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Dogsoup
Disclaimer: This table is meant to generate a rough sketch of the weather, the user (prolly just me actually smile.gif) filling in or replacing as he sees fit. For example, it may not necessarily rain or blow a wind during a lightning.
Since I have dim to no knowledge about metreology in general or weather specs in the Washington state area, this is a dystopian urban weather generator with probably no reality connection whatsoever.
I may also have a slight trouble expressing or translating certain terms into english as accurately as I would like to.

A roll can be made whenever felt like; Someone wants to know what the trid forecasts for tomorrow, the weather may have changed while the PCs were inside somewhere or just make one roll for the whole day.

The table result is divided into three parts; Sky (i.e. clouds), Wind and Rain. Stuff like temperature and humidity will be dependant on season, wind/rain and most importantly, the GM.
After that follows a shortish presentation of how I've visualized and interpreted every result, and their game effects. And finally, some random thoughts on the matter.

2d6:
The Sky / Wind Force / Rainfall
2 - Dark / Heavy / Heavy + Lightning
3 - Dark / Heavy / Heavy
4 - Dark / - / Heavy
5 - Grey / - / Fog
6 - Grey / Light / Light
7 - Grey / - / -
8 - Cloudy / Light / -
9 - Cloudy / Heavy /-
10 - Clear / Light / -
11 - Clear / None / -
12 - Clear / Heavy / -

Sky:
Dark - Big black clouds covering all or nearly all of the sky. Atmospherics is dense and promise a real foul weather anytime soon.
No rules... yet. Im thinking of having flying vehicles having an easier time avoiding detection or lower Hide Maneuver target numbers, but this is pettish stuff without priority.

Grey - An even, dull blanket looms above as far as the eye can see.
Prolly as with dark skies.

Cloudy - Roughly 40-75 percent of the sky is covered by stacks of clouds, often in motion. The sun have plenty of empty patches to shine through though.
No ruling I can think of.

Clear - Beutiful weather, as much as you can have it within a polluted metroplex. Maybe some small clouds remain here and there, but they don't interfere much.
None here either.

Wind:
Heavy - Chilling winds howl through the city, taking everything small and flimsy with it. Not a hurricane by any means, but sometimes not far from. Keep hold with both hands of that e-paper you're reading , friend.
Flying vehicles treats Terrain Types as one "level worse" (open becomes normal etc.). When coming to think of it, boats and other sea vehicles should also be affected.

Light - The air is constantly in motion, even if it rarely has the strength to do much but keep the clouds moving. It's the kind of wind you hope for on a hot day.
Not much of a disturbance for the hardened shadowrunner.

None - Stillness, but for the occasional gust that dies just as quickly as it is breathed to life.
Nil.

Rainfall:
Heavy - A catharsic downpour hosing away like there's no tomorrow. It's a rain that drowns the pavement, taxes drainage and sewers and makes everything in the distance hazy, unclear and wet.
Flying vehicles treats Terrain Types as one "level worse" (Im also thinking of applying this to road vehicles).
Visibilty mod. P. 112.


Light - Everything from a steady trickle to small doses of the heavier stuff. This type of rain will not cause any flashflood but would most probably require an umbrella.
Driving should be slightly tougher, but Im not sure of how; Maybe increase the target number of maneuvers and crash tests by 1?
Visibilty mod. P. 112.


Fog - A grayish soup snaking it's way through the streets and creeping up from the gratings.
Visibilty mod. P. 112.
Sensor Test mod P. 136


Lightning - A thunderstorm, more often accompanied by heavy rain than not.
Since Im as much an electrician as Im a metreologist; How's -1 to all Flux ratings? Maybe sensor tests should have an extra +1 to target numbers.

None - The clouds, if any, keep themselves shut for now.
Nil.


Appendix:

1. I think putting rain on the same level as smoke on P. 112 is overkill. +2 for heavy rain and +1 for light IMHO.

2. What about having vehicles making Crash Tests continously, when in terrain types modified beyond Tight level? A test every minute when one level below Tight and testing every combat turn when two levels below. Harsh, yes, but skydiving between skyscrapers in a hurricane isn't exactly a good idea.

3. Toxic Weather.
Whenever deemed appropriate or just mean/funny, weather in the 6th world has taken a turn for the worse. Im thinking of a 1d3 roll compared to the Sky type, but I've also put in some additional possible circumstances that I deemed worth mentioning, but didn't have the heart to put into the d3-list.

Dark skies:
1 - Corrosive rain: This rain damages fragile materials or colouring and starts to itch shortly after contact to unprotected skin. Prolonged exposure is sure to cause nasty rashes or worse.
2 - Poisonous rain: A milder version of it's corrosive cousin, this rain only affects living organisms and not as severely. It is still recommended not getting it in your eyes or mouth though.
3 - Polluted rain: The water that falls down is oily and dirty, ruining unprotected clothes and haircuts.
* Runner-ups:
Meanspirited hail-storm. Think tooth-sized hail and beyond.
"Agressive" lightning: The dark future fantasy of lightning with a bolt every few seconds. It also have a higher probability than normal of hitting targets closer to ground.

Gray/cloudy skies:
1 - Toxic fog. You better have a rebreather for Spunky if you want the mutt to survive today's walk. Maybe it's even harmful at contact. (Thanks CanvasBack!)
2 - Poisonous rain. See above.
3 - Low-altitude smog. See below.
* Runner-ups:
Polluted rain. See above.

