The wizard Abracadamus hid the Forever Stone in the darkest depths of a failing mine, coerced monsters into serving as guardians, and rigged the dungeon with traps galore. Then he died, as all good wizards do. Many heroes have fallen prey to the Forever Stone’s lure of immortality. To date, only one stalwart band has plunged into the Mines of Madness and lived to tell the tale. You think you’re better than them? You think you got what it takes to grab life by the stones and conquer the dungeon that won the 2012 Gygaxian Award* for Bonecrushing Awesomeness? We seriously doubt it, but go ahead . . . prove us wrong! Mines of Madness is a Very Special D&D® Next Adventure written for PAX East 2013 and designed for four 3rd-level characters.
Wednesday's child... It's a blessed event only if you can end the curse in time. People have been disappearing form the town of Monetenapoleone and a swamp has appeared blocking the towns trade route. It is up to the players to find what is causing all of these strange events and to stop it. Pgs. 32-49
A fallen clock tower holds components from an ancient artifact. Upon discovery of the components, competing agents look to launch expeditions to uncover additional components scattered across distant places—and times. The now-lost Temple of Moloch and the construction site of the legendary Tomb of Horrors are two of those locations. However great the risks, finding the components demands the effort, for whoever does so can reassemble the fabled Infernal Machine of Lum the Mad!
"Lost Halls of Everforge" is a flame dragon wyrmling lair suitable for four or five 3rd level characters. This adventure can be completed in one session.
A short adventuring interlude focusing more on encountering something unusual, rather than fighting anything. The PCs come across a tree and a pool inhabited by elves. The nearby brook fizzes with "energy gas" that grants a temporary HP boost. The players can explore, but there are no real "answers" just a weird thing they found on the way from somewhere to somewhere else. Rated for between 1 and 4 characters, this could easily be run for solo play, but it is short and a little weird. There are roleplaying opportunities with the elves, but there's scant data here, the elves are flighty and capricious. Pgs. 38-41
Devilish sorcery and ancient steel merge in the form of a reborn menace rising in the wild hills on civilization's verge. As the badlands burn with wildfire, an arcane warlord gathers his monstrous troops under his tattered banner. He is rumored to be immortal, and it will take tremendous bravery, immense cunning, and more than a little luck for stalwart adventurers to end his campaign of malice. Can your mighty heroes locate the War-lock's one weakness before his forces drown the realm in blood and fire?
Yesterday, young Tobias went to investigate an old tomb by himself. Everyone told him it was a bad idea. Everyone was right. Today, you and your companions awaken to a town in chaos. Why is the temple sealed behind a divine shield? Why are children and worshippers trapped within? How do we get inside? What did Tobias do?! Ragged Hollow is a full-service starting town, full of classic creatures and challenges all updated and brought together for newbies and nostalgia-lovers alike. There are goblins and witches in the woods, a house full of traps, a basement of vermin, kobolds in a cave, bandits on the road, riddling ravens, a 50-room temple dungeon, nursery-rhyme monsters, living nightmares, Lovecraftian horrors, and tons of unique items to find. This is a mystery with lots of relevant side-quests around the town. The heroes can investigate the situation, get into the temple, save the innocents, and stop the monsters. And get some loot! ADVENTURE TYPE: Medium Dungeon / Town / Wilderness Adventure DESIGN NOTES This adventure is intended for characters levels 1 to 4. It includes several wilderness areas (forest, hills, mountain), a bustling town, several local mini-dungeons, and one 50-room temple dungeon. Each area contains various encounters and unique items. There are many opportunities for combat, but it is possible for players to explore most areas and complete many interactions without any combat at all, depending on their choices. INCLUDES: Story hooks, dialogue prompts, random encounters, stat blocks, original creatures and treasures, and maps. KEYWORDS: town, village, forest, goblins, goblin market, witches, hags, hills, bandits, ogres, mountain, kobolds, caves, dwarves, temple, clerics, nightmares, demons, riddles, traps, ghosts, fairy tales, Lovecraft, mutant
"A great cat sits upon the northern grasslands, my friend, waiting to pounce on adventurers just like you." As you part the tall grass with your sword, the words of the tavernkeeper echo in your head. "He was the mightiest wizard we'd ever known, and that Lion Castle was his home." Your friends' voices mingle with the tavernkeeper's. "He's but a ghost now, haunting those halls, and waiting for an heir." The ground rises slightly. A strong wind rushes through the field. Suddenly, the grasses part, and Lion Castle rises majestically before you! "Magical riches await those who enter!" "Beware of man-beasts!" Voices flood your head again. Will you brave the haunted castle? Can you afford not to? It's all up to you in this D&D Solo Adventure. Ghost of Lion Castle is for one player only, but that one player makes all of the choices and enjoys all of the rewards. An entire castle and courtyard await your exploration. The adventure also includes a complete solo combat system. TSR 9097
Two hundred years ago, the great dwarf smith Durgeddin the Black built Khundrukar, a hidden stronghold for his war of vengeance against all orckind. For years Durgeddin labored, until the orcs discovered Khundrukar and stormed the citadel, slaying all within. Legends say that Durgeddin's masterful blades and glittering treasures were never found.
