A quick-paced exploration of the magic tower, home to the great Solomon, the Master Conjurer, an expert in fiendology. Adventurers have to find Control Orbs to disable the tower's security system before it destroys them, and discover the secrets of the tower in the process. Their progress will be ushered by a seemingly helpful entity with nefarious intent - Zarloxar, the blue Abishai. The success of adventurers could also finally spell freedom to the fiend... or not if players, under stress, will realize the trickery in time. Part of "Detailed Encounter" series - each "Detailed Encounter" - features new monsters with unique stat blocks, new magic items, a custom battle map, and detailed NPCs. It also has story hooks and advice enough, to quickly turn it into a separate adventure!
To Kill A King Death to King Ovar the tyrant! Life to law and order! Four characters are charged with a mission so insane, so daring, that terming it an assassination does not do it justice. Are the four volunteers who would lay low King Ovar killers or heroes? If murderers, how are they better than the madman theyre assigned to kill? And even if they are mere assassins, are they determined enough to overcome the Maze of Zayene? Snared in the Wizards Web
An investigative city crawl adventure for Shadowdark RPG (or any OSR-style system), designed for experienced players levels 1-2 Set in the decaying city of Brannam, players unravel a web of fear, blood, and buried secrets. A local alchemist has begun killing in secret, rekindling old fears of an old terror. The city's decline threatens to spiral into collapse, and far below, something older and hungrier waits to wake. This adventure includes: 3 separate dungeons (The flooded Sewers, the forgotten Catacombs, and the cursed Ruins of Edric von Braech's keep) Open ended design and layered mysteries with multiple outcomes and failure states A fully explorable city with random encounters, evolving factions and escalating panic. Custom rules for spell mishaps, nightly murder checks and decay events as Brannam unravels Modular content designed to drop into your campaign
In times ancient, an infamous paladin-artificer named Khaldun unearthed a cursed tome bound in the flesh of the first medusa. Driven to madness by its secrets, he used the necromantic magic contained within to call forth an army of dread warriors from the Netherworld. Though his assault was devastating, he was ultimately unsuccessful, and the mightiest crusaders of the realm banished Khaldun to the Netherworld, where he would rot for eternity at the bottom of the River Dis. Unfortunately, rather than perishing in that bleak plane, Khaldun escaped his silt grave and thrived, amassing a legion of undead followers and erecting a Tomb in which he could perfect his mechanical craft without interruption. It was not long before he shed his body and became a demilich. After several centuries of scheming, the undead warriors under the command of the ‘Iron Lich’ have burst free of the Netherworld, laying waste to not only the mortal kingdoms that exiled him, but also the exalted domains of the gods themselves. The crusaders’ quest is simple – stead the Tomb and destroy the Iron Lich. Published by Defy Danger and Save Versus Death
A black dragon’s treasure hoard has been located in the Twilight Marsh, and within it are secrets that hold interest to the factions. With the dragon marauding over the countryside, the horde is left unguarded. Now is the time to plunder its lair!
An omnious encounter with a fortuneteller sends a party of adventurers on a 200-mile journey across the Lands of Intrigue. While traveling throught the towns and terrain (detailed here for the first time) that lie in their path, they hear rumors and obtain clues about their mission. Their ultimate destination is Castle Spulzeer, a once proud stronghold that has become a den of terror. When the heroes enter the haunted keep, they meet a terrifying trio of residents: a madman armed with stolen magical power, a liche whose secret laboratory houses untold horrors and treasure, and a furious ghost bent on revenge. These three ensnare the party in their fight over an ancient weapon. Each will stop at nothing to keep it from the other two. The heroes must choose with whom they will ally - and the wrong choice could lead to their doom. Castle Spulzeer is an adventure complete in itself. However, as a crossover story, it offers every Dungeon Master a choice between two endings. The first leaves the party in the Realms. The second transports the characters to the Demiplane of Dread, where the plot continues in the Ravenloft adventure The Forgotten Terror. For 4 to 6 Characters of Levels 8-12 This conversion guide allows DMs to run the original module with 5th Edition rules. To use this conversion guide you will need a copy of Castle Spulzeer, originally available in hard-copy and now for sale in digital format on the DMs Guild. Visit Classicmodulestoday.com for instructions on creating your own classic module conversions and selling them on the DMs Guild. Castle Spulzeer was originally scheduled for publication by TSR in June 1997. Then, near-bankruptcy caused a total failure of TSR's schedule, resulting in no books being published from February through the very end of July. Some books would be delayed for over a year, and others would disappear altogether, but Castle Spulzeer was relatively lucky: it was just delayed four months, until October 1997. The reason may well have been its theming, and its crossover with the Ravenloft line, which made Castle Spulzeer a great Halloween release. Castle Spulzeer has an even more far-reaching connection: its ending can lead players to the demiplane of Ravenloft and The Forgotten Terror adventure. This was probably intended as a bit of advertising for Domains of Dread (1997), the third edition of Ravenloft which was released in August 1997. In other words: in their last days, TSR was working very hard to cross-market their products, but they didn't live long enough to see the success of the Spulzeer-Intrigue-Dread connection.
