Taer

Part ape and part primitive man, a taer is barrel-chested and heavy, with arms so long its broad hands hang near its ankles. Greasy, matted fur from snow white to gray covers it entirely, and its big head has almost no brow. A clear second eyelid lets it see through blizzards unharmed, as with many beasts of the high snows. Taer talk in grunts and slaps against their own bodies.

A taer's pores ooze a fatty grease with a truly foul stench. Every creature within ten feet must save vs. breath weapon or suffer nausea and disorientation for 1d4+1 hours, at -2 to attack and -1 to damage. The coating also protects the taer from cold, even magical cold.

Most taer kick, punch and bite rather than use weapons, but 25% open with thrown stone spears that gain +1 to hit and +3 damage from their strength. They fight with the mountain itself: deliberate avalanches, boulders rolled onto trails, ambushes from beneath the snow, and crevices hidden under thin snow crusts as pit traps. Even with a human or demihuman reeling from the stench, they prefer to leave the intruder hurt and senseless rather than dead.

Clans of 10d4, made of several related families, wander the edges of high ranges inside a set territory, covering two or three miles daily. They have no true lair and sleep in drifts or among rocks. At dawn the nursing mothers, the young and the clan idol go into the closest cave, which is sealed and hidden with rock, snow and ice. The eldest male hides outside, trying to draw off anything within 20 feet; if someone tries to open the nursery he charges at +2 to hit and +2 damage, aiming to hurt and scare rather than kill.

The remaining adults descend to the snow line by day to forage for lichen, grubs, seeds, bark, eggs and mountain goats. Humans and demihumans are never prey; intelligent visitors are driven off with hooting and shows of strength.

Taer distrust iron and all metal, and avoid creatures dressed in warm clothing as though garments held some spiritual meaning. They pray to their own snow-god for good foraging and concealing snow. Each clan carries a crude stone idol whose protection, they believe, grows with its size; the biggest weigh 2,500 pounds and take several males to carry.

Polished horns and teeth serve as ornaments, but taer own no real treasure. A quarter of clans (25%) carry one metal object taken from a traveler, always wrapped in leather so no one touches it, as a charm against metal-using humans; it is a magical weapon 10% of the time. Hunters prize the oil-producing glands, which sell for 500 gold pieces and go into potions of protection from cold, so taer have good reason to fear humans.