The Darkest Night is a Christmas / holiday themed adventure where players battle an ancient evil to save Kringlefest. This adventure can be used as an outline for any game system, but the specific details are for four 1st-level adventurers using the rules of the 5th edition rules of the world’s greatest roleplaying game. This adventure is designed to provide a short one-shot adventure for inexperienced players or anyone who wants to get into the holiday spirit. * An introduction poem written by Edward McCulloch to set up the adventure * 3 encounters featuring snow people, toy soldiers and a demonic Krampus finale * Various challenges along the way to Kringle's workshop * A fun gift giving conclusion with Kringle at his workshop
The astronomer monks of Farsky failed for decades to tell the future by the stars. Desperate, they found a promising seer, and passed off her predictions as their own… until deadly illness struck. Unable to give up their lucrative scam, they trapped her spirit, which became a thing of evil: a banshee, whose howls foretold their doom. The party have heard rumors of a ruin, where once sages could answer any question… Notes by @Demian: Winner of One Page Dungeon Contest (OPDC) 2015. The adventure consists of a single small dungeon with 13 rooms and an exploration/time-based random Silence spell mechanic. It is themed around music and sound. Designed as a one-shot to be played in one 4–7 hour session.
Eons-old secrets slumber beneath the forbidden Ghost Ice. Since the time of the Elders, the local tribes have shunned the crawling glacier, knowing it as taboo land that slays all who tread its frigid expanse. Now, the Ghost Ice has shattered, revealing hints at deeper mysteries entombed within its icy grasp. Strange machines and wonderful horrors stir beneath the ice… Frozen in Time is a level 1 adventure for any DCC RPG campaign. It also includes new material for judges who want to send their adventurers in a Stone Age setting!
Giants have been raiding the lands of men in large bands, with giants of different sorts in these marauding groups. Death and destruction have been laid heavily upon every place these monsters have visited. This has caused great anger in high places, for life and property loss means failure of the vows of noble rulers to protect the life and goods of each and every subject -- and possible lean times for the rulers as well as the ruled. Therefore, a party of the bravest and most powerful adventurers has been assembled and given the charge to punish the miscreant giants. This module contains background information, referee's notes, two level maps, and exploration matrix keys. It provides a complete module for play of ADVANCED DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, and it can be used alone or as the first of a three-part expedition adventure which also employs DUNGEON MODULE G2 (GLACIAL RIFT OF THE FROST GIANT JARL) and DUNGEON MODULE G3 (HALL OF THE FIRE GIANT KING). TSR 9016
CORE 1-3 Threats from outside Melvaunt and within push heroes to the brink as a terrified populace counts on the bravery of a few heroes to avert total disaster. Part Three of The Chaos in Melvaunt. The characters make a choice between finding orc saboteurs (who intend to destroy the city walls), or spy on a red wizard (who can shrink or even move a portal to Mechanus), or both given time. Depending on the outcome they must battle the orcs and/or the modron in the city.
The Temple of Draxion is an adventure with 2-3 encounters that uses clever tactics, trickery, and good defensive positions to make low-level monsters challenging. The defenders in the encounter try to deceive the PCs; groups willing to accept anything the DM says at face value will horribly misjudge the actual level of danger they are in. The adventure is set in a partially-collapsed dungeon that was once a temple to Erythnul, but is now the headquarters of a pair of aspiring bandits, and their kobold employees. Pgs. 12-15
The young heroes of the town of Kassen are ready for their coming-of-age ceremony, an old tradition in which they retrieve a piece of the eternal flame burning in the tomb of the town's founder. Yet when they arrive there, they find only the corpses of their fellow townsfolk, dead bandits, and mysterious animated skeletons. The novice heroes must brave the traps and perils of the Crypt of the Everflame, discover the source of the corruption that has awakened an ancient evil, and defeat a menace that seeks vengeance against Kassen and its people. Part One of Price of Immortality.
Agents of the fire giants of Maerimydra, a city in the Underdark, have overtaken the drow outpost of Szith Morcane. The factions seek out adventurers to free the outpost’s leaders for questioning on the giants’ activities. Can you extricate them before it’s too late?
