In this adventure, the PCs discover that not all souls rest easy, particularly those spirited away to Nightwyrm Fortress. To learn the truth, players must pierce death's veil itself and enter the Shadowfell, where sinister echoes of life wing through eternal gloom. This adventure can be run as a stand-alone adventure or as Part Three of a three-part series of adventures (starting with P1 King of the Trollhaunt Warrens(TM) and P2 Demon Queen's Enclave(TM)) that spans 10 levels of gameplay.
A one-shot adventure of dark fantasy, tragedy, and horror... - 4-6 hour adventure for 3rd - 5th level characters. - 24 pages of an elegant, easy to read PDF. - 4 custom handouts that pair with the adventure. - 2 custom monsters. - 10+ trinkets and magic items for handing out to your players. - 6 gorgeous free battle maps that can be found here: https://www.dmsguild.com/product/434359/Map-Pack-01--The-Sorrows-of-Southsward-Keep
Under raging storm clouds, the vampire Count Strahd von Zarovich stands silhouetted against the ancient walls of Castle Ravenloft. Rumbling thunder pounds the castle spires. The wind’s howling increases as he turns his gaze down toward the village of Barovia. A lightning flash rips through the darkness, but Strahd is gone. Only the howling of the wind fills the midnight air. The master of Castle Ravenloft is having guests for dinner—and you are invited. Spans levels 1-10.
Halfling thief, Alton Lightheart, awakens to discover his shadow is gone! A child's doll kills its victims in a cruel and unexpected way. A sound-stealing sword is lost in a ruined volcanic temple. Among the witch’s valley mist, The Murk, sinister fey shadows terrorize the forest, demon spirits haunt old ruins, and undead howl from the volcanic shrine. Can the adventurer’s purge the vale of evil to gain its lost magic and riches? A three part adventure: 1. Alton’s Shadow: Delirious, bloodstained, alone. Halfing thief, Alton Lightheart, awakens to discover his shadow is gone! Will the adventurers help him to confront the unknown dread that awaits him? 2. The Vanishing at Rhu: Long Ago, the folk of Rhu made an agreement with a witch to save the thorp from destruction. She honored the agreement, but the folk broke their promise. One year later the village was razed. How? What wickedness lurks among the ruins of the fallen-tree village? 3. Stillness: A temple suffers a volcanic eruption. Believing it is the will of an angry god, all of its shaman are ritually slain. After years of disuse, the temple awakens as the zealots are reborn . . . as undead. Meanwhile, a magic sound-stealing sword is lost by explorers. Should an expedition seek the weapon and uncover the secrets of the lost shrine? Published by Wicked Cool Games
Dare to defy death in this adventure for the world’s greatest roleplaying game. The talk of the streets and taverns has all been about the so-called death curse: a wasting disease afflicting everyone who’s ever been raised from the dead. Victims grow thinner and weaker each day, slowly but steadily sliding toward the death they once denied. When they finally succumb, they can’t be raised—and neither can anyone else, regardless of whether they’ve ever received that miracle in the past. Temples and scholars of divine magic are at a loss to explain a curse that has affected the entire region, and possibly the entire world. The cause is a necromantic artifact called the Soulmonger, which is located somewhere in Chult, a mysterious peninsula far to the south, ringed with mountains and choked with rainforests.
The Lost Tombs, Volume 1 Derro swarm in the Abbor-Alz. The Doomgrinder windmill's blades approach their zenith. Strange sightings in Hardby and rumors of a bandit empire in the mountains have commoners and nobles concerned. The Circle of Eight hopes that the key to averting this disaster can be found in the mysteries of a group of five ancient crypts, the Star Cairns. But first someone has to find the fifth cairn.... Five separate adventure sites playable individually or linked together, The Star Cairns can provide a diversion for treasure-hungry adventurers - or can be used as the seeds for an extensive campaign. Although the adventures are designed for four to eight characters of levels 5-8, each section can be adjusted for weaker or stronger groups. TSR 9579
Pursued by wolves and worse, the party must fight a running battle to take refuge at the relative safety of the Bittermoon Inn, a decrepit old inn high in the mountains. But night is falling, can they uncover the secrets of the inn and use them to survive the night? This adventure can be played as a stand alone one-shot, or can be used as a drop-in side quest to almost any campaign. It is suitable for a party of about 5 characters at the First Tier (Levels 1-4). The players must fight a running battle with wolves to reach Bittermoon, then they must discover the secrets of the inn before escaping through a smuggler's tunnel. Finally they must face off against their unseen opponent at Skull Cavern. There are four encounter maps included with this title.
