Frostfell campaign

[Xavrias]

I'm making a campaign taking place almost entirely in the near arctic. The campaign starts at level 4 and takes place in a small mining town called glacierridge. The town is near a massive glacier home to snow goblins and other freaky glacial creatures. The actual town in on top of a tall mountain ridge. Hence the name. The town is high up the mountain and is at 14000 feet above sea level. The characters all start with the altitude acclimation. the first adventure is based around a snow goblin druid rallying the tribes to attack the settlement that has been encroaching on their land. This can be done using diplomacy and mediation or just full on assault on the goblins. The latter is unlikely to work, but it is possible. I would like ideas from you about further adventures, about terrain features and other cool ideas that would make my terrain more evocative. Anything cool about the frostfell would be appreciated.

If you need anymore info before putting your ideas forward, feel free to ask.
Thank you.

[Solaris]

Why is the town on top of the mountain ridge?

Read up on some arctic expeditions and some mountain climbing disasters.

The first thing to keep in mind about the subarctic is that, unlike temperate regions (where it won't), or hot deserts (where it might), the environment alone will kill you if you're unprepared, even in just a few hours. You should write up at least a seven-day forecast, and the characters may or may not know about the weather depending on how many ranks of Survival they have. If the characters are good but the players don't think of it, remind them. You want the subarctic? Keep trying to kill them with the environment, at least until they learn to operate around it. I once (accidentally) killed the entire party three days into the adventure before they fought anything simply because they didn't take that oncoming blizzard seriously. Precipitation is less common, and it pretty much goes out the window once it hits about -40 or so (I don't care what Frostburn says).

There are three seasons: Summer, winter, and mosquito. Mosquito has a period known as break-up. That's the spring thaw, when everything's mud. Summers look a lot like temperate summers.

If they don't bring gear for the environment, they deserve what they get. Climbing kits, ropes, cold weather gear, food, shelter, (probably) water, fuel, everything they'll need. Each character should have sufficient gear to keep himself alive in case he's stranded, at least for three days (it's D&D, if his buddies are alive they just pop some divinations to find him).

Day-night cycles are wonky in the subarctic. Up in Fairbanks, AK, it wasn't exactly "Six month night", but you'd go a good couple of months while without seeing that big orange ball - and then in the summer you'd go another few months without seeing dark. People get goofy up there; populate the town with unusual, eccentric characters.

Another thing I noticed up there was the unwritten law that people help each other out. If you saw a car stranded on the side of the road, you saw about ten cars lined up behind it 'cause all of those people stopped to help out. In winter, the weather will kill a stranded motorist if he's stupid or too far away from civilization - and in summer, well, old habits die hard. In D&D terms, the default attitude most times is friendly compared to the southlanders' indifferent/unfriendly.

Don't forget the good ol' aurora. I don't know about you or the Frostburn book, but that thing just screams "I play merry havoc with magic" to me.

The subarctic was just made for scenery porn. There's something about it that resonates with the human soul. I wish I had some of the pictures from our field exercises (and pay no attention to the craters, that's just us arty boys doing what we do). There's a very real beauty to those mountains and forests. One of our favorite firing points had a nearby lake, and no matter the season it was amazing.

Most people are concerned about bears in bear country. I don't know why, really, 'cause the bear doesn't want anything to do with humans and he'll give you ample opportunity to leave. Even if he doesn't, odds are he's just kicking the crap out of you to teach you a lesson and really isn't trying to kill you, exactly, it's just that you're softer and squishier than he expected. He stops when you're 'dead' (unless it's a black bear, then he'll probably try to eat you so you should kill him dead first). Moose? Moose ain't smart enough to stop. He'll stomp a rug in you just to make sure you stay dead.
You don't need fantastic monsters in the Frostfell, Ma Nature's brought her own.

Bring dogs. Good scouts, good work animals, good bed-warmers, good eatin'.

Muskeg is hateful, hateful terrain. It's reasonably common in regions with permafrost, y'see, 'cause the water doesn't really have any place to go like it does elsewhere. It's a swamp, and as such it will eat anything and be a right proper pain to cross.
Aside: About three miles in was when we discovered the LT was holding the map upside-down.

The forest is pretty thick. We've managed to sneak up on each other in it, and if there's anything an arty boy is not it's stealthy. About a third of the trees in the Alaskan forests near us were birch, another third regular dark-bark deciduous, the rest conifers. Ground cover was bushes, not so many ferns. Thick loam, lots of dead leaves throughout the year but the forest floor kept damp in most parts.

