"For untold eons, Eshebala ruled over Vulgarea, the 193rd Layer of the Abyss...content to revel in hedonism, corrupt the hearts of her dwindling followers and inflict petty cruelty. Yet, if there are days in the Abyss, there came one when she realized she despised her own province. She hated demonkind. She hated the Abyss. It had become unbearably tedious, spent...done. The burgeoning goddess decided she would dip her toe back into the lives of mortals, and quest to remember...to understand her own existence...But that was a lofty goal for a mind that had long ago begun to unravel. Instead...She is learning that all she has left is cruelty...and it was always cruelty that gave her power, so she now believes, to the woe of any who cross her path." Partly inspired by a scant notation by Carl Sargeant in 1992's TSR book Monster Mythology: "Eshebala is the foxwoman deity of vanity, charm, greed, and cunning. Her symbol is a female fox. Eshebala appears as a foxwoman, a shapely fur-covered female with a fox’s head, or as a beautiful young elf maiden. She is bedecked in rich clothing and jewels, and carries a silver mirror. Eshebala’s realm of Vulgarea can be found on the 193rd layer of the Abyss. She is wily and vain. She favors beautiful things and collects jewelry and art, the tackier and flashier the better. She prefers to overcome her opponents using subtlety rather than force, seducing and devouring out of boredom. She loves gossip, and always insists on being the center of attention. Eshebala is a patron of evil shapeshifters who use their wits and wiles before resorting to violence." Eshebala is a true chaotic evil demon goddess, behaving 100% true to form, and an extremely challenging opponent to take down for your players. An unforgettable 262 page jaunt for Levels: 15-17, with multiple possible modes of play, including Party Mode for up to 12 players. Profusely and paintstakingly illustrated over the course of several years by an award-winning professional illustrator. No stock illustration in this beast! A loving, dark & insanely detailed exploration of the 193rd Abyssal Plane An exuberant nod to the most grueling, deadly dungeons ever created Rich encounters that play out in a unique way each time 100 + NEW CREATURES 200 + NEW TREASURES (& possibly the most illustrated treasury ever provided) 82 BOOKS for PCs to discover 70 + NEW SPELLS & RITUALS, INCLUDING DETAILED OPTIONS FOR DEMON SUMMONING 50 + NEW TRAPS, HAZARDS & EFFECTS (guaranteed to run amuck) 4 RANDOM TREASURE TABLES, including a TABLE OF GEMSTONES that would be useful in any campaign 2 NEW CLASS SHIFTS: the Demonologist & the Exorcist!
Far above the village of Barovia sits Castle Ravenloft, the home and fortress of vampire lord Strahd Von Zarovich. Legends claim that Strahd flies with the bats and runs with the wolves to terrorize the countryside. Ancient tales also tell of dungeons and catacombs deep under the castle. Other stories recall the great halls, treasures, and glory of Ravenloft in centuries past. "House of Strahd" is a revision of the classic gothic horror tale I6: Ravenloft, one of the most popular adventures ever produced for the AD&D game. This version is updated for the AD&D 2nd Edition rules, and those from the Ravenloft campaign set. Count Strahd is now more powerful, and his castle is even more terrifying! TSR 9418
"A spiteful ghost haunts an abandoned courthouse in the metropolis of Absalom, and on the ten-year anniversary of a grave injustice it seeks its revenge. The heroes must unravel the mystery of the ghost’s demise before they too are given a guilty verdict and sent to the gallows." This adventure is different from many others in that it progress according to 1 hour increments, rather than according to the player's exploration. The party is trapped in an old courtroom, trying to solve a decade old murder. Though one of the villains is listed as a "revenant," this is primarily due to the thematic similarity. The actual undead antagonist is a unique type called a "croaker," which bears a similarity in that it is driven by vengeance.
The Frozen Necromancer is a three-part adventure for Fifth Edition that takes player characters from levels 1 to 4. This adventure is the first in a storyline of four modules called The Demonplague that can be used as an entire campaign that takes characters from level 1 to 20. The entire adventure (or just pieces, characters, or encounters from The Frozen Necromancer) can be dropped into any fantasy setting with minimal changes
“Strahd isn’t a villain who remains out of sight until the final scene. He travels as he desires to any place in his realm, and the more often he encounters the characters, the better. The characters can and should meet him multiple times before the final encounter…” -- Curse of Strahd What secret lies hidden in the village of Aracos that draws the devil Strahd von Zarovich? It is ancient, reaching all the way back to the days before Strahd became a vampire, before Barovia was torn from the mortal realm and cast into the Demiplane of Dread. The Song of Aracos is an adventure for the Dungeons and Dragons 5e Roleplaying Game. The module is optimized for five characters of 6th-level and is intended to be used in conjunction with the Curse of Strahd hardcover adventure by Wizards of the Coast. In The Song of Aracos, your player’s characters come face-to-face with Strahd as the vampire struggles to understand the compulsion pulling him to the village of Aracos. Whether they choose to help, or stand in his way, depends on them, and the fates.
