Ten-Towns
A conglomeration of ten small towns and cities situated around the three lakes of Icewind Dale: Redwaters, Lac Dinneshere, and Maer Dualdon. The towns vary in size and resources, but they come together in their chosen capital of Bryn Shander to trade and defend each other.
The primary resource in Ten-Towns is knucklehead trout, a plentiful fish with a fist-sized head. Found only in the lakes of Icewind Dale, the knucklehead trout’s ivory is well valued, and talented artists in Ten-Towns carve it into fine sculptures known as scrimshaw. Many inhabitants of Ten-Towns work with knucklehead trout in some form, and bitter rivalries have formed between towns competing for space on the lakes.
Many people who come to Ten-Towns are outcasts, fugitives, or pariahs in search of a place where they can be tolerated, if not accepted. Some came here determined to make their fortunes. Others come for the solitude, or to escape notice and stay out of the reach of the law of the southern cities. Today, four hundred years after the formation of Ten-Towns, most folk are here because they were born here, grew up here, and expect to die here. They’re fishers, loggers, miners, hunters, trappers, furriers, and traders accustomed to the harsh climate, the slow pace, and the isolation. The ever-present threat of orcs and other monsters compelled the poorly defended lakeside towns to turn Bryn Shander from a modest hilltop trading post into a walled town capable of defending all Ten-Towners if and when the worst comes. Like the hardy lichens and determined reindeer of the tundra, residents endure and do what’s needed to survive.
Residents of Ten-Towns tend to remain indoors when they’re not working, since it’s so frightfully cold outside, which gives each settlement a deathly quiet aspect. Most people who venture outdoors are bundled up in so much cold weather clothing as to be barely recognizable, and they don’t stand around long enough for the cold wind to get the better of them. Under layers of heavy woolen clothes and fur cloaks, one resident looks very much the same as another. Outdoors, it’s hard to tell the people of Ten-Towns apart—and easy for clever monsters to hide in their midst.
The Ten-Towns Settlements:
Bremen Bryn Shander Caer-Dineval Caer-Konig Dougan's Hole Easthaven Good Mead Lonelywood Targos Termalaine
Type
National Territory
Location under