This appendix details the new monsters that appear in this adventure. It also provides optional actions and traits for giants.
{@creature Crag Cat|skt}
The creature referred to in Northlander lore as the Hunter of Men is a sure-footed predator that can be found anywhere except deep forest, preferring ledges and cliffs in the mountains. Its cry resembles a human scream of terror. It often elicits such sounds from its victims, for it prefers human flesh to all other prey.
Crag cats blend in with natural surroundings. During the winter, their fur turns white to blend in with the snow. At other times of the year, their fur is gray, enabling them to hide among the rocks more easily.
The crag cat knows its territory and often attacks when its prey is asleep, exhausted, or otherwise weakened. Although crag cats are typically solitary, they can be found in family groups of two parents and
{@creature Hulking Crab|skt}
Much bigger than a giant crab, a hulking crab has a body 15 to 20 feet in diameter. Its shell is often covered with coral, anemones, ship wreckage, or some other sort of detritus salvaged from the ocean floor.
{@creature Iymrith|skt|Iymrith the Dragon}
The treacherous Iymrith is an ancient blue dragon, with the following changes:
- She speaks Giant and Terran in addition to Common and Draconic.
- She gains the Innate Spellcasting trait and the Change Shape action option, both described below.
- When she casts her stone shape spell, Iymrith can shape the targeted stone into a living gargoyle instead of altering the stone as described in the spell’s description. This transformation is permanent and can’t be reversed or dispelled.
Change Shape
Iymrith magically polymorphs into a female storm giant or back into her true form. She reverts to her true form if she dies. Any equipment she is wearing or carrying is absorbed or borne by the new form (the dragon’s choice).
In storm giant form, Iymrith retains her alignment, hit points, Hit Dice, ability to speak, proficiencies, Legendary Resistance, lair actions, and Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma scores, as well as this action. Her statistics are otherwise replaced by those of the new form.
Innate Spellcasting
Iymrith’s spellcasting ability is Charisma (spell save DC 20). She can innately cast the following spells, requiring no material components:
- 1/day each:
counterspell ,detect magic ,ice storm ,stone shape ,teleport
{@creature Maegera the Dawn Titan|skt}
Maegera is powerful elemental that has been trapped in the forges of Gauntlgrym for millennia. About fifty years ago, Maegera briefly escaped and triggered the eruption of Mount Hotenow. Lava from the volcano flowed toward the coast, laying waste to Neverwinter. The city is still rebuilding in the wake of that catastrophe.
The fire giant duke Zalto recently sent a team of drow to infiltrate Gauntlgrym and trap Maegera in an iron flask. Zalto needs the primordial to ignite an adamantine forge beneath the Ice Spires. Returning Maegera to Gauntlgrym is one way to thwart the fire giant’s plans.
Maegera looks like a 50-foot-tall, multi-limbed beast made of flame, with smoldering black pits for eyes.
{@creature Purple Wormling|skt}
A purple wormling is a baby purple worm no more than six weeks old. Its rubbery body is 9 feet long and weighs 1,500 pounds. Its mouth and musculature aren’t yet strong enough to allow the wormling to burrow through rock. The poison in its tail stinger and the acid in its gullet are still relatively weak as well. Nevertheless, the wormling is a voracious feeder and attacks just about anything it can wrap its mouth around. A wormling’s gullet can hold up to four Small creatures.
{@creature Tressym|skt}
A tressym is a mischievous winged cat as big as a house cat, with a wingspan of 3 feet.
Thought to be the results of wizardly experimentation on house cats, tressym are intelligent and have been known to form strong friendships with humanoids, particularly rangers and wizards. Tressym get along well with others of their kind, but they rarely lair or hunt together. They peacefully ignore bats, faerie dragons, and the like, but they hate stirges and evil flying monsters such as manticores. They also enjoy teasing dogs.
Tressym feed on small rodents, birds, and insects, stalking and pouncing on prey much as normal cats do, but with the added advantage of flight. Tressym don’t, however, attack nestlings or despoil eggs.
