Prison of the Hated Pretender is an introductory adventure for 4-6 characters levels 0-1. Originally published on the Dungeon of Signs blog, it is a short drop-in location-based adventure with a couple of interesting puzzles, a lack of "book" monsters, implacable foes with an obvious weakness, and a very weird roleplaying opportunity. The new 2020 edition republished by Hydra Collective adds suggested guidance for new Dungeonmasters who grew up with 5th edition and don't know how old-school works. Stats for both BECMI and 5th edition, and setting neutral (though there are some implied things about the history of the world).
The Bark Witch of Carcass Country is a procedural pointcrawl for FRONTIER SCUM. It consists of tables encompassing: Adventure hooks to lure scum to the swamp Antagonist motivation to add depth and guide the story Locations that provide (un)safe spaces for PCs Exploration via an overloaded, exploding encounter table that escalates the plot Mundane and strange creatures with full stat blocks Signs of the Bark Witch to sow dread and chaos The module can be run purely randomly, as a pick-and-choose toolkit, or anywhere in between. Depending on the rolls and approach, it works as a one-shot or a multi-session adventure. The Bark Witch of Carcass Country is an independent production by Walton Wood and is not affiliated with Den of Druids. It is published under the FRONTIER SCUM Third-Party License. FRONTIER SCUM is copyright Den of Druids
A level 2–3 sewer adventure by Glynn Seal. PCs plumb fetid sewers and recently-revealed secret halls, in search of a lost worker. In these forsaken chambers, they may find answers and treasures, but may also come face-to-face with a bloated monstrosity and its depraved followers. For Old-School Essentials (OSE) Included as one of four adventures in "Old-School Essentials Adventure Anthology 1"
Those friendly dwarves were the first to go, the poor things. And now the beast has been killing and eating the people of Brandonsford. No-one wants to leave the town's walls. With the humans out of the forest, fairies have taken over, and now the goblin king Hogboon seeks to claim the entire forest as his new kingdom.
The ancient world of Harth withers beneath its dying sun…but it’s not dead yet. High in the night sky, a vampire’s tower is torn apart by a rampaging angel. People and monsters are trapped. Magical treasure lies scattered everywhere. It’s all yours for the taking, if you can find a way out before the angel finds you. This adventure is a one-shot dungeon-delve into a wizard’s tower. In space. With vampires. This is an alien-survival-horror-movie of an adventure (or at least, you can choose to play it that way). ADVENTURE TYPE: One-Shot / Low Level / Level 3 / Dungeon Delve / Tower / Vampires / Survival-Horror DESIGN NOTES This adventure is intended for low-level characters (around level 3). It is focused mostly on exploration, with several social encounters and opportunities for deadly combat. It runs 3 to 5 hours. There are 17 unique magical items, 17 unique monsters, and 17 unique rooms. I swear I did not plan that, it just worked out this way.
Dwarrowdeep is a new megadungeon from Three Castles Award Winner (2018) and Barrowmaze author Dr. Greg Gillespie. Gundgathol lies in ruin. Over 250 years ago, an evil host rose from the underdark and pushed the dwarves out of their ancestral mountains. Since that time, orcs and worse have defiled their sacred halls. In recent days, the high dwarven clerics cast their runestones and read the portents: the time has come to retake Gundgathol. Are you brave (or fooloish) enough to enter Dwarrowdeep? Dwarrowdeep will keep your players on their toes and your campaign going strong for years. Dwarrowdeep is brought to you by the Old School Renaissance (so don’t forget your 10’ pole). This project was created through a group of awesome backers from Kickstarter. Without them, this project wouldn't have happened. Thank you for your support! Check my drivethrurpg profile for all sorts of additional Barrowmaze material. This megadungeon adventure includes an all-star cast of Ex-TSR artists including Darlene, Larry Elmore, Tim Truman, Jeff Dee, and Diesel. It features 150 unique zipitomes (art that tells a story of iconic adventurers along the bottom of the page) illustrated by Peter Pagano. Dwarrowdeep is the single largest dwarven themed adventure in the history of role-playing games.
