D&D 5E Is Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden the New D&D Adventure?

It looks likely that the upcoming D&D adventure is indeed an Icewind Dale based storyline called Rime of the Frostmaiden! I can't vouch for the veracity of this, but I was cc'd into a Tweet by Navy DM on Twitter who says they found it on Reddit.

Feel the cold touch of death in this adventure for the world's greatest role playing game.

UPDATE -- the awesome Geek Native ran the small cover screenshot through an image enhancing application, to create the larger image below.

There's a post here on Reddit which says "The DnD Beyond YouTube channel posted a trailer for a new book, Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden, then immediately deleted it." The post has been removed since. I found the above image posted by somebody called smightmight, who looks like they screen grabbed it from the video before it was removed.

The Frostmaiden is one of the names of Auril, an evil goddess in the Forgotten Realms. You can read more about her on the Forgotten Realms wiki.

Rime is ice which forms from water droplets on surfaces.

An Icewind Dale setting was the current favourite guess for the location of the new D&D adventure based on various hints from WotC, including this snowy owlbear t-shirt!

(thanks to Pixellance for pointing me at this!)

 

[Levistus's_Leviathan]

But, seriously, I know there's the phrase "Don't judge a book by its cover", but that isn't really a great saying. I can easily judge books by their covers. This book looks awesome, so the content has to have some awesome stuff.

 

[Dire Bare]

And perhaps the best way such products reach higher editorial standards is for said editors to step onto the field and make their DMs Guild product.

An editor is not simply a higher level designer or author, it is a skill that should be applied to all writing, by someone who isn't one of the actual authors. Even if you have A-level editing skills, you should still have someone else edit your work.

EDIT: To add, there are several designer "teams" that have formed on the Guild where partners essentially take turns with writing, designing, art, and editing tasks. So, any given creator might have writing credits on one product and editing credits on another.

Or barring that, offer their editorial services for a piece of the royalties on a DMs Guild product. One of the going rates is 20% of the 50% creatives get from Guild PDF.

WotC does not edit DM's Guild products, not even DM's Guild Adept products. That doesn't mean that any specific product on the Guild hasn't been edited! What you suggest already happens! Creators who realize the value of a good editor and feel they can afford their services, do so. And their products are better for it. It's just up to the individual creators on the Guild to employ editors, or not, the website/program itself doesn't involve itself in creator-level decisions as long as they follow the terms of the license.

 

[Dire Bare]

But, seriously, I know there's the phrase "Don't judge a book by its cover", but that isn't really a great saying. I can easily judge books by their covers. This book looks awesome, so the content has to have some awesome stuff.

A great cover does not guarantee great content underneath . . . . but a company or creative team that takes the time to acquire top-notch art, quality layout and design, effective editing . . . . when I see a good cover, it's a sign that the creative team behind a project has their act together and the product will likely be a good one. Conversely, a crap cover makes me question the overall competency of the creative team behind the project. I have been surprised both ways in the past, but it holds true in most cases.

 

[Levistus's_Leviathan]

A great cover does not guarantee great content underneath . . . . but a company or creative team that takes the time to acquire top-notch art, quality layout and design, effective editing . . . . when I see a good cover, it's a sign that the creative team behind a project has their act together and the product will likely be a good one. Conversely, a crap cover makes me question the overall competency of the creative team behind the project. I have been surprised both ways in the past, but it holds true in most cases.

The same applies for most books in general.

 

[Zaukrie]

A great cover does not guarantee great content underneath . . . . but a company or creative team that takes the time to acquire top-notch art, quality layout and design, effective editing . . . . when I see a good cover, it's a sign that the creative team behind a project has their act together and the product will likely be a good one. Conversely, a crap cover makes me question the overall competency of the creative team behind the project. I have been surprised both ways in the past, but it holds true in most cases.

It is also a sign that they have money to spend on these product.s......not everyone does, especially when they start out. I think judging this type of content by the cover does a disservice to those starting out w/o artistic talent available to them........

 

[Levistus's_Leviathan]

Good art normally means a good budget. Good budget can occasionally mean the content is good. Therefore, good art can mean the content is good.

 

[Fandabidozi]

That cover though, wow. Literally gave me goosebumps.

 

[Levistus's_Leviathan]

That cover though, wow. Literally gave me goosebumps.

I'm buying this book just so I can know what the heck the thing on the cover is. I need this for my campaign.

 

[Levistus's_Leviathan]

Besides the Owl-Yeti-Thingy, there appears to be some Winter Wolves on the cover.
Maybe the adventure is related to a cult of Auril or something? Maybe wanting to freeze some of the settlements in Icewind Dale with some artifact? Maybe related to the Amulet of Ulutiu?

Ulutiu

Ulutiu (pronounced: /uːˈluːtiuː/ oo-LOO-tee-oo) was a lawful neutral demigod of glaciers, frozen seas, polar environments, and arctic dwellers and the father of the giant-kin races. The Eternal Sleeper was in a state of voluntarily-induced slumber, not quite dead and alive enough to grant spells...

forgottenrealms.fandom.com

 

[Zaukrie]

It is also a sign that they have money to spend on these product.s......not everyone does, especially when they start out. I think judging this type of content by the cover does a disservice to those starting out w/o artistic talent available to them........

replying to myself.....

I do agree that good art makes a difference in a product. And, indicates they likely could also afford editing or layout....which are also important.