This list has a series of arctic and tundra related events, as well as encounters with creatures that can readily be found in cold and freezing conditions.
As a terrain, Arctic tends to have fewer creatures than most, hence the introduction of events that, on Earth, tend to be found at the Poles, such as polar days and nights, or that there is greater evidence of them occurring, such as remains of meteors. In addition, one or two additional creatures are included if they have a good chance of enduring the low temperatures.
A number of entries talk about distances between the party and the encounter. These are just suggestions to give characters time to react – see, think, do – and mainly ensure they are not taken by surprise unfairly. Change them if you want things to be more immediate, but if you do, you will have to include reasons for why individuals have not seen the creature or event before that moment.
To get a random result, either use the standard d100 to get an even chance of any result or roll 11d10 (getting between 11 and 110) and take 10 from the result. On average this will move the result to the middle of the table where encounters of a general nature or of a lower-rated challenge exist. The second method makes it more likely that a party will face an event it can straightforwardly deal with rather than it be a resource-draining distraction. And remember, if you use percentage dice, 00 and 0 equal 100, not zero, as per the Player’s Handbook.
A number of entries talk about distances between the party and the encounter. These are just suggestions to give characters time to react – see, think, do – and mainly ensure they are not taken by surprise unfairly. Change them if you want things to be more immediate, but if you do, you will have to include reasons for why individuals have not seen the creature or event before that moment.
1. You come across the body of a frozen, mutilated caribou with a saddle still attached to its back. Close by are the prints of large, insectile feet, along with the drag marks of a heavy tail. The carcass shows signs of mandible bites, claw-made slashes, and bludgeoning marks, while the skull is crushed beneath a formed wall of ice. A small amount of ice-blue chitin is on the snow about 10 feet from the body. (Ice devil)
2. A large patch of melted water steams gently in the surrounding snow and ice. Suddenly, a tremor shakes the ground and about 30 feet ahead you an immense centipede-like creature, some 15 feet long, rears from beneath the surface in an angry cloud of steam. (Adult remorhaz)
3. A dense scattering of bones litters the ice and snow along your path. As you slow to pass them, the looming shadow of some huge, hairy giant three times the height of the tallest human appears momentarily about 60 feet away. Whatever it was it lets out a gruesome, rumbling howl that chills you to the bone, even more than the whipping wind itself. (Abominable yeti)
4. You approach a figure standing still, one seemingly immune to the swirling snow and buffeting wind. It is buried up to its waist, yet shows now sign of stepping free. Getting closer, you see it is a humanoid statue of metal and ironwood. Finally it turns toward you, and as it does, it disturbs the build up of snow around it. An arm falls from the heap, clutching an amulet bearing an image of the statue standing over the body. (Shield guardian)
5. As you near the cave that is your objective, you get a feeling of something close by and sense an elemental-like force, an unseen threat, that is moving around you. If you didn’t know better, you would say you were being stalked by an invisible entity, the outline of which the drifting snow reveals only vaguely. (Invisible stalker)
6. The shape of a large dragon glides overhead, and you are grateful for the furs you wear providing some disguise within the chilly fog that partially obscures the land around you. The white scales of the wyrm were not as bright as you have been told of, and some had clearly lost their sheen. (Young white dragon)
7. Despite the bad weather, the lone figure that has been following you for the last eight hours shows no sign of slowing, and in fact has got closer steadily. Eventually the man’s gray-skinned gaunt face is visible, although his eyes burn with an unworldly resolve. He sports four lanyards around his neck; two have hands attached to them, two are empty. He seems disinterested in you, but you never know. (Revenant)
8. You spot a large humanoid-looking creature digging into the ice some 200 yards ahead of you, its wicked-looking claws making easy work of slashing through the ice. You recognize it as a troll, but unusually its rubbery skin is distinctly light in color, almost a pale gray. It seems a diet of arctic creatures is changing its metabolism.
9. The body of a hunter is clearly visible by the hole in the ice further on your path, but the fact that its head is in it is disconcerting. As you approach the corpse, an unnatural silence descends on the area, and the ghost of the man, its skull encased in frozen seawater, appears from beneath the ice. Its voice talks of betrayal if listened to, and begs to be returned to the man’s former home settlement.
