An adventure included in the Essentials Kit (2019). The party starts in Phandalin, the starting town for the Starter Set (2014) adventure, Lost Mine of Phandlever. Various jobs are posted by Harbin Wester, townmaster, which the PCs can pursue. These jobs culminate in a raid on Icespire Hold, where Cryovain, a young adult white dragon, has recently claimed as its lair.
This adventure takes place in the Moonsea of Faerûn. The players have been brought to Melvaunt to search for the missing scions of the city's great families. To the north, in Thar the orc tribes converge on the ruined fortress of Xul-Jarak, flocking to the banner of a charismatic warlord. There, he intends to sacrifice the scions of the great families of Melvaunt in a bloodritual to Gruumsh. The players will escape Melvaunt, search along the wilderness of Thar for the Fortress of Xul-Jarak, and then explore the dungeons of the ruined fortress and hopefully rescue the scions before they are sacrificed. There also is a Web Enhancement by Eric Cagle on the archives of wizards of the coast's website designed to scale the adventure to level 8. For example, it replaces the Owlbear with a Tyrannosaurus. This is an easy to scale adventure with much of the player's difficulty coming from intelligently avoiding problems, choosing how to approach each floor in the most tactical way, and quickly adjusting when something goes wrong. The adventure has sidebars including common orc battle cries (In Orc!), ready to use orc names, weather and random encounter table in Thar, a description of what happens if the party fails or partially succeeds, and suggested minis for each of the encounters. There is even an extended description of the bloodspear ritual, an event the party is not meant to encounter in a normal run. The appendix is detailed for all the humanoid characters including the scions and their equipment, the named villains, and variety of unnamed orcs the party will encounter. The fortress also offers an opportunity to introduce the players to the Underdark and the Zhentil Keep. There is a passage to the Underdark the players can accidentally explore, and return to later. Emissaries from Zhentil Keep have come to watch the ritual and have their own motivations. These npcs provide an opportunity for exposition and role playing at a point which otherwise might be combat heavy, acting as a valve for the first floor - helping or hurting the party with subtle magic should the difficulty be off.
Base of Operations is a short adventure intended for four 5th-level characters. DMs can easily modify the adventure to suit higher- or lower-level adventurers, or larger or smaller parties of adventurers. Simply adding a few monsters to every encounter area makes the adventure more challenging for larger parties, and adding levels to any of the humanoids can make them more of a threat to high-level groups. For low-level adventurers, make the relationship between the two factions within Brightstone Keep more strained, and take away a few monsters from each group. You can remove levels from some of the humanoids in the adventure to make it a lower-level challenge, but it is important that the orc cleric (described in encounter area 8) still have the ability to animate the dead. Still, he can have fewer minions around him when encountered, and that makes him less of a challenge for a lowlevel party.
Greger’s Grotto is a community of pirates and other criminals, hidden away on a desolate coastline. The players are slaves sold to the Grotto’s owning family and used for manual labour and bloodsport in the arena. In this adventure, the players will need to: * survive harsh prison conditions, including the rivalry between prisoner factions: human, orc, goblin and hobgoblin * fight in arena battles against prisoners and beasts, often with strange twists to entertain the crowd * explore small mini-dungeons attached to the prisoners’ caverns * ultimately escape; whether by force, alliance with fellow prisoners, stealth, cunning or any combination of these Features of this adventure: * Pay-what-you-want (even nothing). * Illustrated with art by Setvasai. * Designed to fit into most campaign worlds. * Simulationist or story-driven: includes information for both. Use random rolls to determine what happens when, or take inspiration from various story hooks. (Or do both.) * 11 unique NPCs, including members of the Grotto’s owning family and leader of the prisoner factions. * Full maps of the Grotto, its arena and prisoner caverns, totalling over 40 rooms.
Crops wilt, leaves wither on the trees, and animals must leave the once-fertile Downs valley or die. All who dwell there must abandon their homes or perish-- unless your party can lift the curse TSR 9084
The Well of Souls. . . That's what Zugzul babe the Afridhi call the evil artifact that he had taught them to make. They must call it the Well of Souls, and they must carry it before them into every battle? and they would be mighty. Thus said the god of the Afridhi, Zugzul the One. So the Afridhi did as they were bade. Seeking the volcano called the Hill of the Hammer in the far Barrens of Karsh, they built in its heart a great forge. There, as Zugzul had promised, efreet came to help them make the mighty artifact. There, amid vile, unholy rites, they bound the souls of men into its very substance, and, for the red-handed work that must surely follow hard upon its completion. Many were the men who guarded the Hill of the Hammer during the days of making? for their foes in hated Blackmoor would try to unmake that which they had wrought. Yet, it was not men that would keep the Well of Souls from destruction, but a prophecy? that the artifact would be unmade only by the hand of one as yet unborn! TSR 9205
No Loose Ends is a mini-adventure that has a single encounter, based on a group of orcs (or ogres based on level) setting up an ambush for the players by setting up a fake bridge that they attempt to collapse under the players before attacking. The cloak of elvenkind is optional, it is included only in the higher level adjustments. Pgs. 17-18
In this level 3 adventure, the heroes face off against a band of orcs who live on islands in a pool of their orc god's blood. Warpath of Gruumsh is part 2 of the Litany of Arrows adventure path, following up on the platinum-selling Castle of Corellon adventure. This can very easily be run as a standalone adventure. Warpath of Gruumsh contains three versions of each full-color map (untagged, player's map and DM's Map), original artwork, one page of new magic items, and full entries on 6 new monsters, including mithral dragons and blood moon harpies.