At just 8 pages, with lots of illustrations, this adventure is much shorter than most TSR-published modules of the era (mid-90s). It is a very simple D&D adventure. It features a macguffin quest that immediately pushes the players into a dungeon crawl through the five-and-a-half-page "Dungeon of the Mad Warlock". The idol of old, The Jade Hare, as been taken from the Dar el-Tamyya, stolen by Goblins, who strangely enough killed no one. Abdullah, the old man who cared for the statuette remembered that about a month ago a stranger has asked if he might purchase the Jade Hare. Though he offered much gold, Abdullah of course refused the offer. Whom Abdullah describes the other villagers recognize as Abu-Ghabar, the mad warlock who lives in the hills. He is rumored to have built a dungeon there. Who knows what strange purposes the mad warlock has for the Jade Hare? In any case, the precious statuette's theft is an intolerable strain on the honor of the village and all the tribe therein. A party must be assembled to confront the warlock. This party may consist of none other than yourselves. Won't you save Dar el-Tamyya's ancient honor, and thwart whatever sinister plans the warlock has? TSR 9259
Days ago, a portal to the Elemental Chaos appeared near the PCs’ home city. Since then, it has grown into an enormous sinkhole that periodically belches fire and brimstone. The rip in reality threatens to overwhelm settlements and a nearby river unless someone ventures through and closes it from the other side. Pgs. 102-107
The Grand Duchy of Geoff has recently been plagued by a rash of unusually weird and terrible monsters of an unknown sort. This western area, particularly the mountain fastness which separates the Grand Duchy from the Dry Steppes, has long been renowned for the generation of the most fearsome beasts, and it has been shunned accordingly -- save a handful of hardy souls with exceptional abilities. Within the last few months, however, a walled town not far distant from the area, and four small fortresses as well, have been destroyed by mysterious attacks! This classic adventure set on a crashed spaceship challenges the players assumptions, and expands on what's possible within the "fantasy" label. TSR 9033
The Raiders’ Hideout is a series of underground chambers (or perhaps the interior of a pyramid) that serves as a base of operations for a band of gnoll desert raiders. The PCs have come to exact a measure of justice for recent brutal caravan raids. They’ve tracked the gnolls to their lair, where they intend to end the threat to desert trade once and for all. Pgs. 30-35
The Rise of the Runelords Adventure Path begins here, in the small coastal town of Sandpoint. Five years after a tragic fire and spate of brutal murders, the people of Sandpoint eagerly anticipate the Swallowtail Festival to commemorate the consecration of the town's new temple. At the height of the ceremony, disaster strikes! In the days that follow, a sinister shadow settles over Sandpoint. Rumors of goblin armies and wrathful monsters in forgotten ruins have set the populace on edge. As Sandpoint's newest heroes, the PCs must deal with treachery, goblins, and the rising threat of a forgotten empire whose cruel and despotic rulers might not be as dead as history records.
Characters track the kidnapped Evanna to a goblin outpost with a dungeon underneath. They must successfully infiltrate the stronghold to rescue her and get out, before the goblins can mount a counter offensive against them.
