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
Deep within the blasted desert wastes a mysterious black tower has been sighted. The structure is not marked on any known map and has not been seen in this location by travellers in the region, yet there it stands. The adventurers set out to explore this ancient, isolated tower that appears ripe for the plundering. Within they face a gauntlet of insidious traps and supernatural horrors. The deeper the adventurers delve, the more secrets of the tower’s origins they uncover. The tower’s sinister creator does not rest easy in his arid grave – the adventurers must face him if they are to survive the Tower of Screaming Sands. Also included in “Tower of Screaming Sands”: Five deadly new traps: The Chamber of Ten Thousand Teeth, The God’s Grasp, Chamber of Flooding Sand, Hall of Arcing Blades and Descending Stone Block. A new monster – the scorpion swarm. Rules for whirlwinds, a new magical hazard GM tips for running overland travel.
Chapter 1 - Rodents of Unusual Size: The village of Ravenhome is plagued by an army of rats which feast on their supplies and threaten the survival of the village, as winter is approaching. Venture into the deep to stop an onslaught of vile rats on the ravaged village of Ravenhome. Dispose of the cranium rats which escaped from the Underdark or strike a deal with the devilish creatures. Chapter 2 - The Pied Piper: The village's children were abducted by the winged kobold Krubcek and brought to the former temple of Cyric. The kobolds use the children as additional workers to excavate the site in attempts to free their imprisoned god Kurtulmak. The kobolds are willing to bargain, but the terms are cruel!
"And they bade their slaves, 'Build unto us tombs to rival the palaces of the gods, for there shall we live or lives and sleep our deaths in splendor.' And the people of Maru-Qet wore their fingers down, broke their backs, burst their hearts to obey. Indeed they raised up great tombs to rival the palaces of the gods. And their masters were well pleased, for it was as gods they saw themselves." The brown dragon Urum-Shar lurks in a strange tomb, plotting schemes only a wyrm of incredible power could understand. Expanding on content from Draconomicon: Chromatic Dragons, this adventure takes the heroes into Urum-Shar’s dark and trap-filled lair, where they will eventually face the powerful dragon herself. The dungeon heavily employs the use of traps, with fewer monsters. The upper tomb consists of a great puzzle of twelve rooms, and the lower tomb contains the dreaded Urum-Shar, an ancient brown dragon and heir to the lost draconic empire of Maru-Qet. The dungeon has special protections against scrying and other divinations, as well as teleportation. Pgs. 55-90
"A curse has spread through Darkroot Forest! Plants are attacking people, and the very air seems poisonous once you travel deep within the woods. Your group has decided to investigate this area, and rumors have it that the abandoned town of Faeriewell is where this disease started spreading. Or maybe the people of a nearby settlement asked for your help? or perhaps a noble Lord that just inherited the land hired you to clear out his new forest? This part is really up to you." The Curse of Faeriewell is an adventure for a level 5 party that you can easily drop into a campaign or play as a standalone one-shot. It will last between 3 and 5 hours. It is setting agnostic, but best at home in a Fantasy world. This adventure can serve as an interlude from your main campaign, a sidequest or simply as a one shot.
Under raging stormclouds, a lone figure stands silhouetted against the ancient walls of castle Ravenloft. Count Strahd von Zarovich stares down a sheer cliff at the village below. A cold, bitter wind spins dead leaves around him, billowing his cape in the darkness. Lightning splits the clouds overhead, casting stark white light across him. Strahd turns to the sky, revealing the angular muscles of his face and hands. He has a look of power - and of madness. His once-handsome face is contorted by a tragedy darker than the night itself. Rumbling thunder pounds the castle spires. The wind's howling increases as Strahd turns his gaze back to the village. Fas below, yet not beyond his keen eyesight, a party of adventurers has just entered his domain. Strahd's face forms a twisted smile as his dark plan unfolds. He knew they were coming, and he knows why they came, all according to his plan. He, the master of Ravenloft, will attend to them. Another lightning flash rips through the darkness, its thunder echoing through the castle's towers. But Strahd is gone. Only the howling of the wind - or perhaps a lone wolf - fills the midnight air. The master of Ravenloft is having guests for dinner. And you are invited. TSR 9075
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!
Far from the nearest town, hidden deep in the forest, lies a marshy, boggy valley. Woodsmen and hunters shun the place—kept away by rumours of a terrible beast lairing within and of a ghost haunting the valley’s boggy mere. But, as well as great danger, treasures magical and mundane may yet lie unclaimed in the valley for three unexplored tombs built by ancient hands, stand amid the mud and reeds. Dare you explore the Shunned Valley of the Three Tombs?
It’s been a long few days of travel and the adventurers are tired of eating rations and sleeping on the ground. The road opens to a small town with an inviting tavern. The smells of grilling meat and ale fill their nostrils and the sounds of laughter and music float out the tavern’s door. Unlucky for the adventurers, they’ve stumbled upon Dragon’s Breath Tavern. What starts out as a pleasant evening of food, drink, and entertainment soon evolves into an adventure that takes the party into and under Dragon’s Breath Tavern. The adventure includes roleplay, exploration, combat, and a dice game called Demon Dice. Although written in a non-specific location, this adventure could be run as a one-shot during the WoTC official campaign – Curse of Strahd. The adventure includes an isometric map and a top-down map of Dragon’s Breath Tavern. Available as PDF or for Fantasy Grounds.
