If the PCs are to avert the Age of Worms, they must invade the heartland of Kyuss' power, the Wormcrawl Fissure, and destroy one of the world's most powerful dracoliches before the Wormgod awakens. "Into the Wormcrawl Fissure" is the eleventh 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. Issue #343 of Dragon presents statistics for some extraplanar entities the PCs may wish to call upon to aid them in the Wormcrawl Fissure. Pgs. 54-89
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
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
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
A Villain with a Vison A stolen jewel leads to the heart of the swamp, where one man’s thirst for vengeance threatens to destroy an entire town. Pgs. 68-92
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?
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
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.
In the kingdom of Keystone, at the mouth of the Manyforks River, stands the port city of Barnacus. It was founded two hundred years ago, and its strategic military and commercial location has made it the second most important city in the kingdom. The city is under the rulership of Haermond II, Duke of the province of Elcadan, a half-elf of high esteem who has been in charge for more than a century. His outstanding commercial politics have made the city very prosperous; almost every trade company in this part of the continent has a counting house in the port of Barnacus. Because of this prosperity, the city has suffered many pirate raids, and thieving activity is a fact of life for residents and visitors alike.
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
Indomitable it stood for centuries, a symbol of order in a world of chaos. Bastion of the pass through the Kamph Mountains, the very stones of the Keep of Adlerweg were the stuff of legends. What evil power had strength enough to take it? How were its defenses swept aside? Fell creatures now attend the battlements that overlook the only pass between Berghof and the sea. This is not a pretty problem to be solved by the militia of the local villages. These and more may be needed to withstand the mayhem stirred up by the fall of the keep. Indeed, if the Keep is not retaken, and retaken soon, the Hold of the Sea Princes itself may not be secure. Now is the time for heroic action. Aided by the Sentinel, former protector of the legendary Guardians of Adlerweg, have you the courage and the determination to rid the keep of its sinister occupants? UK3: "The Gauntlet" (1984), by Graeme Morris, is the third UK-series adventure and the second half of the two-part Adlerweg series. It was run as the final round of the GamesFair 1983 AD&D Open (and won by a RuneQuest fan!). It was then published in 1984. TSR 9111
The kuo-toa are a piscine race with a psychic affliction that makes them behave erratically and invent gods when feeling threatened. That same affliction gives them the power to bring those gods to life. Blibdoolpoolp is the most widely worshipped, and thus most powerful, of their gods. Blibdoolpoolp views the kuo-toa as her children despite having been born after them. Like all good mothers, she nurtures and protects. One of her chief concerns is understanding the kuo-toa’s psychic affliction, which causes them to undermine themselves whenever they strive for greatness. She discovers that a corrupted elder brain deep in the Underdark has a connection to the race; though the connection gives them psychic powers, it also turns them into powerless thralls, explaining their self destructive behaviors. Constrained by the same leash on her children, Blibdoolpoolp seeks adventurers to destroy the elder brain. Its death would free the kuo-toa, but potentially at great cost: if the kuo-toa lose their powers, will Blibdoolpoolp die?
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
Kingdom of the Blind is a short adventure for four 8th-level characters. The adventure is set in a minor duchy that is fairly removed from the ruler of the land. As a result, trouble can brew in the land and the king would not know immediately. The PCs had just entered the citadel in the last episode. Are they now dealing with hauling statues or fighting angry staircases in their efforts to get to the second floor?
The Forge of Fangs has been located in Vanrakdoom. While many innocents have been saved from an undying fate, the forge remains. Artor Morlin would like to see it torn to the ground and the threat ended forever. Part Three of the Undying Threat trilogy. Optimized For: APL 13
A City on the Brink of War Missing for decades, the Crown of Neverwinter, symbol of the former ruling family, has emerged at last. Yet not all are pleased with the crown's reappearance. Beset by rebels and plaguechanged, Lord Dagult Neverember must hire a group of adventurers to track down the so-called Lost Heir and discover his intentions for the city. The stakes are no less than the lives of the citizens of Neverwinter, for if the heroes fail, Neverwinter seems doomed to descend into civil war.
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.
Arson, rioting, sabotage, murder - and no suspects. Watchmen are murdered, ships explode and sink in their berths, and savage monsters are summoned in the streets - but no one can catch the killers. The party must navigate the growing tensions between rival factions in the city. After following clues to a tavern, The Flying Hamhock, the party will need to defeat a powerful Hivemind which is behind the attacks. Pgs. 47-64
"The module takes place in a large cavern that is part of an extensive underground cave network. It can be used as a side-trek encounter in the Undermountain or Night Below campaign." -- from the adventure. Includes a small keyed map of the cavern.
Trapped in the dungeons of the Slave Lords! The hardy adventurers must find a way out, with only their wits and courage to help them. But can they do it before everything is destroyed by the dreaded Earth Dragon? This module contains a challenging scenario for experienced players, the tournament scoring system, and nine fully-equipped playtested characters. Also included are large-scale referee maps, playing aids, notes, and background information. A4 is a complete adventure in itself, but can also be used in conjunction with A1 (SLAVE PITS OF THE UNDERCITY), A2 (SECRET OF THE SLAVERS' STOCKADE), and A3 (ASSAULT ON THE AERIE OF THE SLAVE LORDS). TSR 9042