Found this a really useful guide to give the players before session zero of running Rime of Frostmaiden campaigns. Highly recommended purchase to get them in the frame of mind of the setting.

I never would have thought rolling for character backstories would be so effective or fun, but oh my goodness it is. The resulting characters tend to be more interesting and feel more viseral. When my DM for Icewind Dale presented us this Primer, I was doubtful, but now I can't imagine the game without it. This is a positive must buy for any DM wanting to run an Icewind Dale game and I couldn't recommend it more!

I really wish I had known this existed before I started running adventures in Icewind Dale :) — there's so much to the icy tundra before getting into the module that's really difficult to convey to players who aren't familiar with the setting or haven't heard of Icewind Dale before. Steven really does a great job of providing useful and concise information that players can build off (everything from life in the tundra to a rundown on the history!), but not only that, they also expand on what's known and give a wealth of new options for players to consider when creating amazing characters!

If you're planning on visiting Icewind Dale in your games, I'd highly recommend picking this up!

Player Primer: Icewind Dale by Steven Pankotai and Sadie Lowry Format : PDF Acquired 11 July 2020 ; paid $4.95 [full price] Product/last updated 30 June 2020 Number of pages : 18 Read 14 July 2020

Number of stars 5

This primer provides a good way to situate characters (or NPCs) from Icewind Dale, especially with the forthcoming Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden. It begins with an overview of life in the Dale, the official history so far, and a map. For their purposes the Dale is divided into three regions: The Cold Run, Ten-Towns, and the Tundra. The next section contains descriptions of the settlements by region. Four factions are also provided.

The largest section covers character development. Home regions, backgrounds, social status, home settlement, race, family, acquired allies and rivals, fateful moments, favorite food (based on region), mysterious secrets, and omens make up the bulk of the text. There are tables to roll on or to provide inspiration for your own ideas. One new background is provided, along with six modified backgrounds to better situate them within Icewind Dale.

The resource ends with a very short list for further reading.

Highly recommended if you want to adventure in Icewind Dale as a "local" or if you want a character from the Dale.

Preview : Full-size preview shows a fair bit of the content.

Attribution : Check.

TOC : Present and hotlinked.

Formatting : Good.

Art : Applicable, well used and a good amount.

Style : Semi-consistently follows D&D house style.

Editing : Pretty good. List of minor editing issues provided to the editor.

Number and type of files included : One PDF.

Value : Good value.