Important: The adventure is 1e but it has monster conversion notes for D&D 4th edition The town of Highport, once a human community overlooking Wooly Bay from its perch on the northern coast of the Pomarj, fell prey to hordes of humanoids swarming out of the jungle-covered hills surrounding the settlement. Though the orcs, goblins, kobolds, ogres, and gnolls razed much of the place in their ferocious rampages, the smoldering ruins they left behind soon became a new kind of community, a place of trade between the humanoid “locals” and the unsavory human traders who have no compunction about doing business with them. Slaves are a commodity in ready supply in Highport’s market, since many pirates raid up and down the coast of the bay, putting fishing villages to the torch and filling their holds with captured refugees. Slavery has become a thriving business in the town, and rumors abound of a cartel of Slave Lords who run things from behind the scenes, filling their coffers in secret from the buying and selling of human chattel. The trade has become so prolific that the good folk to the north have grown tired of these depredations and decided to fight back. Forces of righteousness and honor have recently descended upon Highport, some openly and others in secret, in various attempts to destroy the machinations of the Slave Lords and abolish the abominable enterprise that has taken far too many loved ones from home and hearth. One such doughty servant of goodness is Mikaro Valasteen, a cleric of Trithereon. Mikaro slipped unnoticed past the crumbling walls of Highport with a single mission: to rescue and transport as many slaves to their freedom as possible. Mikaro and a handful of faithful assistants located a number of escaped slaves—as well as rescued a few more not sufficiently restrained and guarded—and shepherded them through the gates and beyond the reach of their humanoid tormentors, returning them to their lands and homes. This covert freedom brigade enjoyed remarkable success early on, since the servants of the Slave Lords were often lax in their vigilance and sloppy in their efforts to prevent loss of the “merchandise.” After one too many shipments never made its destination, the humanoids stepped up their security and the normal channels of escape from Highport closed to Mikaro and his team. He cannot risk exposure by smuggling the freed slaves through the gates as merchandise any longer, since shipments of goods are now regularly stopped and checked. No longer able to free the slaves in that manner, Mikaro began hiding his charges in an abandoned villa in a particularly rundown part of the town. Although they are safe for the moment, their numbers have grown unmanageable, and the priest fears it is only a matter of time before someone slips up and brings slavers to their doorstep. Ever more desperate to find a new means of escape from Highport, Mikaro has started work on a plan that is both daring and dangerous. He intends to use a series of old sewers coupled with natural caverns running beneath the town as an escape route to the sea beyond the walls. But he needs someone to clear out the creatures and pitfalls he knows lie within. Pgs. 2-27
Base of Operations is a short adventure intended for four 5th-level characters. DMs can easily modify the adventure to suit higher- or lower-level adventurers, or larger or smaller parties of adventurers. Simply adding a few monsters to every encounter area makes the adventure more challenging for larger parties, and adding levels to any of the humanoids can make them more of a threat to high-level groups. For low-level adventurers, make the relationship between the two factions within Brightstone Keep more strained, and take away a few monsters from each group. You can remove levels from some of the humanoids in the adventure to make it a lower-level challenge, but it is important that the orc cleric (described in encounter area 8) still have the ability to animate the dead. Still, he can have fewer minions around him when encountered, and that makes him less of a challenge for a lowlevel party.
A force of orcs has taken over a small hilltop keep. The PCs are engaged by the local lord to rid his home of the intruders. Fortunately for the PCs, the keep’s main doors are still damaged from when the orcs took possession, and entry is relatively easy. Unfortunately, the orcs are determined to stay. Pgs. 24-29
Great Danger Wrought in Secrecy Legendary forgemasters now serve an evil warlord and his dark purpose. Their hammers ring upon anvils dedicated to remaking a terrible weapon that was destroyed in ages long past. As the very fate of the world is being shaped, only the strongest heroes can shatter the diabolical plan. "Lord of the Iron Fortress" is a stand-alone adventure for the Dungeons & Dragons game, the seventh adventure in a series of eight designed to take players from the beginner to advanced levels of play (although no other adventures need be played to play this one). This adventure contains an additional 16 pages of content for the same price as earlier adventures. Designed to challenge 15th-level D&D heroes, it opens the perilous gateway to planar travel.
An Introductory Adventure for Storm King's Thunder. As evening approaches, you spot a wooden signpost next to a trail that heads north into the hills. Nailed to the post are three arrow-shaped signs. The two marked “Waterdeep” and “Daggerford” follow the High Road but point in opposite directions. The third, marked “Nightstone,” beckons you to follow the trail. If memory serves, Nightstone is roughly ten miles up the trail. This is Chapter 1 of the greater story available for free on the Dungeon Master's Guild.