Tressym mate with others of their kind, but they don’t mate for life. A tressym can also mate with a normal cat, though only one out of every ten of their offspring will be a tressym; the others will be normal cats.
Tressym have good memories, particularly when it comes to danger. For example, a tressym that sees a human use a
With the DM’s permission, a person who casts the find familiar spell can choose to conjure a tressym instead of a normal cat.
{@creature Uthgardt Shaman|skt}
Uthgardt barbarians are suspicious and resentful of most kinds of magic. Seldom do they choose to become shamans. Instead, the role is thrust upon those who are born with a strong connection to the spirit world. To be a shaman is to stand apart from the tribe, with one foot in the land of the living and the other in the land of the dead. Those who walk the shadowed path between two lands do so because the spirits of the dead compel them. Other Uthgardt fear and respect a shaman’s power.
An Uthgardt shaman must possess a sacred bundle to cast spells. A sacred bundle is made up of sticks, bones, feathers, tufts of fur, and stones that have been “touched” by spirits. It takes a month for a shaman to assemble a sacred bundle, and a shaman can use only one such bundle at a time. A sacred bundle benefits only the shaman who created it, and it doesn’t replace the normal components of a spell.
In addition to the spells that all Uthgardt shamans can cast, a shaman of a particular tribe gains additional spells based on tribal affiliation (see the “Uthgardt Shaman Tribal Spells” sidebar).
By communing with their ancestors' spirits, Uthgardt shamans can also learn secret rituals. These rituals almost always require some sort of blood sacrifice, and their effects are usually transformative. For example, some Black Raven shamans know a ritual that allows them to hatch giant ravens from normal raven eggs, and some shamans of the Griffon tribe can transform them selves into griffons by performing a ritual that requires them to drink copious amounts of horse blood.
Uthgardt Shaman Tribal Spells
Depending on an Uthgardt shaman’s tribe, the shaman’s Innate Spellcasting feature gains additional spells the shaman can cast once per day.
Black Lion:
Black Raven:
Blue Bear:
Elk:
Gray Wolf:
Great Worm:
Griffon:
Sky Pony:
Red Tiger:
Thunderbeast:
Tree Ghost:
{@creature Yakfolk Warrior|skt|Yakfolk} {@creature Yakfolk Priest|skt|(Yikaria)}
Yakfolk, known among themselves as Yikaria (“the Lucky Chosen” in their language), are ogre-sized humanoids. Their heads resemble disgruntled yaks, complete with curved horns and dour expressions. Their hulking bodies are coated with thick fur and hair, and many outsiders can’t tell the males and females apart.
Yakfolk Society
Other civilized races treat yakfolk as “bogeymen”-a scary race of evil, ruthless, and powerful savages. They dwell in secluded settlements sheltered from the worst of nature’s abuse, including mountain valleys, soaring plateaus, and desert oases. In these seemingly idyllic hideaways, the yakfolk rule over humanoid slaves with iron fists. For all their learning and culture, yakfolk are enormously evil overlords. They care for their hapless subjects only to the extent that a live slave is more useful than a dead one, and keeping one alive is easier than laboring oneself. It’s not that yakfolk are lazy-quite the contrary. They simply consider most menial tasks beneath them.
Outsiders that stumble into an enclave of yakfolk are usually surprised and pleased to find what appears to be a utopia, and the yakfolk foster that image until the strangers can be disarmed and enslaved.
Yakfolk have a drive for learning, particularly when it comes to the secrets of elemental magic and dark knowledge that might serve to corrupt or dominate others. Knowledge that the yakfolk can’t gain or use is to be destroyed. Unsentimental by nature, yakfolk parents pack children off to communal creches once they are weaned, never to recognize them again. Yakfolk feel no loyalty to their families-only to their god and race.
