1/5 — Snow Day
Description: This area of natural caverns—see
the map—is magically filled with wind and snow. Because it connects to a number of areas, it is well-traveled despite the hostility of the environment. A few feet of loose snow covers the deeper snowpack making for slow movement without skis or snowshoes (see
Movement, below). The ceiling rises 3 yards above the snow at the edges of caves and in the smaller passages and rises another 2d yards above that in the larger caves. Walls and ceilings are often coated in layers of frost and ice.
Vision: -10 (total darkness); max -4 with illumination (due to blowing snow)
Hearing: -3 (moaning wind)
Exits: Six passages, approximately 4-yards wide.
Hazards
Movement: Hiking through the caves in regular boots (or worse) is at Move ×0.20 (minimum 1). Snowshoes increase this to Move ×0.50. Skis allow full Move if the PC either has the Skiing skill or succeeds at a default roll (for this purpose, use the higher of HT-6 or DX-6) . In all cases, encumbrance and fatigue affect movement normally.
Bitter Cold: The raw temperature hovers around 0°F, but wind chills drive the effective temperature down another 20–25°. Each PC must roll vs. HT for exposure when they first enter the cave and again every 10 minutes. The base roll is at a -2 penalty, minus another point after every 10 minutes until it bottoms out at -5. Moreover, apply the following additional modifiers: -5 for normal clothes; 0 for regular winter clothes; +5 for genuine arctic clothing; +3 for the Warmth spell; automatic success for Resist Cold. Using the rags from
1/4 — Gear Room can offset three points of penalty. In all cases, success allows the character to proceed unhampered. Failure means losing FP equal to margin of failure. This is not cumulative, but PCs should take the penalty for their worst margin of failure (i.e., they won’t warm up while in the caves without supernatural help).
Random Events: Roll 2d
Code:
2 1 ice wyrm (Monsters, p. 38); 1 in 6 chance of a coleopteran rider
(see 1/7 — Chtiksizz and the Ice Wyrms).
3 The Dvergr scout, Nýi, referenced in 1/4 — Gear Room. If the party
already met her there (or she is accompanying them), treat this
roll as an ice alf, below.
4 1 ice alf (Norđlondr Óvinabókin, p. 115).
5 Snow well — The wind and uneven floor of the cavern create a few
nearly-invisible “pits” of loose snow that can be quite dangerous,
especially to skiers. Roll vs. Per-8 to spot the pit in advance. Skiers
must roll vs. Skiing to avoid it if they see it first. (Snowshoers can stop
more easily.) When someone falls in, snow from the surrounding area
will collapse into the pit, potentially trapping a victim. Treat it as a three
yard fall with injury to a random hit location. Roll vs. Survival (Arctic) to
extricate oneself from the pit without help. Otherwise, other PCs need
to assist.
6–7 Equipment failure — Ski or snowshoe breaks or comes loose.
8 Crevasse, 1d yards across, 1d+3 yards deep.
9 1d goblins (Monsters, p. 33) on makeshift skis.
10 1d hobgoblins (Monsters, p. 34) + twice as many goblins
(Monsters, p. 33) on makeshift skis.
11 2d coleopterans (The Bugstiary, p. 48) with custom
snowshoes.
12 1 ísmargfćtlur (Norđlondr Óvinabókin, p. 117).
Treasure
Wandering encounters will have gear and cash appropriate to their mission. There is certainly other loot to be found within the snow, but it would be difficult and dangerous to find. If the characters want to pursue a thorough survey of these caves, the GM should flesh it out more fully.
Map
The map represents this area of the cave system. The entrance is in the northeast corner (assume north is up) above the 1/5 label. A few areas of particular interest are keyed.