The really, really easy version is to just use the standard fey from the books and have some be pretty and good and the others be cruelly beautiful (and / or ugly) and evil. You could totally 'Disney it up' and have the wicked Dryads inhabit nasty looking trees, all thorn-bedecked and black-barked and gnarl-limbed, while good Dryads inhabit pretty trees, and the 'evil' nymphs don't strike people blind with their beauty, so much as their horribly hag-like ugliness.
Or you could make them impossible to tell apart, save by some good use of Sense Motive or Knowledge - Nature to recognize that a Pixie with a tiny belt and bandolier of severed wasp heads is actually a *nice* Pixie (because they hunt 'mean bugs'), while the malicious Pixies have cloaks made from brightly-colored hummingbird feathers and fragrant flower petals (because they enjoy tearing up pretty things!)...
It's overly simplistic, since fey are capricious, and defy easy categorization, with even the 'good' fey having malicious and whimsical moods, but it's the mechanically easiest way to deal with it.
You could also have all fey be *both* seelie and unseelie, and change with the seasons, becoming bitter and cruel during the autumn and winter, and flighty and occasionally helpful during the spring and summer months, changing appearance to suit their seasonal moods.
Some sample winter-themed evil Fey I made for Pathfinder;
Rime Knights
The imposing figure before you spins like a dervish, blood-soaked armor silent on his person as his greatsword sweeps towards your head. His voice taunts, “Your swordsmanship lacks grace and style, but your verse, now that is truly vile.”
RIME KNIGHT (4th level Fighter) CR ???
XP ???
LE Medium fey (cold)
Init +7; Senses low-light vision; Perception +4
=====
Defense
=====
AC 23, touch 17, flat-footed 16 (+6 breastplate, +3 Dex, +4 battle acumen)
hp 26 (4d10+4)
Fort +5, Ref +4, Will +1 (+2 vs. fear)
Immune cold
Weaknesses vulnerability to fire
=====
Offense
=====
Speed 30 ft.
Melee mw greatsword +7 (2d6+3), composite longbow +7 (1d8+2)
Space 5 ft.; Reach 5 ft.
Special Attacks debilitating strikes
=====
Statistics
=====
Str 14, Dex 17, Con 12, Int 12, Wis 10, Cha 11
15 pt-buy (+2 Str, +2 Dex, -2 Wis, +1 Str at 4th)
1 + 7 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 1 = 15
Base Atk +4; CMB +6; CMD +20
Feats Improved Initiative, Weapon Focus (greatsword)
Skills 12 Climb 0 (+2), Craft (icesteel armaments) 4 (+8), Intimidate 4 (+9), Perception 2 (+4), Ride 2 (+8); Racial Modifiers +2 Perception, +2 Intimidate
Languages Sylvan and either Goblin or Elven
SQ battle acumen, icesteel armaments, blood ritual, specialized training
=====
Ecology
=====
Environment cold plains or hills
Organization solitary or company (3-5, plus an equal number of elves, hobgoblin or goblin ‘squires,’ mounts, and tracking animals)
Treasure standard
=====
Special Abilities
=====
Battle Acumen (Ex) Rime Knights not only gain the full BAB for their Fighter levels, but also gain a +1 dodge bonus to their Armor Class and a +1 bonus to damage rolls made with weapons (melee or ranged) or unarmed attacks for each level of Fighter they have attained. Furthermore, they can choose as a swift action on their turn to increase or decrease any of these numbers by removing an equal number of points from other areas for the turn. A Rime Knight can only add or remove points equal to his levels in the Fighter class at one time, but can add or subtract from multiple categories, if he desires, allowing a 5th level Rime Knight Fighter to add +5 to his damage rolls for one turn by subtracting 2 points from his attack rolls and 3 points from his Armor Class until the start of his next turn. This ability cannot be used in concert with the feats Combat Expertise or Power Attack, and is assumed to replace them both, although the bonuses can stack with the bonuses provided via the Fighting Defensively or Charge actions (or a Barbarian’s Rage). A Rime Knight is treated as having both the Combat Expertise and Power Attack feats for the purposes of fulfilling prerequisites. Levels in non-Fighter classes, even full BAB classes such as Barbarian or Ranger, do not advance this ability. Unlike the benefits of the Power Attack feat, the damage bonus is never adjusted for an off-hand weapon or a weapon wielded in two hands, it always remains equal to the Rime Knights Fighter levels, and modifications to it are similarly not adjusted by the manner in which the weapon is used.
