Dread the Antarctic

/u/zombie owlbear

Monday 19th October, 2015

E F
Dread the Antarctic 2

Location: Antarctica

Time and date: 1930, beginning of the southern polar

winter

Plot introduction
You are a team of experts hired as the rescue party
for a group of explorers with whom all contact ceased.
Their mission was considered risky by other scientists
because it didn’t take place during summer, and be-
cause of their apparent haste while preparing, so the
related institutions have refused to send an official
rescue party. ‘They knew the risks involved,’ they

H G
said, ‘and were aware no one could be sent to help them
if needed.’
However, a worried parent of one of the explorers is
willing to pay you your year’s income to go there and
rescue their child and everyone and everything else you
can. You have accepted their offer and are now on an
airplane to Antarctica.
 Dread the Antarctic 3

About
I’ve been hosting popular d20 games for a while and I’ve recently discovered
Dread1 . I liked it so much that it became the system of the very first adventure
I’ve decided to properly write down and publish – this one.

The style of the adventure

This was written with a friend who’s new to hosting in mind. Since my style
of writing down a lot of ideas and specific situations that happened in my
games (because, if I already have it, why not give it to you?), and doing so
in an explanatory manner, might not be appropriate for experienced gamers,
I’ve decided to write two versions of this adventure. The first one is long and
should be appropriate for people with little to no experience with Dread or
hosting an RPG game in general. If you don’t need much help and would
prefer brief bullet points, jump to page 19 for the brief version.

Inspiration
• At the Mountains of Madness, story by H. P. Lovecraft

• The Call of Cthulhu, story by H. P. Lovecraft

• Beneath the Ice, Dread scenario by /u/808Eclipse

1
You can buy it or get the rules for free here:
http://dreadthegame.wordpress.com/about-dread-the-game/
 Dread the Antarctic 4

Character Overview
This is the only public information regarding the characters and the only
thing the players know while picking them. Everything after this section is
considered to be spoilers, including the Story overview section on this page.

• The engineer, 25, mechanic and surveyor of digging equipment.

• The doctor, 28, pessimistic about finding any survivors.

• The chemist, 50, hired to handle explosives and potentially dangerous

chemicals the explorers were using.

• The geologist, 42, a person of broad education and an experienced trav-

eler.

• The guard, 36, a Russian WWI veteran, here for security and manual
labor.

• The meteorologist, 22, amateur artist and the only one who asked to go
on this mission.

Story overview
The first part of the story deals with the flight to Antarctica and the crash of
both the passenger and the cargo plane. The second part is about exploring
the ruined camp site while fighting off a particularly nasty pack of wolves.
The third part is mainly about running away – whether from the madness of
the antediluvian temple, the (were)wolf pack or the teammates who have lost
their minds.
 Dread the Antarctic 5

Characters – the engineer

1. You always wanted to be a writer. Why did you become an engineer?

2. Why do you need money so badly?

3. How come you aren’t afraid of this mission?

4. How did you get that scar?

5. What happens if you don’t take your pills on time?

6. You like to loudly question things that seem suspicious. What’s the
most trouble you got into because of that?

7. What is it that no one knows you can do?

8. Where did you learn to shoot like that?

9. What do you talk about once you’ve had a drink?

10. Who does the geologist remind you of that makes you instinctively
trust them?

11. What do you always have in your pockets?

12. What do you look like?

13. What’s your name?

 Dread the Antarctic 6

Characters – the doctor

You are not really a doctor – you’re a veterinarian. The employer of this
mission knows it, but doesn’t mind it. You do have experience in treating
people and can administer basic first aid without difficulty.

1. You like to help people because a stranger saved your life during
childhood. What happened?

2. Since then, you’ve been immune to all diseases. How do you explain
it?

3. How come you never got into a medical university?

4. What will happen if you don’t pay off your debt soon?

5. Why does this mission scare you?

6. A revolver dropped from somewhere while everyone was loading the

their bags. Why did you pick it up and how do you hide it from the
others?

