Ever been on a long running campaign and in one of the sessions one or a few players couldn’t make it? This adventure was made to be used as sort of a filler episode to fix that. Made for a small party of 1st-4th lvl characters and to be played in a single session. Story summary - The Gold Knife Bandits, a gang formed by a former army squadron that deserted. They are remarkably loyal to each other and are known in the area for attacking army caravans and camps. However, after several months of unfortunate loots. They decided to house a cultist of Beshaba and do what he asks to take away the curse of misfortune the gang is obviously under. Unfortunately, that includes using some members of the party as a sacrifice. The party will find the bandits cavernous hideout, clear through it, face the cultist, the Bandit's old boss, or both! All in a day’s worth of adventuring.
Hi! I am pleased to present the official English-language release of the Italian best-selling adventure: La Seconda Alba Nera – The Second Black Dawn! If anyone is looking for a good starter adventure for 5th edition but wants something a bit grittier and darker may I recommend it. The Second Black Dawn is coming ... The king is missing. Hordes of undead spread across the kingdom like a plague. Outlaws attack and pillage defenseless villages. A party of adventurers is called upon to explore the region and investigate the mysterious disappearance of the king. Main Features: - A compelling, dark adventure estimated to last over 30 hours of gameplay and bring the characters from 1st to 5th level. - Five new monsters and one new weapon - Random encounters designed specifically to integrate with the tone of the adventure. - A list of music suitable for use as a soundtrack to accompany the adventure, to engage the players and emphasize the adventure's atmosphere. - Four pre-generated characters usable for the adventure. - Hypertext links in both the index and the text and bookmarks included. - An optimized PDF also available in a printer-friendly version. Find out what is bringing the kingdom to its knees... before it’s too late! Thanks to Marco Fossati for the translation and Simon Collins for the English-language editing. Any questions, please ask!
You wake up in a pitch-dark cavern... The stench of bodies fills your nostrils. The crack of bone and the sound of teeth rending flesh are the only sound you hear. Something is feeding nearby...something you can't see. We Eat in the Dark is a deadly adventure for 3rd or 4th level characters. Navigate the caves of the Darkshard Abattoir, where light sources are muted and creatures hid invisibly in the dark. Fight for your life against troglodytes empowered by a mysterious artifact and other cavern hazards. Includes an appendix for limited starting gear for a more lethal challenge. A perfect murder-happy one-shot for your players to question your friendship.
After hiring a group of brave adventurers to help him "acquire" a beholder specimen, the mage Velinax disappears! Rumors blame an insidious thieves' guild called the Unblinking Eye for this turn of events. Why would the Unblinking Eye wish to "take care" of the mage? Why does the guild want to speak to anyone involved with Velinax? Finally, what dark goal does the guild truly intend to accomplish? Finding out the answers to these questions will lead doughty adventurers straight through the shadows of a crafty thieves' guild and onto the threshold of an even deeper and more dangerous darkness. "Eye of Doom" is the second of three adventures featuring the nightmarish beholder. It can be played as an individual mission or as part of the series that began with "Eye of Pain" and concludes in "Eye to Eye." TSR 9530
This scenario picks up where the Ga Mantse Tombs left off. As your party delves deeper into the natural caverns they begin to uncover more and more unusual amphibian creatures in their path. With the amount of bad guys you’ve found in the tunnels it is hard to imagine what will be at the end! This adventure is the perfect segway to a much larger problem in the lands beneath Mellowmarble.
A druid dwells in the heart of the forest, running its shadowed paths as both man and wolf. As civilization encroached on his ancient forest, he retreated deeper into its depths, spending more time as a wolf and less as a man. He took refuge in a dark cave and the last traces of his humanity disappeared, leaving only the beast. Published by Arcana Games.
"Sometimes bugs are just bugs, and sometimes they are organized into a hive mind that is just as smart as humans. Ants are just that. In battle, the ants become a horde of raging combatants that form a blur on all sides. While ants are typically peaceful, they respond to a threat against the hive with a scale of violence that’s almost impossible to imagine. Utterly devoted to duty, ants never retreat from a confrontation—even in the face of certain death. Their engagements are brief and brutal. Working in teams, ants grab enemies, holding them in place until one of the warriors rips into the captive’s body, leaving it smashed and oozing." "Of Ants and Men begins as a quest to recover (e.g., steal) eggs from a giant anthill near the town of Endhome." "This adventure is designed for characters of levels 4 to 8." "The adventure can also be played (perhaps more effectively) by smaller groups. In response to many requests from our fans, the main encounters are designed to work well with groups of two to three characters of levels 6 to 8. Even a solo adventurer could do reasonably well, if the individual character had very good climbing, trap finding, and stealth skills. Druids, barbarians, and rogues will fare best in cases where the groups are limited in size." "While there’s plenty of opportunity for combat here, characters who think through a situation before drawing their swords are likely to do best. Hacking one’s way through is likely to result in character deaths."
