Information: What to do with it

what can be said of what

and who is going where

words can be as wrenching as a knife cutting your gut

and secrets can fall from lips behind unparted hair

they're like slimy eels and shards of glass

like blood underfoot and sickening pain

you can feel your axons screaming at their black mass

as the sharp darts of input pass and pierce your brain

so from the off I should convey something: the overarching thing

there are sixteen seeing stones scattered across the flat, icy land

the glass eyes of god, also called the palantir, scrying devices

there are eye-shaped chambers, and they are adorned with silver mirrors

you will see them, drawn in the maps provided for this book's contents,

and these chambers are scattered all over – in most known structures

the setting is polar, it is cold and arid and desolate

there are tundral locations here, but most are polar locations

this makes survival challenging, especially for us humans

so what kind of factors might make life ever be possible there?

after all, living life in a polar climate is very rare

the wind and general climate is inhospitable to life

in this land described on these pages, here are some of the factors:

some native women nurse goat kids, and babies nurse at nanny goats

old magic alters reality, in order to sustain life

if people plan, prepare, remain vigilant – life is possible

people migrate, moving with animals and weather, nomadic

ships carry supplies and people, the structure keeps people alive

so what are some of the challenges of day to day arctic life?

the extreme cold, the sun on snow, crevasses, injury, disease

lack of supplies, morale, maintaining gear and self, and madness

here are some good ways to use these factors to challenge the players

all the players should start with winter gear and supplies, however

this doesn't provide immunity to cold, moisture, dehydration

appropriate actions must be undertaken, or death ensues

if they wear armor, they will get much more sweaty, a deadly sweat

if they engage in combat, they will get sweaty, a deadly sweat

if they break up a dogfight they will get sweaty, a deadly sweat

if the wind blows in their face they will get thirsty, a deadly thirst

the wind may blow into their face all day, their skin begins to crack

if the wind blows onto them all day, they could lose extremities

an ear or a nose or fingers, or toes – anything that's exposed

they'll turn black and fall off, frostbitten and dead, falling in the snow

if they sweat, they will quickly begin to lose core temperature,

and as core temperature drops, it gets more and more dangerous

death looms closer, the warmth is illusory, the system shuts down

if they try to pick a lock, or open a locket, or tie knots,

have them remove their gloves, don't remind them to put the gloves back on

if they don't put gloves back on, congratulations, frostbite prevails

if players do not dry boots, leave combat unharmed, struggle daily

remember that HP is just the essentials, and minor things matter

if untreated, small things can get infected, and out of control

if players eat the same thing day after day, especially meat

give them rabbit poisoning after an extended period,

give reasons to covet food they brought with them, to clutch at rations

in polar expedition groups, chocolate, tea, sugar, citrus -

they are worth more than their weight in silver, these may be critical

they are the difference between life and death in this environs

when people have scurvy, when they're losing their own body fat

when they've been living on the leather from their boots, on scraps of meat

boiling bone soup for weeks, cooking penguin and seal on sooty flame

well, at that point, hot liquids and warm bedding should be beneficial

make fires and teas and fur clothing or bedding matter, which they do

describe and evoke the comfort of the little things, in contrast

singing, exercising, praying, preparing, planning, reading, writing

all these should be encouraged – they are what keep people alive here

the characters should stay occupied, dry, and warm – or death ensues

describe injuries and consequences of when people get hurt

when people get cut, bruised, or broken – describe it in harsh detail

bring it up as often as possible, make it always present

if they encounter Bannari, they should nearly always be told

about goats snuggling up close to them, goats just walking around them,

goats breastfeeding from Bannari, babies feeding from nanny goats

describe what they see on the horizon, and keep track of distance

distance provides the means to see the horrible and wonderful

and have the weather become despised because it prevents vision

oh, please describe their blood falling, pooling, pouring, dripping, smearing

and every chance you get, when they get injured, please describe their blood

detail how and when their blood gets frozen, make a marked point of this

during death, describe dismemberment, in hideous specifics

and even if they aren't dying, keep harp on about their wounds

try to get them perturbed, remind them of their wounds, describe their wounds

have animals, weather, terrain – remain constantly dangerous

make them present, and a pressing factor that pokes holes in plans

reward planning, adapting, and reporting with blessed silence

just fuck them up when they climb, describe the worst ledges and pitches

make climbing a harrowing thing, dizzy and sicken with dice rolls

try to press chalking up as something they should fear above all else

organization of wildlife and factions informs how they act

the style of hierarchy can be what clearly separates them

people and animals move and act in the frame of hierarchy

even if the players have what they want, things always go away

food runs out, the weather gets worse, they get skinnier, more tired, more cold

the only end is death, please intimate this as characters die