Deep in the wooded wilderness, the village of Grimmsgate is an outpost town on a seldom-traveled trail, right at the edge of nowhere. The village’s half-ruined temple of Law, dilapidated inn, drunken blacksmith, exiled trader and a few fur-trappers are enough to keep the bloody-minded denizens of the dark forest at bay, but nobody really expects the village to still be there in another ten years. The woods have become too dangerous for the trappers who once caught animals for fur, and merchants no longer travel the poorly-maintained road. What great evil and what fabulous treasures are to be found in these lands? A brave band of adventurers might make their fortunes here. Or perhaps they might never return… Grimmsgate is an introductory adventure for the Swords & Wizardry tabletop roleplaying game. The Swords & Wizardry rules are needed to play this adventure.
Can you save Timsgiving (not Christmas) when Tim (not Santa) goes missing just days before the holiday? With only a few days until the annual winter gift-giving festival of Timsgiving, Tim the toy maker has gone missing without a word. Something mischievious is afoot. Can the party save the town of Spining from missing a holiday? Dragon in a Toy Shop is a 3-6 hour adventure for a 4th to 5th level party. It is set near the town of Spining, which can be dropped into any campaign setting, but can also be run alongside another settlement or even in the middle of the wilderness!
This adventure takes place in the Moonsea of Faerûn. The players have been brought to Melvaunt to search for the missing scions of the city's great families. To the north, in Thar the orc tribes converge on the ruined fortress of Xul-Jarak, flocking to the banner of a charismatic warlord. There, he intends to sacrifice the scions of the great families of Melvaunt in a bloodritual to Gruumsh. The players will escape Melvaunt, search along the wilderness of Thar for the Fortress of Xul-Jarak, and then explore the dungeons of the ruined fortress and hopefully rescue the scions before they are sacrificed. There also is a Web Enhancement by Eric Cagle on the archives of wizards of the coast's website designed to scale the adventure to level 8. For example, it replaces the Owlbear with a Tyrannosaurus. This is an easy to scale adventure with much of the player's difficulty coming from intelligently avoiding problems, choosing how to approach each floor in the most tactical way, and quickly adjusting when something goes wrong. The adventure has sidebars including common orc battle cries (In Orc!), ready to use orc names, weather and random encounter table in Thar, a description of what happens if the party fails or partially succeeds, and suggested minis for each of the encounters. There is even an extended description of the bloodspear ritual, an event the party is not meant to encounter in a normal run. The appendix is detailed for all the humanoid characters including the scions and their equipment, the named villains, and variety of unnamed orcs the party will encounter. The fortress also offers an opportunity to introduce the players to the Underdark and the Zhentil Keep. There is a passage to the Underdark the players can accidentally explore, and return to later. Emissaries from Zhentil Keep have come to watch the ritual and have their own motivations. These npcs provide an opportunity for exposition and role playing at a point which otherwise might be combat heavy, acting as a valve for the first floor - helping or hurting the party with subtle magic should the difficulty be off.
A tribe of evil norkers led by a human illusionist threaten the town of Nolivari. The heroes must brave the wilderness, find Grakhirt's lair, and defeat him to ensure the safety of the local villagers. A straightforward dungeon crawl against lots of norkers! When do you get to see those guys in an adventure? Lots of monsters from the AD&D Monster Manual II as well. This adventure features a little bait-and-switch; the titular bad guy Grakhirt is assumed to be a norker, or gnoll, or some other monstrous humanoid, but is in fact a human illusionist/assassin! Note: The adventure doesn't feature caves AND a dungeon, but since the caves are treated like a dungeon with doors and numbered rooms, this is listed as a dungeon adventure as well. Pgs. 28-37
Adventures in Hawk's Rest is a love letter to low-level D&D: Studio Ghibli meets the Shire meets Lost Mine of Phandelver. An open-world hexcrawl for characters of 1st to 2nd level, Hawk's Rest is intended as a prologue to a longer campaign, with seven keyed adventure sites and fantastic maps by Dungeon Baker (How to Defend Your Lair, The Lazy DM's Companion). Hawk's Rest is written for new and veteran players alike but avoids the usual pitfalls associated with 1st-level adventures: not only are encounters balanced to avoid character death, but most combats can be avoided entirely with clever roleplaying.
