The waters of a sunless sea meet a pebble-strewn shore, beyond which opens a wide Underdark vista shimmering with pale cave-light. Titanic columns as big as castles march miles into the misted distance. The wide, steeply sloping base of the nearest colossal column is carved with streets, walls, and elaborate structures, many with gaping, empty windows. A few glimmer with faint illumination. Are you brave enough to explore the spire-city and face the terrors that lurk within? Part 2 of the Barrow of the Forgotten King series. Followed by Fortress of the Yuan-ti.
An Adventure for 0-Level Characters Remember the good old days, when adventures were underground, NPCs were there to be killed, and the finale of every dungeon was the dragon on the 20th level? Those days are back. Dungeon Crawl Classics don’t waste your time with long-winded speeches, weird campaign settings, or NPCs who aren’t meant to be killed. Each adventure is 100% good, solid dungeon crawl, with the monsters you know, the traps you fear, and the secret doors you know are there somewhere. For the past few years, an ogre that lairs in a cave near the wilderness town of Dundraville has demanded tributes of ale and supplies. The villagers were happy to comply, lest the brute attack them or destroy their property. But recently, the ogre changed his demands. Now he wants gold, building supplies — and captives! When the ogre walked into town only to have his request denied, he flew into a rage. The brute dragged two townsfolk off to his cave, to be eaten for sure! The villagers have no heroes to protect them — so someone must rise to the challenge! Six determined townsfolk have taken justice into their own hands. Can these village commoners defeat the ogre in his own lair before their fellows are eaten?
The once-dwarven wizard Hehranna knows that her previous race, for all its pride and skill, is hampered and distracted by lesser concerns—family, friendship, emotion. Once they join the Hive, they won’t begrudge a few moments of pain in exchange for the industrious awakening she has to offer them. Pgs. 16-32
Most adventurers like to think that when their number is finally up, their colleagues will bring them home, either to be raised or at least returned to their families for a proper burial. But how far will the PCs go in order to do right by a fallen adventurer? And will they draw the line at hauling his coffin out of the Underdark? Pgs. 20-40
An unusually severe drought in a remote area recently worsened dramatically when three lakes dried up almost simultaneously. The locals suspect foul play, and the foulest player they know is a bugbear named Relgore -- the leader of a highly successful group of humanoid bandits. Could he be seeking revenge for the militia attacks that recently dispersed his band?
What was supposed to be a simple prisoner transfer grows complicated when the PCs arrive at a prison that’s recently come under new management.
The PCs follow the trail of some particularly competent kobold thieves to the lair of a dragon cult deep in the swamp. There they discover efforts underway to grant sentience to the skeleton of a powerful red dragon once named Flame. Eventually the PCs determine that trouble has returned to the Western Mountains in the form of a band of fire giants ruled by a clone of the original red dragon named Flame.
The last remains of a sage from an age long past rests high atop the snow-covered tips of the Fog Peaks in Southern Galt and the Society wants his bones in order to study them and learn from them. They've sent you into a wintry wilderness of primordial beastmen and snow creatures not seen below the snow line to do just that. With the Aspis Consortium also seeking the bones, the race is on to beat them to the top and, once the bones are recovered, to make it back down alive.
Temple of the Gleaming Sands is a short adventure for four 5th-level characters that features monsters, spells, and items from the newly released Sandstorm book. You can use this scenario to introduce the new material on deserts and arid wastelands into your campaign, or you can just use it as a site-based adventure in a desert area. The scenario is set in a remote area of the desert that very few humanoid travelers visit. The temple from which the adventure takes its name has lain forgotten for centuries and is now inhabited only by monsters who use it as a base. The area around the temple should be inhospitable enough to discourage humanoid settlement.
The sleepy village of Raven's Lake has a secret: A terrible god lives in the depths of the settlement's namesake. The citizens of Raven's Lake know that something lives in the lake. People who go out on the lake after dark go missing far too often and frequently turn up weeks later with no memory of where they've been. The local church of St. Cuthbert has been abandoned no fewer than seven times in the last two years, each time its lone cleric packing hastily and fleeing town without a word. Adventurers who come to Raven's Lake have a habit of vanishing forever. The truth is that something does indeed live in Raven's Lake but it is far from a deity. It's an exiled aboleth by the name of Zlorthishen.
The colony of Farshore has survived on its own for years, a secluded and struggling hamlet perched on the western shore of the tiny island of Temute. An island dwarfed by the savage landscape across the narrow channel to the north, a landscape of rugged mountains, tangled jungles, and trackless swamps. This is the Isle of Dread, and its resources and hidden treasures are matched only by its peril. Yet for all these dangers, what may bring doom to Farshore is not an invasion of inhuman monsters from the mainland, but an invasion of all-too-human monsters from across the sea. "Tides of Dread" is the fifth chapter of the Savage Tides Adventure Path, a complete campaign consisting of 12 adventures appearing in Dungeon magazine. For additional aid in running this campaign, check out Dragon magazine's monthly "Savage Tidings" articles, a series that helps players and DMs prepare for and expand upon the campaign. Issue #352 of Dragon magazine features rumors of Farshore, a helpful list of improvements the PCs can make to the colony, and other features to help get PCs oriented in their new home on the Isle of Dread. The destruction of a pirate ship signals the beginning of a Crimson Fleet invasion. The PCs must race against time to prepare for the onslaught before an old enemy can release another savage tide. Pgs. 28-59 Also see Pgs. 60-71 Backdrop: Farshore City of Hope.
