Where do I start!? (Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden)
These quest notes are meant to accompany the video below, and will help you decide which quests are best for the flow of your campaign. Happy gaming!
Starting Quests.
Cold-Hearted Killer.
The PCs are tasked with tracking down a killer as there are 3 murders that seem to be tied to a small, shady, trading company that moves from town to town. Investigation with the possibility of one very deadly encounter.
Can be in any town – Investigation of murders. Asking around and following leads. Involves travel between towns. I’d probably add in a chance of blizzard or random encounter. The Killer – Sephek Kaltro – might be willing to surrender, but PCs have to kill him in order to get the reward. How challenging? Sephek will be tough! CR 3 – 75 HP and regen 5 HP per round in extreme cold. +5 to hit, 1d8/10+3 and 2d4 cold damage While he may be willing to surrender, PCs only get a reward for his death.
Nature Spirits.
The PC’s are tasked with tracking down some Chwinga’s – small nature spirits Dannika Graysteel believes might be the key to improving Icewind Dale’s climate.
Investigation and not much chance of combat. Could be an eerie tone of mystery, but ends up being a bit light and whimsical. Ultimate goal – return with a live Chwinga Possibility of visiting 3-4 towns, so again – perhaps random encounters or perhaps weather events. The book says this quest “prompts the characters to explore the various locales in Ten-Towns, where they can pick up other quests.” But could be tough for a DM to prep many quests beforehand! How challenging? Could be a bit hard to catch a Chwinga, but the DM could make it easier if PCs are struggling.
If you find this guide helpful, you can support WASD20 on Patreon! I’ll also be doing Icewind Dale campaign diaries starting soon for patrons at the quest-giver level and higher.
Town Quests.
Bremen | Lake Monster.
The PCs are hired to catch some fish, but someone else warns them of a monster attacking Bremen’s fishing boats and asks them to take notes if they see anything.
Fishing for knucklehead trout is dangerous! Characters will likely get pulled in, so keep the rules for Frigid Water handy! Good chance of levels of exhaustion. Navigating ice floes or the boat takes damage. Lake Monster (Awakened Plesiosaurus) Very likely no real, long-lasting combat encounter (more hit and run). If there is, it flees after losing half HP, and it is more likely to attack the boats than the PCs. It speaks (is “awakened”), but players only discover this if they try to communicate with it. It could possibly be convinced to stop its attacks. Connection – The frost druid, Ravisin, who awakened the plesiosaurus, could be encountered in the White Moose quest (Lonelywood). How challenging? – Overall, not a very deadly quest and quite do-able for a level 1 party. Falling into frigid water will be common and dangerous, but unlikely to cause death. The Lake monster is unlikely to do much actual damage to PCs, and they only need to identify it and take notes to be rewarded.
Bryn Shander | Foaming Mugs.
The PCs run into some dwarves who have been robbed of their sled full of ingots from a local mine. A Yeti attacked them and killed one of their group.
PCs head off in that direction, but find different tracks from the spot of the attack. 6 goblins (CR ¼) have taken the shipment. A goblin boss (CR 1) and 2 more goblins are further back with a wagon pulled by 2 polar bears. The 2 polar bears (CR 2) are just as likely to attack goblins if released. “If five or more goblins are killed, or if Izobai is killed or captured, the remaining goblins are willing to negotiate a truce, though it’s up to the characters to initiate the negotiations.” How challenging? – Shouldn’t be too hard, but if the PCs attack the polar bears it could turn very ugly!
Caer Dineval | Black Swords.
A quest will likely “fall into the party’s lap” while they are in town. Not a traditional “we need help!”. The castle has been taken over by the Knights of the Black Sword (cultists) who are holding the town speaker hostage and telling everyone he is very sick.
The first challenge is getting into the castle. 3 ways listed that they may be invited in and cultists will be friendly. Also a few ways to sneak in. The PCs will have the opportunity to rescue the town speaker. The castle is large and could take more than one session to clear. How challenging? – A few CR2 cult fanatics, and many more cultists. Pretty challenging for level 1, but otherwise could be okay.
Caer Konig | The Unseen.
There are seemingly invisible thieves stealing things, and the PCs are invited to help with the investigation.
Dwarven footprints lead many to believe it’s hungry dwarves who live nearby, but other say they’d be easily spotted and aren’t stealing practical things. In reality, it’s invisible Duergar and the players can track their outpost. Strong Connection – This quest is closely connected to the future storyline as the Duergar leader here (Nildar Sunblight) is the son of Xardarok Sunblight, who the PCs will encounter later (Chapter 3). How challenging? – A bunch of CR1 Duergar and potentially a CR2 ogre zombie and CR ⅛ spore servants/tribal warriors. A level one party could handle this if they were very cautious in their approach, but I’d avoid it until 2nd or 3rd level.
Dougan’s Hole | Holed Up.
A pair of winter wolves are extorting the town for food and treasure on behalf of their awakened mammoth friend, Norsu. The town is small, poor, and desperate, and the PCs can help.
