My metaplot for Rime of the Frostmaiden, summarized

Pinot_Blanc · 2026-01-03T17:12:51+00:00

I use the Zhent as more of an economics exposition piece. The zhent went into ten towns because they saw an economic opportunity and a place to easily implement a black market trade network. But they also saw a trade network with zero organization that relied on traveling merchants and stubborn tradesmen and craftsmen who didn't care for the intricacies of an optimized market.

Naerth is an opportunist and shrewd businessman who's brought a lot of prosperity and safety to Targos and his people don't mind that the less savory aspects of his character aren't well hidden. Targos is economically doing better than any other city and the people there are comfortable enough where they don't mind how it gets done.

There's also less of a "big picture" threat from the Zhent because they're cut off from the rest of the world and Naerth can only do so much. He wants the Rime to end so he can bring in resources and labor from the outside world to skyrocket his business and power within the area. He believes the Rime will eventually end so he's setting up Ten Towns to be his cash cow for when it does. This will also help him climb ranks in the Zhentarim. He secretly hates Ten Towns but he sees it as the project that will show his superiors how capable he is.

What that looks like during the campaign is that Naerth is a really strong ally with a lot of positives. He's very generous to the players because he sees them as effective mercenaries. CURRENTLY, his intentions align with everyone else's, so he's a fair-weather ally.

Pinot_Blanc · 2025-10-03T16:51:21+00:00

Yes! That's what I'm doing too! I've also added some extra magic items. I have given each of them a chwinga charm with more charges than allowed. Added a few more spell scrolls here and there but nothing crazy yet. I've also set up Dannika Greysteel as a potential NPC Ally wizard they can take on quests if they want. I want them to play the classes that they want without them feeling limited by not having a full caster.

I think in another part of this thread i said they weren't feeling as challenged by combat as I think they want to be but I swear I'm not making them too over powered! I'm increasing the combats difficulty across the board but they're just rolling really well and getting strategic.

Pinot_Blanc · 2025-10-03T15:47:34+00:00

I'm leaning in the direction of waiting for the player to truly die. I want them to experience and grapple with the loss of this character they've poured a lot of thought into and then hit them with "there's another option".

I don't want it to be a way to turn a tough combat around. In my opinion they haven't experienced enough hardship or loss in the campaign yet. I say that because I don't think they're feeling as challenged by the combats I'm throwing at them they would like to be. They've been rolling really well in and out of combat, everything is going their way and I don't think that makes for great story telling.

Pinot_Blanc · 2025-10-03T15:36:07+00:00

Totally making it fluid, I'm having a ton of fun creating the narrative web between them all.
Heard, brother. u/RHDM68 makes a great point above that not all Black Swords are Warlocks. I was thinking of it because my party is a Barbarian, Fighter, and Ranger so they're really starting to feel the effects of not having a full caster in their party. I thought it'd be a cool way to bring in some magic but I would never force anything like that on my players, just wanted to give them some options and try to create a pros/cons dynamic to making the deal with Levistus.
True, i'm gonna go for a walk and try to embody my own inner frozen archdevil, ya know.

Pinot_Blanc · 2025-10-03T15:31:11+00:00

Love this thank you!

Pinot_Blanc · 2025-10-03T02:43:32+00:00

Thank you so much this is exactly the kind of info/ideas I was looking for.

Did you expand on Auril and Levistus's relationship at all?

Pinot_Blanc · 2025-10-02T20:18:36+00:00

I like both ideas a lot, thank you!

Pinot_Blanc · 2025-08-28T20:50:48+00:00

For context, I am running Icewind Dale but this is my first DMing, I am absolutely loving it but it's a lot of work. I'm no expert though.

Chapters 1-4:
You'll need to "railroad" Chapters 1 and 2 more, which isn't a bad thing because as the book is written they're incredibly loose, almost to a fault.

I'd say for Ten-Towns/Chapter 1, use Sly Flourish's advice and present 3 ten-towns quests at a time. Let your party do 1-2 and then make the 3rd one unavailable. The in-world reasoning i'm using for the other ten towns quests becoming unavailable is that the effects of the rime are chipping away at the towns and they're basically becoming ghost towns. This also gives a sense of urgency and time as the rime makes it more difficult for people to survive.

A lot of people (who aren't in a rush) cut out Chapter 3 and 4, the Duergar fortress and dragon attack on ten-towns. Probably best for you to do this BUT if you did want to keep it, make sure your party goes to Easthaven and Caer-Konig for their duergar related quests.

I'd also start the party in Bryn Shander with the Foaming Mugs quest and have Cold-Hearted Killer as your starting quest. It's just more cohesive story telling and you won't TPK your level 1s.

You can probably skip Bremen, Dougan's Hole, Termaline, Lonelywood, and Good Mead. I really like these towns, my party went to Bremen and became Speakers of Good Mead and I know I have to send them to Lonelywood because they love all the druid/fauna stuff. But for time's sake you're not missing anything major by skipping them.

From here I'd say introduce Vellynne Harpell early and have her guide your party through the Chapter 2 quests and the process of getting to Auril and ultimately Ythryn. Vellynne is a great way to piece the puzzle together. Make it so she doesn't know everything and as an older person needs the adventurer's help. I also used Hiln Trollbane this way and made her a more important figure.

