Icewind Dale
"Come gather 'round, hardy men of the steppes, and listen to my tale,
Of heroes bold and friendships fast, and the Tyrant of Icewind Dale."
- Legend of Drizzt, The Crystal Shard
Welcome to Icewind Dale, the furthest edge of the world of Faerûn.
The frozen tundras of Icewind Dale are an isolated and unforgiving landscape, cut off from the rest of the continent by the deadly Spine of the World mountain range, the treacherous Sea of Moving Ice, and the Reghed Glacier. This is pretty much the last stop for travelers and civilized society, and is therefore considered the edge of the explored world.
Immigrants from all over Faerûn came here in search of escape or adventure and built a modest trade post atop the hill where Bryn Shander now stands. One by one, the settlements now known as Ten-Towns sprung up on the shores of the region's three largest lakes, Maer Dualdon, Lac Dinneshere, and Redwaters. 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.
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.
Icewind Dale's secrets are well kept, and its challenges are plentiful. For adventurers such as yourselves, this is a place to test one’s mettle and, in the spirit of heroes who have come before, leave one’s mark on this frigid, blighted land.
"When you live with death so close, you come to appreciate life all the more."
- Drizzt Do'Urden
