It's my first time GMing a game that will include exploration in the winter. It is for the third module of the Kingmaker Adventure Path. Since I'm after some generic advice, I thought it would be best to ask here than in the Kingmaker forum.
There's already a few feet of snow on the ground. The temperature by day is around the freezing point (0 Celsius degrees) and it gets to around -10 up to -20 degress during the night. It's basically the same kind of winter that we have in Quebec (eastern Canada).
I would like to have some advice on how to handle it. What kind of equipment should the players take for overland travel? For camping during the night?
If you have any personal anecdote on such activity, feel free to post it. I might yoink it.
Thanks!
A few feet of snow? And day temperatures at zero? It will be wet, slow, you will not sleep well in that cold, and most sensible people would stay inside. With modern equipment, things change a bit, but perhaps magic can solve that. Still, until you get overland flight magic, you are going to slog at a snail's pace.
Endure Elements and fuggeddaboudit.
I suppose you could create a compelling game about surviving against the elements and making Donner Party-esque moral decisions, but Pathfinder is probably the wrong game to run it...
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Exploration is fun in snow! Increased difficulty to find ruins, unique features, and creatures that haven't left their holes since the last snowfall. Anything that has moved through the snow will be easier to find. I doubled the time to clear a hex and move due to difficult terrain. Increased acrobatics checks to moved about.
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In my pathfinder game my party is putting a full share of all treasure to a "party fund" to handle all the silly little needs people have as a adventuring party in style.
You see we are taking a page from Saints Row, where we want people to see us as leaders so we have to look like we are in charge, and that means spending money on clothing, cribs and modes of transportation that most adventuring parties would refuse to do.
If they are smart they will dump some money into winter clothes, furs and a pavilion tent or two (you can have a fire inside the tent). If they include extravagances like campfire beads, expedition pavilions and warm drinks then you know they are taking the story seriously and I would consider some good planning/role playing xp. if they do not prepare for the cold at all then tell them proper clothes costs them 20 gold and lower their next xp gain by like 10%.
Mounted travel becomes impractical - horses with a low energy vegetarian diet can't carry enough food to feed themselves.
Skis, snowshoes or dog sled would work for travel. A warm sleeping bag plus something like a cot to keep the characters off the cold ground is important. In a forest they could cut pine boughs for this. Travel will be slower since it will be important to set up a good camp each day during daylight hours (shorter days in winter).
Some method of navigation would be useful. Landmarks may look different or be covered in snow.
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It's my first time GMing a game that will include exploration in the winter. It is for the third module of the Kingmaker Adventure Path. Since I'm after some generic advice, I thought it would be best to ask here than in the Kingmaker forum.
There's already a few feet of snow on the ground. The temperature by day is around the freezing point (0 Celsius degrees) and it gets to around -10 up to -20 degress during the night. It's basically the same kind of winter that we have in Quebec (eastern Canada).
I would like to have some advice on how to handle it. What kind of equipment should the players take for overland travel? For camping during the night?
If you have any personal anecdote on such activity, feel free to post it. I might yoink it.
Thanks!
From a fellow quebequois born in the Laurentians, here's a few things I'd consider.
Treat outdoors as difficult ground. Loose snow is a b***h to fight in. You could consider some zones of the terrain as slippery, as with a permanent grease effect. Snowy blizzard can easily be recreated with the sleet storm spell.
Tracking should be either next to impossible or obvious as, well, tracks in snow.
Overland movement should suffer accordingly, but the survival skill should help to alleviate that. Something that is often forgotten in RPG, night vision is much easier when the ground is covered in snow. You could double the effective visibility on a clear night. Similarly, certain conditions make the daylight quite blinding (dazzle conditions? double penalty for creature with light sensitivity?).
Also from personal experience, snow can cover-up natural traps. Most wouldn't have much impact on an adventurer's day, but this could can make an interesting set-up in conjunction with an encounter.
But in the end, characters of level 5 and up get pretty resourceful in PF, getting access to a variety of spells and decent skill modifiers. Don't get too frustrated if most of the wintery stuff get easily circumvented by PCs.
