TEXT: AURIL’S ABODE 
  AURIL’S ABODE 
  ICEWIND DALE: RIME OF THE FROSTMAIDEN
  ICEWIND DALE: RIME OF THE FROSTMAIDEN
  DM’s resources for Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden 
  DM’s resources for Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden 
  Chapter 5: Auril’s Abode
  Chapter 5: Auril’s Abode
  
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  AURIL’S ABODE
  ICEWIND DALE: RIME OF THE FROSTMAIDEN
  
  1
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  Contents
  Chapter 5: Auril’s Abode
  Overview �������������������������������������������������� 2
  Auril’s Role ���������������������������������������������� 2
  Avoiding Auril ............................................................................2
  Encounter with Auril ...............................................................3
  The Rime is Everlasting ..........................................................3
  Replacing Auril .........................................................................4
  Summary ....................................................................................4
  Getting to the Island ������������������������������� 5
  How to get to the Island...........................................................5
  On the Way to the Island .........................................................5
  Summary ....................................................................................5
  Pacing Chapter 5 ��������������������������������������� 6
  Setting a Deadline ....................................................................6
  Restricting the Long Rest .......................................................6
  Timing the Long Rest ..............................................................6
  Summary ....................................................................................6
  Running Chapter 5 �������������������������������������7
  Island of Solstice ......................................................................7
  Grimskalle ..................................................................................9
  Encounter with Geluvicken ..................................................11
  Introduction
  I
  cewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden is a 
  chilly campaign that will take your characters from 
  1st to beyond 10th level, as they face frosty foes, 
  deeply buried dangers, and dark deities, while 
  reshaping the fate of Icewind Dale – and perhaps the 
  entire Sword Coast along with it!
  This campaign has an evocative setting with a 
  multitude of interesting locations and awesome quests 
  that will have your players engaged – and maybe even 
  a bit nervous – as they are haunted and harrowed by all 
  the magnificent evils Icewind Dale has to offer.
  This download, which covers Chapter 5 of the 
  campaign book, provides you with tools and thoughts 
  that will help you make Icewind Dale: Rime of the 
  Frostmaiden an exciting experience for your players 
  – and much more manageable for you. It is strongly 
  recommended that you read through the campaign book 
  before using these resources. And always remember, the 
  advice and ideas given here are options – you know best 
  what works at your table. 
  This download contains:
  Auril’s Role. Advice on how to handle Auril’s role 
  in the chapter without disjointing the larger story – 
  including an option to replacing Auril with a fearsome 
  frost giant druid!
  Getting to the Island. Suggestions on how to make 
  the characters’ journey to the island a bit more exciting.
  Pacing Chapter 5. An in-depth discussion of the 
  chapter’s pacing and a method for structuring the 
  chapter so it remains tense and exciting.
  Island of Solstice and Grimskalle. A closer look at 
  each of the locations featured in Chapter 5 and advice on 
  how to run them, including adjustments to Auril’s tests to 
  make them more fun for both you and the players.
  4 Full-color, VTT-ready Encounter Maps. Run 
  encounters in ‘Underwater Shipwrecks’, the ‘Garden of 
  Death’, or by the ‘Ice Statues’. 
  Nass Lantomir Handout. A handout for any player 
  who’s character becomes possessed by Nass Lantomir.
  Encounter Sheets. Most of the creatures from the 
  chapter arranged neatly together on sheets so you don’t 
  have to flip through multiple books at the table!
  Follow Along for More
  These DM’s resources are the fourth in a series of 
  resources for Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden. 
  Sign up to our mailing list here to receive notifications 
  and special discounts when new DM’s resources are 
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  2  |  CHAPTER 5: AURIL’S ABODE
   |  CHAPTER 5: AURIL’S ABODE
  I
  n Chapter 5: Auril's Abode, the adventurers 
  embark on their quest to end Auril’s Everlasting 
  Rime, beginning with a journey to the frigid and 
  isolated Island of Solstice in the Sea of Moving Ice, 
  where they must battle fearsome foes and undergo 
  dangerous trials to find the Codicil of White. 
  While the characters’ trip to Island of Solstice may 
  seem as just a simple stepping-stone to get to the lost 
  Netherese necropolis of Ythryn, it could end up being 
  the most dangerous step of their journey, as they can 
  potentially face off with Auril herself! This also makes 
  the Island of Solstice a difficult location for the DM to 
  run – how do you navigate the deadly environs of the 
  island, Auril’s tests, and a potential run-in with a deity?
  Overview
  The structure of Chapter 5: Auril’s Abode is quite 
  straight-forward, although it is not entirely linear. In this 
  chapter, the characters are meant to:
  • Travel to the Island of Solstice.
  • Explore the island and find Professor Skant.
  • Battle foes inside Grimskalle.
  • Pass Auril’s tests and acquire the Codicil of White.
  As a location-based chapter, Chapter 5: Auril’s Abode 
  shouldn’t be too difficult to run – but appearances can be 
  deceiving. The chapter presents a few major challenges 
  to the DM, which are addressed on the following pages:
  • How to handle Auril’s role in the chapter without 
  disjointing the story – or how to replace her entirely.
  • How to handle the characters’ journey to the island, so 
  it doesn’t become linear or boring.
  • How to handle the pacing of the chapter, so the 
  characters’ stay on the island is tense and exciting.
  • How to run the various locations on the island, 
  including Auril’s tests in the dungeon of Grimskalle.
  Auril’s Role
  As the adventure is written, Auril herself is present on 
  the Island of Solstice, which means that it is possible for 
  the characters to encounter and even defeat her! 
  Defeating a deity is an interesting prospect, but if 
  the characters’ main motivation for finding the lost 
  city of Ythryn is to end Auril’s Everlasting Rime, they 
  are robbed of that motivation if they defeat Auril on 
  the Island of Solstice. If that happens, the adventure 
  has, in essence, concluded two chapters too early and 
  the excursion to Ythryn ends up being little more than 
  an afterthought, rather than the climax of an epic 
  adventure. From a story-telling perspective, this can 
  make the adventure feel a bit disjointed.
  However, while the potential to defeat Auril and end 
  her Everlasting Rime midway through the adventure is 
  something the writers have emphasized in interviews 
  and which the book also takes care to mention regularly, 
  it doesn’t actually seem like it is necessarily the way 
  events are intended or expected to unfold. It is, at the 
  very least, not something that needs to happen – in fact, 
  the adventure may work better if it doesn’t. Below are 
  some suggestions for how you can avoid that a meeting 
  with Auril derails the adventure and disjoints the story.
  Avoiding Auril
  On page 203, we’re told that when Auril casts her spell 
  each night, she “is gone for several hours, during which 
  time the characters can explore Grimskalle without fear 
  of running into her”. This seems like a sound suggestion 
  – and is a good way to avoid that the adventure is 
  disrupted by Auril’s defeat on the island. To help you 
  steer the party toward avoiding Auril instead of fighting 
  her, you can have NPCs with the party recognize Auril’s 
  presence and urge the characters to wait until she’s gone 
  before delving into Grimskalle: 
  Chapter 5: Auril’s Abode
  Chapter 5: Auril’s Abode
  
  3
   CHAPTER 5: AURIL’S ABODE  |
   CHAPTER 5: AURIL’S ABODE  |
  • Vellynne can suggest that: “I can sense Auril’s 
  presence. I think we can explore the isle, but let’s steer 
  clear of the fortress until she leaves.” 
