The Premature Burial is the first in a series of four interconnected stories that recall the themes and atmosphere of Edgar Allan Poe's Tales of Terror. Baldur's Gate, year 1492 DR, a dark and terrifying sect works secretly in the slums with the aim of punishing all those who have long oppressed, marginalized and killed the city's poorest and weakest citizens. The patriars, unaware of anything, are the cult's main targets, and a magical plague is about to fall on them that can cause a veritable slaughter. The characters will find themselves caught up in these dangerous events and will be drawn into a spiral of horror, blood and madness that will strain their bodies and souls. The Prior who leads the mysterious cult has "a special plan" in mind for them and will do anything to achieve his goal. Players will be forced more than once to question their morals and make difficult choices in a scenario of complex social conflicts, personal revenge stories and tremendous machinations. What repercussions would the cult's plan have if it were carried out? And what would happen instead if it were averted and the patriars continued to run the city as they always have? Shadows as black as night once again loom over Baldur's Gate, and this time they may change its face forever. - Adventure: story lasting 4 to 8 hours for characters ranging in level from 4 to 6 - Setting: adventure set in the famous city of Baldur's Gate but easily adaptable to any setting - Narrative: detailed descriptions and an emphasis on story immersiveness - Roleplay: in-depth characterization of NPCs with biographies, descriptions of their personalities and their physical appearance - Bestiary: 3 new customizable opponents with the mechanics "Affixes," which can add an extra degree of complexity to confrontations, and " Weak spots," which grant a strategic advantage to characters who manage to discover them - Magic: obscure and unknown spells used by cultists to carry out their plans - Layout: designed to make it easier for DMs to browse information, featuring special attention to color coding and visual immediacy of text boxes - Maps: 3 maps available in high resolution, VTT and printer-friendly versions - PDF: available in high-quality, interactive, printer-friendly print versions - Playlist: a collection of songs selected by the authors to create the right atmosphere during game sessions
Over a millennium ago, a clan of dark elves broke away from their evil kin and fled from the city of Menzoberranzan. Though many lives were lost in the initial exodus, the large numbers of the renegade band ensured that they were more successful than any could have hoped. And yet, the drow that finally arrived into the surface world found themselves shunned at every turn by those unable to see past their appearances. Just as their hope was beginning to wane, a song rang out through the night, beckoning the way to the sea and to a silver ship waiting amidst the dark waves. Many years have passed, and little knowledge remains of the strange island that the dark elves came to call their home, but the wicked Lolth forgets nothing. Evil magic converges upon El’tara and begins to steal away the light of hope. Whether through fate, mere coincidence or perhaps divine intervention, a band of adventurers find themselves standing at the shores of this land in the time of its greatest need. This adventure should run for approximately four to five hours and may be played either as a one-shot or as part of an ongoing campaign. It contains guidelines for running the adventure at any level from 1st to 8th and for a variety of group sizes.
Clover Island is home to one of the wildest towns in the world of Filbar. While the town of Corsair Bay is recognized as the home of the Pirate Kingdom it is a fully functional town. This location sits at the midway point for those crossing the Newmack Sea and is a resupply stop for most commercial traffic pirate and otherwise. The ruler of Corsair Bay is the legendary, and somewhat retired, pirate named Hannibal the Black. This fearsome pirate now enjoys ruling the community and most of the explored areas on the island but his ship still waits in port for him should he decide to set sail again
Join the adventure in the free city of Taux! Written as a narrative piece to help incorporate game play into the shared world anthology series Tales of the Emerald Serpent, this adventure for semi-experienced characters will put you on the run from the most powerful and notorious family in Taux. Can the characters write their own story and join the legends of Black Gate with the help of iconic personas made famous in Tales of the Emerald Serpent and A Knight in the Silk Purse. This adventure is formatted to both 1E & 5E gaming rules. Also available in PDF.
This 4 hour module takes the characters from a hidden cove near the Moonsea to hidden tunnels leading under the Glacier of the White Worm. What starts as a recovery mission leads to the uncovering of a much more sinister plot. Optimized for a group of level 7's (APL 7), this adventure can be adjusted for any Tier 2 party. Inside you'll find: * Three battlemaps * Introducing the ice encrusted skeleteon, a hardier version of the standard skeleton for colder climates.
