A cold winter wind blows from the Scourge Mountains, but its origins are not of this world. And with it come horrifying stories of a fey who walks the land. Cold, beautiful, and deadly, she turns every mortal she touches into a statue of ice, and she seems determined to blanket the entire north in a blanket of frost. It is the Winter of the Witch…and if the archfey Koliada is not stopped, it could be the world’s last. “Winter of the Witch” starts with the PCs receiving an urgent but somewhat cryptic message from the skeletal knight, Sir Keegan. They find the skeletal knight a helpless victim of an aggressive interrogation by an undead minion of Orcus and his demonic thugs, who are attempting to extract the location of something called the Sun’s Sliver from the stubborn knight. The PCs fight their way into deep ruins, defeat the demon lord’s toadies, and retrieve the Sun’s Sliver. Once the PCs have recovered the Sun's Sliver, they must confront the Winter Witch in Winter's Heart, the witch's icy sanctum in the Feywild. Only there can they confront the cold-hearted archfey and save a section of the world from a wintery doom.
Centuries ago, the four deities worshipped by mortals – Kishar, Kotaresh, Lyth, and Asar-Segt – threatened to drown the world in a flood of saltwater to punish the living for their impiety. The oracles and witches of the realm struck a desperate bargain with the gods, however, and convinced them to spare the world. In exchange, the mortal kingdoms were bound to demonstrate their faith once every generation by sending their most courageous and adroit warriors to the Crucible, a ziggurat in the lowest valley of the land. Every quarter-century, on the first full moon of summer, an eclipse darkens the night and the sealed ziggurat opens. Many traps, tricks, and guardians lie within the Crucible to test those who enter. Few who heed the challenge of the gods survive – most find only quick death. If the races of the world are deserving of the gods’ affection, their champions will overcome the trials of the Crucible and light the Divine Brazier hidden in its uppermost chamber. If they are not, the flickering candle of civilization will be snuffed. Little of value will have been lost. Published by Defy Danger and Save Versus Death
"Gnolls have captured the heroes! After stripping the characters of all equipment except their armor and clothing, the gnolls drag them to an expansive briar maze known as the Twisted Thickets and set them loose. Then, armed to the teeth, the gnolls hunt down their prey. The characters must survive the hunt and outwit their pursuers. Stripped of your armor and weapons, you are cast into the Twisted Thicket and hunted like rabbits. If you want revenge, you must first survive Yeenoghu's evil Hunters. After dealing with the gnoll hunters, the heroes can try to reclaim their lost equipment and exact revenge on the tribe, which lairs in the caves beneath Dead Gnoll’s Eye Socket." Pgs. 2-14
In ages past, the wizard Karavakos made a deal with devils, which resulted in him being trapped in an extradimensional pyramid, unable to escape. His only hope for escape is to lure adventurers into the Pyramid, in hopes that they will destroy his splinters and return his power to him. But his wife Vyrellis, whom he slew in a rage when the Pyramid formed, still lingers in spirit and wants nothing more than to see him laid low... Although set to allow PCs to just fight through each encounter, tips are included for PCs negotiating with the factions trapped in the pyramid.
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
(Note: The titular crown is in this adventure, but it's up to the GM to provide their own stats for it, should the PCs obtain it) A short three-combat dungeon delve: Trolls with remarkably proficient tactics have been causing trouble for years. Track them to their lair then kill the trolls & their leader who has a black crown beaten into the flesh of their head.
“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
The characters arrive in Fallcrest just as a blizzard starts from the gloomy black clouds. the villagers gather to discuss how to survive the untimely and unusual blizzard. Suddenly between the roar of the wind and thunder, a ship descends filled with undead with one message: Return the ice scepter!. Afterwards, the characters must decide, find and return this relic to the Winter King, or bluff and plan to dethrone him. As they reach the tops of the mountains, possibly injured, the whole of the Winter King's inner domain stands before them. If they fail, winter will claim the Nentir Vale forever. Group of 4-6 players.
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.
Numerous towns sit in the shadow of Rak’Sarn, a mountain of flames and death. Each day near sunset, the volcano lets loose a blast of molten rock and ash, and the ancient red dragon Dal’Sarnquin swoops down the mountainside. By the time dawn breaks, another settlement has been burned to the ground. The PCs must track the dragon to his lair and defeat him before more towns are destroyed. Pgs. 196-191
Kravenghast Necropolis is hidden in a valley that was formerly part of a now dead city. It consists of a small cemetery that sits atop an abandoned necromancer's laboratory. The necropolis has been refitted as a temple to Vecna, the undead God of secrets. The mausoleum in the cemetery contains a secret spiral staircase that leads to the underground laboratory. The temple is populated by a twisted cult of Vecna, led by the lich-priest Mauthereign. Pgs. 96-103
In “Rescue at Rivenroar,” the player characters must brave the depths of ancient catacombs in search of prisoners taken from the town of Brindol in a midnight raid. The hobgoblins, bandits that style themselves after an invading horde from long ago, have taken refuge in a dungeon under a ruined mountain fortress, and the PCs must clear them out to find the captive townsfolk and the treasures taken from Brindol. “Rescue at Rivenroar” also marks the first step in a great journey - the Scales of War Adventure Path, which spans 30 levels and put the PCs at the crux of events that shapes the world for centuries to come. While the scope of this adventure isn’t as grand, it represents the seed from which an epic tale will surely grow. Pgs. 4-45
Will the adventurers be able to thwart the machinations of a mad dragon in the hopes of saving the city of Sharn from certain destruction? Is the slinky elven maiden really in trouble or working for the enemy? Is the body in the morgue really the center of this whole puzzle or merely one piece? This adventure, in the style of a Dashiell Hammett novel, will certainly test their skill and resolve. This is the first full adventure for Eberron with the 4th edition D&D(R) rules. This adventure builds on the sample adventure provided in the Eberron Campaign Guide but is also playable as a stand-alone adventure.
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 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.
A band of evil fey, led by a corrupt bralani, has raided an eladrin city and kidnapped several respected elders. The fomorian king claims the rogues don’t act on his behalf, but the eladrin city threatens the fomorians all the same. To prevent war, the PCs travel through the Underdark of the Feywild—a wondrous place filled with the beautiful and the horrifying—in search of the evil fey and their captives. Pgs. 96-101
As the story goes, worshipers of Bahamut and worshipers of Gruumsh spent years warring. As the dead piled up, a Bahamut faithful crafted a weapon of devastating power. Most of the inventor’s peers balked at its use, but some felt it was justified. Those few who used the weapon were twisted into mad, dark beings by its corrupting power. The rest of Bahamut’s flock locked them and the weapon away in a dungeon prison. The dungeon and its terrible secret were long forgotten—until a group of rakshasas happened across the ancient tale. Now they seek the weapon for their own designs. Pgs. 132-137
A City on the Brink of War Missing for decades, the Crown of Neverwinter, symbol of the former ruling family, has emerged at last. Yet not all are pleased with the crown's reappearance. Beset by rebels and plaguechanged, Lord Dagult Neverember must hire a group of adventurers to track down the so-called Lost Heir and discover his intentions for the city. The stakes are no less than the lives of the citizens of Neverwinter, for if the heroes fail, Neverwinter seems doomed to descend into civil war.
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
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.