The Beastclaw Raiders, nomadic tribes of fierce ogors
The Beastclaw Raiders are nomadic tribes of monstrous ogors who are the harbingers of dark months and dead seasons. When the sun hides its face in fear and the winter winds sweep down from the sky, mortals pray to their gods for salvation --for these are the times of frost and snow, when the ravenous horde stalks the freezing darkness.
Ever hungry, the Beastclaw Raiders pillage the land atop lumbering behemoths, crushing and devouring everything their path. Slate-grey snowfall and howling gale accompany them, and nothing remains in their wake but a wasteland of cracked ice and frozen bones. They do not fight for land, empire, or the glory of the gods, but care only about their next meal.
Beastclaw Ogors are looming mountains of hunger and ill-temper standing twice as tall as a man and covered in thick slabs of muscle; even the least of them is more than a match for half a dozen Freeguild swordsmen, Greenskinz orruks or Bloodbound warriors and such is their strength that, with a single meaty hand, an ogor can crush an orruk’s skull or throttle the life from a Dracoth. Immensely resilient, they have little need for armor. Their corpulent bulk is more than enough protection.
The wandering armies of the Beastclaw Raiders are known as Alfrostuns and are led by the oldest and most powerful member of the tribe, the Frostlord. Cunning hunter chieftains, Frostlords stalk their prey across the Mortal Realms with hulking Mournfangs, mammoth Stonehorns, and frost-wreathed Thundertusks under their command. In the wake of such monsters other creatures appear, drawn to the Alfrostun by supernatural cold and the promise of prey -- snarling Frost Sabres and the savage Icefall Yhetees.
But for all the size and strength of the Ogors and their beasts they must always stay on the move, for at their backs blow the winds of winter, sorcerous blizzards that ravage all those who do not escape in time. Known to the Ogors as the Everwinter, they go by many other names across the Realms: the Wyrdwind Storms, the Breath of Gorkamorka, and the Frostfreyr March to name but a few. The Alfrostuns hunt at the edge of the storm, taking advantage of its first gusts but never lingering long enough to be caught up in its full brutality. [1a]
History[]
An endless hunt[]
Perpetual winter and gnawing hunger drive the Beastclaw Raiders ever onwards to find fresh hunting grounds.The ogors ravage the regions they cross, and leave only ruin in their wake, taking as much food as they can before the Everwinter buries the land in ice. It is the destiny of the Alfrostuns forever to seek new prey, while it is the fate of their victims to be mercilessly devoured. It was not always so, and though only legends remain of their past, the raiders still tell tales of the first Alfrostun and the Beastclaw raid from which it was born. In those ancient days the ogors were the skilled hunters and trackers of Gorkamorka’s armies. There are many stories of the Beastclaws riding into battle before the assembled hosts of Gorkamorka. At the Riftwyrd Crossing they were the first warriors to storm the rampart bridges. Mournfang riders broke through the duardin siege engines, while Stonehorns and Thundertusks shattered the great Stormiron gateways and opened the path to the Silver Vales beyond. In the midst of the Spiritstorm Downpour, a pack of Beastclaw hunters pulled down the necrofugue sails of the Deathsong Queen. The ogors’ brutal assault shattered the queen’s spirit-webs and robbed her Nighthaunt armies of their ghostly energy. For an age, legends say, they were favoured warriors of Gorkamorka and their rewards were foes to fight and mounds of meat – but it was not to last. [1c]
Some say it was Baergut Vosjarl, the first Frostlord, who betrayed Gorkamorka and was punished with the first Everwinter. Others claim it was Sigmar who cursed the Beastclaw tribe for their excessive gluttony – that the God-King created a winter storm to deny the ogors prey, though they learned to stay ahead of its killing cold. There are also legends of how the ogors opened the Icefell Vaults of Shyish, unleashing the dreaded Winter Gods from the prison Nagash had crafted for them. The tales claim that these fell creatures follow the ogors still, granting their saviours the gift of endless cold, the greatest prize they can bestow. The stories behind the creation of the first Alfrostun are many, and each raid recalls a different reason why their ancestors struck out on their own. However, they all accept that by the will of the gods the Everwinter haunts them, and they are forever destined to wander the realms. [1c]
