Frost

Often called snow fairies, snow sprites, or winter folk, these small, mischievous beings inhabit dense forests, migrating to cooler regions as the seasons dictate. Frosts are tiny elfin creatures with whirring, bee-like wings. Their skin is pale blue, though some from subarctic regions are a darker blue. Their hair is white or silvery, their eyes are blue or green, and their clothing tends to be white with patches of gray, black, blue, and green.

Frosts, like their cousins the sprites and pixies, are prone to playing pranks on travelers, but they keep their tricks to a minimum. "Clever" pranks usually involve shaking snow down on burly fighters or creating ice patches.

If evil or destructive beings annoy the frosts, however, they must be prepared for retaliation. Frosts never attack larger beings in hand-to-hand combat, but always flee and use their arsenal of cold-based spells at a distance. They save their weapons skills for hunting small monsters or animals their own size. Initial attacks are made using the natural environment. For example, if large foes cross ice-covered lakes or ponds, frosts might use spells to cause the ice to crack under their foes' boots. Then they use spells to cause the water to refreeze if a being falls through the ice and is submerged or swimming. If the chance to use an avalanche trap presents itself, frosts try this against massed groups of their foes.

Frosts are nearly always found in small family groups, though some gatherings are exploratory bands out to see the wide world, cause a bit of trouble, or hunt for gems and crystals, which frosts love and hoard. Nomadic in nature, frosts make their lairs in hollow trees, rocky shelters, old animal dens, and the like, never staying in one place for more than a year. Frosts manufacture few things, usually only clothing, though it is not known how their fine cloth is created. Their dagger-like weapons are actually hard, sharp icicles.

If carefully approached and given gems, frosts can be very helpful to well-behaved beings who don't stay long in the frosts' woodlands. They like other small woodland fairies best, with Elves and dryads running a close second, Halflings third, and everyone else somewhere far behind. They war continually with small evil beings such as quicklings. Some frost communities work closely with Elven and fairy bands to defend their woods against goblins and other invaders, but are also likely to attack careless human loggers, hunters, and city-builders.

Note: The frost originally appeared in this form in the second Forgotten Realms Monstrous Compendium Appendix (no link) from TSR. Its use here is for the purposes of providing context for the campaign only.