An old elf has wandered into the city from the jungle--prattling on about his long-lost daughter to anyone whose ear he can bend. Though most in Port Nyanzaru dismiss him as mad, he speaks the truth. Can you find and save his daughter?
For the past 9 years the small town of Haren’s Watch has been plagued by a wicked fey spirit known only as Mr. Grin. Every year the creature and its fiendish little minions torment the town over the course of three nights, culminating in the kidnap and transmutation of one of the village children into a lifeless statue made entirely of coal. It is the tenth year of Haren’s Watch suffering this calamity and this year, amidst a raging blizzard, a weary party of adventurers seeks refuge in the small village... The adventure favours characters and players who enjoy roleplaying and exploration but contains additional optional encounters for players who enjoy more combat focused play.
Long ago, before the arrival of civilized humanoids, a large colony of ogres thrived in the local area. When a great invasion from another dimension threatened this colony, their king, Koptila, prayed for his people to be spared. The gods heard these pleas, but commanded Koptila to sacrifice himself. The leader did so, and the clan disappeared—whisked away by the gods and lost to time. Over the years, a city grew up above the former subterranean home of the ogres, and no aspect of Koptila’s ancient bargain was preserved or remembered. Even so, the stars are aligned for the return of Koptila and his people. These powerful repatriates are unlikely to appreciate the changes in their old home. A sage has found dusty documents prophesying this return, and he asks the PCs to investigate the catacombs to defeat the potential threat to the city. The PCs travel down through city sewers and subterranean passages before finding the catacombs that the ogre colony once called home. Pgs. 48-53
Three important citizens of Phlan, who stand against the tyrannical dragon that rules, seek to escape and find refuge across the Moonsea. Can you extricate those that are vital to the factions before it’s too late?
Yesterday, young Tobias went to investigate an old tomb by himself. Everyone told him it was a bad idea. Everyone was right. Today, you and your companions awaken to a town in chaos. Why is the temple sealed behind a divine shield? Why are children and worshippers trapped within? How do we get inside? What did Tobias do?! Ragged Hollow is a full-service starting town, full of classic creatures and challenges all updated and brought together for newbies and nostalgia-lovers alike. There are goblins and witches in the woods, a house full of traps, a basement of vermin, kobolds in a cave, bandits on the road, riddling ravens, a 50-room temple dungeon, nursery-rhyme monsters, living nightmares, Lovecraftian horrors, and tons of unique items to find. This is a mystery with lots of relevant side-quests around the town. The heroes can investigate the situation, get into the temple, save the innocents, and stop the monsters. And get some loot! ADVENTURE TYPE: Medium Dungeon / Town / Wilderness Adventure DESIGN NOTES This adventure is intended for characters levels 1 to 4. It includes several wilderness areas (forest, hills, mountain), a bustling town, several local mini-dungeons, and one 50-room temple dungeon. Each area contains various encounters and unique items. There are many opportunities for combat, but it is possible for players to explore most areas and complete many interactions without any combat at all, depending on their choices. INCLUDES: Story hooks, dialogue prompts, random encounters, stat blocks, original creatures and treasures, and maps. KEYWORDS: town, village, forest, goblins, goblin market, witches, hags, hills, bandits, ogres, mountain, kobolds, caves, dwarves, temple, clerics, nightmares, demons, riddles, traps, ghosts, fairy tales, Lovecraft, mutant
Did you know there’s a skeleton inside each of us? The players will find themselves in a community of scared anthropomorphic rabbits and exploring the lair of undead wizards looking for flesh to wear. There are opportunities for combat, roll play, puzzle-solving and exploration. This was written as a submission for the Summer Adventure Design Contest over at Bryce's Adventure Design Forum.
