Starlight Citadel
Starlight Citadel is an optional add-on to the adventure “Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden” that presents the players with difficult choices and uniquely powerful weapons for facing the horrors the far North. It can be dropped in along with all the other interesting locations in Chapter 2, and includes rumors and quests that might draw the characters to this citadel in the mountains.
A weather-worn citadel carved into the rock deep in the spine of the world lies high above the treeline. It is the final resting place of two former heroes of Iceland Dale — Sariel Starflower and Myastan Rhogar, along with their legendary weapons.
Any of the following hooks might draw characters to the Starlight Citadel:
- Ten-Towners share rumors of a temple high up in the Spine of the World, said to contain a legendary pair of swords that all who attempted to claim have perished.
- The characters hear the poem “The Legend of Flame and Frost”, which guides them to follow a star each night (see “The Legend of Flame and Frost” below).
- Vellynne Harpell hires the characters to retrieve the bones of Kairon (see “Tiefling Bones” below).
Starflower and Spitfire
Around 500 years ago, Icewind Dale faced an existential threat of creatures from the Underdark spilling over onto the surface world and threatening the citizens of Ten-Towns. When all seemed lost, two heroes beat back the monsters and managed to seal the passage from whence they came.
The two heroes could not be more different. Sarial Starflower was a wood elf who wielded a elven blade of ice, and Myastan “Spitfire” Rhogar was a Dragonborn sorcerer who carried a sword of fire. But nonetheless, the two fell deeply in love. The lived peacefully together for many years until Rhogar began to grow frail in old age. Deciding to live out his final days in the mountains he loved, the two of them headed to the Spine of the World, where Rhogar cut a citadel from the mountain face with his magic, and built two crypts, so he and Sariel could stay near each other forever.
After he passed, Sariel was stricken by grief that aged her for quicker than an elf’s normal lifespan, and within a year she too placed herself in her own crypt to take her last breath. XXX, the elven god of love, was so moved by the heroes’ love for each other that he placed two bright stars above the citadel, and placed a powerful enchantment upon their weapons, such that if another group of heroes come along that are willing to sacrifice a bit of themselves to protect the Dale, Sariel’s and Rhogar’s souls will return to their weapons to fight by each other’s side once more.
The Legend of Flame and Frost
Ten-Towners have largely forgotten about the heroes of old, faced with their own new hardships, but a poem passed down between storytellers in the far North still tells the tale of their deeds. Any number of Ten-Towners familiar with oral history might know this story and tell it to the characters at a tavern, including Rinaldo at the White Lady Inn in Easthaven.
Tiefling Bones
Around a century ago, an accomplished member of the Arcane Brotherhood, a tiefling by the name of Kairon, sought out the Starlight Citadel to claim the legendary swords for himself. Before he succeeded, though, he fell prey to the curse of the throne and now haunts the citadel as a wraith. In life he was famous for his strong infernal bloodline that allowed him to be largely unaffected by extreme heat and cold.
Vellynne Harpell of the Arcana Brotherhood is interested in retrieving Kairon’s bones, both as a potentially powerful skeletal servant, and to see if they have any use in alchemy to distill potions of cold and fire resistance. Divination magic has informed the Arcane Brotherhood that Kairon died in a mountain temple in the spine of the world, West of the pass. Vellynne doesn’t want to waste time searching for the bones herself though, and is looking for adventurers to hire. She is willing to offer the characters 250 gp to retrieve the bones.
The Legend of Flame and Frost
When the Ten-Towns were young, and Caer-Konig still stood upon the shores of Lac Dinneshere, long before Drizzt graced our presence, our settlements faced a threat so great it nearly overwhelmed us. The ground shook with a fierceness not seen since, toppling shelves and citizens alike. And when it was over, a chasm appeared in the spine of the world, leading down into the darkness that lies below our civilization.
From that chasm spat a menagerie of manical creatures, indescribable to the bards of the day, pouring forth into Icewind Dale. All that we had come to value in life would have vanished, should no hero have stepped up to stop the horrors of the earth. But two heroes, we had. Rhogar, the flame, shouted into the darkness that he would defend these towns to his dying breath! Sariel, the frost, was never the boastful type, sneaking off in the black of night to quell the foul beasts.
We never did learn what was in that chasm. The two would say nothing of it to prodding minstrels save that it was deep, dark, and not of this world. Whatever horrors and fears they faced down there, however, only one outcome was clear - the two had a bond of love stronger than soverign glue. They were the inseparable heroes of all of Ten-Towns.
But like so many tales of love, this one was beset by tragedy. You see, Rhogar was a dragonborn and Sariel was an elf. And so despite his magic, he began to grow old in her arms. Their sorrow was felt in every cabin and street, so strong their bond was. And so the two set out, one last time, to build a citadel in the mountains above the chasm they sealed off, so they could die facing the land they swore to protect.
