The Valley of Ever-Frost — called Forbudt Fröst by the hardened northerners, is a vast, mountain-ringed wasteland lying at the border of four feuding northern principalities. Spanning nearly 300 by 300 kilometers, it was once a land of gold mines and bitter territorial wars. The last known chapter in its history came almost four hundred years ago. The Ardveon principality hired a mercenary legion, the Silver Dragons, to claim the valley. They succeeded — only to betray their employers and declare Forbudt Fröst their own sovereign ground
 Soon after, the curse fell.
 A raging blizzard sealed the valley from the world, a storm so thick it might as well be stone. Magic shatters against it, steel fails, machines freeze, even the gods themselves cannot pierce its veil. Those who wander into the tempest in search of the valley’s riches are simply erased, their fates swallowed by the storm’s white jaws. Some whisper it was divine punishment for the Silver Dragons’ greed. Others believe the storm is a prison, holding something far worse at bay. Whatever the truth, kingdoms eventually abandoned their claims, and the valley slipped from memory, leaving only a myth: that somewhere beyond the eternal storm lies another world, untouched and forgotten.

The myth might have faded entirely, if not for one dead body. At the foot of the mountains, a caravan stumbled upon a soldier’s withered corpse, almost centuries old by its look. Its armor was that of the Silver Dragons, and in its desiccated grip was a single brittle letter:
         "We are still alive. We are still waiting beyond the wall of the storm. Save us."
 The discovery set the north ablaze. Principalities, shadowed orders, and lone power-seekers once again turned their gaze to the valley. Each dreaming to breach the storm, to claim its secrets, and seize what was lost.
The players are members of one such expedition. Their chosen faction shapes their purpose, resources, allies, and enemies. The campaign bends to their loyalties and choices, but the stakes remain the same: survive the storm, uncover the truth of the Valley of Ever-Frost, and decide who, if anyone, will hold its power when the blizzard fades for good.

None of the three major factions can be called purely good or evil. Each carries its own vision of how the world should survive the coming darkness, and each will stop at nothing to see its enemies crushed. All of them hunt the same prize: the salvation of this world.

3.1 Red Dawn
A secret order bent on breaking the current world order through total war. They dream of forging a single unified empire strong enough to face an impending, unnamed threat. 
          Escort: Ten cavalry knights (Level 2 fighters) and five witches (Level 3)
          Objective: Lift the valley’s curse and destroy anyone capable of defending it. Once the storm is broken, the valley’s golden mines will ignite wars among every nation with a claim. The Dawn intends to swoop in when those states are bleeding and seize power with ease.

3.2 Fenrir
An elite mercenary syndicate that takes high-stakes contracts for the powerful, all while striving to maintain balance in the world. Their numbers are small, but each agent is worth an army. Either as a master warrior or a spellcaster of terrifying strength. Yet Fenrir is dwindling. Fewer remain each year, and their creed is sliding from peacekeeping toward profit.
         Escort: Two senior agents, one a Level 7 warrior, the other a Level 7 mage.
         Objective: Break the curse without triggering all-out war. Fenrir seeks to ally with the Silver Dragons, if they still exist, and turn the valley into an independent principality. Six years ago, they sent an expedition led by their former leader beyond the veil. Either they died or betrayed Fenrir, abandoning their mission.

3.3 The Weaver’s House
An anti-magic brotherhood sworn to hunt mages and monsters, protecting common folk from magical tyranny. In their eyes, mighty spellcasters and mages no longer serve humanity — they seize power and meddle in politics. At least, that is the creed its rank-and-file truly believe.
         Escort: Three mage-hunters. A rogue, a ranger, and a spellsword (Level 5). 
         Objective: Not merely to end the storm, but to bend it to their will. They plan to weaponize the curse as an unbreakable shield and found an untouchable state, heralding the Weaver’s dominance over the continent. Whatever the storm is holding back, they must capture, dissect, and twist to their purposes.

Regardless of which faction the players choose, they must: 
         Survive the valley without becoming lost behind the veil forever. 
         Uncover the history of Forbudt Fröst and the true nature of its curse. 
         Find and claim the artifacts that can break the curse once and for all. 
Each faction’s path leads to its own ending, but players may also discover ways to defy all three powers. Examples of such outcomes appear in Act VI.

Forbudt Fröst is a place wrapped in its own unnaturalness. It is cut off from the outside world so completely that even the gods cannot reach it. Summoning otherworldly beings fails outright. The very air feels wrong: heavy, syrup-thick, as though it clings to the tongue and lungs. The sun burns with a strange violet hue, and travelers often glimpse mirages or ghostly echoes of the past bleeding into reality. This is because the valley has been poisoned by the Abyss itself. It is a wound on the world, and anyone who lingers here for too long risks being swallowed by its unreality.

Ever-Frost Moodshot 

5.1 What is the Abyss?
The Abyss is a different plane of existence, a black shroud enveloping the whole material world. It is a purgatory, a place where the souls of the dead dissolve into an ocean of chaotic energy. Heaven and hell, reincarnation and damnation, all twisted together. The Abyss teems with eldritch horrors birthed from the dying minds of mortals. The living have no place there. Any flesh that crosses its veil begins to wither and age at a monstrous pace.

        Note for the GM: One hour spent in the Abyss ages a human’s body by ten years. For creatures that can live for a millennium, like elves or dragons, the aging is appropriately more significant.

Then there are the Void Rains. These storms of pure entropy scour everything they touch. In less than a minute, they can rot living beings to dust and strip the soul from its vessel. The creatures that roam this plane are as deadly to the mind as they are to the body. They move with blinding speed, driving mortals into primal terror and madness before striking from nowhere and tearing them apart. Ordinary steel and fire alike are useless against them.

