Ancient port city on the edge of a desert. The city is stratified by social class and some of the slaves have formed a cannibal cult to Kthulhu. City + hexcrawl + dungeon. The Anthropophagi of Xambaala™ takes players into an action-packed realm of adventure: the mythical world of Hyperborea, a sword-and-sorcery campaign setting inspired by the fantastic fiction of Robert E. Howard, H.P. Lovecraft, Clark Ashton Smith, and others. This adventure is inspired by Robert E. Howard’s “The Man-Eaters of Zamboula” and by various short tales of H.P. Lovecraft and Clark Ashton Smith. It is designed for use with Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea ™(AS&SH™), a role-playing game descended from the original 1974 fantasy wargame and miniatures campaign rules as conceived by E. Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. AS&SH is compatible with most traditional fantasy role-playing games (c. 1974 to 1999) and their modern simulacra, such as OSRIC™ and Swords & Wizardry™. This work is both a setting and an adventure. The setting describes the town of Xambaala, noting key people, locations, and local lore. The adventure proper provides players with a variety of environments and the several factions fighting over them for their own goals. With a bit of skill and luck, stalwart adventurers may emerge richer and maybe wiser. The situation that will develop in Xambaala will be determined by the players’ choices.
The players are invited to a Winter Gala in Waterdeep. After a guest is killed, investigations ensue to the fiendish nature of the home that the gala took place in. There are shopping opportunities on the way in.
Smuggler’s Den takes your group of adventurers above and below the city of Phoenix! After seeing wanted posters aka employment opportunities, you begin to sift around the marketplace for information (and deals). After finding a hint or two you go into the sewers below town to find a group of smugglers that will increase your fame and the size of your coin purses!
When a stuffy noblewoman decides that leshys make for pretty centerpieces for her fancy tea party, she has no idea what sort of trouble she's stirring up. Not every plant in the forest wants to be put on display, and some of them are more than well-equipped to fight for those who are plucked from their homes! In A Fistful of Flowers, you take on the role of one of four unique leshys—plants who have been granted sapience and wills of their own. When new sproutlings are snatched out of the woods and taken away to civilization, it's up to your band of furious flowers and pugilistic plants to set things right! A Fistful of Flowers is a short adventure for 3rd-level characters that takes a band of leshy heroes out of the forest and into that most dangerous of locations—an aristocrat's fancy tea party. In addition, the four pregenerated characters provide a quick way to jump into the adventure right away in this exciting offering for Free RPG Day! Grab some dice and some friends and play the role of the forest's newest heroes!
A dispute erupts between a trade ambassador and a wealthy merchant and the players are hired as champions only to learn that they face a brutal and savvy opponent. Will the players be a second in time? "A Second in Time" is a two-hour adventure for 3-6 players. It is written for characters 1st-3rd level. The players act as a champions in a harsh blood sport that is as much the court of a river city as it is entertainment. This module includes a new poison, a new type of item and a rudimentary rule for addiction. The river city of Lotian is a rough place, where might often means right and the thirst for blood is nigh unquenchable. Gold may be the currency of the realm but justice is paid for in blood...
Nightmares that kill, a mysterious thief that only steals knick-knacks, tales of a huge beast terrorising fisherfolk, an inn with disappearing guests, discoveries of hidden magic portals and rumours of an assassin at large: None of these things are enough to stop the ever-flowing tide of traders and travellers crossing the Bridge of Fallen Men, but its protectors - Cormyr's Purple Dragons - are short on time, and courage... ...will adventurers answer the call?