No one ever saw them again after they headed off, magical swords on their backs, to carve that citadel from the mountain rock. But it is said that if you look close enough at the evening sky, you can see two stars in an embrace, guiding anyone who wishes to that temple of lost love.
Finding the Citadel
The citadel lies about 3 miles west of the Northern pass, high in the Spine of the World. It features a fantastic view of the mountain range spread before it, but it difficult to see from lower altitudes. Characters searching the general area for the citadel may make a DC 20 group Survival (Wisdom) check for each day they search for the citadel. On a failed check, no progress is made towards finding the citadel that day.
Alternatively, any character who is searching for two bright stars in an embrace can find such stars with a DC 10 Survival (Wisdom) check. Once the correct stars are identified, the characters can head towards the citadel without further searching, as it lies directly under the stars.
No matter how the characters approach the citadel, the journey up the mountain is long and perilous, and they may face avalanches, the dragon Arveiaturace flying overhead, and other wilderness encounters.
Starlight Citadel Locations
The following locations are keyed to the map of Starlight Citadel, created by Neutral Party, and used with permission.
Mountain Path
The switchback leads to a small outcropping on the mountainside, snowdrifts piling up against the steep slope. A stone edifice, thirty feet tall and twice as long, is carved into the side of the mountain. A wide staircase leads into the structure, with more snowdrifts piled up inside the smooth stone floor of the structure. Two runic words in vastly different scripts are carved about the staircase.
The two words carved above the staircase are “home,” written first in elvish, then in draconic.
The edge of the landing is steep. A character who falls plunges 300 feet, taking 70 (20d6) bludgeoning damage from the fall and landing prone.
Atrium
The central atrium of the citadel is quiet and all noise echos around the stone, alerting Kairon the wraith of any intruders here. Five columns hold up the roof of this room, who’s back wall is partially collapsed, along some brief glimpses into the throne room. To the East and West lie steps down into the basin rooms.
Kairon’s Wrath. The tiefling Kairon has been transformed into a furious wraith who seeks to drain the life of all who would take the power of the heroes he was denied. Kairon is smart though, and careful of his attacks. He tries to use the jaquayed layout of the citadel to his advantage, hearing trespassers through their echos, and then phasing through the walls for hit and run attacks before retreating deeper in the citadel. He’s too careful to attack the same place twice, and is falling low on hit points, is wiling to wait for an opportune moment to attack, such as when the characters are fighting the death dogs or one of his specters.
Starflower's Basin
The defining feature of this room is a large circular basin placed in its center. The basin is filled with clear ice, and an exquisitely crafted silver elven rapier lies in the frozen pool. An inscription is carved into the western wall, and a door to the north leads further into the temple.
The inscription on the wall is written in draconic, and reads as follows:
My lovely Starflower,
I leave your legacy here, frozen in time.
May it be that when it is needed most, the touch of winter sets it free.
Starflower’s Basin. The basin, as well as the ice in it, cannot be melted, chipped, or otherwise damaged. Only a character wearing Sariel’s hand (see room 8) can reach though the ice as if it were water to pull out the sword from the basin. The sword is Starflower.
When you hit with an attack using this magic sword, the target takes an extra 1d6 cold damage. In addition, while you hold the sword, you have resistance to fire damage. In freezing temperatures, the blade sheds bright light in a 10-foot radius and dim light for an additional 10 feet.
When you draw this weapon, you can extinguish all nonmagical flames within 30 feet of you. This property can be used no more than once per hour.
Sentience. Starflower is a sentient chaotic good weapon with an Intelligence of 12, a Wisdom of 15, and a Charisma of 17. It has hearing and dark vision out to a range of 60 feet.
The weapon contains the spirit of Sariel Starflower, and communicates by transmitting emotions to the creature carrying or wielding it.
Spiritual Possession. As a bonus action, you can allow the spirit of Sariel to possess your body. While possessed in this way, Sariel controls your movement, speech, and actions, and you gain proficiency with rapiers if you do not already have it. In addition, when the possession begins, you gain temporary hit points equal to 3 times your level, and Starflower gains a +1 to hit and damage rolls so long as the possession is ongoing.
The possession ends after one hour, or earlier if Sariel takes an action to end it. Once you are possessed in this way, you cannot be possessed again until you have completed a long rest.
As a player, you are responsible for roleplaying Sariel when she possesses your character, determining what actions she takes and how she responds to situations. Sariel’s traits are listed below.
Personality Trait: Sarcasm and insults are my weapons of choice when fighting foolishness.
Ideal: Cunning. Fate favors those who take advantage of opportunities.
Bond: Rhogar is my true love, I desire nothing more than to be by his side for all eternity.
Flaw: I harbor dark, bloodthirsty thoughts that my isolation and meditation failed to quell.
Spitfire's Basin
This room is set up nearly identically to Sariel’s basin, except the basin here contains a well-crafted longsword which faintly glows orange at its core from heat. One of Kairon’s specters stands guard in this room.
