Your PCs are reaching the upper end of the heroic tier. New worlds are opening up to them—they might have already ventured to the Feywild, for example, and made contacts with inhabitants of that magical plane. Now they are ready to take their first steps into the darkness. The Shadowfell awaits... Vandariel, a shadar-kai witch who calls herself the Voice of Pain, is a fanatic devotee of the Raven Queen. She has founded and become the self-proclaimed high priest of a bizarre cult, the Lords of Pain, whose purpose is to bring more fey into the shadow pact with that goddess of death. Although the original shadar-kai entered this pact voluntarily, and the race breeds true, Vandariel is consumed by what she sees as a divine mission to reveal the mystery to all fey—whether they wish it or not. Those who do not come voluntarily to the truth are brought against their will. Dark stalkers move like the night, seeking out and abducting suitable subjects. This Side Trek can serve as an introduction to the dangers of the shadow realm. It works well for PCs who are approaching the paragon tier, since it presents a reasonable challenge for characters of 10th level. It is suitable as a climactic encounter for lowerlevel adventurers, as well. It consists of only two encounters.

Kalzok the Minotaur pirate discovered an old smuggler's hold on a tiny island in the Nelanther Isles, not far from Nemessor. The island sits amid a dangerous archipelago encircled with scores of hidden shoals that is avoided by all but the most daring or foolish navigators. The area's waters are notorious for claiming the ships of unwary sea captains who tried to steer through the gauntlet of hidden reefs. This offering includes an overview of Kalzok's island along with the details of Kalzok's hidden lair.

Charasta, an old white dragon, has not reached her age by being unprepared or foolish she is, in fact, much more intelligent than most white dragons. Her lair is well defended and tailor-made to help her defend herself. Not only that, but when she leaves the caves to hunt she’s taken to using change self to disguise her exact color. This wily white makes a perfect foe for your party adventuring in the North of Faerûn or in almost any other campaign setting as well.

The Hag's Hexes is a 66 page guide designed by Dungeon Masters Guild luminaries like JVC Parry and Janek Sielicki alongside rising stars and old stalwarts like Matt Butler, Matthew Gravelyn, and Tim Bannock. It was created with one thing in mind: to make hags more than the sum of their (often meager) Challenge ratings, giving them the mechanics, roleplay potential, and weird magic that can inspire campaigns, lay low kings and warlords, and potentially ensnare unwary Player Characters into campaign-changing curses or long-term bargains that force them into terrible moral quandaries! Split into five chapters, the authors have provided everything a DM needs to terrify their players for years to come. The Bestiary features over a dozen monsters; some are new hags, some are their minions or even their mobile lairs, and one of them -- the Shaitan AKA Desert Hag -- was featured in Monsters of the Guild! Bargains & Curses is a chapter filled with ideas that can kick-start campaigns, threaten valued NPCs, or put Player Characters' very existence and morality at stake. Chapter 3 includes two dozen items of wonderment, weirdness, and dread, ranging from fairy tale-inspired items of whimsy to terribly cursed items of horror. Chapter 4 is titled "Filthy, Vile & Downright Dirty" and provides dozens of roleplaying tips to make hags come alive, new mechanics inspired by and expanding on Volo's Guide to Monsters (coven spell lists, aunties, grandmothers, alternative coven members), and ends with useful combat tactics for each of the hags from the Monster Manual and Volo's Guide, as well as tactics for covens. Finally, Chapter 5 presents five encounter groups (with sub-encounters) to give you quick story seeds and monster lists that you can put together in minutes to create a single encounter or to inspire a full campaign, and ends with three full-length adventures -- each with 3-5 encounters -- that showcase many of the new monsters, rules, magic items, and so on that appeared in earlier chapters. Each of these adventures comes with an encounter map meant to act as inspiration for hag lairs, and they include useful mechanical ideas for terrain effects and descriptive keywords listed directly on the map for added inspiration and easy customization! Designed by Tim Bannock. Written by Matt Butler, JVC Parry, Janek Sielicki, and Tim Bannock. Edited by Matthew Gravelyn and Tim Bannock. Cover Art by Elena Naylor. Cartography by Tim Bannock using Inkwell Ideas' Dungeonographer (Dungeonographer is copyright Inkwell Ideas). Layout & Graphic Elements by Elena Naylor with Tim Bannock. Interior Art by Arcana Games, Bruno Balixa, David Lewis Johnson, Dean Spencer, Earl Geier, Filip Gutowski, Jacob E. Blackmon, Joyce Maureira, Petr Kratochvil, Jayaraj Paul, Brian Brinlee, and Wizards of the Coast.

