History TabletopGame / IcewindDaleRimeOfTheFrostmaiden

* AscendedMeme: For years, players have joked about playing a "[[BlatantLies human]]" character who's actually [[TotemPoleTrench three kobolds, goblins or gnomes in a trenchcoat]]. Lo and behold, three kobolds ina trenchcoat is featured in this adventure.

* ContinuityNod: The FinalDungeon is Ythryn, a once-floating city of ancient [[TheMagocracy Netheril]]. Interestingly, the fall of Ythryn had nothing to do with [[AndManGrewProud Karsus's Folly]].
* TheCorruption: Chardalyn, particularly when infused with magic from the Lower Planes, influences creatures who possess it, which can result in violent urges and mania.
* DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu: The adventurers can fight against the goddess Auril in a bid to end the Everlasting Rime.

* IcePalace: Grimskalle is a [[BewareTheSkullBase skull-shaped]] fortress that was built by frost giants back when they still ruled over the Island of Solstice. Since then, the goddess Auril has claimed the fortress as her abode, from which she flies off to cast and maintain the Everlasting Rime. [[spoiler: In the event that Auril would be killed while within Grimskalle, she would emit a deathly howl that causes [[CollapsingLair the second and third levels of the fortress to collapse]].]]

* DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu: The adventurers can actually fight against the goddess Auril in a bid to end the Everlasting Rime.

* {{Retcon}}: Previous editions had chardalyn, also known as black ice, be a naturally occurring mineral that was used as early as during the Days of Thunder by the [[{{Precursors}} Sarrukh]]. In this adventure module, it's instead established to be the remains of [[Literature/TheIcewindDaleTrilogy Crenshinibon]], also known as the Crystal Shard, fused with local magic and ice.
* SadisticChoice: [[spoiler:In Chapter 3, as soon as the adventurers begin their ascent into the mountain fortress where the duergar Sunblight clan resides, they would witness the chardalyn dragon flying out of the fortress and towards Ten-Towns. Soon after, the adventurers will have to choose between continuing their assault on the fortress as planned, or following the dragon back to Ten-Towns and destroy it before it destroys everything and everyone else.]]

* AlbinosAreFreaks: Avarice is an albino tiefling wizard whose cruelty and ambition knows no bounds. [[spoiler:At an early age, she [[DealWithTheDevil sold her own soul to the archdevil Levistus in exchange for magical powers]], and later on joined the Arcane Brotherhood with the goal of rising to fame and prominence within the organization in record time. To that end, she intends to find the Netherese city of Ythryn with the help of a Levistus cult known as the Knights of the Black Sword (as well as a group of adventurers, if they choose to be her allies) and plunder it of its magical treasures before other members of the organization do, especially her rival Vellynne Harpell.]]

* TrappedInThePast: [[spoiler:A potential fate the adventurers can inflict on themselves. If they chose to use Iriolarthas' ''staff of power'' on the obelisk found within Ythryn, anyone who survives both the staff's [[StuffBlowingUp Retributive Strike]] and the de-aging effect that the obelisk triggers is teleported to -343 DR, a point in time before [[AndManGrewProud the fall of Netheril]] and only a short time before the fall of Ythryn. The module outright says that they are essentially stuck here but, if desired, the adventurers could continue the story in the past using D&D sourcebooks from older editions.]]

* ColonyDrop: [[spoiler:The ''scroll of the comet'', which is tucked away within the Spire of Iriolarthas, can be used to summon a comet from the sky to crash to the ground at a point up to 1 mile away from its user.]]

** [[spoiler:At the start of Auril's Test of Cruelty, the Bear Tribe have began resorting to eating their sled dogs and elders once they have ran out of food and their hunters were unable to return to the camp due to a strong blizzard.]]

