You should be concerned with surviving extreme cold conditions. Either by cold weather gear and a survival check, cold resist, or endure elemants.
One thing EVERYone in the group should buy as starting gear is snow shoes and cold weather outfit.
If your cold resist is 6+ you will be fine to not have issues. Unscathed trait can boost the resist 5 up to 7.
That being said as a martial classes in this ap should have good fortitude and will saves.
Monks would do well since they have all good saves and dont need many items. Mid book 1 you get a sweet +2 to an ability score of your choice so it really helps the MAD stats of a monk.
Something about book 1. Traps are a thing...but im not sure beyond book 2....our group just powered through the traps...so having an awesome perception will be key to not fall victim to traps. Rogue isn't the best class in any sense so dont let my comment make you think rogue. Uou would regret it the entire time.
An alchemist would do very well with fire bombs, skills and extracts. They could do well in everything that is thrown at them.
Having both played in and run Reign of Winter, pretty much anything will work fine, barring builds focused on cold damage. Conversely, for much of it builds that focus on fire damage will excel (it's a game about winter, what did you expect?).
Yes crazy races can be fun. Both tiefling and aasimar have cold resist 5 and with unscathed trait it goes to 7. Would negate all weather problems for the campaign as well as provide resistence to cold spells that come your way from winter witchs.
You should be concerned with surviving extreme cold conditions. Either by cold weather gear and a survival check, cold resist, or endure elemants.
One thing EVERYone in the group should buy as starting gear is snow shoes and cold weather outfit.
If your cold resist is 6+ you will be fine to not have issues. Unscathed trait can boost the resist 5 up to 7.
That being said as a martial classes in this ap should have good fortitude and will saves.
Monks would do well since they have all good saves and dont need many items. Mid book 1 you get a sweet +2 to an ability score of your choice so it really helps the MAD stats of a monk.
So invulnerable rager barbarian would shine here, since they can just pick cold at level 3 and ignore cold weather like they had endure elements (plus get a bit of resistance to cold damage- not bad in a winter campaign). If nothing else, that at least means they save the party a spell slot on that and they don't have to worry if the caster gets incapacitated.
Obviously, the fact that they also get a lot of DR and are well..... the barbarian class, means that they are always useful. Tank, damage, even maneuvers depending on the rage powers.
Human with strong social skills, bard, is very useful. There are a lot of fights that can be avoided, and allies to be gained, with a bit of smooth talking.
How about either a gnome or h/elf synthesist summoner going with the "slugger" build? Would a 1-2 level dip in mutation warrior be worth the loss of caster levels/evolution points?
I figure I would grab energy resistance (cold) and energy immunity by level 5.
Edit: I suppose Aasimar would also be in the mix. So H/Elf, Gnome, or Aasimar.
Witch with the Elements Domain.
Blockbuster Wizard (or Sorcerer).
Summoner with Quadruped Eidolon.
Ranged (bow) martial or Zen Archer.
Flame or Life Oracle.
Melee or Ranged Cleric with Liberation Domain.
Ninja or Ranger (favored terrain cold)
Shifter Druid with combat pet.
Gunslinger.
2H fighter or paladin.
If you have access to Aasimar and Tiefling, use the appropriate bloodline/subrace.
Keep in mind cold+snow climate conditions can be very difficult at early levels. Dress accordingly. And have the appropriate spells/potions/scrolls ready. Recommend alchemical items such as alchemists' fire and tanglefoot bags, budget permitting.
I think the adventure assumes the PCs start out in a not-cold area. If your 1st level character in Random Not-Cold Town X has every single anti-cold weather item, it may not make much sense.
I don't know how much of the things I'm posting counts as spoilers, so below, I've put down what I think the most important save in Reign of Winter is.
Spoiler:
I think it's Reflex.
I've GMed up to Book 6. My group has not yet run Book 6.
I am quite happy with my Ifriti arcanist with a sorcerer elemental flame blood line.
No nobody likes his flame magic.......and he hates the cold.
You may like a Suli character, they have resistance 5 to all 4 energy types. Since the beginning town is very near the border of Taldor and Qadira, it would be easy to explain those elemental races.
I think the adventure assumes the PCs start out in a not-cold area. If your 1st level character in Random Not-Cold Town X has every single anti-cold weather item, it may not make much sense.
...
The player's guide is a free download and recommended reading for players.
Player's Guide to Reign of Winter:
Character Tips
How should you prepare for the dangers that await you
in the Reign of Winter Adventure Path? Just keep the
following in mind while creating characters...
Frozen Foes: Reign of Winter’s adventures contain a
variety of monsters, many of which are native to icy climes.
You’ll face...
Lands of Winter: Winter is a major theme in the
campaign, so you should be prepared to face cold
temperatures and harsh conditions...
I think it is perfectly reasonable to be prepared for cold conditions and even going as far as building or gearing for certain monster types.
Now you could hard core it and not read or apply any meta-knowledge but I'm not sure that's what Paizo intended since this document is a Player's Guide.
I feel actual starting conditions would be more of a spoiler. I'd probably be more inclined to raise an eyebrow if characters showed up with different gear matching that clime than what was recommended. I did have to make certain adjustments because of RAW though.
I think the adventure assumes the PCs start out in a not-cold area. If your 1st level character in Random Not-Cold Town X has every single anti-cold weather item, it may not make much sense.
...
The player's guide is a free download and recommended reading for players.
** spoiler omitted **
I think it is perfectly reasonable to be prepared for cold conditions and even going as far as building or gearing for certain monster types.
Now you could hard core it and not read or apply any meta-knowledge but I'm not sure that's what Paizo intended since this document is a Player's Guide.
