The village of Saxham has been struck by a terrible curse! Or perhaps it’s being terrorized by demons, ghosts, and the undead? Or… was there a terrible storm? Maybe? No one seems to know exactly what happened here. But the villagers are terrified, bizarre monsters roam the forest, and strange lights strike the woods every night at midnight… ADVENTURE TYPE: Small Sandbox Mystery DESIGN NOTES: This adventure includes a small village, several wilderness areas, and a simple network of tunnels to explore. Each area contains various encounters and unique magical items. There are many opportunities for combat, but it is possible for players to explore every area and complete every interaction without any combat at all, depending on their choices. INCLUDES: Story hooks, dialogue prompts, original creature stat blocks, original treasure/items, area overview map, and illustrations. Produced by Dungeon Age Adventures
The forlorn Falkrest Abbey in the icy Lune Mountains is where the Queens and Kings of Yore used to be crowned and buried, along with their treasures. According to legends, the Fountain of St. Brynedd still pours its miraculous water somewhere inside. But what caused the fall of the blessed Abbey? Falkrest Abbey is a level 1–3 dungeon adventure for Old-School Essentials. Written by Andrea Tupac Mollica and Giuseppe Rotondo, with original art by Zaira Diana. Content: A 19 room dungeon with exploration, combat, mystery, puzzles and NPCs Encounters and events along the way on the icy Lune Mountains Several hooks and alternate outcomes with possible repercussions on your campaign 3 new monsters 2 new magic items, plus one almighty magic vial of miraculous water Original art by Zaira Diana Map drawn with dungeonscrawl Utility: Treasure & monsters overview sorted by room Interactive hyperlinked map and index Interactive hyperlinked map snippets accompanying room descriptions Printable hand-outs (optional) Extra files: VTT friendly maps without room numbers, monsters, secrets doors etc
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
It's a horrible time to have a curse! Each wielding a powerful item to a family legacy, your players are a group of young adventurers who barely survive an attack on their order of vampire-hunters by agents of Dracula. After escaping, they discover Dracula has placed a curse upon the land which makes restful sleep difficult outside of hallowed areas. Dracula, "alive" on another plane but dead on this one, must be resurrected so they can kill him, end the curse, and avenge their dead. To accomplish this goal, the player characters must journey through forest, marsh, hill, and underground paths to retrieve relics of Dracula's last life from keeps and fortresses overrun by monsters and the undead. If they can resurrect him, he will be weak and easy to kill... but the adventurers aren't the only ones who want Dracula on the Material Plane, and Dracula is not the only vampire in the world. Gameplay overview This adventure takes the players from 2nd through 9th or 10th level on a milestone basis as they choose where to travel in what order to retrieve what they need. Starting at a happy gathering at the Belmonte Order, which the characters are hereditary members of, the campaign kicks off with a bang as the group retrieves their chosen legacy items, salvages what other gear they can in a race against time and a growing number of foes, and then escapes to begin their quest. In addition to the six main "dungeons," there are two optional regional lairs, traveling vampires, and many foes along the way. Most of the towns in the area have managed to survive, providing points of light at which the party may stop, long rest safely, acquire supplies, and socialize. Travel is hazardous! 5e classes are balanced for resource management across a 5-8 encounter adventuring day. The campaign is designed to have a semi-variable flow of encounters as the party traels around the area. Encounters grow progressively more difficult as time passes and the party spends more time within a region. These are not random encounters rolled on a table, but encounters designed to be unique to each area's geography, combat terrain, and mix of foes. As the party spends more time in a region or revisits it, the encounter difficulty increases. Dracula's curse requires a Constitution saving throw to successfully long rest outside of Hallowed areas (towns). The difficulty scales up over time, forcing the party to balance speed and safety as they try to accomplish their goals without pushing beyond the limits of what they can handle. The game concept, general map layout, and some enemy distributions are loosely inspired by Castlevania II for the NES, one of the forerunners of the "Metroidvania" genre. Dracula's Curse is indeed a game in which the forests are dark and full of monsters, and every night is a horrible one to have a curse. Includes 15 Legacy items, from weapons like whips and swords to a shield, a belt, or a decanter of holy water 60+ enemy statblocks 8 unique dungeons with unique layouts & challenges 5 inhabited towns with multiple named NPCs 100+ travel encounters (expect to use 30-50%) The module is printer-friendly with no artwork and straightforward grid maps for location-based encounters which require one.
