FOR PUBLIC POSTING: Last week, several laborers who were working to clean up the damage to our sewer caused by the recent earthquake had been found brutally murdered. Until further notice, citizens should stay clear of any sewer gratings, openings, or tunnels for their own safety. Do not allow children to play unattended in areas where such openings are known to exist. The governor is assembling a group of interested persons to investigate these murders. Each member of the investigation team will receive 500gp up front, with an additional 2000 GP to follow upon a thorough and satisfactory completion of the investigation, provided evidence that the matter has been dealt with is presented to the governor. If you desire to join this investigation, please apply at City Hall.
From time out of mind, the standing stones known as the Circle of Cahervaniel have stood lonely vigil on a grassy hilltop. Sheepherders once moved their flocks over the hill and through the circle, sometimes resting in the cool shadows cast by the ancient stones. Everything changed when a stone finger fell, revealing a fissure in the earth. Now, dark shadows caress the circle after the sun sets. Creatures out of nightmare dance upon the hillside at night. Many swear that a unicorn of deepest ebony now hunts all upon two legs who draw near, while stunted creatures scurry in the shadows, abducting sheep from their sheds and drawing them down below ground for food. After the disappearance of a sheperd, fear grows stronger in neighboring villages. Who will brave the black hollow of the ancient Circle of Cahervaniel? Heroes of stern mettle must descend into the cavity and explore the ancient spaces existing there. Product History "The Shattered Circle" (1999), by Bruce R. Cordell, is a generic adventure for AD&D 2e. It was published in January 1999. Origins: Another Generic. After Wizards of the Coast began publishing D&D, their first year and a half of generic adventures were all classic revivals: returns to RPGA tournaments, to classic adventures, and to Dungeon scenarios. Even "A Paladin in Hell" (1998) was a return in its own way, to the demons and devils that TSR had become afraid of. Wizards was staking out new ground by reclaiming the past. "The Shattered Circle" (1999) was the first generic Wizards adventure that was simply a generic adventure, with no deeper origins and no hidden motives. Artifacts of Note. the foundingstone and the harp Euphonious are both one-off named magic items. However, it's sword Icerazor that's the most interesting. It's said to have grown from a shard of Frostrazor — a sword that would only appear ten months later in Return to White Plume Mountain (1999). There, it's listed as one of Keraptis' four implements of power, alongside Wave, Blackrazor, and Whelm — meaning that Icerazor (and this adventure) are just one step removed from White Plume Mountain itself. Monsters of Note: Chitine. It's somewhat curious, given the Greyhawk and Neverness connections, to note that the chitine debuted in MC11: "Monstrous Compendium Forgotten Realms Appendix" (1991). The spider-humanoids have generally been a Realms creature, featuring in bestiaries and histories for that setting. However, they also received a more generic "Ecology of the Chitine" in Dragon #223 (November 1995), which introduced the choldrith, or chitine priestess. This is their major adventure appearance. When asked about pronouncing their name Cordell says that he "can't be 100% sure of the original designer's pronunciation", but he prefers "KI-TEEN". About the Creators. By 1999, Cordell was one of D&D's most prolific writers. He'd previously authored many slightly related adventures, such as The Gates of Firestorm Peak(1996) and the sahuagin (1997) and illithid (1998) Monstrous Arcana adventure trilogies. 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 The Shattered Circle, originally available in hard-copy and now for sale in Digital format at the DMs Guild. This adventure is a generic adventure, not specifically based in any existing setting. Suggestions are given in the conversion guide to place the adventure in the Forgotten Realms.
Deep below the surface lies an ancient beholder city called Ilth K'hinax. In times past, hundreds of beholders called it home - until simmering rivalries within their society exploded into warfare. The few survivors fled, leaving the city deserted for hundreds of years. However, the story of Ilth K'hinax's glory was passed down from one generation of beholders to the next. Now, after countless years of self-imposed exile, the beholders are back! After securing the city, the hive mother of Ilth K'hinax implemented a plan to wipe out all the beings living above it. Unfortunately for the beholders, several facets of the hive mother's plan have been revealed through the exploits of a party of adventurers. Now, this group of heroes must meet eye to eye with Ilth K'hinax's newest occupants in an effort to stop the hive mother's pernicious plan! "Eye to Eye" is the last of three adventures featuring the nightmarish beholder. It can be played as an individual mission or as part of the series that began with "Eye of Pain" and continued in "Eye of Doom." TSR 9536
An introductory adventure for AD&D. Discover the secret fortress! See if your character can survive the Trail by Fire! Use your own characters, or use the fully equipped characters that are provided. Also contains maps of the fortress and a detailed wandering monster table. Exploration into an underground military base, now occupied by monsters.
