In ancient times, the area now known as the Dyrgalas Fens was home to a flourishing civilization of nature worshippers who wrested a living from the forest around them, built open-air temples, and generally did well. Over the centuries, a series of natural disasters (some say a series of foolish magical experiments) led to a rising water table and turned the forest into a vast swamp. As the water rose, most of the people left. Today, a few stalwart humans remain in the fens, living off the land through hunting, fishing, trapping, and even some agriculture. In addition to these honest folk, the Dyrgalas has some less savory residents, including both black and green dragons, trolls, hags, escaped criminals, and a host of lycanthropes. Most of these creatures prey on travelers foolish or unlucky enough to enter the fen, and sometimes raid both inside and outside the fen. This adventure, intended for characters of levels 6 to 8, deals with one group of raiders who make their lair in the Dyrgalas. A weretiger called Gavriil has formed a group of assorted lycanthropes into a band of cunning brigands. The lycanthropes favorite caper involves infiltrating a merchant caravan while posing as travelers, merchants, or swords for hire, then attacking it from within. Gavriil and his servants also take on kidnappings, murder for hire, and any other unsavory tasks that come their way.
Faced with an unusual alliance of giants raiding the countryside, the party must venture into the steading of hill giant chief Nosnra and uncover maps to the locations of the other giant strongholds. “Steading of the Hill Giant Chief ” can be run as a stand-alone adventure, or you can play it as the first part of a four-part series that continues with “Warrens of the Stone Giant Thane” (Dungeon 198), “Glacial Rift of the Frost Giant Jarl” (Dungeon 199), and “Hall of the Fire Giant King” (Dungeon 200). The adventure is part of the Against the Giants series originally by Gary Gygax, hence the writing credit.
In this Adventure, the heroes explore the lair of an adult green dragon who has become a dracolich. She is served by living and undead minions and slaves. Pages 302-307
Under raging storm clouds, the vampire Count Strahd von Zarovich stands silhouetted against the ancient walls of Castle Ravenloft. Rumbling thunder pounds the castle spires. The wind’s howling increases as he turns his gaze down toward the village of Barovia. A lightning flash rips through the darkness, but Strahd is gone. Only the howling of the wind fills the midnight air. The master of Castle Ravenloft is having guests for dinner—and you are invited. Spans levels 1-10.
It's party time in Thyatis... And simply everyone is going to the magnificent Villa Osteropolus, home of the wealthy old senator, Helenites. Raucous fun, exotic food, and even advanced betting on the upcoming Arena games are expected. Even adventurers just in from the outlands may meet the powerful here. So don your festive togas, for in Thyatis City there are important connections to be made and deeds to be done, duels to be fought and fame to be won. (But beware, oh Adventurer! The politics of Thyatis can be as labyrinthine as mazes beneath the Coliseum...) This module is designed especially for the DM who wants to sharpen his interactive skills. Presenting the detailed layout of a Thyatian noble's mansion and maps of the multi-level Coliseum of Thyatis. Four four to six characters, levels 2-3 Brief guide to Thyatis legal system New optional class, the Rake Fast unarmed combat system, including disarming attacks Special appendix on creating Thyatian names Featuring the DM's Guide to Winging It TSR 9284
While camping in the wilderness, the characters find a tracker surrounded by wolves. Once the heroes dispatch the beasts, the tracker reveals that she is seeking aid in the fight against the darkness enfolding her community, Silver Lake. Should the characters help, they find the village terrorized by lycanthropes that hail from a tiny island rising from the mist-shrouded lake.The island is a fey crossing, and heroes who set foot on it find themselves in the Feywild, where a war is brewing; the lycanthrope clans are at each other’s throats, and many are turning their feral eyes outward to the rich lands beyond their secluded valley. To avert an unimaginably savage war, the heroes must rescue a werewolf lord from his captors and expose the conspiracy that threatens to drench the Feywild in blood...
