Icewind Dale - Retrospective Part 2 by Lilura

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The second part of Lilura's retrospective on the original Icewind Dale is available to peruse now.

P R O L O G U E : E A S T H A V E N

The travel-worn party begins the adventure warming themselves by the hearth in the Winter's Cradle Tavern. A scripted cutscene fires in which a veteran warrior from Hillsfar steps into the common room and introduces himself as Hrothgar. In tutorial-like tone he informs the party of his position as protector of the town and politely requests that they meet him at his lodge after they have rested and equipped themselves for adventure. So kicks off the main quest of the campaign...

Each member of the party begins with a trusty quarterstaff in hand and a nest egg based on their class, as per AD&D rules; e.g, the Warrior range is 50-200 GP. Collectively, this starting gold is enough to deck out traditional six-person parties at the emporium run by the pompous Calashite merchant, Pomab Ak'azmhir. However, presumably due to the remoteness of Easthaven and the orc raid on the caravan from Caer-Dinival, both the quantity and quality of his stocks are low; e.g, only one Large Shield, one Composite Longbow, no Plate Mail, and nothing magical in nature on offer. In fact, it is quite possible that certain party compositions will venture into the orc-infested starter dungeon feeling a lil' under-equipped. And you know what? That's fine.​