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I love this AP but think Queen Elvanna needs to be made into a more interesting villain so added a whole new backstory.

What if Elvanna is actually possessed and being controlled by the old queen Tashanna (yes very Final Fantasy 8). Here's how:

Many years ago Baba Yaga "gave birth" to two daughters in her mission to create the ninth queen of Irrisen. As they grew these sisters, Tashanna and Elena, became very different. One fair and the other dark. Whilst Elena was the most beautiful, Tashanna was the most powerful and more drawn to her mother's secrets. So whilst Elena moved to her mother's thrice tenth kingdom and became beloved of even the nymphs, who called her Bellaluna. Tashanna was crowned queen of Irrisen.

But during her 100 year reign she grew suspicious of her mother's plan for her once her time was finished and so hatched a plan to fight Baba Yaga on her return. She discovered the Torc of Kostictichie, containing the bound soul of the demon lord of misogyny, Baba Yaga's mortal enemy, giving her control of the demon lord and his forces to supplements her own, But she lost! Baba Yaga proved too powerful and she was pulled from her throne like so many of her sisters before her.

However, she was the first to actually impress Baba Yaga. And so after tormenting her and brutally killings her generals to ostensibly make an example of her, so didn't consume her power and leave her a husk of a crone queen as she had to her sisters. Instead she allowed her to live and explore the multi-verse gaining further power with one rule only. Tashanna was banned from ever returning to Golarion, or even the same solar system. To ensure this Baba Yaga cast a powerful curse which pulled Elena the fair from the Thrice Tenth Kingdom and bound her to the land in Golarion, preventing her, conversely to her sister, from ever leaving. Whilst Elena remains bound to the land no magic in all the multiverse is strong enough to allow Tashanna entrance to Golarion again. But Elena was made immortal and only able to manifest in areas where the ley lines of Golarion cross. Only if all of Golarion were in eternal winter would she wither and die and the spell be broken.

And so Tashanna left Golarion and grew in power as she explored many worlds and indeed took many names, But she was never one to take no if an answer and as her power grew, so did her bitter resentment of the one thing she was denied, Golarion.

Many many years later the 14th Queen of Irrisen, Queen Elvanna grew close to the end of her 100 year reign and, like Tashanna, sought ways to combat her mother when she returned for her. She found a journal of Queen Tashanna confirming her suspicions. But this was no mere journal, Tashanna had cursed it allowing her some contact with its reader, if meager. She taught Elvanna a powerful ritual of binding to use on her mother once she returned but it required another enfused with mythic power. And so Tashanna guided Elvanna to another soul she had been manipulating through dreams and visions. Rasputin, son of Baba Yaga. Together they bound Baba Yaga within a doll leaving Tashanna free to enact the next part of her plan.

She revealed the mystery of Irrisen's eternal winter to Elvanna and a way to amplify it over all Golarion. And so as Elvanna began opening winter portals around Golarion in her ritual, Elena the fair weakened along with Baba Yaga's spell allowing Tashanna to take more active control over Elvanna. At this point she has managed to pretty much seize control of her mind and hopes to take the throne herself of the eternal winter land Golarion will become. Tashanna the dark will return!

I am thinking of setting the whole thing in the Thrice Tenth Kingdom, rather than in the hut, and having the PCs have to explore different locations to find BY's fate, death, power and life. Therefore if you put off meeting the norn till they find her they wont get a full description and have to work out what to do with only the little urging from the doll and clues from the various inhabitants.

The locations will be the island of
Buyen (her death - plot pretty much as is) a city of ice and shadow in the mountains (her power - in my game the skull Vasilinova used now in the possesión of a mad redcap king), the witchspire in the centre of the deepest wood (her life - daughters in the highest tower) and an underground cavern within the screaming caverns (her fate in the Norn's hands).

