D&D 5E Running Rime of the Frost Maiden

[Reynard]

I decided I was definitely going to be running Rime of the Frostmaiden for my next campaign. I am running it biweekly via Fantasy grounds, for reference.

Anyway, i thought we could start a thread ahead of its release to talk about prepping for running Rime (RotFM? What are we going with here?) and then keep it going as we run it. Obviously, this will be a spoilery thread.

So, initially, i am wondering what resources i should look at for both the setting -- Icewind Dale -- and the titular Frostmaiden. I am primarily familiar with Icewind Dale by way of the old CRPGs. I may replay at least the first one prior to release, but it depends on time. I probably won't have time to read any novels. What resources -- including good podcasts and videos -- do you recommend for starting to understand the location, lore and particulars?

 

[NotAYakk]

Find summaries of the novels. They usually aren't hard to find online.

 

[Dax Doomslayer]

Not a podcast but the adventure Legacy of the Crystal Shard may be a good resource for this. Perhaps even the 4E Neverwinter campaign book too?

 

[LordEntrails]

Icewind Dale

Icewind Dale was an arctic tundra located in the Frozenfar region of the North, known for being the northernmost explored region in all of Faerûn. It earned its name from the harsh winds and icy storms that destroyed buildings and scoured the landscape. The dale was a harsh, near-uninhabitable...

forgottenrealms.fandom.com

Auril

Auril (pronounced: /ˈɔːrɪl/ AW-rill listen), called Saukuruk by her few worshipers among the Iulutiuns of the Great Glacier, was the neutral evil goddess of winter and cold in the Faerûnian pantheon. The embodiment of winter's cruelty and all its deadliest aspects, Lady Frostkiss had a heart of...

forgottenrealms.fandom.com

 

[Flamestrike]

Should be pretty straighforward to run.

Personally I'd be brushing up on Cold weather rules, and maybe doing a bit of work fleshing them out pre the campaign starting.

The book should have rules on weather and blizzards etc, but padding them out would be the way I'd go.

It's hard to do much without the book.

 

[Reynard]

I found this video as an introductory overview of the region. (I don't know how to embed it.)

 

[Reynard]

I started listening to the audiobook of The Crystal Shard as prep for this adventure. It's not as cringeworthy as I expected.

 

[Ancalagon]

My advice to you is wait 2 years, then run it.

Why wait 2 years? Because someone will fix it for you!

A lot of the adventure paths have significant structural problems. For example, from the excellent Alexandrian:

Remember those kenku?

Descent Into Avernus says, “Find the kenku! They knew Lulu back in Ye Olde Days! They’ll have valuable information that will help you find the Sword!”

So the PCs go to Fort Knucklebones. They find the kenku. The adventure says, “The kenku Chukka and Clonk instantly recognize Lulu, since they’ve met her previously.” And then… nothing.

Literally nothing.

(skipping ahead)

Which brings us to Descent Into Avernus: The designers don’t actually have a functional scenario structure. They’ve instead flailed themselves into a sort of malformed scenario structure which consists entirely of:

1. An NPC tells the PCs where to go.
2. The PCs go there.

The entire campaign is just this one “structure” repeated infinitely: An NPC tells you where to go. You go there and you find another NPC who tells you where to go.

Does that sound like a good adventure to you? It does not to me. However the basic adventure premise is such a cool concept! What to do? Well he fixed it

Remixing Avernus – Part 6: The Rest of the Remix

Go to Table of ContentsAs the PCs leave Elturel, I think the time has come to take a step back and look at the big picture: They’re in Avernus now. So what are they trying to do, exactly?Thi

thealexandrian.net

He's done the same for a few others of the adventure path. I know others have written guidance on how to run the other adventure paths. This is a great resource. But it won't be available immediately to you. Just be patient

 

[Reynard]

My advice to you is wait 2 years, then run it.

Why wait 2 years? Because someone will fix it for you

A lot of the adventure paths have significant structural problems. For example, from the excellent Alexandrian:


(skipping ahead)



Does that sound like a good adventure to you? It does not to me. however it's such a cool concept! What to do? Well he fixed it

Remixing Avernus – Part 6: The Rest of the Remix

Go to Table of ContentsAs the PCs leave Elturel, I think the time has come to take a step back and look at the big picture: They’re in Avernus now. So what are they trying to do, exactly?Thi

thealexandrian.net

That doesn't bother me. I am running Avernus now and I am so far afield from the railroad plot presented that it doesn't matter anymore. These adventures are tools -- they provide a basic framework and a mountain of resources to tell a story that sort of looks like the back of the book text if you squint really hard. It took me a long time to learn it was okay to run adventures like that -- beinga homebrew DM for like 30 years -- but now that I have I can use the adventures as a foundation for a better game.

 

[ART!]

I just want to say that I read the thread title as "Ruining Rime of the Frost Maiden", and I'm just sitting here giggling to myself, because based on my GMing history that's a challenge I can tackle!