10. You only manage to catch a glimpse of the large white wolf away to your right. Suddenly, the falling snow is disturbed by a blast of wind that freezes the air as it hits an arctic hare. The wolf leaps onto its meal, but as it does so, something alerts it to your presence, and the gaze of its pale blue eyes whips toward you. (Winter wolf)
11. A low domed structure made of ice is visible about one hundred yards away from you. As you watch it, a human appears from a concealed entrance and retrieves something from beneath the snow; perhaps a fish? The woman sniffs the air, and turns towards you. Considering her ease in the surroundings, she is clearly a veteran of this place.
12. A monstrous-looking creature has flown over you several times now, but always at a distance. Its snow white fur and icy blue mane mark it as a very large snow leopard, but the white-dragon-wings and humanoid face mean an arctic manticore is on your trail. Those with the appropriate knowledge suggest any humans present stay in the middle of the party.
13. The sound of Orcish cuts across the foggy snow; those that speak it recognize threats, although the tone is enough. Suddenly the clash of blades replaces the argument, and as the fog momentarily clears, you see a cunning-looking orog standing over two orc bodies. It spots you, grabs a couple of items from each corpse, and disappears as the clouds roll back in.
14. Your journey of the last couple of hours has been quiet, which is suddenly no surprise when a vast shadow passes overhead. Looking up, you see a creature with the white head and chest plus black wings of a fish eagle. However, the creature’s hindquarters are those of the fabled snow lion, all glistening white except for its turquoise tail. The griffon above is a rare arctic variety!
15. As the weather worsens and you consider your situation, a shadow can be seen approaching through the snowfall. Wary of whatever it is that is coming toward you, you breathe more easily when an elf with ice water-blue eyes and almost translucent skin calls a greeting. From a haversack seeming too small for its contents, the tundra druid produces three great walrus-skin tarps that cover your whole party.
16. A little ahead of you seems to be a large, horned skeletal creature, although it is difficult to tell through the swirling snow that camouflages whatever it is out there. Then a howl from the realms of death hits you, and the bony form of an undead yeti suddenly appears. (Use a minotaur skeleton at the basic stats, but swap its traits and actions for those of a living yeti)
17. A heavy-set humanoid is moving at pace across the ice a fair way ahead of you. Although you have dogs and a sled, you don’t make ground on them quickly. Eventually you see it is a fun-clad, heavily armed human, adorned with regional tusk and ivory fetishes. From the facial tattoos, someone knowledgeable in local custom will recognize a bandit captain.
18. About 100 feet away, an 8-foot-tall humanoid stands over the carcass of a sea mammal, perhaps an elephant seal or young whale. Whatever its heritage, the mix of human or hobgoblin, half-orc and ogre is clear to see. And then it becomes clear; the humanoid’s massive frame can only be that of one thing. As she turns toward you, your suspicions are confirmed: she is a half-ogre!
19. No matter how you alter your pace, the plate-clad warrior following you somehow keeps up, seemingly oblivious to the wind and sleet whipping about you. Since you became aware of the knight, the sixty feet between you and them has been constant, but your animals are tiring. You slow, and turn to face the fighter, now clearly hearing the heavy plates banging and grinding against each other. As it approaches, you notice the suit is empty. (Animated armor)
20-21. You have taken a wide circle around a handful of ice-dome homes about half a mile from your path, as the small settlement was a surprise. As you wonder if you might be on the wrong track, a lone individual appears, puts on skis, and swiftly heads in your direction. They hail you from across the ice, and from their lightweight equipment and ease of movement, you think you are about to get help from a local scout.
22-23. A stiff breeze has kept significant ice flurries billowing around you all morning. They are sharp enough to slash across your face in a truly irritating manner, although they have done no real harm. But suddenly one blast feels like it has cut more deeply, and at least does enough to surprise you. As you quickly become more mindful of your situation, one of the party exclaims, “Look, something’s flying around us,” just before a cold of extremely cold air hits them squarely. (Ice mephit)
24-25. As you make your way to the next village, the icy wind blows vigorously at your back, and your pace is obviously quicker than the person you can see ahead of you. As you get closer, you see they are dragging a long gray rope behind them, which is odd, but stranger still is the slab of ice they are carrying on their back. As you get within 50 feet or so, they turn in your direction; to your horror, you realize the “rope” is their entrails, and the human zombie does not heed the sternum-to-waist wound that is allowing its innards to spill out.
