Dark Winter (Adventure Aid)

Posted: September 22, 2011 | Author: Dennis N. Santana | Filed under: Adventures, D&D 4e, Fluff/Inspiration, Legacy D&D, Other Systems, RPG, Spirits Of Eden |Leave a comment »

When the ice comes, homes close, and life fades, for a time, hoping for spring to renew it. This provides a unique opportunity to those with discerning eyes and unscrupulous motives. Those who brave the cold will find their secrets well kept until the snows thaw. And if the snows never thaw, then their spoils can remain forever hidden.

Dark Winter is a scenario, development and a series of play ideas for a GM to use and adapt as he or she wishes. While focused on this blog’s theme (The world of the Spirits of Eden, Adel), it can be played in any setting and with any game system you prefer. At the end there will be a section to convert the scenario to a more generic game setting fit for fantasy titles like D&D, Pathfinder and retroclones, as well as RPGs like GURPS, Savage Worlds and indie titles.

Crime Pays…For A While

Oomash has always been home to organized crime, since its inception. Even as the first Congress signed Andaliel’s independence from the Aptoa into symbolic law, all manner of crooked characters were smuggling exotic and illicit goods through the many tunnels leading into the wintry mountain-borne city. While the guard forces in the city have done an admirable job in trouncing big bosses, it’s the weasels in the labyrinthine tunnel system connected to the city that are a growing problem.

One such criminal, going by the name of Chotta Nabhan, has eluded the authorities for close to a decade. Nabhan, a Cuporo, is known for his small size and his ability to fit into nearly any size tunnel that he can find. His group has people with similar abilities (of varying heights). All that the authorities have learned about him is that chasing him through the tunnels is a lost cause – the only way they would ever get at his crew is by finding their big stashes and safe havens.

And such a break may be just around the corner. “Winter” has come early to the always-wintry Oomash, before the Republican Guard had a chance to make preparations and regulations for the Ice Drake hunting season. Ice Drake products sell quite well, and with the sudden and early winter, some opportunists will be going after drakes before the yearly quotas are established – and before Chotta can move his operation to the safer tunnels, away from the nesting spots of Ice Drakes.

Character Hooks

To use most of this information, you’ll need a reason for characters to go to Solitude Valley.

Big Game Hunter [Any]: Hey, the regulations haven’t been set yet, have they? It’s not like it’s currently illegal to decimate the Ice Drake population. Most law-abiding hunters will wait until the quotas are put up, but they’re fools. A few intrepid characters would see money in getting as many Ice Drakes as possible to market before the Guard put up quotas. Only the bravest would do this, however – because the Guard don’t just set quotas, they also establish temporary camps and medical facilities and rescue operations, none of which you will be able to benefit from. But you ignore the dangers.

Solitude Duty [Soldiers]: The Guard use Solitude Valley as a punishment. They have a diminutive outpost in the valley where unruly guardsmen and guardswomen are sent to take a time out in the horrific cold. Many of the guard here are disgruntled and not quite eager to enforce the law, but they might have to if something serious occurs.

The Majestic Ice Drake [Scholars]: This is the moment you’ve been waiting for. Finally, you’ll be able to study the graceful and beautiful Ice Drake, with nobody around to disrupt their natural activities. Surely, your scientific paper on this creature will be the first milestone in what will assuredly be a lifetime of achievement. You were born for this.

Oomash And Ice Drakes

Oomash is the capital of the Republic of Andaliel, far to the North, within the Hetuku mountain range. Oomash was nestled within the rock, inside the mountain itself. The city was built atop two concentric layers of mountain rock, the center one sunken compared to the outer, which is accessible by four massive, cardinal sets of staircases, ramps and elevators connecting the two. The bottom level is also accessible by a heavily guarded main tunnel, the only intended entrance into Oomash. However, perhaps hundreds of tunnels connect different strata of the city to other portions of the mountain, and to the outside world. Some tunnels have been made “official” so to speak, but most others are still partially sealed, or completely under the radar. It is this nature that has made Oomash both a bustling jewel-city of the North, and an interesting crime venture.