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
Part 3 of the Carrion Crown Adventure Path takes the heroes to the infamous Shudderwood in Ustalav. They travel to Ascanor lodge, the only safe place in the woods, to find more information on the necromantic cult The Whispering Way and meet a colorful group of npcs that reside at the lodge. The werewolf packs that live in the woods are on the brink of war as their pack leader has disappeared and as the heroes get involved, strange things start happening within the lodge. Soon all three story lines will intertwine and the heroes are left to piece the puzzle together and follow the trail left by The Whispering Way. It's worth noting that this book does an excellent job at fleshing out the npcs (lodge residents and werewolves) both through stat blocks and background information including history and motivations. This book includes: - “Broken Moon,” a Pathfinder RPG adventure for 7th-level characters, by Tim Hitchcock - The secrets of the Whispering Way, a notorious cult sworn to the powers of death and undeath, revealed in blasphemous detail, by Adam Daigle - Insights into the savage lives of werewolves, wererats, and other lycanthropes, by Gareth Hanrahan - Laurel Cylphra comes face to face with an ancient mystery in the Pathfinder’s Journal, by F. Wesley Schneider - Seven exciting and deadly new monsters, by Tim Hitchcock, Rob McCreary, and Patrick Renie
There is a witch in the wilds, a goddess unremembered, and a madman. There is a circle of stone - who knows what lies beneath? The villagers are distraught: their children! replaced by fae! The villagers are distraught: who heeded their plea? Ravenous inquisitors, that's who. Oh, and adventurers... This investigative folkcrawl adventure module contains: * an isolated village full of secrets, riddled with strange traditions, * adventure sites and dungeons populated by peculiar denizens, * a small Fae Realm to explore, weird and perilous, * a terrible fae threat and too many curses, * unlikely friends, and foes nobody expects! An OSR adventure module for character levels 3-4, designed for use with the Old-School Essentials ruleset, compatible with most old-school pen-and-paper RPGs. Includes a fully-linked interactive PDF, a fillable Referee's Toolkit, and player-friendly VTT maps.
The valley of Haven was a peaceful land. Its crops were abundant, its citizens prosperous. Elves, Dwarves, Halflings, and Humans lived together in harmony. Hidden away in the heart of the Thunder Mountains, Haven was a safe place to live. The rivers were sweet and pure; the weather was pleasant and warm. Something terrible has come to pass in Haven - terrified refugees speak of a fabulous ruby uncovered in the mountains and a catastrophe that befell the palace. Whatever the cause, Haven now lies in chaos. Raiding bands of orcs, goblins, and hobgoblins terrorize the countryside. The disaster happened so suddenly that the citizens are confused and helpless. Without their leaders, who are trapped in the palace, they have no courage to fight back. The situation has become desperate. TSR 9044
Far out in the void, an ancient city of vampires endures. Welcome to Araveshti, a city of a thousand towers floating safely in the shadow of the world, glittering with starlight, thrumming with ancient magics, and crawling with vicious immortals. Will you seek to destroy these bloodthirsty aristocrats? Or will you help them pursue their bizarre alchemical experiments in immortality? Or will you simply seek a way to escape their twisted and crumbling paradise? Within these ancient towers, adventurers will find vampire lords and servants, zealots and goliaths, as well as werewolves, mycotic zombies, victims of strange experimentation, fanatical holy knights, tragic vampire hunters in black, shipwrecked dreamers, castaway aliens, metal angels, eldritch horrors, star dragons, and (of course) the vampires' giant dragon-killing mecha suit... This is a dark sandbox. Players will explore a vast city of undead people and monsters in outer space, full of homages to classic horror and science fiction films and literature. ADVENTURE TYPE: Mid Level / Combat / Exploration / Dark Fantasy / Fantasy City / Gothic Horror DESIGN NOTES This adventure is intended for mid-level characters around Level 5-10 Players explore a large vampire city in space, encounter numerous NPCs and monsters, and engage with diverse factions to destroy, conquer, or escape from the city 40+ unique encounter locations, plus countless randomly generated locations 100+ original magic items 40+ original monsters One city map Estimated play time: 1-8 sessions (4-32 hours)
Once a powerful proponent of Law, the Archmage Tazimack the Red was eventually driven mad by a fear of mortality. As he slipped into insanity his retirement home began to reflect the chaotic bent of his mind. Long after Tazimack’s unnaturally animated body has disintegrated, his manor house remains as a shadow cast by a twisted intellect. Can the characters bring order to this chaos?
