The leader of all the Shadow Guilds, the Ceta Consortium is gone, wiped out in a single night, without warning or witnesses. Their empire of control, secrecy, and soft-handed rule has vanished, leaving behind only rumors and blood. Now, the city of Lumina stands on the edge of something new... and something dangerous. Shadow Guilds is a system-agnostic tabletop campaign setting built for fantasy games that blur the line between ambition and morality. Set in a bustling metropolis of vice, corruption, and uneasy power, it invites players to step into the roles of underworld mafiosos, trying to make their mark—or just survive the fallout. Inside, you’ll find everything you need to run a campaign focused on gang politics, black-market enterprise, and the slow scramble toward power in a world that rewards the bold and punishes the careless. You’ll build a crew, carve out territory, and navigate a world where magic is outlawed, alliances are temporary, and opportunity lurks behind every closed door. This is not a story of chosen heroes or grand prophecies. It’s a story of clever rogues, ruthless enforcers, and ambitious criminals rising into the vacuum left by the old guard. The game leans into roleplay, style, and smart decision-making—but it doesn’t shy away from trouble when it finds you. Start small. Lie often. Watch your back. Shadow Guilds is a system-neutral campaign setting designed to drop into any fantasy world where criminal syndicates thrive in the shadows of power. Whether you're running a long-form campaign, a gritty one-shot, or threading a criminal conspiracy into your existing world, this guide provides the building blocks for a dangerous, decadent underworld full of secrets, turf wars, and moral gray areas. This setting assumes a single sprawling metropolis, where various criminal guilds operate openly or in secret. It leans into noir fantasy, urban intrigue, prohibition, and the uncomfortable alliances forged when justice fails.
INTRODUCTION Some say the world is dying. Others say the desert is growing. In either case, merchants and princes always desire new ways to cross the Great Sand Sea. Today, someone has found a way to fly over it. Who will tempt fate and join the maiden voyage of the Desert Angel? No one knows what dangers or treasure have lain hidden in the heart of the desert for all these eons. If you survive, you will be the first. ONE-SHOT This adventure is intended as a one-shot, but it can easily be inserted into a campaign. Any time your players wish to travel to a distant city, you can simply say there is a large desert in their way, but luckily there is a new flying ship they can travel on. Good luck with that! DESIGN NOTES This adventure is intended for low-level characters (1-3). It is primarily geared for social encounters and combat. It runs 2 to 5 hours. Players ride a flying ship across the desert. Monsters attack. Passengers plot treachery. Mysterious locations appear. You can keep the tone serious or play up this ridiculous sequence of disasters for laughs.
The PCs intervene in an attempted murder and are hired to find out what made a guy go mad. This leads them to search for Yenejg Togan's tower/a strange merchant in the nearby forest, where they discover that bugbears have moved in. After exploring the tower, finding the "merchant", and dealing with the bugbears and the lamia that caused the incident in the first place, they were still unable to get into Yenejg's inner sanctum without a key. The PCs return with the key and figure out how to use it to enter Yenejg's sanctum. They then explore it, dealing mostly with traps, and finally discover the resting place of the treasure Yenejg stole from the town. This adventure begins with a skill-based roof-top chase and can include some complex non-combat interactions with potentially hostile NPCs. It includes some semi-interesting traps as well as some nifty puzzles. No villain to speak of. Fool-hardy adventurers can get themselves killed, but some caution will result in only one extremely hard fight, and even that can be avoided if action is taken quickly. Pgs. 74-107
In the Yatil Mountains south of Perrenland there is rumored to be a magical hoard of unsurpassed value, a treasure of such fame that scores of adventurers have perished in search of it. Find the perilous Lost Caverns of Tsojanth and you may gain the hidden wealth of the long-dead arch-mage-- if you live. Module S4, this contains a brief wilderness journey to the caverns, but the bulk is underground. The caverns are noted as a previous lair of the Arch-mage Iggwilv- though she is long gone, her Demonomicon remains. This module marks the first appearance of several monsters and items that would later appear in the Monster Manual 2 and Unearthed Arcana. A labyrinth features in the caves. TSR 9061
Faced with an unusual alliance of giants raiding the countryside, the party must venture into the steading of hill giant chief Nosnra and uncover maps to the locations of the other giant strongholds. “Steading of the Hill Giant Chief ” can be run as a stand-alone adventure, or you can play it as the first part of a four-part series that continues with “Warrens of the Stone Giant Thane” (Dungeon 198), “Glacial Rift of the Frost Giant Jarl” (Dungeon 199), and “Hall of the Fire Giant King” (Dungeon 200). The adventure is part of the Against the Giants series originally by Gary Gygax, hence the writing credit.
