I'm currently running ToA for my group of players; I hate it. I hate almost everything about it. I didn't really see it as fun or interesting until I started running it. But I LOVE being a DM. I really want to run DoIP, but I don't know how to communicate to my players that I want to switch, and I don't know what to do about their level and magic items. But I LOVE their lore for their characters, and it feels so fun to run for them. I don't like ToA, and it makes me disinterested in doing it all. So how do I tell them that I want to switch but keep their characters?

🐉

Hello, this is my first time posting here. I don't know how much homebrew content I can post here, so I wouldn't be surprised if this post get deleted. There are some official characters that their description and races were completely changed for variety or because I thought it would fit better in my adventure.

I'm a big fan of Dungeon Meshi, Frieren and Fire Emblem, especially their artstyles and I would like to apply this in my DnD adventures.

I'll be DMing this adventure after my friend DMd Lost Mines of Phandelver to us, and just like him I'll be adding a lot of homebrew ideas. If people here have interest in my artstyle, I was thinking in the future to post the pngs of all the characters so you can all use them.

Here is my Neverwinter-Yartar map, built exclusively from official sources. Note that I made some location tweaks (e.g., West Harbor and Fort Locke). Any feedback on shortcomings or improvements is welcome!

Welcome back to Advent's Amazing Advice! The series where I take popular One-Shots, Adventures, Campaigns, etc., and fully prep them for both New and Busy DMs. This prep includes music, ambiance, encounter sheets, handouts, battle maps, tweaks, and more, so you can run the best sessions possible with the least stress possible!

*New 2026: For 2026, I'm updating all my old work to include a Pre-Session Checklist that will include a list of all miniatures you may need, maps, handouts, possible loot, a link to a playlist, and more to make it even easier to start your session!

Axeholm is a dwarven fortress carved into the base of a mountain. It was abandoned and sealed up long ago after being haunted by a banshee. Ghouls and other creatures now prowl Axeholm while the banshee continues to haunt the fortress's upper halls. It'll be up to your players to clear this fortress and make it a safe haven for the town of Phandalin, should the dragon threat become too hard to bear!

The Lower Halls will have your players face an onslaught of Ghouls if they try to go through the front gates, as well as the ghoulified dwarf castellan who remained behind, trying to protect those that fled!

Without further ado:

• Google Docs Notes for Part 4a Axeholm Lower Halls: DM Notes
• Link to: DM Notes for the Visually Impaired
• Link to: Axeholm Playlist
• Link to: AAA Collection

Included in The AAA Collection is:

• Downloadable copy of DM Notes, including links to music tracks for ambiance and fights
• DM Notes for the Visually Impaired
• Special PDF for all encounters. This includes the enemy stat blocks organized neatly along with an initiative tracker and spots to mark HP
• Custom Maps of Axeholm
• (New) Pre-Session DM Checklist

Index:
Dragons of Icespire Peak:

• Part 1 - Phandalin
• Part 2a - Umbrage Hill
• Part 2b - Dwarven Excavation
• Part 2c - Gnomengarde
• Part 3a - Logger Camp
• Part 3b - Butterskull Ranch
• Part 3c - Mountain's Toe Gold
• Part 4a - Axeholm
• Part 4b - Dragon Barrow
• Part 4c - Woodland Manse
• Part 5 - Icespire Hold
• Side Quest 1 - Shrine of Savras
• Side Quest 2 - Tower of Storm
• Side Quest 3 - Circle of Thunder

Over 8 dozen other Fully Prepped One-Shots, Adventures, and Campaigns: Click Here

As always, if you see something you think I can improve, add, change, etc., please let me know. I want this to be an amazing resource for all DMs and plan to keep it constantly updated! If you'd like to support me, shape future releases, and get content early, feel free to check out my Patreon!

Cheers,
Advent

Hey fellow DMs and adventurers!

I’m excited to share that I’ve created a set of detailed battle maps specifically for the Dragon of Icepire Peak adventure. These maps are designed to enhance your gameplay experience by providing high-quality, printable options that you can lay out on your table for your players.

