CHapter 4: Lords of the Long NightKnown FactsCharacters familiar with the tribes of the Haunted Forest will likelyknow the reputation of the Stone Hairs, though their disappearanceis recent enough that it is likely unknown. Other characters can makea Challenging (9) Knowledge test to identify the Stone Hair tribalhome, and can make a Challenging (9) Awareness test to noticesomething is definitely wrong in the hamlet.Unknown FactsThe players may deduce something is wrong in the Stone Hair village,but it being occupied by the Others waiting in ambush is anunlikely conclusion. The Other leading the wights, Frostheel, is lookingto claim territory within the Haunted Forest, slowly expandingfrom settlement to settlement. In the process he hopes to build up hiswight forces, slowly cutting off the free folk from some of their mostvaluable territory.The OthersThe wights will try to kill the characters and turn them to wights, buildingup their numbers while continuing to use the village as a trap. Thewights will pursue the characters a few miles from the village, relying onthe darkness and cold to slow them down, but eventually will turn back.The wights and Frostheel use the standard statistics for wights andthe Others respectively, from the Antagonists and Allies section ofChapter 11: The Narrator, in the SIFRP core book.WeirdnessIn the long house the players will find several dead wights and anunusually cold pool of water pooled in a dip in the floor with twoobsidian headed arrows sitting in it. The whole hall is filled withcorpses, barricades, and other signs of the last stand made here bythe villagers. Years back they had traded some goats for arrows madeby the Cave Dweller Clans with obsidian shards, an unexpectedboon when they come under attack from the Others. The chief ofthe Stone Hairs used these arrows to kill Frostheel’s lieutenant andsix of the arrows remain in the chief ’s quiver in addition to the twoon the floor. Finding them requires a search of the room and a Routine(6) Awareness test.The Spider’s CavernWhen a pair of young free folk hunters stumble across a section ofground that crumbles out from beneath them, they are tumbled into astrange cavern. It glitters frigidly, and is bone-chillingly cold, covered instrange veins of ice like woven threads. Their warmth begins to melt theice somewhat, awakening the denizen of the cavern: one of the crystallineice spiders that accompany the Others in predations, according tosome ancient pieces of lore.The boys are quickly slain by the monstrosity, which binds them in anicy cocoon for a later meal. But that time never comes, for its awakeningwas sensed by one of the Others, who has since come to collect it forits ancient purpose. Both Other and spider are gone now, leaving only ahorrifying scene for the wildlings to discover.TerrainThe ground near the crevice is snow-covered and rough, making it difficultto spot. During the day, however, the icy air of the cavern interactswith the warmer air above it, causing wafts of steam to rise off the site.A Challenging (9) Awareness test (Notice applies) is necessary tospot this upon arrival in the area.Otherwise, searchers are likely to look until just before nightfall beforefinding the crumbled crevice opening. There is clear indication thatsomeone fell into the crevice below, but the true nature of the cavernisn’t revealed until one has entered it far enough.The inside of the cavern is deeply treacherous, as it is almost entirelycovered in tightly woven threads of ice, like being on the insideof an egg-sac. The ice is delicate, crunching underfoot. By this means,it is relatively simple to see that someone has been down here. Fromthe blood spatters, however, it is possible to also determine that theymet a bad end.Now that the cavern is revealed to warmer air from above, the icythreads that make up its floor, walls and ceiling are treacherously slipperyduring the day. Moving at full speed in slippery terrain can causea fall. Anyone moving more than half their normal Movement in oneturn must make a Challenging (9) Agility test as a Lesser Actionjust before the Move or Sprint action. Failure results in falling prone;Movement greater than a Move action is impossible. The charactermay spend a destiny point in order to negate the effects of this terrainfor a single turn of normal movement (but not a Sprint).123
CHapter 4: Lords of the Long NightAt night, however, the ice begins to refreeze, returning to its strange,original state. Anything that touches the ice sticks to it, like a boy testinghis tongue against a freezing metal object. Though falling is lesslikely, movement becomes slower as one’s feet must be continuallywrenched from the floor. For each yard a character moves through it, hemust spend double the Movement to do so. Charging and running areimpossible. If the character does not have enough Movement to moveeven 1 yard, he may spend a Greater Action to move 1 yard. Charactersdealing with this terrain may spend a destiny point to ignore its effectsfor one turn.Known FactsTwo of the tribe’s young hunters went out together, and have notbeen seen since. Young Adma has finally talked his older brother,Robyn, into taking him out hunting, and the two left together