Synopsis: Goblin Bathwater, a magical drug, has taken hold in a sleepy coastal town at the edge of the Empire. As the characters investigate the origin of the drug, they uncover an international criminal conspiracy, wild and ancient magic, and a threat to reality itself. Contents: This beautifully made, 54-page adventure offers: A fully fleshed out, setting-agnostic starter area, brimming with colourful NPCs and hooks for adventure. Balanced encounters to bring characters to level 2; then some more devious encounters on their way to level 3. Three mini-dungeons built on the design philosophy of the "5 room dungeon method" Multiple big, cinematic set-piece boss encounters what will make your players feel epic. A facetted intrigue, which does not immediately suggest a simple, ready-made solution but invites the players to come up with their own, personal approach. Why pick this adventure? Hey, my name is Marius. This is my first time publishing on the DMs Guild but I wouldn't call myself a newcomer. I started playing Pathfinder 1e back in 2014. When I took over as our group's DM in 2019, we swapped over to 5e. We have run many, many modules and adventures since. Currently I play three games a week. In short: You could say I'm hooked. I created The Goblin Bathwater Incident as the ideal adventure for in-between your big modules, but it isn't a simple little adventure. With a playtime of about 30 hours, it still manages to hit that sweet-spot, where it establishes context, makes you grow fond of NPCs, and makes those big bossfight wins so much sweeter, all without taking more than a few sessions. The Goblin Bathwater Incident is different from many of the 1st tier adventures in that it pits the characters against traps and monsters, but also asks difficult, open-ended ethical questions, where a simple strategy of "apply sword to head of bad guy" will not cut it.
Desolate and abandoned, the evil alchemist's mansion stands alone on the cliff, looking out towards the sea. Mysterious lights and ghostly hauntings have kept away the people of Saltmarsh, despite rumors of a fabulous, forgotten treasure. What is its sinister secret. Made for 5-10 character of levels 1-3, contains maps, handouts and encounter descriptions. The Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh is the first installment in a series of three modules designed and developed in the United Kingdom for beginning adventures with the AD&D rules. TSR 9062
The Fate of Faerûn Lies in Shadowy Darkness! Daggerdale is reeling from a sudden series of murderous drow raids. As a grave threat to the entire surface world develops in the war-torn dark elf city of Maerimydra, intrepid heroes must discover its source and destroy it, if they can.
An adventure in Hyperborea designed for from four to six characters of 7th through 9th level Your party finds itself in the employ of Ragnarr the Sea-Wolf, a jarl of New Vinland and a reaver of old. His daughter, a shield-maiden named Gunnhildr, has been abducted by a brute called Björn Blackbeard. During a desperate search, the Sea-Wolf crossed sails with a former rival, and from the blood-flecked lips of a dying foe, he learnt the location of Blackbeard’s stronghold. Now, deep in the misty fjords of Brigand’s Bay, where cutthroats, pirates, and freebooters thrive, you have been charged with liberating the Sea-Wolf’s daughter. The Sea-Wolf's Daughter takes players into an action-packed realm of adventure: the mythical world of Hyperborea, a sword-and-sorcery campaign setting inspired by the fantastic fiction of Robert E. Howard, H.P. Lovecraft, Clark Ashton Smith, and others. This adventure is designed for Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea™ (AS&SH™), a role-playing game descended from the original 1974 fantasy wargame and miniatures campaign rules as conceived by E. Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. Therefore, AS&SH is compatible with most traditional fantasy role-playing games (c. 1974 to 1999) and their modern simulacra, such as OSRIC™ and Swords & Wizardry™.
“The Temple Between” is an adventure for 9th level characters, and it is challenging enough to take them to 11th level by the time all is said and done. Although intended as the final chapter of the heroic tier portion of the Scales of War Adventure Path, it can be run as a standalone adventure, or as an adventure in a campaign of your own making, with a small degree of modification. It contains elements of urban investigation, dungeon delving, and even wartime conflict, making it a suitable adventure to players of many tastes and preferences. The western end of Elsir Vale has been greatly troubled in recent days. The threat of the orc hordes from beyond the Stonehome Mountains, though turned back at Bordrin’s Watch, still lingers in the people’s minds. Peculiar and hostile creatures of shadow lurk in the caverns and caves below. Political squabbling grows among the city’s powerful dwarf clans. All this makes the city particularly vulnerable to an enemy nobody saw coming - that nobody even imagined. This enemy has goals and objectives far beyond the ultimately unimportant Elsir Vale, but the first step is the utter subjugation of Overlook. An enemy who, at least in part, is already here. In this adventure the player characters start by investigating the strange behavior of the city's clergy. They swiftly discover hints of a conspiracy worming its way through the city hierarchy - some members are possessed while others have been replaced by dopplegangers. After trailing this conspiracy to its source they discover a portal that leads to an ancient temple in the mountains. Using the portal, the PCs go to the abandoned ancient temple where they must confront both a cadre of fey and a band of mercenaries, from whom they learn there is a plot for a full-scale invasion of the region! The PCs must them rush back to Overlook and cement their place as heroes as they face off against the invading forces. Pgs. 4-71
In the kingdom of Minoxia, the dragon Oxitorus rules the people with a disease his breath causes. A rebel approaches you and implores you to investigate a lead he has on a cure. The travel through Minoxia's swamp will be difficult, and you can't trust anyone, as the tyrant's spy network has roots everywhere. What will become of you, even if you succeed?
The city of Westcrown is dying. Since being stripped of its station as the capital of Cheliax, the wealth and prestige of the city has gradually slipped away, leaving the desperate people to fend for themselves in a city beset by criminals, a corrupt nobility, and a shadowy curse. Can the PCs fight back against champions of both the law and the criminal world? This volume of Pathfinder Adventure Path launches the Council of Thieves Adventure Path, and includes: - "The Bastards of Erebus," a Pathfinder RPG adventure for 1st-level characters, by Sean K Reynolds - A gazetteer of Westcrown, the shadow-haunted City of Twilight, by Steven Schend - An investigation into the lives of tieflings, along with hundreds of fiendish variations, by Amber Scott - A deadly mystery of nobility and intrigue for Pathfinder Varian Jeggare and his tiefling bodyguard Radovan in a new series of the Pathfinder's Jounal, by Dave Gross - Six terrifying new monsters by Mike Ferguson, Sean K Reynolds, and F. Wesley Schneider
In which the Many seek the One, and the Heroes must retrieve a Sword lost amid myriad Threats to the Flesh. Chapter II of the "Well of Worlds" adventure anthology.
When huge stones fall out of the night sky, A deadly curse settles over Gravencross. Help the village exorcise the Demon Stones. “The sun had set an hour ago, and the rain lashed down and the wind howled on the dark moor. A storm this late in the season was unusual, but this one seemed different. The clouds were more menacing, tinged with anger, the rain colder and more biting than usual. Skerrill had to find the lost calf and get him back to the farm before his father came back from the city on business. He’d been looking for two hours now, and he was right in the middle of the moor when the storm hit. He knew he should have turned back as soon as darkness fell, but then he was never the brightest boy in the valley. If only he had remembered to lock the farm gate. The calf was now likely dead anyway having stumbled among the boulders and rocks, panicking in the dark, and then fallen in a floodwater stream and drowned. Either way, he was in more trouble than he could imagine. Suddenly, a bright flash of white light and a roaring peal of thunder were preceded by an explosion as a huge object fell from the sky and impacted the ground of the moor no more than a stone’s throw from him. Dirt, mud, water, and debris erupted from the impact site, flying high into the air and then covering the moor for hundreds of feet all around. Skerrill was knocked to the ground instantly and covered in the fallout from the blast. His ears rang and his head spun, but he staggered to his feet in a daze. He stumbled to where the blast had happened only moments before, and in a depression in the ground lay a huge stone glowing orange as if hot. Skerrill passed out. Two more thunderous explosions crashed in the distance.”
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
In ages past, the wizard Karavakos made a deal with devils, which resulted in him being trapped in an extradimensional pyramid, unable to escape. His only hope for escape is to lure adventurers into the Pyramid, in hopes that they will destroy his splinters and return his power to him. But his wife Vyrellis, whom he slew in a rage when the Pyramid formed, still lingers in spirit and wants nothing more than to see him laid low... Although set to allow PCs to just fight through each encounter, tips are included for PCs negotiating with the factions trapped in the pyramid.
“Siege of Bordrin’s Watch” is the sequel to “Rescue at Rivenroar,” continuing the unfolding story of the Scales of War campaign. This adventure features exploration, roleplaying opportunities, and combats in dynamic environments. In this adventure, a new threat looms to the west: A vast horde of orcs and their despicable kin emerge from the barren lands bent on plunder and conquest. While the Elsir Vale and other lands mobilize their meager forces to respond to the danger, a call has gone out to those heroes of the Vale to join forces and help to push back this new evil before it’s too late. Pgs. 4-55
From Exalted Funeral: The snows are alive. A soft, cold spirit courses through them. Her lace threads the world; watching, drinking, listening, stroking, soothing, killing. Her touch is soft and icy. She is Winterwhite, the daughter of the Waterdrinker and the Northwind, and she is a terrible god. An avatar of ice and hunger, of visions and death. Dooms and devastations to visit upon a cosy roleplaying setting. Longwinter is the RPG sandbox of a realm that has broken its vows to Winterwhite and will now pay the cold price. This book contains secret knowledge and mechanics for the referee. The setting is profoundly close to that of Witchburner (by the same author and artist). This sandbox includes: ~110 pages of content. some colour illustrations. 3 variations of the Brezim map to represent changes as Winterwhite's curse bites harder. faction trackers for the 5 key factions and over 40 events to represent different groups growing or waning in strength depending on player actions. detailed weather and event tables to simulate a living setting. detailed encounter tables for night and day, which grow harsher as Winterwhite's curse grows stronger. several more tables to generate corpses, caches, vaults, and memories of summer. optional playing card-based escape mechanic with 54 different locations, challenges and characters encountered in each location. alternatively, the escape section serves as a resource to mine for winter locations, challenges, and characters. Be aware: This is a book of factions and winter encounters for the full-fledged mini-setting detailed in the Longwinter: Visitor's Book. The content is mostly system-neutral. It references some 5E or d20-style conventions, but should work with most low-power systems easily. Many of the encounters, and particularly the escape, will not work with characters resistant to cold, capable of flight, or otherwise able to avoid the environmental challenges. Finally, thank you for considering running Longwinter for your players. It is a bit of a tribute to the mountains and myths I've walked and heard over many years, and I hope you will find fuel for many adventures and good memories herein. It has also been a challenging project to prepare. Many people helped make it as good as it is. The fault for all errors and typos is my own. —Luka, December 2020
A very big problem from a very small source. Pay the toll or feed the troll' seems pretty obvious. Too bad that it isn't. A tricky gnome has used illusions to fleece anyone crossing a bridge, posing as a fearsome troll. To direct more traffic across his bridge, he has also set fire to the Great Bridge downstream. The players find the Great Bridge burned and follow this detour. At the bridge, the players will fight with the illusory troll. After a few rounds, it flees back to the gnome's lair under the bridge, and the players will need to deal with a combination of the gnome and his traps if they investigate. Pgs. 22,23 & 69
"Mysterious Ways" is a D&D adventure set in the Holy Land (Israel and Jordan) during the time of the Crusades (1114 A.D.) in an alternate-Earth setting. This is a world where the portals to otherworldly realms, particularly the Lower Planes, are closed--sealed shut by the power of the True Cross, a holy relic sought by evil thieves who would see the gates to the Lower Planes flung open. Magic exists in this alternate world, but it is less prevalent than in other D&D campaign settings. This paucity of magic serves the core of the adventure's storyline and should be preserved, if possible. This adventure is designed for a party of four 7th-level player characters (PCs). It is recommended that the party include at least one lawful cleric or paladin. Consult the "Adapting the Adventure" sidebar for ways to incorporate the adventure into generic D&D campaigns and modify it for higher or lower levels of play.
Into your hands has been thrust a great responsibility: the management of a growing domain. It has been a hard winter. Now, with the coming of spring, the populace looks to you for leadership. It will take a careful and generous hand to restore your subjects' confidence. But even as you hold your first courts of the new season, an ominous shadow falls across the land. Earthshaker - wonder of the world - has arrived! Will its arrival be a curse or a blessing? With bold action and skillful diplomacy, you may yet divert disaster. But if you fail, the consequences will certainly be the subject of many a minstrel's tragic songs for years to come! "Earthshaker" includes a complete dominion setting, new player characters and NPCs, and complete material on one of the greatest marvels of the world - the giant and unstoppable Earthshaker! TSR 9128
As the floating cities of Netheril hover peacefully in the air, the winds of intrigue boil all around them. The phaerimm continue to plot the downfall of the Netherese even as Karsus prepares for the casting of his greatest spell. Undead walk the land, driving orcs and humans before them. And somewhere below the greatest nation of Faerûn, the Tarrasque awakens from a long slumber. How the Mighty Are Fallen, is an adventure designed for use with the Netheril: Empire of magic boxed campaign setting (which is required to play this adventure). Within these pages, the final heroes of Netheril can : Gather the spell components, that Karsus requires for casting his "most wondrous" spell, the only 12th level spell ever known. He just needs a few body parts from two creatures - A gold dragon and the Tarrasque. Reuinte lost lovers after they have been separated by death. Nopheu's wife was killed in a magical explosions, and now he's finally saved enough money for her to be resurrected. Certainly a dead body couldn't pose a threat to a band of stalwart heroes?! Follow the winds of fate to wherever Tyche delivers them. Numerous side adventures allow players to take their characters to a variety of different locations. Some heroes might want to follow the trail of the missing nether scrolls, while others might want to join the resistance and fight Karsus and the other archwizards. But only the bravest hearts can take the first step... TSR 9540
A derelict raft drifts into Mulmaster’s harbor carrying a young woman. Delirious with hunger, the only words she seems able to speak so far have been “ash and fire.” The only other clue to her identity is an ornate tattoo. Is the woman insane, or is something nefarious at play?
Sacred relics of the monastery, the eyes of the dragon, have been stolen from their rightful place in the eyes of the Ascendant Dragon statue. The elders have chosen one from among their ranks to go and retrieve these two fist-sized emeralds and bring them home.
Picking up where Chapter 33: Adventures in the Ptolus book leaves off, the adventures in The Night of Dissolution cover an arc that pits player characters against the darkest foes the city of Ptolus has ever faced. Following the threads of a hidden conspiracy, the characters find themselves up against insane cultists, wild chaos magic, and horrors from the primordial days of the world. This adventure book is laced with urban intrigue, high action, and even some dungeon exploration. Some highlights include: A description of Pythoness House, a haunted oracle/brothel that hides a trove of weapons vital in the fight against the Cults of Chaos. A huge secret temple of chaos where insidious fanatics worship the dreaded Galchutt. Details of a city-wide network of covert spies and agents that extends even into the highest echelons of Ptolus’ elite society. These adventures culminate in the player characters’ attempt to stave off the Night of Dissolution, a dark time long foretold when the slumbering Galchutt will awaken in their hidden lairs deep below the city—and bring catastrophe and woe to the world. Published by Malhavoc Press