Secret Santicorn: Cold Waste Encounters

I wrote this up for Secret Santicorn for Khajeet, whose original gift giver had to bow out.  Merry Hannukwanzimas, Khajeet!

 

Fafhrd was a barbarian from the cold north.  I only recall the vaguest bits of those books, but between that and having snow and ice at home four months of the year, here are some reforgings of those thoughts.

Cold Environments

When your party is venturing through temperatures around -20°C (that’s -4F°), even hiking in armor isn’t going to get you through those freezing nights.  The party’s going to need some really good gear.  

Winged flyers, usually limited in load, do very poorly in these environments if they aren’t similar to their home terrain, because they can’t carry the load of insulating clothes.

Survival Gear

Clothes	Sleeping Gear	Effect
Full Snow Gear (20 gp): waterproof boots, overcoat, cape, and cap if fully armored, add leggings and a tunic if not, and mitts, all insulated.  Outfits for people from such environments weigh about 7 lbs.  Imitations made in warmer climates weigh about twice as much.	Insulated tent and controlled fire, heavy blankets on a palette	Operate normally.  No penalties.
Inadequate Gear: arms or legs not fully protected, but torso and head are well insulated.	Full snow gear and a pine bough tent.	Each watch (4 hours) save or take 1d3 cold damage and -1 to all d20 checks from being so cold.  If you’re sleeping, you wake up from the damage.
Essentially Naked: Clothes might be worn, but they don’t block the wind or aren’t insulated.	Uninsulated tents, a survival shelter, or just blankets. If you have nothing, take a -4 on saves to the right.	Each turn (10 minutes) save or take 1d3 cold damage and -2 to all d20 checks from being so cold. Each hour, save or get frostbite at extremities, for an cumulative additional -2 to on all checks.

Types of Snow and Movement

Fresh Powder: Each foot reduces speed by ¼ (or ½ for halflings, gnomes, and other wee folk).  Yes, at 4 ft. of snow, you’re not moving anywhere.  

Hard Pack is snow that has been covered by a layer, packed down, and then had that lighter layer of powder blown away.  It’s possible to walk on this, but it’s very slippery.  Save or take 1d6 damage and only go half speed each hour.

Gear for Movement

Snowshoes (5 gp): Move at normal walking speed, and ignore impediments due to snow depth, but those not used to them must make an exhaustion check each hour or have to rest for a turn. Wilderness types from that environment can make a pair with an hour of work.

Skis & Poles (10 gp): Move at normal walking speed, and ignore impediments due to snow depth, and go downhill at running speed without tiring out. Those not used to them must make a balance check each turn of travel, or fall into the snow and take 2 minutes to recover.  Going fast through trees requires a DEX check each minute, or crashing into a tree and taking 1d6 exploding damage (on each roll of a six, keep that result but roll again).  At the end of each day of travel, make an intelligence check to step up to only checking balance each hour, then each watch.  Still have to make a check each round in combat, or without poles. Wilderness types from that environment can make a pair of skis and poles with eight hours of work.

Sleds (15 gp): Useful for dragging gear over snow and ice.  Calculate load on the sled as half weight for encumbrance.   Wilderness types from that environment can make a pair with eight hours of work.

Creatures of Snow and Ice

I’m going to assume you know about polar bears, timber wolves, wolverines, arctic foxes, and snowy owls, and focus on ideas half remembered and dreamt up by my muse.

Dire Martens

Giant mustelids, about 6-8 ft. long.
Driven by hunger, preferring bigger prey.
HD 4+3 [21 hp]; AC 5[14]; Special Defense none.
Atk bite +4(1d8) and on natural 20 yank, and, on d6 initiative:
Init 1: pull back 10 ft. after an attack
Init 2: Flail in Powder Snow making a 10 ft. radius cloud of obscuring snow for 3 rounds.
Mv move 40 ft., burrow through powder 10 ft. Mr 10 Sv 14 AL N CL/XP 4/180

Special: 

Powder Ambush: They make tunnel networks through snowbanks that are difficult to detect from above, and lunging out when prey by they are near, +2 bonus to surprise.

Yank: Pull a creature their bite has a good grip on. They must save or fall prone.  The Marten will pull them back 10 ft. each round until no other hostiles are adjacent, then it will attempt to shake them to break their neck, doing 2d6 damage on a hit.

Tactics: Pull of prey, hide in tunnels.  After eating, will continue to stalk survivors.

Remains: Their hides are big enough to make a full cold weather outfit, and provide a +1 bonus to resist cold attacks.  An intact hide is worth 25 gp, and the tail is as well.

Snowsnakes 

White fur-covered snakes with pale blue scales, they are about 4 ft. long.
Driven by hunger, preferring bigger animals to smaller ones.
HD 3 [13 hp]; AC 4[15]; Special Defense +2 vs. Cold spells
Atk bite +3(1d4+poison bite)
Mv slither or burrow through powder snow 30 ft. Mr 7 Sv 15 AL N CL/XP 3/120

Special: 

Poison Bite: Save or take 1d4 Constitution damage.  Repeat each round until a successful save or only 1 Constitution damage is inflicted.

Sense Heat: +2 to strike warm-blooded creatures, and to track them along the ground.

Tactics: Bite a creature, then track them until it finds the body and feeds on it.  It will rest for a day before hunting further, pursuing lingering prey.

Frost Caribou Stag

A caribou stag about the size of an elk, with white-frosted fur.

Driven to freeze any predator that might be pursuing his herd.
HD 5 [23 hp]; AC 5[14]; Special Defense Thick fur: +3 AC vs. missile weapons.
Atk Antler gore +5 (2d6+dual strike two adjacent creatures), and, on d6 initiative:
Init 1: Avalanche Charge: Charges forward 10 ft., pushing back creatures in contact, and in powder snow causing a blinding cloud 15 ft. in radius, or in hardpack doing 1d6 damage to those within 5 ft. of its passage due to shards of flying ice.
Mv 30 ft. Mr 10 Sv 14 AL N CL/XP 5/240

Special: 

Dual Strike: Can attack two adjacent creatures at the same time with its antlers.  Roll one attack roll, and compare against defense of each creature.

Thick Fur: +3 AC against missile weapons, as its thick fur lessens their penetrating force.

Tactics: Retreat to defensible terrain, if possible, then attack anything that pursues until they retreat.

Reference Links

Types of Snow: https://www.stylealtitude.com/different-types-of-snow-and-how-to-ski-them.html