People keep asking for "beginner" dungeons. Everyone can name "classic" dungeons - Tomb of Horrors, Barrier Peaks, Ravenloft, etc. - but in order for those adventures to make sense, there needs to be some sort of introduction. It's like all the adventures we have are Bach concertos. People keep writing amazing works of staggering genius, but someone needs to write a book on how to play the piano. I had the same questions, and since I couldn't find anything satisfactory, I decided to write the kind of dungeon I would have loved to find. I wanted to write the best basic OSR dungeon for beginners that I could, and I also wanted to show the design process. If you like this dungeon, please share it, tell people about it, print copies and leave them lying around local game stores, or email this post to friends who have "always wanted to try D&D but don't know where to start". The entire thing is and always will be free.
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
An expansion on the original Tomb of Horrors with plot and explanation. Contains a facsimile of the original adventure. The Dark Intrusion is causing the dead to rise from their graves. This is linked to a being known as the Devourer. Following the trail of Desatysso, a wizard who followed a similar quest, the players must enter the Tomb, and beyond that, the cursed City that Waits and the Fortress of Conclusion.
Let nothing end the Feast by the River. Let the celebration of our enemy’s vanquishing ring out night and day for eternity. Let the bones of our enemies and our prey mingle below our feet. This is your time, our time, the best time. —Queen Gellao on the eve of her victory over the followers of Dur; decreed at the River’s Bend feast hall
Decades have passed since Sokol Keep was reclaimed, and a small garrison placed there along with a beacon to help guide ships. Now, that beacon has gone dark, and the garrison has disappeared. In Phlan, rumors circulate that something ancient was discovered in the grounds beneath the keep, dating to before the clerics of Tyr built the small fortress. Uncover the secrets of Sokol Keep! An adventure for 1st-4th level characters.
Local villagers whisper of a mysterious place deep in the marsh - a place shrouded in mist and dotted with barrow mounds, ruined columns, and standing stones. The tomb-robbers who explore beneath the mounds - or rather the few who return - tell tales of labyrinthine passages, magnificent grave goods, and terrifying creatures waiting in the dark. Are you brave (or foolish) enough to enter Barrowmaze? Barrowmaze Complete (BMC) is a classic megadungeon for use with any old school fantasy role-playing game. BMC includes everything in Barrowmaze I and II in the same book in addition to new material, art, layout, and cover art by Ex-TSR artist Erol Otus. Barrowmaze Complete will keep your players on their toes and your campaign going strong. BMC is brought to you by the Old School Renaissance (so don’t forget your 10’ pole). This edition includes art by the aforementioned TSR artists Erol Otus, as well as Tim Truman, Jim Holloway. New old-school artists include Peter Pagano, Cory Hamel, Stefan Poag, Zhu Bajie, Stephan Thompson, and others.
"A mutual friend has praised your skills highly. If you seek rich reward and the opportunity to delve into mysteries ancient and lost, bring this bottle forthwith to my demesne in the village of Volkumburgh. Together we may seek to bring mankind the lost wonder of the awtawmatawn." A mysterious note, a disappearing 5-foot-long religious relic, and the ruins of two magical schools. What do these things have in common? How deeply are your party members involved in all this? "The Shattered Statue" is the first dual-game-system module of its kind. Players of both the AD&D game system and DRAGONQUEST game system can use this adventure. It is suitable for use with FORGOTTEN REALMS campaign setting. TSR 9221
The PCs are singled out by happenstance as prophesied heroes who will find and return a great wizard to his family. Once brought back to the the family chateau, they are brought on as paid companions and free to explore the location as they wish. This is a large sandbox style adventure with several plots going on, including assassination, a wedding, false accusations of murder, and many machinations of the nobles to solidify or gain power. Whole this is going on the PCs are dropped into dream sequences where they learn more about the missing wizard and learn how and where to find and free him
Adventure in a wizard's highly magical tomb. While still in college, Jennell Jaquays, writing as Paul, started The Dungeoneer fanzine. For the first issue, Jaquays wrote F’Chelrak’s Tomb. The pioneering adventure and its successors proved memorable. Looking back at The Dungeoneer, Jaquays said, “It’s the adventures that stand out, and not simply because no one else was doing mini-adventures in 1976. When I read comments about the magazine or talk to fans (old and new), no one talks about the monsters, or the art, or the magic items and rules variants. It’s always the adventures.”
Giants have been raiding the lands of men in large bands, with giants of different sorts in these marauding groups. Death and destruction have been laid heavily upon every place these monsters have visited. This has caused great anger in high places, for life and property loss means failure of the vows of noble rulers to protect the life and goods of each and every subject -- and possible lean times for the rulers as well as the ruled. Therefore, a party of the bravest and most powerful adventurers has been assembled and given the charge to punish the miscreant giants. This module contains background information, referee's notes, two level maps, and exploration matrix keys. It provides a complete module for play of ADVANCED DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, and it can be used alone or as the first of a three-part expedition adventure which also employs DUNGEON MODULE G2 (GLACIAL RIFT OF THE FROST GIANT JARL) and DUNGEON MODULE G3 (HALL OF THE FIRE GIANT KING). TSR 9016
“Rats in the Walls”: A dockside tavern in Khromarium is plagued by rats of a most unusual breed. These abominable rodents have ruined the tavern keeper’s business and his life. The man is desperate, and he offers a substantial reward for the elimination of his horrific problem.
