WoF - IceWing (5e Race)
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This page needs grammatical help. Reason: Much of the traits for this race are not written with 5e language. The unarmed strikes should be written like that of tabaxi or similar. Mount could maybe benefit from how centaur is worded.
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This page is of questionable balance. Reason: Traits like vision have no actual use/mechanics, same for naturally shiny. It needs some kind of range. Icy breath is also not worded correctly and lacks proper confines like dragonborn's breath.
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MUCH OF THIS PAGE IS DIRECT QUOTES FROM THE WINGS OF FIRE WIKI PAGE FOR ICEWINGS. THIS PAGE CAN BE FOUND HERE.[edit]
IceWings[edit]
"Stop liking her. Remember what Father said: They're all liars. Be strong, be vigilant, strike first. Trust nobody. Not even interesting NightWings with silver teardrop scales." ― Winter, thinking about Moonwatcher1
"Me. She chose me. I'm the next queen of the IceWings. Not Crystal. She thinks I'd be the best queen. Is she right? What if she's wrong? Now I'm the one who has to protect us from the NightWings. And I'm the one who has to find a cure for this plague before any more dragons die. Queen Snowfall." ― Snowfall's thoughts after Glacier chooses her as queen2
"We're going to be all right. No matter what happens, I'll be able to leave the tribe in the right talons." ― Glacier's thoughts about Snowfall3
Physical Description[edit]
IceWing scales can range from silvery-gray and white to pale shades of blue and purple, intended to blend into their icy surroundings. Their coloring has been described as "silver like the moons," "pale blue like ice," "as pale as the moons," or "moon-white scales," and "like whiskers or tufts of fur." IceWings have dark blue, sky blue, icy blue, or stormy gray eyes, with forked blue tongues and dark blue blood.
The head of an IceWing is shaped like a diamond and is very narrow, with a ruff of extra horns behind their heads, with spikes continuing down their backs and tail. They are lean dragons with thin, whip-thin tails that have icicle-shaped spines, ending in very sharp tips. They have serrated claws for gripping the ice. Some IceWings, such as Lynx, have dark freckles or markings on their faces and wings, although this is generally uncommon.
When upset, some IceWings have been shown to ruffle up the spines around their necks. 4
Abilities[edit]
IceWings can withstand subzero temperatures and very bright light. They have serrated claws for gripping slippery ice, which were described as "ten times sharper than normal claws" and "like getting clawed four times with each claw instead of once" when used offensively. They are also known for having sharper eyesight than the other Pyrrhian dragon tribes, and their scales emit an icy-cold chill, which can freeze tiny drops of water on their bodies. They can also exhale a freezing weapon called frostbreath, also known as "freezing death breath" by the dragonets of destiny.
They can handle flight distances well, but are weaker when subjected to heat.
Frostbreath appears as a cloud of sparkling smoke, and can cause limbs to fall clean off from frostbite. Scars from frostbreath look like blackened blisters, as seen on Mayfly. The only known direct cure is the gift of healing, a set of narwhal horns enchanted by Queen Diamond to heal accidental frostbreath injuries. In other cases, fire, bags of hot rocks, hot mud, or related heat-emitting liquids are used to melt the ice.
Frostbreath forms ice crystals where it makes contact with dirt, forms tiny chunks of ice when used on rain, and can be used to extinguish fires. An IceWing can be prevented from using their frostbreath for a short time by raising their body temperature either via a warm environment or manually heating them up (hot metal, fire, etc.), similar to the limits on MudWings' fire-breathing abilities but reversed. Fjord's scales have been seen "melting" while in the arena, which perhaps indicates that IceWings' scales cannot withstand the heat. A dragon affected by frostbreath will first feel freezing pain, shocking the affected area into paralysis, and is quite painful for the first few seconds until the area becomes numb. Victims of frostbreath will sometimes lose consciousness, which can be treated with water and hot coals. SkyWings who hatch with firescales cannot be hurt by frostbreath, though an impacted area may be numb for some time.
A fire-breathing dragon can survive having frostbreath shot down their throat for a short time, but the only known way to survive a long period of time after sustaining internal frostbreath injuries is by staying immersed in lava. Internal frostbreath injuries can eventually overwhelm a dragon if they leave the lava, which is shown in Battlewinner's case.
