Part Two of the Umbral Aristocracy Trilogy. The treasure hunt has led to the City of the Dead. Beneath that well-manicured park is an ancient crypt where the treasure awaits you!
Under raging stormclouds, a lone figure stands silhouetted against the ancient walls of castle Ravenloft. Count Strahd von Zarovich stares down a sheer cliff at the village below. A cold, bitter wind spins dead leaves around him, billowing his cape in the darkness. Lightning splits the clouds overhead, casting stark white light across him. Strahd turns to the sky, revealing the angular muscles of his face and hands. He has a look of power - and of madness. His once-handsome face is contorted by a tragedy darker than the night itself. Rumbling thunder pounds the castle spires. The wind's howling increases as Strahd turns his gaze back to the village. Fas below, yet not beyond his keen eyesight, a party of adventurers has just entered his domain. Strahd's face forms a twisted smile as his dark plan unfolds. He knew they were coming, and he knows why they came, all according to his plan. He, the master of Ravenloft, will attend to them. Another lightning flash rips through the darkness, its thunder echoing through the castle's towers. But Strahd is gone. Only the howling of the wind - or perhaps a lone wolf - fills the midnight air. The master of Ravenloft is having guests for dinner. And you are invited. TSR 9075
In order to stop a series of devastating giant raids, the party must venture into the stronghold of the frost giant jarl Grugnur to both recover the giants' plans and eliminate Grugnur, who is the tactical head behind the operations. The adventure is part of the "Against the Giants" series originally by Gary Gygax, hence the writing credit.
"A well-written adventure through a mansion filled with dark secrets." The party is recruited by an innkeeper to recover a flower from a nearby mansion. He is an alchemist and he is running short on his supply of the Midnight Violet. Town rumors warn the party to stay away. But, that's unlikely given that your heros are mighty and brave. While exploring the mansion, the adventurers will learn the story of the family that once lived there and what caused their demise. That is...if they live that long. Two new creatures and one new magic item are introduced in this adventure.
On the border between Anuire and the land of the Khinasi, the Three Brother Mages fight an ancient and immortal awnshegh, the Chimera. The game of cat and mouse has recently begun to draw regents from the entire region. Rumors say that the blade of the last Anuirean emperor, the Sword of Roele, has been tracked to the Chimera's domain, the Chimaeron. The fact that the Gorgon's armies are mustering in Kiergard seems to support the rumor. But choosing sides between the Chimera and the Three Brothers is not easy matter. If the chimera drives the Brothers out, the trade routes through the Chimaeron may be sealed, leaving the seas free for the Khinasi to monopolize trade. If the Brothers drive the Chimera from the magical sources that give her strength, they may establish a beachhead for the Khinasi traders, who are slowly gobbling up the lands of Anuire just as their own lands were once annexed by the empire long ago. Who will you and your comrades ally yourselves with? Who is the true enemy? Can you recover the Sword of Roele before anyone else does, and lay claim to the Iron Throne? This Birthright adventure is suitable for use with any party of three to six characters of levels 5-8, including at least one regent. You must have a copy of the AD&D game rules, the Birthright campaign setting, and the Cities of the Sun campaign expansion to play. TSR 3118
(EQ1) The Cursed Ring is a generic fantasy short adventure for low-level players, themed around puzzle hunting, traps, and monster combat. It is designed to be solved in approximately 5-6 hours, depending on the size of the party and skill of the players. This adventure takes place in a cursed fortress, where they must find a powerful mythical ring capable of granting great power, in exchange for enormous sacrifices. Players must recover the ring and get out of this dangerous place alive.
Alphatia, the most ancient empire, land of the arcane and obscure secrets. It has grown for centuries and its might now overshadows the cauldron of civilization. Some say the Alphatians come from elsewhere, but no one knows for sure. Beyond the scope of mortals broods an evil mastermind, still in darkness. Once a betrayed emperor of ancient Alphatia, now an entity of the Sphere of Entropy, he seeks revenge on the greatest empire and on the race of man. His plots brought a deathly fog on all of Norworld. Perhaps it will extend to the southern nations. The matter is grave, so much that lords of the spheres have now to show their might. For them, it is time for mortals to intervene. Man defends his cause for him to earn divine favor. A great armada has been raised and able commanders must be found. Prove your worth, and the eternal portals of the spheres may open for you. TSR 9159
Surrounded by miles of hostile swampland, Feypool isn’t a place too many adventurers seek out. But a group of travelers discover that this small duchy is under siege by a strange threat: Marietta Truelight. Otherworldly beautiful and abnormally charming, all but a handful of Feypoolers have fallen under her spell, becoming a fanatical hive mind willing to do anything for her. But Marietta is planning something sinister, the answer buried within Feypool’s superstitions and bleak history. The Feypool Beauty features a number of horror elements including body horror, suspense, intrigue, and some classic tropes similar to body snatchers. What secrets will you uncover? What atrocities of devotion will you witness? And will you be able to resist the influence of the Feypool Beauty?