Trapped in the dungeons of the Slave Lords! The hardy adventurers must find a way out, with only their wits and courage to help them. But can they do it before everything is destroyed by the dreaded Earth Dragon? This module contains a challenging scenario for experienced players, the tournament scoring system, and nine fully-equipped playtested characters. Also included are large-scale referee maps, playing aids, notes, and background information. A4 is a complete adventure in itself, but can also be used in conjunction with A1 (SLAVE PITS OF THE UNDERCITY), A2 (SECRET OF THE SLAVERS' STOCKADE), and A3 (ASSAULT ON THE AERIE OF THE SLAVE LORDS). TSR 9042
Expand your game with this collection of 56 NPCs of various Challenge Ratings, thirteen of which include maps and details of their lairs. Add these NPCs as a side-quest, a main villain, a one-shot, a bounty for easy money, or however else you wish. Written by some of the best-selling authors on the Dungeon Masters Guild and outstanding podcasters, each NPC includes an image, a backstory, motives, flaws, and a stat block. Some even include new magic items!
nside this full-color, 132-page anthology you’ll find five best-selling Adventurer’s League quests for level 1-10 characters. Inside are over 20 illustrations, including a half-dozen full-page pieces by the esteemed Andrea Alemanno. Also included are instructions on how to weave these adventures into an ongoing story arc as part of your campaign. Tier 1 (Level 1-4): The Cornflower Hive (SFBAY-04-01): What links an infamous Zhentarim mercenary with a brilliant but tormented artificer? To find out, the adventurers must break the goblinoid siege of the village of Westfir. After the bizarre goblins are defeated, the Cornflower Hive must be destroyed. Ultimately, what secrets are held in the grain mill by the Westfork river? The White Well (PDXAGE-01-01): The Gommurg Clan of hill dwarves rarely deal with outsiders. The dwarf clan’s isolation has gifted them with great skill and wealth. Unfortunately, their pride has made them vulnerable to an ancient power confined centuries ago. An exile has magically foretold the clan’s destruction. This diviner is the only one who knows how to stop the evil threatening the Gommurg. Tier 2 (Level 5-10): The Barrows of Solina (STORM-01): Zhentarim traders. Shadowy figures roaming the fields near Hillsfar. How do these all relate? Everything traces back to the recently unearthed grave-barrows. Rescuing a caravan from undead attackers, the adventurers learn of an ancient danger. The Dark Hunt (PDXAGE-02-01): The village near Oreclasp Keep has been reporting brutal owlbear attacks that have left people missing or dismembered. Lord Oreclasp has placed a bounty for every owlbear beak brought to Oreclasp Keep. The villagers don’t suspect the deeper problems brewing in the land. Under Earth & Stone (SFBAY-04-02): A Mulmaster refugee named Ani Kuleimatt discovered references to a forgotten mine near the Moonsea, a mine rumored to produce an unexpected export. The adventurers are hired to locate the complex and secure its resources for the Mulmaster Diaspora.
The power of prophecy is given to few. Wise are they who guard this gift well, for those who thirst after such knowledge are not always men of principle. Bastion of destiny, the Tower of the Heavens stands silhouetted against the star-studded night sky. From within his darkened observatory, perched like an eyrie on the highest turret, a figure in white charts the course of a shooting-star as it disappears behind the snow-capped peaks of the Tegefed mountains. The old man smiles grimly to himself; the event foretold has come to pass! Power, glory, riches - it takes years to acquire them. The uncanny accuracy of their predictions has brought all these and more to the sages of the Tower of the Heavens. But what is hard to win is often easier to lose, and the future of the tower now hangs in the balance. For it is written that the day of reckoning draws nearer when a star falls.... TSR 9120
Six kids, one heartfelt promise, one incredible exploration! First Adventure is a one-shot designed to be played as a long session of five hours or two shorter sessions of 2-3 hours each. Keep the promise you made to your dying mother! Journey to an old, abandoned mine to search for the gateway to the Faerie Realm! Fail in your first attempt and regroup again 17 years later to keep the promise! A well balanced mix of exploration, role-playing, riddles, combat and tons of fun suited for both DnD newbies and veterans!