  • Professor Skant can inform the party that: “Auril 
  herself resides on this island, but she leaves each night 
  to weave her spell. I don’t think she will bother with us, 
  as long as we are careful not to disturb her.” 
  • Nass Lantomir’s ghost can also tell the party that: 
  “Auril lives in that fortress, but leaves each night to 
  cast her spell of darkness. Only a fool would break into 
  a goddess’ home while she’s there to defend it!”
  It’s recommended that you have Auril be away for around 
  8 hours, as it can help set a good pace for the adventure, 
  which is something that is explained in more detail 
  under ‘Pacing Chapter 5’ later in this document.
  Encounter with Auril
  If the characters choose to ignore these warnings and 
  end up encountering Auril anyway, it isn’t too difficult 
  to ensure that the goddess doesn’t die. As the book 
  suggests (pg. 206), you can just have teleport to her 
  roc and make a stand there or even flee on the back of 
  the huge beast, if she needs to. Even so, allowing the 
  characters to encounter Auril can create two additional 
  issues: if she is nearly defeated, it makes her a lot less 
  scary – and what happens if she defeats the party?
  Defeating Auril
  If the characters defeat Auril and send her fleeing, you 
  should make clear to the party what the book makes 
  clear to the DM several times: Auril is weakened because 
  she devotes much of her power to continually casting 
  her spell of darkness. If the characters send the goddess 
  fleeing, Vellynne, Professor Skant, or another NPC can 
  let the characters know that:
  “It is your luck that you face her in such a weakened state. 
  Keeping the spell of darkness over Icewind Dale must take 
  a heavy toll on her. Make no mistake – had she not been 
  weakened so, there would have been nothing left of you but 
  shard of ice and frozen statues!”
  If no NPCs are with the party, you can have any 
  character with a decent Intelligence score or proficiency 
  in Arcana or Religion realize as much on their own.
  Defeated by Auril
  If the characters face off with Auril but are defeated, 
  Auril will let them flee to discourage others from visiting 
  her island. Still, adventurers being adventurers, they 
  may not decide to flee before it is too late. You can 
  encourage them to do so by:
  • Making it clear how superior Auril is during the fight – 
  she smirks slightly after being hit, disdainfully reduces 
  a character to 0 hit points with a wave of her finger, etc.
  • Having Auril hold back once the outcome of the fight is 
  secure, not acting on her turn, but smiling cruelly and 
  using Legendary Actions to punish any character that 
  continues to fight against her. 
  • Having friendly NPCs such as Professor Skant or 
  Vellynne urge the characters to flee while they can.
  If all else fails, you can have Auril reduce the characters 
  to 0 hit points either with nonlethal damage, or 
  stabilizing them afterward, and have the characters 
  awake in ‘I6. Garden of Death’, saved from freezing to 
  death by one of the NPCs that helped them get to the 
  isle, a friendly awakened walrus, or a similar creature. 
  While humiliated and defeated, the characters can still 
  explore Grimskalle – although they have better wait until 
  Auril leaves the island this time around.
  The Rime is Everlasting
  If you like the idea of the characters potentially defeating 
  Auril, but want to keep the characters’ motivation intact, 
  you can decide that Auril’s spell is permanent. In this 
  case, Auril isn’t setting off from Grimskalle each night 
  to cast her spell to uphold it, but to strengthen it. The 
  changes her spell has made to Icewind Dale’s climate 
  will not reverse on their own, but Auril isn’t satisfied 
  yet, so she recasts the spell each night, making the 
  spell stronger – the climate colder, the snowfall heavier, 
  the blizzards more frequent – with each casting. If you 
  haven’t begun running the adventure yet, you can let the 
  characters know this from the start – explaining how 
  the weather is getting gradually worse – or you can just 
  decide that this process will take centuries, making it so 
  slow as to be imperceptible to a mortal, but little more 
  than the blink of an eye for a goddess.
  By making this simple change, Auril’s defeat is merely 
  a delay for the goddess, who can continue her work as 
  she returns on the next winter solstice. To actually end 
  her spell, the characters will have to find the mythallar 
  in Ythryn. Professor Skant or Vellynne can tell the party 
  this, or a character with a decent Intelligence score or 
  proficiency in Arcana may realize it on their own.
  
  4  |  CHAPTER 5: AURIL’S ABODE
   |  CHAPTER 5: AURIL’S ABODE
  Replacing Auril
  If you want to keep Auril mysterious and ominous, you 
  can also remove her from the island entirely, and instead 
  replace her with the frost giant druid Geluvicken.
  Auril’s Servant
  Geluvicken is the daughter of the frost giant Queen 
  Vassavicken, who lays entombed underneath Grimskalle, 
  and is one of Auril’s most zealous followers. In this 
  scenario, it is Geluvicken who takes off from Grimskalle 
  each night to strengthen Auril’s spell. Geluvicken is 
  also the hidden hand behind the frost druid activity in 
  Icewind Dale – it was she, who sent Ravisin and her 
  sister to ravage Ten-Towns (pg. 85) and/or Yselm to lure 
  the characters into a trap (pg. 103). 
  Running Geluvicken
  Like her goddess, Geluvicken is arrogant and aloof, 
  but she also possesses a great fury and an unyielding 
  devotion to her goddess. She will attack at any perceived 
  slight to Auril and will never accept defeat, fighting on to 
  the bitter end. Read more about running an encounter 
  with her under ‘Encounter with Geluvicken’ later in this 
  document.
  Geluvicken’s Defeat
  Using Geluvicken instead of Auril also serves another 
  purpose: her defeat allows you to introduce Auril as the 
  adventure’s main villain in a more ominous way. When 
  Geluvicken is nearly defeated, or the characters are close 
  to escaping from her with the Codicil of White in hand, 
  read or paraphrase:
  The frost giant roars in anger as specks of snow and shards 
  of ice whirl around her, slowly lifting her until she hovers 
  several feet of the ground. Turning her face to the skies, the 
  giant yells: “Frostmaiden, I have failed you! Accept my final 
  offering – this pitiful mortal coil and my eternal soul – so 
  that you may deliver your cold judgement to those who have 
  wronged you. Auril, I beseech you, use me as your vessel!”
  While the giant speaks, rime spreads across her body, until 
  she is completely covered in a thick layer of ice, just as the 
  last words cross her lips. The giant’s body stills then, as 
  does the whirlwind of ice and snow, as if time itself has 
  stopped. Creaking loudly, the giant’s head turns toward you, 
  eyes glowing with a fierce, blue light. She looks straight at 
  you – through you, almost, her gaze as cold and sharp as 
  icicles – and says in a voice that is simultaneously as soft as 
  a whisper and as deafening as thunder: “I see you.” 
  With those words, the giant’s frozen body and all her 
  belongings explode into millions of small, icy shards that 
  come clashing to the ground underneath it, until there’s 
  nothing left of the giant but scattered piles of ice and snow 
  – and the echo of an eerie voice on the wind: “I see you...”