Icesteel Armament (Su) Rime Knights craft and wear armor made of magically strengthened frozen blood, as hard as steel, yet having only half the weight (and being treated as armor one category lighter). The armor, which only comes in three types, breastplate, half-plate and full-plate, all adorned with armor spikes, is treated as masterwork, but only when worn by the Rime Knight who crafted it. Anyone else donning such armor not only does not benefit from the masterwork benefit, but suffers an additional +1 to their Armor Check Penalty for armor of that type, unless they have the Cold subtype or at least 5 pts of Cold Resistance. Any primary weapon(s) that is normally made in whole or partially of metal is similarly crafted, and also has the masterwork quality. A Rime Knight can use the Craft (icesteel) skill to repair damage inflicted upon his own weapons and armor.
Debilitating Strikes (Ex) Rime Knights learn an array of debilitating blows, and upon striking a foe, can choose to subtract their full Battle Acumen damage bonus from the blow to instead strike a bleeding wound, or a crippling wound. A bleeding wound inflicts bleed damage at the beginning of each round equal to a weapon four size classes smaller than the one used to inflict the wound (minimum 1), so that a bleeding wound from a greatsword will inflict 1d3 bleed damage each round, while one from a longsword will inflict only 1d2 damage, per the chart on p. 145. A crippling wound inflicts 1 point of temporary Dexterity damage, regardless of weapon size, as numbing cold seeps into the targets bones. This numbing effect does not affect any creature with the Cold subtype. These blows can only be performed with the icesteel weapon(s) that the Rime Knight has personally crafted, and with which he has either Weapon Focus or Weapon Training.
Blood Ritual (Su) Rime Knights feed off of blood and death, seeking out battles to prove their worth among their peers, and to sustain their ageless forms. Whenever a Rime Knight personally kills a foe, he can at any time in the next 10 minutes use a full-round action to anoint his face, hands and armor with the blood of the fallen foe, gaining healing equal to 2 hit points / HD of the fallen foe, and a +2 morale bonus to attack rolls, saving throws and skill checks for the next hour.
Specialized Training (Ex) Rime Knights unique skills come at a cost, and the training required to master Battle Acumen and Debilitating Strikes forbids a Rime Knight from gaining his 1st, 2nd or 4th level bonus Fighter feats. While Rime Knights below 4th level are rarely encountered, a Rime Knight with only two or three levels of Fighter would lack the training necessary to be able to use Debilitating Strikes.
Rime Knights live to prove themselves on the merciless field of single combat, garnering status with their peers, as well as both physical and psychic sustenance from the acting of shedding the blood of those they defeat. They travel in small groups, usually accompanied by an eclectic mix of servant creatures, which usually include some humanoids to serve as grooms for their steeds, and as personal servants, with elves and hobgoblins being preferred, but goblins being the necessary substitute for those who have not yet proven themselves. Such groups always include several and several tracking beasts as well, usually wolves, but, with the more powerful bands, winter wolves or even yeth hounds serve that role.
Clad in fantastically ornate armor of brownish-red ice, spattered in layers upon layers of blood drawn from foes felled in single combat, and decorated with dozens of delicate-looking spikes and barbs, the Rime Knight bears a similarly grim looking weapon, usually a large cutting weapon, such as a glaive or greatsword, but with a few Knights choosing a less common signature weapon, such as a spiked chain or scorpion whip. Beneath the imposing armor, a Rime Knight has slim, almost elfin features, sharp and angular, and often concealing surprising strength. The only time a Rime Knights face comes alive is in the heat of battle, and the normally dour and unfriendly fey becomes a taunting dervish, mocking his opponent, or even complimenting one whose combat technique has impressed him.
