This series of books by Michael Scott Rohan are super-duper. Mythic, epic and rather enigmatic from a gaming perspective.

You see, encroaching ice is basically the big bad of the books - sure, there are cultists urging it along, so to speak, but ultimately, the ice is the enemy.

How do you represent this in a game?

Quote from: One Horse Town;364837This series of books by Michael Scott Rohan are super-duper. Mythic, epic and rather enigmatic from a gaming perspective.

You see, encroaching ice is basically the big bad of the books - sure, there are cultists urging it along, so to speak, but ultimately, the ice is the enemy.

How do you represent this in a game?

Ice weasels.

-clash

With... ice?

I don't know, climate phenomena don't really strike me as very interesting antagonists... it's one thing to do a "man v. nature" kind of thing, but trying to portray ice as the BBEG? That seems a little strange.

Quote from: GnomeWorks;364841I don't know, climate phenomena don't really strike me as very interesting antagonists... it's one thing to do a "man v. nature" kind of thing, but trying to portray ice as the BBEG?

There is a more traditional Big Bad involved, in fact: Louhi, the witch-queen from The Kalevala and Finnish mythology.

Quote from: One Horse Town;364837This series of books by Michael Scott Rohan are super-duper. Mythic, epic and rather enigmatic from a gaming perspective.

You see, encroaching ice is basically the big bad of the books - sure, there are cultists urging it along, so to speak, but ultimately, the ice is the enemy.

How do you represent this in a game?

Well, hmm.  Never done it before, but if I was required to, my thinking would be something like this...

The natural event (ice sheet, growing desert, etc) is the main problem in the setting.  It isn't a conventional monster, so the disaster becomes a part of the setting or tone of my game.  In other words, it's like other settings' "Last War," "loss of magic" or "great conspiracy." Backdrop.  It should be pervasive to the setting and nearly every adventure.  But it still isn't an "adversary."

I don't care for faceless enemies much in my game.  So I would start thinking about how villains could exploit the ever-growing ice shelf.  You'd have people migrating - lots of opportunity for slavery and exploitation.  Food resources would become scarce, so hunters, trade unions, nobles might move up the social ladder even higher.  Hell, wood to burn could become more valuable than currency.

In a fantasy setting, I'd almost surely set up a BBEG that was growing an army of undead or similar beast that could thrive in the winter clime.  In a sci-fi setting, said villain could be creating a mutant race intended to out live normal humans.

Finally, every so often, I would pit PC vs. Nature, just so they don't forget they're dealing with a serious problem.  Oh, that magical artifact you need?  It's located 40 miles into the glacier.  Dress warm.  Freak storms could blow down from the north every now and then, casting doubt over how safe "civilization" actually is.  

Monsters better suited to handle the cold would be climbing up the food chain past their temperate equivalents.  Maybe yeti supplant ogres.  White dragons finally put those snide reds in their place.

Dunno.  It all sounds like quite a bit of fun.  If for no other reason than to do something other than "A big war happened fifty years ago and the adventurers live in a time when the powers that be are beginning to reassert themselves."

Oh, and a cabal of fire-themed specialist wizards presenting themselves as god-kings.  Should probably have some of that.

Nice ideas, winkingbishop!

Quote from: One Horse Town;364847Nice ideas, winkingbishop!

You didn't like the ice weasels?

-clsh

Quote from: flyingmice;364849You didn't like the ice weasels?

-clsh

You're thinking too small. Ice Badgers would be much better.

A fantastic series of books, of which the original trilogy was the best.

I think the Ice-as-an-enemy theme really only came into its own by the 3rd book, but I never felt Ice was the enemy. More of an ambivalent variantion on mother-nature / father-winter.

This thread reminds me of those Wilderness and Frostburn survival guides that do the ice environment as a careless force enables a good and even a bad GM to add great amounts of mellodrama.

You might be able to pull a bunch of ideas from the Hellfrost setting.
=

Quote from: One Horse Town;364851You're thinking too small. Ice Badgers would be much better.

But Ice Weasels come in Hordes! Ice Badgers are solitary bastards. A Horde of Ice Weasels can skeletonize a woolly mammoth in less than five minutes!

-clash

Quote from: flyingmice;364856But Ice Weasels come in Hordes! Ice Badgers are solitary bastards. A Horde of Ice Weasels can skeletonize a woolly mammoth in less than five minutes!

-clash

You're thinking of Ice Piranha.

Quote from: flyingmice;364849You didn't like the ice weasels?

-clsh

Seriously, I'm with Clash on this one.  If you really need to be convinced, they can be giant ice weasels ridden by hobgoblin samurai.

...you know what?  Maybe you just don't see it yet.  I'll help



convinced yet?

Quote from: winkingbishop;364859Seriously, I'm with Clash on this one.  If you really need to be convinced, they can be giant ice weasels ridden by hobgoblin samurai.

...you know what?  Maybe you just don't see it yet.  I'll help



convinced yet?

Yes! Think of a Horde of these babies! Who needs Rifts?

-clash