The baron’s wife is dead. But she isn’t gone. Can the players lay her to rest and defeat the festering evil hidden away inside the Gilded Tower? Another thrilling tale of madness and mystery inspired by Edgar Allan Poe’s writing! Following the events of Masque of the Worms, the story continues into the hauntingly beautiful forests of the Painted Valley… Valley of the Gilded Tower is a one-shot for four to six 2nd-level characters. It takes about 2-3 hours to complete and includes: Events inspired by Edgar Allan Poe's most ethereal writing: -A new monster that can take over the minds of its victims -Combat cards for each monster, PC, and special treasure -Gorgeous, hand-drawn maps by Jake from Beware the Wizard
For months, the dreams of the people of Emystrell have become dark and terrible. It seems their nightmares have come to life as in recent weeks, people have mysteriously gone missing, vanishing in the night without a trace! Everyone is too paralyzed by their own despair to do anything or venture far from the safety of their homes. Emystrell is on the brink of collapse. The baron is offering a handsome reward to anyone who can show proof of the end of whatever evil curse that has taken hold of their town. This adventure is designed for a party of 3-5 heroic characters from the 2nd to 3rd level. It has elements of mystery and investigation in the first section which can be detailed and highly involved for groups that enjoy the process of searching for clues and solving mysteries or just as easily glossed over for groups that are more tactics focused. The second section of the adventure features the dungeon: a labyrinthine complex of an ancient elven crypt which the thieves guild has used as a base of operations for a decade...until the serpent worshipping cult arrived. The third section of this book is the detailed map and notes on the town and surrounding area of Emystrell. Roleplaying notes are kept light to allow for room for your own interpretations and details to NPCs remain as free to do with as you choose unless I felt inspired and hoped to give you a cool idea. This adventure has hooks for Dungeon Masters interested in a larger campaign involving the sinister plots of the Yuan-Ti (snake people) as well as other interesting adventure hooks (such as the giants in the nearby mountains or the stolen gem: The Eye of the Dragon). These plot points are intentionally left vague for you to fill in the gaps based on what your players seem interested in. You are invited to use this as a launch point adventure to lead your heroes on a larger adventure that might someday set them against an Anathema Serpent demigod, or it may simply be the adventure that begins their journeys and the evil of Yargoth stops here at Emystrell. If your campaign is set in a pre-published setting, this town of Emystrell can be replaced or fit into any campaign with a few tweaks to local gods and names. If you are playing in Dragonlance, you could replace Yargoth the Dread Serpent with Tiamat, or Dendar in Fearun. The local goddess, Tyr, could be the Tyr from the Forgotten Realms or even Norse myth if that is your campaign setting.
NEVER MEET FORGOTTEN HEROES! Long ago a half-elf, half deer-centaur named Jayne led a small guerilla band against the armies of an evil fae witch. They prevailed at terrible cost. Monsters moved into her hideout-turned-sepulchre, still haunted by Jayne’s ennemies and companions, and a ghost longing to complete his vengeance... Adventurers will discover the fates and true faces of unremembered heres. Will they get out with forgotten riches, or become the latest victims of a centuries-old tragedy? A 39-room OSR dungeon module for character levels 5-7. Designed for use with the Old-School Essentials ruleset, compatible with most old-school pen-and-paper RPGs.
A small adventure that can be used as part of a larger campaign or run as a one shot for 3-4 Tier I or II characters. A small urban adventure set in Waterdeep with various hooks to extend beyond this adventure. A character needs to repay the debts he accumulated in life, but now his family isn’t so keen to just let someone take what they are owed. This family may have more sinister secrets that they wish to keep hidden.
Far from the nearest town, hidden deep in the forest, lies a marshy, boggy valley. Woodsmen and hunters shun the place—kept away by rumours of a terrible beast lairing within and of a ghost haunting the valley’s boggy mere. But, as well as great danger, treasures magical and mundane may yet lie unclaimed in the valley for three unexplored tombs built by ancient hands, stand amid the mud and reeds. Dare you explore the Shunned Valley of the Three Tombs?
The mists have led you deep into Glumpen Swamp to a den of great evil. Within, the unliving son of an unliving god awaits the peace of death that eternally eludes him. Will you grant him his rest, or realize the part he is to play in things to come? Part Seven of Misty Fortunes and Absent Hearts.
