Everyone who’s anyone has heard of Starburn Academy. The elite boarding school is famous for teaching students to excel in magic, history, fighting, and anything else a precocious child in the city of Seledor needs to know. But now, one instructor at the school is using his position to carry out a nefarious plot which is at best unethical and at worst deeply dangerous. The only people standing in his way are a mage with an unreliable reputation and the handful of talented children she picked off the street to infiltrate the school and get the evidence needed to take him down. That is, you.
Many centuries ago, a band of paladins fell from grace. These blackguards were defeated after a great battle and their grim fortress, the Iron Tower, was razed. A small abbey was established near the ruins, where generations of monks mixed ancient eldritch wards, mighty clockwork traps, and multiple fail safes to build the Iron Crypt of the Heretics. Three mighty vaults ensured that its evils would be sealed for all eternity. But unbeknownst to the brotherhood, their impregnable crypt had a single weakness: the very monks that had built it, for they knew its secrets. When a devourer stole into their abbey, the profane beast forced the monks to help it inside the Iron Crypt. It successfully broke into the first of three vaults, releasing an army of wights. The story of the devourer and his wight army is told in Dungeon Crawl Classics #12: The Blackguard’s Revenge. Now, in the Iron Crypt of the Heretics, the heroes must venture into a crypt designed by the world’s greatest thieves, magicians, and seers, solve its puzzles and deadly traps, and seal it once more from the outside world.
The logging town of Falcon’s Hollow has been through rough times—first a kobold tribe abducted the town’s children for an evil ritual, then an unknown force reanimated the defeated kobolds to attack the town. Now a horde of zombies approaches and a mysterious evil gathers power in the north, tainting wildlife and the buried dead, its presence hinting at ancient evils better left undisturbed.
The sea has many perils. Are the treasures of a sunken pirate ship worth the risk? Arkos Seatamer, a privateer and the sole survivor of a shipwreck has gathered a new crew. He's returning to the wreck to recover the body of his closest friend, Devek Harpwind, for a proper burial. Arkos had rammed the pirate vessel 'Striking Shadow' in combat, shattering its hull. He leapt aboard the sinking ship to take the pirate queen as a prisoner. Shortly after, a sudden storm arose, so violent that it sunk his ship as well. This isn't the whole story. The pirate queen wore a cursed gold armband, shaped like a coiled eel. The sight of the band made Arkos mad with greed and he moved to slay her to take it. Devek tried to intervene but Arkos killed his friend in rage. With his dying breaths Devek laid a horrible curse upon Arkos to become a were-eel each night. The PCs are hired to accompany Arkos and his crew to the wreckage and recover Devek's body from the wreck, along with the armband he still lusts for. Pgs. 18-35
Some ports are more dangerous than the storm. It's alive, it's hungry, it's growing. And you're on the menu. Alone, out in the wilds with a savage winter storm bearing down on you, you need shelter to survive. You stumble through the trees and smell wood-smoke. Ahead you spot the small fortified trading outpost known as Jacob's well. You're not the only traveller to find themselves stranded here in the teeth of the storm. The only problem, someone has bought something with them, it's alive, it's growing, it's voracious and you are all on the menu. Think Aliens and The Thing and you're on the right track. Has potential to be scaled to suit a group of adventurers. Pgs. 8-23
Take the adventuring party on a journey through a nasty, smelly swamp as they follow an exotic map which (they hope) leads to a grand treasure. Unknown hazards, NPCs, adventure, and creatures stand between them and the X that 'marks the spot' on the map. This adventure includes: •Custom art •8 hand-drawn maps (color and black & white included) •3 new creatures •1 new magic item •Includes a printer-friendly version of the adventure. Into the Belly of the Beast runs smoothly as-is, but an additional 8 encounters are included. These encounters can be used to lengthen the adventure, or they could used separately and added to your own campaign.
