Linnorms occupy an interesting niche, being considered dragons, but at the same time being a distinct set of creatures of their own. With a breadth of folk stories regarding them, there is no shortage of inspiration to draw from. The Bestiary takes note of this—just look at the sidebars regarding kings slaying linnorms to claim their birthright or the great beasts laying a curse with their dying breath.
Not as intelligent as traditional dragons, these two-legged slithering monstrosities represent a more primordial threat—not one that should be taken lightly. They occupy the hostile areas of northern regions of the world where they reign supreme.
Let us look at the Ice Linnorm for today's example. It can crawl (35 ft.), fly (100 ft.), and swim (40 ft.). This alone is quite impressive, though when you consider that the linnorm is always under the effects of freedom of movement, it becomes even more so. An unstoppable force. Access to true sight means that it is considerably harder to get a jump on the bugger. When it comes to offensive capabilities, it's no pushover either. It has 3 melee attacks, all with a reach ranging from 20 to 25 ft., all of which deal considerable damage. Its attack of opportunity has an incredible range with its tail strike, alongside raw power from its jaws that can inflict Ice Linnorm Venom—a nasty thing in its own right. Of course, being a dragon, it also has access to Breath Weapon—a 60 ft. cone of freezing ooze that not only does a lot of damage, but can also immobilize targets (and, while immobilized, the target takes even more cold damage!). One would be inclined to think that the problems end with killing the damn thing; that couldn't be further from the truth. Once slain, an ice linnorm's parting gift comes in the form of Curse of Frost.
All in all, a pretty solid contender for a legendary creature the roaming frozen wastes of the far north, wouldn't you agree?
- Max
Hook 1 (Max) - Scourge of the Golden Hall
The Grand Golden Hall of King Arnhast is said to be one of the greatest wonders of this world, its ruler allegedly being the richest man in the world. He built his keep far to the north, carving a great hall in the mountains and has it guarded night and day.
Just as legendary as his treasury is the king's greed, for there are many stories of his unwillingness to part with even a single coin that he considers his—a vice that has made him many enemies over the years and continues to do so to this very day.
Something is amiss in the Golden Hall, though. No one has heard from it in a long time and none of the emissaries sent there have returned. It won't take long before some vagabonds are either hired to see what's happening or take interest themselves.
Stepping into The Hall through a long and vast bridge—its first line of defense—one will easily spot dozens of frozen corpses scattered about. The gate is found hanging on its hinges, seemingly busted open from the inside. An unnatural cold permeates the air, regardless of the time of year, and the inside of the keep is a scene of ravenous and indiscriminate slaughter. It looks like some enormous beast has wreaked havoc upon this place. Should you look for the body of the ruler of The Hall, you couldn't find it, as he is, in fact, the one responsible. The king's love of gold has finally turned him into a monster whose love of gold rivals his own.
The fortress goes deep, deep underground, interconnected by a network of spacious tunnels that are unfortunately big enough to accommodate Arnhast's new, monstrous form. He now spends most of his days sleeping on top of his majestic treasury, guarding it with his very life, only occasionally stalking the corridors of his once-proud domain.
Hook 2 (TJ) - Shivering Simon
The creaking of a rocking chair punctuates the crackling of the hearth at the Last Oasis. Despite the fact that this tavern is in the middle of a desert, the innkeeper keeps the fire crackling day in and day out, creating a swelteringly hot common room. Sitting in the chair next to this affront on homeostasis is Shivering Simon, a wrinkled human well into his seventies.
As if the fire wasn't enough, Simon—dripping sweat—peers out from beneath a layer of blankets and a homespun sweater. For a mug of (hot) cider, Simon will tell you stories of his life as an adventurer. At the end of a long night of libations, Simon will finally be willing to tell the story of how he got to where he is. With a distant look, he relates the tale of his fateful night slaying a gruesome, icy, draconic beast. The last one standing in his adventuring party, Simon dealt the death blow after what felt like hours of brutal combat. The curse he received still haunts him to this day. All of his wealth gained from adventuring has been spent on trying to avoid the bone-chilling cold that he's never been able to shake, but it's starting to run out...
Hook 3 (Nemanja) - Old Boombreath
Old Boombreath, a volcano in the Mixotixican archipelago, is a place where three planes converge—the plane of fire, the plane of earth, and the mortal plane.
For the immortal denizens of the elemental planes, this makes it a battlefront, where they clash in violent combat time and time again.
For the islanders, this makes it the biggest source of their income—the fallen elementals leave heaps of riches behind, and the archipelago has become a popular trading hub where adventurers from afar come to seek scavenged goods.
Unfortunately for both the elementals and the islanders, the crater has recently become the nesting ground of an ancient wyrm. Oddly enough, the old wyrm seems to be a creature of elemental frost. Even more oddly, when actually exposed to frost magic—even that of its own making—it seems to back away.
A deeper investigation might uncover the fact that the ice linnorm has in fact slain another of its kind. It now suffers the effects of a curse of frost, making its own existence a constant and everpresent agony.
