The Dungeons & Dragons campaign book Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden is one of the most engaging and innovative campaigns to be published in 5th Edition. As the name indicates, it is set in the area of Icewind Dale— a fan-favorite location within the Forgotten Realms setting, specifically in Faerun.
The campaign mixes classic fantasy elements with horror themes, pitting players against new monsters they have never seen in the frozen winter snows. But one of the things that makes this campaign so engaging is the list of new magic items contained in the back of the book.
10 Thermal Cube
This common magic item is a three-inch brimstone cube. It can generate enough heat within 15 feet in any direction to maintain a temperature of 95 degrees Fahrenheit (35 degrees Celsius).
While this item is not particularly useful on its own, it can be the difference between life and icy death in Icewind Dale.
9 Professor Orb
The Professor Orb is a sentient five-pound quartz orb with the sentient personality of a scholar trapped inside. The personality can communicate in four different languages (speaking, reading, and writing) and has knowledge of four specific academic fields.
This rare item also appears in Waterdeep: Dungeon of the Mad Mage, but is not in any of the core books.
8 Lantern of Tracking
This common magic item is hooded lantern that generates bright light in 30 feet in all directions and dim light for 30 feet beyond that, lasting six hours on 1 pint of oil.
This is useful in itself, but these lanterns can also help track down specific types of creatures. Each lantern is set for one type of creature (Fey, Dragons, Undead, etc.). If the lantern is within 300 feet of such a creature, its flame turns green.
7 Psi Crystal
The Psi Crystal is an uncommon item that needs to be attuned to a character with an Intelligence score of 3 or higher, granting them telepathy and glowing so long as they remain attuned. The higher the person's intelligence, the brighter the crystal glows and the further-reaching their telepathy is.
A creature with an Intelligence score of 3-7 only has a 15-foot range of telepathy and the crystal reflects just how dim they are by emitting a 5-foot radius of dim light. If a character as 16 Intelligence or higher, they have a 120-foot range of their telepathy with 15 feet of bright light and another 15 feet of dim light beyond that.
6 Hook of Fisher’s Delight
Fishing is one of the best ways to get food in Icewind Dale, where the frozen tundra is not exactly a hospitable place for an abundance of agriculture. That is why the Hook of Fisher's Delight is so useful.
After an hour of fishing, players roll a D6. If they roll a 6, they catch a fish. All in all, not too impressive— especially since this can only be done once a day. But if players catch a fish, they roll a D20, and each roll creates a fish with different properties. Some fish are enough to keep someone on their feet for a full day, others can be thrown as weapons up to 120 feet, and some delicious provide both a full day's nourishment and 2D10 additional temporary hit points.
5 Abracadabrus
With a name like "Abracadabrus," one can just feel the magic at work. This gem-studded 25-pound wooden chest is a very rare wondrous item capable of conjuring any non-magical item worth 1 Gold Piece or less.
It has 20 charges and each charge allows the chest to be filled with any one item named. In the frozen cold of this wintry campaign, the Abracadabrus can conjure hot soup or hot cocoa to keep characters warm and full wherever they go.
4 Cauldron of Plenty
Starvation is a real threat to adventurers who might not be able to hunt or find crops in the less-than-hospitable conditions of Icewind Dale's frozen tundra.
The Cauldron of Plenty is a heavy object— a massive 50-pound cauldron capable of holding 30 gallons of any liquid. If adventurers pour water into cauldron and stir it for a minute, the water will turn into a thick hearty stew. As one gallon of stew can feed four people, this item can keep a small army on their feet. It can also repeat the stew-making process three times per day.
3 Scroll of Tarrasque Summoning
This legendary item is a magic scroll and it does exactly what you would think: Summons a Tarrasque. The legendary monster appears in any unoccupied space the summoner can see within a mile.
The Tarrasque is hostile to everything around it— which is frankly terrifying, given that it has a Challenge Rating of 30. Should players or anyone else survive long enough to reduce the Tarrasque to 0 Hit Points, the Tarrasque disappears.
2 Scroll of the Comet
This legendary magic scroll causes a comet to drop out of the sky and strike any place the character using it can see within a mile, creating a crater 50 feet deep and 500 feet across.
Anyone who would be struck by the falling space rock must pass a Dexterity save 20 or take 30D10 force damage. Passing a save halves the damage. Every structure and non-magical item not being held or worn that is hit gets destroyed.
1 Ythryn Mythallar
The Ythryn Mythallar is a legendary item, a crystal ball that draws magic directly from the Weave. Said magic can be harnessed and used for various spells, and the bigger the Mythallar, the more powerful it is. The Mythallar can be made to fly in any direction, taking with it all matter within a 500-foot radius. It can recharge any item within 50 feet of it or control the weather within a 50-mile radius.
Up to eight different creatures can be attuned to it and those attuned will know when it is being used so long as they are on the same plane of reality as the Mythallar. Touching the Mythallar forces someone to make a DC 22 Constitution save or take 20D10 Radiant damage.