A collection of five one-shot adventures for Cairn! Imperial Vault 19 A grieving widow in the forest begs you to save her baby. A hedge witch has taken the infant down into an old imperial vault where she uses the child’s Chaos tears in alchemical potions. And who knows what old treasures might still be hidden in the vault? Unless it’s not that kind of vault… Barrow of the Blood Baron Face off against vampire bats, vampire thralls, and a vampire noble, as well as a few other creatures that have clawed their way into this once-armored vault. Discover works of art, exotic wines, enchanted clothing, and filthy weapons. Negotiate with the guards and intruders alike, using clever words or whatever stake-like objects are close at hand! Tomb of the Tin Templar Encounter electric jellyfish, tinker gnomes, and the rusted corpse of the noble Sir Tristan, as well as a few other creatures that have drifted into this marvelous mechanical vault. Discover windup toys, clockwork companions, and baffling devices. Negotiate with the guards and intruders alike, using clever words or whatever rusty objects are close at hand! Priory of the Primate Priest Defy root trolls, monkey monks, and a beguiling dryad, as well as a few other creatures that have found their way into this marvelous living vault. Discover magical armor, haunted skulls, and the bonest of the apes' victims. Negotiate with the guards and intruders alike, using clever words or whatever living objects are close at hand! Fane of the Fey Fellmonger Match wits with guild goblins, pixies, and a living skin suit, as well as a few other creatures that have spirited their way into this disturbing leathery vault. Discover arcane clothing, deadly sewing tools, and a fey lord who isn't entire dead yet. Negotiate with the guards and intruders alike, using clever words or whatever sewing objects are close at hand! New PC Background: The Dungeoneer! In addition to some unusual delving gear, select one of 10 unfortunate results of a recent delve-gone-wrong, as well as one of 13 helpful boons or tools from a recent delve-gone-right.
Ages ago, a religious order known as the Druun practiced rituals from inside sacred oak groves, ceremonial pools, and stone henges. In time, the Church of Law and Order suppressed the Druunic teachings, and the ancient holy sites were lost, forgotten, or converted to other uses. One such former site is located in the capital city of Dolmvay in the center of a small neighborhood known as Whiteoak Square. This neighborhood has recently been experiencing a strange phenomenon: At night, small dancing lights have been seen floating throughout the neighborhood. The residents were afraid of this sorcery at first, however, the lights seem to exude a feeling of peace and contentment, and the locals have grown used to them. How it Started: A few weeks ago, a butcher named Walton Brand was clearing out his cellar when he stumbled upon a secret underground passage that led to an ancient Druun hall. This hall was filled with lost relics, arcane lore, and forgotten treasures of the Druun. Walton told his friends, Loomis the Baker and the chandler Stefan of Walsbury, and the three men began sneaking away from their wives at night to dress in Druun finery and pretend to be men of wealth. A harlot named Red Kirsten was hired to attend them as they drank, feasted, and cavorted in the sacred hall. Unbeknownst to the revelers, the Druun hall still retained some of its magical powers and their merriment awakened the ancient guardian spirits of the grove. These creatures, known as faerlings, are the lights that have been seen dancing throughout the neighborhood. The faerlings were given life by the revelers' glee, and they project that joy and happiness onto the other residents of the neighborhood. This glee, however, is about to turn to horror. . . Oak Grove Whispers is a Labyrinth Lord™ adventure designed for 3-6 characters of 1st-3rd levels (about 10 levels total). The adventure is broken up into three chapters that take place in a small neighborhood located in the capital city of Dolmvay (the Labyrinth Lord is free to substitute any medium- to large-sized city from his own campaign world). Oak Grove Whispers involves a mixture of roleplaying, investigation, and dungeon crawling, so a diverse range of classes is recommended. As the adventure is set in a civilized city, the characters must also be careful their interaction with NPCs does not land them on the wrong side of the law. Published by Small Niche Games
Under the gods' vigilant gaze, shadows stir in the depths. A hermit hunter found an alien jewel in the woods. Since then, he began to have dreams about strange "gods" and became obsessed with them. Little did he know, these “old gods” of his are an ancient evil buried deep in the underground that now reign in the forest! 'Hidden Gods of the Woods' is a system-agnostic one-page dungeon about the exploration of a secret cave dominated by bizarre aliens. Hidden beneath an abandoned cottage, players will unveil the story of a human hunter insanely in love with creatures from another world. Play to discover what the hell is going on there!
