A top the crown of the Isle of Dread, a hateful monster broods. Spawned by the Price of Demons, the architect of the shadow pearls dwells deep under the ruins of ancient Thanaclan. As long as this vile monster lives, the threat of the savage tide remains, looming dark on the horizon. "City of Broken Idols" is the seventh chapter of the Savage Tides Adventure Path, a complete campaign consisting of 12 adventures appearing in Dungeon magazine. For additional aid in running this campaign, check out Dragon magazine's monthly "Savage Tidings" articles, a series that helps players and DMs prepare for and expand upon the campaign. Issue #354 of Dragon magazine features the totemic demonslayer, a new prestige class that focuses on fighting and defeating demons, be they at the heart of the Isle of Dread or encountered in the depths of the Abyss itself. The central mesa of the Isle of Dread is taboo to the locals, a place shrouded in mystery and cloaked in rumor. The time has come to confront the evil that dwells atop the island’s savage crown. Pgs. 54-84
Player characters attacking the lair of monsters that have been menacing the local village is a common D&D trope. This adventure turns the trope on its head. In Goblin Defense, the players create goblin PCs, and have to fight off repeated attacks by adventurers who are stronger and better equipped than they are. Starting at level 1 and running until level 7, this module encompasses 16 battles against unique and typically themed groups of adventurers built using player character classes and rules. The module is designed for 3 players, each of whom takes on an individual role within the tribe, granting unique bonuses or options for actions outside of combat. Goblin Defense can also be played with 4 players, but is not recommended for 5 or more players without substantial revision. The players aren't alone. Each commands a squad of goblin minions who can help in combat... but goblins are fragile, and adventurers hit hard. Life as a goblin is often brief and violent. Many will die, but as long as some survive, the tribe will carry on. A simple ruleset is provided for managing actions during the downtime between each attack. During this time, players can work to train their minions to use better gear, hunt for food for their tribe, recruit replacement warriors, brew potions, and - most importantly - improve their lair and its defenses by adding walls, traps, tunnels, doors, alarms, and anything else their creative minds can come up with. As the exact layout and placement of defensive features is critical, this is designed to be played on a grid. A PDF is included with the map scaled to print on 24"x36" (Arch D) size paper, available at most print shops. DMs may enjoy the chance to briefly try out many different character class and subclass combinations as they attack and eventually fall to the goblin pests they're trying to eliminate. Page count: Information for the DM only 6 Information for the players 4 Adventurer statblocks 37
The Cagewrights continue their manipulations of the city of Cauldron, making the PCs their latest pawns in a gambit that leads all the way to the Abyss. The heroes must complete the test of a deposed demon lord to ensure the safety of Cauldron and all its citizens. The 5th adventure in The Shackled City Adventure Path. Pgs. 38-71
Things are darkest before they go totally black. He wears black, hires orcs, and looks depraved - but don't be fooled. He's far more dangerous than he seems. Thaddigren Dentiata recently arrived in the village of Sisak, and within 3 months had constructed a great tower on the outskirts. The villagers have become more wary of him, since he employs the help of orc henchment (albeit polite ones), and also is suspected of using dark magic. Since then, livestock has begun disappearing from the surrounding pastures, and two drunk men fell upon a terrible fate when they went to investigate the tower secretly. One was killed and the other remains missing. The villagers have confronted Dentiata, but he and his henchmen politely turned aside their questioning. The players arrive just after one of the town elders was taken by orcs from the village after trying in vain to rally the rest of the townspeople. The players will spend some time in the village gathering information and then attack the tower itself, ending in a final battle with the evil wizard. The module provides details on all buildings in the town as well as all NPCs and stores. Pgs. 6-24
What happened to the signal tower? What waits for you in the misty mountains? The mayor of the town of Four Trails hires you to find the missing magic user, Delea the White! Delea was tasked with improving the signal tower at Eddistone Point. After leaving with her party of dwarven mercenaries, the mayor received a message from Delea's familiar; a white crow with a note scrawled in charcoal; "Bandits in the tower! Help!" The tower is straightforward, five levels, each a single room. There's a bait-and-switch where the players think the half-orc bandit leader is the bad guy, but an innocuous-seeming vagabond is actually a powerful illusionist. No monsters to speak of, only class-based NPCs, no magic apart from a ring of protection (not listed in this record, being equivalent to magic armor.) Pgs. 19-27
"Terror by night! The village of Orlane is dying. Once a small and thriving community, Orlane has become a maze of locked doors and frightened faces. Strangers are shunned, trade has withered. Rumors flourish, growing wilder with each retelling. Terrified peasants flee their homes, abandoning their farms with no explanation. Others simply disappear. . . No one seems to know the cause of the decay -- why are there no clues? Who skulks through the twisted shadows of the night? Who or what is behind the doom that has overtaken the village? It will take a brave and skillful band of adventurers to solve the dark riddle of Orlane!" TSR 9063
This adventure concerns a once-proud fortress that fell into the earth in an age long past. Now known as the Sunless Citadel, its echoing, broken halls house malign creatures. Evil has taken root at the citadel's core, which is deep within a subterranean garden of blighted foliage. Here a terrible tree and its dark shepherd plot in darkness.
