Encounters: Hills & Broken Uplands
Broken escarpments, rocky gullies, upland passes, high ground between taiga and tundra
Roll: 1d100 Expected HD Range: 1–6 HD Sources: OSE, Gods of the Frozen North (GFN), B5 Horror on the Hill
Visibility: Moderate — high ground reveals approach, gullies conceal it Sound: Carries unpredictably; wind distorts distance Themes: Exposed terrain, ambush from above, old infrastructure, pilgrimage routes, things that are territorial
| d100 | Encounter | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 01–03 | Caribou herd (6d10 × 10) migrating through gullies | GFN |
| 04–05 | Muskox herd (4d6) blocking a ridge or pass | GFN |
| 06–07 | Moose (1d3) near ravine or stream | GFN |
| 08–10 | Wolves (2d6) hunting upslope | OSE |
| 11–12 | Great northern owl (1) silently circling cliffs | GFN |
| 13–14 | Brown bear (1) foraging or fishing | OSE |
| 15–17 | Velkari nomads (1d6) following herds — road bow first | GFN |
| 18–20 | Pilgrims (1d4) moving by prostration toward a hilltop shrine — will not be hurried | GFN |
| 21–23 | Snow goblin scavengers (2d6) picking over old sites | GFN |
| 24–26 | Bandits (2d6, high-ground ambush) | OSE |
| 27–28 | Dire wolf signs only — tracks, kills, distant howls | OSE |
| 29–31 | Beastmen scouts (1d4) | Gnoll / OSE |
| 32–33 | Abandoned camp or cairn — recent, departure was fast | Referee |
| 34–35 | Minor rockslide — save vs. Paralysis or 1d6 damage | OSE |
| 36–37 | Sudden exposure; cold winds — fatigue check | OSE |
| 38–39 | Ruined shrine — inactive, unattended, circumambulatable | Reisa |
| 40–42 | Traders avoiding the main road (1d6 Merchants + 1d3 Bandit guards) | OSE |
| 43–44 | Feral dogs (2d6, use Wolf stats) — moving with purpose | OSE |
| 45–47 | Sky burial site — fresh, attended by 1d3 vultures; Rootstone Keeper may be present (2-in-6) | GFN |
| 48–50 | Convicted Velkari criminal (1) walking uphill in ankle stocks, bound for the next settlement | GFN |
| 51–52 | Mountain goats or sheep (2d6) blocking a narrow path | OSE |
| 53–54 | Owlbear spoor only — tracks, feathers, distant roar | OSE |
| 55–56 | Ravine crossing or cliff edge — fall rules apply, 1d6 per 10 ft | OSE |
| 57–58 | Dire wolves (1d3) | OSE |
| 59–61 | Beastmen warband (1d6+2) | Gnoll / OSE |
| 62–64 | Snow goblin war leader (+1 HD) with 2d6 Snow Goblins | GFN |
| 65–66 | Berserkers (1d4) raiding or migrating | OSE |
| 67–68 | Owlbear (1) | OSE |
| 69–70 | Cave hermit (1) — a practitioner of unknown tradition living in a hillside cave; not hostile, knows this terrain completely | GFN |
| 71–72 | Graven wolf (1) stalking territory | GFN |
| 73–75 | Haunted hill — a Named spirit tied to this specific peak; manifests as persistent cold, animals refusing to approach, stones that move slightly when unwatched | GFN |
| 76–77 | Collapsed ruin or sudden chasm — fall rules apply | OSE |
| 78–79 | Ancient ward backlash — rockfall, poison gas, or collapse; saves apply | OSE |
| 80–82 | Life force spirit attack — a sorcerer or hostile practitioner has located the anchor of a PC's life force spirit; the PC loses 1 Constitution per day until the spirit is restored | GFN |
| 83–85 | Dire wolf pack (2d6 Wolves led by 1 Dire Wolf) | OSE |
| 86–87 | Shrine remnant guardian (1 Taiga Wight, cold damage replaces drain) | GFN |
| 88–89 | Beastmen champion (+2 HD) with 1d6 Beastmen | OSE |
| 90–92 | Polar bear (1, 6 HD) apex predator on high ground | OSE |
| 93–95 | Arctic ogre (1) hunting along escarpment | GFN |
| 96–98 | Mass rockslide — major hazard; predators drawn to the noise in 1d4 turns | OSE |
| 99–100 | Campaign-level intrusion or named hill horror tied to this hex | Referee |
Notes on Integration
Snow Goblins fully replace standard goblins in this region.
Graven Wolves and Arctic Ogres serve as early warnings that the land is no longer passive.
Shrine guardians and ward failures reinforce that infrastructure failed here before monsters arrived.
Nothing here assumes safety even at low rolls; difficulty is situational, not linear.
Encounter Notes
18–20 — Pilgrims Moving by Prostration
1d4 figures moving along the ridgeline in a way that initially looks like injury or madness: throwing themselves flat, rising, stepping to where their body last lay, repeating. They are traveling to a shrine or ley site somewhere uphill. They will not hurry for any reason and will not be diverted. They have been doing this for days and may continue for days more.
They are not in distress. If the party approaches correctly — road bow, waiting — one of them will pause and respond briefly. They know the terrain ahead in the specific way that people know ground they have covered one body-length at a time: every stone, every wind shift, every place where the ground feels wrong. They will share this if asked. They will then continue.
