You hear rumours of an unclaimed wizard's tower, a worthy prize for any practitioner of the arcane arts! Do you have what it takes to face its challenges and claim it as your own? This is a one-to-one adventure designed for one player of the wizard class and one DM.
This guide describes how to run a one-session festival for your players. It combines a black market, costumes, and various activities suitable for different PC skills. The setting is a beach at night near a coastal town or city, but it can be easily adapted for other locations. It is suitable for players with little experience, and characters of any level. It makes a good first session for new players since they can try various skills without risk.
Ever wanted to face the cold, dark, and dangerous unknown without the advantages of a fantasy hero? This is your chance! Fifth Edition Funnel puts a spin on character creation. In the Funnel, each participating player quickly generates several 0-level characters blessed with the abilities and low survivability of your average commoner. Those that survive will be promoted to 1st-level heroines and heroes. The Funnel bonds characters over common challenges they meet and (hopefully) overcome. The surviving 1st-level characters share a common origin as adventurers. Instead of merely rolling dice, there is a trial by fire where average people succeed against the odds to do something heroic (or hide under a table in a tavern).
In the fetid waters of the Rotbog, the Wraith’s Breath lies wrecked. Those squalid remains were once the proud vessel of the Dread Pirate Ghostbeard, during his fanatical pursuit of the Lost Gold of Tagua. Whether he found a piece is not known, though it is said that a mere touch of the treasure can infect one’s soul with the ‘Gold’s Will’ – a compulsion to reunite the scattered booty. Perhaps that explains Ghostbeard’s mad obsession. Risen of the Rotbog is a short, undead-pirate-themed encounter for four to six 2nd level characters that builds towards a chilling showdown with the Dread Pirate Ghostbeard. It can be easily slotted into an ongoing campaign, or can work as a short one-shot. The file includes a battle map - one version for the players, and one with GM annotations.
One page adventure, one page map. On the edge of a lake/ocean’s windswept field/forest, outside of his small stone home, a very old, callous human magic user, Cyfrin the Wrathful, summoned an invisible stalker in a magical binding circle. First he began to taunt the stalker, proclaiming his dominance over it, describing its powerlessness to do anything but carry out the old spell caster’s will. Next, Cyfrin dispelled its invisibility, ordering it to execute his plan. In Cyfrin’s excitement, he gazed upon the stalker’s now visible, horrifically impossible face - and abruptly suffered a stroke, dying on the spot. Still imprisoned, the stalker wants freedom. Will the PCs help it? Adventure hooks provided. Published by Wicked Cool Games
The Raiders’ Hideout is a series of underground chambers (or perhaps the interior of a pyramid) that serves as a base of operations for a band of gnoll desert raiders. The PCs have come to exact a measure of justice for recent brutal caravan raids. They’ve tracked the gnolls to their lair, where they intend to end the threat to desert trade once and for all. Pgs. 30-35
Two centuries ago, the last king of the celtic kingdom of Pellham was deposed in favor of a High Council. Now, however, things are going badly, and a restless populace longs for the days of the ancient kingship. The High Council is floundering - and the political situation is turning ugly. It was then that the Brothers of Brie, and obscure monastic order, discovered a long-forgotten prophecy. In Pellham's time of greatest need, a long-dead king will rise to restore order. You have been chosen to prove that this is the time of the prophecy. You will take the first steps toward returning the lost king to the throne. This adventure contains the first four rounds of the AD&D OPEN Tournament that was originally run at GEN CON XVI Convention. It includes a tournament scoring system and a team of 10 characters of levels 4-7. This adventure can be played alone or as the first part of the two-part PROPHECY OF BRIE series. TSR 9107
This new version of the classic adventure is completely updated to 3.5 edition. In The Lost Vault of Tsathzar Rho, a defenseless village asks the characters to slay an out-of-control ogre. Sounds easy enough. But the ogre, who used to be nothing more than a nuisance, has become crazed and psychotic. When the characters arrive at its cave, they find a subterranean portal has connected the cave to a much larger underground complex. Something in that complex has transformed the ogre and many other local creatures into fiendish marauders. In fact, it’s the lost vault of Tsathzar Rho, an ancient wizard and prophet of the Outer Gods, who are gathering their foul minions for battle.
After having one adventure under your belts you set sail to deliver a package across the open seas. A problem with nature causes their vessel to make an unscheduled stop on a small island that was home to a spice dealer for water. Problems ensue on the island and the party quickly discovers they aren’t “feeling themselves”. This item was played at WhosYerCon convention this past year in Indianapolis!
