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Rime of The Frostmaiden - Story & Structure - Part 0
Rime of The Frostmaiden - Story & Structure - Part 0
From the book’s title and the marketing, as well as how the book begins,
Rime of the Frostmaiden seems to be an adventure about saving Icewind
Dale from a spell of cold and darkness cast by the goddess Auril.
As the adventure starts out, the characters can certainly feel the effects
of this situation, but they can’t really do anything about it – yet. Instead,
they are put into a sandbox setting (Chapter 1: Ten-Towns and Chapter 2:
Icewind Dale), where they can roam around freely and complete minor
quests. There isn’t much direction given to the DM about how to structure
events or foreshadow the later chapters, except some guidelines for at
which levels the other chapters of the book should begin.
So, after a few levels of free play in Icewind Dale, the characters
eventually learn of a great threat to Icewind Dale – but it isn’t Auril and
her spell, as one might have assumed. Instead it is a duergar who’s
building a chardalyn dragon that will soon fly out to destroy Ten-Towns,
and so the story progresses into Chapters 3 & 4 with a subplot that is only
very loosely connected to the main story.
Once that issue has been resolved, the characters are finally given some
more information about the main plot (which we would perceive as
ending Auril’s spell of darkness), as they meet Vellynne. The necromancer
dumps a whole bucket of exposition on them, informing them that:
The means to end Auril’s Everlasting Rime may be found in Ythryn
The entrance to Ythryn is in the Reghed Glacier
The Codicil of White is needed to open it.
The Codicil of White can be found on the Island of Solstice.
The characters then travel to the Island of Solstice and begin Chapter 5,
where they can potentially encounter Auril herself – and, if they manage
to defeat her, end her spell of darkness right then and there. If they do so,
they have essentially finished the adventure before Chapter 6 & 7 even
begin, making the subsequent journey into Ythryn something of an
afterthought, and without clear purpose (beyond looting the ancient
ruins).
The Three Main Issues
All told, I find that there are three primary issues with Rime of the
Frostmaiden:
Structure. The story lacks structure in the beginning (Chapters 1 & 2), but
becomes linear and exposition-heavy in the later chapters (Chapters 5, 6
& 7). The start – a complete sandbox – puts a lot of work on the DM’s
shoulders, who has to figure out some way to guide events. The ending –
from Vellynne’s exposition dump at the end of Chapter 4 to the
characters’ arrival in Ythryn – is completely on rails, allowing the characters
little choice about how to proceed.
Motivation. The characters don’t have a clear purpose as they start out
and when larger story points – stopping Xardorok, ending Auril’s Everlasting
Rime, finding Ythryn – are introduced, the characters are often given only
shallow or inconsistent incentives to pursue them. Sometimes they are
given no greater reason than ‘because it’s the right thing to do’ or
‘because I’m asking you’, while at other times they are supposed to be
motivated only by the vaguest promises of treasure.
Alright, so now that the main issues – as I see them – with Rime of the
Frostmaiden have been identified, let’s take a look at how the Eventyr
Edition is meant to tackle them.
Auril’s agents are more active and organized. By making Auril’s frost
druids and other agents more active, we can better foreshadow
Auril’s part in the adventure and tie the duergar subplot more
closely to the story.
Auril’s Role. Auril’s role in Icewind Dale’s troubles is initially kept more
indirect and also closer to the chest, so the players get to discover
it on their own.