Clear skies:
1 - Heavy UV-radiation alert. You can't even bask in the sun when it shines for once, not in the UCAS at least. Protective clothing/eye-wear or some very good sunfactor (Aztechnology Safessence 3.2! In stores everywhere, and it's natural!!) is advisable.
2 - UV-alert. Not as immediately dangerous as the more serious version.
3 - Low altitude smog. This is a catch-all name for circumstances where the air temporarily has been too polluted for your own good, and a reason why breathing filters have been a steady seller the last 40 years.
* Runner-ups:
Sweltering heat. Just living becomes a chore in this temperature.
Fires in the poorer areas of the city.
mfb
you should include a time roll, which determines how long a weather pattern takes to change. this, in turn, could be applied to vehicle rules: pilots would have to make a perception check based on how sudden the weather change is; if they fail, they'll have to make a crash test based on how severe the change is.
Seville
From a flying perspective... here are the big things that can affect a rigger/pilot's operations (no particular order):

Icing: Freezing moisture will spoil lift and could mess up engines. No rules for anti-icing equipment, but anything with an Autonav 1 (i.e. everything in SR) it almost definitely has equipment to protect the instruments, and most likely the engines and wings. Severe icing is something you just don't fly into regardless of equipment, as the amount of weight it has can be dangerous (I've heard of a sheet of ice developing on a C-141 fuselage that was one foot thick). Note that icing at altitudes can occur at anytime of year.

Windshear: This can be the scariest thing that can happen in the air. Basically, a rapid shift of wind direction can kill your lift, and all of a sudden one goes from airplane to brick. There are some systems in place, but this is one of the biggest things that pilots are paid to make sure doesn't happen. Higher rated drones would probably be equipped with detection systems.

Turbulence: This can mess up a plane, but one of the biggest problems is controlability (how much control is maintained actually determines the severity of the turbulence, so that it really depends on the type of plane reporting it. What bounces around a Cessna 172 isn't a big deal to a C-5). Severe turbulence can lead do overstressing the aircraft, and departure from controlled flight, among other things. Turblence can be a much bigger problem when landing, when you are much closer to your stall speed.

Thunderstorms: Will have all three of the above hazards, as well as lightning (which isn't actually as bad as the other hazards) and a slew of other hazards (such as temporarily blinding the pilot, or an inability to get accurate instrument readings). I know of no one who would willingly fly into a TS if there was any other viable option.

Enroute Weather: If you are used to flying on instruments, then lack of visibility is no big deal enroute unless you have certain emergencies (although VFR is usually easier). However, this is assuming that you have somebody making sure that you have someone controlling you and stay above minimum altitudes, because if you have to clear for yourself with radar, then you better have a really good radar (I've never flown something with Terrain Following Radar, and never descended below IFR minimum altitudes without Visual Meteorlogical Conditions, so I don't know exactly how you would avoid missing a radio tower that you can't see). Your safety also depends on the accuracy of your charts and information.

Local Weather: When a pilot checks airport wx, he gets, among other things: time of observation, wind direction and speed, visibility, cloud ceilings, prevailing weather that limits visibility or ceilings, runway conditions (if wet or other conditions exist), any hazards to flight (i.e. icing, turbulence, windshear, etc.) and any notes about the aerodrome & navaids relating to instrument approaches. I believe the FAA requires 3000 foot ceilings and three miles visibility to land under visual flight rules, anything less would require special clearance or instrument flight rules. Most precision approaches can land a plane with 200 ft ceilings and 1/2 vis (which is rather hairy), but you can go lower with special equipment and training. However, to safely fly an instrument approach, you need an approach that has been checked out to make sure you don't hit anything. Otherwise, you have the same dangers that you would normally have if you were flying too low and couldn't see where you were going.

Just some rl info... I like your table.
Dogsoup
Thanks a bunch for the input guys, much good stuff there. lick.gif

Sticking to the original idea "keep it simple", I'd say something as commonplace as a duration of 1d6 hours if the weather's just a fly-by, and 2d6 hours for a 'normal' roll. M'self I've taken up WW's use of "scenes", so I'd say that a weather change just occured between two scenes, regardless of time passed by in-game.

Like the PER-roll; Perhaps a passive Sensor Test with the metreology KNO as complimentary skill. Would it be appropriate to begin with some kind of maneuver roll for a pilot, to check if s/he loses control due to the "ambushing" weather, and a subsequent Crash Test if the manuever is failed?

Hmm, so a high BOD vehicle would have an easier time resisting/handling turbulence... And vice versa.
Icing would be a good thing to keep in rigger's minds to make them do proper maintenance before and after flight. Mebbe in even spice up an otherwise eventless journey... But wouldn't it be detected with sensors rather than autonav?
Interesting and informative stuff Seville!
Seville
The reason I said autonav is because that is my personal rule for determining if a vehicle in SR is Instrument Flight Rule equipped (that is to say, although you don't need autopilot for IFR work and most small planes don't have one, autonav 1 would tell me that the plane has been equipped with basic equipment). If a plane is equipped for IFR, it needs pitot heat (the most basic of anti icing equipment). This just allows a single engine prop or fighter jet or cargo plane or whatever keep its pitot-static airspeed indications.

Maybe, if I have enough time, I'll hypothesize on what Autonavs would have what equipment, and what Pilot ratings would have what equipment. Thanks
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