How to work highstorms into your Stormlight RPG campaigns

Highstorms: the deadly world-altering storms that shape every corner of Roshar, affecting all aspects of life. Few places are safe from the heavy winds and rain that sculpt the land, so the inhabitants of Roshar form their lives around it. No Stormlight RPG campaign would be complete without a storm or two to mix things up for the adventuring party. This article will serve as a primer for game masters looking to incorporate highstorms into their campaigns.

Anatomy of a highstorm

Highstorms comprise three distinct parts: the storm wall, the main body of the storm, and the riddens.

The storm wall

The storm wall is what gives highstorms their wicked reputation. A literal wall of intense winds and rain, the storm wall is the storm's leading edge and lends highstorms their destructive nature. Due to the height and size of the storm, the storm wall can usually be seen from far off, warning of the storm's approach.

The storm wall's powerful winds and immediate storm trail can lift boulders, trees, and other debris, tossing them around. Smaller items that aren’t attached to something secure will almost certainly be thrown into the winds and carried along with the storm.

The main body of the storm

Less violent than the storm wall, the main body will still play out as an incredibly violent storm, just less intense. You will still find debris and dangerous winds. Depending on the specific trajectory of the storm, some may encounter the “centerbeat” of the storm. This is a period of calm, similar to the “eye of the storm” in a hurricane, where no wind or rain occurs. There are often stories of seeing the Stormfather and other aberrations in the stillness of the centerbeat.

The riddens

The calm after the storm, the riddens, is a period of light rain and wind in the storm's trailing. While most will continue to stay inside the shelter during this time, it is generally safe to travel outside. 

Travel patterns of a highstorm

All highstorms start at their origin in the eastern ocean of Roshar. The storm travels east to west and covers the entire world, slowly losing steam as it reaches the west.

Lands to the east, such as the Shattered Plains and Alethkar, will see the most intense storms, but by the time the storms reach Shinovar, they are significantly milder. 

Bad highstorm math:

The following calculations are based on info shared during JordanCon 2018 by Karen Ahlstrom. These are noted as “not official, definitive numbers,” but in the absence of official numbers, we can guess at how long Highstorms effectively last.

A highstorm travels at 370 miles per hour. 

The circumference of Roshar is 221,110 miles.

According to this math, it would take roughly 60 days to travel the full length of Roshar. Keep in mind that this includes travel over the ocean, which we don’t have a good gauge for.

Mixed sources claim that highstorms last a few hours, meaning the storm could be 600 - 1000 miles long. 

Highstorm recurrence

Highstorms are irregular in their recurrence but generally occur once every 5 - 6 days.

Some on Roshar try to map and predict highstorms, but this is generally accepted as only slightly accurate. 

Many travelers, or those connected to populated locations around Roshar, will have a log of upcoming highstorms. These lists are valuable, especially since they need to be constantly updated.

The weeping

The weeping is four weeks at the end of Roshar’s year with consistent rain and nearly no highstorms. 

Affects across Roshar

Not every part of Roshar is affected by storms in the same way.

The closer you are to the origin, the worse the highstorm is for you.

• Alethkar and the Frostlands will be hit the hardest, as they are the first areas to be hit and feature vast open plains.
• Areas in central Roshar are not as affected by the fury of the storm, but still enough to cause serious problems.
• The storms in the far west of Roshar, particularly Shinovar, are just really bad rain storms.

Affects on the environment of Roshar

Highstorms have a profound effect on Roshar's landscape and ecology. The heavy winds and rain carve out the landscape, wearing away hills or piling crem to form new ones. Every creature and plant has evolved to adapt to highstorms. The lands of Roshar reflect the danger and violence of highstorms.

While the list of all highstorm-related adaptations are too numerous to mention, here is a scattering of details to help illustrate this point:

• Plant life is scarce in places where the storms are most violent. The lands to south of the shattered plains are near-barren hills, with sparse plant life bred to withstand the power of an uninhibited storm.
• Plants and civilization flourish in areas naturally guarded by storms. Laits are areas naturally protected from the brunt of a storm. These areas will see explosions of plant and animal life unseen in the surrounding environment. 
• Flooding is a massive issue with highstorms. With the influx of rain, all that water has to go somewhere. While flatter areas may just have accumulations in rivers and lakes, places that have deep valleys or canyons, like the Shattered Plains, will experience deadly flash flooding.
• Most plants and animals react to the coming of storms in specific ways to help them survive and thrive. Dropdead trees near Tashikk will fall over during a storm but shoot back up once the storm is over. Lurgs in Alethkar have evolved to develop a cocoon that eventually dissolves in rainwater, protecting them from storms and allowing them to know when it's safe to hunt. 
• Some plants, like grasses in Alethkar, will retract when any kind of motion occurs as protection from potential storm winds.
• Areas further away from storms' fury are less affected by their ecology. Compared to Alethkar's grass, the grass in Shinovar does not retract at all. 

Affects on the people of Roshar

Even the most powerful nations on Roshar cannot entirely ignore the destruction that a highstorm can bring. Highstorms dominate every aspect of a citizen of Roshar’s life: it affects when they can plant their crops, how they travel, and even where they can build cities. While profound, this varies greatly depending on where you are in Roshar. Here is another scattering of details to take into consideration:

• Cities and towns will crop up in areas naturally resistant to storms. Laits and hillsides are common in the east.
• Cities that can’t naturally deal with storms can be modified with human intervention: Yeddaw, for example, raises the entrances to homes above the flood water line and has drainage cut via shardblade to flow storm waters out.
• Areas highly affected by storms will have buildings designed to withstand them. Almost all homes in the east will have western-facing windows, reducing the number of changes that debris will break through.
• Cities and towns will have storm bunkers and outbuildings designed to withstand the fury of a storm. These can range from a glorified warehouse for the general population to a glorified palace ballroom for the lighteyes.
• Highstorms can’t help but affect travel: many long-distance routes will have storm bunkers at regular intervals, but those who can’t afford them must make do in caves or wagons designed to weather the storm.
• Crem build-up is a significant problem no matter where the storm hits. Many people will spend time cleaning debris and scraping crem buildup after a storm. 
• Farming and other industries can be heavily affected by storms. Crops must be well-rooted to survive storms, and any irregularity can be devastating. 
• Not all aspects of storms are bad. Highstorms bring stormlight back to done spheres, although they must be left out in the storm in secure cages for this to occur. Storms can also clear away garbage and clean areas (and people). 

Stormlight

Along with the devastating winds and rains, highstorms carry stormlight to Roshar. I could not locate any specific references to the volume of stormlight a single storm can provide. Still, I think it’s safe to assume that it is near limitless since nearly every sphere on Roshar is replenished, and a Radiant can be full to bursting in a near-limitless torrent of power.

Stormlight can be accessed at any storm stage but will fade once riddens begins. In Oathbringer, Kaladin and crew could fly up to 100 ft over a storm and still access the unlimited well power. They also did not have to fly at the storm wall to do so, allowing them directly north for some time while staying at pace with the storm.

An important note for would-be Windrunners and Skybreakers: Highstorms are not Roshar’s taxis; they move from east to west. Anyone looking to hitch a ride and take advantage of the stormlight it provides must travel roughly in that direction.

The Everstorm

The Everstorm merits its write-up and will contain far more spoilers than this post did. I will update this post with a link when I complete that article.

More to come

At the time of writing this article (July 2024), we do not yet have a full ruleset for Stormlight RPG. I assume that high storms will play a significant role in every campaign and will have their own dedicated ruleset or guidelines. Once more is known, I will write additional articles with campaign ideas using the official rules.

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