Biomes & Weather

When travelling through the world of Stoneshard, you will explore various enviroments. Thick forests, peaceful fields, flowing rivers, windy steppes, beachy coasts and rocky mountains.

Biomes

Biomes are map tiles that always appear with specific features unique to them. Biomes on the Global Map are randomly generated, but follow a certain gradient - the south will be warm steppe, and the north will be cold forests. These tiles can generate with certain features like Lakes or Rivers. Biomes can combine the features of other, adjoining Biomes which will be represented on the corners and sides of the tile.

Currently present biomes are;

Field

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Fields are wide open areas with small groupings of bushes. This Biome is a good source of Herbs and Berries. Getting ambushed in an open Field is dangerous. Fields located closer to the north and Pine Forests have a unique variants of Berries.

Fauna:

• Rabbit
• Birds
• Forest Viper

Forest

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Leaf and Pine Forests are currently the most varied Biome. A labyrinth of trees makes for an interesting place to hunt or fight within.

Forests are full of Herbs, various types of Mushrooms and Berries, along with Pine Cones and Acorns (in their respective forest variants) and Sticks. Sometimes there may be Claw Traps in the forests which a prudent mercenary should avoid, and a shrewd one should take for his own use.

Forests are home to a wide variety of fauna, and are where the respective animal's Hunting Grounds will be located.

Passive animals:

• Hedgehog
• Squirrel
• Fox
• Deer
• Birds
• Forest Viper

Territorial animals:

• Boar
• Wolf
• Moose
• Bear

Steppe

Steppes are a warmer variant of fields. Different types of Herbs can be found exclusively in the steppe, as well as unique variants of Berries. In addition, dry bushes in the Steppes can be broken to obtain Sticks.

Fauna:

• Saiga
• Bison
• Gulon

Coast

Coastal tiles feature a strip of sandy beach with waves. Sticks can be found on the beach among other flotsam and debris, as well as occasional shells.

Coasts feature everything a mercenary requires to survive - sea water to drink, crabs to eat, and Sticks to cook said crabs.

Fauna:

• Gray Crab
• Seagull

Mountains

Mountains are ragged, impassable tiles, and cannot be entered.

Sea

Sea tiles are linked to Coasts, and similliarly to Mountains they are impassable and cannot be entered.

Swamp

In development...

Features

Each tile on a map can contain certain features:

Minor Features

Minor Features are not marked on the Global Map.

• Grave is a lonely burial site that can be looted with a Shovel.

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• Apiary is a few beehives or a honey storage. Up to 5 Honeycombs can be found inside.

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• Pond is a tiny shallow body of water from which a mercenary can quench his Thirst.
• Lumber is a small felling site in the forest. A Barrel of water, Lumberjack Axe and some Materials can be found here.

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• Hunting Tower - A ruined wooden tower, next to which a Barrel and a Travel Pot can be found.
• Caravan Remains - remain at the previous location of the Caravan Camp after its move. Apart from the extinguished fire pit, garbage and stumps, there is nothing interesting left here.

Roads

Roads can be randomly pathed through most of the Biome variants, except for the mountains, coasts and the sea. They connect Factions & Settlements#Settlements with each other, their Contract Dungeons and certains Points of Interest. Roads always go through the middle of a tile, and connect to the middle of their respective edges.

There are several road variants:

• Straight roads (only in cardinal directions)
• Curved roads
• T junctions; forks
• X junctions; crossings

Roadside Features

• Roadside Altar
• Abandoned Cart

Rivers

Rivers are several tiles wide, and sometimes have shallows on the banks. Crossing a river requires the player and any other entity to swim.

River Features

• River Camps
• River mouth (where a River meets the Sea via a Coast tile, a small delta with several islands will be generated)
• River Crossings:
  • Ford - forces the player to get wet, but is shallow enough to not require swimming
  • Bridge - allows dry crossing of the River, can be wooden or stone, and is a few tiles wide. However, the bridge may be broken - and then mercenary will still have to get his feet wet.

Lakes

Lakes fill up most of the interior of their respective tile, and are roughly circular in shape, with a shallow region on its edge, and deep water in the middle.

See Also

• Global Map
• Factions & Settlements
• Points of Interest

Page last edited during patch: 0.9.1.11