Two children were taken by the wolves recently. The wolves will try to lure the players back to the Norsu’s lodge, where he stands guard over his frost giant master’s frozen corpse. Rescuing the children and getting out is the best strategy. The mammoth is tough! (CR 6). The PCs will confront the two winter wolves (CR 3) on the way out if they don’t find the the escape tunnel in L8. That could be quite deadly! How challenging? Not too challenging if the players are smart and sneaky. Otherwise it will be VERY TOUGH.
Easthaven | Toil & Trouble.
The PCs are asked to go searching for some lost fishers. They go to the part of the lake where they are known to fish and discover an ice cave nearby. It’s a hag’s lair.
This quest is a smallish ice-covered dungeon with howling winds and a variety of monsters and hazards. As written the fisher’s are already dead and cooked in the hag’s cauldron of plenty. Potential for big reward if successful – cauldron of plenty can be sold for a lot (valuable source of food), and potentially a chest with 600 GP if they strike a deal with the hag. Connection – This quest can also lead into the Town Hall Quests in Easthaven. More town drama! How challenging? – Quite challenging for level 1 or 2. There is a dire wolf (CR 1), will ‘o wisp (CR 2), sea hag (CR 2) and frost giant skeleton (CR 3), all in fairly close quarters.
Good Mead | Let the Mead Flow.
Some of the town’s mead was stolen by a verbeeg. The town speaker was killed trying to stop the theft. The PC’s must track it to its lair to retrieve the mead.
Tracking to the Verbeeg lair the PCs find 5 dead militia members killed by the verbeeg’s ogre friend. Also a funny little fox/chwinga encounter on the way. Several different entrances and there is a chance the PCs can sneak to avoid the ogre (CR 2), verbeeg marauder (CR 4), cave bear (CR2). Stealth roll DC8 everytime they move/disturb something. As they leave, the PCs will encounter another verbeeg heading to her “boyfriend” in the cave. She’ll let the PCs go if her lover is unharmed. How challenging? The PC’s may manage to avoid the half-ogre and verbeeg, but if they don’t it will likely mean death or a quick retreat.
Lonelywood | The White Moose.
A white mouse has been terrorizing loggers and hunters in the area. The town wants it killed, but what they don’t know is that it serves the frost druid, Ravisin, who must also be stopped to end the threat.
The PC’s have to track the moose and in doing so will likely face some Lonelywood Forest random encounters. (banshee, brown bear, chwingas, fox and hare, wolf pack). The White Moose (CR 3) is eventually tracked to an elven tomb in the forest. The players must also face Ravisin (CR 5 frost druid) to end the threat of more awakened beasts sowing chaos. There is a chance the PCs can enlist the aid of an elven mummy (CR 3), but opening its sarcophagus may be difficult. Connection – Ravisin is the same druid who awakened the “lake monster” (Bremen). How challenging? Ravisin is a pretty deadly encounter, as she is basically a level 9 spellcaster. Add the white moose itself, and this quest is probably best for 3rd or 4th level. Getting the mummy’s help could certainly reduce that.
Targos | Mountain Climb.
The PC’s are tasked with finding a mountain climber/guide who went missing on Kelvin’s Cairn. This quest involves tracking, and mountain climbing in harsh conditions.
There is the possibility of a tough random encounter, a blizzard, and there is an avalanche. On the mountain the players discover parts of the expedition, and have a chance to rescue the guide, but are simultaneously attacked by two crag cats (CR 1). After finding the guide, they could continue on to find other members of the climbing team, and this culminates in a yeti’s cave with a yeti and yeti tyke. While they don’t need to fight the yeti, as they leave w/ one more survivor, another yeti (CR 3) will most likely attack. How challenging? All the hazards make this potentially a pretty deadly quest. I wouldn’t recommend it for a level 1 party.
Termalaine | A Beautiful Mine.
The PCs are asked to help clear the local gem mine that has been overrun by kobolds. No one really knows that the real threat in the mine is actually a Grell that has come up from the Underdark.
This dungeon has some very interesting elements and encounters (a ghost possessing a Kobold, a psi crystal, etc.) There are several possible interesting outcomes depending on how effective the players are in dealing with all of the various threats. How challenging? The Icewind kobolds (CR ⅛) are not very challenging, but the Grell (CR 3) can be a very deadly encounter for a low-level party, and would likely kill a level 1 PC on a hit/grapple.
2 Comments.
Thank you Nate for the helpful notes on how to start Icewind Dale: The Rime of The Frostmaiden. I currently got a group of brave souls to join me in this quest.
Icewind Dale.
Icewind Dale is a role-playing video game developed by Black Isle Studios and originally published by Interplay Entertainment for Windows in 2000 and by MacPlay for the Macintosh in 2002 (both the Classic Mac OS and OS X). The game takes place in the Dungeons & Dragons Forgotten Realms campaign setting and the region of Icewind Dale, and uses the 2nd edition ruleset. The story follows a different set of events than those of R. A. Salvatore's The Icewind Dale Trilogy novels: in the game, an adventuring party becomes enlisted as a caravan guard while in Icewind Dale, in the wake of strange events, and eventually discover a plot that threatens the Ten Towns of Icewind Dale and beyond.
