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The Kobold Press Tome of Heroes is full of player options for any 5E D&D game. Several subraces in the book have sidebars describing their place in Midgard. However, some do not!

One subrace missing a Midgard description is the frostfell elves. These elves live in high mountain or arctic regions, deep in snow. Their skin color is ivory white tinged with blue, with white or pale blonde hair.

They’ve never appeared in any Midgard product . . . but where could you find frostfell elves if you wanted them in your Midgard game?

Frostfell Elves in Midgard

Elves in Midgard are reclusive, and none so much as the frostfell elves. Even before the Great Retreat, these elves had withdrawn from even their own kind, preferring the solitude of the cold, wild expanses of the north.

The Court of Aurora

Some say they tired of the intrigues of the fey courts, yet the frostfell established the Court of the Aurora, ensconced in an ice palace hidden in the Reaching Mountains.

Unlike other fey courts, the monarch(s) of the Court of the Aurora are chosen from among eligible members of various tribes by popular vote, held every 64 years.

The current Queen of the Court of the Aurora is Kanisel, the Mountain Eagle. This fierce warrior has been elected Queen four times running; whether this is due more to her popularity among the frostfell, or the unpopularity of the office itself is undecided.

The majority opinion is that Kanisel rules well and wisely, advised by the Half-Moon Council, six other frostfell elves who are both her consorts and councilors.

The Queen’s tribe stays with her in palace, nourished by a magical garden that grows in caverns below, and by game brought in by the tribe’s hunters. Kanisel strives to maintain civil relations with the other fey courts, but refuses to take active part in their machinations and politics.

Nomadic Existence

Most frostfell elves live as nomads in the northern reaches of Midgard, from the Bleak Expanse eastward to the tundra north of the Tunturi Range of mountains. They follow the migrations of the caribou, reindeer, and yak herds that roam the frigid expanses of the north. Semi-permanent camps crafted of snow and ice, as well as wood, hide, and bone, are kept in sheltered areas along these circuits.

A tribe completes a circuit in about a year, sometimes more or less depending on the severity of the winter and weather. Sometimes caches of food and equipment are left in these encampments to aid stragglers or lost tribe members. Outsiders, however, may find these camps guarded with cleverly laid traps to protect the goods of the elves.

Small tribes of frostfell elves wander the Tunturi Range, hunting amid the valleys and trails of the massive mountain range. They skirmish with ogres, trolls, and giants in the area, and it is said that at least one tribe has joined in the defense of the Winter Tree, driving off the giant conquerors of Domovogrod that seek to use it as a jumping off point for a full-scale invasion of the Elflands.

Frostfell elves found outside the snowy reaches often fall into two categories. The first are exiles. These frostfell have committed crimes against their people and were punished with banishment. The other category are young frostfell elves with wanderlust, desiring to see lands beyond their tribe’s normal annual circuit. The latter often return to their tribe years later, once they have had their fill of adventure and yearn for home again.

Facts about the Frostfell Elves of Midgard

• Living in small tribal units, the frostfell elves are protective of their people regardless of tribe. They come to any kin’s aid when possible. The more powerful among the frostfell use the power of the ley lines like much of their elven cousins. Specifically, they can open a shadow road using the power of the Raven’s Road ley line. They travel throughout the vast northern region this way, coming quickly to calls for aid from distant kin. To non-elves, their warbands simply seem to materialize out of the cold, at inopportune moments for their enemies.
• While individual frostfell elves can craft small objects of snow and ice, the frostfell elves of Midgard have learned to combine their crafting powers, working in unison to create larger objects such as huts or other structures. Smaller bands create objects to mislead and distract enemies. For example, they might craft a giant body, looking like a fallen giant covered in snow, to lure other giants into an ambush.
• It is said that the palace where the Court of the Aurora resides is a magnificent structure of pure ice, crafted by the combined magic of hundreds of frostfell elves.
• Some tribes of frostfell distinguish themselves by forming relationships with local predators. For example, a tribe might bond with a pack of wolves, cooperating with the beasts on hunts. Another might bond with an aerie of eagles, getting help in scouting or warning of dangers long before they become direct threats. The most ruthless tribes find an owlbear to bond with. Northern owlbears tend to be above average in size, with white coats and feathers of white, gray, and black. A bonded owlbear is a fierce protector of its tribe.
• Despite their reputation as aloof and wary of strangers, frostfell elves are not unkind. They provide aid and shelter to lost travelers, sending them on their way when they are able, often with supplies to tide them over a day or two.
• It is rumored that a tribe of frostfell elves have fallen under the sway of Boreas, Lord of the North Wind. Known as the Windrunners, this tribe is said to engage in banditry, robbing and killing travelers and raiding remote settlements. They have also bonded with a pack of winter wolves, making the Windrunners even more dangerous.

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Get into Midgard with the Midgard Worldbook! This acclaimed campaign setting is rich and deep, with a decade of support from Kobold Press. A more focused start is the Zobeck Clockwork City Collector’s Edition! This detailed sourcebook gives plenty of room for your players to run, and includes a set of adventures all set within the Clockwork City itself!

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