Ice Dungeon Hazards

[FunSize]

DMing a game, characters are currently at Level 4 if that matters.

Party is about to enter an ice themed dungeon and I'm trying to come up with some creative hazards beyond difficult terrain from icy floors and such.

Since the dungeon is actually a tower (with a few underground levels) one thing I want to implement is certain "thin ice" areas where the ice will shatter and characters can fall to lower levels (There's a plot related event that can prevent this from being instant death, but they would have to actually fall for this event to occur).

The ice theme is magical in nature, so it doesn't have to be limited to believable naturally occurring cold hazards so there could be things like quickly growing ice walls or hailstorms in the middle of an enclosed room.

[pwykersotz]

Ice Mephits. Lots of Ice Mephits.

It could be particularly terrifying if they come upon a room where a lot of powerful monsters are sealed in ice. Especially if they discover a puddle of water in that same room.

I also like singing ice crystals, myself. The vibrations of their steps causing ice crystals to vibrate and produce musical notes. Playing the right song could open up hidden doors, or protect against a particular danger.

For a more evil take, you could have an Ice Devil creeping around. It need not be actually in the tower, but the ice could provide it with a window to the place. It could try to tempt or sabotage the party. And perhaps there's a particular enchanted ice mirror or something that the party could shatter to cut it off.

A Yuki-Onna (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yuki-onna) could be fun.

[FunSize]

Unfortunately I had Ice Mephits in an encounter approaching the dungeon and they ended up killing almost two dozen of the little buggers in what might have been the longest, most excruciating combat I've run thus far (there was a crystal that was causing more of them to form, and nobody got the idea to try to attack it from range). So I'm hoping to use those sparingly.

A Yuki-onna is the plot event I alluded to earlier :)

[smcmike]

Fun.

Slippery floors are nice, of course. How about sloped slippery terrain? A 45 degree ice sheet sounds like a fun place to stage a fight.

Also, bit snow banks are nice for softening fall damage, which is nice for giving a battle some three dimensional flavor without making it too lethal.

How destructible do you want the ice to be? Can it be melted or manipulated, or is it magically too cold? If it is meltable, are fireballs a danger to the structural integrity of rooms?

How about a room with ankle-deep liquid water that flash-freezes when a plate is stepped on, locking the characters in place as enemies attack (dex save to jump, strength checks to break free, or creative solutions).

[Temperjoke]

In a twist to the singing ice crystal room, soon after that one you could add a room massive, jagged and sharp ice stalactites that break and impale if anyone makes the slightest sound, with one falling and hitting being enough to trigger a cascade of falling sharp things. Of course, if they hit the ground the floor starts breaking away too, above a pit of ice stalagmites. The idea is that they try to stealth across, and if the stalactites start falling, they either start running across or they try to find ways to keep the ice from hitting the ground, probably with magic.

[pwykersotz]

Unfortunately I had Ice Mephits in an encounter approaching the dungeon and they ended up killing almost two dozen of the little buggers in what might have been the longest, most excruciating combat I've run thus far (there was a crystal that was causing more of them to form, and nobody got the idea to try to attack it from range). So I'm hoping to use those sparingly.

A Yuki-onna is the plot event I alluded to earlier :)

Haha, neat!

Honestly, if you're looking for a wide range of inspiriation, I'd definitely recommend checking out the 3.5 supplement Frostburn. There's cold related everything in there. Supernatural weather, special diseases, hazards, terrain, all sorts of stuff.

Other than that...

Skeletons buried in snow within the tower, remains of past frozen adventurers. May or may not be animate or carry curses (or hidden satchels with maps of certain hazards!).

Ice golem guardians! Pick your favorite golem template and refluff.

Ice flowers that release a scent that lulls passers-by to sleep so that they freeze to death.

Ice walls that form suddenly and have a nasty tendency to separate the party, followed by other minor hazards to capitalize on the lone travelers.

Stalactites that drip water so cold that it burns like acid.

[R.Shackleford]

DMing a game, characters are currently at Level 4 if that matters.

Party is about to enter an ice themed dungeon and I'm trying to come up with some creative hazards beyond difficult terrain from icy floors and such.

Since the dungeon is actually a tower (with a few underground levels) one thing I want to implement is certain "thin ice" areas where the ice will shatter and characters can fall to lower levels (There's a plot related event that can prevent this from being instant death, but they would have to actually fall for this event to occur).

The ice theme is magical in nature, so it doesn't have to be limited to believable naturally occurring cold hazards so there could be things like quickly growing ice walls or hailstorms in the middle of an enclosed room.

Sorcerers in pointy hats that have a huge animal companion that is a ice sea lion/snake thing.

[Plaguescarred]

Have the tower be tilted and many areas covered in ice that could be a significant hazard to navigate through and fight on. The low temperature could cause exhaustion faster. It could have rooms filled with condensation fog making them heavily obscured. ice themed monsters of course, but also traps such as a breaking floor and a descent slide taking PCs into lower levels just sound too cool to pass!

[Slipperychicken]

Thin ice floors, but there's dark ice-water and monsters under the ice. Preferably monsters that drag party members downward.

DMG has rules for frigid water giving exhaustion levels if a character spends too long in frigid water. That could be a problem if part of the dungeon is flooded a few feet high.

An "avalanche" falls on the party, burying them in snow and making them easy prey for a burrowing monster like an elemental.

Extreme cold, as per DMG 110. Con save, DC 10 each hour or gain an exhaustion level, but automatically succeed if appropriately dressed (thick coat, gloves, cold weather attire) or if resistant to cold damage.