They enter the realm through a portal found in the hut but then can go about their business in any order. They appear in a hut in the mountains, climbing through a cupboard and find her pestle and mortar to travel in given to them by the polite Jortund troll. He tells the PCs the main locations in the thrice tenth kingdom over tea and then lets them go exploring how they see fit (he doesn't know about Baba Yaga's hidden elements).

Thanks to advice elsewhere on this board I looked into 'the Witchmarket' from the Black Market book and intend to have it be available for selling equipment from the end of book 2.

Basically in the dancing hut's library (which is always accessible in the hut thanks to the book portal) I will place a replenishing pouch full of green powder. When thrown into the library fireplace a portal opens to wherever the witch market is (Harry Potter style) and allows the PCs to access this black market full of fay and hags.

On the other side is a one-eyed hag statue that teleports users back to the hut, activated by the powder. This statue was bound to the market thanks to a pact between Aggys (the powerful green hag witch who runs the market) and Baba Yaga.

Of course the market has its own dangers, and strange prices and items can be bought and sold. I'm in the process of fleshing this out mixing ideas on this forum, black market and my own ideas. - my PCs are just entering the forest in Whitethrone.

As for book one I liked that they only had two small villages to shop within. It adds to the bleak desperate feel.

Book 2 I allowed my PCs to shop in Kizobran (a small town) and at a floating magic shop going upriver.

When they reached Whitethrone I ruled only three shops in the stilyagi district were being allowed to sell magic items and a small shrine to Pharasma. One shop sold magic clothes amongst extravagant costumes (the owner was genderfluid), another arcane items and was owned by a popular harrower among the silyagi. The third potions, but 50% of them did wild or superficial things (like youthful appearance and fly). The shrine only had a handful of divine scrolls and 2 wands (clw and lessor restoration). The sale of magic weapons and armor, or firebased items, was strictly forbidden at all.

I also had an encounter with a cold sister doing the rounds and fining the arcane shop owner for selling a scroll of fireshield. If the PCs had intervened things could have got messy

You could always give them an ability based on each of the riders (especially as there are 3 players). Maybe a once a day equivalent to a 3rd level spell like ability. You could even go further and have them only able to use it during their time of day (Morning, afternoon and night respectively).

The great thing about this campaign is that it moves a lot and is therefore easy to pilfer and use the best stuff from other campaigns. I´m running it for two groups and I´m currently only in book 2 with both but here are my ideas.

Book 2 - The Irrisen book is your best bet here for extra material on route and in Whitethrone. I have posted what I did in other posts but basically I had them tangle with the changeling witch in Rizobran. Also, I used the play from Council of Thieves in the theatre in Whitethrone (only beefed up a little). Only they performed it before Princess Cassisoche and the dragon. It gave them an opportuinity to see some of their worse enemies without having to engage them.

Book 3 - Tales of the old Margreve has some nice ideas that fit snuggly into Iobaria, which I intend to use. I like this book but it feels like Iobaria needs fleshing out with a side quest before they head to the dungeon crawl. I know some people have used The Varnhold Vanishing from the Kingmaker campaign. As a book 3 set in Iobria, and who doesn´t like a cyclops lich.

Book 4 - I am going to completely reskin the hut layout as an alien infested atrium using Valley of The Brain Collectors (book 4 of Iron Gods). I thought if you are going to go alien, go alien!

Book 5 - This adventure is perfect! And I don´t think anthing else has been done on Earth!

Book 6 - I am going to use book 6 (Sound of a Thousand Screams) of Kingmaker with some changes to have the PCs go to The Thrice Tenth Kingdom to collect Baba Yaga´s ´life´. The House on the Edge of Time can easily be changed into Baba Yaga´s Witchspire. The Crone Queens are going to reside in the highest tower (the fable) and just as in the orignal adventure are protected from the positive energy of the First World by the Witchspire. I have a plot with a nymph I added who was the original ruler of the realm until Baba Yaga suplanted her.

I am debating about putting Baba Yaga´s death on Eox using material from Shadows of Gallowspire. But if I do I´ll have some scheming Bone Sages involved instead.

