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 tomb of an ancient hero, lost in the tangled depths of the woods. A ring of standing stones, warded by the sinister Drune cult. A fairy princess who watches with timeless patience from beyond the veil of the mortal. A forgotten treasure that holds the key to her heart. Winter's Daughter is a romantic fairy-tale dungeon adventure set in the creepy old forest of Dolmenwood. Published by Necrotic Gnome
Goblins have returned to the area of Westgate, seeking an ancient magical item constructed for their foul kind. In their search, the goblins attack an imperial convoy secretly disguised as a merchant’s wagon. The knowledge that goblins are near must be kept quiet from the public, thus a small band of adventurers is required to seek out the creatures and the stolen magic item, deep inside the warrens of the great goblin chief! But the adventure does not end there...
Once a powerful proponent of Law, the Archmage Tazimack the Red was eventually driven mad by a fear of mortality. As he slipped into insanity his retirement home began to reflect the chaotic bent of his mind. Long after Tazimack’s unnaturally animated body has disintegrated, his manor house remains as a shadow cast by a twisted intellect. Can the characters bring order to this chaos?
"A temple destroyed by divine wrath... An ancient, imprisoned evil and a powerful idol. Mysteries abound in the tombs below the temple of the Iron God, protector of the dead. Discover the dreadful fate of the Iron God's priesthood and the reasons behind their downfall in this intriguing adventure designed for low-level characters. Tomb of the Iron God covers a large catacomb area on two levels, with 58 keyed locations and six new monsters. This is a Swords & Wizardry (0e) dungeon crawl for four to five characters of 1st or 2nd level, by ENNIE-award winning author Matt Finch. The vengeance of an angry god, and treasures untold. The corruption and greed of the monks of the Iron God has brought divine vengeance upon their heads - the ancient monastery was recently destroyed in a cataclysm of fire and lightning, and only the tombs beneath remain intact. Somewhere in the catacombs lies the treasure the monks accumulated before they met their doom. An intrepid band of adventurers, willing to brave the perils of the unknown tombs, could gain riches beyond their wildest dreams. Do you dare to enter the burial catacombs and discover the chilling secrets of ... The Tomb of the Iron God?" Also available for 5E
STRANGENESS AND TERROR FROM BEYOND THE GRAVE! Borgenwold is cursed, they say. Cursed by pride and greed to cower in fear of the past. A fell monstrosity from beyond the grave has risen to devour this town and all who dwell here. Open this book and to find... a town in the grip of horror, drunken monster hunters in way over their heads, debts, desperate bargains, miraculous goblins feasting upon godflesh, the treasures of the dead, and the price to be paid by those who seek to claim them. The Beast of Borgenwold is a 59-page Old School Roleplaying Adventure designed for characters of between 1st and 3rd level, and designed to be compatible with Old School Essentials by Necrotic Gnome, and other B/X and OSR affiliated games. mini hexcrawl (12 hexs) plus a small dungeon
A 26-page low level adventure for OSE and other OSR rpgs. "The swamps? Oh, that's a long time since someone got out of there. Vines and crocodiles they say in the big city. But down here we don't believe everything they say up there. Everyone knows what's up with the swamp! The hydra is hungry! We tried to hunt it down last year... that's how i got this wooden stump! What? you? killing the Hydra? well... i didn't make you out for the brave type, that's all..." -Old Mika, fisherman of Gren Against the Hydra The swamps near Gren are infested with strange creatures preying on travellers, the hydra has begun her yearly hunt and the river woman’s daughter has vanished. Last year the neighbouring towns have all gathered together to mount an expedition inside the swamp, but none returned. With nothing more to do priests, druids and citizen have gathered a 2000 gold pieces to clean out the swamp and save the river woman’s daughter from certain death. The adventure comes with detailed tables to explore the swamps, a complex dungeon riddled with encounters, treasure and lore for you to explore. Handouts are also included in the adventure pdf, for you to give to your players and excite their imagination.