Brambletoe Hall has ever been deep, warm and filled with mirth. Here, the good mayor Willie Brambletoe has long presided over a board of warm mutton, fresh apples, berries, peaches and the like, as well as wondrous breads, warm butter and cool drink. Mayor Willie invites all, inviting may various and sundry folks to sit and eat with him, or to gather about his great hall and make merry, pass the time and exchange news of distant happenings in exotic lands. But something has changed in that noble Halfling's Halls and a Shadow of Evil has taken up abode there. Not many days past, in those deep hours before the dawn, the sounds of merriment changed to cries of despair. A haunting came to the Good man's home and left an air filled with the noise of terror and a foul odor of unrepentant evil. Abandoned now, a shadow has hung over the hall ever since. Foul play or murder, none knew. But the Shadow of Fear has spread, stalking the environs of Newbriar. And the locals now say Newbriar has come at last to know the shallow welcome of the other world. In fear, the folk of Newbriar have called for aid, sending riders forth to find courageous heroes willing to rid the town and its sufferages of the terror of the Shadows of the Halfling Hall.
Your adventurers are in luck! They are stumbling into the town of Larksville just a day before the Annual Cockatrice Race! This event and the revelries surrounding make up a week of pure entertainment for anyone passing through the area. The town is of medium size with a population close to one thousand, but during their Fall Festival that number is nearly tripled as people from all around flood in. The air is constantly filled with music and the smell of delicious foods. There is a bard in every tavern and a drunk passed out in every street. Most buildings are hanging red, gold, and orange decorations (the official colors of the festival) and anyone wearing those colors receive discounts on goods!
The town of Innisfall lives in the shadow of dragons, but has managed to broker a peace with them through the years and avoided outright destruction. Now, a dragon has been murdered and the visiting party of adventurers is accused of perpetrating the deed. Can our heroes prove their innocence and restore the uneasy truce the town has lived under for generations?…
A boxful of trouble. Sugar and spice and everything nice, that's what little girls are made of - but not this one! Think of this short adventure as 'Home Alone' meets AD&D. An apprentice to the town's wizard accidentally got into the cursed items while her teacher was away. Now she's acting strangely and playing a dangerous game of hide and seek with the party! Pgs. 44-47
A hideous hag threatens to corrupt everything it can, including a young bronze dragon who protects this stretch of coastline. The heroes must stop Dread Shelan at all costs, lest the entire area come to ruin. Can the brave adventurers defeat Dread Shelan and her pet sahuagin? This package (adventure, maps, etc. within) forms a complete module for use with Dungeons & Dragons ® 5th Edition rules. It is especially designed for Dungeon Masters to initiate play with a minimum of preparation, and to invoke that OSR look and feel you remember from the original Saltmarsh back in the 80s. In addition to descriptive and situational material, this module also includes special informational sections giving background history and legends, listings of possible monsters and treasures and how to place them, a list of adventuring characters, tips on various aspects of play for the Dungeon Master, and helpful advice for starting players. Old School Look and Feel! Instructions given for scaling the encounters for levels 5 to 10.
Phandalin is a great location from which PCs can adventure. The information in this supplement can be used in conjunction with Lost Mine of Phandelver, After Lost Mine, other adventures set in and around Phandalin, or used to add more flavor to any town. Nine of the NPCs featured in this supplement can be found in Lost Mine of Phandalin and ten others were introduced in After Lost Mine, but each has added information. The rest of the material here is new. 2 New Backgrounds; 2 New Feats; 3 New Adventure Hooks
Dragonbowl is a setting and pulp action adventure in one. It plunges a party into a rich festival scenario that revolves around a deadly gladiatorial contest, where the dangers they face in the arena are almost secondary to those they encounter in the murky criminal underworld they find themselves in: a world that stinks of corruption, human trafficking, illegal dinosaur-trading, necromancy, blood sacrifice and unnatural arcane experiments. The action takes place in a vast cavern in Mount Waterdeep, known as the Underbelly, where not only Dragonbowl Arena, but also an entire festival grounds – consisting of temples, bars, casinos, funfairs and markets - has been constructed to host this grand sporting extravaganza. With Xanathar, Jarlaxle, Davil, Volo and the Black Viper all in attendance, and scores of 'entanglements' (faction missions) to keep players busy, Dragonbowl can be played as a sequel to Waterdeep: Dragon Heist, or as a first step towards the Undermountain and the Dungeon of the Mad Mage. Equally, it can be played as a stand alone adventure, or easily transported into other settings. The adventure is written for a party of four 6th level adventurers, and easily customisable for three to five players, of any mid-tier level (the adventure contains maps and handouts adapted for both 4 and 5 player tables). The adventure is designed to last around ten to fifteen 4-hour sessions, but can very easily be shortened or lengthened according to the DM's desire. The adventure features all three pillars of play: combat (in and out of the arena), social interaction (a succession of parties and parades, where players can get entangled in NPC business) and exploration (30+ locations in the festival grounds alone).