Red for love, white for purity, black for death. He was thoughtful, obedient, and trustworthy - the epitome of a traitor. All he needed were some heroes. A powerful undead knight, Agrovale, wants to be released from a necromancer named Talakara. He sets in motion an elaborate plan to get the players involved in overthrowing Talakara in her bid to become a goddess. He frames the necromancer for a kidnapping and murder and leaves a trail of clues to lead the players to her stronghold. The party travels through an extensive stronghold filled with many different monsters, finishing with a fight with the demigod Talakara and subsequently the freedom-seeking Agrovale. Pgs. 38-63
The whispered worries grow more fanciful and terrifying by the day... where has the loremistress gone?... what's wrong with the master smith?... who-or what-stalks the marketplace?... The questions need answers, and heroes are needed to do the asking! But the only thing worse than what hunts the mist-shrouded streets is what lies beneath them... Adventure in Dun Eamon: Demons roam the streets of the city of Dun Eamon, criminals rule the night and an important local power figure has gone missing. Can your heroes unravel the clues that lead through every social element of the city, into the hearts of its inhabitants and far below its streets in search of answers? Or are some mysteries better left unsolved? Uncover An Artifact: The Grey Citadel is a mini-campaign of urban detective work and dungeon exploration designed for four or more characters of 5th level. Set in a rain-soaked, rough-and-tumble frontier city, The Grey Citadel offers numerous colorful NPCs, a richly unique location, new monsters and magic items plus enough plot twists to provide hours of role-playing and door-kicking adventure where your wits must be as sharp as your swords!" This adventures mixes dungeon crawl with city investigation, keyed encounters and timed encounters.
A horrific drug has seized the population of the strange city of Exag, yet confronting its source only reveals the true extent of a dire new threat. Part one of the Seeds of Sehan campaign arc, this is a D&D adventure for 8th-level characters.
Atop a distant mountain peak, a monstrous entity plots dark deeds. The final chapter of the Seeds of Sehan campaign arc. "To a mind that is still, the whole universe surrenders." Chuang-Tzu. Pgs. 30-47
A Ravaged Land... Villains that really are larger than life... A time for heroes... A decade ago, the land of Geoff was overrun by a horde of giants, ogres, and evil humanoids, its people either slain, enslaved, or driven into exile. Now at last the tide has turned. The time to free the people of Geoff from their servitude to the giantish tyrants has come! But don't forget to watch your step when you confront the true masters behind the giant Clans! Contains the full text of three classic adventures by Gary Gygax: G1, Steading of the Hill Giant Chief; G2, The Glacial Rift of the Frost Giant Jarl; and G3, Hall of the Fire GIant King. Details Eighteen new encounter sites in the war-torn land of Geoff, linked together to form a grand campaign. Provides dozens of hours of gameplay as the heroes struggle to free an entire country from the grasp of giant overlords. TSR 11413
In The Standing Stone, a tiefling sorcerer named Dyson discovers a circle of standing stones constructed centuries ago by druids to hold their annual rituals; the druid community was later destroyed by the great dragon Ashardalon. Dyson uses the magic of the stones to replace people with animals transformed into humanoid form, loyal to him. Dyson encounters the player characters in the village of Ossington and tries to manipulate them into eliminating the remaining enemies standing in his way.
