Within the darakhul city of Gonderif, at the nadir of a thousand‑foot‑deep chasm, is the site of a vile tournament where Gonderif ’s most rebellious slaves and war prisoners are forced to fight to the death—and through undeath after undeath—until only one living champion remains. Whether they came as captives or as liberators, the PCs must survive the Undying Tournament.
The ground-breaking introductory adventure for Dungeons & Dragons that served as a DM aid in the first D&D Basic Set, released by TSR in 1977. This set included a 48-page rulebook covering the first three levels of play, and was skillfully edited by Dr. J. Eric Holmes from the original 1974 D&D rules written by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. The original set included an exemplary dungeon level, but it was a loose collection of examples and not geared toward starting characters. Holmes advanced this concept by writing a new thematic dungeon with a strong backstory, creating an adventure that has remained a fan favorite over the decades. Officially, its only title is "Sample Dungeon" but colloquially it goes by various names based on Zenopus, the doomed wizard who built the dungeon under his tower
The End of the World Is at Hand! A hideous death cult has seized control of an ancient artifact-monument known as Tovag Baragu. The power behind the cult is the Old One himself, Iuz the Evil, demonic master of an empire. He's on an all-or-nothing quest for supremacy over the world—and the heavens beyond. To stop him, heroes must face horrors never dreamed of, journeying to a shadowed city where Death rules and the living cower. Here, Iuz will achieve his mad dream by destroying the imprisoned master of that alien citadel: Vecna, the mightiest lich, an immortal demigod. Two items exist with the power to stop Iuz—the Eye and the Hand of Vecna—but using them carries fantastic risks. Not even the gods know what will be unleashed when these items are fully activated. Die Vecna Die! takes the heroes from the Greyhawk campaign to the demiplane of Ravenloft and then to the Planescape city of Sigil. However, none of the material from those settings is required for play. TSR 11662
The ancient world of Harth withers beneath its dying sun…but it’s not dead yet. The land is still riddled with villages in danger, cultists in caves, angels gone mad, eldritch horrors making strange deals, raging dragons, bandits in the woods, and cruel monsters lurking in every shadow. These 13 adventures span a wide variety of locations, environments, creatures, and genres. They are meant for use as quick-play sessions or one-shots, or to be dropped into campaigns as side-quests. These are linear dungeons and mini-quests full of interactivity and strangeness, encouraging exploration, risk-taking, and creative combat. ADVENTURE TYPE: One-Shot / Low Level / Combat / Exploration / Village / Wilderness / City / Subterranean / Dungeon Delve DESIGN NOTES These 13 adventures are intended for low-level characters around Level 3 Overall, these adventures tend to be linear dungeon delves in caves or single buildings 93 unique encounter locations 69 original magic items 71 original monsters (with 28 illustrations) 13 maps/diagrams Each adventure runs 2-4 hours in length
When a group of archaeologists put out a call for adventurers to help them escort a valuable artefact back to civilization, nobody expects anything out of the ordinary. However, our heroes have more than mere bandits to deal with at Havel’s Cross... Undead monsters roam the night and an ancient artefact stirs within a long forgotten temple. Getting to the bottom of the mystery will require a strong sword-arm and an even stronger stomach.
Swamp creatures! They surround you now as you move slowly through the gurgling muck. How will you reach Quagmire now? Each day, the hungry sea swallows more of the ancient port city. A fierce fever ravages its people, and now - these foul monsters! Their beady eyes glimmer from deep within the tangled vines. Are these the creatures that have blockaded the city, turning away the ships that are the city's lifeline? Are these the scum that are starving the people of Quagmire, threatening an entire race with extinction? These creeps? Let's clean this jungle out! Quagmire includes a large-scale map that expands the D&D world and introduces new areas to explore. The adventure also includes new magic items and a special, expanded monsters section. Hurry! Hoist your colors, saddle your horse - go, before the city by the sea becomes the city beneath the sea! TSR 9081
Deep below the anarchic city of Kaer Maga, someone—or something—has begun stealing corpses from the city’s most prestigious tomb, the Godsmouth Ossuary. Fearing the worst, the clerics of Pharasma in charge of maintaining the crypts quietly call for aid, not wanting to risk their own members in combating whatever horrors may have crept in from the tunnels and hidden chambers of the legendary Undercity. Beneath the infamous crypt lies a temple from an ancient empire devoted to sin, and a former Pharasmin cleric whose weathered his goddess’s wrath to create an army of undead minions, their dead flesh standing ready to support his heretical plans.
