D&D 5E icewind dale Xardorok conquest question.
Paul Farquhar
Legend
It shouldn't take that long, provided he can actually persuade 400 Duergar to follow him out into the cold. There is a shaft to the Underdark in Termalaine that could be used as an additional route the the surface.
The big problem would be feeding 400 dwarves. The towns where barely surviving before, and few of the dwarves would know how to fish. Raiding the herds would invite guerrilla reprisals from the Reghed nomads. Which brings up the other problem - only three of the towns (Bryn Shander, Targos and Caer-Dineval) are defensible. In the others they would be sitting ducks. They really need to defeat the hated Battlehammer dwarves in Dwarven Valley before they can do anything else.
But even if they defeat Battlehammer, that still leaves the final enemy. Auril is the true ruler of Icewind Dale, but if Xardorok's allies defeat her the Sun will come up and the duergar will be driven back to the Underdark.
Remember Xardorok is insane, and is being manipulated into a doomed plan by Asmodeous. The Ten Towns is a liability, not an asset. Asmodeous is mostly interested in stopping Levistus' pawn Avarice from reaching the Necropolis and gaining the power of Netheril. If he can collect some dead duergar souls for the Blood War whilst he is about it that's a double win.
The big problem would be feeding 400 dwarves. The towns where barely surviving before, and few of the dwarves would know how to fish. Raiding the herds would invite guerrilla reprisals from the Reghed nomads. Which brings up the other problem - only three of the towns (Bryn Shander, Targos and Caer-Dineval) are defensible. In the others they would be sitting ducks. They really need to defeat the hated Battlehammer dwarves in Dwarven Valley before they can do anything else.
But even if they defeat Battlehammer, that still leaves the final enemy. Auril is the true ruler of Icewind Dale, but if Xardorok's allies defeat her the Sun will come up and the duergar will be driven back to the Underdark.
Remember Xardorok is insane, and is being manipulated into a doomed plan by Asmodeous. The Ten Towns is a liability, not an asset. Asmodeous is mostly interested in stopping Levistus' pawn Avarice from reaching the Necropolis and gaining the power of Netheril. If he can collect some dead duergar souls for the Blood War whilst he is about it that's a double win.
