Hello aspiring adventurers! I beseech you today to join me on another epic quest, this time into the frigid north, to the heart of Icewind Dale as we tell the tale of The Rime of the Frostmaiden. Story Preamble The cold north is growing colder with each passing week, and a mysterious magic has taken the land, swallowing up the only passageways connecting the tundra to the south. As winter approaches, the denizens of Icewind Dale fear the worst as they start running short on food and firewood. As things get colder, more of the north's migratory animals find themselves trapped under snow and ice, and people are beginning to fear that the end will be nigh for all of them.
What's more, strange mysteries have come afoot in the passages deep down below. The creatures of the underdark are plotting terrible fates for the Ten Towns. The giants of the tundra grow weary of the cold, and seek the guidance of new, stronger leaders through this troubled time. Out across the freezing northern sea, the ancient aisle of the goddess Auril stirs with dark magic. And the great white beast of the northern blizzard, old iceclaws, stalks the land, her lifeless rider haunting the people who live here. Why I'm running this module in particular To fully understand why Rime was chosen, you must first understand what kind of DM I am. You are prompted with an adventure hook. It may or may not be particularly catered to your character, but that is not relevant. What is, is that it's a call to adventure most often. The call to adventure may not always be straight forward. You may have something like a Stone Golem thrown at you, at level 3 or 5, without current means to deal with it. If your first instinct is to give up or move on, this is not the game for you. I thoroughly enjoy challenging my players, not killing them. Items, powers, deals, and NPCs are always, ALWAYS in your general area of adventuring. Things you can utilize to succeed in your trials. If you are prone to making bad choices, antagonizing NPCs and PCs, or not engaging with the world as a whole, this is not the game for you. It is not even my own taste, either. The module is very much like Curse of Strahd. It is a sandbox designed to get you to a certain point to complete the final trial; defeat the big bad. If you go directly to Strahd, you will go directly to hell. If you go directly to Auril, you will become a statue. Roll a new character. Game Details -Level 1 start, you will be given class equipment and likely a little extra gold for gear and supplies. -We will start in one of the 10 towns of Icewind Dale. -Our party will be around 5 strong, not including NPC allies. -There will be heavy survival and exploration mechanics, a lot of which can or cannot be solved by a Ranger, some of it is not clear to boot. So for the purposes of this game, Ranger will not be allowed, sorry. -I do prefer my players roleplay, if with no one else, each other. The only fly on the wall in this group should be me. -Creativity is rewarded, even if it might be against the rules or I have to make something up on the fly. Do not expect that particular ruling to always be honored, though. -We will be using a mechanic to incentivize planning for battles, getting friends to help. This mechanic is called Grievous Wounds. Dropping to 0 hp will inflict a lasting wound that goes away with a successful DC 10 medicine check after a long rest, unless it's a permanent wound. Long story short, don't juggle people from 0 hp with Healing Word. -Homebrew and UA are to be approved by yours truly, but most official content is likely okay. Add me on Discord @ Grimm#6098 Our voice chat for game time will be handled there, as well as planning/scheduling. We will try to meet for session 0 and character creation this Thursday @ game time. Be there or be square!