For decades, the tiny village of Ravenmoor has existed quietly on the upper reaches of the Lampblack River. Linked to the outside world only by an overgrown, mostly forgotten trail, the villagers are comfortable with their isolation. Certainly, the lack of a village inn, the oppressive humidity, and the bug-infested moors and swamps that surround the village do little to encourage visitors. When a clerk in the city of Magnimar discovers that, due to a clerical error, the village of Ravenmoor hasn’t paid taxes in years, a tax collector is sent to the distant community to settle accounts with its mayor. When the tax collector fails to return, however, a group of adventurers must travel to the town during its Founders’ Feast celebration to investigate his disappearance.
Listen up! You're in my dungeon now, Morty! On Earth C-141, I'm a LEGENDARY D&D adventure writer! When people think of impossibly difficult dungeons or winding, labyrinthine maps, those things ain't Gygaxian - they're SANCHEZIAN! I do whatever I want over there, and they eat it up! I'm a celebrity Dungeon Master there, too! My livestreamed show, Cynical Troll, gets a billion views a day! It seemed a little selfish to contain all that GREATNESS to a single dimension, so I lifted one of the all-time favorite Sanchezian adventures and snuck it back here to dimension C-132. (Usually that kind of s**t is frowned upon, but it's just a D&D adventure. We're not exactly violating the Prime Directive or whatever.) This is a good old-fashioned dungeon crawl for a party of 1st-level adventurers, whose character sheets in this box should also contain. They'll probably reach 3rd level by the end of it. So here it is. This adventure brought peace to a warring galaxy. What did you ever do? Oh, you picked up this adventure? Good start. And awaaaay we go!
You are Erystelle of Dorneryll, famed elfin champion and magic-user. After years of adventuring, you have come home to the Emerlas - the hauntingly beautiful elfin woodland at the tip of Canolbarth forest. A place of legends and of peace. The journey has been long, but soon the winding forest track will bring you to Dorneryll, the majestic oak tree home of your childhood. Ahead, you glimpse a plume of smoke curling lazily into the sky. Dorneyll is close, and your mind floods with thoughts of home. Suddenly, your reverie is shattered! The thin plume of smoke is gone, an in its place a column of red flame leaps high among the trees. Dorneryll is under attack! Gripping your lance, you urge your mount into a gallop. Starbow surges forward; your war dogs close on her heels... Blade of Vengeance is an adventure for one player and one dungeon master, featuring a lone elf against the forces of evil. Can you save the Emerlas from destruction? The answer waits inside. TSR 9108
It is Autumn. Most of the clans of the Great Valley have departed south with the herd animals they depend on for survival. But one small clan lags behind. For seven nights they have been unable to travel, plagued by a terrible monster known as the Night Thing, which has killed their people and wounded more. Your party answers the call of dwarf chieftain Skarna Two-Axe, begging hunters from neighboring clans to pursue and kill the monster that’s been attacking her clan, and that slayed her son. Starting at the chieftain’s clanfire, the characters uncover mysteries about the creature that can only be fully solved by tracking the awful Night Thing to its lair, which is full of frightening apparitions. As the party ventures deeper into the Night Thing's lair, they'll discover an even deeper menace, and a plot to overthrow the chieftain. Only they can save Skarna and her people from the grim machinations of their powerful enemies! Published by Atlas Games
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
Surviving the shipwreck is easy; living through the wizardly bet afterward is not. Their game could mean your lives. A storm caused the PCs' vessel to sink and is now forcing them to seek shelter in the keep on the remote isle. Their goal is to locate a boat or some other means of transportation to return to the mainland after the storm has passed. But first, they must survive the tests and traps the island's inhabitants have set for them. Pgs. 45-64
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