Time is running out for the members of the Ivory Scimitar as they strive to overcome the latest challenges of the Infernal Machine and Mithelvarn's Labyrinth. With the discovery of a secret entrance into the 5th level of the dungeon, the party must now enter uncharted waters with an entirely new type of environment and monstrous threats. Can they withstand these new creation of the Machine, and will they finally breach the 6th seal and gain entry into the last level of the legendary dungeon and save all of Roslof Keep? This adventure is formatted to both 1E & 5E gaming rules. Also available in PDF.
Dracula, the Lord of Shadow and Darkness, has covered the land in shadow and dispatched armies of monsters and undead from his magical castle. His armies threaten to overrun major cities and plunge the world into a literal Dark Age. The last of the vampire-hunting clan that traditionally opposed him has disappeared, and still the armies advance. He must be stopped. If that's not enough motivation, it is well-known that his castle is full of magical items and great riches... but also great danger. If you've ever wanted D&D and Castlevania to meet, look no further. This adventure is exactly what you wanted. Every area of the castle poses different and unique challenges to keep the party engaged and on their toes. Written for the DM as a ready-to-run adventure, it is designed for four to six characters. The adventure starts at level 3 at the outer defenses of the castle, and ends with the party advancing to level 13 after defeating Dracula in an epic battle. The adventure includes documentation to help even a new DM succed, including suggestions for how to run each of the area "boss" monsters in combat. There are approximately 50 new enemies and over 3 dozen new magical items. It also comes with a list of suggested music for many areas of the castle, and a 25-page campaign log recounting an actual tabletop play-through of this adventure from the DM's perspective.
For months, the dreams of the people of Emystrell have become dark and terrible. It seems their nightmares have come to life as in recent weeks, people have mysteriously gone missing, vanishing in the night without a trace! Everyone is too paralyzed by their own despair to do anything or venture far from the safety of their homes. Emystrell is on the brink of collapse. The baron is offering a handsome reward to anyone who can show proof of the end of whatever evil curse that has taken hold of their town. This adventure is designed for a party of 3-5 heroic characters from the 2nd to 3rd level. It has elements of mystery and investigation in the first section which can be detailed and highly involved for groups that enjoy the process of searching for clues and solving mysteries or just as easily glossed over for groups that are more tactics focused. The second section of the adventure features the dungeon: a labyrinthine complex of an ancient elven crypt which the thieves guild has used as a base of operations for a decade...until the serpent worshipping cult arrived. The third section of this book is the detailed map and notes on the town and surrounding area of Emystrell. Roleplaying notes are kept light to allow for room for your own interpretations and details to NPCs remain as free to do with as you choose unless I felt inspired and hoped to give you a cool idea. This adventure has hooks for Dungeon Masters interested in a larger campaign involving the sinister plots of the Yuan-Ti (snake people) as well as other interesting adventure hooks (such as the giants in the nearby mountains or the stolen gem: The Eye of the Dragon). These plot points are intentionally left vague for you to fill in the gaps based on what your players seem interested in. You are invited to use this as a launch point adventure to lead your heroes on a larger adventure that might someday set them against an Anathema Serpent demigod, or it may simply be the adventure that begins their journeys and the evil of Yargoth stops here at Emystrell. If your campaign is set in a pre-published setting, this town of Emystrell can be replaced or fit into any campaign with a few tweaks to local gods and names. If you are playing in Dragonlance, you could replace Yargoth the Dread Serpent with Tiamat, or Dendar in Fearun. The local goddess, Tyr, could be the Tyr from the Forgotten Realms or even Norse myth if that is your campaign setting.
When one of the Lords of Waterdeep asks you to root out a threat to the city, you respond to the call. Prepare for a foray into Undermountain. Part One of the Vampire Hunt trilogy.
The Haunted Hamlet and other hexes details four unique modular locations for your game. Made for old school essentials, but can easily be used with other old-school systems or even 5E. The four locations detailed in the zine focus on gameable content and being easy to use at the table. The locations are not connected to one another and can be sprinkled onto your campaign map however you like, or run as one shots. The PDF is graphic and art heavy and utilizes random tables and other tools to make it easier for GMs to run in a pinch. Details: 40 pages Single column text 8.5 x 5.5 aspect Black & White Bookmarks Four hex locations Random tables A rival NPC party A sky merchant A one page town Two hirelings
A Ghastly Mess is a one-shot adventure for a group of 3rd-level characters that takes place in a haunted mansion Unlike your regular haunted house, the inhabitants of this building are far from scary. The ghosts of the former staff still live in it—or, well, unlive—not realizing they’re deceased and unable to move on because of it. The Lord of the mansion still awaits the return of his beloved, Lenore, for which he has commanded the staff to have the house in pristine condition. Help the only alive member of the staff, a sleepwalking old-man, clean the house, defeat any and all monsters that might be lurking in the somewhat abandoned building and help the ghosts pass on to the great beyond in this short but exciting adventure! The story includes a host of interesting characters for your players to meet, each with their own unique personalities and accompanying art; an array of unique monsters specially designed to challenge your party in more ways than one; and an intriguing mystery surrounding Lenore’s fate and what happened to the members of the staff. Now, you might be thinking “hey, this ain’t spooky at all, what gives?” and to that I say: how dare you?! Nothing is scarier than doing your chores! That’s why we built an adventure around it! That being said, A Ghastly Mess is not meant to be a scary story, but rather an interesting mystery-type of social adventure. Most combats can be resolved by running away, the stakes are low, and the NPCs don’t think of the situation as anything more than a normal day in their lives. The tragic aspects of the story have already happened by the times the characters show up, and the intent is for everything to go well from there.