Everyone in the city eagerly anticipates The Arena's opening at the end of every month. This month, an unexpected change to the lineup just days before is rife with rumours! The most feared and respected gladiator in history, Imhullu, the Dragon of Marduk, has issued a challenge to an unknown rival—a fight to the death on charges of heresy. Rumours of insults and slander are spreading throughout the Great Market, though the truth remains inscrutable. The crowds gathered outside The Arena are beyond belief; people must have come from every dimension. Gaining entrance to The Arena is going to be next to impossible. Also, you don't have a ticket! Fortunately for you, you haven't spent your youth in a particularly productive manner! Centred around a gigantic arena full of gladiators, your adventurers must brave the depths of The Pits evading and fighting strange, horrifying creatures, in order to gain entrance. Once inside, they must hold strong against social and political pressures in the hopes of finding a seat in time to watch the main event! But have they gotten themselves caught up in secrets best left alone? There’s only one way to find out!
"Deeptown lies in the shadow of mountains, a town where anything is for sale if you can only meet the price. But in the wild surrounding valleys of the Deeps, it's the bandits who make the darkest deals - and their ambition comes at a cost far greater than the contents of any wayward caravan. You and your team have just been handed a new job: disrupt a meeting between a bandit lord and his mysterious new allies. At a remote mountain villa, you will strike hard and fast and leave terror in your wake. They give you the tools. You provide the talent. Survive, and you'll be well rewarded. Fail, and you'll pay the price. You've got three days to raise some hell." This was one of the first third party adventures under the OGL for 3rd edition published by Atlas Games under the Penumbra line. The attack on the mansion is not a dungeon crawl, but feels like a commando raid aided by some unique magic items.
The city is gripped in fear! The Ripper has returned after a 125-year absence and is once again carving a trail of blood through the slums of Millers Court. Also returned is the ghost of Mari Kell, his last victim from more than a century ago, and she haunts the streets where she was killed. The city watch is at a loss to solve this supernatural mystery, much less apprehend the Ripper himself. All the clues point back to the hovel where Mari Kell was slain long ago. If the heroes are brave enough to enter, will they find the Ripper himself there?
Melvaunt is a city of merchants and metalsmiths. The docks are constantly filled with ships from Hillsfar, Mulmaster, and more distant ports. The northern coast of the Moonsea is an inhospitable place, and its people have a reputation for being rough and unfriendly. But they don’t go around murdering one another in the streets. At least, not usually. Was that a scream you just heard? Part One of The Chaos in Melvaunt.
Welcome to the seat of power in the Duchy of Starryshade! This large city is where the Archduke Meldor Gantrius IV rules his land. A walled city on the bay, Vandosia is bustling with activity. A busy seaport sits down the road from the fortified city with regional farmers coming into town every day. Many former adventurers call the city home and training guilds are available for those levelling up. While “mostly” safe this city is not without adventure, especially with the massive sewer system below the streets.
Sometimes its better not to know... Citizens are turning up in the city in catatonic states, alive but devoid of personality. Are they the victims of an illness or disease, or is there something more sinister at work? Encountering one of these poor souls, the characters are drawn into an investigation of politics and treachery, seedy underworld dealings and rooftop chases, culminating in a fiery conclusion. Can they discover the cause of this epidemic before it’s too late?
The Cult of the Dragon has come to Phlan, a lawless refuge on the Moonsea. Now, with no significant authority to stop the cult, other power groups in the Realms--the Harpers, Order of the Gauntlet, Emerald Enclave, Lords' Alliance , and even the Zhentarim--must untite to stop the cult from fulfilling its dark purpose in the city. Join the fight by participating in any one of five different missions aimed at stopping the cult.
The coastal city of Magnimar is no stranger to crime, yet recently, a series of murders has sent a chill through the early morning streets. Someone—or something—is stalking and killing worshipers of Sarenrae, the goddess of the sun. The city guard is prepared to ambush the murderer, but they need help—help of the kind that adventurers are so good at providing. What is the sinister truth behind these violent acts?
