The Hardest of Hearts is a gothic horror adventure for 4-5 characters of 5-6th level. It can be played over the course of 6-8 hours and should roughly take one playing session if the party is quick, or two if the party is progressing slowly. This is the first part of the Carnival of Lost Souls campaign. It can also be played as a standalone adventure. The Hardest of Hearts features: - Exciting journey through the cold wilderness of Lamordia, which features a special travel system and survival rules - Exploration of the old mansion which has been taken over by the vicious local gang - the Corpse Collectors - Several custom diseases to challenge your players - Moral dilemma at the end of the adventure which the characters will have to solve - New custom monsters to make combat encounters truly memorable and exciting - High-quality maps, also available in universal vtt format Look out for the next adventures in the Carnival of Lost Souls series: Dementlieu: Dance with the Devil, Kalakeri: The Forbidden Temple and Valachan: Hunter’s Moon! They will be released over the course of the next two months. Once all four adventures are out, we will also release a special Campaign Guide, which will explain in detail how to best set up and play the campaign. However, if you want to start your campaign right now, don’t worry - we have included a short appendix at the end of each adventure which will explain the basics!
Bakinqa is not your typical devil. Influenced by human society at a young age he took it upon himself to learn as much as he could about the “pink skins”. When his first meeting with humans results in the death of his father, Bakinqa swears to find and kill the boy responsible. Ten years later Bakinqa has prepared his plans for revenge. He begins experimentation on human werewolves, turning them into slaves and using them to work his way into human society searching for the boy that killed his father, now a man. When local hunters begin to disappear the mayor takes notice and hires the PCs to investigate. The PCs search will take them into the dreaded Dark Wood where they battle werewolves and hybrid devil spawn in search of the manipulative devil Bakinqa.
We get it. Factions are an integral part of D&D, but it's not always clear how to use them in your campaigns. Luckily, Factions of Sigil has you covered for each of the twelve main factions found across Sigil and the Outlands! This supplement goes over the various rules and lore around the primary factions found in Sigil and the Outlands, making it easy for any new or veteran DMs to integrate the factions more into the core stories being told, and making them feel more useful for the players that choose to join. In this adventure, the Heralds of Dust in Sigil ask the characters to investigate and end the disappearances in secret crypts under Sigil.
The town of Somber Hill is a quiet settlement in the foothills of a mountain range. A few days travel from the nearest city, the people of Somber Hill are a humble and self-reliant bunch. Unbeknownst to its people, the small town hides a sinister secret, some of the residents of Somber Hill belong to a cult that worships a long dead entity. Known only as The Dark One by their followers, this ancient being once called Old Somber Hill home. Their dark master is entombed in the catacombs beneath the town, and the cult hopes to resurrect their master with a blood sacrifice. The Crypt of Somber Hill is a Setting Neutral adventure and thus can be easily included in any existing story-line with minor alterations and adjustments or outright slotted into any existing campaign setting.
The Cult of the Dragon leads the charge in an unholy crusade to bring Tiamat back to the Realms, and the situation grows more perilous for good people with each passing moment. The battle becomes increasingly political as opportunities to gather allies and gain advantage present themselves, all centered in Waterdeep. Continuation of Hoard of the Dragon Queen.
For centuries, the dragon Storm has ‘peacefully’ lived off the eastern coast of the Klavek Kingdom, sinking or collecting any ship that ventured into her territory and eating sailors and sea-creatures alike. Now, however, she has moved inland and invited a host of problems, devastating trade and nearly blasting the city of Cherr’s Landing from the map. The PCs have to save the city, and re-open trade along the Klavek Kingdom’s eastern coast, or the mysterious forces gathering in the background will only gain more of an upper hand! Also included in “Storm’s Wake”: A new template for Titanic creatures, larger and more powerful than any of their kind A new type of dragon, the Swampscale, whose dragon eggs can be captured in this adventure and trained Two new magic items, the fleetmaster’s compass, and the spade of excavation A new deity, Perenna, the god of spring and vanity Maps and Illustrations by 3x ENnie Award winning Cartographer Todd Gamble
Greger’s Grotto is a community of pirates and other criminals, hidden away on a desolate coastline. The players are slaves sold to the Grotto’s owning family and used for manual labour and bloodsport in the arena. In this adventure, the players will need to: * survive harsh prison conditions, including the rivalry between prisoner factions: human, orc, goblin and hobgoblin * fight in arena battles against prisoners and beasts, often with strange twists to entertain the crowd * explore small mini-dungeons attached to the prisoners’ caverns * ultimately escape; whether by force, alliance with fellow prisoners, stealth, cunning or any combination of these Features of this adventure: * Pay-what-you-want (even nothing). * Illustrated with art by Setvasai. * Designed to fit into most campaign worlds. * Simulationist or story-driven: includes information for both. Use random rolls to determine what happens when, or take inspiration from various story hooks. (Or do both.) * 11 unique NPCs, including members of the Grotto’s owning family and leader of the prisoner factions. * Full maps of the Grotto, its arena and prisoner caverns, totalling over 40 rooms.