A flameskull lord that calls itself the Bright Lord of Everburning Fire has taken control of a primordial node deep within the Elemental Chaos. It long ago shrugged off the control of its original creator and now follows its own plans and desires. Top among these is the desire to tap into the power of a fire primordial and increase its own status from undead creature to demigod. Pgs. 156-161
It's feeding time at the zoo and you could be the main course! Raven Aldritch, mysterious and beautiful, runs the Aldritch Research Centre and Zoo for her father, a powerful mage. He enjoys turning dangerous creatures into terrifying monstrosities. But daddy is away and the magical shields that hold the creatures in their enclosures have failed. These monsters are rampaging through the research centre endangering the lives of the innocent workers. Raven desperately needs help to regain control, and she’s willing to pay the right group of adventurers handsomely. Will you come to her rescue? An adventure for the world’s greatest roleplaying game. Fifth edition compatible. A one-shot for a party of Level 3 adventurers
You are Erystelle of Dorneryll, famed elfin champion and magic-user. After years of adventuring, you have come home to the Emerlas - the hauntingly beautiful elfin woodland at the tip of Canolbarth forest. A place of legends and of peace. The journey has been long, but soon the winding forest track will bring you to Dorneryll, the majestic oak tree home of your childhood. Ahead, you glimpse a plume of smoke curling lazily into the sky. Dorneyll is close, and your mind floods with thoughts of home. Suddenly, your reverie is shattered! The thin plume of smoke is gone, an in its place a column of red flame leaps high among the trees. Dorneryll is under attack! Gripping your lance, you urge your mount into a gallop. Starbow surges forward; your war dogs close on her heels... Blade of Vengeance is an adventure for one player and one dungeon master, featuring a lone elf against the forces of evil. Can you save the Emerlas from destruction? The answer waits inside. TSR 9108
An evil cult with a trick up its sleeve. A missing tome, a trail of clues and an unusual cult. Lawful-good characters, especially paladins are recommended for this adventure. Clerics of Aphrodite, Hanali Celanil, Hera, and lshtar have a special interest in despoiling the cult of Shami-Amourae. [Note: Adventure contains statistics for the Demigod Succubus, Shami-Amourae] Pgs. 19-27
The Doom Desert in the Decanter of Delirium is an exotic OSR romp through a mysterious world of riddles, puzzles, inscrutable denizens. 5e compatible, this love letter to psychedelia is as vivid and beautiful as exciting and surreal. Get wrapped up in conversation with the dead drunks at the last saloon on earth, solve the sphinx riddle and discover the secrets of the Ziggurat, or break bread and wine with whispering harpies or the sun itself. This compelling narrative is written by Austin Holm and captures the exploration, social, and challenge pillars of a great game with the deft prose of a poet. With art by Maya Bee that captures the essence of the adventures many stunning scenes and characters. Your players will thank you for this one.
A cadre of githyanki has come to the world in search of rich plunder and soft targets. It has set up a base in the lower levels of an abandoned fortress ruin. A caravan of travelers spotted a githyanki while it hunted for food. Rumors of an invading army from the Astral Sea quickly spread through nearby towns, and the PCs have arrived to investigate. Pgs. 84-89
For centuries, Aelmor Monastery near the port town of Sestone was a safe haven for scholars, monks, and pilgrims seeking enlightenment, its renowned library home to an enormous collection of ancient manuscripts, tomes, and peculiar writings. After suffering a devastating attack at the hands of a possessed monastery elder, Aelmor fell into ruin, its troubled past forgotten. When villagers start disappearing and turn up horribly mutated days later, fear takes a grip of Sestone. What sinister forces are at work? And to what end? The Claws of Madness is a standalone adventure carefully designed for a group of 1st-level heroes, including new monsters, magic items, and a thrilling story arc. Edited by Michele Carter (co-editor of the 5th Edition Player’s Handbook), this dungeon crawl combines the best elements of classic adventures with fresh new exciting avenues. The story in this book also provides the perfect base for an epic, long-running campaign suitable for higher-level characters, in which the heroes unravel the dark mystery of the mythical Hand of Narkul . . . Published by LoreSmyth SmiteWorks.
Stormy seas rock your vessel, tossing her about like a toy in the jaws of a hound. Thunder rolls in the distance. Then, an arc of lightning splits the sky, and the sound like an exploding fireball all but bursts your eardrums. Your mainmast, struck by lightning, burns, splinters, and topples onto the deck like a felled oak. The last thing you hear is the cracking of wood as the deck explodes into splinters, and the ship is torn asunder. All goes black. You awaken in shackles, half-submerged in water, and surrounded by salmon-pink coral. You survived, but what fate awaits you now? The sound of soggy footsteps echo down the hallway. A creature approaches with an answer. This week’s encounter is Coral Colosseum, a combat encounter in which the characters must prove themselves as worthy gladiators to escape the clutches of a ruthless sahuagin baron. This encounter can serve as a follow-up to Encounter of the Week: Sharkfin Shipwreck, or as a stand-alone mini-adventure. It could also serve as an introduction to Ghosts of Saltmarsh, which releases on May 21st, 2019.
Catastrophe strikes the frontier village of Swallowfeld! With a grinding groan, the town’s mill slews into the Kilian River and breaks through the ceiling of an ancient subterranean dungeon. This accident frees a long-imprisoned evil to prey upon the shocked townsfolk. When several Swallowfeld residents—some innocent and some not so innocent—are spirited away into the rapidly flooding dungeon, it falls to a brave group of heroes to venture underground and rescue the missing before dark, rising waters seal their fate.
A vast Feywild swamp slowly seethes into the mortal world, conjured by a malevolent hag. The Murkendraw's unstoppable progress widens Rotten Ethel's dominion by a few steps each day, and with it, the hag's ambition. When Rotten Ethel kidnaps the fairest pixie of all, the swamp's advance suddenly quickens. The fairy folk need brave heroes to turn back the tide and venture forth to rescue Glitterdust.
A short adventuring interlude focusing more on encountering something unusual, rather than fighting anything. The PCs come across a tree and a pool inhabited by elves. The nearby brook fizzes with "energy gas" that grants a temporary HP boost. The players can explore, but there are no real "answers" just a weird thing they found on the way from somewhere to somewhere else. Rated for between 1 and 4 characters, this could easily be run for solo play, but it is short and a little weird. There are roleplaying opportunities with the elves, but there's scant data here, the elves are flighty and capricious. Pgs. 38-41