Thread by @hexcrawl

Live-tweeting reactions to #IcewindDale: Rime of the Frostmaiden, but trying something different: I'll have one thread of stuff I liked (this one) and another thread of stuff I didn't (link below).

The Bad thread will inevitably be longer (because explaining a problem always takes more time than saying "this good, me like"), but I'm hoping this will do a better job of emphasizing all the cool stuff #IcewindDale has to offer.

Head over here for the critical stuff:

(Odds I screw up at some point and accidentally post to the wrong thread? 100%.)

First great thing: #RimeOfTheFrostMaiden does a fantastic job of customizing character creation to the adventure.:

- Personalized hooks tied to Backgrounds.
- Customized starting equipment appropriate for the setting.

- A new option for a PC race. (Even if no one picks it, just being available sets tone.)
- A cool set of Character Secrets, most of which are tangibly tied to the various pseudo-sandbox scenarios that kick off the campaign.

This is all great attention to detail. And can really serve as an exemplar of how you can structure your own Session 0's to set tone and invest the group in the game before you even start playing.

Domesticated axe beaks are awesome.

I like these little subtle touches of the fantastic: It immediately conjures up images of, say, a tavern with a row of axe beaks on the hitching post.

It immediately makes #IcewindDale some place unique and pulls you into the world.

There are two "Starting Quests." This is not well-explained, but each is designed as a light framing device that will motivate the PCs to move from one town to another, collecting additional quests from each town as they go.

Conceptually this is great.

The idea is that the PCs will be journeying around doing other quests, all while working towards accomplishing these initial quests.

This effectively provides a Default Action for the beginning of the campaign: If in doubt, go to a town and look for your starting quest item.

If you want to make this even stronger, you can make it so that the investigative action explicitly triggers the local rumor table.

thealexandrian.net/wordpress/3660…

More on default actions over here. (This is in the context of an open table, but default actions are useful in any campaign. Particularly sandbox campaigns.)

thealexandrian.net/wordpress/3865…

Re: Wilderness survival.

#RimeOfTheFrostMaiden uses extreme weather conditions -- particularly blizzards -- to attempt to reintroduce some of the difficulties of overland travel that 5th Edition generally stripped out of the game.

This is a good choice.

I think the unexamined premise in these attrition vs. big deadly encounter vs. skip overland travel discussions is often the idea that challenging combat is the only way to create interesting gameplay.

In an exploration scenario, encounters with creatures are often more important as CLUES than they are as fisticuffs.

thealexandrian.net/wordpress/2573…

Similarly, I dislike 5th Edition making it virtually impossible for a group to veer off course in the wilderness because getting lost in the wilderness is potentially very interesting!

In the case of an exploration campaign, for example, getting lost creates a navigational puzzle that then has to be solved.

thealexandrian.net/wordpress/1730…

#IcewindDale is, AFAICT, not exploration-based. So getting lost in a blizzard doesn't create a puzzle. But it DOES create a dramatic tone; it brings Auril's curse into the narrative.

I haven't actually played it, so I don't know if it actually works. Or works as well as it could. But it looks like it works. And it's a good idea.