When the Purple Planet began its slow decline, factions arose to vie for the final resources of the dying world. In the days of the Last Wars, the Ascendant Masters used their knowledge of cybernetics and genetic engineering to create increasingly powerful and grotesque biological weapons. One such weapon was Sotark the Destroyer of the long lost House Memniscene. Damaged and placed in a cryogenic regeneration capsule, Sotark has slept away the ages while the House above him eroded away under the weirdling sun. Over time, the capsule has failed, but still Sotark sleeps on, diminished, but not destroyed.
People keep asking for "beginner" dungeons. Everyone can name "classic" dungeons - Tomb of Horrors, Barrier Peaks, Ravenloft, etc. - but in order for those adventures to make sense, there needs to be some sort of introduction. It's like all the adventures we have are Bach concertos. People keep writing amazing works of staggering genius, but someone needs to write a book on how to play the piano. I had the same questions, and since I couldn't find anything satisfactory, I decided to write the kind of dungeon I would have loved to find. I wanted to write the best basic OSR dungeon for beginners that I could, and I also wanted to show the design process. If you like this dungeon, please share it, tell people about it, print copies and leave them lying around local game stores, or email this post to friends who have "always wanted to try D&D but don't know where to start". The entire thing is and always will be free.
The logging town of Falcon’s Hollow has been through rough times—first a kobold tribe abducted the town’s children for an evil ritual, then an unknown force reanimated the defeated kobolds to attack the town. Now a horde of zombies approaches and a mysterious evil gathers power in the north, tainting wildlife and the buried dead, its presence hinting at ancient evils better left undisturbed.
An immense urban sandbox and eastern fantasy noir mega adventure for D&D 5E that takes 4–6 characters from 3rd through 12th level! An enmity between the Gekido, Hakaisuru, Kirai, and Namida clans has persisted for ages, the wounds from the Battle of Broken Spears torn open every few years by border skirmishes and trade disputes. Seeking to win the minds of the people by a grand gesture during these dark times, Emperor Hitoshi Masuto has arranged an alliance between the quarreling noble families—20 brides and grooms have been chosen to wed in celebration of the 10th anniversary of the decisive final battle in the rebellion against more than a century of foreign occupation. Imperial Matchmaker Weddings Decree Whether the adventurers seek honor and glory by protecting these fiancees or choose to line their pockets by ensuring the unions never come to pass, opportunity knocks at their door as the bengoshi of several clans sift through the mercenaries and spellswords that walk the streets of Sanbaoshi. To rise above the chaff in the capital of the Imperial Prefecture the PCs must be willing to do whatever is necessary to achieve their goals and survive among their cutthroat competition, the corrupting Mists of Akuma, and any designs of the monstrous forces keen to strike a foothold anew in Soburin. What's to be found in Imperial Matchmaker? Statistics for over 120 monsters and NPCs! No matter where the party goes or who they interact with GMs will quickly be able to provide skill bonuses, hit points, and everything else they might need to populate the world, creating a dynamic and seamless environment around the adventurers. Over 40 maps including an insane 2-page isometric illustration of Sanbaosh by Indi Martin! The urban sandbox where most of the mega adventure takes place has a staggering amount of cartography to make certain GMs are never hard-pressed when figures are needed. 147 pages of material focused on the capital of the Imperial Prefecture! With NPCs and maps galore the detail poured into Sanbaoshi make its chapter a book unto itself, making this an outstanding addition to any GM's collection (whether running the mega adventure or not). New magic items including the sheathe ring and black glass dagger, as well as innovative rules for Absentee & Memorial cards! New character options! Put your allies (or pet) into a frenzy with the College of the Maddening Flute, use a deadly bladed brush to turn painting into reality as a Genjitsugaka fighter, look upon the Kami when making a pact to gain a spiritual companion, or become a warlock of Ancestors to pierce through the veil of time. A unique adventure unlike any you've played before! There are 10 high profile matrimonies set to take place in this gigantic module but so very much more awaiting the PCs as they walk the streets of Sanbaoshi: specialized sidequests for the Mists of Akuma Iconics, unexpected trials like Nobukai Bamboo Grove, and virtually endless intrigues amongst the gangs, criminal organizations, noble clans, and other folk that make their homes in the capital of the Imperial Prefecture.