Her ´power´ I am going to have be The Torc of Kostochcehe (however the hell you spell that) and use the adventure The Witchwar Legacy. Only replacing the winter witch at the end with Princess Cassisoche and one of the twisted frost giants with the demonic resurection of the centaur priest from book 3.

The portals to all these places will be found in the Grandmother´s Cauldron as normal. I´m looking for something to help with the finale, which in my campaign will be an assualt on the palace at Whitethrone.

Good luck when you do. I have worked out the specifics for the rebel meeting if you are interested:

It will be held in a secret
room up in the crooked house on Ironhill. Solveig and Ringeirr go with the players and warn them on route that at least two other groups must be convinced to join the uprising for it to draw enough forces away from the market square, and more would draw even more forces away.

Depending on what the players have done up to date effects who is in attendance.

Group 1 Heralds rebel faction represented by Grandmother Bellavonica (a charismatic old lady):
Dc 23 diplomacy check to help and starting attitude of friendly.
Is grandmother of Bela who in my story is forced into a murder play at the theatre. If PCs are in the play then the DC becomes 13 and she is helpful.

Group 2 Heralds faction represented by Ringeirr's twin brother: DC22 diplomacy to help or 12 if food delivered in the Howling's and Ringeirr alive and well.

Group 3 Iron Guard represented by head of iron guard: Dc 26 indifferent or DC 21 friendly if Snow White present (she is a rogue winter witch who the PCs have been communicating with through a mirror since book 1). Plus two to the role if vengeance against the Elvannas in the sales pitch.

Group 4:The snow goblin alchemist from the howlings who represents Baba Yaga loyal goblins in Whitethrone. Only present if alive. DC30 unfriendly if any goblins killed in howling fight, DC25 if the encounter before ended without violence. Plus five to the roll if others persuaded to give food aid to starving goblins. Intimidate is also an option against goblins, threatening to write down his name results in plus five to roll - goblins think writing your name down is bad luck.

Group 5: Greta represents winter wolves who feel the Elvanna are destroying the wolf sense of pack in Whitethrone. But only present if a PC attended a date with her where she revealed her feelings on the Elvanna, and then only if she is told about the meeting. And then she is friendly Dc 16 to help.

I like to encourage good roleplay so will reward anything from plus one to five for a good explanation of the plan (for all diplomacy checks).

Now what the results do:

If only 1/2 parties join uprising: 3 fights in market square. 1 frost giant. Then 4 ice trolls. Then a human winter guard unit.

If 3 parties: Just two fights: 4 ice trolls and then winter guard unit.

If 4 parties: just winter guard unit in market square.

If all 5 convinced: The market square is abandoned in favor of dealing with the huge uprising.

Did anyone do or is planning on doing any extra side quests whilst in White throne? My ideas are:
1) Letting the PCs attend the rebel meeting and persuading the head of the iron guard themselves, along with leaders of the Heralds, a rogue Winter Witch, a Baba Yaga loyal snow goblin alchemist (from the howlings if they spare him) and maybe the winter wolf if they romanced her to take part in the rebellion. I thought the crooked house might be a good place to hold it. Depending on how many they get on side affects how large a force guards the entrance to the forest later and whether they have extra encounters on route.

2) A romp into a Yelivazeta tomb in the frozen graveyard to retrieve a legendary dragon slaying sword and staff (I am upgrading the dragon to a full adult later).

3) An adapted version of the Trials of Larazus (from Council of Thieves) performed in the theatre in Whitethrone) to protect Solveig's girlfriend who has been blackmailed into taking part. Solveig asks them to protect her. Princess Cassisixhe attends but doesnt recognise the pcs yet. Prince Paval of the stiltagi plays the judge. Surival results in being invited to a stilyagi party where the PCs can discover information.

4) letting them earn ice diamonda battling ice trolls at Trollfang arena.

Anyone do anything similar?