This 4 hour module takes the characters from a hidden cove near the Moonsea to hidden tunnels leading under the Glacier of the White Worm. What starts as a recovery mission leads to the uncovering of a much more sinister plot. Optimized for a group of level 7's (APL 7), this adventure can be adjusted for any Tier 2 party. Inside you'll find: * Three battlemaps * Introducing the ice encrusted skeleteon, a hardier version of the standard skeleton for colder climates.
On the night of the rare Witch Moon, a binding spell placed over the mighty devil Tchernabog finally breaks. Will the characters be able to survive the night of boiling hellfire, furious undead, and diabolical mayhem Tchernabog orchestrates from atop Devil's Peak? Night on Devil's Peak is an apocalyptic, events-based survival adventure for 6th-level characters. It takes about 5-6 hours to complete and includes: -The awakening of a CR 24 devil, mighty Tchernabog! -A powerful holy relic the characters can wield in battle -Two diabolical new monsters: Tchernabog and giant flaming skeletons -Combat cards for each monster, PC, and special treasure -Gorgeous digital maps (with and without grid) for virtual table tops
It should have been the end. When the bloodthirsty adventurers burst into his throne room and mercilessly cut him down, the tale of Merlokrep, last king of the ill-fated Truescale Tribe, should have ended. But the fates weren’t yet finished with the Kobold King, and now a dark power has brought him back from the dark beyond to wreak his vengeance upon those foolish adventurers who destroyed his tribe.
A Star-Crossed Tragedy. When the party is hired to investigate a haunted castle, they’re drawn into a tale of hatred, love and betrayal stretching back more then 300 years. Will they be able to free the ghosts haunting Arevon Castle, or will they find themselves just another footnote in its long history of misery?
Part Two of the Umbral Aristocracy Trilogy. The treasure hunt has led to the City of the Dead. Beneath that well-manicured park is an ancient crypt where the treasure awaits you!
An investigative city crawl adventure for Shadowdark RPG (or any OSR-style system), designed for experienced players levels 1-2 Set in the decaying city of Brannam, players unravel a web of fear, blood, and buried secrets. A local alchemist has begun killing in secret, rekindling old fears of an old terror. The city's decline threatens to spiral into collapse, and far below, something older and hungrier waits to wake. This adventure includes: 3 separate dungeons (The flooded Sewers, the forgotten Catacombs, and the cursed Ruins of Edric von Braech's keep) Open ended design and layered mysteries with multiple outcomes and failure states A fully explorable city with random encounters, evolving factions and escalating panic. Custom rules for spell mishaps, nightly murder checks and decay events as Brannam unravels Modular content designed to drop into your campaign
A new megadungeon from Three Castles Award Winner (2018) and Barrowmaze author Dr. Greg Gillespie! HighFell: The Drifting Dungeon is a 246-page classic megadungeon for use with any old school fantasy role-playing games/clone. The pages of HighFell are crammed full with new material, maps, and art, including a colour cover by Ex-TSR artist Erol Otus (that matches Barrowmaze Complete and The Forbidden Caverns of Archaia as sister-books). HighFell: The Drifting Dungeon will keep your players on their toes and your campaign going strong for years. HighFell is brought to you by the Old School Renaissance (so don’t forget your 10’ pole).
Abominable Adventures - An Encounter Guidebook In The Frozen Tundra is a collection of 12 unique Tier 1 side stories filled with danger, horror, & mystery for Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition. It can be easily integrated into your adventures set in the frozen lands of the North or during any Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden campaign. Featuring ❄12 unique pre-adjusted Tier 1 encounters ❄38 pages filled with amazing artworks by artists from all around the World ❄A handy and image-free print-friendly version ❄Coloured battle maps that can be printed or used in your VTT platforms ❄New frightening creatures!
*THIS IS A D&D NEXT/5E PLAYTEST ADVENTURE* Imani, a Turmishan wizard and former adventurer, seeks the aid of heroes to infiltrate Dretchroyaster’s lair and recover the Diamond Staff of Chomylla—the key to powerful magic and wisdom locked away for thousands of years. In addition to his own sagely interest in the lore of lost Uvaeren, Imani recognizes the dangers of such powerful magic falling into evil hands. The dracolich has secured the staff in his lair’s cen- tral chamber, using ancient wards of protection that can be bypassed only by four artifact-idols once belong- ing to a cult of Bhaal. Each group of adventurers enters the dungeon through a different section of the dun- geon—a forgotten temple of Bhaal, a vast underground lake, a troglodyte village, or Dretchroyaster’s vaults. Dretchroyaster’s lair is no simple set of caverns and ancient ruins. It sits atop a source of great power and energy, which the dracolich and his Cult of the Dragon allies hope to use to unlock the secrets of the staff. Only by undertaking a unified assault against Dretchroyas- ter’s lair can the adventurers hope to recover the Diamond Staff and survive the dracolich’s fury. The adventurers must make their way through the lair and recover the Bhaalite idols that will help unlock the Diamond Staff, all the while dealing with the lair’s creatures and avoiding the dracolich as he pur- sues intruders. Entering the Chamber of the Diamond Staff, the heroes must overcome its magical wards and claim the staff before being slain by the dracolich and his servants.