A trip into the frozen trackless wildernesses of the north are not to everyone's taste, but for those willing to brave the cold and other dangers, the rewards can be rich!

The DM's background explains what is going on, and says that - as is often the case in this series - the adventure maps are modified versions of ones originally published in the Map-a-Week feature on the Wizards of the Coast website. They are reproduced here, as although links to the originals are provided, they're not there any more.

Several hooks are provided to get the party involved. A druid called Agarathar, who likes exploring and mapping, is putting together a trading expedition and would welcome the company. Or maybe they've heard rumours about a sorcerer who lives on the roof of the world but who is helpful to those who seek him out. There are various ways of getting them into the right place. The adventure itself consists of five encounters and the exploration of the sorcerer's base, but everything starts in the small but prosperous port of Bethra, the last civilised outpost before the frozen wastes. The encounters provide plenty of excitement for the journey - by boat and then overland - to the sorcerer's home: it's nice to have the journey form an integral part of the adventure, particular as many adventures in this series have jumped straight from a town to the 'adventure site' without worrying how the party gets there. It's not just the environment that will present problems, either...

The sorcerer's home is built inside an iceberg and is a pretty chilly place. The welcome the party gets could be described as a bit chilly as well. The scenario ends with a few notes on further adventures (chiefly, getting back to warmer climes!). Overall it is nicely put together, and there's a real feel of character actions making a difference. The encounters are structured in such a way that the party should feel that they have considerable freedom of action, even though they are actually moving through a set sequence of events.

Return to Into the Frozen Waste page.

Reviewed: 26 May 2016