The first savage tide has already touched the mortal world, yet none who live today recall this time of red ruin. Unleashed from the cruel heart of a fell seed known as a shadow pearl, this savage tide swept over an ancient city perched atop the crown of a remote island. The tide transformed beggar and noble, merchant and thief, resident and visitor into feral, ravenous fiends. The fruits of centuries of labor came crumbling down in a matter of days, and when the survivors tried to stem the tide by destroying the pearl, the resulting blast of power sunk their city into the boiling lake of death. Through it all, the Abyssal architect of the savage tide watched, taking pride in the ruin. When the tide's final ripples had faded, what was left became known as the Isle of Dread. Now, after a thousand years, the true masters of the Isle of Dread look upon new targets, new cities beyond the horizon, compelled by the hateful will of their demonic lord Demogorgon to prepare for the coming glory. This time, the doom will not be limited to one hapless city. This time, all of civilization waits unknowing on the shore, blissfully ignorant of what the incoming tide brings in. "There Is No Honor" is the first chapter of the Savage Tide Adventure Path, a complete campaign consisting of 12 adventures that will appear in the next twelve issues of Dungeon. For additional aid in running this campaign, check out Dragon's monthly "Savage Tidings" articles, a series that helps players and DMs prepare for and expand upon the campaign. Issue #348 of Dragon kicks off this series with details on six affiliations based in Sasserine that your players may wish to join. And if you're running Savage Tides in the Forgotten Realms or Eberron, make sure to check paizo.com for the latest conversion notes for each adventure. The Savage Tide Adventure Path debuts as a new band of heroes confronts exotic monsters, undead pirates, and a sinister guild of thieves on the cusp of unleashing a murderous coup. Pgs. 14-46
Stories of misfortune are often exaggerated, especially when they have been retold many times. For that reason, most people aren't taking seriously the claim that a sea monster living along the coast is eating whole ships full of sailors and swallowing entire families. But there's no denying a few facts -- the town of Lochfell is losing its citizens to a sea monster (one that walks on water no less), someone is stealing that same town's dead, and ships are beginning to choose other ports for unloading their goods. Such a scenario could doom the residents of the small port town to either a monster's gullet or the poorhouse. No one seems to know whether the town's two ongoing problems are connected, but the sea monster never leaves behind a corpse to bury. Is it collecting bodies for some dark purpose? Or did some more powerful evil creature create the sea monster to do its dirty work? Someone in Lochfell knows the answer, and it's up to the PCs to find it out. Lochfell’s Secret is a short D&D adventure for four 15th level player characters (PCs). The story is set in and around the port town of Lochfell. You can place the action in any section of your campaign world where a coastal town on a bay might exist. If there is a small town that the PCs visited in a past adventure but haven’t returned to in quite a while, so much the better. As always, feel free to adapt the material presented here as you see fit to make it work with your campaign.
Adventures from the Potbellied Kobold provides you with fifteen unique adventures to use as one-shots, additions to your current campaign, or inspiration for a new campaign. We've even included a way to link several of the adventures, allowing you to run a short and quick campaign. The adventures use basic 5E creatures, custom creatures, and several Kobold Press creatures. Each adventure is written for a specific party level, but we've also included suggestions on how to adjust each adventure for a weaker or stronger adventuring party. In addition to fun adventures, you'll also find a few new magic items and NPCs to add to your game.
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.
This new version of the classic adventure is completely updated to 3.5 edition. In The Lost Vault of Tsathzar Rho, a defenseless village asks the characters to slay an out-of-control ogre. Sounds easy enough. But the ogre, who used to be nothing more than a nuisance, has become crazed and psychotic. When the characters arrive at its cave, they find a subterranean portal has connected the cave to a much larger underground complex. Something in that complex has transformed the ogre and many other local creatures into fiendish marauders. In fact, it’s the lost vault of Tsathzar Rho, an ancient wizard and prophet of the Outer Gods, who are gathering their foul minions for battle.
Watch your step. Out-of-this-world adventure. An odd box falls by a watch tower and its up to the party to discover what it is and why its here. Pgs. 22-29
"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.
