Can two kings truly trust one another? King Irovetti, ruler of Pitax and potential rival to the leaders of the eastern Stolen Lands, opens his gates and hospitality to the lords of that realm. Within his city of shallow indulgences and crude decadence, he hosts a tournament ostensibly meant to foster friendship and peace, but fraught with dangers all its own. Is the King of Pitax’s good will sincere, or does he harbor a more sinister goal? And are the PCs fated to gain an opponent who commands not only a nation, but allies from a deadly other realm?
A rare breed of wolf has apparently been staging daring attacks on citizens of Rendrick. A group of hunters seek to claim bounty on the beast, but as the PCs quickly learn, the wolf isn't all it appears. Something sinister lurks in the woods near town, and the PCs must act quickly to save innocent lives. Pgs. 16-26
Deep beneath the Isle of Dread, in a place forgotten by the world of light, an ancient, unfathomable evil festers. Within the desiccated ruin known as Golsimorga, the debased kopru servants of Demogorgon work foul rites, steeping immature shadow pearls in pits of liquid insanity. None from the world above have yet fathomed what terrors lurk beneath the Isle of Dread, nor what mad scheme roils to profane life deep within the city's gangrenous corpse. "The Lightless Depths" is the sixth 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 #353 of Dragon features ways to improve the PCs' vessel, the Sea Wyvern, as they take their adventures back to the seas. When the PCs journey deep under the Isle of Dread to find the source of the shadow pearls, they discover horrors beyond imagining in a haunted underground city perched on sanity's razored edge. Pgs. 28-66
Deep in the forest, something is stirring. An evil fey sorcerer, cast out of the First World millennia ago by her own kin, has found a way to break through the ancient walls of her prison, and carries with her a vengeance too deep to be sated. For the quiet Andoren town of Bellis, busy celebrating a long-awaited marriage, it's a time for joy and laughter. Yet the forest that's always sheltered it is growing dark, and things are moving in the heart of the woods...
A Pathfinder Roleplaying Game adventure for 15th-level characters, this volume of Pathfinder Adventure Path is part 6 of 6 of the Kingmaker Adventure Path, in which the heroes win and defend a small kingdom from threats foreign and domestic. PCs should advance to 17th level by the end of this adventure. This adventure begins after the War of the River Kings has ended—the PCs, be they the war’s victors or losers, are faced with the task of rebuilding their kingdom or perhaps helping to rebuild Pitax. Yet soon after the war is over, a new peril strikes the region as strange monsters and violent bursts of rapid vegetation growth and bizarre weather plagues the Stolen Lands. At the same time, the PCs learn that one of the treasures discovered in Pitax’s House is a nascent vorpal sword, a weapon of immense power, and as the strange weather and blooms of life and monstrous incursions increase, so does this sword’s intelligence and power. The PCs soon learn that their kingdom faces an invasion, but this time not from the physical world. Some fell force from the legendary First World is attempting to expand into this world, and when the PCs begin to fight back against these verdant blooms, they discover that it’s possible to step from this world into the First World realm of Thousandbreaths. There, the PCs face powerful new threats unlike anything they’ve seen before, and learn that the dangers facing their kingdom are even greater than they feared, for the fey ruler of Thousandbreaths is about to absorb the Stolen Lands into a bauble for her own purposes, an act that would scour clean the region and leave behind nothing but a wasteland.If the PCs hope to save their new kingdom from this threat, they must combat the nymph queen Nyrissa both by stopping the various blooms in their kingdom and by traveling into Thousandbreaths itself to confront the dangerously insane nymph.
