RPG Elements Abound in Disney’s Frozen 2

Nerdarchy talks about always seeking inspiration from everything but I was not expecting so much fuel for my imagination in Disney’s Frozen 2. I have always loved Disney’s animated movies and I might be behind the times on this one but as a father I can enjoy watching these movies with my kids. We just finished watching Frozen 2 and even for a movie about an ice enchantress set in a fantasy world there are loads of things I am ready to incorporate right into my own tabletop roleplaying games and my own personal magical RPG setting.

Frozen 2 inspiration (and spoilers) ahead

Magical powers aside in Frozen 2 we see right in the beginning a section of the world blocked off by magical mists. Regardless of where you go from there you are set up for mystery and intrigue. A region separated from the world outside by magical means makes a perfect catalyst for the start of an RPG campaign or something to keep adventurers out of an area until they do something. This might entail completing a magical task, which provides enough experience to handle the greater challenges beyond the barrier. The mist could be new, or it could exist in an area the party recently discovered and began exploring or it could have been there for generations. It can literally be anything you need or want it to be to inspire players and help tell the story of their characters.

Moving on we know elemental magic plays a heavy role in this area considering the happenings in the Frozen movie. In Frozen 2 there’s much more. From here on I am going into specifics about events in the movies beyond the opening minutes so if you have not seen them be warned of spoilers ahead.

I usually keep one portion of my brain seeking entertainment while the creative side stays on the look out for things to use in my RPG experiences. Yep, I am that kind of nerd. As I watched the movie I found somethings cute or cool but I did not see the direction of how many things were there until Elsa finds a little fire lizard. It is cute and it can set things on fire. Is it a baby fire salamander? Is it a new type of creature? It was so adorable and my brain went right to thinking I need to make a wizard and have this lizard be my familiar. I was hoping for a bigger role for this lizard and was saddened it was there just to be cute. But, inspiration found.

The next massive thing happens further into the movie. Again lots of fun small things appear before this like the ability to re-theme spells like water walk by creating patches of ice to walk on. Elsa really is a badass. But as she is running across the ocean she winds up battling an elemental creature in the form of a horse called The Nokk, an elemental spirit of water serving as the guardian of the Dark Sea. I would assume it is a water elemental trying to stop her from getting where she needs to go and she not only defeats The Nokk but conquers, tames it makes it her mount. An elemental mount — how amazing is this concept? I am sure I have seen something like it before but whether you are talking about a wizard getting the find greater steed spell, a quest or story reward for doing something cool or a magic item the concept of having the mount appear and disappear in the form of their element is just amazing and again I am going to have to put this in my RPG. The only question is do I take the stat on a basic warhorse and give it some elemental properties or make up something completely different? Elemental Kin Templates in Secrets of the Vault: Lost Lore Vol. 2 are super easy to add to any existing stat block for elemental flair.

Here’s how a Water Elemental Kin Warhorse looks using the template and the warhorse in the free Basic Rules. With the four templates in the book you could conjure up the four elemental spirits of the Enchanted Forest for your RPG.

Water Elemental Kin Warhorse

Large elemental, unaligned

Armor Class 11
Hit Points 22 (3d10 + 6)
Speed 60 ft., swim 90 ft.

• Strength 20 (+5)
• Dexterity 12 (+1)
• Constitution 14 (+2)
• Intelligence 2 (-4)
• Wisdom 12 (+1)
• Charisma 7 (-2)

Damage Resistances acid, bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical weapons

Damage Immunities poison

Condition Immunities exhaustion, grappled, paralyzed, petrified, poisoned, prone, restrained, unconscious

Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 11

Languages Aquan

Challenge 2 (450 XP)

Proficiency Bonus +2

Trampling Charge. If the horse moves at least 20 feet straight toward a creature and then hits it with a hooves attack on the same turn, that target must succeed on a DC 14 Strength saving throw or be knocked prone. If the target is prone, the horse can make another attack with its hooves against it as a bonus action.

Water Form. The elemental kin can enter a hostile creature’s space and stop there. It can move through a space as narrow as 1 inch wide without squeezing.

Actions

Hooves. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 12 (2d6 + 5) bludgeoning damage.

Slam. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 14 (2d8 + 5) bludgeoning damage.

I know I am glossing over a lot of details and I am not making anything actually stated out, but hopefully you can use this in your games. The last thing I am going to touch on is a passing scene at the end of the movie. Anna has to send her sister a message and the wind elemental that they basically had befriended earlier is whipping around. Anna asks the wind to take the message to her. I love the idea of an elemental mail delivery service. I know that if you wind up going to broad with this particular paint brush of an idea some people would complain about servants and servitude, so I am going to ponder further and see how I might be able to do something with my world that is not forcing creatures to do things against their will, but you can use or not use the idea as you like.

As always thanks for reading. Until Next Time, Stay Nerdy!!

*Featured image — The Nokk is steadfast in its attempts to drown Elsa, but she uses her powers to create reins and ride the Nokk, eventually taming it in Disney’s Frozen 2.