What is the year in Dale Reckoning for Rime of the Frostmaiden?

Question

Various internet sources claim to set the new Icewind Dale adventure at 1450s Dale Reckoning time, and I'm trying to pin down when it actually takes place.

From Rime of the Frostmaiden:

The entry for Auril in appendix C states that she could not stay away for long after the Sundering. It does not say Second Sundering, but I assume it's not referring to the first.

Assuming a few years past before Auril returned, I'm assuming the intended setting for this is approximately 1491 DR. Which would make sense because that's close to the reset-button epoch for 5E.

I'm just trying to clarify this point for some of my players because it matters which gods might be hanging around. I know I have liberty as a DM, and it was probably intentionally left vague. I was just curious what the community thought because it's not super clear from my research and there seems to be disagreement. Can somebody line up when this adventure takes place with the novels' chronology?

Answer 1

1489 or later. Or whenever you want.

It is stated in the introduction, in the section About this Book (RotF, pg. 5):

This adventure is assumed to take place in the winter of 1489 DR or later. The exact date is not important. The happenings in this book occur more than a century after the events chronicled in R.A. Salvatore’s novel The Crystal Shard, which introduced the drow hero Drizzt Do’Urden to the hardy folk of Icewind Dale.

I’d like to emphasize the "or later". There is, of course, a canonical lore for the Forgotten Realms, but every game of Dungeons & Dragons naturally creates its own lore. As a DM, if you’re big on developing your own lore, and it fits better to date this adventure differently, then you should do so. As stated in the section Dissecting the Adventure (pg. 8):

Nothing in this adventure is too sacred to tamper with and repurpose to serve your own needs.