7. What habit could you never get rid of?

8. Whose torn picture photograph do you carry with you?

9. What can you do that no one would expect of you?

10. Why do your strong headaches frighten you?

11. What do you whisper to yourself when you need to calm down?

12. What do you look like?

13. What’s your name?

 Dread the Antarctic 7

Characters – the chemist

You are actually an alchemist. A laboratory accident made you age quickly -
you are actually 24 even though you look 50. Warmth exacerbates your aging
so this mission suits you perfectly, and this is also why you keep away from
sources of heat and wear thinner clothing. You brought several suitcases with
chemicals with you.
1. How come the study of chemistry wasn’t what you expected?

2. The first alchemy book you read was an epiphany. How did you
acquire it?

3. Why were you arrested?

4. What quirk do you have that people quickly notice?

5. What extraordinary physical ability did your alchemical experiments

give you?

6. Physical contact with people harms you due to warmth. How do you
deal with it and what is the most difficult thing about it?

7. What’s the worst thing you’ve done under the influence of your con-
coctions?

8. What pleasant memory do you think of when you’re under great

stress?

9. Why did you take the knife out of the guard’s bag?

10. Why are you nervous every time you’re next to the geologist?

11. Why is the doctor your fondest teammate?

12. What do you look like?

13. What’s your name?

 Dread the Antarctic 8

Characters – the geologist

You’re not a geologist – you’re an archeologist and an anthropologist, and

an explorer of the mystical and the occult of some renown (in the proper
circles). You’re also the only one who knows the truth behind this mission:
your employer isn’t a worried parent but an investor, and the exploration
team was working on some baffling ruins, the secrecy being responsible for the
odd timing of their mission. You don’t know anything about rocks, though.
Unbeknown to others, you have volunteered to go on this mission, because
someone dear to you is a member of the lost team.
1. How come you didn’t have to go to war (WWI)?

2. What early supernatural experience marked the rest of your life?

3. Is that why you never want to be left alone?

4. When did you come to realize no one will ever take you seriously
when it comes to the supernatural?

5. What’s your most significant discovery in the field of the mystical

and the occult?

6. Why does the underground make you uncomfortable, and why don’t
you want it to be found out?

7. You gained an unusual psychic ability on one of your quests. What

is it?

8. What is the price of using that ability?

9. You wear an unusual amount of charms and amulets from all over the
world. How do you explain it to others?

10. Someone you deeply care about is on the lost Antarctica team. For
whom are you willing to risk your life?

11. Why do you think the guard is hiding his true intentions?

12. What do you look like?

13. What’s your name?

 Dread the Antarctic 9

Characters – the guard

You’re the only person who has already worked for the employer, though the
team doesn’t know this. You know he does shady business, but you’ve never
asked about the contents of those crates that needed to be smuggled or why
certain people had to be silenced, and you’re not asking much about this
mission either. Your weapons bag contains: 2 revolvers (each loaded with 6
bullets), a rifle (10 bullets), spare ammunition (12 revolver bullets and 10 rifle
bullets), a hunting knife and a stick of dynamite.
1. Your family connections made it possible for you to not go to WWI.
How come you enlisted anyway?

2. What’s your fondest war story or memory?

3. You were an excellent team leader during the war. What do you do
to keep your men focused and their spirits high?

4. What happened in Russia that you’re now working on the opposite

end of the world?

5. What’s the only thing in your life you’ve ever done perfectly?

6. What thing that you could previously easily do is now significantly

hindered by an injury from the first mission for the employer?

7. What skill did you pick up to make up for it?

8. Why are people afraid of you?

9. Do you hide the thrill you get from adrenaline rushes, and how does
the thrill affect your attitude towards combat?

10. Why does the chemist seem suspicious?

11. Who does the geologist subconsciously remind you of so that you
like talking to them?

12. What do you look like?

13. What’s your name?

 Dread the Antarctic 10

Characters – the meteorologist

A child from a rich family; you’ve never had to work and have pursued your
hobbies of astronomy and art. After a series of vivid and very impressive
dreams, you’ve started looking for a way to get to the place you dreamed
about. Somehow, you’ve come into contact with the employer and convinced
him to put you on the rescue team. The two of you have agreed to have you
posing as the team meterologist – the weather in Antarctica will hardly need
predicting.
1. You’ve studied the stars your whole life. What early experience bound
you to them?

