Follow a crazy halfling into a vampire’s castle. Kingdom in the Swamp is an AD&D adventure for higher-level characters; 6th to 9th level would be suitable. While it is necessary to have strong combatant characters and at least one cleric, it is more important that the players be ready to find solutions beyond the sword or spell book. Adventure Background A few days ago, Candor Pletten, a halfling thief known more for his urban exploits, returned from a journey to the southern jungles and rain forests (or so he says). Few people have believed him in the past -- usually they have been too busy taking inventory of their possessions to even listen to him — but some are guessing that he may actually be telling the truth (certainly, he’s got a good story). Candor left town a couple of months ago with some other adventurers, but has come back alone. Most tavern patrons are of the opinion that he took his companions’ purses and ran, but why would he come back to town? And why, then, aren’t his former companions hot on his trail? Candor may be a thief, but he’s not a murderer. He even gets nauseated by cockfighting. Maybe the halfling's tale is worth hearing...
Few are the wizards that seek to prolong their lives with dark rituals and foul magic to become the powerful undead beings called liches. But far fewer are those that seek to undo what necromancy what done and take back their lives after initiation to lichdom. Balipur is one of those few. Turned to a vassalich by the darklord Azalin against his will for impersonating him, Balipur, after Azalin's departure at the destruction of Il Aluk, seeks to imitate his former master's Grim Harvest project, inverted, in a smaller scale to forge a soul from the lives of other men.
Riddled with veins of precious ore and gem, the Earthspur Mountains to the west have long been a valuable resource for anyone able to mine them. One such mine has gone silent and the only thing more concerning than its long overdue shipment is the fate of the members of the Soldiery sent to discover what has happened to the mine’s workers. Though the mine lay in a region of the Mountains once claimed by a clan of reclusive dwarves, the Ludwakazar clan wouldn’t be so bold as to violate their long-standing peace with Mulmaster. Or would they?
The hidden masters of the Ebon Triad have something special planned for the culmination of the Champion’s Games: a foul ritual designed to transform the arena into a stage of enormous carnage to honor their dark overgod. To stop them, the PCs must explore the dark complex of the arena’s master, and destroy his pet monster before it’s too late. An Age of Worms Adventure Path Adventure for 9th level characters. "The Champion's Belt" is the fifth installment of the Age of Worms Adventure Path, a complete campaign consisting of 12 adventures, several "Backdrop" articles to help Dungeon masters run the series, and a handful of poster maps of key locations. For additional aid in running this campaign, check out Dragon's monthly "Worm Food" articles, a series that provides additional materials to help players survive this campaign. Check out issue #337 of Dragon for guidelines on what they can purchase in the Free City. Pgs. 30-62
Designed for a party of five characters of at least 9th level, this adventure will challenge players seeking a powerful magic item of the GM’s choosing. A sphere of annihilation has been provided and is woven into several elements of the adventure, but any appropriately powerful item can be substituted if something else suits your campaign better. Though the adventure is designed to test every type of character class, a rogue who can deal with traps is essential, as is a wizard or sorcerer of at least 9th level. Larger groups will have an easier time; parties of four or fewer characters will be in for a very bad time unless you mitigate some of the tower’s more lethal traps and encounters. This adventure culminates in an encounter with devils and a sphere of annihilation. The sphere of annihilation is hidden deep within the tower-and-dungeon complex of Crane the Sorcerer. Originally set atop a high mountain in a secluded and wild part of the world, the tower and dungeon can be relocated to meet the situation in your campign. Crane, an introvert, stayed as far away from civilization as possible, as is detailed below. The tower above the dungeon doesn’t present many difficulties for a group of powerful characters or alert players. It might lull PCs into a false sense of security before they enter the areas where they’ll really be put to the test.
There is no particular overarching story here, just a prospect gate keep dungeon you can drop into your own sandbox and run as you see fit. This adventure is formatted to both 1E & 5E gaming rules.
