Crampons and the White Dragon [DM question...]

[Quartz]

Mountaineering gear may solve some problems, but create others: I've never worn crampons, but it looks like walking in them would be very slow, reducing movement to half speed.

Depends upon the surface. You get used to crampons very quickly. Packed snow and ice are no problem at all in crampons. Even sheet ice usually has at least a dusting of stuff on top. Powder snow requires skis or snowshoes. But perhaps the dragon has a Zamboni?

Snow goggles could penalize Wisdom (Perception) checks based on sight, and a parka hood may penalize Wisdom (Perception) checks based on hearing. How did those winter wolves get right on top of us???

No more than a helmet. The howling wind and snow, OTOH...

 

[Laurefindel]

"Crampons and the with Dragon"

Sounds like a children's book title (with a character named Crampons, of course)

To echo some of the posters above, I think it should be stressed how bad it would have been without their gears, and how their preparation allow them to undertake some challenges that would have been impossible otherwise.

As a player, I'd hate to learn that my preparation was a trap and bring only further trouble, but hand-waving every challenge because of it would be anti-climatic.

Using 5e's philosophy, the appropriate gear could grant advantage on some check/saves, or allow their wearer to ignore difficult terrain etc, or grant a save in an otherwise unavoidable situation. The crampons could have some kind of drawback like a reduced speed or Dex save vs prone when using the dash action, but I wouldn't go there personally; let danger come from the players' foes and environment, not their own stuff.

Instead, incorporate situations when their equipment doesn't give them any advantage, such as when the wearer of crampon is prone for example, or how drenched and wet winter coats don't protect as effectively against cold.

Anyway, you probably played that game by now but I don't think you shot yourself in the foot. On the contrary, you are providing the player with an opportunity to shine in the face of a challenge otherwise too great for them, which is IMO superb DMing.

'findel

 

[jayoungr]

A piece of dungeon design advice I read somewhere long ago that has stuck with me:

When your characters have extraordinary abilities that enable them to bypass mundane obstacles, create obstacles that can only be even attempted with those abilities.

For example, if a party has flight, make an obstacle that requires flight to get past it.

In your case, you need obstacles that require crampons and/or cold weather gear. For the crampons, maybe you have a surface that isn't just ice--it's ice with a slow sheet of water running down it, freezing over the top and slowly increasing the thickness of the ice sheet, completely unclimbable unless you have crampons. As for the cold-weather gear ... maybe something with a time limit, where a PC has to do something like hold a lever in a certain position for a certain length of time while being exposed to rushing icy winds, and only proper clothing would give even a chance of surviving it or avoiding levels of exhaustion.

Or something like that.

 

[Henry]

(Also, I initially misread the title of this thread as something slightly different. I was confused by the dragon being white instead of red, and trying to figure out what that was a euphemism for...)

Cocaine. Mountains and Mountains of Cocaine, which the party has to use climbing gear and tons of willpower to cross. ;-)