From The Magazine: "Every summer, Duke Hightower holds a competition quite different from the traditional jousting and archery tournaments held by similar lords of his station. The rules of his tournament change from year to year, and, to oversee the games, the duke has appointed two wizard brothers who help choose the setting and create the rules and challenges of the competition. This year the competition is called the “Owlbear Run,” an overland race that requires each participating team to escort a live owlbear from the town of Telvorn to the town of Milvorn. The teams will face a variety of challenges; some are devised by the wizards, others by the competing teams or their sponsors, and some occur entirely at random. All of these tests are in addition to the challenges inherent in motivating a temperamental owlbear. Fortune and fame await the first team to cross the finish line, and the local lords sponsoring the race are eager to enlist skilled champions for their causes." Pgs. 2-27
The manor of Willowby Hall is under siege by a giant, enraged at the theft of his magical goose. The band of thieves has taken shelter within the manor's crumbling walls, cowering with their ill-gotten poultry as the building shakes itself apart. But something else is stirring. The giant's rampage is slowly awakening a Death Knight from its black slumber, and once it rises it will call on the bones of the manor's old residents to drive out the intruders. Will the party loot the manor of its ancient relics, or succumb to the blades of its skeletal guardians? Who will make off with the goose and its golden eggs? Will anyone survive the giant's onslaught? The only way to find out...is to play.
"Enter a garden of earthly delights. The sun has stopped setting over the king's favorite garden. It seemed like a harmless curiosity at first but the animals have turned violent and strange alien beings have appeared. The duke has placed a bounty for enterprising sell-swords to end the curse of endless daylight. Hideous Daylight is an adventure module for Old-School Essentials, Cairn, and compatible with other pen-and-paper RPGs with old-school sensibilities. Player characters will navigate a 20 point hex crawl to end the strange curse affecting the land. An adventure for low-level characters. 33 pages of non-linear, character driven adventure in the OSR tradition. Two keyed dungeons and a 20 point hex-crawl. A bucolic fantasy setting easily insertable into fantasy RPG campaigns. Dangerous new monsters, weird magic items, and an unpredictable random encounters table. Features two gazebos."
The wizard Fez has faith in the abilities of adventurers. But Mephistopheles isn't as confident. So a pact was made between the wizard and the demon. As each bargained madly to outdo the other's bet, Fez was trapped in a magical sleep. More than just a wizard's pact is at stake as you strive to accomplish the seven "impossible" tasks. FEZ II is a module which will challenge your ability to overcome dangers, solve problems, and adjust quickly to the unexpected. It was the wizard Fez that made the deal with the demon, but it is you who must make good on ...
The Riverlands Kingdom is a peaceful place. Generations ago it was a thriving and rich trading empire. Now it is a sleepy region of farms and a few craftsmen. Dotted with villages and a few towns along the numerous rivers, protected by a wall of rugged mountains, a wild forest and a vast steppe, little of note occurs here from generation to generation. All that is about to be shattered, an ancient evil has arisen and undertakes to bring wrath and destruction to the Riverlands in a pledge to conquer the rivers and kill those who reside between them. The peace is about to be shattered, the harmony destroyed, the balance disturbed.
The city has been plagued by mysterious nighttime assassinations that leave behind no clues about who might have perpetrated them. Divinations from temple of Ioun adherents suggest the guilty parties can be found under a nearby curio shop. The PCs set off. Beneath the shop waits the Poisoned Shadows Assassins Guild, as well as a greater danger than the party expected. Pgs. 54-59
It was supposed to be a simple job... A strange merchant offers you a simple job – pick up and deliver cargo. You have three days to get it a mere fourteen miles through the city. How hard could it be? A Simple Job is a journey through the city of Anduria, a cascading series of events that takes the heroes to explore strange locales and bargain with even stranger creatures. What secrets does the city hold, buried away for countless centuries?
"The Alchemists' Guildhall" is a rusalka lair suitable for four or five 6th-level characters. This adventure can be completed in one session.
"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.
The town of Medeira was once a thriving and bountiful place. Over the last six months, what once appeared to be alive, is now slowly withering away into nothing. Crops are failing. Disease plagues the townsfolk. Nearby water sources are drying up. And everything traces back to the goddess that the town worships, a creature that most adventurers will recognize as… Medusa. Only she can return the town to its former glory. Or perhaps she’s destined to bring ruin. If only someone could get to her and find out.