        Note for the GM: Death in the valley is final. Player characters and NPCs alike are lost forever. Any attempt to resurrect the dead brings them back only as abominations.

5.3 Who lives in Forbudt Fröst, and how do they survive
The valley’s people are a grim, rag-clad folk, their faces hollow and emotionless. They are stubborn northern stock, but their bleakness has little to do with temperament. The valley is killing them. It leeches away life and soul until even the young look old, and only children can still be seen smiling. So how do the natives manage to survive in such conditions? The answer is simple: they don't. They do hunt deer, wolves, and freshwater seals whose flesh is already tainted by the Abyss. They have even mastered the impossible: growing crops in perpetual tundra. To do so, they use fire and light magic and ancient druidic standing stones, immense relics that radiate warmth. The locals believe these stones were blessed by the Sunkeeper himself. Yet faith cannot keep the crops from being poisoned by the Abyss. No one can escape it, but most of the locals seem oblivious to this, with weakness, organ failure, and death at the age of forty becoming the norm for them.

        5.3.1 Language and Currency
The settlers speak an ancient northern dialect so archaic that even characters fluent with this language will struggle to follow. Gold holds little sway here. They trade in raw nuggets, but its value is fifteen to twenty times lower than in the outside world. Tools, ink, matches, sweets: such simple necessities are worth far more here than any "despicable yellow metal" the players might bring along. 

        5.3.2 Other Groups
The valley is home to more than just the grim northern settlers. Several other tribes of peoples and creatures stalk the frozen wastes:
        Outsiders: The rare few who entered the valley after it was sealed and somehow survived. Adventurers, scavengers, broken expedition teams. All of those people are the Outsiders. The locals would never accept them as their own and will always keep their distance. Even from their children, who were born in the valley. Though they too are doomed to eventually lose their souls, Outsiders are easy to spot while they still have some left: they move with a restless energy, driven and cunning, as though each day might be their last. 
        Picts: The indigenous people of Forbudt Fröst. Once countless, now barely enough remain to fill a village and a half. When the Silver Dragons swept through the land centuries ago, they slaughtered nearly the entire population, seizing their settlements, cities, and fortresses for the settlers. So it is naturally, that Picts hate all outsiders with an unquenchable fury. They will gladly turn strangers’ skulls into totems and their bones into charms. Settlers call them savages and give their cursed hunting grounds a wide berth. Their druids embraced the Abyss long ago. Warped and maddened, they now worship it and its spawn as an unstoppable force of nature, and the Frost Devil as its avatar. Any who trespass into their sacred groves will end up as an offering on a blood-soaked altar.
        Non-Humans: Two tribes of frost goblins dwell in the valley, one in the east and one in the west. In the north lies a small ettin village, while werewolves roam the forests. None of these creatures have much love for humankind.

A brilliant general, it was Alexis who led the Silver Dragons to victory, carving through the valley’s defenders and nearly exterminating the native Picts. He was killed, but bargained with the Abyss to return, becoming the source of the valley’s curse and its eternal warden. Now, he is a near-omnipotent jailer trapped within his own prison. Four centuries of confinement have eroded his humanity. He no longer takes joy in terrorizing peasants and spends his endless days in boredom. Yet he has not lost his mind. Alexis is a cold, commanding aristocrat who amuses himself by collecting exotic beasts, sculpting his enemies into ice statues, composing poetry, and playing his organ. It was Alexis who spent a titanic effort and magical power to let a single undead soldier bearing a letter, to leave into the outside world. Hoping to draw attention and finally find a way to free himself.

Alexis van Dorin character concept 

With development sketches and a moodboard  

Addegarda Idur was once the queen of Forbudt Fröst and leader of the proud Pict people. A seasoned warrior, she led her forces bravely against the Silver Dragons until she was captured in battle.
Her beauty struck Alexis like a blade. He spared her life and demanded she become his wife. Addegarda agreed, but only to save her people from annihilation. In secret, she plotted his death.
Well, so it turned out that she fell for the general's younger brother, Elrond. To move Alexis out of the way of their love, they arranged his assassination. On the day of their wedding, Alexis was slain by his brother’s hand. Whether Addegarda acted out of love or vengeance is a mystery even now. But Alexis returned from death the very next day, empowered by the Abyss. He executed the soldiers who had betrayed him, then came for Addegarda. He despised her for making him weak and drowned her in her beloved Lake Hoarstone, ignoring her pleas for mercy. He knew she was pregnant, yet never believed her the child was his. Now, two spirits still haunt the lake. When the moonlight strikes its surface, travelers can sometimes glimpse her spectral figure drifting across the water in a filthy wedding gown, clutching bloodstained rags to her chest.

Once Alexis’ loyal right hand and one of the Silver Dragons’ captains, Elrond always was a formidable warrior and a master of fire magic. Terrifying in battle. Yet, a mirror opposite of his elder brother. Elrond was more forgiving and generous toward his own soldiers, and showed mercy and kindness toward the valley’s native people.
It was Addegarda’s beauty that undid him. He treated her not as a captive, but as an equal: a warrior in her own right. And she returned his affections. To win her for himself, Elrond convinced a faction of soldiers to rise against Alexis. Loyalists were poisoned or cut down, and Elrond drove his spear through his brother’s heart. But Alexis returned from the grave. In his newfound power, he transformed Elrond into a statue of solid ice and shattered him into a thousand pieces. Yet Elrond’s soul was not destroyed. He has been reborn again and again in different bodies, bound to the valley.
If his old weapon is restored to him, he will remember who he was, and all that was taken from him.