Icewind Dale Developer(s) Black Isle Studios Publisher(s) Interplay Entertainment MacPlay (OS X) Director(s) Feargus Urquhart Producer(s) Chris Parker Darren L. Monahan Designer(s) Steve Bokkes Josh Sawyer John Deily Reginald Arnedo Chris Avellone Programmer(s) Jacob Devore Thomas French David Ray Artist(s) Timothy Donley Brian Menze Aaron Meyers Composer(s) Jeremy Soule Series Icewind Dale Engine Infinity Engine Platform(s) Microsoft Windows, Mac OS, OS X Release June 29, 2000 [1] Genre(s) Role-playing Mode(s) Single-player, multiplayer.
Icewind Dale received positive reviews, being praised for its musical score and gameplay. It was a commercial success, with sales above 400,000 units worldwide by early 2001. An expansion, Icewind Dale: Heart of Winter , was released in 2001, and a sequel, Icewind Dale II , followed in 2002. A remake by Overhaul Games, entitled Icewind Dale: Enhanced Edition , was published for several platforms in 2014.
Contents.
1 Gameplay 2 Plot 3 Development 4 Release 5 Reception 5.1 Sales 5.2 Critical reviews 6 Remake 7 References 8 External links.
Icewind Dale ' s gameplay operates on a similar basis to that of Baldur's Gate in that it incorporates a modified version of the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd edition ruleset in which the rules' intricacies are automatically computed; the game keeps track of statistics and controls dice rolling. [2] It has a similar user interface with minor cosmetic changes, and focuses mainly on combat, often against large groups of enemies, with dialogue driving the main story. [3] The player is able to order a character(s) to engage in movement, dialogue, combat, or other actions such as pickpocketing within each game location. Combat has a real-time as opposed to a turn-based system, though with the option of pausing at any time so the player can give the party orders which are carried out when the game is resumed. [4] Like other D&D -based games developed and/or published by Black Isle, Icewind Dale employs a paper-doll style inventory system, the storyline is divided into chapters, and there is a journal system archiving quests and notable entries on specific story-related information from non-player characters. [5]
Players begin the game by creating an adventuring party of up to six characters, either by creating new characters or importing those from a previous game. [3] Each new character created requires the player to provide them with their name, gender, race, class, and alignment, and then determine their ability scores and weapon proficiencies. The class of a character affects what alignments are available to them, what weapons and combat styles they can use, and how proficient they can be in them. Characters designated as thieves require the player to allocate points to the various thieving skills, and spellcasters need a few 1st level spells selected for their spellbook and then one memorised for use at the start of the game. [2] Once a party is created, characters earn experience points in the game through completing quests and defeating enemies, and level up upon earning enough. Leveling up will automatically increase a character's hit points, grants spellcasters access to more spell slots including higher levels of magic, sometimes allows additional weapon proficiencies, and allows thieves to improve their thieving abilities.
In the town of Easthaven, a party of adventurers are met in the tavern by the town's leader, Hrothgar (voiced by Jim Cummings), who invites them to join him on an expedition to investigate the town of Kuldahar, after reports of strange happenings there. On the road to Kuldahar, the expedition is ambushed by frost giants, who cause an avalanche that blocks the path back to Easthaven. With only the adventurers surviving, they continue to Kuldahar and meet with Arundel (Jim Cummings), the village's archdruid, who explains that a mysterious evil force has been kidnapping villagers, causing abnormal weather patterns, provoking monsters, and reducing the magical warmth provided by the giant tree that towers over the village.
Asking for their help to discover the source of the evil, the adventurers begin by searching the Vale of Shadows, an area containing Kuldahar's crypts, due to rumours of undead creature sightings. They encounter a cursed barbarian spirit named Kresselack (Tony Jay) who tells them that the threat lies elsewhere. Reporting this back to the druid, Arundel instructs the group to retrieve an ancient scrying item called the Heartstone Gem, so that he may discover the source of the evil more quickly. After finding the gem was stolen from its original resting place within a temple, the party travel to the caverns of Dragon's Eye, finding a number of the missing villagers being held there by lizard men. They eventually find the gem being used by a powerful Marilith named Yxunomei (Tara Strong). After killing Yxunomei and retrieving the gem, the party return to find Kuldahar under attack by Orogs, and Arundel mortally wounded by a shapeshifter disguised as the archdruid, who taunts them before vanishing. The true Arundel advises the party to take the Heartstone to Larrel (Michael Bell) at the fortress of the Severed Hand, the only one capable of using it now, before dying from his wounds.
