The Dread tunnels of Ruxbar were created by a cult of a lesser evil deity of the giant pantheon, known as Jargain to serve as a planar gate in hope of bringing chaos and destruction to the natural order of the world and power to the one who would control the gate. Ruxabar was the high cultist who completed the ritual but to his surprise nothing of what he expected came through the gate. Plague creatures, toxic gases and vapors, diseases of all kinds and decay lay quick waste to him and his cult. For some time the gate remained open and the settlements nearby were afflicted with diseases never seen before. The nearby town of Stagwood was quickly abandoned due to the plague. Rumor has it that the gods have weakened the gate and the cult has been destroyed. The remaining villages that managed to somewhat resist the plague are now hiring brave adventurers to venture into the tunnels and close the planar gate for good! Are you capable enough of surviving the horrors that reside in the Dreaded Tunnels of Ruxabar? Published by Mistfactor Press
Settling down as the sky turns black with rest, you gather by the heated campfire and swap stories to pass the night. You hear tales of wonder and worry, descriptions of distant lands, plants, and beasts. Exchanged this night are stories of thieving travellers, worried giants, and godly squabbles. Ever wanted small stories to make travel more interesting than random encounters? Ever just wanted to run shorter games? Maybe you’re just low on prep time for your next session. In this volume of campfire tales you’ll find eight half-a-session length adventures that help with all these classic DM worries. Also included is an in-depth appendix of fauna, flora, locations, and more to help boost your game.
Off in the forest is an ancient Yuan-ti Temple that many believe to be abandoned. Of course, a temple makes for fine real estate, but wealthy lords don't do the dirty work of clearing out such a place - that is what they pay adventurers to do. Fight through the halls of this ancient temple against all kinds of Yuan-ti enemies, eventually destroying the false god that has taken refuge within its crumbling walls.
Looks can lie as well as words. Magical minotaurs? Mutant giants? Vampires? One or more of these is preying upon the caravans, and you're going to stop them. A band of ogre magi took over an abandoned dwarven stronghold and have started ambushing merchant caravans. Their leader, Krugii, wants to gain enough power to eventually control a kingdom. In his quest for power, he has bonded a young bronze dragon and has accelerated its growth. The ogre mages all have different personalities and different forms that they prefer to polymorph into. The PCs are hired to take a caravan through Deception Pass and protect it against the random monsters that have been marauding lately (actually ogre mages in disguise). After protecting the caravan, the players track the attacks back to the stronghold of the ogre magi and clear it out. Pgs. 40-62
Deep below the surface lies an ancient beholder city called Ilth K'hinax. In times past, hundreds of beholders called it home - until simmering rivalries within their society exploded into warfare. The few survivors fled, leaving the city deserted for hundreds of years. However, the story of Ilth K'hinax's glory was passed down from one generation of beholders to the next. Now, after countless years of self-imposed exile, the beholders are back! After securing the city, the hive mother of Ilth K'hinax implemented a plan to wipe out all the beings living above it. Unfortunately for the beholders, several facets of the hive mother's plan have been revealed through the exploits of a party of adventurers. Now, this group of heroes must meet eye to eye with Ilth K'hinax's newest occupants in an effort to stop the hive mother's pernicious plan! "Eye to Eye" is the last of three adventures featuring the nightmarish beholder. It can be played as an individual mission or as part of the series that began with "Eye of Pain" and continued in "Eye of Doom." TSR 9536
Long ago, a small but mighty humanoid kingdom existed in what is now the local wilderness. Bugbear and ogre warriors fought brutal wars of expansion, earning great fame and amassing considerable fortunes from their predations. Those who died in battle were buried in large tomb complexes dug into hillsides and honored as patrons of the living. Among these tombs was the large tor known as Hightower. Though it was neither the largest nor the most famous of the kingdom's tombs, Hightower did represent a typical example of this kind of structure. As happens to all such nations, the cruel humanoid kingdom eventually fell to a more powerful foe that razed all its cities and outlying fortifications. Of the tombs, only Hightower escaped destruction -- largely because it was an unimportant monument in a remote location. A few tribes of humanoids that survived the devastation tried to use it as a fortress, but the humans with whom they clashed defeated them soundly and sealed the entrance with a huge, round stone to ensure that the tor could no longer be used as a base. Since then, Hightower has served as a landmark for travellers in the know, but it has otherwise been largely forgotten. But the electrical storms that have plagued the area in recent days have been quite severe, and a few weeks ago, a stray lightning bolt broke open the stone seal. Tonight, yet another terrible storm is sweeping through the wilderness, driving all creatures to take shelter where they can find it. Hightower looms on the horizon, and its door is no longer blocked. Will the PCs dare to enter its silent halls?
Farms in the hamlet of Winterton are being raided at night. Who, or what, is doing the raiding is a mystery. Animals have disappeared and now a visiting merchant has gone missing. The only clue is a blood drenched hat sitting in the snow along a stretch of road. Blood in the Snow is intended as a small side-adventure set in Winter, in a tiny village in the Bay of Spirits. A desperate clan of goblins are raiding the settlement and the player characters have been asked, or hired, to help. Published by Roan Studio
Anamdael is a small town remarkable only for its peacefulness. However, the town harbors a dark secret: Long ago, a resident entered into a pact with a Night Hag, whose services come at a price. Travelers who once gave little thought to Anamdael now hear rumors of a strange cult in its woods. Your party is hired to locate and return a missing person, last known to be traveling to Anamdael. Before you may enter “Mother’s” land, you face your first test. Your responses determine more than you know and set the stage for an eerie adventure.
