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Old 02-19-2019, 11:00 PM   #1
Dalin
 
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: Saint Paul, MN
Default DF Skiing

Has anyone ever run a campaign or adventure that featured the Skiing skill?

I've been thinking about it because I spent some time this weekend on skis in backcountry Minnesota. I'm a novice, but had a great time cutting my own trails through the woods and across a frozen lake. Naturally, I got to thinking about what it would be like for PCs to be doing the same but with monsters and other hazards.

The snow was far too deep to easily hike through, so if PCs wanted to cross similar territory, they would need to either ski or snowshoe. Snowshoes are much easier, naturally, though skis have a speed advantage (especially if you're actually good at it). I would think skis would be far more clumsy in melee combat and would limit your ability to change facing in combat time. Getting knocked down in deep snow could take you out of the fight. An adventure featuring skiing could be a fun way to create an unusually challenging battle for characters who are usually dominant on the battlefield. Creatures that are adapted to the snow would have a major advantage even if they are not otherwise especially fearsome.

Skiing is mentioned in Hall of Judgment, but only as flavor text for the Snow Queen and the Festival of Storms. One of the sample characters, Jóngeirr Leonhardsson, has the skill, but no skis on his equipment list. (Speaking of which, skis aren't listed in the equipment section of Adventurers.) A short section, even a sidebar, on travel and combat through deep snow could fit nicely in The Citadel at Norðvorn or another sequel.
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Old 02-20-2019, 09:09 PM   #2
LokRobster
 
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Default Re: DF Skiing

I’m having visions of PCs in skis encounering Ice Weasels now.

So while I haven’t used skiing in DFRPG yet, i believe i need to.
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Old 02-23-2019, 07:21 AM   #3
Dalin
 
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Default Re: DF Skiing

Yup. I think I'll base my next game in Doug's Norðlond setting and have skiing be a major feature. I'm having visions of the scout hurtling down a slope, spinning around and shooting at following foes (à la The Spy Who Loved Me). The combination of acrobatics and skiing could be great fun too.

A snow adapted variation on the mylja ormur from Hall of Judgment or the burrowing serpent from Mirror of the Fire Demon could make for an exciting opponent.

So, in a DF setting where gnomish anachronisms are de rigueur, what types of skiing accessories for adventurers might be possible? Quick release boots? Ski pole blowpipes? Special wax (made from the blubber of some snow beast?) that gives you a speed boost?

And there might be an artifact, Skis of the Snow Queen, that magically create good powder in front of you no matter the season.
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Old 02-23-2019, 12:08 PM   #4
evileeyore
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Default Re: DF Skiing

Quote:
Originally Posted by Dalin View Post
So, in a DF setting where gnomish anachronisms are de rigueur, what types of skiing accessories for adventurers might be possible? Quick release boots? Ski pole blowpipes? Special wax (made from the blubber of some snow beast?) that gives you a speed boost?
Mos def: Ski boots (DR 2, +1 HT to avoid foot injury, -4 To DX rolls and skills that aren't Skiing).

Quick Release Ski Boots: Takes a single Ready Maneuver to remove skis. Causes ski removal as an additional effect on any critical failure.

Horkr Wax: +1 Move when skiing, must be applied daily.

I'd save the blowpipe ski poles for the Alpine Ninjas.

And... what's this... oh no... I feel a Gnomco Gadget coming on! RUN!


Gnomco's Patent Pending Anysurface SnowShoes (TM)(R)

Flyer advertising:
These snowshoes allow the wearer to confidently step onto any surface! You can walk on water with "the ease of holy man"*, attempt to climb any surface like a lizard†, and even dance on the smoke of a campfire‡!

With our Patented (locally sourced, Elf Friendly!) Inflation Bladders crossing large bodies of water are a breeze (in that you'll desperately wish for a tailwind to speed you up), and the The Gnomco Patent-Pending Gecko-skin (TM)(R) (no Geckoes harmed in the making! Will the Elven Nature Defense Entente Ring Society please stop suing us!) allows you to 'attempt to climb almost any surface'! A few whispered phrases and the smoke-walking enchantment will whisk you away as though on the wings of bird (a slow moving bird that's definitely choking to death on smoke, but hey, can you do it better?).


* A holy man that's crippled up and limping and prone to death by drowning maybe.
† Not a legally binding sentence.
‡ Do Not Try This At Home Anywhere.


Stats: $2,000, DR 2, may be strapped onto regular footwear. Takes 4 Ready Maneuvers to don or remove (or 1 Ready Maneuver if you cut the strapping). Removes Movement penalties for snow and sand and treats them as Normal Footing. Counts as Bad Footing and +1 Movement Penalty anywhere else. Inflatable, taking 10 Ready Maneuvers allows you to walk on water at +2 Movement points per hex, -4 to DX, adds "ends up upside down in the water" as an additional critical failure effect, the Character will have to remove the snowshoes or be rescued, or make a DX or Acrobatic roll at -10 to right themselves (-5 if there is something to grab and pull themselves up with). The Smoke Walking enchantment allows the wearer to cast Walk on Smoke at skill 15 (this is a unique Gnomco spell, exactly like Walk on Air, except there must be significant amounts of smoke (enough to count as a visibility and inhalation hazard equal to or worse than a Smoke spell) to use as steps, or a ladder if the smoke is going 'straight' up).




Quote:
And there might be an artifact, Skis of the Snow Queen, that magically create good powder in front of you no matter the season.
And an effect as though you were on a slight downhill slope?
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