A character who accompanies them in silence for one turn gains a piece of route information that would otherwise require a successful navigation check to acquire. This is not a mechanical bonus — it is simply knowledge from people who have been paying attention.
45–47 — Sky Burial Site
A flat section of high ground, low stone wall, large flat rocks. Recent activity: a body has been laid out, partially taken by birds. If a Rootstone Keeper is present they are conducting the ceremony to guide the spirit through the bardo. They will acknowledge the party with a brief road bow but will not stop the ceremony or answer questions until it is complete — perhaps an hour.
If no Keeper is present the site is unattended, which is a problem. The spirit has not been guided. A Cleric who knows the appropriate rites can perform them. A character who simply waits respectfully for an hour and speaks a few words acknowledging the dead gains 1d4 × 10 XP from the Velkari if they learn of it later. A character who disturbs the site — takes anything, walks through it carelessly — creates an enemy they have not met yet.
The Keeper, if present, knows this section of upland in detail. They have opinions about the state of the ley structure and will share them with a Druid character or anyone who asks respectfully after the ceremony.
48–50 — Convicted Velkari Criminal in Stocks
A Velkari (Bandit stats, no weapons) moving slowly uphill, wearing carved wooden ankle stocks that make each step audible. The stocks are a Velkari judicial sentence — the convicted person walks to the nearest settlement of another clan to deliver news of their own crime and its judgment. They cannot run or fight effectively. The sentence requires any clan they pass to offer shelter, because refusing shelter to someone in stocks would dishonor the refusing clan.
The crime and sentence are carved in abbreviated symbols on the stocks. A character who reads Old Velkari learns both. The criminal will answer questions about the terrain ahead — they have been on this ground for days and have seen things.
Roll 1d6 for the crime: 1–2 theft within the clan; 3–4 breaking a hospitality oath; 5 wasting meat from a slaughtered animal; 6 a violation they will name if asked directly but will not volunteer.
They are not particularly ashamed. They are serving their sentence. There is a dignity to this that becomes apparent if the party treats them as a person rather than a curiosity.
69–70 — Cave Hermit
A practitioner — tradition unclear, possibly Rootstone Keeper, possibly Forest Sangha, possibly neither — living in a cave mouth on a hillside. A small fire is visible from the trail. They have been here long enough that the area around the cave shows the accumulated small modifications of someone who lives carefully in a place: a windbreak of stones, a specific arrangement of the fire pit, a notch cut into the cave entrance that catches and amplifies sound from a particular direction.
They are not hostile. They are also not forthcoming. They watch the party from inside the cave until they feel like coming out, which may take one turn or may not happen at all if the party's behavior gives them reason for caution.
If engaged, they know this hill territory in the way that only long residence produces — not from maps or patrol but from years of watching the same ground in all weathers. They know where the Named spirit on this range lives (roll 73–75 to place it if not already established), whether it is currently agitated, and why. They know which sections of old ley structure are still holding and which have quietly failed. They will not share this in a single conversation. They will share pieces of it over the course of an evening if the party is interesting enough.
They are looking for a Demon Hunter. Not urgently — they have been looking for a while and have learned patience. If the party has one, the hermit will take them aside privately and describe a specific sealed structure three hours uphill that has been producing a cold discharge for approximately six weeks. They do not know what is inside. They know it needs attention before winter.
73–75 — Haunted Hill
This specific peak — whichever hill the party is currently on or approaching — has a Named spirit tied to it. The spirit is not immediately attacking. It is territorial, which means it is asserting presence rather than hunting. Manifestations: persistent cold that does not match the wind direction, animals (horses, dogs, any pack animals) refusing to approach the summit, stones that are slightly displaced between one look and the next, a faint sound at the threshold of hearing that changes when the party changes direction.
The spirit cannot be fought conventionally. It can be turned by a Cleric as a Wraith, which drives it back to the peak for the rest of the day. A Rootstone Keeper or Druid who knows the appropriate greeting for territorial hill spirits — pressing the back of one hand to the forehead, three deliberate breaths, a spoken acknowledgment that this is its ground and the party is passing through — can move through the territory without incident. A character who has spent significant time with Velkari may know this.
If the party camps on the hill without acknowledgment, someone wakes at 3am with a clear certainty that they are being watched from very close. They are correct. Nothing happens if they do not act on it.
80–82 — Life Force Spirit Attack
This encounter has no visible monster. One PC (referee's choice, or the one with the lowest current hit points as a proxy for vulnerability) begins losing 1 Constitution per day. There is no obvious cause. Ability score loss from this effect cannot be recovered by rest or healing magic alone.
The explanation: a hostile practitioner — a sorcerer, a bitter Keeper gone wrong, someone the party wronged or who was wronged by someone they are associated with — has identified the external anchor of this PC's life force spirit (the specific rock, tree, or body of water it is attached to) and is working to damage or drive it away.
Diagnosis requires a Cleric's Detect Magic, a Druid's commune with nature equivalent, or consultation with a Rootstone Keeper or similar specialist. Once diagnosed, resolution requires finding and protecting the anchor, performing a thread cross ceremony to call the spirit back, or locating and stopping the practitioner. A Cleric's Cure Disease does not resolve this but halts the Constitution loss for 24 hours.
This encounter works best as a slow-burn complication that overlaps with other sessions rather than a single encounter. Introduce it, let it fester, and let the party work out what is happening.