Running session 2 tonight. I will be seeding rumors through the bard's songs at each tavern as well as through NPCs. I've decided to not make the rumors random, so the party gets two side-quest hints every time they visit a tavern. Also, I really want things to be unpredictably weird, while also getting the party attached to certain NPCs in the towns. I'm creating a list of event/celebration that might occur in the towns, but also things that can unexpectedly happen. Such as being asked to judge a children's snowman making contest...only to have one of the snowmen come alive later that night. Also...dog sled mimics.
This relieved a LOT of anxiety I had about starting the campaign, and weaving plot points together. The caravan idea's genius and I plan on using it for my campaign!
sounds awesome! this module is a bit of work, but I think its well worth it. I'm going through every single location and chapter if you want added insight there as well!
Excellent video! As a writer, I've been studying IWDRF (and many of the live play games as well as reviews) as an example of excellence in adventure design. But I agree it could be more excellent, and your videos thus far make it more so. One of my thoughts thus far was that despite being portrayed as horror, it doesn't come off that way. Your suggestions on getting the PCs cut off from anywhere that isn't IWD and also making the cold get colder definitely help with this. As an example, many of the live plays I've seen thus far are way too "the cold doesn't bother me anyway." (One of the reasons I LOVE this module is because it puts the survival aspect right up front. (I'm a sucker for both rangers and wilderness adventures.) I also haven't seen them taking the sacrifices terribly seriously. "You don't want to be sacrificed? Move to a different town." Rather than SOMEBODY is going to be ritually sacrificed EVERY MONTH x 3! WTF we have to STOP this! I also heartily agree with the suggestions for having the PCs NOT be from Ten Towns. If/when I run this adventure that's one of the things I'd been pondering. I feel this adventure is far more powerful if the PCs are NOT at all native and exploring a new land. (HAH and much better if they feel trapped there!) As opposed to "Ho hum. this is the way it's been for the last year or two. Give your players culture shock! I visited Sweden years ago and it was definitely that, even in the middle of June. The sky was gray all night - it felt unearthly. The people are very dour. (Don't smile at them in the street or they'll think you're weird!) Add in blizzards, yetis, sacrifices, most-day-night, northern lights and peril everywhere (as if this was UNUSUAL instead of usual).
Potential SPOILERS for Players, but GM's feel free to read and comment: I recently ran my first session of this module, and my set up included the players accepting jobs as Caravan Guards to escort a group of merchants to the Ten-Towns. They started the adventure in Luskan (Home of the Arcane Brotherhood and very clsoe to the SPine of the World) and they witnessed the Arcane Brotherhood speaking with the head merchant, giving him a package that is to be delivered to Vellynne Harpel. Then the group set off with the merchants and on their way into Icewind Dale they ran into a group of refugees fleeing the Ten-Towns, who warned them of the Frostmaiden and the Chardalyn in the area, which alerted the players to the dangers of the Dale. Then, in a mountain pass through the Spine of the World, the merchant caravan was ambushed by Duergar who tried to force them to give up all of their goods as tribute to the Sunblight Kingdom. Well, after a brief scuffle and a hasty use of some explosives, an avalanche was triggered, which sealed the mountain pass and closed the only way into or out of Icewind Dale, at least for a few weeks until it was cleared. This was a bit railroaded, but I figure the set up to most adventures are anyway, and the players were all having fun with it. So, it seems like a lot, but it really was only a bit of roleplay, giving the players the chance to ask questions to the Ten-Towns refuges, and a single combat encounter for the first session. This introduced the players to a lot of big name characters and concepts in this adventure right off the bat, so now my party is heading to Bryn-Shander to help the surviving merchants deliver their cargo to Vellynne who will likely attempt to hire them to help with her investigation as well, and they are now aware of the Frostmaiden's magic, the Duergar threat, the dangers of Chardalyn, and the Arcane Brotherhood's mysterious interest in the area. We'll see if it worked during the next few sessions!
I certainly hope it works for your group! When it comes to sandbox adventures, its okay to have the first session be railroady, because soon after they are going to hop the rails and chase after whatever they feel like. seweing those seeds of adventure can really pay off, and it sounds like your doing it well!