2. Why weren’t you accepted into an astronomy university?

3. What’s so difficult about being a genius that no one sees?

4. You like to tell everyone about your art. What do you do?

5. What unexpected athletic ability do you have?

6. What did all the men/women (your sex) in your family die of before
the age of 35?

7. This mission isn’t public, how did you find out about it?

8. You volunteered to go because of the vivid dreams you’ve been having

for a month. What do you expect to find there?

9. What unpleasant childhood experience does the geologist remind you

of that makes you frightened of them?

10. Why do you think the chemist is hiding something?

11. Who on your team makes you feel safe?

12. What do you look like?

13. What’s your name?

 Dread the Antarctic 11

Setting the atmosphere

Playing by just candlelight doesn’t work. It would be best if you could have
a small flashlight with bluish light pointed directly at the Jenga
R
tower from
above, and the other lights dimmed.
Music is your biggest asset. Continuously play the sound of arctic wind.
Turn it louder every time they’re outdoors. Once things start to get weird
(Act 2), subtly include a ‘creepy wind’ track. Have ready the sounds of wolves
howling and of wolves growling and play when appropriate. Before the game,
spend a few minutes (alone!) preparing each track and setting the volume in
your music player so that you can just press play and have each sound at its
appropriate volume so you don’t have to adjust the speakers.
For example, I had 5 instances of VLC open, each with a single track. I’ve
set the speakers so that the wolf growling sound is rather loud when played,
and reduced the volume of every other track in VLC so they’re at normal
volume when played. In both of my playtests, when the growling was played
for the first time (Act 2, when the door from Room 1 to Room 2 is opened and
a wolf jumps out), the player who opened the door could barely make the pull
to avoid injury because their hands were shaking. However, don’t play the
sound for the first time when they’re just about to pull – you’re not supposed
to startle them while they’re making a pull.
• Wind 1: http://youtu.be/3yzwpn0VfQg
• Wind 2: http://youtu.be/GQAiB9Vlbh0
• Creepy wind: http://youtu.be/1CVbfReqoVE
• Howling: http://youtu.be/tNR877AHJAc
• Growling: http://youtu.be/dvHHi3GI1XU

