Ideas for mountain adventure

[Vipersfang]

my players are trekking up a mountain i need scenario ideas.. conflicts? dangers? or anything else that might harm, injure or otherwise make it a dangerous or interesting... anything you can add?

[Rory Collins]

For dangers I would throw in some natural obstacles such as wildlife, rock slides, treacherous terrain, and even extreme weather conditions. If they are going through a narrow pass by following a path that land vehicles use to get over the mountain, maybe set up an encounter with bandits hitting a caravan or even have bandits ambush the characters.

Also, maybe night falls while going up the mountain and they have to find shelter and lo and behold there is a shrine or some empty way station they can stop at for the night but things are constantly moving about outside and present a danger. This can create a horror style encounter where PCs feel all alone.

[Bluemagetim]

Good opportunity to use tracking to avoid dangers or engage them.
Perceptions checks to notice the tracks, RK to identify the kinds of creatures around so the party can choose to use tracking to stay out of their expected routine paths or hunt them down.

[Cole Deschain]

Vipersfang wrote:

my players are trekking up a mountain i need scenario ideas.. conflicts? dangers? or anything else that might harm, injure or otherwise make it a dangerous or interesting... anything you can add?

Altitude sickness.

Snow blindness.
Fata Morgana.
Intense cold.
Katabatic winds.
Make sure you keep track of their food supplies. Maybe they lose some to regular animals if they fail to secure their rations properly.

[Ectar]

What level area are we talking?
Dealing with adverse weather is an appropriate problem for a low level party, but a high level one would probably find such a challenge beneath them, even if they were caught by surprise. It's kinda lame if like a level 13 party had to turn back on their quest, head into town, and buy cold-weather gear before heading out again.

Also, what kind of mountain? What's the general climate of the area?
A temperate mountain will present different challenges to a glacial one.

[*Khan*]

Narrow steep trails and wildlife encounter - fx. a agressive boar or muflon.
Rope bridges.

[OceanshieldwolPF 2.5]

My favorite "ambush" to spring on parties (admittedly, it only really works once per group unless they are really good players who can sit behind the 4th wall and not meta surprise) is the "hidden snow warriors". Essentially the party encounters some sort of beast of burden or large carnivore (or large carnivore eating a beast of burden) on a snowy slope. Once *some* kind of engagement takes place, or ideally, after a few rounds of combat, the snow erupts with a bunch more creatures springing from their snowy hidey holes who then ambush the party. Bonus points if the ambush also happens near a cliff edge.

As seen in Mad Max 2 (or "The Road Warrior" for Americans) where the Gyro Captain springs out of the sand to ambush Max; also see the Villeneuve Dune (1 and 2) movies where the Fremen erupt from the sand.