Hello everybody Jorphdan here the PH is silent. Let’s go north, like… waaay north in the
Forgotten Realms and examine Icewind Dale! The home of many R.A. Salvatore’s stories,
and popular enough to get a couple of video games. Icewind Dale is a typical frozen north,
with some unique areas within! Today we’ll explore the history and interesting factoids
of Icewind Dale, let’s dive in.
Icewind Dale is an arctic tundra located in the northern reaches of Faerun, along the
Sword Coast. It’s name “Ice & Wind” was earned from the harsh storms that plague
the land. It is a near-inhospitable area that has below freezing temperatures. Because of
how far north it is, and the cloud cover, during the winter months it receives little
sunlight. There are terrible monsters here, which of course there are. It's the Forgotten
Realms. But there are people who call this place home; barbarian tribes, and frontiersmen.
There are some scattered spots of civilization, but for the most part it is an uninhabited
north.
The temperature in the summer month ranges from 11 degrees Fahrenheit to 70 degrees Fahrenheit,
which is -12 Celsius to 21 Celsius. But in the winter they get as low as -40 degrees
Fahrenheit and -40 degrees Celsius. It is located in an interesting part of Faerun,
in between Reghed Glacier and the spine of the World (a large mountain range in northern
Faerun). This offers Icewind Dale a bit of protection from the outside, however isolation
might be a better word. There is little military or strategic value here, so we don’t see
that many invading armies or creatures. But again, lots of big monsters roam the area,
so there’s that.
The only permanent settlements really known in Icewind Dale is called “Ten Towns.”
Which is a confederation of minor settlements that corporate with each other because it’s
mutually beneficial. These settlements each have individual names, often called by their
geographic location. Redwaters lake, Good Mead, Dougan’s Hole, Easthaven, Caer-Konig
and Caer-Dineval, Maer Dualdon, Lonelywood, Bremen, Termalaine, Targos, and the quote
unquote capital “Bryn Shader.” Outside of locals these settlements are just collectively
called “Ten Towns.”
The people of Ten Towns and Icewind Dale are fishermen, craftsmen, rangers, dwarves, and
the Reghedmen Barbarians. Merchants come up to trade in ivory and gems. One of the chief
exports of Icewind Dale is Knucklehead Trout, which are fish with an ivory head. Skilled
artists will take this ivory and make ornate pieces for sale. These fish live in only three
lakes: Maer Dualdon, Lac Dinneshere, and Redwaters.
Like most of the Forgotten Realms, locations are more defined if there were novels written
in that area. RA Salvatore started his Drizzt saga in this area, with Drizzt meeting the
clan Battlehammer dwarves who live in Icewind Dale. If you want to know the region in more
detail I’ll put a link to some of his novels in the doobly do below. When I make these
videos I try not to spoil novels and instead use the information from supplements that
were designed to help players run campaigns there. So for this video I’m looking at Volo’s Guide
to the North, and the Savage Frontier. Storm King's Thunder has a lot of useful information
too. If you are ever hungry for further information I put links in the “References” section
below. Check it out!
People from Waterdeep describe Icewind Dale as the “Frozenfar” and the rumor is that
it’s so far north people freeze solid as they walk. Only the most crazy humans and
dwarves would venture so far north. Seeking gems, gold, and other rare metals; it’s
potentially an untapped resource of mining. According to Waterdaveans, the Frozenfar starts
at Mirabar, which is on the southern side of the Spine of the World.
Nobody really knows how far the North goes. There are glaciers known as the Endless Ice
Sea. It’s very inhospitable to humans. Rumors that strange beasts live there, and Netheril
Mages who retired there, kept alive by magic. The land is home to a 1,000 foot tall mountain
called Kelvin’s Cairn. Barbarian legends say the mountain is named after the frost
giant Kelvin Duarol who was slain there by the god Tempus. Tempus pulled rocks from the
surrounding area and piled them on top of the giant to mark his victory. The legend
supposedly explains the receded valley below the mountain. The mountain is thought of as
a warning to others who attempt to fight the gods. This hasn’t stopped Dwarves from mining
the inside of Kelvin’s Cairn. These Dwarves have allied with Clan Battlehammer of Mithral
Hall. Dwarves today still live in the mine, but in much fewer numbers than in the past.
There are only 8,000 or so folk in Icewind Dale; most are suspicious of outsiders. In
comparison the population of Waterdeep is 130,000. Still adventurers make their way
to Icewind Dale, rumors of white dragons with treasure hoards in the glaciers. Miners and
Dwarves seek the heaps of frozen gems that lie beneath the ice, or so rumors would have
you believe.
Arveiaturace is an ancient white dragon that has claimed Icewind Dale as her domain. She
was once the friend and mount of a wizard named Meltharond Thone. Rumor was that Meltharond
captured and tamed her, and initially there was hatred, but over the centuries she learned
to love him. Meltharond died of old age supposedly, but Arveiaturace still wears a saddle and
will strap his corpse to her back. Speaking to him in Draconic like he was still alive.
Many believe the Ancient White Dragon to be completely mad, but she doesn’t harm the
people of Icewind Dale so there has been no effort to stop or destroy her.
Special to Icewind Dale is Kuldahar. In the early days of Toril Silvanus the god of nature
planted an acorn in the foothills of the Spine of The World. Nurtured by Silvanus a very
large tree grew in this spot. Divine magic allowed the tree to give off heat and create
a haven for forms of life in the harsh cold of Icewind Dale. Several druids came to the
north and have built shrines to Silvanus. These shrines eventually turned into the settlement
of Kuldahar, where all people who respect the balance of nature are welcome to come and see the
glory of Silvanus. A powerful artifact known as the Heartstone Gem was part of these druid
shrines in Kuldahar until it was stolen. The gem had warmth, healing, and divination powers
similar to the Giant Oak Tree. Stolen and used for a mysterious ritual to a Forgotten
God. Eventually it was stolen again by snake-worshiping cultists who were agents of Yxunomei a marilith
demon. Thanks to a brave adventuring group the heartstone gem was returned to Kuldahar,
where the circle of warmth grew larger. This area can be found in the Icewind Dale video
game series, becoming a spot you could visit throughout the game.
An Icewind Deity of note is Auril. She is the deity of cold and winter, going by the
name “The Frostmaiden.” She has few official worshipers, but some priests and druids pay
their respects to her. In the barbarian tribes shamans of Auril will rise up and lead the
tribe’s worship. Moving the people away from their ancestral deities and towards the
Frostmaiden. Auril enjoys sacrifice, and it is expected if you worship her, she is a cruel
goddess who loves to inspire fear. If you want to learn more about Auril I’ve created
a deity video on her, check out the top right corner, or the description below.
Finally one of the Sundering Adventures that Wizards of the Coast released in 2013 to lead
up to the release of 5th edition took place in Icewind Dale. Called the “Legacy of the
Crystal Shard” it came with a large campaign booklet that had history, npcs, detailed maps,
and the current happenings of Ten Towns and Icewind Dale. It is an excellent resource
if you want to run a game in this region. The adventure revolves around a weird substance
called Black Ice, that is the crystal remnants of an evil magical artifact, Crenshinibon,
aka the Crystal Shard. If you want to learn more about that check out the link in the
description below.
Thanks so much for watching everyone, I make lore videos on the worlds of Dungeons & Dragons
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Check out these videos for more information about the Forgotten Realms and Icewind Dale!
Click the patreon link to support the channel and check out the live D&D 5e games that I
run. Thanks again and I’ll see you all in the next video!