In ruins since the eruption of Mt. Hotenow, Thundertree is finally being rebuilt. The Lords’ Alliance is particularly interested in restarting a lucrative logging trade, but the bureaucratic wood-elf ambassador of Neverwinter Wood isn’t convinced. A mission to check on construction at New Thundertree and help with diplomacy quickly turns into an exciting dungeon delve as the entrance to an ancient temple is discovered! Can your party survive long enough to learn the mystical secrets of Thundertree’s past and claim its riches? Includes maps and a new magic item! The Lost Temple of New Thundertree one-shot is designed for 5th-7th level characters. This thrilling adventure is well-suited for parties who have completed Lost Mine of Phandelver or are roaming the Sword Coast region (ie: Neverwinter, Phandalin, Helm's Hold, Port Llast, Triboar, etc.) as part of Dragon of Icespire Peak or Storm King’s Thunder, but these campaigns are certainly not required. Though it takes place in Thundertree, the adventure can easily be moved to other settings. Content warning: undead; water hazards; tentacles
Deacon Manor used to be a friendly and welcoming place. Often hosting nobles from far and wide as well as supporting the local community of Fettercairn. However, since the return of Lady May, and the unfortunate death of her parents, things have changed. Very few people visit now and those that do never return... Published by Fortiter Games.
A storm of unparalleled fury has been ravaging the peaks of the Earthspur Mountains for a tenday, and the Monastery of the Yellow Rose sits in its eye for now. Some monks have fled the monastery to the safety of Mulmaster and beseech you to convince their more obstinate brothers to retreat to the city before the eye of the storm shifts, and the monastery is in terrible danger. Can you brave the elements and convince the monks to escape? An eight-hour adventure for 5th-10th level characters.
Dive into a mystery in Lake of Secrets, a darker magic fantasy compatible with any setting. When the sovereign of a war-stricken kingdom goes missing, characters must brave the castle dungeons to find them. Death stalks the dungeon walls and dark deeds come to light as the characters uncover the story of a terrible sacrifice. Designed as a 3-4 hour adventure for 1-6 players of 3rd-5th level, Lake of Secrets is a fresh narrative that explores themes of false promise and isolation, offering characters a choice that will decide the fate of an entire realm.
The loggers of the West Wood have been logging these lands for over five years without a problem. Now, an eerie entity demands that they cease their logging activities and evacuate the forest immediately. If they refuse, they will die. When the PCs arrive to help they find that things are not so black and white. The decisions which they make will have permanent and lasting implications for the entire region. Will the PCs choose to save the forest and lose the support of the village, or destroy a sacred elder tree in order to win the hearts of the loggers and their families?
The duchy of Velen is a bastion of law and order in an otherwise untamed land. Its ruler, Duke Calchais, holds his citizens and visitors to his city to a high standard of conduct. When Velen's harbormaster is murdered, the duke enlists the aid of adventurers to see that justice is served. Was the harbormaster a victim of larceny gone awry, or is something more sinister afoot in Velen? Murder in Velen is a 4-hour standalone adventure set in and around the port city of Velen, which is located in the peninsula nation of the same name in southwestern Faerûn. Velen is designed for a party of five 10th-level player characters, but it can easily be scaled by adding or removing creatures.
This adventure is written with the intent that it takes place in the subterranean world called the Underdark in the world of Forgotten Realms, although it may be placed in other settings. Within the Underdark, Cyrog's lair can be placed anywhere though it is stated to be thousands of miles east of Gravenhollow. If you are running Out of the Abyss, you may want to have your players see the vision Cyrog Lives! Hail Orcus! (OOTA, 158). Additionally, it is recommended that this adventure be used for a party of 4 to 6 players, level 9 to 12. While merely hinted at through visions in Out of the Abyss, Orcus is roaming the Underdark unchallenged with an army of mind flayers at his disposal. Cyrog, the elder brain of a mind flayer colony in the Underdark has died. The demon lord Orcus has reanimated and taken control of it. The hive of mind flayers is now bent to Orcus's will through Cyrog as he strives to make all life in the multiverse into a vast undead horde under his control. The adventurers are contacted by a patron who gives them a special item (such as brain worms) to suppress their brain waves and make it possible to infiltrate the Cyrog's Lair without immediate detection. The adventurers must defeat or otherwise subdue mind flayers and a few guards, override the elder brain's mechanical defense system, and slay Cyrog.
