Snow Elves

A Lost Race of the North The Heart of the Glacier

However, nothing was to last forever, and as the winter came
Bringing Light Into a Frozen to an end and the world thawed out, new races started to
World conquer the lands, some more ruthless and brutal than
others. While snow elves were able to cast powerful spells,
Snow Elves were amongst the first of the elf races to venture the rising temperatures took their toll and made them unable
onto the material plane. Back then, the age of giants and to withstand all these new threats. Those who survived fled
dragons had just ended, the earth was frozen, covered by back to the Far North, where, to their relief, winter was still
winter's white cloak. Glaciers slowly crept towards the there. And here, at the base of the lonely mountain where
chilling seas, snow storms howled across the landscape, it everything began, the remaining snow-elves settled down.
was a terrifying winter that lasted for hundreds of years - the Monumental, blessed halls of ice beneath the mountain's
great ice age. Many races and animals unable to adapt either glaciers, some formed naturally, some built with the help of
died out or had to fight for survival in a few hideouts, where their magical songs, became the snow elves' most sacred
temperatures were not as cold as elsewhere. place known as the Heart of the Glacier, serving as a temple
The first snow-elves came together around a great, lonely and a place of peace, calmness and art.
mountain in the Far North, and from there, thriving in the
cold that made other races suffer, they spread around the Magic of the Snow Elves
world and formed countless of communities, from small
villages to great kingdoms. Legends tell of their wonderful The magic of snow elves always was unique. They were able
magic, their pure souls and their beautiful music, of how they to use magical songs, often sung together in small groups, to
sang and with their songs, entire cities rose, shaped from ice take control of and shape snow and ice around them, which
and snow. Even in the darkest, coldest nights, the ice crystals allowed them to create beautiful spires and even entire
always gave off a beautiful, colorful glow almost like the palaces; and thanks to their pure souls, they even were able
aurora. It was as if snow elves were representing the calm, to use restorative and purifying magic that today would be
beautiful side of winter in a cruel, relentless and deadly, classfied as divine in that way. However, not many of these
frozen world. magical songs are still known today.
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 In addition to that, over thousands of years, snow elves had However, there are rumors that maybe a few snow elves Hei
learned to harness the energy found within snow and chose to remain on the material plane, living in a small
especially magical, crystalline ice they referred to as "pure enclave most likely even further up in the north... Why they Playe
ice" with the help of their songs, which allowed them to cast would do that is not known, but some researchers who same
frost and ice magic of tremendous power. How they did that, dedicate themselves to the history of the snow elves and world
and what exactly they were able to do, that is a great mystery Netheril think that maybe there is something important up weigh
today, as most findings of "pure ice" nowadays appear black there in the North, something that must be guarded by these table
and corrupted. snow elves. table
chara
The Fall Creating your Character
Meanwhile humans and other races in other parts of the When you create your D&D character, you decide whether
world had learned to master traditional arcane magic, which your character is a member of the human race or one of the
allowed them to rise to great power - and eventually, the most game’s fantastical races, which include the race presented in
powerful of these wizards came together to create the empire this article. If you create a character using a race option
of Netheril. With power, however, came corruption and presented here, follow these additional rules during
madness, and soon the Netherese wizards began character creation.
experiencing an unquenchable thirst for more knowledge and
power. They wanted to master all kinds of magic. They knew Abiltiy Score Increases
that snow elves were somehow able to use magical energy
bound within ice, but they did not know how they did that. When determining your character’s ability scores, increase
Insane as they were, they tried everything to learn the "secret one of those scores by 2 and increase a different score by 1,
of the magic within the ice"; the snow elves, sensing how or increase three different scores by 1. Follow this rule
these wizards were corrupted and, with their thirst for power, regardless of the method you use to determine the scores,
a danger for the entire world, refused. This culminated in the such as rolling or point buy. The “Quick Build” section for
great war of the Far North - and as the snow elves had taken your character’s class offers suggestions on which scores to
severe losses, being overwhelmed by strange spells cast by increase. You’re free to follow those suggestions or to ignore
Netherese wizards despite refusing to succumb to the them. Whichever scores you decide to increase, none of the
spreading corruption, they all came together and held a last scores can be raised above 20.
prayer in the Heart of the Glacier before they decided to take
the secret with them to the grave, or rather to the undying Languages
lands. And then they departed from the mortal world, in Your character can typically speak, read, and write Common
search of peace in the elven paradise. And Netheril fell soon and one other language that you and your DM agree is
after as its inhabitants succumbed to irreversible madness, appropriate for the character. The Player’s Handbook offers a
unable to ever use their magic again. list of widespread languages to choose from. The DM is free
Snow Elves Today to add or remove languages from that list for a particular
campaign.
A general consensus is that there are no snow-elves left today.
Ruins of their settlements, tombs, palaces and spires can still Creature Type
be found today, and many people still tell legends of these Every creature in D&D, including every player character, has
elves, their wonderful realm in the Far North and their magic. a special tag in the rules that identifies the type of creature
Frescoes and mosaics within their ruins provide a rather they are. Most player characters are of the Humanoid type. A
detailled image of snow elven culture and of their race option presented here tells you what your character’s
appearance. They depict mystic elves with pale skin and long creature type is. Here’s a list of the game’s creature types in
dark, silvery or white hair clad in white and blue or wearing alphabetical order: Aberration, Beast, Celestial, Construct,
silvery shiny armor, wearing sapphire rings and necklaces, Dragon, Elemental, Fey, Fiend, Giant, Humanoid, Monstrosity,
who were singing, casting ancient spells or fighting with Ooze, Plant, Undead. These types don’t have rules
swords with blades of ice. themselves, but some rules in the game affect creatures of
Even a few magical items crafted by snow elves have been certain types in different ways. For example, the text of the
found, such as a suit of armor made of mithril, fine hilts of cure wounds spell specifies that the spell doesn’t work on a
longswords, glaives and even double-bladed scimitars that creature that has the Construct type.
very likely once had crystals of "pure ice" as blades and a
magical ring that most likely was used as a wedding band. Life Span
Inscriptions left behind by snow elves are generally difficult
to decipher even for those who speak elvish, as the language The typical life span of a player character in the D&D
of the snow elves had quite a few differences compared to multiverse is about a century, assuming the character doesn’t
"modern" elvish, like a lot of draconic and sylvan influence. meet a violent end on an adventure. Members of some races,
such as dwarves and elves, can live for centuries—a fact
noted in the description of the race.