Having run this twice now I would highly suggest mixing the encounters on the first two floors of the tower. I inserted a trap after the courtyard between the two statues through the Main doors. It was a pressure pad that made the statues' axes slam down alerting both the water elemental and guards (I dont know about your players but mine aren't a cautious bunch). The big fight that ensured was great. A round of just the elemental whilst one set of ready guards grabbed their weapons then piled out (I upgraded them to Superstious Merchants with a Csptain).

Then whilst the battle is underway time the other set of guards armoring and weaponing up, before they pile out to. It was a beauty orgy of violence in a steam room.

On the next floor I had the atomie's jjuggling plates. So if the first arriving PC doesn't give a convincing bluff then their first action is to slam down the plates, alerting the soeiggan chef and the dragon lady. Have the chef come out on the 2nd round and enlarge and the dragon lady on round 3 after buffing herself sufficiently.

So basically big fights with additional opponents slowly entering the fray work better than monsters roim sitting in my opinion. I would however keep the mandragon stay (as it is tied up) and the doppelganger as its defense is based on deception.

Another cool thing to do is have Radosek appear for the first time in the mirrors of the room with the ice nymphs. Have him threaten them a little then activate the nymphs via a command phrase before they can smash the mirrors. I used "guardians of ice rise to protect me".

That IS evil! I like it. Personally I also intend to have Elvanna be more intent on killing the PCs, rather than simply waiting for them to gatecrash.

In book 3 she'll send a kill squad of three cold sisters, one of which using the Iron Collar of The Unbound Coven so they can access coven powers, after the PCs, along with a Death Knight to protect them. It doesn't make any sense for her not to react strongly after the PCs steal the hut.

This group will be waiting for them when they clear Artrosa, standing over the slaughtered bodies of their centaur allies.

I personally don't see anything wrong with a little moral quandary, as long as the PCs are aware that Baba Yaga is the only one who can stop Elvanna. It just means they have to justify their actions to these 'knights' who may or may not listen.

I would make the knights Lawful Neutral. The Linnorm Lands has powerful casters and access to portals to the First World, which exists between all planets and worlds (perhaps they travel to Traxius or earth that way). But remember it is your campaign. So do what you like and make changes to suit it.

Finally I won't bother having the Ps have to seek out anything more to free Baba Yaga. Being reunited with her fate, life and death are enough to free her from the doll.

The first thing Baba Yaga does is make the three PCs who have rider mantles into full riders (giving them extra powers). And then repowers the cauldren keys for Whitethrone.

In my version Elvanna is doing the ritual in a chamber below the royal palace in Irrisen where the winter collector is. Baba Yaga can't end the ritual with just a wave of her hand, she needs to be there and Elvanna needs to be dead. Also Elvanna, is not herself. Her delvings into Tashanna's diary led her to use extensive divination magic to find her lost sister. What if she were successful!?

I heard a rumour on these boards that Tashanna could be Tasha the dark (Iggwilv) from Greyhawk. Maybe she is in fact an extremely powerful female archmage who Baba Yaga carried to another world after being impressed with her rebellion. However she was bound from ever returning to Golarion by Baba Yaga. Maybe Elvanna unwittingly undid that magic and is now being controlled from a far via powerful magic by the archmage.

Therefore much to Baba Yaga's surprise she finds powerful magic stopping her simply teleporting the PCs into the royal palace. Instead the PCs must, along with Baba Yaga and a host of allies, storm the royal palace. Battlling those awesome named characters from Irrisen Land of Eternal Winter.

First Elvanna\Tashanna sends a force to fight in the merchant square. Then she collapses the best bridge to the palace. Of course Baba Yaga just conjures up a giant iceberg and flies them all across. The crown gives Elvanna the ability to change the palace at will, so she could have sealed up all the windows forcing the PCs to fight their way through a force in front of the main doors (which Baba Yaga blows open).

In the main hall Princess Cassisoche and the main baronessess make a stand at her mother's behest. Of course Baba Yaga is with the PCs causing sweet mayhem (again actually making use of her stat block). Finally Elvanna/Tashanna is up in her throne room with many nasty surprises for mother and her toy soldiers...