  Geluvicken’s sacrifice has brought Auril – or at least 
  an aspect of her divinity – to the Material Plane. The 
  goddess has come to finish the work that has been 
  started – and to get vengeance on the adventurers, and 
  prevent them from undoing her spell. Luckily, Auril is yet 
  too weak to manifest in a physical form, and must bide 
  her time. This gives you a chance to introduce Auril in 
  her various forms later in the adventure, as she stalks 
  the party through the snow, before eventually bringing 
  her full strength to bear against them in Ythryn. The 
  DM’s resources for Chapter 6 and 7 cover this in detail. 
  Geluvicken
  Geluvicken
  Huge giant, neutral evil
  Armor Class 15 (patchwork armor)
  Hit Points 172 (15d12 + 75)
  Speed 40 ft.
   
   
  STR 
  DEX 
  CON 
  INT 
  WIS 
  CHA
   23 (+6) 
  10 (+0) 
  21 (+5) 
  14 (+2) 
  20 (+5) 
  12 (+1)
  Saving Throws STR +10, CON +9, WIS +9, CHA +5
  Skills Athletics +10, Nature +5, Perception +9, Survival +9
  Damage Immunities Cold
  Senses Passive Perception 19
  Languages Common, Druidic, Giant
  Challenge 12 (8,400 XP)
  Legendary Resistance (3/Day). If Geluvicken fails a saving throw, 
  she can choose to succeed instead.
  Spellcasting. Geluvicken is a 15th-level spellcaster. Her 
  spellcasting ability is Wisdom (spell save DC 17, +9 to hit with 
  spell attacks). She has the following druid spells prepared:
  • Cantrips (at will): druidcraft, frostbite, produce flame, resistance
  • 1st level (4 slots): fog cloud, ice knife, thunderwave
  • 2nd level (3 slots): hold person, moonbeam, spike growth
  • 3rd level (3 slots): dispel magic, sleet storm, slow, wind wall
  • 4th level (3 slots): freedom of movement, ice storm
  • 5th level (2 slots): commune with nature, cone of cold
  • 6th level (1 slot): bones of the earth, investiture of ice
  • 7th level (1 slot): whirlwind
  • 8th level (1 slot): control weather
  Actions
  Multiattack. Geluvicken makes two attacks with her staff.
  Staff of Auril. Melee Weapon Attack: +10 to hit, reach 10 ft., one 
  target. Hit: 25 (3d12 + 6) bludgeoning damage plus 10 (3d6) 
  cold damage and the target must succeed on a DC 17 Dexterity 
  saving throw. On a failure, the target is restrained as ice forms 
  around its legs. As an action, a restrained creature can attempt 
  to free itself or another creature within its reach from the ice, 
  doing so with a successful DC 17 Strength (Athletics) check.
  Stomp. Melee Weapon Attack: +10 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. 
  Hit: 17 (2d10 + 6) bludgeoning damage.
  Frostbite. A creature within 60 ft. Geluvicken can see must 
  make a DC 17 Constitution saving throw. On a failure, the target 
  takes 10 (3d6) cold damage and has disadvantage on the next 
  weapon attack it makes before the ends of its next turn.
  Legendary Actions
  Geluvicken can take 3 legendary actions. Only one legendary 
  action option can be used at a time and only at the end of 
  another creature’s turn. Geluvicken regains spent legendary 
  actions at the start of her turn.
  Cast Cantrip. Geluvicken casts a cantrip.
  Stomp. Geluvicken makes one Stomp attack.
  Staff of Auril (Costs 2 Actions). Geluvicken makes one attack 
  with her staff.
  Summary
  You can avoid Auril’s presence on the island causing 
  problems by:
  • Encouraging the characters to avoid her.
  • Having Auril flee instead of dying or allowing the 
  characters to escape her with their lives.
  • Having Auril’s Everlasting Rime remain in effect even 
  if the goddess is killed.
  • Replace Auril with the frost giant Geluvicken.
  
  5
   CHAPTER 5: AURIL’S ABODE  |
   CHAPTER 5: AURIL’S ABODE  |
  Getting to the Island
  Before the chapter can being in earnest, the characters 
  have to get to the Island of Solstice. This means that they 
  need to learn where the codicil is and how they can get to 
  it. In the book, both questions are answered by Vellynne 
  Harpell, who tells the characters that the Codicil of 
  White is on the Island of Solstice and that the sperm 
  whale Angajuk can take them there – which is very 
  convenient, but may also feel a bit too easy.
  In the DM’s resources for Chapter 2: Icewind Dale, 
  you can find advice on how you can make Vellynne’s 
  quest a bit less linear, so the characters have to figure 
  out that they can fin the Codicil of White on the Island 
  of Solstice from various locations in Icewind Dale, such 
  as ‘Jarlmoot’ or the ‘Dark Duchess’. Below is advice on 
  how you expand on this, by making the characters active 
  participants in deciding on how to get to the island.
  How to get to the Island
  When the characters learn about the Island of Solstice – 
  whether from Vellynne or another source – you can have 
  characters local to Icewind Dale know that:
  • The Sea of Moving Ice is hard to navigate. Securing a 
  ship that will sail there is likely to be both difficult and 
  expensive. The closest port where such a ship could be 
  is the prison ‘Revel’s End’.
  • The awakened sperm whale Angajuk, who resides 
  near the coast of the Sea of Moving Ice, has reportedly 
  offered rides to humanoids in the past.
  • The goliaths living in the Spine of the World are often 
  seen riding on the backs of griffons, who can fly fast 
  and far across Icewind Dale.
  If none of the characters are local, or you just want them 
  to work a little more for the information, you can have 
  Vellynne suggest that they ask around in Ten-Towns. 
  There they shouldn’t have a hard time learning more – 
  perhaps from an old human fisherman named Darlan 
  ‘Four-fingers’, who’s lost most of his fingers to frostbite:
  “You’s looking to get onto the Sea of Moving Ice? Eh, 
  blasted waters those – and cold as Stygia too! There’s a 
  few brave ship captains who travel there, taking goods and 
  no-gooders to and from Revel’s End up north. Oh yeah, and 
  then there’s Angajuk, the ol’ talkin’ whale. Once hauled my 
  cousin’s friend out ‘em waters – saved her life, most likely. 
  I’s heard it sometimes takes on passengers!”
  If the party speaks with Darlan in a tavern, you can have 
  Rosie Ogord, a diminutive halfling trapper, chime in:
  “If you’re not looking to fish, but just want to get there – and 
  get there quick – maybe you should ask the goliaths living 
  down by the Spine of the World. I see them flying by on 
  griffons from time-to-time – now, that’s traveling in style!”
  Armed with this information, the characters should be 
  allowed to make a decision about how to proceed on 
  their own. The book provides ways for the characters 
  to acquire each method of transportation – befriending 
  Angajuk, paying Sharlasta Stormsword, or persuading 
  the goliath tribes – which are all serviceable ways to 
  proceed. If the characters end up heading toward the 
  goliaths, you may want to take a look at the excellent 
  adventure Wyrmdoom Hunt by Dan Kahn, which 
  expands on the quest to end the goliath feud.
  On the Way to the Island
  Figuring out how to get to the island is one thing, 
  actually getting there is another. In quick summary, the 
  book says that:
  • Angajuk travels there on a leisurely, picturesque 
  journey that takes three days.