26-27. A small avian has been tracking your progress for an hour now, steadily getting lower on each pass. The last time it flew over, it seemed to you to be an unusual dragon, or something similar. You watch as it approaches again, diving down this time, only to spot it is a winged kobold which has just dropped a block of ice directly toward you.
28-29. About 5 minutes ago, you startled a flock of some 15 blood hawks from a kill. Now they have returned and circle above you, calling to each other aggressively and encouraging each other to exact retribution for your actions, however inadvertent. Clearly agitated at your presence, one folds its crimson wings close to its body and dives straight at you, its allies screeching from close behind.
30-31. You are grateful to finally be off the open ice and get some protection from the howling wind from the sparse trees. But you have barely gone 25 paces before a light crossbow bolt slams into a trunk next to you, and a voice gives a warning to go no further! If anyone successfully recalls local lore, the fletching reveals the bolt to be those used by a notorious group that extracts a toll to travel in these parts. At least one bandit must be close by.
32-33. As you have followed the trail through the trees, you have seen a shadow keeping up with you, sometimes a little ahead, at other times appearing from behind, but always just out of clear sight. Thankfully, a break in the cloud allows moonlight to bathe you, revealing a owl, one that has taken advantage of you disturbing the small creatures that live near the path you are on.
34-35. The air throughout the day’s travel seemed beset by an electrical edge, with the fur on your clothes and your own hair occasionally standing on end. Then, some three hours after sundown, you are treated to an aurora display as solar winds whip through the atmosphere. If you have a guide with you, they may feel this is prophetic. However, while the night passes without incident, morning reveals a strange orb that gives off prismatic radiance equivalent to a candle at midnight on the following 2d3 + 2 nights, and lasts for 1 hour each time.
36-37. The snowfall has been reasonably gentle but extremely thick, restricting vision to just two-dozen feet in any direction. So you take extra precaution when you hear rumbling up ahead of you and feel the vibrations from an avalanche. You breathe a sigh of relief when they stop, only to be more greatly alarmed when both begin more intently a few minutes later, and clearly much closer than before.
38-39. As you crossed the ice sheet, the wind whipped fiercely around you, but at least the route was clear. But then the ground begins to be covered by snow, and very soon a storm of crystals roars about you. The blizzard is formed from firn, old snow that has gone through multiple freezes and thaws, and slashes at your face wickedly.
40-41. You have tried to keep to the treeline to help you trace your route, but it is clear there has been intense snowfall in recent days as your progress along your path. Now you find almost everything is entirely hidden by steep banks and massive drifts of snow, and you sink into it deeply without appropriate footwear.
42-43. The barren land has been rather soul-destroying, even when you expected nothing less for at least part of your journey. So the rise of colossal boulders from the pack ice attracts your attention, not least because the stones will provide some respite from the wind. As you approach, you see their leeward sides are coated with mosses and lichens; perhaps they will prove to be medicinal, or at least the basis of a warming drink, if anybody knowledgeable studies them.
44-45. The specks of blue light a long distance ahead of you have not moved at all as you have travelled onward for the last hour or so. Approaching with a mixture of curiosity and trepidation–tales of creatures using illumination to deceive the lost and weary abound in these parts–you see the flames are actually coming straight from the ground. Those suitably informed suggest they are jets of burning methane, an idea that is backed up when it becomes clear the air in the vicinity is oxygen-poor despite the methane not igniting.
46-47. As you have travelled along your path (either north or south), the days have clearly been getting shorter, suggesting the pole is getting closer. Then you experience your first polar of the journey, and know there will be 24 hours of darkness each day for the foreseeable future. You will need to keep a closer track on recuperation and rest from here on in.