Here is how I plan to have the rider mantles progress from level 3 to level 10, for those who might want to do something similar. They are based heavily on what Irrisen land of Eternal Winter said the riders could do. The auras can be done once a day but only at specific times: black from dusk till dawn, white from dawn till noon and red from noon until dusk.

I haven´t thought beyond level 10 yet but they will get more spell like abilities, summon mount, woe or blessing, and something to do with their weapon when I do.

Mantles
Black:
3 – DR 2/Cold Iron, Chill touch 3/day, Icy Aura 1/day (only from dusk till dawn, 10ft misty aura rounds per level, fatigued all in it and 1 round afterwards, DC 18 fortitude)
4 – Darkness 2/day, Darkvision/Low light vision
5 – DR 5/Cold Iron, Improved Icy Aura (Slow, rounds per level), Cold Resistance 5
6 – Deep Slumber 1/day
7 – Telepathy (30ft), become fey
8 – Moonstruck 1/day, SR 8 + lvl
9 - Improved Icy Aura (fatigued even if saved)
10 – DR 10/Cold Iron, immune poison，Cone of cold 1/day, Cold Resistance 10

Red:
3 – DR 2/Cold Iron, Scorching Ray 2/day, Bright blast (only between noon and sunset, 1d6 fire damage per level Dazzle 1rd, 20ft radius, DC 18 réflex half)
4 – Zone of truth 2/day, Darkvision/Low light vision
5 – DR 5/Cold Iron, Improved Bright blast (dazzle 1d4 rounds), Cold Resistance 5
6 – Flaming arrows 1/day
7 – Telepathy (30ft), become fey
8 – Fire shield 1/day, SR 8 + lvl
9 – Improved Bright blast (Daze 1rd, dazzle 1d4)
10 – DR 10/Cold Iron, immune poison, Blood Boil 1/day, Cold Resistance 10

White:
3 – DR 2/Cold Iron, charm person 3/day, Blinding light (only between dusk and noon, Daze 1rd, Dazzle 1d4 rds, 20 foot radius, DC 18 fortitude)
4 – Detect thoughts 2/day, Darkvision/Low light vision
5 – DR 5/Cold Iron, Improved Blinding light (Daze 1d4 rounds, dazzle 1d4 if save), Cold Resistance 5
6 – Lightning Bolt 1/day
7 – Telepathy (30ft), become fey
8 – Charm monster 1/day, SR 8 + lvl
9 – Improved blinding light (Blinds permanently, daze 1 rd if save)
10 – DR 10/Cold Iron, immune poison, Lightning arc 1/day, Cold Resistance 10

Ragathiel:
3 – DR 2/Evil, Cure Light Wounds 3/day, Grows wings Fly (30ft, poor)
4 – Aid 2/day, Darkvision/Low light vision
5 – DR 5/Evil, Fly (60ft, average)
6 – Dispel Magic 1/day,
7 – True speak, become angelic outsider
8 – Holy smite 1/day, SR 8 + lvl
9 – Fly (100ft, good)
10 – DR 10/Evil, immune petrification, Reistance 10 lightning, fire, cold, Dispel Evil 1/day

Ok I´m up to the Pale Tower and just thought I´d share my changes to part 3 and 4. Again some ideas I swipped off here and expanded on, and a few I just made up myself:

Parts 3 and 4 (Snows of Summer)

(1) Technically part 2, but I handled the passing of the mantle a little differently. Firstly the keys were a wooden spider and a large werewolf fang (I plan on replacing almost all of book 3 by making the hut take them to The Old Margreve rather than Iobia). After the PCs agree to take the mantle and the rider slits his throat, I had a surge of energy knock all the players unconscious. Then I individually had them have a vision of meeting an old lady, who is an aspect of Baba Yaga, in a wooden shack.

