About: This encounter was cooked up in the Write your First Encounter workshop by the Storytelling Collective. It CAN be slid in as a side quest in any urban or sub-urban context, or be adapted to add confusion to any rescue mission you are presently running. Synopsis: Through the doorway a young woman shackled to the wall matching the description of Helena can be seen. Though disheveled and looking to be in great discomfort, her beauty is remarkable. But on closer inspection, there are other people here — three identical Helenas! Noble woman Elize Cleron has hired the party to infiltrate the catacombs under the Schaefer Estate and free her twin sister Helena. Helena is being held captive by the Schaefer family, trade rivals rumored to have ties to the underworld. Elize has been unable to free her sister herself because of her identical appearance. Rather than pay an unrealistic ransom, Elize has provided the party with what they need to break her out. This encounter is intended for 3rd level characters.
Just Add Water is a sewer-based dungeon crawl that can be easily inserted into any adventure. All you need is a location with a sewer system and a reason for the party to explore it.
We get it. Factions are an integral part of D&D, but it's not always clear how to use them in your campaigns. Luckily, Factions of Sigil has you covered for each of the twelve main factions found across Sigil and the Outlands! This supplement goes over the various rules and lore around the primary factions found in Sigil and the Outlands, making it easy for any new or veteran DMs to integrate the factions more into the core stories being told, and making them feel more useful for the players that choose to join. In this adventure, the Harmonium in Sigil request the characters travel to Haerton Fort in the Outlands to capture a fugitive, only for the characters to be caught in the middle of a siege!
Brand new variations and components for spells in the Player’s Handbook. Discover the notes of a meticulous nothic, driven to answer this question (at all costs) for every spell that calls for material components! Designed for both players and dungeon masters, this supplement expands the possibilities of the spells you know by using strange and unusual alternative components. What would you promise a mermaid in exchange for a pearl that doubled your speed when walking on water and also let you walk on fog? How far would you go to obtain glass globes crafted by a storm giant that let your lightning bolt bend or fork? Increase player agency and demonstrate character interest through the variety of magical ingredients (including both narrative and literal seeds) and the use of customized magic. Spell lists are organized by class and level, making it simple to find the incantation you need. 195 New component options with one or more for each of the spells in the Player’s Handbook that call for material components Enhanced and extraordinary spell effects for each spell cast with alternate components. 34 quest options for learning these new spell variations Bonus side quests to encourage characters to follow their own interests Easy-to-use linked appendices for spells organized by class and by level Notes from the anonymous nothic and inspiring art included throughout the entire codex
Welcome to the town of Talos, where things are fairly peaceful aside from the ritualistic sacrifices that have been occurring lately. Have a lovely dinner that ends with your party being trapped in a cellar, bound and one member short. The clock is ticking to see if they can solve the mystery of the cult and find their missing companion before it is too late.
A shadow hangs over the dark and dreary town of Squill. Townsfolk are being murdered in their beds without any explanation and the local graveyard has become a dangerous, haunted place. Consumed by fear, the men and women of Squill have begun casting evil glances at a young orphan boy. The victims, it seems, all had links to the lonely child, and none of them were good. A local priestess, however, wonders if the heart of the darkness consuming the town lies in a necromancer slain nearby only a few months ago...
"The Dark Forest" is an elder shadow drake lair suitable for four 8th-level characters. This adventure can be completed in one session. A hidden grove within a dark forest has been home to a tribe of alseids for generations. The tribe's most recent leader and spiritual heart was an alseid shaman called Riatha the Raven. Within the grove lies an ancient ring of standing stones atop a burial mount. Here, Riatha conducted sacred nature rites to honor and bless the forest and the tribe. During one of these ceremonies, the ground rumbled and a column of dense black energy shot straight up from the burial mound and into the night sky. Thick darkness enveloped the area, and the suddenly blinded alseids heard terrible roars. An instant later, the darkness dissipated to reveal a mysterious pool ringed with skulls among the standing stones. Two large, dragon-like creatures with black scales and burning red eyes glared at the confused alseids. One the ground lay the body of Riatha, deathly still. Terror and chaos followed as the creatures brought swift and sudden death, killing most of the alseid tribe members with razor-sharp teeth and deadly, black breath. The alseids that survived the inital, bloody attack fled into the forest. They counterattacked a few hours later, desperate to reclaim their grove and recover the body of their beloved leader, but the attempt was a fiasco and they were quickly driven off. Now, the few remaining alseids hide in the forest, frightened and unsure of what to do next.
The Kingdom of Halruaa’s past is a mystery. The disappearance of the entire kingdom during the Spellplague and its subsequent return has always been looked upon as feat of magic that will never be replicated and Halruaa’s Council of Elders has dedicated itself to ensuring that this magic remains hidden. rumors are starting to surface that someone may have found a way to duplicate the feat and this has made faction leaders throughout Toril nervous, especially when recent communications with Faction agents in the area have grown silent. What can be discovered in the Kingdom of Halruua? Are the rumors true or is there something else entirely happening? The Discarded Gem is a 3 to 4-hour adventure for characters level 1 - 4.
A storm of unparalleled fury has been ravaging the peaks of the Earthspur Mountains for a tenday, and the Monastery of the Yellow Rose sits in its eye for now. Some monks have fled the monastery to the safety of Mulmaster and beseech you to convince their more obstinate brothers to retreat to the city before the eye of the storm shifts, and the monestary is in terrible danger. Can you brave the elements and convince the monks to escape?
