Are you prepared to journey to Icewind Dale, the frozen north of Faerûn? Times are strange, and countless rumors swirl around this cold and isolated land, like so many snowflakes in an endless blizzard. The next D&D adventure, announced at D&D Live 2020, is dark fantasy horror story titled Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden. This encounter is the sixth part of an ongoing encounter series called “Icewind Mail: Special Delivery,” a non-canon dark comedy that leads into the official adventure. Well, sort of. It’s more like it tosses players in the general direction of the official adventure with some silly props and tells them to go have fun.

The previous encounters in this series are:

1. Loadin’ Up the Icebreaker
2. Frost and Fear in Fireshear
3. Ambush at Aurilssbarg
4. Evil on the Icy Sea
5. Shelter from the Storm

The Third Delivery

The characters’ primary goal in this adventure is to deliver a package to its proper recipient in Bryn Shander, one of the settlements of Ten-Towns in Icewind Dale. They’re members of the Luskar Deliverers, and as such, they are sworn to deliver their packages to most dangerous locales Northern Faerûn has to offer. Fortunately, this delivery doesn’t contain any inherent danger, unlike previous deliveries which pitted them against chaotic elementals and an assassin with a grudge. That doesn’t mean there won’t be trouble and hijinks, though—the characters are starting this journey in the town of Hundelstone, and the road to Icewind Dale isn’t exactly known for being accommodating.

Back in the first encounter in this series, the characters received a package from a tiefling known as Maccath the Crimson. Maccath is a member of a prestigious group of magi known as the Arcane Brotherhood, and Maccath in particular has a fascination with draconic lore. She gave them a magically sealed metal box that she claimed contains a draconic artifact, and asked them to deliver it to an associate of hers named Raggamel the Renegade who is currently hiding from the law in Ten-Towns.

Raggamel resides in a town called Bryn Shander. This settlement is the largest of the ten settlements that make up Ten-Towns, and it’s also the southernmost—meaning that it’s the first one that the characters will happen across if they’re traveling along the road. Bryn Shander is described in greater detail in Storm King’s Thunder, and all of Ten-Towns are described in more depth in Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden, available for preorder now.

This map of the Sword Coast North was created by Mike Schley for Legacy of the Crystal Shard, an adventure for 3.5e, 4th edition, and the D&D Next playtest. You can find high-res versions of this map and others for sale on his website.

Trek to Ten-Towns

The journey from Hundlestone to Ten-Towns is a northbound trip of about 50 miles through increasingly dangerous arctic terrain. Even following the Ten Trail, the journey is made through difficult terrain, slowing overland travel to a crawl. The characters can only progress 12 miles per day, making this a 4-day trip at best.

This section includes four small encounters that are designed to be played in order. If you want to expand the scope of this adventure, try rolling on the low-level Arctic Encounters table from Xanathar’s Guide to Everything to add more encounters. Each day of travel has one short encounter. Because of this, the characters will be fully rested, with full hit points, Hit Dice, and spell slots at the start of each encounter. To accommodate this, each encounter is either a roleplaying scene free of danger, or a scene that will test the limits of fully rested 2nd-level characters.

You may want to start this adventure by roleplaying the characters leaving Hundelstone, and saying goodbye to the Shorthelm family who gave them a place to stay at the end of the previous encounter in this series. Read or paraphrase the following to set the scene as the characters depart Hundelstone:

Hundelstone fades into the distance behind you as you make your way north on the Ten Trail. The folk in Hundelstone told you that you have a four-day journey ahead of you, if you don’t lose too much time to bad weather. The road stretches out before you, the sky gray with clouds and the ground white with snow.

Give the characters an opportunity to talk among each other as they travel along the road. They may not want to, however. As the DM, it’s your job to keep travel moving. Describing travel in an interesting and engaging way is hard to do in the best of circumstances—it’s even harder when the characters just have to follow the road. Don’t be afraid to hurry the party along from point to point. If you have something truly remarkable to describe, describe it and let the characters interact with it if they wish! However, if there isn’t anything special around, it’s better to simply describe the day’s travel in a single sentence than to give a litany of uninspired descriptions of a nondescript snowy road. To bring the characters along from scene to scene in this travel section, read or paraphrase the following: "You gather your things and set back off on the road. You travel northward, and the sound of the frigid wind's howling fills your ears. At least, you hope it's just the wind." You should improvise a slightly different sentence every time you move from scene to scene, so it doesn't seem like you're reading from a script.   

On the First Day, an Exploration Encounter: Following the Tracks

In this encounter, the characters find a ruined cart, a note suggesting it was filled with treasure, and a set of tracks to follow. They must succeed on a number of skill checks to navigate off-road if they wish to find the treasure. They can ignore this encounter and continue traveling, if they wish.

Read or paraphrase the following to set the scene:

Just past midday, you come across a smashed cart at the side of the road. Two sets of tracks lead away from the cart into a grove of snow-covered fir trees.

Investigating the Cart. This cart is a simple wooden carriage large enough to carry four people—or fewer, if it’s filled with cargo or supplies. A character that makes a successful DC 12 Intelligence (Investigation) check finds a tattered letter in the cart which reads: “To be delivered: 100 gold pieces for moneychangers in Bryn Shander.” Nothing of value can be found in the cart, other than a week’s worth of trail rations.