There is no mistaking the arrival of the Alfrostuns. As the first icy gales created by the Everwinter gust over aland, they herald a twilight time for its people. Temperatures drop away and trees begin to die. Rivers cease to flow and snow clouds consumethe sun. This is the cursed hunting ground the Beastclaw Raiders bring with them. Out of these unnatural snows and screaming winds ride ogor warriors that kill without restraint, until their mounts are heavy with plundered meat. Nothing is left of the peoples upon whom they prey, not even scraps for carrion creatures. Even where the rampant destruction of war has reduced almost all civilisation to rubble, the icy desolation left by the Alfrostuns is unmistakable. Kingdoms taken by cruel tyrants, greedy overlords and the influence of the Dark Gods retain some form of twisted life in the aftermath of slaughter. Not so the places destroyed by the Beastclaw Raiders. They become wastelands utterly anathema to life, frost-covered graveyards of crumbling ruins and rime-encased corpses – all buried under a heavy blanket of sorcerous snow that can take centuries to thaw. [1d]
In many places rituals are practised toward away or placate the ogors. Many tribes treat the Beastclaws as devils and spiteful gods, hopeful that if they can make the proper offerings their lands might be spared. Sacrifices are hung in cages, or meat is hauled up into mountain passes and placed on stakes, all in a vain attempt to appease the raiders. Hardened generals pull their cloaks tighter and look to the horizon when the cold winds blow strong, for even the greatest of armies and lords fall prey to the ogor hunters and the Everwinter. The Beastclaw Raiders are a threat that always lurks just beyond the edge of the storm, a pitiless predator race that feeds upon those weakened by winter and war. [1d]
The Lord of Predators[]
Ogors see much of themselves in the feral hunger and strength of Gorkamorka. Like the God of Destruction, they are huge in girth and muscle, lumbering across the land, bringing down prey and ripping off chunks of meat to stuff into their oversized maws. To the Beastclaw Raiders the savage god exists all around them in the brutality of nature. When the wind blows in their favour or the land shakes, sending creatures scurrying out into the open, this is the hand of Gorkamorka at work. Gorkamorka is also in the Everwinter that follows the raid. The Huskard Torr, spiritual leader of the tribe, speaks to the god through this ever-present cold, and often communes with mountain gales or reads the future in the icyen trails of frozen monsters. [1e]
Beastclaw Raiders see Gorkamorka as a god of winter and beasts, but they do not build temples for him. If they wish to offer up the bones of their kills or mark a place of a great feast, a tribe might raise a Heng Stone. These monolithic shards of ice are graven with ogor runes and the face of Gorkamorka, and are among the few objects of its own creation that an Alfrostun will leave behind. [1e]
When the freezing wind hammers the enemies of the Beastclaws, then Gorkamorka is pleased with the ogors. His favour can quickly change, though. The same snows that slow their foes and make them easy kills can grow too deep, wiping out all life and leaving nothing to eat. Before a raid many Beastclaw tribes will make offerings to the god. Svogork posts of bone and stone, topped with the face of Gorkamorka, are driven into the highest peak the tribe can find. Powerful creatures, proud kings and infamous warlords are then lashed to them. These sacrifices represent the finest meat at the feast, and are offered up to the hungering god. It is one of the few times the ogors leave meat behind, instead allowing the frost to claim their prisoners. [1e][1f]