"Something is weird about this party in 16th century Scotland! A famous thief stole a magical jewel and hid inside a castle where a party is taking place. Enter the party, find the jewel, escape with your life. In the first half of the adventure, the player characters will explore a weird party in search of the thief Jougal. They’ll likely piece together that this party is not “normal” and that this castle is not safe. In the second half, the baobhan sith will reveal themselves, red caps will set the castle on fire, and the PCs will find themselves locked in a burning hellhole. The adventure will likely change from a fun party-crawl into a stressful fight for survival. This is the NIGHTMARE PHASE." This adventure blends elements of horror, survival, and mystery, requiring players to use both their combat skills and their wits to navigate through the treacherous and evolving scenarios within Firnhirst Castle. Written for Cairn RPG
Short free/pwyw adventure for Shadowdark RPG or similar roleplaying games. Months ago the snow elf princess Ysren was pressured by her mother to begin accepting suitors. To thwart them, she vowed her suitors that anyone who brought her a piece of the moon would have her hand in marriage. The sorcerer-prince Sandor of Excelsis took up the challenge & began building an ambitious spiraling tower atop the highest nearby peak. Once it was high enough, he would begin a ritual that would open a portal from the top of the tower to the moon. One cold day all communication with the tower seized & the “Spiral Prince” has not been heard from ever since. King Galian has sent men in search of his lost prince, but none have succeeded in besting the frigid mountains. He offers a hefty bounty for the return of his son. Will you brave the rime-covered cliffs of Mt. Excelsis to save the prince... or perhaps scour his tower for arcane knowledge & regal wealth?
The ancient world of Harth is dying, but you’re going to die even sooner if you can’t escape from Frostwyck. You’re lost in a frozen forest of deadly predators and mysterious recluses. Your only refuge is the tiny village of Frostwyck, where metal is rare and kindness is rarer. And there are worse things in the shadows than mere bloodthirsty beasts. Witches haunt the groves of the north. Most keep to themselves, content to guard their secrets and powers. But one torments them all. Dama Zhadna has cursed the village so that none can escape. And now you’re trapped here. You’re going to die here... ...unless you can escape from the Witches of Frostwyck. Just a few things players can do: - Escape from a prison barge - Free demon souls from a giant spider-house - Find a charming witch-lord hiding with his pet dragon - Evade a merciless warrior zealot who is hunting them - Discover the ancient secrets of the Elder Fey - Collect the "cunning tools" created by the hedge witches - Collect the eldritch weapons crafted by the ancient elves - Save a little girl made of snow Intense Factions! Will you help the Temple of Virune to eradicate the last of the witches? Will you help the witch-lords retake power over the north? Will you help the Gray Sisters protect the village from the dangers of the forest? Or will you venture underground and help the Elder Fey to escape their prison and take their revenge? Four New Mentors! While in Frostwyck, players can meet many skilled NPCs who might be willing to train a worthy adventurer. If you can complete 3 days of training, you can learn one of 16 skills from either a Hunter, a Fighter, a Priest, or a Witch. New PC Background: The Vulgoth Hedge Witch! In addition to some unusual medicinal gear, select one of 6 creatures of the northern forest as your familiars, as well as one of 6 "cunning" items that you enchanted (and might explode in your face!).
"Orcs have returned to the once quiet border province of Blackmarch. The Bleak Tower and its meager garrison are all that stand against the tide. Their only hope lies in a ragtag band of adventurers willing to venture into the perilous maw of Ironwood Gorge..." "Ironwood Gorge is a fantasy role-playing adventure for 4-8 characters of levels 2-5, designed for older editions of the world's most popular fantasy role-playing game and its clones such as Labyrinth Lord and OSRIC. The material is also easily adaptable to any other class and level based fantasy role-playing game. Ironwood Gorge serves as part two in the Blackmarch sequence of adventures, but is built to function just as well as a one-off adventure, a drop-in-a-hex location for sandbox games, or as a kick start to a new campaign. The module includes keyed maps detailing both the Bleak Tower: a living, breathing refuge for adventurers; and Ironwood Gorge: a cave complex with over 100 keyed areas of traps, monsters and mayhem. The module is illustrated throughout with original artwork and includes appendices detailing new monsters, magic items, and spells. Whether you are looking for an out-sized adventure to usher the hardiest characters to the intermediate levels, or a fully-realized location to plunder for maps and ideas, Ironwood Gorge is a treasure from the old-school of gaming..." An alternative to B2 - Keep on the Borderlands
The Dark Tower A Worlds Without Number Compatible Adventure The adventure is set up so the Player Characters [PCs] can encounter diverse types of situations and different adventure styles, allowing for role-playing within a rural situation, with wandering monsters, and a dungeon/Deep encounter. The module offers a chance for the GM to immerse themselves and their players with as much, or little, detail as they want to put in. Rolling countryside surrounds The Dark Tower for miles. Giving you, the GM, the opportunity to fit the adventure into almost any setting within your game. I have left the ending open, allowing the GM to slot in further encounters or adventure twists to keep the game moving but with enough happening to turn it into more than one session if so desired. The Plot There are several options for the plot: A local innkeeper would like you to investigate the haunted tower on the hill. He is willing to offer a good reward. A local village Elder could ask the PCs to seek out/investigate/destroy the walking dead that have been seen around the tower. Please investigate the tower to see if the rumors are true. A Local priest would like the PCs to remove the possible undead worrying the locals from the tower.