  • The Ravenous, Sharlasta Stormsword’s ship, gets to 
  the island in five days.
  • The book doesn’t say how long it takes to get there on 
  griffons, but if we assume a pace similar to previous 
  publications and the chardalyn dragon, they should 
  make the journey in about 12–18 hours.
  If you want to keep control of the pacing (see the next 
  page), it makes sense to have the characters arrive in the 
  middle of the day, so they have time to explore the island 
  before Auril/Geluvicken departs for her nightly trip.
  A Roc on the Road
  If you want to spice the journey up a bit, you can also 
  have the characters run into Auril/Geluvicken and her 
  roc along the way, which also allows you to foreshadow 
  her presence on the Island of Solstice. Regardless of 
  their method of travel, the characters may run into the 
  roc and its passenger as they get closer to the island:
  • If traveling aboard Angajuk, the Sperm Whale must 
  come up for air every 90 minutes. On one of these 
  occasions, it – and the characters – senses the giant 
  roc fly by overhead. Fierce and hungry, the roc dives 
  down toward the sperm whale, which panics and 
  quickly begins to dive under the surface.
  • If traveling on the Ravenous, the characters are 
  awakened – if they are sleeping below – by a loud, 
  bird-like cawing and a terrified shriek, as the roc dives 
  down to snatch one of the Ravenous’ sailors off the 
  deck. Characters who are on the deck or who get there 
  quickly can see the enormous bird flying away, its 
  victim’s shrieks slowly becoming less audible.
  • If traveling by griffon, the sound of the roc’s huge, 
  flapping wings precede it, causing the griffons to panic 
  and try to hide. Have the players roll a DC 14 group 
  Dexterity (Stealth) check for the griffons (+2). On a 
  success, the griffons quickly dive away, allowing the 
  characters to see the roc as it flies swiftly past above. 
  On a failure, the roc attacks one of the griffons that 
  failed the check, before quickly being ordered away by 
  its rider (see below).
  In all cases, Auril/Geluvicken wants to waste no time 
  with the roc’s escapades and commands it to fly away 
  even if attacked or provoked. With a speed of 120 ft., it 
  is highly unlikely that the characters can catch up with 
  it, but you can allow them to gain a glimpse of its rider – 
  either a horned, owl-like humanoid (Auril’s first form), or 
  a fearsome-looking frost giant dressed in winter clothes.
  Summary
  You can expand upon the characters’ journey to the 
  island by making these changes:
  • The characters know about all three methods of travel 
  or learn about them from locals, and can choose which 
  method they wish to pursue.
  • To allow you to control the chapter’s pace, have the 
  characters arrive in the middle of the day.
  • Have the characters briefly encounter Auril/Geluvicken 
  and her roc while en route to the island.
  
  6  |  CHAPTER 5: AURIL’S ABODE
   |  CHAPTER 5: AURIL’S ABODE
  Pacing Chapter 5
  Assuming the character faces every possible challenge 
  in Chapter 5 – which they could, if they wanted to – they 
  will have to contend with:
  • Ice mephit (I1)
  • Frost giant skeleton (I2)
  • 20 ghouls (I2)
  • 2 giant sharks (I2)
  • 5 merrow (I2)
  • 3 sea hags (I2)
  • Nass Lantomir’s ghost (I3)
  • 7 yetis (I5)
  • Abominable yeti (I5)
  • Ice troll (I6)
  • Frost giant (G3)
  • 6 ice mephits (G6)
  • 7 piercers
  • Auril or Geluvicken (G8)
  • Roc (G9)
  • 2 frost giant skeletons (G12)
  • 6 giant vultures and Isarr Kronenstrom (G19)
  In addition to these challenges, the characters may also 
  run into various other hazards, minor traps, and possibly 
  suffer exhaustion due to extreme cold and Auril’s tests.
  Looking down this list, a group of 7th-level characters 
  will be hard-pressed to survive all these encounters 
  within a single day of adventuring. But, if the characters 
  are allowed unlimited rests, many of the challenges in 
  the chapter become negligible. Complicating pacing 
  even further, the chapter’s toughest fight – a showdown 
  with Auril or her powerful druid follower – can possibly 
  happen in the middle of the chapter.
  Generally, you want a pace that ensures that each day 
  of adventuring – the period between long rests – is tense 
  and exciting, without being too lethal for the characters. 
  To do this, we must create opportunities for a long 
  rest when it is needed, while also making sure that the 
  characters can’t abuse long rests to the point where 
  encounters never become dangerous. Below are some of 
  the ways we can accomplish this in chapter 5.
  Setting a Deadline
  The easiest way to ensure that the characters don’t 
  ‘spam’ long rests is by setting a deadline for their time on 
  the island. If the characters have been transported here 
  by one of the means provided in the book (pg. 197), this 
  is rather easy. The sperm whale Angajuk, the ship from 
  Revel’s End, and the griffons from Skytower Shelter, 
  won’t remain at the island for more than 24 hours 
  because of the island’s incredible cold and dangerous 
  inhabitants. This deadline allows the characters, at most, 
  two long rests, if even that. 
  Note that using a 24-hour deadline will require you 
  to make changes to some of Auril’s tests. See ‘Test of 
  Endurance’ and ‘Test of Isolation’ later in this document.
  Restricting the Long Rest
  Another way we can control the pacing of the chapter is 
  to control when the characters can take a long rest. We 
  can do this by changing the regional effects described 
  in the book (pg. 198), which says that creatures without 
  resistance or immunity to cold damage only regain 
  hit points equal to their Constitution modifier when 
  expending a Hit Die during a short rest.
  This is already a bit of a weird effect, because it heavily 
  incentivizes that the characters  take long rests instead 
  of short rests. Usually, you would want the characters to 
  take short rests while at a dangerous adventure location, 
  so that they can get a little – but not everything – back 
  before each encounter. By making short rests worse, 
  you’re making the characters take more long rests, 
  which can really mess up the chapter’s pacing. You can 
  fix this by changing the rule to:
  • Creatures that lack resistance or immunity to cold 
  damage can’t gain the benefit of a long rest while 
  within 1 mile of the island.
  There’s one caveat here: this regional effect is only 
  in place while Auril/Geluvicken is on the island. This 
  means that the characters can actually take a long rest, 
  just not whenever they want to. You can use this to 
  control when the characters take a long rest.
  Timing the Long Rest
  Assuming that all characters don’t have resistance to 
  cold damage, they will have to do without a long rest 
  while they make their initial exploration of the Island 
  of Solstice – during which they may face the various 
  encounters on the shipwrecks, the yetis, the ice troll, 
  and Nass Lantomir’s ghost. This should be doable for a 
  7th-level party in a single day of adventuring, assuming 
  that they are just a bit clever about it.
  However, once they find Professor Skant, they are told 
  that this effect is only in place while Auril/Geluvicken is 
  on the island. Conveniently, Auril/Geluvicken is usually 
  away for most of the night, perhaps even as much as 
  8–10 hours. The characters now have a difficult choice to 
  make: will they use this time to take a long rest, and then 
  head into the fortress knowing that Auril/Geluvicken 
  may get back soon after, or will they forego the long rest 
  and take advantage of Auril/Geluvicken’s departure to 
  investigate the fortress without fear of running into her?