Another rite is the Alarok, enacted when two or more tribes cross paths by chance, perhaps drawn towards the same prey. It is considered ill luck for Alfrostuns to meet in this way, and so an offering must be made to Gorkamorka. As part of the ritual, a great beast must be battled and slain. The two tribes then devour its meat, both feeding side by side on a single carcass. Only when there is nothing left of the kill can the Alfrostuns move on, their duty to Gorkamorka complete. Alfrostuns may also meet deliberately, should the long winding paths of their nomadic journeys overlap, or if a sign from Gorkamorka draws them to a specific place within the realms. Such a gathering is known as a Vosok Torr, or Great Meet. At these times, the Everwinters of many raids combine, and their Frostlords share a feast on the eve of a great undertaking. It is a rare occurrence, but one that heralds the doom of nations and armies. As the Vosok Torr sets off to hunt, it does so with the blessing the Predator God, at the head of a storm of epic proportions. [1f]
The Beastclaw Raiders’ worship of Gorkamorka also connects them to many of the god’s other followers, and it is not uncommon for the Alfrostuns to fight alongside other ogor tribes. Gutbusters regularly ally with Beastclaw Raiders, though remain wary of the intense cold the raiders bring with them. Grots and orruks also both fight with the Beastclaws if it serves their purposes – though as often as not the Alfrostuns will turn upon the greenskins if there is no better food on offer. Bonesplitterz have a rivalry with Beastclaws, however, as the two factions often compete for prey. [1f]
The rise of Gordrakk, the Fist of Gork, has drawn together a large number of Alfrostuns. Many Beastclaws seethe will of Gorkamorka at work in Gordrakk, and are tempted by the promise of prey unending. Others consider the orruk leader as just another Ironjaw, throwing his weight around like the rest of his belligerent kind. Even so, Gordrakk’s rise has seen hundreds of Alfrostuns alter the path of their hunts, and even the Huskard Torrs speak of a change in the winds, as if Gorkamorka himself were whispering Gordrakk’s name to the Beastclaws. [1f]
The Everwinter[]
A frozen shadow clings to the Beastclaws, as if the god Gorkamorka were blowing twin gusts of icy wind at their backs. They ride on the edge of this storm, forever trying to stay ahead of its killing cold. Here, on the cusp between frozen desolation and glacial tempest, the Everwinter usually manifests as sudden flurries of snow and fierce blizzards. However, each Alfrostun’s winter can take a different form depending on the lands they cross or the Frostlord that leads them. The Fraya raid is shrouded in freezing fog that blinds enemies with a white-out, while the arrival of the Sovanheng Alfrostun is heralded by a front of crystal-clear cold so intense that the air freezes beneath pitiless blue skies. The wind that follows the Olgost raid is a legacy of the Cryptwyrd desert, and its scouring gales transform the edge of the Everwinter into an icy sandstorm. [1g]
Whatever form their winter takes, Beastclaws need to be mindful of it themselves, for they are not immune to its bite. Though thick muscles and layers of fat keep them warm, they live constantly in a world covered by frost. Fresh prey might warm their bellies and keep them strong, but only for a time. Soon enough they are forced to move on, lest they freeze. There are cautionary tales of Alfrostuns being overcome by their own creeping cold; the ogors slow down, layers of ice growing thick on their skin, until they cease to move completely, transformed into gleaming statues among an icy wasteland. Wise elders point to glaciers and desolate fields of icy pillars, telling their people that they gaze upon an Alfrostun turned to ice by the breath of an angry god. Travellers do not stray into these places unless they are foolish or desperate, for the cold of the Beastclaws surrounds them even in this state. The unwary might find themselves joining the ogors in their fate – or worse, setting them free. [1g]
As chilling as the Everwinter is, it cannot actually kill the ogors. Beastclaw Raiders do not die from cold, though they might be frozen for centuries or even longer. During this time the ogors enter a dormant state, though hunger gnaws at their bellies as they dream of prey. Often it is the heat of battle that thaws a frozen Alfrostun. Fresh blood, flames and sorcery, spilled, splashed and hurled around the snow-buried ogors can all free them from their prison. Breaking loose of their icy fetters, the ogors fall upon the nearest prey and tear it apart. The longer the hibernation, the more the Alfrostun will need to gorge itself, and entire empires might vanish before it is done. As soon as the ogors are free they must not only feed but also ride, for all the while storm clouds swirl above the tribe. It is a reminder that though they might have escaped an icy prison once more, winter waits to claim them still. [1h]
