Legend tells of a long-dead empire of sphinxes, ruled over for millennia by a great queen named Ankharet. She fell into darkness and her empire was shattered, as her subjects rebelled and cast her down. Unable to kill her, it is said that they bound her with great magic and buried her in a tomb, to wait for the foretold heroes who would be able to slay her and end her evil forever. Their empire in ashes, the sphinxes scattered to roam the world in bitter freedom, save a single great androsphinx. On the edge of the mysterious Barren Hills, between the mountains and the Great Desert, there is a gigantic statue of a crowned gynosphinx, ancient beyond reckoning. At its feet, a great androsphinx known as Khubsheth the Prophet has dispensed counsel and prophecy to all who come to him for longer than mortal records can tell. The heroes have come to visit Khubsheth, whether for counsel, prophecy or out of curiosity, but as soon as he lays eyes on them, he attacks! Upon his defeat, he tells them that they are the heroes foretold by the legend of Ankharet. Ankharet ruled over a long-dead empire of sphinxes, but she fell into darkness. Her subjects rebelled and cast her down, but were unable to kill her. It is said that they bound her with great magic and buried her in a tomb, to wait for the foretold heroes who would be able to slay her and end her evil forever. Kubsheth the Prophet tells the heroes that they must enter the tomb of the long-dead sphinx queen, kill her, and destroy her cursed crown, an artifact of tremendously evil power. As his blood seeps into the sands, a doorway opens at the base of the statue, leading down into darkness…

On moonlit nights in the Land of Fate, many adventurers hear the call of long-forgotten cities rich with burial treasure. But is it bravery to breach the tombs of Zakhara's ancients and risk the ire of vengeful spirits, or is it greed? Fate knows the answer and will guide all to their destinies in the Cities of Bone! Shifting sands conceal much from the eyes of man. Winds howling across the rolling dunes peel back the veil of time to reveal aeonic ruins or crumbling tombs, long preserved by a shroud of sand. Wrecked and forbidding, monoliths command attention in many unpredictable locales. The remnants of antique civilizations litter the Land of Fate, where time-ravaged towers and decaying shrines hide in the arid wastes. I am but a humble efreeti, a creature of fire and spirit, but what little I know of theses places of danger and mystery I pass on to you, O' Master of Dungeons Unfathomable. Inside this enchanted box lies my gift to you: an Adventure Book holding six plots of deception and many creatures of intrigue with which to challenge and entertain the players under your care; six cards and a poster, all inscribed with carefully drawn maps; and a short booklet detailing new characters to encounter. This Campaign Guide lying open before you contains background needed to lead the adventures in the official Land of Fate. TSR 9467

"Mysterious Ways" is a D&D adventure set in the Holy Land (Israel and Jordan) during the time of the Crusades (1114 A.D.) in an alternate-Earth setting. This is a world where the portals to otherworldly realms, particularly the Lower Planes, are closed--sealed shut by the power of the True Cross, a holy relic sought by evil thieves who would see the gates to the Lower Planes flung open. Magic exists in this alternate world, but it is less prevalent than in other D&D campaign settings. This paucity of magic serves the core of the adventure's storyline and should be preserved, if possible. This adventure is designed for a party of four 7th-level player characters (PCs). It is recommended that the party include at least one lawful cleric or paladin. Consult the "Adapting the Adventure" sidebar for ways to incorporate the adventure into generic D&D campaigns and modify it for higher or lower levels of play.

Appearing only once a century in the western deserts of Katapesh, the Asmodeus Mirage has plagued Golarion for thousands of years. Powered by a crystal bone devil skeleton and legendary for trapping unwary travelers, the Society has a vested interest in studying and cataloging the source of its power. You have been sent deep into the deserts of northern Garund to enter the Mirage—but there's a catch! The Mirage only exists on Golarion for 24 hours every 100 years. Get trapped in the Mirage, and you may never see Golarion again.