Many of the local lords had gathered for a peace moot. A perfect opportunity for the demon-possessed Aeldrith Forkbeard to murder them all in cold blood. The PCs, attending the moot, must now flee for their lives. Harried by a Northlander warband, the party is forced to flee into the dreaded Witchwood. To reach the safety of the Kingdom of Marshes they must traverse the depths of the forest, avoiding Northlander raiders and the strange creatures of the Witchwood. The adventure also takes the PCs into the Feywild, where time runs strangely and memories are fragile. Finally, they must face the chilling Gatekeeper guarding the Feywild portal that allows the PCs to return to the Material Plane. Into the Witchwood is a generic adventure suitable for use in the Moonshae Isles. The adventure includes a map of the area, three new creatures and a new legendary magic item, the Circle of the Forest God.
The road to the remote village of Swordfall is a long and winding one. It takes pilgrims who wish to visit the holy site from the main trade road, through the hills, and into the mountains where once, thousands of years ago, two gods engaged in an epic battle. Now, all that remains of the battlefield is a lone sword, several hundred feet tall, embedded in the ground at the center of a massive crater. Over the years, a large temple to Thuul, god of battle, sprung up around the site. Now, warriors and fighters from across the land travel to Swordfall to pay their respects once in their lifetime. Recently, however, pilgrims have begun going missing. Somewhere between the main road and Swordfall itself, something, or someone, has been waylaying travelers. Unbeknownst to most, a cult to Ghenna has taken over one of the lone inns along the route and has begun using it to capture and sacrifice pilgrims to their own dark god. Unless a group of adventurers can stop them, the sacrifices won't stop.
This side trek encounter challenges the heroes to recover a precious item from the lair of an evil hag. Estimated play time - 2 hours. This product contains a pair of encounters designed to challenge 4th level PCs. It also includes an extensive backstory, new monsters and new magic items to add to your campaign. The encounters are easily adapted to almost any campaign setting. The text includes optional changes that DMs may consider when running the adventure for their own campaigns. This side trek encounter is the final chapter of a three-part "Fey's Bargain" encounter series.
A short adventure for the Midnight campaign setting from Fantasy Flight Games. An important resistance member has been captured by the Shadow, and the adventurers are called upon to ensure--through any means necessary--that the information he knows is not passed on to the enemy.
The door slams open so hard that the wall shakes and the hinges groan. To everyone’s astonishment, a goblin staggers in. He is badly wounded, with dried blood covering about half of his body. Only a moment before the air was full of the rattle of dice, the slap of cards, and cries of victory and defeat. Now the Gambling Golem is dead silent. The goblin lurches toward your table then collapses right in front of you. “Help me,” he croaks, looking up at you with bloodshot eyes. “I’ll make you rich!”
Hi! I am pleased to present the official English-language release of the Italian best-selling adventure: La Seconda Alba Nera – The Second Black Dawn! If anyone is looking for a good starter adventure for 5th edition but wants something a bit grittier and darker may I recommend it. The Second Black Dawn is coming ... The king is missing. Hordes of undead spread across the kingdom like a plague. Outlaws attack and pillage defenseless villages. A party of adventurers is called upon to explore the region and investigate the mysterious disappearance of the king. Main Features: - A compelling, dark adventure estimated to last over 30 hours of gameplay and bring the characters from 1st to 5th level. - Five new monsters and one new weapon - Random encounters designed specifically to integrate with the tone of the adventure. - A list of music suitable for use as a soundtrack to accompany the adventure, to engage the players and emphasize the adventure's atmosphere. - Four pre-generated characters usable for the adventure. - Hypertext links in both the index and the text and bookmarks included. - An optimized PDF also available in a printer-friendly version. Find out what is bringing the kingdom to its knees... before it’s too late! Thanks to Marco Fossati for the translation and Simon Collins for the English-language editing. Any questions, please ask!
Demonheart is a D20 adventure campaign for 4-5 characters. As it is a long and fairly involved story, characters should be level 6-8 when they begin and will earn enough experience to rise to levels 10-12. Demonheart includes many opportunities for both combat and roleplaying. At least one fighter-type is required, and given the wild, frontier nature of the campaign, a ranger’s skills would be especially useful. Stealth and intrigue also favor rogue characters, while a cleric, particularly from a martial order who can fight well would find plenty of opportunity to use his or her powers against the undead and evil outsiders. Demonheart also takes place in a wilderness setting where ancient magic abounds, and the special nature skills of a druid will help the party to make friends with some of the land’s fey or wild elvish inhabitants. Sorcerers and wizards will likewise find use for their talents, but those who understand divine or druidic magic may be more important than arcanists. As this adventure involves the struggle against evil, both ancient and resurgent, the party’s overall alignment should be good, though individuals of other alignments may be tempted to use the ancient magic of the forest for their own ends, or even join with the forces of evil!