@@NoFunAllowed Thanks for the video! I really like your idea of having the other Arcane Brotherhood members show up more often, and i think having them, or at least rumors of them, pop up from time to time to steer players in the right direction. Also the escalating cold is a great idea to really give the players a good idea of why this is a problem that needs to be solved, since multiple villages are in danger if nothing is done soon, I will definitely be using that!
@@notimeforwargames3048 thank you. I'm looking forward to seeing how all the DMs run this module, and I want to run more groups through it soon. there is a lot to see and do, and there's only so much one party will tackle haha
for sure, maybe there could be a hanging ornaments wrack that is all carved ice that goes missing, maybe the local blacksmith was looking to craft weapons out of the stuff, but they go missing the next day. tons of ways to drip feed it into the campaign
Im planning Frostmaiden after Im done with my Night Below 5e game. What I love about this module is how sandboct and old school it is. I cant wait to run it
Some great ideas in the video, always feel like the official adventure modules have had issues with Big Bads and their intros, and how late they usually come in the stories. Think this is why Curse of Strahd gets such praise. AND NOW SPOILERS FOR PLAYERS..... I've been modifying the module myself for the group I have been running this for. It's a long time group, been through pretty much all the official adventures and a couple homebrews at this point. Been running introductory sessions for my group taking pieces from the DnD Beyond posts about the Luskan Deliverers to build up the back story. Lots of connections to the older adventure modules as familiar names pop up. Wanted to build up the danger so the world is just starting to see strange lights in the night sky, the sun has been rising later and later in the days even though winter should be behind them. The temperature just now dropping each day. With starting in Luskan was able to introduce the Arcane Brotherhood early. And after 5 sessions the group has just know finally climbed over the Spine of the World and made their way to Bryn Shander. Besides Rime of the Frostmaiden, I am also stealing some ideas from Legacy of the Crystal Shard that was made during the testing of DnD Next. Auril has a champion that has been harrassing the group (actually one of the PCs which fell within the first combat session just outside Fireshear, level 1 can be dangerous), Akar Kessell has returned, discovered frozen in ice, and is pushing the duergar into the use of chardalyn rather than Asmodeus which I felt was unconnected, and I set chardalyn up with a corrupting element that brings out the greed in one close to it over time, which is influence some dwarves in the dwarven valley as well. Vaelish Gant is currently not in prison and is actually in the throws off trying to gain leadership of Bryn Shander and it is his goons and thugs that have led to the three murders in Ten Towns as he is running a racket to provide "protection" (My group is actually currently in the process of siding with Him because they have been appalled by the sacrifice to Auril that was recently made during the new moon in Bryn Shander). So basically the group has found themselves in a situation where three powers wrestling for control of Icewind Dale. Auril has sensed the return of Akar Kessell and plunged the north into cold darkness to preserve it in its current state for her own pride and protection, Akar Kessell realizing the power of the Crystal Shard is gone is using chardalyn to influence the duergar into providing him the means of control in the area and the means to discover even more power hidden in the depths of the ice as his previous living form heard rumors of the Netherese city, and Vaelish Gant (the weakest of the three powers) tries to wrestle control of Ten Towns not realizing the conversations he overheard in the Hosttower in Luskan were about the Netherese City and not just about control of Ten Towns and is trying to prove his worth to his superiors
awesome stuff! i absolutely dig the buildup to the adventure you have created here, and fleshing out motivations for npcs really cements the campaigns realism and helps both you and your players understand what's going on. keep up this amazing campaign, and can't wait to hear more about it!
I'm about to run this. My group just finished Dragon Heist and want to use the same characters. I was thinking maybe a group of level 4 PCs blitzing through the initial quests would be fun. Now I'm digging this elements being the real danger. Sure, you can take those enemies on, but it's getting colder and you might get trapped in a blizzard. Love the idea of it getting progressively colder and perhaps the daylight getting shorter. Also, keeping the towns sacrifices at the fore front will really create a dark atmosphere.
