Ice Folk

The nomadic tribes of Icereach are a synthesis of two
distinct pre-Cataclysm cultures—the nomadic Arktos
tribes and the somewhat more civilized Highlanders. For
hundreds of years before the Cataclysm, the two cultures
thrived in harmony with the more enlightened ogres
of Winterheim in Icereach, which was separated from
continental Ansalon by the sea. After the Cataclysm, the
Icewall Glacier surged northward over the course of only
a decade, altering the region forever. Those humans who
survived the upheaval formed a single, unified tribe, which
became the Ice Folk. A few formed permanent settlements
on the edge of the Plains of Dust, such as Zeriak, but most
lived as the Arktos always had—wandering from camp to
camp, following the wild elk herds, and battling the vicious
thanoi tribes who had become their immediate neighbors.
Ice Folk have a strong mystical tradition. Their fabled
frostreavers, battleaxes carved from magically hardened ice,
have allowed them to stave off the monstrous threats that
have sought to overwhelm them, from the Dragonarmies,
the thanoi, the Dark Knights (who largely avoided
Icereach) to the ongoing dominance of the region by the
twin dragons Ice and Freeze. The Winternorns, arcane
oracles with a mastery of the magic of Icereach (see Towers
of High Sorcery), guide and advise the Ice Folk alongside
representatives of the Holy Orders of Habbakuk, Zivilyn,
and Chislev. Paladine’s followers, such as Raggart the
Elder during the War of the Lance, continue to foster the
Platinum Dragon’s ideals as mystics.
Physically, Ice Folk are a tall, hale, blond or red-haired
people. The men are usually bearded, and the women
wear their long hair in braids. Furs and skins feature
prominently in their dress, and while the frostreavers are
rare and held only by the greatest of warriors, most Ice
Folk own a well-crafted axe of steel.