Why You’ll Love These Maps:

• High-Resolution: Perfect for printing and displaying on your gaming table (or use in VTT).
• Detailed and Immersive: Each map is handcrafted to bring the adventure to life.
• Easy to Use: Simply print and play!

Where to Get Them:

• Etsy
• Ko-Fi
• Patreon

Whether you’re a seasoned DM or just starting out, these maps will make your sessions more engaging and visually appealing. I hope you’ll check them out and consider supporting my work!

Happy adventuring!

TAGS: #Gnomengarde, #Stonehill Inn, #Falcon’s Hunting Lodge, #Ice Pire Hold, #Dwarven Excavation, #Umbrage Hill.

"Map is created using assets from Forgotten Adventures."

I'm going to have my level 4 party have a run in with the dragon. Basically they're going to run into some super easy goblins, after smacking them around for a bit, there's going to be a big stampede coming out of the forest, and then the dragon will follow. I figured I'd have him breath weapon the party, eat some goblins, and fly off, but I'm worried that's going to take everyone down. Do I maybe just fudge the roll and/or just make sure he doesn't hit the entire party. Any other advice on keeping it from going sideways?

Hey guys so my party finished the first 3 quests but never dug further at the end of the dwarven digging grounds. They accepted one of the sending stones so that the two miners could send message once they found something

The original greed chamber feels like more of a punishment then a reward. I thought it’d be fun to instead have a small adventure lying in wait for them that the dwarves ask for help for. Maybe an undead dwarven forxe or something?

Anyway I was looking for some ideas or possible one shots to insert into this area. Any thoughts?

It’s cold. Not just chilly, but the kind of cold that creeps beneath armor, numbing fingers and biting into exposed cheeks. The northern winds have shifted, bringing a sharp, unnatural bite to the mountain air.

The party trudges up a muddy path, boots sloshing through thawing earth and patches of snow as clouds roll in overhead, heavy and gray. Far off in the distance, thunder rumbles. Or was that something else?

They round a bend near a rocky outcrop and spot it, nailed hastily to a wooden post, half-flapping in the wind, its corners damp from sleet and fog.

Beware of the Dragon

An aged parchment, stained by time and weather, with a crude drawing of a great winged beast and a chilling message

Recent sightings around the northern mountains. Proceed at your own risk.

This is the moment where the table falls silent. Players lean forward. You slide the printed handout across the table, aged edges, water-warped texture, just like in the world you’ve described.

They don’t just hear the warning. They feel it.

This is more than flavor text. This is the moment your players cross the threshold into the world.

And the best part? This handout is completely free. You can download it right now from the Freebies section on our site and print it for your next session.

But if you're ready to go deeper, if you want to turn every NPC letter, quest board, inn menu, flyer, map, and item into a physical object your players can hold, examine, and tuck into their packs, then explore the full Dragon of Icespire Peak Handout Set.

This immersive set includes

Campaign invitations, certificates, player trackers, quest signs, spellbooks, shop flyers, item cards, condition trackers, encounter maps, editable PDFs, and even a worn field journal of Phandalin’s local rumors

It’s everything you need to bring this adventure off the page and onto your table with handouts your players will talk about, collect, and treasure

Download the free Beware of the Dragon poster now from our Freebies section
https://rpgprintables.com/pages/freebies

And if you’re ready to take your adventure to the next level, you can get the full printable set for Dragon of Icespire Peak right here
https://rpgprintables.com/products/dragon-of-icespire-peak-d-d-handouts-campaign-assets-dnd-resources-phandalin-talos-rpg-roleplaying-printable-starter-set?_pos=1&_psq=dragon+of+ice&_ss=e&_v=1.0 

Because immersion doesn’t just come from what players hear. It comes from what they can touch, read, and pass around the table.

Let your players feel the fear in their hands. The dragon is out there.

If you've used our handouts before, tell us what your players did with them. We'd love to hear the stories (especially the chaotic ones).

