From time out of mind, the standing stones known as the Circle of Cahervaniel have stood lonely vigil on a grassy hilltop. Sheepherders once moved their flocks over the hill and through the circle, sometimes resting in the cool shadows cast by the ancient stones. Everything changed when a stone finger fell, revealing a fissure in the earth. Now, dark shadows caress the circle after the sun sets. Creatures out of nightmare dance upon the hillside at night. Many swear that a unicorn of deepest ebony now hunts all upon two legs who draw near, while stunted creatures scurry in the shadows, abducting sheep from their sheds and drawing them down below ground for food. After the disappearance of a sheperd, fear grows stronger in neighboring villages. Who will brave the black hollow of the ancient Circle of Cahervaniel? Heroes of stern mettle must descend into the cavity and explore the ancient spaces existing there. Product History "The Shattered Circle" (1999), by Bruce R. Cordell, is a generic adventure for AD&D 2e. It was published in January 1999. Origins: Another Generic. After Wizards of the Coast began publishing D&D, their first year and a half of generic adventures were all classic revivals: returns to RPGA tournaments, to classic adventures, and to Dungeon scenarios. Even "A Paladin in Hell" (1998) was a return in its own way, to the demons and devils that TSR had become afraid of. Wizards was staking out new ground by reclaiming the past. "The Shattered Circle" (1999) was the first generic Wizards adventure that was simply a generic adventure, with no deeper origins and no hidden motives. Artifacts of Note. the foundingstone and the harp Euphonious are both one-off named magic items. However, it's sword Icerazor that's the most interesting. It's said to have grown from a shard of Frostrazor — a sword that would only appear ten months later in Return to White Plume Mountain (1999). There, it's listed as one of Keraptis' four implements of power, alongside Wave, Blackrazor, and Whelm — meaning that Icerazor (and this adventure) are just one step removed from White Plume Mountain itself. Monsters of Note: Chitine. It's somewhat curious, given the Greyhawk and Neverness connections, to note that the chitine debuted in MC11: "Monstrous Compendium Forgotten Realms Appendix" (1991). The spider-humanoids have generally been a Realms creature, featuring in bestiaries and histories for that setting. However, they also received a more generic "Ecology of the Chitine" in Dragon #223 (November 1995), which introduced the choldrith, or chitine priestess. This is their major adventure appearance. When asked about pronouncing their name Cordell says that he "can't be 100% sure of the original designer's pronunciation", but he prefers "KI-TEEN". About the Creators. By 1999, Cordell was one of D&D's most prolific writers. He'd previously authored many slightly related adventures, such as The Gates of Firestorm Peak(1996) and the sahuagin (1997) and illithid (1998) Monstrous Arcana adventure trilogies. This conversion guide allows DMs to run the original module with 5th Edition rules. To use this conversion guide you will need a copy of The Shattered Circle, originally available in hard-copy and now for sale in Digital format at the DMs Guild. This adventure is a generic adventure, not specifically based in any existing setting. Suggestions are given in the conversion guide to place the adventure in the Forgotten Realms.
A group of snaketongue cultists has occupied an abandoned, partially sunken temple near a swamp. They grow impatient waiting for their yuan-ti master to join them, unaware that he has been slain by a rival faction of yuan-ti. Frustrated, the cult strikes against nearby villages in the hope of drawing the favor of Zehir. Investigating rumors of a serpent cult harassing a nearby town, the PCs have explored the swamp and discovered the overgrown temple. Its once-ornate stone door now hangs off its hinges, providing a narrow space for one character at a time to squeeze through. Pgs. 42-47
You are a Dragon Wing captain aboard the Storm Chaser, a huge levitating Skycastle fueled by powerful arcane forces and electrical energy harnessed from storms. When a hostile castle appears from behind a large cloud bank, you are tasked to lead a team to infiltrate the enemy stronghold and take it down from the inside. The forces aboard the fast-approaching threat would overwhelm the combatants and defenses of the Storm Chaser; failure is not an option. Dragon Wing is a battle focused one-shot designed for 3-5 players of roughly 10th level. With beautifully designed maps and a fully guided sequence of rooms and areas, your players will infiltrate the giant stronghold, tackle intricate puzzles and tough combat scenarios with an array of monsters.
