Gelun
“Cursed Cold One” © Bianca Martinez de Rituerto, accessed at Dungeons and Drawings here
[The cursed cold one [they call themselves gelun] is one of the most striking monsters in Sandstorm, and I felt it would be remiss to skip it. I did want to tweak the mechanics, though, since as written, it would freeze over from cold environments only and could be thawed by ambient temperatures only. I wanted to let it do something like in the above picture, where simply touching one with a torch could thaw it, at least for a little while. I also am calling them by their given name, because it feels a little rude not to.
Also, it’s worth pointing out that Sandstorm gives them a level adjustment, meaning that it expects one to be playable. My high school friend @canwefixitnoitsfucked wanted to play one, as part of their endless attempts to prod at the limits of the D&D 3.5 rules set. This is the same player who once played three keepers, and who wanted to make an entire party of characters that were just various types of floating orbs. So.]
Gelun CR 3 N Aberration This humanoid figure is translucent and leathery, its bones visible as shadows beneath its skin. Its eyes are a frozen blue, and its chin is striated with deep grooves. The air around it is noticeably cold.
The geluns may have been humans once. An ancient curse, so long ago that the geluns have forgotten its weaver or cause, makes their blood literally run cold. A gelun freezes solid in any weather other than severe heat, and so they have migrated to the hottest places in the world, such as deserts or volcanic springs. The curse also gives them the ability to survive on heat alone, and so geluns do not have to hunt or farm for nourishment. They do have to keep their temperatures up, especially on cold desert nights, and so stockpile fuel and keep bonfires burning through the night in order to remain active.
In combat, a gelun’s gaze bestows some of the chill sensation that they feel all of the time—other creatures can be literally stopped in their tracks by this mind-bending cold. Their touch deals cold damage, as they literally sap the heat from the bodies of their enemies. Fire heals them and cold can incapacitate them rapidly, so most geluns keep some sort of flammable substance handy in order to thaw themselves in an emergency.
Although geluns are not inherently evil, they are often bitter and distrusting. They are literally helpless when frozen, and some who cannot maintain their temperature employ desert beasts to act as guards. They may raid oases and caravans in search of wood or dung to burn if they cannot obtain it through scavenging or trade. The luckiest of them have found their way into the Plane of Fire, where they can persist indefinitely. Geluns on the Plane of Fire are feared for their chilling gaze and cold touch, and find positions of respect and security that they cannot in a too-cold world.
Many other races refer to geluns as “Cursed Cold Ones”, but to do so is seen as an insult by these people. They are theoretically immortal if kept warm, but those that are kept away from heat sources and freeze over can starve to death.
