Do you want to run or play an adventure where characters start at level 13 instead of ending at level 13, and actually get to progress to 20 like the rules say they should? Do your players like to travel far and wide, exploring a huge unknown area? Do your players like to change their plans on a whim, and travel somewhere other than where they told you they planned to go last session? Do your players feel like fighting against an empire at odds of 20,000 to 1? Do your players want to commit occasional acts of sky piracy? Do you want an adventure that is designed to handle players using Scrying, Transport Via Plants, and Teleportation on a daily basis? If you answered yes to some of these questions, this adventure may be for you. Check out the detailed preview packet, which includes a campaign log showing how this adventure has actually played out. WARNING: FULL OF SPOILERS; VERY LONG. Against the Idol of the Sun is an epic hexcrawl campaign designed for high-level play. Adventuring parties should start at about level 13, and will likely end the campaign at level 20 with multiple Epic Boons. As a hexcrawl, there is no set adventure path that the party must follow. There is only one encounter that's even close to plot-mandatory aside from the climactic battle. Anything else can be skipped or handled in any order. The players are free to move about the map in any direction at any time, limited only by the risk of enemy action and encounters. The DM, meanwhile, is encouraged to have foes react to and actively hunt the PCs once they become a threat. Along the way, they may find and explore a number of dungeons, including a millenia-old laboratory in the grips of a time distortion, several mines that were abandoned for good reason yet may hold wealth within, and other challenges appropriate for high-level characters. This module is heavy on Exploration and Combat, but the Social aspect of D&D also is necessary as the player characters meet new peoples, work to convince them that they can make a difference, motivate them to action, and create overall plans for the NPCs and factions to follow off-screen to support the players in their main assaults. The key set piece encounters, which are optional but highly probable, involve attacking well-defended temples in the centers of enemy cities. Planning for these attacks will require paying attention to reconnaissance, timing, the use of allies, how to enter, and how to exit and break contact succesfully when dealing with enemies that fly faster than most player characters can walk. The adventure does not include artwork, and the maps are basic.
Along the caravan routes that tie the Cities of the West to the Kingdoms of the East, many tales are told of the mountains called the Towers of the Sun. One of these legends concerns a dark road said to be hidden among the twisty trails that spiderweb the mountains. Into the earth the road leads, into and through a series of vast caverns filled with treacherous traps and cunning monsters. Yet dangerous though the path is, many a party of adventurers have been tempted to walk it, for the stories say that the loot of a hundred lost caravans lies concealed along that evil way. [Comment: Uncertain for what levels of play this adventure is designed]
From time out of mind, the standing stones known as the Circle of Cahervaniel have stood lonely vigil on a grassy hilltop. Sheepherders once moved their flocks over the hill and through the circle, sometimes resting in the cool shadows cast by the ancient stones. Everything changed when a stone finger fell, revealing a fissure in the earth. Now, dark shadows caress the circle after the sun sets. Creatures out of nightmare dance upon the hillside at night. Many swear that a unicorn of deepest ebony now hunts all upon two legs who draw near, while stunted creatures scurry in the shadows, abducting sheep from their sheds and drawing them down below ground for food. After the disappearance of a sheperd, fear grows stronger in neighboring villages. Who will brave the black hollow of the ancient Circle of Cahervaniel? Heroes of stern mettle must descend into the cavity and explore the ancient spaces existing there. Product History "The Shattered Circle" (1999), by Bruce R. Cordell, is a generic adventure for AD&D 2e. It was published in January 1999. Origins: Another Generic. After Wizards of the Coast began publishing D&D, their first year and a half of generic adventures were all classic revivals: returns to RPGA tournaments, to classic adventures, and to Dungeon scenarios. Even "A Paladin in Hell" (1998) was a return in its own way, to the demons and devils that TSR had become afraid of. Wizards was staking out new ground by reclaiming the past. "The Shattered Circle" (1999) was the first generic Wizards adventure that was simply a generic adventure, with no deeper origins and no hidden motives. Artifacts of Note. the foundingstone and the harp Euphonious are both one-off named magic items. However, it's sword Icerazor that's the most interesting. It's said to have grown from a shard of Frostrazor — a sword that would only appear ten months later in Return to White Plume Mountain (1999). There, it's listed as one of Keraptis' four implements of power, alongside Wave, Blackrazor, and Whelm — meaning that Icerazor (and this adventure) are just one step removed from White Plume Mountain itself. Monsters of Note: Chitine. It's somewhat curious, given the Greyhawk and Neverness connections, to note that the chitine debuted in MC11: "Monstrous Compendium Forgotten Realms Appendix" (1991). The spider-humanoids have generally been a Realms creature, featuring in bestiaries and histories for that setting. However, they also received a more generic "Ecology of the Chitine" in Dragon #223 (November 1995), which introduced the choldrith, or chitine priestess. This is their major adventure appearance. When asked about pronouncing their name Cordell says that he "can't be 100% sure of the original designer's pronunciation", but he prefers "KI-TEEN". About the Creators. By 1999, Cordell was one of D&D's most prolific writers. He'd previously authored many slightly related adventures, such as The Gates of Firestorm Peak(1996) and the sahuagin (1997) and illithid (1998) Monstrous Arcana adventure trilogies. 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 The Shattered Circle, originally available in hard-copy and now for sale in Digital format at the DMs Guild. This adventure is a generic adventure, not specifically based in any existing setting. Suggestions are given in the conversion guide to place the adventure in the Forgotten Realms.