When you read the posting for this job, you knew what you were getting yourself into. "Lady of means requires the assistance of a stalwart group of adventurers willing to undertake a mission of the utmost importance. Discretion is required." Words like that never mean that the woman in question is looking for someone to weed her Garden - unless, of course, it's full of man-eating plants. Those are the kinds of words you only post if you are really in a bind. If it's a matter of life and death. If you're desperate for help and willing to pay for it through the nose. It just so happens that you've made yourself quite a reputation lending just that kind of aid to people in just that kind of need. And the money hasn't hurt you any either. So when Lady Elena Zadrian tells you that her father - the near legendary alchemist Sir Timoth Zadrian - has gone missing, well, you're not all that surprised. Lady Elena looks upon you once again, brushing the long blonde hair from her bright blue, tears soaked eyes. "My father lives outside of a village only four days ride from here, a sleepy, little place called Cuthder," she says. "He comes to see me every 4 months. He's a forgetful, old man, but I could set my clock by his visits." She chokes back a sob. "It's been eight months since I last saw him. I fear something has gone horribly awry. Either brigands have robbed his tiny castle, or one of his experiments may have left him dead - or worse." The lady stares you straight in the eye, and you can almost taste her desperation." My father is a good man, wise and Noble, but if word of this disappearance were to get out, it would hurl my household into a shambles. I need you to travel to his castle and learn for me what has happened to him, quickly and quietly." "Please," she begs of you, her Ruby painted lower lip beginning to quiver. "I need your help. And I'm willing to pay - handsomely." She has your attention.
A bargain struck between a dwarf chieftain and a great divine power forms the heart of this adventure. The chieftain, unwilling to step down from her position as ruler, seeks a way to hide from the god. When the party rescues some of her kin, they are offered riches for recovering a long lost magical shroud with the power to obscure mortals from the eyes of the gods. But recovering the shroud draws the attention of the god’s agents, and the party must choose a side. In this storied and fate-filled adventure for eleventh-level and up PCs, the party must battle their way through a ruined dwarven armory before deciding the fate of the chieftain.
DC-POA-PND-4 Eateat Go Home? (Part 3 of the Strange Case of Erland Forsk) A small girl confides in you that she found a secret friend, and that she needs your help in getting him home. Will you be able to keep him safe while mysterious agents search for him? A Two-Hour Adventure for Tier 2 Characters. Optimized for APL 8. Using the DungeonCraft seed The Littlest Squidling ``` You could be happy here; I could take care of you. I wouldn't let anybody hurt you. We could grow up together, E.T. —Elliott, Movie E.T. ```
Ten thousand flawless killers surround the city. Utterly silent in battle and in death, they seem unconquerable. They mean to choke the life out of the age-old city and leave it an empty ruin. The city calls upon its heroes to defeat this unnatural menace. The heroes gather to ponder the question: how do you defeat an impregnable foe? And then a wizard from a far-off world whisks the heroes away to fight battle of a very different sort, leaving them with a strange neon pink glow around their eyes… Note: This adventure can be used setting neutral or as a means to enter the "Purple Planet" DCC setting.
Off the coast of the Newmack Sea and to the east of Gortelburg sits the walled town of Cordicstown. Within the fortified tows in the infamous Arcanum College where young mages of wealth or talent come to learn the craft from the masters. For young adventuring mages this place offers the opportunity to improve upon their spell books and even apprentice with the masters of the mystic arts!
For a thousand years Mezar-Kul has known only war, and now the Overlord reigns supreme. From his gargantuan metal fortress he rules the blasted remains of the planet’s last city. Hope seems lost – until visitors arrive from a distant world, bringing uncanny, magical powers. Your adventurers must pick a path through twisted ruins, ancient missile silos, strange monorail systems, and a conflict with four deadly factions to save a world – or destroy it! Note: This adventure does require that the party have some access to spell casting, whether through an item or class that requires a spell casting roll.