"Tyr is free! Tyr is free!" Such is the heady cry that echoes from the darkest warrens to the gleaming chambers of the Council in that ancient city. Now is your chance to savor life released from the oppressive gloom of the sorcerer-kings-but for how long? New forces threaten the newly-born independence of Tyr, as outside forces march upon the city. King Tithian is determined to resist, but there are others on the Council of Advisors less eager to risk their wealth and lives for the cause of independence. It falls upon you to help mobilize and lead the citizen-army of Tyr on the road to Urik. In Road to Urik, the city-State of Tyr has thrown off the yoke of the sorcerer-king Kalak and declared all slaves free, but the neighboring city-state of Urik is amassing its own armies to conquer Tyr. In the first part of the adventure, the PCs must negotiate with various factions of the city in order to win their support for the war effort. In the second part the PCs leading a scouting force ahead of the main army, and the choices and successes in the first part will affect the troops they lead here. Finally, they will need to fight and lure away the Urik army's own scouting force, letting the army of Tyr ambush them. The second and third part make heavy use of the Battlesystem rules, which were pushed pretty heavily in the early Dark Sun books. Like many Dark Sun adventures, the module makes heavy use of handouts that come in a flip-book along with the main adventure. This adventure is a sequel to Freedom. It stands on its own, but the plot of the adventure is based on the events of Freedom and the novel the Verdant Passage, so you can't really run them in reverse order. Much like Freedom took place concurrently with The Verdant Passage, Road to Urik takes place just before the events of The Crimson Legion, the second novel in the Prism Pentad. TSR 2406

When the Pathfinder Society receives word of a promising, unexplored ruin in Osirion, the PCs set out to uncover the site's secrets. Yet upon arriving, the PCs learn that a different group of Pathfinders has already entered the ruins. Has there been some mistake, is the site's magic playing tricks on everyone, or is there something more nefarious afoot? Tags: Repeatable

"And they bade their slaves, 'Build unto us tombs to rival the palaces of the gods, for there shall we live or lives and sleep our deaths in splendor.' And the people of Maru-Qet wore their fingers down, broke their backs, burst their hearts to obey. Indeed they raised up great tombs to rival the palaces of the gods. And their masters were well pleased, for it was as gods they saw themselves." The brown dragon Urum-Shar lurks in a strange tomb, plotting schemes only a wyrm of incredible power could understand. Expanding on content from Draconomicon: Chromatic Dragons, this adventure takes the heroes into Urum-Shar’s dark and trap-filled lair, where they will eventually face the powerful dragon herself. The dungeon heavily employs the use of traps, with fewer monsters. The upper tomb consists of a great puzzle of twelve rooms, and the lower tomb contains the dreaded Urum-Shar, an ancient brown dragon and heir to the lost draconic empire of Maru-Qet. The dungeon has special protections against scrying and other divinations, as well as teleportation. Pgs. 55-90

Temple of the Gleaming Sands is a short adventure for four 5th-level characters that features monsters, spells, and items from the newly released Sandstorm book. You can use this scenario to introduce the new material on deserts and arid wastelands into your campaign, or you can just use it as a site-based adventure in a desert area. The scenario is set in a remote area of the desert that very few humanoid travelers visit. The temple from which the adventure takes its name has lain forgotten for centuries and is now inhabited only by monsters who use it as a base. The area around the temple should be inhospitable enough to discourage humanoid settlement.

You have been sent to be an envoy for your country to a desert nation recently created. The area is known as a bandit haven and the new ruler ascended due to his overthrow of the others. As you open dialogue, Frito, the new leader, is willing to accept a trade agreement if the party resolves a few renegade issues for him. Designed for four, fourth level PCs!

Once, the Tribe of Altair roamed the sands, free as the great eagle on the wind. Now, caged by an evil mage, these desert riders yearn for their lost freedom. But fate takes a hand as a noble djinn seeks to fulfill an ancient wish... In this unusual three-part scenario, players first take the roles of the men of the tribe, who stage a revolt after being enslaved in the Pit of the Laughing Efreeti and then try to battle their way to freedom. In the second part, the PCs are the women of the tribe, who must escape the evil flame mage's harem and use all their wits to win free of a strange city. Finally, the children of the tribe have to slip away from an evil temple before they can be sacrificed, which calls for them to embark on a magic carpet ride that promises to be the adventure of their lifetimes. TSR 9584