South of Tarlac Keep and across Lake Lowe lies a dormant volcano and its set of caverns. This location is currently the home to the powerful Artillus Highwing a massive Black Dragon. Artillus and his mate were responsible for the destruction of Tarlac at the cost of his partner. Artillus lost most of his army that day and has since moved into the caverns and attempted to rebuild the army to set his revenge upon the area.

A desperate refugee emerges from the earth's depths in shadow-cloaked Nidal with an urgent pleas. A new faction in the subterranean dark folk city of Lyrudrada -- a wicked cult called the Reborn -- seeks a fabled artifact called the Cradle of Night. Vanished demigods of the Shadow Plane once used this artifact to craft the elusive caligni race, and the Reborn want to use it to shroud the world in darkness once more. Cursed with the stain of shadow, the heroes must battle their way through the tomb of an ancient horselord chieftain before descending to Lyrudrada. Plots and schemes run rampant in this city riven with political upheavals and back-alley bloodshed, and the heroes must collect allies and information to confront the Reborn in their fortified fane. With the mysterious masters of the caligni race arrayed against them, can the heroes hope to shed their shadowy curse and claim the Cradle of Night?

In a cavern lying beneath the surface of the ocean is a series of trials awaiting any heroes who think they are worthy. Come meet the ancient tortoise who wants nothing other than to try out his riddles, partake in the bullywug tournament with such exciting events as Wig-Wag-Woe, and face down the wrath of a mindflayer. Contains multiple uniques puzzles and riddles to give your players a challenge beyond combat.

Called by the Elder Elemental Eye to serve, four corrupt prophets have risen from the depths of anonymity to claim mighty weapons with direct links to the power of the elemental princes. Each of these prophets has assembled a cadre of cultists and creatures to serve them in the construction of four elemental temples of lethal design. It is up to adventurers from heroic factions such as the Emerald Enclave and the Order of the Gauntlet to discover where the true power of each prophet lay, and dismantle it before it comes boiling up to obliterate the Realms.

Ruins of the Grendleroot is a book of ten easy-to-prep and easy-to-run adventures for the fifth edition of the world's most popular fantasy roleplaying game. Designed for characters of 1st to 5th level, these adventures take place in the caverns, chambers, tunnels, and ruins of Blackclaw Mountain, within which lurks a strange otherworldly sentience known as the Grendleroot. Ruins of the Grendleroot focuses on the sense of mystery and wonder that comes from exploring ancient ruins and lost chambers. The central hub of these adventures, Deepdelver's Enclave, is a frontier outpost overlooking the ruined city of Shadowreach, set deep within the mountain. In Deepdelver's Enclave, adventurers and explorers recount tales of their explorations, trade treasure and artifacts, and enjoy their shared love of uncovering the mysteries of the mountain.

Greed blinds the eyes of contentment Dwarf miners discovered a precious stone deposit. Unfortunately, their greed led them to dig tunnels too deep. Upon breaching the walls of an unholy temple, the miners unleashed a bizarre creature that decimated them all. 'They Dug Too Deep' is a system-agnostic one-page dungeon about exploring an abandoned and mysterious dwarven mine. As characters delve into the site, they'll uncover that not everything is as it seems – a sealed entrance from the inside, the corpses of dwarves scattered around, strange messages on the walls... Play to discover what really happened! 2023 Winners' Circle One-page Dungeon! 'They Dug Too Deep' was awarded as one of the top 10 one-page dungeons in the 2023 One Page Dungeon Contest! To celebrate, we offer you some extra stuff to enhance your play experience. There is more underground than just precious stones... What you'll find here: A complete 18-room one-page dungeon with easy preparation. A GM's Pamphlet containing tips on how to run the adventure and compiling the most relevant information. 4 character sheets using the Vagari RPG rules system. 5 custom tokens for use in your favorite VTT. Mini-hexcrawl map (NEW!)