48-49. All the tools, information, and experience you have about your route seem to have failed you right now, as there is confusion about which direction is north. Even those creatures that are usually entirely reliable about this fact cannot say with any certainty which way you should be going. You must “travel blind” for a short while at least.
50-51. You knew the terrain would be difficult throughout your journey because of the unpredictable slipperiness of ice and the depth of snow drift, so you have come prepared with the proper equipment. But the endless steep climbs and sheer drops over the hidden changing ground has been more challenging than you imagined, and you are having to make careful use of all your supplies and provisions
53-54. All the tools, information, and experience you have about your journey seem to have let you down, because confusingly, everywhere direction appears to head north. Even those creatures who usually sense north without fail seem lost, as whatever way they face, they get the same sensation. You must continue uncertainly for a short while.
55-56. As you have travelled further on your path (either north or south), the days have clearly been getting longer, suggesting the pole is getting closer. Then you experience your first midnight sun of the journey, and know there will be 24 hours of light each day for the foreseeable future. You will need to keep a closer track on recuperation and rest from here on in.
57-58. The four days of warming sun and nighttime cloud have been a surprise, but your gratitude for a break in the snowfall has now become concern with the growing patches of semi-thawed permafrost that has revealed several frigid swamp-like regions along your route, each one so far discovered only when you have broken through the thinned ice into the marsh beneath.
59-60. You have been cautious with your stock, unsure how long those provisions will last, and have yet to eat today. But then a welcome sight greets your eyes: several low-lying shrubs covered with red, shredded bark and dark green, oval leaves. Bearberry bushes! Eating a handful or two of berries will do you good, and the leaves can even help medicinally. What a fortuitous find!
61-62. The blizzard is not the worst you have encountered, but there is something about it that is especially dispiriting. Then, to add insult to injury, you fall through some soft snow and slide unceremoniously about 20 feet. But perhaps your luck is changing! You find you are in a small rock cave beneath the ice that might just provide reasonable shelter.
63-64. Since you woke, the air has been still, the clouds dark, and the temperature has not risen above zero. Then the storm starts, heavy and unrelenting, made all the worse for being freezing rain that seems to find a way through every gap in your clothing. You need to decide whether to try and keep going to your destination, or sit out the weather. Neither choice is appealing.
65-66. The ice you have been crossing is particularly slick, as if it has not melted in a long while, which has made travelling up a recent slope even more challenging. Then you sense a dusting of detritus across the surface, and anyone knowledgeable suggests you slow your pace. Before long, your path is covered with lumps of frozen rock and icy boulders, making the terrain even more difficult to traverse. Clearly a significant avalanche has fallen here.
67-68. The clear night sky, although moonless, has been bright with stars and a spectacular display provided by an asteroid shower. About an hour after it stops, you come across a series of long, dark streaks in the snow, each of which ends at a small, sooty depression some 10 inches across. Within each is a rock containing enough mithral for an arrowhead or the substantial tip of a bolt. You find 3d4 + 4 such craters.
68-69. You have passed several indications of a settlement, although none of them have looked new. Before much longer, you come across a commoner packing up a few final possessions. She calls to you, and tells you her clan have been hunting here for a couple of weeks but have now moved on so as not to deplete the local wildlife. She suggests you might want to share a meal with the group, and sets off along a lightly-trodden path.
70-71. As the trees and bushes along your path thin, indicating the start of the barren icefield you have been warned of, a small humanoid calls out to you in Common heavily laced with, if recognized, Draconic. The kobold is almost completely white, revealing its white dragon heritage. It places several mugs of steaming tea on the ground and backs off. If you approach the tea, it offers to help guide you onward. He reveals his name to be Sniwan.
72-73. You passed the back of a territory marker about half a mile ago, and now see a new clan totem ahead on your path. This land clearly is maintained by a new people, a fact confirmed by the appearance of a nearby tribal warrior decked in fetishes and symbols with which you are not familiar.
74-75. The treeline has become sparser the further you have travelled northward, and now as dusk descends there are clear signs of small mammals in the otherwise unbroken snow. Then you spot several holes in the crust, as if something has dug down but not left any footprints to and from the spot. As you wonder what might have caused them, a giant snowy owl drifts silently from a nearby fir tree and drops talons-first to the ground. After a brief flurry of action, it lifts off with an arctic fox in its claws, and the mystery is solved.