In the eastern desert stands the ancient tomb of Solomon III. Like all tombs, it is full of magical treasure and crawling with deadly creatures. But unlike other tombs, this one is screaming. Years ago, soldiers and wizards went in to silence the screams, and they succeeded, but they never returned. Now Solomon’s tomb is once again screaming out across the dunes, and no one knows why. Solomon’s treasure is still down there, but then, so is whatever is screaming. ADVENTURE TYPE: Small Linear Dungeon DESIGN NOTES: This adventure is intended for characters levels 5 to 7. It includes a desert wilderness area, an oasis, the tomb exterior, the tomb interior, and a cave system below the tomb to explore. Each area contains various NPCs, new monsters, old traps, shiny treasures, and strange magical items. There are many opportunities for (deadly) combat, and a few of them may be inescapable, but it is possible for players to have complex interactions and to experience very different consequences, depending on their choices. INCLUDES: Story hooks, dialogue prompts, creature stat blocks, dungeon overview map, and full-sized battle maps of each dungeon room that can be printed and used right on the table. KEYWORDS: Tomb, ghuul, ghoul, skeleton, ooze, demon, devil, thief, wizard, desert, sabercat, oasis, spider, viper

In the beginning, a pair of sphinxes — one male and one female — guarded a desert temple in relative peace. They watched over a vault that held a magical ring that could change the world. The androsphinx — Bazymoros — succumbed to corruption; he denounced the trickster god who created him. Bazymoros forged a pact with the demon god, Baphomet, becoming violent and sought to claim the item in the name of his patron. In an effort to save the world, the gynosphinx Asmuzi defeated him. She locked Bazymoros away, never again to see the light of day. The androsphinx remained as an example of what not to become. It has been so long since this battle that much of the knowledge of Bazymoros has disappeared from the collective memory of the races that inhabit the world. All that remains is the knowledge of the dangerous gynosphinx made from the flesh of human and creature. . . and the treasure she keeps.

War brews beneath the emperor's notice, nature convulses as unholy demons bring woe to entire prefectures, and hobgoblin mercenaries wearing powerful machine armor march in greater numbers than ever before. Will you rise to save the empire or is Soburin destined for destruction? Soburin is beset upon by dark forces from its ancient past—not only the evil mists that transform men into monsters, but now too the return of a potent necromancer set to bring about a reign of agony, despair, and death! In the looming crisis the immortals that have treated the world as their gaming set are gathering their agents and pawns, deploying unique warriors across the continent with goals as mysterious as they are. It is within this epic game of intrigue that the adventurers become entangled as they undertake quests for the governmental bengoshi in the Sukochi, Yokuba, Ikari, Hakaisuru, Fuson, and Gekido prefectures as well as visit the enigmatic Tsukisasu, city of oni. Demons begat by the entities that consumed nature plague the party during their travels as do a very special gang of smugglers, the gun-toting Mubo Brothers, and the bloody hobgoblin mercenary erikotera warriors suddenly far more populous across the countryside than ever before. By the time all is said and done the PCs take part in a furious mass battle, nail-biting race through an undead dungeon, and finally an epic fight against an ancient evil atop the Hone-Noroi bone tower before it all comes crashing down! This extensive adventure path takes characters from 3rd to 12th level and includes all previous Mists of Akuma modules (Scourge of Róbai Shita Temple, Feud Primordial, Fangs of Revenge, Cursed Soul of the Scorpion Samurai, Yai Sovereign of Storms, and Revenge of the Pale Master) paired together with connecting material that creates one intensive campaign sure to delight GMs and players for months on end! It would be exhausting to list everything that's inside of the 374 pages of Trade War—here are some quick highlights and if you think this book is for you, peruse the table of contents (below) and sample PDFs. Over 50 maps 90 different NPCs and monsters 6 highly-rated adventure modules ranging from straightforward dungeon crawls to sandboxes of intrigue and back (and 2 sidequests by Andrew Engelbrite and Dirk van de Rijt) 8 new class archetypes: survivalist barbarians, smuggler bards, acrobat monks, tumbler rogues, enigmatic eye warlocks, desperado warlocks, and wizards of the inside out 32 new martial arts stance feats including new weapons martial arts stances Hyperlinks throughout to make accessing statblocks from the core rules a breeze Rules for mass combat An epic 9-level bone dungeon inspired by Buddhist hells Mists of Akuma character sheets

By any other name A jewel rose has been stole and its up to the PCs to recover it in this arabain themed adventure. Pgs. 28-47 & 65