30 Ravenloft adventures inspired by various domains of dread, including Gothic Earth, that can be played as a single campaign! Dreams of Solitude is a collection of thirty exciting adventures that can either be played as a campaign, run as a one-shot, or have pieces taken out to supplement your current home game! You'll meet your match against Atarte, the evil master of dreams, who will task you to defend ancient fortresses from the undead, explore a terrifying maze, fight in the trenches of world war 1 or even a karaoke contest with werewolves! It's SO much fun, and you'll be able to go back for more adventures, again and again! Adventures summary: Demon's Isle: Explore a watery cave and find your way to the Pirate Demon Zekel! Airic's Forest: Survive a forest ruled by werewolves while you try to find the cure for lycanthropy! Fractured City: Enter a glitchy uncompleted illusory town and try to find the "Butcher" that roams the dark alleys. The Heinfroth Heist: Enter Dr. Heinfroth's asylum and steal his journal without becoming his test subject! Tomb of the Hentempet the Red Queen: Face Hentempet the red queen inside her Pharaoh tomb! Graveyard Of invitation: Enter a cursed graveyard and follow the clues to find the reason why the undead have risen! Fey Blood Merchant: Help the Vistani child escape his Rakshasha master before he returns! Horrors in Chateaufaux: Play the role of the Gendarmerie guards and find out who creates chaos in the roads of Dementlieu! On the Run: Explore an ancient tomb and escape the curse that you have unleashed! Vampire Escort Child: Can you help this poor child leave this jail meant for monsters? Defend the Keep!: Command your own military force to defend a keep against waves of undead! Lena's Pets: Explore the heidius laboratory of Frantisek Markov's student and escape before you become body parts for her next experiment! Lava trip: Who would want to be inside an ACTIVE VOLCANO? RUN! Escape Rooms: Find the way to escape before time runs out! How investigative are you? Singing Showdown: Karaoke competition with werewolves??? Labyrinthine Horror: Can you escape the labyrinth before the Vampiric Minotaur catches you? Teety's Hunt for Lulo: Find Teety's elusive love in an enchanted forest of pain! Monster Lab: Create your own Flesh Golem and make sure you are a good parent! Through fire and steel: Run through the No-man's-land while enemy planes and tanks bombard you and assassinate the enemy general! Don't forget to dodge the bullets! Drowning in Filth: Will you manage to escape before you drown in filth? Wilted Roses: Explore the forests of Sithicus and find the Black Rose Effigy! Shyclin’s Circus: An encounter inspired by the Carnival. The joke's on you! Among Us: Can you find shelter in a small cabin found in the woods? The Free Trader, Mist Runner: Avoid the enemy pirate ship at all cost while trying to reach the port with your own ship! The Curious Case of the Man Who Drowned in Air: Solve a detective's case in Victorian era London! Night at the Museum: Protect the museum's artifacts from invisible adversaries! Raid the Shadow: Lay siege on a castle controlled by the undead! Who could be its ruler? Journey to the Center: Control a mechanical worm of Kwalish and drill to the center of the earth to mine mithril! Journey Through Barovia: Visit Barovia's most famous places while trying to solve riddles or die trying! Choose Nothing: Solve a Death Slaad's riddle or get mad! The Final Dream: Tackle Atarte and their illusions in an environment that continiously alters between all of the dream-adventures! Only few can take on a Darklord and live to tell the tale! Published by Mistfactor Press

Something sinister is brewing in the Emerald forest! It starts off simple, as they do. A group of fresh-faced adventurers is tasked with clearing out rats in the tavern cellar. What they find down there is something more than they bargained for. Now, they have to make a perilous journey across an uncharted forest to face off against an unknown threat (it’s a swarm of BrainiumOGL Rats). The fate of the entire world might be at stake! (or that of a small hamlet, at any rate!) Ratcatchers is a 4-6 hour setting neutral one-shot adventure for four to five characters of level 1-2. It has been designed keeping in mind players new to the game. Features A 25 page full-color and fully illustrated PDF, a printer friendly B&W version, and a tested for screen readers accessible version. A beginner friendly adventure that hangs a lampshade on RPG tropes, then sets said lampshade on fire. A template to convert any beast into were-rat hybrids. Rat-bunny and rat-pigeon, a.k.a. Trash Gryphons included. Several colorful battle maps for VTT use. Terrible rat based puns. Content Warning: The intended tone of this adventure is a mix of horror and comedy. Where it exactly lies on the spectrum of horror to comedy is up to you, the DM, and your players. There is depiction of body transformation and body horror, parental neglect and tight spaces. Also, there are rats. Lots and lots of rats. Published by undeadR