A little friendly competition can be fun now and then - unless, of course, the competition isn't friendly at all. Included in I13 Adventure Pack I - https://www.adventurelookup.com/adventures/i13-adventure-pack-i TSR 9202
Giants and ghost trees and foul undead beasties... What happens when elves, giants, and a mysterious witch all decide only you can settle their troubles. Strange new tree species! A hobgoblin fort! Unexplained noises during the day and different noises at night! Investigate and explore the Bretonwood to get to the bottom of its problems. The adventure provides an overland open-world style map of the Bretonwood which the players are encouraged to explore. Many set and random encounters are provided. There are opportunities for combat in this area, but players should be ready to handle some problems out of combat to get the most satisfying experience. Pgs. 22-43
The adventure takes players from a town devastated by an unexpected flood, through a drowned land where nature is turned upside down and desperate families cling to the roofs of their ruined homes, hiding from the monstrous products of a disordered world, through the strange tomb of an ancient race, to a profundal zone, hidden for millennia and now exposed, and finally to the Observatory itself, an eerie abandoned treasure palace, where they will encounter a pale and unexpected terror which will seek to claim their lives. The adventure is suitable for a lucky mid-range party, a stupid high-level party or an exceedingly clever low level party. It is difficult, with a meaningful possibility of character death. Should you find them, and defeat their guardians, the treasures of an ancient culture will be yours. At the final point of the Observatory is a glimpse of another world. Published by False Machine Publishing
The trouble began several weeks ago when a duergar excavation team went to work in a long-abandoned temple. Drawn to the temple by stories of riches and artifacts, the duergar hired several giants as laborers before cracking the temple’s sealed doors. The largest of the giants, a loathsome Thursir mutant named Huppo, used his acidic vomit to expedite tunneling into the temple’s collapsed hall of worship. Then, Huppo found the horn—an unusual instrument made from a single piece of stone, with a mouthpiece so intricate only a master carver could have made it. The horn became the giant’s obsession. Seeing only the horn’s potential sale value, the dwarves demanded Huppo turn it over to them, but Huppo refused. To force compliance, the dwarves stopped feeding the gluttonous brute, but Huppo had already found his own source of food; in deep areas of the temple, worms were chewing out of the rocks, and Huppo ate them by the fistful. He also played the horn. Then, after several days of blowing the horn and devouring the strange worms, Huppo released a belch so noxious the dwarves had no choice but to lock him in a sealed chamber and carefully consider their next move. The horn’s call, however, had caught the attention of passing nomadic orcs. They set up camp outside the temple entrance in the hope of finding the horn and its player. That’s the current situation at the temple: the giant refuses to stop blowing the horn and belching out deadly clouds of stomach gas; the dwarves are frightened and edgy while their leader is obsessed with malevolent whispers; orcs are threatening to overrun the place; and the population of worms grows steadily as something awakens deep in the stone beneath the sanctuary of belches.
The ravings of a mad prophet claim that a great evil has returned to Alik'bar and that this time, there shall be no salvation. Even those who previously vanquished the evil will be unable to stop it. Terror now grips the lower class populace while the guards and merchant class go about their days, ignoring the "Stories" of an unseen menace. "There is nothing wrong here," come the stern replies of the city guard. All the while the Mayor and his people retort, "the Evil in Alik'bar was banished long ago. This is nothing but vagrants and charlatans, begging for attention." The Church of Salvation has another opinion, but their words die down in a city griped with tension , apathy, and a demoralized poor class. The question remains: Why is there fear running in a city's slums? What does it have anything to do with the missing vagrants who disappeared so many years ago? Is there really a great threat, or is there a simpler answer? This is a sandboxy, mystery adventure in a city. There are secretly a green and a blue dragon leading factions in the city. In Cold Blood was updated to D&D 3.5 for the AEG adventure compilation 'Adventure II'
Through acrid mists and bitter waters they march. They are quiet, making no sound as they leave the marshland. Spears held high, the warriors scan the fog for signs of the attacker. Every step took them further from their old lands. Every step brings them closer to the lands of their 'allies,' who had abandoned them when teh marsh turned black and foul. Every step churns up more of the poisoned water as it seeps between their scales and below the skin. So many had already died on this march, and after the attack, they had so few left... The mists part in the night. The village's light bathes them in a false welcome. The human guards are unsteady, either from poison or drink. The town celebrates the end of the trade season, but not a man raises a toast to the creatures that died for it. So many had died from the first attack of the beast and from the aftermath, but the humans would suffer for such treachery...
"Deeptown lies in the shadow of mountains, a town where anything is for sale if you can only meet the price. But in the wild surrounding valleys of the Deeps, it's the bandits who make the darkest deals - and their ambition comes at a cost far greater than the contents of any wayward caravan. You and your team have just been handed a new job: disrupt a meeting between a bandit lord and his mysterious new allies. At a remote mountain villa, you will strike hard and fast and leave terror in your wake. They give you the tools. You provide the talent. Survive, and you'll be well rewarded. Fail, and you'll pay the price. You've got three days to raise some hell." This was one of the first third party adventures under the OGL for 3rd edition published by Atlas Games under the Penumbra line. The attack on the mansion is not a dungeon crawl, but feels like a commando raid aided by some unique magic items.