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
CORE 1-2 With the identity of a murderer confirmed, heroes are needed to track it down to its home. As it turns out, it might be a longer journey than first imagined. Part Two of The Chaos in Melvaunt. The characters enter Mechanus via a portal in Melvaunt with the aim to infiltrate a modron army encampment. They must then flee the camp in a chase scene.
This one-shot, horror-themed adventure is set on the lightning rail of the world of Eberron! Will your party of 6th-level adventurers be able to rescue an innocent before it all comes crashing down!? Nightmare on the Mournland Express features: An example lightning rail to explore. Updated 5th edition rules for running all sorts of encounters on the lightning rail. A bestiary appendix containing 9 stat blocks, including dragonmarked NPCs and nightmarish monsters! Enough material to run an alternate scenario: a train heist!
As your experience is beginning to get noticed, a new problem has come to Lakedale. Reports of the profitable Andall Mine to the south is under attack by humanoids. Gather your cohorts…looks like it is time to go back to work and see if you can boost your fame!
The Legend of the Black Monastery Two centuries have passed since the terrible events associated with the hideous cult known as the Black Brotherhood. Only scholars and story-tellers remember now how the kingdom was nearly laid to waste and the Black Monastery rose to grandeur and fell into haunted ruins. The Brothers first appeared as an order of benevolent priests and humble monks in black robes who followed a creed of kindness to the poor and service to the kingdom. Their rules called for humility and self denial. Other religious orders had no quarrel with their theology or their behavior. Their ranks grew as many commoners and nobles were drawn to the order by its good reputation. The first headquarters for the order was a campsite, located in a forest near the edge of the realm. The Brothers said that their poverty and dedication to service allowed them no resources for more grand accommodations. Members of the Black Brotherhood built chapels in caves or constructed small temples on common land near villages. They said that these rustic shrines allowed them to be near the people they served. Services held by the Brothers at these locations attracted large numbers of common people, who supported the Black Brotherhood with alms. Within 50 years of their first appearance, the Black Brotherhood had a number of larger temples and abbeys around the kingdom. Wealthy patrons endowed them with lands and buildings in order to buy favor and further the work of the Brothers. The lands they gained were slowly expanded as the order’s influence grew. Many merchants willed part of their fortunes to the Black Brotherhood, allowing the order to expand their work even further. The Brothers became bankers, loaning money and becoming partners in trade throughout the kingdom. Within 200 years of their founding, the order was wealthy and influential, with chapters throughout the kingdom and spreading into nearby realms. With their order well-established, the Black Brotherhood received royal permission to build a grand monastery in the hill country north of the kingdom’s center. Their abbot, a cousin of the king, asked for the royal grant of a specific hilltop called the Hill of Mornay. This hill was already crowned by ancient ruins that the monks proposed to clear away. Because it was land not wanted for agriculture, the king was happy to grant the request. He even donated money to build the monastery and encouraged others to contribute. With funds from around the realm, the Brothers completed their new monastery within a decade. It was a grand, sprawling edifice built of black stone and called the Black Monastery. From the very beginning, there were some who said that the Black Brotherhood was not what it seemed. There were always hints of corruption and moral lapses among the Brothers, but no more than any other religious order. There were some who told stories of greed, gluttony and depravity among the monks, but these tales did not weaken the order’s reputation during their early years. All of that changed with the construction of the Black Monastery. Within two decades of the Black Monastery’s completion, locals began to speak of troubling events there. Sometimes, Brothers made strange demands. They began to cheat farmers of their crops. They loaned money at ruinous rates, taking the property of anyone who could not pay. They pressured or even threatened wealthy patrons, extorting money in larger and larger amounts. Everywhere, the Black Brotherhood grew stronger, prouder and more aggressive. And there was more… People began to disappear. The farmers who worked the monastery lands reported that some people who went out at night, or who went off by themselves, did not return. It started with individuals…people without influential