For centuries, the Great Swamp has hidden hints of an ancient culture of barbarian kings. While passing through this miserable bog, the PCs encounter Stygoth the Damned, a half-dead black dragon driven mad by a mysterious disease. Delving further, the heroes discover that the disease is tied to the very swamp itself. A great corruption once infested this place, destroying the savage barbarian kings and leaving only mighty statues as their legacy. Now this corruption has returned, and a terrible Witch Queen is mining the corrupted swamp-earth to produce evil, blighted artifacts. In order to stop the spread of these evil weapons, the heroes must enter the ancient caves of the savage kings, put to rest the corrupt legacy of their downfall, end the disease that scars the land, and then face off against the Witch Queen herself.
This adventure is the ninth part of the Shackled City Adventure Path that began with "Life's Bazaar" (Dungeon #97) Wherein a group of diverse and talented allies learns the folly of not working together against a common foe.
Though small, Seawell is a prosperous trading town with a good location on the coast. Next to it is a long peninsula that features mostly swamplike terrain. The inhabitants of this peninsula include tribes of lizardfolk, plus several kinds of reptiles and amphibians. Most of these creatures don't bother the town, and Seawell's militia is experienced at repulsing raids by the more aggressive lizardfolk. A large reef extends the entire length of the peninsula on the side away from Seawell. This great wall of coral is a favorite site for fishermen, but it has always presented a serious hazard to ships approaching from that direction. Thus, about 45 years ago, the people of Seawell built a lighthouse on a small promontory near the reef, about 200 yards from the shoreline. Operated by a family that lived inside it, this lighthouse ensured that ships could easily steer clear of the reef. A few weeks ago, ships stopped arriving from that direction. Three ships are now overdue, and the people of Seawell have begun to suspect foul play. Thus far, however, they have not been able to investigate because of increased raiding by the lizardfolk. Something has stirred them up, and the town militia has been too busy repulsing raids to mount an expedition to the reef. Wreck Ashore is a short D&D adventure for four 1st level player characters (PCs). The scenario takes place on and around a swampy peninsula that juts out from a longer stretch of coastline. Along one side of this peninsula stretches a dangerous reef. Just offshore on the reef side stands a lighthouse built to warn ships of the danger. At the base of the peninsula on the side away from the reef is a small port town called Seawell.
The great city of Absalom is known as a center for trade, education, and art. Inside the Ivy District reside dozens of famous artists, but one has the talent to bring his paintings to life and use paint to conjure terrible monsters bent on destruction. Can the player characters stop the mad painter before he perfects his art? Gallery of Evil is an urban adventure for 8th-level characters, compatible with the world's most popular fantasy roleplaying game. This adventure includes details on the metropolis of Absalom's Ivy District, as well as the home of the diabolical artist and his twisted works. The PCs must track down the deadly paintings and discover the true identity of the artist behind it all.
A short adventure for the Midnight campaign setting from Fantasy Flight Games. An important resistance member has been captured by the Shadow, and the adventurers are called upon to ensure--through any means necessary--that the information he knows is not passed on to the enemy.
Akeni was born a servant to a powerful drow family deep underground, but her personality was anything but servile. When she was caught in an affair with the house matron's mate, she killed the matron and her own paramour and fled, eventually stumbling into the lair of a powerful beholder mage named Ormathulak. Akeni knew immediately that the creature was just the ally she needed to wipe out her hated family. Pgs. 56-60
Every seven years, the elven village of Mellorell hosts the Festival of Life, an opportunity to trade, shop, and celebrate with the folk of nearby lands. But a dark secret that could cost the life of fairgoers draws the heroes into a plot that leads all the way to Hades. The core of the adventure is a short thirteen room lair with grimlock guards, a basilisk pet and Malifustal the Night Hag, who guards a portal to Hades. Pgs. 12-33
Deep beneath the Isle of Dread, in a place forgotten by the world of light, an ancient, unfathomable evil festers. Within the desiccated ruin known as Golsimorga, the debased kopru servants of Demogorgon work foul rites, steeping immature shadow pearls in pits of liquid insanity. None from the world above have yet fathomed what terrors lurk beneath the Isle of Dread, nor what mad scheme roils to profane life deep within the city's gangrenous corpse. "The Lightless Depths" is the sixth 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 #353 of Dragon features ways to improve the PCs' vessel, the Sea Wyvern, as they take their adventures back to the seas. When the PCs journey deep under the Isle of Dread to find the source of the shadow pearls, they discover horrors beyond imagining in a haunted underground city perched on sanity's razored edge. Pgs. 28-66
When the Pathfinder-obsessed daughter of one Qadira's most powerful trade princes goes missing trying to impress the Society, her father angrily demands the Pathfinders track her down or face expulsion from Katheer. Tracking the missing princess leads you to an underground complex filled with traps, tricks, and a creature so powerful, she's lived for a thousand years. Can you save the princess and uncover the power of the Eternal Obelisk?
Dutch "Boss" Tillinghast, leader of the Sea Lord's Guard, is as corrupt as he is powerful. When his disloyal and understaffed Guard fail to capture a magic-using thief, Tillinghast turns to mercenaries--i.e., the PCs. "Thieves and Liars" is a short "interlude" adventure designed to be played between Terror in Freeport and Madness in Freeport.
"Auranorex, the greatest gold dragon in the world, is dead and his kin are looking for answers. To uncover the mystery of his demise, the heroes must travel to the one place forbidden to all mortals: the dragon graveyard. Guardians of Dragonfall is a mid-level adventure written by Anson Caralya that has the players investigating the untimely death of a dragon. Violating the dragon graveyard is a death sentence and the heroes must risk their very life if they are to uncover the secret behind Auranorex’s fate."
A short adventure for the Midnight campaign setting from Fantasy Flight Games. On a mission to retrieve information important to the resistance, the adventures get caught up in struggles between factions of the Shadow.
In the town of Bellhold, it's not difficult to realize that something is wrong. Everyone is irritable and suffering from nightmares, children are missing, and the local adventuring company has been gone for a week. Yet the townsfolk's headaches are sure to pass, so the mayor is not especially worried. He should be. Of Sound Mind flings you into a maelstrom of trouble, for the situation is much, much worse than it first appears. Before your investigation is over, you will be dangling from cliffs, descending deep into a mountain's bowels, uncovering lost hoards of treasure, fleeing from people you thought were friends, and desperately trying to outwit an enemy that is far more than you could ever imagine. The fate of thousands hinges on your success or failure. Think your up for it? Published by Fiery Dragon
Magical trinkets, unusual creatures, strange and mysterious artifacts, and more can be had at a discount at Gwen's Relics on Church Street. Now, the store's most outrageous acquisition has arrived, and the resulting chaos threatens to destroy the shop and release a plague of monsters into the town. Can the PCs stop the catastrophe before it spreads too far? What happens when a vagabond finds a weird snake down by the river and gives it to the local curio shop? Find out in "The Menagerie," winner of the Origins/DUNGEON Side Trek Design Competition. Pgs. 78-83
Fort Akor has come under attack by a dragon, but when the PCs seek out the beast in the surrounding jungle they discover the dragon may be the least of the fort’s troubles. The Pcs travel to Fort Akor, where they learn that the fort has been under attack by a dragon (which is really a tyrannosaur). Prince Henri asks the PCs to slay the dragon attacking his fort before it causes further damage. If the PCs investigate the fort before setting out after the tyrannosaur, they may discover the hidden corpse of its hatchling. They may also discover the truth behind the fort's dark history. Tracking the "dragon" to its lair and slaying it for Prince Henri forces the characters into conflict with a faction of the centaurs living in the jungle, who disposed the hatchlings corpse at the fort. Discoveruing the truth of the prince's conflict with the jungle natives might lead to an alliance. Pgs. 16-41
A top the crown of the Isle of Dread, a hateful monster broods. Spawned by the Price of Demons, the architect of the shadow pearls dwells deep under the ruins of ancient Thanaclan. As long as this vile monster lives, the threat of the savage tide remains, looming dark on the horizon. "City of Broken Idols" is the seventh 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 #354 of Dragon magazine features the totemic demonslayer, a new prestige class that focuses on fighting and defeating demons, be they at the heart of the Isle of Dread or encountered in the depths of the Abyss itself. The central mesa of the Isle of Dread is taboo to the locals, a place shrouded in mystery and cloaked in rumor. The time has come to confront the evil that dwells atop the island’s savage crown. Pgs. 54-84
The PCs find themselves besieged by marauding elves in a wilderness trading outpost. Can they organize a defense of Outpost Three against the elves and their sinister allies—and figure out why the elves attack night after night? Pgs. 32-50
An adventure for the Midnight campaign setting from Fantasy Flight Games. The adventurers make contact with the Baden's Bluff underground to investigate a pair of recent murders. This adventure emphasizes information gathering and deduction, rather than combat.
Something's not right in the hamlet of Verdinica. Why do the locals wear such thick clothing, even in the midst of a heart and muggy summer? And what sort of "prisoners" could make the strange, sloshing noises that are heard some nights coming from the gaol? Pgs. 38-57
When Pathfinder Colm Safan entered the Nethys-linked heart of the fabled dungeon known as the Ravenous Sphinx, the Pathfinder Society expected to solve one of Osirion's greatest riddles. Months passed with no word from Safan, and you and your fellow Pathfinders find yourselves dispatched into the desolate wastes of Osirion's notorious Parched Dunes to find the sphinx, find Safan, and uncover the mystery he sought. With a band of cloaked riders on your trail and a trap-filled dungeon ahead, will you solve the third riddle before time runs out?