Rime of the Frostmaiden: Bremen – Lake Monster
The Lake Monster quest is the first one covered in Chapter 1 of Rime of the Frostmaiden. This 5e adventure starts in the small town of Bremen on the shore of Maer Dualdon. It is one of the best quests to use as the starting quest because it does not have to end in a TPK. The enemy is a reluctant villain who can be bargained with, so the characters do not have to kill the creature or die trying.
I like this quest because it can go a couple of different ways depending on how the players approach the problem. It also has the possibility of introducing Ravisin who can come back later in the Lonelywood quest The White Moose. The time spent on Maer Dualdon will give the characters some time to fish for knucklehead trout and there is a chance to talk to fishermen from Lonelywood, Termalaine, and Targos.
If the players interact with the fishers from Lonelywood they could learn about the white moose. The reward for the moose’s head might be enough to draw the characters to Lonelywood after they solve the lake monster problem. Players might be able to make the connection between the plesiosaurus and the white moose.
Connections to other quests:
Lonelywood, Termalaine, and Targos are all on Maer Dualdon
Targos is the only other town connected to Bremen via road
The Lonelywood quest shares an NPC (the frost druid Ravisin) with this quest
The tavern Black Bearded Brother is where the thugs from Angajuk’s Bell in Chapter 2 spend their time
Characters may learn of Cora Mulphoon’s missing son at the Buried Treasure Inn which will lead them to Caer-Dineval
The tavernkeepers could hire the characters to go investigate the Dark Duchess in Chapter 2
Another reason it is a very good starting quest is because it is connected to so much more. The characters will be able to jump off into any number of other quests to keep the campaign going and feel connected to Ten-Towns. Also, Targos is a very good second quest that pushes the characters toward Caer-Dineval and Caer-Konig which are both important quests for the larger story.
How it Ran
My party was made up of the usual player character misfits. They were all out of work and looking for a way to make some money and to help end Auriel’s endless winter. They heard that there were fishing jobs available in Bremen. Little did they know that there were only openings because of the lake monster.
I ran this at the end of session zero. It gave the players a chance to try out their new characters and to get the campaign started. It is a very short quest and should not be the only thing you plan to run during the session.
It was relatively quiet once the characters were out on Maer Dualdon. The characters spent several hours fishing while looking for the lake monster because they kept rolling 10s or lower on the d20 Lake Events check. Once the plesiosaurus attacked, the characters were in trouble. One character immediately fell into the frozen water and their boat started taking damage.
The lake monster nearly capsized the rowboat which was a blessing. The seven knucklehead trout that the characters had caught earlier fell into the lake. The plesiosaurus was distracted by its favorite meal which then opened up a chance to start a dialog between the monster and the characters.
I will break each of these quests down into three categories, which are Combat, Role Playing, and Exploring. My ratings are not about how good it is, but how much is in the quest. Each is rated on a scale from 1 to 10:
Combat: 1 or 10 – A plesiosaurus is a challenge for low-level characters plus add in the possibility of getting thrown into the freezing waters of Maer Dualdon and this combat could be deadly. The good news is that it does not have to result in combat to resolve the quest.
Role Playing: 3 – The players can interact with others on the lake plus the plesiosaurus can be negotiated with.
Exploring: 2 – Not much to explore except for a wind-swept lake, but it might offer the chance to do some fishing.
