Magical Weather Phenomena

 Well met curious travelers! This week the shift in seasons brings with it a change in weather, that's right, magical weather! The article this week is about magical weather phenomena, the sort of weird weather that crops up when traveling through magically infused landscapes. If you like this article then you might like the snowy blast of winter chill found in the snowbound hex generator, or if you're looking for another table to add some spice to your campaign take a look at the D66 religious taboos table instead.

Magical Weather Phenomena

The universe is replete powerful magic, and it is often true that such powerful magics bleed into the mortal world. Such magical auras and geomantic energies have been known to seep into the atmosphere surrounding sites of overwhelming magical power and to create all manner of magical weather. When travelling through magically infused landscapes during the stormy parts of the year, there is a 10% chance each day of magical storms blowing in to hamper your players’ plans.

1	Fingers of blue lightning slash sideways across the sky. Odd metallic crashes of thunder follow briefly after. Anything the blue lightning strikes turns to salt. This weather lasts for 1d4 hours. (When travelling through the storm there is a 1-in-20 chance every 30 minutes of a party member or pack animal being struck. If struck, the target must make a Death save. If they fail, they are turned to salt.)
2	The earth lurches and shakes violently as warm rain spatters down from above. A dull hum permeates the air as pillars of obsidian the size of tree trunks start erupting from the earth at random. This storm lasts for 1d6 hours. (All Turn Undead rolls made during the storm are made as though the caster is two levels lower than they are to a minimum of 1st level.)
3	The frantic and hungry souls of a thousand tortured sufferers swirl through the air in a miasmatic cloud. The cacophonous shrieks and wails of these fetid souls pollutes the air with fear and confusion. Exposure to the cloud can drain one of their will to live, causing players to lie motionless on the ground until they die of starvation. The cloud of lost souls lasts for 1d4+1 hours. (If PCs don’t attempt to actively lift their spirits through activities such as singing or telling each other jokes they will have to make a Spell save after every hour of exposure. If they fail, they lose the will suffer terrible ennui, leading to a -1 penalty to all Death saving throws for the next 24 hours.)
4	A choaking cloud of thick bone dust rolls across the landscape like a drawn funeral shroud. The gritty dust made of ground-down bonemeal is composed of a thousand different species. The clouds of bone last for 1d6 hours. (Without proper skin and breathing protection against the dust, travelers who make their journey through the bone cloud suffer a hacking cough for 2d4 days. This loud wheezing cough will make stealth all but impossible and adds a +1 penalty to dungeon encounter checks.)
5	Slow motion green lightning grows from the ground to the sky, fading out as long peels of rumbling thunder crash down. Dark clouds gather, but no rain falls. Anyone who touches a tendril of lightning suffers 2d6 damage as the current flows through their body. The storm lasts for 2d6 hours, and during that time all ferrous metal is highly magnetic, hampering armored combat. (-2 to attacks if wearing metal armor)
6	Swirling flakes of what looks at first to be fluffy snow falls down from thick pinkish clouds, but what is actually falling is cotton candy. The sticky gunk floats down to earth into quickly growing drifts. Travel through the area takes twice as long due to the mounds of soggy cotton candy that are accumulating. The storm lasts for 2d8+1 hours. (The day after the storm, buzzing clouds of insects will descend on the countryside to pester all who live there.)
7	Fluffy storm clouds start rolling in, and with them comes the scent of the ocean. After a short time, a light sprinkle of rain will begin. The misty rain is soothing and helps to clear away fatigue, but the rain brings danger with it too. Any spellcaster caught out in the misty downpour must succeed at a Spell save before successfully casting a spell or waste their action (but not the spell). This lasts for as long as the spellcaster is wet from the downpour.  After 1d4+2 of precipitating, the rain will cease.
8	A hazy mist that glows in pulses of green, red, and yellow descends upon the landscape. With it comes the scent of ozone and a buzzing static charge that clings to all things metal. Sound echoes differently within the haze, making distances seem to shift. Travel through the haze is impossible at night, and it is so thick that all light sources are halved within it. For every hour traveled through the haze during the day there is a 3-in-6 chance of getting lost, even on well-maintained roads. The hazy cloud lasts for 3d6 hours.
9	A driving snow crashes upon the countryside. With it, temperatures suddenly plunge to near zero. The snow scours exposed skin as the chilling frost permeates the air. Beautiful flower-like blooms of ice dot the landscape. As the party travels, these crystal structures grow until they are the size of trees. The ice blossoms are very sharp, causing 1d4 damage to those careless enough to brush against one. The frozen snowstorm lasts for 3d4 hours.
10	A dark angry cloud the size of a cottage follows the party, pouring rain down in a deluge. As the party travels, thick tongues of red lightning will crash down around the party. No one is ever hit by this terrifying spectacle, but horses and other animals have a 2-in-6 chance of being spooked by it and attempting to flee. The angry little cloud only lasts for 1d3 hours.