76-77. You have plenty of provisions right now, so have kept a reasonable distance from a nearby herd of reindeer. But a sudden change of wind direction means your scent reaches it, and a single creature, its antler rack almost 5 feet wide and 6 feet long, starts to trot in your direction, while the others circle around their young. The creature tips its head back and bellows, the sound seeming to travel for miles across the tundra.
78-79. A hump of snow alongside your route catches your eye about 50 feet ahead of you. It is an obvious skeleton, picked clean by scavengers that would never overlook such a meal. Surprisingly, there are half a dozen dead crows around it, killed very recently by the way their wings still move in the wind. As you consider this, the skeleton suddenly sits up, a shortbow and an arrow in its hands, and aims straight at you!
80-81. A hulking humanoid makes its way across the ice some distance behind you, neither directly on your path nor obviously crossing it. It has greenish-light gray skin and dirty, once-white hide clothing that is completed by a fur-edged hood. On its back is a greataxe, while each hand holds a javelin topped with a wicked barb that turns the weapon into a harpoon. It turns its blood-red eyes toward you, so that a flattened nose, and prominent lower canines reveal an orc on the hunt.
82. A large bear plods along about 150 feet to your left. Clearly not a polar bear, the creature looks rather lost in the icy landscape. Suddenly it dashes forward, leaps some 20 feet into a snowy ridge, and appears with an arctic fox in its mouth. Then the wind changes direction, and even with its bloody kill just beneath its nose, the brown bear turns in your direction.
83. By the side of a fishing hole in the ice, a hunter’s equipment is strewn about and footsteps lead away. However, the spot is occupied by a sleek, 5-foot-long winged reptile with a spined crest. Although voraciously eating a pile of fish next to the hole, the creature raises its head and triumphantly breathes an icy cone of hail into the air. You seem to have crossed paths with a white dragon wyrmling.
84. Two humanoids–an elf and a half-orc–are fighting some way ahead of you. The leather armor-clad elf has a shimmering purple energy field surrounding it and employs a wavy dagger, while the half-orc, bedecked in seal hide, wields a greataxe. You watch for 30 seconds, unsure what to do, before the elf strikes true with its dagger, once, twice! However, despite bleeding heavily, the half-orc recklessly charges in and its blow lands clean. The elf falls, and the half-orc seems to almost instantly become calm. (Berserker, Chaotic Good. Dead cult fanatic)
85. It did not take a genius to hear and smell the ogres arguing furiously ahead of you long before you saw them. Deciding to avoid them, your change of path unfortunately meant the sun glinted on a number of your possessions. Both ogres spotted you, but rather than work together, one hastily knocked out the other. Now it is running toward you, issuing dimwitted threats while raising its greatclub in both hands, its eyes glittering with avarice.
86. You’ve been following the treeline at the edge of an ice field for a couple of hours before you realize two trees are following you on a parallel path. Momentarily distracted, you somehow fail to spot a third animated tree that steps in front of you, with clear face-like features in its bark. It is a treant! The awakened spruce rumbles a greeting and asks your intentions in its wood.
87. Although you are sure of your path to the next town, the blizzard of the last couple of hours has not helped your journey. Then up ahead of you, you spot a lantern bobbing along in the distance. It is on your route, but at a slightly different angle. Is it correct, or are you? Suddenly, a faint scream reaches you, little more than the volume of a whisper at this distance, and the light rapidly drops down out of sight. What has befallen your fellow traveller? (Will-o’-wisp)
88. What started as a trail of booted footprints has been punctuated every few miles by a dead orc, each struck by several Elven arrows. Finally just two paths existed, both bloodied, and they lead to a dreadful sight. Ahead, an orc warrior stands over a body, with the ghastly aspect of a leering deity hovering over the scene. The warrior looks skyward and roars triumphantly, seeming to withdraw a dagger from its own face. It turns, and the empty socket of a newly dedicated, fully revitalized Eye of Gruumsh faces you!