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Snow Elf Traits Languages. You can speak, read, and write Elvish and one W
other language that you and your DM agree is appropriate for ou
When you choose the snow elf as your race, you gain the your character. Elvish is fluid, with subtle intonations and to
following traits: intricate grammar. Elven literature is rich and varied, and yo
Age: The elven understanding of adulthood goes beyond their songs and poems are famous among other races. Many M
physical growth to encompass worldly experience. Most likely bards learn their language so they can add Elvish ballads to fin
due to living in extremely cold environments, snow elves their repertoires.
mature and age a bit slower than other elf races, a typical Snow Elf Magic. As a snow elf spellcaster, you have
snow elf claims adulthood and an adult name around the age learned to harness the energy within the "pure ice" to cast
of 150 and can live to be around 1200 years old, although spells unlike any other. If you have the Spellcasting or the
legends of even older snow elves exist. Pact Magic class feature, the spells on the Snow Elf Magic
Creature Type: You are a Humanoid. You are also table are added to the spell list of your spellcasting class.
considered an elf for any prerequisite or effect that requires When you cast one of these spells, it does not require any
you to be an elf. material components besides a shard of crystal clear ice.
Size: Your size is medium. Snow Elf Magic
Speed: Your walking speed is 30 ft.
Child of the Glacier. You are resistant to cold damage and Spell
you ignore difficult terrain created by ice or snow. Level Spell
Furthermore, you can see normally in areas heavily obscured armor of agathys, protection from good and
by snow. 1st
evil
Darkvision. You can see in dim light within 60 feet of you 2nd lesser restoration, rime's binding ice
as if it were bright light and in darkness as if it were dim
light. You discern colors in that darkness only as shades of 3rd sleet storm, spirit guardians
gray. 4th aura of purity, ice storm
Fear of Fire. When you take fire damage, you have
disadvantage on attack rolls and ability checks until the end 5th cone of cold, greater restoration
of your next turn.
Fey Ancestry. You have advantage on saving throws you
make to avoid or end the charmed condition on yourself. Racial Feats
Keen Senses. You have proficiency in the Perception skill. Soul of the Glacier
Songs of Ice and Snow. Your songs can influence ice and
snow around you and shape them to your will. You know the Prerequisite: snow elf, spellcasting or pact magic feature,
ray of frost and word of radiance cantrips. level 4
Starting at 3rd level, you can spend 10 minutes to create an Your understanding of the mystic magic of ice and snow
inanimate object made of ice and snow. An object created in deepens. You gain the following benefits:
this way must fit inside a 5-foot cube, can't have any moving
parts and has the density of stone or steel (your choice). The When you deal cold damage, you ignore resistance to cold
object appears in an unoccupied space within 5 feet of you, damage and treat immunity to cold damage as resistance.
has hit points equal to five times your proficency bonus and When you cast one of your Snow Elf Magic spells, you
lasts for 1 hour or until it is destroyed. In temperatures above briefly become surrounded by radiant aurora, or, if the
0 degrees, the object loses 1d10 hit points every 10 minutes spell deals cold damage, by chilling winds and snow, with
as it melts. You can create an amount of objects equal to your the following effects:
proficiency bonus in this way and regain all uses when you 1. Aurora: Each creature of your choice within 15 feet of
finish a long rest. you regains hit points equal to 1d4 plus your
Starting at 5th level, you can cast the spell Galder's tower proficiency bonus.
once with this trait and you regain the ability to cast it when 2. Chilling Winds: Each creature of your choice within
you finish a long rest. Your spellcasting ability for these spells 15 feet of you takes cold damage equal to 1d8 plus
is Intelligence, Wisdom or Charisma (your choice). your proficiency bonus.
Trance. You don't need to sleep, and magic can't put you to
sleep. You can finish a long rest in 4 hours if you spend those Purity of Ice
hours in a trancelike meditation, during which you retain
consciousness. Prerequisite: snow elf, spellcasting or pact magic feature,
Whenever you finish this trance, you can gain two level 8
proficiencies that you don't have, each one with a weapon or Pure as crystalline ice, you are able to withstand
a tool of your choice selected from the Player's Handbook. corruption. You gain the following benefits:
You mystically acquire these proficiencies by drawing them You are immune to diseases.
from shared elven memory, and you retain them until you You gain resistance to necrotic and poison damage and
finish your next long rest. have advantage on saving throws against poison.

Artwork: Araeglos, the Snow Prince by Xealynn Art / Stain: Xanathar stains - Imgur by unknown.
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