Rime of the Frostmaiden and the Crystal Shards - Level 18!

Rime of the Frostmaiden and the Crystal Shards - Level 18!

The sun hasn't risen in two years, and the only way to bring it back is to kill a god. Easy!

TYPE

Campaign

EXPERIENCE

Open to all

AGE

All Ages
3 SEATS LEFT
$24.00

/ Session

Details

Weekly / Sunday – 6:30 PM UTC

Jul 20 / Session 75

3–4 Hour Duration

3 / 6 Seats Filled

Schedule

Sun, Jul 20 | 6:30 PM – Session 75

Sun, Jul 27 | 6:30 PM – Session 76

Sun, Aug 03 | 6:30 PM – Session 77

Sun, Aug 10 | 6:30 PM – Session 78

Sun, Aug 17 | 6:30 PM – Session 79

Sun, Aug 24 | 6:30 PM – Session 80

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.

Meet the Game Master

5.0

(33)

Published Writer

3 years on StartPlaying

561 games hosted

Highly rated for: Creativity, Knows the Rules, Storytelling

About me

**NOW TRYING OUT CHARACTER BUILDS FROM THE 2024 PLAYER'S HANDBOOK. YOUR CHOICE, 5E OR ONED&D!** Yes, I'm covered in blood. Yes, some of it is my own. Yes, I might have had a few too many drinks that night. But do you really want someone describing your party's fight in a tavern who doesn't know what a bar brawl is actually like? Let me tell you of the days of high adventure! I've been doing this for a decade now -- running D&D 5e, not getting into bar fights -- so you'll find a very experienced dungeon master in me. I thoroughly enjoy helping both new and veteran players realize their characters, then putting those characters to the test. I welcome homebrew and happily work with anyone to bring to life a fair vision of the character they want to play even if that vision has not previously been rendered through the class mechanics of the core books. Expect a good balance between social interactions, cinematic combat scenarios, involved exploration... and loot. Expensive, rare, magical loot. What's an adventure without a big old pile of shiny at the end of it? I specialize in incorporating a player's character concept and background into the story I run. Are you an escaped Thayan slave turned rogue? Perhaps you'll bump into your old master somewhere down the line and exact a bit of revenge. Did you accidentally burn down the orphanage in Waterdeep in which you were raised, practicing your nascent sorcery? Maybe as you refine your evocation skills, you'll be given the opportunity to make right this misdeed for which you've never forgiven yourself. As a young sailor, were you tossed overboard during a terrible storm off the Sword Coast? Mayhap in your new life as an accomplished fighter, you'll reunite with the captain who had been more a father than an employer. One important ground rule: Chaotic evil PCs are forbidden at my table. This is an alignment for monsters, and monsters don't play well with others. Likewise, keep this spirit of cooperation in mind if you're thinking of portraying the ubiquitous, brooding, silent character with a dark past. Even if you're just pretending to be a jerk, everyone else still has to spend three very real hours with that jerk. Besides, in real life, the people I know who've had the worst things happen to them are often the most fun to have a beer with. A dark character with a horrible past can still be a fun hang. Let's try to spend three hours a week pretending to be something we'll probably never actually get to be in real life: Heroes. It's therapeutic.

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Character creation

Creating your character

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.

The current party

Now trying out new character builds from the 2024 Player's Handbook! Either build welcome, 5e or OneD&D!

What to expect

Preparing for the session

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 ParryDuckKill brings to the table

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 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.

Equipment needed to play

Computer

Headphones

Internet

Microphone

Safety

How ParryDuckKill creates a safe table

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

Safety tools used

Frequently asked questions