Brother of Frost

Many from warmer climes will mistake a brother of frost for some sort of polar subspecies of lizardfolk but this could not be further from the truth. In fact, brothers of frost are one of the few races left after the flood that can boast human heritage. Long ago, a strange human cult used arcane magic to mingle their blood with that of a rare creature from the para-elemental plane of Ice (at the border of the planes of Air and Water) known as a frost salamander. While frost salamanders seem to have gone extinct, the brothers of frost remain.

**Physical Description:** Superficially, brothers of frost resemble pale blue lizardmen. They have reptilian heads and tails and finely-scaled skin. However, their skeletal-muscular structure as well as their gait, voices, and physical mannerisms are all very human-like. Internally, a brother of frost is a strange amalgamation of human and alien. Their organs are greyish-blue in color, and their colorless blood has many of the same properties as antifreeze.

A brother’s bizarre heritage yields biology unlike any other creature in the realm. They can sustain themselves simply by eating ice, though they enjoy frozen meat as well. Brothers of frost are extremely uncomfortable in warm temperatures and will clamor towards the most frigid environs.

The human cult that later founded the “Brotherhood of Frost” was, as its name implies, a fraternity. While a few females were rumored to have joined much later, after the cult’s apparent success at halting the aging process, the brothers are all referred to as male. Regardless, they have no apparent gender aside from their deep-sounding voices. New members are summoned through some sort of cosmic queuing process.

**Society**: At some point, for reasons only known to their leader, the population of brothers has been set at a firm 935. This did not stop the brothers from accepting new members, bringing them through the metamorphosis process, and then storing their cryogenically sleeping bodies on another plane, presumably the para-elemental plane of ice. The precise number of brothers stored in this way is unknown, though it is rumored to be in the tens of thousands (their numbers were greatly bolstered during the Great Flood). As the brotherhood is very strict in allowing only human applicants from this plane of existence, it can be assumed that the number of brothers is finite, and that their days are numbered since the extinction of humankind from this realm.

The leader of the brothers of frost, the Frost King, is alleged to be the original leader of the cult that became the brothers of frost. If so, he has survived nearly eight centuries. He stands out from his ilk in that he is Large-sized and has four arms, much like the presumably extinct frost salamanders from which his immortality would have been carved. He can be seen occasionally addressing his subjects in the city of Hithuul (in Fiskheim) but never addresses those not of the brotherhood. All brothers of frost treat his edicts very seriously,

**Relations:** A brother of frost, aside from being rather strange and secretive, also seems dual natured; remarkably gallant one moment and then cruel and vicious the next. This has done nothing to garner trust with other races. This in conjunction with the brotherhood’s tendency to keep to themselves has fostered a high degree of uneasiness with all other races.

**Alignment and Religion:** The Frost King strictly forbids organized religion among the brotherhood, but will allow members to practice esoteric or spiritual philosophies. Despite the brother’s reputation for callousness and cruelty, their average alignment is actually quite neutral. Few brothers of frost concern themselves with obtaining worldly wealth or power, and fewer still revel in the suffering of others. Of course, they are also not known for their empathy or selflessness.

**Adventurers:** Brothers of frost usually adventure because they were given a mission by their superiors, often the Frost King himself. Sometimes these missions are specific, but more often they are quite vague and include such quests as “become a master of the trident” or “learn all you can of ice magic.”

**Names:** All brothers refer to each other as simply “Brother” and a number designation (from 2 to 935). This number vaguely represents rank as well, with lower numbers usually implying higher rank. This system breaks down quite drastically with any number above 600, as these numbers are inherited by much younger members when older members are slain.

## **BROTHER OF FROST RACIAL TRAITS**

* **+2 Constitution, +2 Charisma, –2 Wisdom:** Brothers of frost often have forceful personalities and hardy bodies but can also be easily distracted or angered.
* **Racial Buoyancy:** 90; **Depth Tolerance:** 3,000 feet
* **Medium:** Brothers of frost are Medium creatures and have no bonus or penalty due to size.
* **Type:** Planars are outsiders with the native and aquatic subtypes.
* **Darkvision:** All planars have Darkvision up to 60 feet.
* **Landwalker:** Most planars can move on land at 75% of their swimming movement rate. (Apsaras are the exception).
* **Hydro-respiration:** The respiration organs of planars require water instead of oxygen. While the planar can avoid suffocation by absorbing water from the humidity in the air while on land, areas of low humidity will cause the planar to suffocate.
* **Average Swim Speed:** 30 feet.
* **Spell-Like Ability:** 1/day─ *frostbite* (caster level equals the brother of frost's total character level).
* **Cold Affinity:** Brother of frost sorcerers with the elemental (water) bloodline treat their Charisma score as 2 points higher for all sorcerer spells and class abilities. Brother of frost spellcasters with the Water domain use their domain powers and spells at +1 caster level.
* **Energy Resistance:** Brothers of frost have cold resistance 5.
* **Energy Vulnerability:** Brothers of frost have vulnerability to steam.
* **Supernatural Bite:** A brother of frost has a bite attack that deals 1d4 cold damage (instead of normal bite damage).
* **Languages:** Brothers of frost begin play speaking Common and Glacian. Brothers of frost with high Intelligence scores can choose any of the following bonus languages: Abyssal, Aquan, Auran, Ceti, Draconic, Ignan, Lok'tar, Pinnipar and Terran.