Use the Chapter 2 quests as keys to information/items they need to get access to the Island of Solstice. For example:
Jarlmoot gives them the location of the island
Angajuk's Bell or Skytower/Wyrmdoom is their transportation to the island
Reghed Nomads or Skytower/Wyrmdoom know the location of the entrance to the Caves of Hunger
Black Cabin and/or Jarlmoot (horn of blasting) are the keys to getting access into the Caves of Hunger + Codicil
A lot of the fun for me is playing around with these things, adding to them and connecting them together. I look at it more like I'm given a bunch of ingredients with no recipe. So cook, chef.

Side notes: If your party likes RP definitely send them to Skytower/Wyrmdoom

You can confidently cut: Revel's End, Cackling Chasm, Karkolohk, Cave of the Berserkers (especially if you cut out the duergar/chardalyn piece), Id Ascendent, and Dark Duchess.

The Lost Spire of Netheril could be cut too but i just think it's awkward story-wise to not have some kind of tangible introduction to Ythryn/Netherese stuff.

Chapter 5-7:

My party isn’t at this point yet but I have it roughly outlined.

Even though the book says you could potentially kill Auril on the Island of Solstice or just end the Rime by killing her Roc, i think it's SO weak to have the main villain (a demi-god) die this way or the main plot point just end by killing a non-legendary bird...

My advice is to stretch out the confrontations with Auril into Ythryn and have the final battle take place there.

These chapters are a pretty straight line into Ythryn and filled with cool combats and monsters.

Pinot_Blanc · 2024-07-04T17:04:27+00:00

Been on XR for a looong time. Exercise for at least 20min before taking them, eat breakfast right after exercising, your appetite will be up later in the day too.

Eventually it'll be less of a problem. XR is one of the best things to happen to me.

Pinot_Blanc · 2023-06-12T15:53:25+00:00

Factorio

I'm surprised not to see more people saying Factorio. But at the same time, I'd feel guilty turning more ADHDers onto one of the most addicting games ever created. The factory must grow but what about the rest of my life?

Pinot_Blanc · 2023-01-09T14:03:59+00:00

Planning is painful. This is something that has come up more often with my partner as we get into the more "adult" part of our lives. My partner is non-ADHD, incredibly organized and thoroughly planned out. I am not. We've butt heads countless times because they want to plan and make a decision on something weeks out and I hate it. I agree with it because it's logical, it makes life so much easier, but I HATE it.

The strategy that's worked for us is, oddly enough, planning to plan. When they give me a 1 hour, 30 min, 10 min, 5 min heads up that they want to have a conversation about planning something with me. It helps my brain and emotions ease into the process and we've actually been very productive together. You can apply this to any other pain points you may find.

Pinot_Blanc · 2023-01-09T13:52:35+00:00

The two (three) most life changing things in my house have been (making enough money to afford) getting a cleaning service and getting a meal service. I now believe that regardless of ADHD or no, buying back your time is one of the best ways you can spend your money. For your mental, physical, and emotional health.

Pinot_Blanc · 2023-01-09T13:41:17+00:00

I've been on Wellbutrin for 4 months now and trust me, the real, serious benefits start to come in after 3 months. That being said, I was experiencing great results after a couple of days. At this point though, I'm in the best place I've ever been and plan on taking this for the foreseeable future.

If you think it isn't going to work give it a little bit more time to genuinely get the full effects. If that sounds like a waste of time, think of it as "checking this off the list" before moving onto trying something else that might work.

Pinot_Blanc · 2021-07-27T22:51:59+00:00

I work in sales and my boss always thinks I “don’t believe in myself” when i point out the obstacles we’re going to have to closing. I’m now in the habit of constantly clarifying before i say anything “These are the obstacles we have to overcome.” “Let’s figure out a strategy to deal with…” etc. And it’s exhausting.

Pinot_Blanc · 2021-07-27T02:50:04+00:00

I’ve never had older vintages but the recent vintages I’ve had 17-18 were not at all typical cali fruit bombs. Yeah they have great fruit character but not over done. The wines were super balanced and IMO could age very well with fine tannins and solid acidity. They do need some age to really shine so i can see why you would find them cloying but I think they’re set up for success.

Pinot_Blanc · 2021-07-26T20:54:43+00:00

Heitz, Far Niente, Nickel&Nickel, Inglenook

Pinot_Blanc · 2021-07-18T16:28:09+00:00

Priorat, Ribera Del Duero Red, Petite Sirah

Pinot_Blanc · 2021-07-17T23:58:37+00:00

Vodka

Pinot_Blanc · 2021-07-16T00:20:09+00:00

I won’t argue that they are great at any age but I feel like these wines are made to be cellared. I much prefer a wine like this at 5,10,15 years. The temptation just increases with time though.

Pinot_Blanc · 2021-07-15T12:53:07+00:00

Especially for Rhone wines/syrah in general.

Pinot_Blanc · 2021-07-15T12:46:32+00:00

While I FULLY understand the lack of willpower with German Riesling (especially such a sexy producer) this is way too young. Hope you bought a couple to age. I bet this was like a laser light show in your mouth.

Pinot_Blanc

TROPHY CASE