God of Ore is a 3rd-level adventure that takes the characters from the quiet, mountainside town of Miners’ Refuge into the heart of the Stoneheart Mountains in pursuit of a failed pilgrimage to discover a phony religious relic deep inside legendary Mithral Mountain. The dark, twisting tunnels that bore into the fabled mountain soon reveal that some mysteries are not what they first appear to be.
(From DM's Guild) The Shrine of Marthammor Duin is a short excursion meant to supplement an ongoing Princes of the Apocalypse campaign. At it's core however, this is a traveller shrine that could be devoted to a deity in your homebrew games or any of the other god's of travel in the Dungeons and Dragons pantheons. It includes one new monster, two new items, a shrine map, and a printable player handout for your adventure. This short series of encounters was created to help Tyar-Besil feel more like a real place that was integrated into the surrounding lands and not just a dungeon filled with mad cultists. It also provides a nice opportunity for you to deliver some of the campaign’s back story to your players in an organic way. It will be particularly fun to run with groups that have a dwarf in them who can translate the native dwarven text in the shrine for the rest of the party and connect with the kingdom of Besilmer.
Lurking in the watery depths of a fallen orc tribe's sacred burial cairn amid the bleached, broken bones of savage warriors, honored champions and mighty warlords the forest drakes Arduthal and Ingeirmaugh have made themselves a comfortable, safe home. Periodically emerging to ravage the surrounding countryside their depredations have reached such a level that Baron Liofa Othen begs the PC's to slay the foul beasts. The cairn's remote location, inundated, bone‐choked passageways and the vengeful, possessive ghost of the orc champion Gork Shattershield, not to mention the drakes' mistaken identity as green dragons, all stand in the way of the PCs' victory. A short Pathfinder Roleplaying Game adventure for four 5th‐level characters by Creighton Broadhurst.
"Temple of the Deep Ones" is the lair of a group of deep ones and their god, suitable for four or five 7th-level characters. This adventure can be finished in one session. Ship captains report that a mysterious island has surfaced in the middle of a heavily trafficked trade route. Worse, ships that venture too close to the island are assaulted by a terrible creature and its servants. The island is disrupting trade throughout this part of the world, and several ships have already been lost. Unbeknownst to those that know of the place, the island rises at the will of Shar-Ngolyeth, a long-lost deity also known as That Which Lurks Beneath the Waves. The island is populated by a cult of deep ones and the beasts they have subjugated in the name of their dark god. The creature responsible for sinking ships is an aspect of Shar-Ngolyeth, a kraken. It is not meant for combat encounters; it's largely a plot device in this encounter.
After spending a little time going through dusty old tomes and documents your group has discovered a tapestry offering you clues to a long dead and buried king. Since kings are usually buried with their riches and no information shows that his tomb has been located perhaps a little grave robbing may be in order! This adventure has several wilderness spots for exploration as well as an old burial cairn with several levels. The only problem is that the king isn’t really “dead” in the normal sense.
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?
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!
'Fierce' was written for the annual release of Fierce, a tasty Berliner Weisse, at Off Color Brewery in Chicago, Illinois. It's a one-shot intended for both beginner players and DM's, with the space for personal flair to be added or to be run as-is.
A strange journey through a living cavern. A request for help to rescue a mining crew leads a group of adventurers into a cave that has seemingly come to life, gripped by a melancholy wave of sadness and memory. In dark caverns where mushrooms walk, vines dance, walls watch, and stones speak, will your band of adventurers become heroes? Or will they be lost within the Mines of Memory? Mines of Memory is a short, 2-3 hour adventure for characters of levels 1-3. It is a delve into a cavern system that has become a Psychic Resonance environment, awakening the caves themselves. PCs will enter to rescue the miners, find the source of the mine’s awakening, and bring peace to a noble creature trapped in its own nightmare.
This scenario was presented to Gryphcon's 30th anniversary last year. The party finds themselves coming to the Triland on their way to Taco Del Toro. This island chain is unique in that it has a land mass made of clouds, hovering over the island. Upon landing, your group discovers that the governor's child has been abducted by a Cloud Giantess. Time for your hero hats...
The cries of battle echo in the rustic wilderness, as a pair of fey sisters defend the ancient Briarwood against invaders. When the town of Bur Hollow sends militia men to support their fey allies, they disappear without a trace. The adventurers must enter the Briarwood and save them!
