climate

[hramrach]

What kind of climate is there in Yliakum?

Since it has been said that is is too small for ordinary rain to gather it must be quite weird.

It may be also possible that some water leaks from the surface and appears as rain in Yliakum but that does not sound very safe, especially for thick rain.

On the other hand, the temperate climate similar to that in Europe or that in the middle of North America is heavily dependent on rain. Should you get no rain, grass would grow only a few meters distance from water and trees perhaps a few more meters further.

cold
Yliakum could be relatively dark, cold, and wet place if the Crystal was not too bright. We might not notice as the characters would be adapted for that.
Since the Crystal radiates more infrared than light it is more likely to be so.

In this case, we would probably get many ferns and fungi, possibly huge, and some plants with large dark leaves.
This would also get rid of the weird looking trees as they can be turned into decent ferns or replaced by mushrooms.
There would be no rain, but not much vaporization either. Everything would be wet and qiute cold all the time.
Though it is certainly possible, it probably would not be the world of choice for Enkidukai and other races that like warm and dry places to live in.

hot
Another possibility would be to make the highest level very warm with tropical climate.
There would be enough vaporization from the ground and the water that comes through the walls that clouds would shape even in the limited space. And rain once or twice a day depending on the time of the year.
Again, a banana tree or a cocoa tree sounds easier to model than an oak (and is very near to what we already got )
The colder lower levels could be something like temperate climate with the reain falling there as well.

There is even a nice way for regularing the level of the sea (if it is not going to be done in a magical way). As the water flows in and raises to the sixth level it will pour into large and shallow swamps that warm up and evaporate quickly.

Either way, the climate would be very wet. Anything organic would rot quite quickly and iron would get eaten by rust.

[Kiva]

The cave is big enough for lots of rain to form, don\'t worry about that. And the temperature inside isn\'t too different from \"normal\" temperatures that we have here, so generally it\'s pretty much around a nice warm early summer day, all year. Unless it rains, then it\'s a little colder. And again, you have to keep in mind that Yliakum is very, -very- big. Really huge. The first level alone is thousands of miles or so, in diameter.

[Seytra]

The vastness doesn\'t mean that rain can form. It\'s height that influences that.
Also, it is not warm all year. Just have a look at the char creation data about the months.

From zodiacs.xml
The cold month of Novari brings frigid temperatures in the beginning, but a slight warming trend late in the month. Hoarfrost has thickened to resemble something that some races refer to as snow. Some ice flakes fall from the small vents in the cavern roof and settle on the upper levels, which begin to melt off as Novari draws to a close.

There quite clearly shows that
1) the year has, like ours, seasons which range from warm to cold and
2) there is no snow. Since snow is frozen rain, there cannot be rain

Also, the rain discussion only applies to the first level, because the distance between it and the cavern ceiling will be three or four times as big as the space between individual levels, meaning that it\'s even less likely to have rain form on levels 2-6.

Therefore, I still think that there cannot be rain, just mist and dew.

[Kiva]

The year is subdivided into four seasons only because of the cultural heritage of the people coming from the surface and the observation of the cyclic phenomena of vegetable growth. During the twenty-four periods of the year, the Crystal\'s azure light varies marginally, helping to reinforce the different periods.

Which means no cold months. So what do you believe? Unfinished settings put in the pre-alpha version of a game, or the settings that was clarified long ago, and put on the main page by the leader of the project?

[Karyuu]

Perhaps it\'s time for me to ask about the possibility of a desert environment within Yliakum, since I have incorporated it strongly into my character\'s story. The question remains on whether I should keep my desert in some level of the Crystal, or move it to a surface world. Kiva seems to have a nice grip on the setting, so any hint on this would be appreciated :)

[hramrach]

Since there is no sea and the weather is not too hot it is likely that there will be only desert.

The reason why we do not have desert all over Europe is there is sea all around Europe. Much wet air comes from the sea and from warmer parts of the world and makes rain in Europe possible.

Of course, in Yliakum the Crystal can magically create the clouds. That\'s a luxury Europe cannot afford. Fortunately Earth is 2/3 ocean.

[Ryanthomas12]

I think it would be a great and realalisic idea to have seaons Spring Summer Fall And Winter. Also Months days and years. Sry if already dusgussed.

[Ryanthomas12]

o and also ferenhight.

[hramrach]

Iguess there could be a (hot) desert on the surface around the crystal. And if the rest was cold we would get ice as well.
The water that flows into Yalikum could be an iceberg from the top thawed by the Crystal