Arriving at the fortress, the party discover that Larrel is insane, and complete a task to help him regain his sanity. Using the gem, Larrel discovers the source of the evil to reside in the former dwarven city of Dorn's Deep. Fighting their way through the city, the group eventually come across the source of the evil – a priest named Brother Poquelin (John Kassir). Poquelin reveals himself to be a demon who was exiled from his home realm by his superiors, and that both he and Yxunomei maintained a vendetta against each other that was getting out of control. Predicting she would follow him to the material plane, the demon sought a base of operation in the region to form a military force that could crush her. While doing so, he stumbled upon the ancient artifact Crenshinibon, which he claims had been "calling" to him. Poquelin immediately used its power to help him amass an army to conquer the lands of Icewind Dale, until Yxunomei's activities around Kuldahar led to the formation of Hrothgar's expedition. Seeking to stop it, the demon had his frost giant minions crush the expedition, but did not count on the adventurers' survival being a problem until they recovered the Heartstone Gem, forcing him to eliminate Arundel. Despite the party having found someone else to use it, Poquelin had managed to build up his forces, which he soon sent to Easthaven.
After a brief battle with Poquelin, the party finds itself transported back to Easthaven, which is now in ruins. After freeing the surviving villagers, the local cleric of Tempus, Everard, informs the party that Poquelin is going after Jerrod's Stone, a mystical object housed under the town's temple, which acts as a seal on a portal to the Nine Hells of Baator. Originally opened during a major historic battle between the combined might of the barbarian tribes and an army of a powerful mage, it was sealed shut by the sacrifice of the shaman Jerrod who led the barbarians in the conflict. Gaining entry into the demon's crystal tower that enveloped the temple, the group discover that Poquelin's true intention was to reopen the portal contained within the Stone, allowing him to conquer the North with an army of devils at his command. Although he successfully achieves this, Everard, having shunned the tale of Jerrod's sacrifice until finally understanding what he did, throws himself into the portal and seals it off at the cost of his life. The party then fights Poquelin in his true form as the devil Belhifet, and manage to defeat him, banishing him to the Nine Hells and escaping the tower as it collapses. In time, Easthaven eventually recovers, and the town is reconstructed.
In a twist ending, it is revealed that the game's narrator (David Ogden Stiers), was really Belhifet, who spent a mandatory century of imprisonment at the hands of the adventurers that is now close to end, and that he will soon walk the Prime Material once more to seek his revenge. (see Baldur's Gate: Siege of Dragonspear )
Icewind Dale is based on the BioWare Infinity Engine, featuring pre-rendered backgrounds and sprite-based characters displayed with an isometric camera perspective. This engine was used to power Black Isle Studios' previous games Planescape: Torment , Baldur's Gate , and others. [6]
Icewind Dale was released on June 29, 2000 for Windows by Interplay Entertainment, and on March 26, 2002 for Mac OS and OS X by MacPlay. An expansion, Icewind Dale: Heart of Winter , was released in 2001.
The game and its expansion were re-released in two budget packages in 2002, entitled Icewind Dale: The Collection and Icewind Dale: Complete . They were re-released again in 2002 alongside Baldur's Gate and Planescape: Torment in Black Isle Compilation . A collector's edition called Icewind Dale: The Ultimate Collection , which included the sequel Icewind Dale II and its expansion, was released in 2003.
All four games were released again in Black Isle Compilation – Part Two in 2004, in Ultimate Dungeons & Dragons in 2006, and in Atari's Rollenspiele: Deluxe Edition in 2007. Icewind Dale was again re-released on October 6, 2010, complete with expansion packs on GOG.com. [7]
Sales Edit.
In the United States, Icewind Dale debuted at #4 on PC Data's weekly computer game sales rankings for June 25–July 1, 2000, [8] following the title's release on the 30th. [9] Domestic sales for the period totaled 39,285 copies, which drew revenues of $1.71 million. Mark Asher of CNET Gamecenter called this performance a "mild surprise" and noted that the game was "doing well". [10] It was the country's 16th-best-selling computer title for the month of June. [11] After retaining position 4 in its second week, [12] it dropped to sixth place in its third week. [13] James Fudge of Computer Games Magazine wrote that Icewind Dale was among the titles that "dominated the retail charts in the U.S. for the month of July". [14] The game remained in PC Data's weekly top 10 until the week ending August 5. [15] [16] [17] Later that month, Interplay's Brian Fargo noted that Icewind Dale was "selling beyond our forecasts and in number one position[s] in certain European territories". [18] It was the United States' sixth-highest computer game seller of July and 16th-highest of August, [19] [20] moving 21,923 units and earning $1.05 million during the latter month alone. [21]
According to Chart-Track, Icewind Dale was the United Kingdom's best-selling computer game for its debut week, breaking Diablo II ' s three-week streak in the region. [22] It dropped to third place the following week, [23] before falling to seventh. [24] Discussing Icewind Dale ' s chart performance, a writer for PC Zone mentioned being "a little surprised at seeing Diablo II capitulate so easily, especially to Icewind Dale , despite the success of Baldur's Gate ". Icewind Dale was the United Kingdom's third-best-selling computer title in August, placing above Diablo II for the month. [25] According to PC Gamer US , it also achieved "high sales" in Germany, [26] where it debuted in 17th place on the computer game sales charts in July. After peaking at #5 the following month, it claimed places 16 and 29 in September and October before exiting Germany's top 30. [27]
By early 2001, Icewind Dale had sold more than 350,000 units worldwide, including 45,000 units in Germany. [27] Sales rose above 400,000 units by April. [28] In the United States alone, it sold 145,564 copies and earned $6.8 million by the end of 2000, according to PC Data. [29] Its lifetime sales there climbed to 270,000 copies ($9.5 million) by 2006; as of that year, the Icewind Dale franchise together had sold 580,000 units in the region. In August 2006, Edge ranked the original Icewind Dale as the United States' 74th-best-selling computer game, and best-selling Icewind Dale title, released since January 2000. [30]
Critical reviews Edit.
