Winter Adventuring -- Thought?

[L. Marcus]

Note: I wanted to post this in the Hero System Discussion Forum, but no dice. I thought this forum would be the next best fit ...

 

Does anyone know of any official write-ups of skis and skates? Skiing and skating? 6ED's handling of temperatures, frostbite, and sundry seems to cover exposure well enough, and treating deep snow (if the character is on foot) as undergrowth fits as well.

 

For myself, I'd say skis (the terrain-going, cross-country variant, not modern slalom or track cross-country) costs no points in themselves, but having those and the TF (plus, maybe, Combat Skiing) make getting around in deep snow much easier -- same for snowshoes. Skates I'd buy as extra Running with perhaps Half END Cost ...

 

​Anything else?

[Nolgroth]

Could you buy Ski's as Environmental Movement: Deep Snow? I've never done cross-country skiing, so I am not sure if it lets you move faster along flat terrain or not. If so, maybe some extra inches of Running/Ground Movement.

[L. Marcus]

In my experience (limited winter warfare training -- I was a technician, not a rifleman), Environmental Movement on a OIF might cover skis -- perhaps some extra Running for going down slopes. Over flat terrain, without a prepared track, skis aren't much faster than running.

[NuSoardGraphite]

Snow shoes would be Environmental Movement: Deep Snow. Skis would be an increased Non-combat multiple tied to OAF, Skis (-1) and Requires a Skill Roll (Skiing)

[L. Marcus]

A RSR would be overkill. The TF: Skis should be everything one needs in most circumstances, unless you're going down steep slopes or negotiating heavy undergrowth, and I'd call that skill Combat Skiing.

[NuSoardGraphite]

A RSR would be overkill. The TF: Skis should be everything one needs in most circumstances' date=' unless you're going down steep slopes or negotiating heavy undergrowth, and I'd call that skill Combat Skiing.[/quote']

 

Either works fine for me.

[Steve]

I would suggest considering skis to be a form of Gliding that must remain in contact with a surface (snow or water).

[L. Marcus]

That'd work, but may be a bit more clunky.

[Ockham's Spoon]

Cross-country skis can probably equal running speeds in the right terrain (flat or slight downhill slope), but the real advantage to both skis and snowshoes for travel is not so much extra speed but the fact it requires much less stamina to go over the snow rather than through it, especially in the case of skis where you can potentially glide a lot. I still think Environmental Movement: Deep Snow is a good build, but I would make the penalty for not having it as much about spending extra END as impeding movement.

[L. Marcus]

I don't know if I agree with that ... There's some truth in it, but moving about in, say, thigh-deep snow is just about as tiring as wading in the same depth of water. I the big problem isn't the expense of energy -- it's that there's stuff in the way!

 

But certainly, one extra END for every Phase in which a character moves unaided through deep snow isn't all that unrealistic.

 

[Lord Liaden]

That'd work, but may be a bit more clunky.

Actually, Limited Gliding was the first thing I thought of for skis. Mechanically, how it handles downward movement versus gaining altitude, would seem easily analogous to going downhill versus uphill on skis.