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.
One page side quest, one page maps. For amusement, twenty years ago, a transient vampire passed its blood curse to a flying squirrel making it undead, intelligent, and immune to aging. The squirrel calls itself Darkfang and mostly enjoys preying on tiny humanoids, favoring halflings, elves, & young humans. DF often relocates as years ago it learned humanoids seek justice. To avoid notice, DF may move lairs after killing a humanoid. Three solid adventure hooks are provided. Published by Wicked Cool Games
The Necropolis of Nuromen is a modular quest designed to let the referee introduce a group of 1st level characters to the thrills of Underworld exploration as they attempt to unravel they secrets of the evil necromancer’s lair and deal with some bandits, too. The Necropolis of Nuromen is set in a fantasy realm, beginning near the small town of Camlann Castle and leading adventurers to explore the sinister Necropolis of Nuromen. The narrative unfolds around Nuromen the Necromancer, who fell to ruin by dabbling in forbidden magic, leading to the downfall of his tower and the town known as Law's End. The adventure includes exploration of a haunted forest, encounters with various creatures, and a quest for lost treasures and magical artifacts hidden within the depths of the necropolis. To play this adventure you also require the BLUEHOLME™ Prentice Rules or the BLUEHOLME™ Journeymanne Rules. This is an updated Version of "Maze of Nuromen" from 2013.
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.
No introductions are necessary for I know well who you are, my intrepid adventurer. A weary traveler indeed. Have a seat, my friend, before you enter the Graffenvold and traverse its byways. Have you come here to rest, to leave the muddy tracks and sharp edges of the world behind? Is that, it my fine fellow? Or have you come to beat down the Lords of this Land and submit them to your will? Which is it fellow, the easy or the hard road you are after? I fear you have gone beyond yourself, and here in Inzae your mistake may be your doom. For beyond yonder door is a fearful world clinging desperately to life. Its denizens struggle against a vast array of malignant forces that seek to drag them deeper into the pits of the Maelstrom. And even here, in this backwater called the Reintier, you will find no respite from this meaningless and overwhelming struggle. So take heed traveler, take heed as you enter the Graffenvold, it will do you well to remember that this is a deadly world and lest you take care, you will be engulfed in its dying spasms. Traveling south in the goblin kingdoms is always frought with danger. So many will go only so far as the Baron's outpost, The Vakhund, The Watchdog Tower, and reside there in safety while merchants and others fare their way down the road. But what happens when the Vakhund is attacked by goblins, orcs and bandits? A princess is kidnapped, and only a dangerous trip into the dark, infested goblin kingdoms will reveal the answer. A Castles & Crusades adventure intended for 4-8 characters of levels 1-2, Vakhund: Into the Unknown marks Part 1 in the thrilling Death on the Treklant Trilogy and introduces the grimly realistic World of Inzae. Those brave enough to enter her Maelstrom and become heroes shall linger long in the halls of valor and memory.
A 1st-level dungeon crawl for Shadowdark RPG where the characters delve into a ruined citadel hunting for legendary treasures while avoiding the wrath of the infamous scarlet minotaur! Inside the citadel are secrets about the downfall of the warrior-cultists who once ruled it, three legendary weapons they wielded, and several factions of intelligent creatures to turn into allies or enemies. This adventure is part of the free, digital Shadowdark RPG Quickstart Set, which comes with two 68-page booklets (Player and Game Master guides), 8 pre-made characters with gorgeous art, and a form-fillable character sheet. Shadowdark RPG is what classic, old-school fantasy gaming would look like after being redesigned with 50 years of innovation. It's the world's greatest roleplaying game in a whole new light! Download the free Quickstart set here: https://www.thearcanelibrary.com/pages/shadowdark
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
“Do not try to escape. You are in my control. Look at me. I am the sum of all evils. Look carefully. My power infests all times, all galaxies, all dimensions...many seek me out...But see how I destroy their lives..." (from the film, Heavy Metal, 1981) For half a century, life in the mining outpost of Piktown has been peaceful and prosperous until a strange green glow in the nearby mountain range rekindled a frightening legend from the past. Does this recent luminous phenomenon signal the return of the dreaded Cult of the Green Orb? The Overlord has hired you and your fellow adventurers to stop the troubling green glow! This module is a classic-style dungeon crawl meant for a single night’s play, with plenty going on behind the scenes to keep players (and referees) interested. For use with Swords & Wizardry** or the Original Edition of the First Fantasy Roleplaying Game