Monster design- Aspect of Auril

[aco175]

I need some help coming up with something elated to the goddess of winter. The plot involves a part of her power was locked away for a long time and sealed in a tomb the PCs are about to unlock and enter. They are 6th level and of average to above power with mixed classes and races.

I was thinking along the lines of some sort of cold/ice elemental or construct. I was planning to have the big fight in a room surrounded by fire with this thing chained up and the fire weakening it. The plot involved having the Spellplague weaken the fire and the aspect being able to free itself from the chains, but cannot get out of the tomb yet. I plan to have some of the zombie tomb guardians now under its control and be part of the encounter, but these will be only slightly better than normal zombies.

I'm not sure if I should just add power to an ice elemental to make it a CR 8-10 and maybe give it a few more cool ice powers. Thoughts, thank you

 

[Tales and Chronicles]

Some ideas:

- There's a Frostmaiden of Auril in Legacy of the Crystal Shard module that can be a good template (CR4 IIRC)
- There's the bheur hag in Volo's that could be workable as an aspect of Auril.

I'd probably go with a Bheur hag with the white half-dragon template; this would be a cool encounter.

or use the Sacred Statue + Eidolon (with frost attacks) from Mordy's.

 

[aco175]

Thank you for the ideas. I have a frost maiden for the BBEG making an appearance in the next adventure. I'm looking for something that could be locked away for a few hundred years and still be alive. Something like a golem or elemental with some cool powers.

I have some zombies that will be in the fight as well but may give them a ice burst upon death power to show they are corrupted.

 

[Tales and Chronicles]

There's Doom Golem in Kobold Press' Creatures Codex that fights with glacial winds and a corrupting attack, if you can get your hands on the book. Here's the description: "Winter Bound. Made of antlers, bone, and steel infused
with winter spirits of death and destruction, doom golems are
the creations of evil wizards and doomsday cults. They invariably
include a hangman’s rope, bones of an animal sacrificed to a dark
god, and the captured final breath of a man sent to die in exile. A
doom golem is animated by a trapped spirit of the arctic, which
flees with a howl when the golem is destroyed."

 

[aco175]

I like this idea of a spirit trapped in a golem.

 

[Eltab]

Use the fire skeleton statistics but do ice damage. These are doorguards, just inside the entrance. They are meant to foreshadow what lies ahead, not be a challenge on their own.
For that matter, use the moldering old busted-up skeleton statistics but describe them as made of ice shards and chunks, half-melted stuck together re-frozen and magically animated.

Snowmen. They Look like the classic Frosty cartoon. Might be reskinned goblin, orc, scarecrow, whatever is level-appropriate. Yes the magic hat on the boss is a shortcut to beat this group. Think up a chilling surprise if somebody decides to put it on.

When the PCs first open the doors, condensing mist and fog and a wave of COLD air roll out on a chill breeze. The floor ahead has frost patterns on it.

IRL, turn down the heat to about 60*F before the session begins. Don't say anything about it. By the time the group reaches Auril's domain, the room should feel a bit nippy.

 

[Terry Herc]

If you want to riff on the ice and fire theme, you could have an ice golem that is being constantly melted and refrozen by a magical artifact in it's chest. The artifact acts like a troll regeneration ability, and the fires act as a form of torture. There might be something that the golem (or the artifact) knows that could act as leverage against the goddess of winter.

 

[Imaculata]

A Frostwind Virago is also fun to add. Fae make powerful opponents.