D&D: Adventurer’s Guide to Auril
In the heart of winter, one goddess reigns supreme: Auril, the Frostmaiden–but who is she? Let’s take a look at the Frostmaiden herself.
In the wintry reaches of Frozenfar, Auril reigns supreme from a palace made of ice and snow. At least that’s where she was at the time of Rime of the Frostmaiden. But in ages past, Auril menaced all of Faerun in a harrowing quest to gain dominion over wind and storms. She carved out a niche for herself as a wintry deity (or demigod depending on which edition), and one who now claims dominion over the fae who see her as a sort of queen of the winter court.
Everything to Know About Auril
In the time before the Spellplague, Auril made her home in a divine realm called Winter’s Hall in the topmost layer of Pandemonium, a domain she shared with Loki (yes, that Loki) whenever he was looking for a place to hide from the other Aesir. Auril was also one of the Deities of Fury, joining Malar, Umberlee, and Talos in power.
Sacrifices to the Frostmaiden were common, especially in the North, as people hoped to appease her and thus avoid cripplingly cold winters. She also had many secret temples along the Spine of the World that brought terror and dominion to small settlements of people trying to eke out a living.
Auril’s clergy was loosely organized. The main goals of most followers was to intimidate common folk and make them venerate the Frostmaiden to avoid reprisals from her clergy, or to have them make donations to her church. Some of her powerful clerics accumulated impressive personal wealth in this manner. A portion of that wealth was sacrificed as offerings to Auril. Her priests wore ice white robes with blue trim. They were easily identified by the dire warnings they proclaimed of the wrath of Auril come the winter. They were also known to cast cold-based spells, many of which were described in the Codicil of White.
When the Spellplague hit, Auril moved her realm to deep within the Astral Plane. This enabled her to strike from a position of power as the Spellplague abated. She gained significant power following the Spellplague, siphoning the faiths of Ulutiu, Aerdie Faenya, and Gruumsh/Talos into her own, claiming dominion of wind and storms from Akadi.
Now she sits in the northern reach of Frozenfar. There, her followers have come under attack by those seeking to take advantage of her wintry magics.
Happy adventuring!
