In the frozen depths of winter, murderous winds mercilessly batter the crumbling Priory of Cymer. Within, trapped by their duty and the heaped snowdrifts that render travel near impossible, the few remaining faithful huddle together and tend the sacred places of their forbears. With the weather worsening, nerves fray and tempers snap as the wind howls its mournful dirge for the forgotten dead of a fallen time. But the worst is yet to come. One of those trapped within holds a murderous grudge that only blood can expunge and as the storm reaches its savage height terrible revenge is wrought amid the frigid halls and faded glories of a bygone age. A 1st level adventure that is so much more than a trip to stop goblins killing cows. Great NPCs and a great location gives this the feel of The Name Of The Rose.
Akeni was born a servant to a powerful drow family deep underground, but her personality was anything but servile. When she was caught in an affair with the house matron's mate, she killed the matron and her own paramour and fled, eventually stumbling into the lair of a powerful beholder mage named Ormathulak. Akeni knew immediately that the creature was just the ally she needed to wipe out her hated family. Pgs. 56-60
Ever wanted to face the cold, dark, and dangerous unknown without the advantages of a fantasy hero? This is your chance! Fifth Edition Funnel puts a spin on character creation. In the Funnel, each participating player quickly generates several 0-level characters blessed with the abilities and low survivability of your average commoner. Those that survive will be promoted to 1st-level heroines and heroes. The Funnel bonds characters over common challenges they meet and (hopefully) overcome. The surviving 1st-level characters share a common origin as adventurers. Instead of merely rolling dice, there is a trial by fire where average people succeed against the odds to do something heroic (or hide under a table in a tavern).
Why would a town refuse to be rescued? A highland town faces a greater danger than can be imagined - and no one wants your help against it. In a remote village in the desolate north, a spate of murders and kidnappings has the town on edge. A woman named Gwendolyn goes missing and it is suspected that Albee is the perpetrator. However there is a conspiracy in the village that the heroes must unravel, to which they discover is actually the sinister plot of a devil worshiping cult. Pgs. 33-43
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 town of Somber Hill is a quiet settlement in the foothills of a mountain range. A few days travel from the nearest city, the people of Somber Hill are a humble and self-reliant bunch. Unbeknownst to its people, the small town hides a sinister secret, some of the residents of Somber Hill belong to a cult that worships a long dead entity. Known only as The Dark One by their followers, this ancient being once called Old Somber Hill home. Their dark master is entombed in the catacombs beneath the town, and the cult hopes to resurrect their master with a blood sacrifice. The Crypt of Somber Hill is a Setting Neutral adventure and thus can be easily included in any existing story-line with minor alterations and adjustments or outright slotted into any existing campaign setting.
In this prelude to the full Princes of the Apocalypse campaign book, adventurers face off against the influence of Elemental Cultists in the hills and canyons of the Dessarin Valley. The four mini-adventures within are only tangentially related to each-other, and instead serve as starting points and hooks for the plots of the complete Princes of the Apocalypse Campaign. Players start in the well-described town of Red Larch; first investigating a local necromancer, then uncovering cult influences within the town, and finally heading off to infiltrate or do battle with two small elemental cultist strongholds. All parts of this adventure can serve as great places to seed hooks for other campaigns.
When a series of grisly murders and raids on farms and fishing boats come to light, accompanied by a strange fog, the people of Elmwood need heroes to investigate and stop the attacks. There is hardly anyone in the Moonsea who’s life hasn’t been touched by one of the tragedies over the past years, and these attacks may have deeper causes than anyone knows. Part of the Elmwood Adventures Series
Reavers of Harkenwold pits the heroes against the Iron Circle, a company of cruel mercenaries that has seized control of the small land of Harkenwold. In this adventure, the heroes become daring rebels and lead the folk of Harkenwold against their oppressors.
Kravenghast Necropolis is hidden in a valley that was formerly part of a now dead city. It consists of a small cemetery that sits atop an abandoned necromancer's laboratory. The necropolis has been refitted as a temple to Vecna, the undead God of secrets. The mausoleum in the cemetery contains a secret spiral staircase that leads to the underground laboratory. The temple is populated by a twisted cult of Vecna, led by the lich-priest Mauthereign. Pgs. 96-103
It has been years since the last virgin was sacrificed: and now the pit beast awakens once more! Every generation it stumbles forth on undulating tentacles from its resting place deep below the great ravine, its towering blubbery mass ravaging the land before returning to slumber for decades. But this time is different. The Great Beast strikes with intelligence: bands of faceless gray-robed men emerge from the tenebrous depths, herding the beast’s roaming tentacles before them. The enigmatic people of the pit live despite the passage of ages! The earth shakes each night as they herd the primordial tentacles ever further, while the villagers ask: is any man brave enough to put the sword to this menace?
