A community for lazy dungeon masters
122 adventures found
Cover of Domes of Ishaq-Zahur
Domes of Ishaq-Zahur
5th Edition
Level 5
80 pages
0

The Domes of Ishaq-Zahur adventure is a tabletop roleplaying game module for 5th Edition D&D and Pathfinder featuring challenging combat and traps, a gamut of mind-bending puzzles, a completely custom cast of NPCs and monsters, detailed backstory and plot, and guidelines detailing the best ways to run the sessions standalone or incorporate it into your ongoing campaign. Domes of Ishaq-Zahur introduces the players and characters to a dangerous desert world and the elusive history of the precursor races. Part 1 of the Fate of the Forebears Adventure Path Produced by 2CGaming ​

Cover of Desert Angel Fiasco (OSR)
Desert Angel Fiasco (OSR)
OSR
Levels 1–3
25 pages
0

INTRODUCTION Some say the world is dying. Others say the desert is growing. In either case, merchants and princes always desire new ways to cross the Great Sand Sea. Today, someone has found a way to fly over it. Who will tempt fate and join the maiden voyage of the Desert Angel? No one knows what dangers or treasure have lain hidden in the heart of the desert for all these eons. If you survive, you will be the first. ONE-SHOT This adventure is intended as a one-shot, but it can easily be inserted into a campaign. Any time your players wish to travel to a distant city, you can simply say there is a large desert in their way, but luckily there is a new flying ship they can travel on. Good luck with that! DESIGN NOTES This adventure is intended for low-level characters (1-3). It is primarily geared for social encounters and combat. It runs 2 to 5 hours. Players ride a flying ship across the desert. Monsters attack. Passengers plot treachery. Mysterious locations appear. You can keep the tone serious or play up this ridiculous sequence of disasters for laughs.

Cover of Dungeon Crawl Classics #15: Lost Tomb of the Sphinx Queen
Dungeon Crawl Classics #15: Lost Tomb of the Sphinx Queen
3rd Edition
Levels 14–15
48 pages
0

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…

Cover of Ashes of Athas
Ashes of Athas
4th Edition
Levels 3–9
? pages
0

You will take up the mantle of heroism in a grim world where simple survival cannot be taken for granted. These heroes will shape the world of Athas while they grow in power and prestige - or die trying. Your character has been asked to aid a secretive faction of the Veiled Alliance in the Free City of Tyr against an unknown assailant. Ashes of Athas is a 4e D&D campaign set in the world of the Dark Sun campaign setting.

Cover of The Desert Vault
The Desert Vault
5th Edition
Level 1
5 pages
0

The adventurers are asked to search for a local temple official who has not returned after leaving to search for a hidden treasure vault. On their way, they are attacked by some Kobolds and chase the fleeing monsters to the hidden entrance. The adventurers explore the ruins and discover what has become of the missing temple official.

Cover of The Globe
The Globe
OSR
Medium Level
12 pages
0

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.

Cover of X10 Red Arrow, Black Shield
X10 Red Arrow, Black Shield
BECMI
Levels 10–14
48 pages
0

A cloud of dust forms over the horizon as a titanic army of evil threatens the entire civilized world! The Master of the Desert Nomads and his legions are back, and they form the greatest threat that you have ever faced. You must persuade powerful rulers to join you cause, stave off threats to the alliance, and lead your armies to victory! This adventure contains a full-color map of the D&D Expert Set game world, 200 counters, and a special expansion of the War Machine mass combat rules that allows you to fight the entire war as a strategic wargame! Major battles and engagements can be fought using the BATTLESYSTEM Fantasy Combat Supplement for incredible tabletop action. Never-before-published information on all the nations of the Expert Set game world provides background and detail that will enrich your campaign. This adventure includes large-scale battles and uses an expansion of Douglas Niles and Gary Spiegel's warfare system, "The War Machine", developed as part of the D&D Companion Set (BECMI Ed.) from 1984. "Red Arrow, Black Shield" is more than just a follow-up to X4/X5; it's a lynchpin for the entire B/X/CM adventure sequence. The players travel through many lands that were home to past adventures, and their past interactions with those places could affect diplomacy in this new adventure. TSR 9160