Cargo ships are being dashed against the rocks west of Hulburg, lured off course by a mysterious light. Is this the work of ordinary thieves, or are more nefarious forces at work? Wreckers is a stand-alone adventure that premiered at Kumoricon in Portland, Oregon in October of 2017. Includes: Adventure .pdf in English and Spanish Magic Item Certificate .pdf All maps as high-res .jpg
Nightmares that kill, a mysterious thief that only steals knick-knacks, tales of a huge beast terrorising fisherfolk, an inn with disappearing guests, discoveries of hidden magic portals and rumours of an assassin at large: None of these things are enough to stop the ever-flowing tide of traders and travellers crossing the Bridge of Fallen Men, but its protectors - Cormyr's Purple Dragons - are short on time, and courage... ...will adventurers answer the call?
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.
Dragonbowl is a setting and pulp action adventure in one. It plunges a party into a rich festival scenario that revolves around a deadly gladiatorial contest, where the dangers they face in the arena are almost secondary to those they encounter in the murky criminal underworld they find themselves in: a world that stinks of corruption, human trafficking, illegal dinosaur-trading, necromancy, blood sacrifice and unnatural arcane experiments. The action takes place in a vast cavern in Mount Waterdeep, known as the Underbelly, where not only Dragonbowl Arena, but also an entire festival grounds – consisting of temples, bars, casinos, funfairs and markets - has been constructed to host this grand sporting extravaganza. With Xanathar, Jarlaxle, Davil, Volo and the Black Viper all in attendance, and scores of 'entanglements' (faction missions) to keep players busy, Dragonbowl can be played as a sequel to Waterdeep: Dragon Heist, or as a first step towards the Undermountain and the Dungeon of the Mad Mage. Equally, it can be played as a stand alone adventure, or easily transported into other settings. The adventure is written for a party of four 6th level adventurers, and easily customisable for three to five players, of any mid-tier level (the adventure contains maps and handouts adapted for both 4 and 5 player tables). The adventure is designed to last around ten to fifteen 4-hour sessions, but can very easily be shortened or lengthened according to the DM's desire. The adventure features all three pillars of play: combat (in and out of the arena), social interaction (a succession of parties and parades, where players can get entangled in NPC business) and exploration (30+ locations in the festival grounds alone).
Sometimes it is the simplest of tasks which end up taking much more of time and energy than they should. When the party is asked by the local sage to collect some rare flora, it feels like relatively easy money; a journey into the woods they’ve traveled before, a conversation with someone they’ve met before and then on to gather the crop. The characters can hear the Thirsty Serpent tavern calling them after a brisk afternoon’s work. But the PCs’ plans go awry when it turns out nothing is quite that straightforward. Deals have to be struck, foes defeated, anger and scorn dealt with and then the whole process gone through again. When there is duplicity at every turn and double-crossing is done with relish, the PCs have to keep their wits and weapons equally sharp. Dealing with someone who is prepared to cross the line between humiliation and harm at a moment’s notice is a tough challenge; this quickly becomes about much more than mere mushrooms!
A gnomish settlement is plagued by inexplicable earthquakes, the wrath of an Earth Elemental. Can the heroes save the gnomes? Do the greedy gnomes deserve to be saved? "Valanche's Eye" was inspired by a desire to write an adventure which blurs the line of who the bad guy actually is, or indeed whether or not there's a really tangible villain. It takes the "patron hires adventurers to clear dungeon" trope and twists it – the patron turns out to be a pretty rotten bastard, and the monsters in the dungeon are just trying to live their lives. It starts when gnome gem-miners strike the mother lode of emeralds and sapphires, only to find themselves run off their claim. First they accidentally broke through to the Elemental Planes of Earth and Fire, and mephits burst out to annoy them. When they were just about done dealing with the mephits, they disturbed an earth elemental who just wants to be left alone, and emeralds are its favorite snack. The mine boss hires the adventurers to come kill all the elementals. But should they?
The duchy of Velen is a bastion of law and order in an otherwise untamed land. Its ruler, Duke Calchais, holds his citizens and visitors to his city to a high standard of conduct. When Velen's harbormaster is murdered, the duke enlists the aid of adventurers to see that justice is served. Was the harbormaster a victim of larceny gone awry, or is something more sinister afoot in Velen? Murder in Velen is a 4-hour standalone adventure set in and around the port city of Velen, which is located in the peninsula nation of the same name in southwestern Faerûn. Velen is designed for a party of five 10th-level player characters, but it can easily be scaled by adding or removing creatures.
The party has been tasked with bringing the head of the fire giant king Snurre Ironbelly to the storm giant lord Krombaalt, as well as capturing the dwarven traitor Obmi Ironwhisper. Delving into Snurre's stronghold, they will also discover the sinister drow manipulating the giants. The adventure is part of the "Against the Giants" series originally by Gary Gygax, hence the writing credit.