Following one of the official tunnels, the mountain interior opens up, to a rocky, snowy, icy waste constantly blasted by snow from the storms ever raging over the Hetuku. This is the Solitude Valley. It is course, not a real valley – it is still inside the enormous mountains, and is really just a huge and open “room” in the cave system. It is here the Ice Drakes nest every winter, when it gets coldest. It is also here where Nabhan’s operation hides until the Winter hunting season, when they are forced to move the goods elsewhere for safety. This has been going on like clockwork for nearly a decade, but Adel’s seasons and weather are not always so reliable. Nabhan would hardly be ready if winter struck before it was “supposed to.” And now it has – all he can do is hope the valley is so clogged with Ice Drakes that nobody notices him while he comes up with a better plan.

Nabhan’s Contraband

Nabhan’s hides out in a cave system dug out against the northern reach of Solitude Valley. His hideout consists of two strata and a partial third strata, descending deeper into the mountain. The first strata looks like any other cave – but there are a few somewhat hidden entranceways to the second strata, where Nabhan keeps the smoking Opium he gets from the outside, and then allows to trickle into dance halls and other venues of his choosing at a tidy pace, and tidy price.

But his main business now is in selling firearms to goons. Nabhan’s firearms are made in his hideout, and they are so awful he does not use them. Nabhan’s guns are prone to jams, have no sights, and unlike every other Adelian rifle, have no forward-mounted combat grip for easier use. However, Nabhan pumps them out fast, because he ignores the needed rituals to make a good gun. He also makes ammunition, which is perhaps even worse quality than the actual guns shooting it are. But he has found a niche, and others grudgingly buy, since they can’t get any legitimate arms as cheaply.

Nabhan’s crew consists of 20 or so guys and gals, many of them outcasts of society in one way or another. Most of them would’ve turned out okay had it not been for Nabhan’s influence, and especially, for his contraband. The crew is quite loyal and Nabhan knows this – he always looks out for number one, and it’s good that his crew does too. Nabhan and his crew rely on outrunning the Guard in the tunnels, on using secret passages to get back to Solitude Valley unscathed, and of hiding in such a desolate place. They are not great fighters, but for gangers, they’re able to hold their own.

His main problem is that with the early winter, Ice Drakes are coming in and moving mostly unimpeded, and many have nested closer to his cave than they ever have, including hiding out in the first strata. Normally he plans two weeks ahead of the usual hunting season, moves his operation somewhere more comfortable, quickly disposes of his merchandise while the Guard are distracted, and lives it up for the Winter and Spring, before going “back to work.”

Solitude Valley Outpost

Whatever reasons the characters might have, they can easily stock up for their trip in Oomash. Oomash is a large, lively city, with quite a few markets, a bustling night life, many entertainment and artistic venues, and no shortage of societies and businesses to acquire equipment and advice from. Solitude Valley is well known and easily accessible. Finding information on it will be a breeze, as well as learning about the early winter, and the opportunities it holds.

Solitude Valley is a massive expanse of snow with a frozen river cutting across it, and rocks and frosty tunnels at any conceivable end. There are of course a few plants (mostly low shrubs and roots) and animals, but it is a rocky, ugly, snow-battered waste at a glance. The outpost will stick out quite soon after descending the tunnels and arriving at the valley. It is a brick, two-story building with a constantly puffing chimney stack. As with all Guard outposts, citizens are welcome to stop by and receive educational pamphlets, but the guards currently in the Outpost are unlikely to be the warmest bunch.

Paham Maharaj: Paham is a Cuporo private, and for a young man with a very colorful magnolia growing out of his head, Paham is not altogether pleasant. Stuck in unrewarding patrol work in the darkest, dankest tunnels, Paham drank his sorrows down a bit too much and decided to take his grievances to his commanding officer: by breaking a bottle against the man’s head. Paham will be terse and sarcastic with whoever turns up at the outpost. He’s fond of drinking tea and looking out the spyglass set up on the second floor, watching the Ice Drakes go about their awkward partner dances.