For the most part, the town of Ockney’s Hold has always been a peaceful place—bordering on boring. The most interesting things going on in this frontier mining settlement include the annual livestock fair, the cost of spirits at its various inns, and speculation fueled by those same spirits as to what foul things are being dumped into the river by the ore refinery. Recently, however, the usually placid Baron Reinson has begun to act erratically, ignoring most of his counselors, giving more responsibility to his equally erratic chamberlain, and replacing key figures in Ockney’s Hold with outsiders. With no clear answers as to what might be behind the baron’s strange behavior, his last loyal counselor seeks out a band of adventurers to help. Will these brave heroes be able to get to the bottom of a widening conspiracy? And can they expose the terrible and unseen forces manipulating the baron in time to save Ockney’s Hold? Published by Gamehole Publishing.
With rumors of disappearances running rampant in the area, your group comes into the small community of Morla Dale with more questions than answers. Several wanted posters during your journey have shown a criminal called Sukits the Butcher. Perhaps this strange individual is behind the abductions?
A few weeks ago, a neogi flying ship met with misfortune in a furious thunderstorm as it was setting out on a long journey. Heavily damaged, it crashed on an isolated rocky beach. Several neogi and their slaves were killed or injured in the crash, but five of the small monsters survived, along with four umber hulks and a handful of other useful slaves. Under the leadership of the sorcerer Neex Hist, the neogi are working to repair their ship so they can continue their interrupted voyage. In the meantime, they have set up camp in a large sea save close by the site of the shipwreck. While the repairs continue, the neogi and their minions are scouring the area for anything of interest - there's no point in leaving potentially valuable merchandise in the vicinity of the crash site, after all. Pgs. 101-106 Suitable for lvls 6-8 in 5e, using 5e stats.
Once a naval powerhouse, the Kingdom of Bane ruled the waters wherever they went. Four decades ago the neighboring countries noticed a stark difference taking over the once lush Bane. As the years progressed, rumors swirled about the downfall of the proud nation but the overall view was that a curse took over. The kingdom had been famous for the multitude of riches and magic it once possessed and it is widely believed that undiscovered treasures await any adventurer brave enough to test their mettle against the curse as well as the elements. This offering is 70 pages of magic, challenges, and a lot of urban discoveries. This scenario can be cut up and used as individual projects or as a massive campaign. The original campaign allowed the players to move from fifth level up to eighth!
Caverns of the Dorgel Mountains is/was the finale in Filbar series. It features Lexicon Meridius the Ancient Red Dragon and scourge of the Dwarf Lords (F4 & F5). This large adventure represents how I look at the difficulty of taking on the deadliest dragon of the Prime Material plane. Will your party return to the Halls of the Dwarf Lords to help aid them one more time?
After a string of successful adventures, you find yourselves reequipping gear in the small community of Tarten. After an unusual currency exchange in the mercantile, the party learns that a group of adventurers had encountered some Goblins possessing old currency belonging to the Co-Tai people. Well, it ain’t grave robbin’ if someone else did for you!
Along the windswept sea coast are several natural stone columns, sacred to the Sea Goddess Pelagia. One of these pillars is the tower of a reclusive wizard, a devout follower of Pelagia. But the wizard has gone missing, and the locals suspect foul play. Surely a powerful wizard must have many enemies! A band of fledgling heroes is tasked with entering one of the Pillars of Pelagia to contend with all manner of magical defenses, while uncovering cryptic clues to the wizard’s disappearance planted by an unknown benefactor. The insidious evil plot they uncover could spell eventual doom for the surface world. But the Pillars are sacred to Pelagia, and the Sea Goddess herself might just play a minor role, aiding the heroes as they attempt to thwart a nefarious plot.
Long abandoned and all but forgotten, Ridgeway Watch has fallen to lawless hands. Travellers talk of ambushes on the high pass, but few dare challenge Kessel’s gang. Can the heroes reclaim the ruin, or will they join the list of the missing?
While sitting around your favorite tavern, a loud explosion shatters the serene mood of Moscow. You sprint to the source and discover the distillery has exploded. The glum populace grumble loudly. With winter setting in and nothing to do the citizens rely on the libations from this business to cheer them up. You are approached to scour the canyon area before the winter sets in to find a few extra kegs for the people.
