People keep asking for "beginner" dungeons. Everyone can name "classic" dungeons - Tomb of Horrors, Barrier Peaks, Ravenloft, etc. - but in order for those adventures to make sense, there needs to be some sort of introduction. It's like all the adventures we have are Bach concertos. People keep writing amazing works of staggering genius, but someone needs to write a book on how to play the piano. I had the same questions, and since I couldn't find anything satisfactory, I decided to write the kind of dungeon I would have loved to find. I wanted to write the best basic OSR dungeon for beginners that I could, and I also wanted to show the design process. If you like this dungeon, please share it, tell people about it, print copies and leave them lying around local game stores, or email this post to friends who have "always wanted to try D&D but don't know where to start". The entire thing is and always will be free.

A hunt for a missing key leads the heroes from the streets of the city of Greyhawk to the Tomb of Blood Everflowing in the treacherous Cairn Hills. Pgs. 18-20, 22 & 24-39

A deathpriest hierophant of Orcus has turned the lower catacombs of a cemetery into a base for the undead and demonic horde it is gathering. The deathpriest loses control, however, with the arrival of a balor, and its carefully orchestrated forays to snatch victims have turned into wholesale slaughters. The PCs arrive in a nearby town to meet with a merchant who promised to sell them a long-coveted magic item. They are not altogether pleased to arrive to find the aftermath of a brutal attack—and no sign of their item. Pgs. 150-155

A spirit is attacking a town — no one knows why, but they’re determined to be rid of her. The adventuring party is recruited to investigate. However, what appears to be a simple haunting turns into a story of justice. Pgs. 43-59

If the drought doesn't get you, the goblins will. The river has mysteriously run dry and the farmers' crops are in peril. Locals are convinced a nearby tribe of goblins are responsible, and have offered a reward to anyone brave enough to sort it out. While they were correct about the goblins causing the drought, they were wrong about the reason. The chief of the goblin tribe is an enthusiastic fisher and a particular fish, Salvel the Talking Trout has continually eluded him. This adventure has a humourous tone and emphasises role-playing and negotiating. Pgs. 8-21 & 49

The legendary spellcaster Emirikol the Chaotic has turned the region into a wild magic zone, a place where all magic goes awry. The only way to put things back to normal is to retrieve the source of the problem deep inside the Ooze Chambers of Emirikol! This adventure is for 4th level characters and can be run on its own or as part 3 of the Litany of Arrows adventure path. This adventure contains, 2 pages of new magic items, 8 new monsters and NPCs, a full write-up of Bwimb II, the Paraelemental Princess of Ooze, an entity referred to in many D&D products but never fully fleshed out and stats for the 3rd edition iconic heroes Regdar and Mialee, who play a major role in this adventure. It's got over 10 pieces of original art, full color maps, tagged and untagged, and a special handout for the player who obtains the Ooze Fist of Emirikol. This adventure builds on the story begun in the platinum-selling Castle of Corellon and the follow-up, Warpath of Gruumsh.

The Vault of Pallon the Pious is an adventure for four 2nd level PCs. A famous pirate captain came to worship a lawful god in his final years. After a lifetime of plundering, pillaging, scuttling, and murdering along the coastline, the fear-inspiring Pallon the Merciless rebranded himself as Pallon the Pious. But, a history of violence is a hard thing to reconcile, and the salty old dog slowly succumbed to madness. His most precious possession was a set of scales that reflected perfectly his own inner conflict. The Scales of Misjudgement are buried deep in the treasure room of his crazed rock-island vault.

The North can become very appealing to those who seek fame and fortune on their own course. The North is also home to humanoids and fell creatures, things that can find a foothold in the lawless wastes while also making a living. Larger and more lethal creatures like frost giants and white dragons can also be found, assuming you are foolish enough to go looking for them. This adventure is formatted to both 1E & 5E gaming rules.