Nightmare of Blood! The village of Karvolia has paid its annual tribute of blood to the Red Goddess—but this year, none of the donors returned. Now the priestess commands the village elders to send another dozen young men and women to the edifice of stone that looms on the cliffs overlooking the village: the dreaded Blood Vaults. The terrified elders are willing to pay adventurers handsomely to find a way to make this second tribute pass them by. Unfortunately, the latest set of donors has already entered the Blood Vaults, and are being prepared for the donation process…
Two wizards are engaged in a long-running feud. When the player characters rescue one of the spell hurlers, he asks them to help him finish the conflict once and for all. But do the player characters really want to get in the middle of two very angry wizards? An adventure for four 4th level characters. For 5th edition Dungeons ans Dragons. Features the 5th edition versions of the dread, huptzeen, manikin, osquip, and rutterkin.
Amidst the misty, mournful waste stands a house unaffected by time. The secrets hidden inside could change the world or remain buried in obscurity. The mission of your party is to head there and retrieve all valuable papers and artifacts. But what could await on the way through the lands of distorted magic? Nobody knows for certain. This adventure is designed for a team of four 3rd-level characters. Estimated time: 2–3 sessions, 4–6 hours each. This adventure is focuses on exploration of the Mournland, all that is left from the kingdom of Cyre.
"When three bodies were found with severe burn marks around thier necks, it was clear the city guard were out of their league. Inquisitives were called in to solve the case..." This is a one-shot noir adventure set in the world of Eberron. In it, the players take on the role of inquisitives investigating strange murders in one of the seedy backstreets of Korunda Gate, a city on the border of the Mror Holds. The adventure is for four level 5 players (though adjusting for 3-6 players would be minimal effort) and is expected to take around four hours. It is a great introduction to Eberron for DMs and players alike. It includes: * An exciting mystery to solve across four locations * Three vicious new monsters to fight: flaming zombie, flamelock, and face of flames * An optional bonus scene where the players pursue persons of interest in a high speed rooftop chase * A battle map for each encounter
The city is gripped in fear! The Ripper has returned after a 125-year absence and is once again carving a trail of blood through the slums of Millers Court. Also returned is the ghost of Mari Kell, his last victim from more than a century ago, and she haunts the streets where she was killed. The city watch is at a loss to solve this supernatural mystery, much less apprehend the Ripper himself. All the clues point back to the hovel where Mari Kell was slain long ago. If the heroes are brave enough to enter, will they find the Ripper himself there?
You and your close friends have decided to become adventurers and seek out your destiny. As you head to a Pacifica, a port city, you cross the mining territories and hear a cry for help. It turns out a nearby mining colony has been overrun by humanoids. Looks like your legendary exploits start today!
Don't you just hate it when you have a bit of downtime but some of your players need a bit more experience? Perhaps your group is fractured and only a pair of players could make it. Today's offering gives you three scenarios for a pair of adventures at three different levels! This offering helps you plug campaign holes with short encounters certain to challenge a pair of PCs!
Nanfield is an island village of over 50 NPCs with mysteries plaguing both its present and its past. It contains a unique ecosystem and economy and a ship full of friendly pirates that will invite you by for dinner after accidentally attacking your party. It can be inserted into any campaign as an interlude during a travel montage, as a one-shot encounter, or as the base of future adventures. Nanfield contains over 50 NPCs you can use, several very unique and compelling characters, a Druid stat-bloc, a ship-to-ship fight, an investigation, and a fight with a Harpy (or more, depending on the outcome of the investigation).
Jungle, tomb rading style adventure that sets the group to a new locale, with it's own eco systems and cultures. Exploration adventure, with glint of gold as a catalyst. The adventurers accidently find a map, which leads them to this unknown land. "Can you unravel the map's mysteries and find your way to the promised treasure? Or will your dreams end only in death and an unmarked grave far from home! Only the bravest characters of levels 3-5 will live to discover that all that glitters is not gold, but much, much more!" TSR 9126
His name has inspired fear in legions of heroes, and his cult has lurked in the dismal reaches of the world for countless ages. His minions are savage and feral, his worshipers vile and wretched. He is Demogorgon, and his temples are nightmare realms haunted by primeval menaces and hateful legacies from a time when the world was savage. And now, a vengeful death knight has discovered one of these lost temples—will the PCs aid him in his dark quest for revenge, or will they fall before the awakened host of the Prince of Demons? Pgs. 64-83
The party starts this one-shot falling from the sky aboard an airship. It lands atop a dense cluster of trees, unable to fly, but not destroyed. Now it is up to them to traverse the nearby wilds in search for the parts that fell loose so they can get back to the skies and continue their journey. Unfortunately, they will have to face ogres, apes, bears, blights, and more to retrieve these missing mechanisms.
