Movement on steep, snow-covered slopes.

[TessarrianDM]

Terrain is steep-sided hills (30-50 degree slopes) and narrow valleys covered in a foot of snow. Party members have either Boots of the Winterlands or are under the effects of Snowshoes/Mass Snowshoes spells. What effects would these items/spells have on the party's movement?

Boots of the Winterlands allow them to walk across snow at normal speed, along with horizontal ice surfaces. They specifically exclude icy slopes, but not snow-covered ones. Do characters wearing the boots need to make Balance or Climb checks, and how much would their movement be reduced, if at all?

Snowshoes allows characters to walk over ice and snow without having their speed reduced and are not required to make Balance checks or Reflex saves to prevent slipping and falling on ice or snow. The description make not exception for the type of terrain; would the slopes affect these characters, and if so, how?

 

[Obrysii]

What sort of snow? If it's icy snow, then they might have issue.

The slope itself, I'd say, reduces speed to half--but beyond that I would not enforce balance checks or anything like that.

 

[SewerSquirrel]

I am currently in a campaign where we are under the effects of the Snowshoes spell. Our DM only requires us to make Balance checks if we attempt to scale steep slopes.

Snowshoes only provide for ease of movement across relatively flat, snow/ice covered surfaces and remove the Balance check requirement.

I would venture to guess that a 30-50 degree slope would incur some kind of check like Balance as well as reduce speed to half.

 

[Dross]

For the Boots, I'd rule as if there was no snow, so only the angle of the slope was taken into account.

I don't know the spell.

Mind you, a RBDM could note that the boots do not stop the walkers from starting an avalanche.