Random Setting Generator: Place, Era, Weather, Mood and a Detail

Deal a time and a place for tonight's session or the next chapter, then lock the era and reroll the map around it.

Random Setting Generator: Place, Era, Weather, Mood and a Detail: 20 settings

A council hall quarter of a free city in the third century of the dragon truce. A thaw has turned everything to slush and mud. People here are fatalistic. The water tastes of metal.

  • Placecouncil hall quarter of a free city
  • Erathe third century of the dragon truce
  • Weathera thaw has turned everything to slush and mud
  • Moodfatalistic
  • Sensory detailthe water tastes of metal
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    Setting of the day

     

    1. An archive that outlived the state that built it in the years after the giants went north. The air is heavy and still, the way it is before a storm. People here are suspicious of strangers. A draft at ankle height follows you through every room.
    2. A bridge town in Classical Greece. It has not rained for two months. People here are jumpy. The whole place smells of fresh sawdust.
    3. A town where the long trade road meets the sea in the years after the giants went north. The snow lies old and gray, weeks from melting. People here are orderly. Someone is practicing the same five notes on a flute.
    4. A customs post on a trade road in Mycenaean Greece. Colored lights were moving in the sky last night. People here are unhurried. Everyone wears a strip of the same green cloth somewhere.
    5. A remote religious community in an age when the dwarves have sealed their gates. The weather is perfect and has been all week. People here are cheerful, but only while someone is looking. Somebody behind a wall is singing one verse over and over.
    6. A festival ground that fills once a year in the interwar period. Colored lights were moving in the sky last night. People here are unhurried. A grindstone turns all day nearby with a low growl.
    7. A foreign envoys' quarter in the French Revolution. High thin cloud has turned the light flat and white. People here are homesick, though most have never lived elsewhere. Everything is cooked with too much salt.
    8. A mountain shrine with a handful of keepers in the Sengoku period. A dry haze has dimmed the sun for a week. People here are bored beyond endurance. The local cloth is coarse enough to leave a rash.
    9. A school for the children of the powerful in the early Middle Ages. Mock suns are standing on either side of the real one. People here are frightened and trying not to show it. One pot of broth is topped up daily and never emptied.
    10. A war fleet's home port in the Gilded Age. A thunderstorm is breaking right overhead. People here are busy and cheerful. One statue has had its face chiseled off.
    11. A pilot station at a dangerous river mouth in a time when the young have all gone off-world. Snow is falling out of season. People here are generous. Every threshold has a raised sill that strangers trip over.
    12. A pilot station at a dangerous river mouth in a future run by gentle, tireless machines. A thunderstorm is breaking right overhead. People here are homesick, though most have never lived elsewhere. Every door is painted the same yellow.
    13. A canal quarter of a trading city in the 2300s, when nobody remembers who built the roads. The grass is brown and the ground has cracked open. People here are bored beyond endurance. Someone is practicing the same five notes on a flute.
    14. A dyers' quarter in the Victorian era. A thaw has turned everything to slush and mud. People here are fatalistic. A tall pole in the open ground is hung with knotted rags.
    15. A town that exists for its law courts in the year the star fell and the mages went silent. Fine ash has been falling since dawn. People here are subdued. A grindstone turns all day nearby with a low growl.
    16. A market town in the High Middle Ages. Rain is coming in hard bursts with bright gaps between. People here are bitter about an old defeat. The water tastes of metal.
    17. A livestock market in the Three Kingdoms period. Rain is loud on every roof. People here are busy and cheerful. The largest building has scorch marks up one wall.
    18. A bridge town in the year the star fell and the mages went silent. Fine ash has been falling since dawn. People here are mischievous. Half the doors are new, pale wood in old frames.
    19. A fortress on a contested border in the Roaring Twenties. Sun and cloud are trading places every few minutes. People here are resigned. The smell of pitch is on every hand, rope and timber.
    20. A town that exists for its law courts in the Carolingian Empire. The air is so humid that nothing dries. People here are mischievous. Doorways are built low, and everyone ducks without thinking.

    Next step Put a building on the main streetStep inside one of its rooms

    Random Setting Generator: Place, Era, Weather, Mood and a Detail: how it works

    This random setting generator deals a setting in five parts: a place, an era, the weather, the mood of the people and one detail for the senses. The 61 historical eras are real and dated in the full list, from the Bronze Age to the Space Age. The 30 fantasy ages and futures are invented and say so.

    Lock the era and tour the map

    Lock Era on the Edo period and reroll Place three times: a harbor town, a border post and a temple district belong to one world. Lock Place and reroll Weather and Mood to see the same town on a different day. It also works as an au ideas wheel: an AU, or alternate universe, drops a known cast into another place and era, one per press.

    An era is a time, not a country

    The Viking Age, about 800 to 1050, overlaps the Tang dynasty, 618 to 907, and the Islamic Golden Age, by tradition the 8th century to 1258. So a temple district in the Viking Age need not be Norse: it can stand in Chang'an or Baghdad. Every place is a kind of settlement as old as the Bronze Age, so a salt works or a customs post suits any era, invented ones included.

    Tips

    • Make the weather work. When the snow is knee deep and still coming, nobody can walk out of the story.
    • The mood says how people feel, never why. The why is your plot: decide what a town that is giddy with relief has just escaped.
    • The strange skies are real. Snow fell in Albany, New York on 6 June 1816, and red sunsets after the Krakatoa eruption of 1883 brought out fire engines in New York.