As described in Moon Rising, IceWings have sharp, glittering, and bright minds that are hard to read. Groups of IceWings will "reflect" off of one another and become even more difficult to read.
Animus magic IceWings were once known for having more animus dragons than any other tribe, as well as having magic the longest. These dragons were carefully bred into the royal family and monitored extremely cautiously, with strict rules for the use of their powers to keep their soul from turning evil. IceWing animus dragons were only permitted to use their power once, for the benefit of the tribe, at the gifting ceremony on their seventh hatching day. Some animus IceWings went against the rules, such as Queen Diamond who used her power four times — once for her normal animus gift, the gift of healing, another on Hope to come back to the Ice Kingdom, again for the gift of vengeance (the Diamond Caves), and once to enchant the IceWing crown to make the wearer hate NightWings as much as she had. IceWings host a test similar to the SeaWings' Talons of Power ceremony to find animus dragons.
The IceWing's line of animus dragons ended when Arctic, the last known IceWing animus, ran away with Foeslayer to the Night Kingdom, leading the IceWings to believe that the NightWings stole their precious magic.
Society[edit]
IceWings appear to be fairly sophisticated, strict, and believe themselves superior in comparison to the other tribes, being the only Pyrrhian dragons to have a hierarchy. They are very prideful, and often perceived as rude and arrogant by dragons of other tribes. There are strict IceWing codes of behavior: most IceWings agree that the only way to make dragonets strong is to expose all of their weaknesses, and that shame and fear are powerful weapons in teaching. If everyone is disappointed in a dragonet, the consensus is that they will work harder to prove themselves. Most dragonets are seasoned warriors in the Ice Kingdom.
Even in times of general peace, IceWings still had minor skirmishes with SandWings and SkyWings.
Royal IceWings are typically not affectionate, as Winter mentioned that hugging their family members would be considered undignified. The lines of guards that attend the IceWing queen are perfectly coiled, and IceWings are noble to their queen's orders. It is painful to hold the IceWing guard stance for too long, but Winter practiced for hours to get the pose perfectly right: his wings folded exactly so, his tail in the right position, his snout up and shoulders back.
The IceWing queen, according to the ancient traditions of the tribe, was required to assess and adjust the gift of order each night. She also has a council of powerful IceWings to guide and support her. Most queens are killed in royal challenges in a battlefield, an arena, or before the entire court in a bloodstained throne room. Royal IceWings in the time of Darkstalker stored the frozen heads of deceased royal family members on walls in the palace and slid the deceased's corpses into the ocean. This tradition is no longer practiced.
IceWings living in villages outside the palace are less obsessed with status and Circles. The outer villages are made of ice structures and are named hyphenated phrases. In the outer villages, scrolls are typically written on sealskin and are circulated between IceWing villages by wandering librarians. They often have revered storytellers, or bards, who memorize stories that they sing or recite. Stories include tales of the Great Ice Dragon and histories of the IceWing tribe and their heroes. Dragonets are chosen to be their village's bard based on memory and performance skill. Caribou claimed that it is every young dragon's dream to be their village's bard.
IceWings have a mythological figure called the Great Ice Dragon, whom they swear by the teeth of. They also swear by snow monsters and believe in spirits under the ice.
IceWings can have pets such as arctic foxes.
IceWings have parties, talent shows, and competitions frequently and are always working hard to make something wonderful to share with the rest of the tribe. These include recipes, scrolls, songs, and jewelry.
Many IceWings polish their scales to maintain a clean look. This can be done via rolling in snow, swimming in cold water, or other various ways.
Circle rankings
Before the reign of Queen Snowfall, the aristocracy and nobility of the IceWing tribe were divided into seven ranks of status, known as Circles. The First Circle was the top, highest, or best, while the Seventh Circle was the bottom, lowest, or worst. IceWings below the age of seven were ranked as dragonets and graduated to the adult rankings on their seventh hatching day. A dragonet's ranking on their seventh hatching day determined the course of the rest of their life, and if a dragonet reached their seventh hatching day in the Seventh Circle, they were stationed to an arctic outpost for the rest of their lives. In families in the Ice Kingdom, the highest-ranked parent chose the names for their dragonets, regardless of gender, and were then approved by the queen.