A magical conk is stolen and planted by an unsuspecting pawn. The tree which grows from this 'tato threatens the whole village of Hempholme and the characters have to take matters into their own hands. There are a number of threats to deal with and number 3 will shock you!
The rich merchant Quintus Felerius has not slept in a week. He is paranoid of vengeful nightmare wraiths that seek to kill him in his sleep. Exhausted and delirious from his lack of sleep he hires experienced adventurers to stand guard in his bedroom while he sleeps. Little do they know that the curse upon Quintus is about to sweep them into the Nighmare Zone of the vengeful Ikari... Nightmare Zone of the Ikari is a Shadowdark RPG adventure designed for 7th level characters that takes them inside the mind of their troubled patron after he and his previous mercenaries were cursed by a vengeful Oneiromancer. Explore his troubled past and see if you can keep him from panicking and taking all of your minds with him. The adventure is designed as a oneshot, but can be incorporated into an ongoing campaign pretty easily since it takes place in another dimension.
A generic tomb exploration. Usable for a quick one off or random exploration discovery. Sometimes a DM needs a fill-in adventure for when their PC’s go off script. This is a single location low role play adventure that can be inserted anywhere needed.
War brews beneath the emperor's notice, nature convulses as unholy demons bring woe to entire prefectures, and hobgoblin mercenaries wearing powerful machine armor march in greater numbers than ever before. Will you rise to save the empire or is Soburin destined for destruction? Soburin is beset upon by dark forces from its ancient past—not only the evil mists that transform men into monsters, but now too the return of a potent necromancer set to bring about a reign of agony, despair, and death! In the looming crisis the immortals that have treated the world as their gaming set are gathering their agents and pawns, deploying unique warriors across the continent with goals as mysterious as they are. It is within this epic game of intrigue that the adventurers become entangled as they undertake quests for the governmental bengoshi in the Sukochi, Yokuba, Ikari, Hakaisuru, Fuson, and Gekido prefectures as well as visit the enigmatic Tsukisasu, city of oni. Demons begat by the entities that consumed nature plague the party during their travels as do a very special gang of smugglers, the gun-toting Mubo Brothers, and the bloody hobgoblin mercenary erikotera warriors suddenly far more populous across the countryside than ever before. By the time all is said and done the PCs take part in a furious mass battle, nail-biting race through an undead dungeon, and finally an epic fight against an ancient evil atop the Hone-Noroi bone tower before it all comes crashing down! This extensive adventure path takes characters from 3rd to 12th level and includes all previous Mists of Akuma modules (Scourge of Róbai Shita Temple, Feud Primordial, Fangs of Revenge, Cursed Soul of the Scorpion Samurai, Yai Sovereign of Storms, and Revenge of the Pale Master) paired together with connecting material that creates one intensive campaign sure to delight GMs and players for months on end! It would be exhausting to list everything that's inside of the 374 pages of Trade War—here are some quick highlights and if you think this book is for you, peruse the table of contents (below) and sample PDFs. Over 50 maps 90 different NPCs and monsters 6 highly-rated adventure modules ranging from straightforward dungeon crawls to sandboxes of intrigue and back (and 2 sidequests by Andrew Engelbrite and Dirk van de Rijt) 8 new class archetypes: survivalist barbarians, smuggler bards, acrobat monks, tumbler rogues, enigmatic eye warlocks, desperado warlocks, and wizards of the inside out 32 new martial arts stance feats including new weapons martial arts stances Hyperlinks throughout to make accessing statblocks from the core rules a breeze Rules for mass combat An epic 9-level bone dungeon inspired by Buddhist hells Mists of Akuma character sheets