The citizens of Phent, which is a large town in Thesk, are a proud, yet warm and accepting folk. For the past nine years, they have been host to over six hundred orcs, which is certainly an anomaly in the average Faerûnian community. In 1360 DR, Zhentil Keep sent one thousand orcs to aid in the fight against the westward-sweeping Tuigan hordes. The orcs fought well—well enough that the citizens of Thesk welcomed them as citizens when Zhentil Keep abandoned them in this land in 1363 DR. Still, a current of unsettling concern lingers. Some believe that the orcs are still part of Zhentil Keep’s strike force, but that they went on standby to wait for the moment when their masters give the signal. Once allowed, these orcs may launch a crippling attack from within. However, in nine years, no signal has been given—at least none that any of the paranoid folk have noticed. The orcs are enthusiastic citizens and, apart from some rowdiness during breaks from the mines or fields, they have hurt no one. And then, a prophet comes, with a message of war . . . In A Call to Arms, the player characters (PCs) have a chance to prevent orcs from rising up against some humans. This adventure is designed for four 9th-level D&D® characters. The encounters can be adjusted up or down to suit your group’s needs, however.
Dark Water Trap is a mini-adventure that has a single encounter that involves Duergar using darkness and anti-darkvision to get the player to fall into a Pit trap full of water, so that the party will drown. The encounter either works as a standalone (Ie. the Duergar have been causing trouble), or as a part of a larger adventure or dungeon, Duegar or otherwise. Pgs. 26-27
Why should anyone travel the cracked cobblestones of the Old Road? The fortress that once cast its shadow across the road does so no longer - some whisper that the earth swallowed the fortress whole in an age long past. Four brave adventurers resolved to discover the truth and set off down the Old Road, but they never returned. This adventure is a first level adventure for beginning players set in the dungeon of the fallen fortress.
The Approaching Swarm is a short adventure for four 9th-level characters. The party can consist of any mix of classes, but it should include at least one character that is good in wilderness settings, such as a druid, ranger, or barbarian, and at least one cleric. This scenario should prove a reasonable challenge for characters from 8th to 10th level. The adventure takes place in a swampland that is near a small settlement. The characters attempted to cross back through the swamp to their base of operations. Along the way, they may have got stuck in mud and probably were attacked by a variety of flying insects. They arrive just a bit too late to stop a massacre that occurred back at Crivdall -- the fort is ruined and it appears that almost everyone is dead or missing. Aleretheral, an insane half-orc druid who has mastery of vermin and insects, attacked Crivdall with his insects. He has often infiltrated Crivdall by posing as a harmless elf hermit who lives in the wood. In reality, he wants the settlers destroyed and out of his swamp.
No Loose Ends is a mini-adventure that has a single encounter, based on a group of orcs (or ogres based on level) setting up an ambush for the players by setting up a fake bridge that they attempt to collapse under the players before attacking. The cloak of elvenkind is optional, it is included only in the higher level adjustments. Pgs. 17-18
Was it destiny or something worse that destroyed the Order of the Opal Fist? A dungeon crawl designed for four 3rd level characters. The original article has a sidebar for scaling the adventure up or down. Pgs. 106-124
Bringing Diablo II to the tabletop. The legendary Diablo and Diablo II computer games come to life with the release of the tabletop Diablo II: To Hell & Back roleplaying adventure. All a player needs is the Dungeons & Dragons(r) Player's Handbook (0786915501-8/00) to accompany the Diablo II game. Every level and all 4 acts of the computer game are represented in the tabletop mega-adventure, which will also include 64 pages of monsters, information for levels 1-30, and over 60 maps!
The small town of Welwyn has been beset by a string of robberies. The heroes are led to the natural cave system located at the bottom of the town well, which they must explore to find the burglars. But once they’re in the cave system, things get much more difficult! The “burglars” turn out to be mere pawns in a much darker game. To get to the source of the crimes, the heroes must shrink themselves with potions of improved reduce person and explore a series of dangerous rat warrens where their prey is larger than they are!