Various things to bear in mind during the game

• the plane can only take off during daylight
– only 4 hours of daylight per day
• steel is brittle at these temperatures, pull to avoid shattering if striking
– don’t say why they’re pulling or why it shattered, have them figure
it out
• the chemist can mix various concoctions they can come up with
• give the guard a few more sticks of dynamite if no one’s playing the
chemist
• setting up explosions in the camp will detonate gas heaters as well
• always have a description of death ready when someone is going to pull
• the revolver from the doctor’s questions is intentionally not explained in
the text; improvise or work with your players
 Dread the Antarctic
The Long Version
Prelude
The Moon is, or at least contains, a force that
wishes to corrupt and destroy all life on Earth.
It cannot exert its influence directly - its power
must be desired and summoned by creatures
from Earth. It waited billions of years for
sentient creatures to appear so it could call
to them and show them the rituals in their
dreams. Millions of years ago, the Antartica
was warm and inhabited by huge amoeba-like
creatures whose superior intellects made them
receptive to the Moon’s calls. Under its in-
fluence they built temples and performed vile
rituals. The Moon’s power manifested itself in
the form of giant wolves. With the freezing
of Antarctica and the downfall of its civiliza-
tion, the giant wolves died and the last ones
that were summoned by half-forgotten rituals
were small and feeble compared to those before
them. The last wolves managed to survive and
they are the wolves we know – they have not
evolved on Earth. With the onset of humans,
the Moon started to call again, and various re-
ligions included it in its worship. Luckily, we
weren’t advanced enough to understand what
it was saying, and the bloody rituals performed
by cults never summoned anything.
Act 0 – The Flight
Two airplanes have been provided for the mis-
sion. Each has a pilot and a copilot. The
smaller plane carries the passengers and the
essentials. The essentials include2 a very large
supply of food (to last them and the large lost
team three times longer than is planned), first
aid kits, gas heaters, enough fuel for the re-
turn, two signal flares, two electric torches,
an axe, and a portable two-way radio (early
walkie-talkie). The second plane is larger,
containing an abundance of the following:
fuel, spare parts, climbing equipment, suit-
able clothes, excavation equipment, medicine,
2
Every time before the contents of something are listed, assume the text also says ‘but not limited to’. You
can add things you find appropriate, and you should include anything your players might reasonably bring along.
12
clothing, gas heaters. It also contains the
guard’s weapons bag and ammo bag. All ex-
tra luggage the players want to bring is here
as well (like the chemist’s lab and chemicals).
Being large, the plane is still mostly empty,
since it’s expected to carry back everything
(people, gear, findings, machines. . . ) from the
camp. Both planes have been fitted to handle
the Antarctic weather, particularly by having
fuel heaters.
The story starts while flying over the
Southern Ocean. You can break the ice (ba
dum tssss) by having the pilot tell a story over
the communication system:
I think we should tell scary stories involv-
ing ice and snow to get you in the right
mood for where we’re going. Does anyone
know any?
Well I don’t know if you know any
because this is a one-way system, so I’ll
tell one. Do you know how the Eskimos
hunt polar bears? They take fish bones,
spine and ribs and everything, and roll
them into a ball. Now, if they released
it, it would just open like a spring. So
they don’t do that; they instead take some
fat and put it around the rolled-up bone.
Then they leave balls like that where they
expect a bear to pass. The bear sees the
fat and greedily swallows it all. Then the
fat melts in his stomach and the bone
spring opens up, tearing the bear from the
inside. . .
Now, they’ve been doing it for so
long, and the bears have gone through
so much suffering, bleeding from their
mouths and anuses, that nature started
to remember all the torment that takes
place there. . . The spirits of the bears have
started taking revenge, and it is said that
even innocent passengers through those
areas can be found dead and frozen, with
insides torn from no apparent cause, and
frozen blood soaking their shawls and
pants.
After a few moments of pause, he adds:
But all that need not worry you, since Es-
kimos live on Greenland and we’re on the
opposite end of the world right now.
 Dread the Antarctic
