 17%
Average Wind speed: Light Air (1-2 m/s)
September (Rova)
A fantastic time in Sandpoint. The average temperature is usually between 12 – 22°C (54 – 72°F). The amount of rain in September is normal with an average of 43mm (1.7in). It rains on average a total of 8 days.
Still sunny with around 220 hours of sun.
Chance of Rain/Fog: 27%
Average Wind speed: Light Breeze (2-3 m/s)
October (Lamashan)
The average temperature is 8 – 16°C (47 – 61°F). The amount of rain is high with an average of 98mm (3.9in). It rains on average a total of 14 days.
The sun will occasionally show itself with 143 hours of sunshine during the whole month.
Chance of Rain/Fog: 47%
Average Wind speed: Light Breeze (2-3 m/s)
November (Neth)
The rainiest month! The average temperature is 5 – 11°C (41 – 52°F). The amount of rain is high with an average of 162mm (6.4in). It rains on average a total of 17 days.
There is hardly any sun with only 73 hours of sunshine during the whole month.
Chance of Rain/Fog: 77%
Average Wind speed: Light Breeze (2-3 m/s)
December (Kuthona)
The darkest month! The average temperature is 3 – 8°C (37 – 47°F). The amount of rain is high with an average of 142mm (5.6in). It rains on average a total of 19 days.
You will hardly see any sun with 54 hours of sunshine during the whole month.
Chance of Rain/Fog: 63%
Average Wind speed: Light Breeze (2-3 m/s)
With the following in mind, it is quite easy to simply look up the historical weather in Seattle for the correct date to get a nice weather forecast on a site such as timeanddate.com.
Randomizing the Weather: Sandpoint
The following tables are inspired by the work Weather Made Easy from Land of Nod blog.
Determine season, roll 1D6 to determine the general temperature. The weather pattern will remain for 1D6 days. Roll percentile die for chance of rain and consult the rain and wind table for specific precipitation results.
Quick temperature table: Sandpoint (1D6)
| Winter | Spring | Summer | Fall | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Freezing (below 0°C) | 1 | – | – | – |
| Cold (1-15°C) | 2-5 | 1 | – | 1-2 |
| Comfortable (16-24°C) | 6 | 2-5 | 1-2 | 3-5 |
| Warm (25-35°C) | – | 6 | 3-6 | 6 |
| Hot (36°C+) | – | – | – | – |
| Rain/Snow | 60% | 40% | 20% | 50% |
| Average Wind | Light Breeze | Light Breeze | Light Air | Light Breeze |
Roll wind and rain tables below.
Quick Rain Table: Sandpoint (1D6) – 1-4 FOG/MIST, 5-6 RAIN roll below
| Winter | Spring | Summer | Fall | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Light Rain/snow | 1-2 | 1-3 | 1-4 | 1-2 |
| Moderate Rain/snow | 3-4 | 4-5 | 5 | 3-4 |
| Heavy Rain/snow | 5 | 6 | 6 | 5-6 |
| Violent Rain /Snow storm | 6 |
Quick Wind Table: Sandpoint (2D6)
| Winter | Spring | Summer | Fall | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Calm | 1-4 | 1-5 | 1-6 | 1-3 | Wind felt on face |
| Breeze | 5-9 | 6-9 | 7-11 | 4-8 | Leaves and dust in motion |
| High Wind | 10-11 | 10-11 | 11 | 9-11 | Whole trees in motion |
| Gale | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | Twigs break off trees, potential damage |
| Hurricane | Trees uprooted, considerable damage and devastation |
This is a very simple way of generating the weather and I find that I don’t need any more details. I usually keep especially turbulent or fantastic weather as plot pieces or random encounters.
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