Frosthold North Gate
A fortified gate in the snow: two crossbow towers, a single stone gatehouse, icy roads and a sled-team camp. Drop it into any frozen border post, or use it as Frosthold's North Gate.
A snow-swept gatehouse set in a stone wall, two towers with crossbow platforms, and a sled-team camp just inside, where the frozen roads of the Whispering Tundra funnel into Frosthold's North Gate.
Beneath a low, pale sky, a stone wall runs east to west across the snow and breaks at a single gatehouse, a seam of cold blue light running along the lintel between its two squat flanking blocks. A square tower stands on either side, each topped with a heavy crossbow platform and a stair-hatch, and a timber-framed siege engine rests on the inside of the wall beside each one. Three ribbons of rutted, ice-glazed road converge on the gate from the open tundra, their edges crusted white, while colored pennants on short poles whip in the wind to mark the safe line through the drifts.
Inside the wall the ground turns to trampled snow and working clutter. Two low timber sheds sit at the southern edge, one still squared to the road and the other knocked askew, and a pair of canvas tents hunch beside cookfires that glow orange against the white. At the western corner a team of sled dogs waits beside three sleds laid out nose to tail, the harnesses already on the ground. It is the sort of place where a traveler is checked, warmed, argued with and sent on their way, and where a patient enemy could watch all of it from the drifts.
Intended Use
This map shines as a fortified chokepoint: a gate scene, a checkpoint negotiation, a caravan arrival, or a defense of the walls. The single gatehouse gives the party a clear objective, and the two towers hand any defenders (or attackers) high ground with real firepower. It is just as good for tense roleplay, with guards, drovers and strangers all crowded at one narrow opening in a cold wind that nobody wants to stand in for long.
When used for combat, the map plays as a layered skirmish: ranged fire from the towers, hard cover around the siege engines and sleds, and open snow that punishes anyone caught crossing it. The three icy roads give fast lanes for charges and retreats, the sheds and tents offer broken cover inside the wall, and the fires set pools of warm light against the white. Drop it into any snowbound town, fortress or border post, or use it as the North Gate of Frosthold.
Pair with Tavrek Larchbrace
Tavrek Larchbrace is the Sled-Team Yard's sled-wright and harness-mender, a hobgoblin who measures every brace on a notched story-stick, listens to the wood before trusting it, and will not call a sled finished until it has carried the weight it was built for the full length of the Yard. He keeps no dogs and drives no teams, but nothing leaves the North Gate on runners without passing through his shed first. For the party, Tavrek is a dry, exacting ally when a sled needs mending, a rush order needs an honest answer, or a rumor about the gate needs someone who has watched everything come and go through it. He is also the surest way to put a party's cargo, a stalled convoy or a sled that does not add up at the center of a scene on this map.
Rich
Key Features
- A single stone gatehouse in the wall, the only way through, with a line of pale blue light across its lintel
- Two flanking towers with crossbow platforms and stair-hatches, giving commanding high ground
- Two timber siege engines inside the wall, offering hard cover and a tempting thing to turn on the enemy
- Three icy approach roads converging on the gate, with pennant-marked poles and open snow around them
- A sled-team camp of sleds, dogs, tents, cookfires and sheds providing cover, light and plenty to knock over
Potential Adventure Hooks or Encounters
- Closed at Dusk: The gate is barred early and the guards will not say why. The party has an hour of daylight, a sick traveler and a long walk to the next shelter.
- The Wrong Count: A sled team arrives with one more sled than it left with, and no driver will own it. Someone has hidden something among the freight.
- Whiteout Assault: A blizzard hides raiders crawling along the icy roads toward the gate. The party must hold the towers, work the siege engines and keep the cookfires lit to find their enemy.
- Dogs in the Night: The sled dogs will not stop staring at one of the pennant poles. By morning the pole is the only thing out there that has not moved.
- Toll at the Gate: A stranger demands passage and will not give a name. If the party refuses, the towers have a decision to make.
Conclusion
Frosthold North Gate is the map to reach for when you want a cold, tense threshold: a place where a simple arrival can become a standoff, a siege or a rescue in the snow. Run it as the front door of Frosthold, or lift it into any frozen border post, and let the gate, the towers and the wind do the work of making your table feel the chill.
The gridded version of this map is formatted with each square representing 5 feet.
