Frosty and Frigid Ideas for Your Winter Stories, Dungeons and Dragons Edition

by: Lance Kleinman

Halloween begins to fade from our minds, as do the classic tropes of vampires, zombies, and the like. And that doesn’t just apply to holiday celebrations, it also applies to storytelling. Now this is not to say that these tropes are bad, personally I use them all of the time, however now that it’s becoming the season of snow, I figured it might be fun to dive deep into winter-based stories! Stories for what you ask? Well, stories for D&D! However, a lot of these stories could be used for writing and storyboarding, should you choose to do so!

First things first, we need a setting fit for a Winter based campaign or story. Currently there are several areas published by WOTC (Wizards of the Coast) and Content Creators the likes of which include: Icewind Dale (From Rime of the Frostmaiden), Eiselcross (From Explorer’s Guide to Wildemount), the North Pole (If you really want that classic holiday adventure), and you know, I’ll even add my own, The Eisig Tundra (From me, I guess). Each of these settings respectively take place within a Tundra, which at least from what I’ve discovered seems to be the best place to write a polar based narrative. Often, these stories work well with spaced out civilizations and folk which generally wouldn’t fit in with modern society, as tundras generally tend to be difficult places to live, or be found.

Now that we’ve established a setting for this story, we need to establish what the draw is, or rather the hook. This bit can generally be whatever you want, and your mind is the limit, but if you’re having a bit of writer’s block, or are just in need of some inspiration, I’ve got a few ideas for you! The classic and often favorite trope to use during this holiday season is the Santa Claus in trouble story! Or he’s turned evil! Or he’s been turned into a monster! Always a fun one-shot to have around Christmas! If you want a really gritty story, I personally prefer to incorporate enemies that have either ice or cold as a major part of those stories. Want to fight a dragon? Fight an Ice Dragon! Want to fight a Vampire? Now it’s a Snow Vampire! These simple changes will do wonders to set up a bit of a more frigid atmosphere. Some additional hooks that can be

Frosty and Frigid Ideas for Your Winter Stories, Dungeons and Dragons Edition

easily integrated into these stories often include: An ancient evil frozen away now recently awoken, a storm of ice which threatens the survival of not only there, but also the rest of the world, or even something as simple as a foe using these frosty tundras to hide while they concoct a malicious plan! The point being, the only thing used for a wintery campaign and story, is cold, and even that’s a suggestion! The mind is a glorious place, and I would love to hear about some of your chilly ideas!

Rime of the Frostmaiden