*THIS IS A D&D NEXT/5E PLAYTEST ADVENTURE* Imani, a Turmishan wizard and former adventurer, seeks the aid of heroes to infiltrate Dretchroyaster’s lair and recover the Diamond Staff of Chomylla—the key to powerful magic and wisdom locked away for thousands of years. In addition to his own sagely interest in the lore of lost Uvaeren, Imani recognizes the dangers of such powerful magic falling into evil hands. The dracolich has secured the staff in his lair’s cen- tral chamber, using ancient wards of protection that can be bypassed only by four artifact-idols once belong- ing to a cult of Bhaal. Each group of adventurers enters the dungeon through a different section of the dun- geon—a forgotten temple of Bhaal, a vast underground lake, a troglodyte village, or Dretchroyaster’s vaults. Dretchroyaster’s lair is no simple set of caverns and ancient ruins. It sits atop a source of great power and energy, which the dracolich and his Cult of the Dragon allies hope to use to unlock the secrets of the staff. Only by undertaking a unified assault against Dretchroyas- ter’s lair can the adventurers hope to recover the Diamond Staff and survive the dracolich’s fury. The adventurers must make their way through the lair and recover the Bhaalite idols that will help unlock the Diamond Staff, all the while dealing with the lair’s creatures and avoiding the dracolich as he pur- sues intruders. Entering the Chamber of the Diamond Staff, the heroes must overcome its magical wards and claim the staff before being slain by the dracolich and his servants.
A storm of unparalleled fury has been ravaging the peaks of the Earthspur Mountains for a tenday, and the Monastery of the Yellow Rose sits in its eye for now. Some monks have fled the monastery to the safety of Mulmaster and beseech you to convince their more obstinate brothers to retreat to the city before the eye of the storm shifts, and the monestary is in terrible danger. Can you brave the elements and convince the monks to escape?
An omnious encounter with a fortuneteller sends a party of adventurers on a 200-mile journey across the Lands of Intrigue. While traveling throught the towns and terrain (detailed here for the first time) that lie in their path, they hear rumors and obtain clues about their mission. Their ultimate destination is Castle Spulzeer, a once proud stronghold that has become a den of terror. When the heroes enter the haunted keep, they meet a terrifying trio of residents: a madman armed with stolen magical power, a liche whose secret laboratory houses untold horrors and treasure, and a furious ghost bent on revenge. These three ensnare the party in their fight over an ancient weapon. Each will stop at nothing to keep it from the other two. The heroes must choose with whom they will ally - and the wrong choice could lead to their doom. Castle Spulzeer is an adventure complete in itself. However, as a crossover story, it offers every Dungeon Master a choice between two endings. The first leaves the party in the Realms. The second transports the characters to the Demiplane of Dread, where the plot continues in the Ravenloft adventure The Forgotten Terror. For 4 to 6 Characters of Levels 8-12 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 Castle Spulzeer, originally available in hard-copy and now for sale in digital format on the DMs Guild. Visit Classicmodulestoday.com for instructions on creating your own classic module conversions and selling them on the DMs Guild. Castle Spulzeer was originally scheduled for publication by TSR in June 1997. Then, near-bankruptcy caused a total failure of TSR's schedule, resulting in no books being published from February through the very end of July. Some books would be delayed for over a year, and others would disappear altogether, but Castle Spulzeer was relatively lucky: it was just delayed four months, until October 1997. The reason may well have been its theming, and its crossover with the Ravenloft line, which made Castle Spulzeer a great Halloween release. Castle Spulzeer has an even more far-reaching connection: its ending can lead players to the demiplane of Ravenloft and The Forgotten Terror adventure. This was probably intended as a bit of advertising for Domains of Dread (1997), the third edition of Ravenloft which was released in August 1997. In other words: in their last days, TSR was working very hard to cross-market their products, but they didn't live long enough to see the success of the Spulzeer-Intrigue-Dread connection.
In Heart of Nightfang Spire, the player characters are drawn to investigate Nightfang Spire, a lonely stone tower in a barren land. The vampire lord Gulthias, servant of the great dragon Ashardalon, has returned to the tower which was once the main cult temple of Ashardalon. The vampire prepares for the dragon's return by awakening the other cultists who had preserved themselves as undead creatures. Gulthias is a vampire and a level 13 wizard.
A haunted house, a missing person, and a hint of wild fey magic. In the kingdom of Norland in the Moonshae Isles, King Keethan rules by the will of Torm the True, though in Glen Dourn folk still hold true to the old ways—a dense and layered folklore of monsters and tales to frighten children. It is to this remote valley that Keethan bids you make haste to seek out signs of his beloved cousin, Lady Sorcha Hannigard. Sorcha vanished on her wedding day three years ago, sending her groom and neighbours alike into mourning. But where can she have gone? The only remaining clues to this mystery lie in her abandoned mansion home, where powers less wholesome have now taken up residence. The Dread Coven will not give up what they know so easily, although they will strike a bargain if you’re willing to pay the price in pain.
