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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Kelvor Ravenstar" data-source="post: 5270762" data-attributes="member: 33291">What the previous posters wrote is largely true. Lack of precipitation does make for better preservation, as does freezing temperatures. But the best examples of preservation come from anaerobic (that's lack of oxygen) environments. That's why you can get great preservation at the bottom of an ocean (think the Titanic) or other bodies of water, or beneath bogs, which can create natural mummies.For a great example of preservation in frozen temperature look up the news stories of Otzi the Iceman, who was frozen in the Alps between Italy and Switzerland for more than 5000 years. However, the Iceman would have better preservation than the situation you're describing, since without precipitation there would not be enough ice buildup to create the anaerobic environment necessary for prime preservation.So depending on many factors you'll likely have preservation of fabric, wood, and the bodies of the monastery's inhabitants, but for the corpses you may have less preservation and only find their skeletons. But remember, you're the dungeon master, so the level of preservation is ultimately up to you. Magic doesn't always follow our laws of physics or nature.If you have more forensic or archaeologically minded players in your group, they may enjoy trying to figure out why the preservation is different than they would expect given the conditions.</blockquote>