The people of the Linsholm fear orcs are about to raid their small farming village. For the past several days, they have been seeing orcs in the hills and forests around the village. They don’t realize that something much worse than this small band of orcs is out there. For now, it’s hunting the orcs. But if the townsfolk aren’t careful, they could be next. Protect the village of Linsholm, but perhaps not from what they fear. Discover that not all orcs are evil. Reunite the fractured orc clan, and broker peace between them and the villagers. Uncover what is hunting the orcs, and the secret to their power. A 6-8 hour adventure optimized for a party of 4th level characters.
Stonefang Pass wends its way through the mountains of the Stonemarch, home to brutal tribes of orcs. The time has come to clear the pass and gain a foothold, so that it can be used for trade between the town of Winterhaven and the lands beyond the mountains. Brave adventurers are needed to rid the pass of monsters and liberate Stonefang Keep from the orcs. Who’s up for the challenge?
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
An adventure for the Midnight campaign setting from Fantasy Flight Games. The adventurers rise as Fell, intent on finishing their final mission.
"Deeptown lies in the shadow of mountains, a town where anything is for sale if you can only meet the price. But in the wild surrounding valleys of the Deeps, it's the bandits who make the darkest deals - and their ambition comes at a cost far greater than the contents of any wayward caravan. You and your team have just been handed a new job: disrupt a meeting between a bandit lord and his mysterious new allies. At a remote mountain villa, you will strike hard and fast and leave terror in your wake. They give you the tools. You provide the talent. Survive, and you'll be well rewarded. Fail, and you'll pay the price. You've got three days to raise some hell." This was one of the first third party adventures under the OGL for 3rd edition published by Atlas Games under the Penumbra line. The attack on the mansion is not a dungeon crawl, but feels like a commando raid aided by some unique magic items.
This short adventure is set in the Forgotten Realms campaign setting; it may be run as a standalone adventure, or as a side trek for a larger module . Alternatively, this adventure could be inserted into any campaign setting. Trouble is brewing near the town of Red Larch; specifically, in the caves near Lance Rock. A few good adventurers are needed to investigate the increased orc and ogre sightings in the area.
The citizens of Phent, which is a large town in Thesk, are a proud, yet warm and accepting folk. For the past nine years, they have been host to over six hundred orcs, which is certainly an anomaly in the average Faerûnian community. In 1360 DR, Zhentil Keep sent one thousand orcs to aid in the fight against the westward-sweeping Tuigan hordes. The orcs fought well—well enough that the citizens of Thesk welcomed them as citizens when Zhentil Keep abandoned them in this land in 1363 DR. Still, a current of unsettling concern lingers. Some believe that the orcs are still part of Zhentil Keep’s strike force, but that they went on standby to wait for the moment when their masters give the signal. Once allowed, these orcs may launch a crippling attack from within. However, in nine years, no signal has been given—at least none that any of the paranoid folk have noticed. The orcs are enthusiastic citizens and, apart from some rowdiness during breaks from the mines or fields, they have hurt no one. And then, a prophet comes, with a message of war . . . In A Call to Arms, the player characters (PCs) have a chance to prevent orcs from rising up against some humans. This adventure is designed for four 9th-level D&D® characters. The encounters can be adjusted up or down to suit your group’s needs, however.
The heroes arrive at the eponymous Keep on the Borderlands, a fortress on the edge of civilization built to stave off the chaos and evil of the wilderness. Using it as a home base, a party can make forays into the surrounding wilderness, encountering monster and marauder alike. The centerpiece of the adventure is certainly the CAVES OF CHAOS, a network of tunnels and caverns found in the walls of a nearby but isolated ravine. It is here that hordes of evil humanoids have made their home. Through combat and negotiation, the players can try to explore and map out these caves, perhaps with the aim of accumulating valuable treasure or even cleansing the land of evil creatures. However, even the Caves are not all they seem. Beyond the goblins and kobolds lurk dark horrors: cults dedicated to fiendish chaos and a Minotaur's enchanted labyrinth await the unprepared adventurer. But for the hero who is brave, clever, and fortunate in equal and sufficient measure, great treasures and glory await in the Caves of Chaos that lie beyond the Keep on the Borderlands! TSR 9034
The mining town of Glister has a problem. The latest caravan only arrived with a part of its supplies. Orcs waylaid them, took much needed goods, and are now making demands that the town return an artifact that is theirs, but the town is unfamiliar with. Help track down information about this artifact and possibly defend the city from an orc invasion! A 4-hour Adventure for 1st-4th Level Characters Part 2 of Kossuth's Kiss
The village of Orașnou is panicked when a group of Bloodhand orcs appear at the edge of the woods. They bring news and an unusual request that reveals a new foe. Part Eleven of Misty Fortunes and Absent Hearts.
Freeport is a fantasy “free city” you can place in a fantastic setting. Its basic premise is a pirate city gone legit… at least on the surface. In truth, the pirate tradition is alive and well in Freeport, but camouflaged by a veneer of respectability. These days the city’s pirates are privateers, legalized pirates Freeport loans out to the highest bidder. You’ll learn more in the short history of the city that follows. This should help give you a taste of the flavor of Freeport before the adventure begins and the given background is all you need to run this adventure. It is an ideal starting place for a new campaign as the player characters find themselves stranded in Freeport after a deal goes sour. A seemingly simple job plunges them into the strange underside of the city, where they uncover secrets worth dying for. Death in Freeport is the first from the Freeport trilogy, together with Terror in Freeport and Madness in Freeport. Synopsis: Death in Freeport drops the player characters into the midst of political and magical intrigue, as the hidden Brotherhood of the Yellow Sign manipulates events to bring its dread god to the world. Freeport is still a bustling center of trade, but evil currents run beneath the surface. There are secrets here, and questions unanswered. The characters will undoubtedly learn there is more here than they expect in a simple seaport. The question is, will that knowledge kill them? As the adventure begins, the player characters (PCs) have just come to Freeport on a merchant ship. While on the docks, the PCs are attacked by a press gang, who mistake them for easy marks. The press gang is handily beaten off; since they are unused to real resistance. A bookish young man named Brother Egil then approaches the PCs. He says that he’s been looking for a group that can take of itself, and that he has a job for them if they are interested: finding a missing librarian. The missing man, Lucius, disappeared two days previously, and Egil is eager to find him. Egil gives the PCs some background on Lucius and his strange behavior. The PCs are then free to investigate: They are likely to visit Lucius’s home, the temple to the God of Knowledge, and an orc pirate ship. This should form a picture of Lucius as a man searching for his own past—who found something he wasn’t counting on. Following a trail of clues, the PCs learn about the Brotherhood of the Yellow Sign. With a little luck, the PCs can trail the cultists back to their hideout, penetrate the lair, and discover secret tunnels underneath it. Deep underground they find degenerate serpent people, and eventually Lucius himself. The librarian has been tortured badly and will die without aid. The PCs also have to deal with the leader of the cult, a man they may recognize from the temple. When the cult priest is slain, they are in for an even bigger surprise. He was not human at all, but a serpent man in disguise. What this means for Freeport only the gods can say.
The dreadful jails below the appalling City of Skulls, Iuz's nightmare capital, contain many wretched and desperate captives. Among them is Earl Holmer, Knight Commander of the Shield Lands. A brave spy in Dorakaa has shown the ay to find and free Holmer—is your party up to the job of freeing him? King Belvor IV of Furyondy believes so. In the way stand fearsome priests and mages of the Lord of Pain; ogres, giants, fiends, and worse hinder the struggle to defeat the traps and guardians of Iuz. Plucking Holmer from his grasp will bring great renown, knighthood, and treasure—for those who survive. None has ever escaped Iuz's jails. Who will you be the first to use stealth or storm to breach them? TSR 9405
𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐚𝐝𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐔𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐒𝐚𝐠𝐚. The PCs have escorted a trade caravan to the dwarven stronghold of Nirzumbil and are preparing for a boring trip home. But what is that sound of horns in the distance? And why are the dwarves closing the front gates to the mines? This is an adventure for 2nd level PCs. It is the first in a series of adventures detailing on orc uprising against the dwarves with sinister implications. Includes a 5th edition write up of the Dread Warrior, an undead that previously appeared in Monsters of Faerun.
In the town of Gafolweed, the market is in disarray: toppled barrows and collapsed tents spill their contents onto the muddy ground. Merchants and locals flee the scene as you arrive. In the midst of the destruction stands a muscular, green-skinned humanoid—an orc! Three bodies lie near his feet, the victims of his bloody axe. He turns to you, a vivid red tattoo of a bleeding eye prominent on his brow. The orcs are gathering in numbers unseen in many generations and make war upon the people of the Borderlands. The cause of this deadly conflict is entwined with the history of the unholy mark that all the orcs now bear. Will your fellowship of budding heroes be able to quell the Wrath of the Orc God?
You’ve come to the wild frontier outpost of Ylraphon, a town rebuilt from destruction and now ruled by adventurers, to pass on a proud noblewoman’s final wish to her dungeon-raiding heirs. Yet the young heroes of House Marsh have delved too deep. Can you rescue them from a trap filled ruin, vengeful assassins, and a mysterious entity that turns its attackers into its defenders? The suggested run time is 4 hours, but in practice needed much longer. Ideal for open ended play. Lots of background information - bordering on too much.