Icewind Dale
reezing wind sweeps across the tundra, ceaselessly battering anything that dares to grow or breathe in its domain. Even in summer, when the days stretch interminably long, the sun blazing low in the midnight sky brings no respite from the chill. Without fail, the wind finds its way through every chink and crack, every opening in the warmest furs, every tent flap, every roof and board of the strongest homes. It drains away any hint of warmth wherever it finds purchase.
The threat of winter’s fury is never far away. The wind sweeping down from the Reghed Glacier howls its wrath and sometimes carries stinging sprays of ice in its grasp. The sun never rises far above the horizon even at the height of summer—and the height of summer is fleeting. During the rest of the year sudden storms bring driving hail or sleet that leaves everything coated in a sheath of ice, or they bring snow that piles in deep drifts.
All this cold and fury is caged into one small region. The ice cliffs of the Reghed Glacier—the source of the never-ending wind—rise up in the east like prison walls, home to white dragons and enormous remorhazes. In the south loom the snowcapped peaks of the Spine of the World, crawling with orcs, goblins, and other monsters. North and west, the Sea of Moving Ice churns bergs and floes in an endless tumult, like winter grinding its teeth in anticipation of its next freezing assault.
And yet, such is the nature of life that even in this hostile place, it manages to lift its head in defiance of the biting cold. Lichens cling to weathered rock despite the battering of the winds, providing sustenance to herds of reindeer through the winter. Fish swim in the lakes and rivers that dot the tundra.
When summer comes to the tundra, life shakes off the torpor of winter and comes forth in full flower. Grasses grow two or three feet high in the span of weeks. Birds flock to the marshes formed in the thawing soil. Reindeer calves fill out the herds that have been diminished through the winter.
Of course, no region of the Forgotten Realms is without its people. Human tribes follow the reindeer herds through their annual migrations. Other humans dare the treacherous waters of the Sea of Moving Ice in search of fish, seals, and whales to sustain them. Dwarves dig into the earth to find shelter from the biting wind, mining for iron and forging weapons and armor.
Most improbably of all, civilized folk descended from foolhardy and treasure-mad immigrants from the south manage to survive and sometimes thrive in ten small towns. The wooden buildings of these towns provide only a little shelter from the cold and wind, and no protection at all from the attacks of orcs, barbarians, or the fierce tundra yeti. Though the towns are clustered around three icy lakes teeming with knucklehead trout, resources are scarce, and competition between neighboring communities can be fierce and occasionally deadly. But for all the dangers, people still live in the region known as Ten-Towns, and new arrivals—outcasts, fugitives, wanderers, and adventurers—still come to test themselves against the harshest environment known to the world.
This is Icewind Dale.
Geography
Geographical Features
Lakes
The dale was famous for its three, mineral-laden lakes: Maer Dualdon, Lac Dinneshere, and Redwaters. Their waters were cold enough to kill men who dared to swim across, even during summer.- Maer Dualdon: The largest and deepest of the three lakes was once the premier destination for all who dared the trek that far north.
- Lac Dinneshere: The waters of the lake appeared to change in hue depending on the weather that was just about to wash over the dale.
- Redwaters: The smallest lake earned its name from a bloody battle that took place on the land over which towns were built.
Bodies of Water
- Redrun: This stream flowed from Lac Dinneshere into the small Redwaters lake.
- Shaengarne River: While the waters of this river flowed into the Trackless Sea year-round, its top waters froze over during winter.
Mountains
The single solitary mountain of the dale was Kelvin's Cairn, a peak that offered fresh water to the surrounding lakes when "spring" bloomed every Midsummer.
Valleys
- Bremen's Run
- Fields of Slaughter
- Icewind Pass
Ecosystem Cycles
Fauna & Flora
History
The region was first populated when Northlander longships reached the area during the last centuries of the Illefarn empire. Initially settling on the islands, the Northlanders would eventually settle Icewind Dale.
In −2100 DR, Illuskan refugees first migrated to Icewind Dale and settled, eventually becoming the Reghedmen.
Circa 1269 DR, Damien Morienus, a former master of the North Tower of the Host Tower of the Arcane relocated to Icewind Dale. He was a powerful necromancer who was using the local barbarian tribes for his horrific experiments. Eventually, he summoned demons to exact revenge on his enemies. The monsters used their infernal magics to summon hellfire that melted all the snow away. The areas to the Northwest of Ten Towns and the shores of Maer Dualdon suffered the most by floods and permafrost's melting, killing a barbarian tribe, and the inhabitants of the Accursed Tower that sank into the mud. This disaster later became known as the Great Thaw by the locals. Most never learned about the true nature of it believing it to be a natural event.