    Questions and answers

    How likely is the same setting twice?

    Very unlikely. 81 places times 91 eras times 61 kinds of weather times 60 moods times 64 details gives 1,726,583,040 combinations, and no row repeats a line until it has dealt the rest. Only the setting of the day is shared.

    Are the historical eras accurate?

    The names and dates are. Each of the 61 was checked against its Wikipedia article on 2026-09-18, and the full list gives them: the Heian period is 794 to 1185, the Victorian era 1837 to 1901. Disputed dates are hedged in the note. Everything else is an invented prompt, not history.

    Can I get only fantasy or only science fiction settings?

    Not by a switch yet. Genre lives in the Era row: 61 historical eras, 16 fantasy ages and 14 futures. Reroll it until it lands on your genre, then lock it: the other four rows suit any world. For the land around it, try the random biome generator.

    More like this

    Random tool Browse Entertainment

    Place: all 81 places

    Towns and quarters 15

    • canal quarter of a trading city Back doors open onto water, which is useful to more than merchants.
    • council hall quarter of a free city Votes are counted in the hall and arranged in the taverns.
    • foreigners' quarter of a trading city Its own food, its own law up to a point, and its own rumors from home.
    • hill town with a single road up to it Easy to defend, easy to shut, and hard to leave without being seen.
    • island town reached by one causeway The causeway decides who comes and goes, and when.
    • market town Everyone for a day's walk has a reason to be here once a week.
    • old capital that lost its court Grand buildings, thin crowds, and families who still use the old titles.
    • poor quarter on the wrong side of a river One bridge, one watch post, and two sets of rules.
    • provincial capital Big enough for officials and petitions, too far from the center for anyone to check.
    • quarter where the powerful live High walls, quiet lanes, and servants who see everything.
    • street of workshops with families living above Every trade secret is one thin floor away from a neighbor.
    • suburb of gardens outside a crowded city Where the city's rich go to breathe, and its gossip goes to grow.
    • town built inside older ruins Decide who the first builders were, and what the locals avoid digging up.
    • town that lives off one famous school Students, landlords, rival teachers and one examination everybody dreads.
    • village too small to appear on any map A stranger is the biggest news of the year.

    Coast, river and lake 16

    • boatbuilders' yard and the hamlet around it A hull on the slip is a deadline the whole place shares.
    • delta village that moves when the river does Nothing here is permanent except the families.
    • ferry crossing One boat, one ferryman, and a line with time to talk.
    • fishing village Everyone is related, and everyone knows whose boat is late.
    • harbor town Strangers, cargo and news arrive together, and leave on the next tide.
    • holy island cut off at every high tide Twice a day nobody can arrive, and nobody can leave.
    • island of exiles Decide who sends people here, and who has quietly chosen to stay.
    • lookout post on a headland A few bored people paid to watch for the one thing that matters.
    • pilot station at a dangerous river mouth Every ship needs a local to guide it in, and the locals set the price.
    • river port Goods change hands here between the boats and the road.
    • salt marsh village Paths only locals can follow, and ground that keeps what falls in.
    • smugglers' cove with a respectable village above it The village knows nothing, officially.
    • stretch of wrecking coast and the village it feeds What the sea brings belongs to the finder, whatever the law says.
    • town on stilts over a lake Every visit is by boat or plank, and every dropped thing is gone.
    • town where the long trade road meets the sea Sailors and overland traders meet here, and neither trusts the other's maps.
    • war fleet's home port When the fleet is in, the town triples. When it sails, everyone waits.

    Places of work 15

    • brickworks beside a clay pit Somebody is building something big, and the pit keeps turning things up.
    • dyers' quarter You can tell each family's trade by the color of their hands.
    • farming village on a flood plain Rich soil, and an old argument about where the boundary stones were.
    • grain depot and the town that guards it Whoever holds the keys decides who eats in a bad year.
    • great family's country estate A big house, a village that depends on it, and an heir nobody has met.
    • hill village ringed by terraced fields Everyone knows whose terrace wall is slipping, and who will not pay to fix it.
    • livestock market Herders, buyers and thieves all need the same crowded week.
    • logging settlement at the edge of old forest The trees were here first, and some people think they remember.
    • metalworkers' street Noise, sparks, skill, and orders nobody is supposed to discuss.
    • mining town Dangerous work, sudden money, and a hill that might be nearly empty.
    • potters' quarter The kilns are never allowed to go out, and every family guards a glaze.
    • quarry village The stone goes somewhere grander. The noise and the injuries stay.
    • salt works Salt is wealth that anyone can carry, so somebody is always counting.
    • valley known for its honey Hives are inherited, stolen and married for.
    • weavers' village Cloth leaves, money comes back, and one buyer's visit decides the year.

    Sacred and learned places 13

    • archive that outlived the state that built it Somebody still files the records. Decide who reads them.
    • burial ground of an old ruling house The guards are paid by descendants who never visit.
    • festival ground that fills once a year Decide whether this is the week, or one of the fifty-one others.
    • hospice on a pilgrim road Everyone is passing through, and somebody always stays longer than planned.
    • mountain shrine with a handful of keepers Decide what is kept here, and who last climbed up to ask for it.
    • necropolis at the edge of a city The tomb keepers know every great family's secrets, in order of burial.
    • observatory hill and the village below it The watchers up the hill have predicted something, and will not say what.
    • pilgrim town Faith, souvenirs and pickpockets, all working the same crowd.
    • remote religious community A strict rule, a closed gate, and a private reason each member came.
    • sacred grove with a village at its edge Nobody cuts wood here, and everybody knows what happened to the one who did.
    • school for the children of the powerful Every rivalry of the parents, replayed by people too young to hide it.
    • spring town where the sick come for a cure Hope is the local industry, and not everyone selling it believes.
    • temple district Priests, petitioners and the trades that live off both.