Raiders of the Realms[]
Alfrostuns wage war in all the realms. Each tribe raids and pillages its way through strange lands, corrupted tribes and bloodthirsty armies. Overthe centuries the Beastclaw ogors have spread out across the Mortal Realms. From a handful of Alfrostuns, they have grown and divided many times into countless raiding forces. Some of these tribes might be but a handful of nomadic hunters, scraping a living from the land in their travels. Others are huge gatherings, whose packs stretch across the horizon. Large or small, the Beastclaws attack without provocation or mercy. Vast enemy armies are as likely prey as primitive mortal tribes, the ogors killing and devouring them with equal greed. [1i]
Beastclaws are notoriously broadminded when it comes to meat, and seek out victims wherever they might try to hide. In Aqshy, dozens of Alfrostuns forsook the surface to enter the ancient duardin Realmroads. [1i]
In these underways their tribes grew fat on skaven and Fyreslayers, while their combined Everwinters cooled the roots of volcanoes. In the kingdoms above, the progress of the ogors below ground was marked by the flickering light of calderas going out. In Ghyran, Beastclaw Raiders hunt through the vales and glades of the Jade Kingdoms, feasting eagerly on both sylvaneth and the minions of Nurgle alike. Many Alfrostuns have acquired a taste for the heartwood of the sylvaneth, developing cravings for the weathered texture of the Treelord Ancient or the fresh tang of the Dryad. Alfrostuns also have no reservations about eating those long dead. Though they prefer their meat fresh, the impressive constitution of the ogor means that even rotting flesh and ancient bone can make for a satisfying meal. Among the vast darkness of the Shyish Nightlands, Beastclaw Raiders make banquets out of Flesh-eater Courts and roaming groups of Deadwalkers. Nagash has a particular distaste for the Beastclaw tribes; war is usually a gift to the God of Death, and from its labours his armies grow more numerous. It greatly displeases Nagash and his generals that when the ogors destroy a land or kingdom they leave nothing on the battlefield to reanimate. [1i]
Unlike Gutbuster ogors, Beastclaws do not feast upon their own kin, for they believe that the Everwinter lays claim to their bodies upon their death, and that to deny the storm its due would only cause it to harry them with ever greater ferocity. Beings of magical provenance, meanwhile, such as daemons, ghosts and seraphon have long been enemies of the Alfrostuns, for their incorporeal forms provide no sustenance, and many often spoil potential hunting grounds before the raiders can reach them. Then there are the Stormcast Eternals. At first Sigmar’s warriors were a source of confusion to the Alfrostuns, for though they had the scent of prey, their bodies would vanish at the moment of death. However, the ogors quickly learned that the Stormcasts are like a wildfire that forces prey from hiding, and so the Alfrostuns eagerly follow the carnage left in their wake. [1j]
Ages of Ice and Snow[]
Centuries of slaughter have marked the Alfrostuns’ long journeys across the Mortal Realms. Wherever the thunder of the mighty Beastclaw Raiders and their mounts is heard, destruction soon follows, and another land succumbs to the touch of the Everwinter. [1k]
- The First Alfrostun - DURING THE AGE OF MYTH, BAERGUT VOSJARL AND HIS BEASTCLAW TRIBE BECAME THE FIRST ALFROSTUN. FOR CENTURIES THEY FOUGHT IN THE ARMIES OF GORKAMORKA, ACTING AS ELITE SCOUTS AND TRACKERS. IN THIS TIME THE FIRST EVERWINTER DESCENDED UPON THE BEASTCLAWS. SOME SAY VOSJARL’S WARRIORS WALK THE WORLD STILL, NOW AS ANCIENT FROSTLORDS. [1k]
- Cold-forge Brotherhood - Mercenary companies of Beastclaws and Fyreslayers purged the Lost Realmroad of skaven, and where they marched the winds of winter warred with the heat of ur-gold runes.