On the shores of the Sea of Fallen Stars, in a small and xenophobic coastal town, there is a mystery that must be unraveled. People have started disappearing during the past months, as a direct result of the criminal activities going on in town, under cloak and dagger. The players must examine clues, talk with witnesses, and investigate further, to help the people of Saltwater restore peace and order. The smuggling mastermind and his lackeys, including a vicious shapeshifter, will stop at nothing to stop the players from achieving their objective. This is a starting adventure for players and DM’s alike, which may also be used as a starting point of your campaign and easily adapted to any small coastal town in your game world. It involves a great deal of roleplaying and some degree of battle, depending on the player’s decisions. A cloak and dagger investigative adventure, for nerves hard as steel and fists tough as nails.
Silas Cusk built a menagerie of magically reconstructed saurians on a tropical island and sold tickets to it. The party arrives as VIP guests on preview day — the same morning Cusk's former partner steals the diamond that powers every containment ward on the island. The wards go dark, the cages open, and the island has two hours before its magical foundations give out and it slides into the sea. A complete, ready-to-run one-shot for a small table: 2–3 players, levels 2–3, one 2–3 hour session, zero prep. Eighteen named scenes across four acts, with a branching second act (a subterranean stealth route or an exposed aerial one) that reconverges so nothing is gated behind the choice. A visible 0–10 tension meter — the Containment Instability Index — climbs as the island fails and sets the severity of the finale. The apex predator is not a villain: it is a construct whose control collar overloaded when the diamond was stolen, and it is in agony, not hunger. The three-phase boss has a discoverable weak point and ends in a single-round choice between three fully written endings — destroy the island's heart, restore containment, or free the beast — none of them clean. Includes 8 SRD 5.1 creature stat blocks, 4 NPCs, 4 ready-made characters (any two form a viable party), 6 battle maps, 6 opening hooks, 6 contingencies, and 5 campaign seeds. Every encounter is tuned and stress-tested for the worst-case small table.
A simple hunt for a werewolf, or so we thought. Find its lair and slay the beast. No use for wolfsbane or other superstitions. Silver and magic would win the day. A worthy challenge, but nothing horrific, surely. Yet we never expected what we found in the Graenseskov, and our hubris cost us dearly... 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐁𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐆𝐫𝐚𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐞𝐬𝐤𝐨𝐯 is an 80-page bookmarked Ravenloft® adventure for characters of 1st-4th levels focused on mystery and exploration. It can be used in conjunction with 𝐂𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐡𝐝, either as an introduction to Barovia or adapted as a side quest, as part of the original expanded Ravenloft setting, or it can be used as a stand-alone horror adventure-setting. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐝𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐝𝐬 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐱𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝟏𝟔 𝐭𝐨 𝟐𝟒 𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐠𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧 𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐩𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐬, and potentially much more for groups embracing an investigative style of play. In the mists at the edge of Count Strahd von Zarovich’s realm lies the Graenseskov, a land of deep woods and bleak hills overrun with wolves. A Beast haunts these misty lands, leaving bloody corpses and terror in its wake, the product of a hag’s curse placed upon the boyar’s manor. But the Beast is no arbitrary killer. The PCs find themselves drawn into the mystery of uncovering the Beast’s identity and breaking the hag’s curse before the Beast’s final victim gurgles their last breath and the Beast is beyond any hope of redemption. Requires the 𝐃𝐮𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐨𝐧 𝐌𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫'𝐬 𝐆𝐮𝐢𝐝𝐞 and the 𝐌𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐮𝐚𝐥. This is a 63 Mb ZIP file containing a watermarked PDF of the updated adventure, a PDF with handouts, a PDF DM's cheat sheet, and PNG files of the Graenseskov region map for the DM and players. 𝐅𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐬: • The DM (or the Tarokka) determines the guilty suspect and their motives, offering a different experience for each group’s play-through. • A vivid cast of characters with a NPC index. • Escalating random encounters, special events, and techniques for DMing a mystery. • New monsters: black annis hag & loup du noir. • All units given in SI & metric. • Handouts and maps for DMs and players. • DM's cheat sheet with quick prep notes, clue checklist, handy Tarokka tables, tips on running the Beast, and a decision point flowchart. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐓𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐒𝐡𝐨𝐰 May 16, 2016 DM's Guild Pick of the Episode! Thanks James! http://www.thetomeshow.com/e/round-table-119-giants-and-the-talented-bestiary/ 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐍𝐆𝐄 𝐋𝐎𝐆 𝐉𝐮𝐥𝐲 𝟐, 𝟐𝟎𝟏𝟔 𝐔𝐩𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞: The big update! Fixed several editing and grammar errors, including an error in Appendix D, and the repeated paragraph on page 12 (page 13 in new document). Added a new special event - Hanging the Vistani - to Chapter 1 which ties together several dangling plot threads. Clarified "Adjusting the Adventure" & added Werewolves in the Mist to the "Adventure Hooks" in the Introduction. Added two pieces of thematic filler art. 𝐀𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐥 𝟏𝟖, 𝟐𝟎𝟏𝟔 𝐔𝐩𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞: Added a DM's cheat sheet PDF to the zip file.