Deicide is a campaign designed to begin with a party of four to six 1st-level characters, who should advance to 20th level by its conclusion. The Gods have abandoned Faerûn. Bringing loved ones back from the dead hasn’t been done in centuries, and communion with the deities is a spiritual exercise only. Holy warriors and messengers have lost their powers and have all but completely disappeared. In this bleak world, wars are frequent, crime runs rampant, and hope has faded. Rumours are abound of a mysterious crime lord taking control of the underworld. Monsters roam the lands and every road is increasingly more dangerous. Without guidance, the many civilizations of this world are plagued by greed and corruption. The only way forward is to bring the Gods back, or to take their place in the heavens. Deicide takes place across two islands, Aurora and Limdorkal. These landmasses are the westernmost islands of the Moonshae Isles, an archipelago located roughly 400 miles west of the region of Amn and to the southwest of the Sword Coast. Surrounding the Sea of Moonshae, these islands feature a wide array of cities, civilizations, climates, terrains, and monsters. Limdorkal is famously a harsher environment, home to exotic races, whereas Aurora is almost entirely dominated by the human kingdom. Elminster Aumar, the famous Old Mage of Faerûn, once visited these islands and claimed it surprising how such diverse environmental systems erupted here, and how varied were the people inhabiting them. While the Sword Coast is part of Faerûn, a continent of Toril in the Forgotten Realms, feel free to adapt these islands to any setting of your choice, such as Ravenloft, Eberron, Ravnica, or even on your homebrew world. The story told here happens some hundreds of years after the beginning of 5th Edition, and the Overgod Ao is trapped inside an artifact, which limits the workings of gods around Toril. The characters will be able to learn more about the missing Gods, about a mythical folklore artifact known as the Wand of Wonders, which carries the powers of the Gods, and about the crime lord Kaiser Soze. Through their adventures, they will be able to visit other realms, planes, and dimensions, as well as come into contact with different races and civilizations. In the end, it is up to them whether to ally with the Crime Lord, and whether to release the Gods or keep their power for themselves. This campaign can work as a loose set of modular adventures, which can be easily picked separately and played as one-shots of different levels. Even their locations on the map might be moved, and events happening in particular towns can happen on others. The adventures include dungeon crawls, murder mysteries, sandbox urban quests, exploration on land and in the seas, inter-planar travelling, among others.
The three of you are a group of adventurous wanderers. You have journeyed to a far-off land in search of the fabled ROCK OF AGES, a mighty artifact which is rumored to confer everlasting youth, strength and health to its possessor. You have determined that it is somewhere in this vast land, but the legends place it in at least a dozen different places. The Second Official AD&D Masters Tournament. Pregenerated characters are referenced, but not provided. There are several original monster in here with bare-bones statics (AC, hp, Attacks, and Damage)
The long-forgotten monastery to the Lord of Winds hides a secret of immense evil. The PCs are tasked with delving into the abandoned ruins and discover if two Houses are related in some way. Scales from level 4 to level 10, but originally designed for characters of 7th level. Pgs. 17-39
When the characters arrive at the fishing town of Estinn, they find it totally abandoned. Can they solve the grisly mystery of what happened to the town and stop a monstrous threat that lurks in the cold, deep waters of the bay? Born in Blood is a Lovecraftian horror one-shot for four or five 9th-level characters. It takes about 4-6 hours to complete and includes: -A gruesome mystery of betrayal and dark rituals -An underwater dungeon hidden beneath the sea floor -A harrowing battle with a newly born godling! -High-quality digital maps for use with virtual table tops
In the eastern desert stands the ancient tomb of Solomon III. Like all tombs, it is full of magical treasure and crawling with deadly creatures. But unlike other tombs, this one is screaming. Years ago, soldiers and wizards went in to silence the screams, and they succeeded, but they never returned. Now Solomon’s tomb is once again screaming out across the dunes, and no one knows why. Solomon’s treasure is still down there, but then, so is whatever is screaming. ADVENTURE TYPE: Small Linear Dungeon DESIGN NOTES: This adventure is intended for characters levels 5 to 7. It includes a desert wilderness area, an oasis, the tomb exterior, the tomb interior, and a cave system below the tomb to explore. Each area contains various NPCs, new monsters, old traps, shiny treasures, and strange magical items. There are many opportunities for (deadly) combat, and a few of them may be inescapable, but it is possible for players to have complex interactions and to experience very different consequences, depending on their choices. INCLUDES: Story hooks, dialogue prompts, creature stat blocks, dungeon overview map, and full-sized battle maps of each dungeon room that can be printed and used right on the table. KEYWORDS: Tomb, ghuul, ghoul, skeleton, ooze, demon, devil, thief, wizard, desert, sabercat, oasis, spider, viper
Mount Black. A mountain filled with a myriad of creatures’ lairs, a crippled dragon that wants to control it once again, and a friendly kobold who can guide you to glory - for a price. Pgs. 8-17
In 1492 DR, a group of adventurers are approached by a ghost in Candlekeep who urges them to investigate the unsolved, grisly murder of the Yellowcrest family in Waterdeep five years prior. The investigation leads the adventurers to the nearby village of Greenfast, which is plagued by a secretive cult.
