Gifts for Him is a short, challenging, open-ended, gothic-horror, 5E-compatible Christmas adventure for tier 1 characters to be run in about three sessions, but it can be easily adapted as a one-shot. It contains over 25 pages with original artwork, three original battle maps, three unique monsters, stat blocks for five NPCs, three magic items, and a partridge in a pear tree. ----- The village of Bargrave has a secret. Every year, on Christmas Eve, the villagers cower in their homes while a savage beast prowls the streets, wreaking bloody doom on whomever has not left it a suitable gift on their doorstep. But Elias Buhl has had enough. This year, the old farmer won’t be buying the beast a gift, hoping instead to bait it into attacking him at his homestead, where he will trap and kill it once and for all. But he can’t do it alone. Buhl has hired a band of adventures to help him fortify his home, set traps, and slay the creature. They have three days to prepare, gather allies and equipment, and plan their defense. Or… They can dig a little deeper and uncover what Bargrave has been hiding all these years. Will they slay the beast, as agreed? Might they capture it to use it for their own ends? Can it be redeemed? Or will they die — their blood melting the snow — just the latest victims of the creature’s reign of terror? --- Gifts for Him is a complete, playtested, illustrated adventure that is currently pay what you want.
Searching for a Shorebird A gnome contacts the characters in the Lucky Liar tavern of Lonelywood, and informs them of a legendary bird that has been sighted in the forest. A Tier 1, two hour adventure for Dungeoncraft (Plague of Ancients) using the Snipe Hunt Hook. Optimized for APL: 3
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
What angers the spirits? You don't have long to find out. An angry spirit can even steal the rain. The characters must appease a spirit that has brought drought to the area. Before they can summon him, however, they'll need to collect magical water from three shrines. Pgs. 35-43
"Terror by night! The village of Orlane is dying. Once a small and thriving community, Orlane has become a maze of locked doors and frightened faces. Strangers are shunned, trade has withered. Rumors flourish, growing wilder with each retelling. Terrified peasants flee their homes, abandoning their farms with no explanation. Others simply disappear. . . No one seems to know the cause of the decay -- why are there no clues? Who skulks through the twisted shadows of the night? Who or what is behind the doom that has overtaken the village? It will take a brave and skillful band of adventurers to solve the dark riddle of Orlane!" TSR 9063
Daggerford is fairly quiet for a frontier town. Sure, lizard men raid the local baron's holding now and then, orcs sneak out of the Misty Forest to raid caravans on the Trade Way, and Lady Bronwyn has a few suitors who are a touch too passionate, but there's nothing going on that a member of the renowned Daggerford militia can't handle. Except that the Shining River has turned green, and cattle are dying. Except that the Elf King of Laughing Hollow, a place where no human dares go without fearing for his life, is asking the militia for help. Except that strange substances are oozing from the fissures caused by a recent earthquake. Except that the earthquake also has opened an entrance in the cliffs around the Laughing Hollow that might lead to the fabled dwarf mines of Illefarn. Suddenly, being a militiaman isn't quite as easy as it used to be. TSR 9212
30 Ravenloft adventures inspired by various domains of dread, including Gothic Earth, that can be played as a single campaign! Dreams of Solitude is a collection of thirty exciting adventures that can either be played as a campaign, run as a one-shot, or have pieces taken out to supplement your current home game! You'll meet your match against Atarte, the evil master of dreams, who will task you to defend ancient fortresses from the undead, explore a terrifying maze, fight in the trenches of world war 1 or even a karaoke contest with werewolves! It's SO much fun, and you'll be able to go back for more adventures, again and again! Adventures summary: Demon's Isle: Explore a watery cave and find your way to the Pirate Demon Zekel! Airic's Forest: Survive a forest ruled by werewolves while you try to find the cure for lycanthropy! Fractured City: Enter a glitchy uncompleted illusory town and try to find the "Butcher" that roams the dark alleys. The Heinfroth Heist: Enter Dr. Heinfroth's asylum and steal his journal without becoming his test subject! Tomb of the Hentempet the Red Queen: Face Hentempet the red queen inside her Pharaoh tomb! Graveyard Of invitation: Enter a cursed graveyard and follow the clues to find the reason why the undead have risen! Fey Blood Merchant: Help the Vistani child escape his Rakshasha master before he returns! Horrors in Chateaufaux: Play the role of the Gendarmerie guards and find out who creates chaos in the roads of Dementlieu! On the Run: Explore an ancient tomb and escape the curse that you have unleashed! Vampire Escort Child: Can you help this poor child leave this jail meant for monsters? Defend the Keep!: Command your own military force to defend a keep against waves of undead! Lena's Pets: Explore the heidius laboratory of Frantisek Markov's student and escape before you become body parts for her next experiment! Lava trip: Who would want to be inside an ACTIVE VOLCANO? RUN! Escape Rooms: Find the way to escape before time runs out! How investigative are you? Singing Showdown: Karaoke competition with werewolves??? Labyrinthine Horror: Can you escape the labyrinth before the Vampiric Minotaur catches you? Teety's Hunt for Lulo: Find Teety's elusive love in an enchanted forest of pain! Monster Lab: Create your own Flesh Golem and make sure you are a good parent! Through fire and steel: Run through the No-man's-land while enemy planes and tanks bombard you and assassinate the enemy general! Don't forget to dodge the bullets! Drowning in Filth: Will you manage to escape before you drown in filth? Wilted Roses: Explore the forests of Sithicus and find the Black Rose Effigy! Shyclin’s Circus: An encounter inspired by the Carnival. The joke's on you! Among Us: Can you find shelter in a small cabin found in the woods? The Free Trader, Mist Runner: Avoid the enemy pirate ship at all cost while trying to reach the port with your own ship! The Curious Case of the Man Who Drowned in Air: Solve a detective's case in Victorian era London! Night at the Museum: Protect the museum's artifacts from invisible adversaries! Raid the Shadow: Lay siege on a castle controlled by the undead! Who could be its ruler? Journey to the Center: Control a mechanical worm of Kwalish and drill to the center of the earth to mine mithril! Journey Through Barovia: Visit Barovia's most famous places while trying to solve riddles or die trying! Choose Nothing: Solve a Death Slaad's riddle or get mad! The Final Dream: Tackle Atarte and their illusions in an environment that continiously alters between all of the dream-adventures! Only few can take on a Darklord and live to tell the tale! Published by Mistfactor Press
WE-1: Red Dawn: An Eberron adventure about the end of the world. The year is 1019 YK, and the world is ending. Twenty-three years ago, the nations that were once Galifar signed the Treaty of Thronehold and ended the Last War. Now, the drums of war rumble once again. The peace that lasted a generation is threatened, and Eberron may go to war once again. As a member of the Scions of the Second Dawn, a secretive order dedicated to studying the Draconic Prophecy, this is merely background to you. Or, it was, until the eve of your initiation as full Scions. You emerged from the rite to find your monastery destroyed, bandits looting it, and all your friends and allies slain. You are the last survivors of your order, and the world is ending. You cannot stop the end of the world. But you can rebuild it. Can you escape the wreck of your secret order’s monastery, journey across the mountains in winter, search the mountain valley to unlock the cipher, and discover how to rebuild the world? Or will your frozen bodies join those of your fellows? Will you fall to fatalism and ennui, or will you fight to save what can be saved and rebuild what can be rebuilt? Find out, in the light of this RED DAWN.
