Atlas | Artifacts | Bestiary | Calendar | Classes | Factions | Faiths History | Language | Myths | The Games | PBeM | Psionics | Spells
Atlas  Artifacts  Bestiary  Calendar  Classes  Factions/Groups  Faiths/Religion  History  Languages  Mythology  The Games  PBeM  Psionics  Spells  Credits  Links	Bestiary Ice Man CLIMATE/TERRAIN: Arctic/Subarctic (Ice Capped Upland) FREQUENCY: Common ORGANIZATION: Community ACTIVITY CYCLE: Any DIET: Omnivore INTELLIGENCE: Average (8-10) to Genius (17-18) TREASURE: Individual L; A, Z ALIGNMENT: C (N) NO. APPEARING: 2-200 ARMOR CLASS: 6 MOVEMENT: 12 HIT DICE: 2+1 THAC0: 18 NO. OF ATTACKS: 1 DAMAGE/ATTACK: 1-8 +2 (weapon +2) SPECIAL ATTACKS: Nil SPECIAL DEFENSES: Immune to natural cold MAGIC RESISTANCE: Nil SIZE: M - L (6'3" to 7'6") MORALE: Champion (15-16) XP VALUE: 420 Appearance: The Ice Men are a tall and muscular demi-human race. Not considered a giant class, Ice Men most closely resemble tall, pale humans. Their generations of exposure in the Ice Cap Upland has caused them to adapt to the climate, their hair typically being white and skin most often being pale. The standard eye color is red/orange. Due to their great size and strength, Ice Men gain a plus 2 bonus on initial Strength scores. Their constant exposure to the cold uplands also increases their initial Consitution score by 1. A very secluded race, they subtract 1 from thier initial Charisma score. As well, they suffer a minus 2 to their initial Wisdom score. A large percentage (40%) of Ice Men are trained as warriors, and this includes women, who help to "even the odds" in wartime. A small percentage of these warriors (25%) are trained as scouts (rangers) for hunting parties. Ice Men also have priests as well as mages, known as Ice Wizards. A few bards are known to exist in Ice Man communities as well. Combat: Ice Men are an agressive race, after centuries of war with the Snow Dwarves. For so long the Ice Men have been outnumbered by their mortal enemies, but managed to continue thier warfare through cunning and a strong tactical sense of planning combat. The generals of their armies expect to be outnumbered at least three-to-one in every battle fought versus the Snow Dwarves, and plan accordingly. In fact, Ice Men are known thoughout the Northlands as the most cunning of opponents, and surprisingly nimble, considering their large size. Despite their natural resistance to the cold, Ice Men are still prone to the "ice burn", a type of frost bite recieved from overexposure to cold metals, common in the Upland. The foot soldiers of these "Cold Armies", as they're called, wear thick padded armor (60%), or leather armor (40%) with extra insulation and carry pole arms (20%), composite bows (20%) or bastard swords (60%). The more advanced warriors (knights from the "Cold Calvary" and "Knights of Ice") wear specially insulated metal armors, from scale to plate mail, with the insignias of their respective clans and units. The knights are usually the largest and most well trained fighters in their clans, and tend to use two handed swords, halberds or the largest damage dealing weapon they can find. For every 20 encountered, there will be an additional 4th-level fighter. 25 to 30 percent of all fighters will be women. If 50 or more are encountered, there will be an additional 6th-level fighter as well as a spellcaster of some type: (65%) a priest 3rd - 6th level or a mage (35%) of 2nd - 5th level. If 100+ are encountered, the leader will be at least 8th level, while there will be 2 to 4 priests (3rd to6th levels) and 1 to 3 mages (3rd to 6th levels). In addition, there will be two priest/fighters present levels 5th/4th and 3rd/2nd. If 200 Ice Men are encountered, the leaders will look like this: 12th level fighter, 8th level fighter, two 7th level fighters, a 7th/8th fighter/priest, three 5th/6th fighter/priests, and an 8th level mage in addition to those previously mentioned. The largest of Ice Men groups will also include 3 to 4 rangers who act as scouts (levels 3rd to 6th) Habitat/Society: Although a chaotic race, an Ice Man will typically be neutral towards any human or demi-human encountered, unless provoked, at which point they will attack fervently. The exception to this is the Snow Dwarves, which an Ice Man will attack on sight, even if the odds are up to 5-to-1. They aren't blindly fanatical, however, to attack odds greater than this. If the odds are greater, the Ice Man immediately leaves until such a time as he can recruit enough Ice Men to lower the odds enough for a fight. If no other Ice Men are present, the outnumbered one will try and persuade any non-Ice Man he can to fight by his side versus the Snow Dwarves. He will lay out his plan off attack, so the recruit can see he's given serious consideration to the attack, and may even offer to pay others to help him. He will go to any length to engage the Snow Dwarves in combat, hoping every encounter will help even the odds in thier race war. The Ice Men live in fortified cities and towns in the Ice Cap Upland. Very seldom will one see an Ice Man outside of his homeland. One exception to this is "The Games" of Saberhaven which the Ice Men have found to be a pleasant diversion. Many Ice Men have found Saberhaven a difficult city to be in, what with their fanatical desire to kill any Snow Dwarves they see. Every resource of the Ice Men is used in their never ending war with the Snow Dwarves. Every man and woman, from their time of adolescence, is trained to be a vital part of the community war effort. Whether smithing, hunting, food growth or fighting, every member of the Ice Men society is viewed as having and important role in the cycle of life. Those apt at tracking find themselves as the hunters of the community, searching the frozen steppes for Thundra Beasts and albino deer. Since game is scare in the Upland, the Ice Men have bred dozens of plants with shallow roots and immunites to cold that will grow in the cold barren lands. Entire farms of frozen yatcha, clandidin, white mushroons, puffballs, and other cold-thriving plants are kept to sustain the population of the north. Meanwhile, the smiths and armorers keep the armies equiped with weapons and armor. The knights and warriors train year round for battle, which also occurs year round. Ecology: The Land of the Ice Men is rich in copper, although they rarely mine it. As well it produces natural heating oils under the ice, which from time to time, the Ice Men will trade for goods of other countries. The exotic plants they raise from the ice sometimes garners interest from those dealing in exotic foods, but tend to spoil quickly if not kept cold enough. TSR®, Inc. grants permission to copy this form for personal use.