Magical soul gems have been stolen from the secret vault of the goddess of death and scattered across the planes. Some want these gems to unlock the secrets of the multiverse. Others want them for personal power. Still others want them to resurrect a fallen deity. As the god of oblivion looms near, can the PCs retrieve the gems from their new owners in time to save their world? Beyond the Vault of Souls is a planar adventure for 9th-level characters, compatible with the 3.5 edition of the world’s oldest roleplaying game. Within you’ll visit the Eternal City of Axis, brave the dangers of the Abyss, and match wits with the torturer daemons of Abaddon. This adventure is set in the Outer Sphere of the Pathfinder Chronicles campaign setting, but can easily be placed in the strange planes and dimensions of any game world. It can be used on its own or enhanced with information from The Great Beyond, A Guide to the Multiverse.
Someone kidnapped Lady Anilah Salhar—the Chelish wife of Dremdhet Salhar, one of Osirion's many Grand Ambassadors to Absalom—and sold her into slavery. With Salhar holding delve permits over the heads of the Decemvirute, the Pathfinders are sent to assist the Osirian Ambassador. Venturing into Absalom's darkest corners to save Lady Anilah, the Pathfinders must face the secrets of the Slave Pits to avoid becoming slaves themselves.
Wherein a solid plan to ransom captured wands turns sour for three friends and their employees, and a local luminary loses his tongue.
Demonheart is a D20 adventure campaign for 4-5 characters. As it is a long and fairly involved story, characters should be level 6-8 when they begin and will earn enough experience to rise to levels 10-12. Demonheart includes many opportunities for both combat and roleplaying. At least one fighter-type is required, and given the wild, frontier nature of the campaign, a ranger’s skills would be especially useful. Stealth and intrigue also favor rogue characters, while a cleric, particularly from a martial order who can fight well would find plenty of opportunity to use his or her powers against the undead and evil outsiders. Demonheart also takes place in a wilderness setting where ancient magic abounds, and the special nature skills of a druid will help the party to make friends with some of the land’s fey or wild elvish inhabitants. Sorcerers and wizards will likewise find use for their talents, but those who understand divine or druidic magic may be more important than arcanists. As this adventure involves the struggle against evil, both ancient and resurgent, the party’s overall alignment should be good, though individuals of other alignments may be tempted to use the ancient magic of the forest for their own ends, or even join with the forces of evil!
His name has inspired fear in legions of heroes, and his cult has lurked in the dismal reaches of the world for countless ages. His minions are savage and feral, his worshipers vile and wretched. He is Demogorgon, and his temples are nightmare realms haunted by primeval menaces and hateful legacies from a time when the world was savage. And now, a vengeful death knight has discovered one of these lost temples—will the PCs aid him in his dark quest for revenge, or will they fall before the awakened host of the Prince of Demons? Pgs. 64-83
A dungeon of tricky puzzles, ancient magical secrets, and more than a few lingering mysteries, designed to be played as a standalone adventure and not incorporated into another campaign. Six adventurers descend into the Temple of Mysteries to find a mystical artifact called the Strand of Tears. Seems straightforward enough, except that some of the party may not be who they say they are. In fact, none of the party may be who they say they are. Not only that, but they might not be who they don't say they are, either! Worst of all, they're trapped in the ruins of an underground temple specifically designed to keep people from proceeding unless they're proficient in puzzle-solving...and there may be doppelgangers on the loose.
Alhaster is in flames, choking on the poison mists of the Wormgod's first tentative breaths on the Material Plane. The Age of Worms has begun, and unless the PCs can kill a god, this new age will be dark indeed. "Dawn of a New Age" is the final installment of the Age of Worms Adventure Path, a complete campaign consisting of 12 adventures, several "Backdrop" articles to help Dungeon masters run the series, and a handful of poster maps of key locations. For additional aid in running this campaign, check out Dragon's monthly "Worm Food" articles, a series that provides additional materials to help players survive this campaign. Issue #334 of Dragon presents some advice on rules specific to the Age of Worms to aid players (and DMs) in making the transition beyond 20th level. Pgs. 52-86
The mighty dragon Oroshar lies dead, as does the barbarian king who slew him. Yet the dragon's spirit does not rest quietly. His wrath lingers in one of the teeth lodged in the dead king's corpse, awaiting only the caress of the funeral pyre to awaken into something far worse than a dragon of flesh and bone. A D&D adventure for 7th-level characters.
The fair Yayosei were the children of an ancient tribe of benign river spirits, until they tried to preserve their paradise by trapping the power of the Void Dragon. Their home was indeed preserved, but at a terrible cost. Today, the descendants of the Yayosei have degenerated into beasts, but what remains trapped within the Palace of Plenty is much worse. An Oriental Adventures scenario for 10th-level characters.