The party approaches the Dwarven Kingdom of Narol'Duun, where things are far different than in your typical dwarven empire. The first major difference is that Narol'Duun is split into three distinct categories of dwarven tribes based on the main type of ore that they mine and refine. The dwarves take on characteristics of these ores - the Cobalt Dwarves having a tinge of blue to their hair, the Copper Dwarves having tough skin and beards of shining reddish-brown, and the skin of the Iron Dwarves is a deep grey in color. These dwarves engage in trade and drink, but the one thing that they are sure to never do is breed outside of their respective tribes. To be found in a relationship with a dwarf of another tribe is to be exiled to the surface - a punishment worse than death for most of these dwarves. On this particular adventure, the party finds themselves caught up in a case of forbidden love between a royal member of the Cobalt Dwarf family - Nadom Glintstone - and a simple merchant woman from the Copper Dwarf tribe by the name of Lajeera Copperfist. They have been doing their best to keep their love a secret for they both know the risks, but the Cobalt King, Norgith Glintstone, has suspicions and is deeply afraid of the damage such a scandal could have on his family's reputation. He doesn't want to draw any attention to the situation, so it is difficult to find a dwarf of his own tribe that could look into it further, so when the party comes along he sees it as a perfect opportunity. He will hire the party to look into the situation with Nadom, offering grand rewards in exchange for the truth if they can provide proof. The party will be torn between multiple threads of possibility in this adventure – telling Norgith the truth about his son's affair with Lajeera, helping Lajeera to permanently change her form to that of a Cobalt Dwarf so they can be together, or perhaps even trying to end the tribalistic ways of the dwarven kingdoms all together. This is a heavily role-playing based adventure, perfect for those who would rather talk their way through a difficult situation than cut their way through it, but there is still some combat along the way depending on the party’s choices. This story will decide if love can win out against all odds or if the temptation of coin is greater than the happiness of others.
The white dragon Hinterbite has kept the barony of Icenvale ruler-less and poor for centuries. But now his power and that of his secret supporters is threatened by the popularity of an heir who hopes to make a change for the betterment of the people. Can the PCs take on the dragon and his minions and restore power to the barony's rightful ruling line? Download this new adventure by Owen K.C. Stephens and let your PCs face the dangers of the dragon lair! Fait Accompli is suitable for 12th-level characters. At its most basic level of use, Fate Accompli is a straightforward quest to clear a dungeon and slay some dragons in an arctic climate. However, it also includes political elements that you may either may play down or use to expand the scenario into a mini-campaign, as you wish. Fait Accompli is a short adventure for four 12th-level characters. It is set in the wilderness north of a minor border barony that has at best an arms-length relationship with any larger nation. Though the adventure requires all these elements to work, it can be set on the outer edge of any kingdom near an arctic region. As always, feel free to adapt the material presented here as you see fit to make it work with your campaign.
After a successful mission for Earl Phenwick you return to receive your accolades. Upon your arrival it is discovered that the earl's child is missing. His daughter was last seen around a mirror of unknown power and an advisor believes that she may have made her way into a different world via the magical portal. Time to put on your hero hats!
Dracula, the Lord of Shadow and Darkness, has covered the land in shadow and dispatched armies of monsters and undead from his magical castle. His armies threaten to overrun major cities and plunge the world into a literal Dark Age. The last of the vampire-hunting clan that traditionally opposed him has disappeared, and still the armies advance. He must be stopped. If that's not enough motivation, it is well-known that his castle is full of magical items and great riches... but also great danger. If you've ever wanted D&D and Castlevania to meet, look no further. This adventure is exactly what you wanted. Every area of the castle poses different and unique challenges to keep the party engaged and on their toes. Written for the DM as a ready-to-run adventure, it is designed for four to six characters. The adventure starts at level 3 at the outer defenses of the castle, and ends with the party advancing to level 13 after defeating Dracula in an epic battle. The adventure includes documentation to help even a new DM succed, including suggestions for how to run each of the area "boss" monsters in combat. There are approximately 50 new enemies and over 3 dozen new magical items. It also comes with a list of suggested music for many areas of the castle, and a 25-page campaign log recounting an actual tabletop play-through of this adventure from the DM's perspective.