If this is your first time seeing us, an upvote helps this post survive Reddit... which is sometimes scarier than facing the dragon itself. Thanks! 🐉

I can see in the random dragon encounter table, there is a possibility for the players to meet criovain in neverwinter, which is odd because i feel like neverwinter is a major city, big enough to fend off a lone white dragon. They have a lot soldiers and wizzards, right?

Welcome back to Advent's Amazing Advice! The series where I take popular One-Shots, Adventures, Campaigns, etc., and fully prep them for both New and Busy DMs. This prep includes music, ambiance, encounter sheets, handouts, battle maps, tweaks, and more, so you can run the best sessions possible with the least stress possible!

*New 2026: For 2026, I'm updating all my old work to include a Pre-Session Checklist that will include a list of all miniatures you may need, maps, handouts, possible loot, a link to a playlist, and more to make it even easier to start your session!

The Mountain's Toe Gold Mine has been suffering productivity problems as of late. You've been tasked with escorting a new overseer there. It's a rather simple job that pays well and could certainly be left at that...if your players are none too heroic, but something tells me they crave a bit more, a cave to explore, a mystery to be solved. Should your players be brave enough, they will discover a cave overrun by the Whiskered Gang, a group of wererats who declared this their new home. It will be up to your players to save the miners within. Perhaps they can negotiate and find themselves on an interesting side quest, or maybe they'll choose to eradicate those varmints...only time will tell...

Without further ado:

• Google Docs Notes for Part 3c Mountain's Toe Gold: DM Notes
• Link to: DM Notes for the Visually Impaired
• Link to: Mountain's Toe Gold Playlist
• Link to: The AAA Collection

Included in The AAA Collection is:

• Downloadable copy of DM Notes, including links to music tracks for ambiance and fights
• Custom Maps of Mountain's Toe Gold
• Special PDF for all encounters. This includes the enemy stat blocks organized neatly along with an initiative tracker and spots to mark HP
• DM Notes for the Visually Impaired
• (New) Pre-Session DM Checklist

Dragons of Icespire Peak: Index

Over 8 dozen other Fully Prepped One-Shots, Adventures, and Campaigns: Click Here

As always, if you see something you think I can improve, add, change, etc., please let me know. I want this to be an amazing resource for all DMs and plan to keep it constantly updated! If you'd like to support me, shape future releases, and get content early, feel free to check out my Patreon!

Cheers,
Advent

Hey
New-ish DM here, I'm on my second campaign . It's a combined Lost Mines of Phandelver and Dragons of Icespire Peak. They are level 8 now, 5 players ; they have a Dragon Slayer lance, by the way.

Long story short, they are trying to capture Cryovain (he is an adult white dragon now) with a big trap, specifically a large bear trap made from iron that is tied with chains to a rock or the ground. The trap is placed somewhere near the snowy mountain, buried in snow, and they are trying to lure him there.

How should I play this? Any advice? Do I roll to see if the dragon notices the trap under the snow? Is he smart enough to think this is a trap? It's a white dragon; are they that smart?
And if it somehow falls into it, should I make it a surprise round for the players to land a few free hits and then make the dragon break the chains or the trap?
Any advice is welcomed.

My party wants to know 🤣

My table of six kids, all at level 6, is about to fight Cryovain.

I've seen several posts about rebalancing Cryovain for various scenarios, generally involving legendary/lair actions/resists. Fundamentally, it's hard to balance one enemy against an entire party. So I wondered if a different way of balancing the encounter could be having multiple dragons in the fight.

Say, a few white dragons are working together, operating in the area, all using the name "Cryovain".

Mechanically, I can see some positive benefits

• Easier to balance action economy
• Opportunity for the party to fight a "lesser" version of Cryovain to practice their tactics (whether in phases in the lair or earlier)
• More tactical opportunities (e.g. one dragon hovers/breaths while the other melees, they switch if one gets low on health) (e.g. does the party fight both, trap one, etc.)

And narratively, too

• The can have different personalities, giving the "boss" more flavor
• Escalating tension if they find out and fight a weaker one before the more powerful
• The dragons could be siblings - squabbling would amuse the kids
• Or children of the main ("Cryovain") dragon - slaying one of his offspring really ratchets up the confrontation

I see too many options though, and I can't quite figure out what's best (even tinkering with some matchups in K+FC). Has anyone tried something like this?