- The Endless March - The Olgost Alfrostun became lost on the Cryptwyrd Plateau. Centuries of hunting the shadow-men of the Cryptwyrd saw their tribe reduced to a procession of Stonehorns, the beasts almost completely stripped of their fur by the harsh wasteland winds. [1k]
- Winter's Warriors - Huskard Torr Asger became Frostlord of the Jarkan Alfrostun afterits leader was slain by Tzeentch Arcanites. The magic of change mixed with the Everwinter of the Alfrostun, and a sorcerous chill worked its way into the meat and blood of Asger, his warriors and their beasts, turning the ogors’ flesh and their mounts’ hides a glacial blue. With rapidly forming layers of frost falling from their skin with every step, the Alfrostun rode on seeking new prey. [1k]
- Of Storm and Snow - During the war for the Gilt Realmgates, the Cerulean Comets Stormhost fought alongside the Heroth Alfrostun. The ogors turned the battle in the Stormcasts’ favour, but their allies were wreathed ever after in an aura of frost. [1k]
- The Long Hunt - A Skal of Icebrow Hunters, Frost Sabres and Yhetees brought about the destruction of the Twelfth Lantic Empire in Chamon. For decades the creatures of winter raided and killed, carefully splintering the vast human kingdom into isolated camps and towns that could be picked off one by one. [1k]
- The Great Meet - WHEN THE SKYFANG MOUNTAIN ROSE ABOVE THE CLOUDBLIGHT WASTES OF CHAMON, IT DREW TOGETHER ALFROSTUNS FROM ACROSS THE VAST REALM. IN THE SHADOW OF THE SORCEROUS SPUR, A DOZEN FROSTLORDS GATHERED, SHARING MEAT EVEN AS THE EVERWINTER GREW THICK AND HEAVY AROUND THEM. AFTER MAKING AN OFFERING OF PREY TO GORKAMORKA, THE OGOR CHIEFTAINS FORMED AN ENORMOUS VOSOK TORR – AN ALLIANCE OF TRIBES THAT WENT ON TO DESTROY A THOUSAND LANDS. [1l]
- The Chill of the Grave - As the Horfarg Alfrostun battled the Grimskull orruks in the scorching heat of the Cinderlands, the spirits of peoples slain by the greenskins were drawn to the cold that followed in the Beastclaws’ wake like corpse-moths to a balefire, until a great host of Nighthaunt malignants fought at the ogors’ side. [1l]
- Hunters of the Sjy Roads - High above Chamon the Olwyr Alfrostun travelled the latticework of floating bridges known as the Sky Roads.They preyed upon grot pirates and winged beastmen, growing fat upon their kills. However, the thin bridges meant only the most skilled riders could safely guide Stonehorns or Thundertusks, so their tribe thronged with Mournfang riders. [1l]
- Iron and Ice - To bring down the Dreadhold surrounding theManticore Realmgate, Ironjaw Megaboss Grakgob made an uneasy bargain with the Svard Alfrostun. The Chaos defenders caved before the combined packs of Mournfang riders and mobs of Gore-gruntas, the ground shaking to the rolling thunder of their charge. [1l]
- Mercenaries of Chaos - The Vintrbad Alfrostun fought in Archaon’s armies. Its mercenary ogors scavenged hellforged steel and painted their armour with the symbols of the Dark Gods, though their true allegiance remained with Gorkamorka. [1l]
- Frozen Lightning - Braggoth’s Svard Alfrostun wasfreed from the ice by the arrival of a Stormhost. The ogors immediately attacked the Stormcasts, fighting even as ice fell from their hides. [1l]
- The Fist of Gork - GORDRAKK EMERGED IN THE REALM OF BEASTS, AND ALL TREMBLED BEFORE HIS MIGHT. THE MASSIVE IRONJAW MEGABOSS DREW VAST NUMBERS OF WARRIORS TO HIS GROWING WAAAGH!, HUNDREDS OF ALFROSTUNS AMONG THEM. BETWEEN BATTLES, THE BEASTCLAWS INTENTIONALLY RILED UP SOME OF THE GREENSKINS BY ARGUING THAT GORKAMORKA LOOKED MORE LIKE AN OGOR THAN AN ORRUK, ENSURING THEY HAD A GOOD EXCUSE FOR EATING THEM WHEN THINGS GOT VIOLENT. [1l]
Marks of the Beastclaws[]
The language of the Beastclaw Raiders is influenced by their strong tribal traditions and ancient hunter wisdom. Each savage symbol, daubed on muscles or beast flesh, depicts another aspect of the Alfrostuns, picked out in claw marks, bloody fists and curved tusks. [1o]
- Atta – great strength, the clenched fist and the mountain.
- Svo – the power of the blizzard, sorcery and the Everwinter.
- Otri – the endless hunt and the spear or arrow seeking out its prey.
- Fvor – fires of the camp, dwellings and the wilderness home.
- Hirf – the vast sky, the Blood Vulture and soaring flight.
- Vexi – ferocity and the hungering beast’s jaws that devour all.
- Heng – stone and rock, endurance and a shield against the Everwinter.
- Hoct – prey, meat, and the bones of the beast.
- Gorr – savagery, the beast’s horns that tear flesh and take life.
- Albad – the tribe, what is good in life, the hands of the Alfrostun.
- Alfrostun – the raid, all the Frostlord’s warriors.
- Jorlbad – the first hand, the fighting hand, the spear.
- Eurlbad – the second hand, the eating hand, the culling club.