How’d you get here? Let me explain... No, there is too much. Let me sum up. Rescued a retired hero's hapless nephew from goblins at some ruins on a hill Found out that there aren’t any goblins, but spider creatures called chitine instead Uncovered a chitine plot to start a war between the surface world and the drow Got convinced to try to stop that war Got trapped in the caves under the ruins Chased the chitine’s leader, a choldrith, further down into the cave system Nearly got crushed in a cave-in Fought your way through an undead infested mine Nearly got eaten by a colony of chitinous reptiles Picked up the choldrith’s trail and followed it deeper into the earth And now you stand at the entrance to a massive cavern filled with all manner of aggresive creatures. Yep, that about sums it up! And now, here you are, in this giant cavern thousands of feet beneath the surface. All you have to do is pick up that choldrith’s trail again, and manage to navigate the many factions vying for control of this little section of the Underdark. Good luck! And have fun storming the Hollows! This Gazetteer contains: Descriptions of the factions that live in The Shadowed Hollows, a massive cave complex far below the surface The underground city of Naakrasad and the important NPCs that live there Three quests leading to brief adventures within the Hollows for characters of level 4 to 6 7 custom maps of the Shadowed Hollows, Naakrasad, and the quest destinations All necessary monster stat blocks Everything needed to set the scene for the upcoming second chapter of the Into the Underdark Adventure Series
Sekarvu is a typical beholder. It spent much of its youth exploring underground realms and killing everything it found. One day, it came upon a large cavern filled with violet fungi. At the edge of the cavern, it found a small band of adventurers who had all but succumbed to the toxins of the fungi's tendrils. They offered little resistance to Sekarvu as it approached and began to feed on their still-writhing bodies. With its first bite, the beholder's life changed forever. Pgs. 52-55
This horror mystery adventure scenario takes the players to a small village just behind the fog. In a last month, three people went missing from Dormay village and they still haven't been found. The concerned villagers want the players to find the missing folk or at least shed some light on their disappearance. Through investigative work the players will discover that the village has a 100 year old secret, a secret which punishes the wicked. While the villain died over a century ago, he left behind a dreadful design that torments the people to this day. Players' heart and soul will be put to the test as they are ultimately faced with the creature born of sin. Penance for Sin features a short horror mystery adventure scenario. It introduces a new fiendish monster. The adventure favors invastigation and roleplay over combat encounters. "The horror element" section in the adventure gives advice how to make your gaming sessions more frightening. Published by: Adventurer's Inn
The Toxic Wood is a deadly wilderness adventure for Old School Essentials This hexcrawl adventure focuses on game-able content and being easy to use at the table. It is graphic and art heavy and utilizes a lot of random tables to make it easier for GMs to run with minimal prep. "You have been hired by a secretive council of wizards, who refuse to meet in person with you, to rescue the survivors of Mugwort - a town which was thought to have been destroyed and lies deep within The Toxic Wood. The Wood is corrosive and the air is not safe to breath there, so the wizards have given you a magical orb which will create a safe dome of air around you. The orb must be fed with fuel containing life force to continue operating properly. They have also gifted each of you a less effective necklace which will create a temporary small bubble of clean air around your head as an emergency measure. The Wood became noxious a couple of years ago after a dragon known as Ion moved in. You will have to navigate to Mugwort without Ion noticing if you are to conduct a successful evacuation." The toxic wood is home to many strange entities; spiteful mutated horrors, ancient insectoid witch sisters, bloodthirsty redcaps, a mushroom witch and a corrosive dragon cult. Noxious gases produced by alien plants slowly coil through the air creating an endless red haze. Anything that is not part of the woods lethal eco-system is rapidly corroded, with all evidence of its existence erased within days. Details: 32 pages Single column text 8.5 x 5.5 aspect Black & White Bookmarks Hyperlinks Random tables Hooks and rumors for your players Rules for surviving in the toxic wood using the orb and other means 16 keyed hex locations Backgrounds for characters to aid roleplay New monsters Key NPCs A timeline of events for the DM to structure their sessions around Flora of the wood Random treasure tables Prompts and resolutions for what happens if players take different actions Cursed Items and Powerful Artifacts: Scattered throughout the wood, offering potent abilities but often with dangerous drawbacks.
