That’s the question posed at the end of Dragon of Icespire Peak: where next?

Because Wizards of the Coast is a publishing company, of course they’re going to point Dungeon Masters to their other product offerings like Curse of Strahd, Hoard of the Dragon Queen, Out of the Abyss, Princes of the Apocalypse, Storm King’s Thunder, Tomb of Annihilation, and Waterdeep: Dungeon of the Mad Mage. Which is a shame, because there are other areas on the Sword Coast Map that neither Lost Mine of Phandelver nor Dragon of Icespire Peak touch on.

Mountains. Hills. Swamps. Forests. It’s all there. All of it teeming with opportunities for adventure.

The Sword Mountains. The box set adventures focus on the northern side of the mountains range, but there’s little said of the southern side. There’s Southkrypt Garden, an ancient dwarven ruin that adventurers are drawn to. Not only are there orc tribes, but belligerent hobgoblins as well. There are giant birds of prey and a pack of vampires that roam the peaks and valleys of The Swords monthly.

The opportunity for a Dungeon Master to dig into obscure lore from previous editions of Dungeons & Dragons is there to create some memorable adventures.

Kryptgarden Forest. Forget Venomfang and Cryovain for a moment. What about Claugiyliamatar, the ancient green dragon residing in the wood? If you ever wanted to have some fun with the regional effects a dragon has on the land it inhabits, here’s your chance. There’s also a fey kingdom, a portal that leads to Undermountain, and Dwarven ruins whose names are lost in the mists of time. Yet another opportunity for DM’s to let their imaginations run wild.

Mere of Dead Men. The evil calamity that created the Mere of Dead Men wiped out both the armies of Phalorm and the Horde of the Wastes in one terrible cataclysmic event. A tragedy of that magnitude seems like fertile ground for hauntings and malignant spirits who carry on their duty as soldiers centuries after the waters of the Sea of Swords came rushing inland.

If you’re a fan of Lord of the Rings, here’s your chance to create your own version of The Dead Marshes. Unlike the Mere of Dead Faces (as it was also called in Middle-Earth), there are ruined towers and castles among the fetid waters of the mere. Ripe for exploration (and haunting).

Starmetal Hills. Given its name from the many meteor showers over the millennia, and thus, a place where one might find starfall ore for the crafting of adamantine weapons. Nobles, seeking to forge a weapon worthy of an heirloom of their house, employ adventurers to protect them from the marauding Uthgardt tribes who haunt the steps of anyone who dare to set foot on their hills.

The Neverwinter Wood. There’s so much more to the Neverwinter Wood than Agatha’s Grove, the Logger’s Camp, Falcon’s Hunting Lodge, The Woodland Manse, and the Circle of Thunder. For higher level adventures, there’s the lost elven city of Sharandrar, the Dread Ring (an evil fortress built by Szass Tam), Xinlenal (the shattered ruin of a Netherese flying enclave). And, it’s the only place on the map with a river!

The Crags. Desolate windswept hills dotted with abandoned mines and festooned with monsters. Perfect country for dungeoncrawling and hexcrawling. Oh, and Gauntlgrym is there. And the Whispering Caverns (a part of the Underdark).

I’ve often encouraged readers to “think outside the box sets” and place the pieces on the board the way they like when running Lost Mine of Phandelver or Dragon of Icespire Peak for their group.

But once you’re finished with the adventure? Take a look at that map, do a little research, and add pages of your own to the adventure you literally pulled out of a box once upon a time.

I’ve been having fun sharing my random D&D thoughts over at Bluesky. If you’re interested in following, I’m at @ticklecorn.bsky.social. I’ll follow back.

If you’d like to support my work, please consider checking out my supplements for Lost Mine of Phandelver and Dragon of Icespire Peak over on Dungeon Master’s Guild! All of my titles are Free/PWYW offerings.