The snow-covered plains and scraggly tundra of the frigid north boast many more foes than expected at first glance. Whether your party will be traversing the wilderness for days on end or simply venturing out from the last bastion of civilization for a day trip, this week’s Dungeon Tables will provide you with plenty of options for combat and encounters. The table below provides foes in a wide spread of difficulties, so some results may be easy while others deadly. Feel free to use as inspiration or tweak, modify, and supplement to your heart’s content. Make sure you grab your snow shoes, and happy adventuring!
TUNDRA
| 2d20 | Encounter |
| 2 | 2d8 ice mephits causing harm and misery for the pure enjoyment of it. |
| 3 | 2d4 hungry roggenwolves (see Creature Codex), surrounding the party in hunting formation. |
| 4 | A glacial behemoth (see Tome of Beasts 2), a dire threat to nearly any party. |
| 5 | 1d4 + 4 kamaitachi (see Tome of Beasts 2), swarming the party—whom they view as intruders. |
| 6 | A boreal dragon wyrmling (75%) or a young boreal dragon (25%) (see Tome of Beasts 2). |
| 7 | 1d4 + 6 beli (see Tome of Beasts), darting in and out of the fray. |
| 8 | The party comes upon a seemingly abandoned campsite with tattered tents and a cold, snow-covered fire ring. Upon closer inspection, the party discovers five humanoid corpses within the tents. One of the corpses is a quiet soul (see Creature Codex). |
| 9 | 1d4 + 2 lindwurms (see Tome of Beasts), skittering across the ice and snow. |
| 10 | 2 snow cats (see Creature Codex), accompanying a druid through the snow. |
| 11 | A hoarfrost drake (see Tome of Beasts 2), guarding an empty white dragon lair. |
| 12 | 3 sluagh swarms (see Tome of Beasts), whispering and clawing from the darkness. |
| 13 | An a-mi-kuk (see Tome of Beasts 2) that ambushes the party. |
| 14 | The same number of glacial corruptors (see Tome of Beasts 2) as there are members of the party, plus 1. |
| 15 | 2 snow giants (75%, see Tome of Beasts 2) or 2 snow giants and a frost giant. |
| 16 | 2d4 + 2 mahoru (75%, see Tome of Beasts) or the same number of akhlut (25%, see Tome of Beasts 2), gnawing thin patches into the ice above. |
| 17 | A warmth thief (see Tome of Beasts 2), desperate to ease its pain and suffering. |
| 18 | A white dragon wyrmling (50%)or a young white dragon (50%), out searching for a new lair. |
| 19 | 1d4 winterghasts (see Tome of Beasts 2), feasting on the frozen corpse of a mammoth. |
| 20 | A strange, stunted forest stands before the party, seemingly nothing remaining of the trees but the broken, rotting stumps and a few scraggly bushes. As the party approaches, the stumps—in truth 2d4 shadow blights (see Creature Codex)—rise up onto their roots and attack. |
| 21 | A remorhaz bursting from beneath the snow with a bone-chilling shriek. |
| 22 | 1d8 + 1 ice bogies(see Tome of Beasts 2) that arrive to play tricks on the party while they are camping for the night. |
| 23 | A qiqirn (50%) or a corrupted qiqirn (50%) (see Tome of Beasts 2), lingering around the outskirts of the nearest town. |
| 24 | If the party makes a fire when they stop to camp, a chill haunt (see Tome of Beasts 2) approaches and attacks them. If they kill the creature and continue travelling, it returns to life 24 hours later and follows after them, catching up with them the next night (48 hours after it was originally slain). This continues until they are able to put the creature to rest (see the Restless Undeadsection of the creature’s description). |
| 25 | 2 snow terrors, trying to outdo one another with their kills. |
| 26 | 2 polar bears (75%) or an ursa polaris (25%, see Creature Codex), defending an ice cave. Within the cave sleep two young. |
| 27 | 1d4 rime worm grubs (75%) or 1d4 rime worm grubs and 1 adult rime worm (25%) (see Tome of Beasts), wriggling from beneath the snow. |
| 28 | A small herd of 1d4 + 1 mammoths (75%) or the same number of oliphaunts (25%, see Creature Codex). |
| 29 | 1d4 + 2 frost moles (see Tome of Beasts 2) that have dug the same number of snow pits beneath the party’s path. |
| 30 | 2d4 + 4 fraughashar battling 2 einherjar (see Tome of Beasts). The einherjar are friendly to the party and, if the party joins the fray with them against the fraughashar, will silently lead them back to their camp where 3 more einherjar and 3 ravenfolk warriors (see Tome of Beasts) await. They offer the party food, drink, and rest in return for their aid. |
| 31 | A crooked hut groans under the weight of the snow and ice. Within, a snow hag (see Creature Codex) waits, offering medicines and other remedies—for a price, of course. |
| 32 | A sapphire jelly (see Tome of Beasts 2), resembling the ice around it. |
| 33 | A fang of the Great Wolf worg (see Creature Codex), who simply happened upon the group. |
| 34 | An icy-cold metee-kolen-ol (see Creature Codex), searching for people to sacrifice to its frigid god. |
| 35 | A cloud of 2d6 rimewings (see Creature Codex) descend from the cloudy sky and surround the party. |
| 36 | An ice maiden (75%) or an ice maiden and 2 servants (a wolf reaver dwarf and a bandit lord, both under the Kiss of the Frozen Hearteffect) (25%) (see Tome of Beasts). |
| 37 | The party stumbles upon a cave within the ice and snow. If the party investigates, they discover dozens of giant snowballs inside the cave. Within the snowballs are frozen corpses of various arctic creatures—a few snow hares, one harefolkwith a few copper or silver in its pouch, the leg of a mammoth, and even a boreal dragon wyrmling. The cave is the home of 2d6 giant snow beetles (see Tome of Beasts 2), currently out scavenging, and if the party lingers too long, the creatures return and attack the party. |
| 38 | 2d4 winter wolves, hunting and howling in the cold. |
| 39 | A sudden snowstorm whips up… within it is a frostveil (75%) or a theullai (25%) (see Tome of Beasts), it’s true nature obscured by the swirling snow and ice. |
| 40 | A hulking ogre, lumbering through the snow. |
I would love to see all these encounter tables gathered together in a single location.
Thanks for another great list!
Added to the Blog Database.
https://jonbupp.wordpress.com/for-dungeon-masters/chapter-5-adventure-environments/wilderness/arctic/