There's a big distinction between building a character that in the long run will be fun to play in a campaign with lots of cold and showing up to the first session with a character fully kitted out with snow shoes and a full array of arctic survival gear despite starting the adventure in Taldor in the middle of summer with no in-character reason to do so.
If you read some campaign traits they assume your use to winter weather...those characters easily could say those items are normal.
Second the title reign of winter says...hey maybe its gonna be cold.
Lastly every item...cold winter gear and snow shoes are in the players guide...so it reasonable to have them.
Also not letting PCs get snow shoes means life is difficult the entire campaign with difficult terrains. Its kind of mean to just say...."even if the players guide, name hints, and others tell me snowshoes....I the DM am going to enforce strict 0 meta knowledge in my games." I as a player would not be part of that DMs group.
Basically only if you ignore the subtle hints (I use that word loosely cause it screams winter gear) should you be SOL.
Its like playing a desert campaign and not being able to buy waterskin and desert stuff.
Not to mention the starting outpost in RoW is really close to article lands just north. It is basically summer Canadian weather.
If you read some campaign traits they assume your use to winter weather...those characters easily could say those items are normal.
Second the title reign of winter says...hey maybe its gonna be cold.
Lastly every item...cold winter gear and snow shoes are in the players guide...so it reasonable to have them.
Also not letting PCs get snow shoes means life is difficult the entire campaign with difficult terrains. Its kind of mean to just say...."even if the players guide, name hints, and others tell me snowshoes....I the DM am going to enforce strict 0 meta knowledge in my games." I as a player would not be part of that DMs group.
Basically only if you ignore the subtle hints (I use that word loosely cause it screams winter gear) should you be SOL.
Its like playing a desert campaign and not being able to buy waterskin and desert stuff.
Not to mention the starting outpost in RoW is really close to article lands just north. It is basically summer Canadian weather.
I totally agree.
Imagine you are a brand new level 1 party outfitted for summer or moderate weather (i.e. no cold gear assuming you had the gold to begin with) in a warm climate and suddenly find yourself in extreme cold.
PRD, Environment wrote:
Cold Dangers
Cold and exposure deal nonlethal damage to the victim. A character cannot recover from the damage dealt by a cold environment until she gets out of the cold and warms up again. Once a character has taken an amount of nonlethal damage equal to her total hit points, any further damage from a cold environment is lethal damage.
An unprotected character in cold weather (below 40° F) must make a Fortitude save each hour (DC 15, +1 per previous check) or take 1d6 points of nonlethal damage. A character who has the Survival skill may receive a bonus on this saving throw and might be able to apply this bonus to other characters as well (see the skill description).
In conditions of severe cold or exposure (below 0° F), an unprotected character must make a Fortitude save once every 10 minutes (DC 15, +1 per previous check), taking 1d6 points of nonlethal damage on each failed save. A character who has the Survival skill may receive a bonus on this saving throw and might be able to apply this bonus to other characters as well. Characters wearing a cold weather outfit only need check once per hour for cold and exposure damage.
A character who takes any nonlethal damage from cold or exposure is beset by frostbite or hypothermia (treat her as fatigued). These penalties end when the character recovers the nonlethal damage she took from the cold and exposure.
Extreme cold (below –20° F) deals 1d6 points of lethal damage per minute (no save). In addition, a character must make a Fortitude save (DC 15, +1 per previous check) or take 1d4 points of nonlethal damage.
By RAW without special preparation it's very likely that most or all of your entire party will die. I'm sure that works for some folks. This isn't my GM style as I feel it is a wee bit too hardcore and more GM vs. Players. YMMV and whatever works for you.
But we digress. The OP was asking advice on race/class combos and I'd think it would be cooler to stay more or less on topic.
Class-wise I also would like to recommend the Slayer. Highly adaptable and more of a ranger without the magic if you like that kind of fluff. Plus a decent amount of skill points and of course Perception as a class skill.
The plane-touched races (Aasimar/Tiefling and their respective bloodlines are definitely a good match.
I will add some mention of gear/spell selection.
Endure Elements sounds like a good idea.
Cold Weather outfit (choose as your freebie starting outfit).
Snowshoes seems like a no-brainer.
Feather Step (druid, eventually ranger).
For the martially inclined it's always good to have cold iron/silver blanched ammo or backup weapons (unless you are a power-attacking 2H who can power through DR). Also cover your Slash/Pierce/Bludgeon types.
When I made a character for RoW, I missed the part that says the characters start out in Taldan. I imagine this isn't a terribly uncommon mistake, considering a huge part of the book is like IT'S WINTER, YOU'RE COLD, BUNDLE UP!
Reflex? Really? Why? Just because of cold damage spells or other reasons too?
I think, regardless of effect, if a campaign showcases more of one save relative to other saves, then that save becomes more important. I've had a number of PC deaths that were due to failed Reflex saves. And it wasn't always due to Cold Damage.
Of course, Reign of Winter will definitely make you save against all three. All I'm saying is that if you consistently fail Reflex saves, I'm going to guess your character might accrue some deaths. This is to say *more* deaths, relative to other APs.
As for what I think the best character is... Reign of Winter has kind of a Brothers Grimm fairy tale theme. It might be cool to read up on some of them and get the 'feel' before you make your character. Perhaps a halfling, to embody the 'child wandering into the witch hut' sort of feel in those stories. I think characters that do not get along with very foreign, weird things / people will not work well for Reign of Winter.
For mechanics, if I were to try to solo Reign of Winter, I would probably make some Dexterity based archer Inquisitor or maybe Ranger.
