Patch

Patchwork is divided into regions colloquially referred to as patches. Each patch has its own climate and terrain, as well as flora and fauna, that may differ wildly from its neighbors. Patches vary in size, but are usually about 36 to 48 miles across (1296 to 2304 square miles.) At the extremes, patches may be as small as a dozen yards across or as large as a few hundred miles. Climate in one patch does not normally directly affect that in other patches, except at the seams, similarly terrain may change abruptly. Thus, it’s quite possibly for a patch of frozen mountains to abut directly against a desert salt flat, with a sharp delineation between the two.
Flora and fauna – Normal plants may spread between two patches if the respective environments are suitable, thus in the situation described above, it’s unlikely for desert succulents to spread to the arctic Patch, but conifers are likely to do so between the arctic Patch and an adjacent temperate Patch. Normal animals and magical beasts also spread according to their preferred environments, but may also be found in the “wrong” environment simply due to looking for food or migrating between territories.
While this jumble of terrain does often make traveling difficult, it also means that special regional resources, such as salt and blocks of ice in the continuing example, aren't as far apart as they are in most worlds. This often contributes to very active trade between settlements in close Patches and reduces the monoculture effect.
A season in one patch has no correlation with seasons in adjacent patches. If it’s a lovely Spring day in Qift, Scrimpt could be in deep Winter, while Basket to the North is well into the Autumnal harvest. This has one huge benefit: if growing seasons across regional patches are varied enough, there’s rarely a period where no one can grow food. This not only reduces the harshness of Winter months, but creates more incentive for trade between regions.
Time between patches is consistent, with no variation of time between different locations, although the sun’s location in the sky does change in correspondence with a patch’s season. If it’s the middle of Spring in Qift, the sun appears in the sky as appropriate for the time of year from that location, with a sunset around 19:30. In neighboring Basket where it’s the dead of Winter, the sun will stay low to the horizon (Local North or South, as appropriate) and set much earlier in the day, around 16:00. Stepping from one patch to the other, the time of day remains constant, but apparent time of year varies.
Patches also vary in geographic orientation. This results in Local and Absolute cardinal points, and adds to the difficulty of navigating across more than a local area. (See Localization notes for more details.)
Physical matter from one patch that flows across a seam into the other continues to flow normally. Thus a river may flow unabated into an adjacent patch, although initially without a riverbed. The final result may be a lake (such as The Mudhole,) a new riverbed, or a marsh. The temperature of the material will change normally, just as if it was otherwise deposited in the new environment, complete with resulting effects on the surroundings. This means a cold, icy lake resulting from a river flowing into a warmer patch will remain cold near its inlet, but will have relatively warmer water farther away. Material such as flowing lava, of course, may have dire effects long before the new patch changes it.
Beings from societies with more science than magic have sometimes driven themselves mad trying to understand this interaction. Those from more magic focused worlds usually just nod sagely and try not to think about it too much.
Patches usually have fairly normal terrestrial terrain, but there are some rather exceptional (and sometimes unpleasant) exceptions to this. There are the rare patches with extreme variations in temperature, atmosphere, soil and water compositions, or even gravity. If these dangers are known, then locals usually warn travelers or place warnings of some sort. Of course, if the landscape of a patch is an eternally burning fire, there’s probably not a sign, but is one really needed?
Patches are categorized in the follow ways:

• Safe – normal weather, terrestrial terrain, and normal magic levels. This doesn’t mean there aren’t dangerous animals or “normal” dangerous terrain, but the air is suitable for most beings, the temperature is within habitat parameters for those beings, and the ground is ground.

Luckily for everyone, most patches are safe.

• Weird – the patch may not be actively trying to kill visitors, but circumstances are decidedly not normal here. Both Selvage and Home would be categorized at Weird, as neither are dangerous, but dozens of acres of marbles covering an otherwise flat plane just strikes most beings as a wee bit odd and Home is even stranger.
• Dangerous – normal “extreme” weather, hazardous terrestrial terrain, dinosaurs or other dangerous non-magical animals. The patch is (probably) not actively trying to kill visitors, but it’s easy to see from where one might get this impression. The air is probably still breathable, if not comfortable, the temperature will likely be at the upper or lower range of humanoid survivability (possibly with equipment or some magic,) and the ground is ground, although possibly quicksand or alkali flats.
• Hellscapes – the patch is actively trying to kill visitors, or at least it seems that way for normal beings from the Material Plane. The animals found here may actually be Magical Beasts, Constructs, or a terrestrial animal with a special template (e.g., a Half-Fiend or Phase Creature.) Terrain may be more like that which you’d find on an elemental plane than the material and may have more (or less) gravity than normal. The air may not be breathable or even present. The ground may be less ground and more fire. Don’t drink the water, not so much because it can cause sickness, but because it has a negative pH level!

Vuurwoestyn could be directly from the elemental plane of fire, as the land itself is continuously covered in fire. The beings in surrounding patches use this energy source for their own purposes, but are still very glad that energy does not freely cross seams!

Localization

Local vs Absolute Cardinal Points

The cardinal points of a patch, while usually close to what would be expected, can differ between patches. Methods of determining direction may give different results based on how the determination is made or, in some cases, the intent of the person making the measurement.
Local cardinal points are those within a patch. Methods that are purely mechanical, such as a magnetic compass or shadow-tip methods, will always give direction based on the patch. Using azimuth check navigation will also show local directions, but won't be possible for anyone unfamiliar with the skies of Patchwork. The Geographic Lore ability of the Investigator (Cartographer) class determines local direction unless the user specifies otherwise, in which case the ability requires two full round actions to use.
Absolute cardinal points are true across multiple patches and, as far as anyone can determine, are consistent throughout Patchwork. Magical methods of determining direction, such as the Know Direction cantrip, will give the absolute direction unless the caster specifies otherwise.
Directional Realignment Over long periods of time, decades or perhaps even centuries, the local direction of a patch will gradually drift such that it aligns with the absolute direction. This can result in features like standing stones or civic sundials being wrong for their location. This may have a larger effect, such as causing havoc with local magical properties.

A Natural Law?

Unsurprisingly, how patches are formed is a topic of much debate on Patchwork. The most common theory is that they are pulled from other worlds and there's much evidence to back this up, but not everyone remains convinced. While it's true that many patches do contain artifacts of civilizations, roads, entire cities, structures, and even megastructures, there are reports of finding two or more patches that are from the same world (as identified by specific dialects of language samples, architectural styles, magical resonance, and other such markers), but displaced in time from one another (see "displaced in time" below.)

Another theory states that patches are created whole cloth and are not actually from other worlds at all. The most adamant antagonists of this theory are the people that were living on a patch when it arrived. Apparently some beings don't accept the idea that they sprang out of thin air last week. If the how is debated, the exact force behind it is even more hotly debated. While an arcane source is a widely accepted possibility, divine or even fey sources are widely credited (or more often, blamed.) Among those that claim divine force, a common claim is that Patchwork is the afterlife, a heaven, hell, or even a limbo. This would seem to be contrary to the lack of divine communication or manifestation, but pointing this out rarely deters believers for long.

Type

Natural

Displaced in time

As stated, patches have been found that seem to be from the same world. Cultural artifacts match up in style and construction, books show the same or very similar dialects, and even specialized forms of magical detection all but prove they are from the same world. Yet it's these same books that seem to show a displacement of time!

In one patch, a huge tower in a very distinct style was found, completely intact, but lacking inhabitants at the time. Another patch, identified as from the same world, had texts describing the very same tower! The fact that the books described the tower as having been destroyed, however, only creates more questions.