As soon as I saw the cover image of the Frostmaiden and the outreached hand coupled with the description of Icewind Dale – Rime of the Frostmaiden, I knew this D&D module would grab my interest right away. I’ve always loved the atmosphere of winter, and the horror of the tundra, and the promotional imagery for the adventure indicated it would be a mix of fantasy and horror in Faerun’s coldest, darkest realm. All the interviews and pre-released material said that the writers took influence from great winter horror such as John Carpenter’s The Thing (A favorite), so needless to say my anticipation was at a fever pitch for the book to drop.

Icewind Dale – Rime of the Frostmaiden sees your party dropped into the always cold Icewind Dale, only COLDER. The Frostmaiden of the title has spent the last 2 years cursing the land. Every night she renews her curse which keeps the region in perpetual cold and darkness to feed her own needs. It is the adventurers job to pick up and help free Icewind Dale from the dark.

Icewind Dale – Rime of the Frostmaiden is pretty much as fun to read as it is to play. You start off with a rundown of the mechanics of the area such as dealing with cold and exhaustion. The players will then be thrown into an introductory quest in the “Ten-Town” region. The first chapter of the book sees them further exploring Ten Towns, by going on smaller quest that give them the lay of the Icewind Dale-verse, before they begin to hear rumors of the things that lay beyond the towns and in the wilderness in Chapter 2.

After these 2 chapters of quests that introduce the players to the plight of Icewind Dale, and the lay of the land, the book comes into more focus with the main plot involving stopping Auril the Frostmaiden’s curse on the land. That involves 3 additional locations, and even more tests on the players. Though I can’t claim to have played each of the longform D&D campaigns from 5E I will say I think this one both reads and plays the best of the ones I have. Not everything is resolved by combat, and the set pieces, put together by Wizards of the Coast. I haven’t quite finished it yet, but having read the whole book through I can anticipate a lot of excitement and adventure for my (Zoom-based) party. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.