- Torrbad – the clapping hand, heralds of the Everwinter.
- Jorl – Huskard of the Jorlbad, favoured of the Frostlord.
- Eurl – Huskard of the Eurlbad, the second favoured.
- Torr – Huskard of the Torrbad, the Voice of Winter.
- Skalg – leader of a Mournfang pack.
- Thegn – Stonehorn or Thundertusk Beastrider.
Beastclaws Alfrostuns[]
Every Beastclaw ogor has a role toplay in his tribe’s survival. The most important of these positions are held by the Huskards. Proven warriors and hunters, each rides a mighty Stonehorn or Thundertusk, and is responsible for the command of scores or even hundreds of Beastclaw ogors. The Huskards stand just below the Frostlord in the raid’s hierarchy, and it is from their ranks that his successor will often emerge. By tradition, the Frostlord chooses which of his Huskards will lead the Jorlbad and Eurlbad for the coming hunt. These titles often change from battle to battle, depending on who has proven himself most worthy in previous raids. Each Huskard will then select the packs that form their Jorlbad or Eurlbad in the same way. Thus are the strongest awarded with a place in the vanguard, but only as long as they can prove their might against the prey.[1m]
The Jorlbad is the most prestigious arm of the Alfrostun. It is known asthe Fighting Hand, and it grabs the lion’s share of the meat won by the tribe. Its Huskard is often the tribe’s most proficient fighter, second only to the Frostlord in his skill. After the Jorlbad comes the Eurlbad, known as the Eating Hand. Its role is no less important than the Jorlbad – even if it is somewhat less prestigious. It fights hard to secure areas overrun by the Alfrostun’s vanguard. Its task is to slaughter any remaining pockets of resistance and then harvest the meat. Despite their differing roles, the compositions of both Jorlbad and Eurlbad are similar. Each will be led by a Huskard on a Stonehorn. At his side are his Stonehorn riders, or Thegns, forming the elite Atta pack. Beneath these are packs of Mournfang riders led by Skalgs, or sub-chiefs. The size of these packs varies greatly between tribes, and while some Jorlbads and Eurlbads might only comprise a Huskard and a handful of Mournfang cavalry, others include vast herds of Stonehorns and hordes of ogor riders.[1m]
The Torrbad has its own part to play in the Alfrostun. The Huskard Torr is a spiritual figure, and unlike the Jorlor Eurl, once he has taken command of the Torrbad only death will see him deposed. Comprising the tribe’s Thundertusks, the Torrbad is the herald of winter, and Frostlords use its freezing presence to great effect against their enemies. Its chill also serves to draw in other creatures of winter, like Icefall Yhetees, that add to the Torrbad’s savagery in battle.[1m]
Standing on the edges of the Alfrostun, beyond the rivalry of its main fighting arms, is the Skal. Reporting directly to the Frostlord, it guides the tribe in its travels and leads it to rich hunting grounds. The Icebrow Hunters that make up the Skal have great autonomy. It is rare that a Frostlord will exert direct control over them, instead trusting the hunters’ instincts.[1m]
Most Alfrostuns include a Jorlbad, an Eurlbad, a Torrbad and a Skal, though not all do. Some are made up only of Stonehorn Beastriders, while others – like those ruled by Huskard Torrs – might be armies of Thundertusks and Yhetees. Then there are Alfrostuns that are fragments of tribes scattered by war and the Everwinter, like Mournfang mercenary nomads roaming alone, or Icebrow Hunter packs that have lost contact with their Frostlords.[1m]
Known Alfrostuns[]
- Ayroth - The Ayroth Raid has been infected by the furious energies of Gordrakk’s Waaagh! – its Frostlord Hrothgur and his ogor warriors have a touch of orruk madness in their eyes. [1q]
- Fraya - The Fraya Raid rides across the Scarlands eternally cloaked infreezing fog. Its warriors and beasts are as ghosts against itsperpetual white – killing, feeding and then vanishing. [1r][1g]
- Heroth - [1k]
- Horfarg - [1l]
- Jarkan - It is said that the Jarkan Raid can control their Everwinter. Its mysterious Frostlord is known only as the Storm Speaker, and the tales claim he can hear the voice of Gork on the winds. [1r][1k]
- Olgost - Scarred by the sandstorms of the Cryptwyrd wastes, the Olgost are savage desert nomads wrapped in rags and bones, their Stonehorns heavy with scavenged meat. [1q][1g][1k]
