White Dragons

"Dragons are never to be trifled with or taken lightly. That being said, it is a new kind of horror to encounter a White Dragon in the Norselands. Imagine, if you will, being cold, hungry, perhaps irritable, and making a trek through the snow to get to the relative safety of a nearby village. A blizzard kicks up and you are forced to make camp. You can not see five feet in front of you, but you hear something... Wing beats over the howl of the storm. Your fire goes out. You feel an incredible chill as the last thing you see is your flesh freezing over..." - Unknown Traveler

White Dragons, also called Snow Wyrms, may not be the smartest among their kin, but they are hunters through and through. Their white coloring gives them a natural camouflage against the snowy landscape of the Norselands. They have a pair of large wings granting them flight, four legs with large claws to rend flesh and burrow, teeth that are both great in size and sharpness, a tail that, while mostly used for balance, can be used to deadly effect, and significant magical ability. Like all dragons, White Dragons possess a breath weapon. They produce a cone of icy air that can freeze victims solid. While being born with a resistance to cold, White Dragons develop an immunity to it over time.
An apex predator in the north, White dragons prefer ambush hunting to drawn out fights which may bring more competition for their meal. Younger Snow Wyrms lack some of the magical abilities of their more mature brethren and so hide out on mountain ledges looking for prey. The younger ones are more likely to attack a settlements livestock as they have a hard time hunting in the mostly desolate landscape. As the Dragon matures, their hunting tactics also change.
The older White Dragons can control blizzards and, due to their immunity to natural and magical cold, use them as cover while pursuing their prey. They hide in the storms either high above the storm clouds or hidden in or beneath the snow. Some of the largest Snow Wyrms have been said to open their mouths and have them appear as small caves to take shelter from the storms. When attacking their prey, White Dragons prefer to freeze them using their magical icy breath. Once frozen solid, the prey is eaten immediately or taken back to the dragon's lair to be eaten at the dragon's leisure.
It should be noted that, like all dragons, White dragons adore treasure. What separates them from most dragons is that White Dragons like to encase their (usually) ill-gotten gains in ice. This can make stealing from such a dragon a very perilous affair. Their lairs tend to be in secluded mountaintops or isolated ice caves, so stumbling upon them accidentally is unlikely. It is best to hope to never encounter the Snow Wyrm in the Norselands at all.

Additional Information

Domestication

It is rumored that some Jotuns have domesticated a portion of these dragons and use them as mounts, but not many who enter Jotunheim survive.

Uses, Products & Exploitation

White Dragon scales can be uses in a variety of armors and other such goods. Dragon blood has significant alchemical uses and a White Dragon's heart is permanently frozen upon the creature's death.

Geographic Origin and Distribution

Snow Wyrms seem to populate only the Norselands and Jotunheim. This is most likely because without their camouflage, they become easy targets to those that would want to slay a dragon.

Average Intelligence

They have about the same intelligence as an average human.

Lifespan

Centuries or possibly Millenias

Average Height

At "birth" a White Dragon is about 5" from nose to tip of the tail. The oldest ones can the size of small hills

Average Physique

White dragons are very strong even from hatching. Easily capable of overpowering a human.

Body Tint, Colouring and Marking

As the name suggests, White Dragons are entirely white colored. This makes them very deadly in the snow and perhaps not so elsewhere.