A quick-paced exploration of the magic tower, home to the great Solomon, the Master Conjurer, an expert in fiendology. Adventurers have to find Control Orbs to disable the tower's security system before it destroys them, and discover the secrets of the tower in the process. Their progress will be ushered by a seemingly helpful entity with nefarious intent - Zarloxar, the blue Abishai. The success of adventurers could also finally spell freedom to the fiend... or not if players, under stress, will realize the trickery in time. Part of "Detailed Encounter" series - each "Detailed Encounter" - features new monsters with unique stat blocks, new magic items, a custom battle map, and detailed NPCs. It also has story hooks and advice enough, to quickly turn it into a separate adventure!
After arriving at a seemingly abandoned trading post, the heroes discover to their horror that all the inhabitants have been transformed into black trees! Upon further investigation, they find clues that lead them to the hidden lair of Nockmort, a treant gone bad. Nockmort has been transformed by the strange radiation of a meteorite he discovered, and now he is a terrible force of evil. The characters must enter his sunless garden to save the town. And along the way they just might discover fabulous treasure...
A shadow hangs over the dark and dreary town of Squill. Townsfolk are being murdered in their beds without any explanation and the local graveyard has become a dangerous, haunted place. Consumed by fear, the men and women of Squill have begun casting evil glances at a young orphan boy. The victims, it seems, all had links to the lonely child, and none of them were good. A local priestess, however, wonders if the heart of the darkness consuming the town lies in a necromancer slain nearby only a few months ago...
Adventures from the Potbellied Kobold provides you with fifteen unique adventures to use as one-shots, additions to your current campaign, or inspiration for a new campaign. We've even included a way to link several of the adventures, allowing you to run a short and quick campaign. The adventures use basic 5E creatures, custom creatures, and several Kobold Press creatures. Each adventure is written for a specific party level, but we've also included suggestions on how to adjust each adventure for a weaker or stronger adventuring party. In addition to fun adventures, you'll also find a few new magic items and NPCs to add to your game.
Digging in the Dark People are vanishing from the village of Brookhollow. Can you solve the mystery in time to save your friends? Pgs. 12-29
In ages past, the sorcerer Xa’arek grew to be a cruel and powerful tyrant, causing untold misery in his quest for immortality. After decades of oppression, his people revolted against him, driving the tyrannical sorcerer into the cursed lands of Marsh-Blight. Although a few of his most fanatical followers accompanied him in his exile, he was largely forgotten by history...until now. The Tomb of Xa’arek is a very dangerous dungeon crawling adventure for 5th Edition Fantasy, in which the Player Characters (PC’s) must venture into the tomb of an infamous sorcerer, recover his secrets, and get out alive! This adventure is designed for characters of 3rd level and is optimised for 4 characters of 3rd level. The adventure is setting agnostic and can easily fit into any published or homebrew world. Low level dungeon crawl with horror themes of decay and infestation. Setting agnostic Suitable for any genre of fantasy Includes prompts for roleplay
Save the village of Millvein! Prevent a war with the drow! In this 3-4 hour adventure for 4-5 characters of 2nd level, travel to a small chitine lair to prevent them from destroying the small village of Millvein and inciting a war between the surface and the drow. Includes: A 3-4 hour adventure for 2nd level characters Map of the village of Millvein 2 DM maps Stat blocks for all monsters the players might encounter. See where the adventure began in Into the Underdark - Part 1 A Family Affair The adventure continues in Into the Underdark - Part 3 They Call It A Mine
Caravans are having a difficult time getting through to Parnast via the Black Road. Organized attacks by orcs and other monstrous humanoids working in concert with one another have folks baffled. Little do they know that an unusually intelligent hill giant, going by the name of Bad Fruul is to blame. SEER has sent her emissary Hsing, to task your group to accompany a caravan with a very special cargo destined for the Shrine of Axes in Parnast, and to figure out who is responsible. A Two Hour Adventure for 1st-4th Level Characters