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As the weather starts to get chilly in the northern hemisphere, it’s a great time to cozy up indoors with a cup of warm tea, a blanket, and lots of fantasy roleplaying. D&D games feel a little more special in the winter as it gets dark earlier and becomes easier & easier to spend all day inside.
Adding some of that winter spirit to a campaign is a great way to get even more immersed in D&D, and any good winter campaign will need some great monsters to face off against. These adversaries range in level and type widely, but they’ll all be right at home in a wintery-themed campaign.
10 Remorhaz Bring The Heat
This massive monstrosity, also known as the polar worm, is a fearsome opponent hailing all the way back to the game’s origins. The remorhaz live in frozen climates, but can produce immense amounts of heat, which they use to burrow through the snow as well as in combat. Remorhaz make great monsters for the frozen wastelands, and can be used in conjunction with other enemies. A small village in the Forgotten Realms, Ahtitlak, even formed a bond with its local remorhaz population, using them as mounts and companions.
9 Yetis Are A Recognizable Brute
Inspired by the real-life stories of mysterious ape-like creatures found in the Himalayan Mountains, D&D yetis are scary predators that stalk alpine landscapes in search of food. In 5th edition, they possess claws that deal cold as well as slashing damage, as well as a magical gaze attack that deals damage as well as paralyzing the target. The abominable yeti kicks things up a notch, tacking on a cold-based breath weapon as well. Yetis are a great wandering monster to harry any players making a mountain journey.
8 Bring A Pack Hunter With The Winter Wolf
Winter wolves are often used by frost giants as hunting companions, according to the 5th edition Monster Manual. They fight well in packs like their more mundane counterparts, but also have a frost breath they can use to take down prey.
The winter wolf, CR 3 in 5th edition, is a great option for a low-level campaign. Perhaps a wolf has been attacking livestock during a blizzard and players are dispatched to put a stop to its rampage.
7 Frost Giants Are Everything Giants Have To Offer
Of D&D’s many giant types, frost giants are among the easiest to use as straight-forward villains. They mix the cruelty, cunning, and brutal power of other giant types while serving as a great adversary. Frost giants work great as either the final boss of an adventure or as enforcers for a more powerful entity. Journeying to a frost giant bandit’s castle to oust them could make up an entire adventure, with lots of other challenges along the way.
6 Shadar-Kai Reflect The Darker Side Of Winter
The shadar-kai may not have a direct tie to cold or ice, but they are perfect for a winter-themed game nonetheless. They’ve changed throughout their time in D&D (starting in 3rd edition), but they’ve always been associated with darkness and shadows. In 4th edition, they were tied to that edition’s god of death, The Raven Queen.
The Raven Queen was also the god of winter, which makes perfect sense for the shadar-kai as well. Their cold disposition and proclivity for darkness make them a great choice for a campaign set on moody, snowy nights.
5 White Dragons Are Iconic And Deadly
Dragon is one-half the game’s name, so they’re always a good choice for any adventure. White dragons aren’t nearly as cunning or conniving as their counterparts, but that almost makes them more fun to run. A white dragon takes what it wants when it wants. They are as brutal and unforgiving as a blizzard, and this will often put them at odds with an adventuring party. They are the weakest of the chromatic dragons, so one can show up even in a low-level game.
4 Unearth The Past With A Revenant
Winter is a time for gathering together and sharing stories and memories of the past, hopefully around a nice warm fire. It’s also a perfect time for those memories to come crawling back to life, even after they’re thought long dead.
Revenants are undead powered by some kind of need or drive keeping them in the world. Any undead works for the desolate winters, but revenants are particularly suited as they require some investigation into the past.
3 The Mammoth Makes Things Prehistoric
Another beast often used by frost giants, the mammoth will be easily recognizable by all players. There’s little more exciting than having a group of human-sized characters tackle a foe that towers over them. The fact that frost giants often ride mammoths doubles that excitement, making for an entirely unforgettable encounter. On the flip side, perhaps players themselves need to use mammoth mounts to traverse a treacherous winter world.
2 Ice Mephits Are Low Level But Super Magical
The mephits are a humble branch of elementals, but they are great fun to run and play against. The ice mephit has a decent melee attack, as well as the ability to fly and innately cast Fog Cloud once per day. This makes them great skirmishers, able to cover their escape if need be. To top it all off, they explode in a burst of sharp ice shards upon death, leaving a parting gift to their slayers. They’re an easy way to incorporate some high-magic enemies into a low-level campaign.
1 Cazakk The Blessed Is A Great Holiday Twist
Cazaak hails from an adventure written for Dragon Magazine by Chris Sims entitled The Longest Night. It describes a region beset by a red dragon named Cazakk who flies from village to village demanding tribute from every resident each Winter Solstice. Anyone who does not pay up is immediately killed, and towns are left with precious little to survive the rest of the winter. This twisted parody of Santa Claus is a fantastic way to put a little holiday spin on a D&D campaign and can be dropped into almost any campaign world with little difficulty.
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