Creature Lore - Glacial Deer

[ScoutTheWitch]

Glacial Deer

Ice King by Astralseed

“What a thing of beauty, a deer with icicles coming off of it. I’d’ve thought it natural if it wasn’t for the fact it vanished when I went to run after it. Ain’t seen nothing like it since.” - a Hunter.

Rarity

Uncommon

Potential Locations

Tundras, arctic biomes

Origin

A pregnant reindeer was once wounded gravely by arctic wolves deep in the north, though she was able to flee into the forest to survive. Amongst the frost covered evergreens, she lay down to die, weeping for the fawns she would not be able to bear and mother into the world. The spirits of the fae heard her pleas, her sorrow, and in a final gift to the deer, decided to take her children and bless them so that they might live beyond the loss of their mother.

These deers became part fae spirit, taking upon a mote of their strange and otherworldly nature, bearing the beauty of the tundra itself upon themselves alongside minor fae magic to keep them alive where their progenitor mother had passed.

Physical Appearance

Glowing Spirit by PinkScooby54

Glacial deer are slightly larger than regular reindeer, with fur of varying blues that gives off a light and harmless frosty mist. Both male and female glacial deer possess large antlers which glimmer in light blues and possess icicles dangling from them which jingle lightly like windchimes in the rimy gales of the tundras.

Various interlocking and beautiful patterns of glowing white like that of snowflakes viewed up close may form upon their fur, giving off a gentle, ambient light. Though frigid to the touch, should one tame and mount a glacial deer, they will be immune to such, even feeling a warmth from it that staves off the arctic climate.

Glacial deers also possess two more special properties, the first being the ability to walk on any kind of ice as though it possessed full friction and they bore no weight, even freezing unfrozen surfaces of water they step upon. The second is that should they leap into any surface of snow, they will be able to enter into the fae realm temporarily, exiting through another mound anywhere else in the same biome.

Behavior

Glacial deer are often skittish and easily frightened, tending to run away from predators and hunters, using their ability to teleport through snow to their advantage to escape. They have a keen sense for the nature of one approaching them and tend only to allow those with peaceful intentions and a kindness about them to approach.

Only those of meek and gentle nature may tame a glacial deer but then they shall bond for life, meaning should one who tames a glacial deer as a youth grow up to be a warrior, they may use them as their valiant steed even then. They shall only leave one who has tamed them if they cause harm to nature, especially themself or another animal.

- Glacial deer are roughly analogous to regular reindeer. Their speed is that of a horse and tamed glacial deer may be represented as such in game.
- Their ability to teleport through snow may be used in one action upon any surface of snow larger than them. This often means that should a glacial deer be attacked nearby snow, they shall simply vanish.
- A rider of a glacial deer will not be brought with them when they teleport. This means this property may not be used for a player’s advantage other than having their mount disappear for the rest of an encounter.
- Glacial deer may not read minds, nor be used to tell if someone is dangerous. They merely react to ‘vibes’. Do not use a glacial deer mount to metagame someone’s intent.
- Glacial deer may be used in and tamed during player events.