Frostfallen Creature, Frostfallen MammothThis frozen mammoth erupts into movement, its bones armored with plates of ice and eyes burning with cold flames.Frostfallen Mammoth CR 10Source Pathfinder #51: The Hungry Storm pg. 84
XP 9,600
NE Huge undead (cold)
Init +1; Senses darkvision 60 ft., lifesense; Perception +0DefenseAC 25, touch 9, flat-footed 26 (+1 Dex, +16 natural, –2 size)
hp 91 (14d8+28)
Fort +5, Ref +5, Will +9
DR 10/bludgeoning; Immune cold, undead traits
Weaknesses vulnerable to fireOffenseSpeed 40 ft.
Melee gore +21 (2d8+13 plus 3d6 cold), slam +21 (2d6+13 plus 3d6 cold)
Space 15 ft., Reach 15 ft.
Special Attacks coldStatisticsStr 36, Dex 12, Con —, Int —, Wis 10, Cha 12
Base Atk +10; CMB +25; CMD 36 (40 vs. trip)
Feats ToughnessB
SQ lifesenseEcologyEnvironment any cold land
Organization solitary, pair, or drove (3–12)
Treasure noneDescriptionFrostfallen creatures are mindless undead infused with icy cold and animated by a hatred for all living things. Their bodies radiate a devastating chill that cloaks them in patches of ice that act as armor. Frostfallen creatures appear otherwise as they did at the time of their reanimation, except for a cold gleam in the eyes.EcologyIn the harshest reaches of the world, cold is an everpresent enemy. When a creature dies from exposure to such harsh conditions, bitter anger and the searing cold sometimes combine to reanimate the dead as one of the frostfallen. Once reanimated, frostfallen creatures prowl the cold lands in which they fell, wreaking indiscriminate vengeance on living creatures out of spiteful rage.
Although frostfallen creatures can be created through necromantic magic like other undead, arcane scholars are fascinated by the necromancy that brings frostfallen creatures to unlife, for the animating force is a synthesis of negative energy and a bone-numbing cold. This cold empowers the creature’s attacks, wreathing its natural weapons in a deathly chill. Those who have fought these creatures describe great wounds instantly numbed by the lethal touch of frostbite. In addition, a frostfallen creature’s body emanates an aura of cold that flashfreezes moisture in the air around it, coating the creature in a patchwork of ice capable of deflecting blows from even the heaviest weapons. The creature’s affinity for cold also allows it to locate nearby warm-blooded creatures, even in driving blizzards and on moonless nights.
Frostfallen creatures move with the same gaits they had in life, while gaining a savage surge in physical power. Additionally, unlike normal zombies, the frozen condition of the creature fortifies its unlife, making it extremely durable. Indeed, throughout the northern reaches of Avistan, legends persist of specific frostfallen mammoths, dire bears, and even giants that have hunted the Crown of the World for centuries.Habitat & SocietyThe corrupt animus that powers frostfallen creatures imbues them with a hatred of all living things, and most spend their time wandering wintry terrains near where they died, looking for life to snuff out. Sometimes, vestiges of behavior from their original forms lead to groups banding together, like frostfallen wolves that hunt in packs. Even those frostfallen that have never encountered others of their kind seem to instinctively recognize their own, and band together if prey is nearby.
In Irrisen, winter witches and other ice casters prefer creating frostfallen creatures, as such creatures’ bodies more readily withstand the decay and brittleness often faced by skeletons and zombies in harsh northern climes. Casters who create frostfallen creatures often use minor magic to emblazon a creature’s ice armor with carvings or specific colors, effectively branding the creature as a servant.
On rare occasions, casters will create frostfallen creatures in warmer regions like the Mwangi Expanse or the deserts of Thuvia. Despite the scorching heat of such places, frostfallen creatures retain all of their powers. In such cases, the undead’s creator normally employs her minions against creatures that are susceptible to the frostfallen creature’s freezing attacks. Some frostfallen creatures have even survived independent of their creators. When such a rarity comes to pass, the frostfallen creature simply begins hunting the region for fresh life to end, though it will often lie in wait in cooler places like deep caves, or under the water of an oasis so as to better ambush creatures and travelers who would never expect to see a frostfallen creature so far south.Animating a Frostfallen CreatureA magic-user can create any form of frostfallen creature by casting animate dead upon the corpse to be animated and providing an amount of ice of equal weight, plus two blue topazes or turquoises worth at least 100 gp each. The creator can only create a number of Hit Dice of frostfallen creatures equal to the amount allowed by animate dead. Frostfallen creatures count against the number of Hit Dice of skeletons and zombies that can be created using animate dead.Creatures in "Frostfallen Creature" CategoryThis frozen mammoth erupts into movement, its bones armored with plates of ice and eyes burning with cold flames.
|