* LotteryOfDoom: On every afternoon before a new moon, the towns of Bryn Shander, Easthaven and Targos hold lotteries on which citizen of their respective towns is to be sacrificed to Auril by nightfall. The unlucky winner of the lottery is then stripped bare and either tied to a post or sent into the tundra to die. And although accusations of rigged lotteries are common in these towns, they're not usually acted upon. [[spoiler: Once Auril has been dealt with and the Everlasting Rime ends, the town speakers would be very eager to end the practice, since the whole point of these sacrifices was to appease the goddess so that summer can return to Icewind Dale.]]
* MacGuffinTitle: ''Rime of the Frostmaiden'' refers to the curse of EternalWinter that was cast upon Icewind Dale by the goddess Auril, [[spoiler:as well as being the title of a poem found within ''The Codicil of White'' which can be read aloud near the Reghed Glacier to open a path to the Netherese city of Ythryn.]]

* SpiritualAdaptation: The writers explicitly admitted that the adventure is inspired by stories like ''Literature/WhoGoesThere'' and ''Literature/AtTheMountainsOfMadness''.

The adventure takes place within the arctic region of [[GrimUpNorth Icewind Dale]], where for two years has been cursed by the goddess Auril into a state of perpetual, dark winter known by its inhabitants as the Everlasting Rime. But surviving the treacherous blizzards and finding a way to lift the curse isn't the only thing that adventurers would be tasked to do during their time in the region, as there are also many secrets and surprises that lay hidden beyond Auril's cold embrace, some of which may pose as much of a threat to Icewind Dale as the curse itself.

* HeKnowsTooMuch: An adventurer with the "Runaway Author" secret is hiding in Icewind Dale because of this. [[spoiler:They have penned a controversial, [[CassandraTruth yet well founded]] exposé which accused several [[AristocratsAreEvil noble families]] from Baldur's Gate and Waterdeep of being devil worshipers, making a lot of enemies in the process. While being hunted down by devils sent by worshipers of [[SatanicArchetype Asmodeus]], the adventurer can seek refuge from the [[ReligionOfEvil Knights of the Black Sword]] in Caer-Dineval, as the cultists are instructed by [[TheStarscream Levistus]] to [[EnemyMine form an alliance]] with the adventurer in question.]]

* HoistByHerOwnPetard: One of the character secrets available for this adventure is the "Midwinter Child", [[spoiler:in which Auril blessed someone with cold resistance because they were born on the Midwinter holiday. As it turns out, this blessing proves to be very useful in surviving Auril's Everlasting Rime, as well as being the deciding factor in the party's battle against the goddess.]]

* SadisticChoice: [[spoiler:In Chapter 3, as soon as the adventurers begin their ascent into the mountain fortress where the Sunblight duergar clan resides, they would witness the chardalyn dragon flying out of the fortress and towards Ten-Towns. Soon after, the adventurers will have to choose between continuing their assault on the fortress as planned, or following the dragon back to Ten-Towns and destroy it before it destroys everything and everyone else.]]

* JerkassGods: As per ''Forgotten Realms'' tradition, Auril is a cruel and vain goddess who wants to cover the world in an EndlessWinter for her own amusement.

* OneWingedAngel: [[spoiler:Auril has three different forms that she can assume: an [[AnimalisticAbomination anthropomorphic owlbear]] known as the Cold Crone, a [[GiantWoman 10-foot-tall woman of ice and frost]] known as Lady Icekiss, and an [[GemHeart icy diamond containing her divine spark]] known as Winter's Womb. To truly kill her and end the Everlasting Rime, adventurers will have to reduce each of her forms to 0 hit points one after another.]]

* OneWingedAngel: [[spoiler:The goddess Auril has three different forms that she can assume: an [[AnimalisticAbomination anthropomorphic owlbear]] known as the Cold Crone, a [[GiantWoman 10-foot-tall woman of ice and frost]] known as Lady Icekiss, and an [[GemHeart icy diamond containing her divine spark]] known as Winter's Womb. To truly kill her and end the Everlasting Rime, adventurers will have to reduce each of her forms to 0 hit points one after another.]]
* ParasiticHorror: An adventurer with the "Slaad Host" secret starts the adventure being implanted with a slaad egg after surviving an attack from a [[FaceFullOfAlienWingWong red slaad]]. They are well aware of their infection, but they aren't exactly sure how much time they have left before the incubation period of the egg is complete. And if they fail to find a cure to the infection when that time comes, [[ChestBurster then what happens to them next won't be so pretty (and healthy).]]