She asked them all a series of questions in with three possible answers, none truly good. Depending on how they answer the questions depends on what rider mantle they get red, black or white and corresponding powers that grow every level. Questions like: A baroness is cheating her queen of taxes how do you punish her, a) Lock her in her own dungeons to starve b) Execute her publicly or c) Arrange an accident for her and cover it up. The most aggressive responses correspond with red rider, the sneakier ones black and the more diplomatic (yet still bad) white. The purpose of this is to give the PCs some say in what powers they get but also to stress how over their head they might be here. I actually have four players and so the fourth had a different vision in which she met Ragathiel, who after a short philosophy debate, granted her some powers to aid her quest for vengeance.

(2) I had a slaughter site waiting for them at the bottom of the hill through the portal in Irrisen where the black rider had slain a raiding party. This including the corpses of seven guards with masterwork cold iron longswords, three dead ice trolls and a mirror man body (to foreshadow this monster to them).

(3) I made a number of additions to Waldsby. Firstly the shop did not have snow shoes and the only one able to make them: the gnome carpenter, Arbagazor Frimbocket, was suffering from the bleaching and was vastly unhelpful. I stressed how much he looked like a sullen Tenezegil Frimbocket from Heldren, and allowed a perception check to realize that he might be related rather than just eerily similar like some of the other town´s inhabitants.

If they said nothing he would make them shoes anyway at double their price. But if they tell him about his brother being alive and the portal to reach Heldren he becomes much more animated and begins to gain some colour. He succumbed to the bleaching because he believed his brother was dead in a snow storm and thus didn´t see the point in continuing. As a reward he makes them snow shoes for free and, with a successful diplomacy check, gives them his darkwood composite longbow he has (I replaced the quarterstaff with this as it is on my ranger´s wish list and I like to reward good roleplaying). Once he finished the shoes he leaves town and shuts shop to find his brother.

(4) Secondly I had a side quest. The ruins of the old town elder´s house had a haunt which triggered if anyone went exploring there, I had the oracle hear whispers as she passed it in the town square. The haunt was a lady holding a baby who exploded in flames (doing 4d6 fire damage, reflex half) and then the party oracle had a vision of a man running and hiding a box under the tree in the graveyard, before being dragged by guards and then hung up to die of exposure at the clock tower and finally his wife and child being burnt in the ruins. Digging under the tree in the graveyard turns up a locked wooden box containing a bag full of 6 hex nails and a special attentive mirror.

This mirror when opened sends an alarm to a Yelizaveta Jadwiga in Whitethrone who works with the Heralds of Summers Return in the hopes of bringing down the Elvanna Jadwiga. The town elder was one of her ´little birds´ spying for her until he was discovered and executed, luckily he managed to hide this mirror and his collection of illegal hex nails. This Yelizaveta Jadwiga is surprised to hear from him, knowing full well he was killed, and so she contacts the mirror in ten minutes to speak with the PCs.

She uses a stolen Cold Sister´s shawl hiding her face, and concealing her voice, and uses the code name ´Snow White´ with all her spies. Her mirror is especially warded to not allow others to cast Mirror Sight through it. She is a fountain of information should the PCs gain her trust and will work with them later in Whitethrone. For now she can tell them that Nazhena, who she deeply despises, is not in her tower and has just arrived in Whitethrone to meet with the queen.

(5) I removed the withcrow because my players were all excited about the Pale Tower and I didn´t think it really added anything but a little distraction.

(6) In the tower I changed very little (it is a great dungeon) but I did use the Superstitious Mercenary build for the elite guards with the general inside to make it more of a challenge, I replaced some of their equipment with masterwork cold iron longswords though. I also added a trap on the ground floor. When the PCs pass between the two statues in the water elemental room a pressure pad triggers the statue´s weapons to slash down and do damage, because I have a rogue in my party who loves to feel useful. If they triggered this trap it would also alert the water elemental to attack. I also had the ice crystal teleporters only have enough space for one person at a time so that they have to arrive one at a time to the other floors. The keys can be passed to another in the few seconds before the ice completely incases the user.

