Under raging storm clouds, the vampire Count Strahd von Zarovich stands silhouetted against the ancient walls of Castle Ravenloft. Rumbling thunder pounds the castle spires. The wind’s howling increases as he turns his gaze down toward the village of Barovia. A lightning flash rips through the darkness, but Strahd is gone. Only the howling of the wind fills the midnight air. The master of Castle Ravenloft is having guests for dinner—and you are invited. Spans levels 1-10.
If love overcomes evil, remember to get rid of the imp! It took only the love of one good woman - and the hatred of one evil familiar. After leading a life a villainy, the wizard Elzid Natholin gradually left his wicked ways, transformed by the true love of a young maiden. His imp familiar was not pleased with this benign transformation and tricked his master into detonating himself and his tower. The players will investigate the tower to determine the nature of the explosion. The imp still guards the treasure in the dungeon, and is waiting for a legion of infernal soldiers to come claim the treasure for their devil lords. Pgs. 20-28
Smoke still rises from the shattered buildings and ruined streets of the troubled town of Cauldron, yet if not for the actions of a band of heroes, it would not exist at all. A sinister cabal of cultists bent on plunging Cauldron into the prison plane of Carceri had awakened the volcano below the town, and amidst the attacks of dragons and fiends from the outer planes, these heroes were able to evacuate the city and then strike at the cultists in their lair near the volcano's heart. Now, this cult, the Cagewrights, lies shattered, their members put on the defensive for the first time. All that remains is to finish the job, but the surviving Cagewrights still have some surprises left in their mysterious stronghold under the snake-haunted ruins of Shatterhorn. "Strike on Shatterhorn" is a Dungeons & Dragons adventure designed for four 18tth-level characters. This adventure is part of the Shackled City Adventure Path that began with "Life Bazaar" (Dungeon #97) and continued with "Flood Season" (Dungeon #98), "Zenith Trajectory" (Dungeon #102), "The Demonskar Legacy" (Dungeon #104), "Test of the Smoking Eye" (Dungeon #107), "Secrets of the Soul Pillars" (Dungeon #109), "Lords of Oblivion" (Dungeon #111), "Foundation of Flame" (Dungeon #113), and "Thirteen Cages" (Dungeon #114). The Adventure Path concludes in Dungeon #116 with "Asylum." Pgs. 56-82
From The Magazine: "Every summer, Duke Hightower holds a competition quite different from the traditional jousting and archery tournaments held by similar lords of his station. The rules of his tournament change from year to year, and, to oversee the games, the duke has appointed two wizard brothers who help choose the setting and create the rules and challenges of the competition. This year the competition is called the “Owlbear Run,” an overland race that requires each participating team to escort a live owlbear from the town of Telvorn to the town of Milvorn. The teams will face a variety of challenges; some are devised by the wizards, others by the competing teams or their sponsors, and some occur entirely at random. All of these tests are in addition to the challenges inherent in motivating a temperamental owlbear. Fortune and fame await the first team to cross the finish line, and the local lords sponsoring the race are eager to enlist skilled champions for their causes." Pgs. 2-27
The Shackled City Adventure Path enters the home stretch as the forces of evil take direct action against the heroes of the Cauldron. Dangerous secrets are revealed, important NPCs bit the dust, and your heroes will never know who to trust again! This adventure is seventh part of the Shackled City Adventure Path that began with "Life's Bazaar" (Dungeon #97). Pgs. 36-67
The Ice Tyrant is a Dragonlance Firth Age adventure set in Southern Ergoth, the domain of Gellidus the white dragon. This scenario takes the heroes from a coldswept refuge of the Silvanesti elves to the citadel of Anghanor, left untouched since the Knights of Takhisis' withdrawal in 383 A.C. (just before the Second Catalcysm). The once-familiar locales of Ergoth have changed since the War of the Lance. Now, in the Age of Mortals, most of Southern Ergoth is covered by a great glacier, and the capital city of Daltigoth has fallen to ogres loyal to the brutal dragon overlord Gellidus (known to humans as Frost). The adventure begins when the heroes join a band of Silvanesti renegades who have successfully evaded Gellidus' clutches. The elves plan to strike back at the cruel Ice Tyrant by uncovering his "secret" in Anghanor. --from the adventure. NOTE: this module uses the Fifth Age rules based on the Saga card system. It is supplemented by AD&D rule text boxes. As such, there is no recommended level although Tier 2 play seems appropriate. Includes an overland map and a map of the tower and keep. Pgs. 26-49