1.3k view 300 subs, I dont understand, clear and well spoken, to the point and seems pretty knowledgeable. I liking the content a lot and hopefully your subs catch up to views. Good luck and keep it up!
I am running this game... First session on October 19th ! Thank you for your tips, i was wondering how i could introduce the characters. I think i will do as the beginning of White Fang : chased by wolves. Anyway , i love the tip about Auril. Keep up the good work.
first off, great video man! Second, I have just started prepping for the first session of this campaign and I want all characters to not be from Icewind Dale, (I am introducing the characters to Icwewind Dale in a similar way that you mentioned in this video with the season's last caravan etc) but that also means I can't use most of the secrets in the books! I really like the darker secrets like the Pirate Cannibal secret but have a hard time coming up with similar ideas that could fit different kinds of characters. You mention in this video that not having any characters come from Icewind Dale is for the best, but how did you handle the character secrets portion?
This really helped spark my imagination, especially the arcane brotherhood idea. My characters are starting in Good Mead and I want them to do the veeberg's lair as their first quest. Its brutally hard/impossible for a 1st level party (as you mentioned in your other town video). In addition to slightly nerfing the HP of the Ogre (since he was in the fight with the militia) I'm having Dzaan and his Wight Krintaas lead the expedition. I'm saying that Dzaan wants an artifact found in the sarcophagus. The PC's can keep the reward and fame. The PC's are there as more of a distraction while Krintaas and Dzaan do the killing. Hopefully they will make the encounter far more balanced and enjoyable and set up Dzaan burning at the stake in Easthaven as a more memorable and sad experience.
I think it really helps building the bridge between the chapters of this adventure. it's a good module, but my oh my is there a lot of prep needed haha
This is definitely helpful as I’m having a tough time picking a starting quest. I’m running it for a group of new players and don’t want to tone down too much as the danger is a big part of the adventure. That being said all of the town quests seem too deadly for lvl 1 new people. The Chwinga quest I actually do like but it won’t be complete until one or two others are.
This is a tough module for sure, but if you want some guidance, I am running through everty little area and giving advice on how you can shake things up to keep your group alive!
I am going to run this campaign on 10/25. We will be doing Session 0 on 10/11. This will give me some time to work some ideas into the campaign. I like your suggestions. I am going to keep looking for inspirations. I think that Session 1 will be the most important of the game. I want to make sure that they are invested immediately. I do not want the opening quest to kill them. I am going to watch this video again and look at your other content. I am working on a timeline as a DM on Prep to Session 0 and beyond. I appreciate your advice. Thanks!
thank you. there is a lot to this campaign, so dont feel the need to overprep. just have vague outlines for what you want, and vague ideas on what your players get up to, and i'm sure you'll have a great campaign filling out the rest as you go!
@@NoFunAllowed I am curious on the intro for the campaign, Cold Open. You suggested that they arrive via caravan and then the avalanche blocks their way back through The Spine of the World. How did you present this to your players? I think I will give each PC an NPC that they know in the Ten Towns. It is implied that the starting town is Bryn Shander so I think I will go with that route. I totally agree that the Cold Hearted Killer quest is too hard. I like what you did with having him be just out of their reach in the beginning. I think having the PCs face him later on, is a great way to close that quest. I think by level 3-4 would be a good idea. A way to close out Ch. 1 and lead into Ch.2
@@rubensanchez9623 having the group be simple caravan guards or tying each PCs background and/or secret into ten towns and having them join this last caravan that goes up the ten trails can be good. and absolutely have cold hearted killer drag on. dealing with a foe they are chasing down the whole time, and then dealing with even bigger bads later on can make this campaign truly shine
sounds like an amazing hook! you can play into as some mysterious object they seek out, but have no clue what it does and slowly corrupts them. or you could play it as they do know what it is and give into its evil, and also race the duergar for it! skys the limit with this!