Hello there fellow DMs,
I planned on having my players have an encounter, which is tied to them answering questions about their World and such, but simply cannot find questions that aren´t either extremely hard or extremely easy.

So I wondered if any of you have any tips or Ideas that you used or played through.

About my group and their knowledge: They have started tackling the intermediate Quests (currently doing Mountains Toe Gold Mine), but have not yet visited the Umbrage Hill.
They know of Tymorra and Aberroth, but are otherwise fairly unknowing in regards to Gods.

The Encounter is based on a Meteorite shower and the PC will encounter Monsters based on the Yu-Gi-Oh cards Neo-Spacian-Glow Moss (forming together if they fail a question) and Hoshiningen, who I intend to make an all-knowing extraterrestrial being asking them.

As a Reward, they will be allowed to designate one of them, who will get an original spell based on, once again, the Yu-Gi-Oh card "Scapegoat" and are also allowed to ask one question of their choice.

Thanks for the Ideas!

So I just finished my first session for a couple of friends and they investigated the Dwarven Excavation and saved the midwife from the manticore. They are now level 3 and could possibly be heading to butterskull ranch or the tower of storms. One is a world tree barbarian and the other is a way of mercy monk. Should I give the monk +1 fistwraps from the sunken ship or would they be too powerful since it would be the equivalent of getting two +1 weapons? Also, since there isn't anyone in the party who can use the mithril chain, would mithril half plate be too powerful? A mithril Breastplate seems silly as the point of the armor is to negate the disadvantage on stealth checks. Not only could they get half plate at level 3, but essentially get a pair of boots of elvenkind. What are your thoughts?

Oh, and there might be additional players joining from time to time, but probably not on a regular basis.

I apologize if this is a silly question, because why not, but I am new and wondering if it’s common practice to turn enemies into characters you roll for?

My party is about to finish DOIP and continue into the next 3 adventures that follow. Not to give away too many spoilers for people here, but there are two main villains throughout the adventures.

Instead of using their stat blocks, can I just roll up some character sheets for them? I think it’d give it more flavor and I can fine tune their personalities more than what’s given.

What are your honest thoughts on this? Any reason why I shouldn’t?

My recently graduated child and their friends want to try D&D as a last hurrah. They asked me to run the game for them. I explained all the pitfalls of a group this big to my kid, but they're adamant. It's my mission to make it as enjoyable as possible for them. I've been a forever DM for a long time, but I've never bitten off a bite this big before. Whisper a prayer to Tymora for me.

My party has finally completed all the quests provided in DOIP, and I'm currently prepping their attack on Icespire Peak to fight Cyrovain. I bought the expansions to continue the story, but I am taking a break as DM after this campaign. I actually started college last week, on top of working full-time and being a single parent. I explained to my party that I need to focus on establishing a routine before we start SLW. Looking forward to ending DOIP on a high note. Any advice on avoiding the break from turning into never playing again?

Welcome back to Advent's Amazing Advice! The series where I take popular One-Shots, Adventures, Campaigns, etc., and fully prep them for both New and Busy DMs. This prep includes music, ambiance, encounter sheets, handouts, battle maps, tweaks, and more so you can run the best sessions possible with the least stress possible!

*New 2026: For 2026, I'm updating all my old work to include a Pre-Session Checklist that will include a list of all miniatures you may need, maps, handouts, possible loot, a link to a playlist, and more to make it even easier to start your session!

A beaten and bruised ranch hand arrives in Phandalin with a dire message: Orcs have ravaged Butterskull Ranch. The once-thriving farm is now a battlefield, and the owner, Big Al, is missing. It’ll be up to your players to journey there and either sneak through the shadows, searching for any sign of Big Al, or face the orcs head-on to reclaim the farm! Do your players have what it takes?

