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There are multiple ways to affect wind speed: natural phenomena, psionics, magic, even certain feats can produce minor wind effects....

Do any of the various effects that adjust wind speed stack, and if so which ones?

The situation is that the player is trying to increase the wind speed as high as possible.

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    \$\begingroup\$ So a good answer must A) identify all the game's various wind effects then B) assemble a kind of matrix that explains which wind effects stack with which? That seems like a big ask. Can readers at least know the situation at the table that caused the question to arise so as to know where to start? \$\endgroup\$ – Hey I Can Chan Dec 27 '19 at 3:55
  • \$\begingroup\$ I'm only asking for ones that stack, if any; those that don't should be ignored, as they are ignored in the question. A much smaller ask than what you described, I believe? If not let me know. ^^ \$\endgroup\$ – nijineko Dec 27 '19 at 5:09
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    \$\begingroup\$ @nijineko imagine there are are 5 effects of type A and 4 of type B and 2 of type C. Any A and any B stack, but A's and A's don't stack and B's and B's don't stack but C's stack with each other and potentially an A as long as there aren't any B's. What would a good answer look like? It seems to me it would have to not merely list an A and two C's and say 'this is the biggest' but instead go over each 'A' and each 'B' and each 'C' and establish what that is and what category it is in and also explain how the categories work and why and also give the maximal value. Is that right? \$\endgroup\$ – Please stop being evil Dec 27 '19 at 8:43
  • \$\begingroup\$ Something that answers the question the way I asked it is the best answer. What you described would be considered going beyond the mark, and therefore cannot be the best answer. Going beyond the mark is just as bad as falling short of the mark. More is not better. All the rest that you described is adding opinions and judgements that actually detract from the answer. I rather detest those sorts of answers, unless the question specifically requests it. \$\endgroup\$ – nijineko Dec 27 '19 at 16:40
  • \$\begingroup\$ I'll do my own research and make my own decisions... I just need to know if there are any, and if so, where to find them. So that's what I asked. The best answer will provide just that, no more, no less. In the case of multiple answers that meet the criteria, all other aspects somehow being equal, then the first such answer shall be considered the correct one. \$\endgroup\$ – nijineko Dec 27 '19 at 16:43
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If you want quick and simple, the level 5 spell Control Winds is the easiest rubric.

Wind Direction

You may choose one of four basic wind patterns to function over the spell’s area.

  • A downdraft blows from the center outward in equal strength in all directions.
  • An updraft blows from the outer edges in toward the center in equal strength from all directions, veering upward before impinging on the eye in the center.
  • A rotation causes the winds to circle the center in clockwise or counterclockwise fashion.
    • A blast simply causes the winds to blow in one direction across the entire area from one side to the other.

Wind Strength

For every three caster levels, you can increase or decrease wind strength by one level. Each round on your turn, a creature in the wind must make a Fortitude save or suffer the effect of being in the windy area.

  • Strong winds (21+ mph) make sailing difficult.

  • A severe wind (31+ mph) causes minor ship and building damage.

  • A windstorm (51+ mph) drives most flying creatures from the skies, uproots small trees, knocks down light wooden structures, tears off roofs, and endangers ships.

  • Hurricane force winds (75+ mph) destroy wooden buildings, sometimes uproot even large trees, and cause most ships to founder.

  • A tornado (175+ mph) destroys all nonfortified buildings and often uproots large trees.

There isn't an easy way to chart this out, but if you want a more nuanced suggestion, then try this: Consider the size of the wind when it hits the sail, the size of the sail, and the average of the highest wind speed over that surface.

For example, if you treat the ship like a Huge creature, with a properly sized sail thus (arguably) having an area of 3x6 squares. A standard "Gust of Wind" spell (level 2 Evoc) would have no affect because it doesn't do anything to Large creatures or bigger. Perhaps if two instances of the spell are cast, you can treat it as moving a Medium creature, thus 1d6x5'/turn. And that would be generous, but because sails are designed to work this way and you won't have to factor in the size of the base ship - just the sail. So a sail that doesn't match the ship's size would be a modifier to how quickly it can approach that speed.

Again, it's definitely not RAW, but if you really want to get crunchy with wind mechanics, it's a start.

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  • \$\begingroup\$ This does not actually answer the question...? \$\endgroup\$ – nijineko Jan 25 at 19:33
  • \$\begingroup\$ I mean, basic description of the spells themselves just say that it creates a wind at a certain velocity, regardless of where it's cast. So the only real difference is how large an area those spells affect. \$\endgroup\$ – CatLord Jan 26 at 21:26

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