Far in the future, bards sing tales of kings and conquerors from ages past - but from your present. The Hero-Kings of legend are your player characters from your campaign, who even now shape the course of Cerilian history. More than simply an adventure collection, this 160-page book enables you, the Dungeon Master, to turn ordinary domain actions into oppurtunites for heroic exploits. Each of the eleven "legends" set forth here is based on a different random event from the BIRTHRIGHT Rulebook. Don't allow a mere die roll to decide the outcome of a blood challenge, rebellion, intrigue, or magical event - make the PCs forge their own destinies by confronting a madman who is "Blood Hungry," wresting the "Fang of Kriesha" from its evil wielder's grasp, thwarting a rival regent's "Double Dealing," and saving all of Cerilia from "The Gift of Azrai." These adventures are suitable for PCs of all levels and classes - wheter regents, scions, or commoners - and can take place wherever you campaign is set. This book also includes an appendix that offers advice for running different types of BIRTHRIGHT campaigns and creating your own adventures fit for a king. TSR 3125
On the border between Anuire and the land of the Khinasi, the Three Brother Mages fight an ancient and immortal awnshegh, the Chimera. The game of cat and mouse has recently begun to draw regents from the entire region. Rumors say that the blade of the last Anuirean emperor, the Sword of Roele, has been tracked to the Chimera's domain, the Chimaeron. The fact that the Gorgon's armies are mustering in Kiergard seems to support the rumor. But choosing sides between the Chimera and the Three Brothers is not easy matter. If the chimera drives the Brothers out, the trade routes through the Chimaeron may be sealed, leaving the seas free for the Khinasi to monopolize trade. If the Brothers drive the Chimera from the magical sources that give her strength, they may establish a beachhead for the Khinasi traders, who are slowly gobbling up the lands of Anuire just as their own lands were once annexed by the empire long ago. Who will you and your comrades ally yourselves with? Who is the true enemy? Can you recover the Sword of Roele before anyone else does, and lay claim to the Iron Throne? This Birthright adventure is suitable for use with any party of three to six characters of levels 5-8, including at least one regent. You must have a copy of the AD&D game rules, the Birthright campaign setting, and the Cities of the Sun campaign expansion to play. TSR 3118
The Haunted Hamlet and other hexes details four unique modular locations for your game. Made for old school essentials, but can easily be used with other old-school systems or even 5E. The four locations detailed in the zine focus on gameable content and being easy to use at the table. The locations are not connected to one another and can be sprinkled onto your campaign map however you like, or run as one shots. The PDF is graphic and art heavy and utilizes random tables and other tools to make it easier for GMs to run in a pinch. Details: 40 pages Single column text 8.5 x 5.5 aspect Black & White Bookmarks Four hex locations Random tables A rival NPC party A sky merchant A one page town Two hirelings
A handful of would-be adventurers gathers to explore an ancient tomb, eager to trade their discoveries for a ticket to a better life. What they find within presages the advent of the Age of Worms, an era of darkness, decay, and writhing doom. "The Whispering Cairn" is the first 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. Pgs. 14-47
Two common elements mixed together create deadly peril. The last dungeon that many heroes will ever see. This dungeon crawl was based on the original S1 Tomb of Horrors. This is not an adventure for neophyte adventurers. Many traps, puzzles, and monsters exist to kill the party. However, the treasure of the mud sorcerers may be too tempting to pass by! Pgs. 50-70
Deep beneath the Isle of Dread, in a place forgotten by the world of light, an ancient, unfathomable evil festers. Within the desiccated ruin known as Golsimorga, the debased kopru servants of Demogorgon work foul rites, steeping immature shadow pearls in pits of liquid insanity. None from the world above have yet fathomed what terrors lurk beneath the Isle of Dread, nor what mad scheme roils to profane life deep within the city's gangrenous corpse. "The Lightless Depths" is the sixth 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 #353 of Dragon features ways to improve the PCs' vessel, the Sea Wyvern, as they take their adventures back to the seas. When the PCs journey deep under the Isle of Dread to find the source of the shadow pearls, they discover horrors beyond imagining in a haunted underground city perched on sanity's razored edge. Pgs. 28-66
To Kill A King Death to King Ovar the tyrant! Life to law and order! Four characters are charged with a mission so insane, so daring, that terming it an assassination does not do it justice. Are the four volunteers who would lay low King Ovar killers or heroes? If murderers, how are they better than the madman theyre assigned to kill? And even if they are mere assassins, are they determined enough to overcome the Maze of Zayene? Snared in the Wizards Web
The PCs are called on to assist in retrieving the legendary Scrolls of Thoth on behalf of Khemet III, the Ruby Prince of Osirion. Along the way, they discover the ultimate fate of the ancient Song Pharoah -- and potentially assist her in her journey through the Duat, the final series of tests that a Pharaoh must face in the afterlife. It was designed as a one-shot lasting approximately 5-6 hours, but could be run as a side-quest in the Mummy's Mask adventure path. See the site for notes on adjustments to make if you are using it in that way. It includes maps, handouts, stat blocks for all of the NPCs, and Hero Lab files for Hero Lab users. Because the adventure is born digital, the page count is a rough estimate based on print previewing the pages in the site. There is no source of a printed copy other than printing one yourself (which you are welcome to do). This adventure has not been published, and is made available under the terms of the Paizo Community Use License.
Rising from the surface of a massive lake, an ancient ziggurat travels through time for purposes unknown. It’s up to the characters to enter this strange relic and discover what dark threat the structure poses. The Ziggurat Beyond Time contains advice for customizing the adventure for your own campaign. It also contains an artifact, the Deluvian Hourglass, that has time-related properties and wishes to witness the end of the world. Pgs. 23-55