The Icewind Dale Chronicles (STK, LMoP, LoCS, Accursed Tower)

[Yenrak]

The players asked about the wand and the sword. After inspecting both, this is what they've found.

The wand is intricately carved with the image of a blue dragon curling around it. It is inscribed in ancient runes that you think spells out the word IYMRITH but you are not sure what this means. (You can make some rolls next time we play to try to find out more.)

IYMRITH is a wand of lightning bolts. This wand has 7 charges. While holding it, you can use an action to expend 1 or more of its charges to cast the lightning bolt spell (Dexterity save DC 15) from it. For 1 charge, you cast the 3rd-level version of the spell. A creature targeted by the bolt takes 8d6 of damage on a failed save, half if it makes the save. You can increase the spell slot level by one for each additional charge you expend, each leveling adding an addition d6 of damage. The wand regains 1d6 + 1 expended charges daily at dawn. If you expend the wand's last charge, roll a d20. On a 1, the wand crumbles into ashes and is destroyed. Only a character who spends time to become attuned to the want can use it and only spellcasters can become attuned to it.

The sword is a great sword that must be wielded with two hands. Its pommel is shaped like a beautiful woman. Her arms point out at 90 degrees from her body to make the blade guard. Carved on one side of the blade is the word FROSTBITE. On the other, IYMRITH'S BANE.

The sword must be activated by a user who has become attuned to it. Activation causes the sword to frost over. When you hit with an attack while it is activated, the target takes an extra 1d6 cold damage. In addition, while you hold the sword, you have resistance to cold, fire, and electrical damage. In freezing temperatures, the blade sheds bright light in a 10-foot radius and dim light for an additional 10 feet. When you draw this weapon, you can extinguish all non-magical flames within 30 feet of you. This property can be used no more than once per hour.

 

[Matrix Sorcica]

So they find a Legendary sword at 1st-2nd lvl?

Also, "must be activated" - does this require a bonus action?

 

[Yenrak]

Thanks. And you are correct. I thought of activating the frosty-ness as requiring a bonus action. But there's no real time limit on how long it stays frosty, so I suppose a character could light it up the moment they enter a dungeon.

And, yes, this means a second level character will now have a very rare magic sword. It's basically just a Frost Bane with some cool added effects and some additional effects. The actual damage bonus is not unbalancing. What's more, as the players will discover, taking a magical sword from the grave of the leader of an order of knights they do not know much about may have unexpected costs. Especially when this order--and the sword--appears to have been dedicated not just to fighting a dragon but to serving the "White WItch of the North."

Maybe I'm being too defensive here but I sense you you think this might be a bad idea. Not sure I agree. There's a pretty great tradition in fantasy literature of low-level characters finding legendary items. Bilbo gets the ring, Arthur draws the sword, Eustace gets a ring of dragon transformation, etc.

 

[Matrix Sorcica]

Sure thing, if the story requires it. But the difference between novels and rpgs is that in the books the other characters don't mind being outshined by the guy with the fancy magic item - might not the the case with the other players.

 

[Yenrak]

Fair point and something I'll keep in mind. Thanks!

Boromir-effect.

 

[Yenrak]

I made a trailer for our players, summarizing our first adventure. It's my first time attempting this so it is not perfect. Let me know what you think? If you were a player, would you like this? Anyone have experience doing this?

[video=youtube_share;y4W_EUDM7Vk]https://youtu.be/y4W_EUDM7Vk[/video]

 

[aco175]

I would much rather watch a 2 minute film than read two pages. I'm lazy like most players though. Great job with it.

I may make the travel to Icewind Dale skip by at this point and begin the adventure with the group somehow spiting off from the caravan to start LMoP. You can up the magic of the sword in Tessendar Manor as well to keep it with the others you have already given out. I do not mind myself giving out some cooler things at lower levels, but make sure everyone gets something.

You also have 6 characters in the party which is strong already, so giving out a wand of lightning bolts makes them even more powerful compared to the modules, so you may need to adjust the encounters upwards. Depending on your style, you can adjust things like when the group walks into the goblin hideout and cast a lightning bolt- all the goblins and the leader come to investigate, making the several fights just one big one and difficult. I may tend to leave the encounters and handwave some of the things that should happen.

 

[Yenrak]

Thanks! Great suggestions.

I have a bunch of additional stuff planned for the caravan that I think will be cool adventures in their own right but will also lay some foundations for the grand sandbox of Icewind Dale that I am planning. It seems pretty railroad-y now because it literally is travelling on road but the players are going to get to choose between pursuing Rise of Tiamat, Crystal Shard, and Storm King's Thunder stuff (although they won't know that's what they are choosing).

So the players will meet Fegolos on the road, deal with Uthgardt barbarians, and I've transformed Nightstone into a Riverkeep guarding the bridge across the Iceflow River. It has long struck me as weird that there is no town at the place where the rive meets the road.

 

[Yenrak]

Super meta-question.

Would you prefer me to write out my plans for the adventure in a post before we play and later write out how things unfolded? Or do you want to only read the post-game summary?

 

[pukunui]

Being able to read both your plans and how things played out would be nice.