Barovia has long suffered under the rule of Count Strahd von Zarovich, but the evil that plagues this land extends well beyond the walls of Castle Ravenloft. See what keeps the good citizens of Barovia awake at night.
A slaver gang known as the Bloodreavers are terrorizing the countryside from their base deep in the labyrinth under Thunderspire Mountain. But these slavers are only the symptom of a larger threat in the bowels of Thunderspire.
From time immemorial, the rulers of the mortal world have been counseled and tempted by capricious primordial spirits who rule over the elements. The greatest and most sinister of these was a half-kraken medusa known as the Maelstrom Queen, who sought to supplant the mortal races with her own line of immortal tentacled monstrosities. On the verge of her ultimate triumph, when the leviathans at her command rose from the depths, a legendary assassin murdered the Maelstrom Queen in her half-submerged palace with her own weapon. But the primordial mistress refused to let something as trifling as death put an end to her designs. Every 13 years, she regenerates enough mystic power to rise again, and the world’s greatest heroes are sent to murder the Maelstrom Queen once more.
Rising from the surface of a massive lake, an ancient ziggurat travels through time for purposes unknown. It’s up to the characters to enter this strange relic and discover what dark threat the structure poses. The Ziggurat Beyond Time contains advice for customizing the adventure for your own campaign. It also contains an artifact, the Deluvian Hourglass, that has time-related properties and wishes to witness the end of the world. Pgs. 23-55
The Auburn Desolation is a forsaken waste of treacherous sand and unbearable heat within the Shadowfell. Gloom-wrapped serpents and foul undead haunt the wastes, striking out at unsuspecting travelers from sandy graves. Pgs. 88-95
The adventurers have delved into the Abyss to strike at the Demon Lord of Undeath, Orcus. On the layer of Thanatos, the Blood Lord has many outposts from which he spreads his corruption. One of his primary lieutenants is Doresain, the Ghoul King. If the PCs kill Doresain in his lair, they will strike a real blow against the foul demon lord. Pgs. 174-179
This deluxe adventure takes heroes into the ruins of Gardmore Abbey, a monastery that was once the base of a militant order of paladins devoted to Bahamut. According to legend, the paladins brought a dark artifact back from a far crusade and stored it in their abbey for safekeeping, and evil forces gathered to assault the abbey and take it back. What the legends don’t tell is that this artifact was actually the Deck of Many Things, a force of pure Chaos. This adventure brings characters into the extensive dungeons beneath the ruins - dungeons that are warped and twisted with the raw forces of Chaos surrounding the cards of the deck.
An ancient cave, defended by ancient death traps and weird arcane seals conceals the antediluvian vault of an archlich whose reign predates recorded history. Undisturbed for untold eons, the vault now stirs thanks to the machinations of cultists who have meddled with secrets best left undisturbed... This module sends the heroes to an ancient cave occupied by cultists dedicated to the Mists of Madness. Defended by ancient death traps and weird arcane seals, the caves conceal an antediluvian vault, the resting place of an archlich whose reign predates recorded history in the Known Realms. Undisturbed for untold eons, now the machinations of the cultists and their eladrin master threaten to awaken the archlich, to dire ends that none can predict.
The Raiders’ Hideout is a series of underground chambers (or perhaps the interior of a pyramid) that serves as a base of operations for a band of gnoll desert raiders. The PCs have come to exact a measure of justice for recent brutal caravan raids. They’ve tracked the gnolls to their lair, where they intend to end the threat to desert trade once and for all. Pgs. 30-35
"And they bade their slaves, 'Build unto us tombs to rival the palaces of the gods, for there shall we live or lives and sleep our deaths in splendor.' And the people of Maru-Qet wore their fingers down, broke their backs, burst their hearts to obey. Indeed they raised up great tombs to rival the palaces of the gods. And their masters were well pleased, for it was as gods they saw themselves." The brown dragon Urum-Shar lurks in a strange tomb, plotting schemes only a wyrm of incredible power could understand. Expanding on content from Draconomicon: Chromatic Dragons, this adventure takes the heroes into Urum-Shar’s dark and trap-filled lair, where they will eventually face the powerful dragon herself. The dungeon heavily employs the use of traps, with fewer monsters. The upper tomb consists of a great puzzle of twelve rooms, and the lower tomb contains the dreaded Urum-Shar, an ancient brown dragon and heir to the lost draconic empire of Maru-Qet. The dungeon has special protections against scrying and other divinations, as well as teleportation. Pgs. 55-90
The party has been tasked with bringing the head of the fire giant king Snurre Ironbelly to the storm giant lord Krombaalt, as well as capturing the dwarven traitor Obmi Ironwhisper. Delving into Snurre's stronghold, they will also discover the sinister drow manipulating the giants. The adventure is part of the "Against the Giants" series originally by Gary Gygax, hence the writing credit.