While some assume that the Knights received their common name from the rime of blood-ice that decorates their cold white skin, cakes their hair, and comprises their favored armaments, those who have faced them remark that they speak only in rhyme, considering wordplay as much an art form, as much a ‘dance,’ as they regard combat. When not sparring, or preparing for their next hunt, Rime Knights gather around ritual fires, and practice taunting each other, critiquing not the other’s fighting skills, but his verse. As the loser must place his hand within the flames for a long moment, a Rime Knight is strongly motivated to polish his insults, just as he hones his blade.
A Rime Knight will always attempt to engage a single foe in combat, with the higher status Rime Knight selecting the most capable looking warrior type to engage, and others backing off and allowing the combat to follow its course, interfering only to counter the interference of others. Initial rounds of combat will generally resemble a dance, with the Rime Knight often fighting defensively, and taking advantage of his battle acumen to make himself difficult to strike, while he attempts to soften up his opponent with crippling or bleeding strikes, before switching to a more aggressive posture. Only in the case of a ‘disappointing’ foe that appears well beneath his abilities will a Rime Knight begin combat with a brutally aggressive display, and this is seen as a show of contempt, that the Rime Knight wishes this meaningless butchery over as soon as possible, so that he can move on to more challenging foes. Rime Knights have been known to woefully underestimate foes in this manner, and a cunning foe may be able to trick a Rime Knight into holding back and fighting defensively, trying to figure out the source of this perplexing foes seemingly inappropriate confidence, while reinforcements arrive.
Hearth Maidens
The flurry of snow has been pursuing you like a living thing for what feels like hours, howling its mournful song. Hair and gown trailing in the wind, a woman of great beauty dances slowly towards you, her bare feet and exposed arms as white as the snow around her. The storm fades away to unimportance as she reaches for you with an imploring gesture.
HEARTH MAIDEN CR ???
XP ???
NE Medium fey (cold)
Init +3; Senses low-light vision; Perception +4
=====
Defense
=====
AC 16, touch 13, flat-footed 13 (+3 Dex, +3 natural armor)
hp 22 (4d6+8)
Fort +2, Ref +7, Will +4
DR 5 / cold iron
Immune cold
Weaknesses vulnerability to fire
=====
Offense
=====
Speed 30 ft., fly 30 ft. (average)
Melee melee touch +5 (1d6 nonlethal cold damage +1 dexterity damage)
Space 5 ft.; Reach 5 ft.
Special Attacks chilling caress, snowblind
=====
Statistics
=====
Str 11, Dex 16, Con 12, Int 10, Wis 10, Cha 16
[15 pts (+2 Cha, +1 Dex at 4 HD), 1 + 7 + 2 + 0 + 0 + 5 = 15]
Base Atk +2; CMB +2; CMD 15
Feats Toughness, Attack Finesse
Skills 24 Acrobatics 2 (+8), Bluff 0 (+3), Climb 0 (+0), Craft (any) 0 (-), Diplomacy 0 (+3), Disguise 0 (+3), Escape Artist 0 (+3), Fly 4 (+10), Knowledge (geography) 2 (+5), Knowledge (local) 2 (+5), Knowledge (nature) 4 (+7), Perception 2 (+7), Perform (dance) 4 (+10), Sense Motive 0 (+0), Sleight of Hand 0 (+3), Stealth 4 (+12), Swim 0 (+0), Use Magic Device 0 (-); Racial Modifiers +2 Perception, +2 Stealth
Languages Sylvan and either Skald or Hallit
SQ chilling caress, snowblind, form of the storm, arctic adaptation
=====
Ecology
=====
Environment cold plains or hills
Organization always solitary
Treasure incidental
=====
Special Abilities
=====
Chilling Caress (Su) Hearth Maidens drain heat and life from those they touch, inflicting 1d6 of nonlethal Cold damage, plus 1 points of Dexterity damage.
