Dungeons & Dragons 5e | Rime of the Frostmaiden and the Crystal Shards

About the adventure

They say it's darkest before the dawn. But what if the dawn never comes? What if the goddess of ice decided the sun doesn't need to rise anymore? What if Lady Frostkiss never explained her motivations to all the northerners who desperately need that light and heat? Well, after a couple of years of the sun hiding behind the horizon, things might get pretty ugly north the Spine of the World. Opportunists and profiteers might seize the situation, trading on the misery of the innocent to hoard coin and power. People might begin sacrificing friends, lovers and loved ones just to stay the hand of this inscrutably cruel goddess. New, as-yet unknown forms of life (and even un-life) might start crawling out of the cracks in the ground to terrorize the confused, scattered survivors. Unfortunately, north the Spine of the World, these aren't what ifs, maybes or mights. This is just the cold, black reality of life these days in Icewind Dale. Auril the Frostmaiden has cast the same spell every night for over two years now, and those filthy, forgotten magicks keep the sun from rising on the coldest part of the world, the part that needs its warmth the most. The trapped people of the north cry out for mercy to the goddess of mercilessness as they freeze to death in their own beds, but if she hears, if she cares? No one knows. Mayhap those frozen souls will learn the answers to all questions in the next world. Welcome to the far north. The passages leading out are choked, blocked and beyond treacherous, so you're here for the long haul. But if you don't do something about this never-ending winter, you might not be here for as long as you'd like. They say Auril can not be denied. They say a lot, don't they? Prove them wrong.

Additional Details

How to prepare

Players will need an internet connection to log into my Forge server for the Foundry, and they need a Discord account for verbal communication and whatever other technology required to use Discord in their preferred method. So a microphone if they're using Discord through their actual computer, or earbuds if they're using Discord through their phone. Or I guess they could just hold the phone to the side of their head for three hours straight LIKE A SAVAGE. However you prefer to handle things, so long as we can all hear you. (In fact, savages are welcome and often even preferred at my tables.) Players should have at least a rough understanding of D&D 5th Edition rules, but I am open to first time players. I always consider it an honor to christen a player's maiden voyage. I will work with players in advance of the game's beginning to create their characters via my DNDBeyond account which gives them access to every core book published so far. I’m open to homebrew, and I love working with players to bring their character vision to life. No software installation is necessary unless you've never downloaded Discord before. The Foundry runs off a simple link I send to my players, it couldn't be easier. Dice and character sheets will all be found within the world, and the digital dice can even be customized. The dice are in my top 10 favorite features of the Foundry. Chances are, you'll end up spending way more time skinning them than you suspect.

What I provide

I'm bringing a version of Icewind Dale that I've been building and playtesting for the past year. A version that strays far from the official module's convenient plot structure and too-often sanitized approach to life in a land that's teetering on the edge of cosmic apocalypse. A version influenced in equal parts by the barbarian apologia of Robert E. Howard, by the unparalleled way Jack London described survival in a polar environment, and by the seminal works of R. A. Salvatore, the man without whom that brutal corner of Faerûn would not even exist. Also, in the spirit of Robert E. Howard and his peerless rendition of the most iconic barbarian of all time, I recently wrote a true d100 table for Tasha's recent Wild Magic Barbarian subclass. You won't find it at any other table, and it's a lot of fun. I've been playtesting it for the past year.

Gameplay details

I've been involved with role playing games long before content warnings were part of them. I look at D&D the way I look at The Princess Bride. That's a movie all ages can appreciate, but it's still ostensibly for children. It touches on some incredibly serious, adult topics -- torture, kidnapping, gaslighting, murder, emotional abuse, suicide, alcoholism, revenge, indentured servitude, romance and true love -- but the storytellers do it in a way that can be accessed by any audience. That's what I've always strived for in the games I run, a story which will thrill adults while still being appropriate for children. Also, I don't think players should have to pay for a session zero. I would attempt to handle session zero business prior to the first official session.

Content warnings

(none)

Safety tools used

Bleed
Session 0

How will character creation work

Characters begin at the beginning -- level 1, and they will be created via my DNDBeyond account which grants my players access to every 5th edition core book published thus far. Character creation will occur prior to the game, and character sheets are then exported into my Foundry world.

Players can expect

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