* ParasiticHorror: An adventurer with the "Slaad Host" secret starts the adventure being implanted with a slaad egg after surviving an attack from a [[FaceFullOfAlienWingWong red slaad]]. They are well aware of their infection, but they aren't exactly sure how much time they have before the incubation period of the egg is complete. [[spoiler:And if they fail to find a cure to the infection when that time comes, [[ChestBurster then what happens next won't be so pretty (and healthy) for them.]]]]

* SadisticChoice: [[spoiler:In Chapter 3, as soon as the adventurers begin their ascent into the mountain fortress where the Sunblight duergar clan resides]], they would witness the chardalyn dragon flying out of the fortress and towards Ten-Towns. Soon after, the adventurers will have to choose between continuing their assault on the fortress as planned, or following the dragon back to Ten-Towns and destroy it before it destroys everything and everyone else.

* AnimalisticAbomination: Auril's first form looks vaguely like an anthropomorphic owlbear with horns. It is depicted on the cover, and you do not want to meet it.

* GodzillaThreshold: One of the ways the adventurers can thwart Auril's plans is to [[spoiler:use a ''scroll of tarasque summoning'' on the Island of Solstice.]] The module is very clear that this is quite possibly the most dangerous way to do so, and frames it as a last resort due to how risky doing so is.

* HoistByHerOwnPetard: One of the character secrets available for this adventure module is the "Midwinter Child", in which Auril blessed someone with cold resistance because they were born on the Midwinter holiday. As it turns out, this blessing proves to be very useful in surviving the Everlasting Rime, as well as being the deciding factor in the party's battle against the goddess.
* JerkassGods: As per ''Forgotten Realms'' tradition, Auril is a cruel and vain goddess who wants to cover the world in EndlessWinter for her own amusement.

* MechanicalMonster: A dragon construct made mostly from chardalyn is being unleashed [[spoiler:by the duergar warlord Xardorok Sunblight]] to destroy Ten-Towns [[spoiler:as part of his EvilPlan to conquer Icewind Dale.]]
* NonHumanUndead: Among others, there are frost giant skeletons.

* SadisticChoice: In Chapter 3, as soon as the adventurers begin their ascent into the mountain fortress [[spoiler:where the Sunblight duergar clan resides]], they would witness the chardalyn dragon flying out of the fortress and towards Ten-Towns. Soon after, the adventurers will have to choose between continuing their assault on the fortress as planned, or following the dragon back to Ten-Towns and destroy it before it destroys everything and everyone else.

The adventure takes place within the arctic region of [[TabletopGame/ForgottenRealms Icewind Dale]], where for two years has been cursed by the goddess Auril into a state of perpetual, dark winter known by its inhabitants as the Everlasting Rime. But surviving the treacherous blizzards and finding a way to lift the curse isn't the only thing that adventurers would be tasked to do during their time in the region, as there are also many secrets and surprises that lay hidden beyond Auril's cold embrace, some of which may pose as much of a threat to Icewind Dale as the curse itself.

* TheAlcatraz: Revel's End, where the [[TheAlliance Lords' Alliance]] keeps any prisoners who would be politically inconvenient to keep in normal prisons. Despite the HighFantasy nature of the Forgotten Realms, it's actually a pretty normal prison. Political prisoners are kept there until their time is served, and are promptly shipped back to civilization. The location is somewhat exotic, and the warden is a mage, but otherwise, it's remarkably unremarkable.

''Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden'' is an adventure module for the fifth edition of ''[[TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons Dungeons & Dragons]]'', released on September 15, 2020.