Snowblind (Su) With skin seemingly carved of impossibly perfect ice, and hair flowing behind like a drift of snow, a Hearth Maiden’s form is bewitching, causing humanoids who gaze upon her to make a Will save at DC 15 or become entranced and unable to take any action other than a 5 ft. step towards the maiden, so long as she does not attack them. Damaging environmental forces will not break this state of entrancement, and the fey typically stands by her entranced subjects for hours, allowing the cold to wear them down and make them easy prey to her chilling caress. This effect is treated as a 2nd level spell, and the saving throw is Charisma-based. A potential victim can avert their eyes, to avoid this effect, but treats the fey as having Total Concealment.
Form of the Storm (Su) Hearth Maidens travel through the air in the form of a flurry of snow, occupying a 20 ft. radius cylinder, 10 ft. high. In this form, she becomes effectively incorporeal for combat purposes (although she cannot pass through solid objects unless they have an opening that would allow wind and snow to pass within), and all who end the turn in her square are affected as if by a sleet storm spell. The fey cannot fly in her solid form, only as a flurry of snow.
Arctic Adaptation (Su) Acclimated to their arctic surroundings, Hearth Maidens do not suffer any movement penalties when moving across ice or snow, dancing lightly across the deepest drifts, and being able to walk over thin ice as if weightless. They suffer no visual penalties from any level of precipitation, even in the case of magical weather conjured by sleet storm, fog cloud or similar magic.
Hearth Maidens are to the blizzards of Irrisen as dryads are to the mighty trees of the River Kingdoms, a fey personification of nature, in this case, one that is merciless and demanding. The ‘Pale Ladies,’ as they are sometimes called, travel by night and seek out warmth and life to steal. Ever-hungering for stolen warmth, local legends insist that they are undead, the sad and lonely spirits of maidens cast forth from their homes, perhaps for infidelity, or perhaps wrongly accused, driven into the harsh winter and left to die of exposure, only to return to bring others into that same icy fate. The fey themselves neither know nor care of these assumptions, but do display a tendency to hover outside of dwellings and press against the walls, leaving behind frost outlines as they draw upon the warmth from the fires within, which has only reinforced the notion that they seek to return to the homes that ‘cast them out.’
The ideal prey is a man alone, perhaps one who lingered at the hunt too long, or who lost his way in a storm, an easy mark for the maiden to fascinate with her silent beauty. With imploring gestures that promise pleasures unguessed, she will spin and pirouette lightly across the snow, always just out of arm’s reach, perhaps even leading a foolish man further away from salvation. As the bitter cold saps the strength from his limbs, over long hours, she will finally move in as he starts to falter, using her life-draining touch to bring him to unconsciousness, and then finally draining the last heat from his body, leaving behind a corpse, often found with a macabre expression of bliss on his frozen features. Those rescued from such a fate claim that the bitter chill of the storm is lessened somehow, so that those entranced by these fey do not feel their life slipping away.
An impatient maiden, or one who senses that others may come to try and take her ‘lover’ away, may approach her fascinated subject and begin gently removing articles of protective clothing from his body, to hasten his demise, or, in an extreme situation, directly attack the man, hoping to drain his warmth and life before his allies can come to his rescue.
Most Hearth Maidens leave the bodies where they lay, only occasionally taking trinkets to remind them of their conquests, and storing them in ‘nests’ high in the hills, in icy caves or within a great tree, where others cannot easily reach, and sometimes in places that can only be reached by those able to fly, or become effectively incorporeal, or both. Often these nests, and their collections, are abandoned and forgotten as the Hearth Maiden moves on, ever seeking new warmth. Rarer specimens have a designated territory, and drag their victims back to their lairs, keeping them as trophies, or even forming grotesque ‘statue gardens’ of frozen bodies.