Just outside Per-Bastet, in the kingdom of Nuria Natal, lie the newly discovered remains of Anu-Asir, a city once believed to exist only in myth. The ruins of Anu-Asir lie submerged under accumulations of sand, floodwater, and tall tales. It is now a hub of activity for those seeking to uncover its secrets— and profit from them. Droves of the curious, hopeful, greedy, and eccentric congregate around the unearthed city. And just outside Anu-Asir, across the River Nuria, lies the most recently surfaced relic: the Pyramid of Tiberesh. Dare you explore its deadly mysteries?
This scenario was presented to Gryphcon's 30th anniversary last year. The party finds themselves coming to the Triland on their way to Taco Del Toro. This island chain is unique in that it has a land mass made of clouds, hovering over the island. Upon landing, your group discovers that the governor's child has been abducted by a Cloud Giantess. Time for your hero hats...
𝐀𝐥𝐚𝐛𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐏𝐚𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐚𝐨 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐒𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐉𝐞𝐰𝐞𝐥 𝐇𝐞𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐄𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞 Wherein our adventurers seek out the Topaz of Earthly Perfection, reputed to be held within an extraplanar mountainside genie retreat. 𝐀 𝐃&𝐃 𝟓𝐄 𝐚𝐝𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝟒-𝟕 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝟏𝟏𝐭𝐡-𝟏𝟒𝐭𝐡 𝐥𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥. 𝟑𝟔 𝐩𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐬.
"The Aboleth's Grotto" is a nihileth lair suitable for four 10th-level characters. The adventure can be completed in one session. The small town of Springwell harbors a secret that almost nobody knows about, and those who do conveniently ignore: it sights right over an unoccupied settlement of the deep caverns of the underworld.
These are three one-shot dungeon delves. Each delve features nine rooms or locations full of challenges and interactivity. Each delve has only one type of monster, but they are complex, and there are lots of them! This volume of Wicked Little Delves includes three small dungeon adventures: - a tunnel complex full of dragons trying to eat each other, - a desert palace of sorcerous mummies trying to restore life to the wasteland, and - an ancient cathedral where zealots of Chaos try to summon unspeakable terrors from beyond the stars. SYSTEM: Each monster has stats for Fifth Edition, Old School Essentials, and Into the Odd. These adventures are intended for characters at levels 7, 8, and 9. They are mainly focused on exploration and combat, with some minor social encounters. Estimated run time for each: 1 session, or 2-5 hours. Each adventure includes one complex original monster and a variety of unique treasures. ADVENTURE TYPE: Mid Level / Combat / Exploration / One-Shot / Dungeon Delve DESIGN NOTES These adventures are intended for mid-level characters Level 7-9 9 unique encounter locations per delve (27 in all!) 3 original monsters with multiple abilities and weaknesses Dungeon maps and original illustrations
The annual Winterflower Festival & Dance is just around the corner! What originally started as a festival to honor the rare Winterflower has grown into an annual gathering for families, soldiers, and hunters to eat, drink, and dance the night away. The festival is named after the rarest flower in the world. It thrives in a cold mountainous region and has a reputation for growing on sheer mountain peaks and cliffs. It is the only flower known to grow through layers of snow in order to reach the sunlight. When carefully transplanted near the village the Winterflower is considered a blessing which protects the village from harm. It is customary for the men of the village to ask the women to the dance by presenting them with rare, difficult to obtain gifts. A woman will usually select from the men based on the rarity of the gift with which she was presented. This year, a beautiful maiden by the name of Gwendolyn has come of age and many men vie for her attention. Three such men are Nicoli Vrodle, Alem Dulgra, and Vladimir Pelchonal- all of which are willing to go to great lengths to attend the Winterflower Festival & Dance with the maiden Gwendolyn on their arm. Each of the three men hire the PCs to retrieve the rarest gifts in the land. The catch? The Winterflower Festival starts in just 5 days so the PCs must hurry!
"The Hive" is a spawn of Arbeyach lair, also featuring giant termites and termite swarms, for five 6th-level characters. This adventure can be finished in one session. Several mounds in the Forsaken Hills are the dens of voracious termites that have added flesh to their diet to supplement dwindling wood supplies. At night, swarms of termites hunt and devour prey. They swarm over victims in wooden carts and wagons, and bring the dismantled wood back to their mounds. Three spawn of Arbeyach, searching for a location to summon Ia'Affrat, Arbeyach's herald, discovered a mound filled with particularity nasty termites and used their vermin empathy to gain acceptance. They dug out a cavern beneath the mound, and now use the termites to protect themselves and gather food while they complete a difficult ritual involving dozens of sacrifices. The final sacrifice is prepared and the spawn are finishing their ritual when the party arrives.
Times are hard in the Hillsfar countryside, especially for those of non-human ancestry. Unscrupulous merchants in league with the hated Red Plumes bleed local farmers and artisans dry. Perhaps some of those loot-laden caravans coming and going from Hillsfar could use a bit of liberation? A four-hour adventure for 1st-4th level characters.
Beasts in the Blizzard After offending that wizard last night, you awake feeling a strange chill in your bones. Perhaps it’s just a figment of your imagination, a physical manifestation of paranoia. As you rise from your bed and look out the window, you think perhaps not.
You are hired by the Greenskull orc clan as merceneries to assist in the eradication of a firblog settlement from the swamp the orcs need to conquer in order to survive. You are first sent in to retrieve the bodies of scouts that never returned, but you soon realize that something wicked is going on in the swamp. Will you escape with your lives, or will you also become a victim of the Druid's Curse?
Moon over Graymoor is a short adventure written for Dungeons and Dragons 5th Edition, for first level player characters. It is intended to be a good first adventure to run; something for new players, or even a new Dungeon Master to try. The players are turned loose in a hamlet that has suffered a handful of vicious murders, and it’s up to them to investigate. Players will gather clues, canvass the villagers, and if they’re smart, pick up a few things along the way that might just give them enough bite to face off against the beast, and survive.