Sharlo Tan was a sorceress. She was a scholar. She was a spy. And she left behind a legendary trove of treasure, guarded by riddles, secrets, and the passage of time. But it isn’t an ancient rumor that has the people of Rivesby on edge. The hobgoblins of the Lamellar Banner have encamped less than a day’s march away, and no one knows what has brought them out of their stronghold. In this richly detailed adventure, players can choose whether to play peacemaker or treasure hunter, explorer or exterminator. But they won’t be the only ones playing games, as they encounter creatures and NPCs who have their own conflicts and motivations. The Secret of Sharlo Tan is a mid-length adventure for levels 2-4 that easily plugs into any 5e campaign. It’s particularly suited to those who love witty books, solveable riddles, and nuanced interactions, but it readily accommodates smash-mouthed impatience as well. Depending on playstyle, it can fill 2-4 play sessions of 3-4 hours. The adventure includes: * 40-page fully illustrated PDF with player handouts * 3 stat blocks * 4 dungeon maps in DM and unmarked versions * 11 all-new magic items
As the story goes, worshipers of Bahamut and worshipers of Gruumsh spent years warring. As the dead piled up, a Bahamut faithful crafted a weapon of devastating power. Most of the inventor’s peers balked at its use, but some felt it was justified. Those few who used the weapon were twisted into mad, dark beings by its corrupting power. The rest of Bahamut’s flock locked them and the weapon away in a dungeon prison. The dungeon and its terrible secret were long forgotten—until a group of rakshasas happened across the ancient tale. Now they seek the weapon for their own designs. Pgs. 132-137
This is a short adventure than can be completed in a single session, for 4-5 players of 1st level. The old church at the edge of town has long been abandoned, but a week ago several robed figures arrived in town and have taken up residence in the old church. Since then, the townsfolk claim to have seen a strange mist around the building, and several folks have gone missing. Little do they know, these cultists have awoken a long dead necromancer, who seeks to bind a dark power to its will.
A gnomish settlement is plagued by inexplicable earthquakes, the wrath of an Earth Elemental. Can the heroes save the gnomes? Do the greedy gnomes deserve to be saved? "Valanche's Eye" was inspired by a desire to write an adventure which blurs the line of who the bad guy actually is, or indeed whether or not there's a really tangible villain. It takes the "patron hires adventurers to clear dungeon" trope and twists it – the patron turns out to be a pretty rotten bastard, and the monsters in the dungeon are just trying to live their lives. It starts when gnome gem-miners strike the mother lode of emeralds and sapphires, only to find themselves run off their claim. First they accidentally broke through to the Elemental Planes of Earth and Fire, and mephits burst out to annoy them. When they were just about done dealing with the mephits, they disturbed an earth elemental who just wants to be left alone, and emeralds are its favorite snack. The mine boss hires the adventurers to come kill all the elementals. But should they?
"Sometimes bugs are just bugs, and sometimes they are organized into a hive mind that is just as smart as humans. Ants are just that. In battle, the ants become a horde of raging combatants that form a blur on all sides. While ants are typically peaceful, they respond to a threat against the hive with a scale of violence that’s almost impossible to imagine. Utterly devoted to duty, ants never retreat from a confrontation—even in the face of certain death. Their engagements are brief and brutal. Working in teams, ants grab enemies, holding them in place until one of the warriors rips into the captive’s body, leaving it smashed and oozing." "Of Ants and Men begins as a quest to recover (e.g., steal) eggs from a giant anthill near the town of Endhome." "This adventure is designed for characters of levels 4 to 8." "The adventure can also be played (perhaps more effectively) by smaller groups. In response to many requests from our fans, the main encounters are designed to work well with groups of two to three characters of levels 6 to 8. Even a solo adventurer could do reasonably well, if the individual character had very good climbing, trap finding, and stealth skills. Druids, barbarians, and rogues will fare best in cases where the groups are limited in size." "While there’s plenty of opportunity for combat here, characters who think through a situation before drawing their swords are likely to do best. Hacking one’s way through is likely to result in character deaths."
For centuries, the Great Swamp has hidden hints of an ancient culture of barbarian kings. While passing through this miserable bog, the PCs encounter Stygoth the Damned, a half-dead black dragon driven mad by a mysterious disease. Delving further, the heroes discover that the disease is tied to the very swamp itself. A great corruption once infested this place, destroying the savage barbarian kings and leaving only mighty statues as their legacy. Now this corruption has returned, and a terrible Witch Queen is mining the corrupted swamp-earth to produce evil, blighted artifacts. In order to stop the spread of these evil weapons, the heroes must enter the ancient caves of the savage kings, put to rest the corrupt legacy of their downfall, end the disease that scars the land, and then face off against the Witch Queen herself.