    Roads and borders 12

    • border post Two sets of officials, one road, and travelers with their stories ready.
    • bridge town The bridge is the reason for the town, and the toll is the reason for the quarrel.
    • crossroads inn and the hamlet around it Four roads' worth of strangers under one roof.
    • customs post on a trade road Everything valuable has to stop here and be looked at.
    • fortress on a contested border Built for a war that may be over, or may be next week.
    • frontier farmstead beyond the last fort Help is two days away, so neighbors matter more than law.
    • mountain pass with one guarded gate When the gate shuts, everyone on the wrong side is stuck together.
    • relay station for official messengers Fresh mounts, sealed bags, and riders who are not allowed to talk.
    • settlement of newcomers outside a city's gates They arrived with nothing, and the city has not decided what they are.
    • trading post at the end of the known road Beyond here, prices and stories both get taller.
    • village claimed by two states at once Two tax collectors, two flags kept in a chest, and one careful headman.
    • waystation a day's walk from anywhere Nobody comes here on purpose, which makes every guest interesting.

    Seats of power 10

    • court in exile All the ceremony of a palace, in rooms that are rented.
    • foreign envoys' quarter Every household is a small foreign country with its own secrets.
    • garrison town Soldiers with pay to spend, and locals with opinions about them.
    • governor's residence in a restless province Petitioners at the front gate, informers at the back.
    • palace compound and the servants' town around it Those who serve know more than those who rule, and say less.
    • parade ground and barracks at the edge of a capital Close enough to the palace to matter in a bad week.
    • prison fortress Decide who is held here that someone powerful wants forgotten.
    • ruler's hunting lodge and its village Quiet for most of the year, then suddenly the center of the state.
    • town that exists for its law courts Litigants wait months, and an industry has grown up to help them wait.
    • treasury town where the tax is counted Loads arrive under guard and leave lighter, and everybody watches both.

    How this list was compiled: Our own list. Every place is a kind of settled spot that has existed since the Bronze Age and could exist in a future or a fantasy world: a harbor town, a salt works, a border post. None names a climate, a crop, a season, a country or a technology, so each one reads well with every era and every kind of weather on this page. The note beside each place is a story prompt of ours, not a fact. Reviewed line by line against the other four lists on 2026-09-18. Licence: own work

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    Era: all 91 eras

    Ancient world 14

    • the Achaemenid Empire 550 to 330 BC. The Persian empire of Cyrus the Great, with a Royal Road and a postal system.
    • the Bronze Age About 3300 to 1200 BC in the Near East, and under way across much of the Old World by 3000 BC. Bronze tools and the first writing.
    • classical antiquity The 8th century BC to the 5th century AD: the Greek and Roman world, from Homer to AD 476.
    • Classical Greece Usually dated 510 to 323 BC: the 5th and 4th centuries BC, and the height of democratic Athens.
    • the Han dynasty 202 BC to AD 220, broken by Wang Mang's Xin dynasty from AD 9 to 23; the Han returned in AD 25. Papermaking, and the opening of the Silk Road.
    • the Hellenistic period 323 to 30 BC, from the death of Alexander to the death of Cleopatra. Greek was the common tongue.
    • the Iron Age From about 1200 BC. It ends about 550 BC in the Near East and far later in northern Europe.
    • late antiquity Roughly the 3rd to the 7th century AD, the bridge between the classical world and the Middle Ages.
    • the Migration Period About AD 300 to 600 in Europe, or 375 to 568 by the traditional count. Whole peoples on the move.
    • Mycenaean Greece About 1750 to 1050 BC. Palace states under a king called the wanax, with records in Linear B.
    • the Roman Empire 27 BC to AD 476 in the West. The eastern half lasted until 1453.
    • the Roman Republic Traditionally 509 to 27 BC. Rome under a senate and magistrates who held office a year at a time.
    • the Three Kingdoms period AD 220 to 280 in China. Wei, Shu and Wu fight over what the Han left behind.
    • the Warring States period About 475 to 221 BC in China. Rival states at war, until Qin conquered the rest and unified them.