Kiarnan was one of the founders of the Silver Dragons, creating the mercenary group, and later an entire army alongside the father of Alexis and Elrond. He was once their patron, a captain, and a close friend to the brothers. Together they conquered the valley, dreaming of building a new nation here. But Kiarnan grew sickened by Alexis’ cruelty and slaughter of the Picts, abandoning the company. Wracked with guilt, he withdrew to reconsider his path. While he was gone, breakthrough occurred in a part of the valley. Alexis was slain, returned as something monstrous, and the eternal storm rose. When Kiarnan saw what his friend had become, he challenged Alexis, but lost, paying for it with a fate a hundred times worse than death. With his new power, the general twisted his former captain into a conscious, hideous undead mockery and sealed him in a mausoleum built for his fallen soldiers.

Once Alexis’ loyal right hand and one of the Silver Dragons’ captains, Elrond always was a formidable warrior and a master of fire magic. Terrifying in battle. Yet, a mirror opposite of his elder brother. Elrond was more forgiving and generous toward his own soldiers, and showed mercy and kindness toward the valley’s native people. It was Addegarda’s beauty that undid him. He treated her not as a captive, but as an equal: a warrior in her own right. And she returned his affections. To win her for himself, Elrond convinced a faction of soldiers to rise against Alexis. Loyalists were poisoned or cut down, and Elrond drove his spear through his brother’s heart. But Alexis returned from the grave. In his newfound power, he transformed Elrond into a statue of solid ice and shattered him into a thousand pieces. Yet Elrond’s soul was not destroyed. He has been reborn again and again in different bodies, bound to the valley. If his old weapon is restored to him, he will remember who he was, and all that was taken from him.

The Black Coven is made up of four ancient, powerful Pict witches: dark sorceresses, alchemists, and druids who sided with the Silver Dragons during the valley’s conquest and were later warped further by the Abyss.
They thrive on the misery of the valley’s people, orchestrating disasters to trap mortals in their web of magical pacts. Alexis does not interfere with their mischief. Each has granted him a dark blessing, bolstering his power or gifting him new abilities. In return, the Frost Devil allows them to live and do as they please.
One of the witches is a half-blind hag with golden teeth, a deceptively warm old woman who runs a ramshackle apothecary in Dubrov. She sells herbs and potions, but her price is never coin. She demands strange things: "your first love," "your last breath," "a fragment of courage," or "a vial of fresh blood." Magic items can also serve as payment, though the valley’s peasants rarely have any to give. She covets the moment when Marius tires of babysitting the local settlers, so that she can entangle them in the threads of her sway.
Two more sisters dwell in a shack along the road between Dubrov and Carolina, where they "shelter" orphans and runaways. Their imagination is vast, and they can concoct many things from the flesh and bones of children still capable of joy.
The fourth witch lives in Duravan, masquerading as the city’s mayoral adviser while secretly using her position to manipulate local politics.
The fifth, the most sane and least vile of the witches, named Katarina, broke away from the coven at some point and is now at odds with her sisters. She can be found in Carolina, posing as a fortune-teller and subtly manipulating those foolish enough to seek her guidance.

Six years ago, Fenrir sent five agents into Forbudt Fröst to break the curse, find treasures and claim glory. Their leader was Daar’Vos, the newly crowned head of the organization, a minotaur known proudly as "Dragon". Arrogant and hot-tempered, he had risen not so much due to his administrative and leading qualities, but rather by right of might.      Upon entering the valley, Daar’Vos’ remained true to his character. Faced with the miserable existence endured by the locals under the oppression of the Frost Devil, he simply could not stand idly by. As the leader of the group, he made the decision to kill Alexis and free the people of the Forbidden Frost from his tyranny. The team of five fought their way into Castle Frostdrought and faced Alexis in battle. Against all odds, they nearly won. But when the Frost Devil fell to his knees and the wounded Dragon raised his magical blades for the finishing blow, his former comrades struck him in the back.
It should be noted that when Dragon became the leader of Fenrir, many were displeased. They believed, not without reason, that this brute would bring nothing but disaster to Fenrir. And they decided to get rid of him. The agents accompanying Daar'Vos had orders to eliminate their leader after the successful completion of the mission. The traitors thought they had chosen the perfect moment, but they made a fatal mistake. The wounded Alexis took advantage of the betrayal among his enemies and turned three of the group into ice statues.
He spared Daar’Vos. Perhaps it was solidarity with another leader betrayed at the height of his triumph. But he took the minotaur’s twin swords, weapons that held a fragment of his soul and power. Without them, Daar’Vos is only half the warrior he once was.
Even so, he remains formidable. Now he protects a village of ettins who showed him compassion, standing against the horrors of the Abyss while dreaming of the day he can reclaim his blades and finish what he started.

In the eastern reaches of the valley, no one dares leave home at night, nor walk alone in the forest. A terror prowls those woods: a pack of werewolves led by a monstrous white warg.
That beast was once Apheli Blanche, an agent of Fenrir nicknamed the Swallow. She had come to Forbudt Fröst alongside her former leader and friend, Dragon. The agents carried not only the mission to lift the valley’s curse but also a secret order from Fenrir’s new leader, the Lion: ensure that Dragon never returns alive. Apheli was the only one to escape the slaughter at Castle Frostdrought. She does not know Dragon survived.
Then came the bite. The purification elixir failed. For six long years she has fought for her sanity and her soul, battling the werewolf’s curse and the pull of the Abyss. She regrets her betrayal deeply and still wears the Fenrir medallion around her neck as a reminder.

Forbudt Fröst Map

The beating heart of the campaign, and the key to completing the main mission, is the search for several crutial artifacts scattered across the Valley of Ever-Frost. There are five in total, three of which are hidden in one of the following randomized locations:
        1. The Werewolves (one of the ruined villages)
        2. The Abyss-Tainted Mines (one of the mines)
        3. The Druids
        4. The Goblins (one of the two tribes)
        5. The Ruins of Castle Neverwinter
        6. The Dungeons of Castle Winterfang
        7. The Cradle of the Abyss (in one of the an ancient outposts or ruins)
        8. The Ancient Sun Temple
        9. The Icy Caverns
        10. The Mausoleum of the Silver Dragons (one of the Towers of Frost)
        11. The Soul Eaters of Silverwood
        12. The Witches

For each MacGuffin, roll a twelve-sided die to determine its placement on the map. Then choose a sub-location at random, or at your discretion, if one exists. Each artifact serves as a key to uncovering the valley’s history and its deepest secrets. Only the Curse Anchor is required to finish the campaign, but without the others, success becomes a brutal challenge.

