Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Next
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
Twitch
YouTube
Facebook (EN Publishing)
Facebook (EN World)
Twitter
Instagram
TikTok
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
The
VOIDRUNNER'S CODEX
is coming! Explore new worlds, fight oppressive empires, fend off fearsome aliens, and wield deadly psionics with this comprehensive boxed set expansion for 5E and A5E!
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Dungeons & Dragons
A brief rant about Rime of the Frost Maiden, farming, logistics, and ecology
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="Burnside" data-source="post: 8107095" data-attributes="member: 6910340"><p>I think the designers got themselves into a bind where they both really wanted to include the sacrifices element, but also didn't want want the adventure to be set in a lifeless, post-apocalyptic wasteland.</p><p></p><p>In order for Icewind Dale NOT to be a lifeless, post-apocalyptic wasteland, this can't have been going on for two years. But if it's only been going on for a period of months, the people of Ten Towns look psychotic for resorting to human sacrifices so abruptly.</p><p></p><p>The compromise probably has to do with removing the "no sunlight" thing. A year or two of winter is a region on the brink of total collapse. A year or two of winter plus 4 hours of twilight/20 hours of darkness per day equals total extinction. But that messes with the duergar storyline. </p><p></p><p>Another possibility would be to introduce the idea that the sacrifices to Auril are actually working, and that she permits the towns some relief from the cold and dark in exchange for performing them. But that introduces a level of moral queasiness and complexity that I'm not sure WotC really wanted to deal with in this story. As written, there's no evidence that the sacrifices are having any results, so morally the adventurers are in the clear if they decide to put a stop to them. If you change it so that the sacrifices are actually benefitting the towns, then the players have to choose between allowing human sacrifices or putting entire populations at risk. Which would be great drama at some tables, but isn't the sort of stuff 5E adventures tend to grapple with.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Burnside, post: 8107095, member: 6910340"] I think the designers got themselves into a bind where they both really wanted to include the sacrifices element, but also didn't want want the adventure to be set in a lifeless, post-apocalyptic wasteland. In order for Icewind Dale NOT to be a lifeless, post-apocalyptic wasteland, this can't have been going on for two years. But if it's only been going on for a period of months, the people of Ten Towns look psychotic for resorting to human sacrifices so abruptly. The compromise probably has to do with removing the "no sunlight" thing. A year or two of winter is a region on the brink of total collapse. A year or two of winter plus 4 hours of twilight/20 hours of darkness per day equals total extinction. But that messes with the duergar storyline. Another possibility would be to introduce the idea that the sacrifices to Auril are actually working, and that she permits the towns some relief from the cold and dark in exchange for performing them. But that introduces a level of moral queasiness and complexity that I'm not sure WotC really wanted to deal with in this story. As written, there's no evidence that the sacrifices are having any results, so morally the adventurers are in the clear if they decide to put a stop to them. If you change it so that the sacrifices are actually benefitting the towns, then the players have to choose between allowing human sacrifices or putting entire populations at risk. Which would be great drama at some tables, but isn't the sort of stuff 5E adventures tend to grapple with. [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Dungeons & Dragons
A brief rant about Rime of the Frost Maiden, farming, logistics, and ecology
Top