    Medieval world 15

    • the Byzantine Empire 330 to 1453. The eastern Roman Empire, ruled from Constantinople.
    • the Carolingian Empire 800 to 887. The empire of Charlemagne, who was crowned emperor in 800, and of his heirs.
    • the early Middle Ages The late 5th to the 10th century in Europe, the centuries after the western Roman Empire ended.
    • the Heian period 794 to 1185 in Japan. Court culture at the capital Heian-kyo, now Kyoto, and the new kana scripts.
    • the High Middle Ages About 1000 to 1300 in Europe. Growing towns, Gothic cathedrals and the first universities.
    • the Islamic Golden Age From the 8th century to the fall of Baghdad in 1258 by tradition; some scholars run it to the 14th century or later. Scholars at work in cities from Córdoba to Samarkand.
    • the Kamakura period 1185 to 1333 in Japan. The rise of the samurai, and two Mongol invasions, in 1274 and 1281.
    • Kievan Rus' About 880 to 1240. A realm centered on Kiev that fell to the Mongol invasion.
    • the late Middle Ages 1300 to 1500 in Europe. The Black Death, and toward the end the spread of printing.
    • the Ming dynasty 1368 to 1644 in China. The Forbidden City was built, and Zheng He led seven treasure voyages.
    • the Mongol Empire 1206 to 1368. The largest contiguous empire in history, and the peace called the Pax Mongolica.
    • the Ottoman Empire About 1299 to 1922. That is more than six hundred years, so pick a century before going further.
    • the Song dynasty 960 to 1279 in China. Government paper money, gunpowder weapons, the compass and movable type.
    • the Tang dynasty 618 to 907 in China. For much of it Chang'an was the most populous city in the world, and the age is traditionally counted the greatest for Chinese poetry.
    • the Viking Age About 800 to 1050. The Norse went raiding, trading and settling, and were in North America by 1021.

    Early modern world 15

    • the Age of Discovery About 1418 to 1620, when European ships set out to explore and chart the oceans.
    • the Age of Enlightenment The late 17th century to 1789, or 1715 to 1789 by the traditional count.
    • the Age of Sail The mid-15th or 16th century to the mid-19th, when sailing ships ruled trade and war at sea.
    • the Dutch Golden Age Roughly 1588 to 1672 in the Dutch Republic. Decide what the merchants here are getting rich on.
    • the Edo period 1603 to 1868 in Japan. Long peace under the Tokugawa shoguns, and a country mostly closed.
    • the Elizabethan era 1558 to 1603 in England. The reign of Elizabeth I, the Armada, and the theater of Shakespeare.
    • the Georgian era 1714 to 1830 in Britain, often stretched to 1837, so its last decades are also the Regency.
    • the Golden Age of Piracy The 1650s to the 1730s. Decide whether the authorities here hunt pirates or buy from them.
    • the Joseon dynasty 1392 to 1897 in Korea. One dynasty that lasted 505 years.
    • the Mughal Empire 1526 to 1857 in South Asia. Founded by Babur. The Taj Mahal was built under its rule.
    • the Qing dynasty 1644 to 1912 in China, though the dynasty was proclaimed in 1636.
    • the Renaissance The 15th and 16th centuries, or more broadly the 14th to the 17th. It began in Florence.
    • the Sengoku period From the Onin War of 1467 in Japan. Its end is dated anywhere from 1568 to the Siege of Osaka in 1615. Generations of civil war.
    • the Stuart period 1603 to 1714 in Britain, the years of the Stuart monarchs.
    • the Tudor period 1485 to 1603 in England and Wales, the years of the Tudor monarchs.

    Modern world, 1760 to the Space Age 17

    • the Belle Époque 1871 to 1914 in Europe. The name is French for the beautiful era. The war of 1914 ended it.
    • the Cold War 1947 to 1991. It overlaps the Space Age. Decide which side of the line this place is on.
    • the Edwardian era 1901 to 1910 in Britain, often stretched to the outbreak of war in 1914.
    • the First World War 28 July 1914 to 11 November 1918. Decide how far away the front is.
    • the French Revolution 1789 to 1799. It ended with the coup of 18 Brumaire, which began the Napoleonic era.
    • the Gilded Age About the late 1870s to the late 1890s in the United States. Decide who here is newly rich.
    • the Great Depression 1929 to 1939. It began the year the Wall Street crash ended the Roaring Twenties.
    • the Industrial Revolution It began in Great Britain around 1760 and had spread abroad by about 1840.
    • the interwar period 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939. Boom, then depression, then the approach of another war.
    • the Meiji era 1868 to 1912 in Japan, the reign that followed the closed centuries of the Edo period.
    • the Napoleonic era 1799 to 1815, from the coup of 18 Brumaire to the defeat at Waterloo.
    • the Old West The American frontier after the Civil War, by one common dating 1865 to 1890; popular culture stretches it into the 1910s.
    • the Regency era Commonly about 1795 to 1837 in Britain. The formal Regency was only 1811 to 1820.
    • the Roaring Twenties The 1920s: jazz, Art Deco, cars and radio. The Wall Street crash of 1929 ended the era.
    • the Second World War 1 September 1939 to 2 September 1945. Decide whether this place is occupied, threatened or far off.
    • the Space Age It began with the launch of Sputnik 1 on 4 October 1957.
    • the Victorian era 20 June 1837 to 22 January 1901, the reign of Queen Victoria.

    Fantasy ages (invented) 16

    • a time when every guild keeps a tame oracle Prophecy is a business expense. Decide what the oracles refuse to answer.
    • a time when the spirits of the land are owed rent Decide what the rent is paid in, and who is behind on it.
    • an age of city-states and hired heroes Heroes have contracts, rates and rivals. Decide who is hiring this month.
    • an age when magic is licensed and taxed Decide what the license costs, and what happens to those who work without one.
    • an age when the dwarves have sealed their gates Metal is scarce and dear. Decide what they shut in, or shut out.
    • an age when the old gods still walk the roads Decide which god passed through last, and what the visit cost.
    • the decade the prophecy came due Everyone knows the words. Nobody agrees what they mean, or who they mean.
    • the first generation since the war against the dead The parents fought it and will not talk about it. The children want to know.
    • the last days of the elven court An old power is packing up. Decide what it will not take with it.
    • the long peace after the wizard kings Their towers still stand. Decide who is allowed inside.
    • the reign of a child empress and her nine regents Nine regents means nine factions, and one child who is learning fast.
    • the reign of the third immortal queen The first two were immortal as well. Decide what happened to them.
    • the third century of the dragon truce Decide what each side gave up, and who is tired of keeping the bargain.
    • the waning years of a thousand-year empire The forms are all still observed. Decide who has noticed that nothing is behind them.
    • the year the star fell and the mages went silent Decide whether the mages cannot speak of it, or will not.
    • the years after the giants went north They left things behind that are too big to move and too useful to ignore.

