In the first half of the 19th century, the northern United States and Canada were full of brave, desperate, and foolhardy people. An overseas fashion trend had created a phenomenal demand for beaver pelts, so fur trappers flooded the frozen north. Explorers risked their lives in search of the Northwest Passage, an arctic sea route connecting the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. Pioneers raced Old Man Winter from the settled east to the golden shores of the west coast.

Death was a way of life. The frontier was full of dangers both human and inhuman. Bears and mountain lions, accident and injury, disease, outlaws... they all paled in comparison to the merciless American winter. The snow trapped unlucky travelers in their camps and entombed entire towns. Food was scarce and frostbite a constant threat. Powerless in the face of Nature, all you could do was pray to see the spring.

Role-playing games set in the frozen north should emphasize the twin themes of isolation and desperation. Send your PCs out with few rations and limited ammunition. Make shelter scarce and, when it is available, more like a prison than a sanctuary. The cold must be pervasive; if your system has a mechanic that works for frostbite, use it. The frontier westerns are like post-apocalypse stories in that morality must often take a back seat to survival. This is no place for heros.

Why would your players ever want to visit such a horrid wasteland? Despite the inhospitable climate, there's a lot going on. Starting in 1824, the "Rendezvous" brought together hundreds of fur trappers twice a year: once to purchase supplies in the spring, and again to sell their pelts in the fall. This is a great opportunity to bring disparate PCs together and for GMs to seed their game with plots and rumors.

In 1846, two ships became locked in the arctic ice while searching for the Northwest Passage. Franklin's Expedition (lead by Sir John Franklin) waited nearly two years before trying to cross the icy wastes on sledges. Unfortunately, that was more than enough time for their food to become contaminated by the lead cans in which it was stored. Out on the glacier, long removed from civilization, the crew went mad and cannibalized each other.

Also in the winter of '46, the infamous Donner Party set out across the Sierra Nevada mountains. After becoming snowbound, they slaughtered their oxen and gnawed on leather scraps for sustenance. A group of 15 went in search of help, but only half made it the 100 miles to Sutter's Fort. They, like the two camps who had stayed behind, had eaten their dead to survive. (Technically, the Donner party was in the West, not the North, but they were definitely frozen. Besides, it just doesn't seem right to talk about frontier cannibals without mentioning the Donner party.)

Frontier Sanctum

Though the secret society has no organized presence in the frozen north, Sanctum reached the Americas long before Europeans did. Medicine men from every tribe and region understood the true nature of warlocks and put aside their differences to fight the demonic menace. They expected European missionaries to do the same, not realizing that Sanctum had grown beyond its religious roots in the west. Individual Sanctum agents were able to gain the trust of some medicine men, but the negative reactions of uninitiated preachers forever poisoned relations between these two Sanctum lineages.

Nosh

This Algonquin medicine man serves Gitche Manitou, the Great Spirit and creator of all things. He tracks warlocks all across the Great Lakes region and is respected by many different tribes. However, standing alone against the forces of demonkind takes its toll on even the holiest of men. As his power over dark magic has grown, his skill in the healing arts has diminished. He lives in fear of the day when he must trade his own soul for the power to overcome one last demon... and becomes a demon himself.

• Bad Medicine - Curses, necromancy, etc.
• Holy Man - His words carry weight with many tribes.
• Good Medicine - Healing, divination, etc.

Eskimo Bill

This mountain man isn't really an Inuit, not that he knows of. He was raised in a white orphanage and never knew his parents, though his skin bears witness to the fact that they were Native Americans. Unable to find acceptance in either society, he has retreated to the isolation of the frozen north. In his travels, he has encountered more than his fair share of evil, which is why he sometimes finds himself working with Sanctum.

• Survival Instinct - Runs fast and fights dirty.
• Hunter - Tracks and traps for a living.
• Half-Breed - Doesn't belong in either world.

Barnaby Kane

When most Europeans set out to "tame the West," they meant mapping the geography and subjugating the natives. Barnaby Kane set out to rid the West of warlocks. He is Sanctum's foremost operative in the Great Lakes region, with dozens of successful missions under his belt. Though recognized as an accomplished soldier and missionary, the fact that he spares little time for guiding wagon trains or converting heathens has left him with few friends among the legitimate authorities.

• Old Soldier - A one man wrecking crew.
• Applied Theology - Folklore, exorcism, etc.
• Bad Rep - Known as a trouble-maker.

Captain Cornelius

By and large, this military man has little time for magic and mystery, but his numerous tours in the frozen north have left little doubt in his mind that demons are all too real. He has found himself backing up Sanctum operatives on more than one occasion, glad to handle the violence and leave the mystic crap to someone else. (You can run Cornelius as a lone soldier or as the leader of a calvary unit, as per the Centurions described in Sanctum: Imperial Rome.)

• Calvary Charge - Experienced rider, swordsman, & shootist.
• Authority - His natural charisma is backed by military rank.
• Situational Awareness - Always watches his back.

