Ice Warden

Medium ooze, neutral

Armor Class 14
Hit Points 136 (16d8 + 64)
Speed 30 ft., burrow 30 ft. (ice only)

Str	Dex	Con	Int	Wis	Cha
19 (+4)	19 (+4)	19 (+4)	3 (-4)	6 (-2)	23 (+6)

Skills Stealth +7, Survival +2
Damage Vulnerabilities fire; bludgeoning
Damage Immunities cold
Condition Immunities blinded, deafened, exhaustion, prone (ooze-form only)
Senses blindsight 60 ft., passive Perception 8
Languages see below
Challenge 5 (1,800 XP)

Special Traits

• Bolstered by Cold. Whenever the ice warden is targeted by attacks that deal cold damage, or is in icy terrain, it gains +1 to attack and damage rolls, saving throws, and ability checks. The ice warden has advantage on Dexterity (Stealth) and Wisdom (Survival) checks when in snowy or icy terrain.
• Chilled Body. A creature that touches the ice warden or hits it with a melee attack while within 5 feet of it takes 9 (2d8) cold damage. Metal weapons strike or touch the ice warden are affected as if by a heat metal spell, but suffer cold damage instead of fire.
• Frigid Stability. The ice warden has advantage on saving throws and skill checks against being pushed or knocked prone when on ice. In addition, it has advantage on Strength (Athletics) checks when grappling or being grappled while on ice. The ice warden never loses its footing when on ice, and can move across ice at its regular speed, even if it is considered difficult terrain.
• Host Imprint. The ice warden uses material from its own body to create glittering replica of any creature it has held in ice stasis. The simulacrum gains the memories, languages, hit points and ability scores of the target creature, except Charisma. They also retain the ice warden’s Intelligence and Wisdom scores if they are higher. The copy gains all the target’s racial and class abilities and can use most of the ice warden’s abilities. The simulacrum can’t use ice stasis, nor are they able to cast divine spells above 2nd level. Spells or abilities of the host that are fire-based instead deal cold damage and manifest as ice or snow effects. The imprint takes on the good/neutral/evil aspect of the host’s alignment, but remains neutral relative to law and chaos. The imprint even duplicates all the host’s equipment, including up to very rare magic items, though they are made of ice. These items crumble into normal ice if the ice warden or the simulacrum perish. An ice warden can have only one host imprint at a time. As long as the ice warden and simulacrum remain on the same plane, the imprint remains viable. If the two are separated by planar boundaries, or the warden dies, the simulacrum crumbles into a pile of normal ice. The destruction of a host imprint automatically renders the ice warden unconscious for 1d10 days.
• Ice Stasis. The ice warden places an unconscious creature in stasis. The procedure takes one minute and the ice warden must start over if interrupted. When complete, the target must succeed on a DC 17 Constitution saving throw to negate the effect. Otherwise, it stops aging and enters a state of dreamless sleep, encased in a thick layer of ice. The creature can be freed by wish or similar magic, or if the ice warden is slain. An ice warden can’t use ice stasis on a creature more than one size category larger than itself.
• Stolid Mind. The ice warden has advantage on saving throws against being charmed or frightened.

Actions

• Multiattack. The ice warden makes one slam attack, and automatically deals its slam damage to any creature it has grappled at the start of its turn.
• Slam. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one Medium or smaller creature. Hit: 7 (1d6 + 4) bludgeoning damage and 9 (2d8) cold damage. If the target is a Medium or smaller creature, it is grappled (escape DC 14). Until this grapple ends, the target is restrained, and the ice warden can’t grapple another target.

About

Source of many myths and legends of “haunted” villages, lost cities beneath the snow, and wanderers being taken by the ice itself, ice wardens lair in the most distant and most frigid wastelands of Scarn. These strange oozes communicate with one another through shimmering chimes and musical resonances.

In its natural state, an ice warden appears as a flowing glob of dark blue water. Its host imprint, however, takes on the exact features of whatever creature it is replicating, though it appears as though carved from ice. The host imprint’s eyes glow like the morning sun reflected off a field of snow.