    Futures (invented) 14

    • the 2300s, when nobody remembers who built the roads The roads still work. Decide what else still works, and who controls it.
    • a future run by gentle, tireless machines They never refuse outright. Decide what they keep steering people away from.
    • a future where every adult owes ten years of service Decide who is serving here now, and who found a way out of it.
    • a future where the old cities are museums People visit the towers on holiday and live somewhere quieter.
    • a time when the young have all gone off-world Letters arrive late and visits are rare. Decide who came back, and why.
    • an age when Mars has been green for five hundred years Long enough for old families, old grudges and ruins. Decide what Earth is to them now.
    • an age when old satellites still fall from the sky Salvage is a trade, and nobody alive remembers what the things were for.
    • the century after the machines were switched off Decide who switched them off, and who keeps one running in a cellar.
    • the first century after the seas rose The old coast is under water and the new one is still being argued over.
    • the fourth century of a colony that lost touch with Earth What was shipped in wore out long ago. Decide what they learned to make, and what they forgot.
    • the last decade before the great ships leave Not everyone has a berth. Decide how the berths are being handed out.
    • the long rebuilding, two hundred years from now Old skills are being relearned from whatever survived. Decide what was lost for good.
    • the third century of a slow, comfortable decline Each generation has a little less and minds a little less.
    • the years after first contact, when nothing changed The visitors came, looked and left. Decide who cannot let it go.

    How this list was compiled: The 61 historical eras are real, and the name, the dates and the short description of each were checked on 2026-09-18 against the lead of its English Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bronze_Age, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mycenaean_Greece, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_Age, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Achaemenid_Empire, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Classical_Greece, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warring_States_period, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Republic, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hellenistic_period, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Han_dynasty, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Empire, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_Kingdoms, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Migration_Period, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Late_antiquity, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Classical_antiquity, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Early_Middle_Ages, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Byzantine_Empire, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tang_dynasty, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islamic_Golden_Age, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heian_period, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viking_Age, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carolingian_Empire, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kievan_Rus%27, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Song_dynasty, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_Middle_Ages, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kamakura_period, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mongol_Empire, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Late_Middle_Ages, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ottoman_Empire, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renaissance, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ming_dynasty, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseon, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Age_of_Discovery, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sengoku_period, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tudor_period, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mughal_Empire, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabethan_era, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dutch_Golden_Age, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edo_period, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stuart_period, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qing_dynasty, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Age_of_Piracy, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Age_of_Enlightenment, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Age_of_Sail, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgian_era, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Industrial_Revolution, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_Revolution, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Napoleonic_era, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regency_era, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victorian_era, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_frontier, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meiji_era, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gilded_Age, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belle_%C3%89poque, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edwardian_era, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_I, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roaring_Twenties, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interwar_period, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Depression, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_II, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cold_War, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Age. Where historians disagree we give the range the article leads with and say "about", "usually" or "by tradition". The Old West dates come from the American frontier article, which gives 1865 to 1890 for Turner's frontier thesis and 1865 to 1917 for popular culture. The Sengoku, Old West and Tang notes were reworded on 2026-09-19 after a second check of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sengoku_period (end dates of 1568, 1573, 1590, 1600 and 1615 are all in use), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_frontier and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tang_dynasty (Chang'an was the most populous city in the world for much of the dynasty, not all of it). For the Space Age we give only its start, because the article does not settle on an end. An era that overlaps two groups is listed in both. We left out eras tied to a region where snow or a week of rain would read as a mistake, such as the kingdoms of ancient Egypt, the Mali Empire, the Khmer Empire and the Classic Maya, and the Inca Empire, which Wikipedia describes as largely without markets, because the other lists on this page include markets and winter weather. The 30 fantasy ages and futures are our own inventions and are labeled as invented; the note beside each is a story prompt. Reviewed line by line on 2026-09-18. A review on 2026-09-19 found four eras dated differently here and on the random time period generator page of this site (the Bronze Age, the Han dynasty, the Islamic Golden Age and the Sengoku period). Each article gives both values, so these four notes now give both: the opening sections of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bronze_Age (with its Near East timeline), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Han_dynasty, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xin_dynasty, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islamic_Golden_Age and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sengoku_period were read again that day. Licence: own work

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    Weather: all 61 kinds of weather

    Rain 12

    • a cold rain has been falling since before dawn The kind of day when any fire has a crowd around it.
    • a steady gray drizzle has set in for the week Indoor work, indoor quarrels, and washing that never dries.
    • a thunderstorm is breaking right overhead Every flash shows the scene for an instant, then takes it away.
    • a warm rain is falling, barely more than mist Nobody bothers to shelter, so every conversation happens outdoors.
    • the first rain in months fell this morning Relief for the farmers, and an end to whatever the dry spell was hiding.
    • it has rained for eleven days without a break Roofs leak, tempers shorten, and nobody travels who can avoid it.
    • it is raining sideways Hoods up and heads down, so nobody sees who passes them.
    • the rain has just stopped and everything is still dripping Tracks are fresh, the air is clean, and sound carries.
    • rain is coming in hard bursts with bright gaps between People dash between doorways and get stuck with whoever is already there.
    • rain is loud on every roof Hard to hear a whisper, or a footstep.
    • red rain fell this morning and stained whatever it touched Real: red rain is recorded as far back as the Iliad. Red dust in the water is one explanation.
    • showers keep passing, each one over almost before it starts Good weather for interrupted journeys and half-finished talks.