The ‘winter dryads’ are driven entirely by a sense of longing for both warmth and companionship, that is never sated, and while they almost never speak, and seem almost child-like when they do, ranging from petulant to utterly oblivious that their ‘feeding’ is harmful or wrong in any way, they seem as intelligent as a man, if incapable of restraining their hungers, or of recognizing any value in the lives of others, save for the heat locked within their bodies.
Ice Sprites
Glowing figures flit through the winter air, spinning like snowflakes and accompanied by a tinkling atonal song as tiny pale-blue sprites flutter towards you on wings that resemble jagged crystals of ice. Their song becomes threatening, as you see them begin darting amongst your party, slashing at exposed flesh with their blade-sharp wings.
ICE SPRITE SWARM CR ???
XP ???
CE Diminutive fey (cold, swarm)
Init +4; Senses low-light vision; Perception +8
=====
Defense
=====
AC 18, touch 18, flat-footed 14 (+4 Dex, +4 size)
hp 10 (3d6)
Fort +1, Ref +9, Will +3
DR 5 / cold iron
Immune cold
Weaknesses vulnerability to fire
=====
Offense
=====
Speed 5 ft., fly 30 ft. (good)
Melee swarm (1d6)
Space 10 ft.; Reach 0 ft.
Special Attacks distraction (DC 11), wounding
Spell-Like Abilities (CL 1st)
At will - dancing lights, ghost sound (Will DC 12)
1/day - silent image (Will DC 13), ray of frost
=====
Statistics
=====
Str 2, Dex 19, Con 11, Int 6, Wis 10, Cha 15
[standard array (racial -8 Str, +8 Dex, -4 Int, +4 Cha), 0 + 1 + 1 + 0 + 0 + 1]
Base Atk +0; CMB -; CMD -
Feats Acrobatic, Lightning Reflexes
Skills 12 Acrobatics 1 (+10), Bluff 0 (+3), Climb 0 (+0), Craft (any) 0 (-), Diplomacy 0 (+3), Disguise 0 (+3), Escape Artist 0 (+3), Fly 3 (+14), Knowledge (geography) 0 (-), Knowledge (local) 0 (-), Knowledge (nature) 0 (-), Perception 3 (+8), Perform (any) 0 (-), Sense Motive 0 (+0), Sleight of Hand 0 (+3), Stealth 2 (+1 as a swarm, +21 individually), Swim 0 (+0), Use Magic Device 0 (-); Racial Modifiers +2 Fly, +2 Perception
Languages Sylvan
SQ spell-like abilities, fatal fascination
=====
Ecology
=====
Environment cold plains or hills
Organization always swarm
Treasure incidental
=====
Special Abilities
=====
Wounding (Ex) Any living creature damaged by an ice sprite swarm continues to bleed, losing 1 hit point per round thereafter. Multiple wounds do not result in cumulative bleeding loss. The bleeding can be stopped by a DC 10 Heal check, or by the application of a cure spell or some other healing magic.
Fatal Fascination (Ex) Ice sprites are enthralled by the sight of open flame, and can be distracted from their cruel games by the sight of a flame of at least torch size. The swarm must make a Will save (DC 15) to keep their attention focused on their prey, instead breaking off to dance around the new source of fire.
Ice sprites are a plague upon the land, travelling in tinkling swarms, singing their strange songs (which, when translated from sylvan, recount their enthusiasm for cutting into warm flesh and watching strong men die) and descending upon any lone travelers they find, slicing them with razor-sharp wings that resemble snowflakes, all jagged edges of seemingly delicate ice and drawing some form of sustenance from the heat and blood escaping the bodies of those they slay in this manner.
Enthralled by the sight of open flame, ice sprites taunt one another (and occasionally push one another) towards the flame as they dance around it, and when one gets too close, their icy wings melt away, causing them to drop to the ground (or, occasionally, directly into the fire, to the great amusement of their cruel comrades), where they are taunted mercilessly and mocked for their ill fortune, to be later abandoned by the swarm as it moves on.
