Winter of the Witch.pdf - Property Is Theft!

Winter of the WitchW2: WINTER’S HEARTEncounter Level 25 (35,700 XP)Setup2 ghaeles of winter (G)3 iceling slashers (I)2 frostfury ice trolls (T)Up the large frozen stairs is Winter’s Heart, the seatof Koliada’s power. Here the Winter Witch waits andwatches her domain and the world by using a linkbetween the eyes of those she has frozen and a largescrying crystal. More importantly, she waits here forthose who attempt to move against her. Though she issurprised the PCs have gotten this far, she is resignedto fight them, but first she’ll give her minions thechance to prove their worth and defeat this threatto her.Read the following as they PCs approachWinter’s Heart:At the top of the frozen stairs is a vast chamber shapedentirely of ice. Two massive crevasses mar the floor to theright and the left, each dropping steeply to unknown depths.To the right is a trio of icelings, like those encountered onthe top of Crone’s Finger, while to the left is a pair of eladrinmales wearing robes bearing a winter motif, their eyesglowing blue.At the chamber’s center, massive spires of ice twistlike frozen stalagmites up hundreds of feet into the cloudcoveredsky of Koliada’s domain. Spaced regularly, thespires lead to a raised section of ice, which are accessible bya pair of frozen stairs that twirl up the farthest spires. Eachstair is guarded by a savage ice troll. Their fierce formsripple with muscle, their claws are long and sharp, and theysnarl at you with a strange mix of fury and contempt.Atop the ice shelf, among a few of her frozen victims,stands what must be Koliada, the Winter Witch. She’s astunningly beautiful eladrin woman with alabaster skinand midnight black hair. She wears a crown of icicles andwields a longsword made of black ice. She is cold in bothappearance and demeanor, and she merely glances at youdisinterestedly, then returns to studying a strange obelisk ofpure elemental ice that sits at the center of the icy rise. Witha mere wave of her snowy white hand, her servants moveforward to engage their mistress’s enemies.TacticsTrolls and icelings move forward first, creating afront line of frost and fang while the ghaeles of wintermove into position behind the wall, often flying togain the best vantage point, and take shots at the PCswith freezing ray. At the right time, they move forward,attacking with chilling defiance and imperious wrath,hoping to daze as many of the PCs as they can beforeusing fey step to move back into a support position.The Winter Witch watches and waits, until it isclear that her minions are not up to the task, or thePCs overtly show the Sun’s Sliver. At that point, sheenters the fight.Tactical Encounter: W3: The Lady’s Attentions(page 57).Features of the AreaIllumination: Bright light emanates from braziersthat flicker with a silver-blue flame.Stairs: The stairs are both slick and steep. Creatureswithout ice walk must spend an extra 2 squaresof movement to go up the stairs, and an extra 1 squareof movement to descend safely. A creature without icewalk can attempt to descend the stairs without treatingthem as difficult terrain, but doing so requiresa successful DC 27 Acrobatics check, and failuremeans that the creature falls down the stairs, taking1d6 damage with each square, and falling prone atthe end of the stairs.Frozen Lake: A creature that starts its turn in thefrozen lake takes 20 cold damage and is dazed untilthe end of its next turn. Swimming in the freezingwater requires a successful DC 15 Athletics check.Climbing out of the lake requires a successful DC 25Athletics check.Crevasses: The crevasses are 20 feet deep. It takesa successful DC 20 Athletics check to climb them.Frozen Victims: A frozen victim is like a statue. Itis difficult terrain that grants a creature cover.Icy Ground: The ice in the area is unnaturallyslick, and it is difficult terrain for creatures withoutice walk. Creatures who are not prone, and do nothave ice walk can attempt to slide on the ice, ignoringthe difficult terrain, but a successful DC 27 Acrobaticscheck for each move action taken allows a creatureto ignore the ice. If the creature fails, they fall prone,but the move action is not spent.January 2009 | DUNGEON 16255