Cold Rider

Medium fey, chaotic evil

Armor Class 17 (ice armor)
Hit Points 150 (20d6+80)
Speed 30 ft.

STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA
18 (+4) 16 (+3) 18 (+4) 14 (+2) 15 (+2) 18 (+4)

Damage Resistances bludgeoning, piercing and slashing from weapons that are not cold iron
Damage Immunities cold
Damage Vulnerabilities fire, thunder
Senses passive Perception
Languages Common, Elf, Sylvan
Challenge 8 (3,900 XP)

SPECIAL TRAITS

  • Innate Spellcasting. The cold rider’s innate spellcasting ability is Charisma (spell save DC 15). It can innately cast the following spells, requiring no material components:
  • Augmented Summoning. When casting conjure elemental, the elemental has maximum hit points.
  • Brutal. The cold rider deals an extra dice of damage to its attacks (included in its attacks).
  • Ice Walking. The cold rider and any creature it rides can move through icy difficult terrain without penalty. They may climb icy surfaces as if under the effects of the spider climb spell.
  • Implements of Ice. The cold rider wears chain mail armor and wields a +2 glaive both made of magical ice as hard as steel. When the cold rider dies, its armor and glaive melt into water in 1d6 rounds.
  • Regeneration. The cold rider regains 5 hit points at the start of its turn if it has at least 1 hit point.
  • Susceptible to Shatter. A shatter spell deals 3d6 points of damage to the cold rider (no save) and reduces its armor class by 2 for 1 minute.

ACTIONS

  • Multiattack. The illglasir makes three attacks, two with its glaive and one with its antlers.
  • Glaive. Melee Weapon Attack: +9 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 15 (2d10 + 6) slashing damage and 16 (3d10) cold damage.
  • Antlers. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 17 (3d8 + 4) slashing damage and 16 (3d10) cold damage.

ABOUT

An impressive river of ice lies still and unmoving amid a succession of jagged rocks. What was once a series of raging rapids seems to have frozen in a heartbeat, the waterway’s uneven swirls and eddies instantly sealed and captured in solid ice. A dozen yards upstream, a frozen waterfall forms a sheet-like pillar of ice suspended from the overhanging cliff face. The PCs initially approach from the direction marked as (1) on the map. The river is frozen solid and the slippery ice makes that difficult terrain. The uneven rocks jutting out of the ice are also difficult terrain.

Cold Riders are terrifying armored majesties, clad in sable cloaks of frost, a pair of almost ridiculously large crystalblue antlers cresting their dread helms of ice and steel. They stand anywhere from 7 to 9 feet tall and their antlers easily add another 2 feet. They weigh anywhere from 200 to 300 pounds. Their icy armor is as much a part of them as their rotting stags’ hearts and though the ice-steel garb appears unwieldy, scuffing and scraping as they move, it does not hinder them in the least. Their eyes and the frosty vapors rising from their powerful frames are their most fearsome features. The paired mini-whirlwinds of effervescent frost swirling in their visors can chill the hearts of most stalwarts with a frigid glance, and the vapor-fog floating from them often takes the shape of their former fair features, screaming in silent agony and twisting into malformed wisps in the rising wind. They often ride on massive stags, long-haired goats, or fey beasts as they stalk their prey.

Section 15: Copyright Notice

Forest Kingdom Campaign Compendium 5e © 2017, Legendary Games; Lead Designer Jason Nelson. Authors: Clinton J. Boomer, Benjamin Bruck, Matt Goodall, Tim Hitchcock, N. Jolly, Julian Neale, Jason Nelson, Thomas J. Phillips, Alistair J. Rigg, David N. Ross, Neil Spicer, Todd Stewart, Russ Taylor, Michael D. Welham, Linda Zayas-Palmer.

The Dragon’s Hoard #26 © 2022, Legendary Games; Authors Jason Nelson, Robert J. Grady, Darrin Drader, James-Levi Cooke.

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