The City of Bergholt lies upon the southern shores of the Interzae. Her crumbling walls and ancient cobbled streets are little more than a backwater, controlled by powerful merchants and thieves. In these darkened streets and twisted alleys people claw their way to the top through violence and guile. In Bergholt, the fear lingers in every shadow. In By Shadow of Night you’ll find a complete detailed description of Bergholt, a rich cast of NPCs who all have their own plots and plans, over 20 encounter areas, including a small dungeon and a large fold-out map of the city. All this setting material comes to life in the dark and deadly adventure, also included within, that is By Shadow of Night. By Shadow of Night picks up after the Death in the Treklant series, available from Troll Lord Games, though it can be a stand-alone adventure if desired.
...There are older things in these forests too; the knights did not just battle the pagan kings of man but also the forest dwellers; the wodewose. Spend too long in any tavern or listen to a village alewife and you’ll hear stories of knights and wodewose duking it out in little patches of now cleared pastures. One of these little villages is the village of Levnec, a sad little town ruled by a self appointed lord banished from his seaside villa far to the south. His name is Lord Kristoph and he has been looking to hire some transient sell swords to solve his problem. Some of the townsfolk are (repeatedly) going missing and others are refusing to work, even after examples were beaten and hobbled by his men. Seeing as the townsfolk are blaming the local Gnomes, he would simply like these drifters to saunter in the wood, murder some Gnomes and bring them back to show the townsfolk there is nothing to fear (except him) and to get back to work.
There is a Ruined City in the central northern Borderlands, often called Ghoultown by explorers of the area, but its original name is Ust Lesesi and it was once the second city of the Empire of Karan. Long since plundered, ruined and abandoned, the place has become home to a sinister mix of creatures, some are trading with each other, some are resting between skirmishes, all are schiming and all of them are trying to survive. This is a toy box for the GM - there are three settings in one - the Abandoned City, with stange creatures wandering the streets; the Monstrous community with several significant and detailed NPCs and their followers all trading, quarrelling and trying to get along with each other; and the city of the (un)dead - there's a whole army hidden in here, what are they being prepared for? The Ruined City is a 40-page game resource rather than a complete adventure, although it has almost everything you need for a simple hack or a more complex web of intrigue. Along with a sumptuous set of maps is a set of encounters, monster and NPC stat-blocks, and ideas for how to use the place in a campaign. If you need a ruined city in a hurry, this is the supplement for you! The Ruined City is designed for OSR but is also compatible with AD&D 1st and 2nd edition and pretty much any TTFRPG you fancy. The encounters are all pretty high level but most of the encounters will not be immediately hostile. There is scope in this setting for far more than simple hack and slash. These resources allow you to build a set of encounters as complex as you like. You can simply try and hack your way through, but there are some VERY nasty encounters in here. You could maybe set up your own base here, or just try and take over an existing group. Perhaps you want to start up a trade route, or maybe even start a Civil War! All of these possibilities, and many others, are catered for here. SM20 The Ruined City is released by Dunromin University Press. We are a very small publisher based in the UK and our aim is to produce VERY high quality products as the best value possible.
Beware All Who Enter These Benighted Halls of Stone. Within Lies No Solace Nor Any Comforts of Home. Toiling For Our Crimes We Must Dig Where We Dwell, With No Freedom or Mercy In Our Vast Stony Hell. Stonehell Dungeon is a classic-style megadungeon, filled with enough monsters, traps, weirdness, and treasure to keep you gaming for a long, long time. Explore over 700 rooms, encounter more than 40 new monsters, and discover 18 mysterious magical items -- and that's just in the first book! Stonehell Dungeon: Down Night-Haunted Halls details the first six levels of a megadungeon intended for use with the Labyrinth Lord™ role-playing game, but is easily adaptable to most early versions of the original fantasy role-playing game and its retro-clones. Featuring art by J.A. D'Andrea, Lee Barber, Marcelo Paschoalin, and Ralph Pasucci, Stonehell Dungeon gives the game master all the necessary information to run his players through the dungeon, while offering enormous opportunities to customize and expand on the site. The monsters of Stonehell Dungeon are waiting to meet you. Won't you come in? Published by Three-Headed Monster Games.
Legends tell of a wizard so arrogant that he felt the entire sky was naught but a lens for him to view the stars. So great was the hubris and defiance of this man that the gods smote him with the power of storm and fire. Oh did the wizard laugh at such a pathetic gesture. He did not fear the gods, for he drew his knowledge from something greater. Something darker. The legend of this wizard grew, first whispered by men in fear, and later in awe. The wizard, they said, attacked the gods just as they had attacked him. And his joy only grew as the land around him died. But then there was no more news. No more talk. Something had finally brought the wizard low, for though the sky still blazed down on him and his abode, he no longer blazed back. And now you’re going to walk right through this wizard’s front door.