Part 5 of the Carrion Crown Adventure Path takes place in Ustalav's capital Caliphas. The heroes are in the city to follow the trail of evidence left by the neromantic cult The Whispering Way and strengthen their bonds with the mysterious Order of the Palantine Eye. Whilst in the city, they uncover a string of murders. When they discover that all the victims were vampires, they descend into the underground vampire city and have the possibility to form a tentative alliance with the vampire clans. If they help solve the murders, the vampire lord promises to help them on their quest. What role do the deadly necromancers have in the undead murders plaguing Caliphas? What secret grudge exists between the cult and the rulers of the night? And will the heroes be able to save the capital without sacrificing their very souls? This book includes: - “Ashes at Dawn,” a Pathfinder RPG adventure for 11th-level characters, by Neil Spicer - A gazetteer of fog-haunted Caliphas, the mysterious and deadly capital of Ustalav, by F. Wesley Schneider - A terrifying look into the blasphemous church of Urgathoa, goddess of gluttony, disease, and the undead, by Sean K Reynolds - Laurel Cylphra’s attempt to steal a soul stealer in the Pathfinder’s Journal, by F. Wesley Schneider - Six new monsters by Crystal Frasier, Patrick Renie, and Sean K Reynolds
Seductive vampires, hungry werewolves, sinister drug dealers, trouble in the sewers, and an undead beholder? Just another day in Waterdeep! The first adventure in the Vampires of Waterdeep Campaign Arc. Pgs. 62-77
This uniquely styled adventure involves players starting out with little information about the characters they will play. No characters are prepared in advance. This is a nonstandard method of play. Player characters only know their names, ability scores, race, and background. This adventure was created to give the feeling we got as kids just starting out with D&D. It will be great for new players and seasoned vets alike. Who is in charge? Who is torturing the players? Let the chaos begin…
Thomepreus’ curse is a classic crawl with elements of exploration, mystery and time travel. A curse has befallen the heroes and the source of their predicament is located in a buried temple. Here a forgotten cult have used a magical sand clock to curse their enemies. The temple seem empty but the arrival of the heroes appear predetermined and soon the heroes are propelled through time to arrive in the past. Here clues and objects are required to solve the mystery and to break the curse. However, they must hurry before cult members complete the preordained curse on the heroes.
At the end of a forgotten back alley, in the weird and otherworldly marketplace of faiths known as the Bazaar of the Gods, stands the ruins of a forgotten chapel. Once the cult of the Carnifex was celebrated throughout the City of a Thousand Gates. But a band of holy warriors rose against the cult of executioners and torturers, casting down her signs and scattering her devotees to the winds. The fate of the cthonic goddess, and – more importantly – her fabled jewels remains a mystery…until this night. Set amid the sprawling decadence of Punjar, Jewels of the Carnifex offers low-level adventurers a chance to plumb the mysteries beneath the city’s soiled streets, explore forgotten crypts lavished with weird artifacts, and – for the quick and daring – claim the lost Jewels of the Carnifex!
Snakes fly, stones walk, and colossal monsters burrow in the world's crust - do these omens fore-tell catastrophe? Perhaps so, for now the dark elves walk in the sunlight, wearing armor that turns the shcaprest blades and strongest spells. They are poised to conquer the fabulous Hollow World. But what is this armor? How does its creation involve the ancient, mile-long Great Annelids, as well as those wondrous creatures, the feathered serpents? The mystery's solution draws your heroes across three thousand miles, from ruins to seaports, through the trackless caverns beneath the World's Spine, and finally to the eternal land of Nithia. There, your heroes discover the true meaning of... NIGHTRAGE! Nightrage is the second part of the far-ranging Blood Brethren Trilogy. You can play these three Hollow World modules in any order, or play this 64-page adventure by itself. You need the D&D Hollow World Campaign set to play. Easily adaptable to the AD&D game! TSR 9310
Beneath an ancient castle on the borderlands, reclaimed from the ruins of a lost civilization, there is a dark and deadly tournament being held. Seven stalwart adventuring companies, each representing a wealthy noble house, delve into the depths of the Dungeon of the Black Fey Mithelvarn. Each races to be the first to claim the power of the infernal machine that drives it, and find the Elixir of Immortality it contains. Can your party take up one of the relic banners and face the challenge of the dungeon, as well as the lethal competition from other companies seeking the prize? This adventure is formatted to both 1E & 5E gaming rules. Also available in PDF.
Descend into the depths of a tomb which has remained undisturbed for decades. However, a few weeks ago, the gears of war started turning, grinding the northern folk to dust. An undead host marches, leaving a trail of destruction in its wake. A decisive strike to cut off the snake’s head might save thousands of lives! Pgs. 16-39
Retrieve the bones of a dracolich to save the life of a paladin. The epic conclusion of the Mere of Dead Men series. Set in the Mere of Dead Men region of the Forgotten Realms.