Elven tomb icewind dale.
That night, while his companions warmed themselves by the hearth in the Lonelywood town speaker’s empty house, Brock shared something personal with them.
Shortly after he’d joined the church of Sune, a wealthy pasha in Calimshan placed a bounty on his head for seducing his favorite concubine. Bounty hunters scoured the Sword Coast in search of the dwarf cleric. Brock didn’t want to put his family in danger, so he went into hiding. It was the Harpers who came to his rescue. They promised to protect him if he agreed to go to Icewind Dale on a mission to safeguard the settlements of Ten-Towns. They told him to keep an eye out for the Arcane Brotherhood and the Zhentarim, both of whom had threatened Ten-Towns in the past. As part of his cover story, Brock told everyone that he was sent by his religious order to convert the old abandoned Shrine of the Flaming Sword in Good Mead, which was dedicated to Tempus, into a shrine for Sune.
Brock warned that the Arcane Brotherhood was very much alive and active in Icewind Dale right now. The necromancer Vellyne was one of them, as well as the evoker Avarice, and two other wizards, Dzaan and Lass.
The next morning, the companions hitched up the sled dogs and set out again, all except Licktoad, who stayed behind, grumbling about how tired she was from all this traveling and how she thought she would never be warm again.
It snowed all day. Thick snow. And Auril’s Eternal Rime ensured that it was dark, too. Brock, Chaix, Seanne, and Trovus returned to the woods north of Lonelywood. From there, the three banshees led the companions to the site of the elven tomb, which the spirits claimed had been desecrated by an evil druid.
They found a circular barrow sticking out from a hillside, guarded by a dozen statues of elves. North of the barrow stood a marble gazebo. A single sarcophagus, surrounded by five crystal pillars, lay on the summit of the barrow. Investigating these pillars revealed images of a twig, a pinecone, a flame, a feather, and a hand. It took some experimenting, but eventually the party gathered all those ingredients and put them into the brazier inside the gazebo and lit them on fire. Brock stuck his hand into the fire. Miraculously, the fire did not burn him. The flames turned silver, and then the sarcophagus made a grinding sound.
Trovus shoved the lid of the sarcophagus aside, releasing a very angry mummy named Sahnar.
This undead creature was determined to continue her crusade against the humans of Icewind Dale for their treatment of the forest and the elves. Chaix assured the mummy that the humans of Lonelywood had all been killed, and now something evil was desecrating this most holy site. Banshees wandered the forest even now. Sahnar was convinced, and she offered to help them cleanse the area of evil.
Exploring into the barrow led to a confrontation with the legendary white moose itself. Between Chaix’s use of Tasha’s hideous laughter to keep the moose from fighting back, Brock’s solid axe blows, Trovus’s javelins, and Seanne’s arrows, the companions defeated the beast.
After the fight, Trovus felt ill, clutching his chest, coughing, and spitting up blood. He assured his friends that he’d be okay, but he wasn’t convincing anyone. Nobody knew what was wrong with him, only that they had to get him to his spaceship soon, before…
Pushing further into the barrow, the companions found an undisturbed tomb, and a magic mirror that Sahnar said allowed for scrying . Brock suspected this was why the evil druid had come here.
They found her in the next tomb, a frost druid named Ravisin who served Auril. “Ten-Towns will be destroyed!” she shouted at them even as she summoned an ice storm upon them. “If not by my hand, then by the Frostmaiden’s!”
Sahnar the mummy rushed up to engage Ravisin while Seanne and Chaix fought her awakened shrub pet. Trovus and the owlbear fought the wolves summoned by the druid. Ravisin incincerated the mummy with a moonbeam . It was a pitched battle.
Finally, Chaix deceived Ravisin into thinking the adventurers were followers of Auril, too. The druid stopped fighting, and explained that her sister, Vurnis, had been murdered by loggers, and she made sure to exact her revenge upon Lonelywood for it. When asked where Auril was, Ravisin explained that the Frostmaiden, mounted upon Iskra the roc, wove a shimmering aura across the sky each night, a potent spell that kept the sun at bay. Her lair was Grimskalle, a former frost giant fortress on an island in the Sea of Moving Ice.