For centuries, the Great Swamp has hidden hints of an ancient culture of barbarian kings. While passing through this miserable bog, the PCs encounter Stygoth the Damned, a half-dead black dragon driven mad by a mysterious disease. Delving further, the heroes discover that the disease is tied to the very swamp itself. A great corruption once infested this place, destroying the savage barbarian kings and leaving only mighty statues as their legacy. Now this corruption has returned, and a terrible Witch Queen is mining the corrupted swamp-earth to produce evil, blighted artifacts. In order to stop the spread of these evil weapons, the heroes must enter the ancient caves of the savage kings, put to rest the corrupt legacy of their downfall, end the disease that scars the land, and then face off against the Witch Queen herself.
Shall you claim the glory of heroes, or accept your doom? You have raised the ire of the goblin warlord, and now you flee his kingdom with war parties hot on your trail. You must reach the borderland town of Felsentheim, for if you do not, no alarm will sound to hearken the coming of the Dogs of War and your bodies will lie in the forest grass, forgotten by all but the worms! Shall you claim the glory of heroes and warn the people or accept your doom and suffer death in the Treklant? Enter again the World of Inzae, where all things slip into the Maelstrom, and from hence true heroes are born.
An Introductory Adventure for Storm King's Thunder. As evening approaches, you spot a wooden signpost next to a trail that heads north into the hills. Nailed to the post are three arrow-shaped signs. The two marked “Waterdeep” and “Daggerford” follow the High Road but point in opposite directions. The third, marked “Nightstone,” beckons you to follow the trail. If memory serves, Nightstone is roughly ten miles up the trail. This is Chapter 1 of the greater story available for free on the Dungeon Master's Guild.
Someone has "borrowed" a cleric, and without him, the fabled King's Festival cannot go on. Unfortunately, it looks like the orcs have him, and your characters must rescue him. A great learning adventure, King's Festival provides players and DMs with a valuable introduction to fantasy role-playing in the land of Karameikos. Full of helpful hints for the players and the DM, this module also provides a full dose of excitement! Orcs, carrion crawlers, and villains challenge the characters' fighting skills, and a host of traps and puzzles confound their wits! TSR 9260
Somewhere ogre the rainbow.... You and your fellow humanoids are going to be diplomats! Can you say "disaster?" I knew you could. This module is made for humanoid monster PCs created with GAZ10 (The Orcs of Thar Gazetteer). That module is required to play through this adventure. The players start in the village of Flooshpragh, which acts as the horde center for the Rude Mongrel tribe of goblinoid races. Unknown to the players, the tribe has grown unmanagebly large, and the chief has marked the players as expendable individuals! Many subtle clues exist throughout the module to clue the players into this betrayal. The adventure proceeds through a town with roleplaying opportunities, a tower dungeon, and finishes by the players unknowingly pranking a human wizard. Pgs. 50-64
Dungeon Masters Kit - Number 1 Palace of the Vampire Queen For three centuries the peasants of the Dwarvish island of Baylor have feared the raids of the Vampire Queen and her minions. Sweeping down at night from the palace in the shrowded peaks of the island, they range even further in their search for blood. And not only blood - the children of dwarf peasants often disappear if they are so unfortunate as to be out at night. Even the cities are no longer safe. The most recent victim was the Princess of Baylor, daughter of King Arman, who was taken in a midnight raid on the capitol city of At Toe within past weeks. King Arman has offered fabulous riches and land holdings with titles to the person or persons who can brave the stronghold of the Vampire Queen and return his daughter to him alive and well. But, in truth, he holds little hope. For even King Arman, Ruler of Baylor, Defeater of the Ten Orc Tribes, is afraid in his heart to face the Vampire Queen. Published by Wee Warriors, Distributed by TSR
Freeport's in crisis, as war breaks out on the high seas and orcs riot in the streets. A map promises the biggest haul of booty in history, but nothing is as it seems. Buried with that treasure is a terrifying evil Freeport thought banished forever. Black Sails Over Freeport, the first mega-adventure for the award-winning pirate city, is filled with enough swashbuckling challenges to test the mettle of any band of heroes. Its 256 pages are packed with action, intrigue, and danger, delivered with the style and professionalism you've come to expect from Green Ronin. Black Sails are on the horizon. Do you have what it takes to face them?
