Some players will have already cracked open the newest Dungeons and Dragons adventure, Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden, and played it for themselves in the last couple weeks since the book's launch. The adventure takes players to the icy climes of the Far North, which some fans may remember from R. A. Salvatore's Drizzt Do'Urden books. Now, players have a chance to traverse the frozen wilderness themselves and complete various quests alongside their party members.
Dungeons and Dragons players have access to a ton of sourcebooks and adventures that take players all over several different settings, including those in the Forgotten Realms like Icewind Dale. DnDBeyond has 25 adventure modules and 17 sourcebooks available on its website, not including the official translations into other languages. And of course, there's always homebrew for certain intrepid DMs who wish to take players into a world of their own imagination or transplanted from another franchise or fiction.
Some players may wish to transplant Icewind Dale into other sourcebooks or adventures, and while the book doesn't explicitly outline ways to do this, it's definitely possible. Icewind Dale is set in the Forgotten Realms, but there are other worlds, with some notable ones being Greyhawk, Eberron, and Critical Role's Exandria. Icewind Dale does reference other well-known places in the Forgotten Realms like the seaside metropolis Waterdeep and the slowly-rebuilding city of Neverwinter.
It's easiest to keep Icewind Dale in the Forgotten Realms, specifically on the continent of Faerûn, but it's not required. Similarly, players can pseudo-homebrew or combine adventures and sourcebooks with this adventure to create something truly unique to their party. Here are some adventures and sourcebooks that DMs may consider combining with Icewind Dale.
Ghosts of Saltmarsh
This spooky seafaring mystery is split into seven separate chapters that can be played serially or split up and enjoyed on their own. They have a specific recommended level for each chapter, but Ghosts of Saltmarsh is designed to easily allow DMs to plug-and-chug with other adventures. The book encourages DMs to pick their favorite chapters and add them in to other settings, or vice versa.
Additionally, an appendix in this adventure gives players a toolbox for sea-themed adventures including ship rules and buried treasure tables, which is a great resource for DMs who wish to expand on action in the Sea of Moving Ice in Icewind Dale. DMs who enjoy the environmental challenge mechanics in the snowbound Icewind Dale adventure may appreciate the challenge of combining them with the sea and storm mechanics present in Ghosts of Saltmarsh.
Storm King's Thunder
This adventure is set in the northwestern Savage Frontier location in the Forgotten Realms, and this includes Icewind Dale, among many other locations. Storm King's Thunder is known for its epic scope, and can be made even more epic when one follows some DMs' advice to treat it more like a campaign sourcebook than a contained adventure. Any of the locations within this module, including Icewind Dale, could be expanded to include other adventures. DMs could feasibly start with the first chapter of Storm King's Thunder, take the party to Icewind Dale, and linger in that adventure's activities for as long as they wish, before bringing them back to the overarching Storm King's Thunder adventure.
Xanathar's Guide to Everything
This sourcebook is known more for being a supplement to the Player's Handbook spells and subclasses than anything else, but many DMs welcome "XGtE" content at their table, especially when it complements the campaign content. Not only does every class get at least one new subclass, but there's a whole chapter on tools any DM could benefit from, like downtime activities and designing DnD traps.
While Xanathar's Guide to Everything is a great tool for any DM to have, certain subclasses could go very well with the Icewind Dale setting. The Bard College of Whispers is perfect for the adventure's themes of modern horror, paranoia, and secrecy; Storm Sorcerers could learn to turn avalanches and blizzards to their advantage; and Barbarians choosing Path of the Storm Herald gain extra tools against the vicious elements.
Homebrew Within Icewind Dale
Although the book presents players with a self-contained modern horror-themed adventure within Icewind Dale, it also fully fleshes out the setting enough for DMs to use it for other purposes. The introduction to the book makes it clear that DMs can simply take the environmental information, setting, and NPCs and insert their own plot and NPCs if they wish. After all, the Dungeon Master is the final decider of what happens in the campaign, and official material and player input can influence what happens but ultimately, the DM's rule goes.
Icewind Dale is a great challenge for players and easier than ever for DMs to run, although if those DMs want to customize their settings and campaign, these ideas could kickstart a truly unique combination.
Dungeons and Dragons: Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden is available to play now.