Reflections of the Icebound

Description

Adventure Summary

A one-shot adventure for 4–5 PCs of 5th level. In the frozen tundra, the remote village of Icehearth is tearing itself apart after a cursed mirror is pulled from the ice. Villagers see monstrous reflections, doppelgangers, and traitors in every shadow. The adventurers must uncover the source of the spreading paranoia, navigate a powder-keg of accusations, and decide the mirror’s fate before an ancient white dragon awakens beneath the ice.

Background

Centuries ago, the great wyrm Rimefang terrorised the north. A circle of druids and ice mages bound the dragon within a glacier, using the Mirror of Rimefang as a focus. The mirror reflected the dragon’s evil, forcing it into an endless dream. Over ages, Rimefang’s consciousness seeped into the glass, twisting it into a beacon of fear. A recent earthquake cracked the glacier, and young hunter Yrsa found the mirror. She brought it to Icehearth, unknowingly unleashing the dragon’s malevolent dreams. Now the village sees their worst fears reflected, while Rimefang stirs below.

The Hook

The PCs are crossing the tundra when a violent blizzard forces them into the clustered longhouses of Icehearth. Inside the central hall, they witness a bitter confrontation: Helgi the blacksmith shoves Tova the herbalist, screaming that her reflection in a water barrel was not her own—that a doppelganger walks among them. As the elder Sigrid pleads for calm, she spots the strangers and begs their help. A strange mirror pulled from the ice sits in the longhouse, and since its arrival, the village has been falling apart.