Chapter 1 - When a relative of someone close to the characters goes missing from a nearby village, the players are asked to investigate. The party has to recover stolen goods from a thief before setting out from the City of Ravens Bluff. They travel through the wilds of Vesperin in search of the missing person, finding trouble and helping locals along the way. Chapter 2 - As the journey continues, the party arrives in a small hamlet suffering from a strange blight. The players will need to investigate the situation and choose sides in a longstanding feud between the mayor and a local magic user. Chapter 3 - After clearing a tribe of violent orcs from a nearby mountain pass to protect the residents of a town, the party will have to enter the lair of a long-dead dragon to rescue their quarry from a band of goblinoid slavers, where they discover an entrance into a dwarven city, lost and forgotten centuries ago. Chapter 4 - The party will have to traverse the ruins of the dwarven city, avoiding hazards and battling the horrors that lurk there, to uncover the identity of the slaver's leader. A discovery that will lead them through a treacherous forest to the city of Tsurlagol in search of a pirate ship called the Star Carver, and its drow captain, The Viper's Kiss. Along the way, they meet an unlikely ally. Chapter 5 - Once they arrive in Tsurlagol, the players will have to choose between gaining the assistance of the city council to fight the pirates head on, or making a deal with the Viper's Kiss, herself. The path they choose will either lead to an epic battle on the Sea of Fallen Stars, or into the deadly sewers and tunnels beneath the city to face an enclave of wererats, undead, and a tribe of mad, kraken-worshipping kuo-toa, in search of a fabled relic. The Laughing Horde of Ruin, Part 1 is the first module of an original 5e adventure campaign. It is designed for character level 1-5, and uses material from the Dungeon Master's Guide, Monster Manual, and Volo's Guide.
Arson, rioting, sabotage, murder - and no suspects. Watchmen are murdered, ships explode and sink in their berths, and savage monsters are summoned in the streets - but no one can catch the killers. The party must navigate the growing tensions between rival factions in the city. After following clues to a tavern, The Flying Hamhock, the party will need to defeat a powerful Hivemind which is behind the attacks. Pgs. 47-64
The adventure begins with the characters discovering the recently murdered Returned, Varyas, and confronting his killers. Varyas's gold mask bears a code on it, one that points toward the sage Khea who lives in the nearby polis. When the characters investigate, they learn from Khea that the writing is undecipherable except for the first line, which refers to the legendary Court of Orestes, a site sacred to the god Phenax. She also notes that a recent earthquake has uncovered a cave along the Khystonos River that could be the secret site's location. If so, then perhaps within lies the key to deciphering the mask, along with its own treasures. With the information provided by Khea, the adventurers set forth into the wilds, where they'll face multiple storied dangers before reaching the Court of Orestes. Once at the lost holy site, the characters discover ancient guardians, as well as an unliving entity with the potential to reveal Phenax's lost secret.
Wherein the Heroes learn that the Coils of Love wrap 'round Fiends and Friends alike, and may undertake to aid in a secret Correspondence. Chapter III of the "Well of Worlds" adventure anthology. Pgs. 34-45 TSR 2604
A Level 5 Adventure of Time-Bending Catastrophe Part of the Thirsty Tiger Tales series Beneath the crumbling ruins of a legendary arcane academy lies the Paradox Engine—a dangerous temporal device that shattered the very timeline it was built to study. Now, a deranged scholar known as the Mad Chronomancer seeks to rewrite history itself. In this time-twisting dungeon crawl, players must brave unstable magic, flickering echoes of the past, and a rift into the academy’s golden age—where they’ll confront the Mad Chronomancer before his actions doom the future forever. Two-timeline dungeon: Navigate the same vault in both past and present Puzzle rooms with lasting consequences Unstable combat environments and unique timeline hazards A solo boss fight that bends time against the players Includes the Temporal Warp Cloak, a rare magic item that glitches your image through time This one-shot is perfect for groups looking for a high-concept, low-prep adventure with puzzle-solving, combat variety, and an arcane twist.