  If the characters have taken care of business on the 
  island itself before going into Grimskalle, they can 
  potentially encounter an elderly frost giant, ice mephits, 
  piercers, frost giant skeletons, a Reghed tribe leader 
  and giant vultures, and Auril’s other tests. Once again, 
  this makes for a decent day of adventuring for a party of 
  7th-level characters.
  Whether or not they will have to contend with Auril/
  Geluvicken is up to you. If they take a long rest before 
  heading in, you can have them run into her somewhere 
  inside the fortress, or as they’re trying to leave with the 
  Codicil of White (see ‘Encounter with Geluvicken’ later 
  in this document). If they press on without a rest, the 
  challenges inside the fortress may be difficult enough to 
  handle even without Auril/Geluvicken showing up, and 
  you can allow the characters to slip away just before she 
  returns to the fortress.
  Summary
  To maintain a good pace in Chapter 5, you may want to:
  • Set a deadline of 24 hours for the characters’ stay 
  on the island, by having Angajuk, Sharlasta, or the 
  griffons insist that they will only stay for that long.
  • Change the regional effect so that characters without 
  cold resistance or immunity can’t take a long rest 
  while Auril/Geluvicken is on the island.
  • Give the characters the opportunity to take a long rest 
  as Auril/Geluvicken leaves the island on her nightly 
  flight to cast her spell of cold and darkness.
  
  7
   CHAPTER 5: AURIL’S ABODE  |
   CHAPTER 5: AURIL’S ABODE  |
  Running Chapter 5
  On the following pages you will find advice on how to 
  run the various encounters and locations on the Island of 
  Solstice and inside the fortress of Grimskalle.
  Island of Solstice
  The Island of Solstice is an interesting location that 
  presents several challenges of varying difficulty to the 
  party. Below is a closer look at some of the locations on 
  the island, including advice on how to run them. Only 
  locations where advice is offered are listed.
  I1� Ruined Dock
  If they arrive by ship or on the back of Angajuk, the 
  characters’ first ‘challenge’ is the ruined dock. 
  Climbing the Dock. An Athletics check is required 
  to climb up the docks, but there’s no consequences to 
  failure, which makes the check pointless. You can either 
  decide that no check is required, or that a character who 
  fails the check falls 20 feet into the frigid water, taking 
  1d6 bludgeoning damage and potentially suffering 
  exhaustion from the cold water.
  Söpo the Ice Mephit. An ice mephit waits for the 
  characters here, ready to act as a ’helpful’ guide. It only 
  speaks Aquan or Auran, however, making it very unlikely 
  that characters can communicate with it. You may want 
  to have Söpo speak broken common, so it can welcome 
  the characters as they arrive atop the stairs:
  A small, winged creature of ice sits perched at the top of 
  the stairs, its eyes lighting up as it sees you. “Welcome, 
  welcome, to the Island of Solstice. So pleasant it is to have 
  visitors. Söpo, am I – at your service,” rasps the creature, 
  shaking snow off its wings before continuing: “It is your first 
  time here, yes – Söpo has not seen you before, no, never. 
  Let Söpo show you the beautiful island, yes. Any questions 
  you have, Söpo shall answer!”
  If the characters haven’t acquired the professor orb yet, 
  and you want to make certain that they do so, you can 
  have Söpo mention that:
  “Söpo has had no visitors for a long time. And the last to 
  come was alone and wet, and very cold, oh so very cold. 
  The Frostmaiden’s cold touch took her before Söpo could 
  talk much with her. Nothing poor Söpo could do to warm 
  her, no,” the creature says apologetically, shrugging his icy 
  shoulders. “She lies not far from here, no, not far at all.”
  I2� Shipwrecks
  The various shipwrecks around the isle hold different 
  challenges. These are, in essence, mini-encounters 
  the characters can take on at their own leisure – but 
  only if they can withstand the cold of the frigid water 
  and by diving down to each shipwreck, if they have no 
  other means of breathing underwater. While none of 
  the encounters pose a particularly difficult challenge to 
  7th-level characters, the characters may get themselves 
  into trouble if they decide to thoroughly search through 
  every ship without taking a long rest.
  The Hags and the Professor. If having Professor 
  Skant just lying about the isle seems a bit too easy, 
  or you just want the characters to explore some of 
  the shipwrecks, you can have the orb still be on Nass 
  Lantomir’s wrecked ship – coincidentally also the ship 
  where three sea hags have made their lair. The hags 
  – Ellin, Marlin, and Atrunia – have no great need for 
  the professor orb, although they enjoy the polite and 
  intelligent conversation Skant provides. They will trade 
  Professor Skant for an ice troll heart and can point the 
  characters toward ‘I6. Garden of Death’, if the characters 
  haven’t already defeated the troll there.
  The characters can, of course, also just choose to kill 
  the sea hags and take the orb and their other treasures. 
  In either case, Professor Skant is relieved to be freed 
  from the sea hags, whom it describes as “passionate, but 
  also quite exhausting, conversation partners.”
  Replacing the Trident. A +2 trident is a strong 
  weapon, but also not very interesting. If you want to, you 
  can replace it with a freezing trident of the ocean (made 
  using Nybor’s Tome of Enchanted Weapons).
  Maps. This download provides maps of two Sunken 
  Shipwrecks, which you can use to run encounters in or 
  around the sunken shipwrecks.
  Freezing Trident of the Ocean
  Weapon (trident), very rare (requires attunement)
  This trident seems to be made entirely of azure ice.
  Freezing. When you hit with an attack using this weapon, 
  the target takes an extra 1d6 cold damage and its speed is 
  reduced by 10 feet (to a minimum of 10 feet) until the start of 
  your next turn.
  Ocean. This weapon has 3 charges. While you carry it, you 
  can use an action and expend 1 or more of its charges to cast 
  one of the following spells (save DC 15): water breathing (1 
  charge), dominate beast (1 charge, can only target a beast that 
  has an innate swimming speed), or control water (2 charges). 
  The weapon regains all expended charges daily at dawn.  
  
  8  |  CHAPTER 5: AURIL’S ABODE
   |  CHAPTER 5: AURIL’S ABODE
  I3� Nass Lantomir’s Ghost
  This is where the characters – very conveniently – find 
  Nass Lantomir and the professor orb. There’s a few 
  potential issues with this location.
  Finding the Corpse. Nass Lantomir’s corpse is a bit 
  out of the way, so unless the characters make a point out 
  of investigating the entire island, there’s no guarantee 
  that they will find it on their own – which is a problem, if 
  you want them to have the orb. You can make discovery 
  of the corpse more likely by having Söpo tell them about 
  Nass’ corpse when they arrive (as described under ‘I1. 
  Ruined Dock’ on the previous page), or by pointing out 
  the corpse (‘there seems to be a humanoid shape buried 
  underneath a layer of snow’) to the characters if they 
  arrive on the back of griffons.