From the magazine: "'That's right," said the druid. "You must steal the giant's cauldron - without harming him in the slightest.'" The adventurers are sent on a mission to reclaim the legendary Cauldron of Plenty for a celtic inspired kingdom. This magic item is kept by an intelligent Verbeeg called the Bolg Mor. A secondary goal is to discover the command words for the cauldron in the cave system. There is a curse on the cauldron, stating that violence breeds violence; he who slays the owner of the cauldron and steals the device will also fall prey to acts of violence. Players are encouraged to attempt to roleplay and negotiate with the villain to gain the cauldron.
Bale, the kind gnome and owner of Bale's Outfitting Outpost, requests that the adventurers track down a group of youngsters that rented horses from him. The horses are overdue and Bale believes that he may have been swindled. Unbeknownst to the gnome, the party of young adventurers has met a dark fate. Will your adventurers accept Bale's request to track down the youngsters and, in doing so, find out what really happened? Or will they leave more blood on the trail? The module includes an introduction to Bale's Outfitting Outpost, encounter stat blocks, maps, and a battle stat tracker. Note: You do not need the Bale's Outfitting Outpost module to run this adventure.
Gifts for Him is a short, challenging, open-ended, gothic-horror, 5E-compatible Christmas adventure for tier 1 characters to be run in about three sessions, but it can be easily adapted as a one-shot. It contains over 25 pages with original artwork, three original battle maps, three unique monsters, stat blocks for five NPCs, three magic items, and a partridge in a pear tree. ----- The village of Bargrave has a secret. Every year, on Christmas Eve, the villagers cower in their homes while a savage beast prowls the streets, wreaking bloody doom on whomever has not left it a suitable gift on their doorstep. But Elias Buhl has had enough. This year, the old farmer won’t be buying the beast a gift, hoping instead to bait it into attacking him at his homestead, where he will trap and kill it once and for all. But he can’t do it alone. Buhl has hired a band of adventures to help him fortify his home, set traps, and slay the creature. They have three days to prepare, gather allies and equipment, and plan their defense. Or… They can dig a little deeper and uncover what Bargrave has been hiding all these years. Will they slay the beast, as agreed? Might they capture it to use it for their own ends? Can it be redeemed? Or will they die — their blood melting the snow — just the latest victims of the creature’s reign of terror? --- Gifts for Him is a complete, playtested, illustrated adventure that is currently pay what you want.