Servants of the Forgotten God
Yakfolk function as a malignant theocracy in service to the Forgotten God. The worship of this savage, nameless deity directs their lives. The god takes the form of a male Yikaria, but the deity’s face is worn smooth into a featureless mask. The deity is appeased by sacrifice, which the followers carry out by offering slaves in the Manner Elemental-that is, by fire (immolation), earth (live burial), water (drowning), or air (throwing the victim off a great height). Sacrifices are meant to ensure the benevolence of the deity and to punish disobedient slaves.
The Forgotten God enabled the yakfolk to enslave dao for a time. It is said that the Forgotten God journeyed to the Elemental Plane of Earth and, through guile and deception, defeated the Grand Khan of the dao. The price of that defeat was harsh: the dao were forced to serve the Forgotten God and its minions-and forbidden to attack them-“for a thousand years and a year.” The sentence has since expired, and yakfolk can no longer summon dao as they once did, but fear of the Forgotten God has kept the dao from seeking vengeance.
Skin Crawlers
A yakfolk’s most frightening weapon is its ability to magically crawl under another creature’s skin, control its body, and suppress its mind. The yakfolk use this ability to spy on enemies, rob them, murder their leaders, and kidnap their young.
New Giant Options
You can customize any of the giants in this adventure by giving them features beyond what’s presented in the Monster Manual. This section gives new options for all six kinds of giants.
{@creature Cloud Giant||Cloud Giants}
Some adult cloud giants have the magical ability to create barriers of gale-force wind around themselves that can deflect incoming missiles. Others like to fling enemies through the air. These abilities are represented by the following action options.
Fling
The giant tries to throw a Small or Medium creature within 10 feet of it. The target must succeed on a DC 20 Dexterity saving throw or be hurled up to 60 feet horizontally in a direction of the giant’s choice and land prone, taking
Wind Aura
A magical aura of wind surrounds the giant. The aura is a 10-foot-radius sphere that lasts as long as the giant maintains concentration on it (as if concentrating on a spell). While the aura is in effect, the giant gains a +2 bonus to its AC against ranged weapon attacks, and all open flames within the aura are extinguished unless they are magical.
{@creature Fire Giant||Fire Giants}
Some adult fire giants are trained to lay siege to strong holds and break through enemy lines. These abilities are represented by the following traits.
Siege Monster
The giant deals double damage to objects and structures.
Tackle
When the giant enters any enemy’s space for the first time on a turn, the enemy must succeed on a DC 19 Strength saving throw or be knocked prone.
{@creature Frost Giant||Frost Giants}
Some adult frost giants are skilled hunters who construct and hurl nets weighted down with fragments of metal or bone. This ability is represented by the following action option.
Weighted Net
Ranged Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, ranged 20/60 ft., one Small, Medium, or Large creature. Hit: The target is restrained until it escapes the net. Any creature can use its action to make a DC 17 Strength check to free itself or another creature in the net, ending the effect on a success. Dealing 15 slashing damage to the net (AC 12) destroys the net and frees the target.
{@creature Hill Giant||Hill Giants}
Some adult hill giants like to hurl themselves bodily at smaller foes and crush them beneath their bulk. This ability is represented by the following action option.
Squash
Melee Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, reach 5 ft., one Medium or smaller creature. Hit: 26 (
{@creature Stone Giant||Stone Giants}
Some adult stone giants like to grab enemies and fling them through the air. They can also roll boulders across the ground, striking multiple enemies in a line. These abilities are represented by the following action options.
Fling
The giant tries to throw a Small or Medium creature within 10 feet of it. The target must succeed on a DC 17 Dexterity saving throw or be hurled up to 60 feet horizontally in a direction of the giant’s choice and land prone, taking
Rolling Rock
The giant sends a rock tumbling along the ground in a 30-foot line that is 5 feet wide. Each creature in that line must make a DC 17 Dexterity saving throw, taking 22 (
{@creature Storm Giant||Storm Giants}
Some adult storm giants can channel thunderous power through their bodies and release it with a deafening stomp. This ability is represented by the following action option.
Thunderous Stomp (Recharge 6)
The storm giant stomps the ground, triggering a thunderclap. All other creatures within 15 feet of the giant must succeed on a DC 17 Constitution saving throw or take 33 (