"Auril doesn't really affect the party" you mean apart from the fact that the dale hasn't seen the sun in two years? That alone gives you plenty of opportunity to show how things have changed due to her influence
i agree haha. people would be miserable and cold all the time, people may lack the motivation to do certain things, but life carries on. thats why we need to express these things to our players to show the effects of Aurils winter.
i'm using cold hearted killer quest along side the frost druid ravisin from the white moose to do a low level organized threat against the ten towns to structure the 1st and 2nd chapters if anyone has tips or suggestions please feel free to comment
with Cold Hearted Killer, you should have the quest take longer than just a single session. Play into a murder mystery, with next to no evidence to start with, and everyone on edge. with enough investigation, your group can discover that the victims are people who cheated out of sacrifices, and that can help them lead to the next victim. at the same time, torga's caravan is going around, and the party can bump into them, maybe even get to know each other a bit. murder mysterys are great when you get to know a full cast and dont know who dunnit. with the white moose quest, its important to remember that this is a super deadly encounter at low level, same as the cold hearted killer quest. if your group is level 1s, there will be dead PCs even with bad luck if you run the encounters as written. I am making videos on each of these encounters, and the white moose quest will be coming out soon!
Running session 2 tonight. I will be seeding rumors through the bard's songs at each tavern as well as through NPCs. I've decided to not make the rumors random, so the party gets two side-quest hints every time they visit a tavern.
Also, I really want things to be unpredictably weird, while also getting the party attached to certain NPCs in the towns. I'm creating a list of event/celebration that might occur in the towns, but also things that can unexpectedly happen. Such as being asked to judge a children's snowman making contest...only to have one of the snowmen come alive later that night. Also...dog sled mimics.
yes, yes and yes haha. fantastic stuff, i want to hear about that snowman contest and how everyone freaks out about it haha
This relieved a LOT of anxiety I had about starting the campaign, and weaving plot points together. The caravan idea's genius and I plan on using it for my campaign!
sounds awesome! this module is a bit of work, but I think its well worth it. I'm going through every single location and chapter if you want added insight there as well!
Excellent video! As a writer, I've been studying IWDRF (and many of the live play games as well as reviews) as an example of excellence in adventure design. But I agree it could be more excellent, and your videos thus far make it more so. One of my thoughts thus far was that despite being portrayed as horror, it doesn't come off that way. Your suggestions on getting the PCs cut off from anywhere that isn't IWD and also making the cold get colder definitely help with this.
As an example, many of the live plays I've seen thus far are way too "the cold doesn't bother me anyway." (One of the reasons I LOVE this module is because it puts the survival aspect right up front. (I'm a sucker for both rangers and wilderness adventures.) I also haven't seen them taking the sacrifices terribly seriously. "You don't want to be sacrificed? Move to a different town." Rather than SOMEBODY is going to be ritually sacrificed EVERY MONTH x 3! WTF we have to STOP this!
I also heartily agree with the suggestions for having the PCs NOT be from Ten Towns. If/when I run this adventure that's one of the things I'd been pondering. I feel this adventure is far more powerful if the PCs are NOT at all native and exploring a new land. (HAH and much better if they feel trapped there!) As opposed to "Ho hum. this is the way it's been for the last year or two.
Give your players culture shock! I visited Sweden years ago and it was definitely that, even in the middle of June. The sky was gray all night - it felt unearthly. The people are very dour. (Don't smile at them in the street or they'll think you're weird!) Add in blizzards, yetis, sacrifices, most-day-night, northern lights and peril everywhere (as if this was UNUSUAL instead of usual).
I want to visit Sweden at some point, it sounds awesome. And I hope you do get to run this module, it is an absolute blast!
For certain towns i had monsters start to draw closer to them when it was sacrifice time. Great guide!
thank you! and creepy stuff if those monsters come skulking around haha, keep it up!
Great ideas! Will definitely implement some in tonight's session. Keep em coming!
I have the whole series up! feel free to dive in!
Potential SPOILERS for Players, but GM's feel free to read and comment:
I recently ran my first session of this module, and my set up included the players accepting jobs as Caravan Guards to escort a group of merchants to the Ten-Towns. They started the adventure in Luskan (Home of the Arcane Brotherhood and very clsoe to the SPine of the World) and they witnessed the Arcane Brotherhood speaking with the head merchant, giving him a package that is to be delivered to Vellynne Harpel. Then the group set off with the merchants and on their way into Icewind Dale they ran into a group of refugees fleeing the Ten-Towns, who warned them of the Frostmaiden and the Chardalyn in the area, which alerted the players to the dangers of the Dale.
