The Yavmir Bestiary is an ongoing project, where Michael and Radiostorm brainstorm ideas for a slavic-themed fantasy setting. More information can be found at the WoR Wiki.
Yavmir is no stranger to war, and many a great battle has been waged during The Mortal Age. Although countless lives were ended by sword and arrow during the War of Rising Blades and the civil unrest that preceded it, a greater killer lurked behind the lines of every army: the frigid cold of the land itself.
Those soldiers who were unlucky enough to succumb to hypothermia, frostbite, starvation, or worse were often left to rot on the battlefields – bereft of even an impromptu funeral. Many of these warrior’s spirits simply refused to cross over to the other side; harbouring a deep and bitter resentment for their negligent allies. Possessing and manipulating the very snow they lay shrouded in, these malicious spirits created humanoid forms and become the much-feared Hoarghasts.
Composed entirely of snow and ice, Hoarghasts eagerly attack travelers who possess warmth and food – the two things they craved in life. Being able to draw mass from the snow around them, they can vary greatly in size from relatively small (2 feet) to enormous (10 feet). Hoarghasts favour brutally direct attack methods, enveloping unsuspecting foes in their frozen mass or simply tearing them apart with their icy appendages.
When stealth and speed is required, Hoarghasts abandon their humanoid forms and travel as swirling, snowy masses across the frozen tundra. It takes a keen eye to pick out a formless Hoarghast from the surrounding environment, allowing them to conceal themselves almost at will.
Although fearsome foes, Hoarghasts do have certain exploitable weaknesses. They are wholly dependent on the frost that sustains their undeath, and can only travel through areas blanketed with snow. Hoarghasts will recoil in terror from large fire sources, and carry an overwhelming fear for wizards who have mastered the art of the flame.