This system was managed via the gift of order and consisted of a wall of ice showing the rankings of every noble and dragonet. The queen was required to adjust these rankings daily. Some noble dragons wore accessories to indicate their rankings, such as a necklace with circles on it.
IceWing dragonets raised their ranking through hunting, training, performing traditional IceWing customs, and passing tests given by their guardians. In the dragonet rankings, each hunt was still a chance to prove themselves and increase their rank. The highest-ranked dragonets were more respected. When a dragonet reached their seventh hatching day in the First or Second Circle, they would be housed in the queen's palace and allowed to provide input on important matters. When an adult went into Third Circle or lower, they could have lost their right to live in the palace. If an IceWing died or was exiled, their names were slashed through on the gift of order, as shown in Hailstorm's case. If a dragonet went down in the rankings, their parents would too.
The gift of order has since been destroyed by Queen Snowfall. She is also working on destroying the gift of defense so that IceWings can become more open-minded to other tribes willing to help them during crises.
Diamond Trial
The Diamond Trial, also known as the gift of vengeance, was a way for IceWing dragonets to increase their Circle ranking in the tribe, generally as a last-minute effort to switch the places of two dragonets (the topmost and bottommost positions). It involved entering the Diamond Caves with narwhal horn spears, meant to touch a frozen NightWing - Hope. When she is thawed, both contestants must battle her. Hope is then frozen and resurrected again after she is killed, leaving the two dragonets to fight to the death. However, the trial was rigged- only one of the dragonets, the one the IceWings wanted to win, was given information about the trial and how the spears actually worked.
The trial became defunct when Winter secretly freed Hope during the events of Winter Turning.
IceWing Names[edit]
Before Queen Snowfall, IceWing names were chosen by the family member with the highest Circle rank and the names had to be approved by the queen. It is unknown if this naming convention is still practiced. They can be named after ice formations like Glacier and Icicle, arctic animals (terrestrial or aquatic) such as Lynx, Narwhal, and Ermine, words for "white" in various languages such as Alba and Hvitur, polar landscapes such as Tundra, polar weather such as Hailstorm, and after mountains such as Changbai. They can also be named after blue and white gemstones such as Crystal, Diamond, and Opal, as well as cold seasons like Winter.7
Male: Alabaster, Beluga, Cacholong, Denali, Everest, Gainsboro, Halcyon, Iberis, King, Mammoth, Neptune, Overcast, Peak, Rabbit, Salmon, Terminus, Ultracold, Verglas, Whitefish, Yak, Zaffre
Female: Adélie, Beluga, Celestine, Dipole, Euclase, Ferret, Gannet, Hail, Icebird, Juniper, Khione, Lumi, Miniver, Neigeuse, Owl, Pelter, Quartz, Radiance, Sagebrush, Tengliu, Wintergreen, Yuki, Zima
IceWing Traits[edit]
IceWings are an arctic tribe, with attributes and abilities based on and suited for freezing temperatures.
Ability Score Increase. Your Constitution score increases by 2 and your Strength score increases by 1.
Age. IceWings are socially considered adults at there seventh hatching day.
Alignment. IceWings can be any alignment.
Size. Adult IceWings can vary in height and build, from around 18 to 20 feet. Your size is Large.
Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet. Your base flying speed is also 30 feet.
Vision. IceWings have the average amount of vision.
Chill Resistance. IceWings have built up a resistance to natural cold, like that from arctic conditions. However, they can still take damage from theirs or another IceWing's frostbreath.cold immunity from everything exept icewing frostbreath.
Serrated Claws. IceWings have naturally serrated claws from gripping ice - however, this does add a slight advantage in battle. Your unarmed strike gains 1d6 slashing damage.
Naturally Shiny. IceWing scales can have bright light reflect against them in a way that can be a signal, if seen by other dragons.
icy breath. you have an icy breath that can freeze objects and people it deals 1d10 cold damage and covers anything it touches in ice and has a range of 15 feet
Mount. a Medium or smaller creature can ride on your back if you allow it. In such a situation you continue to act independently, not as a controlled mount.
Languages. You can speak, read, and write Draconic and common.
Random Height and Weight[edit]
| Base Height |
Height Modifier* |
Base Weight |
Weight Modifier** |
|---|---|---|---|
| 17′ 8'' | +2d12 in. | 1650 lb. | × (2d8) lb. |
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*Height = base height + height modifier | |||
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