Long rumored to be haunted by eerie specters, Kincep Mansion has stood for years, mostly untouched by nearby townsfolk. Now something is preying on the local villagers—something that comes from the house. Pgs. 46-69
Pursued by wolves and worse, the party must fight a running battle to take refuge at the relative safety of the Bittermoon Inn, a decrepit old inn high in the mountains. But night is falling, can they uncover the secrets of the inn and use them to survive the night? This adventure can be played as a stand alone one-shot, or can be used as a drop-in side quest to almost any campaign. It is suitable for a party of about 5 characters at the First Tier (Levels 1-4). The players must fight a running battle with wolves to reach Bittermoon, then they must discover the secrets of the inn before escaping through a smuggler's tunnel. Finally they must face off against their unseen opponent at Skull Cavern. There are four encounter maps included with this title.
Death Is in the Cards The remnants of the Ebon Fold are cutting a deadly path through the Falkovian countryside, draining travelers of their life force and leaving withered corpses in their wake. Hot on their trail you come across the sole survivor of one of these deadly attacks, a young vistani man with an extraordinary skill for fortune-telling. His tarokka deck helps close the gap between you and the assassins. Together you follow the trail through Darkon, the dark domain of the lich lord Azalin, to the city of Nartok. With an Unholy Alliance... Something very strange is happening in Nortok. The killers enter the Temple of the Eternal Order and don't come out. It seems that the state of religion of Darkon is giving succor to these assassins. To make matters more confusing, the Kargat, the domain's secret police, has put aside its feud with the Eternal Order and has a large contingent staying at the temple as well. These three organizations working together bodes ill for the residents of Nartok. ... And Schemes Within Infernal Schemes Great amounts of life energy are being collected for some foul purpose, although no one seems to know what exactly it is. The tarokka cards provide only mysterious glimpses of the future - a future in which a powerful evil sweeps the land and Death walks the world. Can you discover the truth of what is happening in the temple in time to avert the disaster predicted by the cards? Death Ascendant is a full-length adventure that can be run as a stand-alone scenario or as the second part in the Grim Harvest series. It contains a 64-page adventure booklet plus a full-color poster map detailing the Temple of the Eternal Order. TSR 9526
It’s been a long few days of travel and the adventurers are tired of eating rations and sleeping on the ground. The road opens to a small town with an inviting tavern. The smells of grilling meat and ale fill their nostrils and the sounds of laughter and music float out the tavern’s door. Unlucky for the adventurers, they’ve stumbled upon Dragon’s Breath Tavern. What starts out as a pleasant evening of food, drink, and entertainment soon evolves into an adventure that takes the party into and under Dragon’s Breath Tavern. The adventure includes roleplay, exploration, combat, and a dice game called Demon Dice. Although written in a non-specific location, this adventure could be run as a one-shot during the WoTC official campaign – Curse of Strahd. The adventure includes an isometric map and a top-down map of Dragon’s Breath Tavern. Available as PDF or for Fantasy Grounds.
Up the river "Just sit right back, and you'll hear a tale, a tale of a fateful trip..." Pgs. 58-67
Devastated in a war with a nearby wizards' school, the Fighters' Academy has since been surrounded by a foul and dank swamp - the Gloomfens. Since the climatctic battle between the wizards and fighters, the tower has decayed. The spirit of the head of the academy haunts the building, eternally plotting his revenge on the wizards who killed him. his loyal sutdents remain faithful to him even in death. Other foul undead have made their home in the rotting, spacious academy. From their lair, they make forays into farmsteads near the swamp in search of victims to feed their unspeakable appetites. The Problem of these terrible attacks by the savage undead will not stop until the evil that has found a home at the tower is burned from the face of the land forever. Will your party heed the call and help the town of Melinir? Will they be able to clear the former Academy of its undead? Towers of Evil is the second in a three part adventure, The Haunted Tower. Or, it can be ran as a stand alone adventure. The choice is up to you. Part of TSR 1081 The Haunted Tower
Long ago, the eight tribes of the Softoy Valley put aside their differences and united in peace to erect a great monument to test the mettle of their young men and women. Only by defeating the challenges and guardian of the monolith could a child demonstrate their strength and wisdom to complete their coming of age in the community. All of the tests can be defeated by mind or might in recognition that each member of the tribe has unique skills that can benefit everyone. Although the tribes are long since gone, the monolith remains for adventurers to test their skills.
Part One of the Umbral Aristocracy Trilogy. Rumors abound of a map that leads to a treasure of unimaginable value. When chance drops the map into your hands, you have the chance to become wealthy beyond your wildest dreams. But you’re not the only ones with that dream. The chase is on. A Two-Hour Adventure for Tier 1 Characters.