PUBLISHER: WIZKIDS | RELEASE DATE: SEPTEMBER 30TH

Icewind Dale : Rime of the Frostmaiden is the forthcoming Dungeons and Dragons campaign that, as the name suggests, is set in a very cold part of the Forgotten Realms. Namely Icewind Dale, the mountainous and inhospitable region located in the Spine of The World. Story wise, Imagine The Thing meets Ravenous,  but with wizards, elves and the like. The titular Frostmaiden is an ancient godlike shape-shifting monster with an agenda straight from the Abyss itself. Grim dark horror fantasy, but much cooler.

All of which sounds like very thrilling stuff, but how exactly do you represent that on the table-top gaming table? Well you can always opt to pick up an Icons of The Realms box  for Icewind Dale. These are the popular ‘blind boxes’ that ensure that you’ll get a wide range of models, though you may end up having to hunt around if you want specific pieces.

Most striking is the snowy owlbear. Sat on its haunches it’s rather cute, but it’s also a large creature. Adorable, but very likely to try and eat your party.  The Cold Crone model is an owl-headed monster made out of evil and it’s translucent cloak and hideous visage remind us strongly of recent horror movies. The range has several huge models; we particularly liked the Frost Giant Skeleton, a massive undead creature that looks like a clichéd Viking, horned helmet, axe, beard and the rest. We also get a wooly mammoth that looks both terrifying and fuzzy at the same time.

Also available is a white dragon; these lizards don’t fire flame, instead they have a powerful frost breath. The piece in this range has detachable wings and we strongly advise using super glue.

We also get a mammoth and yes, it is a fuzzy elephant but it does look very angry. The set also features a thing called a tomb-tapper, a faceless horror with a gaping maw in its belly. On top of that they are were-bears, dwarves in cold weather gear, adventurers, a fierce looking yeti and even a killer whale, complete with a ‘diving out of the water’ effect.  It looks rather ‘Free Willy’, but in a good way.

This is an atmospheric collection of pre-painted models aimed at an audience of fantasy and horror fans, and well worth a look.