Through acrid mists and bitter waters they march. They are quiet, making no sound as they leave the marshland. Spears held high, the warriors scan the fog for signs of the attacker. Every step took them further from their old lands. Every step brings them closer to the lands of their 'allies,' who had abandoned them when teh marsh turned black and foul. Every step churns up more of the poisoned water as it seeps between their scales and below the skin. So many had already died on this march, and after the attack, they had so few left... The mists part in the night. The village's light bathes them in a false welcome. The human guards are unsteady, either from poison or drink. The town celebrates the end of the trade season, but not a man raises a toast to the creatures that died for it. So many had died from the first attack of the beast and from the aftermath, but the humans would suffer for such treachery...
Base of Operations is a short adventure intended for four 5th-level characters. DMs can easily modify the adventure to suit higher- or lower-level adventurers, or larger or smaller parties of adventurers. Simply adding a few monsters to every encounter area makes the adventure more challenging for larger parties, and adding levels to any of the humanoids can make them more of a threat to high-level groups. For low-level adventurers, make the relationship between the two factions within Brightstone Keep more strained, and take away a few monsters from each group. You can remove levels from some of the humanoids in the adventure to make it a lower-level challenge, but it is important that the orc cleric (described in encounter area 8) still have the ability to animate the dead. Still, he can have fewer minions around him when encountered, and that makes him less of a challenge for a lowlevel party.
"Deeptown lies in the shadow of mountains, a town where anything is for sale if you can only meet the price. But in the wild surrounding valleys of the Deeps, it's the bandits who make the darkest deals - and their ambition comes at a cost far greater than the contents of any wayward caravan. You and your team have just been handed a new job: disrupt a meeting between a bandit lord and his mysterious new allies. At a remote mountain villa, you will strike hard and fast and leave terror in your wake. They give you the tools. You provide the talent. Survive, and you'll be well rewarded. Fail, and you'll pay the price. You've got three days to raise some hell." This was one of the first third party adventures under the OGL for 3rd edition published by Atlas Games under the Penumbra line. The attack on the mansion is not a dungeon crawl, but feels like a commando raid aided by some unique magic items.
Mimic Madness is a psudeo-adventure with four interesting mimic encounters. These four encounters are structured in a way that they can be used together as one adventure, or each individually dropped into any adventure from EL4 to 7. The encounters vary the mimic's tactics significantly, such as by having them we a weapon rack that wields the weapon it holds, pretending to be animated furniture using its ability to speak, and pretending to be a floor covering a pit; none of them rely on the typical chest or door mimics. Pgs. 24-25
Digging in the Dark People are vanishing from the village of Brookhollow. Can you solve the mystery in time to save your friends? Pgs. 12-29
A dark shape emerges from the shadow of Castle Ravenloft. A flash of lightning reveals the sneering countenance of Count Strahd von Zarovich. His eyes burn with eternal hunger and a contempt for life. From a narrow balcony, he peers out into the drizzling twilight at the few sad lights of the village below and mutters a single name: "Ireena..." Based on the classic adventure by Tracy and Laura Hickman, the Expedition to Castle Ravenloft campaign adventure updates the original 1st Edition "Ravenloft" module, retaining the Gothic flavor and familiar elements while expanding and reimagining some of the locations to create a deeper, richer adventure experience. This adventure is designed for characters of levels 6, bringing them up to level 10, and features a new, easy-to-use combat encounter format. This book also presents new magic items, feats, and prestige classes for player characters. For use with these Dungeons & Dragons core books: Player's Handbook, Dungeon Master's Guide, Monster Manual.