Then, in a mountain pass through the Spine of the World, the merchant caravan was ambushed by Duergar who tried to force them to give up all of their goods as tribute to the Sunblight Kingdom. Well, after a brief scuffle and a hasty use of some explosives, an avalanche was triggered, which sealed the mountain pass and closed the only way into or out of Icewind Dale, at least for a few weeks until it was cleared. This was a bit railroaded, but I figure the set up to most adventures are anyway, and the players were all having fun with it.
So, it seems like a lot, but it really was only a bit of roleplay, giving the players the chance to ask questions to the Ten-Towns refuges, and a single combat encounter for the first session. This introduced the players to a lot of big name characters and concepts in this adventure right off the bat, so now my party is heading to Bryn-Shander to help the surviving merchants deliver their cargo to Vellynne who will likely attempt to hire them to help with her investigation as well, and they are now aware of the Frostmaiden's magic, the Duergar threat, the dangers of Chardalyn, and the Arcane Brotherhood's mysterious interest in the area. We'll see if it worked during the next few sessions!
I certainly hope it works for your group! When it comes to sandbox adventures, its okay to have the first session be railroady, because soon after they are going to hop the rails and chase after whatever they feel like. seweing those seeds of adventure can really pay off, and it sounds like your doing it well!
@@NoFunAllowed Thanks for the video! I really like your idea of having the other Arcane Brotherhood members show up more often, and i think having them, or at least rumors of them, pop up from time to time to steer players in the right direction. Also the escalating cold is a great idea to really give the players a good idea of why this is a problem that needs to be solved, since multiple villages are in danger if nothing is done soon, I will definitely be using that!
@@notimeforwargames3048 thank you. I'm looking forward to seeing how all the DMs run this module, and I want to run more groups through it soon. there is a lot to see and do, and there's only so much one party will tackle haha
the chardalyn idea is great, need to think about how to drop that into sessions, that it is disappearing is a great building hook.
for sure, maybe there could be a hanging ornaments wrack that is all carved ice that goes missing, maybe the local blacksmith was looking to craft weapons out of the stuff, but they go missing the next day. tons of ways to drip feed it into the campaign
Hello! I will start to master this aventure, and your videos are super helpful! Thank you :)
thank you! its a great adventure to run, and Im glad I get to help people with it!
Thanks for the great ideas. I will def be using these!
Thank you and no problem!
Im planning Frostmaiden after Im done with my Night Below 5e game. What I love about this module is how sandboct and old school it is. I cant wait to run it
its a blast for sure, and I love me some oldh school!
Some great ideas in the video, always feel like the official adventure modules have had issues with Big Bads and their intros, and how late they usually come in the stories. Think this is why Curse of Strahd gets such praise.
AND NOW SPOILERS FOR PLAYERS.....
I've been modifying the module myself for the group I have been running this for. It's a long time group, been through pretty much all the official adventures and a couple homebrews at this point.
Been running introductory sessions for my group taking pieces from the DnD Beyond posts about the Luskan Deliverers to build up the back story. Lots of connections to the older adventure modules as familiar names pop up.
Wanted to build up the danger so the world is just starting to see strange lights in the night sky, the sun has been rising later and later in the days even though winter should be behind them. The temperature just now dropping each day. With starting in Luskan was able to introduce the Arcane Brotherhood early. And after 5 sessions the group has just know finally climbed over the Spine of the World and made their way to Bryn Shander.
Besides Rime of the Frostmaiden, I am also stealing some ideas from Legacy of the Crystal Shard that was made during the testing of DnD Next. Auril has a champion that has been harrassing the group (actually one of the PCs which fell within the first combat session just outside Fireshear, level 1 can be dangerous), Akar Kessell has returned, discovered frozen in ice, and is pushing the duergar into the use of chardalyn rather than Asmodeus which I felt was unconnected, and I set chardalyn up with a corrupting element that brings out the greed in one close to it over time, which is influence some dwarves in the dwarven valley as well. Vaelish Gant is currently not in prison and is actually in the throws off trying to gain leadership of Bryn Shander and it is his goons and thugs that have led to the three murders in Ten Towns as he is running a racket to provide "protection" (My group is actually currently in the process of siding with Him because they have been appalled by the sacrifice to Auril that was recently made during the new moon in Bryn Shander).