89. You have disturbed several herds of reindeer over the last few hours, and it looks like another is up ahead. But without warning, the creatures turn toward and run at you! Something that worries the group more than you has spooked it, and you soon see what it is. A white tiger, bedecked with sepia stripes and larger than any you have seen before, is bounding across the ice straight at its prey. Then, as it closes in, it opens its mouth and you spot the long, curved canine teeth; its a sabre-toothed tiger!
90. Perhaps the largest “ordinary” bear you have ever seen is loping across the snow some distance from you. Its white fur is broken only by ebony-black eyes and lips. Then the polar bear slows, stands on its hind legs at over eight feet tall, and crashes through the ice! In a moment it hauls itself back through the hole, a ringed seal in its glistening jaws.
91. When you had set up camp, the relentless wind had been toward the handful of peaks about four or five miles away. But it switched during the night, and it was difficult to decide which was more chilling as a result: the deeper cold from the summits or the nerve-wracking howl coming from the remote mountains. Worse, the sound stopped about an hour before dawn,, only to start again as a weak sun rose for its brief appearance. The sound of yetis is now too close for comfort.
92. While the blizzard that has engulfed you for the last two hours is not the worst you have endured, it is one of the most annoying. Your vision is barely 15 feet or so around you and it feels like sleet-gray forms are lunging at you constantly. Then something feels different; a particular dark shape plays more intensely on your mind, almost as if it passed through you and is now hiding in the gloom. Something feels very wrong. (Shadow demon)
93. The ceaseless wind has grown more intense over the last hour, seemingly with a personal grudge against you. Progress through it has been tiring, but you know you must go on. Just when it seems that the sharp snow could not slice around you any more malevolently, it worsens; a cloud of whirling air draws the icy shards closer together and races toward you. The vague impression of a sinister visage confirms you are about to face an air elemental.
94. You spot a great humanoid striding across the ice field, its shaggy head dipped into the falling snow. As it catches a scent on the wind, it turns in your direction. She – that much is clear – is almost seven feet tall with silver hair that trails down her back. Her muscular frame is also lightly covered in white hair, while her face transforms from ursine to human features as she gets closer. You’re sure you are about to meet a polar werebear!
95. The skittering track of a large insect cuts across your path, then disappears beneath the snow. Then an agitation beneath the ground about 50 feet to your right gives away the presence of something under the surface, a hunch that is proved correct as a nine-foot long multi-limbed blue monstrosity appears, gnawing on the remains of its kill. (Young remorhaz)
96. A dozen or so shaggy-furred mammoths are grazing on the scant frozen grass about 150 yards from you. From the flicking of their ears and the occasional turning of their trunks in your direction, the herd is aware of you. As you get closer, most drift away, but one huge male turns directly at you, spreads its ears, and rumbles a warning that you feel shuddering through your bones.
97. A staggeringly huge humanoid can be seen in the near-distance, an incredibly large load on its back. As you venture closer, the gigantic man – thickly muscled, with ice-blue skin and pale white braided hair and beard – is found to be carrying a bull walrus, the tusks of which are over the frost giant’s left shoulder. Then the haunting sound of a distant horn reaches you; the gigantic hunter rebalances his catch and heads toward the drifting notes.
98. A cluster of ice-walled dwellings is visible some 200 yards from you, their entrance facing toward each other and protected by a long, large snow pile. A flurry of sleet momentarily shields your view of the domes, but when it clears, a tall, elegant humanoid – possibly a half-elf – approaches you. She smiles, displaying perfect but somehow unnerving teeth, her eyes shining like polished silver. (Young silver dragon)
99. As you steadily make your way across the crisp snow and ice, a shadow moves across you, followed by a trail formed from huge drops of thick, partially-congealed blood. Without warning, half the body of an orca crashes to the ground ahead of you, chased by a rapidly descending roc.
100. The carcasses of several moose are scattered along the route you are following, all clearly frozen to sudden death and ripped apart as food. Huge draconic claw marks cover the area, while anyone who searches slowly within them finds half a dozen scales colored pale blue and light gray, evidence of a nearby adult white dragon.