Cover of Mysterious Ways
Mysterious Ways
3rd Edition
Level 7
29 pages
0

"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. Pgs. 84-112

Cover of City of Sands
City of Sands
5th Edition
Level 7
120 pages
0

The City of Sands adventure module starts where the Domes of Ishaq-Zahur leaves off, sending a party of heroes from the peril of the desert tombs to the streets of the sandy metropolis, Archensheen. There the players will find themselves caught in the middle of a fierce struggle for political power and ancient artifacts as factions from all across the city vie for control of relics from the Nartheneen's glory days. Choosing a side may make more enemies than it does friends, but can the heroes survive if they choose to stand alone? Part 2 of 6 in the Fate of the Forebears series.

Cover of DSE2 Black Spine Box Set
DSE2 Black Spine Box Set
AD&D
Levels 10–13
314 pages
0

Unknown to even the mightiest of the great sorcerer-kings, a fire is stirring deep beneath the barren soil of Athas. Sheltered by the titanic bulk of the Black Spine Mountains, a terrible force has ripped open the very fabric of time and space. Now a shimmering portal stands open and a long-forgotten enemy assembles its sinister forces to invade the kingdoms under the dark sun. The only thing that stands in the way of this terrible fate is a band of heroes. Assembled from the four corners of this tortured world and bound together by the tangled cords of fate, they must face an enemy the likes of which they have never seen before. The odds are against them, but they dare not fail. The fate of the world is in their hands. The previous flip-book modules (Black Flames, Merchant House of Amketch, and Marauders of Nibenay) precede this adventure, but they are not necessary to enjoy Black Spine. Contains 3 - 96 page adventure books and 2 fold-out maps TSR 2428

Cover of Forging Darkness
Forging Darkness
3.5 Edition
Levels 2–4
31 pages
0

A Scavenger Hunt? The adventure begins in the city-state of Zoa as the wizard Geolain tasks the player characters with a quest to gather three ingredients they will use to forge a magic coin to defeat an evil wizard. Which will be more dangerous to collect, the mysterious diamond touched by death, the blood of a devil spilled by a coward or a blue dragon's breath? As the player characters race around Reanaaria Bay ti find the rare items, their nemesis Daresh the wizard begins to grow in strength and wrest power from the Skryvalkkers of the Lands of Skaarna. Will the player characters find the ingredients and enchant the coin in time? They just might be Skaarna's only hope. Published by Kenzer & Company

Cover of Doom Desert in the Decanter of Delirium
Doom Desert in the Decanter of Delirium
5th Edition
Levels 2–3
15 pages
0

The Doom Desert in the Decanter of Delirium is an exotic OSR romp through a mysterious world of riddles, puzzles, inscrutable denizens. 5e compatible, this love letter to psychedelia is as vivid and beautiful as exciting and surreal. Get wrapped up in conversation with the dead drunks at the last saloon on earth, solve the sphinx riddle and discover the secrets of the Ziggurat, or break bread and wine with whispering harpies or the sun itself. This compelling narrative is written by Austin Holm and captures the exploration, social, and challenge pillars of a great game with the deft prose of a poet. With art by Maya Bee that captures the essence of the adventures many stunning scenes and characters. Your players will thank you for this one.

Cover of Tower of Screaming Sands
Tower of Screaming Sands
Pathfinder
Level 7
37 pages
0

Deep within the blasted desert wastes a mysterious black tower has been sighted. The structure is not marked on any known map and has not been seen in this location by travellers in the region, yet there it stands. The adventurers set out to explore this ancient, isolated tower that appears ripe for the plundering. Within they face a gauntlet of insidious traps and supernatural horrors. The deeper the adventurers delve, the more secrets of the tower’s origins they uncover. The tower’s sinister creator does not rest easy in his arid grave – the adventurers must face him if they are to survive the Tower of Screaming Sands. Also included in “Tower of Screaming Sands”: Five deadly new traps: The Chamber of Ten Thousand Teeth, The God’s Grasp, Chamber of Flooding Sand, Hall of Arcing Blades and Descending Stone Block. A new monster – the scorpion swarm. Rules for whirlwinds, a new magical hazard GM tips for running overland travel.