From The Magazine: "Every summer, Duke Hightower holds a competition quite different from the traditional jousting and archery tournaments held by similar lords of his station. The rules of his tournament change from year to year, and, to oversee the games, the duke has appointed two wizard brothers who help choose the setting and create the rules and challenges of the competition. This year the competition is called the “Owlbear Run,” an overland race that requires each participating team to escort a live owlbear from the town of Telvorn to the town of Milvorn. The teams will face a variety of challenges; some are devised by the wizards, others by the competing teams or their sponsors, and some occur entirely at random. All of these tests are in addition to the challenges inherent in motivating a temperamental owlbear. Fortune and fame await the first team to cross the finish line, and the local lords sponsoring the race are eager to enlist skilled champions for their causes." Pgs. 2-27
“The Lost Mines of Karak” is the sequel to “The Shadow Rift of Umbraforge” and the fourth part of the Scales of War adventure path. After the player characters' success in "Siege of Bordrin's Watch" and "The Shadow Rift of Umbraforge", they have garnered something of a reputation in the city of Overlook. They are introduced to a wealthy patron that believes there is a connection between a shadar-kai arms dealer (from the previous two adventures) and a long lost dwarven mine. The patron wishes the PCs to find and secure the mine in order to use its wealth and resources to defend the city. The party then must travel through a wasteland and desert to find this mine. Once they have, they must fight through the hordes of monstrous creatures that inhabit it and defeat the Queen of the Drylands - a powerful naga. Pgs. 56-93
Long rumored to be haunted by eerie specters, Kincep Mansion has stood for years, mostly untouched by nearby townsfolk. Now something is preying on the local villagers—something that comes from the house. Pgs. 46-69
Ages ago, the tower stood as a bastion against banditry and marauders. But civilization has long since retreated from this area, and a band of goblin thieves has taken up residence in the ruined tower. Local woodsfolk beg the PCs to rid the place of the bandits before they are victimized again by the goblins of the Broken Tower. Pgs. 18-23
A pall hangs over the frontier town of Wellspring, casting this once-vibrant place into corruption and death. Strange people stalk the streets and unexplained murders occur each night. Nagging fears that more horrors will spill forth from the Kadagast Mountains instill a pervasive paranoia within the townsfolk. Suspicious people watch their neighbors, and temple attendance has never been higher. Folk keep to themselves, hiding in their homes. They avoid darkened streets, lock their doors when night falls, and shutter their windows to close out the screams and shouts echoing in the dark. If the grim threats pressing the town are not stopped, the fl ame of Wellspring might very well flicker out.
A green dragon called the Dawn fancies herself a deity and has attracted reptilian followers that raid elven settlements. The PCs must find her temple in the woods and end the threat. Pgs. 78-83
Recent earthquakes have unearthed a small section of a lost dwarven fortress. The dwarves are long gone, but rumors suggest they might have left treasure or weapons behind. After a journey into the Underdark, the characters find a barred iron door bearing the names of several ancient dwarven clans. Pgs. 90-95
The search for a missing paladin takes the PCs deep into the heart of a frontier torn apart by cult wars—and face to face with an ancient evil. The paladin Jaryd set out to find and destroy the Hand of Naarash. He was never heard from again. Now the PCs must retrace Jaryn’s steps across the harsh wilderness and determine what has become of the noble warrior. Pgs. 29-59
E2, following up on Death's Reach, the PC's first travel to Sigil following the smuggled remains of the primordial Timesus. The pursuit then leads into the Abyss, through the White Kingdom to face Doresain, the Ghoul King, exarch of Orcus. The module certainly is epic, placing the PCs up against powerful monsters like greater demons, death knights, and a demilich. It may be frustrating that the PCs arrive too late to disrupt the plot (have to allow for the finale in the next adventure) but taking out Orcus' right hand ghoul may be satisfying. Includes a skill challenge for crossing a portion of the Abyss For environments, City refers to Sigil.