Snow elf

Greyhawk Creature

Snow elf
A snow elf, depicted in Frostburn (2004), art by David Griffith.
General information
Alignment:	Neutral
Type:	Humanoid
Subtype:	Elf
First appearance:	"Into the Frost and Snow", Dragon #155, 1990

Snow elves are a rare subspecies of elves who usually only live in the extreme arctic regions of the Crystalmist Mountains in the Western Flanaess.

Description

Snow elves tend to have shorter lifespans than other elves, only living around 750 to 900 years making them the shortest-lived elves in the Flanaess.

They often have trained hoar foxes and bears for pets and guards.

Typical physical characteristics

Snow elves are very thin and wiry, but surprisingly tough and even more shockingly tall, with men typically reaching 7ft and women as much as 6'4". The typical snow elf has light brown or tan skin, white or pale blond hair which is often curly, and white or silver eyes. They prefer wearing only white materials, including jewelry made from bone or silver traded from valley elves.

Clothing

Snow elves do not work metal, due to their dislike of fire, and avoid wearing metal due to their arctic environment. They instead prefer furs, leathers and hide- even that of white dragons if they succeed in obtaining any. They've succeeded in making dragonhide armor which is as flexible as elven chain, although only 7th level and higher druids among the snow elves know how to make such armor. This is given to respected individuals among the snow elves and occasionally gifted to valley elves (who in turn provide the snow elves with any worked metal they need).

Personality

Like some other elves, snow elves can be haughty, treating most other races—even other elves—with disdain.

Abilities

The snow elves have only been given statistics in two editions.

• +1 Dex, +1 Con, -2 Cha— first edition
• +2 Dex, -2 Cha—third edition

These bonuses replace the standard modifiers for elves, but they otherwise have the abilities of their kin, including resistance to sleep, improved vision, etc. based on the edition.

In first edition, snow elves trade their attack bonus with swords and bows for the same bonus with javelins and spears. They additionally have a +1 on saving throws against any form of cold attack or condition. In third edition, they have "no physical resistance to the cold."

Society

Settlements

An ice city, depicted on the "Ice Cities of the Crystalmists" Living Greyhawk RPGA rewards card (2007). Originally in Frostburn (2004). Art by Dana Knutson.

Snow elven realms are found almost exclusively in the Crystalmist Mountains. It is perhaps possible they might be indigenous to other mountains, though none have been recorded. but strangely not in the snowy plains of Blackmoor or the Land of Black Ice.^{[citation needed]}

There are two different types of snow elven cultural settlements—citiesand villages But, like many other cultures, the two are not mutually exclusive. They are both isolationistic and are found in equally remote locales. The denizens of both only rarely ever leave their individual territories.

Ice cities

The cities of the snow elves are referred to as "magnificent ice cities" which are "built to shield their citizens from the surrounding environment." These are only found in the most secluded places in the Crystalmists—far beyond just being in the mountains, but in places at the uppermost extremes of the mountaintops best described as simply "the ice".

Snow villages

Snow elven "dome-shaped huts", from Dragon #155 (1990). Art by Jamie Lombardo.

Rural snow elves live in small clans of up to 30 members, in small villages of "dome-shaped huts of woven trees, covered with furs and skins, and packed on the outside with snow." The territories of each clan or family varies in relation to their size. Villages control areas of up to 60 square miles (30-member clans) or as little as 6 square miles for a small family of three (roughly 3 to 9 miles between villages). When a clan grows beyond that, it will separate by one or more families forming a new group and moving away to their own territory. When this occurs, the new clan does not simply move "next door"—they "pack their belongings in early spring and set out in search of new territory." They travel away such a distance that it would only be practical to travel in spring. The use of their keras (see below) to communicate over "vast distances" also indicates just how far apart the settlements are, though at least some must be close enough to be heard (10km/6.2mi).

Culture

Snow elves can be extremely territorial.

Snow elves use a musical instrument called keras (pronounced /keh' rahz/), which are like alpenhorns. These long horns, (4ft-20ft) made from wood or mammoth tusk, are used to communicate across long distances in complex codes or play out of festivals and holy days. Clans will not hesitate to aid each other, especially in helping fight against non-snow elves, and will often gather in spring and autumn for festivals and holy days. While a snow elf would never turn away or ignore another of their kind in need, many times the troubled snow elf will be too proud to ask for help.

Magic

Arcane arts among the snow elves—especially cryomancy or other forms of magic involving cold—has grown over the centuries, in preference to clerical ones. Druidic magic is highly valued.