Emancipation of Clauslandia is an adventure that has your young party meet with several northern lords for a few missions. One of these missions is the retrieval of some holly for the druid Thane Xmas. He will send the party to meet with the Elf lord Nicolanclauthus to procure this item. Unfortunately all is not well in Clauslandia where the Elf lord has been captured! Can your party free Nicolanclauthus and gain the holly needed for a good payday?
Characters are asked by a local cleric to deliver gifts to a family whose homestead is in the harsh frontier. During the trek they encounter several “spirit forces” that they can overcome through combat, or they can decipher clues to use tropes that suggest some fun, holiday-themed alternatives to combat. Once they reach the homestead, they must plan to secretly deliver the gifts. All of this must be completed in one day’s time before the Winter Solstice ends. This adventure is an homage to the Christmas holiday time, but it is not a traditional “Santa Claus” story. The cast of monsters and NPCs are inspired by European folklore that have contributed to today’s Christmas celebrations. The legends have been mashed into a single, tier 1 D&D adventure, designed for four level 4 characters. Suggestions are given for scaling. Total play should not exceed 4 hours.
This dungeon is suitable as a one-shot or drop-in for characters between levels 12 and 17. Taken from the Against the Idol of the Sun high-level hexcrawl campaign, the Death Knight's Tomb is a location-based exploration adventure. It features increasing localized time distortions that ultimately pit the party in a fight against an ogre Death Knight and his minions who just destroyed an elven time lab over ten millenia ago, which is just a few seconds ago in relative terms at the bottom level. There are six distinct sections to the dungeon containing four combat encounters of increasing difficulty. As written, the party enters the structure to rescue an overly adventurous Scorpionfolk couple and their rescuers, but they can be omitted or rewritten to any other species.
"The Alchemists' Guildhall" is a rusalka lair suitable for four or five 6th-level characters. This adventure can be completed in one session.
Brand new variations and components for spells in the Player’s Handbook. Discover the notes of a meticulous nothic, driven to answer this question (at all costs) for every spell that calls for material components! Designed for both players and dungeon masters, this supplement expands the possibilities of the spells you know by using strange and unusual alternative components. What would you promise a mermaid in exchange for a pearl that doubled your speed when walking on water and also let you walk on fog? How far would you go to obtain glass globes crafted by a storm giant that let your lightning bolt bend or fork? Increase player agency and demonstrate character interest through the variety of magical ingredients (including both narrative and literal seeds) and the use of customized magic. Spell lists are organized by class and level, making it simple to find the incantation you need. 195 New component options with one or more for each of the spells in the Player’s Handbook that call for material components Enhanced and extraordinary spell effects for each spell cast with alternate components. 34 quest options for learning these new spell variations Bonus side quests to encourage characters to follow their own interests Easy-to-use linked appendices for spells organized by class and by level Notes from the anonymous nothic and inspiring art included throughout the entire codex
As iron is eaten away by rust, so the envious are consumed by their own passion. — Antisthenes The destruction of Cyre and creation of the Mournland marked the end of The Last War. Since then, a towering wall of mystic fog has covered what used to be the nation of Cyre. Those who have ventured inside and made it out have spoken of unusual beasts, wild warforged, and other strange occurences. Most stay away. Others dedicate their lives to plundering the mysteries beyond the veil. House Cannith is the House of Making and, despite being split over the destruction of their homeland, they are still very adamant about keeping their monopoly over arcane creations and are very suspicious of anything coming out of the Mournland. Recently, rumours reached the heads of the Cannith South enclave that some scavengers working for the Daask organisation actually captured living spells from inside the Mournland and brought them back to Sharn for study, taming, and who knows what else. Now Cannith employs independent contractors to enter the secret lab, and destroy the research and its future. Another group will hunt down the actual scavengers and eliminate the spells themselves. This adventure takes place in Sharn, the City of Towers, some time before the formation of the independent adventurers organisation by 'The Twelve'. It is an infiltration mission in hostile territory which includes some investigation, maybe a bit of socialising, and some quick dungeon-crawl elements. It is designed for multiple possible endings. In my mind, this adventure is E for Everyone and doesn't contain anything dark, NSFW, or triggering beyond any other standard D&D adventure.