The players must track down the following artifacts:
        The Spear of the Burning Heart — referred by seers as The Will of Elrond van Dorin. "Only this weapon can pierce the armor of the Frost Devil."
        The Breastplate of Ten Suns — referred by seers as A Ray of the Last Warm Dawn. "Only the light of this armor can dispel the eternal cold and darkness of the Abyss."
        The Curse Anchor — referred by seers as Alexis van Dorin’s Lost Humanity.
And the artifacts with fixed locations:
        The Deadly Poison — referred by seers as The Last Tear of Addegarda Idur. Found at Lake Hoarstone. "Only this venom can strike the blood and heart of the Frost Devil."
        The Great Ally — the one who will help the heroes break the curse. Is determined by the faction to which the players belong.

There are more than three potential Great Allies, and the PCs can theoretically recruit as many as they wish. However, any of them will refuse aid, or even actively oppose the part if they ally with Alexis.
        Fenrir’s unique ally is Dragon.
        The Red Dawn’s unique ally is Gabriel, an angel of vengeance sent by the gods to punish Alexis and his loyalists. Gabriel was defeated and imprisoned within the Abyss. He can be found in one of the ancient ruins.
        The Weavers’ House’s unique ally is Father Marius.

Other possible allies include:
        Gwydd – A young coal merchant the players can meet in Carolina. He is the reincarnation of Elrond, Alexis’ brother, and secretly possesses the powers of a fire mage. His true nature can be discerned by the portrait of the van Dorin family in Castle Frostdrought; Gwydd is the spitting image of Elrond from the painting. He lives with his family at the edge of the Black Marshes, but during the campaign, starving werewolves attack his home, slaughtering everyone he loves. If the players return to him the spear he wielded in a past life, it will restore his strength and awaken his memories.
        The Maiden of Lake Dyptcvan – an ancient local spirit poisoned by the Abyss, who seeks vengeance against Alexis for desecrating her land.
        The Silver Dragon Kiarnan – if he is not guarding one of the artifacts, he can be persuaded to rise once again against the Frost Devil. But only if the party frees him by reclaiming his soul’s remnants from his corpse and finding another dragon’s remains to house them.

And how to find them
For the purposes of describing this scenario, let's say that the squad is initially Fenrir's agents and adheres to its goals: the Frost Devil sounds like a very powerful entity with whom it is better to be friends than enemies.
Also, we'll consider just one of the many combinations of key items and their locations. Describing all points of interest and characters that play a role in the overall picture is beyond the scope of this text.
        The Will of Elrond van Dorin - in the Mausoleum of the Silver Dragons, in the northwestern Tower of Frost.
        A Ray of the Last Warm Dawn - in the werewolves’ territory, a ruined village in the Black Marshes.
        The Last Tear of Addegarda Idur - lake Hoarstone.
        The Curse Anchor - the Cradle of the Abyss, in ancient ruins near lake Ewig Blue.
        The Great Ally - the Ettin Village, where the former leader of Fenrir, Dragon, resides.
To locate the key artifacts, the players must find those who know the prophecy of the Frost Devil’s fall.

The first such person is Katarina, one of the witches. But earning her aid requires satisfying several conditions. Katarina desires the storm surrounding Forbudt Fröst to vanish and Alexis’s bond with the Abyss to be broken. However, she does not wish the Frost Devil dead, claiming that he suffers far more than anyone else in the valley. Four hundred years ago, she was hopelessly in love with the conquering general. Though Alexis never returned her feelings, Katarina still loves him and longs to see him freed of the curse.

If the PCs follow the Red Dawn’s objective and wish to just kill Alexis, they must seek the druid known as Rotrind. The current druids revere the Frost Devil as an unstoppable force of nature, the god of the valley. Rotrind is different. He is one of the old Pict druids who fought against the Silver Dragons four centuries ago. He despises Alexis with every fiber of his being, and only this hatred keeps him tethered to the world as a half-undead, half-plant abomination. Rotrind saw the Silver Dragons butcher his people. To him, the current inhabitants of Forbudt Fröst are either descendants of the invaders, or of the traitors who surrendered their land and forgot their roots. He would gladly see the valley drowned in blood and fire.

If the PCs follow the Weavers’ House, they must seek Ktasha, the mayor of Duravan. Once a formidable sorceress, she entered the valley a decade ago seeking to uncover its secrets. Her ambitions shifted. She now dreams of creating an icy paradise here. One problem: the Frost Devil cursed her for her ambitions, stripping her of power and binding one of the witches to her as an overseer. She is eager to regain her former strength and topple Alexis. Ktasha believes she can give the valley’s people a worthy ruler while keeping the eternal storm as a shield from the outside world.

It all begins on the long road to Forbudt Fröst.
An agent of the players’ chosen faction travels with the party, briefing them on the mission’s objectives and sharing what little their superiors have learned of the valley.
The closer they draw to the boundary of the eternal storm, the harsher the world becomes. The expedition must carve a path through a monstrous blizzard and a cold so savage it burns. Here the first environmental challenges present themselves: obstacles that will haunt the party for the rest of their journey.
Magic cannot carry messages through the storm. The killing cold gnaws at their limbs, sapping strength with every heartbeat. Snowfall blinds them to the world beyond a few paces. Each step is a battle of its own.
Those who survive the storm emerge into a frozen gorge: the single threshold into the valley, no matter which direction one approaches. As grim proof, frostbitten corpses of past adventurers litter the ground, failures who never made it past the blizzard’s teeth. It opens to the southeast corner of Forbudt Fröst.