Now you can ask for character descriptions and
let them get acquainted.
The pilot has a few more things to say.
First, he says that the safety procedure dic-
tates that at least one crew member must pass
the basic piloting course. The players who
want to have to make a pull to remember it.
Second, he warns them it’s colder than
they think; they need to keep everything cov-
ered at all times and smear with fat what they
can’t cover, bursts of wind reduce the apparent
temperature a lot (wind chill), the only way to
use the toilet is to use a bedpan indoors and
then spill the waste outside, taking a glove off
means you lose fingers, etc. Drinking alcohol
is also strongly discouraged. These links3 4
may help you describe the weather, though
don’t use the exact terms unless a player’s an-
swers specifically mention suitable knowledge.
Lastly, he says touching anything with bare
skin will make them lose that part of skin. In
case any of the players have anything special
in their answers regarding sleep (nightmares,
can’t sleep without alcohol. . . ), here is a good
chance to tell them it’s time to sleep and that
they’ll be arriving in the morning.
In the morning, they’re over the Antarctic
ice and the pilot tells them they should start
getting ready. While they’re getting ready, the
pilot shouts a curse, the plane starts shaking,
has a sudden drop in altitude as it’s caught in
a strong downward air draft, and crashes.
Act 1 – The Crash
Each player makes a pull to avoid serious in-
jury (like broken bones). After this is deter-
mined, each player makes a pull to retain con-
sciousness. The pilot and copilot are fine, and
they immediately start dragging the uncon-
scious people outside, after which they start
checking the plane for fuel leakage. They de-
termine there’s no immediate danger. Do not
allow the unconscious people to awake until
the second crash has been resolved – not get-
3
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wind_chill
4
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climate_of_Antarctica#Weather_condition_classification
13
ting your bags off the burning cargo plane is
the toll for choosing not to pull.
The cargo plane was flying about 10 min-
utes behind them. It gets caught in the same
air current and crashes much worse, about
800m (2600 ft) away from them. Smoke starts
coming out of it. Unbeknown to anyone, the
planes were brought down by the supernatu-
ral forces manipulating the winds. The players
can get there in time for each of them to have
a chance to get one thing off the plane – either
a bag or the unconscious and seriously injured
crew (just the pilot and copilot). Getting any-
thing off the plane requires a pull. A player
could make two pulls to get another thing out
if it’s reasonable (e.g. if their bags are small).
However, all the cargo is heavily jumbled and
fuel starts leaking heavily after everyone gets
the first item out, at which point the entire
plane bursts into flames. The guard will prob-
ably get the weapons bag – but don’t let them
have the ammunition bag. Being forced to save
ammunition will increase the tension. The
crew can be stabilized with a (single) pull, but
they’re too injured to go anywhere.
Once the players are back, the pilot tells
them they’ve crashed almost half an hour of
flight, about 100 km (∼60 miles), from the
camp. Give the players a minute or so to
despair, after which the copilot corrects him
about being only 4 km (2.5 miles) from the
camp, which is reachable in about an hour.
Neither can make any definitive claims about
the state of the plane, and need to stay with it
to check all the systems while the players ex-
plore. They point out they have no idea how
they’ll get the landing gear out – in Act 3,
the players will have to return with one of the
camp vehicles to help them get it out, or have
a different creative idea.
Here is a good place to start dropping hints
about the nature of the problems. Say that
although the sun is already low, the visibil-
ity will remain good since the ‘Moon is bright
enough’ and ‘almost full’, and the white land-
 Dread the Antarctic
scape is reflective enough.
Remind the players that they need to bring
several gas heaters with them.
Once the players are on their way, the per-
son most sensitive to the supernatural (prob-
ably the meteorologist) will have their first vi-
sion. As they get near the camp, that person
thinks they saw a human figure somewhere on
the edge of vision, but this turns out to be
false.
The weather is steadily getting worse from
this point throughout Act 2 – the wind is get-
ting stronger, reducing visibility and lowering
the temperature.
Act 2 – The Camp