(7) Finally I made the portal closure nicely epic. First they need to find the incantation in the room´s books. Then it must be read and every round a DC 15 spellcraft check made to maintain it by one PC. When this is read the globe of the world (which I had floating 20ft up in the air) floats down into the ritual circle where a PC must wait to touch the globe. They must then make a DC 15 UMD check and this projects his/her consciousness into the globe where it is like their mind is floating above all the world, and they can see little blue lines stretching across it (the ley lines). A DC 10 geography check is needed to locate the Taldor/Irrisen line, trying to close the others results in failure. Once the correct leyline is located it takes another DC15 UMD check to move their consciousness to the line and another one to snip the leyline and end the ritual, each check takes a turn and failure results in being delayed at that point. If the globe user fails a check then they can try again each round, however they are taking 1d6 cold damage every round at this point for touching the globe and should the spellcraft check fail then the orb floats up and they have to start the checks all over again.

Worse still attached to the ritual is a Waterfiend who appears between the fiend statues when the incantation starts and attacks everyone in the room, so the other players have to hold it at bay. Should the incantation stop, due to failing the spellcraft check or that person being knocked out, then the fiend vanishes, but reappears when the incantation starts again.

Firstly, I´d like to say that I love this AP. I have thoroughly enjoyed reading it start to finish and it is full of excellent well thought out ideas.

I´m a new GM (but old player) and have started running it with a group of four who are all new PC´S. I based all their characters on Game of Thrones character to give them a basis for role-play. They have just finished Part 2 of book 1 and we are having a great time.

So, I have been reading these boards and borrowing ideas and expanding on them for my game. I´m going for a very dark fairy-tale them and I just thought I should share the changes I made to both stats and plot, since they have all gone down really well:

(1) I had the snow be intermittent so as not to completely spaff archers and rogue perception checks.

(2) Stat wise I removed poison breath from the Tazylworm and instead give it a burrow speed (as suggested on this site). With the cold sprites I replaced Color Spray with Freezing Hands 1/day cast at level 3, so 3d4 cold damage, reflex half. This was nasty but can at least be resisted and healed, and is unlikely to cause the entire party wipe of Colour Spray. Rohkar I made a level 2 cleric and level 1 fighter to tone down his channel ability. But conversely I had him dual wielding a long sword and short sword (both poisoned) and clad in Scale Mail. I also gave him a potion of invisibility so he could still slip downstairs and raise some zombies.

(3) I had a side quest in town involving Mother Theodora sending the players out to retrieve some herbs from the forest to the north where they encounter some snow goblins who came through the portal (idea off this website). With the herbs she makes a potion which she asks the players to give to Argus Goldtooth. The next day him and Tessarea Willwobark (the alchemist) announce their engagement to the village and set the wedding for just two days away. The potion was of course a love potion that Argus put in Tessarea´s morning tea he always brings for her.

The marriage happens midday of the next day and PC´s are given a chance to intercept if they are spoilsports. The love potion wore off after a few hours but it was enough of a push to make Tessarea realize her hidden feelings for the dwarf barber. Basically I made Mother Theodora an interfering old busy body in Heldren. If they bring her the herbs she gives them some of the gold that Argus gives her for the potion, and if they let ´true love take its course´ (ie don´t interfere with the wedding) then she gives them the scroll she has (I made it summon monster 2). I also switched the wand of magic weapon in the church for a slightly depleted wand of cure light wounds to purchase (they bloody needed it).

(4) I removed Dryden Kepp from the plot and instead had Mother Theodora´s granddaughter, who everyone calls ´Red´ due to her cloak (little red riding hood). She is a ruthless hunter in the region and recently has become obsessed with hunting down the giant weasel she spotted in the woods. Mother Theodora is concerned for her granddaughter who disappeared in the woods with her wolf companion a few days ago. Red is actually a Chaotic Neutral level 3 hunter with a wolf companion (I really wanted to test pilot that class).