Shurp Twenty: No one has much of an idea of what Shurp is doing at the outpost. He is a Dromedae, has no known rank, and the guards joke that he “came with the place.” Rather than wear the Guard pants-and-jacket uniform, he wears a colorful and long winter robe, and his antennae are curled into little spirals. He seems fond of keeping inventory of the supplies at Solitude Valley, and other mathematical work. What he was sent there for (and since when) is anyone’s guess. Like many Dromedae, Shurp is somewhat awkward to talk to, and when he attempts to smile it can be somewhat off-putting.

Anshi Hieram: Anshi was a Damakran private working as part of an engineering core, in which she had the not-so-crucial job of making sure the joint screws on some of the golems were tight enough. When all of the joint screws came off on a Kasowari golem piloted during a celebratory parade,  she was exiled by the Grand Artificer to Solitude Valley. Whether it was really her fault, or she took the blame, is known only by a few. Anshi is melancholic and quiet, but she distracts herself with menial tasks like maintaining the temperature, writing day reports, and sealing the windows and doors when it gets dark. In truth, as a Damakran (she is a tropical fish Damakran), the cold upsets her terribly, and she may be getting sick.

Claudia Konkani: Claudia is a young Iomadi sergeant. Her markings are orange fox ears and a tail. She was sent to the outpost for some “indiscretions” with a senator’s daughter under her protection. Regardless of the senator’s venom, Claudia is not discouraged in her love life. She is perhaps the most (perhaps the only) helpful Guard at Solitude Valley. She is fond of accruing little gewgaws, and is usually playing with marbles or other tiny collectibles. Though she does not take the job seriously (for there is no job at Solitude Valley) she is the most emphatic person in the outpost to whatever it is that the characters bring to her attention. A short career of condescending to civilians has prepared her for the task.

Any of these guards could potentially be enticed to help the characters, though the extent of the help they would offer would vary greatly depending on the circumstances, and the interactions with the characters. Having nothing much to do, each Guard will talk mainly about their “rap sheet,” and what they do to pass the time until their “time out” passes. If the characters have professions and goals that interest the Guards (such as Shurp and a scholar character), or if the characters are big-shots and could be helpful to associate with (Claudia could use some politically inclined friends), the Guards open up more. The Guards can help make up for the numeric advantages Nabhan’s crew would have on any party in a climactic shootout.

Dangers of The Wintry Valley

Night Time: During the Winter, snowfall over the Hetuku peak grows ever stronger, and dances storm-like through Solitude Valley. The Guards at Solitude Outpost have hard shutters they use to seal off their windows and doors, because the cold is downright punishing. Any person caught out in Solitude Valley at night will die slowly, painfully, and frostily. It is necessary to keep track of time, and take cover from the storms at night. If a fire can be kept alive for them, then anywhere can be a potential hiding place as long as the characters have a sturdy tent. But it is safest either in Nabhan’s hideout, or in the Outpost. Thankfully, the outpost is close to the places of interest in the Valley, such as the frozen river and the caves.

Ice Drakes: These gangly, goofy-looking theropod lizards are fairly dangerous in large numbers – and they tend to only come in very large numbers. Ice Drakes reproduce quickly, and before hunting was established, would often end up in the city itself, causing problems wherever they went. Since then, hunting has kept their nesting places at bay. The young males are the most profitable (and have the highest quotas) to hunt, more than the breeding females. Ice Drakes can breath puffs of cold gas that hurt and intoxicate people, inducing a strange sluggishness. Nearly every part of an Ice Drake is of some value. Their venom glands are harvested for anesthetics, their fangs for ivory, their hides for cold-resistant clothing.

Snow Fauna: Anything from winter wolves to ice-burrowing landsharks could be featured. A good explanation could be that the bigger predatory creatures migrate to feed on the multitude of Ice Drakes.

Winter Spirits: All manner of wintry spirits could inhabit the Wintry Valley. The most common are lop-eared Snow Spirits, childish and cheerful beings who may become jealous of invaders to their winter wonderland.

