(Wayne Imlach)

Frost phantoms inhabit areas where corpses have been interred or left to rot, such as graveyards and battlefields. These invisible entities feed on the remnant life energy left after death. Under certain conditions freezing fog or mist crystallises around them, conferring form and shape. In this way empowered, they seek the life energy of the living. Their appearance echoes the dead on whose lingering energy they subsist, shimmering white spectres floating above the cold, frozen earth.

Mundane weapons and fire will disrupt their shape temporarily, but they quickly reform, recovering 1d6 Health Points per round. If reduced to zero in this fashion they will retreat into the mist until fully restored. Magical sources deal permanent damage that cannot be recovered this way.

Having naught but crystalline rime giving them form, they cannot cause physical injury, instead leeching the life energy of the victim. Each successful attack drains 1d6 points from Strength or Reflexes (whichever is higher, choose randomly otherwise). Only magical armour or a successful parry with a magical shield can prevent this, reducing the life drained by its magical bonus. Should either attribute be reduced to zero, the character collapses, too weak to move. If either falls to −3 or less, the character dies.

A frost phantom will depart once it has drained 2d10 points of vitality from its victims. They can only exist in the fog, so finding shelter or clearing the mist via magical means can be used to defeat them. Lost attribute points are restored at the rate of 1 point of each attribute per day of rest.

This article first appeared in the Casket of Fays Issue 3.