So basically the group has found themselves in a situation where three powers wrestling for control of Icewind Dale. Auril has sensed the return of Akar Kessell and plunged the north into cold darkness to preserve it in its current state for her own pride and protection, Akar Kessell realizing the power of the Crystal Shard is gone is using chardalyn to influence the duergar into providing him the means of control in the area and the means to discover even more power hidden in the depths of the ice as his previous living form heard rumors of the Netherese city, and Vaelish Gant (the weakest of the three powers) tries to wrestle control of Ten Towns not realizing the conversations he overheard in the Hosttower in Luskan were about the Netherese City and not just about control of Ten Towns and is trying to prove his worth to his superiors
awesome stuff! i absolutely dig the buildup to the adventure you have created here, and fleshing out motivations for npcs really cements the campaigns realism and helps both you and your players understand what's going on. keep up this amazing campaign, and can't wait to hear more about it!
Great ideas. I'm gonna start running this campaign in a couple of weeks and love the setup with Kessel. There's a lot of possibility there.
I'm about to run this. My group just finished Dragon Heist and want to use the same characters. I was thinking maybe a group of level 4 PCs blitzing through the initial quests would be fun.
Now I'm digging this elements being the real danger. Sure, you can take those enemies on, but it's getting colder and you might get trapped in a blizzard.
Love the idea of it getting progressively colder and perhaps the daylight getting shorter.
Also, keeping the towns sacrifices at the fore front will really create a dark atmosphere.
heck yeah, I hope your campaign is awesome! Can't wait to hear how your players handle the frigid North!
1.3k view 300 subs, I dont understand, clear and well spoken, to the point and seems pretty knowledgeable. I liking the content a lot and hopefully your subs catch up to views. Good luck and keep it up!
haha thank you! there will always be more views than subs. if i only get a mere fraction of the subs i'll be okay with that haha
unfortunately, too many ads for me so I unsubbed. I agree, the content is pretty good.
I am running this game... First session on October 19th ! Thank you for your tips, i was wondering how i could introduce the characters. I think i will do as the beginning of White Fang : chased by wolves. Anyway , i love the tip about Auril. Keep up the good work.
thank you. i'm already a few sessions deep into the campaign and love it. cant wait to run more groups and pour out videos on each chapter!
first off, great video man!
Second, I have just started prepping for the first session of this campaign and I want all characters to not be from Icewind Dale, (I am introducing the characters to Icwewind Dale in a similar way that you mentioned in this video with the season's last caravan etc) but that also means I can't use most of the secrets in the books! I really like the darker secrets like the Pirate Cannibal secret but have a hard time coming up with similar ideas that could fit different kinds of characters. You mention in this video that not having any characters come from Icewind Dale is for the best, but how did you handle the character secrets portion?
This really helped spark my imagination, especially the arcane brotherhood idea. My characters are starting in Good Mead and I want them to do the veeberg's lair as their first quest. Its brutally hard/impossible for a 1st level party (as you mentioned in your other town video). In addition to slightly nerfing the HP of the Ogre (since he was in the fight with the militia) I'm having Dzaan and his Wight Krintaas lead the expedition. I'm saying that Dzaan wants an artifact found in the sarcophagus. The PC's can keep the reward and fame. The PC's are there as more of a distraction while Krintaas and Dzaan do the killing. Hopefully they will make the encounter far more balanced and enjoyable and set up Dzaan burning at the stake in Easthaven as a more memorable and sad experience.
Heck yeah! Showing off AB members early and getting through a rough quest in one swing is fantastic. Awesome stuff
I've been "prepping" to DM this since 09/15 while we finish up LMoP. I'm definitely gonna introduce the Arcane Brotherhood in earlier.