    Snow, frost and cold 12

    • a hard frost has held for a week Ground too hard to dig, and fuel running shorter than anyone admits.
    • a thaw has turned everything to slush and mud Things the snow buried are starting to show.
    • the cold is dry and bright, and breath hangs in the air Clear views for miles, and the smoke from a fire gives its owner away.
    • the first snow of the year fell overnight Every track made since dawn is there for anyone to read.
    • hail fell an hour ago and has not melted Crops flattened, roofs holed, and an argument about whose fault it was.
    • it is the coldest morning anyone can remember People share fires with neighbors they would normally avoid.
    • sleet is blowing in, half rain and half ice Miserable for a guard on watch, and perfect for anyone avoiding one.
    • snow is falling out of season Real: on 6 June 1816, the Year Without a Summer, snow fell in Albany, New York.
    • snow is falling straight down, thick and quiet Sound is muffled, and the world has shrunk to a few paces.
    • the snow is knee deep and still coming Nobody is leaving, so everyone in the story is shut in together.
    • the snow lies old and gray, weeks from melting Supplies are being counted, and patience ran out some time ago.
    • there is ice on every water jar The first job of the day is breaking it.

    Heat and drought 10

    • a dry wind has blown for days, cracking lips Fire is the fear: one spark and the whole place could go.
    • a heatwave is in its third week Work starts before dawn, and tempers are gone by noon.
    • the air is full of dust and the sun is a white disc Throats are dry, eyes are red, and distances are hard to judge.
    • the air is so humid that nothing dries Cloth mildews, cuts heal slowly, and everyone is short of sleep.
    • the day is hot, still and cloudless Shade is worth having, and whoever owns it has company.
    • the grass is brown and the ground has cracked open Herds are being sold early, and cheaply.
    • the heat broke last night and the air is finally cool Everyone is outside at once, making up for lost days.
    • it has not rained for two months Decide who is being blamed for it.
    • the nights are as hot as the days People sleep on roofs and in doorways, and overhear their neighbors.
    • the sun is fierce and shade is scarce Whatever can wait until evening waits, including bad news.

    Wind and storm 8

    • a gale has been blowing since yesterday Travel has stopped, and anything loose has already gone.
    • a storm is building and the sky has gone the color of slate An hour, perhaps, to finish whatever needs finishing outdoors.
    • a storm passed in the night and left branches everywhere Damage to repair, and something uncovered that was meant to stay hidden.
    • the air is heavy and still, the way it is before a storm Animals are restless, and so is everyone else.
    • gusts are tearing at anything not tied down Shutters bang, awnings go, and a shout does not carry ten paces.
    • lightning is flickering far off, too distant to hear Trouble that is still somebody else's, for now.
    • the wind has not dropped all week A steady wind wears on people. Decide who has stopped sleeping.
    • the wind keeps changing direction Smoke, sound and scent all carry to the wrong people.

    Fog, cloud and fine days 10

    • a fine cool day has followed a week of bad weather Everything that was put off is happening at once.
    • a ground mist lies waist deep Heads and shoulders move about with nothing visible underneath.
    • the day is mild, bright and perfectly still Weather that gives nobody an excuse.
    • fog drifts past in banks, hiding things and giving them back Good for arrivals nobody saw coming.
    • fog has closed in so thick the far side is a rumor Anyone could be ten paces away. Landmarks are gone and voices come from nowhere.
    • high thin cloud has turned the light flat and white No shadows, so it is hard to tell the hour.
    • it is a soft, overcast day with no wind at all Smoke goes straight up, and sound travels further than people think.
    • low cloud is sitting just above the rooftops The hilltops and towers are gone, and with them anyone keeping watch.
    • sun and cloud are trading places every few minutes The same scene keeps changing its mind about how it feels.
    • the weather is perfect and has been all week Decide who distrusts it.

    Strange skies 9

    • a comet has been in the sky for a week, tail and all Real: a great comet, easily seen with the naked eye, appears about once a decade on average.
    • a dry haze has dimmed the sun for a week Real: haze from the Laki eruption in Iceland reached Britain in June 1783 and hung there for weeks.
    • colored lights were moving in the sky last night Real: in the great solar storm of 1859, auroras were seen even in the tropics.
    • fine ash has been falling since dawn Somewhere a mountain is burning, and nobody here knows which one.
    • mock suns are standing on either side of the real one Real: sun dogs, bright spots about 22 degrees left and right of the sun, made by ice crystals.
    • the moon has looked blue for days Real: after Krakatoa erupted in 1883, a blue or green sun and moon were reported for months.
    • the sun rose red and has stayed that way Smoke from a fire too far away to see. Decide what is burning.
    • the sunsets have been blood red all month Real: after Krakatoa erupted in 1883, red sunsets brought out fire engines in New York.
    • there is a wide ring around the sun Real: a 22-degree halo, made by ice crystals. Folklore says a ring round the moon warns of storms.