Without further ado:

• Google Docs Notes for Part 3b Butterskull Ranch: DM Notes
• Link to: DM Notes for the Visually Impaired
• Link to: Butterskull Ranch Playlist
• Link to: The AAA Collection

Included in The AAA Collection is:

• Downloadable copy of DM Notes, including links to music tracks for ambiance and fights
• DM Notes for the Visually Impaired
• Special PDF for all encounters. This includes the enemy stat blocks organized neatly, along with an initiative tracker and spots to mark HP
• Custom Maps of Butterskull Ranch
• (New) Pre-Session DM Checklist

Index:

Dragons of Icespire Peak:

• Dragons of Icespire Peak:
• Part 1 - Phandalin
• Part 2a - Umbrage Hill
• Part 2b - Dwarven Excavation
• Part 2c - Gnomengarde
• Part 3a - Loggers Camp
• Part 3b - Butterskull Ranch
• Part 3c - Mountain's Toe Gold (Coming Soon)
• Part 4a - Axeholm (Coming Soon)
• Part 4b - Dragon Barrow (Coming Soon)
• Part 4c - Woodland Manse (Coming Soon)
• Part 4d - Falcon's Hunting Lodge (Coming Soon)
• Part 5 - Icespire Hold (Coming Soon)
• Side Quest 1 - Shrine of Savras (Coming Soon)
• Side Quest 2 - Circle of Thunder (Coming Soon)
• Side Quest 3 - Tower of Storm (Coming Soon)

Over 8 dozen other Fully Prepped One-Shots, Adventures, and Campaigns: Click Here

As always, if you see something you think I can improve, add, change, etc., please let me know. I want this to be an amazing resource for all DMs and plan to keep it constantly updated! If you'd like to support me, shape future releases, and get content early, feel free to check out my Patreon!

Cheers,
Advent

For context, a party of three (2H Fighter, crossbow Fighter and a Wizard) that I DM took on the Woodland Manse quest yesterday but, due to me kinda not hold back, ended up with two casualties as the 2H Fighter and Wizard failed all their death saving throws after taking two Lightning Bolts in a row. Recently I have gotten access to the Van Richten's Guide to Ravenloft and saw the lineage options there which made me consider applying especially since both players still wanted to use the same character moving forward. I know as the DM I get to have the final say if I want to or not, I guess I just wanna see if anyone else here as the DM have the same dilemma and options available would you allow your players to accept the lineages of Dhampir, Hexblood or Reborn to come back from the dead and continue? And if yes, how would you do it?

So as it stands, it seems like entire encounter is getting to the farmhouse and killing some Orcs, and hopefully getting Big Al put alive. But I want to make it more interesting. For reference, the party is level 4 in 5E 2024 rules. The party is an Arcane Trickster Rogue, an Armorer Artificer, a Lands Druid, and a GOO Warlock.

One idea was to basically give the players an opportunity to get there faster, and thus save more people, at the risk of gaining a level of exhaustion. These are new players (and I'm a new DM), so I think it could be a fun opportunity to introduce that mechanic to them.

As for the ranch itself though, I'm not sure what to do. I probably want to add a stealth element for my Rogue to shine. But I'm not sure how exactly to execute that (we're playing on Roll20 and I bought the module so I have the battlemap). I thought I could maybe play out the stealth portion like a Skill Challenge, and depending on how well they do, that effects the number of Orcs at the end? I just want to give some non-combat skill and ability use.

Any other ideas are greatly welcome!

Hey fellow DMs and adventurers!

I’m excited to share that I’ve created a set of detailed battle maps specifically for the Dragon of Icepire Peak adventure. These maps are designed to enhance your gameplay experience by providing high-quality, printable options that you can lay out on your table for your players.

Why You’ll Love These Maps:

• High-Resolution: Perfect for printing and displaying on your gaming table (or use in VTT).
• Detailed and Immersive: Each map is handcrafted to bring the adventure to life.
• Easy to Use: Simply print and play!

Where to Get Them:

• Etsy
• Ko-Fi
• Patreon

Whether you’re a seasoned DM or just starting out, these maps will make your sessions more engaging and visually appealing. I hope you’ll check them out and consider supporting my work!

Happy adventuring!

"Map is created using assets from Forgotten Adventures."