Once the party leaves the gorge and presses forward along the narrow trail, exhaustion will soon force them to camp. The forest that hugs the path is unsettlingly silent, lifeless, as though the valley itself slumbers in a winter that never ends.
When the group begins to falter, the trees will break, offering a view of Lake Hoarstone — a perfect campsite along its shore. Strangely, despite the killing temperatures, the lake is free of ice. The party can even fish here and find edible algae. However, everything they pull out of the lake will taste bitter, and the fish they catch will have thick black blood.

At this point, the GM has to select the PC with the highest magical power. Or two, if their strength is comparable. These chosen characters will be suffering haunting nightmares: the colossal skull of a dragon, whispering for help, calling them closer, promising freedom. It is Beleanta, clawing at their minds for attention.

        Note for the GM: If the players forget to leave a watchman, reward their negligence with a sudden attack. Abyss-tainted drowned corpses will claw their way from the lake to assault the camp.

After a tense night, the group moves on, eventually spotting a small hilltop village behind a crude palisade. The Dubrov village – the first settlement on the players' path. The locals do not welcome strangers; the gates slam shut at the first sight of them. Minutes later, Father Marius appears on the wall. The PCs will have a chance to speak with him, perhaps even convince him to grant entry. But Marius warns them not to linger. Strangers in the valley inevitably draw the gaze of the Frost Devil, "the lord and scourge of this land," as the priest calls him. And the last thing Dubrov needs right now is that kind of attention.
When pressed for details, Marius would sidestep the questios, "You’ll meet him soon enough," he says grimly. When asked how a priest can still serve his faith in a land forsaken by the gods, his reply is simple:

"We must have faith that tomorrow will be better than today. I try to help people and maintain that faith. For without it, we might soon succumb to madness. But don't confuse faith with foolish daydreaming. You are here now, and you are here to stay forever. No mortal can leave the valley. Not even the gods can lift the curse off it. Greater heroes than you tried, but were vanquished by this place without ever glimpsing their goal."

The next destination is Carolina. The journey will take a single day if the weather remains merciful. On the way, the party will be ambushed by a pack of a dozen werewolves. Ten feral, wolf-like horrors twisted by Abyssal corruption. They stalk the shadows, nearly invisible, and can blink short distances through darkness. Their minds are gone, but their hunger is relentless.
Killing at least five will break the pack’s morale, sending the rest fleeing into the trees. Yet even in victory, the PCs will notice something unnerving: a massive white dire-wolf, standing apart, silently watching the battle unfold. The instant anyone turns to face it, the beast vanishes. The second unavoidable encounter along the road is a grim one: the party stumbles upon a nameless grave, its earth recently disturbed. Lurking nearby is a shambling corpse, muttering incoherently under its breath. The creature is fresh from this very grave, hacked out of the permafrost not long ago. As soon as it senses the group, the revenant attacks with a ferocity born of rage, wielding spells or battle-honed techniques it once knew in life.
Upon defeating the undead, the group will notice something unsettling: the grave bears the insignia of a rival faction.

        Note for the GM: This brief encounter serves two purposes. First, it confirms that hostile factions have beaten the PCs into the valley, though they have suffered their own losses. Second, it drives home a chilling truth: death has no finality in Forbudt Fröst. The Abyss has twisted even the natural order in this place. The party may even consider backtracking to burn the corpses of the werewolves they’ve slain. If they don’t… the prospect of facing undead werewolves later could be far worse than the living kind.

        Note for the GM: If the PCs follow the goals of Fenrir and intend to ally with the Frost Devil, Katarina will share her prophecy with them.

If, however, they belong to the Crimson Dawn or Weaver’s House, she will instead prophesy their gruesome demise and drive them out. In this case, the party must search another source of guidance. As they leave, Katarina’s young assistant would slip outside, secretly telling them where they clould look for someone willing to help. In any case, the PCs leave with clear instructions on what to do next. But as soon as they will try to leave Carolina, they will be met by a detachment of knights in Silver Dragon armor, riding bone horses.

At their head rides a knight in corroded plate, his blade rusted and slick with old blood. He introduces himself as Captain Storci. Removing his helm, he reveals a half-rotted face webbed with violet veins. "On behalf of the lord of these lands, Lord Alexis van Dorin," he says with a ghastly grin, "you are cordially invited to dine at Frostdrought Castle." His tone is mocking, yet polite. Storci adds that the merciful lord has even provided an escort to ensure his honored guests arrive intact. Refusing is… ill-advised. The captain makes it very clear that those who spurn a direct invitation from Lord Alexis risk offending him "to the very depths of his soul".

        Note for the GM: Should the party be foolish enough to refuse or, worse, attack Storci, Alexis will not take it lightly. He will make a personal example of their insolence, perhaps sending his Abyssal horrors to slaughter their escorts, unleashing a killing storm upon them, or even openly murdering one of their companions himself.

"My lord has a passion for collecting," the captain observes dryly. "Statues, for instance. Each of these was once a mortal who dared challenge him."

The group is soon joined by Alexis van Dorin himself, descending an icy spiral staircase in the company of an undead butler and maid. He welcomes them with a warm smile, one that never quite reaches his piercing eyes, and beckons them to the dining hall.
The dinner is a masterclass in tension. Alexis carries himself with the ease of someone utterly in control. He is witty, fond of dry humor, and not above ironic jabs at his own cursed existence. He exudes arrogance and quiet pride but seems genuinely pleased by the rare company, explaining that visitors are a luxury in his lands. To the party’s surprise, the table is laid with real food and even fine wine. If any of the PCs are aristocrats, especially those who tend to look down on commoners, this will amuse Alexis greatly, drawing out even more of his favor.

