A 26-page low level adventure for OSE and other OSR rpgs. "The swamps? Oh, that's a long time since someone got out of there. Vines and crocodiles they say in the big city. But down here we don't believe everything they say up there. Everyone knows what's up with the swamp! The hydra is hungry! We tried to hunt it down last year... that's how i got this wooden stump! What? you? killing the Hydra? well... i didn't make you out for the brave type, that's all..." -Old Mika, fisherman of Gren Against the Hydra The swamps near Gren are infested with strange creatures preying on travellers, the hydra has begun her yearly hunt and the river woman’s daughter has vanished. Last year the neighbouring towns have all gathered together to mount an expedition inside the swamp, but none returned. With nothing more to do priests, druids and citizen have gathered a 2000 gold pieces to clean out the swamp and save the river woman’s daughter from certain death. The adventure comes with detailed tables to explore the swamps, a complex dungeon riddled with encounters, treasure and lore for you to explore. Handouts are also included in the adventure pdf, for you to give to your players and excite their imagination.
The Frog People were never a threat before, more of a nuisance really, they would show up once a year steal a few things and drink some ale. Then they would be gone. This year though they did not leave and now they are taking people! The town needs help and it has found it in you and your friends.
Who ever heard of a civilized gnoll? Stories of a secluded valley full of peaceful gnolls have been swirling for years, the occasional nonviolent encounters dismissed as tall tales or unique oddities. Now you are about to discover these gnolls for yourself. The rumors are true...but the full truth is a secret more terrible than anyone knew. A sect of the tribe maintain the magical peace by a terrible ritual sacrifice--not of blood, but of memory. The gnolls who undergo it become Forgotten, losing their identity and becoming a stranger to the clan who once knew and loved them. What is the truth behind the valley's protection? Will the gnolls be allowed to continue living in peace? Or will their only hope become Forgotten?
After basking in the glory of your accomplishments, you learn of a problem with a caravan attack. A group of possibly Goblins have brazenly attacked the Hamlet of Kako, burning it to the ground. The information comes from a local farmer that witnessed the carnage. Pack your gear…time to go back to work in the Principality of Lockerbie!
Something vile has transformed a sleepy rural village -- the locals have become monsters, and the only survivors are insane. Can the PCs unravel the mystery before a troupe of sinister bards plunges the heart of an unsuspecting city into the Far Realm? A D&D adventure for 9th-level characters.
While the PCs continue the quest for the missing pages of the Codex of Gamber Dauch they find the lands of Count Elam. The ruler has recently been informed of an agricultural problem with a herd of Anhkheg tearing up the lush farmland. Further investigation will uncover darker secrets in the area, and those involving Drow and Derro!
This exploration adventure is planned to be played by 4 to 5 level 4 characters. The characters, led by old Maddie (who also hides a big secret), will go deep into the swamp and into the caves to retrieve the green heart.
A member of the Thieves Guild Ebonclad has betrayed the guild and left a trail of bodies in his wake. The incident leaves the guild in a vulnerable position, and now a cleaning crew is necessary to find the rogue agent and cover the guild’s tracks. The party has to track down and eliminate Rikus Nickol, a guild defector. Rikus violated the honor among thieves when he murdered his teammates and made off with an enigmatic coral tablet that they were sent to steal from a building on the Ohlrise campus. The party is encouraged to retrieve this tablet as well, though eliminating Rikus is the most important goal. The party plays the role of investigators. The mission primarily deals with investigating a botched job on the Ohlrise (College/Wizard) campus, though it culminates in searching for a thief who defected from the guild. The characters are confronted by the rogue agent, forcing them to react to the situation as it unfolds.
Deep blue mists of the night swirl over the sands of Raurin, the incomparable Desert of Dust. As the cool night air drains the heat from the sand, you and your friends huddle around your campfire, glancing nervously at the giant pyramid in the distance. Gradually, the winds change direction, bearing a thin streak of white mist toward you from the pyramid. It swirls and takes shape as a faceless man dressed in ancient robes and an ornate head-piece; moonlight shining through his ghostly body and robes, he lifts his arms toward the pyramid and speaks. It was magic that conveyed you all to Bralizar, and an ancient map that guided you through the pass in The Dustwall. But it was, after all, the tales that finally brought you to this place - tales of endless wealth, of spirit-guarded pyramids, of crystalline obelisks, of gemstones with mysterious properties. Now, as the haunted voice of the spectre before you begins his tale, you wonder if the treasure and the quest are worth the price...perhaps your very lives. Are you really the heroes of the prophecies, those who will overcome the foretold tests, and those for whom the treasure awaits? It is time to search your hearts before you venture further into the Desert of Desolation. An epic adventure includes the revised Desert of Desolation series plus totally new adventures within Raurin, a desert wilderness set in the Fabulous Forgotten Realms TSR 9199
A vibrant circus has just arrived, setting up on the edge of town. Run by the charismatic half-elf ringmaster, Marlow, the performers bring with them dazzling displays of magic and talent, artifacts with incredible powers to behold, and strange creatures most people would never get the chance to see close up. Behind all of the joy and revelry, the circus holds a dark secret, for Marlow keeps tyrannical control over his performers with both whip and word. As this latest performance reaches its height, two acrobats decide to take their chance at freedom, making use of a distraction to steal something valuable from Marlow and make their escape. Marlow will do anything to get the two back under his power, and so turns his significant charms upon a hapless band of adventurers attending his circus.
