Icewind Dale has become trapped in a perpetual winter. Ferocious blizzards make the mountain pass through the Spine of the World exceedingly treacherous, and this land has not felt the warmth of the sun in over two years. In fact, the sun no longer appears above the mountains, not even in what should be the height of summer. In this frozen tundra, darkness and bitter cold reign as king and queen. Most dale residents blame Auril the Frostmaiden, the god of winter’s wrath. The shimmering aurora that weaves across the sky each night is said to be her doing—a potent spell that keeps the sun at bay.

Dalefolk live in a scattering of settlements known as Ten-Towns. The drop-off in caravans coming from the south and travel between settlements in this never-ending winter has left everyone feeling isolated. Although each town has resolved to appease the Frostmaiden with sacrifices of one kind or another, no respite from winter’s fury seems forthcoming. For adventurers such as yourselves, Ten-Towns is a place to test one’s mettle and, in the spirit of heroes who have come before, leave one’s mark on this frigid, blighted land.

• The sun hasn't risen here in two years
• The two-year night has cut off the frozen north from the rest of the Sword Coast
• The Children of Auril demand sacrifices from the people of Ten Towns in the Frostmaiden's name
• Ancient and powerful secrets lie under the ice
• Shadowy figures lurk in the mountains hammering upon a strange black metal 

The churches of the greater cities are concerned about the fate of Ten Town. Something unnatural and unholy is taking place there. To find out what exactly is happening and maybe even to stop it the Church of the Broken God Illmater sends out Balnan to investigate.

When he was young Balnan used to be very egoistic, always chosing himself over others. One day he went to the market with his little sister and in an unfortunate accident his sister died. He couldnt live with the guilt and ran away. A priest recognized his troubles and took him in, showing Balnan the ways of the Broken God.

Sorsha‘s tribe has wandered the harsh terrain for as long as the stories told at the campfire remember. A sturdy folk, the perpetual winter has not hit them as bad as others, but it is undoubtedly wearing on them. The elders of the clan have called upon their ancestors for guidance, and in their wisdom they advised to send out seasoned warriors to brave the land and find what has thrown of the balance of nature so thoroughly. 
Sorsha is not one of those chosen warriors. Being the offspring of a dalliance between a tribe woman and a wandering elf hunter has granted her a slighter build. She has been teased, albeit good-naturedly, for this her whole life. Sorsha has grinned and bore it so far, but the fact she was not even considered for this solemn duty has stung her deeply, proofing to her that no one takes her seriously. (One might have argued, if she had bothered to ask, that her youth might have been the deciding factor in this. But she didn’t bother to ask.) So she sets out on her own to prove her worth.

“Donna” is a warforged with very few experiences as a person. He’s intelligent, strong, and capable as a warrior and mage. His name “Donna” came after a brief social experiment in calling himself female which held no particular meaning to himself for identity. His body is just one more tool for his mind to manipulate. His cold, objective nature leads some people to believe he is a soulless golem, but that’s far from true. He simply lacks a great many social norms. He’s doing his best. And he identifies as male currently as part of an experiment using a female name while claiming male gender. He believes he’s going to have very interesting results when he’s done. 

When he’s not experimenting, he works for Ten Towns’ local guard. He swings a pair of hatchets like a giant, and is tough as nails (or tries to be). The recent troubles have him realizing he can’t solve this on his own. He’s been tapped along with a number of outsiders to go further afield in search of answers.

Luna was a normal girl, living with her father in their home just outside Luskan. She would spend her nights performing in the city and nearby settlements, savings up scraps of coin in the hope that she might one day escape south to find fame and fortune in Neverwinter or Waterdeep. A typical dream for a typical girl.

One night, Luna woke from a dark dream to a strange and distant sound, and an eerie light on the black horizon. Compelled against her cautious nature, Luna found herself outside her home, seeking the source of these strange phenomena. After some time, she was amazed and terrified to come across a stony dell in which lay a mortally wounded silver dragon.

The dragon summoned her to it, and she could not resist its voice. It told her it had failed in its quest to end the darkness of the Dale, but that perhaps it might not leave this world without a sliver of hope. With its dying breath, Luna felt a strange power pass from the dragon into her.

A terrified Luna now finds that her skin has a hard silverish sheen, her hands freeze objects with a touch, and other strange effects seem to manifest around her when she is angry or afraid. And she feels herself called, like a tether in her soul, to a place she has no business venturing - To the dark and frozen north...

