Well, it only took a month of writing, three months of playtesting, and another month of writing to bring you… Witches of Frostwyck!
Who wants to fight my Baba Yaga?
The ancient world of Harth is dying, but you’re going to die even sooner if you can’t escape from Frostwyck.
You’re lost in a frozen forest of deadly predators and mysterious recluses. Your only refuge is the tiny village of Frostwyck, where metal is rare and kindness is rarer. And there are worse things in the shadows than mere bloodthirsty beasts.
Witches haunt the groves of the north. Most keep to themselves, content to guard their secrets and powers. But one torments them all.
Dama Zhadna has cursed the village so that none can escape. And now you’re trapped here. You’re going to die here.
Unless you find a way to defeat the Witches of Frostwyck.
Specifics
Witches of Frostwyck is a low-level campaign designed to run from Level 1 to Level 4 or 5. I ran it for about 48 hours (12 sessions, 4 hours each). I suspect your mileage will vary depending on playstyle.
This campaign includes 18 wintry wilderness locations (ancient ruins, wizard towers, cabins, and sacred groves) as well as Frostwyck itself. Players can encounter dozens of NPCs, including cannibal witches, forthright druids, grim hunters, zealous Templar warriors, sad ghosts, and lots of grouchy villagers just trying to survive.
In addition to the numerous original creatures, the campaign includes over 30 original magical items and weapons. These include eight “cunning items” imbued with household witchcraft, and four “eldritch weapons” that can be empowered by eight other hidden magical power sources (they’re plug-and-play!).
Faction play
Will your players side with the clerics and paladins of the Temple of Virune against the “unholy” forces trapped in Frostwyck? Or will their own unholy magical gifts brand them as enemies of the Temple, trapping them between the witches and the witch-hunters?
Maybe they will forge an alliance with the druids? They guard an ancient power in the eastern forest that not even they understand…
Or perhaps they will free the undead servants of the witch-lord herself and turn them against the cruel Dama Zhadna?
In closing…
I loved researching, writing, and running this campaign as an homage to Russo-Slavic folklore, including such iconic characters as Baba Yaga and Koschei the Deathless, as well as monsters like the vodnik and rusalka. The grim Siberian forest, the isolated village, the vicious predators, the hardy villagers, and the strange forces all came together to create a great game.
I hope you like it.
On DriveThruRPG: Witches of Frostwyck