Deprivation: There’s not much to forage for in Solitude Valley. You could attempt to dig plants out of the snow, but the plants in Solitude Valley are rather nasty and best left to the snow rodents underfoot. The Outpost routinely gets its water by smashing into the frozen river with hammers, so at least you won’t dehydrate to death. And one supposes you could eat Ice Drakes. But if you plan to stay for a prolonged trip, you’ll need to keep a close eye on your sustenance.

Discovering The Hideout

The characters can stumble upon Nabhan’s hideout within the northern caves. Ice Drakes have recently nested on the first strata of the cave. It is a convenient location for them, offering shelter and a more solid ground to nest in. Nabhan has half-heartedly attempted to scare away the Drakes, but they quickly return each time, and are getting ever more entrenched. In the course of hunting or exploring, the PCs are bound to find the caves and the Drakes.

Nabhan’s secret passages are blocked off by rocks that are slid out of the way when traveling through strata. Anyone with geological knowledge or background is aware that some of the rocks in the cave don’t belong there – Nabhan can’t tell one rock from another, so he used stone from further into his tunnels. Characters with a good eye may be able to notice some cosmetic incongruence without having any formal knowledge of earth and ores. It is also quite possible that the more curious Drakes may have noticed activity behind the rocks and tried to move them. The Drakes aren’t completely oblivious.

The second strata is the storage and assembly, as well as impromptu living space, for the crew. Due to the coming of winter, Nabhan’s crew is often snowed in, and having to dig out their ancillary tunnels (which are too small to effectively move the contraband out through, and lead to a variety of places in Solitude Valley and Oomash). Nabhan has neglected putting any kind of guard on the first strata, though he does sometimes send people to harass the Ice Drakes. The third strata is a failed alternative tunnel, the digging of which has ceased, and which has become Nabhan’s “office.”

The End of Chotta Nabhan

Once Nabhan hideout is uncovered, the jig is up for him. He is not ready to move most of his product – and he has a lot of product – nor any of his impromptu little assembly lines. The only way to do that was through the main tunnels, with time, care and patience, and that is not possible now. If the characters breach stealthily enough, they could retreat and rat him out to the guard, or try to ambush him. Despite his current fears, Nabhan has done little or nothing to prepare himself for possible intrusion. He has no idea how to respond to this turn in his fortunes, and it is maddening to him.

If Nabhan notices an armed presence coming for him, his already frayed nerves may just snap.

He might try to attack the guard outpost by flanking it from one of the ancillary tunnels with his crew, thinking that it’s they who have found him out. Depending on the circumstances, if Nabhan finds the outpost fully manned, his crew will be decimated. He might also just run, leaving behind all his fortunes and starting from scratch. Or, he might decide for a climactic last stand, holding all his “forces” within the second strata and fighting it out over his contraband storage.

Nabhan has an unarmed Kasowari equipped with a drill, acquired before his hideout proved too unstable for new tunnels. He might jump into this golem, along with a trusted wizard pilot, and try to crush the characters that way. A golem is imposing, but still vulnerable, particularly within the cramped hideout and tunnels. If the Guards are helping, they can provide explosives that can render the Kasowari quite vulnerable, and make short work of the hideout.

Rewards For A Job Well Done

If the characters capture or rout Nabhan and show evidence to the authorities of this, they might receive some kind of monetary reward, as well as a good reputation with the Guard. If Solitude Outpost helped them, then their various problems with the Military Administration may be forgiven, or at least, made somewhat less complicated, and their exile is ended. Each young male Ice Drake body is worth between 50 and 100 Silver Phoenixes, while specific parts may be worth between 25 and 50 silver phoenixes per handful (such as fangs, poison glands, meat). Hides are worth 50 silver phoenixes usually.

Less scrupulous characters may decide to take up Nabhan’s legacy, or at least steal his opium.

Alternative Goals

Solitude Valley is more than just Nabhan’s hideout. Here are some alternative goals for characters who do not care about this particular storyline, or who want to remain in Solitude Valley or return to it later on.