    How this list was compiled: Our own list. Each line is weather that can happen in any temperate country in any century, written without a named season, a landscape or anything people are doing, so it agrees with every place and mood on this page. The strange skies are real phenomena, and the notes marked Real were checked on 2026-09-18 against Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Year_Without_a_Summer, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laki, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1883_eruption_of_Krakatoa, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blood_rain, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sun_dog, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/22%C2%B0_halo, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_comet, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aurora, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_moon. In the haze note, the weeks are the ones the naturalist Gilbert White recorded, from 23 June to 20 July 1783. All other notes are story prompts of ours, not facts. Reviewed line by line on 2026-09-18. Licence: own work

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    Mood: all 60 moods

    At ease 10

    • content Decide who is the exception.
    • curious about strangers and not shy about it Every question is friendly. Decide who collects the answers.
    • drowsy Decide what would wake the place up.
    • orderly Decide who keeps it that way, and how.
    • patient Decide what they are waiting for, and how long it has been.
    • peaceful, and a little smug about it Decide what the neighbors went through that this place did not.
    • quietly busy Everyone has a job. Decide what all the work is for.
    • settled, as if nothing could ever change Decide what is about to.
    • unhurried Decide what happens to someone who arrives in a hurry.
    • welcoming, almost too quick to offer a bed Decide what they want from a guest.

    In high spirits 10

    • busy and cheerful Decide what deadline everyone is happily working toward.
    • excited about something arriving soon Decide what is coming, and who is dreading it instead.
    • festive Decide what is being celebrated, and who is only pretending.
    • full of plans Decide which plan is going to cause the trouble.
    • generous A good year, or a guilty conscience. Decide which.
    • giddy with relief Decide what nearly happened.
    • hopeful for the first time in years Decide what changed, and who thinks it will not last.
    • mischievous Somebody is about to be the butt of a joke. Decide who.
    • proud Decide what of, and whether outsiders agree.
    • triumphant Decide who lost, and where they are now.

    Tense 10

    • braced for bad news Decide where the news is coming from, and who will bring it.
    • brittle, one wrong word from a fight Decide what the two sides are, and what the wrong word is.
    • expectant, as if waiting for a signal Decide what the signal is, and who gives it.
    • frightened and trying not to show it Decide of what, and which of them hides it worst.
    • jumpy Decide which ordinary sound makes everyone turn round.
    • on edge Decide what happened last time.
    • secretive Decide what everyone knows and no visitor is told.
    • suspicious of strangers Decide what the last stranger did.
    • too polite, the way the frightened often are Decide who they are afraid of offending.
    • watchful Decide what they are watching for.

    Low 10

    • ashamed of something nobody will name Decide what it was, and who was not part of it.
    • bored beyond endurance Any newcomer is entertainment. Decide how far they will go for some.
    • homesick, though most have never lived elsewhere Decide where they think home is.
    • in mourning Decide who died, and whether everyone is equally sorry.
    • lonely Decide who left.
    • nostalgic Decide what the good years were, and whether they were really good.
    • resigned Decide what they have stopped fighting.
    • subdued Decide what nobody is mentioning.
    • weary Decide what has gone on too long.
    • worn thin Decide what one more piece of bad luck would break.

    Sour 10

    • bitter about an old defeat Decide who beat them, and who still brings it up.
    • defiant Decide what they have been told to do, and by whom.
    • envious of their neighbors Decide what the neighbors have.
    • greedy Decide what has just been found, or is about to be shared out.
    • impatient Decide what is late.
    • mutinous Decide who is in charge, and how much longer.
    • petty Nothing big is wrong, so everything small is. Decide today's feud.
    • quarrelsome Decide what the oldest running argument is about.
    • resentful Decide who got what they think was theirs.
    • sullen Decide whose orders they are obeying, and how slowly.

    Strange 10

    • cheerful, but only while someone is looking Decide who is doing the looking.
    • conspiratorial Everyone is in on it except the visitor. Decide what it is.
    • distracted, as if listening for something Decide what they expect to hear.
    • fatalistic Decide what they believe is coming, and whether they are right.
    • feverishly busy at nothing in particular Decide what the bustle is meant to hide.
    • reverent Decide toward what, and whether it deserves it.
    • solemn in a way that feels rehearsed Decide who they are performing for.
    • stubbornly normal, as if by agreement Decide what they have all agreed not to notice.
    • superstitious Decide the one thing a visitor must never do here.
    • vague and dreamy, slow to answer Decide whether it is the water, the air or something they are hiding.

    How this list was compiled: Our own list. Each line finishes the sentence that begins People here are, and describes how the locals feel without saying why, how many of them there are or what they are doing. The note beside each mood is the question to answer before you use it. Reviewed line by line against the other four lists on 2026-09-18. Licence: own work

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    Sensory detail: all 64 details

    Sound 12

    • a drum is beating somewhere close by, slow and steady Decide who is drumming, and what happens when it stops.
    • a gate out of sight is unbarred and barred again all day Decide who keeps going in and out, and what they carry.
    • a grindstone turns all day nearby with a low growl Decide what needs so much sharpening, or so much flour.
    • a hammer rings on metal in threes, stops, then starts again Decide what is being made, and why it is taking so long.
    • a horn sounds three notes at intervals nobody explains Decide who the horn is for.
    • children are chanting a counting game in an old dialect Decide what the rhyme is really about.
    • dogs keep barking at something nobody else can hear Decide what the dogs have noticed.
    • pots clatter in a kitchen that never seems to stop cooking Decide who all the food is for.
    • somebody behind a wall is singing one verse over and over Decide whether it is practice, prayer or a signal.
    • someone calls out the hours in a sing-song voice Decide what it means on the day the voice is different.
    • someone is practicing the same five notes on a flute Decide what the tune is for, and when it has to be ready.
    • two voices indoors are reciting something in unison A lesson, a vow or a list. Decide which.

