The lord of a local realm is having his council members systematically killed or cast out for treason with little to no evidence to support the claims. This has been occurring for some time and a local shaman by the name of Borjah thinks he knows the cause. In his visions, he has seen a strange spirit shifting the shadows, a puppet master using the lord as its personal servant by warping his mind. This entity is slowly gaining power in the city and increasing its dominance over Lord Kestyl. Borjah attempted to warn the council of this corruption, but all those he informed ended up dead a few days later, so now he is taking matters into his own hands . . . with a bit of help from some willing adventurers of course. Borjah has a few strands of Lord Kestyl's hair, enough to create a strange potion for the party to consume. A potion that will link their minds to that of the lord and be able to fight back against the corruption that has taken hold. All they need to do is wait until his mind is at its most vulnerable . . . when he is asleep. Then, and only then, they can plunge into the mind of this once nobleman and drive back the forces of darkness that threaten to destabilize the entire political landscape of the area. The potion is powerful. Dying while in this dream state cause such severe mental trauma that it usually results in the death of that individual in the real world, so the party will need to be careful. The rules of the normal world don't necessarily apply in the realm of dreams, and as they close in on the entity things are sure to grow more and more chaotic and illogical. Find out if your players have what it takes to fight back against an invisible evil using nothing but their strength of will!
Blinsky's Toyshop is our take on what happens to Blinsky and Piccolo during, or after the Curse of Strahd campaign. Blinsky, the toymaker in Vallaki with the cute monkey wearing a pink tutu, received a large inheritance from a long-time client. The client, Obtavius Swat, a retired adventurer and avid collector of toys, left his entire estate to Blinsky. The estate included coin, precious gems, art, and his collection of toys, some made by Blinsky and others he acquired during his travels. Blinsky used the fortune to pay a wizard to create a small island in the middle of Lake Zarovich, located just outside of Vallaki. He then paid masons and workers to build a fantastic new toyshop, which he designed to be an experience for both the young and old alike. Though the number of children in Barovia was increasing, mostly imparted to the devil Strahd’s downfall, Blinsky wanted to touch the inner child of the adults in the city. He wanted happiness. He wanted smiles. He named the castle Blinsky’s Toyshop of Marvels. One of the toys, a small silver tiara kept in a black satin-lined ivory jewelry box, was such a lovely piece. Blinsky couldn’t stand the thought of leaving it in the box. He already had enough gold and losing the small tiara wouldn’t be a large loss, so he decided to give it to his monkey – Piccolo (see Creatures of the Toyshop). He smiled at the thought of her running around in her pretty, shiny tiara. Sadly, as Barovian luck would have it, trapped inside the tiara is the sole of an evil gnome wizard named Aribetha Strangge. In his old age, Obtavious Swat forgot that he and his fellow adventurers used the tiara to imprison the gnome’s soul. Yesterday, when Blinsky placed the tiara on Piccolo’s head, silver tendrils cascaded from the tiara and into poor Piccolo’s skull, allowing Aribetha to control the monkey. Now, Aribetha has incapacitated Blinsky in the toyshop’s tower, brought many of the toys to life, and imprisoned or killed many of the workers and customers. The adventure includes costumes (which the character may wear), Strahd Hand Puppets, and a possessed Piccolo.
HORROR THEMED ADVENTURE FOR THIS HALLOWEEN!!! EXPLORE A HAUNTED PIRATE SHIP!!! What is this adventure? This is a short location-based horror adventure where the characters explore a haunted derelict pirate ship in the ocean. The whole adventure can be played in a typical four-hour session. The Derelict is perfect for situations where the party suddenly decides to sail off into a completely new direction and the gamemaster does not have anything prepared for the destination. It is designed to be simple and the gamemaster is empowered to read and run it quickly. Since combat is not the main focus for this adventure (it is more atmospheric and exploratory), scaling this adventure for parties of different levels is trivially easy. How to use this adventure? This adventure can be used in two different ways - A random encounter - This is perfect for use for a random encounter in the sea A retrieval mission - This adventure can also be used as a missionto retrieve an artifact that was looted by the pirates a long time ago What is included? The adventure pdf DM's map of a haunted pirate ship with four separate levels High resolution maps for the pirate ship (all four levels), which can be printed out as a tabletop map to play on.
It was supposed to be a simple job... A strange merchant offers you a simple job – pick up and deliver cargo. You have three days to get it a mere fourteen miles through the city. How hard could it be? A Simple Job is a journey through the city of Anduria, a cascading series of events that takes the heroes to explore strange locales and bargain with even stranger creatures. What secrets does the city hold, buried away for countless centuries?
Hundreds of years have passed since the great war of Valhalla, but the repercussions are known throughout the lands. The Valkyries were once Odin’s greatest warriors who ferried the dead to the eternal resting place of Valhalla. Odin tells it that their duties asked too much of them and their minds were corrupted. In fits of uncontrollable rage and anguish, they began to slaughter the warriors they once protected. Only four Valkyries survived the war; in their cowardice, they fled to Midgard and hid amongst the mortals. You have been tasked with finding the last Valkyrie and destroying her, once and for all ending the Madness of the Valkyries. But there may be more to learn in the once-great halls.
