“Strahd isn’t a villain who remains out of sight until the final scene. He travels as he desires to any place in his realm, and the more often he encounters the characters, the better. The characters can and should meet him multiple times before the final encounter…” -- Curse of Strahd What secret lies hidden in the village of Aracos that draws the devil Strahd von Zarovich? It is ancient, reaching all the way back to the days before Strahd became a vampire, before Barovia was torn from the mortal realm and cast into the Demiplane of Dread. The Song of Aracos is an adventure for the Dungeons and Dragons 5e Roleplaying Game. The module is optimized for five characters of 6th-level and is intended to be used in conjunction with the Curse of Strahd hardcover adventure by Wizards of the Coast. In The Song of Aracos, your player’s characters come face-to-face with Strahd as the vampire struggles to understand the compulsion pulling him to the village of Aracos. Whether they choose to help, or stand in his way, depends on them, and the fates.
Follow a crazy halfling into a vampire’s castle. Kingdom in the Swamp is an AD&D adventure for higher-level characters; 6th to 9th level would be suitable. While it is necessary to have strong combatant characters and at least one cleric, it is more important that the players be ready to find solutions beyond the sword or spell book. Adventure Background A few days ago, Candor Pletten, a halfling thief known more for his urban exploits, returned from a journey to the southern jungles and rain forests (or so he says). Few people have believed him in the past -- usually they have been too busy taking inventory of their possessions to even listen to him — but some are guessing that he may actually be telling the truth (certainly, he’s got a good story). Candor left town a couple of months ago with some other adventurers, but has come back alone. Most tavern patrons are of the opinion that he took his companions’ purses and ran, but why would he come back to town? And why, then, aren’t his former companions hot on his trail? Candor may be a thief, but he’s not a murderer. He even gets nauseated by cockfighting. Maybe the halfling's tale is worth hearing...
The Pyramid of Amra is a challenging adventure designed for characters of at least 12th level. Due to the nature and numbers of undead enemies (vampires), having a cleric on hand with the ability to cast raise dead and greater restoration is advisable. The PCs should be rounded out with a wizard or sorcerer and a pair of front-line fighters. In this adventure, the PCs travel to the Pyramid of Amra and the ancient Monastery of Night, where they face one of the most dangerous of opponents they are likely to meet, C’nosretep the Champion of Set.
A great evil force descended on the town of Phlan years ago. The townspeople were all either killed or driven away, and Phlan became (literally) a ghost town. Fifty years later, the survivors are ready to reclaim their town. But they need a band of strong and brave adventurers to lead the fight-they need you. Ruins of Adventure is a set of connected short adventures written by James Ward, David "Zeb" Cook, Steve Winter and Mike Breault-four names familiar to all AD&D game fans. It uses the same setting, locations and characters as the classic computer game Pool of Radiance by Strategic Simulations, Inc. In fact, many of the scenarios here in Ruins of Adventure will provide important clues to the successful completion of Pool of Radiance. TSR 9238
Vampire Church is a Fifth Edition plug-in adventure for four characters with an average party level (APL) of 5, 8, 11, or 14. This document offers details for each level and makes adjustments accordingly. A small church hides a dark secret: all of its priests are vampires. As a plug-in adventure, the adventure content serves as drop-in material for game masters who wish to add a dungeon to a preexisting campaign or need a side quest. If you need a hook for this adventure or already have a similar hook, the Vampire Church Hooks table offers details for introducing this adventure to your players.
The rubble-strewn passageway twists and turns, winding ever deeper into the mountain, lower and lower into the bowels of the ancient, forbidding halls of long-dead dwarves. The torchlight flickers, threatening to succumb to the oppressive darkness. Creeping along one striated granite wall, Arikus the warrior moves cautiously toward the great cavern ahead, its sides and walls disappearing into the gloomy distance. Cocking his head to one side to listen, he holds his hand up for a moment, demanding unconditional quiet from from his companions. Then , his arm relaxing in relief, he waves everyone forward and moves into the open. Before him, scattered to the far walls of the enormous cavern, are piles upon piles of glittering treasure - coins from countless kingdoms, sparkling gems, exquisite jewelry, and items of wondrous power - enough for twenty kings' ransoms. Arikus laughs gleefully, thrusting both hands into the nearest cache of coins to let them runs through his fingers. At that moment, a monstrous shadow looms threateningly over him. Looking up, Arikus blanches and stumbles back in horror before the terrible visage of a Great Red Wyrm. The fearsome dragon opens its razor-filled maw and spews forth a gout of white-hot flame, engulfing the hapless warrior.... The ultimate Dungeon Master Fantasy! This is the most deluxe dungeon. Designed to appeal to discriminating and demanding role-players. Adventurers, beware. This is more than just a dragon hunt. Within the lair of the beast lie cruel and deadly traps, befuddling conundrums and puzzles, and cunning minions that will be the end of overconfident or careless adventurers. Comprised of three 64-page books, for two adventures that link to one super-campaign 12 full-color reference cards 16 special player handouts Eight Monstrous Compendium sheets A Sheet of cardstock standups with 24 plastic bases. Six full-color poster maps, two of which link together to make a giant tactical playing surface for use with miniatures or the included cardstock figures. TSR 1089
Ages of Buried Evil The Bonegarden is a small nation ruled by the dead, a circular cemetery 1 mile in diameter, surrounded by a magical containment field that keeps its denizens from spilling into the innocent world beyond. Within the gate lies one of the true blights of the Domain of Hawkmoon, an immense graveyard that serves as the prison for the doomed spirits of thousands of history's most awful criminals. Those inside are determined to escape, and one of them may have found a way... An Endless Forum of Adventure The cemetery is a self-contained battlefield that abounds with undead of types the heroes have never seen, each with its own special plan for escaping its eternal confinement. The Bonegarden contains dozens of new spells, feats, monsters, and magic items. All the action takes place inside a mile-wide arena where the dead are the majority and the living are hunted like wild game. The heroes have come to the cemetery in search of adventure. The only question is... can they get out?