A malicious and virulent force possesses the Vermyr Woods. The local wild-life has fled; known paths have mysteriously vanished or shifted; and locals have been found hanging dead from trees yet their eyes watch... they always watch. The hopes of the people are dwindling quickly. Believing that evil harpies have afflicted the woods, brave Captain Harkin set forth to serve them righteous justice! Even the mighty druid Algalor is nowhere to be found. Time passes and their worries compound. Why have the harpies attacked? What is the fate of Algalor and Captain Harkin? What is this mysterious evil that plagues the Vermyr woods? Who is Cartman's dad? The heroes will stumble into this mystery as they travel to Homid. They will discover the truth of the harpies as well as the fate of the heroes who safeguarded this region by delving deep into a forest labyrinth that feels alive! Will it consume them or will they be strong enough to defeat the evil at its core! Published by: Paper Dragon Tales
Ever been on a long running campaign and in one of the sessions one or a few players couldn’t make it? This adventure was made to be used as sort of a filler episode to fix that. Made for a small party of 1st-4th lvl characters and to be played in a single session. Story summary - The Gold Knife Bandits, a gang formed by a former army squadron that deserted. They are remarkably loyal to each other and are known in the area for attacking army caravans and camps. However, after several months of unfortunate loots. They decided to house a cultist of Beshaba and do what he asks to take away the curse of misfortune the gang is obviously under. Unfortunately, that includes using some members of the party as a sacrifice. The party will find the bandits cavernous hideout, clear through it, face the cultist, the Bandit's old boss, or both! All in a day’s worth of adventuring.
Nanfield is an island village of over 50 NPCs with mysteries plaguing both its present and its past. It contains a unique ecosystem and economy and a ship full of friendly pirates that will invite you by for dinner after accidentally attacking your party. It can be inserted into any campaign as an interlude during a travel montage, as a one-shot encounter, or as the base of future adventures. Nanfield contains over 50 NPCs you can use, several very unique and compelling characters, a Druid stat-bloc, a ship-to-ship fight, an investigation, and a fight with a Harpy (or more, depending on the outcome of the investigation).
With the dawning of the Age of Lost Omens, a supernatural hurricane known as the Eye of Abendego brought ruin to the nation of Lirgen. Today, what was once a powerful nation exists as a flooded swampland, its fallen cities immersed under the endless flood of a perpetual storm. In Hyrantam, the ruined capital of Lirgen, a few stubborn survivors have managed to eke out a living for themselves, but now, strange new patterns in the storm that constantly looms on the horizon have swept local predators into violent frenzies. Worse, a new sect of strange seers known as the Stormreaders has come to the area, and its demands on the people of Hyrantam have grown increasingly dire. What link might the Stormreaders have to these new squalls, and what vile plots might they be hatching from their new seat of power deep in the drowned city’s ruins? Seers of the Drowned City is an adventure for 6th-level characters and features a poster map of the ruins of Hyrantam. The author of this adventure, Nicholas Wasko, was the Season 9 winner of the RPG Superstar contest, in which hundreds of unpublished authors compete for the chance to write a Pathfinder Module. In addition, this book contains a host of new monsters and magic items designed by the contest’s talented runners-up. Seers of the Drowned City is designed for four characters and uses the medium XP track. The characters will reach 8th level by the end of the adventure.
The Beastlord Malar has had enough of the people of the Silver Marches trying to "civilize" the Northlands. Now, with the help of a powerful new weapon, his followers are set to cleanse the stain of Silverymoon from the land. Faerun’s Northlands have always been a dangerous frontier. The frozen woods and treacherous mountains are home to orcs, trolls, lycanthropes, and worse. When the Lady Alustriel brought the northern nations together, the Beastlord Malar could no longer watch as his wilderness was slowly civilized. The god chose his most worthy follower, anth-Malar, suffused him with divine essence, and tasked him with bringing devastation and chaos to all who defiled the wilderness. This adventure is a sequel to "Forest of Blood" which originally appeared in Dungeon #103. Pgs. 70-88
A shadow hangs over the dark and dreary town of Squill. Townsfolk are being murdered in their beds without any explanation and the local graveyard has become a dangerous, haunted place. Consumed by fear, the men and women of Squill have begun casting evil glances at a young orphan boy. The victims, it seems, all had links to the lonely child, and none of them were good. A local priestess, however, wonders if the heart of the darkness consuming the town lies in a necromancer slain nearby only a few months ago...
The companions find adventure outside Lake-town and are given the chance to discover why even the hardiest of adventurers shun the forest of Mirkwood and its depths. In the process, they go and see Elves, meet a crazed hermit, and stumble into a wood of ancient and angry trees. Published by Cubicle7
You are charged with rescuing Bea’s missing sextuplets and must bring their captors to justice. A walk in the park for brave adventurers, unless the trail extends beyond the darkness.