Trovus chopped at Ravisin with his greatsword. She transformed into an owl and tried flying away, but Brock finished her off with a guiding bolt .
As the party set about searching these tombs for treasure, two gargoyles arrived and started snooping around.
Brock asked Seanne to go break the magic mirror so Avarice couldn’t use it. The gargoyles demanded to know why the adventurers hadn’t returned to their mistress with magic items yet. The bargain was, after all, to give her a cut of all the magic items they found while exploring ancient ruins in Icewind Dale. Chaix convinced the gargoyles that they hadn’t found anything here, nor would she help them open any more of the tombs. The gargoyles warned that Avarice would not be happy, and they flew away.
But the tombs did indeed have treasure: a +1 longbow , some silvered arrowheads, a decanter of endless water , and a couple old potions. Sahnar’s sarcophagus had a folding boat and piles of gold and silver coins. The mummy herself wore +1 mithril chainmail . Chaix took the frost druid’s ice sickle weapon.
With one more quest completed, the companions resolved to head south, out of Ten-Towns, across the tundra, to the Spine of the World Mountains, to find Trovus’s crashed spaceship.
They stopped at Bryn-Shander to eat and purchase more supplies. Chaix bought a bunch of spell scrolls. The House of the Triad gifted Brock with the battle axe Grimjaw in recognition of his generous donation of coins and moose meat.
Brock met with his Harper contact, who informed him that Shandar Froth was in cahoots with the Zhentarim. Apparently some “bandits” attacked Good Mead the other day, and Shandar made a big show of saving the town by driving them away. Chaix’s uncle, Sten Löfgren, was severely injured during the raid. Now everyone thought Shandar was a great hero.
When Brock informed Chaix of all this, the bard wanted to go home immediately and set things straight. But there was the more urgent matter of getting Trovus cured. It was all too much for Chaix. Her normally stoic composure broke, then, and she shared a personal story of her own. Kendrick was her adopted father, but he and Sten were as close to family as she’d ever known. She remembered being fished up out of the cold, dark sea by a polar bear — or was it a mammoth? or a walrus, maybe? — and given to the captain of the Dark Duchess , who in turn gave her to the first mate, Kendrick. After the ship got stuck in the ice, everyone except the captain abandoned ship and fled to Ten-Towns. Kendrick led his crew toward his home, Good Mead. They got lost in a blizzard along the way. Kendrick and Chaix were the only ones who made it.
Seanne reasoned that Good Mead would only add three hours to their journey. The sled dogs made good time on the roads between the ten towns. Brock cast lesser restoration on Trovus, which seemed to help him feel better.
After finishing their supper, the companions headed out again. The plan was to settle things in Good Mead first, then find the spaceship right after that.
Icewind Dale.
Icewind Dale.
Geography [1] [2]
Region.
Capital.
Society [3]
Races.
Commerce [4] [5] [6]
Imports.
Exports.
Politics [2]
Gov't type.
History [1] [2]
Population.
Icewind Dale was an arctic tundra located in the Frozenfar region of the North, [7] [8] [9] known for being the northernmost explored region in all of Faerûn. [2] It earned its name from the harsh winds and icy storms that destroyed buildings and scoured the landscape. [5] [10]
The dale was a harsh, near-uninhabitable land that regularly plunged below freezing temperatures, [5] and received little sunlight, particularly during the severe winter months. [9] It was home to only the most hardened of frontiersmen, pioneers, and barbarians. [2] Beyond the sporadic dots of civilization dwelled terrifying beasts and deadly monsters of the North. [5]
Contents.
1 Climate 2 Geography 3 Geographical Features 4 Government 5 Trade 6 History 7 Rumors and Legends 8 Notable Locations 8.1 Settlements 8.2 Landmarks 8.3 Roads & Trails 9 Inhabitants 10 Appendix 10.1 Appearances 10.2 Gallery 10.3 External links 10.4 References.
Climate [ ]
Icewind Dale experienced freezing temperatures for much of the year. While kinder summer months ranged from 11 ℉ to 70 ℉ (–12 ℃ to 21 ℃ ), the temperature of the unforgiving winters dipped as low as -40 ℉ (-40 ℃ ). While snowfall was relentless, much of it blew east to the nearby Reghed Glacier. [11]
Geography [ ]
The dale was located south and east of the Trackless Sea, north of the upper Sword Coast [2] and Spine of the World mountains, [7] and west of the icy Reghed Glacier. [9]
Geographical Features [ ]
A view of Kelvin's Cairn, Lonelywood, and Maer Dualdon.
The dale was famous for its three mineral-laden lakes: Maer Dualdon, Lac Dinneshere, and Redwaters. [12] Their waters were cold enough to kill men who dared to swim across, even during summer. [ citation needed ]
Maer Dualdon: The largest and deepest of the three lakes [5][13] was once the premier destination for all who dared the trek that far north. [14] Lac Dinneshere: The waters of the lake appeared to change in hue depending on the weather that was just about to wash over the dale. [15] Redwaters: The smallest lake earned its name from a bloody battle that took place on the land over which towns were built. [5] Bodies of Water Redrun: This stream flowed from Lac Dinneshere into the small Redwaters lake. [15] Shaengarne River: While the waters of this river flowed into the Trackless Sea year-round, its top waters froze over during winter. [1][16] Mountains.