Mary Seagrain is looking for her daughter who went missing during the last big storm. She is distraught and losing hope
Haedirn Lastlight is a respected elven wizard and sage. After the death of his lover Lyonthel, the elf has been overcome with grief and has locked himself away in his study- a small manor on the cliffs of Wailing Crag. Haedirn has not been seen for over a year now, and those that knew him are beginning to worry. Worse still, a band of ogres has been terrorizing the nearby town, slaughtering the town folk and haughtily boasting the elf wizard is dead. The PCs must put a stop to the ogres' attacks, make way to Wailing Crag to root out the rest of their gang, and lay Haedirn Lastlight's tortured remains to rest.
What the living forget, the dead remember forever. For some, duty and revenge are stronger than death. Pgs. 4-7
Though small, Seawell is a prosperous trading town with a good location on the coast. Next to it is a long peninsula that features mostly swamplike terrain. The inhabitants of this peninsula include tribes of lizardfolk, plus several kinds of reptiles and amphibians. Most of these creatures don't bother the town, and Seawell's militia is experienced at repulsing raids by the more aggressive lizardfolk. A large reef extends the entire length of the peninsula on the side away from Seawell. This great wall of coral is a favorite site for fishermen, but it has always presented a serious hazard to ships approaching from that direction. Thus, about 45 years ago, the people of Seawell built a lighthouse on a small promontory near the reef, about 200 yards from the shoreline. Operated by a family that lived inside it, this lighthouse ensured that ships could easily steer clear of the reef. A few weeks ago, ships stopped arriving from that direction. Three ships are now overdue, and the people of Seawell have begun to suspect foul play. Thus far, however, they have not been able to investigate because of increased raiding by the lizardfolk. Something has stirred them up, and the town militia has been too busy repulsing raids to mount an expedition to the reef. Wreck Ashore is a short D&D adventure for four 1st level player characters (PCs). The scenario takes place on and around a swampy peninsula that juts out from a longer stretch of coastline. Along one side of this peninsula stretches a dangerous reef. Just offshore on the reef side stands a lighthouse built to warn ships of the danger. At the base of the peninsula on the side away from the reef is a small port town called Seawell.
Beginning in the prison of the Castellan of Whitecliff, this campaign arc takes the players from level one to four, presented as a sandbox area in a lonely and gritty peninsula full of villains and opportunities for the players to explore. Much like Stonehell, but for regional play. Published by Coldlight Press
Explore an abandoned wizard’s tower in this short mini dungeon! This adventure is a Micro Dungeon. Preface Long ago a wise wizard named Adubeus lived deep within the forest. As he lived, he would pass out nuggets of wisdom to those in need, and aid the local townsfolk in times most dire. Long past are these happy days, however, and the kindly old wizard has not been seen in many decades. Some say he found a calling elsewhere in the world, while others whisper of his demise at the hands of a secret experiment gone awry. One thing is certain, however. His tower, long forgotten, still stands out there in the forest. Occasionally, some hapless person wanders upon it much to their personal peril. The specific details of Adubeus are left vague on purpose. This small adventure is intended to be played as part of a larger campaign, and the location can be modified to fit your setting. The reasons for your adventuring party to be heading towards the tower are entirely up to you, however, below are some good sample adventure hooks.
It’s a story as old as time. Boy meets girl. Girl meets abandoned well. Boy chases girl down abandoned well only to find horrors beyond their worst nightmares.. Perhaps those old tales about 'ol Grim Jack and Granny Hentooth lurking in a world below the water weren’t just silly children’s rhymes after all? The Weathered Well is a starting level Tabletop RPG adventure for the 5th edition of the world's greatest roleplaying game, centered around classic themes that feel familiar yet fresh to players of all skill levels. Designed to be easy to add into existing campaign worlds, this module takes the players through 3 levels of social, puzzle, and tactically focused combat encounters, and should take 10-12 hours to complete for a standard party of 1st-2nd level characters. The adventure takes the players through an open area town map, then into a more exploration focused dungeon crawl, and finishes up with a series of cinematic and challenging encounters, which combine enemy forces and the landscape to challenge the party and players alike. Designed for New Players and Game Masters! Getting started in tabletop roleplaying can be a daunting task. Learning the rules, finding the players, and convincing some poor fool to be the GM, all are difficult enough tasks on their own. We felt that there were a lack of adventures truly designed to be "1st level friendly" out there, and so got together to make The Weathered