[Xavrias]

That's a lot of information, thanks. I live in bc, canada, so I know plenty about moose and bears. The weather isn't extreme here, but it can get cold. I read all of that and it was awesome. As for the town on a ridge. While it isn't at the top of the mountain it is pretty high up. The rare ice saphires they mine are only found up high, so that's where they built there town.
Do you have any ideas for adventures? Also, the black bears I've encountered have certainly been friendlier than the grizzly bears. Plus, what do you think about the air up there. I believe the locals are going to use owls or something to send messages to the other cities. What bird in you opinion would be the best, and would it be able to make it through the cold and snow 20 miles to the next town near the foothills of the mountains?

[Dsurion]

stuffI wish more posts like this came up whenever campaigns in the arctic/frostfell came up. +1 to you, sir.

[Solaris]

That's a lot of information, thanks. I live in bc, canada, so I know plenty about moose and bears.
Sweet. I admit, I neglected to look at your location, so I was writing it with the assumption that you were from a more temperate clime. I'm glad I could come up with something useful.


As for the town on a ridge. While it isn't at the top of the mountain it is pretty high up. The rare ice saphires they mine are only found up high, so that's where they built there town.

Ah, I see. I figured it was something like that. Is the town effectively split into two - the main part down closer to the base of the mountain with a well-developed mining camp further up?


Do you have any ideas for adventures?

Hmm. There's a mine, so you could have them accidentally unearth something. Say, kobolds. They live in the mine. For a twist, they're not at all unfriendly once you get to know them and are quite willing to trade... if only the PCs would get rid of the (favorite subterranean monster here) who's using them for slave labor.

A white dragon decides it would like to set up shop nearby, and it claims the village as its fief. It magnanimously states that it will deign to protect the village from monsters, provided they keep up with tributes of ice sapphires and princesses. This is bad news, as it also seems to think the villagers should provide it a sacrifice every month (and it doesn't care that the village is too small). Its lair is a cave that opens in an alpine lake, and short of tunneling the only way to reach its lair is by going underwater.

30 Days of Night. For a "D'oh!" moment, have this one come fairly soon after the white dragon.

Some time after settling the evil snow goblin druid, one of the tribes approaches the village seeking the PCs. They want their help, because the PCs acquired a reputation for being the best problem-solvers and 'mediators' around by kicking the crap out of the druid. An awakened wooly mammoth ranger objected to the goblins hunting his sister's herd, and decided to declare war on them. The goblins paint it like he's simply a rogue mammoth bent on killing everything, but Mr Stampy's really not bad once you get to know him.

The battle between the snow goblin hoard and the village could itself be quite evocative. Have the druid call up a storm while the goblins stand outside, bellowing and roaring, and then they attack while lightning strikes set fire and kill defenders.

A frost folk man has fallen in love with a local female (villager or PC, take your pick), and wants the PCs to play matchmaker for him (or it's a frost folk woman who fell in love with a local male, or whatever). Depending on how you want it to go, this could be a trick, he could be evil but still a potential ally (with a possibility of slowly coming around to 'not evil' if the one he's smitten with is good), or he could be not evil and something of a frost folk Drizzt. The problem with this is that his tribe objects once they find out. People start disappearing, at first from outside the village and later from their very beds, leading to an air of suspicion and fear. They blame the frost man and the PCs, possibly even lynching the frost man (or at least trying - PCs have a way of thwarting such things). As to whether or not he's innocent, that's your call. Me, I'd play it that there's a serial killer on the loose who's taking advantage of the frost man's appearance.
Aside: Fairbanks, AK was once the serial killer capital of the world.


Also, the black bears I've encountered have certainly been friendlier than the grizzly bears.

It's when they attack. Grizzlies are most likely not trying to kill you so much as get you to leave them alone, whereas when a black bear attacks he's doing it because he wants to eat you. I admit, it's a perhaps overly-fine point of distinction.


Plus, what do you think about the air up there. I believe the locals are going to use owls or something to send messages to the other cities. What bird in you opinion would be the best, and would it be able to make it through the cold and snow 20 miles to the next town near the foothills of the mountains?

Honestly, twenty miles is pretty much nothing to a bird. I'd say some variety of carrier pigeon would be the way to go. That's just me, though - other alternatives I saw were snowy owls and gyrfalcons.



I wish more posts like this came up whenever campaigns in the arctic/frostfell came up. +1 to you, sir.

Woot!

[Andorax]

You can definately go for a real "frontier town" feel. Trappers, miners, prospectors, shopkeepers who gouge the 'newly rich' miners, and all manner of entertainments that do likewise.

Lots of gambling going on. Research various gold-rush towns for a good 'feel' for the place.


An interesting encounter with undead could be a small, isolated cave where a pair of prospectors found themselves trapped and underequipped. They agreed to gamble to determine who would take their own life so the other one could eat them.