For centuries, the Three Kingdoms have warred endlessly. The river flowing through it holds so many dead on its banks that the locals call it the River of Blood. But now, a new peril rises. With all three armies tucked into their winter camps, patrols and outposts on all sides report ambushes with alarming frequency - those who survive to make their reports, that is. None can say just who attacked them, however, for the assailants appear from the fog or in the middle of a snowstorm, hit hard and fast, then disappear. Arden, Duke Regent of Tyndall, fears that the dead have risen to haunt the living. Is he right?
A Giant Ransom is a short adventure for four 11th-level characters. There are opportunities for diplomacy, stealth, and combat, based on the choices the PCs make, so any mix of classes is appropriate. The adventure can be set in any campaign world, in a frontier region near glacier-covered mountains. In the story thus far, the PCs have been tasked by Duke Ambrinigan, a local lord, to recover a stolen statue of a golden lion. The lion was stolen in transit by frost giant raiders, and was to be ransomed back to the Duke for 10,000 gp. The PCs were sent to perform the exchange. The giants, however, were attacked by the white dragon Whildenstrank, who stole the statue and retreated to his lair in the middle of a nearby glacier. The PCs encountered the remaining giants, and then set off westward toward the dragon's lair. They traveled across the flat part of the glacier, encountering the frost giant ranger Velg the Dragon Tamer, as well as some burrowing bulettes. The PCs now have entered the Ice Canyons: a maze of twisting passageways surrounding the black spire of rock that the dragon calls home. They have just heard sounds of a battle ahead.
This adventure focuses on a Zhentarim attempt to spread terror in Mistledale, although it is suitable for almost any lightly settled area northwest of the Sea of Fallen Stars. "The Raiders of Galath's Roost" is suitable for four 1st-level characters, but PCs should be at least 2nd level before tackling the adventure's second half, the Zhentarim Citadel. Even in the first half of the adventure, many of the encounters are quite formidable for 1st-level characters, and the PCs might find it necessary to withdraw and recover one or more times before completely exploring the ruins.
The village of Darbin has fallen under the control of Kurishan, a mad wizard who recently died and was reincarnated as a shambling mound. He has created a new kind of plant, the brainvine, and is using it to possess the villagers. When contact with the town is lost, the PCs are sent to investigate.
Welcome to the youngest and most turbulent of the Realms, a mountainous expanse known as Tirna'Cel. This place was once well known for its power mongering warlords, magic wielding Sorcerers, and archfiends from the deepest pits of the Abyss. But in the last six hundred years, this has changed. Tirna'Cel is a peaceful and welcoming land now, doing no small part to the efforts of the warlord Tirna'Gael, a member of the lands founding nobility. Tirna'Gael turned against the other rulers without warning, attacking and overwhelming them without remorse. He is said to have suddenly grown stronger and more powerful. The reasons for his remarkable gain in power unknown, so they are routinely connected to items believed to have been entombed with him by the then newly-formed paladin's Order of Garadon. After his death, Tirna'Gael body was interred in his central citadel, a large stone fortress suspended over an immense lava pit. There he is rested for nearly six hundred years, protected by the surrounding hostile environment and a small cadre of supernatural guardians summoned and permanently bound by the Order of Garadon. But recently, rumors have reached the corridors of Tirna'Cel's capital city that invaders have struck the fallen heroes burial place, in search of one or more of his legendary magic items. So far, all that is known of these foul creatures is that they are native to the environment, being resistant to the fiery dangers of the area. Your party has been summoned by the Lord of the realm, who has charged you with ending the threat to Tirna'Gael's tomb and the potential destruction of the lands long enduring peace. If the sources of Tirna'Gael's power were to fall into the wrong hands, it could mean the end of the nation as you know it.
Kingdom of the Blind is a short adventure for four 8th-level characters. The adventure is set in a minor duchy that is fairly removed from the ruler of the land. As a result, trouble can brew in the land and the king would not know immediately. The PCs faced all manner of fungus last time. Perhaps with a little more investigation, they'll discover what's really going on with Zhanna and Dephyl.