This sequel to issue #87’s ”Raiders of Galath’s Roost” takes the PCs back to the Dales region, where they must uncover a plot to destabilize the region. Zhentarim agents from Zhentil keep are disrupting trade along the Moonsea Ride, while drow from the forests are slaughtering merchants and taking their goods to sow discord between the humans of Misteldale and the elves of Cormanthor. The PCs must embark on a convoluted investigation to uncover the mystery behind the attacks. Pgs. 48-68
The Free City: a shining gem in the crown of cultured civilization. Beneath the surface of this bustling metropolis is a rot, festering in the darkness, manipulating the lives of those unaware of its presence. Now a small adventuring band from out of town may be in over their heads. Their actions in Diamond Lake have attracted the wrath of one of the city’s hidden masters. A gang of infiltrators and an enigmatic mastermind plot their destruction, and only tracing the rot to the root can stop the onslaught. "The Hall of Harsh Reflections" is the fourth installment of the Age of Worms Adventure Path, a complete campaign consisting of 12 adventures, several "Backdrop" articles to help Dungeon masters run the series, and a handful of poster maps of key locations. For additional aid in running this campaign, check out Dragon's monthly "Worm Food" articles, a series that provides additional materials to help players survive this campaign. Check out issue #336 of Dragon for five attractions to tempt your PCs to spend some of their hard-earned loot. This issue of Dragon also features an Ecology of the Spawn of Kyuss, one of the central creatures featured in this campaign. Pgs. 34-60
Tall tales of hidden riches are common in the pirate-infested taverns of the Shackles, but when Captain Varossa Lanteri claims to know the location of the secret treasure hoard of legendary Captain Jemma Redclaw, it seems she may be telling the truth. Captain Lanteri hires the PCs on as crew to help her assemble the magic key that will open the door to Redclaw’s treasure... and the ancient cyclops stronghold in which it’s hidden! Can the PCs survive long enough to claim their share of the lost loot, or will their enemies—or their allies—send them to a watery grave?
Part 3 of the Shackled City Adventure Path "Wherein a tribe of the Sea Mother's children suffer for sparing the life of a mad prisoner they probably should have eaten." Synopsis: The adventure begins with an Umber Hulk attack in the middle of the city. The fame gained by assisting during the attack allows them to gain the notice of a representative of Davked Splintershield. The group is asked to rescue Zenith Splintershield from a Kuo-Toan temple in the Underdark. But to find it, they have to visit Crazy Jared to locate an entrance to it. Upon journeying to Crazy Jared's, they fight Hookface's offspring. After more travelling, they are able to descend into the Underdark. Once they find the Kuo-Toan temple, they must fight through many hard challenges, only to realize that Zenith is not a prisoner, but instead is a prophet. Zenith does not go willingly, and so must be captured. Pgs. 28-61
As the party faces an ancient foe who has never been defeated, their hunt threatens to unleash the buried ghosts of a forgotten feud between two of Waterdeep's powerful merchant houses. The third adventure in the Vampires of Waterdeep Campaign Arc. Pgs 70-93
"Mysterious Ways" is a D&D adventure set in the Holy Land (Israel and Jordan) during the time of the Crusades (1114 A.D.) in an alternate-Earth setting. This is a world where the portals to otherworldly realms, particularly the Lower Planes, are closed--sealed shut by the power of the True Cross, a holy relic sought by evil thieves who would see the gates to the Lower Planes flung open. Magic exists in this alternate world, but it is less prevalent than in other D&D campaign settings. This paucity of magic serves the core of the adventure's storyline and should be preserved, if possible. This adventure is designed for a party of four 7th-level player characters (PCs). It is recommended that the party include at least one lawful cleric or paladin. Consult the "Adapting the Adventure" sidebar for ways to incorporate the adventure into generic D&D campaigns and modify it for higher or lower levels of play. Pgs. 84-112
More than a millennium has passed since the "machine mage" Karamoss's failed siege of Absalom, and for years the Pathfinder Society has used upper reaches of his subterranean siege tower as a training ground for initiates. During a routine drill, the once-dormant dungeon springs to life, and it will take all the PCs' resourcefulness and skill to make it out alive.
Evil schemes are afoot in Cauldron, a metropolis of merchants built into the caldera of a long-dormant volcano. To foil the agenda of evil cultists, your band of adventurers must brave haunted jungle ruins, slay mighty dragons, and bind themselves to a layer of the infinite Abyss. Will their swords and spells be enough to save the Shackled City? Originally published as 11 linked adventures in the award-winning Dungeon magazine, the Shackled City Adventure Path is the most ambitious official Dungeons & Dragons campaign ever created. Now, for the first time ever, everything you need to play the campaign has been compiled into a deluxe 416-page full-color hardcover that also includes an 8-panel fully detailed map of the City of Cauldron, a 16-page full-color map and illustration booklet, and a brand new Shackled City adventure written by fan favorite author Christopher Perkins.