The inscription is on the southern wall in this chamber, and is written in elvish. It reads:
My dearest Rhogar,
I leave your legacy here, frozen in time.
May it be that when it is needed most, a fiery sight sets it free.
Spitfire’s Basin. The basin, as well as the ice in it, cannot be melted, chipped, other otherwise damaged. Only a character wearing Rhogar’s eye (see room 9) can reach through the ice as if it were water to pull out the sword from the basin. The sword is Spitfire.
You can use a bonus action to speak this magic sword’s command word, causing flames to erupt from the blade. These flames shed bright light in a 40-foot radius and dim light for an additional 40 feet. While the sword is ablaze, it deals an extra 1d6 fire damage to any target it hits. The flames last until you use a bonus action to speak the command word again or until you drop or sheath the sword.
Sentience. Spitfire is a sentient lawful good weapon with an Intelligence of 13, Wisdom of 14, and Charisma of 18. It has hearing and dark vision out to a range of 60 feet.
It contains the spirit of the dragonborn Myastan “Spitfire” Rhogar, and communicates by transmitting emotions to the creature carrying or wielding it.
Spiritual Possession. As a bonus action, you can allow the spirit of Rhogar to possess your body. While possessed in this way, Rhogar controls your movement, speech, and actions, and you gain proficiency with longswords if you do not already have it. In addition, when the possession begins, you gain temporary hit points equal to 3 times your level, and Spitfire gains a +1 to hit and damage rolls so long as the possession is ongoing.
The possession ends after one hour, or earlier if Rhogar takes an action to end it. Once you are possessed in this way, you cannot be possessed again until you have completed a long rest.
As a player, you are responsible for roleplaying Rhogar when he possesses your character, determining what actions he takes and how he responds to situations. Rhogar’s traits are listed below.
Personality Trait: I have no fear. With Sariel at my side, there is no challenge so great to defeat me.
Ideal: Responsibility. It is my duty to help those incapable of saving themselves.
Bond: Sariel is my true love, I desire nothing more than to be by her side for all eternity.
Flaw: I overlook obvious solutions in favor of complicated ones.
Collapsed Room
A musty smell of filth fills this room. The back walls have entirely collapses, filling the bottom of this chamber with rubble. Four death dogs huddle together in the northern end of the rubble for warmth. Starving, they attack any creature with meat they see, but are scared of Kairon and his specters.
The dogs will fight to the death, but can be distracted by tossing fresh meat in their direction. Among the dogs’ area are the chewed bones of two humanoids, explorers who found the citadel but were slain by Karin and turned into his specters.
Throne Room
This wide room seemingly once served as a grand throne room, though most the walls have long since collapsed, covering the floor with rubble. At the center of room a throne made of black metal still stands, in it lying the skeletal remains of a winged humanoid with long curled horns protruding from its skull. On the wall the throne is facing is what looks the remains of an inscription, though most of the text is missing from the wall's collapse.
This room is where Sariel spent her final days after Rhogar died. The throne is made of chardylan, and has absorbed all of Sariel’s sorrow, cursing it. The skeleton is that of Kairon, who succumbed to the curse of the throne when he entered the citadel nearly a century ago.
After the collapse of the wall, all that remains of the inscription is as follows:
—— our fire and ice
—— pain of sacrifice
If a character spends at least an hour piecing together other parts of the wall and succeeds on a DC 15 Investigation (Intelligence) check, they can decipher the full verse:
Of those who wish to wield our fire and ice
The worthy must know the pain of sacrifice
Cursed Throne
The sorrow infused into this chardalyn throne is so great that merely sitting in it can drain a creature’s life. All creatures within 10 feet of the throne feel a deep sense of loneliness within them. A creature who sits in the throne must make a DC 10 Charisma saving throw. On a successful save, the creature ages by 10 (3d6) years, and ages by an additional 10 (3d6) years for each round they remain in the throne until they die of old age. On a failed save, the creature dies as its body withers away until little more than a skeleton, and they spirit immediately rises as a wraith.
Vestibule
This simple room features 4 pillars, and empty braziers on the walls. Passages on all sides lead to the throne room, Sariel’s basin, and the two crypts. One of Kairon’s specters remains on guard here.
Starflower's Crypt
This small room is featureless, except for some rubble spread across the ground and an elegantly carved sarcophagus in the center of the room. On the head of the sarcophagus, in elvish, is the name “Sariel Starflower”. Inside the sarcophagus is the skeleton of an elvish woman. In the place of her left hand is a hand-shaped chunk of bluish ice that seems to have not melted. This is Sariel's Hand.
Spitfire's Crypt
The small room is featureless, except for an elegantly carved sarcophagus in the center of the room. On the head of the sarcophagus, in draconic, is the name “Myastan Rhogar”. Inside the sarcophagus is the skeleton of a dragonborn man. In his left eye socket is a glass eye with a flame burning inside. This is Spitfire's Eye.