        Note for the GM: Alexis should defy the players’ expectations. He is still the most powerful being in Forbudt Fröst, and the local tales do not exaggerate his strength. But he is not a cartoonish villain luring the heroes into his lair to torture or kill them. He issues no empty threats. Instead, he can seem almost childish or flippant at times: he may offer to read his poetry, show off his collection of exotic pets, or challenge them to a game of chess. He is a bored immortal with a god complex, restless in his eternal dominion. He does not view the PCs as a threat at all.

        Note for the GM: If the PCs propose an alliance, promising to free the Frost Devil from his curse, Alexis will accept without hesitation. He will pledge not to hinder them during their time in the valley. All they must do is retrieve the key artifacts and deliver them to him.

With Frostdrought Castle behind them, the party is free to roam the valley as they please, seeking the key artifacts in any order. Along the way, they may cross paths with a hostile faction’s strike team and decide whether to destroy them or risk letting them escape. If the PCs stall or waste too much time, one of the artifacts may disappear from its original location: stolen by an enemy party. This will force the PCs to track their rivals and take it back by force.
Their journey through Forbudt Fröst will lead them through ancient ruins, Abyss-tainted wilderness, undead-haunted crypts, and into encounters with deranged locals and stranded adventurers who have long since abandoned hope.
Throughout their travels, Lord Alexis will make his presence known. Unless the party has chosen to ally with him. He seems to always know where they are and what they are planning. Through his familiar, the falcon, and flocks of undead birds, he can spy on them with ease. He can even control nearly any undead creature in the valley at will.

Encounter Example: While traveling, the party is suddenly engulfed by a violent blizzard. From the swirling snow steps Alexis himself, calm as a man strolling through a park. He claims he’s simply out walking his "dog." Then, with a theatrical sigh, he remembers the beast must be fed. Behind him, the storm coalesces into the shape of a giant white wolf, its body bristling with jagged ice formations. Alexis snaps his fingers and says one word: "Fetch."
The fight with Snowball begins. A brutal battle amid the whiteout, with the wolf using ice magic and summoning elemental minions. Alexis remains at a safe distance, commenting wryly on the PCs’ performance, noting that the strongest magician on this battlefield likes to chase sticks and mark corners. When Snowball is gravely wounded, he retreats behind Alexis. The lord thanks the party for the "delightful entertainment" and vanishes into the blizzard with his pet. Moments later, the storm clears as though it had never been.

The Will of Elrond van Dorin and the Mausoleum of the Silver Dragons
The Mausoleum of the Silver Dragons is a sprawling underground crypt where the mercenaries who died during the conquest of Forbudt Fröst were laid to rest. When the Abyss breached reality, the dead rose once more. Some to serve Alexis, others to wander aimlessly in the frozen dark. The halls now swarm with all manner of undead and abyssal horrors. The greatest threat, however, is the mausoleum’s unwilling warden: Kiarnan, the former patron of the Silver Dragons. Once a close friend to Alexis, the wyrm now exists as a corrupted husk, chained to the floor and walls of the tomb, his body a rotting tide of shadow and decay. In this version of the scenario, Kiarnan guards the Spear of the Burning Heart. He is bound by Alexis’s command to protect the artifact, but if approached carefully and not attacked outright, he may share fragments of his tragic story. In the end, the party must defeat Kiarnan to claim the spear.

        Note for the GM: If Kiarnan is not guarding a key artifact in your version, he can instead become a powerful ally against Alexis. To do so, the PCs must retrieve the remnants of his soul and place them into the remains of another dragon. Some dragon corpses can be found in the ancient ruins of the valley or in the Cradle of the Abyss.

Ray of the Last Warm Dawn and the Werewolves
For decades, the forests of the valley have been terrorized by werewolves. Now they are led by a white-furred alpha. That white beast is Aphelie Blanche, the "Swallow", and she possesses the Breastplate of Ten Suns (Ray of the Last Warm Dawn). The pack’s lair lies in a ruined village deep within the Black Marshes. When the party reaches the lair, they will have a choice on how to engage the pack of beasts. They can storm the den and butcher the monsters… or attempt negotiation. Aphelie uses the breastplate to fend off the Abyss’s influence and is willing to surrender it if the PCs secure another item with similar protective properties and promise to lift the curse of lycanthropy that is slowly eroding her mind. Such an item could be bartered from the witches or scavenged from ruins and dungeons. If fate placed a different artifact with the werewolves, Aphélie will still possess an Abyss-repelling relic in its place.

The Last Tear of Addegarde Idur and Lake Hoarstone
The Last Tear is the simplest of the artifacts to retrieve, but also the most limited: it is a one-use item. The Tear is a potent magical venom that can be applied to any weapon, capable of poisoning Alexis’s very blood and heart, or outright kill any one of his minions. To obtain it, the PCs must return to Hoarstone Lake and summon the ghost of Addegarde Idur. She will relinquish the Tear only if they swear vengeance against Alexis.

The Great Ally and the Ettin Village
As foretold, the agents of Fenrir’s faction must seek out the minotaur known as "Dragon". Following rumors and piecing together fragments of prophecy, the party will eventually deduce they must travel to the remote ettin village, where Dragon now lives in exile. When the PCs arrive, the former leader of Fenrir initially believes they have come to finish what was started six years ago. However, they will have no reason to attack him yet. If they speak with him calmly, he will tell them his true name: Daahr’Vos. And recount his story from his own perspective: arrival in Forbudt Fröst, his failed strike against Alexis, and how the ettins rescued and sheltered him after he was betrayed and defeated. He has been trapped in the valley for six long years, studying it with a soldier’s pragmatism. He knows now that most attempts to kill Alexis are doomed to fail, though not entirely impossible. At least, not yet.
"The Frost Devil is not sustained by the Abyss alone," Daahr’Vos explains. "He feeds upon the people of this land: their fear, their worship, their blind reverence. Every soul that whispers his name strengthens him. The longer this continues, the closer he becomes to a twisted reflection of godhood."