"The Devil Box" is a D&D adventure suitable for four 2nd-level PCs, although it can be modified for parties of 1st or 4th-5th levels as noted int the "Scaling the Adventure" sidebar. Characters completing the adventure are likely to advance to 3rd level. Much of the action takes place in a small town during a festival; this town can easily be dropped into an existing campaign. Since "The Devil Box" expects the PCs to deal with kobolds as temporary allies, it throws in some ethical dilemmas for good-aligned characters. Paladins and good-aligned clerics my have difficulties with such an alliance, but kobolds are definitely the lesser of the two evils involved in this adventure. If the party spurns the assistance of potential kobold allies, you may wish to modify the adventure to make it a bit easier on the player characters, as encounters have been written with the assumption that the heroes have a little help. Uploader's note: A hilariously creepy adventure involving a circus (freakshow), with in style illustrations! (Grid maps included, but not separate maps.)
"A spiteful ghost haunts an abandoned courthouse in the metropolis of Absalom, and on the ten-year anniversary of a grave injustice it seeks its revenge. The heroes must unravel the mystery of the ghost’s demise before they too are given a guilty verdict and sent to the gallows." This adventure is different from many others in that it progress according to 1 hour increments, rather than according to the player's exploration. The party is trapped in an old courtroom, trying to solve a decade old murder. Though one of the villains is listed as a "revenant," this is primarily due to the thematic similarity. The actual undead antagonist is a unique type called a "croaker," which bears a similarity in that it is driven by vengeance.
A Pathfinder Roleplaying Game adventure for 1st-level characters, this volume of Pathfinder Adventure Path kicks off the highly anticipated Kingmaker Adventure Path, in which the heroes win and defend a small kingdom from threats foreign and domestic. PCs should advance to 4th level by the end of this adventure. This volume also includes a gazetteer of Brevoy and extensive rules for exploring, taming, and holding wildlands in preparation for founding a new nation. The Pathfinder Bestiary section introduces five all-new monsters perfect for Kingmaker adventuring. James L. Sutter brings a lighter side to the Pathfinder Adventure Path with the first installment of a new fiction arc for the Pathfinder's Journal. The adventure begins with the PCs, each bearing a charter from the Lord Mayor of Restov granting license to explore and map the section of the Stolen Lands known as the Greenbelt, arriving at a small, remote trading post at the southern edge of rural Rostland. There, the PCs help defend the post from bandits before setting out to survey the wilderness.The rate at which the PCs explore the Greenbelt, and the paths they take, are up to them—many wonders and dangers await discovery, and as their explorations take them deeper into the Narlmarches and the Kamelands, the PCs begin to learn that the bandits in the region are far more organized than anyone thought—and find that they even have a leader, a mysterious figure called the “Stag Lord.” If allowed to continue building his army of bandits, the Stag Lord could well become a great danger to Rostland—that, and the reward on his head for his capture or death, should be all the new adventurers need to spur them onward.
Venture-Captain Calisro Benarry has arranged for the PC's transport to the pirate haven of Port Peril to make contact with Free Captain Stella Fane and negotiate a contract with her, facilitating Society movements through the pirate blockades in the area. The job seems simple: track down the the pirate captain, secure the agreement, and then return to Absalom. But few things are simple when a den of villainous pirates is involved, and it's unlikely the PCs will be able to leave Port Peril without throwing a few punches in a proper pub brawl!
Seductive vampires, hungry werewolves, sinister drug dealers, trouble in the sewers, and an undead beholder? Just another day in Waterdeep! The first adventure in the Vampires of Waterdeep Campaign Arc. Pgs. 62-77
The last remains of a sage from an age long past rests high atop the snow-covered tips of the Fog Peaks in Southern Galt and the Society wants his bones in order to study them and learn from them. They've sent you into a wintry wilderness of primordial beastmen and snow creatures not seen below the snow line to do just that. With the Aspis Consortium also seeking the bones, the race is on to beat them to the top and, once the bones are recovered, to make it back down alive.
Living pirates are a common enough hazard around the islands known as the Serpent's Teeth. A dead one is even more trouble- especially when his treasure has been stolen. Characters who successfully complete this adventure should be of sufficient level to tackle the award-winning Freeport trilogy, Death in Freeport, Terror in Freeport, and Madness in Freeport. Pgs. 84-103