Instead of finding Kepp´s body they find a bloodied deer corpse in a clearing that Red is using as bait. There are four bear traps surrounding the corpse. If they trigger them then Red and her wolf companion come out of the woods and she berates them for ruining her trap. She is already unfriendly but if made friendly she will join them (at least as far as finding the weasel) or they may end up fighting her of course. I made her super kick ass with a repeating crossbow. She has survived in the snow this long by casting Endure Elements on herself, and has wasted a sprite or two already.

(5) In town, one of the possible rumors says Owl Lake is haunted. A strange owl watches them from atop the statue in town, which flies off if harassed. In the lodge one of the sick bandits was blind and blathering on about a beautiful woman he saw by the lake. On the map on Rohkar´s wall Owl Lake was marked as Dangerous Fey (not winter!). When they cross over the bridge from the lodge I had another path leading down the ravine towards the lake. Suddenly a tulip sprouts up down this path, and then another further down, and then another flower further down etc etc. Basically at the lake is a powerful Nymph who is also a level 10 water oracle manipulating the environment to bring the PC´s to her.

She is the statue in Heldren and has been scrying on them through her owl. She was cursed by Baba Yaga to never be able to leave her lake and her sister nymph (the statue in Waldor) was taken by Baba Yaga and is now the evil nymph from book 3. The Lady of Owl Lake is trying to lure the players to her with the tulips and her owl. Should they ignore this because they don´t trust it (my PC´s didn´t) then she sends a Sending to the most likely PC to react, inviting them to Owl Lake so she can help them.

If they go to the lake they discover it is untouched by the winter around it and is in fact abundant with life. Some nixies attempt to persuade the PC´S in sylvan to enter the water, using charm person if necessary. If they do then the nixies cast Water Breathing and take the PC´s to the lady of the lake at the center. She tells them her story about the curse and what she knows about the winter fey who are invading from Irrisen, although she thinks Baba Yaga is behind it all. Her magic is holding the winter at bay from her lake and Heldren, but it is fading (also a good IC reason for the snow being intermittent). She tells them Heldren is connected to Irrisen by a ley line and that her sister lived in a lake on the other side until Baba Yaga ´took her away and filled her heart with darkness´. I roleplayed her like a cross between Kate Bush and the Lady of the Lake from the most recent Merlin mini-series (with a necklace of fish swimming around her neck).

Should they treat her well she crowns them warriors of summer and gives them an item each. I gave my PC´s a flaming sword, ring of a thousand colors (gives interesting options for assaulting the cold tower later), her boon which is a sea shell (+4 to will saves) and a her wand. Her wand has the power to hold back bad weather 3/day (in other words reduce weather by one category, so a snowstorm would become just snow) in a 100ft radius for a duration of concentration + 1 rd. This can be used at the winter portal to reduce the effects to just normal snow at the cost of one player concentrating (of course all the fey will target that PC once they clock what is happening.). And is also useful throughout the campaign. I also gave it a 1/day ability to shoot out a ray of fey magic which is like a random rod of wonder style transformation ability triggered by saying the lady of the lake´s true name.

The Lady asks one other favor of the PC´s that in their quest against Baba Yaga if they should encounter her sister, then they should convince her to willingly take her boon and then the darkness in her heart will be healed (this will happen in book 3 and if they succeed then the evil nymph will become good and help them – at the cost of losing the boon of course).

The Lady can also raise dead or heal if there are any early deaths. Once this encounter is finished she expels them from the lake crying out ´Begone, they come!´. Landing on the bank I had Ioze and some cold fey (or whoever is left) attack and the lake freeze over during the fight, and trapping the Lady below it forever (at least till the PC´s shut the portal). The wand´s ability makes the portal fight awesome with the PC´s having to protect the wand wielder from Tebb and the remaining fey or suffer from the 5ft visibility issue.

(6) To really up the creep factor and in a nod to the Blair Witch, I had Thora cast Charm Person and make those it works on stand in the corner of her hut facing the wall whilst she butches their companions with her little knife.