        Note for the GM: This encounter is designed to shatter the party’s preconceived notions of Dragon. Rather than the hot-headed, reckless brute they’ve heard about, they meet a seasoned warrior hardened by loss. Daahr’Vos is calm, deliberate, and clear-eyed, though his years of suffering have not stripped him entirely of idealism.

Winning Daahr’Vos’s trust is straightforward. If the PCs possess even one key artifact, he will agree to accompany them. Before departing, however, he will ask for their help in tracking and destroying a particularly dangerous Abyssal beast that has been prowling near the ettin village. If the party remains intent on forming an alliance with Alexis and maintaining him as the valley’s lord, Daahr’Vos will do everything in his power to convince them otherwise.
"That monster has no right to rule," he growls. "No right to even exist. I care nothing for Fenrir’s order. Alexis must die."
If persuasion fails, and this is unlikely, given the party has already seen firsthand that Alexis is a tyrant and a sadist: Daahr’Vos will turn against them. He will attempt to slay Alexis himself rather than allow such an abomination to remain in power. Yet the minotaur is not reckless. He will not engage Alexis until he is certain there is a real chance of victory. He believes the PCs must first find all the keys to the curse and, above all, discover a way to sever Alexis’s connection to the Abyss.

The Curse’s Anchor
, referred to as Alexis van Dorin’s Lost Humanity — is the manifested remnant of the pact Alexis forged with the otherworldly entity that granted him life and power. It is the chain binding the Frost Devil to the Abyss. This key item is hidden in the Cradle of the Abyss, an ancient technomagical facility once built by Beleanta Moonwhite and her scolars. Hidden within forgotten ruins unmarked on any known map, the Cradle is a labyrinth of decaying halls poisoned by the Abyss and crawling with its warped offspring. The deeper the party delves, the more corrupted dragon-forged constructs and defensive mechanisms will they will encounter.
Throughout the descent, the PCs can uncover the truth behind the disaster that was unleashed here, through fragments of Beleanta’s research and environmental storytelling. At the bottom of the dungeon lies a vast chamber where the last experiment took place. There, lie Beleanta’s headless, decayed remains, bloated and disfigured by the Abyss. Behind it yawns the original tear into the Abyss.
But, the corpse starts moving.
What follows is a brutal boss encounter, a test of strength for the party. Beleanta’s remains fight with devastating telekinesis, wrenching control of gravity itself to hurl the PCs across the chamber. Her presence gnaws at their sanity, manifesting their deepest fears, and from her headless maw she spews torrents of the Abyss’s tar-black filth instead of dragon-fire.
Only after putting Beleanta’s body to rest can the party descend into the Abyss.

        Note for the GM: The Abyss accelerates aging for all living beings. One hour here equals ten years in the material realm. Unless the entire party has a means of resisting the Abyss’s forced aging, they must retreat and return when properly prepared. The Curse’s Anchor is meant to be the last key artifact obtained, and therefore the hardest one to get.

The descent takes roughly two surreal hours, leading through landscapes built from the most vivid memories of the dead. Islands of jagged stone drifting in a sea of nothingness, connected by floating debris and fragments of long-forgotten cities. Ruined temples crumble silently in the distance. Ghostly ships glide aimlessly past schools of dead fish. Trees of gray stone sprout leaves woven from shadow itself, which dissolve into smoke when touched.
A voice, faint and pleading, begins to call the adventurers deeper.
At last, they reach their destination: a massive stone henge-like structure, hovering on a lone island surrounded by a swirling barrier of gray mist. Suspended within the protective sphere is an immense dragon’s skull formed from pure shadow. Below it, on a pedestal etched with softly glowing runes, rests the Curse’s Anchor. Beleanta Moonwhite still exists here, if the word "exists" can be stretched to describe a spirit so fractured. She is under assault. The PCs arrive to find her struggling to repel attackers, and she begs them for aid.

Who they fight is left to the GM’s discretion:
        Agents of a rival faction who have also found their way here.
        A powerful Abyssal abomination seeking to devour the Anchor.
        Or an entirely new force. A faction or enemy that foreshadows future threats beyond the Valley.

        Note for the GM: I’ve run this scenario twice. In the first run, the enemy here was a rival faction’s strike team who the PCs had barely avoided a confrontation with earlier. In the second run, it was a squad of mechanical minions of a new villain I wanted to introduce: the Abyss scholar mage, who didn't want the contract, but rather Belanta Moonwhite herself and her knowledge.

As the party fights off the attackers with Beleanta aiding them, she bolsters their defenses with spectral wards and empowering auras. When the threat is finally driven back or destroyed, the PCs have their first real chance to speak directly to the architect of Forbudt Fröst’s curse.
Beleanta confesses the truth. For centuries, even in her disembodied state, she has labored to stabilize the Abyssal breach, eventually succeeding. The rupture has stopped expanding. Of course, this land will never be free of the Abyss’s taint, but given decades, maybe centuries, and the rifts will eventually seal. But there is no more threat to the outside world.
But, there is a reason why healing could not start: Beleanta herself. She is the chain between the Frost Devil and the Abyss.

