Rime, the Fettered Dragon Inhabitants of the far-flung north fear winter for more than its freezing temperatures and the hardships the ice and snow bring. Something far darker, far deadlier than such simple troubles plagues these hardy folk. As the first freeze descends across the lands, a great beast of winter stirs. Called Rime, this ancient white dragon embodies the fury of fierce winter storms and the gnawing pain of frostbite. The reign of terror lasts throughout the cold season: Travel grinds to a halt, and residents hole up in their cellars to wait out the death that flies by night. Rime is a magnificent specimen of her kind. Tiny spines beneath her triangular crest and spreading out from her joints superficially resemble hair, but they are sharp and jagged, perfect for catching and tearing flesh. Thick white plating protects her spine, from her crest to the tip of her tail. Her most curious feature is the mithral plating bolted onto the thick scales protecting her skull and breastbone. These plates are scored and scratched, testifying to both great age and hard use. Scourge of the North. Rime has plagued the north for over a century, far longer than the lifetime of anyone in those isolated communities. A few adventuring groups have come to fight the dragon, but all have vanished, with only crimson snow or a shattered sword trapped in ice to mark their fate. One group set out to find the dragon’s lair during the spring thaw. A single hero returned, but frostburn had stolen all his fingers, his nose, and his ears. He died soon after, succumbing to feverish nightmares and moaning of ice demons, lost citadels, and the constant cold. Ancient Steed. Theories of the dragon’s origin are dismissed as romantic tales or as gruesome ghost stories to keep folk vigilant. The oldest dwellers of the north might recall a bit of legend about the time before Rime’s appearance, when the ancient empire of the north still stood strong and its greatest knights rode dragons into battle. Rime was such a steed. Formerly known as Auslief, she was a companion to a great hero known for his courage and ferocity in battle. Before the doom of the old empire, the pair chased a vile demonologist into the frozen wastes, following him and his cultists across glaciers, up frozen mountains, to the fringes of the distant polar regions where great wintry beasts prowled the night. They cornered the villain in a forgotten fortress, where they fought desperately against suicidal cultists, ice demons, and other wicked monsters. Chained Fate. The battle lasted for ten days, but in the end the knight perished, torn to pieces by savage demons. After he fell, Rime fled the horrors of the crumbling citadel. The dragon’s flight did not take her far, though, since her training included fitting her with mithral plates imbued with magic to make her obedient to her rider. She struggled to escape, but the plates forced the dragon down, where she lay exposed until she gained the strength to crawl back to where her master lay. Many years have passed since the death of the ancient knight, yet Rime remains bound to his corpse by the accursed mithral fused to her body. The magic that brings the dragon back to the knight has waned enough that when winter falls, Rime has the strength to fly away, hunt, and be free. Each spring, though, the magic draws her back. Rime laments her fate but, so far, has been powerless to escape it.

Rime Ancient White Dragon Gargantuan dragon, chaotic evil Armor Class 18 (plate)

18 (plate) Hit Points 333 (18d20 + 144)

333 (18d20 + 144) Speed 40 ft., burrow 40 ft., fly 80 ft., swim 40 ft. STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 28 (+9) 10 (+0) 27 (+8) 10 (+0) 15 (+2) 16 (+3) Saving Throws Dex +7, Con +15, Wis +9, Cha +10

Dex +7, Con +15, Wis +9, Cha +10 Skills Nature +7, Perception +15, Stealth +7

Nature +7, Perception +15, Stealth +7 Damage Immunities cold

cold Damage Resistances bludgeoning, slashing, and piercing from nonmagical attacks

bludgeoning, slashing, and piercing from nonmagical attacks Senses blindsight 60 ft., darkvision 120 ft., passive Perception 25

blindsight 60 ft., darkvision 120 ft., passive Perception 25 Languages Common, Draconic

Common, Draconic Challenge 21 (33,000 XP) Aura of Winter. As a bonus action, Rime can summon freezing rain and sleet that affects all areas within 30 feet of her. When she activates the aura and at the start of each of her turns thereafter, each creature within the area takes 18 (4d8) cold damage.

The affected area is heavily obscured and exposed flames in the area are doused. The area is difficult terrain for all creatures without the Ice Walk trait, including flying creatures. The aura ends when Rime is incapacitated or killed, or when she ends it as a bonus action. Ice Walk. Rime can move across and climb icy surfaces without needing to make an ability check. Additionally, difficult terrain composed of ice or snow doesn’t cost her extra moment. Legendary Resistance (3/Day). If Rime fails a saving throw, she can choose to succeed instead. Magic Weapons. Rime's weapon attacks are magical. Savage Blood. While Rime has fewer than half her hit points remaining, her attacks become critical hits on a natural roll of 17-20. Actions Multiattack. Rime can use her Chilling Presence. She then makes three attacks: one with her bite and two with her claws. Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +16 to hit, reach 15 ft., one target. Hit: 20 (2d10 + 9) piercing damage plus 9 (2d8) cold damage. Claw. Melee Weapon Attack: +16 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 16 (2d6 + 9) slashing damage. Tail. Melee Weapon Attack: +16 to hit, reach 20 ft., one target. Hit: 18 (2d8 + 9) bludgeoning damage, and the target must succeed on a DC 24 Strength saving throw or be pushed 20 feet away from the dragon. Chilling Presence. Each creature of Rime's choice that is within 120 feet of the dragon and aware of her must succeed on a DC 18 Wisdom saving throw or become frightened for 1 minute. While frightened by this effect, a creature gains no benefit from resistance to cold damage. A creature can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success. If a creature's saving throw is successful or the effect ends for it, the creature is immune to Rime's Chilling Presence for the next 24 hours. Freezing Breath (Recharge 5-6). Rime exhales an icy blast in a 90-foot cone. Each creature in that area must make a DC 23 Constitution saving throw. On a failed save, the target takes 72 (16d8) cold damage and is restrained as it becomes encased in ice. On a successful save, the target takes half as much damage and is not restrained. As an action, or as a reaction if the target takes any fire damage, a creature can make a DC 23 Strength check, freeing itself or a creature within 5 feet of it from the ice on a success. Legendary Actions Rime can take 3 legendary actions, choosing from the options below. Only one legendary action option can be used at a time and only at the end of another creature's turn. Rime regains spent legendary actions at the start of her turn. Detect. Rime makes a Wisdom (Perception) check. Tail Attack. Rime makes a tail attack. Wing Attack (Costs 2 Actions). Rime beats her wings. Each creature within 15 feet of the dragon must succeed on a DC 24 Dexterity saving throw or take 16 (2d6 + 9) bludgeoning damage and be knocked prone. Rime can then fly up to half her flying speed. Legacy of Rime Rime's first (and so far only) appearance is in 4th Edition's Draconomicon by Bruce R. Cordell, Logan Bonner, Ari Marmell, and Robert J. Schwalb in 2008.

