Seasons

Seasons are the four divisions of the year marked by different temperatures, weather patterns, and plant growth. Food availability is highly contingent on season and your activities during each season can heavily impact the survival of your settlement.

Spring
Spring is a time of new growth. The vernal period is marked by melting snows, greening of the landscape, and the blossoming of a variety of plant species. Wild animals appear on the map, often accompanied by their young, making it a prime time for fresh hunting and taming. Trees bud and saps run most freely during this time—the only time when tannin may be harvested for leather. For farming communities spring is one of the busiest; it is only in this window of time that grain and flax crops can be sowed.

Summer
Of all seasons, summer is warmest and one of the more bountiful. Trees lose their flowers and the sun paints the landscape in intense viridian hues. Food comes easy as wild flora bears fruit during this time and yields berries of all types for quick consumption. Settlers doff heavy clothing for lighter attire or go naked entirely. Summer is also the time of gathering for pulses and legumes.

Autumn
In Fall, Nature robes herself in copper and orange and all the world glows in the sunset of life gradually retreating before the advancing chill. Autumn is also a busy season for farmers, as domestic and wild grain crops mature and must be harvested before the frost. No fruit is available but chestnut trees give up their nuts for short-term sustenance in this season.

Winter
Winter is a time of frost and snow and dormancy for most wildlife. Temperatures fall rapidly and trees and bushes go bare causing many wild animals to migrate and so game becomes scarcer. Domestic animals must be stabled and watered or they will freeze. Blizzards are a hazard in northern climes. The world becomes a barren field of white and life becomes more difficult for settlers, who must don heavier clothing and hunt (or consume stores) to avoid hypothermia and starvation. Winter is planting time for pulses.