Hoarfrost Mauler

U76XM "Summa", DLC5G "Clark"

Subject X3QXX "Methysko"

A terrifying bearbeast with a really sour desposition. Its fur freezes to form a bunch of ice shards on its back.

The Hoarfrost Maulers are thus named for their inhabitance near the tops of mountains in the Cloudscrape Crags. They embody the Earth, Sky, and Snow that surrounds their every waking moment. Everything of importance in their lives takes place where it is the coldest and most open to the sky.

## Physicality

**Taste**: It's very hard to hunt down a mauler, but those who have tasted it describes the meat as sort of greasy, and almost like a paste, and tastes something like a mix of sour and tangy mushrooms.

The Mauler is a large predator, and it has no natural predators in its native Cloudscrape Crags. As a highly developed predator, and a large species, maulers require a substancial amount of foodstuffs to survive and have to hunt constantly.

In order to repel attacks from other predators, and essentially ensure any attacks will be made face-on, the mauler is capable of using the frost in the mountains around it to create hard, defensive ice spikes on its back. It is nearly impossible to find purchase on this armour, and anything small enough to slip through the cracks is easily halted by the mauler's thick fur.

The mauler has opposable thumbs, and although not very fast, they are able to move on their hindlegs only. Their opposable thumbs makes them a highly dexterious creature, capable of manipulating objects and prey.

The Hoarfrost Mauler comes in a few shades of grey, with the vast majority being light grey. Occasionally, darker grey specimens can be observed. Brown maulers are very rare, and only a few have ever been seen in the wild.

It has been noted that the crystals that form on its back are not necessarily ice. In the case of an observed subject DLC5G, also known as Clark, these carnivours are capable of incorporating other environmental structures onto their backs for their defensive means.

This male was relocated into Dragonhome during his youth, and escaped into the Forgotten Cave. Contact was re-established with this specimen two years later, and his physicality presented shocking conclusions for the mauler species. Due to his unusual circumstances, he has managed to utilise the cave's emeralds as a defensive armour, instead of the ice these maulers are traditionally associated with.

There has been calls within the community to reclassify him as a different species, as his behaviour and physical appearances resemble little of that of a traditional wild mauler. Most refer to Clark as the Emeraldback.

As an introduced species, this specimen is considered to be a pest, and damaging to the ecosystem. With no natural predators and no adaptaions against it, subject DLC5G faces no natural threats within Dragonhome. However, as he is also recognised as a biologial subject of interest, the Council has agreed for him to live his natural life, provided he is closely monitored to prevent sustained ecological damage.

## Wild Behaviour

A highly competative species, maulers have been known to cannibalise on their own kind when the going gets tough. A mauler will always look to preserve their armour, as otherwise they would make easy targets for their own kind.

These creatures can be territorial, and will not hesitate to kill those they belive are a threat to their turf. Theirs is a land of very little resources, and as such, they cannot afford to share. Maulers are solitary creatures, coming together only to reproduce. Because of their large and desolate habitat in the Crags, there are a very low desity population of these creatures, and each individual may command large areas of the peaks. Thus, it may not actually be difficult to cross mauler territory, provided they are not near the area at the time. Maulers will traverse large distances in search of food.

These predators give birth in the winters, where the relatively helplessness of their cubs is mitigated by a lack of activity around their native Tundra and Crags. As most species hibernate or seek shelter from the winds, their unarmoured young is protected. Further, giving birth in the middle of the harshest season facilitates young Maulers to rapidly accumulate their own icy amour. Maulers always give birth to only a single cub at a time, likely to keep the demand for food at a minimum. Only needing to feed a single cub in the winter may increase the likelyhood of survival more than if multiple cubs were born in the same batch.

Although rare, in the event that the mother is incapable of providing for the cub and herself, there have been documented cases where the mother will eat her own cub for nurishment, and abandon reproduction until the following year.

When spring comes, the surviving cubs will leave and fend for themselves, spending a total of one to two months under their parents care. By then having grown large enough to hunt for themselves. All they have to fear are larger maulers and the odd Shalebuck herd.

These creatures have been known to become significantly less aggressive in the event of excess food avaliability. In the case of Subject DLC5G, he was able to quite amicably share space with other animals. It seems that the aggresive behaviour is not actually inborn.

## Tamed Behaviour

Perhaps counterintuitively, hoarfrost maulers can make excellent companions. As they have demonstrated, a well provided mauler is as stable and as steadfast a familiar as any other. Their great physical ability makes them very useful in a wide variety of locations, and their ability to adapt and make do with environmental substances for their armour has some very unexpected affects.

Able to incorporate stone, ice, or even bones onto themselves as armour, these creatures are fairly difficult to kill. One less thing to worry about for anyone hoping to obtain a stout companion. In one instance, a mauler that was able to incoporate the magic infused crystals of his Zhentarim master gained a powerful affinity with magic. Fear-inducing on the best of a days, a magically gifted mauler is nothing to scoff at.

This unique occurence happened in one tamed specimen as a result of him being warped by unstable energies. This magic infused mauler seems to be temperamental and quick to anger, reportedly losing all sense of reason. He was highly sensitive to changes in magical energies, which caused many side effects. Investigation concludes that the events that triggered this change was a highly unlikely anomoly. The master of this mauler has assured that he is capable of handling his familiar, and is able to synthesise treatment to help him assimilate with his new abilities. The specimen was added to the watchlist under the designation X3QXX.

While this unique ability to fashion armour out of availble materials can be exploited by the ingenius, it does however present a significant problem for anyone attempting to use one as a mount. Their study defences means that riding on a mauler's back is a challenge too much for many.

Regardless, this is a familar to be relied upon. Consistency and strength is the maxim of the maulers. Their natural ability to endure cold, exhausion and bad terrain make them one of the most hardy companions around; low maintance, safe for the food bill.

Once trained, maulers make excellent guardians. Highly protective by nature, it's not difficult to transfer that protective instinct from their wild territory to your home.

Disagreements with a mauler familiar may create a terrifying standoff, but maintain your status as a provider, and your mauler will happily coexist with you and your friends.

## Abilities

* **Challenge** 2 (450 XP)
* **Armor Class** 12 (Natural Armor)
* **Hit Points** 42 (5d10 + 15)
* **Speed** 40 ft., swim 30 ft.

 20 (+5)

* **Skills** Perception +3
* ***Keen Smell.*** The hoarfrost mauler has advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on smell.
* ***Shielded Back.*** If an attack is made on the hoarfrost mauler from behind, the mauler's armour class is 18.

### Actions

* ***Multiattack.*** The hoarfrost mauler makes two attacks: one with its bite and one with its claws.
* ***Bite.*** Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 9 (1d8 + 5) piercing damage.
* ***Claws.*** Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 12 (2d6 + 5) slashing damage.

## Case Study

### Subject U76XM "Summa"

Glacius Ecological Survey Record #159336 Kusama UsamovGlacius Ecological Survey Record #220654 Abdurakhman DratcheGlacius Ecological Survey Record #288723 Kusama Usamov
### Subject X3QXX "Methysko"

Zhentarim Preliminary Report Incident EVZG-6751Aropporry Journal Extract Dated 06-02-2018