Frost Salamander

Salamander, Frost

Frost salamanders are natives of the Plane of Ice, also called the Frostfell, which rests between the Plane of Air and the Plane of Water. Frost salamanders especially like to hunt warm-blooded creatures. They sometimes travel to frigid climes on the Material Plane by wandering through planar gates.

Devourers of Heat

The frost salamanders' aggression appetite for any heat source leads them to attack settlements they come across. They might mistake the fire of a forge or a campfire for a large, tasty meal, drawing them to attack expeditions and settlements that other predators would avoid. Azers sometimes venture into the Frostfell, where they use large fires to lure frost salamanders into traps to kill them and collect their hides and fangs for use in crafting weapons and armor.

False Refuge

Although frost salamanders can burrow their way through loose soil, they prefer to dig into the ice. They roll around in piles of broken chunks of ice, allowing it to scratch their backs as they grind it down. This habit leads them to create extensive networks of ice caves, becoming ever larger as they claw fresh chunks of ice from the walls of their lairs.

A frost salamander that dwells in a lair for a while carves out enough space to allow a small army to camp within. Inexperienced travelers who come across these caves see them as a welcome shelter, though they are anything but. Frost salamanders greedily devour any prey foolhardy enough to try sleeping in their lairs.

On rare occasions, frost giant||frost giants capture and tame these creatures, using them to burrow into the ice to help create outposts and fortresses.