Ice sprites have no gear or items, not even wearing tiny clothing on their smooth and seemingly sexless bodies, with skin and hair in shades of white and pale blue, dancing free of such things (and lacking the craft to make anything in any event). Their wings are always beautiful things, but cannot survive the touch of flame, and, while as hard and sharp as steel when the fey is alive, become brittle and delicate soon after the creature’s death, making them difficult to preserve, as even the warm touch of a man’s hand is enough to break the delicate structures, or partially melt them. Residents of the northlands who have an interest in such artwork capture the fey alive in nets, and then impale them on cold iron nails adorning the walls of their display rooms, rooms which are kept sealed against damaging gusts of wind, and which never know the presence of warmth, being kept cold and lit only by shuttered lanterns for brief times, or by heatless magical light sources, to preserve the grisly display.
Frost Grumps
The hunched figure resembles a twisted gnome, with oversized arms, bandy legs, squinting eyes of mismatched size and a prodigious hunch on its back. Despite its labored movement, it moves quickly over the top of the snow, and points a long icicle at you as it mutters a sing-song rhyme in a guttural voice as its bulging left eye flares with arcane power.
FROST GRUMP CR ???
XP ???
N Small fey
Init +2; Senses low-light vision; Perception +6
=====
Defense
=====
AC 15, touch 13, flat-footed 13 (+2 Dex, +1 size, +1 natural armor, +2 furs and hide equivalent to leather armor)
hp 19 (3d6+9)
Fort +3, Ref +5, Will +3
DR 5 / cold iron; Resist Cold 5
=====
Offense
=====
Speed 20 ft.
Melee +1 icicle spear (1d4 + 1d6 cold damage)
Ranged +3 thrown icicle spear (1d4 + 1d6 cold damage, 20 ft. range increment)
Space 5 ft.; Reach 5 ft.
Special Attacks spell-like abilities, icicle spear
Spell-Like Abilities (CL 3rd)
At will – dancing lights, ghost sound (Will DC 13), prestidigitation, speak with animals (arctic only)
3/day – entangle (ice and snow only, Ref DC 14), grease (Ref DC 14), obscuring mist
1/day – glitterdust, sleet storm, spike growth (icy terrain only)
=====
Statistics
=====
Str 11, Dex 14, Con 14, Int 10, Wis 10, Cha 16
[(racial -2 Str, +2 Con, +2 Cha), 3 + 5 + 2 + 0 + 0 + 5 = 15]
Base Atk +1; CMB +0; CMD 13
Feats Endurance, Toughness
Skills 18 Acrobatics 0 (+2), Bluff 0 (+3), Climb 0 (+0), Craft (any) 0 (-), Diplomacy 0 (+3), Disguise 0 (+3), Escape Artist 0 (+2), Fly 0 (+2), Knowledge (geography) 3 (+6), Knowledge (local) 3 (+6), Knowledge (nature) 3 (+6), Perception 3 (+6), Perform (any) 0 (-), Sense Motive 0 (+0), Sleight of Hand 0 (+3), Stealth 3 (+12), Survival 3 (+5), Swim 0 (+0), Use Magic Device 0 (-); Racial Modifiers +2 Survival
Languages Sylvan
SQ spell-like abilities, internal furnace, chilling curse
=====
Ecology
=====
Environment cold plains or hills
Organization always alone
Treasure standard
=====
Special Abilities
=====
Icicle Spear (Su) Frost Grumps carry large icicles that are as strong as steel within their grasp, and which they use as walking sticks while travelling, and as spears when threatened. These spears inflict 1d4 piercing damage +1d6 cold damage, and the cold damage is returned to the Grump as healing, as heat is stolen from the target and transferred to the fey. If this icicle is thrown, sundered or stolen, it melts away at the end of the round, and the fey can create a new one as a move-equivalent action.
Internal Furnace (Su) Frost Grumps are always hot to the touch, and their breath plumes behind them as they trundle through the snow. A Frost Grump has Cold Resistance 5, and has a +5 racial bonus to Fortitude checks or saves vs. the effects of environmental cold. Furthermore, by huddling up against another, they can share this bonus, lending the warmth of their bodies to another, being able to provide protective warmth to one creature of size medium, two of size small, etc. or being able to provide the warmth equivalent to a small campfire to those within an enclosed area.