While the lives of most Pathfinder Society field agents is brutal and short, some rise to prominence, drawing the attention of the Decemvirate. These lucky agents are invited to a little known siege castle outside Absalom where they are asked to test their mettle. Those who succeed get their choice of prestigious missions, whereas those who fail are rarely heard from again. The players are run through an arena-style dungeon, faced with monsters, traps, and puzzles.
"Men and women walk the streets of Stonefoot, but the laughter of playing children is nowhere to be heard. Over the past year, the village's children have gone missing in the middle of the night. Who will uncover the mystery of these disapearances and stop the curse before it leaves Stonefoot without a future?" From the DMsguild description. The party is tasked with saving the last child in the village and eventually retrieving the kidnapped children. The villains first appear to be goblins, but after a hunt and a fun teleportation maze, they find out a human mage is behind it. The mage has been transmuting the children into human-goblin hybrids.
Beyond the western mountains, the orcs generally kept to themselves. Over the years they built their civilization. They enriched themselves through magic and music, and followed a doctrine of peace and acceptance that was empowered by the dangerous mountain range on one side and the swirling seas on the other. Their quiet society was shattered when a djinni named Hasteth was summoned by their elder mages. Hasteth was a creature of pure evil and perverted the wishes that it granted. In time, the orcs were able to trap the djinni within an enchanted ceramic jar called the Annihilation Hold, but not before their entire way of life was torn asunder. Many centuries have gone by and the orcs are scattered to the wind, with few recalling their proud nation. The hidden complex containing the Annihilation Hold has been discovered. Tales of wealth and magic fill the rumors the adventurers overhear. Will your adventurers brave the hazards inside to claim the riches?
The wizard Allustan requests the party's company on a trip to Blackwall Keep, a militia outpost on the border of a treacherous swamp. But what of the green worms and unkillable zombies plaguing the region, and what fell secret is locked in the keep's forlorn basement? "Encounter at Blackwall Keep" is the third installment of the Age of Worms Adventure Path, a complete campaign consisting of 12 adventures, several "Backdrop" articles to help Dungeon masters run the series, and a handful of poster maps of key locations. For additional aid in running this campaign, check out Dragon's monthly "Worm Food" articles, a series that provides additional materials to help players survive this campaign. Check out issue #335 of Dragon for three sample cohorts that they might want to take on. Pgs. 16-40
The deserts of Osirion—land of pharaohs and ancient tombs—hide not just untold wonders, but also unspeakable dangers. When the vast sand dunes part to reveal the ancient pyramid of the legendary Pharaoh of Sphinxes, glory seekers from across many nations race toward it, each fighting to be the first to claim its wonders. But the storied pharaoh doesn't rest quietly within this monument, and his tomb was designed to slaughter any who would dare trespass.
The ancient ruined city of Tamoacha is familiar to a select few scholars and fortune seekers, who know of it but not always exactly where it is. Even more secluded, lying somewhere within or beneath the ruins, is a hidden shrine said to be dedicated to Zotzilaha, the vampire god of the underworld. Adventurers who catch wind of the place are likely to find its lure irresistible. Remake of the AD&D module by the same name.
It should have been the end. When the bloodthirsty adventurers burst into his throne room and mercilessly cut him down, the tale of Merlokrep, last king of the ill-fated Truescale Tribe, should have ended. But the fates weren’t yet finished with the Kobold King, and now a dark power has brought him back from the dark beyond to wreak his vengeance upon those foolish adventurers who destroyed his tribe.
The PCs return to Diamond Lake to consult with the sage Allustan, they find the town in shambles and Allustan is missing. Locals tell tales of a terrible dragon's rampage through town. Unfortunately for the characters, the dragon is only the beginning. "A Gathering of Winds" is the sixth installment of the Age of Worms Adventure Path, a complete campaign consisting of 12 adventures, several "Backdrop" articles to help Dungeon masters run the series, and a handful of poster maps of key locations. For additional aid in running this campaign, check out Dragon's monthly "Worm Food" articles, a series that provides additional materials to help players survive this campaign. Those who have studied the cult of Kyuss and read through the Apostolic Scrolls they recovered in "The Champion's Belt" may qualify for the wormhunter prestige class, a highly customizable five-level prestige class detailed in Dragon #338's "Wormfood." Pgs. 38-66