Well for just that purpose. This adventure is designed in a linear low-combat style which is intentionally helpful for low level characters and new players, and includes occasional blocks of DM Notes and tips to also aid Dungeon Masters new at their craft. It can be played both 'pick up and go', with many helpful block text descriptions, or read in advance for more appreciation of the backstory or for customization. The Weathered Well contains: 68 pages of highly illustrated adventure content, with detailed room and encounter descriptions. Three full-color maps printed within the book. The Black Root - a fully playable necromantic druid subclass, and the original builders of the Temple. Use them to create unique NPC's, or maybe even allow one of your players to play as a long lost member rediscovering their ancient temple! 13 new monsters, styled to fit the 'dark druids' theme; including bizarre fey creatures and monstrosities, like the Clawed Butterfly, Bliss Lizards, Weasel-worms, Zombie Oozes, and the vine wrapped crocodillian monster - the Hagator. 12 new magic items, specifically designed for low level characters. A mix of roleplaying, combat, puzzles, and skills designed to challenge but not overwhelm players of all skills. Multiple intro hooks, with matching wrap ups, as well as Further Adventures prompts. Published by Hack Shack Games
The lands that lie west, across the great sea, are uncharted. The West March Company has spent a fortune on an expedition to loot and tame it. You are part of that expedition. You are the desperate, the outcast, the destitute. This new world is weird and dangerous. Rumours abound of a city of tombs. A cursed dwarven fortress in the mountain. Mist-covered swamps that howl in the night. Pass that treasure map around the table. Drink deeply from your cups and imagine what awaits in the wilderness: gold, glory, death. Inside West Marches Company: A Grim Promise you'll find: Twelve new monsters to surprise and terrify your players. A cult of worms, a city of tombs, centaur khans and a twenty-page dwarven fortress dungeon crawl with over forty rooms. Loaded with art, evocative descriptions, weird NPC's and 2 new magic items. High resolution maps of both dungeons: Kazad Mor The Cursed Dwarfhome and Tunnels Beneath Fort Bramble This module can be run as a standalone adventure or as a west marches style game.
The Temple of Tesh-Yatra is a setting-neutral dungeon delve for a party of 6th level adventurers, inspired by the classic funhouse dungeons of yesteryear. The dungeon takes 6-10 hours to fully explore. It features a high proportion of non-combat encounters: puzzles, exploration, and the occasional deadly centrifuge. The ungodly fusion of a mad scientist’s lab and a planar temple, the dungeon includes an encounter that can launch your players into the Nine Hells – for a price... The Temple of Tesh-Yatra includes two new constructs to use in your game: the sinister Maimers, and the enigmatic Skorverra; as well as a new magic item: the Amulet of Tesh-Yatra, an artisan’s dream! The Temple of Tesh-Yatra also comes with a VTT battlemap (transparent PNG format). The Temple of Tesh-Yatra was originally set in the Outlands, as an extraplanar dungeon. But given its self-contained nature and the Temple's age, it is well-suited to any wildnerness, and would work equally well seeding a hex crawl.
The night air is chilly, but the crackling fire you've started warms your bones comfortably. Crickets chirp, and you smile up at the stars, glad for the quiet evening. There is a loud roar, and you are blinded momentarily as the campfire suddenly surges up into the air. The flames split down the middle, revealing an abyss that leeches the warmth from your soul. Out of this hellish place stumbles a black-cloaked figure clutching a scythe. Quickly, you reach for your weapons. The strange apparition staggers for a moment. Then, gathering its strength, it pulls back the hood on its cloak. Beneath is a bleached skull with stars for eyes. "I am Azrael, Lord of the Undead," it hisses. "Or rather, I will be Azrael, after time itself has died." Even as Azrael speaks, decay begins to eat away at its body, and the god shudders. Holding one arm up to watch as tiny fissures form in its bones, the deity sighs, "Ah, sweet Entropy, come to claim me at last." It's gaze sweeps back to you. "But no, not just yet. First, I must set events in motion." Weakness begins to overcome Azrael, and it sinks to one knee. "Long ago, I became the most powerful of all the gods, in spite of my enemies' efforts to stop me. Delirious with power, I destroyed the other gods and eventually fell to feasting upon the souls of their worshipers. After devouring every living creature, I consume the planets and, eventually, the stars themselves, until I was left alone, in darkness." The god struggles to finish its message as its bones turn to dust and blow away, "Unexpectedly, I felt remorse for what I had done. I grieved for the universe I had destroyed, but I lack the power to recreate it. So, I have come to you, to beg you to do what I cannot." Azrael reaches into its cloak and produces a leather sack. "Take these items and use them." As Azrael dissolves, it gasps out, "Kill me tonight, or tomorrow will never dawn." All that remains is a pile of dust and a leather bag.