An omnious encounter with a fortuneteller sends a party of adventurers on a 200-mile journey across the Lands of Intrigue. While traveling throught the towns and terrain (detailed here for the first time) that lie in their path, they hear rumors and obtain clues about their mission. Their ultimate destination is Castle Spulzeer, a once proud stronghold that has become a den of terror. When the heroes enter the haunted keep, they meet a terrifying trio of residents: a madman armed with stolen magical power, a liche whose secret laboratory houses untold horrors and treasure, and a furious ghost bent on revenge. These three ensnare the party in their fight over an ancient weapon. Each will stop at nothing to keep it from the other two. The heroes must choose with whom they will ally - and the wrong choice could lead to their doom. Castle Spulzeer is an adventure complete in itself. However, as a crossover story, it offers every Dungeon Master a choice between two endings. The first leaves the party in the Realms. The second transports the characters to the Demiplane of Dread, where the plot continues in the Ravenloft adventure The Forgotten Terror. For 4 to 6 Characters of Levels 8-12 This conversion guide allows DMs to run the original module with 5th Edition rules. To use this conversion guide you will need a copy of Castle Spulzeer, originally available in hard-copy and now for sale in digital format on the DMs Guild. Visit Classicmodulestoday.com for instructions on creating your own classic module conversions and selling them on the DMs Guild. Castle Spulzeer was originally scheduled for publication by TSR in June 1997. Then, near-bankruptcy caused a total failure of TSR's schedule, resulting in no books being published from February through the very end of July. Some books would be delayed for over a year, and others would disappear altogether, but Castle Spulzeer was relatively lucky: it was just delayed four months, until October 1997. The reason may well have been its theming, and its crossover with the Ravenloft line, which made Castle Spulzeer a great Halloween release. Castle Spulzeer has an even more far-reaching connection: its ending can lead players to the demiplane of Ravenloft and The Forgotten Terror adventure. This was probably intended as a bit of advertising for Domains of Dread (1997), the third edition of Ravenloft which was released in August 1997. In other words: in their last days, TSR was working very hard to cross-market their products, but they didn't live long enough to see the success of the Spulzeer-Intrigue-Dread connection.
Far above the village of Barovia sits Castle Ravenloft, the home and fortress of vampire lord Strahd Von Zarovich. Legends claim that Strahd flies with the bats and runs with the wolves to terrorize the countryside. Ancient tales also tell of dungeons and catacombs deep under the castle. Other stories recall the great halls, treasures, and glory of Ravenloft in centuries past. "House of Strahd" is a revision of the classic gothic horror tale I6: Ravenloft, one of the most popular adventures ever produced for the AD&D game. This version is updated for the AD&D 2nd Edition rules, and those from the Ravenloft campaign set. Count Strahd is now more powerful, and his castle is even more terrifying! TSR 9418
Two common elements mixed together create deadly peril. The last dungeon that many heroes will ever see. This dungeon crawl was based on the original S1 Tomb of Horrors. This is not an adventure for neophyte adventurers. Many traps, puzzles, and monsters exist to kill the party. However, the treasure of the mud sorcerers may be too tempting to pass by! Pgs. 50-70
This adventure introduces characters to the land of Barovia. It expands what we know about the lands around Castle Ravenloft and sheds new light on the dark past of the castle’s lord. Players will investigate mysterious happenings in a small haunted house in Barovia.
Tall tales of hidden riches are common in the pirate-infested taverns of the Shackles, but when Captain Varossa Lanteri claims to know the location of the secret treasure hoard of legendary Captain Jemma Redclaw, it seems she may be telling the truth. Captain Lanteri hires the PCs on as crew to help her assemble the magic key that will open the door to Redclaw’s treasure... and the ancient cyclops stronghold in which it’s hidden! Can the PCs survive long enough to claim their share of the lost loot, or will their enemies—or their allies—send them to a watery grave?
Dead of Winter is a 1st-level adventure It is designed as a side quest for Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition As the adventurers are traveling a lengthy road between destinations, a bitter winter storm blows in. Lucky for them, there is a small roadside hamlet just ahead, where the party can take refuge from the harsh elements. The mood in the local tavern is grave, as this is a sad night for the villagers. It is the first anniversary of the murder of a town hero; A murder that was never resolved. Strange events begin as soon as the adventurers arrive and will lead them to clues which just may solve a year old murder and lay an anguished soul to rest.