Frostborn

The Frostborn (also spelled the frostborn, sometimes spelled frostborne and also known as frost dwarves,    and Frostborn dwarves ) are a race and a faction of dwarves  native to the Storm Peaks. They have recently befriended members of the Explorers' League, and although they have differences with their dwarven brethren, they welcome Alliance members within their settlements.

They were led by Yorg Stormheart, "King of the Frostborn", who ruled over them from the mighty Frosthold in the Storm Peaks. This changed when Yorg recovered his memories, which he had lost some years back, and remembered that he was Muradin Bronzebeard, a dwarf from the Bronzebeard clan of Ironforge. After the war against the Lich King, Muradin decided to return home with his brothers so he left Velog Icebellow in charge of the leadership of the frostborn in his absence.

The Frostborn
The Frostborn is a mysterious newly discovered faction of frost dwarves. Brann Bronzebeard thinks they migrated from Uldaman to the Storm Peaks with many making Frosthold their home, since there are no records of them in Ulduar. Recently, those at Frosthold have befriended the Explorers' League — unlike the iron dwarves — and welcomed all Alliance members into their homes. Yorg Stormheart, "King of the Frostborn," has agreed to allow his people to join the Alliance against the Lich King. Nevertheless, Yorg is uneasy about lending aid to anything that might cost frostborn lives.

This alliance benefits the Explorers' League because it is believed that the frostborn may be able to aid them in their quest to find out more information about their titan heritage. Brann Bronzebeard had apparently befriended them earlier as noted in several quests.

The Frostborn's current relationship with the iron dwarves is unknown, but it may be unfriendly if their past battles are any indication. Their relationship draws a parallel between the Ironforge dwarves and Wildhammer dwarves versus the Dark Iron dwarves.

Under Thorim
Apparently the Frostborn were at one time under the leadership of Thorim, as evidenced by Thunderfall and several quests that lead to the area. It is unknown how long they served Thorim, as the earthen are later shown taking the Frostborn's place as the main forces under Thorim. While Thorim mostly speaks of using the earthen as an army, it seems that the Frostborn were used as the only force during the battle at Thunderfall against the Frost Giants. The Battle has been immortalized due to the shockwave of Thorim's hammer, causing them all to be frozen. Thunderfall is an immortalization of the Frostborn's courage, as one can actually see how the Frostborn in the area fought during their final moments; the battle also has several frozen Female Frostborn, most of which seem to be on ranged movements.

Thunderfall seems to be the only and possibly first battle in which Thorim used the Frostborn, ironically this battle was actually the last battle against the Sons of Hodir, as all others seem to point to his using the earthen.

Roles and Tactics on the Battlefield
From the immortalized battlefield of Thunderfall, many aspects of Frostborn battle techniques against their larger foes can be seen.

The women of the race seem to be specialists in ranged combat, as they can be found leading the ranged battalions of female and male Frostborn, as well as being the sole healers on the battlefield. These ranged battalions consisted of bowmen and riflemen, the riflemen being somewhat scarce but present none-the-less. These groups usually formed by their siege weaponry, ballistae, and seemed to slowly push forward as evidenced by the tactics used by the frontlines to guard those who moved forward (see below).

While mostly on the front lines, men would be in charge of loading and firing the ballistae, while some were part of the ranged battalions with the women. On the frontlines the men would swarm their enemies, using a variety of melee weapons, as well as utilizing spears to throw at their enemies from afar. Unlike the ranged battalions, spear men were often men from the frontlines, throwing a secondary weapon to attack their enemy as they moved in. As stated previously, the ranged battlations would slowly move forward, those who did were often shielded by a barricade of men, who utilized large shields to defend against the large clubs of the frost giants, which could easily kill the dwarves without the defenses. The Frostborn utilized their enemies large size by using nearby objects as a way to jump onto their enemies and attack the foe from ontop of it.

Joined with the frontlines were the cavalry of the Frostborn, which were men armed with large polearms riding bears into battle.

Weaponry
The Frostborn are seen using various melee weapons, from swords to axes to even polearms. From the evidence of the battle of Thunderfall, their ranged weaponry at the time mainly consisted of bows, but riflemen could also be found. The men on the front lines would hurl spears at their enemies while moving in when the opportunity presented itself.

Frostborn used bears as ground mounts to ride into battle on, as well as ballistae to fire at their enemies. Stormcrest Eagles seem to have replaced the bears as a mount, their ability to fly would prove much more useful in the mountains of the Storm Peaks, while a land mount would have limited use for travel in the area.

Locations

 * Frosthold, Storm Peaks
 * Bor's Breath valley and Bor's Fall, Storm Peaks

Unnamed

 * Frostborn Axemasters
 * Frostborn Iceshapers
 * Frostborn Scouts
 * Frostborn Stormriders
 * Restless Frostborn Ghosts
 * Restless Frostborn Warriors
 * Frosthounds

Reputation description
''This mysterious race of frost dwarves makes their home in the Storm Peaks. They've recently befriended members of the Explorers' League and welcome Alliance members within their settlements.''

Guide
Reputation with the Frostborn is gained by completing their non-repeatable quests and their one daily quest. The daily quest Pushed Too Far is given by Fjorlin Frostbrow at Frosthold. Upon completion, the quest awards 250 reputation.

As of patch 3.3, all Alliance Vanguard factions receive spillover rep from quests and 5-man dungeons. This negates the need for doing solely Frostborn dailies to reach exalted.

Stormcrest Eagles
As the Wildhammers did with gryphons after moving to the Hinterlands, the frostborn have developed a special bond with a flying creature, the Stormcrest Eagle. These eagles are abnormally larger than any other species of eagles and are very resilient, due to them having to make their home in the harsh Storm Peaks, which is similar to the frostborn's situation. The frostborn ride these great beasts as flying mounts.

The frostborn have also been known to breed these eagles, since Stormcrest Hatchlings can be found at Frosthold.

Bear Mounts
From the battle of Thunderfall, it seems that the frostborn used bear mounts at one time, likely Icemaw bears, due to their being the only bears native to the region. They were used as the mounts for the frostborn's ground cavalry, and aside from the battle of Thunderfall they have not been seen used again. Likely they have been replaced by the Stormcrest eagles completely due to the Storm Peaks being difficult to manage on foot, while air travel is much easier.

It is possible that the frost vrykul have prevented the frostborn from obtaining any bear mounts due to their use of the bears as well. It is possible that during the frostborn's time under the leadership of Thorim that the frost vrykul loaned or allowed the frostborn to use their bears for the battle.

Appearance
From a distance, the frostborn look like any other normal dwarf, but upon closer examination you are able to see that their skin is a noticeable light blue color, almost like ice. Upon even closer examination, the frostborn have similar marks on them as those of the earthen. This may mean that the frostborn are earthen who had adapted to the harsh cold of Northrend.

Note: Frostborn reuse the earthen model.

Trivia

 * Some Minions of Weavil can spawn as blue earthen, possibly Frostborn, despite predating them.
 * The frostborn use white worgs called frosthounds for tracking.