families…but soon the terror and loss spread to even to noble households. Some said that the people who disappeared had been taken into the Black Monastery, and the place slowly gained an evil reputation. Tenant farmers began moving away from the region, seeking safety at the loss of their fields. Slowly, even the king began to sense that the night was full of new terrors. Across the kingdom, reports began to come in telling of hauntings and the depredations of monsters. Flocks of dead birds fell from clear skies, onto villages and city streets. Fish died by thousands in their streams. Citizens reported stillborn babies and monstrous births. Crops failed. Fields were full of stunted plants. Crimes of all types grew common as incidents of madness spread everywhere. Word spread that the center of these dark portents was the Black Monastery, where many said the brothers practiced necromancy and human sacrifice. It was feared that the Black Brotherhood no longer worshipped gods of light and had turned to the service of the Dark God. These terrors came to a head when the Black Brotherhood dared to threaten the king himself. Realizing his peril, the king moved to dispossess and disband the Black Brother hood. He ordered their shrines, abbeys and lands seized. He had Brothers arrested for real and imagined crimes. He also ordered investigations into the Black Monastery and the order’s highest ranking members. The Black Brotherhood did not go quietly. Conflict between the order and the crown broke into violence when the Brothers incited their followers to riot across the kingdom. There were disturbances everywhere, including several attempts to assassinate the king by blades and by dark sorcery. It became clear to everyone that the Black Brotherhood was far more than just another religious order. Once knives were drawn, the conflict grew into open war between the crown and the Brothers. The Black Brotherhood had exceeded their grasp. Their followers were crushed in the streets by mounted knights. Brothers were rounded up and arrested. Many of them were executed. Armed supporters of the Black Brotherhood, backed by arcane and divine magic, were defeated and slaughtered. The Brothers were driven back to their final hilltop fortress – the Black Monastery. They were besieged by the king’s army, trapped and waiting for the king’s forces to break in and end the war. The final assault on the Black Monastery ended in victory and disaster. The king’s army took the hilltop, driving the last of the black-robed monks into the monastery itself. The soldiers were met by more than just men. There were monsters and fiends defending the monastery. There was a terrible slaughter on both sides. In many places the dead rose up to fight again. The battle continued from afternoon into night, lit by flames and magical energy. The Black Monastery was never actually taken. The king’s forces drove the last of their foul enemies back inside the monastery gates. Battering rams and war machines were hauled up the hill to crush their way inside. But before the king’s men could take the final stronghold, the Black Brotherhood immolated themselves in magical fire. Green flames roared up from the monastery, engulfing many of the king’s men as well. As survivors watched, the Black Monastery burned away, stones, gates, towers and all. There was a lurid green flare that lit the countryside. There was a scream of torment from a thousand human voices. There was a roar of falling masonry and splitting wood. Smoke and dust obscured the hilltop. The Black Monastery collapsed in upon itself and disappeared. Only ashes drifted down where the great structure had stood. All that was left of the Black Monastery was its foundations and debris-choked dungeons cut into the stones beneath. The war was over. The Black Brotherhood was destroyed. But the Black Monastery was not gone forever. Over nearly two centuries since its destruction, the Black Monastery has returned from time to time to haunt the Hill of Mornay. Impossible as it seems, there have been at least five incidents in which witnesses have reported finding the Hill of Mornay once again crowned with black walls and slate-roofed towers. In every case, the manifestation of this revenant of the Black Monastery has been accompanied by widespread reports of madness, crime and social unrest in the kingdom. Sometimes, the monastery has appeared only for a night. The last two times, the monastery reappeared atop the hill for as long as three months…each appearance longer than the first. There are tales of adventurers daring to enter the Black Monastery. Some went to look for treasure. Others went to battle whatever evil still lived inside. There are stories of lucky and brave explorers who have survived the horrors, returning with riches from the fabled hordes of the Black Brotherhood. It is enough to drive men mad with greed – enough to lure more each time to dare to enter the Black Monastery.