A desperate refugee emerges from the earth's depths in shadow-cloaked Nidal with an urgent pleas. A new faction in the subterranean dark folk city of Lyrudrada -- a wicked cult called the Reborn -- seeks a fabled artifact called the Cradle of Night. Vanished demigods of the Shadow Plane once used this artifact to craft the elusive caligni race, and the Reborn want to use it to shroud the world in darkness once more. Cursed with the stain of shadow, the heroes must battle their way through the tomb of an ancient horselord chieftain before descending to Lyrudrada. Plots and schemes run rampant in this city riven with political upheavals and back-alley bloodshed, and the heroes must collect allies and information to confront the Reborn in their fortified fane. With the mysterious masters of the caligni race arrayed against them, can the heroes hope to shed their shadowy curse and claim the Cradle of Night?
Everyone in the villages that once made up the Kingdom of Lilies knows the tragic tale of Queen Niva Brysis, a fair and beautiful sovereign from a past generation. The queen and her kingdom are often thought of in the same regard; the kingdom didn’t truly come into being until her birth, blossomed in her youth, and wilted away as the queen aged and succumbed to madness. Of course, this is in the annals of history now, as Queen Niva died decades ago, crazed and alone in her mountain keep… right? Not according to a new cult calling itself The Queen’s Adherents. This group not only claims that Queen Niva is alive and well, but she has regained her youth and former beauty. What’s more, they promise any that join their ranks may receive their queen’s blessing and become immortal themselves! The PCs are ultimately the ones that need to dissolve the cult from growing, and in doing so look into the mystery behind the queen’s enigmatic return. But be careful, because if looks could kill, this mission could be murder! Dungeons on Demand is a line instant dungeons you can drop into your campaign, each is designed for 4-5 player parties of specified levels, and each dungeon is complete with a back story, hand drawn maps, traps, puzzles, and reference information to monsters and treasure. You can customize each one to fit in your campaign however you wish, and each one can be played through in one or two gaming sessions.
Long rumored to be haunted by eerie specters, Kincep Mansion has stood for years, mostly untouched by nearby townsfolk. Now something is preying on the local villagers—something that comes from the house. Pgs. 46-69
Need to teach a newbie how to play? A young village shepherd has been telling a tale of an opening in the ground near where his flock roams. Timby Poster thinks he has found something of great importance. He has been telling everyone that there are stone stairs leading into the depths. He was going to investigate but his flock was set upon by vile humanoids that have been raiding the area more frequently. As Timby is prone to tell “tales” of monsters and his flock came back intact this may be a hoax thought up by the young boy. This adventure was designed for a beginning character with little RPG experience. Created for one player and one DM this allows a new player to understand basic concepts.
An alternative way for the Directors to start their new Draw Steel campaign. Fight off the goblin bandits, survive the ravenous undead, and lift the curse from the town of Sour Falls. This short first-level adventure provides you with two possible combat encounters, a montage test, and a negotiation. From the Ashes is a short 3–4 hour adventure for Draw Steel, written for a group of three to six 1st-level heroes and the Director. This free adventure is an alternative way for experienced Directors to start a campaign. The adventure provides you with two possible combats, a montage test, and a negotiation. By the end of From the Ashes the heroes restore an abandoned town, gaining a base of operations that could lead them to future adventures.
The crown of the kobold king will be anointed in blood. Five children from the town of Falcon’s Hollow have gone missing, dragged off into ruins underneath a cursed dwarven monastery. Soon they will be sacrificed to the crown, all to the glory of the twisted King of the Kobolds. If they are to be saved from this gruesome fate, brave heroes must follow their trail to the monastery and plumb the depths of its trap-laden and monster-infested halls.
A Tutorial and Alternate Start for Lost Mines of Phandelver Before Phandelver is a tutorial adventure designed to help new players and DMs be better introduced to Dungeons & Dragons. Crafted with best educational practices in mind and covering important details of preparation and mindset often overlooked, especially by new DMs, Before Phandelver will help the Lost Mines of Phandelver truly become the adventure worthy of inclusion in the Starter Set.