In the canyon of Thunder Rift, in the village of Kleine, goblins have always been a nuisance, but the natives have dealt with them and continued an otherwise peaceful existence. Now, a valuable magical item, called the scepter of truth, has disappeared! The ingenuity of the crime bears the mark of the goblins' leader, the Master Thief Raven. The scepter must be recovered, but there is no one in Kleine with the strength and courage to penetrate Raven's trap-laden hide-out, deep in goblin territory. A party of stout adventurers might survive the mission, but they will have to be quick, smart, and especially careful. This module has been created especially for the inexperienced Dungeon Master and players who are interested in the exploration of dungeons and ruins. TSR 9350
Jarl Aelfric Whitehand of Jotunspine, one of the Moonshae Isles, is not happy. His ward, Cordin Wainthrower, has disappeared. Clues imply that Cordin has headed for a ruined keep deep in the Giantspine Mountains. The characters are tasked by the jarl to track down Cordin and bring him back to safety – the Giantspines are filled with many dangers including the legendary Winter King, a fey of great power. Will the characters force Cordin to return to the keep or help him in his quest to restore a family heirloom? If they help him, they must face the chilling depths of the crypt of Icegate Keep. Icegate Keep is an adventure for the first tier, levels 1 to 4. The adventure includes full scaling recommendations for each level, as well as four pre-generated PCs at each of the four levels. The adventure is designed to be tough for the pre-gen PCs, who have little magic to brave the icy mountains. It is estimated to take 4-6 hours to play. The adventure has several new monsters including Ice Wights, Ice Zombies, Frostsnakes, and the infamous Winter King. New magic items are also included such as the greatsword Frostreaver, the ancient Snowbane dagger, the Horn of the Howling Wolf, and the Throne of the Winter King. There is a player handout outlining the legend of the Winter King and three battlemaps showing separate levels of the small keep.
The Dungeon of Graves, is nothing more and nothing less than a good, old–fashioned, First Edition dungeon crawl updated for the 5th Edition Roleplaying Game. Very difficult, it should strike fear into the hearts of the most stalwart adventurers. It offers an abundance of traps, tricks, and monsters. We hope that you find this module as fun and exciting as those thousands of players who have ventured into (and not as often out of) the endless caverns and mazes of Rappan Athuk—The Dungeon of Graves. Rappan Athuk is a difficult dungeon. Even the upper dungeon levels should not be attempted by a party of less than six mid-level characters.
The Frozen Necromancer is a three-part adventure for Fifth Edition that takes player characters from levels 1 to 4. This adventure is the first in a storyline of four modules called The Demonplague that can be used as an entire campaign that takes characters from level 1 to 20. The entire adventure (or just pieces, characters, or encounters from The Frozen Necromancer) can be dropped into any fantasy setting with minimal changes
Things are darkest before they go totally black. He wears black, hires orcs, and looks depraved - but don't be fooled. He's far more dangerous than he seems. Thaddigren Dentiata recently arrived in the village of Sisak, and within 3 months had constructed a great tower on the outskirts. The villagers have become more wary of him, since he employs the help of orc henchment (albeit polite ones), and also is suspected of using dark magic. Since then, livestock has begun disappearing from the surrounding pastures, and two drunk men fell upon a terrible fate when they went to investigate the tower secretly. One was killed and the other remains missing. The villagers have confronted Dentiata, but he and his henchmen politely turned aside their questioning. The players arrive just after one of the town elders was taken by orcs from the village after trying in vain to rally the rest of the townspeople. The players will spend some time in the village gathering information and then attack the tower itself, ending in a final battle with the evil wizard. The module provides details on all buildings in the town as well as all NPCs and stores. Pgs. 6-24
Pursued by wolves and worse, the party must fight a running battle to take refuge at the relative safety of the Bittermoon Inn, a decrepit old inn high in the mountains. But night is falling, can they uncover the secrets of the inn and use them to survive the night? This adventure can be played as a stand alone one-shot, or can be used as a drop-in side quest to almost any campaign. It is suitable for a party of about 5 characters at the First Tier (Levels 1-4). The players must fight a running battle with wolves to reach Bittermoon, then they must discover the secrets of the inn before escaping through a smuggler's tunnel. Finally they must face off against their unseen opponent at Skull Cavern. There are four encounter maps included with this title.