A collection of five one-shot adventures for Cairn! Imperial Vault 19 A grieving widow in the forest begs you to save her baby. A hedge witch has taken the infant down into an old imperial vault where she uses the child’s Chaos tears in alchemical potions. And who knows what old treasures might still be hidden in the vault? Unless it’s not that kind of vault… Barrow of the Blood Baron Face off against vampire bats, vampire thralls, and a vampire noble, as well as a few other creatures that have clawed their way into this once-armored vault. Discover works of art, exotic wines, enchanted clothing, and filthy weapons. Negotiate with the guards and intruders alike, using clever words or whatever stake-like objects are close at hand! Tomb of the Tin Templar Encounter electric jellyfish, tinker gnomes, and the rusted corpse of the noble Sir Tristan, as well as a few other creatures that have drifted into this marvelous mechanical vault. Discover windup toys, clockwork companions, and baffling devices. Negotiate with the guards and intruders alike, using clever words or whatever rusty objects are close at hand! Priory of the Primate Priest Defy root trolls, monkey monks, and a beguiling dryad, as well as a few other creatures that have found their way into this marvelous living vault. Discover magical armor, haunted skulls, and the bonest of the apes' victims. Negotiate with the guards and intruders alike, using clever words or whatever living objects are close at hand! Fane of the Fey Fellmonger Match wits with guild goblins, pixies, and a living skin suit, as well as a few other creatures that have spirited their way into this disturbing leathery vault. Discover arcane clothing, deadly sewing tools, and a fey lord who isn't entire dead yet. Negotiate with the guards and intruders alike, using clever words or whatever sewing objects are close at hand! New PC Background: The Dungeoneer! In addition to some unusual delving gear, select one of 10 unfortunate results of a recent delve-gone-wrong, as well as one of 13 helpful boons or tools from a recent delve-gone-right.
"At midnight everyone will die..." Azalin the lich lord is launching another diabolical plan. He has allied himself with the entity known as Death, and together they plan to raze the domain of Darkon. From the ashes of the once-mighty land will rise a new domain - Necropolis, the land of the dead! For the citizens of Darkon, death has been an everyday companion, and sometimes a yearned-for end to suffering. However, now the cold comfort of the grave is forever denied these good men and women as they find themselves walking the land after their breath has left them. Heroes have always considered the undead to be mere monsters, legions of mindless evil to be slain with no second thought. Now the heroes will learn the agony of actually being one of the living dead. They become monsters, and the entire world becomes their enemy. Death Triumphant: A 64-page adventure that puts the heroes in the middle of Lord Azalin's ultimate scheme to escape from Ravenloft. Death Triumphant can be played as a stand-alone adventure or as the final chapter in the Grim Harvest series. Part of TSR 1146 Requiem - The Grim Harvest
To Kill A King Death to King Ovar the tyrant! Life to law and order! Four characters are charged with a mission so insane, so daring, that terming it an assassination does not do it justice. Are the four volunteers who would lay low King Ovar killers or heroes? If murderers, how are they better than the madman theyre assigned to kill? And even if they are mere assassins, are they determined enough to overcome the Maze of Zayene? Snared in the Wizards Web