        Note for the GM: Alexis knew everything. About Beleanta and the contract. But according to the pact, he was forbidden to descend into the Abyss or attempt to take the contract by force, and the terms of the contract could only be changed if he had it in his possession and with the agreement of Beleanta. Yes, the contract gave him power, but it was also what made him a prisoner of Forbudt Fröst. That is why he did not try to stop the PCs collecting the keys to his destruction. He was hoping that in their attempts to lift the curse, they would come to the Abyss, destroy the dragon's spirit, and bring the contract into the material world, so that he could claim it and overwrite it. If Beleanta is gone, then her permission is not needed. And what difference does it make if her disappearance causes him to lose his connection to the Abyss? It has already permeated this land so much that the Frost Devil has become almost omnipotent here. The storm will not go away, and neither will his army of the dead.

Belaenta needs an anchor while she remains a spirit. That role is currently held by the stone tablet, the key artifact. This leaves the party with two choices: either destroy the spirit and claim the pact by force, leading to a mini-boss battle, or, at Belaenta’s request, find her a new living vessel and help her inhabit it.

        Note for the GM: The PCs are unlikely to want to enter a confrontation with Belaenta. She made a mistake in the past, one that led to the creation of Forbudt Fröst. But ever since, she has done everything in her power to contain the damage and stop the Abyss from spreading further. In this situation, she hardly comes across as a villain.

If the spirit is given a body, she will wish the party luck in their mission and promise to leave the valley once they succeed. Either way, the PCs now hold Alexis van Dorin’s Lost Humanity — the final piece of the puzzle. The finish line lies ahead.

The final act of the scenario decides not only the fate of Forbudt Fröst but the destiny of every kingdom and principality surrounding it. Everything hinges on the PCs, and what they choose to do with the pact.

If the party has cooperated with Alexis and turns over the assembled key artifacts, the Frost Devil will finally shed his shackles. He will overwrite the contract and his destiny. No longer bound to the valley, he will form a permanent alliance with the PCs and their faction. The people of Forbudt Fröst will remain enslaved, perhaps even more brutally than before. They will be driven back into the mines to dig for gold, their lives spent like candle wax. The dead soldiers of the Silver Dragons, along with their tormented patron, Kiarnan, will find no rest.
Alexis van Dorin will once again march at the head of his legion, the eternal blizzard howling in his wake. He must return to the valley from time to time to replenish his strength, but his conquests will spread far beyond its frozen borders.

If the PCs instead choose to destroy the contract, they can only do so with the Spear of the Burning Heart and at least one other key artifact. Breaking the stone tablet will shatter the curse that has gripped this tortured land for four centuries. The clouds above the valley will break. For the first time in living memory, sunlight will touch the frozen ground. Spring will come to Forbudt Fröst.

Most of the dead will finally find peace, and Frost Devil’s grip on this land will loosen dramatically. All that remains is to strike down the Alexis himself, now severely weakened. But the valley will not remain free for long. Neighboring kingdoms, each claiming ancestral rights to the land, will descend in steel and fire. War will scour those lands clean, leaving nothing but ruins.

Yet, there is a third option: replace Alexis with a new ruler. This is by far the most difficult path. A "true ending" to the scenario. The party must face Alexis at the peak of his power and kill him without destroying the contract. Whoever survives can inscribe their name upon the stone tablet and become the new Frost Devil.

        Note for the GM: If a PC chooses to ascend to this throne, control of that character permanently transfers to the GM.

To succeed, the party must prepare exhaustively. Slaying the Black Coven witches to stripp Alexis away from their dark blessings, and recruiting at least two or more Great Allies is not a luxury but a minimum requirement.

If the contract is destroyed, Alexis will sense it and see no reason to hunt the PCs. In a twisted way, he might even be grateful. Better to be free, though weakened, than remain a god in a gilded cage. If the contract remains intact, he will know exactly what the party intends and will be ready.
Infiltrating Castle Frostdrought will be no small task, and doing so unseen may be impossible. But the party would be much stronger by now, than when they first arrived into the valley. They will find a way, for there are many.
When they breach the fortress, Alexis will be waiting in the grand hall, seated at a massive pipe organ, his music echoing through the castle like a dirge.

        Note for the GM: In one of my playthroughs of this scenario, the PCs chose the "dethrone and replace" route. They rallied three Great Allies: Gwydd, the Lady of the Lake, and Dragon. Then incited the ettins, goblins, and the people of Duravan to revolt. Together, an army stormed Frostdrought in a climactic siege.

Alexis will not pass up the chance for an exchange of threats. His barbed words serving not as an attempt to provoke, but as a distraction to buy him the moment he needs to weave protections around himself and prepare some deadly spells. But the time for talk ends quickly. From here on, only steel and sorcery will speak.

Phase One.
The Ice Devil unleashes volleys of spells, wrapping himself in a storm of blizzards and summoning mirroring phantoms of ice. All the while, he ridicules the party’s courage, mocking the foolishness of mortals who dare raise their hands against him. For each who enters the fray, he finds the perfect needle to drive beneath their skin:
        Dragon: “Ah, the mighty Daahr’Vos, once called ‘Dragon’. Now just a dog gnawing scraps at the feet of ettins. Tell me, do they let you sit at the fire, or only outside in the snow?”
        Gwydd / Elrond: "What is this the fates sent me? A traitor that stabbed me in the back, now a ragged peddler in a red scarf, covered in soot, like a pig in manure? And they say gods have no sense of humor."

Phase Two.
When pressed, Alexis sets aside mockery. He applauds their persistence, then calls forth his armor, shield, and blade. Now the fight becomes brutal and immediate, as general Alexis wades into close combat like a storm given flesh. He strikes with martial precision, shattering columns that hold the hall aloft, hurling foes skewered on his sword-staff as though they were straw dolls.

Phase Three.
At last, the Ice Devil sheds all pretense and reveals his true form: a monstrous amalgam of ice and steel. Now, he no longer fights to win, but to survive. Lashing out with magic and close combat in equal measure, isolating his enemies and freezing them, determined to annihilate the PCs one by one.