The colony of Farshore has survived on its own for years, a secluded and struggling hamlet perched on the western shore of the tiny island of Temute. An island dwarfed by the savage landscape across the narrow channel to the north, a landscape of rugged mountains, tangled jungles, and trackless swamps. This is the Isle of Dread, and its resources and hidden treasures are matched only by its peril. Yet for all these dangers, what may bring doom to Farshore is not an invasion of inhuman monsters from the mainland, but an invasion of all-too-human monsters from across the sea. "Tides of Dread" is the fifth 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 #352 of Dragon magazine features rumors of Farshore, a helpful list of improvements the PCs can make to the colony, and other features to help get PCs oriented in their new home on the Isle of Dread. The destruction of a pirate ship signals the beginning of a Crimson Fleet invasion. The PCs must race against time to prepare for the onslaught before an old enemy can release another savage tide. Pgs. 28-59 Also see Pgs. 60-71 Backdrop: Farshore City of Hope.
Uncover a world of adventure and claim your fortune in Pathfinder Online: Thornkeep! This detailed sourcebook contains everything a GM needs to run adventures in and around the dastardly town of Thornkeep, as well as several deadly dungeon levels and a sneak peek at the upcoming massively multiplayer online game Pathfinder Online.
A series of small earthquakes have brought a sense of disquiet to the town of Daern Kelton and Roslof Keep. Against these strange earthly portents, the members of the Ivory Scimitar have claimed their place as a true Mithel Company, but even greater danger now awaits them in the second level of the Dungeon of the Black Fey Mithelvarn. What lost secrets will be revealed as they journey below? What new threats and adventures can be had in Daern Kelton? The town opens its doors to the brave new heroes of the Company of the Ivory Scimitar. Here continues the Roslof Keep Campaign in the pages of ROS2, The Tremors in the Machine. This adventure is formatted to both 1E & 5E gaming rules. Also available in PDF.
A traditional "funhouse" dungeon, White Plume Mountain begins with the archmage Keraptis stealing three artifacts and leaving cryptic poems with their former owners. The players are hired to recover the items, and find a bizarre dungeon in the side of the eponymous volcano. TSR 9027
The End of the World Is at Hand! A hideous death cult has seized control of an ancient artifact-monument known as Tovag Baragu. The power behind the cult is the Old One himself, Iuz the Evil, demonic master of an empire. He's on an all-or-nothing quest for supremacy over the world—and the heavens beyond. To stop him, heroes must face horrors never dreamed of, journeying to a shadowed city where Death rules and the living cower. Here, Iuz will achieve his mad dream by destroying the imprisoned master of that alien citadel: Vecna, the mightiest lich, an immortal demigod. Two items exist with the power to stop Iuz—the Eye and the Hand of Vecna—but using them carries fantastic risks. Not even the gods know what will be unleashed when these items are fully activated. Die Vecna Die! takes the heroes from the Greyhawk campaign to the demiplane of Ravenloft and then to the Planescape city of Sigil. However, none of the material from those settings is required for play. TSR 11662
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.
The Haunt Unlock the secrets and drive back the evil from Montarthas Manor In ages past, an ancient town was lost and destroyed to a seige of orcs. Only one building survived and to this day, the manor is the only still standing building to be seen for miles around. Some say it is haunted, a few whisper of great treasures within, whilst others whisper that it is the manor itself that lives! No one knows for sure, only that a great evil haunts its halls. Do you dare enter Montarthas Manor? Published by P.B. Publishing
In the Tower of Yladhra the Grim, a party of adventurers braves the dangers and puzzles of an enchanted wizard's tower, and finally confronts the wizard herself. The adventure is designed for a party of five adventurers between levels five and eight. It features: Encounters by Level - Varying types and quantities of creatures are suggested based on the party's actual level, allowing each encounter to present the appropriate challenge to the party. Encounter Notes - Suggestions for how to run combats are provided for game masters who place an emphasis on engaging, tactical battles. Inciting Action - Suggestions for ways to present the adventure to players are provided. Aftermath - Ideas for future adventures based on this one. Unique Magic Items - New magic items to introduce into a campaign. Ease of Use - The format and style of the document allows the game master to find information quickly while running the game at the table. Detailed Maps - What's an adventure without maps? Not much else to say here.
The Rise of the Runelords Adventure Path continues! A sudden string of brutal killings terrorizes the town of Sandpoint, and the killer's mark bears a familiar shape. Investigation leads to the Lost Coast's most notorious haunted mansion, a dilapidated ruin that has become the lair of a monstrous murderer. Yet this killer is but one of many, a member of a group of fanatic cutthroats calling themselves the Skinsaw Men. To defeat the cult, the PCs must travel to the bustling city of Magnimar to unravel the sinister source of these murders before they become the Skinsaw Men's next victims!