It’s already dusk by the time they reach the
camp. Visibility is poor due to wind. There’s
no sign of anyone, neither the people nor the
large pack of Alaskan Malamutes they used to
pull the dog-sled.
The camp consisted of six directly con-
14
nected (no hallways between them) rooms.
Only two are still standing; the others were
damaged in an explosion. One is closer to the
players (Room 1), and the other (Room 2) is
connected to it. The door to Room 1 is open
and there is blood around it. If they explicitly
examine the door or make a pull for a hint,
they find scratches, which can later be con-
nected with claw marks of a large dog.
The room shows signs of a severe fight. The
tables seem to have been placed to bar the
door, but have been pushed away by whatever
they were trying to keep out. There is a lot
of blood and torn clothing. A chair has been
broken. Closer inspection reveals a paw print
in a blood stain. The sensitive person can see
more figures through the window, and a wolf
howl can be discerned at the edge of hearing.
The room contains three large, but empty gas
heaters.
When the door to Room 2 is opened,
a large dog jumps out and attacks whoever
opened it (pull to avoid being bitten). It runs
 Dread the Antarctic
away after taking two serious blows or being
shot. Having it run away even after a seri-
ous injury establishes how tough it is. After
the fight, everyone realizes it was actually a
wolf. The ‘doctor’ knows there are no wolves
on Antarctica.
Room 2 was a study. Wolf howls become
louder the more time they spend searching the
room. The room contains two desks and some
cabinets. The door leading outside (used to
lead to Room 3) is on the opposite end of the
room and is open, as the wolf ran out. Anyone
trying to close it in a rush needs to make two
pulls: one to close the door, and the other to
avoid being bitten by a wolf.
The players find research notes, the en-
tries mostly brief and not particularly notable.
They concern the types of rocks that were
found. A recent entry mentions a fossil that
seems to be millions of years old. It’s an in-
sect similar in appearance to a scarab and is
in one of the cabinets. The very last entry
is from a month ago, and it contains the lo-
cation of the next drilling site. It is about 2
km (1.3 miles) from the camp and they were
15
supposed to drill there on the following day.
The drilling date matches the date when the
meteorologist’s dreams started.
Three points of interest are outside the
buildings. The closest to the Room 2 exit is
a cabinet with personal belongings of one of
the explorers – the person who the geologist
knew. It contains a diary, and, if appropriate,
a photo of the geologist. The place where it
is found used to be the bedroom. It is best to
have someone other than the geologist find the
photo.
• ‘We drilled in several locations. The samples
agree with the professor’s theory, but we still
haven’t found it. Hard to get it right when
the landscape has changed so much.’
• ‘Rock samples show we’re close. We can
barely sleep from the excitement.’
• ‘Run. Run without packing. May God help
you.’
The second thing of interest are the many
boxes scattered around what used to be the
storage room. They are about 30 m (100 feet)
 Dread the Antarctic
from the Room 2 exit. If the players take time
to search them, they can find anything that
can reasonably be expected to be there. If they
grabbed a few boxes at random, at least one
should contain explosives and other chemicals.
The players should get attacked by the wolves
while they are outside.
The third thing of interest is the ‘tractor’.
It’s a heavy-duty vehicle designed for hauling
excavation equipment, parked about 40 m (130
ft) from Room 2 exit. A box-like frame on
which drills can be mounted is attached to
its back side. Its fuel needs to be unfrozen.
Four people can ride in the tractor. The play-
ers should once again be attacked by the wolf
pack.
While wolves can be temporarily scared
away by loud sounds (explosions, guns), flares,
pungent chemicals and the like, they need to
present a growing menace. The more time the
players spend indoors, the more the wolves will
scratch at the doors, howl, scratch at the win-
dows, try to push the doors open and, finally,
shake the building to bring it down.
Any indoor explosion will also detonate the
room gas heaters and level both buildings (a
pull to run away in time).
The wolves are intelligent and will employ
tactics like attacking the buildings from both
sides, cutting off the escape routes or extin-
guishing long fuses for the explosives. They
will not attack the geologist if there are easier
16
targets because some of the charms the geolo-
