The Suurhirvet

Seeing a suurhirvi is not an experience one quickly forgets. These massive denizens of frost-covered regions have wide noses and large pointed ears like a deer’s. Even more impressive than their towering size is the antlers that grow atop their heads regardless of gender. Having no natural need for clothing, they instead adorn themselves with strange symbols painted or dyed into their fur in brilliant hues. The designs of these symbols are intuitive to the suurhirvi applying them and they are changed regularly. Despite this, when preparing for danger, they have no objections to wearing armor (which they likewise paint with symbols) and, should nudity prove inconvenient to interacting with other folk, they will fashion crude loincloths, wraps, or other such basic garments from animal hides, tree bark, or other natural materials.

In Tune with Nature

While not native to the fey realms, suurhirvet seem to have a strong connection to the natural power of those realms, especially relating to boreal environments. This leads many sages to consider them a form of fey anyway. Those who attain great power often become even more difficult to distinguish from typical fey creatures, and legends attest to at least one who has ascended to the status of archfey. The Bearer of the Glacier Crown, as that individual has come to be known known, is said to have power over periods of twilight, changes of weather, and those who defy categorization. They have refused to take a place in an existing fey court and instead sometimes serves as a neutral envoy between them.

Totemic Figures

Many outlander tribes view the suurhirvet as mighty nature spirits given physical form, and will seek them out to either propitiate them with offerings or request advice or divinations in order to ensure good hunting or success in battle. Within more urbanized settlements suurhirvet—especially spellcasters—tend to be viewed as mysterious visionaries, the subject of equal parts superstition and nervous curiosity. Suurhirvet generally do not dispute such claims about themselves or their people, as they know they have some supernatural ties to nature and view their own nature in spiritual regards through a unique perspective that is not easily comprehended by beings lacking a fey nature. They find it vexing and ineffective to try to explain the concepts to such beings. As such they usually find the beliefs of other beings about them to be tolerable approximations, and will play along to whatever degree necessary to ensure productive contact.

Suurhirvi Names

Each suurhirvi has three names—often but not always a mix of masculine, feminine, and androgynous names. In a complex and opaque system of context that the suurhirvet have not been able to teach to other folk, the number and sequence of these three names used in a situation changes. To a suurhirvi, it is simply immediately obvious how many and in what order a suurhirvi’s names should be used in any given situation. To other folk, it proves entirely unpredictable, even if recorded and studied for patterns.

Example Androgynous Names: Áilu, Ale, Hanne, Hvedrungr, Grindalokki, Ilmatar, Inge, Loptr, Luku, Manu, Mahria, Mille, Niikka, Stormr, Vanja, Vieno, Ymir

Example Masculine Names: Aallaz, Aslaeikr, Bierdna, Coavva, Ensio, Ilmarinen, Joukahainen, Juoska, Kaapro, Mielat, Otso, Pyry, Risto, Sten, Taisto, Temm, Vainamoinen

Example Feminine Names: Aja, Arnbjorg, Bóthildr, Ea, Eija, Giera, Hilja, Kyllikki, Lumi, Minttu, Päivi, Pihla, Satu, Seara, Tellervo, Tora, Unni

Suurhirvi Traits

Your suurhirvi character has several innate talents.

Ability Score Increase. Your Constitution score increases by 2 and one other ability score of your choice increases by 1.

Age. Suurhirvet reach adulthood at age 25 and usually 400 years old, though particularly powerful individuals tend to live much longer.

Alignment. Most suurhirvet tend towards neutrality, but some reflect the consuming nature of the brutal arctic weather, leaning towards neutral evil, while some others reflect the freedom and openness of their lands, tending towards chaotic good. In more urban populations, they commonly follow any alignment.

Size. An average suurhirvi stands about 7 feet tall and weighs about 300 pounds. Your size is Medium.

Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

Abundance. When you make a Wisdom (Survival) check to forage or hunt for food or water, roll 1d4 and add to the result of the check.

Antlers. Your antlers are a natural weapon that can be used to make melee weapon attacks. If you hit with your antlers, you deal 1d6 piercing damage.

Chill Speak. You can magically speak to creatures that have resistance or immunity to cold damage or have a natural attack that deals cold damage, even if they do not normally understand any language.

Cold Resistance. You are resistant to cold damage and you ignore the negative effects of extreme cold, including cold water.

Fey-kin. Suurhirvet are primal beings, deeply in tune with the nature of the frozen reaches. You are considered to be a fey as well as a humanoid.

Frigid Aura. Suurhirvet produce a supernatural aura of cold. Any area within 10 feet of you decreases to 10 degrees F (5.6 degrees C) colder than its natural temperature, returning to normal only after 10 minutes of being unaffected. You can suppress or resume this effect without an action, but suppressing it requires concentration. The decrease in temperature does not stack due to multiple suurhirvet nor due to returning to an already-affected area.

Hoarfrost. When making a weapon attack using either your own antlers or a weapon crafted from shed suurhirvi antlers, you can choose to deal cold damage instead of the usual damage type. When using this ability, the attack and its damage are considered magical for the purposes of overcoming resistance or immunity to non-magical attacks or damage. You cannot use this ability while suppressing your frigid aura.

Mighty. You are considered one size category larger for determining your carrying capacity.

Sure of Hoof. You ignore the effects of difficult terrain consisting of ice or snow.

Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common and Sylvan.

Random Height and Weight

Base Height Base Weight Height Modifier Weight Modifier 5’11″ 210 lbs +2d12 x(2d6)

New Feat

Hunter

You have great skill in hunting creatures of the wilds. You gain the following benefits: