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
Fresh-faced and more than a little hung-over our newly graduated mage of the great Dunromin College of Magic and his friends step into the tea-room next to the Porter’s Lodge and ask for something for a headache. Within minutes they find themselves accosted by the smiling figure of Malcolm Darkstar, Bursar of the College and owner of the tea-rooms, keen to ask them a favour… This is an introductory level set of scenarios designed to take a starting-level party on their first exciting adventures; The Lost Son; The Return of the Cauldron of Millent and the Murder at the Red Barn
The woodland surrounding the village of Turvin is becoming a dangerous place. Strange lights and sounds have been coming from deep in the forest, and now people from the village are starting to disappear. Some evil force is turning nature against mankind, and it's up to the PCs to put a stop to it. A D&D adventure for 4th-level characters.
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.
Caravan of Peril takes place on the unprotected roads and trails of the wilderness between cities. Merchants, pilgrims, and wanderers have long banded together in wagon caravans for safety when setting off into the wild -- yet a caravan is only as safe as its hired guards. There's plenty of coin to be had on the road for those with a swords (or spell book), a steady will, and a taste for adventure. This adventure begins assuming the characters have all signed on as caravan guards. Their motivation may be money, wanderlust, or a hasty need to get out of town. Whatever the case, payment is 25gp each, paid upon safe arrival in the next city. Along the way, the characters will brave the dangers of the wilds, make some unusual acquaintances, and be ambushed by crafty goblins.
Take your first exciting foray into D&D's newest campaign setting with a deadly exploit in Sharn, City of Towers. Descend into the ruined undercity to face the legacy of the daelkyr, aberrations from the evil plane of Xoriat, and come face to face with the Queen with Burning Eyes! Pgs. 16-32
This Digital Quarterly is built around a series of four micro-dungeons that can be used as an introduction to The Roslof Keep Campaign for characters just starting out. These dungeons should allow for a small group of players to not only become familiar with each other but also gain a level before taking up the banner of the Ivory Scimitar and entering Mithelvarn’s Labyrinth. As Roslof Keep is built around characters being asked to take up the Ivory Scimitar banner, it makes sense that they wouldn’t be completely ‘green’ and also might have gotten a bit of a reputation within Daern Kelton and Roslof Keep as trusted adventurers who are looking to help out the locals. This reputation can be used to bring The Folio: Digital Quarterly #6 the characters into the sights of House Aldenmier and, therefore, push characters into the campaign on a more realistic basis. It should also be noted that beginning Dungeon Level 1 with a level of experience is something that will be invaluable to the party and the early stages of the campaign. This adventure is formatted to both 1E & 5E gaming rules.
Things are not right at Du Sharid Manor. Months ago, a deranged parish priest and his most devout followers formed a heretical cult. These self-proclaimed “Seekers of the White Heart” chose the desolate Wild Hills to practice their secret rites; but the strange goings on at the Wild Hills did not escape the prying eyes of the more pious villagers who set out to confront the cultists. Once there, the villagers witnessed something terrifying and unexpected. Since the events of that night, the cultists have vanished, but the remaining serfs of Du Sharid now live in constant paranoia. Your party has been hired by the local bishop to to learn the truth about what happened at Du Sharid Manor. For use with Swords & Wizardry (or the like) and designed for the experienced Referee, Jewel of the Lunar Rift is a first-level campaign-starter and an introduction to the Messoria setting. Included as a bonus are campaign journals from the author's own sessions.
Your party has just spent the better part of the day travelling in dismal weather and you've just located an appropriate place to camp when, out of the drizzle filled sunset, the terrifying screams of a woman can be heard through the patter of rain through the trees. Great! You're cold, miserable, and now you have the moralistic compulsion to investigate and render assistance to a damsel in distress. What you don't realize is that morals and damsels always means more trouble than what you may be willing to pay. Will your party survive long enough to see the dawn through the Screams at Sunset?
The Goblins of Kaelnor Forest – Adventure This first level adventure takes the adventurers into the Kaelnor Forest. While the eastern side of the forest has long been the home of the forest elves, the western side is infested with goblins, boggarts, spiders, and more. The adventure takes players through the forest, investigating a rumor of raiding creatures. They begin in South Hollow, a farming community south of Ferryport proper, and will travel deep within the dark, enchanted woods. Are there supernatural creatures in the woods taking the farmers’ stores? Will they survive the strange fey forest? The adventure comes with 5 pre-made Uteria player characters, so players can jump right into the adventure.
Sometimes protecting the cargo is easy but getting the pay not so much. Work has been scarce, coin hard to come by, armor needs maintenance, weapons need to be sharpened and food is needed in the belly. Monsters on the road, on the other hand, are more and more common.
The rubble-strewn passageway twists and turns, winding ever deeper into the mountain, lower and lower into the bowels of the ancient, forbidding halls of long-dead dwarves. The torchlight flickers, threatening to succumb to the oppressive darkness. Creeping along one striated granite wall, Arikus the warrior moves cautiously toward the great cavern ahead, its sides and walls disappearing into the gloomy distance. Cocking his head to one side to listen, he holds his hand up for a moment, demanding unconditional quiet from from his companions. Then , his arm relaxing in relief, he waves everyone forward and moves into the open. Before him, scattered to the far walls of the enormous cavern, are piles upon piles of glittering treasure - coins from countless kingdoms, sparkling gems, exquisite jewelry, and items of wondrous power - enough for twenty kings' ransoms. Arikus laughs gleefully, thrusting both hands into the nearest cache of coins to let them runs through his fingers. At that moment, a monstrous shadow looms threateningly over him. Looking up, Arikus blanches and stumbles back in horror before the terrible visage of a Great Red Wyrm. The fearsome dragon opens its razor-filled maw and spews forth a gout of white-hot flame, engulfing the hapless warrior.... The ultimate Dungeon Master Fantasy! This is the most deluxe dungeon. Designed to appeal to discriminating and demanding role-players. Adventurers, beware. This is more than just a dragon hunt. Within the lair of the beast lie cruel and deadly traps, befuddling conundrums and puzzles, and cunning minions that will be the end of overconfident or careless adventurers. Comprised of three 64-page books, for two adventures that link to one super-campaign 12 full-color reference cards 16 special player handouts Eight Monstrous Compendium sheets A Sheet of cardstock standups with 24 plastic bases. Six full-color poster maps, two of which link together to make a giant tactical playing surface for use with miniatures or the included cardstock figures. TSR 1089
Farms in the hamlet of Winterton are being raided at night. Who, or what, is doing the raiding is a mystery. Animals have disappeared and now a visiting merchant has gone missing. The only clue is a blood drenched hat sitting in the snow along a stretch of road. Blood in the Snow is intended as a small side-adventure set in Winter, in a tiny village in the Bay of Spirits. A desperate clan of goblins are raiding the settlement and the player characters have been asked, or hired, to help. Published by Roan Studio
Strange doings are underfoot in the wild hills bordering the realm of decent and civilized folks. Villagers and cattle have gone missing; woodcutters have disappeared; misshapen beings have been seen shuffling through the forests. Some brave villagers have tracked a group of stolen oxen as far as the rocky banks of a small river in the hills. The trail disappeared down into a fissure in the limestone rock, where a fast-running stream plunges down to the dark caverns below. Gird your loins, stand behind the dwarf, and get ready to face The Pod-Caverns of the Sinister Shroom!