For too long, the Eladrin of the Summer Court in the Feywild have sat idly by as unending winter spreads and tightens its grasp upon the material plane. The elders say that Keldanyan is a tempestuous and outspoken boy, too distracted by the troubles of another plane, too eagre to test his spear in battle before he has truly learned to wield it. They do not listen when Keldanyan tells them what he knows, warns them of what he fears - that winter's growing grasp will not leave the Summer Court untouched. He knows what must be done, even if they do not,  for someone must stand against the encroaching winter before it spreads too far, and who if not a child of summer has the will and the strength to see it done? And so Keldanyan resorts to drastic measures, stealing a whisp of the midsummer's flame from the High Temple of his kin, and using it to open a way to the cold and the dark of the material plane, where he would find the source of this foul winter and end it with his will and with his spear.

Zendrik's clan lives high in the peaks above Icewind Dale. Long has the clan subsisted on hunting local game, and the group has some renown of those who traverse the peaks as trusted and reliable trackers. Zendrik is the youngest member of the clan and eager to prove his place. 

With the onset of the long night, the clan has been struggling to survive in the harsh wilderness and strange shadowy figure have begun appearing along their hunter trails. Zendrik has been sent to Ten-Towns by the clan elder to investigate possible causes of the affliction which curses the area.

Brother Thaddeus was left on a doorstep of a temple to Lathander. Raised by the church, he is a loyal and well loved servant of the Morninglord. He always has felt he had a destiny, and after am intense nightmare involving darkness and snow, he heard of the situation in Icewind Dale, and has come to free the sun.

Araneth used to live in the safety of civilization. In those days she liked to wander into the wilderness, because it intrigued her much more than the crowded city. On one such excursion, she ran into a bear. It would have attacked her, if not for the intervention of a strange-looking woman who calmed the bear with her words. Impressed, Araneth begged the woman to teach her how to communicate with animals, so the woman took her under her wing and trained her as a druid. Araneth abandoned her old home and dedicated herself to nature. Years passed, and she has decided to travel north. She has heard that it has been winter there for two years, and that is not natural.

The youngest of seven children, Merah decided at a young age not to follow her family's footsteps into the army. Instead, she found the sea and fell in love with it. So she stole away when she was young and snuck onto a ship. It just so happened to be a little less merchant and a little more pirate. Oh, well. Things happen. Merah adapted - and flourished.

Merah had been on the sea for years, living life to the fullest as a pirate - until their ship got captured and raided by guards. She managed to break away once they hit land, escaping with a couple of her crewmates. They all went their separate ways after a while, not quite sure what they were going to do now. So Merah has been traveling on her own, earning money where she can with the intention of getting enough to buy her own ship someday.

But now she's heard tale of this town up north where adventurers go and only sometimes return. And, well, that sounds like a challenge she wants to take up. If she can help people out up there, all the better.

Ink is a former investigator with the waterdeep city watch he was forced to move to the north shortly before the endless winter started.

As a young elf, Rildayne overheard members of her own house plotting to poison her, so she fled from the Underdark to save herself. Planning to return once she has amassed enough fortune to surround herself with loyal mercenary bodyguards, Ril made a pact with a powerful hag in order to gain power and remain unperceived on the surface.

Adopting a new identity, she tried to make a living using her new magic, but the people around her didn't bought the lie for long, and soon everyone in the rather gullible town she was hiding in finally guessed she wasn't a 'moon' elf like she was claiming to be. With the cat out of the bag, she had no option but to escape yet again. Maybe in such a place as Icewind Dale, her luck might be better...

I was the oldest of 3 children who were born into a family of Clerics, Paladins, and the occasional Zealot Barbarian. We serve under the god Zhulong, dragon deity of daylight, and to see the town of Icewind Dale to be robbed of that necessity, I will not let it stand! I will help the town of Icewind Dale to regain their sun, or die trying. (Sorry if this isnt much of a backstory, Im not used to doing this stuff much, so If you want to add to it, go ahead.)

Pretty tame backstory, Konnor was a soldier, seen some stuff, got out of the business and was looking to retire.  He thought he could find a quiet life in the frozen north...  but seems the strangeness just followed him up here.

Konnor is older than most adventurers, late 30s or so.  He’s too old for this crap but sometimes there’s no escaping it.  Maybe it’s due to the weapon he stole back in his soldiering days.  That things been nothing but bad luck.  Still, you don’t just toss away a weapon as fine as that!

(Id like to throw a few levels of Hexblade into the mix after a handful of levels as fighter, the idea being the sword is cursed and only awakens and empowers him once he’s strong enough to weird it...)