Give your game’s locations a character all their own! Build encounter themes, emphasize magic places, and connect it all to the monsters living there with Expanded Environments and Additional Actions. Use traits to make creatures stand out and enhance their bond with the land, then add lair actions to reinforce the connection and escalate the fight. New interactions encourage a race between players and monsters to gain the upper hand using the environment around them with additional options in combat. In non-combat encounters, regional effects keep the feel of magic heightened in the surrounding area. Grab characters’ attention, and limbs, in the clutches of fallen armies on the ancient battlefield. Apply library traits and lair actions to a dragon to create an encounter with a bookwyrm. Tempt characters with the allure of enchanted gold in the treasure hoard. Bend fire itself to your will in the heart of a volcano. With Expanded Environments and Additional Actions ties “where you are” to “what & how you fight” with 21 environment templates for attributes and abilities you can apply to existing monsters and places that include all of the following: 80 lair actions that give the terrain a role, and often a roll, in the fight. 75 traits so familiar monsters gain new tricks and special features. 73 regional effects to add to the wonder of the world between combats 64 interactions for players or monsters to make the most of their surroundings This supplement was designed for dungeon masters who want more dynamic combat and more magical encounters. The collection started as my own expansion of the environments found in MCDM’s Flee, Mortals! but can be used on its own (along with the existing D&D 5e rules).
No-one knows why, but many of the villagers of Greenmist have been going insane. Not only that, but something has caused the surrounding environment to transform into fetid swamps. Heroes from far and wide have gone into the swamps to destroy the source of the madness, but none have returned. The truth is that the psychic whispers of an aboleth have invaded the minds of Greenmist's people. The creature called Seedooloo has been using forbidden magic, mad science, and the strange ability of his kuo-toan worshipers to grant himself the power to drive the surface world to insanity. The Call of Seedooloo includes monsters found in Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes.
It all begins with a simple request (doesn’t it always?) from an old farmer. The request – protect his cattle herd from vicious wolves. Simple enough for the brave adventurers, right? But it doesn’t stay that way. Not at all. Soon, the adventuring party will find themselves in the thick of it as they solve puzzles, avoid traps, fight for their lives, and endure witty taunting. And in the end, they discover an artifact that may, or may not, be useful to them. This adventure includes a cursed shield, a new undead creature, and a new artifact. Total party experience earned is approximately 14,500.
"For untold eons, Eshebala ruled over Vulgarea, the 193rd Layer of the Abyss...content to revel in hedonism, corrupt the hearts of her dwindling followers and inflict petty cruelty. Yet, if there are days in the Abyss, there came one when she realized she despised her own province. She hated demonkind. She hated the Abyss. It had become unbearably tedious, spent...done. The burgeoning goddess decided she would dip her toe back into the lives of mortals, and quest to remember...to understand her own existence...But that was a lofty goal for a mind that had long ago begun to unravel. Instead...She is learning that all she has left is cruelty...and it was always cruelty that gave her power, so she now believes, to the woe of any who cross her path." Partly inspired by a scant notation by Carl Sargeant in 1992's TSR book Monster Mythology: "Eshebala is the foxwoman deity of vanity, charm, greed, and cunning. Her symbol is a female fox. Eshebala appears as a foxwoman, a shapely fur-covered female with a fox’s head, or as a beautiful young elf maiden. She is bedecked in rich clothing and jewels, and carries a silver mirror. Eshebala’s realm of Vulgarea can be found on the 193rd layer of the Abyss. She is wily and vain. She favors beautiful things and collects jewelry and art, the tackier and flashier the better. She prefers to overcome her opponents using subtlety rather than force, seducing and devouring out of boredom. She loves gossip, and always insists on being the center of attention. Eshebala is a patron of evil shapeshifters who use their wits and wiles before resorting to violence." Eshebala is a true chaotic evil demon goddess, behaving 100% true to form, and an extremely challenging opponent to take down for your players. An unforgettable 262 page jaunt for Levels: 15-17, with multiple possible modes of play, including Party Mode for up to 12 players. Profusely and paintstakingly illustrated over the course of several years by an award-winning professional illustrator. No stock illustration in this beast! A loving, dark & insanely detailed exploration of the 193rd Abyssal Plane An exuberant nod to the most grueling, deadly dungeons ever created Rich encounters that play out in a unique way each time 100 + NEW CREATURES 200 + NEW TREASURES (& possibly the most illustrated treasury ever provided) 82 BOOKS for PCs to discover 70 + NEW SPELLS & RITUALS, INCLUDING DETAILED OPTIONS FOR DEMON SUMMONING 50 + NEW TRAPS, HAZARDS & EFFECTS (guaranteed to run amuck) 4 RANDOM TREASURE TABLES, including a TABLE OF GEMSTONES that would be useful in any campaign 2 NEW CLASS SHIFTS: the Demonologist & the Exorcist!