•The King Ice Drake Cometh: Legends tell of an alpha ice drake, a beast born of magic and sustained by ice, a sort of God of Ice Drakes that oversees the flock, and only grudgingly allows the mortals to hunt his own. It was he, perhaps, who brought the early winter, as a service to his creatures. And this time, he will not tolerate an assault upon them. The King Ice Drake may stalk the characters, waiting for an opportunity to strike them just before night falls, and so delay and kill them.

•Lost In Snow: A friend of the character’s might’ve set out for Solitude Valley, but been terribly unprepared. He or she may have become lost, perhaps dead, and the concerned characters seek after him or her. Perhaps Nabhan found and kidnapped this person in his growing paranoia, or perhaps he or she has been taken by something stranger within the ice. The characters can set out themselves, and perhaps try to convince the Guards to undertake a rescue mission.

Genericizing The Adventure

The adventure has so far dealt entirely with concepts, culture and creatures intimately related to the World of Adel. If you don’t want to use it, here are some tips for using these ideas outside of The World of Adel, using concepts widely supported by other fantasy games such as dungeons and dragons, and common settings like the Forgotten Realms.

Oomash, Andaliel: Andaliel is a developed nation in Adel with a parliamentary democratic government known for bickering senators and a somewhat slow bureaucracy. Oomash is the capital of this nation, and a peculiar, unique city with a very bustling, partly modern, partly fantastic culture. However, such elements are unnecessary for the adventure, except as part of the backstory and some of the character hooks. You can set the adventure in any place you want, as long as that place is snowy and mountainous. Perhaps a hidden city of Dwarves within icy peaks could replace it.

Adelian Races: The Adelians are composed of four races: Iomadi, Damakran, Cuporo and Droemedae. Each of these races is “marked” by a Spirit ancestor. They are very much human-looking – if you met a “tropical fish” Damakran like Anshi, you’d think she was a colorful human with some fins here and there, not a tropical-fish-person. This detail is of course not necessary to port over unless you want to play in the World of Adel. Use any races you want.

Spirits: Adel is a truly polytheistic place. They have no pantheon of Gods – they worship numerous spirits that have some impact on their lives instead. Spirits are humanoid representations of concepts and phenomena – in this sense they are like Greek Gods, except their powers have a vastly reduced scope. The Spirits in this adventure could be anything from wily fey to neutral, somewhat bratty and selfish outsiders. They also need not even be featured at all.

Drakes: This is basically what Dinosaurs are called in The World of Adel.

Firearms: Adelians have Firearms. Adelian Firearms are all some kind of six-shooter, be it a colt-style revolver rifle or a revolver pistol. Revolver rifles have forward grips to help hold them, and the cylinder is kept in an accessible “box” on the weapon’s body. If you are uncomfortable with Firearms, Nabhan could’ve been making magic items in his caverns.

Kasowari, Golem: The Kasowari is a light golem, about ten feet tall, and is a two-legged walker with a closed “head” cockpit that, for military models, has a cannon “beak.” It seats two. Its legs are clawed, and though it looks stiff, when piloted by a magically-inclined and well-trained character it is surprisingly agile. Golems in Adel are magical vehicles. Nabhan’s golem has no cannon, but it has a drill “arm.” You don’t need to use the vehicle angle. The Kasowari could just be a generic stone or steel golem, human-shaped, and unmanned, taking orders from Nabhan’s loyal wizard partner.

Opium: Opium is an illegal drug in Andaliel, but that doesn’t prevent a lot of the hip people from smoking it. It is mainly sold as a social lubricant in the big, high-life venues and societies Oomash’s night life is known for. If you don’t want drugs in your game, you could change it to some other perishable good.

Silver Phoenix: Adel’s silver coin is used in sort of the same way that the Gold coin is used in D&D, as the main mode of purchasing. Adel has three coins: Copper Turtles, Silver Phoenixes and Gold Dragons. 50 Silver is a significant amount of money, and can get you an average accommodation and meals in Oomash for a week, with some leftover.

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