The single solitary mountain of the dale was Kelvin's Cairn, [5] a peak that offered fresh water to the surrounding lakes when "spring" bloomed every Midsummer. [9]
Valleys Bremen's Run [1] Fields of Slaughter[17] Icewind Pass [1]
Government [ ]
The capital of Icewind Dale, Bryn Shander, was also its largest settlement. [5]
Trade [ ]
A trade caravan making its way from Luskan to the Ten Towns.
Perhaps the greatest industry of Icewind Dale was the fishing and utilization of knucklehead trout. Many of the region's lakeside settlements relied entirely on the trout they fished and the goods they made from their ivory-like bones. Knucklehead scrimshaw was the art that few mastered, and skilled scrimshanders were held in high esteem. [5] [18] [19]
History [ ]
The region was first populated when Northlander longships reached the area during the last centuries of the Illefarn empire. Initially settling on the islands, the Northlanders would eventually settle Icewind Dale. [ citation needed ]
In −2100 DR, Illuskan refugees first migrated to Icewind Dale and settled, eventually becoming the Reghedmen. [20]
Circa 1269 DR, Damien Morienus, a former master of the North Tower of the Host Tower of the Arcane relocated to Icewind Dale. He was a powerful necromancer who was using the local barbarian tribes for his horrific experiments. Eventually, he summoned demons to exact revenge on his enemies. The monsters used their infernal magics to summon hellfire that melted all the snow away. The areas to the Northwest of Ten Towns and the shores of Maer Dualdon suffered the most by floods and permafrost's melting, killing a barbarian tribe, and the inhabitants of the Accursed Tower that sank into the mud. This disaster later became known as the Great Thaw by the locals. Most never learned about the true nature of it believing it to be a natural event. [21]
In 1281 DR, a party of adventurers in Icewind Dale interfered in the plans of Belhifet to use the artifact Crenshinibon to conquer the region. The fiend was banished after freezing the city of Easthaven over. [17] Shorty later, the same year, barbarian lord Wylfdene claimed to be a reincarnation of the famed Uthgardt hero Jerrod. Backed by the claim, and secretly possessed by the vengeful spirit of a white dragon Icasaracht, Wylfdene built an outpost on Bremen's Run and guided unite tribes against the Ten Towns who took rightfully barbarian lands. He helmed several battles against the warriors of the Ten Towns and dwarves of Clan Battlehammer until the same group of adventurers arrived to resolve the conflict peacefully. Diplomacy failed and Wylfdene was slain. Despite the fact that Icasaracht's possession was unknown to most and forgotten by the history books, the adventurers traveled to the spirit's lair and destroyed her. Apparently, they later disappeared somewhere in Anauroch after following one halfling's promises of riches and treasures. [22]
In 1342 DR, goblins raided Termalaine. Were it not for the intervention of Clan Battlehammer, the town may have been destroyed. [23]
Famous ranger Drizzt Do'Urden first arrived in Icewind Dale in 1347 DR. [24]
In 1351 DR, Heafstaag and his group of barbarians fail to conquer the settlement of Termalaine in their massive sweep of the Ten-Towns. [25] In this same year, Crenshinibon, a powerful magical item lost to the ages, was found by Akar Kessel, an apprentice wizard from Luskan. [26]
A storm in 1473 DR caused a wave on Lac Dinneshere to destroy the docks of Easthaven and several of its ships, as well as their crews. [27]
On Eleint 3 in 1485 DR, black ice was discovered in Icewind Dale. The substance was a remnant of the power of Crenshinibon . [28]
Rumors and Legends [ ]
Local legend told of the White Lady, a spirit that haunted the shore of Lac Dinneshere. [29]
Notable Locations [ ]
The map of Icewind Dale circa 1347 DR.