  The Convenient Orb. It is very convenient that 
  Nass is still holding on to the professor orb when the 
  characters find her. If you want the characters to put 
  a bit more effort into finding the orb, you can have the 
  orb be in the sea hags’ possession (as suggested under 
  ‘I2. Shipwrecks’ on the previous page) or even have it 
  be stolen by murderous sahuagin, as detailed in the 
  adventure Temple of the Four Gods by Dan Kahn. In 
  either case, Nass Lantomir’s ghost – if the characters 
  have an opportunity to speak with her – lets the 
  characters know that she didn’t have time to grab the orb 
  before swimming to shore, which means it likely went 
  down with the ship.
  Nass Lantomir’s Ghost. The book describes how the 
  ghost tries to possess any character that disturbs Nass’ 
  remains, but otherwise doesn’t elaborate much on how 
  the DM should handle this scenario. Here are some 
  suggestions:
  • When Nass’ remains are disturbed, the ghost 
  immediately tries to take control of the character. You 
  can have the player roll a DC 14 Charisma saving 
  throw, or you can make the saving throw for them, 
  without letting anyone know what you’re rolling (make 
  sure to note the characters’ Charisma saving throws 
  before the session). On a failure, the ghost possesses 
  the character without anyone else noticing.
  • Discreetly let the player controlling that character 
  know that they have been possessed by a ghost (you 
  can give them the ‘Nass Lantomir Handout’ that came 
  with this download). They can roleplay their character 
  much as they would anyway, except that some of their 
  statistics change, and they have a strong dislike toward 
  Vellynne, and will take advantage of any opportunity to 
  convince the other characters to either send her away 
  or kill her, or even purposefully try to harm her in an 
  inconspicuous way (such as ‘accidentally’ including her 
  in their spells’ areas of effect during combat). 
  • If the player seems annoyed or perturbed by this 
  development, you can let them know that this change 
  won’t last forever. If the character is ever reduced to 0 
  hit points, is affected by Turn Undead, or is targeted by 
  dispel evil and good, the possession ends. It also ends 
  when the character acquires the Codicil of White.
  If the character avoids possession or the ghost is 
  expelled from its host at any point, Nass’ ghost becomes 
  clearly visible to the party. Upon seeing Nass, Vellynne (if 
  she is with the party) reacts with cold scorn: 
  “I see that you have gotten much what you deserve, Nass. 
  Were you too inept to foresee your own demise, or just 
  arrogant enough to believe you would be able to avoid it?” 
  For her part, Nass wastes no time on Vellynne, instead 
  turning her ghostly form toward the characters:
  “This old hag is a second-rate wizard at best, and a 
  necromancer at that. She is useless! I, on the other hand, 
  am an accomplished diviner and could be of great aid. You 
  seek the Codicil of White, I presume? Help me possess this 
  windbag’s decrepit form, and I shall help you find it!”
  Nass wants the characters to stand down while she 
  attempts to possess Vellynne, intervening only to keep 
  the wizard from casting spells. Nass isn’t lying – if 
  she takes possession of Vellynne, she will help the 
  characters find the Codicil of White, as it is the only way 
  she can find her eternal rest. Vellynne will vehemently 
  argue against allowing the ghost to possess her, instead 
  urging the party to destroy the spirit and get on with it. 
  If the characters help Nass’ ghost possess Vellynne, the 
  necromancer will hold a grudge against them once the 
  possession is over and she regains control of her body – 
  perhaps even causing her to betray them once they have 
  reached Ythryn in chapter 7.
  I4� Ice Statues
  This scenario is pretty cool – the Frostmaiden 
  materializing in a snowy form to curse a character that 
  touches one of her statues. If you want it to be more 
  likely to happen, you can decide that just touching a 
  statue is enough to provoke the goddess.
  Map. This download comes with an ‘Ice Statues’ map, 
  which shows some of the ice statues at the foot of the 
  mountain in the middle of the island, which you can use 
  to run an encounter here.
  I6� Garden of Death
  Allow a character with proficiency in Arcana or Nature 
  to know the properties of an ice troll heart, providing a 
  good reward for completing this encounter.
  Map. This download comes with a ‘Garden of Death’ 
  map, which can be used to run an encounter here.
  Summary
  You can make some or all of the following changes to 
  locations on the Island of Solstice:
  • I1. Ruined Dock. Skip the check to climb the dock or 
  introduce a consequence for failure, and allow Söpo to 
  speak Common so it can communicate with the party.
  • I2. Shipwrecks. Have the sea hags be in possession 
  of Professor Skant and ask for a troll heart in trade, 
  and replace the +2 trident with a freezing trident of the 
  ocean.
  • I3. Nass Lantomir’s Ghost. Use the ‘Nass Lantomir 
  Handout’ to handle Nass’ ghost’s possession of a 
  character.
  • I4. Ice Statues. Have Auril show up to curse a 
  character that just touches one of her statues. 
  • I6. Garden of Death. Allow a character proficient in 
  Arcana or Nature to know what a troll heart does.
  
  9
   CHAPTER 5: AURIL’S ABODE  |
   CHAPTER 5: AURIL’S ABODE  |
  Grimskalle
  Below is a closer look at some of the locations inside 
  Grimskalle, including advice on how to run them.
  G3� Frost Giant Warden
  The book describes Ertgard as deaf, but also says 
  that the characters can interrogate him. If none of the 
  characters can speak sign language, you can have 
  Ertgard instead be nearly deaf, which causes him to 
  shout and ask the characters to repeat their questions.
  Deception. Instead of having Ertgard immediately 
  attack, you can have the aging giant exclaim (in giant): 
  “Who goes there? My queen, is it you?” as the characters 
  open the door to his room (briefly forgetting that Queen 
  Vassavicken is long dead). This gives the characters a 
  chance to impersonate the queen if they know Giant 
  and succeed on a DC 10 Charisma (Deception) check, 
  potentially getting information from him without having 
  to fight him first. Each time a character speaks, it must 
  repeat this check. On a failure, or if Ertgard ever gets 
  within 20 ft. of the characters, Ertgard realizes he has 
  been deceived and attacks.
  Replacing Auril. If you have replaced Auril with 
  Geluvicken, replace any mentions of Auril or the 
  Frostmaiden in Ertgard’s information with Geluvicken.
  G8� Queen’s Bedchamber
  If you have replaced Auril with Geluvicken, the frost 
  giant is here if she hasn’t departed on her nightly 
  journey to bolster Auril’s Everlasting Rime. She rests 
  on a giant, broken bed in the room to the west – her 
  mother’s old bedroom – and hears the party coming if 
  they are attacked by the piercers in G7, or if they fail on 
  a group DC 19 Dexterity (Stealth) check. If she notices 
  the characters or the characters attack her, she exclaims 
  in giant: “Intruders! Sacrilege!” before attacking. See 
  ‘Encounter with Geluvicken’ later in this document for 
  advice on how to handle this encounter.
  G15� Tests of the Frostmaiden
  This is where the fortress gets complicated. In order to 
  get to the Codicil of White, the characters must succeed 
  on four tests. The process is as follows:
  • A test begins when the characters opens one of the 
  doors in areas G16–G19.
  • When the test begins, the characters are teleported to 
  a location in the frozen tundra of Icewind Dale.
  • While undergoing the test, the characters have the 
  Frostmaiden’s symbol floating above their head, which 
  Reghed tribe members recognize and fear.
  • To enter Auril’s vault, each test has to be passed by at 
  least one party member.
