Thank you, the kind words mean a lot especially coming from someone with such an impressive stable of monsters under his belt (awkwardly-mixed figures of speech, anyone?). I've editted the creature to answer the question regarding language. Also height and weight, since that's another basic item that I realized I had forgotten to include. I was considering making the constant refreezing give a chance that any weapon striking the ice would get caught, but I think I need a little more time to figure out the game mechanics for that.

The idea for the Herald of the End originated from a bit of flavor text from one of the 2nd Edition Planescape sourcebooks, which mentioned strange shapes frozen deep inside the ice of Cania. I've always been a huge fan of those sorts of 'throwaway mentions' in flavor text that are never expanded upon. I feel they add an air of mystery to a universe in which the unbelievable is already commonplace. When Vorpal Tribble announced the 'Fimbulwinter' contest, with the themes of cold and evil, that insignificant bit of 2nd edition text immediately popped into my mind and I just ran with it.

It's largely for that same reason that I doubt I'll ever elaborate on the origin race of the Heralds of the End - I want to leave a bit of mystery behind them. What were they? What sort of society did they have? What was Baator like before the Fall? Barring some sort of absurdly epic time-travelling effort to bring PCs back to the origins of the multiverse, no one will ever know. I think some things are much more effective when they're left to the imagination.

Quote Originally Posted by Poppatomus View Post
That is spectacular. Unreserved mitp vote: yes

EDIT: to be a bit more specific, I especially love the fact that it comes across as truly epic as it is not just a monster but an entire envrionment, a moving part of the eighth layer. The description is also particularly evocative.


Questions: Where did you get the idea for this guy? Does it speak? Are their any mechanical effects, aside from the noise, of the constant refreezing? and have you given any thought to stating out the original creatures from which these derive?