A Secret Buried for an Aeon is About to Sprout! From beyond our dimension, a living seed has festered here for an aeon. Within it lurks the nascent form of Akavala, the Ravenous Tree, dread ruler of a shattered world and its carefully gathered and subjugated protectors. Two of these powerful creatures escaped into the underworld drawing champions and enemies from the complex societies found there. As the god-seed grows, the world creeps closer to its doom. Includes: Full adventure, a new patron, new spells, new magic items, the Living Weapons of the Empire of the Thal, and many many new monsters. Published by Mystic Bull Games
Some monsters don't have any class. The quest for knowledge can be as dangerous as any other. The heroes investigate a library after one of the locals claims to have seen a librarian be attacked by a tentacled creature. In reality, a group of orcs found a secret entrance into the library and the "tentacle" is merely the whip that the leader wields. The party must make their way through a labyrinth hidden underneath the library and rescue the hostages. Pgs. 4-9
Beware All Who Enter These Benighted Halls of Stone. Within Lies No Solace Nor Any Comforts of Home. Toiling For Our Crimes We Must Dig Where We Dwell, With No Freedom or Mercy In Our Vast Stony Hell. Stonehell Dungeon is a classic-style megadungeon, filled with enough monsters, traps, weirdness, and treasure to keep you gaming for a long, long time. Explore over 700 rooms, encounter more than 40 new monsters, and discover 18 mysterious magical items -- and that's just in the first book! Stonehell Dungeon: Down Night-Haunted Halls details the first six levels of a megadungeon intended for use with the Labyrinth Lord™ role-playing game, but is easily adaptable to most early versions of the original fantasy role-playing game and its retro-clones. Featuring art by J.A. D'Andrea, Lee Barber, Marcelo Paschoalin, and Ralph Pasucci, Stonehell Dungeon gives the game master all the necessary information to run his players through the dungeon, while offering enormous opportunities to customize and expand on the site. The monsters of Stonehell Dungeon are waiting to meet you. Won't you come in? Published by Three-Headed Monster Games.
"The Dark Forest" is an elder shadow drake lair suitable for four 8th-level characters. This adventure can be completed in one session. A hidden grove within a dark forest has been home to a tribe of alseids for generations. The tribe's most recent leader and spiritual heart was an alseid shaman called Riatha the Raven. Within the grove lies an ancient ring of standing stones atop a burial mount. Here, Riatha conducted sacred nature rites to honor and bless the forest and the tribe. During one of these ceremonies, the ground rumbled and a column of dense black energy shot straight up from the burial mound and into the night sky. Thick darkness enveloped the area, and the suddenly blinded alseids heard terrible roars. An instant later, the darkness dissipated to reveal a mysterious pool ringed with skulls among the standing stones. Two large, dragon-like creatures with black scales and burning red eyes glared at the confused alseids. One the ground lay the body of Riatha, deathly still. Terror and chaos followed as the creatures brought swift and sudden death, killing most of the alseid tribe members with razor-sharp teeth and deadly, black breath. The alseids that survived the inital, bloody attack fled into the forest. They counterattacked a few hours later, desperate to reclaim their grove and recover the body of their beloved leader, but the attempt was a fiasco and they were quickly driven off. Now, the few remaining alseids hide in the forest, frightened and unsure of what to do next.
Within an ancient necropolis a pool of alien slime grasps the minds and bodies of the people of Exag with wispy tendrils of madness. Those transformed by its power invariably seek the crypt, but what fell power draws them there? Part two of the Seeds of Sehan campaign arc. Pgs. 26-41
Adventure in a wizard's highly magical tomb. While still in college, Jennell Jaquays, writing as Paul, started The Dungeoneer fanzine. For the first issue, Jaquays wrote F’Chelrak’s Tomb. The pioneering adventure and its successors proved memorable. Looking back at The Dungeoneer, Jaquays said, “It’s the adventures that stand out, and not simply because no one else was doing mini-adventures in 1976. When I read comments about the magazine or talk to fans (old and new), no one talks about the monsters, or the art, or the magic items and rules variants. It’s always the adventures.”