Cold and Exposure

I’ve been working on a big project for a while and as part of that I needed to come up with some rules to handle cold and exposure since Shadowdark doesn’t cover this in the core rules. Since that is still long ways off and these can be useful on their own I am sharing them here.

The rules aim to fit in with Shadowdark’s existing systems and focus on mitigation through the appropriate gear the expense of encumbrance or effects on an unprepared character.

These rules are released CC0. You can copy, modify, reuse, or include them in your own projects without permission.

Cold Biomes

Cold areas are broken up into 4 categories based on temperature and humidity

Cold

Areas 32 to 20 °F, examples include snow, mountain passes, coniferous forests.

Extreme Cold

Areas 0 to -20 °F, examples include arctic tundra, deep winter.

Wet Cold

Areas 40 to 30 °F with high humidity such as coastal regions, conditions including sleet and slush where inappropriate gear quickly becomes soaked.

Supernatural Cold

Below -30 °F or other magical cold conditions from curses, spell effect or extra planar regions. Unable to be mitigated by non magical gear.

Exposure

Exposure to cold conditions without the appropriate precautions drains Constitution

Each day or hex of travel incurs a loss determined by the biome.

Cold 4

Extreme Cold 6

Wet Cold 6 (or 2 with warm but soaked gear)

Supernatural Cold 12

Mitigation

Cold exposure is mitigated by wearing the appropriate gear for the biome which take up extra Item Slots

Warm Clothing (1 slot) Mitigates Cold

Generally consisting of thick wool and fur. Thick cloaks, padded tunics, mitts and lined boots. Generally not prohibitively restrictive.

Arctic Clothing (2 slots) Mitigates Extreme Cold

Full furs, double layered parkas, fur lined pants, mittens, and insulated boots along with a hooded mask or scarf. Bulky and slow to dry.

Waterproof Clothing (1 slot) Mitigates Wet Cold

Oiled or waxed outer garments, sealskin, treated leather coat, worn over Warm or Arctic Clothing to prevent it from soaking. Sheds sleet, drizzle and melting snow.

Armor worn still grants AC but increases cold severity by one biome tier for exposure purposes.

Spells or magical items that protect from cold or provide warmth ie, Protection from Energy negate exposure.

Recovery

Constitution is recovered with the standard Shadowkdark rest mechanics, with the exception that rest without shelter, a heat source the rest is considered interrupted and HP and Constitution are not recovered. Shelter is considered an enclosed space that blocks wind and direct exposure such as tents, snow caves, dugouts, lean-tos, etc.