The forlorn Falkrest Abbey in the icy Lune Mountains is where the Queens and Kings of Yore used to be crowned and buried, along with their treasures. According to legends, the Fountain of St. Brynedd still pours its miraculous water somewhere inside. But what caused the fall of the blessed Abbey? Falkrest Abbey is a level 1–3 dungeon adventure for Old-School Essentials. Written by Andrea Tupac Mollica and Giuseppe Rotondo, with original art by Zaira Diana. Content: A 19 room dungeon with exploration, combat, mystery, puzzles and NPCs Encounters and events along the way on the icy Lune Mountains Several hooks and alternate outcomes with possible repercussions on your campaign 3 new monsters 2 new magic items, plus one almighty magic vial of miraculous water Original art by Zaira Diana Map drawn with dungeonscrawl Utility: Treasure & monsters overview sorted by room Interactive hyperlinked map and index Interactive hyperlinked map snippets accompanying room descriptions Printable hand-outs (optional) Extra files: VTT friendly maps without room numbers, monsters, secrets doors etc
For the past 9 years the small town of Haren’s Watch has been plagued by a wicked fey spirit known only as Mr. Grin. Every year the creature and its fiendish little minions torment the town over the course of three nights, culminating in the kidnap and transmutation of one of the village children into a lifeless statue made entirely of coal. It is the tenth year of Haren’s Watch suffering this calamity and this year, amidst a raging blizzard, a weary party of adventurers seeks refuge in the small village... The adventure favours characters and players who enjoy roleplaying and exploration but contains additional optional encounters for players who enjoy more combat focused play.
Forest in Twilight is a four- to six-hour adventure for 1st-2nd level characters, designed for Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition, with a forest wilderness theme, blights, druids, and a trek through the woods to find the origin of the blights. The level of guidance is for newer DMs but without being training wheels. Set in the Neverwinter Woods north of Phandalin, blights are leaving the woods and attacking settlers and travelers along the roads in the area. A group of druids wants to keep the people and forest safe, but one druid in particular is only concerned about the forest. The PCs will have to determine which side to back, if any, in finding out more about the blights and stopping the threat. This adventure can also be used as a standalone adventure, or slotted into the early quests in the Dragon of Icespire Peak or Lost Mine of Phandelver campaigns. Included with this adventure are: + 4 combat encounters and multiple opportunities for exploration and social encounters + Multiple NPCs with stated personality traits and goals, including roleplaying tips for the major ones + Hazards and diseases the characters encounter in the woods + Madness effects + 4 maps of important locations + Some guidance on how you might continue the story
The valley of Haven was a peaceful land. Its crops were abundant, its citizens prosperous. Elves, Dwarves, Halflings, and Humans lived together in harmony. Hidden away in the heart of the Thunder Mountains, Haven was a safe place to live. The rivers were sweet and pure; the weather was pleasant and warm. Something terrible has come to pass in Haven - terrified refugees speak of a fabulous ruby uncovered in the mountains and a catastrophe that befell the palace. Whatever the cause, Haven now lies in chaos. Raiding bands of orcs, goblins, and hobgoblins terrorize the countryside. The disaster happened so suddenly that the citizens are confused and helpless. Without their leaders, who are trapped in the palace, they have no courage to fight back. The situation has become desperate. TSR 9044
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
The ancient world of Harth is dying, but you’re going to die even sooner if you can’t escape from Frostwyck. You’re lost in a frozen forest of deadly predators and mysterious recluses. Your only refuge is the tiny village of Frostwyck, where metal is rare and kindness is rarer. And there are worse things in the shadows than mere bloodthirsty beasts. Witches haunt the groves of the north. Most keep to themselves, content to guard their secrets and powers. But one torments them all. Dama Zhadna has cursed the village so that none can escape. And now you’re trapped here. You’re going to die here... ...unless you can escape from the Witches of Frostwyck. Just a few things players can do: - Escape from a prison barge - Free demon souls from a giant spider-house - Find a charming witch-lord hiding with his pet dragon - Evade a merciless warrior zealot who is hunting them - Discover the ancient secrets of the Elder Fey - Collect the "cunning tools" created by the hedge witches - Collect the eldritch weapons crafted by the ancient elves - Save a little girl made of snow Intense Factions! Will you help the Temple of Virune to eradicate the last of the witches? Will you help the witch-lords retake power over the north? Will you help the Gray Sisters protect the village from the dangers of the forest? Or will you venture underground and help the Elder Fey to escape their prison and take their revenge? Four New Mentors! While in Frostwyck, players can meet many skilled NPCs who might be willing to train a worthy adventurer. If you can complete 3 days of training, you can learn one of 16 skills from either a Hunter, a Fighter, a Priest, or a Witch. New PC Background: The Vulgoth Hedge Witch! In addition to some unusual medicinal gear, select one of 6 creatures of the northern forest as your familiars, as well as one of 6 "cunning" items that you enchanted (and might explode in your face!).