Lords of Frost the Rules of Nature Dictate That the Strong Eat the Weak

Lords of Frost The rules of nature dictate that the strong eat the weak. To overcome the great adversity you will soon face, you must free yourself from the skin of prey and become the predator. That is the only way you will survive the harsh and unforgiving realities of the Frystwald. The snows of the north are a cruel and uncaring master, and in exile from the civilized world, you shall learn this lesson well... This Adventure Path is designed to be played using the martial classes from Path of War and Path of War: Expanded by Dreamscarred Press, Spheres of Power by Drop Dead Studios, and the archetypes found within these books for Paizo’s classes. These books are all excellent resources that, together, help to reduce much of the perceived gap in power and versatility between Martials and Casters. Should you not possess these books or would rather work with only canon Paizo material, a rebuilding guide that contains rough mechanical equivalents for each class listed may be found in the back of the first book. Introduction Welcome to the Player’s Guide for the Lords of Frost Adventure Path! This Adventure Path will take you to the untamed wilderness of the Frystwald, home to a dozen disparate tribes of man who take their living from the frozen soil of the north and the spoils of raids upon the fat of the south. This Adventure Path takes its inspiration from the tales of Conan the Barbarian, the stories and comic books of Red Sonja, the Wildlings from A Song of Ice and Fire, the Poetica Edda and other Norse Mythology, the Nibelungenglied, and to a lesser extent, the Epic of Gilgamesh and the Twelve Labors of Heracles. Strength and cunning, wit and fortitude, stamina and sheer charisma, and unmatched conviction are the running themes of this adventure path. This Adventure Path will stay within the area of the Frystwald throughout all of its chapters, an area roughly the size of Scandinavia. Tribal politics, most notably the politics of strength and the notion that “the strong eat the weak”, will churn in the background of each adventure. The tribe that you will come to be a part of will not suffer a weak leader, for it is known that without a strong chieftain at their head, the tribe will not survive the frosts of winter. This strength does not need to be literally, of course - the cunning who lead their warriors to victory in the face of insurmountable odds are every bit as strong as the one who could crush a bear’s skull with his bare hands. To be both, of course, is ideal. But one or the other will suffice. Ultimately, “victory” is the greatest measure of strength a leader can bring, while “defeat” is the greatest sign of weakness. The barbarians of the north are ultimately a meritocratic people, and those who bring them victory will find themselves fast acceptance among the tribes. Those who bring them defeat, will not. Character Creation Rules This Adventure Path is designed for a higher level of power than most adventure paths, beyond the advantages given by the classes made available through Path of War and its expansions. In the spirit of the epic heroes you are meant to be emulating, the typical 20 point buy assumed for Paizo’s adventure paths has been deemed insufficient. By the end of game you may well be kings, but even from the beginning there was a spark in you, something that saw you stand out from the crowd. The game begins with the party taking on the role of exiles with nothing, less than nothing, stranded in the unforgiving wilderness with little but the rags on their backs. Meant to die, for one reason or another. Many of the campaign traits available for this adventure path give an explanation as to why your character has been exiled. If you take one of the ones that do not give an explanation, or refrain from taking an campaign trait, have a reason for your exile. It can be as simple as sleeping with the wrong person to attempting assassination of an important political figure. Whatever you decide, make sure your GM knows it. Unless otherwise stated by the GM, the following rules apply to character creation: ● Characters are built using Pathfinder’s 25 Point Buy, or 3.5’s 32 point buy ● Characters must select 2 Traits, and may choose to take a Drawback for a 3rd ● Characters may not begin with any starting equipment ● Characters gain skills and skill points as per the Background Skills option ● Characters may select any class or archetype from Path of War and its Expansions ● Characters may select any class or Achetype from Spheres of Power and its Expansions ● Characters may only select Paizo classes if they have been modified by an archetype from Path of War or Spheres of Power and their expansions. ● Aasimar characters must take the Scion of Humanity Race Trait. ● Tiefling characters must take the Pass for Human Race Trait. Races in Cortova & the Frystwald Aasimar are the race of the great patrician classes of the Republic of Cortova, the grace of the angels running through their veins being seen by the religious caste as being their divine right to rule. Should a Human family give birth to an Aasimar child, they are considered to have been blessed by the gods, and are to be elevated to the status of a minor noble as is worthy of their child’s blood. Like most of their kind, these Aasimar are raised from birth to navigate the vipers den of politics and intrigue that is the Republic’s Capital of Cortova, which will eat those not initiated to the subtle arts of diplomacy alive. Aasimar born to non-citizens and resident barbarians of the Republic occupy an odd space in the social realm, as while the offer of nobility is not extended to their families, it is still recognized that the angels have graced their blood. Aasimar born to slaves are often taken as prized concubines by the holder of their parents’ contract, or are given positions of greater authority among the non-citizenry. Aasimar born to resident barbarians find many of the doors that would have been closed to them due to their lineage held wide open and waiting. Dwarves are the merchant race, capitalists and craftsmen to a man, with an unfortunate history of being evicted from their lands, both under the mountain and over it. The twelve great dwarven clans - Ironblood, Oakhewer, Stonetooth, Fistbeard, Silverfang, Goldhair, Blackrose, Steelhead, Bronzeblade, Tineye, Glasshaper, and Titanjaw - together hold a majority share in the Republic’s great banks. Many within the Republic believe that the Dwarves are steering it towards their own end, and there is no small amount of truth to that, as the leaders of the Twelve are not shy about putting financial pressure on the nobility. That being said, no one with financial leverage is shy about putting pressure on the nobility to see laws be passed towards their own ends. The Dwarves simply have a lot of it, much of which is a product of their culture. Military might having failed in the defense of their ancestral home from Orcish invasion, the idea that they must make themselves indispensable to their host culture is ingrained upon a societal level. Thus, few dwarves flock to trades that aren’t lucrative in one way or another, unless they are incapable of doing so. Elves are often called the fair folk, though in truth they are no more fair than any of the other humanoid races. Mostly a segregated society from the Republic proper, they joined voluntarily as an alliance of convenience, against the Orcish Horde at their doorstep, which had been slowly gaining ground within their desert homeland ever since the Dwarven Mountain Holds fell to them centuries ago. Elves venerate their fallen ancestors and care a great deal about honor - both their personal honor and their family’s honor. Few elves resort to base trickery to achieve their goals, preferring to face their foes with their heads high and their backs straight. Elves are warriors to a man, woman, and child, for even the lowest slave among their people is taught to wield the three sister spears - the Hasta, the Lancea, and the Pilum. The elves typically disdain swords, seeing them at best as mere sidearms and at worst as foolish toys for those who have not seen the truth of war and conflict. The elves greatest strength, however, is the vast experience they are able to gather during their extended lifespan. Those who aren’t soldiers or generals become valued majordomos for the breadth of their knowledge. Gnomes are the Wanderers, the Tinkers, the folk without a land to call their own. The gnomes like to view themselves as free spirits and creatives, who bring art and invention to the regions their caravans visit. Every camp they make is a fairground or a circus, with all the delights and vices one might expect to find within; most especially alcohol, of such a potency that many decent folk decry it as the devil’s own brew. Gnomish clockwork, it should be noted, is prized in every corner of the republic for its elegance and accuracy. The other races view gnomes as eccentrics at best, and conniving scoundrels at the very worst, for while the fairs they bring with their caravans bring relief to the common man from his daily labours, they also bring with them crime.

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