    Smell 13

    • the air smells of hot oil and something frying Decide who is selling it, and what else they sell.
    • crushed herbs cover every floor, and the scent follows you Decide whether the herbs are for comfort, for health or for luck.
    • everything smells faintly of woodsmoke Decide what is burned here, and whether it is only wood.
    • it smells clean, of lye and scrubbed stone Decide what was scrubbed away.
    • it smells of wet plaster and new timber, as if just repaired Decide what damaged the place.
    • one corner of the place smells of dye, sharp enough to sting Decide which color, and who is allowed to wear it.
    • pickling brine, sharp and salty, scents every back room They are laying in stores. Decide what they are expecting.
    • the smell of lamp oil clings to every room Somebody works late, every night. Decide on what.
    • the smell of pitch is on every hand, rope and timber Decide what is being made watertight.
    • the smell of tanned leather gets into everything Decide what all the leather is for.
    • someone has been cooking onions all day Decide how many people they are expecting.
    • there is a smell of burning resin, sweet and thick A rite, a remedy, or a way to cover another smell.
    • the whole place smells of fresh sawdust Decide what is being built in such a hurry.

    Sight 15

    • a banner flies that no neighbor would recognize Decide whose banner it is, and who would object if they knew.
    • a tall pole in the open ground is hung with knotted rags Each rag is a wish, a debt or a name. Decide which.
    • chalk marks have appeared on some doorposts and not others Decide who made the marks, and what gets a house chosen.
    • the clothes are far finer than the houses Decide where the money comes from, and why none goes on the buildings.
    • every door is painted the same yellow Decide what the color keeps out, and whose door was left bare.
    • everyone wears a strip of the same green cloth somewhere Decide what it means to be seen without one.
    • half the doors are new, pale wood in old frames Decide what happened to the old doors, all at once.
    • lamps are lit in the daytime A custom, a vigil or a warning. Decide which.
    • the largest building has scorch marks up one wall Decide what burned, and whether it was an accident.
    • nobody seems to be older than forty Decide where the old people are.
    • one building stands empty, swept and cared for Decide who it is being kept for.
    • one statue has had its face chiseled off Decide whose face it was, and who held the chisel.
    • red handprints run along one wall at child height A festival, a blessing or a count of something. Decide which.
    • small offerings of food sit in niches beside the doors Decide who the food is for, and whether it is ever taken.
    • there are far too many dogs, and nobody seems to own them Decide who feeds them, and why nobody drives them off.

    Touch 12

    • a draft at ankle height follows you through every room Decide where the air is coming from.
    • the benches and beds are built for someone shorter Decide who lived here before.
    • the blankets are thick, scratchy and smell of sheep Decide where the flocks are kept, and who counts them.
    • the doors are heavy and swing shut behind you on their own Decide what the builders wanted kept in.
    • doorways are built low, and everyone ducks without thinking Decide who the doorways were built for, or built against.
    • every threshold has a raised sill that strangers trip over Decide what the sills are meant to stop.
    • everything you touch is very slightly sticky Sap, salt, smoke or sugar. Decide what is in the air.
    • the floors indoors all slope the same way Decide what the ground is slowly doing.
    • the greeting is a grip of the forearm, held a bit too long Decide what the grip is checking for.
    • the local cloth is coarse enough to leave a rash Decide who can afford better, and how they show it.
    • one wall is always warm to the touch, and nobody says why Decide what is on the other side.
    • there is a faint tremor underfoot if you stand quite still Decide what is moving down there.

    Taste 12

    • the air leaves a taste of smoke at the back of the throat Decide what is burning, and how long it has been.
    • the everyday soup is sour, thin and oddly moreish Decide what goes into it that nobody will name.
    • everything is cooked with too much salt Decide whether salt is cheap here, or whether it is showing off.
    • fish, dried or fresh, turns up at every meal Decide what happens in a year when the fish do not come.
    • the food is spiced until strangers cough Decide where the spice comes from, and what it covers up.
    • guests are handed something pickled before a word is said Decide what it means if a guest is not offered any.
    • honey goes into every dish, even the meat Decide who owns the hives.
    • the local drink is smoky and harsh, and refusing it is rude Decide what it costs a guest to refuse.
    • one pot of broth is topped up daily and never emptied Decide how long it has been going, and who started it.
    • there is sand in the flour, and nobody notices any more Decide who owns the millstones, and who cannot complain.
    • the water is sweet, and travelers fill jars to take away Decide who controls the spring.
    • the water tastes of metal Decide what it runs through on the way.

    How this list was compiled: Our own list, sorted by sense. Every detail is something a visitor would notice in the first hour, and none depends on the weather, the season, the age of the place or a technology. To suit every historical era on the page, no line mentions iron, coins, paper, glass, bells, bread, wine or tea. The note beside each detail is a story prompt of ours, not a fact. Reviewed line by line against the other four lists on 2026-09-18. Licence: own work