Now, the one that died is an Allip, the one that 'lived' is a ghoul, and the dice that they used to decide it is a cursed (opposite effect) Stone of Good Luck.


Nothing says "oh crud...did you say it's night for a full month here" like a vampire...

...unless of course it's an illithid with a heavy coat, scarf, and goggles so you can't tell until it's too late.

[Xavrias]

Alright, thanks again guys. The town isn't completely split up but it is carved into sections going up and down the ridge. Not only do these sections separate the people they also cause a lot of stair climbing YAY. I'm still trying to decide, do the rich live on the lower or the higher slopes? I love the wooly mammoth idea. Not only is it just awesome, it's also just a touch of insanely hilarious. I think I'll use snowy owls for the message transporting just because they fit with the whole cold thing.
Another thing I totally thought would be awesome. Should my world take place in a world a little bit like Game of Thrones, where summers last 10 years, but winters last centuries. Any ideas on that I'd like to hear them. Anything else you have to offer I'd love to hear. I still have a few days before this all begins and I want to make it awesome.

[Randomguy]

A frost folk man has fallen in love with a local female (villager or PC, take your pick), and wants the PCs to play matchmaker for him...

This reminds me of a sub plot in a campaign from a game I used to play (called Battle for wesnoth) that can be recycled partially here:

The PC's meet a paladin who had recently returned to town. He got seperated from the rest of his adventuring team and met up with a beautiful sorceress. Together, they made their way back to town, fighting off monsters and keeping together for warmth at night. By the time they had returned home, the Paladin has fallen head over heels in love. The problem? Turns out she's evil and hates him, and only put up with him because it improved her odds of survival. She also put up an "anti-annoying paladin ward" (there's a spell for that somewhere, can't remember where though) around her tower, so he can't even see her any more.

The paladin asks you to deliver a love letter to her, and when you get to the sorceress she tells you to get rid of him somehow. (She's evil, but not "kick puppies" evil). The game is dialogue tree based, so there are limited options, but if you choose not to send the paladin on a wild-goose chase then he gives you a ring of opposite alignment to give to her, and from there one of the options is to tell her it's a ring of arcane power (or something) and trick her into putting it on.

[Toy Killer]

I personally start with the major conflict of the story, break down the various factions that should/could be involved, and then break off a few thoughts on each of them and then interesting campaign hooks await. For Example:

Acolyte of the Skin has ascended to full on Demon and is creating a block for the holy forces of heaven to reach the material plane.

This is a huge construction, so he needs a force for protection, and a force for building. so you choose your basic idea for what fills the ranks of his army, and a means for him to build his 'block'. The block is largely Divine in nature, so cultist, clerics and Outsiders seem fitting, and the army would probably be outsiders as well, with Fighters and blackguards amongst them.

He's stopped by a druidic gathering where he collects the lumber for his block and the human settlement that the cult is cultivating slaves from. and for the good/evil shindig going, the church of Palor is sponsoring a huge crusade to bury a sword into the BBEG.

from there you can build means for each faction to compete against each other and BOOM: you have plot hooks! :smallsmile:

[Xavrias]

Thanks for all the awesome ideas guys. Your awesome. if you have any other ideas just post.

[Canarr]

@Solaris: some very cool posts. My hat's off to you.

As to further ideas: how about some internal conflict around the social differences in the town?

Due to the inherently dangerous climate, I'd imagine that you don't have a stereotypical "wild west boom town", but more a "company town", where wealthy people have funded the town and advanced the miners the money they needed for equipment and living. They may not even live in the town themselves, but have representatives here who collect the payments and send them back to civilization.

Now the miners may find that their hard work in this cold environment isn't making them rich as they'd dreamed, since they need to pay their taxes, buy their provisions from the "company town" traders at inflated prices, and pay back their loan with interest. Under these conditions, even the most successful miners may look at years of indentured servitude; the less successful ones might never be free of debt.

So, they start thinking. They're digging these riches out of the ground, they're very far from civilization (and thus from the consequences of any crimes they commit), and there's probably more of them than there is of the "company men" and their guards... violence might be brewing, and smuggling of the ice sapphires will surely be tempting.

[limejuicepowder]

I'm actually currently running a viking/nordic campaign - wish I saw this post about 3 months ago, this is great stuff.

For quest ideas: Have you ever read Stephen King's Desperation? It's about a mining town that uncovers an evil nature-oriented spirit that destroys the town - it does this by possessing town folk and using them to commit awful acts of murder. Depravity and mind-twisting otherworldly-ness abound. Running something like this as a sort of murder-mystery could be cool. All the PC's know is that strange things are happening, and people are going missing. This type of quest would fit well the "living on the edge" theme it seems you will be going for.