The Cost of Beauty Deep in the snake infested jungle of Serpent Isle stands an ancient temple. Rumour has it that something still lurks in that place. Something evil from a lost era of devils and darkness. Now fishing boats are going missing off the island’s coast and dark shapes can be seen moving through the undergrowth. Could something have remained on that cursed isle?
Giants have emerged from their strongholds to threaten civilization as never before. Hill giants are stealing all the grain and livestock they can, while stone giants have been scouring settlements that have been around forever. Fire giants are press-ganging the small folk into the desert, while frost giant longships have been pillaging along the Sword Coast. Even the elusive cloud giants have been witnessed, their wondrous floating cities appearing above Waterdeep and Baldur’s Gate. Where is the storm giant King Hekaton, who is tasked with keeping order among the giants? The humans, dwarves, elves, and other small folk of the Sword Coast will be crushed underfoot from the onslaught of these giant foes. The only chance at survival is for the small folk to work together to investigate this invasion and harness the power of rune magic, the giants’ weapon against their ancient enemy the dragons. The only way the people of Faerun can restore order is to use the giants’ own power against them.
Quests of Doom Volume 2: 6 MORE Adventures for Fifth Edition Rules, First Edition Feel! For Quests of Doom Volume 1, we brought in some of the biggest stars in adventure-writing history to produce 12 mindbogglingly insidious adventures for Fifth Edition. This is volume 2, containing six more explorations into “doom or glory” for your players. Once again, the all-star cast of authors delivers what we strive to give you: Adventures Worth Winning! Volume 2 of Quests of Doom contains 6 adventures in 100 pages, byBill Webb (Of Ants & Men, Pit of Despair, Isle of Eliphaz), Matt Finch (Perils of Ghostwind Pass), Jim Ward (Dread Dragon Temple), Michael Curtis (The Darkening of Namjan Forest), and Casey Christofferson (Pit of Despair).
The Iron Route, an important trade road east of Phlan, is beset by competing bandits. An exiled Black Fist officer leads his band of mercenaries turned cloaked ruffians, while a mysterious dragonborn sorcerer commands screaming savages from the north. In this war over the trade route, the beleaguered merchants are the victims, and Phlan suffers from a lack of supplies. It’s up to adventurers to strike out and reopen this vital route.
Within the darakhul city of Gonderif, at the nadir of a thousand‑foot‑deep chasm, is the site of a vile tournament where Gonderif ’s most rebellious slaves and war prisoners are forced to fight to the death—and through undeath after undeath—until only one living champion remains. Whether they came as captives or as liberators, the PCs must survive the Undying Tournament.
The Lamenting Lighthouse is a four-hour adventure for 5th-10th level characters, designed for Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition, with a nautical theme, heavy undead and horror elements, and mysteries to solve! One lonely lighthouse shines the way through the rocks and shoals that deny entry to the northern Moonshae Isles. But when the party’s transport approaches, a horrific gale at their backs - no light is in sight... The party must venture ahead of their vessel in a race against the storm to the restore the beacon before their ship is lost. What has befallen the keepers, and what dark secret does the lighthouse hold? Will the heroes prevail, or will they join the lighthouse's lament? This adventure can easily be inserted into a run-through of Ghosts of Saltmarsh. This one-shot can also serve as a nautical interlude in any on-going campaign where the characters have to take to the sea. Included with this adventure are: + 6 original custom creatures, the dread wraith, the dread wight, the swarm of seagulls, the captain, the rating, and the sailor + 12 player hand-outs with notes that shed light on the mystery of the lamenting lighthouse, with a randomization mechanic that ensures a degree of replayability + 9 original fleshed out NPCs, including personality traits and roleplaying tips + 2 original magical artifacts + 7 hand-drawn maps of important locations + a story reward and 2 story hooks for continuing the adventure (depending on how the adventure resolves)
You have travelled to the legendarily festive town of Hamlet Court for the world famous Midwinter festival. You’re not in town long before you discover that the previous night, the annual Villager vs. Kobold snowball fight turned violent, putting a dampener on the festive mood. Madam Mayor looks solemn as she asks you to investigate exactly what has turned the long peaceful Snowbolds violent. She suggests you head to their Snow Cavern and fix the issue before it ruins Midwinter