Following the Tracks. Two sets of tracks lead away from the cart, moving parallel to each other. One is a set of humanoid bootprints, the other are the hoofprints of a horse. A character that makes a successful DC 12 Wisdom (Survival) check notes that at some point, the humanoid tracks disappear, perhaps having swung themself onto the horse, and can follow the tracks into the fir grove.

End of the Line. The characters can follow the tracks for about a half-mile into the grove, and find a grisly scene at their terminus. The carcasses of a half-elf man and a horse are both frozen and half-eaten by scavengers. Wolf prints can be found in the snow. The man is clutching an iron lockbox, but has no key. Characters that search the grove for 1 hour can make a DC 15 Wisdom (Perception) check. On a success, they find the key. Alternatively, a character that makes a successful DC 15 Dexterity check with thieves’ tools can pick the lock. Inside the lockbox, as expected, are 100 gold pieces minted in Waterdeep.

On the Second Day, there is no Encounter

The characters travel along the Ten Trail uneventfully on their second day. Alternatively, you could insert another encounter from the low-level Arctic Encounters table from Xanathar’s Guide to Everything.

On the Third Day, a Combat Encounter: Monstrous Beast Master

In this encounter, the characters are ambushed by an ogre hunter and her saber-toothed tiger animal companion. The party can’t ignore this encounter.

Read or paraphrase the following to set the scene:

You’ve traveled all day without interruption. Night is falling, and the time to make camp is fast approaching. Suddenly, your peaceful day of travel is interrupted by a whistle of wind and a bestial roar! A javelin tears through the air and a massive, saber-toothed tiger leaps into your midst!

The ogre, a clever brute named Greldoon, and her animal companion Delark, are well camouflaged in the snow. Any character that doesn’t have a passive Wisdom (Perception) score of 14 or higher is surprised, and can’t act on the first turn of combat.

Terrain and Tactics. Greldoon the ogre stands atop a 20-foot-tall cliff, about 20 feet to the west of the road. She attacks from atop the cliff using her with javelins while her animal companion wreaks havoc below. She has 5 javelins, and descends the cliff with greatclub in hand when she runs out. Delark the saber-toothed tiger attacks unarmored or lightly armored characters first, eager to make an easy meal out of them. The pair are clever, but not coordinated enough to focus their attacks; they always attack different targets, if possible.

Wrath and Retreat. Greldoon roars with fury if her animal companion is killed, and she immediately descends the cliff and attacks the creature that killed Delark until one of them is dead. She then tries to pick up her companion’s corpse and flees. If Greldoon is killed first, her saber-toothed companion shows no such loyalty, and flees, taking the Disengage action as he disappears into the hills.

Treasure. Greldoon wears a necklace made from a bronze sundial decorated with gold engravings. It is worth 50 gp.

On the Fourth Day, a Social Encounter: Delivery in Ten-Towns

In this encounter, the characters arrive in the town of Bryn Shander. Compared to Luskan, this town is nothing special—but it is the most bustling settlement in all of Icewind Dale. The address on Maccath’s package leads them to an inn called Kelvin’ Comfort; it serves mead from the town of Goodmead, and is known throughout town for its specialty drink: Flamebeard’s Firebrandy.

Evil magic will darken the skies of Icewind Dale during the events of Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden. These events have not yet come to pass, and so life in Bryn Shander is much as it always is: cold, challenging, but not without its simple pleasures.  

Read or paraphrase the following to set the scene:

The walls of Bryn Shander, southernmost and largest of the Ten-Towns, loom over you. This fortified trading post is the gateway to Icewind Dale, and it stands atop a desolate, windswept hill. Guards atop the walls gaze at you, but you can barely make out their expressions underneath their masks and fur-lined caps. They open the gates and wave you in nonetheless.

You have only one package to deliver in Ten-Towns: an iron lockbox containing some sort of draconic artifact from a tiefling wizard named Maccath the Crimson. This parcel is for a person called Raggamel the Renegade, and Maccath’s note says to ask for him with Ogden, the innkeeper of Kelvin’s Comfort.

If the characters travel to Kelvin’s Comfort—they will need a place to stay, after all—they find that the place is filled with travelers and caravan merchants. The place has a lively atmosphere compared to the chilly reception they received at the gates. A lone bard plays an upbeat song in the corner, and a handful of the bar’s patrons are dancing to their tune. The innkeeper, a dwarf named Ogden Flamebeard, is good-humored but has a quick temper.

Speaking with Ogden. Ogden Flamebeard is friends with Raggamel the Renegade, and wants to make sure he stays hidden from people who want to do him harm. Thus, he treats anyone looking after him with suspicion. Characters that make a successful DC 13 Charisma (Deception or Persuasion) check convince him to show them to Raggamel’s room—but any attempts to intimidate Ogden end poorly, with the dwarf working himself into a spitting rage and telling the characters to get out of his inn.