Chilling Curse (Su) Frost Grumps charge a hefty price for their services as personal campfire when they find a traveler lost in the storm, and those who agree to their terms must pay them a service in exchange for salvation from the bitter chill. These terms are entirely up to the Grump in question, but must follow the restrictions as if the Grump had cast Lesser Geas. Instead of attribute penalties, someone who breaks their agreement with the Grump suffers the effects of cold weather (below 40 degrees F), no matter the actual temperature around them (although, if the surrounding weather is colder, they will suffer the worst result). After 24 hours of breaking their agreement, the effect increases to that of severe cold (below 0 degrees F), and, if they continue to defy the terms of the agreement, the effects become those of extreme cold (below -20 degrees F) after another 24 hours. Those who die as a result of the Chilling Curse are found frozen solid, and the Grump receives a rush of pleasing warmth, as the last of their body heat is trapped within his body, to fuel his internal furnace. Remove Curse (against DC 16), Break Enchantment (against CL 6, the Grumps normal casting level is doubled for the purposes of this curse), the will of the Grump who placed the Curse, or his death, can all end the Chilling Curse. This curse can only be placed upon someone who agrees to the conditions, and therefore waives the initial saving throw (and any spell resistance).
Clad in furs and hide, decorated with countless trinkets of carved bone, antler and wood, the Frost Grumps appear as deformed and twisted gnomes, with short legs and broad shoulders, usually adorned with a noticeable hunch, causing them to walk bent over. Their skin is lumpy, their hair straggly and intertwined with feathers, beads and other knick-knacks, and one of their milk-white eyes is always noticeably larger than the other.
In the northlands, there are two common rumors regarding the Frost Grumps. The first is that they are born Ice Sprites, and are formed when one of that fickle race flies too close to a flame and loses its wings. Taunted and abandoned by its cruel peers, it burrows into the snow, wracked with fear, pain and hatred for its own people, until, months later, bloated, twisted and deformed from its diet of spite and shame, it crawls forth as a Frost Grump. The second tale is that the Frost Grumps were once Gnomes, captured by the Ice Queen herself, and tormented for her amusement, twisted by foul fey magics until they become capering servants for her amusement. If there is any truth to either tale, the Frost Grumps certainly aren’t telling, and they wander the arctic wastes, seeking out living beings lost in the snow, to bargain their services.
Those who have been rescued by these unpleasant little curmudgeons are sometimes given nonsensical tasks, told to uproot themselves from their homes and travel to distant towns, to take up entirely different lives. Some go on to be forced from obscurity into lives of adventure. Others find themselves being used in strange schemes, to steal and acquire items that the Frost Grump seeks for his own obscure purposes (likely to court or compete with another of his kind). And some are simply used, with the Grump tasking them to raise animals for his own use, or fashion clothing for him, or prepare meals and set them out for his enjoyment. Some Grumps wander from community to community, with a few souls in each town owing them such favors, so that they never want for a warm meal and a safe shelter when they scurry into town.
Frost Grumps tend to regard those in their thrall as resources, and have been known to come to their assistance, in dire times, so as to not lose the services of this debtor, although one could hardly consider them generous by nature. Less pleasant local legends suggest that male Frost Grumps have worked out alternate arrangements with comely females of other races, but this is pure fantasy, as the Frost Grumps find any features not as stunted and misshapen as their own to be hideous and unsettling.
Frost Grumps, due to their networks of ‘thralls,’ often know a surprising amount about local communities, and, due to their wandering ways, are equally knowledgeable about the local wildlife and territories, making them excellent guides, if their prices can be agreed to, and their antisocial demeanors tolerated. Some rare Grumps have taken to domesticating wild animals, hunting, or even working hides and bone into tools, although few, if any, go so far as to engage in productive work, considering such activities to be ‘hobbies.’
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