Cover of Tomb of Nyarlathotep
Tomb of Nyarlathotep
5th Edition
Levels 1–2
11 pages
0

Summoned from across the multiverse, a small group of heroes must enter an ancient pyramid and prevent the Elder God Nyarlathotep's return to power. A Lovecraft-themed oneshot.

Cover of Forest Maker
Forest Maker
AD&D
Levels 11–13
47 pages
0

Most adventurers know better than to listen to rumors. But when the rumors speak of a magical forest blooming deep in the burning stretch of the Alluvial Sand Wastes, even the most battle-hardened gladiator takes notice. A mysterious summons has gone out to the humans and demihumans of the Tyr region, luring them to the new forest and promising Athas' salvation. Now your characters have heard the call - but will they heed the Forest Maker, or seek to destroy her? Designed for 4 to 6 characters of 11th to 13th level, Forest Maker brings player characters from the sun-baked streets of Tyr to the walled fortress of Altaruk and beyond. Forest Maker is a stand-alone adventure.

Cover of Solomon's Screaming Tomb
Solomon's Screaming Tomb
5th Edition
Levels 1–3
43 pages
0

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

Cover of Hidden Oasis - Temple of Thoth
Hidden Oasis - Temple of Thoth
5th Edition
Levels 7–9
19 pages
0

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?

Cover of DH2 Blue
DH2 Blue
5th Edition
Levels 5–7
28 pages
0

A desert trade route has been besieged by an aggressive blue dragon. The Radiant Oasis, a town on the shores of a small lake in the middle of the unforgiving wastes, relies on the caravans for its existence. Track the vicious lizard, Ilvax, back to his pyramid lair. Brave devious and deadly traps and battle the dragon’s loyal minions. If you survive, Ilvax himself awaits in his cavernous lair. There, even the sands beneath the party’s feet bend to his malevolent will! Includes: The Radiant Oasis, an oasis town, and the potentate that rules over it. A two level map of the dragon's lair, in a hidden cave behind an ancient pyramid Stat blocks for all monsters Unnumbered map suitable for use in your favorite VTT A new playable race, the scarab like Kheperite Published by Goblin Scrawl Games

Cover of Dungeon Crawl Classics #76: Colossus, Arise!
Dungeon Crawl Classics #76: Colossus, Arise!
Dungeon Crawl Classics RPG
Level 8
28 pages
0

Giants stalk the shifting sands as the lost city of Stylos awakens from its deathless slumber. The Fourth Age of Man is at hand! All that stands between the gigantic hordes of Stylos and their conquest of the world is your band of adventurers. Sinister traps, implacable foes, and the crushing tread of the dread Colossus all lurk within these pages, eager to test the courage and cunning of even the most accomplished adventurers.

Cover of City by the Silt Sea Box Set
City by the Silt Sea Box Set
AD&D
Levels 5–9
192 pages
0

Something awakens beneath the ruins of ancient Giustenal, the City by the Silt Sea. Many have tried to discover the secrets of this forsaken place, to plunder its legendary treasures. Few have returned from its shadowy embrace. Did they run afoul of savage raiders in the desert wastes? Did they lose their way in a sudden sandstorm only to sink hopelessly into the blowing, shifting silt? Perhaps they heard the psionic voice of the Caller in Darkness and succumbed to its mesmerizing summons? Or did they meet the true master of the ruins, a being as old as the Dragon and just as terrifying?... The burning world has reached a critical stage. For Athas, it could mean the start of a time of renewal, or it could herald the end of the world! It all begins in the ruins of Giustenal, in a place from another age, in the corpse of a shattered, long-dead city. Something stirs in the City by the Silt Sea. Something evil.... TSR 2432