Dark Dreams of the Frozen Dale

Dark Dreams of the Frozen Dale is a D&D 5e adventure that will take the group from levels 2-7. It will be set primarily in and around the Ten Towns and Icewind Dale region of Faerun set during the time period of Auril’s Everlasting Rime as depicted in the Rime of the Frostmaiden module. It is important to note in advance though that this is not a retelling of Rime of the Frostmaiden, I am using elements of the setting presented in the book to build what is my own adventure here.

This will not be a quest to stop Auril or free the Dale from the Everlasting Rime, this will be a shorter, more self-contained and personal quest.

There are a number of goals that I want to accomplish with this game. I want to present a story and quest that is personal to you, the players, and one that has an impactful and meaningful narrative. I feel the setting as presented is a powerful one and one that fits well with the dark fantasy tone I am striving for here. What I would ask from you, as potential players in the game, is to be prepared to help me build that narrative and contribute to it in a meaningful way. Be prepared to explore your character, their hopes and dreams, their fears and worries, and let us collaboratively tell an epic story here.

The Icewind Dale region is a troubled one at the period that this game is set in. It has been effectively partitioned from the rest of Faerun by an impenetrable blizzard created by the Frostmaiden Auril. The blizzard cannot be breached, and all of whom who have tried have died in the attempt. Worse still, every night before midnight, Auril takes to the sky on the back of a white roc, and she casts a powerful spell that prevents the sun from rising in the morning. Natural light in the Dale is never brighter than dim, and usually dark unless the full moon appears in the night sky.

This will be a character driven narrative focussed roleplay that will emphasise roleplay, character interactions and narrative over. Although combat is an important staple of the game, in my opinion it is something that has to be meaningful. I don't want to throw a random combat at the group for the sake of putting a combat in there. Combat should be something that is important to the story and something that should be used to further narrative, not just as something that is there just because. Although there will be high stakes in the adventure, it is the sort of high stakes that will be personal to the characters rather than an existential threat to the realm at large. This story is one that will be personal to the characters that you give me to be part of this.

This adventure will encompass the following topics and themes that I would like to state in advance so everyone knows what lies ahead:

• Isolation
• Paranoia
• Dark Fantasy
• Cosmic Horror
• Body Horror

The adventure itself will be partly linear and partly sandbox. There will be a lot of overland travel and exploration of the region of Icewind Dale as you travel from place to place in search of answers to the overarching mystery that I will ask you to solve.

If you are still interested in the game after reading all of the above then I invite you to read through the game pitch below.

Once, there was a time that the Ten Towns of Icewind Dale was a haven to outcasts and those who wanted to disappear from the rest of Faerun. Now though, with the onset of the Everlasting Rime, the social fabric of the Ten Towns has unravelled entirely. Bereft of trade with the outside world and trapped in a region of unending night, many local businesses and trades have shut their doors. The Ten Towns are struggling to survive when the region they once depended on for food, fishing and trade has become an icy deathtrap. Isolation and paranoia runs rampant through the Dale as kin and neighbours eye the food and fire they each have covetously. Worse still are the sacrifices made to appease the heartless goddess who has effectively trapped them in her own self-imposed prison, sacrifices of food, warmth and of people in an attempt to earn her favour.

And yet, for you, there is worse yet to come.

It begins with a dream. The strangest thing really, it is a dream of a beautiful, bustling city of gold. It is a place of perfection and beauty, where golden streets line across a visage of precision in perpendicular rows, filled with people going about their daily business. The people are smiling and yet something is not right. Something is wrong. Their eyes are empty, desperate in a way that you cannot understand. Atop this dream and beyond the city lies a glorious and beautiful golden palace.

And then you can sense something. Something that is impossibly alien and incomprehensible, far far beyond the understanding of your mortal minds. There is a consciousness of sorts within the palace, and it reaches out with dark tendrils probing, looking to ensnare your mind.

The dream ends, and you wake in a cold sweat. It felt so so real, and yet it couldn't be. It was nothing more than a dream, wasn't it?

When a terrible tragedy strikes, you will begin to realise that the world of dreams and the world reality intertwine in ways that you could not ever even begin to imagine. And yet the two worlds are linked, and soon you will have to find a way to go into the dream to retrieve something very important to you that you have lost.

And it is here, deep within the realm of dreams, nightmares and loss that a dark and terrible entity waits for you.

Character Creation Details:

The following books listed below are acceptable sources to build your character from. Anything within these pages is acceptable with the exception of Custom Lineages as presented in Tasha’s.

• Players Handbook
• Xanathar’s Guide to Everything
• Tasha's Cauldron of Everything
• Sword Coast Adventurers Guide
• Explorers Guide to Wildemount
• Van Richtens Guide to Ravenloft

Starting Level: 2nd Level

Alignment Requirement: Any non-evil

Starting Equipment: Starting Class Equipment + Background only

Ability Scores: 27 point buy

Hit Points: Maximum at 1st level, average OR roll each additional level, your choice. If you choose to roll you must take the result from the dice.

Backgrounds: Any from the source books listed above

Variant Humans are in-play.

Application Deadline: Friday 11th October

Post Requirements: I'm provisionally looking for around 2 posts a week, however as part of your application I will ask you to state your preferred posting rate and we can adjust as needed.

Party Size: Looking for 4-6 players.

Other Notes:
- I want players who give detailed and interesting posts. Not one-liners and blocks of speech text. The rule of three applies here. What is your character thinking, doing and saying.

- If the dice say you're dead, you're dead. I'm not going to shy away from potential character death if the dice fall that way. If a character does die you will be allowed to create a replacement.

- The rule of cool applies. If it makes for a good story and is epic I'll probably allow it...within reason