Long ago the dwarf-like "Dverg" established a "forge" hidden deep beneath the earth where they forged weapons of "cold" iron. Cold iron was considered a far superior material and was especially effective against Trolls and could even damage ghosts. The forge is thought have been long abandoned and priceless artifacts of great power are rumored to lie forgotten beneath the Altis mountains. Among them is rumored to be the fabled Axe of Mortality - a weapon said to be powerful enough to slay a god. Is your party brave enough to venture out in search of these valuables? Flameless Forge of the Dverg is a free/pwyw dungeon crawling adventure designed for level 1-3 Shadowdark RPG characters. The adventure is assumed to take place in a viking-esque fantasy setting, but can be adapted by tweaking some names and figuring out replacements for the nordic gods.
Stonehell Dungeon: Into the Heart of Hell is the long-awaited sequel to Stonehell Dungeon: Down Night-Haunted Halls. This book contains the final levels of the megadungeon, revealing its most terrifying secrets. It contains almost 600 dungeon rooms for the players to explore, more than 70 unique monsters to challenge them, and 13 new magical items to mystify them. Stonehell Dungeon is a classic-style megadungeon intended for use with the Labyrinth Lord™ role-playing game, but adaptable to early versions of the original fantasy role-playing game and its retro-clones. It gives the game master the necessary information to run the dungeon, while offering enormous opportunities to customize the site. Published by Three-Headed Monster Games.
Written in celebration of Swords and Wizardry Appreciation Day 2017, Return to Fel’Valashar picks up where Dungeons of Fel’Valashar left off. In this book is a collection of mini dungeon adventures with a small region called Fel’Valashar that they take place within. Each of these adventures is written in such a way that they don’t have any ties to each other or to Fel’Valashar. This means you can easily drop them into your own world with no fuss. Includes: Details of the south-western region of Fel’Valashar. Four mini dungeon adventures. New monsters. New magic items.
In Claine Forest near Padduck Village there has appeared a pit. No-one knows where it came from, it just did. It is not so deep that you cannot see the bottom, but people fear it and avoid it. No-one who has climbed into it has come back, having been dragged beneath the surface by unseen hands. A necromancer has come to the forest, seeking the pit. She does not quite know what she expects from it, but what she hopes for is protection from death. Player-characters may wish to get involved, and thus this constitutes an adventure for old-school systems, for 5-6 PCs of 2nd level 2 or slightly fewer of 3rd. The PCs won’t necessarily all die, and the players will almost certainly survive. Reviews elsewhere: "It pours out flavour in nearly every word, creating delicious situations for the party to interact with. ... We got a village, two rival groups of adventurers, a weird-ass forest, and somewhere in the forest a pit, your final destination. From this, joy is made. Each one of those elements has their component parts well done and, because of this the whole is a wonder." — Bryce Lynch of tenfootpole
The dead are all mad in this place. Jaume made the most unfortunate mistake of seducing Ysabel and taking her virginity — a sacrilege for which the sentence was death. Enraged upon finding this out, Joudain cleaved Jaume’s head in two with an axe and then raised him from the dead to continue his duties. Not long afterward, Joudain decided that, because the twin footmen no longer “matched,” he had no choice but to inflict the same fate on Miqèl — who now looks exactly like his older brother. Join them. This heavily revised and greatly expanded deluxe edition of The Cursed Chateau is an adventure for use with Lamentations of the Flame Princess Weird Fantasy Role-Playing and other traditional role-playing games. Death is just the beginning.
Among the snow globes that sit gathering dust there is one quite unlike the others. One is full of sand and an ancient library. Shake it and you’re transported to the dungeon. Here's what it has: Beautiful cartography from Dyson Logos 27 keyed rooms to keep your players busy for a few sessions A new enemy called the Mummies who do no damage but burst into sand that gets into armor and skin, spreading a deadly disease A sand golem Pharaoh who can multiply A twisted lich (or moderately low level) who collects teeth A sphinx searching for the answer to a riddle A few traps (including snakes and skin-burrowing scarabs) A treasure room that has roughly 10,000gp worth of assorted treasures, making it difficult to export It exists inside a magical snow globe, meaning it can fit into your campaign world with ease Has repercussions and ways to continue after the fact Basically this is a dungeon for a more Old School feel.