Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden
North of the Spine of the World and west of the towering Reghed Glacier is a frigid expanse few dare to explore, let alone inhabit. For two long years, the god of winter's wrath has kept the sun from rising in Icewind Dale. Suspicion and desperation eat away at settlements plunged into perpetual darkness. And still greater threats may loom on the horizon. Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden is a tale of dark terror that revisits the forlorn, flickering candlelight of Ten-Towns and the many bone-chilling locations that surround it. Explore twenty-six adventure sites around Icewind Dale. Each location comes with its own thrilling quests, most of which can also be used as stand-alone adventures or dropped into other campaign worlds.
Authors: Chris Perkins, Stacey Allan, Bill Benham, H.H. Carlan, Celeste Conowitch, Dan Dillon, Will Doyle, Mikayla Ebel, Anne Gregersen, Chad Quandt, Morrigan Robbins, Ashley Warren
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Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden Reviews (13)
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I've run Rime of the Frostmaiden twice now, and I absolutely love it. The survival horror aspect of the game and the long journeys through the frozen wilds bring a level of intensity that offsets the sometimes too-easy "magical healing" that a long rest offers. Ten Towns offers a welcome respite for players after coming in out of the wilderness. The missions and NPCs included in the book leave a lot to be desired, but it is welcome for a DM who likes to improvise and embellish content to fit their own needs.
This adventure feels more like a primer for the Icewind Dale Region at times. Outlining each of the Ten Towns giving resident information, maps, and plot hooks, the Rime of the Frostmaiden book presents tools to utilize in this campaign or in any campaign set up north of the Sword Coast. Adding in the plotline of the endless night, a vengeful god, and a few other dangerous enemies creates plenty to entice your players for an adventure that can get pretty dangerous depending where your group ventures. The first part of this book focuses on the ten towns and what is going on there. There are some suggestions for plots and hooks to encourage your players to move from place to place, and considering the dangers outside of the towns, it makes sense for low level players to stay near civilization at first. However, with the town quests being limited to one or two tasks the formula does get stale relatively quickly. Even as you add in wilderness and site based quests in the second part of the adventure, things feel less connected to the story and more focused on just making a living in the wild. Later parts of the stories can feel like they’ve come out of nowhere, or that they are unrelated to the adventure entirely unless the DM does a great deal of foreshadowing. With all that said, I’ve ran this campaign multiple times and had a lot of fun doing it. The key is to be willing to link parts of the story with what the party is doing while planning out some foreshadowing throughout. You’ll want to pick a few of the Ten Towns to develop and focus on as players pick out their favorites to visit, and adding a bit more connecting stories to the wilderness locations can increase player investment significantly. I would say that if you enjoy the setting of Icewind Dale and the ideas of how an endless night would affect it, but that you also don’t mind injecting your own details and story enhancements into things, this can make an excellent campaign.
I love Rime of the Frostmaiden - it's got horror vibes, a cool sandbox setting, and some brutal encounters for those seeking tense combat. Yet after running it three times, I still can't get the story to come together in an organic way. There are essentially three separate major quests that make up the main narrative. Each offers different elements which does give every DnD class a chance to shine, although Wizards, Rangers, and Druids are best served here. Unfortunately, the quests don't flow into each other very neatly which can slow the pacing. The first half feels like a disparate sandbox and then things suddenly link up for a thrilling roller coaster ride. As the DM, you'll need to put in a lot of work to pick and choose what quests to include because offering everything really slows the game down. You'll also have to discuss during session 0 if your players truly want to play survivor horror. Even if they think they want the vibes, they might get worn down by the difficulties and rigor of travel in a hostile land.
I just wrapped up this campaign after running it for two years with the same group, and while it’s not perfect, it has so much to offer. From open-ended sandbox adventures to epic, heroic quests, there’s a great mix of mystery and intrigue that kept my players hooked. If you’re a fan of The Legend of Drizzt novels, you’ll definitely enjoy this! My players, being completionists, explored almost every corner of the map, and there was always something exciting to discover. Whether you're a beginner or a seasoned veteran, I’d 100% recommend this campaign—it’s an unforgettable experience. I’d love to run it again with a different group!
Will you stop the Frost Maiden, or will you join her? Easily one of the best 5E adventure books ever released. This setting allows for so much player & DM freedom while still having a solid set of tracks & hooks to keep the adventure moving. If you're a new DM I highly recommend running this module, and allowing your players to "sandbox". If you're a player you are in for a Blast. Artic Blast to be more specific, this setting is so much fun. It's dangerous, without being "rocks fall & everyone dies". Your choices really feel like they matter in this setting. There are several different ways most of the key scenarios go & It's all up to you how those play out.
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