“Gorgoldand’s Gauntlet” takes place in a cave network in the side of a cliff overlooking a lake and can be inserted easily into any campaign. Gorgoldand’s Gauntlet is a site-based adventure with a pre-dominance of puzzles and traps. The PCs discover a map leading to the Gauntlet and explore it looking for treasure. They test their strength and wits against various traps and puzzles created by a gold dragon who converted a cave network into a proving ground to surreptitiously test the abilities of local adventuring bands. If they make it all the way to the end of the Gauntlet, they’ll have the chance to fight a dragon construct made of the dungeon's treasure hoard and have the chance to gain access to a magic item that can have a significant impact on their adventuring careers. Pgs. 39-51

The Shattered Circle is an AD&D® adventure for four to six player characters of 1st to 3rd level. For many ages, the standing stones known as the Circle of Cahervaniel have stood on a grassy hilltop, unremarkable and unmenacing, but something has changed. A powerful artifact deep within the earth has been uncovered, and its evil power has corrupted the recent inhabitants of a dungeon complex. The chitine live within, a cross between humans and spiders created by the drow, but trying to live a quiet existence. The evil Foundingstone has corrupted some of the chitine, and split their society in two, bringing them to conflict. Adventurers who navigate the chitine factions and dangerous dungeon will need to end the threat of the Foundingstone and the solve the mystery of the strange dark unicorn Mizar that has appeared recently around the stones. Interestingly, one of the unique magic items in this adventure, Icerazor - is said to have grown from a shard of Frostrazor, a sword that appears in a famous later adventure - Return to White Plume Mountain. There is a brief mention of Suloise, so it can be considered a Greyhawk adventure, but clearly states it can be placed anywhere.

From time out of mind, the standing stones known as the Circle of Cahervaniel have stood lonely vigil on a grassy hilltop. Sheepherders once moved their flocks over the hill and through the circle, sometimes resting in the cool shadows cast by the ancient stones. Everything changed when a stone finger fell, revealing a fissure in the earth. Now, dark shadows caress the circle after the sun sets. Creatures out of nightmare dance upon the hillside at night. Many swear that a unicorn of deepest ebony now hunts all upon two legs who draw near, while stunted creatures scurry in the shadows, abducting sheep from their sheds and drawing them down below ground for food. After the disappearance of a sheperd, fear grows stronger in neighboring villages. Who will brave the black hollow of the ancient Circle of Cahervaniel? Heroes of stern mettle must descend into the cavity and explore the ancient spaces existing there. Product History "The Shattered Circle" (1999), by Bruce R. Cordell, is a generic adventure for AD&D 2e. It was published in January 1999. Origins: Another Generic. After Wizards of the Coast began publishing D&D, their first year and a half of generic adventures were all classic revivals: returns to RPGA tournaments, to classic adventures, and to Dungeon scenarios. Even "A Paladin in Hell" (1998) was a return in its own way, to the demons and devils that TSR had become afraid of. Wizards was staking out new ground by reclaiming the past. "The Shattered Circle" (1999) was the first generic Wizards adventure that was simply a generic adventure, with no deeper origins and no hidden motives. Artifacts of Note. the foundingstone and the harp Euphonious are both one-off named magic items. However, it's sword Icerazor that's the most interesting. It's said to have grown from a shard of Frostrazor — a sword that would only appear ten months later in Return to White Plume Mountain (1999). There, it's listed as one of Keraptis' four implements of power, alongside Wave, Blackrazor, and Whelm — meaning that Icerazor (and this adventure) are just one step removed from White Plume Mountain itself. Monsters of Note: Chitine. It's somewhat curious, given the Greyhawk and Neverness connections, to note that the chitine debuted in MC11: "Monstrous Compendium Forgotten Realms Appendix" (1991). The spider-humanoids have generally been a Realms creature, featuring in bestiaries and histories for that setting. However, they also received a more generic "Ecology of the Chitine" in Dragon #223 (November 1995), which introduced the choldrith, or chitine priestess. This is their major adventure appearance. When asked about pronouncing their name Cordell says that he "can't be 100% sure of the original designer's pronunciation", but he prefers "KI-TEEN". About the Creators. By 1999, Cordell was one of D&D's most prolific writers. He'd previously authored many slightly related adventures, such as The Gates of Firestorm Peak(1996) and the sahuagin (1997) and illithid (1998) Monstrous Arcana adventure trilogies. This conversion guide allows DMs to run the original module with 5th Edition rules. To use this conversion guide you will need a copy of The Shattered Circle, originally available in hard-copy and now for sale in Digital format at the DMs Guild. This adventure is a generic adventure, not specifically based in any existing setting. Suggestions are given in the conversion guide to place the adventure in the Forgotten Realms.

