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The people of Ten Towns are firmly in Auril's icy clutches
Image by Wizards of the Coast |
[5 min read]
SPOILER WARNING for Rime of the Frostmaiden - the first half of this article contains minor spoilers, but then the second half has a major spoiler warning.
When building my character, Sigurd Jarlsson, for the Tyranny of Dragons campaign, I wanted more details on his place of upbringing - the Ten Towns in Icewind Dale. So I bought Rime of the Frostmaiden adventure, which does provide helpful context about the region.
I then decided to try my hand at solo D&D, and started the module with two important characters from Sigurd's life - his father, Harald Elkhardt (minor lord of the Elk tribe of Reghed barbarians) and Remallia Haventree (a wood elf Druid, member of the Harpers). Later, I freed a third character from imprisonment, Wynne Wayfarer (an Eladrin Bladesinger), to join them.
Given the importance of Harald, whom Sigurd was always trying to impress, and Remallia, who introduced him to the Harpers and to becoming a Valour Bard, playing through their story together was a way to help flesh out Sigurd's backstory. And also a way to test DM'ing an adventure that combines two of my thematic interests - survival and horror.
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Survival horror set in a dark, frozen land? Sign me up!
Image by Wizards of the Coast |
My play experience
This solo campaign was played sporadically over 2 years, using DM Yourself and Above VTT as tools, as outlined in this article here. This was a more challenging campaign to run this way, when compared to the Lost Mine of Phandelver, for reasons I outline below.
Please take this context into considerations when reading my positives and negatives about the adventure - it is definitely an atypical play experience!
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Only a few hours of twilight each day makes lighting a key consideration
Image by Wizards of the Coast |
What I liked
Setting and premise
The northern tundra of Icewind Dale is shrouded in darkness. The inhabitants of the Ten Towns are sacrificing food, heat, and... people in order to appease Auril, the Frostmaiden, who is believed to be the cause of the lack of sun. Other malevolent forces are looking to take advantage of the desperate situation. And ancient secrets are buried beneath the ice. A pretty cool setting and premise, huh?
Combination of survival and horror
I like survival horror in my video games, so blending these themes in my tabletop RPG was an exciting prospect. Some of the encounters in this adventure are deadly, particularly in the early character levels. The wilderness itself is unpredictable and equally deadly. And the themes of isolation, sacrifice and mystery set a grim, darker tone that those seen in other D&D adventures I have played (Lost Mine of Phandelver, Dragon of Icespire Peak, Tyranny of Dragons).
Some fantastic locations
WARNING! MAJOR SPOILERS FROM THIS POINT FORWARD
A Duergar fortress, a downed Illithid ship, and a ruined Netherese city buried in the ice are just some of the exciting locations that this adventure offers. And meeting Auril in a mountain complex carved into the shape of a giant skull on a lonely island in the Sea of Moving Ice was a highlight.
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Icewind Dale is home to many imposing locations
Image by Wizards of the Coast |
Connecting character generations
I probably haven't played this card enough, but being able to draw upon cool moments experienced by the father in Rime of the Frostmaiden as inspiration for sagas told by the son in Tyranny of Dragons is a cool way to connect both characters to the world of the Forgotten Realms.
Concerns I had
Disconnected parts
I am not alone in calling out how Chapters 1 & 2 feel like a sprawling sandbox with little connection to later chapters. Many prominent content creators have criticised the adventure for this. I actually don't mind the sandbox, but it sets an expectation of player choice that doesn't feel delivered on in the later sequence of dungeons.
Didn't work well solo
It is due to the sandbox nature of the start of the game that this didn't run as well solo as other, more linear adventures. When playing solo, you have to only 'skim ahead' or you see and spoil too many plot points. But after only skim reading it is difficult to seed the hooks from the earlier adventures into the later parts and make the whole thing hang together coherently. I also feel that horror is a difficult genre to pull off playing solo.
Challenge of survival is too easily obviated
I am a victim of my own character optimisation here. Deliberately choosing a druid with Create Bonfire, Darkvision and Good Berry, meant I could easily overcome the lack of heat, light and sustenance in the tundra. Later adding a wizard with Tiny Hut and Arcane Eye even made exploring inside the icy caverns pretty trivial.
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While the Caves of Hunger didn't live up to their name, the mysterious city beneath the ice certainly did
Image by Wizards of the Coast |
What would I do differently
If I were to run this for others, I think this adventure could be adapted to deliver more of the promise. I do this anyway when I run published adventures, but with Curse of Strahd as an example, I don't feel I have to tinker as much. For Rime of the Frostmaiden, here are some of the changes I would make:
- Remove certain spells to enhance the survival aspect
- Lean more into the horror, particularly around the sacrifices to Auril
- Reduce the adventure hooks in the first two chapters
- Introduce the Arcane Brotherhood earlier and flesh them out as a faction more
- Connect the second half of the adventure more to the hooks in the first half
Summary
I had a great time almost in spite of the adventure's shortcomings. I would run it again for a group, but heavily flavour it my way. I will also cannibalise the parts of the adventure for other campaigns, and definitely reuse some of the fantastic locations.
Considering I picked this up on sale for around $20 USD on D&D Beyond, I don't feel disappointed in my investment. But I won't be buying the book as a memento, which I felt compelled to for the excellent Curse of Strahd campaign. Your mileage may vary however! So I hope these impressions help you if you plan to brave the dangers besetting Icewind Dale...
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Dare you enter Grimskalle and confront the Frostmaiden and her pet?
Image by Wizards of the Coast |
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