The Beautiful Hardcover Book available today at Compose Dream Games! Hell used to run on fear. Now it runs on quarterly projections. When Greed seized the Burning Throne, the first thing to go was overhead. Guards? Redundant. Torture specialists? Consolidated. The Styx? Outsourced. What remains is a skeleton crew of overworked fiends, a crumbling infrastructure of eternal punishment, and one very exploitable gap in security. Your players are the strike team. The mission: extract a damned soul who knows too much. The catch: even a budget Hell is still Hell. Expect devils who've traded pitchforks for pivot tables, infernal middle management clinging to what little power remains, and hazards that would make OSHA weep. A Privatized Little Hell is the adventure for tables that have outgrown dungeons and want something with teeth—and a severance package. A high-level dark comedy adventure for 5e that will make your current capitalist hellscape seem less bad. God’s been robbed. We’re breaking the thief out of Hell to find out where he stashed the goods. Are you in? Normally Hell would never relinquish a soul, but after a tumultuous infernal fiscal crisis/civil cold war, Pride’s out, and Greed is in. Guards have been downsized, security assets have been sold, and the Forces of Good have hatched a plot. Yet even in destitution, Hell is still dangerous. There are only a few heroes strong enough to attempt such a mission: your players! A Privatized Little Hell is a 5e-compatible Black Comedy Dungeon Crawl for roughly four characters of sixteenth level. This is a high-level hellscape that’ll keep your players chuckling, gasping, and fighting to escape. Warning: this adventure will kick your ass and charge you for the pleasure! Includes A Rare Find - The Definitive high-level indie adventure for 5e. Tortured Artistry - 104 lush pages of rich, raucous writing and art. Encounter design that respects your players' power - No trash mobs. No filler. Every fight is a set piece worthy of 16th-level legends. NPCs you'll actually remember - Devils with performance reviews, damned middle managers, and one very stressed archfiend trying to make Q4 numbers. Loot worth dying for (again) - Magic items that feel like rewards, not spreadsheet entries . The Depth Crawl System - Procedural hell generation for when your party inevitably goes off-book into the abyss.
Slain in disgrace, reborn in fury, armed to the teeth: Flame returns! Flame is back - and is he mad! The sequel to "Into the Fire" from Dungeon 1. Pgs. 42-63
Eternally does the Lord of Nessus scheme, and his designs are for all eternity; In the pit of Hell do the devils teem round his throne, and his reign is unchallenged; By the eight Dark Ones is he held supreme, and his name (speak it not!) is Asmodeus. - From "The Canticle of Thumis," 142:15 To some, justice is more important than glory, duty is more important than desire, and goodness is more important than life. The great paladin Klysandral was such a man. But even the sleep of death, at the end of a long lifetime spent battling evil, did not bring peace to Klysandral. During his funeral, the entire Temple of Neheod was dragged by terrible magic into the Nine Hells, along with the soul of Klysandral and scores of living mourners! What unearthly motive could be behind this tragedy? Only the bravest, strongest, and most resolute heroes will have the mettle to find the answer. Along the way, they will meet the enigmatic wizard Emirikil the Chaotic, sail aboard the fiendish ship Demonwing, and finally face the horrific minions and overwhelming terrors of Hell itself. Only the path of light can lead the bravest of the brave into perdition and safely out again. Step wisely, and walk in justice.
Freeport's in crisis, as war breaks out on the high seas and orcs riot in the streets. A map promises the biggest haul of booty in history, but nothing is as it seems. Buried with that treasure is a terrifying evil Freeport thought banished forever. Black Sails Over Freeport, the first mega-adventure for the award-winning pirate city, is filled with enough swashbuckling challenges to test the mettle of any band of heroes. Its 256 pages are packed with action, intrigue, and danger, delivered with the style and professionalism you've come to expect from Green Ronin. Black Sails are on the horizon. Do you have what it takes to face them?