This dungeon is suitable as a one-shot or drop-in for characters between levels 12 and 17. Taken from the Against the Idol of the Sun high-level hexcrawl campaign, the Death Knight's Tomb is a location-based exploration adventure. It features increasing localized time distortions that ultimately pit the party in a fight against an ogre Death Knight and his minions who just destroyed an elven time lab over ten millenia ago, which is just a few seconds ago in relative terms at the bottom level. There are six distinct sections to the dungeon containing four combat encounters of increasing difficulty. As written, the party enters the structure to rescue an overly adventurous Scorpionfolk couple and their rescuers, but they can be omitted or rewritten to any other species.
A war criminal is broken out of prison by well-armed kobolds working for a mysterious mastermind who threatens the gnomish city of Hupperdook.
Beyond the western mountains, the orcs generally kept to themselves. Over the years they built their civilization. They enriched themselves through magic and music, and followed a doctrine of peace and acceptance that was empowered by the dangerous mountain range on one side and the swirling seas on the other. Their quiet society was shattered when a djinni named Hasteth was summoned by their elder mages. Hasteth was a creature of pure evil and perverted the wishes that it granted. In time, the orcs were able to trap the djinni within an enchanted ceramic jar called the Annihilation Hold, but not before their entire way of life was torn asunder. Many centuries have gone by and the orcs are scattered to the wind, with few recalling their proud nation. The hidden complex containing the Annihilation Hold has been discovered. Tales of wealth and magic fill the rumors the adventurers overhear. Will your adventurers brave the hazards inside to claim the riches?
A top the crown of the Isle of Dread, a hateful monster broods. Spawned by the Price of Demons, the architect of the shadow pearls dwells deep under the ruins of ancient Thanaclan. As long as this vile monster lives, the threat of the savage tide remains, looming dark on the horizon. "City of Broken Idols" is the seventh chapter of the Savage Tides Adventure Path, a complete campaign consisting of 12 adventures appearing in Dungeon magazine. For additional aid in running this campaign, check out Dragon magazine's monthly "Savage Tidings" articles, a series that helps players and DMs prepare for and expand upon the campaign. Issue #354 of Dragon magazine features the totemic demonslayer, a new prestige class that focuses on fighting and defeating demons, be they at the heart of the Isle of Dread or encountered in the depths of the Abyss itself. The central mesa of the Isle of Dread is taboo to the locals, a place shrouded in mystery and cloaked in rumor. The time has come to confront the evil that dwells atop the island’s savage crown. Pgs. 54-84
The small village of Angst in western Famore has a humanoid problem. A missive on the message totem is calling for help to dispatch these pesky raiders. It is believed that they are working out of the abandoned Opair Keep. Locals gasp in amazement as the locale is well known to be cursed!
This week’s Filbar offering is an introductory level adventure pitting fresh adventurers against a variety of opponents. As they head out to make a name for themselves the young group will first need to pass by the Horn of Delmar. This mountain landmark was once home to a mighty fortress felled centuries before hand. While many have adventured to the top they have returned ravaged with injuries and reports of strange and foul creatures. This adventure features an old tower, bandits, undead, and an old dungeon complex for those who search hard enough.
This is the laboratory of High Alchemist Sureves Epans. He led a group of alchemists in research for many years, but recently there was a bit of a mishap. He discovered his wife was cheating on him with one of his employees and while in a drunken stupor trying to create a discreet potion to deal with the two of them, he let loose an infectious plague on the lab which turned all but a lucky few in the facility into shambling husks of their former selves., fused with their own creations as their minds turned to know but one thought - rage. This dungeon has rules to modify all encounters for a group of players levels 4 through 6 and is intended for a party of four. If you have more players, feel free to adjust the difficulty up one level for each additional player or simply tune the monsters to your needs. This dungeon contains many original enemies, a unique puzzle, and an environment that is meant to bring a sense of terror and anxiety on your players. I consider this to be the Horror-themed adventure of the module so feel free to add some creepy music and extra details along the way to bring the area to life (or death).
Terrible Trouble at Tragidore is a 16 page tournament module for 5th to 8th level characters. Notorious for being one of the worst modules of all time, with implausible background and encounters and a railroad of a plot.
A new megadungeon from Three Castles Award Winner (2018) and Barrowmaze author Dr. Greg Gillespie! HighFell: The Drifting Dungeon is a 246-page classic megadungeon for use with any old school fantasy role-playing games/clone. The pages of HighFell are crammed full with new material, maps, and art, including a colour cover by Ex-TSR artist Erol Otus (that matches Barrowmaze Complete and The Forbidden Caverns of Archaia as sister-books). HighFell: The Drifting Dungeon will keep your players on their toes and your campaign going strong for years. HighFell is brought to you by the Old School Renaissance (so don’t forget your 10’ pole).
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
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