Characters thrown out in this way will have to find another way to meet with Raggamel, perhaps disguising themselves, sneaking back in, and waiting for Raggamel to emerge for his evening meal.

Raggamel the Renegade. Raggamel the Renegade is a scruffy, dark-skinned, broad-shouldered human with a secret. He is a neutral good were-polar bear, and ventures out into the frozen wastes of Icewind Dale to protect vulnerable travelers and viciously destroy cruel folk. His vigilante work often gets him in trouble with the lawmen of Ten-Towns, and he likes to “cool off” in Kelvin’s Comfort.

Raggamel met Maccath the Crimson while she was on a journey to an iceberg dragon lair called Oyaviggaton several years ago. After she returned, she gave Raggamel a tiny wyrmling fang made of white gold she found in the iceberg lair as a token of their friendship; he now wears it as a necklace. Maccath has sent a parcel to him because further Arcane Brotherhood research has gone on in Oyaviggaton, and they’ve discovered an entire white dragon skull made of gold! It has some sort of enchantment on it, and Maccath thinks that returning the missing tooth to the golden skull will unlock some kind of dormant enchantment.

Delivering to Raggamel. Raggamel is cautious, but good-natured and interested in visitors—doubly interested in anyone with a connection to his willful friend Maccath. He is fascinated by her special lockbox—and laughs loudly with surprise when he touches it and finds that it springs open! He lowers his voice and tells the characters that it must have been enchanted to open at his touch, and muses that Maccath must have sneakily gotten his fingerprint when they last saw each other. His expression is a murky mix of wonder, friendly joy, and mild concern when he says this.

Inside the box is a dragon skull about the size of an adult cat’s skull, made from white gold. Raggamel puzzles over it for a moment; a character with a passive Wisdom (Perception) score of 14 or higher notes the golden tooth pendant around his neck, clearly visible against his hairy chest, visible due to his shirt’s deep collar. Otherwise, he thinks of it after a moment. He delicately plucks the tiny tooth from the necklace with his large fingers and slots it into an opening in the mouth. The skull begins to hum and vibrate in his hands, and then leaps into the air and levitates in place! Two tiny pinpricks of white flame glow in the skull’s eye sockets—and then its mouth opens and a raspy voice emerges.

“Hey, what’s the big idea, fussin’ around with my chompers like that? I’ll have you know I’m a mighty and fearsome… oh. Oh boy. I’m just a floatin’ skull now, huh?”

This skull is Kaledarnethira (or “Kal,” for short), an ancient white dragon whose spirit was somehow trapped in this golden sculpture after she was killed by adventurers some two thousand years ago. The skull found its way into the treasure hoard of the Oyaviggaton dragon lair. Now reawakened and “defanged” of her once-mighty physical and magical powers, Kal has the power and disposition of a grumpy housecat. Her skull can levitate up to 30 feet off the ground and can float through the air at a speed of 40 feet, but she is otherwise a noncombatant. She is incredibly knowledgeable about her former stomping grounds of Icewind Dale, but her knowledge is some two thousand years out of date.

Raggamel laughs at the emergence of this feisty, indolent dragon spirit. He recommends that the characters take her with them while they travel through Icewind Dale. “She’s got a bad temper, but who doesn’t this far north?” he quips. He simply warns them to keep her safe until they get back to Luskan. “Maccath still wants to see her returned safely, and she can be a real terror when someone comes between her and her dragons.”

Conclusion

Raggamel pays the characters 5 gp each, concluding their business. He thanks them for making his day more interesting, and asks them to please keep quiet about meeting him—and to say “hi” to Maccath for him once they return to Luskan.

The characters advance to 3rd level at the end of this adventure. If you’re tracking experience points, it’s recommended that you use milestone leveling instead, so that your characters stay powerful enough to handle the challenges that future adventures have in store.

Are you excited for Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden? Looking forward to more chilly adventures over the sweltering summer? Let us know what you're looking forward to in the comments! 

Get ready for more icy adventures in Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden by preordering the digital version on D&D Beyond, and get free preorder bonuses like the Glacial Digital Dice Set. 

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Did you like this encounter? Check out the encounters in the Encounter of the Week series. You can also pick up the adventures I've written on the DMs Guild, such as The Temple of Shattered Minds, a suspenseful eldritch mystery with a mind flayer villain. My most recent adventures are included in the bestselling Encounters in Theros, a collection of over 70 unique encounters created by the Guild Adepts, which can be used to enhance your campaign in Theros or in your Greek mythology-inspired campaign setting. Also check out the Platinum Bestseller Tactical Maps: Adventure Atlas, a collection of 88 unique encounters created by the Guild Adepts, which can be paired with the beautiful poster battlemaps in Tactical Maps Reincarnated.

James Haeck is the lead writer for D&D Beyond, the co-author of Waterdeep: Dragon Heist, Baldur's Gate: Descent into Avernus, and the Critical Role Explorer's Guide to Wildemount, a member of the Guild Adepts, and a freelance writer for Wizards of the Coast, the D&D Adventurers League, and other RPG companies. He lives in Seattle, Washington with his fiancée Hannah and their animal companions Mei and Marzipan. You can find him wasting time on Twitter at @jamesjhaeck.