03-07-2017, 08:23 PM
Frozen Fields FAQ (Updated 3-7-2017)
Q: “ What does the landscape near and around the gates look like?”
A: All three of the gates into the Frozen Fields open up onto solid pieces of land surrounded by the semi-frozen sea that circles the edges of the Frozen Fields. The view from each is that of miles upon miles of glaciers, with mountains in the backdrop.
Q: “What’s the landscape like here? Can you give more details?”
A: So, essentially, it’s a large U of “semi-frozen” ocean with a giant, mountainous landmass in the center. The ‘solid’ part of the verse expands all the way to its ‘boundary wall’ (that invisible line that demarcates the extreme end of the verse). The ‘Mountains of Madness’ serve as a boundary at the edge of this region of the verse.
Q: “Any wildlife? Or flora?”
A: There’s a few smatterings of taiga forest around the Frozen Fields, like one would find in Canada or Siberia. The ‘normal’ animals of the verse are ones you’d find in those environments—wolverines, bears, big cats, moose, caribou, owls, etc. You’ll also find penguins, because penguins are great (go Penguins). In the ocean part, there are your normal fish and aquatic lifeforms, as well as your monstrous things.
Q: “Crazy stuff?”
A: Aside from trolls and ice giants and dragons?! Sure, there’s all your standard, trope-y snow monsters out there.
Q: “What’s the weather like?”
A: Not as awful as the Ashen Steppes. Out there on the ‘ocean,’ it’s going to be cold and windy. Cold enough to kill unprepared secondaries or primes who lack the survival power. It’s not just winds and low temperatures, but the ice is often thin enough that individuals fall through into the icy water, which kills very quickly. On the continent, you have snow very often. Some places, the snow’s light and fluffy and pleasant, but in other places, it’s closer to sleet or hail. Snowstorms are frequent near the mountains.
Q: “Caves? Ruins?”
A: Lots of both. The most important ruins are those being fought over by the trolls and dwarves, but there are plenty of other ruins. The ones beyond the Mountains of Madness are another set of semi-famous ruins in the Frozen Fields. Like all the other verses, no one can be certain who constructed them, but that doesn’t mean people don’t want to study them in their spare time. Old, half-frozen towers and ziggurats are a common ‘stomping ground’ for older and more stronger giants and blue dragons.
Q: “What are the trolls and dwarves doing? What have they been doing? Why are they here?”
A: Bruenor and Zuljin’s biographies have some extra information, so I won’t drone on too much. Both were factions originally aligned with the Kingdom, and both separated themselves from the humans during the war with Diablo. Both were drawn to the Fields for their own reasons, and while there was initially an effort at cooperation, things quickly went sour. The two factions are now in a perpetual state of war, but it’s not a full-blown war (outside of Zul’Drak/Delzoun). A guerilla war is waged in the mountains and caves of the Fields, and it’s this perpetual war that has prevented either faction from spreading far beyond their strongholds and become genuine powers. This isn’t saying that you won’t find troll villages and dwarven settlements out there, but they’re not to the scale you’d expect.
Q: “ What does the landscape near and around the gates look like?”
A: All three of the gates into the Frozen Fields open up onto solid pieces of land surrounded by the semi-frozen sea that circles the edges of the Frozen Fields. The view from each is that of miles upon miles of glaciers, with mountains in the backdrop.
Q: “What’s the landscape like here? Can you give more details?”
A: So, essentially, it’s a large U of “semi-frozen” ocean with a giant, mountainous landmass in the center. The ‘solid’ part of the verse expands all the way to its ‘boundary wall’ (that invisible line that demarcates the extreme end of the verse). The ‘Mountains of Madness’ serve as a boundary at the edge of this region of the verse.
Q: “Any wildlife? Or flora?”
A: There’s a few smatterings of taiga forest around the Frozen Fields, like one would find in Canada or Siberia. The ‘normal’ animals of the verse are ones you’d find in those environments—wolverines, bears, big cats, moose, caribou, owls, etc. You’ll also find penguins, because penguins are great (go Penguins). In the ocean part, there are your normal fish and aquatic lifeforms, as well as your monstrous things.
Q: “Crazy stuff?”
A: Aside from trolls and ice giants and dragons?! Sure, there’s all your standard, trope-y snow monsters out there.
Q: “What’s the weather like?”
A: Not as awful as the Ashen Steppes. Out there on the ‘ocean,’ it’s going to be cold and windy. Cold enough to kill unprepared secondaries or primes who lack the survival power. It’s not just winds and low temperatures, but the ice is often thin enough that individuals fall through into the icy water, which kills very quickly. On the continent, you have snow very often. Some places, the snow’s light and fluffy and pleasant, but in other places, it’s closer to sleet or hail. Snowstorms are frequent near the mountains.
Q: “Caves? Ruins?”
A: Lots of both. The most important ruins are those being fought over by the trolls and dwarves, but there are plenty of other ruins. The ones beyond the Mountains of Madness are another set of semi-famous ruins in the Frozen Fields. Like all the other verses, no one can be certain who constructed them, but that doesn’t mean people don’t want to study them in their spare time. Old, half-frozen towers and ziggurats are a common ‘stomping ground’ for older and more stronger giants and blue dragons.
Q: “What are the trolls and dwarves doing? What have they been doing? Why are they here?”
A: Bruenor and Zuljin’s biographies have some extra information, so I won’t drone on too much. Both were factions originally aligned with the Kingdom, and both separated themselves from the humans during the war with Diablo. Both were drawn to the Fields for their own reasons, and while there was initially an effort at cooperation, things quickly went sour. The two factions are now in a perpetual state of war, but it’s not a full-blown war (outside of Zul’Drak/Delzoun). A guerilla war is waged in the mountains and caves of the Fields, and it’s this perpetual war that has prevented either faction from spreading far beyond their strongholds and become genuine powers. This isn’t saying that you won’t find troll villages and dwarven settlements out there, but they’re not to the scale you’d expect.