"This is a beautifully bleak hex crawl around an island smothered in oppressive darkness and fermenting wickedness. The Sluagh and their foul fog and maddening miasma are inscrutable and unknowable, but you must investigate the Island; discover the secrets buried within and without. Collect the scraps of information and open your heart and help these people tearing each other apart and worse, or become dark and hard as flint; indulge the mercurial machinations of men lost to madness of the mists and consent to cruelty. Worse still, lose yourself completely in the blanketing fog of yore; stumble blankly into the eternal night of truly annihilating nihilism... There is still faint hope that your investigation can illuminate the mist’s mysteries, lifting Man to the light, but it’s not for the fainthearted." - Curse of Sebs The Isle of Endless Fog is a 5e adventure for characters starting at 1st-level and ending at 4th-level. It's a sandbox adventure with a small setting for The Isle of Man, a location from Fallen Camelot setting. It features all three pillars of a 5e game: exploration, social interaction and combat. CONTENT WARNING: Mental Health Issues, Depression, Disassociation, Self-Harm, Suicidal Ideation, Human Experimentation, Drugging and Abduction, Cannibalism, Murder of Civilians and Children, Clerical Abuse of Power through Tyranny. Background The Isle of Man was by no means a safe place, with sporadic assaults from the troll, Buggane, trickster fey, and conflicts of resources with the local giants, but it is still a place where local folk can live their lives in relative peace. All that changed when the sluagh came. They flew free from an ancient tower, a storm of wailing ghosts that swept across the land, carrying a blanketing fog across their backs that choked the land, the sea and the sky. The Death Mist warps all that it touches, inviting death into the homes of all things, whereupon the sluagh swoop out of the skies, snatching up souls on the verge of death, carrying them away from their bodies and into a new horrid existence as a fellow sluagh. In packs they fly, swooping through villages on the westerly winds, carrying away the souls of half its denizens, leaving the rest to starve, whereupon another wave will come to claim the rest. Over time, the mists drained the life from the earth. Fields turned barren, forests petrified, infants were born malnourished and shriveled. Yet, its hunger only grew. The sluagh called beyond, drawing travelers to Man. Sailors will see the fog first, rolling in from the horizon, before the wailing of the sluagh deafens their ears, and the mist blind their eyes. After what feels like hours, the sailors open their eyes and see Man on the horizon. The explorers will quickly find that they cannot leave this place. They must either banish the mist from this place…or destroy it. Published by Realmwarp Media
Starting an adventuring career can be exciting, but it can also be deadly. As you have completed your training, you are offered an "easy" job from an alchemist. Several ingredients are required for a special project and the only source is a Druid a few miles away. Get the items, return them, and get paid a whopping 20gp...not a bad start for a newbie!
Urban Uprising and Oldschool Dungeon Crawling. A hobgoblin horde has subjugated the city for Freystand, searching for a relic of their god. Will the heroes save the town from the tyrannical hobgoblins? Will they discover the true purpose of the Bloodthrone of Maglubiyet? Work with the rebels of Freystand to sabotage the hobgoblin's by completing objectives in the city. Crawl the warrens to find and destroy the Bloodthrone of Maglubiyet. Discover the true purpose of the throne and cosmic horror that threatens the world. Designed like an old-school dungeon crawl but with modern sensibilites.
The Maimed Virulence has come. The future of the Cinnabar Throne and the lives of the denizens of Phlan are in jeopardy. The Cult of the Dragon rejoices, and the Black Fist is powerless to stop them. How will the factions of the city respond to this threat? Can Phlan be saved this time? Part One of Under Emerald Claws. An adventure for 5th-10th level characters.
Please come right in. What can we get started for you? We’re so sorry about that noisy eyesore across the street. I assure you, steps are being taken to solve that little nuisance. Oh yes. Steps are being taken. We have some lovely new teas in from far-away lands. Very mild but oh so delicious. And our cook just took some gorgeous biscuits out of the oven. I’ll bring you some to nibble. Now I need to run down to the basement for some more linens. I won’t be gone long, but my girls will take care of you while I’m away. And I’ll get that racket across the street taken care of. Yes, I most certainly will. Miss Teree runs a elegant teahouse in the upscale part of the city. But when a kobold, Sug, buys the inn across the street, her sales plummet. But then Sug starts finding rats in his basement, and they somehow manage to kill his bouncer. Sug suspects Miss Teree has something to do with his bouncers death, but he needs help figuring out how.
The Blackstaff has discovered an oddity in the Weave that surrounds Waterdeep. The enigma may have been there all along or it might be new and the Blackstaff intends to figure it out using an ancient artifact from the reign of Emperor Shoon III. Part One of the Folded Time Trilogy. A Two-Hour Adventure for Tier 1 Characters (Bonus objectives are provided to stretch to 4 hours). Optimized for APL 3.
Bring a party of adventurers to a bustling city, where mysteries and dangers lurk around every turn. Just when you think you have the answers, a whole set of new questions arise. No matter which leads you follow, you will find yourselves... "At the Heart of Corruption" - one-shot murder mystery and fantasy horror adventure.
The Jail of Gundavold is a scenario designed for a solo player but adjustable enough for a party size if needed. After a foray into the wilderness Ruins of Borgdell, you found yourself ambushed with a bag tossed over your head. After a grueling trek across uncertain terrain you find yourself in jail. Are you smart enough to get yourself out of this mess?