The Throat of the World Mountains

The Throat of the World Mountains (often simply referred to as the Throat of the World) is a jagged, frozen mountain range situated in the extreme northern reaches of the Sword Coast, bordering the windswept glaciers of Icewind Dale and looming over the Sea of Moving Ice west of Luskan. Renowned for its unforgiving, freezing climates, this remote geographic region has long served as a barrier of ice and snow, rising sharply behind pebble-beached coastlines where ships make dangerous landfalls.

The Domain of the Everfrost and the Giant Kin

Three hundred years ago, a devastating coalition of Chromatic Dragons laid waste to the emerging cities of the north, including Luskan, Neverwinter, and Waterdeep. When the combined armies of the Lord’s Alliance—bolstered by a legendary band of heroes—finally drove the wyrms back, the formidable white dragon Cryovain, the Everfrost, fled to the far north, claiming the icy spires of the Throat of the World Mountains as his domain and establishing his original lair deep within its peaks.

The legendary hero Hrothgar Hillsfar (historically a Firbolg cleric and skald from Kuldahar, who lived for centuries under the memory-wiped guise of the old human Farwald) originally commanded Cryovain to remain in this northern sanctuary, trusting the warmth of Kuldahar’s great World Tree to counter the dragon’s icy blight on nature.

These mountains also harbor formidable giant communities. In addition to the isolated storm giants of Hrothgar’s father-kin who dwell in the peaks and excel in divination, the northern end of the Sea of Moving Ice is home to frost giants. These giants, the most distant cousins of the firbolgs, possess a complex society and value martial strength above all else. Travelers through their territory are warned never to sneak, as the frost giants despise stealth and will inevitably hunt down intruders; instead, survival requires projecting absolute strength. While the settlement of Helsingor lies to the southeast of these frozen peaks, the town of Targos sits at the gateway to the Dale.

The Cult’s Intrusion and Cryovain’s Flight

For centuries, Cryovain remained nestled within his northern sanctuary, protected by ancient wards. This isolation was shattered when the Cult of the Dragon led a contingent into the Throat of the World Mountains to subjugate the dragon.

Because the cultists had foolishly dismantled the ancient protections surrounding his lair during their infiltration, Cryovain seized the opportunity to escape. He flew south to terrorize the Sword Mountains and the Phandalin Valley. Despite his flight, Cryovain was still spotted alive and hunting goats in his original mountain home as recently as six months ago.

Hazards of the Range: Blizzards, Avalanches, and Cursed Dead

Traversing the Throat of the World is an undertaking of extreme peril. The brutal, biting cold regularly inflicts severe exhaustion on ill-prepared travelers, forcing many to rely on magical protections, specialized winter clothing, or beast-like transformations to survive. Beyond the climate, sudden blizzards can instantly drop visibility to zero, and devastating avalanches can bury entire parties under feet of suffocating snow in seconds.

These frozen heights also play host to ancient, restless undead. Overturned caravans, buried by avalanches or deliberately targeted by frost giants, sometimes harbor powerful wight commanders. These formidable, translucent-blue entities are highly intelligent, unnaturally fast, and completely immune to nonmagical weaponry. Armed with life-draining necrotic touches that permanently wither a victim’s maximum vitality and cold-infused blades, these commanders can raise fallen thralls to serve them. Within these peaks, only radiant magic or direct elemental forces can bypass their protections and permanently lay them to rest.

Allies and Guides: The Uthgardt of the Peaks

Due to the extreme hazards of the mountains, navigating the passes safely often requires the aid of local rangers. Among these survivalists is Eole, a scarred, dark-haired half-elf ranger who wanders the peaks with her raven familiar, Morgan. Orphaned and raised by the nomadic Uthgardt tribes—the ancient human and elven descendants of the legendary founder Reghed who live off the land—Eole harbors a deep-seated vendetta against the city of Luskan. Five years ago, an undead legion led by cloaked men and wizards from Luskan completely destroyed her tribe.

Eole continues to forage and survive in the small caves of the mountains, occasionally guiding worthy travelers across the dangerous terrain toward Targos or East Haven on the shores of Lac Dinneshere.

The Northern Expedition

To counter the rising threat of the dragons, the adventurers Gilmore and Erevyn contracted the ship The Providence Queen to transport them to the northern shores west of Luskan. Landing as close as possible to the Throat of the World Mountains, the party set out to navigate these treacherous peaks to reach Icewind Dale, recover the White Dragon Mask from Hrothgar’s tomb, and prevent the Cult of the Dragon from securing ultimate control over the frozen north.