I think it really helps building the bridge between the chapters of this adventure. it's a good module, but my oh my is there a lot of prep needed haha
17 subscribers! Keep up the good work! Good, unique topic man.
thanks for the positivity! I'm just hoping to throw out content that sticks with people
This is definitely helpful as I’m having a tough time picking a starting quest. I’m running it for a group of new players and don’t want to tone down too much as the danger is a big part of the adventure. That being said all of the town quests seem too deadly for lvl 1 new people. The Chwinga quest I actually do like but it won’t be complete until one or two others are.
This is a tough module for sure, but if you want some guidance, I am running through everty little area and giving advice on how you can shake things up to keep your group alive!
I am going to run this campaign on 10/25. We will be doing Session 0 on 10/11. This will give me some time to work some ideas into the campaign. I like your suggestions. I am going to keep looking for inspirations. I think that Session 1 will be the most important of the game. I want to make sure that they are invested immediately. I do not want the opening quest to kill them. I am going to watch this video again and look at your other content. I am working on a timeline as a DM on Prep to Session 0 and beyond. I appreciate your advice. Thanks!
thank you. there is a lot to this campaign, so dont feel the need to overprep. just have vague outlines for what you want, and vague ideas on what your players get up to, and i'm sure you'll have a great campaign filling out the rest as you go!
@@NoFunAllowed I am curious on the intro for the campaign, Cold Open. You suggested that they arrive via caravan and then the avalanche blocks their way back through The Spine of the World. How did you present this to your players? I think I will give each PC an NPC that they know in the Ten Towns. It is implied that the starting town is Bryn Shander so I think I will go with that route. I totally agree that the Cold Hearted Killer quest is too hard. I like what you did with having him be just out of their reach in the beginning. I think having the PCs face him later on, is a great way to close that quest. I think by level 3-4 would be a good idea. A way to close out Ch. 1 and lead into Ch.2
@@rubensanchez9623 having the group be simple caravan guards or tying each PCs background and/or secret into ten towns and having them join this last caravan that goes up the ten trails can be good. and absolutely have cold hearted killer drag on. dealing with a foe they are chasing down the whole time, and then dealing with even bigger bads later on can make this campaign truly shine
I'm letting one of my PCs play a Forge Domain cleric - What do you think of tying the black ice into a craftable material for magic weapons/armor
sounds like an amazing hook! you can play into as some mysterious object they seek out, but have no clue what it does and slowly corrupts them. or you could play it as they do know what it is and give into its evil, and also race the duergar for it! skys the limit with this!
@@NoFunAllowed Thanks for the response! He picked a dwarf as his race so I think its going to be a really sweet hook for sure
awesome stuff! can't wait to hear how it goes wether its good or bad haha
I’ll run it and I’ll take some of your tips
cool cool, tell me how it turns out!
@@NoFunAllowed will do
@@chrisd5169 o7
"Auril doesn't really affect the party" you mean apart from the fact that the dale hasn't seen the sun in two years? That alone gives you plenty of opportunity to show how things have changed due to her influence
i agree haha. people would be miserable and cold all the time, people may lack the motivation to do certain things, but life carries on. thats why we need to express these things to our players to show the effects of Aurils winter.
i'm using cold hearted killer quest along side the frost druid ravisin from the white moose to do a low level organized threat against the ten towns to structure the 1st and 2nd chapters
if anyone has tips or suggestions please feel free to comment
with Cold Hearted Killer, you should have the quest take longer than just a single session. Play into a murder mystery, with next to no evidence to start with, and everyone on edge. with enough investigation, your group can discover that the victims are people who cheated out of sacrifices, and that can help them lead to the next victim. at the same time, torga's caravan is going around, and the party can bump into them, maybe even get to know each other a bit. murder mysterys are great when you get to know a full cast and dont know who dunnit.
with the white moose quest, its important to remember that this is a super deadly encounter at low level, same as the cold hearted killer quest. if your group is level 1s, there will be dead PCs even with bad luck if you run the encounters as written. I am making videos on each of these encounters, and the white moose quest will be coming out soon!