The Sea Witch is a short adventure for four 10th-level characters. The difficulty of the adventure can be adjusted by changing the level of main antagonist (Black Molly, the sea hag pirate) or by altering the number of her ogre servants. To tailor the encounter to groups of different levels, refer to table 4-1 in Chapter 4 of the DUNGEON MASTER’S GUIDE. The adventure is set off a lightly populated coastline known as Misty Bay, but adapts easily to any coastal region in existing campaigns. The sea hag known as Black Molly is a notorious pirate who has plagued the coastal cities for the better part of a decade. A successful Knowledge (local) check (DC 15) will reveal that Molly and her ogre crew have a filthy reputation as merciless killers who delight not only in plundering vessels for their riches, but also in destroying the ships themselves and sending all hands to the bottom of the sea. Now the villain and her followers have seized control of the Old Lighthouse of Misty Bay located off a lightly populated coastline. For generations the lighthouse beacon has protected the fishermen of this region, warning them of the dangerous rocks that lurk just below the level of the high tides. Recently, the hag has put out the beacon, darkening the lighthouse; misery and destruction are sure to follow as ships start to blunder into the rocks. Blackmail is apparently Black Molly’s aim in this venture: She conveyed a message to the nearest shore community, the fishing village of Poisson, demanding the princely sum of 50,000 gp. Until she receives this ransom, she intends to hold the lighthouse and its beacon hostage. The fate of the human keepers who tend the lighthouse is unknown to the seaside communities at this time, but they fear the worst. The Sea Witch is ostensibly a rescue mission: The PCs are pitted against the evil of Black Molly and the brawn of her savage ogre crew. It is the heroes’ task to retake the lighthouse and, if possible, free its captives from the clutches of their jailer. What neither the PCs nor the shore communities yet realize is that while she 1would be pleased to have the gold, Black Molly is in fact after bigger treasure. Molly has no intention of giving up the lighthouse — at least, not until she finds what her master sent her here for. Lying on the sea floor practically at the base of the rock on which the lighthouse sits is the wreck of the war galley Flying Cloud, which according to popular legend was captained by a cleric who wore around his neck an amulet of the planes. Black Molly wants this prize, but so far she hasn’t been able to find it. She’s scoured the wreck without finding any sign of the magic item. Now she’s trying to determine where to search next, for the item might well be somewhere near the wreck. If she can’t find it, she’ll start torturing her captives to find out if they have any useful knowledge about the amulet.
The only requirement for this dungeon is a heavily forested area, meaning it can be dropped into just about any world. It ties in heavily with Fey creatures so I suggest a hook regarded some ancient relic hidden away by the Fey that must now be retrieved. Perhaps the former ruler had an agreement with the ones who hid this relic away, but a new ruler has taken the seat of the Emerald Queen and all agreements have been terminated.
The adventurers are asked to search for a local temple official who has not returned after leaving to search for a hidden treasure vault. On their way, they are attacked by some Kobolds and chase the fleeing monsters to the hidden entrance. The adventurers explore the ruins and discover what has become of the missing temple official.
A generic tomb usable for one off adventures or unexpected exploration discovery. An abandoned dwarven tomb has been taken over by goblins.
Exploring Baba Yaga's Dancing Hut. This adventure design to test high level PCs can be used in a variety of scenarios as the DM sees fit.