Tired and sore, you struggle over the burning sands toward the long-forgotten city. Will you reach the place in time to save yourselves from the evil efreeti? The sun beats down, making your wounds stiff and worsening the constant thirst that plagues anyone who travels these waterless wastes. But there is hope - are those the ruins over there? In the midst of broken columns and bits of rubble stands a huge statue. This is the place! You've found it at last. Gratefully, you sink onto the sand. But there is no time to lose. You must hurry. So with a quavering voice you say the magic words. And then you wait... A hush falls over the ruins, making the back of your neck prickle. Then, out of the east, a wind rises, gentle at first but quickly growing stronger and wilder, until it tears at your clothes and nearly lifts you off your feet. The once clear sky is choked with white and grey clouds that clash and boil. As the clouds blacken day turns to night. Lightning flashes followed by a menacing growl of thunder. You are beginning to wonder if you should seek shelter, when all of a sudden there is a blinding crash and a bolt of lightning reduces the statue to dust. For a moment, silence. The, out of the statue's remains, soars a blue flame. Its roar deafens you as higher and higher it climbs, until it seems about to reach the clouds. Just when you think it can grow no larger, its shape begins to change. The edges billow and soften, their roar lessens, and before your eyes materializes a gigantic blue man. This adventure can be played alone or as the second part of the Desert of Desolation series. For characters level 6-8. TSR 9053

The Hidden Oasis-Temple of Thoth brings the characters to a hidden temple of Thoth, god of knowledge, magic, and travel, where they are confronted with a force of invading extra-dimensional locust creatures and the chance to get their hands on an ancient artifact. What band of heroes could resist the challenge?

This one-shot takes place in a post-apocalyptic, steam-punk style of world. Steam powered vehicles of bronze, iron, and steel are used by most civilizations and competition over areas containing water is heated and frequent in the middle of this expansive desert. In this adventure, the party finds themselves involved in the plot of a woman named Therra to kill off the oppressive overlord of one of these desert villages. The party must steal a group of these vehicles - choosing to split themselves between the massive fourteen-wheeled Ravager, the flamethrowing Firestarter, the spike-covered Skewer, and the two-wheeled vehicle known as the Sidewinder, as they flee across the wastelands. They will fight off goblin, kobold, and orc vehicles as the overlord gives chase and eventually faces off against them in a final battle of steel and steam. There will likely be a great deal of chaos - people leaping onto vehicles, being rolled under them, or performing risky but entertaining maneuvers . . . make sure to embrace these and turn them amazing scenes. It is more about having a great time than it is about following the rules, especially in this particular one shot.

For thousands of years a great and terrible secret has lain hidden in the depths of the Sea of Silt. In the heart of this vast dust basin, an endless storm of ash and shrieking wind guards the deadliest concentration of evil and power found on the dying world of Athas - The Valley of Dust and Fire Valley of Dust and Fire more than doubles the known portions of the world of Athas. Intrepid explorers will discover new wonders and perils within the deadly Sea of Silt, from the beautiful island of Shault to the savage Mountains of the Sun. New rules for traveling the dust basin and surviving its many dangers are included. With luck and determination, a skillful and well-prepared party just might pass through the Great Ash Storm and enter the Valley of Silt and Fire. But this realm of shattered badlands and awful monsters is so deadly that only one man has ever reached the valley and returned to tell the tale. TSR 2413

Buried in the desert sands of Mulhorand, near the city of Mishtan, lies an ancient stone statue of a sphinx queen. After a fierce sandstorm reveals a huge tablet etched with hieroglyphs between the statue’s paws, the PCs must translate the strange writing to find the secret entrance into the Temple of the Sphinx Queen. The conclusion offers three optional endings for DMs to choose from to suit their players, including a wicked trap, a twist that leads to further adventures, or a tough climactic combat suitable for a one-shot. Included are: Five new Egyptian-themed monsters: The Sphinx Queen, Black Lion Guardian, Zombie Scarabs, Snake of Set and Desert Spirit. A new weapon, the khopesh Four new magic items: Statue of Set, Guardian Khopesh of Set, Warded Puzzle Box and Minor Concoction of Healing Two hieroglyphic puzzle player handouts and a DMs translator sheet

For centuries, Ma’at’s temple sat peacefully in silent beauty; a great symbol of justice and harmony. The gems of its glistening ceiling glitter and fade with each rising sun as Ra lights the daytime sky. Isfet, the god of chaos, Ma’at’s greatest enemy, has grown restless. Some have rumored that he tore out Ma’at’s heart out of jealousy of her power. The bravest of adventurers must face the challenges of Duat and keep up with the determined Ma’at.