There are many entrances to the Feywild, but none so grand as appearing before the throne of seelie fey, the Summer Court. The Summer Games, a bestselling mini-arc intended for 5th level characters, introduces a party to court intrigue in the Feywild, headed by Queen Titania with King Oberon at her side. In the tourney the party must navigate unknown dangers, asked by the Summer Queen "How will you win? With skill? With truth? With wit? With wager? Or without? These five tasks lie before you, and you must complete them all to continue." In the hunt your characters must quest for a magical, talking beast. But in the end, will they catch the White Hare, or will they wish they had? In the maze players must navigate a shifting labyrinth riddled with pit traps and Feywild nasties. At the feast the party is presented with their reward for their trials, the payment for being the entertainment at this courtly gathering… or perhaps they’re on the menu. This mini-arc references stat blocks presented in Mordenkainen’s Tome of Foes and the Monster Manual. Also provided within the PDF: download links to VTT and tabletop compatible maps relevant to scenes presented in the Summer Games.
Finding missing people is a job any adventurers for hire get used to. But when the missing person turns out to be the recently deceased wife of a prominent merchant's son, and when there is the small matter of a major jewelry theft to deal with as well, then you've got an adventure that is nothing other than normal.... Find the Lady is an adventure for the D&D and AD&D game systems. It is designed for a party of 1st - 3rd level characters, with secondary skills generated according to the article in this issue. This scenario was not designed with any set number of characters or mix of professions and levels in mind, and could equally well be run as a group or solo adventure. It can be played as a one-off adventure or as part of the Pelinore or Zhalindor campaigns, and notes are included on placing the adventure in either world. GM2 Find the Lady Pgs. 15-46
The gnome village of Clefton is built on the sides of a deep gorge, their homes built safely into the gorge walls. But for the past two nights Clefton has suffered the attacks of sightless creatures that crawl down the walls and steal away the gnomes’ loved ones. It’s up to the PCs to follow the creatures’ trail back to The Draigesgyrn Caves and put an end to their threat. As the PCs explore the unusual cave complex, they may discover the caves are the empty husk of a colossal dragon, buried many years ago beneath a landslide. In the depths of these caves they encounter the dread spirit of the dragon rider and an entrance to the Underdark. Will they seal the entrance or will they begin a new adventure deep underground? The Draigesgyrn Caves is a D&D 5th Edition adventure suitable for four to five PCs of 5th level and estimated to take 4-6 hours. The adventure could be set in any mountainous area. In the Forgotten Realms, it might be set in the Fairheight Range on the Moonshae Isles. The end of the adventure introduces an option to begin an Underdark adventure or campaign. Includes: A map of the dragon husk caves by EB Moreno Two new monsters for 5th edition – the ghoulish ooze and a grimlock shaman Four new magic items
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
At the mercy of Chaos! Abducted by the Court of Chaos, the adventurers face hard choices if they want to return home. The Host of Chaos desires a legendary artifact held by the Scions of Law and need patsies to retrieve it. Faced with an eternity of servitude, the party must sneak into the Plane of Law and steal the Yokeless Egg from under its guardians’ watch. But not all is what it appears when the Court of Chaos is concerned and serving the Host may destroy the party from within. Can they survive the Intrigue At the Court of Chaos?
Everyone who went to opening night of the Monveau Theater's newest show has gone completely insane. Can the characters uncover the shocking secrets inside the theater and find a way to end the plague of madness without losing their own minds? The Horror Within is a cosmic horror adventure for 8th-level characters. It's a one-shot that takes about 3-5 hours to complete and includes: -A maddening mystery where the characters' sanity is at risk -A thrilling battle against an Old One in the lost depths of the city -Combat cards for each monster, PC, and special treasure -High-quality digital maps for use with virtual table tops
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 Approaching Swarm is a short adventure for four 9th-level characters. The party can consist of any mix of classes, but it should include at least one character that is good in wilderness settings, such as a druid, ranger, or barbarian, and at least one cleric. This scenario should prove a reasonable challenge for characters from 8th to 10th level. The adventure takes place in a swampland that is near a small settlement. The adventurers have located the secret lair of Aleretheral, an insane half-orc druid with mastery over vermin. He has been breeding and training monstrous vermin to defend his territory. With the adventurers invading his home, he will do anything he can to protect it.
Crops wilt, leaves wither on the trees, and animals must leave the once-fertile Downs valley or die. All who dwell there must abandon their homes or perish-- unless your party can lift the curse TSR 9084
A walk in the woods, a trip to the zoo, a day at the circus - harmless enough, right? Wrong, as players will discover when things are not as they appear to be. Included in I13 Adventure Pack I - https://www.adventurelookup.com/adventures/i13-adventure-pack-i TSR 9202
Deep in the heart of a forsaken and filthy mire, a great amphibious foe awaits. Led by an ancient evil from the world's history, can you stop thesummoning of the Demon Frog- God? If not, you may face the Devourer of Life! Also available as 5E and Swords & Wizardry.
After a series of successful exploits you and your associates decide it is time for a nice vacation. You pull into the large city of Breckengarden to take a few weeks off when you are approached by a courier. After a clandestine meeting you are informed that several well-known adventurers have been disappearing and the party has been asked to resolve the issue. The bigger problem is the likely source of the kidnappings is the master of the Cloud Giant kingdom that floats above the ground!