Someone in the misty, wooded Moonshae isles needs hundreds of brand new swords taken under guard from Sword Coast smiths to a certain place on the Isles. The swords are needed so badly, and their safe arrival is considered so unlikely, that someone is willing to pay adventurers a lot of gold - someone fairly important. Adventures foolish enough to take assignments too good to be true (or merely desperate for coins) will soon find themselves embroiled in a dark and mysterious struggle against evil that will take them into sacred groves, crumbling castles, and through ancient magical gates to the halls of the High King - and beyond -- An adventure that takes place on the Moonshae Isles, in which a mid-to-high level party fights against the encroaching darkness of The Cult of Bane. Although helped by the Harpers, players will have to uncover the plans of the cult, and thwart them where possible. Preventing the summoning of the "Godson", a manifestation of Bane's evil. Part of the "Forgotten Realms Adventure" series, this is FA1 - Halls of the High King. FA2 is "Nightmare Keep" TSR 9301
Save Sharn from planar catastrophe in the epic thirteenth and final episode of the Across Eberron: Convergence Manifesto adventure path. This three-part adventure is designed for five 7th-level characters. Your party does not need to have played past episodes to enjoy Skyfall, though previous adventures (see below) with the Clifftop Guild will deepen their experience. Written for use with either Eberron: Rising from the Last War or the Wayfinder's Guide to Eberron by Keith Baker. Adventure Summary: In this climactic conclusion to Across Eberron: Convergence Manifesto, the adventurers are charged with saving the magical metropolis of Sharn before a vengeful academic can destroy its manifest zone using the convergence of Eberron’s 13 planes. Characters must race across the city’s diverse districts in a battle of wits and weapons, locating artifacts linking the 13 planes and disabling the Convergence Engine before it is too late.
Was it destiny or something worse that destroyed the Order of the Opal Fist? A dungeon crawl designed for four 3rd level characters. The original article has a sidebar for scaling the adventure up or down. Pgs. 106-124
Restore an Abandoned Temple Enter the catacombs near the desecrated Temple of Muir, Goddess of Paladins, and search for the lost tomb of Abysthor. Will your party be able to cleanse the evil that now inhabits these once-sacred halls, and recover the Stone of Tircople? Can your characters survive the traps of an undead sorcerer? Will your players discover the chamber of Living Rock and the secret power it holds? Adventure awaits! Gold and Glory! A fantasy adventure published for the D20 system, The Tomb of Abysthor is the first module in Necromancer Games Dungeon series and can be played as a stand-alone story or in conjunction with The Crucible of Freya and the forthcoming city supplement Bards Gate. What secrets lie hidden in the tomb of Abysthor?
To stop a devastating rampage of giants across the land, the party must venture into the lair of the stone giant thane Arnak to uncover the truth about why he has broken his peace with the neighboring dwarves. In the process, they will have the opportunity to retrieve important symbols of the fight against the giants and uncover a dangerous excavation. The adventure is part of the "Against the Giants" series originally by Gary Gygax, hence the writing credit.
Sleepyhead. The only man who can stop the amphibian horde needs a wake-up call. The party must find a missing druid an bring his captures to justice. Pgs. 8-21
The most deadly dungeon ever devised! High-level characters brave the unexplored corridors of Deepearth to confront perhaps the most feared adversary in the AD&D game. The second chapter of the Bloodstone Pass saga follows the conclusion of the desperate war against the bandit army. A cold and bitter winter drives the villagers to the edge of starvation, and numerous horrors strike the town of Bloodstone Pass. Join the adventure as the heroes explore the depths of the ancient bloostone mines, now inhabited by fearsome demons. There they hope to uncover the fantastic treasures rumored to exist in the unknown darkness. But deep within the mines, all is not what it seems.... This module uses the new rules from the Dungeoneer's Survival Guide and Wilderness Survival Guide. The adventure also includes optional BATTLESYSTEM scenarios fought entirely underground. These supplementary products are not required to play the adventure, however. TSR 9168
“The Shadow Rift of Umbraforge” is a sequel to “Siege of Bordrin’s Watch” and the third part of the Scales of War Adventure Path. In “Siege of Bordrin’s Watch,” the PCs discovered that dark creepers had sold arms and tactical intelligence to the orc war chief Tusk, aiding him in his attack against the folk of the Stonehome Mountains. In this adventure, the PCs investigate the link between the orcs and the dark ones, stumbling into an armsrunning operation that takes them to the Shadowfell in order to finally confront the charismatic figure behind it. Pgs. 4-53
The lizard men are just pining for the fjords. A plague of locusts is bad enough, but when the locusts are each a yard long, the farmers need professional help! A swarm of giant locusts has been eating all the grapes and leaves from the vineyards of Vineyard Vale! In addition, lizard folk have attacked and destroyed several steads in the vale. The farmers are desperate, but what they don't know is that these events are linked! A mage known as Rhungold the Trickster has been orchestrating the attacks and locusts to try to scare the farmers off the land so he can claim it as his own. The players slowly piece the story together by investigating a fairly linear story through a cave, a marsh, and finally to a compound owned by the wizard Rhungold. Pgs. 6-16
It is said that when the largest and most ancient of purple worms know that the time of their death is near, they make their way through rock, earth, and water to the legendary Purple Worm Graveyard. Canny adventurers can return from this quest with a fortune in purple ivory. Foolish ones will die. The Purple Worm Graveyard is a short dungeon crawl adventure that’s best for levels 1-4. The adventure has 15 entries and is designed to provide a variety of challenges for a new adventuring party or one-shot game. The adventure is designed to provide interesting monsters, traps, tricks, and treasures.