Some Secrets are Worth Dying For Feel the cold touch of death in this adventure for the world’s greatest roleplaying game. In Icewind Dale, adventure is a dish best served cold. Beneath the unyielding night sky, you stand before a towering glacier and recite an ancient rhyme, causing a crack to form in the great wall of ice. Beyond this yawning fissure, the Caves of Hunger await. And past this icy dungeon is a secret so old and terrifying that few dare speak of it. The mad wizards of the Arcane Brotherhood long to possess that which the god of winter’s wrath has so coldly preserved—as do you! What fantastic secrets and treasures are entombed in the sunless heart of the glacier, and what will their discovery mean for the denizens of Icewind Dale? Can you save Ten-Towns from the Frostmaiden’s everlasting night? Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden is a tale of dark terror that revisits the forlorn, flickering candlelights of civilization known as Ten-Towns and sheds light on the many bone-chilling locations that surround these frontier settlements.
Faced with an unusual alliance of giants raiding the countryside, the party must venture into the steading of hill giant chief Nosnra and uncover maps to the locations of the other giant strongholds. “Steading of the Hill Giant Chief ” can be run as a stand-alone adventure, or you can play it as the first part of a four-part series that continues with “Warrens of the Stone Giant Thane” (Dungeon 198), “Glacial Rift of the Frost Giant Jarl” (Dungeon 199), and “Hall of the Fire Giant King” (Dungeon 200). The adventure is part of the Against the Giants series originally by Gary Gygax, hence the writing credit.
Giants have emerged from their strongholds to threaten civilization as never before. Hill giants are stealing all the grain and livestock they can, while stone giants have been scouring settlements that have been around forever. Fire giants are press-ganging the small folk into the desert, while frost giant longships have been pillaging along the Sword Coast. Even the elusive cloud giants have been witnessed, their wondrous floating cities appearing above Waterdeep and Baldur’s Gate. Where is the storm giant King Hekaton, who is tasked with keeping order among the giants? The humans, dwarves, elves, and other small folk of the Sword Coast will be crushed underfoot from the onslaught of these giant foes. The only chance at survival is for the small folk to work together to investigate this invasion and harness the power of rune magic, the giants’ weapon against their ancient enemy the dragons. The only way the people of Faerun can restore order is to use the giants’ own power against them.
"While staying in the quant rual town of Keswig, the PCs are approached by a troubled young woman named Elexa Justheart. Elexa has just returned from the Galhanor Crusades--a war fought against giants and humanoids in the distant Galhanor Mountains. After serving six months as a cleric in a series of major battles, she recently arrived home to find her uncle's castle occupied by evil brigands." -- from the module. Includes overland maps and maps of the tower and castle.
The heroes have spent the last several days in the quiet, secluded town of Relvaunt. Relvaunt's vineyards, wines, and scenic beauty are the subject of bards's songs, and many travelers journey long miles to visit them. Another site receives far fewer visitors--several miles east of town, partially obscured by woods and hills, stands the wondrous Castle Freitstein. As the heroes depart the town in search of adventure, an elderly couple approaches them. The woman suddenly clutches her chest and collapses in the street and the old man calls out to the heroes for help. Includes castle random encounter chart, a map of castle grounds and isometric castle level maps (four main levels, a tower level and a cellar level).
