How do you guys make mountain adventuring interesting?
How do you design mountain maps?
Is this even possible?
>>46797822
bumperoony
>>46797822
You could make those mountains maddening.
Include high-altitude townships, lots of ruins and old monasteries, or altars to ancient things long forgotten. Perhaps even an entrypoint upon the highest peak to another realm entirely.
Caves, mines, crags, hidden valleys, places of significance set upon high mountain peaks... There's actually a lot of potential in a mountainous setting.
I have yet to do it, but I want to build a serious mountain-scaling adventure in D&D.
You'd have to kind of model out the mountain/range and get real particular about what it looks like, it's elevation, treeline/snowline, etc. Decide what kinds of climb/balance/whatever DC's for various elevations or rockfaces, and determine the various routes the PC's could climb. If they can fly, determine the wind currents (is it suddenly much stronger in some areas? does it gust every once in a while?). How much colder is it at the various elevations? At night? What could trigger a rockslide or avalanche? What aerial or climbing creatures live on the mountains? Linnorms and white dragons seem especially suited for high mountains. Giants almost universally live in mountains. What about tunnels and caves? Dwarf holds? Ancient architecture? ruins?
One aspect of mountain travel is that because they are hard to cross, most people (especially those in wagons and what not) will go around the mountains, or through various passes, whereas a more mobile party could cross right over and save time (maybe not over the hardest parts, but over harder parts then their slower target is crossing).
There will be glaciers, tarns, waterfalls, moraines, canyons, valleys, and sheer cliffs. If the mountains are volcanic, the range won't be very wide, but eruptions and lava might possibly be an issue.
I think a square-by-square map of a large area would be largely useless, because you'd need so much notation that it would be impossible to understand at a glance, and hard even after you study it. So just make maps of areas that need maps (areas where battle might/will occur, and maybe areas where skill checks and exact distances really matter). Otherwise, just have a real good idea about angles of elevation, what kinds of rock/snow/ice are in a given area, etc.
>>46799035
Don't forget the yetis. Every good mountain has a yeti
>>46797822
>How do you guys make mountain adventuring interesting?
It usually involves the alcohol and the Swiss.
>How do you design mountain maps?
http://www.fantasticmaps.com/?s=mountain
>Is this even possible?
Probably not.
>>46799083
Of course not, anon. No self-respecting mountain would go without sporting a yet of its own. What would the neighbors think?
>>46797822
I would suggest thinking along the lines of 'the mountain is the monster'. Not literally, but make the players feel like the mountain is fighting them. Avalanches, storms, wind, exposure, lack of food and even water in barren areas. Every step is dangerous and hard.
If I wanted to really get in to it I would google mountain climbing expeditions.
>>46797822
My first campaign took place almost entirely in the mountains
I made nature an enemy, cold and hunger were constant forces to be reckoned with. No big cities, or big towns, only small hamlets nuzzled in valleys or atop plateaus
It's totally doable m8, my next campaign is going to be mountainous too
>>46797822
Mountains are just rocks and dirt, OP. What's interesting from that aside from the view?
>>46800735
I don't think that's the point, it's everything about the mountains
Ancient caves, abandoned monasteries, snowy sleepy villages, the constant threat of the cold, not to mention the monsters.
Also the wide variety of mountains
Huge, inpenetrable ranges like the Rockies, low rolling peaks like the Appalachians, or small yet deadly volcanic ranges like Hawaii (if it was above ground of course)
The options are limitless
>>46800288
Did you ever find environmental hazards becoming samey? Like constant "roll to see if you can skip this cut scene"
>>46801215
Just don't make them into cutscenes
Have your party roleplay to get through them, not rollplay
>select all images of mountains
>>46799298
What happens when you conquer the mountain and are on the top? Does it suddenly get buffs for when you come back down?
>>46797822
Read "The White Spider" by Heinrich Harrer. A version could potentially make for a campaign if you were good at story telling
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mountain_Witch
>>46806851
>https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mountain_Witch
My nigga! Its basically resevoir dogs, samurai.
Glad I have a copy on my shelf.
