Candlekeep is under siege, and it needs adventurers to help protect it! Heed the call to defend the legendary monastery and stand against the tide of evil. Confrontation at Candlekeep was used as a D&D Next playtest for D&D 5E. It was released to organized play Dungeon Masters in August 2013, and ran at Gen Con, PAX, and other major conventions. The adventure includes rules for running multiple tables, but can also be run for just one table. The attack on Candlekeep by forces of Asmodeus is tied to the events in Ed Greenwood's novel about the Sundering, "The Herald."
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.
"Put those dark elves back in their box and get your gonzo on! Riches, glory, and super-science await the bold and the clever in the deep places under the ground. This module describes the dinosaur- and wizard-infested future of the Earth, the city of Denethix, and the first level of the megadungeon that beckons from below: the Anomalous Subsurface Environment." Set in a post-apocalyptic future where Earth's remains are explored through dungeons filled with ancient tech, magic, and bizarre ecosystems, inhabited by various factions with their own agendas. This setting blends sci-fi and fantasy with a touch of the absurd, offering a playground for imaginative gameplay and storytelling. The module includes a gatehouse and the first level of the Anomalous Subsurface Environment, each designed with multiple pathways. Unique twists on monsters and magic items. Written for Labyrinth Lord
"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.
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 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?
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.
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 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
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?
A storm of unparalleled fury has been ravaging the peaks of the Earthspur Mountains for a tenday, and the Monastery of the Yellow Rose sits in its eye for now. Some monks have fled the monastery to the safety of Mulmaster and beseech you to convince their more obstinate brothers to retreat to the city before the eye of the storm shifts, and the monastery is in terrible danger. Can you brave the elements and convince the monks to escape? An eight-hour adventure for 5th-10th level characters.
The Doom Desert in the Decanter of Delirium is an exotic OSR romp through a mysterious world of riddles, puzzles, inscrutable denizens. 5e compatible, this love letter to psychedelia is as vivid and beautiful as exciting and surreal. Get wrapped up in conversation with the dead drunks at the last saloon on earth, solve the sphinx riddle and discover the secrets of the Ziggurat, or break bread and wine with whispering harpies or the sun itself. This compelling narrative is written by Austin Holm and captures the exploration, social, and challenge pillars of a great game with the deft prose of a poet. With art by Maya Bee that captures the essence of the adventures many stunning scenes and characters. Your players will thank you for this one.
The Thorn Hag, an ancient evil thought vanquished by the Elf Queen and her heroic companions many years ago, has arisen from the dead. A fey harp, created from the heart of the treant that perished in the battle, has gone missing from Satyrs' Glen and the Thorn Hag seems to be behind it. The PCs must track the missing harp through a warped and eerie wood and into an unseelie area of the Feywild to stop the Thorn Hag wreaking revenge upon the Elf Queen before it's too late - the clock is ticking. The Sylvan Harp is a D&D 5e adventure for 4-5 PCs of the 1st tier (Levels 1-4). The adventure has been designed with suitable alternatives to run the adventure for 1st, 2nd, 3rd or 4th-level characters, including advice for adapting creature numbers and/or powers to suit the level of your party. The adventure is estimated to take 8-12 hours to run. A timeline of events, and guidelines on how the actions of the PCs can affect those events, is included. The adventure includes nine new creatures: gwerthin, satyr bard, ash guardian, light guardian, treant spirit, pixie rot zombie, green dragon skeleton, thorn hag and thorn hag's hut. It also includes two new magical items: a powerful magical harp with a dark hidden secret and a crystal ball of clairvoyance. Also includes a player handout of the rhyming riddle of the fey, and maps of the area and a darkling tomb. Requires Volo's Guide to Monsters.
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.
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 whispered worries grow more fanciful and terrifying by the day... where has the loremistress gone?... what's wrong with the master smith?... who-or what-stalks the marketplace?... The questions need answers, and heroes are needed to do the asking! But the only thing worse than what hunts the mist-shrouded streets is what lies beneath them... Adventure in Dun Eamon: Demons roam the streets of the city of Dun Eamon, criminals rule the night and an important local power figure has gone missing. Can your heroes unravel the clues that lead through every social element of the city, into the hearts of its inhabitants and far below its streets in search of answers? Or are some mysteries better left unsolved? Uncover An Artifact: The Grey Citadel is a mini-campaign of urban detective work and dungeon exploration designed for four or more characters of 5th level. Set in a rain-soaked, rough-and-tumble frontier city, The Grey Citadel offers numerous colorful NPCs, a richly unique location, new monsters and magic items plus enough plot twists to provide hours of role-playing and door-kicking adventure where your wits must be as sharp as your swords!" This adventures mixes dungeon crawl with city investigation, keyed encounters and timed encounters.
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
A Level 5 Adventure of Time-Bending Catastrophe Part of the Thirsty Tiger Tales series Beneath the crumbling ruins of a legendary arcane academy lies the Paradox Engine—a dangerous temporal device that shattered the very timeline it was built to study. Now, a deranged scholar known as the Mad Chronomancer seeks to rewrite history itself. In this time-twisting dungeon crawl, players must brave unstable magic, flickering echoes of the past, and a rift into the academy’s golden age—where they’ll confront the Mad Chronomancer before his actions doom the future forever. Two-timeline dungeon: Navigate the same vault in both past and present Puzzle rooms with lasting consequences Unstable combat environments and unique timeline hazards A solo boss fight that bends time against the players Includes the Temporal Warp Cloak, a rare magic item that glitches your image through time This one-shot is perfect for groups looking for a high-concept, low-prep adventure with puzzle-solving, combat variety, and an arcane twist.
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.
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