The recent discovery of an entrance to the Underdark has set local leaders on edge. In a display of initiative, the First Lord of Hillsfar has ordered the construction of defensive structures surrounding what locals have begun to call "The Waydown." You have been charged with escorting an emissary back to his home in the Underdark without alerting the Red Plumes.

Bring your chilling campaign to life with this companion supplement for Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden! Tales from the Frozen North presents 10 handcrafted encounters between 15 to 90 minutes in length for your adventures across the frozen wasteland. They are specifically written around the themes of paranoia, isolation and secrecy, with a particular focus on exploration.

A dwarven laboratory forgotten for many centuries has finally been rediscovered, but there is sure to be danger lurking within. It turns out some of the other machines within are still active, as are some of the traps and puzzles. Prepare your party for a blend of challenging puzzles and diverse fights in the dungeon that was home to my first player kill.

Side-Trek adventure When your PCs gain access to the teleport spell, their whole world changes. That simple spell opens up instantaneous, long-distance travel. No more long overland journeys or dangerous retreats through hostile territory. All it takes is clasped hands and a word from the wizard, and poof! The PCs are where they want to go. Except that it isn’t that simple, because teleport isn’t foolproof. The off-target teleports are a matter of scattering your PCs someplace else on the map and forcing them to get their bearings and make the long overland journey anyway. But this Side Trek focuses on the really intriguing column on the teleport chart: “similar area.”

A short adventure for low level play, suitable for beginner players and DM. The farmlands are being raided by monstrous creatures and and the town of Windhill needs help! will the heroes find the source of these creatures and defeat whoever is creating them? This adventure covers a lot of the basic elements of DnD play and is designed to offer a taster of the system that is easy to run and quick to prepare. It includes stat blocks so that you don't need any other book (except the basic rules) to run it. Do you have a few friends you want to introduce to DnD? is it your first time on the other side of the screen? this adventure may be for you.

This adventure concerns a once-proud fortress that fell into the earth in an age long past. Now known as the Sunless Citadel, its echoing, broken halls house malign creatures. Evil has taken root at the citadel's core, which is deep within a subterranean garden of blighted foliage. Here a terrible tree and its dark shepherd plot in darkness.

The Thrice-Damned House of Thrune wants to seal the Inferno Gate, an uncontrolled portal to Hell, and the villainous adventurers are called to accomplish the task. To acquire the components and perform the ritual, they must first face down a hellspawn thieves' guild, the Hellknight Order of the Pike, and the knights of the Glorious Reclamation and their celestial allies. But before they can complete the ritual, the characters may be forced to examine their options—is closing the gate the best plan for the future? Will the villains obey their orders to close the gate to Hell—or might they make a deal with a devil for control of the portal? Or will they only become the latest in a long line of sacrifices to the Inferno Gate?

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.

"Night falls on the Border Kingdoms, a land rife with conflicts and schemes, where lords, counts, dukes, kings, and emperors rise, proclaim themselves, and are swept away with the speed and regularity of waves crashing upon a shore. As you settle in for the evening at a quaint little roadhouse by the name of Harker’s Cleaver, all seems quiet. Were the stories of this turbulent region just that, or have the Border Kingdoms yet to reveal their true nature?" A Two-Hour Adventure for 1st and 2ndLevel Characters The tavern the characters are staying at are attacked by skeletons. Where have they come from and why have they attacked?