- Olwyr - The Olwyr Raid is touched by the fury of the alchemicallightning storms of the Sky Roads. Even their Everwinterflickers with electricity among the flurries of snow. [1q][1l]
- Sovanheng - Also known as the Fists of Winter, the Sovanheng Alfrostun is led by the Frostlord Vorgrun Loshar. A veteran of the long war between Nurgle and the sylvaneth in the Realm of Life, Loshar has earned a reputation as a shameless mercenary, fighting for both sides -- sometimes over the course of the same battle. In truth, Loshar does not care about the fate of Ghyran and fights for whoever is willing to give him the most meat. In the Jade Kingdoms they are known as the Splinterguts for the number of sylvaneth they have devoured. [1r][1b]
- Svard - The raging Storm of Sigmar has swept across the realms, unearthing marvels thought lost. Among alliances reforged and gods awoken, the ogor warriors of the Svard Alfrostun stir. Millennia ago, during the Age of Myth, Frostlord Braggoth Vardruk and his raiders fought in the bestial armies of Gorkamorka. In those lost days they sought the fabled Golden Hunting Grounds of Ghur, a place of plenty rumoured to be large enough to sate even the appetites of the Beastclaws. Misfortune and the treachery of sorcerers led Braggoth into a magical storm, and he was frozen for thousands of years. Recently, a lightning bolt from Sigmar’s Tempest cracked asunder his icy prison, the Skyblind Tundra, and the Svard Alfrostun emerged into the Mortal Realms once more. A warrior from a different world, Braggoth and his Alfrostun still seek out the Golden Hunting Grounds. Whether the fabled hunter’s paradise exists or not, the ogors will destroy anything that gets in the way of their quest. [1l][1s][1q]
- Vintrbad - The cruel Vintrbad serve in the armies of Archaon, and asthey often bear icons of Chaos, so too does their Everwinter convulse with the shadows of things best not dwelt upon. [1r][1l]
Magical artifacts[]
- Elixir of Frostwyrm: Distilled from the heart’s blood of a giant Frostwyrm, this rare elixir is highly prized by the Beastclaws. It ravages the drinker’s insides, turning their blood to liquid ice before, with the rumble of an avalanche, they vomit forth a torrent of frost magic that freezes solid any caught in its path.[1u]
- The Bleeding Skull of Dragaar: This skull is all that remains of a once-powerful wizard who dwelt within the Ghostwind Tundra. Strange magic still clings to the relic, for dark blood constantly leaks out of its empty eye sockets. This trickle turns to a crimson torrent in the presence of hostile sorcery, which geysers forth to douse enemy magics in mid-air.[1u]
- The Pelt of Charngar: The dreaded crimson Yhetee, Charngar the Devourer, was said to be able to heal any wound. Its tale of slaughter and bloodshed was ended by Helfnar Frostfingers, an Icebrow Hunter who tracked the creature across two realms before claiming its hide. Any who wear the flayed pelt of this fell beast are bestowed a portion of its unnatural healing abilities.[1u]
- Blade of All-Frost: Many of the weapons borne by the Beastclaw tribes are scavenged or cobbled together from the equipment of those they have defeated (and eaten), and some yet maintain the magical properties with which they were imbued. The Blade of All-Frost is just such an example, a weapon whose razor edge can freeze its victim’s blood and sap their strength.[1u]
- Tokens of the Everwinter: At first glance, these stone tokens, each hanging by a simple cord, appear little more than primitive fetishes. However, each is in fact hewn from the heart of Mount Alvagr and inscribed with jagged runes of arcane power. If the bearer swallows these tokens, they gain a measure of the Everwinter’s true power and become as deadly as a blizzard. Their sinews are imbued with the strength of an avalanche, their reflexes become as quick as a freezing gale and their skin as hard as ice.[1u]
- Ice Mammoth Skull Plate: These hardy creatures were noted for their incredibly thick skulls and the great feasts that ensued when one was captured. Over the centuries, these creatures have been hunted to extinction, the few remaining skulls fashioned into great plates worn around the gut by particularly impressive Beastclaw Raiders. They are symbols of great status, and wars have been fought over their possession.[1u]