People

Male snow elves prefer becoming fighters, rangers, or thieves, while female snow elves favour magic users; druids are drawn from both. Mixed classes are uncommon.

Alignment

Most people from snow elven culture are generally neutral in alignment.

Religion

Much of their worship is druidic, focused on shrines built upon places of power where the boundaries between the material plane and elemental planes of ice, air or earth are thin. Some druidic magic is more powerful there. Most of these shrines are dedicated to Tarsellis Meunniduin, the Seldarine deity of mountains and wilderness—who is their patron and from whom the snow elves believe they are direct descendants.

Rellavar Danuvien, the Seldarine deity of protection from frost and snow, also sees worship from many snow elves.

Relationships

They get along well enough with valley elves and trade with them for silver, as well as "metal weapons and tools, and certain alchemical products." This, combined with general elven attitudes, led to cold and distant relations with other elves. Valley elves, the other shunned elven race and neighbors, and snow elves better tolerate each other through their shared position of elven outcasts.

Snow elves do not tolerate the presence of drow.

Snow elves don't tend to have a good relationship with non-elven races, especially humans, since in ages past snow elves tended to raid or attack them when they entered the mountainous territories of the snow elves.

Because of their shorter lifespans, many other elves, except valley elves, look down on snow elves, seeing them as little better than humans with a misplaced sense of pride.

Notable individuals

Cain Blizzard depicted in the 1992 Greyhawk Adventures Trading cards.

• Cain Blizzard (Rng3/Wiz3/Drd3 Male snow elf)—emissary of the White Bear clan.

History

There is a disaffection between snow elves and their kin which arises from time immemorial. The snow elf clans were deceived into allowing the drow to escape through their territories in return for a price. The snow elves claimed not to know how far the drow had fallen in their demon worship, but this event is still seen as a gross betrayal by other elves.

In Living Greyhawk

Player Rewards Card "Ice Cities of the Crystalmists".

Snow elves were available to play in Living Greyhawk providing the player had a reward card (Set 1, Card 1: Ice Cities of the Crystalmist), which references the snow elves as presented in Frostburn:

"Ice Cities of the Crystalmists | Creation

"Our race is like that of a snowflake, we are a myriad of personalities and mysteries."
—Lathian Frostdrift, snow elf scribe

Explorers into the farthest reaches of the ice sometimes return with stories of magnificent ice cities built atop remote mountaintops that are inhabited by snow elves, folk with eyes as white as snow and hair that coils like fragile wisps of cloud. The snow elves are similar to their brethren, but are hardier, due to living in harsher conditions.
Benefit: You may take the Crystalmist Mountains as your home region. You cannot change your home region. This card unlocks the snow elf subrace from Frostburn. Snow elves are similar to high elves (the standard elven race in the Player’s Handbook), but their ability modifiers are +2 Dexterity and -2 Charisma, instead of the normal elven modifiers."

Publishing history

The first appearance of snow elves as a separate culture was in Dragon #155. The art, by Jamie Lombardo, depicts an unusual quirk—a snow elf is depicted with facial hair—which elves in any other edition do not have. The text of the article does not mention this quirk, at all.

When Frostburn (2004) came out, the ability score modifiers of the snow elves were changed slightly, so that snow elves in third edition have the same penalties to Charisma in both editions, but instead of smaller bonuses to both Dexterity and Constitution, they have a slightly higher bonus to Dexterity alone. Their resistance to the cold also changes between first and third editions; in third edition, they have none. See above: Abilities.

Gallery

• 
  by Jamie Lambardo, Dragon magazine #155 (March 1990).

References

Bibliography

• Baur, Wolfgang, James Jacobs and George Strayton. Frostburn: Mastering the Perils of Ice and Snow. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 2004. Item code 17758.
• Reimer, David. "In the Frost and the Snow". Dragon #155. Lake Geneva, WI: TSR, Mar 1990.

Encyclopedia Greyhawkania Index

The Encyclopedia Greyhawkania Index (EGI) is based on previous work of Jason Zavoda through '08, continued by numerous other fans. The EGI article has a list of sources, product names, abbreviations, and a link to the full, downloadable index.

Topic	Type	Description	Product	Page/Card/Image
Cain Blizzard	Non-player character	Male, Elf, snow, [Rgr3/Wiz3/Drd3],	1992 TSR Trading Cards - Gold Set	356
Elf, Snow	Monster		Dragon magazine #155	26-29