'findel
I'm amazed to have so many responses, so thank you! :D
The party is around 6th level and is made up of :
- Aldori duelist (Human / Fighter)
- Master Spy (Half-orc / Rogue)
- Ex-member of a lizard tribe (Half-elf / Summoner)
- Court Favorite (Human / Bard)
- Fallen Noble (Human / Paladin)
They have few magical options to facilitate the winter exploration. I'm not expecting to simulate any Donner-style expedition. But just a few ideas here and there are greatly appreciated.
It's more a question of flavor, to give them the feeling of hardship and come up with new situations (the hidden traps under the snow is a great idea).
Is it realistic to move around with a pavillon tent with a fire stove in the center??
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With better technology, hiking equipment has primarily lost weight and gotten better insulated. So, in a pseudomedieval setting, this is not true. Thus, you are very heavily burdened, since you carry heavy tents, stoves, bedrolls, winter furs. Around zero means EVERYTHING is wet, all the time. Using skis, you can make some distance in a day, but you will likely be plowing new tracks which is slower. Walking is not an alternative. Fighting when wearing skis? I would think that's virtually impossible. At least, Dex bonuses to AC would be right out. Fighting without the skis? Double strength difficult terrain, perhaps? Now, considering the weight you have to carry, including shovels etc, and the cold, you will burn energy, and need more food... Which you will then need to carry... Also, animals are hungry and bandits are desperate, and you leave magnificent tracks for them to follow.
Yes, this is harsh. Consider that armies were entirely unable to move in winter, and that smart people did not anyway. This is why. Even if short trips in such conditions today can be fun.
Ah, right, tents. You carry big tents divided into several parts, so as not to load one person down too much. Just remember that it takes a long time to set up camp and break camp. Shovels are a necessity.
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Get a dog or reindeer sled. They still outperform modern vehicles at temperatures where your engine freezes up.
Arctic people are doing perfectly fine in absolutely insane winter conditions, as they have been doing for thousands of years. What you need is skill and experience, then getting the right equipment for the job is quite easy.
Stats for snow can be found here.
Is it realistic to move around with a pavillon tent with a fire stove in the center??
You mean like those used by nomads in siberia?
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A pavilion tent does not need a stove, it needs a hole in the ground and something burnable.
once you get a fire going inside (prestidigitation, spark or a dc 12 survival check) your people should be warm.
If a pavilion tent gets covered in snow it actually becomes warmer inside because snow is a decent insulator
Horses should be OK so long as you are providing feed for them, they cannot forage in the snow they way they can basically feed themselves in the spring, summer and early fall, so you need to carry feed for them as well as yourselves. Don't forget blankets for them and to take time to build a wall around them when they rest so they can build up heat when you rest.
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Using skis, you can make some distance in a day, but you will likely be plowing new tracks which is slower. Walking is not an alternative. Fighting when wearing skis? I would think that's virtually impossible. At least, Dex bonuses to AC would be right out. Fighting without the skis? Double strength difficult terrain, perhaps?
Oh man, fighting in skis... that is a hilariously bad idea. (My first outing each year, I have been known to trip myself while just trying to step on and off the track.) Running and fighting in snowshoes would be more feasible, but still awkward—by stepping widely enough to avoid stepping on your other snowshoe and tripping yourself, you risk overbalancing and tripping yourself.
I'm not sure whether there are caribou in the River Kingdoms, but if you want to handwave that, caribou sleds are another transportation alternative. Apparently in late 1800s–early 1900s Alaska, rescue teams used to use caribou sleds instead of dog sleds because you didn't need to waste carrying capacity on food. The rescuers would harness up a half dozen or so, bring along a small replacement herd, run the pullers until they dropped, then eat them and harness up a new batch. Not a viable long-term method (and probably wouldn't fly with druids), but efficient in the short term.
Also, ice shifting on frozen lakes and rivers make loud, eerie groans and sproinging sounds that can come from many parts of the body of water, and echo off snow-covered hills, making it sound like something is coming for the PCs...