Step into the pixie village of Pleppil, a strange and enchanting place filled with a group of fey creatures whose society revolves around the accumulation of shiny objects. Every home in Pleppil is adorned with dozens, if not hundreds, of various objects that glimmer in the sunlight or glow by the light of the moon. The pixies frequently roam to nearby towns and roads to steal new shinies from unsuspecting townsfolk and travelers. While most pixies make their homes high up in the trees, similar in size and design to birdhouses used by some of the wealthier city folks, one pixie by the name of Quillen is left on the forest floor. When Quillen (or Quill as his friends call him) was young, he was attacked by a wizard when trying to scavenge a copper coin. He survived, but his wings were mangled and he lost the ability to fly. The damage was so great that no pixie healing magic could repair his poor wings. Quill is not one to give up hope on regaining his flight, however. On one of his recent travels with his trusty porcupine steed, Spike, he found a group of tall folk meandering through the forest. Always a curious pixie, Quill crept up close and did some eavesdropping. He heard them discussing a wonder called the Well of Wishes. This place is said to contain waters that can cure any ailment – hopefully even destroyed pixie wings! Now Quill seeks a group of adventurers who will join him on this exciting and potentially dangerous journey into the heart of the forest to find this Well of Wishes and finally regain his flight!
Those friendly dwarves were the first to go, the poor things. And now the beast has been killing and eating the people of Brandonsford. No-one wants to leave the town's walls. With the humans out of the forest, fairies have taken over, and now the goblin king Hogboon seeks to claim the entire forest as his new kingdom.
The ground-breaking introductory adventure for Dungeons & Dragons that served as a DM aid in the first D&D Basic Set, released by TSR in 1977. This set included a 48-page rulebook covering the first three levels of play, and was skillfully edited by Dr. J. Eric Holmes from the original 1974 D&D rules written by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. The original set included an exemplary dungeon level, but it was a loose collection of examples and not geared toward starting characters. Holmes advanced this concept by writing a new thematic dungeon with a strong backstory, creating an adventure that has remained a fan favorite over the decades. Officially, its only title is "Sample Dungeon" but colloquially it goes by various names based on Zenopus, the doomed wizard who built the dungeon under his tower
If the drought doesn't get you, the goblins will. The river has mysteriously run dry and the farmers' crops are in peril. Locals are convinced a nearby tribe of goblins are responsible, and have offered a reward to anyone brave enough to sort it out. While they were correct about the goblins causing the drought, they were wrong about the reason. The chief of the goblin tribe is an enthusiastic fisher and a particular fish, Salvel the Talking Trout has continually eluded him. This adventure has a humourous tone and emphasises role-playing and negotiating. Pgs. 8-21 & 49
A small local area with ten locations and a big wizard dungeon with 19 rooms. The module is based around some rules lite system exclusive to the module, but for obvious reasons can be run in the system of your choice with little modification. (Some best guess approximations have been made for the creatures for search optimization.) Official description: "This adventure is a work of PARODY based on “Caverns of Draconis,” featured in Season 2, Episode 14 of NBC's TV series, “Community.” THIS IS NOT A TSR PRODUCT. This product was made in accordance with Wizards of the Coast's OGL Version 1.0a. The following game and adventure have been designed to reimagine what the fictional module featured in the episode might look like. This rules-lite RPG is meant to serve as an introduction for newcomers and fans of the show alike. The game can be played with 2-9 players and has everything you need to get started except for dice. "
Old fog giants never die - they just slowly fade away. The House of the Brothers is an AD&D® game scenario for 3-6 characters of levels 6-10. Parties composed of less-experienced players should have higher levels, while seasoned players may be able to handle this adventure with lower-level characters. This scenario is designed to fit into the WORLD OF GREYHAWK™ Fantasy Setting. It takes place in hex M5-127 on the WORLD OF GREYHAWK boxed-set maps, three hexes north of Loftwick in The Yeomanry, on the border of the Jotens mountain range. If desired, this encounter may be used to expand a campaign using the supermodule GDQ 1-7 Queen of the Spiders, or it may stand alone. Of course, the scenario can be easily adjusted to fit into nearly any campaign world. The entire adventure may be dropped into a single evening's play. Pgs. 26-31