Auril

Auril
3E: White snowflake in a gray diamond with a white border 5E: Six-pointed snowflake
Aliases	Saukuruk, the Cold Goddess, the Frostmaiden, Icedawn, Lady Frostkiss
Alignment	Neutral Evil
Divine Rank	Lesser / Intermediate Goddess
Pantheon	Faerûn, Frostfell
Portfolio	Cold, ice, winter
Domains	3E: Air, Cold, Evil, Storm, Water, Winter 4E: Storm, Winter 5E: Nature, Tempest
Home Plane	Great Wheel: Winter's Hall (Pandemonium) World Tree: Winter's Hall (Fury's Heart) World Axis: Land Under Eternal Ice (Deep Wilds)
Worshippers	Arctic dwellers, druids, rangers, frost giants
Favoured Weapon	Icemaiden's Caress (Ice axe)

This article related to Dungeons & Dragons is a stub. You can help 1d4chan by expanding it

Auril is the Forgotten Realms goddess of cold and winter. She is the boss of the 5th Edition adventure Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaden.

Lore

Auril was believed to have been once one of the Archfey, specifically, the Queen of Air and Darkness, who gained her divinity by absorbing power from the slumbering Ulutiu, one day hoping to completely absorb the god's portfolios and gain control over all things related to cold. Though not written down, the developers have not flat out confirm or deny this implied theory and even put forth a counter-theory that the Queen of Air and Darkness and Auril have on occasion been gaining additional influence by impersonating each other.

The 5e adventure Rime of the Frostmaiden does a bit to expand her lore, but not a lot. In the adventure, Auril is described as wanting to encase everything in ice and rime, so that their natural beauty can be preserved. Her temporary home on the Material Plane is resplendent with statue gardens, filled with ice sculptures of actual people and creatures in the Icewind Dale. Her worshippers are mostly evil-aligned Druids, who awaken local creatures to do their bidding, although many Reghed nomads and a few Ten-towners worship her out of respect and fear. She rarely contacts her worshippers, preferring to stay behind the scene while Winter Wolves and Frost Giants deliver her commands. On the Material Plane, she also has a pet Roc. So that's neat.

Auril has many forms; her most well-known one nowadays is her first form in the above-mentioned adventure, which is called the "Cold Crone". It resembles a humanoid owl with large, curved horns and clawed hands and wearing a snow cloak. Another is her form seen here called "Lady Frostkiss", which resembles a crystalline woman wielding an ice axe or mace. Her core form is called the "Winter's Womb", which is a upside-down teardrop-like crystal with a faint glow inside, engulfed in a constant frozen haze.

Dogma

The Frostmaiden as her "Lady Frostkiss" avatar.

Cover all the lands with ice. Quench fire wherever it is found. Let in the winds and the cold; cut down windbreaks and chop holes in walls and roofs that my breath may come in. Work darkness to hide the cursed sun so that the chill that Auril brings may slay. Take the life of an arctic creature only in great need, but all others at will. Make all Faerûn fear the Frostmaiden. Revere the Cold Goddess and sing her praises into any chill breeze or winter wind. Do not raise your hand against any other cleric of Auril.

In short, Auril knows what she likes and won't take "no" for an answer. Anything that preserves life in ice and cold is good; fire is bad. Other than that, you are good to go. Since Auril represents winter and cold as a concept, she is perfectly happy making mortals tremble and freeze for her.

Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden

The Frostmaiden is in the adventure called "Rime of the Frostmaiden". Shock emoji.

Prior to the start of the adventure, Auril has had a fallout with Umberlee and Tempus, and decided that laying low on the Material Plane would be prudent. However, she's not one to laze about, so while hiding, she casts the "Everlasting Rime" on the Icewind Dale, preventing the sun from rising there (though the rest of Toril is fine somehow). After almost three years of this, the Dale is being slowly strangled by blizzards, food shortage, freezing cold and the harrying from Auril-aligned Druids, awakened beasts, opportunistic Duergar and weirder horrors. Everyone suffer from Auril's spell - even Auril herself, who is severely weakened from casting such a powerful divine spell on the region every night. Her reason isn't totally clear; she might just like the suffering it brings, but she also hides a Netherese flying city withing the Reghed glacier, which she wants to keep hidden from the world.

Suddenly, adventurers (tm).

Though she's featured in the title, the Frostmaiden isn't actually that big a part of the adventure. Instead, players will feel the aftermath of her presence everywhere - the isolated communities, the desperate animals and people, the sheer fucking cold that is constant -30 degrees Celcius. It is only much later, when the party is sufficiently beefed up, that they may seek her out in her abode at Grimskalle and perhaps send her packing.

She is notable for having a three-stage boss-fight. She Final Fantasy now.