Icewind Dale

Icewind Dale was an arctic tundra located in the Frozenfar region of the North,  known for being the northernmost explored region in all of Faerûn. It earned its name from the harsh winds and icy storms that destroyed buildings and scoured the landscape.

The dale was a harsh, near-inhospitable land that regularly plunged below freezing temperatures, and received little sunlight, particularly during the severe winter months. It was home to only the most hardened of frontiersmen, pioneers, and barbarians. Beyond the sporadic dots of civilization dwelled terrifying beasts and deadly monsters of the North.

Climate
Icewind Dale experienced freezing temperatures for much of the year. While kinder summer months ranged from 11 to 70 (–12 to 21), the temperature of the unforgiving winters dipped as low as -40 (-40). While snowfall was relentless, much of it blew east to the nearby Reghed Glacier.

Geography
The dale was located south and east of the Trackless Sea, north of the upper Sword Coast and Spine of the World mountains, and west of the icy Reghed Glacier.

Geographical Features
The dale was famous for its three, mineral-laden lakes: Maer Dualdon, Lac Dinneshere, and Redwaters. Their waters were cold enough to kill men who dared to swim across, even during summer.
 * Lakes:
 * Maer Dualdon: The largest and deepest of the three lakes was once the premier destination for all who dared the trek that far north.
 * Lac Dinneshere: The waters of the lake appeared to change in hue depending on the weather that was just about to wash over the dale.
 * Redwaters: The smallest lake earned its name from a bloody battle that took place on the land over which towns were built.


 * Bodies of Water:
 * Redrun: This stream flowed from Lac Dinneshere into the small Redwaters lake.
 * Shaengarne River: While the waters of this river flowed into the Trackless Sea year-round, its top waters froze over during winter.

The single solitary mountain of the dale was Kelvin's Cairn, a peak that offered fresh water to the surrounding lakes when "spring" bloomed every Midsummer.
 * Mountains:


 * Valleys:
 * Bremen's Run
 * Fields of Slaughter
 * Icewind Pass

Government
The capital of Icewind Dale, Bryn Shander, was also its largest settlement.

Trade
Perhaps the greatest industry of Icewind Dale was the fishing and utilization of knucklehead trout. Many of the region's lakeside settlements relied entirely on the trout they fished and the goods they made from their ivory-like bones. Knucklehead scrimshaw was the art that few mastered, and skilled scrimshanders were held in high esteem.

History
The region was first populated when Northlander longships reached the area during the last centuries of the Illefarn empire. Initially settling on the islands, the Northlanders would eventually settle Icewind Dale.

Circa 1269 DR, Damien Morienus, a former master of the North Tower of the Host Tower of the Arcane relocated to Icewind Dale. He was a powerful necromancer who was using the local barbarian tribes for his horrific experiments. Eventually, he summoned demons to exact revenge on his enemies. The monsters used their infernal magics to summon hellfire that melted all the snow away. The areas to the Northwest of Ten Towns and the shores of Maer Dualdon suffered the most by floods and permafrost's melting, killing a barbarian tribe, and the inhabitants of the Accursed Tower that sank into the mud. This disaster later became known as the Great Thaw by the locals. Most never learned about the true nature of it believing it to be a natural event.

Rumors and Legends
Local legend told of the White Lady, a spirit that haunted the shore of Lac Dinneshere.

Settlements
Icewind Dale's only permanent settlements were known as the Ten Towns, a confederation of minor settlements that cooperated with each other. It attracted all manner of determined and desperate folks from all across the Realms. The Ten Towns comprised the hamlets nestled on Redwaters lake, Good Mead, and Dougan's Hole; the three settlements located on the shores of Lac Dinneshere, Easthaven, Caer-Konig, and Caer-Dineval; the four that encircled Maer Dualdon, Lonelywood, Bremen, Termalaine, and the walled town of Targos, and the "Tenth Town" of Bryn Shander, the mercantile hub that held them all together.

Away from Ten Towns, all the way on the northern reaches of the Spine of the World, laid the settlement of Kuldahar. The village was a small group of buildings clustered around the great oak tree, protected from the elements by the Heartstone Gem. Kuldahar had regular trade caravans braving the harsh wilderness to and from Ten Towns.

Landmarks

 * Dorn's Deep:

Roads & Trails

 * Eastway: The only paved road in Icewind Dale linked the hub of Bryn Shander with the communities of Lac Dinneshere
 * Ten Trail: This wagon trail led north from the settlement of Hundelstone, through the North/South Pass, allowing merchants and travelers to make their way to Bryn Shander.

Inhabitants
The region was mainly populated by fishermen, craftsmen, rangers, dwarves that mined the depths for minerals and precious stones, Reghedmen barbarians, and merchants that tolerated the hostile climate in the hope of trading in ivory and gems. While most of them lived in the Ten Towns, the dwarves mined in isolated caves and caverns while the barbarian tribes roamed after their migratory prey.

Beyond the civilized folk, the dale was home to beasts like reindeer, elk, crag cats, polar bears, and monstrous yetis. Beyond the wild animals were monstrosities called remorhazes, warring bands of frost giants, and perhaps most-terrifying, a number of white dragons,

At the times of famine due to extremely harsh winters, in the regions where rothé herds roamed, the folk of Icewind Dale joined together to start the rothé stampedes, forcing them off cliffs. The dead and wounded animals provided the northerners with fresh life-saving meat. The animals were harvested, roasted, or smoked on the spot. The hides and meats were sledded back to the towns and stored in stone cairns for keeping. When the food supply was even more scarce, the folk was forced to slaughter and consume their mounts, draft beasts, sled dogs.

Appearances

 * Adventures
 * The Accursed Tower
 * Legacy of the Crystal Shard


 * Novels
 * The Crystal Shard
 * Sojourn
 * Passage to Dawn


 * Comics
 * Tyranny of Dragons


 * Video Games
 * Menzoberranzan
 * Icewind Dale
 * Icewind Dale: Heart of Winter
 * Icewind Dale: Trials of the Luremaster
 * Icewind Dale II
 * Icewind Dale: Enhanced Edition