In 1281 DR, a party of adventurers in Icewind Dale interfered in the plans of Belhifet to use the artifact Crenshinibon to conquer the region. They also destroyed Icasaracht when she attempted to set the Reghedmen against Lonelywood before disappearing, apparently somewhere in Anauroch.
In 1342 DR, goblins raided Termalaine. Were it not for the intervention of Clan Battlehammer, the town may have been destroyed.
Famous ranger Drizzt Do'Urden first arrived in Icewind Dale in 1347 DR.
In 1351 DR, Heafstaag and his group of barbarians fail to conquer the settlement of Termalaine in their massive sweep of the Ten-Towns. In this same year, Crenshinibon, a powerful magical item lost to the ages, was found by Akar Kessel, an apprentice wizard from Luskan.
A storm in 1473 DR caused a wave on Lac Dinneshere to destroy the docks of Easthaven and several of its ships, as well as their crews.
On Eleint 3 in 1485 DR, black ice was discovered in Icewind Dale. The substance was a remnant of the power of Crenshinibon.
Rumors and Legends
Local legend told of the White Lady, a spirit that haunted the shore of Lac Dinneshere.
Notable Locations
Settlements
Icewind Dale's only permanent settlements were known as the Ten Towns, a confederation of minor settlements that cooperated with each other. It attracted all manner of determined and desperate folks from all across the Realms. The Ten Towns comprised the hamlets nestled on Redwaters lake, Good Mead, and Dougan's Hole; the three settlements located on the shores of Lac Dinneshere, Easthaven, Caer-Konig, and Caer-Dineval; the four that encircled Maer Dualdon, Lonelywood, Bremen, Termalaine, and the walled town of Targos, and the "Tenth Town" of Bryn Shander, the mercantile hub that held them all together.
Away from Ten Towns, all the way on the northern reaches of the Spine of the World, laid the settlement of Kuldahar. The village was a small group of buildings clustered around the great oak tree, protected from the elements by the Heartstone Gem. Kuldahar had regular trade caravans braving the harsh wilderness to and from Ten Towns.
The isolated prison of Revel's End was situated far to the north of the dale, on a cliff overlooking the Sea of Moving Ice.
In the southwest region of the dale, within foothills of the Spine of the World, was the goblin fort-settlement of Karkolohk.
Landmarks
- Black Cabin, a solitary lodge that served as a refuge for many who traveled across the dale.
- Damien's Tower, the cursed residence of Damien Morienus.
- Dorn's Deep, a dwarven fortress located on a lone peak in the Spine of the World.
- Jarlmoot, the ancient meeting place of the region's frost giants.
- Lost Spire of Netheril, a mage tower that was torn asunder from the enclave of Ythryn.
Roads & Trails
- Eastway: The only paved road in Icewind Dale linked the hub of Bryn Shander with the communities of Lac Dinneshere.
- Ten Trail: This wagon trail led north from the settlement of Hundelstone, through the North/South Pass, allowing merchants and travelers to make their way to Bryn Shander.
Inhabitants
The region was mainly populated by fishermen, craftsmen, rangers, dwarves that mined the depths for minerals and precious stones, Reghedmen barbarians, and merchants that tolerated the hostile climate in the hope of trading in ivory and gems. While most of them lived in the Ten Towns, the dwarves mined in isolated caves and caverns while the barbarian tribes roamed after their migratory prey.
Beyond the civilized folk, the dale was home to beasts like reindeer, elk, crag cats, polar bears, and monstrous yetis. Beyond the wild animals were monstrosities called remorhazes, warring bands of frost giants, and perhaps most-terrifying, a number of white dragons.
At the times of famine due to extremely harsh winters, in the regions where rothé herds roamed, the folk of Icewind Dale joined together to start the rothé stampedes, forcing them off cliffs. The dead and wounded animals provided the northerners with fresh life-saving meat. The animals were harvested, roasted, or smoked on the spot. The hides and meats were sledded back to the towns and stored in stone cairns for keeping. When the food supply was even more scarce, the folk was forced to slaughter and consume their mounts, draft beasts, sled dogs.
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