From the magazine: "The monster you're sent out after is so dangerous that even mind flayers fear it. And the illithids want your help!" Earthquakes hit the area around Needlespire mountain, affecting both dwarven and deep gnome villages, and the local mining industry. Deep gnome expeditions discover an illithid outpost! This adventure includes roleplaying encounters with both deep gnomes and illithid in their quest for the true cause of the earthquakes. The creature causing the earthquakes is a draknor which has sent its huge tentacles into the earth seeking magma to fuel its growth. Pgs. 38-60
The Heroes are relaxing in an inn when they hear a scream, rushing outside they find that a local merchant has been kidnapped! The merchant's wife saw the assailants drag him into an alley, where the heroes give chase. Following the villains through a maze of natural fissures, tunnels, and ancient ruins they encounter a number of monsters, traps, and puzzles. Eventually they make their way to the kidnappers hideout, where they confront the kidnappers in a final climatic battle to rescue the merchant and uncover a criminal gang.
Agents for the Mayor of Kleine have discovered the stronghold of the Red Hand goblins deep within the Burning Hills. They have also discovered that the goblins are forming an alliance with local hobgoblin and bugbear tribes to sweep the humans out of Thunder Rift forever. The PCs must reach the lair before the hobgoblin and bugbear agents return to their own tribes. if the envoys do not return, the tribes will assume that the goblins murdered them and attack the goblins instead of the human settlements. In this way, the humans of Thunder Rift gain some unexpected allies against the Red Hand goblins. This is the most dangerous and demanding of the three adventures in this set. It is recommended that you play it after Red Hand Trail and Trouble Below. However, it can stand alone as an adventure in its own right if you wish. Part of TSR 1076 The Goblin's Lair
The fate of a city lies within a dungeon whose doors are sealed with - cards It's up to you to bring it tumbling down. “House of Cards” combined dungeon exploration with the Deck of Many Things to create an adventure experience unlike anything seen before. The deck is both a treasure and a trap, guarding a tomb complex that’s being used by the Night Masks thieves’ guild as a lair. If the PCs want the deck for themselves, they must first gather all the cards, which is easier said than done. - Christopher Perkins Pgs. 38-64
Having put down a rising of giants, it was discovered that the motivating force behind their depredations was that of long-forgotten evil - the Dark Elves. Determined to seek out these creatures, a body of doughty adventurers mounted an expedition to learn the strength of the Drow and bring retribution to them (DUNGEON MODULE D1, DESCENT INTO THE DEPTHS OF THE EARTH). This module contains background information, a large-scale referee's map with a matching partial map for players, referee's notes, special exploration and encounter pieces, a large map detailing a temple complex area, encounter and map matrix keys, and an additional section pertaining to a pair of unique new creatures for use with this module and the game as a whole. A complete setting for play of ADVANCED DUNGEONS & DRAGONS is contained herein. This module can be played alone, as the second part of a series of three modules (with DESCENT INTO THE DEPTHS OF THE EARTH, D1, and VAULT OF THE DROW, D3), or as the fourth part of a continuing scenario (DUNGEON MODULES G1, G2, G3, D1, D2, D3, and Q1, QUEEN OF THE DEMONWEB PITS). TSR 9020, From 1978
The prince's godmother commissions you to retrieve the prince's jade crown, held in the tower of the vampire! The vampire's tower has three levels, and the three-level dungeon below 45 rooms. The party must be wary! Lethal traps abound. Marching order is important. A straight-forward dungeon crawl with many Gygaxian rooms and encounters. No roleplaying to speak of. Pgs. 4-18