A very big problem from a very small source. Pay the toll or feed the troll' seems pretty obvious. Too bad that it isn't. A tricky gnome has used illusions to fleece anyone crossing a bridge, posing as a fearsome troll. To direct more traffic across his bridge, he has also set fire to the Great Bridge downstream. The players find the Great Bridge burned and follow this detour. At the bridge, the players will fight with the illusory troll. After a few rounds, it flees back to the gnome's lair under the bridge, and the players will need to deal with a combination of the gnome and his traps if they investigate. Pgs. 22,23 & 69

A blood curdling SCREAM shatters our adventurers rest as they set up camp for the evening. Without warning the forest comes alive and a heroic struggle begins, as our adventurers battle to avoid becoming the forest's latest victims. Take your players deep into a cursed glade on a dark and stormy night to confront an evil Druidess, and a horrifically corrupt tree...

Adventuring in the Principality of Lockerbie continues with Issue in the Canyon. Your party has enjoyed the advantages of being considered a hero but as the days’ progress, it is back to normal in Gormell. After having a bit of ale at the local tavern you notice a wagon caravan has arrived in town and the people are abuzz over their arrival. Noticing that some of employees are a little beat up, you find yourself in the sheriff’s office being told of a brazen, humanoid attack on the merchants. Looks like you just found a job opportunity!

The ruins of Castle Hermitage are shrouded in mystery after the disappearance of Lord Soulis Hermitage some 50 years ago. In the time since, the thriving village of Bellshall has grown a reputation for its market and specifically for the gemstones that can be bought there. Unfortunately for the people of Bellshall that supply of gemstones is at risk. Something is watching the Deep Gnomes who live and work in the mine. Soon it will need to feed. Are there any heroes who can help defeat this horrible menace, save the Deep Gnomes, and the village’s prosperity? Contains: A 4 to 6-hour adventure for four 4th level characters. With scaling information for other levels. A new CR3 monster, the Ettercap Host. Print friendly version. Accessible version. Separate GM & player map images for VTT use (Gridded and Gridless).

Can the city of Redshore be saved from utter destruction? "The Razing of Redshore" is a D&D adventure that confronts the party with the destructive force of an awakened sperm whale druid and the sinister machinations of a secret cabal of powerful assassins. It is designed to provide such a group with an opportunity to continue their adventuring careers into the realms detailed in the "Epic Level Handbook". This book is not required to make full use of this adventure, though; any pertinent information from the supplement is reproduced here. Pgs. 72-106

The Raven Queen’s servants often seek out mighty allies. One of these is the black dragon Quetzallus, who resides in a deep cavern on the Shadowfell guarding a stream of souls flowing into the Raven Queen’s realm. But a death knight named Raxikarthus, betrayed by the Raven Queen in life, now seeks to enslave this dragon for his own purposes. He madly believes that he can stand against the Raven Queen, and seeks allies of all stripes—even her own servants—to do so. The death knight has found a pathway into the Shadowfell thought closed by mortals. Beneath a decayed keep, the undead dragonborn has reopened this portal and led his forces into the Shadowfell itself. The PCs are called in to beard the death knight in his lair. They find it abandoned, but discover a strange passage in the lower reaches. Pgs. 162-167

For centuries, the volcano now called Mount Zulgar was the battlefield of a conflict between red dragons and frost giants. The final battle saw the extinction of the dragons and only a handful of living giants. The dwarves of the Frostblood clan used this opportunity to drive out the giants and take the mountain as their own for its rich deposits of gold. 100 have passed, and now the volcano bubbles to life once more, bringing with it all manner of fiery creatures. Miners have been killed, and implike monsters assault the citizens of the mountain. The master of the goldsmith's guild has called upon your party to snuff out the Fire in the Frostblood Mine. Fire in the Frostblood Mine is a 4-5 hour adventure for 4 3rd-level characters. It can be used as either a one-shot or as part of an ongoing campaign. This module includes a single-session adventure to introduce your players to the strange creatures of the inner planes, maps of the two levels of Frostblood Mine, and a unique sentient magic item.

A serpentine lamia lair suitable for four or five 4th-level characters. A matriarch lamia leads a large consortium of merchants from a distance and through intermediaries. However, she has recently descended into the common madness of her kind and set up a 'celebration' at an abandoned mine for her consortium and their guards. Will you survive the party?