Inside the woods near Burke's Crossing lurks a very real danger. It began as a sense of unease, a feeling of being watched, but now people are disappearing. The lumberjacks who have stayed in the little village talk of ghosts and other superstitions. Or at least they did - until a mysterious statue appeared in a clearing near the logging camp. As if matters weren't strange enough, two mages have arrived and begun hiring armed guards to escort them into these very same woods. Is there a connection, or is it just coincidence? Either way, be prepared! You never know what's out there waiting... and watching. "Eye of Pain" is the first of three Monstrous Arcana adventures featuring the cunning and deadly beholder. If can be played as an individual adventure or as part of the series which continue in "Eye of Doom" and concludes in "Eye to Eye." For four to six characters of levels 4-8.
To a wizard, knowledge is power, and the wizard Lirdrium Arkayz wants to know the mysterious secret of The Rock. Many have tried to discover it - but The Rock keeps its secret well. The wizard offers a rich reward to anyone bold enough to solve this dark mystery. But the road to The Rock leads to danger and hidden peril - dangers that have claimed the lives of many brave adventurers. Rashness and folly will lead to quick death, but riches await the clever and brave. Have you the wits, courage and skill to survive the Journey to The rock? TSR 9106
Undead minions turn on their master - When the necromancer's staff is broken, a party of undead become self aware. Play as undead and choose to side with your former master, or the paladin order assaulting his tower. Published by Limitless Adventures.
The king's notice asked for adventurers to undertake a mission to a far land. It was marked with the rune for "high danger, high reward" so of course you volunteered. The king has heard of a great obelisk that towers over a ruined city in a far country. He wants to know more about the obelisk and its strange powers. Your job is to find the obelisk and bring back a report to the king. The mission seems absurdly easy...until you reach the jungle. Don't think the king is through with you if you get back to the capital city alive. You haven't seen the last of that jungle yet. Is a share in the spoils of an ancient civilization worth the risk? Don't forget to pack you bug repellent! TSR 9187
Hidden amid the tattered parchment and mundane ink of a mysterious map hides the fabulous paradise of Kakishon. A realm of mystical wonders, mythical beasts, and legendary treasures, this long-lost creation of one of history’s greatest wizards once again inspires the bold to seek its wonders. Yet time, ancient magic, and bitter rivalries work to corrupt the incredible realm, turning it into both paradise and prison. Can they tame the powers of Kakishon’s magical islands and best the masters of the wondrous land? Or will they forever be prisoners of paradise? This volume of Pathfinder Adventure Path includes: ◆ “The End of Eternity,” an adventure for 9th-level characters, by Jason Nelson. ◆ A glimpse into the Maelstrom and the lives of its enigmatic natives, the proteans, lords of primeval chaos, by Todd Stewart. ◆ The magical rites of Sulesh the Great, master of seals and binder of genies, as transcribed by Wolfgang Baur and James Jacobs. ◆ Pathfinder Channa Ti faces danger on the River Asp in the Pathfinder’s Journal, by New York Times bestselling author Elaine Cunningham. ◆ Six new monsters by Adam Daigle, James Jacobs, Jason Nelson, F. Wesley Schneider, and Todd Stewart.
Looks can lie as well as words. Magical minotaurs? Mutant giants? Vampires? One or more of these is preying upon the caravans, and you're going to stop them. A band of ogre magi took over an abandoned dwarven stronghold and have started ambushing merchant caravans. Their leader, Krugii, wants to gain enough power to eventually control a kingdom. In his quest for power, he has bonded a young bronze dragon and has accelerated its growth. The ogre mages all have different personalities and different forms that they prefer to polymorph into. The PCs are hired to take a caravan through Deception Pass and protect it against the random monsters that have been marauding lately (actually ogre mages in disguise). After protecting the caravan, the players track the attacks back to the stronghold of the ogre magi and clear it out. Pgs. 40-62
This 4 to 6 hour module goes from Saltmarsh to Baldur's Gate in a race against time. A dark vision warns of a terribly cataclysmic event in Baldur's Gate and the characters are hired to deliver supplies before its too late. This adventure can be adjusted for any Tier 1, 2, or 3 party. It is intended to help usher characters from the Saltmarsh area to Baldur's Gate, just in time for Descent into Avernus. A challenging voyage they should give them a wild ride with new challenges at sea.