Warlocks in the Waste

Some warlocks seek out the isolation of the world's remote, uncharted places. By and large, they are too deformed or depraved to survive in civilized lands. They prowl the long, cold nights of the frozen north, preying upon natives and pioneers alike.

The Wendigo

The belief that eating human flesh transforms you into a ravenous monster with a heart of ice certainly helps enforce a cultural taboo, but it's not entirely true. Wendigos are only born when cold and starvation force someone to turn to cannibalism... and they go stark, raving mad. The horrible reality of what they've done allows their inner demons to twist their minds and warp their bodies. Their terror transforms them into something much worse than what they fear they've already become.

A Wendigo's body tells the tale of its birth: it is skeletal from starvation, its nose and toes have been taken by frostbite, and its eyes glow with demonic light. They are phenomenally strong and driven by an intense hunger that cannot be sated. What makes them truly dangerous is their ability to change shape, appearing as people, animals, or nothing at all. Their hearts are, indeed, made of ice and melting them is the only way to destroy a Wendigo once and for all.

• Hunter of Men - Strong, fast, and nearly invulnerable.
• Trickster - Changes shape, mimics voices, & sets traps.
• Ravenous - Can't pass up a meal, even when it's bait.

The Hungry Dead

Those who turn to cannibalism with the support of fellow survivors rarely suffer the crippling mental breakdown that creates a Wendigo. In the case of the Franklin Expedition, lead poisoning picked up the slack. Those who survived the group's bloody implosion did so only by succumbing to their inner demons. Afterwards, they shambled out across the frozen wasteland in search of warm, raw meat.

• Help Us... - Still look human enough to sucker the unwary.
• Need to Feed - Supernaturally strong and utterly relentless.
• Shred of Soul - Pictures of loved ones stop them in their tracks.

The Windwalker

Declining beaver populations left this mountain man so far in debt to his fur company that he could never dig himself out. He thought he could escape into the uncharted reaches of the Great Northwest, but the company hired mercenaries to track him. Desperation drove him into one of the worst blizzards white men have ever seen, and the debt collectors presumed him dead.

Then, he walked into their camp and killed them all. Gaston Dufour had become a demoniac who possesses the power of the winter winds. His cold flesh no longer craves warmth and he needs neither food nor water to survive. For now, he is content to wander the wastes in solitude, but his demons constantly twist his thoughts towards revenge...

• Affinity: Chill Wind - Summons ice storms & freezes men in their tracks.
• Righteous Rage - Believes the fur companies ruined his life.
• White Wraith - Never leaves tracks in the snow.

The Company Man

When the fur companies' trappers need to be hunted down, they call Jean Baptiste Lafontaine. No one has escaped this notorious tracker for over twenty years. That's about ten years longer than he's been without a soul. Lafontaine's track record was so important to him than he sold his soul to avoid letting a single fugitive get away. Now, he lives only for the hunt.

• Bloodhound - Can follow any trail, no matter how old or obscured.
• Ambush Artist - Likes to bag his prey as quickly as possible.
• Raving Maniac - Any hint of failure sends him into a violent rage.

Scenario Outline

The frigid wastelands of the arctic may not be a promising place for a campaign, but it's perfect for interesting one-shot games. The following outline turns this article into a ready-made adventure, just add your favorite system and season to taste.

Premise: Sanctum sends the PCs to find the Windwalker, but all manner of evil finds them first.

1. Rendezvous

Since the fur trappers are their best and only source of eye witness accounts, the PCs' first stop is Rendezvous. They arrive just as all the trappers are packing up to leave, so there's no time to waste. They meet the Company Man, who tells them that Gaston Dufour is behind all those "crazy rumors." He's about to head out on the murderer's trail and wouldn't mind the company. (He's planning to use them either as bait or as food.)

2. Ambush

Deep in the wilderness, the group runs afoul of either the Wendigo or the Hungry Dead. In either case, the encounter probably begins with subterfuge: a plea for help, a seemingly wounded traveler, maybe a pregnant woman. As soon as the PCs are in a vulnerable position, out come the claws and fangs! (The more you can injure at least one of the PCs, the better the next section will be.)

3. Stranded

Our heros have very little time to recover before an unseasonably vicious winter storm rolls in. They discover a small cabin nearby. Inside, the walls are painted in blood and the floor is littered with human bones. It is obvious to all that the cannibal(s) from the previous scene laired here after consuming the prior residents. They settle in to wait out the storm, but the Company Man quickly start to complain that their quarry is getting away. If anyone tries to argue with him, he grows violent and starts threatening to skin people alive and boil their bones for soup.

4. Showdown

Eventually, the Company Man just snaps. You can either play this for tension and have him methodically separate his victim from the rest of the group before making his move, or hit your players with a burst of unexpected savagery! In either case, the Windwalker should make his appearance right when the PCs are most occupied. Now, they have two murderous warlocks on their hands! Fortunately, the storm lets up as soon as the Windwalker bites the dust, so the survivors can drag themselves back to civilization.

Next Stop: Medieval Europe for the truth behind the Grand Inquisition!