gist wears are made of silver.
Act 3 – The Excavation Site
From this point on, sensitive or bitten players
should experience hallucinations frequently.
Instead of snow, they see meadows, a river and
human figures dancing. They start to feel the
urge to join the dance. Later on, they want
to howl at the Moon. Both of these should re-
quire a pull to resist, or the player would have
to spend several minutes doing what they feel
like and being unresponsive.
Visibility is very poor and the landscape
features only undisturbed whiteness until they
reach the site. There they see two vehicles,
drilling equipment, blood and torn clothing
and a hole leading underground. The hole
was expanded with dynamite so some chem-
icals might (a pull) be found around the site
as well, particularly if the players didn’t bring
any. The same applies for the climbing rope.
The hole leads into an underground pas-
sage. It used to be a river bed. Don’t tell this
to the players, just describe it. It curves a bit
while maintaining the general direction, and
sedimentary layers can be seen in the walls.
After walking for a few minutes (in
whichever direction they pick first) they find
an actual hallway perpendicular to the river
bed. Barring that, the river bed goes on for
miles and miles with no other content. The
 Dread the Antarctic
hallway has smooth, obviously carved stone
walls. It’s about 5 m (16 ft) wide and 6 m
(20 ft) high. It goes perfectly straight for a
long time – probably more than the players
will dare go unless the Jenga
R
tower is stable.
The further they go along the hallway, the
greater the toll on their sanity. Eventually
everyone hears the sound of a large stone –
or is it huge claws? – scraping against stone.
Should they turn the torchlight away from the
far end of the tunnel, something furry either
bites (can’t be avoided; make a pull later to
keep their sanity) or rubs against the person
who’s furthest in, but is gone when the area
is lit again. The visions become insufferable
(unless they can spare many pulls). With that
in mind, the following is what they discover as
they advance through the hallway.
The walls here are engraved with pic-
tograms and writing. The pictograms depict
strange amoeba-like creatures with cones of
tentacles for legs. The creatures lived here
in vast numbers and built huge cities while
the Antarctica was still warm. Each creature
seems to have been as tall and wide as this
hallway. Moving furtheralong, the pictograms
show a temple at the end of the hallway. The
full Moon and a giant wolf are depicted, and
the creatures are gathered around it.
The writing can only be deciphered with
a pull if one of the players mentioned knowl-
edge of obscure languages in their answers,
and vaguely even then. It says that the Moon
called to them, and in exchange for sacrifices,
it would send its emmisary, the giant wolf, to
them.
The player who reads the writing can do
so because the obscure writing they know is
an odd language found in seemingly unrelated
cults across the globe, which worshipped the
Moon, kept wolves, and had human sacrifices.
The sacrifices were very often willing and such
people were glorified.
If the players reach the temple, it’s a ruin
of cyclopean blocks of stone. Discarded tools
and torn clothing are abundant here. They
cannot stand its presence for more than a few
17
moments regardless of pulls. They can either
run away, destroy it by throwing every explo-
sive they have into it or destroying it by some-
one making a sacrifice.
Act 4 – The Escape
If they destroyed the temple, the hallucina-
tions are gone, and wherever there should have
been wolf bodies, they find human bodies. You
can now skip to the taking off part and wrap
it up.
If the temple wasn’t destroyed, the wolves
are still a danger and will give the players a fi-
nal fight near the airplane. The cockpit wind-
shield is broken, there’s a lot of signs of fight-
ing, and the crew is missing. The players need
to attach the plane to the tractor and pull it
out (someone needs to be in the cockpit and
manage the controls). The fuel also needs to
be heated before they can take off, which has
to be done from the outside. The wolves will
begin their attack as the players start with any
of that. A pull will be required to get into the
plane or the tractor safely.
The wolves can enter the plane through the
broken windshield. A functional door sepa-
rates the cockpit from the rest of the plane.
A properly placed explosion will either kill all
the wolves or scatter the remaining few.
While a failed pull means the character
dies, don’t let it damage the plane beyond
repair. For example, if the tower falls while
 Dread the Antarctic 18