Life on the Moonsea isn't easy. Bandits, pirates, and cruel lords dominate the land, threatening those who make an honest living there. Now, a new scourge is prowling the waters: A ghost ship has been striking small coastal villages, leaving its victims whispering about the "eye of the dracolich."
Into Wonderland is a book detailing an adventure in the Feywild, a setting for Dungeons and Dragons 5th Edition. This book provides player options, encounters, variant rules, and a campaign of expeditions into the unknown centred around the city of Endercoast that has been spirited away from the Material Plane. To survive, you'll need to balance the needs of the displaced city with the mercurial whims of four powerful archfey. What's Included? - Endercoast, a city plucked from its roots and replanted in the Feywild - Quirks of the Feywild, including four powerful archfey, a guide for creating new archfey, rules for travel using emotional truth instead of maps, chaotic seasonal and magical effects, pranks, consequences for getting lost, and 14 weird stops along the way - New races - New subclasses - New backgrounds - New feats - New spells - Fantastical questlines taking a party through the courts of the archfey and on magical journeys inspired by the fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm - A whole heap of chaotic encounters with strange fey creatures - Dozens of new monsters, including 8 ancient beasts, 3 dangerous plants, 4 extremely powerful archfey, a bunch of NPCs based on the new subclasses of the book, creepy new fey like the darkwood stalker and the time vulture, a powerful hag, and more
Marek the Stalwart, Paladin of the Knights of the Eternal order has stolen a powerful magical artifact. Fleeing the order’s keep he has left several slain paladins of the order in his wake. Our adventurers have been charged with returning Marek, preferably alive, and the artifact to the Knights of the Eternal Order so he can face trial for his crimes This adventure is designed for 4-6 characters of level 4-5. I would love to hear any feedback you have after looking over/running the adventure. Cover art provided by Marco Ortiz https://www.facebook.com/marcosartcommissions/
Men always seek the blood of monsters. Some spill it to avenge their massacred families. Others swim through an ocean of gore to find treasures worth the envy of kings. A few know blood can be a priceless treasure in and of itself. Alchemy has long used the lifeblood of monstrosities as arcane fuel, and of all the legendary beasts, the blood of the gorgon holds the most secrets. Few know the blood's darkest lore, its ability to draw out the monster within every soul. Those who drink gorgon's blood are forever changed, and the darkest horrors of their mind unleashed. The heroes hunt a deadly murderer who stalks the streets of the Free City of Zobeck after nightfall, and cross blades with a guild of monsters who rule the city from below. Lucky heroes might risk no more than their lives. Unlucky heroes must wager their souls in a game where monsters and men dance close enough to share their blood and their fate.
The duchy of Velen is a bastion of law and order in an otherwise untamed land. Its ruler, Duke Calchais, holds his citizens and visitors to his city to a high standard of conduct. When Velen's harbormaster is murdered, the duke enlists the aid of adventurers to see that justice is served. Was the harbormaster a victim of larceny gone awry, or is something more sinister afoot in Velen? Murder in Velen is a 4-hour standalone adventure set in and around the port city of Velen, which is located in the peninsula nation of the same name in southwestern Faerûn. Velen is designed for a party of five 10th-level player characters, but it can easily be scaled by adding or removing creatures.
A terrible thunderstorm batters a seaside port, yet thunder and lightning are nothing compared to what is about to be unleashed by the diabolic crew of the Rabid Dawn. Casters with access to control water, control weather, or control winds will prove especially valuable, as will characters with strong Swim skills. The adventure is best suited to a predominantly good or neutral aligned party of PC's. Strike on the Rabid Dawn takes place in the port city of Hardby (Dungeon #109). As most of the action takes place within a lighthouse and on a ship at sea, however, any suitable port from your campaign makes an appropriate substitution for Hardby. Pgs. 12-32
The infamous Scorpion Prince ruled his domain centuries ago, but the lands are still desolate, a testament to his poisonous influence. His terrified subjects rejoiced in his death but also feared he would return if not interred properly. To ensure the prince's happiness in the afterlife and his tomb's security, his people erected a great monument and created trap-filled chambers to house and protect his body and his wealth.
A nest of vampires has claimed a dark forest and the surrounding human towns as its domain. Some of the local residents revere the vampires and serve as daylight guardians and spies. However, most of the townsfolk live in a state of dread. Those townsfolk have finally scavenged enough valuables to hire a band of adventurers to destroy the nest. Pgs. 66-71
The Cult of the Dragon leads the charge in an unholy crusade to bring Tiamat back to the Realms, and the situation grows more perilous for good people with each passing moment. The battle becomes increasingly political as opportunities to gather allies and gain advantage present themselves, all centered in Waterdeep. Continuation of Hoard of the Dragon Queen.