  In short summary, the four tests are:
  • Test of Cruelty. The characters must slay defenseless 
  elderly, or at least abandon them to their fate.
  • Test of Endurance. The characters must make a 
  long trek through the tundra without becoming too 
  exhausted or dying.
  • Test of Isolation. The characters must watch over a 
  tribal camp for six days, and pass the test by becoming 
  isolated from the rest of the party.
  • Test of Preservation. The characters must protect a 
  child from a murderous Reghed chieftain.
  The idea here is cool, but it can present some issues. 
  Under each of locations G16–19, there’s advice on how to 
  run and possible alter each of these tests.
  G16� Test of Cruelty
  For some parties, this test will be the most difficult – and 
  most difficult for the DM to handle. Assuming that the 
  characters aren’t evil, it is hard to imagine that they will 
  allow Gunvald to slaughter and eat the elderly – and 
  much less that they will aid him in doing so. Of course, 
  that is also the point – have the characters face a tough 
  moral choice. But, in this case, it seems very unlikely 
  to work. Not only is the action very reprehensible, the 
  characters may not even be sure that allowing the elders 
  to be eaten is what they need to do to pass the test.
  Using NPCs. To make sure the characters understand 
  their options, you can have Vellynne (or another NPC 
  with the party) help them out. She can offer to do the 
  deed, explaining that she believes only one of them has 
  to pass the test. If the characters balk at this, she can 
  also explain that simply walking away and leaving the 
  elders to their fate is probably good enough.
  An Alternative Solution. If the characters are 
  hesitant, you can also allow for another solution to the 
  test: killing Gunvald, even though he pleads for mercy. If 
  the characters attack him to prevent him from killing the 
  elderly, he will drop to his knees once he drops to 0 hit 
  points and beg: “Let me live, I beg you! Do not be cruel 
  – I do only what I do to save the tribe!”. If the characters 
  hesitate, the tribe’s evil shaman chimes in: “You must 
  kill him. As the frostmaiden says: ‘Let cruelty be the 
  knife that keeps your enemies at bay!’” While this doesn’t 
  guarantee that the party passes the test, it does make it 
  much more likely.
  G17� Test of Endurance
  In this test, the characters must endure a hard trek 
  through the frozen tundra.
  Starting the Test. The first potential issue with this 
  test is how it starts. The characters arrive, but are 
  immediately asked to leave by the King of the Elk Tribe, 
  who will only give them an opportunity to make the 
  journey with the tribe if they first assure him that they 
  mean no harm. If the characters allow King Jarund to 
  shoo them away, or simply don’t understand that they’re 
  supposed to make the trek alongside the elk tribe, they 
  automatically fail the test. To make it more likely that 
  this doesn’t happen, you can have them instead arrive 
  after the march has already begun, and have Jarund call 
  out: “Auril’s emissaries have come! Come, warriors of 
  the Elk, let us show the Frostmaiden that we can endure 
  more than even her chosen servants!”
  Time Frame. During this test, the characters can 
  potentially rack up to four levels of exhaustion over 
  14 hours. There’s two issues with this – first, if the 
  characters have a ride waiting near the island (such as 
  the griffons), 14 hours is a long time to spend on this 
  test. Second, four levels of exhaustion will take days to 
  recover from, potentially making any encounters after 
  this test exceedingly difficult. If you want to, you can 
  instead set the following parameters for the test:
  • The trek is a three-hour jog through a heavy blizzard.
  • Each character must make a Constitution saving 
  throw after each hour, gaining a level of exhaustion on 
  a failure. The DC is 10 + 3 for each hour after the first.
  • A character with two levels of exhaustion becomes too 
  slow to continue and is left behind by the tribe (but will 
  still be teleported back when the test is over). 
  • Any party member who completes the journey with 
  two or fewer levels of exhaustion passes the test.
  The test is still roughly as difficult as before, but is far 
  less punishing, and can be completed in less time.
  
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  G18� Test of Isolation
  In this test, the characters are tasked with watching over 
  an empty camp for six days.
  This test is a bit weird. The characters just have to sit 
  around and wait, making a group DC 10–20 Wisdom 
  (Survival) check each day, losing one party member with 
  each failure. Characters can only lose if they die or stop 
  Bjornhild from performing her raid – which means that 
  the only purpose of the rolls were to figure out who has 
  to make another DC 15 Wisdom saving throw or suffer 
  indefinite madness. In addition, the test takes 6 days to 
  complete, which means that any ride the characters had 
  to the Island of Solstice is probably long gone and that 
  they will have plenty of time to take long rests, making 
  any subsequent encounters much easier.
  Changing the Test. If you want a shorter test that is 
  perhaps also more exciting and makes a bit more sense, 
  you can change the test as described below:
  • The test takes only 3 hours, but is intensified – eldritch 
  whispers and faceless horrors scream from the dark 
  around the camp, tearing at the characters’ sanity. 
  • Each character must make a Wisdom saving throw at 
  the end of each hour. The DC is 10 + 3 for each hour 
  after the first. On the first failure, a character suffers a 
  long-term madness (Dungeon Master’s Guide, pg. 260). 
  • On the second failure, or if a character rolls a natural 
  1, a character also becomes hostile toward the other 
  characters and will try their best to kill them. You can 
  allow the player to determine themselves how their 
  character attempts to do this and have the scenario 
  play out much as you would an ordinary combat 
  encounter. Whenever a deranged character takes 
  damage, it can repeat the Wisdom saving throw. On 
  a success, it still suffers long-term madness, but is 
  no longer hostile towards the other party members 
  (unless it fails another saving throw at the end of the 
  next hour).
  • All party members who complete the waiting period 
  without failing more than one saving throw passes the 
  Test of Isolation.
  With these changes, the test both takes a more 
  reasonable amount of time and becomes a great deal 
  more challenging, as the characters may have to face 
  each other in combat to pass the test.
  G19� Test of Preservation
  In this test, the characters must protect a young boy from 
  the chieftain Isarr Kronenstrom.
  This test is fairly straight forward and both what 
  they are required to do and how they can accomplish 
  it, should be pretty clear to the characters. As a minor 
  change, you can make it just a bit easier to speak with 
  Aerix. Since calm emotions is a rather rare spell, and 
  having Aerix account of events will help give some 
  context to what is going on, you may want to allow a DC 
  13 Charisma (Persuasion) check to do the trick instead. 
  G20� Entrance to the Vault
  The one big issue with Auril’s tests and this room is that 
  if the characters fail just one test, they won’t be able o 
  enter this room. The book provides a solution to this 
  problem by having three frost druids show up to lead 
  the characters into the room. This seems suspiciously 
  convenient. In addition, because the party must complete 
  all quests to gain entrance, as soon as all characters fail 
  to pass a test (such as refusing to let the elders be eaten 
  during the ‘Test of Cruelty’), there’s no reason to attempt 
  the other tests at all.
  Changing the Requirements. You can avoid the 
  need for convenient visitors and keep the characters 
  motivated to undertake all the tests by changing what the 
  disembodied voice in the room says (pg. 212) to:
   “This way is shut to all but those who undertake the tests of 
  cruelty, endurance, isolation, and preservation.”
