Auril | Notion

Auril the Frostmaiden is a neutral evil lesser god of cold indifference who embodies winter’s cruelty. Auril’s beloved ice grasps all things in her clutches, preserving them against the ravages of time. She hoards beauty in all forms, from art objects and flowers to skilled artisans and their wondrous works, freezing them in magical ice for her pleasure alone.

Auril was aligned with the gods Talos, Umberlee, and Malar. Together they wrought terrible destruction, inspiring fear that compelled tribute to hold their power at bay. Umberlee, queen of the wrathful sea, grew to despise the enduring nature of the ice and snow Auril created. Umberlee seethed when Auril’s frigid cold transformed her chaotic, unpredictable tides into rigid, motionless sheets of ice. Umberlee brought Talos and Malar into an alliance against Auril, who retreated to the coldest corner of Toril to escape their fury.

After a world-shaking event known as the Sundering, most of the gods withdrew from Toril, leaving mortals to govern their own fates without the gods’ meddling, but the Frostmaiden could not stay away for long. Auril returned to her icy realm in the far north and, after a time, plunged it into frigid darkness using her magic.

Casting such great magic night after night while also granting spells to her devoted followers leaves Auril weak and vulnerable. In her self-inflicted weakened state, Auril is inclined to be cautious and avoid contact with other creatures that can harm her.

Auril’s worshipers know better than to disturb her self-imposed isolation. Terrible blizzards have cut off Icewind Dale from the rest of the world, and a shroud of mist conceals her island in the Sea of Moving Ice.

Roleplaying Auril

Portraying a deity, even a lesser god such as Auril the Frostmaiden, can be daunting. For roleplaying purposes, the following suggestions might prove helpful:

So long as she has mortal worshipers, Auril can’t truly die (although the characters can rid the world of her for a time). Thus, she has no reason to capitulate to mortals’ demands. As the embodiment of winter’s cruelty, she is incapable of showing mercy or compassion. Play her as a supremely cold and unfeeling entity.
Have Auril speak only when necessary. The less she talks, the less risk you have of unintentionally demystifying her in the eyes of your players. Let her actions, not her words, define her.
Lesser gods in the D&D multiverse are extremely powerful and arrogant, but also fallible and blind to their own flaws. It’s appropriate for Auril to act as though she’s invincible while underestimating her mortal enemies, even in her current weakened state.

Auril’s Three Forms

In her current weakened state, Auril can assume three different forms. To destroy her, heroes must reduce each of her forms to 0 hit points one after another. After she’s defeated in her third and final form, Auril dies. As long as she has mortal followers who worship her, however, Auril is reborn at full strength during the next winter solstice, with divine power far beyond what is reflected in the stat blocks presented here.

After finishing a long rest, Auril regains any of her forms that were destroyed, provided at least one form survives. When she transitions from one form to another, she loses all the traits and actions of the old form and gains those of the new form.

A stat block is given for each of Auril’s three forms. These descriptions do not reflect Auril at full power, but rather Auril as she is encountered in this adventure.