Outside Briar Glen lies a dangerous swamp, and deep within it runs the Weeping River. Those who venture too far into the swampland near the river are overcome with grief and cry until their tears turn to blood. If they’re lucky, they die quickly. Lately, however, women in town disappear into the swamp near the Weeping River at night... and return in the morning, entranced but unscathed. Their families want to know why they return at sunrise with no memory of the previous night. These women found themselves a friend in the boo-hag, angry at the townsfolk for damaging her swamp. She initiated the women into her coven and tasked them to drain the life energy from their families to help the boo-hag heal the swamp.
Far3 – Xiomara’s Globe puts the players inside a glass ball, owned by a strange enchantress. Once stuck inside their transparent prison, the players must search for a way out. The cursed fortress inside the globe has quite a few dangers to be overcome before an escape is even possible! One version of play was recently featured on The Bard's Podcast (Soundcloud).
Martin's Fortune is a short classic horror quest that can be easily put in any (low) fantasy setting. This adventure scenario features a dark and trilling backstory and several handouts for your players. The quest is very much in the horror element and there are advices on how to approach the horror scenes. Adventure Synopsis: Martin Wesley, decedent of a faithful servant of Lord Amren Stieber recruits the players to pillage the Lord's lost tomb. Searching for the tomb reveals that forgotten history leaves its traces to this very day. The forest around Amren's resting place is cursed and veiled in darkness. When the party finally arrives to the Lord's tomb, they discover that it is something more - a jailhouse. Their prize will have to be earned in blood. Even when they vanquish the undead fiend, they can't be too safe, for the Lord's madness has become immortal. Published by: Adventurer's Inn
After escaping the oppressive rule of the hobgoblin empire, a tribe of goblins stumbles across a long-abandoned iron mine that would make the perfect home for them, if only it wasn’t already full of dangers. What lurks in the mine is however a secondary problem for the goblins, as they know that hobgoblin scouts will be hot on their heels. Looking to gain a valuable ally, they turn to the local town of Cathric for help. Under orders from the Marquess of Cathric, your band of adventurers is tasked with ensuring that the mine can provide a steady source of iron. Of course, this will mean helping the goblin tribe to get the mine working and defending them from their old masters. Your players will have to face off against the monsters in the mine, a hobgoblin scouting party and some over enthusiastic mining equipment, all while trying to put on a brave face in front of three trainee goblin fighters. Content warnings: spiders, enclosed spaces, displaced populations, authoritarian regimes. It is also implied that a monstrous creature is wounded by another monstrous creature.
The party starts this one-shot falling from the sky aboard an airship. It lands atop a dense cluster of trees, unable to fly, but not destroyed. Now it is up to them to traverse the nearby wilds in search for the parts that fell loose so they can get back to the skies and continue their journey. Unfortunately, they will have to face ogres, apes, bears, blights, and more to retrieve these missing mechanisms.
A series of unusual heists has both the thieves’ guild and city guard scrambling to uncover the culprits before the burglaries destabilize the thriving trade within the city, threatening the budding kingdom the Kroth Magg have fought and died to forge.
Near the jungles of Chult, beneath the waves of Refuge Bay, lies a ruined city. Evil hags and their minions make their home among the ancient relics. Even deeper down, at the bottom of an old undersea lake, an otherworldly monstrosity guards its eclectic hoard of oddities. What does it know about the Soulmonger? An adventure for characters between levels 4-6 Requires the Tomb of Annihilation adventure This 44 page adventure adds Ishau as a location to your Tomb of Annihilation campaign. It describes the city's history and current inhabitants, including maps, new monsters, and treasure. In an undersea temple, characters face off against a coven of sea hags. The sunken wreck of the Decapus is the lair of sea spawn pirates. And among the ruins lurk giant crabs, skeletal sharks, vegetan mummies, and other monstrosities. A second location, complete with keyed maps, is available to characters who wish to dig deeper: the underwater island-domain of a Morkoth, pulled into Chult by Acererak's magic. The Morkoth's home is in disarray. Trophies it collected from across the multiverse are now running wild and its treasures are being looted by marauders from Ishau. If the characters help, it may share its secrets with them.