Part megadungeon, part underground expedition, Operation Unfathomable serves as both a one-shot adventure and a campaign framework. PCs are (optionally) drafted at swordpoint to recover the Nul Rod, a priceless artifact that was recently lost in a local prince's foolhardy attempt to destroy the Chaos Gods of the Underworld. The PCs have been drafted as an expendable set of pawns to venture into the vast and bewildering Underworld and retrieve the Nul Rod. With the Underworld's innumerable beasties being on high alert after the prince's expedition, the PCs must sneak through the incredibly dangerous Underworld. Fighting is not as important as stealth, fast-talking, and running away rapidly. This is the expansion from Sholtis's original Operation Unfathomable, released in Knockspell #5 (2011).
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.
A hideous hag threatens to corrupt everything it can, including a young bronze dragon who protects this stretch of coastline. The heroes must stop Dread Shelan at all costs, lest the entire area come to ruin. Can the brave adventurers defeat Dread Shelan and her pet sahuagin? This package (adventure, maps, etc. within) forms a complete module for use with Dungeons & Dragons ® 5th Edition rules. It is especially designed for Dungeon Masters to initiate play with a minimum of preparation, and to invoke that OSR look and feel you remember from the original Saltmarsh back in the 80s. In addition to descriptive and situational material, this module also includes special informational sections giving background history and legends, listings of possible monsters and treasures and how to place them, a list of adventuring characters, tips on various aspects of play for the Dungeon Master, and helpful advice for starting players. Old School Look and Feel! Instructions given for scaling the encounters for levels 5 to 10.
Two hundred years ago, the great dwarf smith Durgeddin the Black built Khundrukar, a hidden stronghold for his war of vengeance against all orckind. For years Durgeddin labored, until the orcs discovered Khundrukar and stormed the citadel, slaying all within. Legends say that Durgeddin's masterful blades and glittering treasures were never found.
Into the Drachensgrab Mountains! Hot on the trail of the marauding slavers, you and your fellow adventurers plunge deep into hostile hills. Spurred on by your past success, you now seek the heart of the slaver conspiracy. But hurry! Your must move quickly before the slavers recover from your previous forays and attack! This module was originally used for the official Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Tournament at Gen Con XIII and is the third of four in a series of related tournament modules. This module contains a challenging scenario, the tournament scoring system, plus nine pre-rolled, playtested tournament characters. Also included are large scale referee's maps, notes, and background information. A3 is a complete adventure in itself, but it is also a companion to A1 (Slave Pits of the Undercity), A2 (Secret of the Slavers' Stockade), and A4 (In the Dungeons of the Slave Lords). TSR 9041
"As you approach, the miners themselves appear from their hidey-holes around the ruined camp. They are haggard and hollow-eyed, barely able to lift the picks and shovels they've clearly been using as weapons. They are unwashed, muddy and stinking - they look little different to the undead that they have been fighting. Shrouded in damp blankets and shivering, they stare at you silently, even disbelievingly. There is only one left among them who appears to have a little iron left in his spine. He tightens his grip on his pick and steps forward. 'Are you here to help?'" Some doors should never be opened... A group of miners uncover a dark secret and find themselves fighting for their lives as the dead walk again. Can the party rescue the survivors and stop an ancient evil before it spreads across the land? Doorway to Darkness is a 3-5 hour adventure for characters of 2nd-3rd level. It features roleplaying, traps and horrifying combat encounters...
Noel Needs Elves is our Christmas tongue-in-cheek adventure! While it could be a 'real' adventure it was designed to just have a good time with some holiday strangeness! After getting done with your first adventure you head to a fortress in a canyon to resupply and heal up. There you meet Lady Noel who is involved in a fight of her own. She trades you healing for the promise to deliver a message to the Elves on the other side of the canyon. Happy holidays everyone!
This book goes over the various rules around the faction of the Zhentarim in Phandalin and the Forgotten Realms, making it easy for any new or veteran DMs to integrate it more into the core stories being told, and making the faction feel more useful for the players that choose to join. The adventure, Barrhindlun sees the adventurers working for the Zhentarim and traveling to the town of Leilon and finding their way beneath to the muddy lost city of Barrhindlun, where bandits of the Xanathar Guild have been sent to reclaim a Crystal Orb.
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.