I was knee deep in my shopping for the winter holidays, bombarded by festive music, movies and commercials, and all I could think about was “I wonder what an encounter based on Frosty the Snowman would be like?” …Yeah, I know… I’m a geek. But seriously, all the holiday wonderland tales and lore are rife for off the wall D&D encounters! As an example, here’s a possible take on a Frosty encounter:
An elderly man stumbles into the local tavern. Though covered in snow, it’s easy to tell from his robes and other attire that he’s a wizard or some other practitioner of the arcane arts.
“We’re doomed!” He cries as he flops into a nearby chair. “That blasted giant, Urlbog, ambushed my caravan! Among some other goods, we were to deliver this most wonderful hat to Sage Salios of the North.” The aged man breaks into sobs for a moment before continuing. “If Urlbog discovers how to use the hat, all the Northlands are doomed!”
Assuming the adventurers ask about the hat they learn that it has the power to bring ice and snow to life. The next time the adventurers head out of the town they are accosted by a frost giant wearing a very large top hat, surrounded by ice and snow monsters of differing size and power.
But enough about that - We want to see your Winter Holiday Encounter! It should be designed for 4th edition, 5 PCs at 15th level, and should at least include the basic scenario and setup along with name and full stats of the monsters you want to use (monster stat blocks created in the Monster Builder are great, but other formats are fine too as long as they’re original). Of course for extra style points, you can include the terrain, any environmental effects, any additional story, original images, and any other details you think would be interesting.
To participate, go to the Official Rules for the Holiday Encounter located at: images.community.wizards.com/community.w...
PLEASE NOTE: By posting your encounter entry, you represent and warrant that you are a legal resident of the U.S. or Canada over the age of 18, and that you have read or have had read to you the Official Rules, fully understand the contents thereof, and agree to be bound by all of them. You also agree to be contacted by Wizards of the Coast and/or its representatives with regard to your posting entry. Entries must be submitted by 12:00 a.m. (PDT) on December 21st 2009.
On the 21st of December 2009 our in-house team of expert judges will go through your entries and will select the winners based on the criteria set out in the Official Rules.  After that we’ll award prizes, run the encounters, and feature them on the D&D group page.
Once you have your ideas together and you’re ready for the world to see your encounter, review the Official Rules, and then post your entry up here. Doing so enters you in the contest and ensures that we’ll have a great time pouring over your work. I look forward to the crazy ideas that come in and wish everyone good gaming and Happy Holidays!