When huge stones fall out of the night sky, A deadly curse settles over Gravencross. Help the village exorcise the Demon Stones. “The sun had set an hour ago, and the rain lashed down and the wind howled on the dark moor. A storm this late in the season was unusual, but this one seemed different. The clouds were more menacing, tinged with anger, the rain colder and more biting than usual. Skerrill had to find the lost calf and get him back to the farm before his father came back from the city on business. He’d been looking for two hours now, and he was right in the middle of the moor when the storm hit. He knew he should have turned back as soon as darkness fell, but then he was never the brightest boy in the valley. If only he had remembered to lock the farm gate. The calf was now likely dead anyway having stumbled among the boulders and rocks, panicking in the dark, and then fallen in a floodwater stream and drowned. Either way, he was in more trouble than he could imagine. Suddenly, a bright flash of white light and a roaring peal of thunder were preceded by an explosion as a huge object fell from the sky and impacted the ground of the moor no more than a stone’s throw from him. Dirt, mud, water, and debris erupted from the impact site, flying high into the air and then covering the moor for hundreds of feet all around. Skerrill was knocked to the ground instantly and covered in the fallout from the blast. His ears rang and his head spun, but he staggered to his feet in a daze. He stumbled to where the blast had happened only moments before, and in a depression in the ground lay a huge stone glowing orange as if hot. Skerrill passed out. Two more thunderous explosions crashed in the distance.”
This is an incredibly deadly dungeon that will strain the limits of any party that dares to tread within. I consider this to be a challenge dungeon of sorts, and I would suggest it as a dungeon to throw at players if they ever want to run a gauntlet with new characters. This dungeons is filled to the brim with traps, puzzles, and vicious creatures. It is also quite a long dungeon - be prepared to spend at least two sessions working through the pathways of this horrifying Tomb.
Are you ready for some HACK 'N' SLASH action? Do you yearn to unveil the hidden mysteries of the DWARVES? Are you thirsty for some UNEXPECTED encounters? The long lost Dwarven Kindgom of Gleodemar holds a relic of the past, Svarogs's Anvil, a magical artifact that can boost weapon production. The Heroes are sent to reclaim it, but the ancient fort is not empty and the new denizens have settled for good and do not seem keen on sharing any treasures. Will the Heroes manage to overtake them in a direct (and bloody) confrontation, or will the try to slip through the shadows to reach their goal? Maybe they will be captured and the "cavalry" will have to save them? In this adventure anything goes and it takes only one mistake to unravel the Heroes' careful plans and make them prisoners of the Keep. In this slightly challenging 5e hack 'n' slash adventure for 4th level PCs you will find: - a detailed story behind the Dwarven Kingdom of Gleodemar - a powerful dwarven artifact - a back-up NPC party, in case the heroes require a "deus ex machina" intervention - an optional ethical dilemma, to spice things up - both DM and player-safe maps - 3 boss monsters that can be used as future antagonists - non-stop action and suspense until the last minute of this 3-act mad rash and if all of that still does not sound fun, there's ALSO a race against time before the curtain falls. Download away! (and don't forget to share your feedback, we'd love to hear it!)
Frequent visitors know that the Adurite culture once ruled a large portion of the known world but has now all but disappeared. In this adventure a relic Golem that guards a shrine has been duped and gone on a rampage. This adventure was originally created for a “filler” adventure on a day when the entire party could not adventure. Spoiler alert the Golem is not the worst thing the party will face! At 29 pages this adventure has a little bit of everything.
Kalzok the Minotaur pirate discovered an old smuggler's hold on a tiny island in the Nelanther Isles, not far from Nemessor. The island sits amid a dangerous archipelago encircled with scores of hidden shoals that is avoided by all but the most daring or foolish navigators. The area's waters are notorious for claiming the ships of unwary sea captains who tried to steer through the gauntlet of hidden reefs. This offering includes an overview of Kalzok's island along with the details of Kalzok's hidden lair.
Uncover a Hidden Legacy A lost passageway on the upper level of the most infamous dungeon in Faerûn has recently been uncovered. When a patron hires a band of adventurers to brave the dangers of Undermountain, a search is on to uncover secrets of an apprentice of the dungeon’s lost creator – Halaster.