nearlya week ago. They are now two days overdue, however, and theirmother is worried sick. She finds some strong warriors willing to goand see what has happened to them; failing this, she will appeal tothe chieftain and elders and get them to send a few men to find outwhat has happened.It is known that they were going hunting along the edge of a nearbylake or river. With some searching, they can finally discover a strange,newly crumbled crevice near the water’s edge. Nearby is a small boar,slung on a carrying pole, abandoned, half-eaten by scavengers and halfcoveredin snow.Unknown FactsWithin the cavern, adhered to the back wall, are two cocoons with thecorpses of the boys trapped within them. The ice-silk threads are easyto shatter individually, but breaking through the entrapping constructionrequires a Formidable (12) Athletics test (Strength applies). Upto two other individuals may lend aid to someone attempting to breakthrough the cocoons.Unfortunately for the wildling searchers, the Other who came toclaim the spider left them a gift, transforming the two trapped corpsesinto wights. These wights do not animate until the first night followingtheir liberation from the cocoons. Depending on the time frameinvolved, this may be as soon as the corpses are taken out of the cavernor on the trip back to the wildling settlement. If the settlement is closeenough, it may not even take place until the corpses are back at thesettlement, being mourned by their mother.The OthersThe Other and its ice spider are no longer here. The wights use thestandard statistics for wights from the Antagonists and Allies sectionof Chapter 11: The Narrator, in the SIFRP core book.WeirdnessThere is plenty of weirdness to be found in the entirety of this encounter.One final detail may await, however: fallen in the ice-threads of thecavern floor is a veritable treasure trove of old First Men weaponry andextremely fragile, ancient bones, of the sort found only in hoary oldbarrows. Whatever once dwelt here, it has been here for a very, verylong time.The Huntsman’s HornCharacters traveling through the Haunted Forest have something tofear. As they camp for the evening, the night suddenly grows extremelycold, very nearly extinguishing their campfire. As they attempt to keepthe fire alive and huddle together for warmth, they hear it.The low, terrifying sonorous tone of an otherworldly hunting horn,a sound that turns their blood to cold, and sets the icicles on the treesaround them to reverberating. Wildlings from the Haunted Forestknow what this is.The Huntsman hunts tonight.Suddenly, they hear something coming rushing through the underbrushtowards them, faster and faster, thrashing through the half-frozenfoliage savagely. A brace of deer, with a stag at the rear, come tearingthrough the clearing, scattering in all directions. Relief is short lived,though, for it is clear that they are not just running. They are fleeingsomething.With that realization, they see them: a small pack of three palefurreddirewolves whose eyes gleam the blue of moonlight on ice.TerrainWhen the Huntsman’s pack finds them, the night has become ExtremelyCold, as per the SIFRP core book, Chapter 11: The Narrator.The lighting is considered Darkness, unless the group managesto keep a fire lit, despite the strange suffocating cold that tries to killit. While the Darkness condition predominates, all characters receivea –2D penalty to Agility, Athletics, Awareness, Fighting and Thieverytests, and a –4D penalty to all Marksmanship tests. Characters mayspend a point of destiny to suddenly trigger a light source, negatingtheir own penalties while blinding all targets (who keep their penalties),unless they also spend a point of destiny.While the Darkness condition prevails, the terrain is also consideredTreacherous. For each yard a character moves through it, he mustspend double the Movement to do so. Charging and running are impossible.If the character does not have enough Movement to moveeven 1 yard, he may spend a Greater Action to move 1 yard. Charactersdealing with this terrain may spend a destiny point to ignore itseffects for one turn.It should be noted that the wight direwolves do not suffer penalties fromthe darkness. A Routine (6) Awareness test (Notice applies) demonstratesthat the creatures try and avoid nearing the fire as much as possible.BBBBKeeping the Fire Lit (Greater): A character who devotes an actionto keeping the fire lit may make a Challenging (9) Survivaltest. Success on this test means that the fire keeps burning for another1d6 turns. At the end of that time, it gutters for one more turn,during which the fire can be restoked. If it goes out entirely, it willrequire a Formidable (12) Survival test to get the fire relit, a processthat takes 1d6 turns in which everything is pitch black. While thefire is lit, the area is only Shadowy, which reduces the penalties fromDarkness by half. A character who snatches up a burning brand touse as a weapon reduces the lifespan of the fire by 1 turn.Burning Brands: Sticks and logs from the campfire can be usedas burning weapons against the wight direwolves, inflicting damageas a club, as well as a point of fire damage.124
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