A relentless torrential storm has forced you to seek shelter at an abandoned caravan lodge with several others you met on the road, but the dangers outside may pale in comparison to the dangers within. Can you survive the night? A Tale of Mystery & Suspense for Tier 1 Characters. Optimized for APL 3. From the author of the Neverdusk Trilogy comes a brand new roleplaying & exploration rich adventure in the horror and mystery genre. This module is designed to be played using Theater of the Mind, and depending on the characters and their decisions, multiple endings are possible. It debuted at DDALSG Community Games Weekend 2020, a digital convention in Singapore. The v1.02 package includes: - Full color cover art by digital artist Koh Jia Wei (Firons Art). - A high quality digital map pack for key encounter locations, in both Black & White and Full Color by digital artist Ryan Tan Chen Wayne (Ryzwayne). - A cheat sheet featuring Jason's personal notes on running CCC-RPSG-04 The Waystop and NPC reference sheets to help you flesh out the NPCs. - A fully colored NPC portrait & token pack created by popular webtoon creator Ho Wei Rong (Carillus of ExCo fame).
Heavy mists have plagued the area around Phlan for weeks, even after the reported death of Vorgansharax, the Maimed Virulence. People have been disappearing in those deadly fogs, and now dead bodies are turning up. A D&D Adventurer’s League adventure set in the Quivering Forest.
“Traversing the planes of existence is no easy task. Only extremely talented and knowledgeable people could manage it.” A mysterious thief stole a dangerous artifact, called the Tome of The Stilled Tongue from the tower of Lady Blackstaff of Waterdeep, Vajra Safahr herself, leaving the tower by opening a portal to the Elemental Plane of Fire. The archmage immediately calls the band of adventurers who are staying in town to chase down the thief and return the dangerous book to its place. This adventure can be used to kick-off a planar campaign or as a standalone one-shot. A Chase Through The Planes features: - An exciting journey across the multiple planes of existence: Elemental Plane of Fire, Shadowfell, Feywild, and Ysgard - Exploration of morkoth island and lair in the Astral Sea full of weird creatures, strange phenomenons, and dangerous encounters - Heavy use of Supernatural Regions from Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything - High-quality battle maps, available in printer-friendlier and universal vtt format
Devastated in a war with a nearby wizards' school, the Fighters' Academy has since been surrounded by a foul and dank swamp - the Gloomfens. Since the climatctic battle between the wizards and fighters, the tower has decayed. The spirit of the head of the academy haunts the building, eternally plotting his revenge on the wizards who killed him. his loyal sutdents remain faithful to him even in death. Other foul undead have made their home in the rotting, spacious academy. From their lair, they make forays into farmsteads near the swamp in search of victims to feed their unspeakable appetites. The Problem of these terrible attacks by the savage undead will not stop until the evil that has found a home at the tower is burned from the face of the land forever. Will your party heed the call and help the town of Melinir? Will they be able to clear the former Academy of its undead? Towers of Evil is the second in a three part adventure, The Haunted Tower. Or, it can be ran as a stand alone adventure. The choice is up to you. Part of TSR 1081 The Haunted Tower
At the borderlands between the Noteflame Coast and the Duchy of Starryshade is the small town of Bluffton. You and your party heard of strange lights in the sky there while visiting the capital city of Vandosia. Further research shows that merchants that passed through the area two days ago and saw the strange lights at night and it appeared to be powerful magic at work. Vandosia was becoming stale anyway so a quick trip to a cartographer and you can be on your way to adventure!
Laveth, Lolth's half drow daughter, is plotting to seize power from her chaotic evil mother.
On a nameless, featureless demi-plane the Tarrasque rages across an all-encompassing nothingness. Last seen on Faerun a century ago during the cataclysm of Odobaz, the battle mage order of the Eldritch Storm sacrificed itself to banish the mighty titan to its demi-plane prison. Now a foul power emerges in the High Ice and nightmare visions of the Tarrasque trampling cities wrack the minds of the living—can your adventurers defeat the Horror Under the Mountain?
One page adventure, one page map. A necromancer desiring to increase her undead army has unleashed a zombie horde on a remote village. Patch, one-eyed dog of Duff the blacksmith, survived the village massacre which turned most of the inhabitants into zombies. The dog lost his eyepatch in the confusion. If a Speak with Animals or similar spell is used or if a character can read animal emotions well, Patch may tell the location of some of the zombies and the massacre's survivors. Adventure hooks included. Published by Wicked Cool Games