  By requiring only that the characters undertake the 
  quests, and not necessarily pass them, you ensure that 
  the characters will have to take each test, while also 
  enabling them to enter even if they all failed one or more 
  of the tests. 
  Consequences of Failure. However, while the door 
  will open if all the tests weren’t passed, failure isn’t 
  without consequences. If all characters failed one or 
  more of Auril’s tests, the two bas-reliefs of frost giants on 
  either side of the door breathe a blast of cold at the party 
  as the door opens. Each creature in the room must make 
  a DC 15 Constitution saving throw, taking 18 (4d8) cold 
  damage for each test none of the characters passed on a 
  failure, and half as much on a success.
  
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   CHAPTER 5: AURIL’S ABODE  |
  G21� Hall of the Four Winds
  After passing Auril’s tests, the characters gain entrance 
  to this chamber, where they can read some helpful 
  information about Auril’s tenets, but little else. This is 
  good information, but it comes a bit late. You can allow 
  the characters to read the tenets of Auril’s faith before 
  they are expected to adhere to them during the tests, by 
  simply by having ‘G20. Entrance to the Vault’ be on the 
  other side of this room (the door to ‘G22. Chamber of the 
  Codicil’) instead.
  Summary
  You can make some or all of the following changes to 
  locations inside Grimskalle:
  • G3. Frost Giant Warden. Ertgard is only nearly deaf.
  • G16. Test of Cruelty. Killing the evil Gunvald as he 
  begs for mercy is also enough to pass the test.
  • G17. Test of Endurance. Jarun doesn’t try to shoo 
  the characters away, and the test takes only 3 hours, 
  during which the characters must make DC 10, 
  13, and 16 Constitution saving throws, suffering 
  exhaustion on each failure. Characters that complete 
  the journey with two levels of exhaustion or less, pass.
  • G18. Test of Isolation. The test takes only three 
  hours, during which the characters must make DC 10, 
  13, and 16 Wisdom saving throws, gaining long-term 
  madness on the first failure, and attacking their allies 
  on the second failure. Characters that complete the 
  test without failing twice passes the test.
  • G19. Test of Preservation. Allow a DC 13 Charisma 
  (Persuasion) check to calm Aerix.
  • G20. Entrance to the Vault. The door opens when the 
  characters have undertaken all four quests, but have 
  them be hit with a blast of cold if they all failed one or 
  more tests, dealing 18 (4d8) cold damage for each test 
  they all failed (DC 15 Constitution save halves).
  • G21. Hall of the Four Winds. Help the characters 
  understand what’s expected of them by moving this 
  room to be just before ‘G20. Entrance to the Vault’.
  Encounter with Geluvicken
  Part of the reason you may want to use Geluvicken 
  instead of Auril is that having the characters encounter 
  her creates fewer issues – in fact, you probably want the 
  characters to encounter her, so you can use her death 
  (or anger at the characters’ escape) to foreshadow Auril.  
  Below we will take a closer look at where this encounter 
  can happen and how to run it.
  In the Bedchamber
  If the characters infiltrate the fortress while Geluvicken 
  is home and head into her bedchamber, the frost giant 
  immediately attacks. Two snow golems manifest from 
  piles of snow near the staircase and attack alongside her.
  Outside the Chamber of the Codicil
  If Geluvicken was home when the characters entered the 
  fortress, or has returned while the characters underwent 
  Auril’s tests, she is alerted to their presence as soon 
  as the door to ‘G22. Chamber of the Codicil’ is opened. 
  She hurries down to confront the characters in ‘G10. Ice 
  Rink’, where she commands the reluctant giant walrus 
  Ukuma to fight alongside her.
  As the Characters are Leaving the Island
  If Geluvicken is only just returning home as the 
  characters are leaving, or is slow to react to the theft of 
  the Codicil of White, she pursues them on her roc:
  • If the characters are leaving on the back of Angajuk, 
  Geluvicken and her roc show up as they are 120 ft. 
  from ‘I1. Ruined Dock’. Once all characters are atop 
  Angajuk, the whale dives under the surface, preventing 
  Geluvicken from continuing the chase.
  • If the characters are leaving on the Ravenous, 
  Geluvicken and her roc show up shortly after the ship 
  sets off from the island. The characters have little 
  chance of escaping the swift roc, but are aided by the 
  ship’s two ballista (+6 to hit, range 120/480 ft., 3d10 
  piercing damage), which are manned by six sailors.
  • If the characters are leaving on griffons, the roc 
  catches up to them in the air shortly after they depart 
  the island. The characters are unlikely to escape on 
  the slower griffons, but the griffons can aid them in 
  combat against Geluvicken and her mount.
  Running the Encounter
  Regardless of where the characters encounter 
  Geluvicken, she meets them in much the same manner: 
  by cursing them as “Intruders!” and “Defilers!” and 
  swearing that they will become “offerings to the 
  Frostmaiden!”. Her tactics in combat are simple:
  • Geluvicken focuses her attacks on any character who 
  has the codicil.
  • If she has had time to prepare, she has freedom of 
  movement cast upon herself.
  • Her strongest spell (control weather) is of little use in 
  combat, so she relies on spells like whirlwind, cone of 
  cold, and ice storm to deal with the characters.
  Geluvicken fights on until the better end, fanatical 
  in her resolve to slay the characters. As described 
  under ‘Replacing Auril’ earlier in this document, the 
  characters’ victory against, or escape from, Geluvicken 
  will prompt her to summon Auril, who manifests – 
  slowly – on the material plane, and will continue to haunt 
  the characters as they search for Ythryn and a way to end 
  her Everlasting Rime.
  Adjusting Difficulty
  If the characters are on their last leg and very low on 
  resources, you can make an encounter with Geluvicken 
  easier by employing some or all of the following changes:
  • Geluvicken has two levels of exhaustion (due to her 
  efforts to bolster Auril’s Everlasting Rime).
  • Geluvicken’s 8th-level spell slot has been expended 
  casting control weather during her nightly journey.
  • If the fight happens in ‘G8. Queen’s Bedchamber’, have 
  only one or no snow golems be present.
  • If the fight happens in ‘G10. Ice Rink’, the giant walrus 
  Ukuma turns against Geluvicken and aids the party. 
  • If the fight happens as the characters are leaving the 
  island, have the roc focus its attacks on Angajuk or the 
  sailors on the Ravenous, or spend all its movement 
  keeping Geluvicken in range of the party if they are on 
  the backs of griffons.
  
  An Eventyr Games 
  Compendium
  We hope you’ve enjoyed the content in this 
  compendium. If you find any errors, have a 
  good idea, or just want to get in touch, you can 
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  Compendiums
  Enhanced Monster Bundle
  Larloch’s Lexicon of Lichdom
  Nybor’s Tome of Enchanted Weapons
  Nybor’s Tome of Enchanted Armor
  DM’s Resources
  Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden
  Baldur’s Gate: Descent into Avernus
  Ghosts of Saltmarsh
  Storm King’s Thunder
  Tomb of Annihilation
  Waterdeep: Dragon Heist
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Dungeons & Dragons [multi]/Adventures/Eventyr/Complete DM's Bundle - Icewind Dale - Rime of the Frostmaiden/Chapter 5 - Auril's Abode.pdf