Every Berk in Sigil Struggles to keep his savage sid at bay. But now the bars of the cage are breaking down. . . . Don't go to sleep, cutter-that's where the shadows slink, gnawing at the frail cord of sanity. The dream-touched sods of Sigil are snapping one by one, turning on each other like wildcats in the streets. And as people become animals, animals become monsters, rending friend and foe alike with fang and claw. The lawful factions have enough trouble dealing with a rash of breakouts form the Prison. But when the shackles of society fall away, it's all a body can do to keep the beast within form bursting free?and running wild. Something Wild is a Planescape adventure for four to six characters of 4th to 7th levels. When Sigil falls prey to disturbing nightmares and outbreaks of violent fury, the heroes must follow bloody trails to the treacherous peaks of Careeri and the savage jungles of the Beastlands. An ancient terror threatens the planes anew, and only the player characters can stop it from feasting on the flesh of the multiverse. The Planescape Campaign Setting boxed set is required to run this adventure. The Planes of Conflict Campaign Expansion boxed set, the Planescape Monstrous Compedium Appendix, and In the Cage: A Guide to Sigil are recommended as well. Product History "Something Wild" (1996), by Ray Vallese, is the sixth standalone adventure for Planescape. It was published in March 1996. Continuing the Planescape Series. If 1994 was the year of Planescape adventures, and 1995 was the year of Planescape settings, then 1996 had a new focus: novels. The year led off with the first Planescape novel, Blood Hostages (1996), which also led off the setting's increased emphasis on the Blood War. Meanwhile, it took until March for a new RPG book to appear. "Something Wild" was the first of just two adventures published during the year. It continued the trend of 64 page adventure books, but was the first Planescape adventure that didn't have a GM Screen. Adventure Tropes. As with many Planescape adventures, "Something Wild" starts out in Sigil and then travels off into other planes. Like most adventures of the '90s, it's also heavily plotted, with individual scenes moving the storyline along. Though the adventure includes sections set in the wilderness and in a town, they're not explorations, they're segments of a story. There is a traditional dungeon crawl of a gehreleth lair toward the middle of the adventure, but that's it for older-school fare. The most interesting aspect of the adventure is probably its inclusion of a "dreamscape" that players travel through. Though adventures of this type date back to at least DL10: "Dragons of Dreams" (1985), the idea was little used in D&D adventures. Still, it was gaining some traction in the mid '90s thanks to the Ravenloft setting, and especially thanks to the Nightmare Lands (1995) supplement, which includes rules for dreamscape adventures. Expanding the Outer Planes. "Something Wild" travels to the Beastlands and Carceri, both of which had recently been detailed in Planes of Conflict (1995; it includes some new details on each. The expansion of the Beastlands is the most important, because much of the adventure is centered on that plane and the goals of its denizens. Signpost, which lies on the border between the plane's top two layers, is also detailed. Finally, the Cat Lord gets a spotlight; he's a strange being dating back to Monster Manual II (1983) that had never received much attention previously, except in Gary Gygax's Dance of Demons (1988) novel. The information on Carceri is not as generally useful because it details a very specific, primordial prison for a bestial god named Malar. Nonetheless, "Something Wild" makes good use on the plane by focusing on the demodands (gehreleths), a fiendish race dwelling on Carceri that has never gotten much attention. "Something Wild" was also the adventure that really started to push the Blood War forward. For the first two years of Planescape's existence, this fiendish war was a background element, but in the novels and supplements of 1996 it turned into a true metaplot. That ball starts rolling here with several hints that "a particularly nasty stage of the Blood War" lies just ahead. About the Creators. TSR Editor Vallese had done considerable development work on "Fires of Dis" (1995) the previous year, and was now given his own adventure to write. He'd continue on with a few more Planescape products in the next few years, concluding with the Torment (1999) novel. About the Product Historian This history of this product was researched and written by Shannon Appelcline, the author of Designers & Dragons - a history of the roleplaying industry told one company at a time. Please feel free to mail corrections, comments, and additions to [email protected].