Population: 1,200
Speaker: Duvessa Shane (human)
Places of Interest: Blackiron Blades (smithy and outfitter), House of the Morninglord (temple of Amaunator), The Northlook (inn & tavern)
Economy: Trade

     The first stop for most visitors to Icewind Dale is Bryn Shander, a walled town perched atop a cold, lonely, wind-lashed hill. Bright lanterns suspended over narrow streets twist in the wind and add flecks of color to the town's otherwise drab surroundings.

     The friendliness in this settlement has dwindled of late. Auril's unyielding winter has greatly reduced the number of visitors to Bryn Shander, and local trade is suffering for it, eating away at the locals' sense of humor and goodwill. Still, there is no safer place in Icewind Dale to spend coin or spend the night.

     The walls of the town stand some 30 feet high and are defined by two concentric rings of upright wooden poles, the gap between them filled with dirt and rubble. The outer ring of poles rises above the top of the wall, providing a rampart for defenders stationed on the wood-planked walkway. The wall's hinged gates are 15 feet tall and can be barred from the inside with iron-banded wood beams. These gates are closed when it's dark outside—which is to say more often than not.

Population: 1,000
Speaker: Naerth Maxildanarr (human)
Places of Interest: The Luskan Arms (Inn), Three Flags Sailing (tavern), Triglio (general store)
Economy: Fishing

     Like Bryn Shander, Targos is encircled by a wooden wall, which helps to protect the town against orcs and other threats from the wilderness. The wall extends out into the lake, creating a safe harbor for the town's boats. But now Auril's long winter has frozen the water in the harbor, and many of Targos's boats are trapped in the ice. Fishers must drag their smaller vessels across the ice to get to the unfrozen lake beyond the harbor walls.

     Almost all the towns in Icewind Dale make their living off the lakes, but nowhere is that fact more evident than in Targos. The town has always had the biggest fishing fleet and the biggest fishing industry, and everything that goes on here revolves around hauling the knucklehead trout out of Maer Dualdon. Auril's endless winter makes the work harder, but it gets done nonetheless.

Population: 150

Speaker: Dorbulgruf Shalescar (dwarf)

Places of Interest: Buried Treasures (inn), Five-Tavern Center (five unaffiliated taverns including Black Bearded Brother)

Economy: Fishing

     Founded by dwarf prospectors, the sleepy town of Bremen sits on the west bank of Maer Dualdon, at the mouth of the Shaengarne River. Bremen's harbor has frozen, requiring local fishers to haul their boats across the ice to put them in the lake. Visitors who lack a boat can reach Bremen only by crossing the river, which is mostly frozen over. Targos, Termalaine, and Lonelywood are all visible from the docks on clear days.

     If Auril's everlasting winter has one benefit, it's that the hardy folk of Bremen are spared the seasonal floods that normally threaten the town in early summer. That's not to say that the long nights, frigid air, and howling blizzards provide any comfort. They don't.

     Twice in the past two months, residents of Bremen have had to mount search parties for their town speaker and oldest living resident, Dorbulgruf Shalescar, and twice they've found him wandering the frozen shores of the Shaengarne in heavy furs, with no memory of how he got there. Dorbulgruf, old even by dwarf standards, isn't long for this world. Many locals fear the same is true of the town itself if Auril's brutal winter does not abate.

Population: 100
Speaker: Crannoc Siever (human)
Places of Interest: The Caer (town speaker’s residence), Dinev’s Rest (inn – closed), The Uphill Climb (tavern)
Economy: Fishing

     In generations past, travelers to Caer-Dineval had to follow the rocky shore of Lac Dinneshere until after several hours they spied a small fortress (the "caer" for which the town is named) jutting up from the prominence where it overlooks the lake. A ferry out of Easthaven made the arduous trek unnecessary for merchants and other travelers, but the ferry was discontinued two months ago, cutting off Caer-Dineval (and its eastward neighbor, Caer-Konig) from the rest of Ten-Towns except by the overland route. Town residents are furious that the ferry service has stopped, mainly because they have not received deliveries of mead from the town of Good Mead, and the taverns have run dry. As if things weren't bad enough, the town's harbor has frozen over.

Population: 150
Speaker: Trovus (silver dragonborn)
Places of Interest: Hook, Line, and Sinker (tavern), Frozenfar Expeditions (adventuring outfitter), The Northern Light (inn)
Economy: Fishing

     The white, snow-covered slopes of Kelvin's Cairn loom large behind this quiet lakeside town. Caer-Konig started as a camp for a group of mountaineers from the northern Moonsea region. As the camp grew, a wooden palisade was added to discourage raiders. Later came the stone castle of Caer-Konig. Alas, neither the palisade nor the castle fared well; both fell to orcs before falling into ruin.

     Caer-Konig as it is known today consists of terraced rows of houses that recede from the shore of Lac Dinneshere like the tiers of an amphitheater. The harbor is frozen, its docks skewed and broken by the shifting ice. Buried under the snow on the slopes above the last row of houses are the ruins of the Caer that gave the town its name—a reminder to the people of Caer-Konig that nothing lasts in this corner of the world.

     Travel to and from this remote town was expedited by the ferry that ran out of Easthaven, but with the ferry shut down, Caer-Konig is completely cut off by mountains, lake, and snow. Forced to live on what they can haul out of the iced-over lake, the people of Caer-Konig are bitter and angry. They believe that the rest of Ten-Towns has abandoned them. The only thing that keeps the townsfolk from leaving is the beer at the local tavern, which never seems to run out.

Populaton: 750
Speaker: Danneth Waylen (human)
Places of Interest: Easthaven Ferry (service closed), The Wet Trout (tavern), The White Lady Inn (inn)
Economy: Fishing and trade

     Walking into Easthaven is like stepping into Icewind Dale's past—the place is a living example of the boomtown way of life that gripped all of Ten-Towns centuries ago. In the generations since, as other towns have settled into a predictable pattern of existence, Easthaven has continued to grow and reinvent itself. After the Eastway was paved, Easthaven evolved into a frontier traders' paradise, fueling the jealousy of its neighbors.

     Easthaven's founders were thieves from the Duchy of Cape Velen, on a peninsula far to the south. They refused to kowtow to a powerful thieves' guild and were driven out. To this day, Easthaven honors its shady founders by declaring pickpocketing legal within the town limits—which explains the "Watch thy pouch!" signs posted in various local establishments