A half-marilith, half-medusa druidess lich known as the Hate Blossom lairs in this dungeon, having been run out of mortal society and shunned by demonkind. She possesses the petrified-yet-still-living body of Melenkir, the first human arch-mage and the single creature to remember a ritual that may save the realm from an extraplanar threat. Only slaying Hate Blossom or convincing her to lift the curse will revive Melenkir. Published by Defy Danger and Save Verses Death
“Gorgoldand’s Gauntlet” takes place in a cave network in the side of a cliff overlooking a lake and can be inserted easily into any campaign. Gorgoldand’s Gauntlet is a site-based adventure with a pre-dominance of puzzles and traps. The PCs discover a map leading to the Gauntlet and explore it looking for treasure. They test their strength and wits against various traps and puzzles created by a gold dragon who converted a cave network into a proving ground to surreptitiously test the abilities of local adventuring bands. If they make it all the way to the end of the Gauntlet, they’ll have the chance to fight a dragon construct made of the dungeon's treasure hoard and have the chance to gain access to a magic item that can have a significant impact on their adventuring careers. Pgs. 39-51
The dead are all mad in this place. Jaume made the most unfortunate mistake of seducing Ysabel and taking her virginity — a sacrilege for which the sentence was death. Enraged upon finding this out, Joudain cleaved Jaume’s head in two with an axe and then raised him from the dead to continue his duties. Not long afterward, Joudain decided that, because the twin footmen no longer “matched,” he had no choice but to inflict the same fate on Miqèl — who now looks exactly like his older brother. Join them. This heavily revised and greatly expanded deluxe edition of The Cursed Chateau is an adventure for use with Lamentations of the Flame Princess Weird Fantasy Role-Playing and other traditional role-playing games. Death is just the beginning.
Legends of a "mountain of gold" provoke a mad scramble for a mysterious book laden with clues to find certain statues around the city, which themselves hold additional clues leading to the hiding place of the fabulous treasure. An adventure for using old-school advanced rules with twists and open-ended problem-solving in a city rife with overt treasure-hunting and covert Byzantine plotting by multiple factions. Published by Coiled Sheets of Lead
"You opened the chest? You shouldn't have opened the chest! You are magically transported to a ruined temple surrounded by vast desert. A dragon, driven mad by the slaying of her mate and brood, lies between you and a wish-granting treasure that could mean your salvation, or spell your doom…"
Delbert's friend Thordyn has been wrongfully arrested and placed in quarantine inside the Lazar's Walls, where all those who have contracted King's Evil are banished to. It is your missing to infiltrate the settlement, and free Thordyn. The task will not be simple, as a crime syndicate rules the Lazar's Walls with an iron fist.
When the son of a famous Pathfinder gains control of his father's holdings in Taldor, the Pathfinder Society decides to build a new lodge there as a base to explore the many ruins of that crumbling empire. Unfortunately, the Taldan Phalanx has its eye on the holdings and an ancient curse has turned many of the residents into the walking dead. Can you survive the tangled web of Taldor's politics and fight off the echoes of the past or will you, too, see your glory decline?
Part of a Numerian relic once thought scattered to the winds has found its way back to the savage land of super-science, and the Pathfinder Society must track down the component if they are to unlock the device’s secrets. Clues point to the economic hub Chesed, where only the descendants of a shattered clan can share where their revered ancestor buried the strange artifact. Can the PCs brave the troubled city, evade the vigilant agents of the Technic League, and survive a trip into the Numerian wastes? Content in “Returned to Sky” contributes directly to the Year of the Sky Key metaplot as well as the ongoing storyline of the Exchange, Liberty’s Edge, and Silver Crusade factions.
Now that the ruined pyramid tombs of the ancient emperor-gods of Osirion are finally open to exploration, the race is on to plumb their depths and rescue their priceless treasures. Entombed with the Pharaohs is a desert adventure written by Michael Kortes that pits players against rival adventurers bent on getting to the treasure first as well as the vicious monsters and lethal traps set to stop them from their plunder. Ancient secrets and wealth beyond imagination await you in the pharaohs' tombs—will you be the first to find them?
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
After resupplying equipment, health, and morale, you have heard of a job opportunity available at a nearby pub. After first missing out on the chance, your fortunes change and get the job. After boarding the Gnome airship, the “Marietta”, you head off across the sea to locate the captain’s missing brother. You find out you will be going into the jungles of the lost Pula Noa tribe. Rumor and legend surround these natives as having streets and buildings paved in gold, silver, and death! This adventure setting was designed for 5th Edition rules D&D for the Filbar Campaign for mid-level adventurers and DM. This adventure is easily adaptable to most any game and system. Save yourself some time and utilize it for a one shot adventure or a continuing campaign!