Part 5 of the Carrion Crown Adventure Path takes place in Ustalav's capital Caliphas. The heroes are in the city to follow the trail of evidence left by the neromantic cult The Whispering Way and strengthen their bonds with the mysterious Order of the Palantine Eye. Whilst in the city, they uncover a string of murders. When they discover that all the victims were vampires, they descend into the underground vampire city and have the possibility to form a tentative alliance with the vampire clans. If they help solve the murders, the vampire lord promises to help them on their quest. What role do the deadly necromancers have in the undead murders plaguing Caliphas? What secret grudge exists between the cult and the rulers of the night? And will the heroes be able to save the capital without sacrificing their very souls? This book includes: - “Ashes at Dawn,” a Pathfinder RPG adventure for 11th-level characters, by Neil Spicer - A gazetteer of fog-haunted Caliphas, the mysterious and deadly capital of Ustalav, by F. Wesley Schneider - A terrifying look into the blasphemous church of Urgathoa, goddess of gluttony, disease, and the undead, by Sean K Reynolds - Laurel Cylphra’s attempt to steal a soul stealer in the Pathfinder’s Journal, by F. Wesley Schneider - Six new monsters by Crystal Frasier, Patrick Renie, and Sean K Reynolds
The Pit of The Oracle is a game module designed for use with the rules of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons. It can be used by itself as a self-contained campaign (or as a springboard to a larger campaign), or it can be easily incorporated into an existing campaign. Comment: Level range is my best guess. Adventure includes a lot of unique short-hand
An omnious encounter with a fortuneteller sends a party of adventurers on a 200-mile journey across the Lands of Intrigue. While traveling throught the towns and terrain (detailed here for the first time) that lie in their path, they hear rumors and obtain clues about their mission. Their ultimate destination is Castle Spulzeer, a once proud stronghold that has become a den of terror. When the heroes enter the haunted keep, they meet a terrifying trio of residents: a madman armed with stolen magical power, a liche whose secret laboratory houses untold horrors and treasure, and a furious ghost bent on revenge. These three ensnare the party in their fight over an ancient weapon. Each will stop at nothing to keep it from the other two. The heroes must choose with whom they will ally - and the wrong choice could lead to their doom. Castle Spulzeer is an adventure complete in itself. However, as a crossover story, it offers every Dungeon Master a choice between two endings. The first leaves the party in the Realms. The second transports the characters to the Demiplane of Dread, where the plot continues in the Ravenloft adventure The Forgotten Terror. For 4 to 6 Characters of Levels 8-12 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 Castle Spulzeer, originally available in hard-copy and now for sale in digital format on the DMs Guild. Visit Classicmodulestoday.com for instructions on creating your own classic module conversions and selling them on the DMs Guild. Castle Spulzeer was originally scheduled for publication by TSR in June 1997. Then, near-bankruptcy caused a total failure of TSR's schedule, resulting in no books being published from February through the very end of July. Some books would be delayed for over a year, and others would disappear altogether, but Castle Spulzeer was relatively lucky: it was just delayed four months, until October 1997. The reason may well have been its theming, and its crossover with the Ravenloft line, which made Castle Spulzeer a great Halloween release. Castle Spulzeer has an even more far-reaching connection: its ending can lead players to the demiplane of Ravenloft and The Forgotten Terror adventure. This was probably intended as a bit of advertising for Domains of Dread (1997), the third edition of Ravenloft which was released in August 1997. In other words: in their last days, TSR was working very hard to cross-market their products, but they didn't live long enough to see the success of the Spulzeer-Intrigue-Dread connection.
The ancient world of Harth withers beneath its dying sun…but it’s not dead yet. High in the night sky, a vampire’s tower is torn apart by a rampaging angel. People and monsters are trapped. Magical treasure lies scattered everywhere. It’s all yours for the taking, if you can find a way out before the angel finds you. This adventure is a one-shot dungeon-delve into a wizard’s tower. In space. With vampires. This is an alien-survival-horror-movie of an adventure (or at least, you can choose to play it that way). ADVENTURE TYPE: One-Shot / Low Level / Level 3 / Dungeon Delve / Tower / Vampires / Survival-Horror DESIGN NOTES This adventure is intended for low-level characters (around level 3). It is focused mostly on exploration, with several social encounters and opportunities for deadly combat. It runs 3 to 5 hours. There are 17 unique magical items, 17 unique monsters, and 17 unique rooms. I swear I did not plan that, it just worked out this way.
Darkness looms near Winterhaven! Kobold brigands have grown ever bolder in their attacks, marauding the once peaceful town, and a known explorer has been missing ever since their departure to the excavation site of a dragon burial site. When the party investigates, they will discover that the kobold's leader, Irontooth, bears a tattoo of a ram-headed demon. This is a troubling portent, for the townsfolk will report that this can only mean the dread god Orcus, master of death, has an active cult in that ruined keep! It is up to the party to enter the Keep on the Shadowfell and put a stop to the cult's fell machinations before it threatens all the realm. There they will fight the evil priest Kalarel, Scion of Orcus and seal off the vile portal to the dark realms he is master of. Should the heroes seize victory, glory and treasure are sure to be theirs. But first they must endure the challenges of that dreaded KEEP ON THE SHADOWFELL!
A series of small earthquakes have brought a sense of disquiet to the town of Daern Kelton and Roslof Keep. Against these strange earthly portents, the members of the Ivory Scimitar have claimed their place as a true Mithel Company, but even greater danger now awaits them in the second level of the Dungeon of the Black Fey Mithelvarn. What lost secrets will be revealed as they journey below? What new threats and adventures can be had in Daern Kelton? The town opens its doors to the brave new heroes of the Company of the Ivory Scimitar. Here continues the Roslof Keep Campaign in the pages of ROS2, The Tremors in the Machine. This adventure is formatted to both 1E & 5E gaming rules. Also available in PDF.