someone was trying to throw a stick of dyna-

mite through the cockpit window, have a wolf
pull the player out and the dynamite fall with
them.
The plane can only be started during day-
light so they might need to wait several hours.
Even then the fuel needs to be heated. If the
players have killed the majority of the wolves,
the remaining few disperse when the sun comes
out. The players acting as pilot and copilot
need to make two pulls each: one to take off,
and one to fly safely. If no one flying the plane
went through the piloting course, double the
amount of pulls required.
To create the final feeling of dread now that
the story is done, you can say something like
the following:
This Antarctic adventure ends with
you in the air, finally calm, warm and
flying to safety. The landscape seems
tranquil under the silent gaze of the
Moon; the gaze which shines through
the airplane windows and finds you as
well.

If they haven’t destroyed the temple, add:

You can’t but wonder whether it can –
or rather, when will it find the spirits
of the temple, too.

If they have destroyed it, add:

A realization that no one ever will
be able to escape from its gaze sinks
deeply into you, a souvenir of this ad-
venture you’ll never ever lose.
 Dread the Antarctic
The Brief Version
The NPCs
• pilot and copilot of the passenger plane
– they have to stay with the plane after
the crash
• pilot and copilot of the cargo plane
– dead or severely injured, useless
The gear
• passenger plane:
– all the essentials (food supply, first aid
kits, gas heaters. . . )
– each person’s backpack
– portable two-way radio
– two signal flares
– plenty of fuel
– an axe
• cargo plane:
– each character’s gear (whatever they
want)
– medicine, excavation gear, climbing
gear
– the guard’s weapon bag
- 2 revolvers, loaded (6 bullets)
- 1 rifle, loaded (10 bullets)
- 10 rifle bullets, 12 revolver bullets
- 1 stick of dynamite
- try not to let them retrieve more
ammo
Prelude – The flight
• two planes, a smaller passenger plane and
a large cargo plane
• the pilot tells a scary story
• the pilot gives instructions for dealing with
Antarctic temperatures
19
• at least one player must go through the
piloting course (pull to remember the les-
son)
Act 1 – The Flight
• the passenger plane crashes
– each player pulls to avoid serious injury
– each player pulls to retain conscious-
ness
• the cargo plane crashes 10 minutes later a
bit farther
– pull to get a bag out of the burning
plane
• the crew stays with the plane to check and
repair
• the players walk to the camp, an hour’s
distance
• wind increases, visibility drops
• first hint of the supernatural: characters
prone to hallucinations or vivid dreams
think they saw a figure right at the edge
of sight
Act 2 – The Camp
• completely abandoned
– used to be ∼15 people and ∼40 large
dogs (Alaskan malamutes)
• only 2 out of 6 buildings still erect
• traces of an explosion can be found, appar-
ently what destroyed the other buildings
• Room 1, where they enter, used to be a
dining hall
– tables and benches, smashed chair, two
empty gas heaters
– blood, signs of fighting
– torn clothing, but no bodies
– claw-like scratches on the doors, a large
dog’s pawprint in blood
 Dread the Antarctic
– doors were barred with desks, but those
are now pushed inside, traces of drag-
ging on the floor
– more sightings of figures through the
windows as the players search
– distant howling of wolves
– large dog jumps and attacks the person
opening the door to Room 2
- runs away after taking two serious
hits or being shot
- after the fight, everyone realizes it’s
a wolf
· the doctor knows there are no
wolves in Antarctica
• Room 2, directly connected to Room 1,
office/study
– door to outside on the far end
– two almost empty heaters, one half-full
and working
– two desks, cabinets
– some rocks, a few fossils
– research diaries
- containing brief and objective re-
search notes
- the fossils judged to be millions of
years old
- last entry from a month ago, loca-
tion of new excavation 2 km from
the camp
– wind increases, visibility decreases
– wolves, the more time passes:
- start clearly howling outside
- scratch the doors and windows, howl
and growl
- shake the buildings to bring them
down
– wolves, tactics:
- can temporarily be scared away by
explosions, bright light, pungent
chemicals
- split and attack on both sides
20
- can extinguish long dynamite fuses
• ruined storage room
– about 30 m (100 ft) from the Room 2
exit
– cases with explosives and other things,
covered in snow
– the wolves attack whoever is outside
• personal diary (entries oldest to newest)
– from the person the geologist knew
– has the geologist’s photo, if appropriate
– ‘We drilled in several locations. The sam-
ples agree with the professor’s theory, but
we still haven’t found it. Hard to get it
right when the landscape has changed so
much.’
– ‘Rock samples show we’re close. We can
barely sleep from the excitement.’
– ‘Run. Run without packing. May God
help you.’
• the ‘tractor’
– heavy-duty vehicle for dragging excava-
tion machinery
– parked 40 m (130 ft) from the Room 2
exit
– can seat four
– drags a rack for attaching drills where
the rest can sit
– fuel needs to be unfrozen
Act 3 - The Excavation Site and the
Escape
• hallucinations are now stronger
– green scenery, a river
– people-like shadows dancing under the
moonlight
– sensitive players have the urge to dance
with them
- pull to resist, otherwise take a few
minutes to snap out of it
– same goes for anyone who got bitten by
a wolf
 Dread the Antarctic
• two vehicles, machines parked at the site
• blood, signs of fighting, torn clothing, no
bodies
• explosion crater leading into a natural
‘cavern’
• cavern is a hallway leading in two direc-
tions
– an old river bed, describe as such but
don’t tell
– goes on forever in both directions
• a perpendicular hallway, not far from the
hole
– hallucinations very strong, starting to
be unbearable
- urge to howl (pull to resist)
– obviously carved, perfectly straight,
too long to see the end
– engraved markings on the walls
- huge amoeba-like creatures walking
on tentacles
- huge wolves, the moon
- images suggest a temple at the end
of the hallway
- images suggest sacrifices both glori-
fied and willing
- writings in a completely alien lan-
guage
· can be partially deciphered if
someone included knowledge of
weird and arcane languages
· speaks of a civilization that once
lived here
· describes the worship of the
moon and its messenger the wolf
21
- similar to worship in some dark cults
around the globe
· human sacrifices, worshiping the
moon and the wolf
– sound of huge stones (or is it claws?)
being dragged across stone
– if light is turned away from the hallway,
something scratches or bites the leg of
the furthest person in
– temple of cyclopean blocks after miles
- blocks somewhat scattered (ancient
earthquakes)
- hallucinations completely unbear-
able after a short time there
- visions reveal the whole story
- destroying it stops visions, turns
wolves (alive and dead) into humans
· naked humans freeze to death in
less than a minute, though
• airplane crew is missing, but lots of blood
and torn clothing
• cockpit windshield broken
– can be fixed with spare or tractor glass
• if the temple was not destroyed, a final
showdown with the wolves
• dead wolves turn into humans when the
sun comes up
• the two players flying the plane have to
pull:
– each when taking off
– each during the flight
• end with an ominous foreboding
 Dread the Antarctic 22

Legal information
Dread is a game by The Impossible Dream.
Jenga R
is a registered trademark of Pokonobe Associates.
This text is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.5
licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.5/).