"More than five hundred years ago, clans of dwarves and gnomes made an agreement known as the Phandelver’s Pact, by which they would share a rich mine in a wondrous cavern known as Wave Echo Cave. In addition to its mineral wealth, the mine contained great magical power. Human spellcasters allied themselves with the dwarves and gnomes to channel and bind that energy into a great forge (called the Forge of Spells), where magic items could be crafted. Times were good, and the nearby human town of Phandalin (pronounced fan-duh-lin) prospered as well. But then disaster struck when orcs swept through the North and laid waste to all in their path. A powerful force of orcs reinforced by evil mercenary wizards attacked wave echo cave to seize its riches and magic treasures. Human wizards fought alongside their dwarf and gnome allies to defend the Forge of Spells, and the ensuing spell battle destroyed much of the cavern. Few survived the cave-ins and tremors, and the location of Wave Echo Cave was lost. For centuries, rumours of buried riches have attracted treasure seekers and opportunists to the area around Phandalin, but no one has ever succeeded in locating the lost mine. In recent years, people have resettled the area. Phandalin is now a rough-and-tumble frontier town. More important, the Rockseeker brothers - a trio of dwarves - have discovered the entrance to Wave Echo Cave, and they intend to reopen the mines. Unfortunately for the Rockseekers, they are not the only ones interested in Wave Echo Cave. A mysterious villain known as the Black Spider controls a network of bandit gangs and goblin tribes in the area, and his agents have followed the Rockseekers to their prize. Now the Black Spider wants Wave Echo Cave for himself, and he is taking steps to make sure no one else knows where it is." Extra Info from AL.com users: by @marcellarius. "There are a variety of locations in this adventure: the town of Phandalin, a gang hideout, a ruined keep in the forest, a destroyed village, and Wave Echo Cave (a dungeon crawl). The adventure is written in a sandbox style and relies on the players to choose their path. Phandalin offers several side-quests which could serve as hooks for continuing adventures. The premade characters have ties in their backgrounds to NPCs and locations. If you're not using these you'll need to consider other ways to introduce key NPCs."
The Wizard’s Amulet is a short, introductory adventure for six newly created good-aligned 1st-level characters. The adventure revolves around Corian, a fledgling Sorcerer. While an apprentice, Corian discovered a letter written by a wizard named Eralion, who it is said some years ago attempted to become a lich—and failed. Accompanying the letter was a mysterious amulet with strange markings. Joined by newfound companions, Corian set off in search of Eralion’s keep and his supposedly unguarded treasure. But Corian is not alone in desiring to unlock the mystery of Eralion’s fate. Darker, more evil forces have designs on the secrets reputedly hidden with Eralion—forces willing to stop at nothing to obtain… The Wizard’s Amulet.
When Fort Iron was taken from the duergar who inhabited it, much of their subterranean quarters were never fully explored. An ancient oubliette has been discovered and its contents have disturbed the miners. Can the mine and the miners be saved from the dangers of the Oubliette of Fort Iron?
Wise rogues join the government, where their larceny has the cover of “legality” and the cash comes in heaps and piles from deceitful receipts and pocketed procurements rather than in small, bloodstained purses from breaking windows, scaling walls, and risking traps and long-fanged guard dogs. Wise rogues do not, by choice, go up against towering giants armed with clubs larger than the tallest rogue in the guild. Nor do they try to nick treasure from dragons without a group of powerful fellow adventurers behind them, who can hurl mighty spells, hack and hew toe to toe with an angry wyrm, heal the injured, and (when things go as they usually do), resurrect the dead. There are wise rogues, and then there are player characters. Emeralds of Highfang awaits them with open arms, offering special challenges and rewards to rogue characters—but as always, the prospects are much better for a party of adventurers from a variety of classes, with wide skills and experience, and of high level. Some might find that a broad base of experience is not only helpful, but essential for survival.