Chapter 1 - When a relative of someone close to the characters goes missing from a nearby village, the players are asked to investigate. The party has to recover stolen goods from a thief before setting out from the City of Ravens Bluff. They travel through the wilds of Vesperin in search of the missing person, finding trouble and helping locals along the way. Chapter 2 - As the journey continues, the party arrives in a small hamlet suffering from a strange blight. The players will need to investigate the situation and choose sides in a longstanding feud between the mayor and a local magic user. Chapter 3 - After clearing a tribe of violent orcs from a nearby mountain pass to protect the residents of a town, the party will have to enter the lair of a long-dead dragon to rescue their quarry from a band of goblinoid slavers, where they discover an entrance into a dwarven city, lost and forgotten centuries ago. Chapter 4 - The party will have to traverse the ruins of the dwarven city, avoiding hazards and battling the horrors that lurk there, to uncover the identity of the slaver's leader. A discovery that will lead them through a treacherous forest to the city of Tsurlagol in search of a pirate ship called the Star Carver, and its drow captain, The Viper's Kiss. Along the way, they meet an unlikely ally. Chapter 5 - Once they arrive in Tsurlagol, the players will have to choose between gaining the assistance of the city council to fight the pirates head on, or making a deal with the Viper's Kiss, herself. The path they choose will either lead to an epic battle on the Sea of Fallen Stars, or into the deadly sewers and tunnels beneath the city to face an enclave of wererats, undead, and a tribe of mad, kraken-worshipping kuo-toa, in search of a fabled relic. The Laughing Horde of Ruin, Part 1 is the first module of an original 5e adventure campaign. It is designed for character level 1-5, and uses material from the Dungeon Master's Guide, Monster Manual, and Volo's Guide.
Weave of the Dread Mythal is a 1st-6th level Dungeons and Dragons 5e campaign that takes players on a journey of peril and intrigue across the Evermoor. Part story driven campaign, part sandbox, this adventure will give you tools to make the Evermoors come to life and a brutal and unique campaign to run within it. Your players will face the ire of hostile factions and their conflicting desires, the excitement and danger of ancient Netherese ruins and artifacts, and inevitably, the undead army of the Weaver, a wicked necromancer obsessed with becoming the new demi-god of undeath. This campaign also includes separate, full-size battlemaps that are made for use with Roll20 and other VTTs.
The prince's godmother commissions you to retrieve the prince's jade crown, held in the tower of the vampire! The vampire's tower has three levels, and the three-level dungeon below 45 rooms. The party must be wary! Lethal traps abound. Marching order is important. A straight-forward dungeon crawl with many Gygaxian rooms and encounters. No roleplaying to speak of. Pgs. 4-18
The trouble began several weeks ago when a duergar excavation team went to work in a long-abandoned temple. Drawn to the temple by stories of riches and artifacts, the duergar hired several giants as laborers before cracking the temple’s sealed doors. The largest of the giants, a loathsome Thursir mutant named Huppo, used his acidic vomit to expedite tunneling into the temple’s collapsed hall of worship. Then, Huppo found the horn—an unusual instrument made from a single piece of stone, with a mouthpiece so intricate only a master carver could have made it. The horn became the giant’s obsession. Seeing only the horn’s potential sale value, the dwarves demanded Huppo turn it over to them, but Huppo refused. To force compliance, the dwarves stopped feeding the gluttonous brute, but Huppo had already found his own source of food; in deep areas of the temple, worms were chewing out of the rocks, and Huppo ate them by the fistful. He also played the horn. Then, after several days of blowing the horn and devouring the strange worms, Huppo released a belch so noxious the dwarves had no choice but to lock him in a sealed chamber and carefully consider their next move. The horn’s call, however, had caught the attention of passing nomadic orcs. They set up camp outside the temple entrance in the hope of finding the horn and its player. That’s the current situation at the temple: the giant refuses to stop blowing the horn and belching out deadly clouds of stomach gas; the dwarves are frightened and edgy while their leader is obsessed with malevolent whispers; orcs are threatening to overrun the place; and the population of worms grows steadily as something awakens deep in the stone beneath the sanctuary of belches.
The Borderlands. An untamed wild region far flung from the comforts and protection of civilization. A lone fortified Keep is the only bastion of Good desperately striving to maintain the forces of Chaos at bay. But Evil is everywhere, lurking in dark caves, fetid swamps, forlorn forests. Bands of cutthroat brigands and ruthless tribes of humanoids eager to clash with the forces of Food rove the region. The Borderlands hold many secret wondrous locations, and opportunities for fame, prestige, and fortune are plentiful. But equally abundant are the perils, risks, and challenges to those brave enough to explore the wilds. Sharpen your swords and axes. Purchase your iron rations and tinderboxes. And Don't forget at least one 10-foot pole. Adventure awaits those with the mettle to confront Chaos in the Borderlands!