Settlements [ ]
Icewind Dale's only permanent settlements were known as the Ten Towns, a confederation of minor settlements that cooperated with each other. [8] [2] It attracted all manner of determined and desperate folks from all across the Realms. [30] The Ten Towns comprised the hamlets nestled on Redwaters lake, Good Mead, and Dougan's Hole; [31] the three settlements located on the shores of Lac Dinneshere, Easthaven, Caer-Konig, and Caer-Dineval; the four that encircled Maer Dualdon, Lonelywood, Bremen, Termalaine, and the walled town of Targos, [1] and the "Tenth Town" of Bryn Shander, the mercantile hub that held them all together. [32] Shaengarne Ford was a small logging village, southwest from Targos, built on the shored of the Shaengarne River. The settlement of Slow Cedric's Gallop was a small frontier settlement on the Southern Pass of the Spine of the World, overrun and destroyed in 1170 DR. [33]
Away from Ten Towns, all the way on the northern reaches of the Spine of the World, laid the settlement of Kuldahar. The village was a small group of buildings clustered around the great oak tree, protected from the elements by the Heartstone Gem. Kuldahar had regular trade caravans braving the harsh wilderness to and from Ten Towns. [17]
The isolated prison of Revel's End was situated far to the north of the dale, on a cliff overlooking the Sea of Moving Ice. [34] [35]
In the southwest region of the dale, within foothills of the Spine of the World, was the goblin fort-settlement of Karkolohk . [34]
Landmarks [ ]
Black Cabin , a solitary lodge that served as a refuge for many who traveled across the dale. [36] Damien's Tower, the cursed residence of Damien Morienus. [37] Dorn's Deep, a dwarven fortress located on a lone peak in the Spine of the World. [17] Jarlmoot, the ancient meeting place of the region's frost giants. [38] Lost Spire of Netheril , a mage tower that was torn asunder from the enclave of Ythryn. [39]
Roads & Trails [ ]
Eastway: The only paved road in Icewind Dale linked the hub of Bryn Shander with the communities of Lac Dinneshere [1][40] Ten Trail: This wagon trail led north from the settlement of Hundelstone, through the North/South Pass , allowing merchants and travelers to make their way to Bryn Shander. [19]
Inhabitants [ ]
The region was mainly populated by fishermen, craftsmen, rangers, dwarves that mined the depths for minerals and precious stones, Reghedmen barbarians, and merchants that tolerated the hostile climate in the hope of trading in ivory and gems. [2] While most of them lived in the Ten Towns, the dwarves mined in isolated caves and caverns while the barbarian tribes roamed after their migratory prey. [9]
Beyond the civilized folk, the dale was home to beasts like reindeer, elk, crag cats, polar bears, and monstrous yetis. [5] [8] [2] Beyond the wild animals were monstrosities called remorhazes, [10] warring bands of frost giants, [41] and perhaps most-terrifying, a number of white dragons, [5]
At the times of famine due to extremely harsh winters, in the regions where rothé herds roamed, the folk of Icewind Dale joined together to start the rothé stampedes, forcing them off cliffs. The dead and wounded animals provided the northerners with fresh life-saving meat. The animals were harvested, roasted, or smoked on the spot. The hides and meats were sledded back to the towns and stored in stone cairns for keeping. When the food supply was even more scarce, the folk was forced to slaughter and consume their mounts, draft beasts, sled dogs. [42]
Aggregate scores Aggregator Score GameRankings 86% [31] Metacritic 87/100 [1] Review scores Publication Score CGM [32] CGW [33] GameSpot 8.6/10 [34] GameZone 9.5/10 [35] IGN 8.8/10 [3] Next Generation [36] PC Format 87% [37] PC Gamer (UK) 84% [38] PC Gamer (US) 85% [39] PC Zone 75/100 [40]
Icewind Dale was well received by critics, scoring 86% from GameRankings [31] and 87/100 from Metacritic. [1] GameSpot 's Greg Kasavin gave the game 8.6/10, opining it is "well suited for fans of Black Isle Studios' previous games, fans of classic hack-and-slash AD&D computer games, and anyone looking for an action-packed role-playing game with a lot of depth". [34] IGN scored it 8.8/10 [3] and GameZone gave it 9.5/10. [35] According to GameSpy's Allen Rausch, " Icewind Dale was a fun dungeon romp that can hold its head up high, even if it can't match its big brothers". [41] The game's music score by Jeremy Soule received widespread critical acclaim. [42] [43] Chris Chan of the New Straits Times said the game was one of the best he ever played, [4] and went on to positively compare it with Diablo II . [4]
The strongest criticism was that the gameplay was too uniform and was mostly combat-focused, with little interaction or investigation. [31] Bob Low of the Daily Record noted technical issues such as poor pathfinding and occasional crashes. [44] PC Zone criticized its similarities to previous Infinity Engine games. [45] IGN ranked Icewind Dale No. 6 on their list of "The Top 11 Dungeons & Dragons Games of All Time" in 2014. [46] Ian Williams of Paste rated the game #3 on his list of "The 10 Greatest Dungeons and Dragons Videogames" in 2015. [47]
Computer Gaming World , GameSpot, The Electric Playground and CNET Gamecenter nominated Icewind Dale as the top computer role-playing game of 2000, but it lost all four awards to Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn . [48] [49] [50] [51] The former publication's editors wrote that Icewind Dale "hearkened back to the old days" and was "dangerously close to being the most purely fun RPG that we've played in a long time." [50]
Kevin Rice reviewed the PC version of the game for Next Generation , rating it four stars out of five, and stated that "a huge, engrossing game with the most action in the Forgotten Realms series, Icewind Dale earns its place on the hard drive of any self-respecting RPG fan". [36]
A remake of Icewind Dale was developed by Beamdog's Overhaul Games and published by Atari for Windows, OS X, Linux, Android, and iOS in 2014. [52]