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The Plane of Niflheim - Realm of Winter

by Håvard

Related threads: Svartalfheim, Swergheim, Jotunheim, Vanaheim, Asgard, Muspelheim, Niflheim, Helheim, Alfheim, Midgard, Bifrost, Yggrdrasil
The Planes of Mystara: Plane of Fire, Plane of Air, Plane of Earth, Plane of Water, The Inner Planes, The Outer Planes, The Plane of Fairie, Limbo

Continuing the series exploring the Outer Planes outlined in Gaz7 The Northern Reaches, the time has now come to take a look at Niflheim as it exists within the cosmology of BECMI and Mystara.

NIFLHEIM
This is the ancestral home plane of Mystara's Frost Giants. Known as The Realm of Winter, it is a land of snow, ice and frozen mists. Three groups of humans from Mystara have visited Niflheim across the milennia: The Skandaharians of Blackmoor, the Antalians and the Men of the Northern Reaches.

Planar Statistics

Vision: Due to constant storms and freezing fog, vision is always obscured. Creatures native to this plane are immune to these effects.
Freezing Cold: Even creatures dressed in the warmest of clothes will begin to slowly freeze to death after one hour spent on this place unless protected by magical means.
Fire Magic: Fire based spells such as fireball do half damage when cast on this plane.

History
Go here for the Niflheim Timeline.

Geographical Features
This plane is the size and shape of a single planet. This plane is covered in snow and ice. Violent blizzard raze across the landscape of snow covered hills and mountains. Dark, powerful coniferous trees have somehow managed to survive. Frozen rivers tear across the land. Occasionally, sinister ice breaking ships are seen sailing along these rivers. Heavy mists arise from these rivers and frozen lakes and obscure most of the landscape. Huge white furred serpent like creatures known as White Fangs (AC9) break out of the ice whenever least expected.

ÉLIVÁGAR
This is one of the mightiest of the rivers of Niflheim. Sea Dragons and Sea Serpents are often encountered here and the river is frequently traversed by Frost Giant Longships.

THE WELL OF HVERGELMIR
In an enormous underground chamber, we find the Well of Hvergelmir. This mightly well is known as the source of all rivers. It is surrounded by ornate stone carvings and runes. The well is a gate to the Elemental Plane of Water. A water elemental ruler always guards the well.

 
THE GATES TO HELHEIM
Niflheim conceals the gates to the plane of Helheim, homeplane of the Immortal Hel. Anyone mad enough to attempt to travel to this dark realm of the dead need to cross the cold wastes of Niflheim first. Draugr (See below) and other evils sometimes escape the gates and enter Niflheim.

YMIR'S GORGE
This mighty gorge is said to be where the Ur-Giant Ymir once crawled into when he grew out of the sea. Who knows what treasures might still be found there?

PLAINS OF FIMBUL
The Volven Seers have predicted that the Fimbul Winter, the Eternal Winter, will one day spread and cover all of the Multiverse. For now however, it is confined to these plains in Niflheim.

SEA OF SERPENTS
Towards the edge of Niflheim, the ice begins to melt and the land stretches into a vast and unruly sea. Mighty sea monsters (Sea Serpents, Krakens, Giant Octopi, Giant Squids, Sharks) can be found here. Farther out, mighty storms rage continually. Within these storms, gates to other planes spontaneously open and close. Skilled Frost Giant navigators have been known to use these gates to sucessfully travel between Niflheim and other planes of existence in their massive ice longships to trade and plunder on othe worlds before returning home.

THE ICE SHIPYARDS
These great construction sites are found along the coast of the sea of serpents. Here, Frost Giants, Water Elementals and other creatures work to create the most magnificent ships made out of ice.

FROST MAGES ACADEMY
Wizards from across the multiverse have travelled to Niflheim to learn about Winter Magic. The academy is based around a gigantic ice castle and most Frost Giants stay away from the site. The academy is overseen by a Jotunn (Great Giant) Wizard named Helblindi. Some have speculated that this Giant is actually Odin in disguise. Others say he is the son of Queen Laufey or a prince of the Winter Court of the Fey. A powerful Alphatian Wizard named Meredoth was once often seen on the academy's grounds. However, since his disappearance from the Multiverse, his laboratory has remained locked (See Ravenloft's Ship of Horrors for details of Meredoth's fate.). One of Meredoth's students, a Wizard named Barrik was the last to have entered the laboratory. Noone knows how he managed to get in or what he took from the laboratory before returning to his tower in Thunder Rift on the Prime Plane (See Quest for the Silver Sword). One of the most poweful Wizards currently at the Academy is Oberack, a native of Ostland (CoM).

 

 
Kingdoms and Nations

QUEEN LAUFEY'S REALM
Protecting the Helheim Gates are the lands known as Queen Laufey's Realm. This Frost Giantess is supposedly the mother of Loki. She rules from a a mighty icy fortress at the center of this Jarldom. Queen Laufey is a follower of Hel.

HYMIRHEIM
At the center of this coastal region lies the home of the Immortal Hymir and where he constructed his mighty Cauldron. The surrounding lands are controlled by Hymir's clan of Frost Giants. This clan are known to be excellent brewers and fishermen. Hymirheim covers much of the coastlands bordering in the sea of serpents (see above) and have been known to fish for even the largest of the sea monsters found here.

TEMPLE OF STODOS
Followers of Stodos have constructed a mighty temple here.

LANDS OF IVALDI
The lands surrounding the Well of Hverglemir were once controlled by the powerful Giant Ivaldi. Upon his death the realm was divided between his three sons Þjazi, Gangr and Iði. Since Þjazi's death, Gangr and Iði rule over these lands and their clansmen. Another notable location here is Skadi's tower, which is the home o Þjazi's daughter, known for her skills of skiing.

Gates to Elsewhere
Gates lead to:

Denizens
GIANTS AND GIANT-KIN
Frost Giants are the dominant race here, but other types of Giants can also be encountered on this plane, including Great Giants (Jotuns), Mountain Giants and Hill Giants. Sea Giants are also found here as are Ice Trolls.

ELEMENTALS
Water Elementals and other natives from the Plane of Water can often be found here. Some Air Elementals are also known to exist.

DWARVES
Dwarves from Swergheim can be found on this plane.

RAKASTA
Snow-Pardasta have formed a small colony on this plane.

DRAGONS
White and Crystal Dragons make their home here. In the rivers and lakes you can also find Sea Dragons.

ICEMEN (NIFLINGS)
Niflings are native to this plane and have their own communities scattered across the realm. Stats here.

 
See also: Giants of Mystara, Trolls of Mystara.

Monsters
MONSTERS
Rules Cyclopedia: Dragon (White, Crystal, Sea), Frost Salamander, Roc, Planar Spider, Spectral Hound,Hag, Actaeon, Drake (Cold), Wereseal, Wereshark
Creature Catalog:Ice Wolf, Cryion, Kraken, Bodendruken (Wooly), Sea Serpent, Water Weird, White Fang, Crone of Chaos, Yowler,
Quest for the Silver Sword: Spider: White Widow, Ice Golem
MMCA: Ice Crab
HW Boxed Set: Frost-Zombie

ANIMALS
Polar Bear, Wolf, Fox (arctic), Animal Herd (Caribou/Reindeer), Giant Reindeer, Wooly Mamoth, Wooly Rhino, Giant Elk, Giant Fish, Gargantua (Fish), Giant Hawk, Giant Magpie, Giant Raven, Giant Crow, Megatherium, Giant Octupus, Giant Oyster, Snow Ape, Giant Owl,

NEW MONSTERS:

More thoughts on this later.