In "The Brazen Bull," whilst traversing one of the seedier neighbourhoods of Khromarium, your party are solicited by a greasy-haired Pict. He offers to sell you a sheaf of magical lotus that allows one to see the future or to brew potions that empower the imbiber with sorcery. He beckons you to follow Jeffrhim into a dilapidated building ...
By a well-trodden road lies the estate of the Eryx family. At some point the estate was converted into a roadside inn. The merchant Robert E. Wardlove has received an urgent letter from his daughter Derleth. She begs of her father to arrive in haste to the faraway inn and take her back home safely for the Evening of Still Streets draws near... Enigma of the Eryx Estate is a break from the usual dungeon crawls of the Shadowdark RPG system recommended for characters of lvls 1-3. During this adventure players get to solve a murder and the mysteries that surround it. Exploration and intrigue are emphasized as player characters gain XP for uncovering secrets. Combat is in a more minor role during this adventure, but if the players don't figure out the mystery by midnight, they might be in a fight for their lives. The adventure is designed for ease of running with punctual room and character descriptions.
“The Lamia’s Heart”: Your party are contracted by the nascent master of an unsanctioned thieves’ guild. To earn his favour, you must steal a singular gem from the mansion of a prominent merchant. Purloining this gem, however, may raise the ire of the city’s official thieves’ guild; notwithstanding, the reward is significant.
“Down below, beneath Cassidum’s stinking alleys and crumbling palaces, lie twisting passages and musty chambers with the secrets of the old days, and the subterranean dens of lowlife scum. But now, sordid disappearances haunt the Piazza dei Rospi, while the Literators’ Guild and Barbers’ Guild wage a bloody turf war for the surrounding streets. The key to these mysteries is a richly carved marble well decorated with the carvings of four ugly bullfrogs, whose depths hide things worse still. Some who descend shall win riches and battle-glory, while others will only find horrid death… down in The Well of Frogs!” A 32-page city and dungeon adventure for 1st to 2nd level characters by Istvan Boldog-Bernad, The Well of Frogs describes a neighbourhood of the crumbling city of Cassidum, its teeming alleyways the haunts of thieves and lowlives. But below the surface lie worse things still, left over from the days of the old empire or repurposed by dangerous eccentrics. Visiting the underground could not be easier: the Well of Frogs, in the middle of the infamous Piazza Dei Rospi, lies in plain sight, and nobody will prevent the brave and very foolish from descending into its maw. This is a module which has killed a respectable amount of player characters in playtest, more at its debut at North Texas RPG Con, and is ready to kill again. It can be used as a one-off, or as a nexus point for an extended campaign. The adventure features illustrations by Dorottya Fulop (who also did the cover), Ferenc Fabian, Vincentas Saladis, Graphite Prime, as well as the Dead Victorians and the Robot Overlords.
Come visit the acid fantasy mini-sandbox of the Misty Isles, a hellish pocket plane that's brutally displaced a bucolic paradise. Marvel at its massive grub-ridges, shake at the body horror of its protein vats—and watch as your players dynamically unleash the Anti-Chaos Index through their own in-game actions. Misty Isles of the Eld is a stand-alone sequel to Slumbering Ursine Dunes and Fever-Dreaming Marlinko. It contains: Four dungeons. The Vat Complex (with its menacing sealed off-west wing, body-horrific industrial process and pocket dimensions), the flying god-prison Monument Five, the meth-fruit Plantation House and Colonel Zogg's Pagoda Bunker. Full “extra-planar” pointcrawl. The wilderness crawl spreads over one main isle and two smaller islets subdivided by massive, movable grubs. An “Anti-Chaos Index.” Through their actions the players shape the very reality of the Isles. Sometimes for the better, sometimes for the worst, but always for the weird. A slew of new otherwordly monsters. A large collection of bizarre technological Eldish artifacts and treasure. Includes a random generator for miscellaneous artifacts picked up. A new psionicist player class, the Psychonaut, with a soft scifi twist. Including its own powers and mutations.
The ancient world of Harth withers beneath its dying sun…but it’s not dead yet. Welcome to the strange and dangerous city of Carcassay, huddled below the skeleton of a titan rat, sprawling above the ruins of countless dead civilizations. This is where folk come to find wealth, power, revenge, secrets, oblivion… and everything in between. Carcassay is a sandbox city adventure. There are many locations to explore in, around, and under the city. Players can explore any place at any time, and may radically reshape the city’s politics, economy, religions, and physical existence. There are standard dungeons stacked under the city, and GMs are encouraged to keep adding more dungeons… all the way down. Tone. It leans more toward low fantasy or sword-and-sorcery. Most shops look like real shops. Most people look like real people. But strange and horrible things lurk everywhere as soon as you start to scratch the surface. This is my Lankhmar. Carcassay is a vast, bizarre city. It has over 100 locations where you can meet Chaos cultists, Lawful knights, retired adventurers, shopkeepers, brewers, musicians, artists, scientists, hermits, royalty, beggars, doctors, space vampires, eldritch horrors, machine priests, crab colonists, mushroom farmers, mummies, assassins, and diplomats from distant lands… and the moon. And every one of them has goods or services to sell, and a quest (or three) to offer. What sort of quests? Fetch a relic, assassinate a rival, find a relative, steal a soul, implant an agent, cure a disease, stop a riot, solve a murder that hasn’t happened yet, hunt a thief, locate a shrine… the list goes on. And for every Quest, there is a specific Reward: money, weapons, relics, Chaos mutations, exclusive memberships, information, Angelic miracles… the list goes on. This is a place where you can make a lot of money, but also where you can spend that money on interesting goods and services. Factions? We have a few. Seven Chaos cults, five knightly orders, two mercenary companies, four wealthy families, six (seven!) Corpse Lords, foreign diplomats, rival innkeepers, rival tavern owners, plus all the dungeon-delving gangs currently mucking about underground. When you grow weary of all the adventures at ground level, there are three classic dungeons buried under the city to explore. This book contains months (if not years) of campaigning. Enjoy the Chaos.
"Barrow of the Elf King" is an evocative and intricate adventure module, specifically tailored for a party of 3-4 level one adventurers using "The Vanilla Game" rule set. This adventure delves into the mystical and eerie depths of an ancient barrow deep within the Old Forest, a place shrouded in darkness and mystery. It offers an experience that combines puzzles, combat, moral choices, and exploration, all set within a hauntingly atmospheric setting. "Deep in the Old Forest, where the trees grow tall and thick, where the sun rarely pierces the canopy, is an earthen mound. No birds sing in this part of the forest, no wind blows. The leaves of the trees seem larger, the canopy thicker. Even at mid-day, it is almost too dark to see" The HTML web version is free.
A level 3 temple incursion adventure by Brad Kerr. In a golden temple of healing on a sundrenched island, blissful amnesiac patients are held prisoner by monstrous caretakers. Intruding PCs will need their wits and their swords to unravel the temple’s secrets, snatch its treasures, and escape. For Old-School Essentials (OSE) Included as one of four adventures in "Old-School Essentials Adventure Anthology 1"
The adventure takes players from a town devastated by an unexpected flood, through a drowned land where nature is turned upside down and desperate families cling to the roofs of their ruined homes, hiding from the monstrous products of a disordered world, through the strange tomb of an ancient race, to a profundal zone, hidden for millennia and now exposed, and finally to the Observatory itself, an eerie abandoned treasure palace, where they will encounter a pale and unexpected terror which will seek to claim their lives. The adventure is suitable for a lucky mid-range party, a stupid high-level party or an exceedingly clever low level party. It is difficult, with a meaningful possibility of character death. Should you find them, and defeat their guardians, the treasures of an ancient culture will be yours. At the final point of the Observatory is a glimpse of another world. Published by False Machine Publishing
Hurry! Hurry! Hurry! Step right up, ladies and gentlemen, and behold the greatest circus in the land! Behold the skilled mummers performing at The Stage; you’ll literally feel like you’re part of the play! Thrill to the death-defying acts (and audience) in the two rings under the Big Top! Laugh at the antics of the baleful buffoons, harmful harlequins, and malevolent merrymakers of Clown Alley! Gaze in wonder at the wild beasts of the Menagerie, (just make sure you know which side of the bars you’re on)! All this and more, for the small price of a single admission, to Bitterbark’s Magnificent Circus! The circus is in town! But there’s something not quite right about it. There are rumors of missing children, evil plots, and more. Can you discover the secrets hidden inside Bitterbark’s Magnificent Circus? Intended as a stand-alone adventure, but there are notes on how to include it as part of the Castle of the Mad Archmage mega-dungeon adventure. Published by BRW Games
"The Anomalous Subsurface Environment is more than just robots and lasers – it's clowns and dinosaurs, too! Levels 2 and 3 of the critically ignored gonzo megadungeon are finally available – with more classes, more tables, and more cruel and unusual ways to die deep beneath the surface of the post-apocalyptic Earth!" "ASE2-3 – Anomalous Subsurface Environment" expands upon the ASE1 module, exploring the second and third levels of a vast underground complex in a unique post-apocalyptic setting blending fantasy, science fiction, and bizarre elements. Extensive list of bizarre and unique items and monsters. Written for Labyrinth Lord
‘Wyrd’ things are afoot. This town might seem like your ordinary, post-apocalyptic-now-turned-fantasy locale, but it is not! Fell Cults have begun to take over and it is up to the brave adventurers to stop one in particular: the Cult of the Shield Ghul. But the ‘Wyrdness’ doesn’t end there. Though this adventure can be used to facilitate your typical wander-around-and-kill-everyone-to-take-their-stuff-type scenario, it also includes a sinister (and frankly genius) plot, feuding factions, plenty of hyphens, not to mention bizarre NPC’s and situations to either interact with or stab to death.
Three dungeons in one! The party is given a "dimension shifting device" and sets out to explore a 15-area cave, simultaneously occupied by the DEMON CORSAIRS, the remnants of an ASTEROID MINING OPERATION, and the MONASTERY OF TRANQUILITY & TRANSCENDENCE! The three dungeons are presented in three columns, so when the characters shift from one dimension into another, it's easy to find the corresponding area description. For use with old-school or OSR RPG systems. Recommended for character levels 3-4. Published by Eldritch Fields.
The village of Sacrabad is a wretched place. Dark rumors abound concerning its steward, “His Lordship” Nim Sheog, who rules the place through terror and cruelty. Merchants who have passed through Sacrabad tell tale of how chaos thrives while the good folk wallow in misery. Nim’s guard are no more than a well-paid gang of thugs, hired to enforce his relentless and often bizarre laws and what’s worse, they seem to be in league with a nearby band of goblins, The Yellow Fang, who are often left to terrorize the villagers without reprisal. It is rumored that Nim keeps the rightful and lawful lord of Sacrabad locked away in the dungeons of the keep, the ominous Black Tower. An imposing structure that once afforded the village protection, the Black Tower has become a symbol of tyranny. But there is hope on the horizon. Hope in the form of a secret society who conspire to rescue the rightful lord and overthrow Nim and his guard. Can our heroes champion the cause? Tyranny of the Black Tower is a short (single session) adventure module. It is a classic “rescue operation” complete with a strong villain and espionage intrigue. It is an ideal one-shot adventure with room for expansion into an ongoing campaign. Bonus side-trek hooks and a bonus dungeon are included as a means to build up low-level parties. This module is setting-generic and can be dropped just about anywhere in the multiverse. Published by Verisimilitude Society Press
The Red Bastion - the prison of a dwarf ghost princess... A 15-room dungeon for levels 2-3.
Greed blinds the eyes of contentment Dwarf miners discovered a precious stone deposit. Unfortunately, their greed led them to dig tunnels too deep. Upon breaching the walls of an unholy temple, the miners unleashed a bizarre creature that decimated them all. 'They Dug Too Deep' is a system-agnostic one-page dungeon about exploring an abandoned and mysterious dwarven mine. As characters delve into the site, they'll uncover that not everything is as it seems – a sealed entrance from the inside, the corpses of dwarves scattered around, strange messages on the walls... Play to discover what really happened! 2023 Winners' Circle One-page Dungeon! 'They Dug Too Deep' was awarded as one of the top 10 one-page dungeons in the 2023 One Page Dungeon Contest! To celebrate, we offer you some extra stuff to enhance your play experience. There is more underground than just precious stones... What you'll find here: A complete 18-room one-page dungeon with easy preparation. A GM's Pamphlet containing tips on how to run the adventure and compiling the most relevant information. 4 character sheets using the Vagari RPG rules system. 5 custom tokens for use in your favorite VTT. Mini-hexcrawl map (NEW!)
Lured by a scroll where the long dead sorcerer Urgaan boasts about treasures hidden in his tower, the PCs arrive at the outpost near the Awaroth Woods. A 1 page adventure for OSR style games.
Visit Marlinko, a borderlands city where life takes a strange fever-dream cast, in this 72-page urban adventure fantasy supplement. Part city-setting, part full-blown adventure, Fever-Dreaming Marlinko is a stand-alone companion to the Slavic acid fantasy weirdness of the Slumbering Ursine Dunes. Contains background and hooks for the city's four city quarters, two complete dungeon adventure sites, two new players classes (Mountebank and Robodwarf), Chaos Index with escalating events/triggers scattered throughout the city, news generator with full news briefs and hooks, and tiger-wrestling mini-game.
Thunder and quake have come to the old town. Towers crumble, homes tumble, the quick become the dead. What omen could be more obvious? The Pharaoh Fish under the mountain is displeased. This God must be propitiated. Brave heroes must venture to buy the city's salvation. At the very least, the Town Council needs to appear in control and send some 'expert adventurers' into the depths. A fantasy pointcrawl adventure for characters of 5th to 6th level. Local town, 17 pointcrawl regions, dungeon inside the Pharaoh Fish. Pointcrawl mechanics for Old-School Essentials. Keyed in a quick-reference, bullet point format. Unlabelled map included for VTT use.
A little cave-borne adventure about harvesting valuable cysts from a sleeping creature, trying not to be killed by the horribly mutated infectious things that already tried that, and helping a wizard who recently lost all his friends and just wants to get his spellbook back. For use with your fantasy RPG of choice. How would I use this thing? -As a terrible one-shot without consequences! -Drop "Find the wizard Felix Longworm cowering by stones and a mournful tree" into your mountainous random encounter table of choice, and pull this out when the fates decide. -If the cave is ignored something else will eventually be birthed out of it, so you get free campaign fodder if your players shake their heads and say "nope". Apart from the adventure it also contains a glorious suit of cursed armour, horrific explosives, four new spells, an adorable cut-out map for your players to put together as they explore, and some pretty neat light tracking mechanics, so there's that.