Watch your step. Out-of-this-world adventure. An odd box falls by a watch tower and its up to the party to discover what it is and why its here. Pgs. 22-29
This adventure takes place in the Moonsea of Faerûn. The players have been brought to Melvaunt to search for the missing scions of the city's great families. To the north, in Thar the orc tribes converge on the ruined fortress of Xul-Jarak, flocking to the banner of a charismatic warlord. There, he intends to sacrifice the scions of the great families of Melvaunt in a bloodritual to Gruumsh. The players will escape Melvaunt, search along the wilderness of Thar for the Fortress of Xul-Jarak, and then explore the dungeons of the ruined fortress and hopefully rescue the scions before they are sacrificed. There also is a Web Enhancement by Eric Cagle on the archives of wizards of the coast's website designed to scale the adventure to level 8. For example, it replaces the Owlbear with a Tyrannosaurus. This is an easy to scale adventure with much of the player's difficulty coming from intelligently avoiding problems, choosing how to approach each floor in the most tactical way, and quickly adjusting when something goes wrong. The adventure has sidebars including common orc battle cries (In Orc!), ready to use orc names, weather and random encounter table in Thar, a description of what happens if the party fails or partially succeeds, and suggested minis for each of the encounters. There is even an extended description of the bloodspear ritual, an event the party is not meant to encounter in a normal run. The appendix is detailed for all the humanoid characters including the scions and their equipment, the named villains, and variety of unnamed orcs the party will encounter. The fortress also offers an opportunity to introduce the players to the Underdark and the Zhentil Keep. There is a passage to the Underdark the players can accidentally explore, and return to later. Emissaries from Zhentil Keep have come to watch the ritual and have their own motivations. These npcs provide an opportunity for exposition and role playing at a point which otherwise might be combat heavy, acting as a valve for the first floor - helping or hurting the party with subtle magic should the difficulty be off.
The ruined manor now known as Kobold Hall was once a minor lord's proud holding, a walled keep overlooking the old King's Road. That was years ago, and the lord's name and glories he earned are long forgotten. Today, the place is called Kobold Hall after the malicious humanoids that invest the place. Pgs. 210-219
"The adventure begins shortly after the PCs arrive in the village of Whitebirch, located just one mile outside Bunglewood, a thick forest. Unless the adventurers prefer to camp by the side of the road, the only rooms in town are available at The Swanmay's Song, a local inn. Shortly after nightfall, a wounded traveler staggers into the inn." -- from the module. Includes overland map, ambush site map, and cave system map.
Pirates and powderkegs. An undersea menace has the merchants of Scalabar up in arms. A strange sea monster is plaguing the trade ships near Scalabar, a coastal city. You have arrived in Scalabar at the behest of Sora Calhaigne. The lady of House Calhaigne needs brave heroes to investigate the loss of her galleon, the Morning Star. She has reason to believe that the sea monster is not what it seems. Includes a list of random city encounters, a keyed map of the port city, Scalabar, as well as a simple overland map of the Scalabar coast, a map of a typical two-story warehouse, a keyed map of the pirate caves, and a keyed map of the ship Thresher. Pgs. 10-27
In Mulcrow, food - not music - soothes the savage beast. The adventure begins in the town of Griffondale whre the PCs encounter Jelmark, an emissary of the Duke of Mulcrow. Jelmark hires the party to help the witch Rudwilla prepare a special stew for a cantankerous bugbear chief who lives in the Rockforge Mountains. Bruggh the bugbear demans the stew once a year on his birthday.-- from the adventure. Pgs. 34-48
In this adventure, the Lord Commander of the Sharn Watch hires the heroes to investigate the murder of an actress. The investigation quickly spirals into a bloody dispute involving a dead wizard’s spell-book, political rivalries, and secrets that might foment war among the Five Nations. Pgs. 1-37
Nothing's more dangerous than a vengeful dwarf except, perhaps, a greedy one. En route somewhere in a barren wilderness, the PCs find a couple of dwarves--one is burying his brother who was killed by a stone giant; but not all is as it seems. "The module can be placed in any temperate wilderness setting. Players who excel at role playing may find the adventure more rewarding than hack-and-slash types. At least one character should possess a silver or magical weapon." Pgs. 16-17
Called by the Elder Elemental Eye to serve, four corrupt prophets have risen from the depths of anonymity to claim mighty weapons with direct links to the power of the elemental princes. Each of these prophets has assembled a cadre of cultists and creatures to serve them in the construction of four elemental temples of lethal design. It is up to adventurers from heroic factions such as the Emerald Enclave and the Order of the Gauntlet to discover where the true power of each prophet lay, and dismantle it before it comes boiling up to obliterate the Realms.