This AD&D scenario is designed to be a humorous departure from regular adventuring. The "heroes" are a fellowship of monsters on a quest to recover a magical item for an orc chieftain whom they have displeased. Having lost the map given to them, they must gain entry to a frontier outpost - probably by sneaking through sewers - and recover the map from a locked safe in the commanders quarters. Once they again have the map, the monsters must travel overland to an abandoned elven witches' temple on the shore of a mountain lake, where they will find the object of their quest. Pgs. 23-32
A handful of would-be adventurers gathers to explore an ancient tomb, eager to trade their discoveries for a ticket to a better life. What they find within presages the advent of the Age of Worms, an era of darkness, decay, and writhing doom. "The Whispering Cairn" is the first installment of the Age of Worms Adventure Path, a complete campaign consisting of 12 adventures, several "Backdrop" articles to help Dungeon masters run the series, and a handful of poster maps of key locations. For additional aid in running this campaign, check out Dragon's monthly "Worm Food" articles, a series that provides additional materials to help players survive this campaign. Pgs. 14-47
The party is caught between warring goblin and kobold gangs, occupying an abandoned dwarven mine. Will the heroes ally with one of the sides in this quarrel, try to make peace between old enemies, attempt to eliminate both sides, or achieve their goal stealthily and unnoticed? The choice is completely theirs! Small Party Adventure: Though the party size of 3–5 characters is considered optimal in D&D, there are times when you can only gather one or two players at most. This adventure is designed exactly for such occasions.
Come and wolf down the adventure! It’s been a long time since the people of Welton have worried about anything but sheep ticks and late frosts, but now a pack of strangely determined wolves are spiriting away entire flocks at a time and driving farmers from their fields. With food running low and their sorcerer-in-residence nowhere to be found, the village council send out a desperate plea for brave adventurers to destroy the beasts. Is the job as easy as a walk in the woods, or is there more to the Wolves of Welton than mere animal cunning? There’s only one way to find out… A fresh take on the ancient 'kill ten wolves' quest that RPG fans will be so familiar with, The Wolves of Welton is designed to be played from start to finish in just one 3-6 hour session with limited preparation from the DM. All major characters have roleplaying notes included and full-size environment maps are included.
To a wizard, knowledge is power, and the wizard Lirdrium Arkayz wants to know the mysterious secret of The Rock. Many have tried to discover it - but The Rock keeps its secret well. The wizard offers a rich reward to anyone bold enough to solve this dark mystery. But the road to The Rock leads to danger and hidden peril - dangers that have claimed the lives of many brave adventurers. Rashness and folly will lead to quick death, but riches await the clever and brave. Have you the wits, courage and skill to survive the Journey to The rock? TSR 9106
Complete dungeon which can be used as a standalone game or used in a campaign.
In this adventure for four to six 2nd level characters, you will search the Witchwoods for missing people, overthrow a tyrant, and bring peace and justice to a small frontier town by the name of Bromwich. The Biraven Chronicles are a series of three adventures linked together by an overarching plot. The campaign will take characters from 2nd level all the way to 10th level. FELL DEEDS IN FELFAIR GROVE revolves around the northern region of Biraven, a place called the Felfair Grove and will see the characters advance to 4th level. FELL DEEDS IN FELFAIR GROVE is a fully illustrated 54 PAGES adventure complete with maps, NPC portraits, and more. In it, you will find new monsters and new magic items. Furthermore, every creature encountered in this adventure is included in the appendix so you do not have to look elsewhere for monster stat blocs! FELL DEEDS IN FELFAIR GROVE is made for 5e. It is in its own self-contained setting, but can quickly be adapted to any setting.
You are Erystelle of Dorneryll, famed elfin champion and magic-user. After years of adventuring, you have come home to the Emerlas - the hauntingly beautiful elfin woodland at the tip of Canolbarth forest. A place of legends and of peace. The journey has been long, but soon the winding forest track will bring you to Dorneryll, the majestic oak tree home of your childhood. Ahead, you glimpse a plume of smoke curling lazily into the sky. Dorneyll is close, and your mind floods with thoughts of home. Suddenly, your reverie is shattered! The thin plume of smoke is gone, an in its place a column of red flame leaps high among the trees. Dorneryll is under attack! Gripping your lance, you urge your mount into a gallop. Starbow surges forward; your war dogs close on her heels... Blade of Vengeance is an adventure for one player and one dungeon master, featuring a lone elf against the forces of evil. Can you save the Emerlas from destruction? The answer waits inside. TSR 9108
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
Who is the dying woman? Where is the lake that can save her? Even ladies in distress aren't all that they seem. Ideally, there should be at least a cleric, a magic-user, and a ranger in the party. Pgs. 11-18