A man built a temple to a woman who died. It became a shrine for those who lost a spouse too soon. Later. Much later. A young couple came. Their tribes warred so they could only marry in death. It was poison. Which angered HER. They walk the temple ever since, cursed by a shrine spirit. She has a hatred of suicide only dead widows can know.
The Terror of Screeching Hill is an adventure designed for a party of four level 1-3 characters. Introduce your friends to Dungeons & Dragons or take a break from your current campaign and save the town of Stonehollow in this early level one-shot! To the villagers of Stonehollow, the flight of bats warns of an impending disaster. Earthquakes, which riddle the small mining town, often follow this omen causing cave-ins and trapping miners underground. Thankfully, the ground hasn't shaken in weeks. However, every night at sunset, a colony of bats fly over the town as a haunting cry echoes over Screeching Hill, a mound on the southern outskirts of the village. Villagers have begun to go missing, including the town's doctors Simon and Kirk Bartok, and some have suffered terrible wounds after being attacked by a relentless creature out of the darkness. With no doctors to treat the wounded and the expectation of more attacks, the villagers of Stonehollow turn to you for help. Will you investigate the terror of Screeching Hill and save the town from its reoccurring nightmare? Included: - A 16 page one-shot designed for level 1-3 characters - Unique maps - Two player handouts - A simplified document compatible with screenreaders
Laugher’s Gorge occupies a stretch of the canyon that runs through the local badlands, named for the haunting laughter that occasionally erupts from its depths. When travelers using the road past the gorge become infected with cackle fever, it’s up to the party to find out what’s causing the mysterious laughing sickness. Though they find a pack of gnolls infesting the canyon, it’s no joke when they discover who (or what) is pulling the strings! Laughter and humor are central themes in No Laughing Matter. The players are met with the will of a prankster god, riddles to solve, and may be forced to come up with some jokes of their own. But this isn’t an adventure to take lightly. If the party underestimates Laugher’s Gorge, they may find themselves infected with cackle fever… and there’s nothing funny about that! 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.
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 One-on-One Competition Module for Thieves Level 8 Your peaceful evening has been interrupted by an unusual request. As a thief, your skills are unmatched, but can you rise to the challenge of thieving for a powerful and frightening wizard? Do you have a choice? The Gem and the Staff is a special One-on-One competition module designed for one player and on Dungeon Master. The Module contains two separate scenarios, so you can switch roles with the other player after the first adventure. Scoring sheets and encounter summaries are provided for each adventure to make running competitions quick and simple. Character figures and a map book are also provided to help visualize the adventures. The player's maps are designed so you can see the rooms as they would appear. Complete DM's Maps are included. TSR 9050
A beloved noble is at death’s door, struck down by a mysterious affliction! A desperate plea for aid has been answered, but will the heroes solve the mystery in time? This much is certain: Sinister forces are at work in Toven, and time is running out! Lost in Malice is a 5e compatible mystery adventure optimised for a party of four 2nd level characters. Low level mystery adventure Includes a mystery overview and clue map for ease of running at the table Focused on Roleplay and Exploration. Fascinating cast of NPC's Includes a detailed battlemap of a woodland cabin (day and night version)
The Creepy Handshake is a dark comedy 5e micro-adventure of urban investigation. Wander around the city, investigate the latest robberies, and uncover the mystery of a strange lost pet. This adventure is part of the supplement Tiny Weird Adventures - Urban Edition, a collection of short adventures to be used in conjunction with the fifth edition of the most popular fantasy RPG of recent times. Although it was written with a system in mind, it can be easily adapted to any other medieval fantasy RPG.
A dwarven laboratory forgotten for many centuries has finally been rediscovered, but there is sure to be danger lurking within. It turns out some of the other machines within are still active, as are some of the traps and puzzles. Prepare your party for a blend of challenging puzzles and diverse fights in the dungeon that was home to my first player kill.