Chapter 4: Destruction's Light - Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden

Chapter 4: Destruction's Light. Xardorok Sunblight's merciless construct slices through Ten-Towns with its radiant beam. Ten-Towns won't survive the attack of Xardorok's dragon without the characters' intervention. This chapter describes the dragon's attacks on Ten-Towns and what the characters can do to minimize the destruction and save as many Ten-Towners as possible. The extent to which they can help depends on their actions in the previous chapter: If the characters delayed their return to Ten-Towns to confront Xardorok in his lair, the amount of time they spent in Xardorok's fortress determines how many Ten-Towns settlements are victimized before the characters can intervene, based on the dragon's timeline. If the characters forgo the attack on Xardorok's fortress and waste no time chasing after the dragon, they have a good chance of catching up to it before too many Ten-Towns settlements are lost. The point of this chapter, beyond pitting the characters against a formidable draconic foe, is to make the players aware that their characters' choices have consequences. If the characters do nothing to stop the dragon, Ten-Towns will be destroyed. Many lives hang in the balance. Xardorok Sunblight's merciless construct slices through Ten-Towns with its radiant beam Running This Chapter Review the Chardalyn Dragon stat block and description in appendix C before running this chapter of the adventure. Stopping the dragon will be a daunting task for the characters. Fortunately, they won't have to fight it alone. From the moment it leaves the fortress, the chardalyn dragon begins to carry out Xardorok's plan to level Ten-Towns one settlement after another. The characters can intervene by successfully predicting where the dragon will strike next and confronting it. The "Return to Ten-Towns" section provides characters with a much-needed ally and a swift dogsled ride back to Ten-Towns. The "Dragon Scourge" section describes how long it takes for the dragon to reach each...