Overview

The Icebound Archive is a 1–10 level campaign set in a tundra of endless white and jagged peaks. Small cities cling to icy fjords and sentry passes: Frosthaven, Snowwatch, Glacialmere, and Icecarve Hold. Far beneath a drifting iceberg lies the Icebound Archive, a sentient library that awakens only when the stars align and the sea sighs.

Main Quest

A warding Heart, a crystalline core powering winter protections, has vanished from the Archive. An ice mage, Vyrnyn, seeks to plunge the realm into perpetual winter so they may rule from a diamond throne of ice. The party must reach the iceberg, pass the Archive’s trial their way, confront Vyrnyn, and recover or seal the Heart to restore balance.

Key Locations

• Frosthaven: bustling port-city where caravans barter frost-forged blades and share weather lore.


• Snowwatch: cliffside fortress with beacon towers; guards and rangers keep the trade routes open.


• Glacialmere: a mine town beneath a glacier, famed for ice-forged steel and dwarven runes.


• Icecarve Hold: a hardy outpost near crevasses, home to explorers and hunters.


• The Icebound Archive: the iceberg library, reached via an underwater tunnel that surfaces at the equinox; within, shifting halls test wit and will.

Side Quest (Investigate)

Frosthaven’s weather wards falter. A local investigator seeks three lost Icekeys scattered across Glacialmere, Snowwatch, and Icecarve Hold. Restoring them partial-empowers the ward and uncovers clues about the Archive’s origin and a hidden patron who once safeguarded the North.

Central Events & Triggers

A rare celestial alignment opens the Archive’s lower halls. Unseasonal storms threaten trade routes; auroras whisper prophecies and misdirections. Archivist Lira, a gaunt librarian-mentor, offers riddling tests to prove worthiness.

Challenges & Rewards

Survival in blizzards, cliff climbs, ice-tunnel puzzles, and encounters with frost kin and crevasse-dwellers. Benefits include Cold Resistance gear, Frostforged weapons, and the Map of Frozen Paths (a spell-like scrying map). Economic and political intrigue in Frosthaven & Snowwatch provides social rewards. Key choices affect the Archive’s safety and the region’s climate in the campaign’s finale.