Rime's Lair When Rime emerges from her icy lair, she takes to the skies at night in search of prey—giant elk, mammoths, or stranded travelers. Wherever she goes, winter follows, moisture in the air crystallizing into ice and snow. Upon spotting a suitable meal, she descends until it is in range of her breath weapon, then unleashes a torrent of sleet. She then drops to the ground and uses her bite and claws to rip the prey to pieces. She directs her attacks at restrained targets before turning to any opponents still on their feet. Rime is encountered outside her lair only in the winter months. For the rest of the year, she dwells in the ruined fortress, by the long-rotted remains of the knight who bound her. Descendants of the demonworshipers she and her knight once pursued have survived here as well. An uneasy truce holds over the place: The cultists depend on the dragon to protect their home-in-exile and keep away those who would kill them for their unspeakable practices. Origins of a Demon Prince. The ruins in which Rime lairs was once a mighty fortress. In ancient times, an incredibly ugly and bitter human man named Kostchtchie lived in the frozen wasteland. Pushed to the edge of his tribe, he spent many long years roaming in the wilderness, until he had a chance encounter with the mother of hags, Baba Yaga. Kostchtchie bargained with the archfey for power, and she removed his soul and hid it inside of a special talisman. Made invulnerable, he returned to his tribe and conquered it, leading them into years of brutal, ever-expanding dominance even as he slowly grew to first the size of an ogre, and then to the size of a giant. Ultimately, he was slain by a celestial paragon, only for his soul to lodge itself into the Iron Wastes, 23rd layer of the Abyss, and slowly grow into a formidable demon prince. Shrine of Evil. Kostchtchie's citadel has long ago been reduced to weathered rubble, but the dungeons and catacombs remain, continually excavated by worshippers of the Prince of Wrath and marred by multiple failed attempts to summon him back to the world. Descending from those ancient Kostchtchie cultists whom Rime fought at the wintry citadel, the frost giants calling themselves the Sons of Winter are a mad lot of deviants and freaks tainted by old magic. The cultists are unaware of Rime's tragic bondage, and while her ancient companion's remains are entombed somwhere in the ruins, they are ignored and forgotten by all but her. Lair Actions Indoors or underground, Rime rarely makes use of her Aura of Winter, instead relying on her lair actions to summon sleet and hail storms targeting specific areas. On initiative count 20 (losing initiative ties), Rime takes a lair action to cause one of the following effects; she can't use the same effect two rounds in a row: Rime freezes her armor, gaining 25 temporary hit points. A creature that hits her with a melee attack while she has these hit points takes cold damage equal to the number of temporary hit points lost.

A hail of rock-hard ice pounds to the ground in a 20-foot-radius, 40-foot-high cylinder centered on a point Rime can see within 120 feet of her. Each creature in the cylinder must make a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw, taking 14 (3d8) bludgeoning damage and 14 (4d6) cold damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one. Hailstones turn the storm's area of effect into difficult terrain until initiative count 20 on the next round.

Freezing rain and sleet fall in a 20-foot-radius, 40-foot-high cylinder centered on a point Rime can see within 120 feet of her. The area is heavily obscured, and exposed flames in the area are doused. The ground in the area is covered with slick ice, making it difficult terrain. When a creature enters the storm's area for the first time on a turn or starts its turn there, it must make a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw. On a failed save, it falls prone. If a creature is concentrating in the spell’s area, the creature must make a DC 15 Constitution saving throw or lose concentration. The storm lasts until initiative count 20 on the next round. Regional Effects The region surrounding Kostchtchie's ruins is prone to avalanches, rock slides, and foul weather conditions. Refer to the Wilderness Survival hazards on pages 109-111 of the Dungeon Master's Guide as well as the regional effects typical of white dragon lairs, noted on page 103 of the Monster Manual. More dangerous than the natural environment are the Sons of Winter that prowl the region searching for travelers to sacrifice to Prince of Wrath. Members of this motley assortment of frost giants, stranded demons, oni mercenaries, and humanoid cultists have the following additional trait. Leaders of the cult drive their minions in suicidal hordes that can trigger a chain reaction. Death Burst. When the Son of Winter dies, it explodes in a burst of utter cold, and each creature within 5 feet of it takes 9 (2d8) cold damage. The area of the burst becomes icy difficult terrain for one minute.