The player characters have been invited to compete in the infamous Laureate Trials. The Laureates are a well-known adventuring guild. Once a year, they allow a select group of known adventurers to take part in the Laureate Trials. The prize is becoming an official member of the Laureates, with all the perks and responsibilities that awards. Rumour has it that new initiates will be awarded a coveted Laureate Pin, with special powers of communication. This adventure is a starting module, designed for new players and Game Masters. It should take 1 - 2 hours with a standard group of 4 players. Everything you need to know is contained inside or in the Dungeons & Dragons Basic Rules. It is ideal for helping a beginning group of heroes get started and giving them a motivation for further adventures. Inside, there are Trials to test Agility, Wits and Combat, plus a special encounter at the end which will determine the fate of a forgotten individual.
The Golem Master, creator of pricey artificial servants, hasn’t been seen around for some time. His house stands dark and silent. Dare you enter?
"A dwarven prince has requested your party's aid in quelling the coming invasion (if there is one, of course). Do you take him at his honorable word, and gird yourselves for battle? Or do you listen to the street talk, and take the side of those who disbelieve the warmongering? Most importantly of all: what if you make the wrong choice?" Patriots of Ulek is an adventure set in the world of Greyhawk - designed for a party of six to eight characters of first to third level who must help defend the Principality of Ulek against the despot’s horde and uncover a conspiracy which could lead to Ulek’s defeat. Fighters and clerics with healing spells are best suited to this adventure, as it involves a substantial amount of combat. Mages are helpful, but not required. Thieves will find minimal opportunities to practice their trade, although their skills as spies and scouts may come in handy. This adventure was designed specifically for inexperienced players and beginning dungeon masters. TSR 9385
Note: This is a sequel to Out of Body, Out of Mind. The legend of the realm of Tirna'cel is well known. Once remembered for its power-mongering warlords, homunculi-wielding sorcerers, and archfiends from the deepest pits of the Abyss, Tirna'cel has become a powerful and welcoming land over the last 600 years, due in no small part to the efforts of the warlord Tirna'gael, a member of the land's founding nobility. But your party knows the truth. You ventured into the tomb of Tirna'gael some six months ago, and therein discovered that the fallen warlord was actually little more than his brethren: a petty, avaricious power-monger. Possessed by a rival force which also desired the kingdom - a rare incorporeal demon called a nescent, which inhabited his body and augmented his already incredible power to unforeseen levels - Tirna'gael sought to overthrow the ancient warlords only to replace them. Through Tirna'gael's augmented body, the nescent overwhelmed and eliminated the other warlords, eventually dominating the realm along. But before it could consolidate its rule and throw Tirna'cel into an even darker age, the secret of its power was discovered by the paladins of Garadon, a virtuous cell of justice and light. The paladins lured Tirna'gael into the center of his own fortress and trapped him there within a powerful anti magic field. His body withered and died but the nescent remained dormant, waiting for its chance for revenge. During your visit to Tirna'gael's fortress-tomb six months ago, you accidentally released the nescent from its prison. That enemy has since been vanquished - at least for the time being - but the memory of your pitched battle against it still lingers as you approach the original chapter house of the Order of Garadon. You have been summoned.
A genius inventor - Anthony Karstark, founder of the "Karstark Inventions", has recently reached a new level of reclusiveness, when he stopped showing up at his company events. A concerned friend and employee, Holly Amberfell, hires an adventuring party, to figure out what happened to him. As adventurers enter and explore the quarantined manor of the great inventor, they have to deal with his mechanic inventions, figure out minor mysteries of past and present, and finally - face Anthony himself, changed by a strange disease into a Slaad-spawn. Guesting at Artifice Manor is an 8-10 hours long mystery and exploration adventure, that should roughly take two playing sessions (or can be squished into one - suggestions on how to do it are inside the book!). It is optimized for 4 to 5 characters of 8-10 levels. This adventure can be used to kick-off a campaign, exploring the origins and history of Slaads.
The Hardest of Hearts is a gothic horror adventure for 4-5 characters of 5-6th level. It can be played over the course of 6-8 hours and should roughly take one playing session if the party is quick, or two if the party is progressing slowly. This is the first part of the Carnival of Lost Souls campaign. It can also be played as a standalone adventure. The Hardest of Hearts features: - Exciting journey through the cold wilderness of Lamordia, which features a special travel system and survival rules - Exploration of the old mansion which has been taken over by the vicious local gang - the Corpse Collectors - Several custom diseases to challenge your players - Moral dilemma at the end of the adventure which the characters will have to solve - New custom monsters to make combat encounters truly memorable and exciting - High-quality maps, also available in universal vtt format Look out for the next adventures in the Carnival of Lost Souls series: Dementlieu: Dance with the Devil, Kalakeri: The Forbidden Temple and Valachan: Hunter’s Moon! They will be released over the course of the next two months. Once all four adventures are out, we will also release a special Campaign Guide, which will explain in detail how to best set up and play the campaign. However, if you want to start your campaign right now, don’t worry - we have included a short appendix at the end of each adventure which will explain the basics!
A simple hunt for a werewolf, or so we thought. Find its lair and slay the beast. No use for wolfsbane or other superstitions. Silver and magic would win the day. A worthy challenge, but nothing horrific, surely. Yet we never expected what we found in the Graenseskov, and our hubris cost us dearly... 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐁𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐆𝐫𝐚𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐞𝐬𝐤𝐨𝐯 is an 80-page bookmarked Ravenloft® adventure for characters of 1st-4th levels focused on mystery and exploration. It can be used in conjunction with 𝐂𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐡𝐝, either as an introduction to Barovia or adapted as a side quest, as part of the original expanded Ravenloft setting, or it can be used as a stand-alone horror adventure-setting. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐝𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐝𝐬 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐱𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝟏𝟔 𝐭𝐨 𝟐𝟒 𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐠𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧 𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐩𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐬, and potentially much more for groups embracing an investigative style of play. In the mists at the edge of Count Strahd von Zarovich’s realm lies the Graenseskov, a land of deep woods and bleak hills overrun with wolves. A Beast haunts these misty lands, leaving bloody corpses and terror in its wake, the product of a hag’s curse placed upon the boyar’s manor. But the Beast is no arbitrary killer. The PCs find themselves drawn into the mystery of uncovering the Beast’s identity and breaking the hag’s curse before the Beast’s final victim gurgles their last breath and the Beast is beyond any hope of redemption. Requires the 𝐃𝐮𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐨𝐧 𝐌𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫'𝐬 𝐆𝐮𝐢𝐝𝐞 and the 𝐌𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐮𝐚𝐥. This is a 63 Mb ZIP file containing a watermarked PDF of the updated adventure, a PDF with handouts, a PDF DM's cheat sheet, and PNG files of the Graenseskov region map for the DM and players. 𝐅𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐬: • The DM (or the Tarokka) determines the guilty suspect and their motives, offering a different experience for each group’s play-through. • A vivid cast of characters with a NPC index. • Escalating random encounters, special events, and techniques for DMing a mystery. • New monsters: black annis hag & loup du noir. • All units given in SI & metric. • Handouts and maps for DMs and players. • DM's cheat sheet with quick prep notes, clue checklist, handy Tarokka tables, tips on running the Beast, and a decision point flowchart. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐓𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐒𝐡𝐨𝐰 May 16, 2016 DM's Guild Pick of the Episode! Thanks James! http://www.thetomeshow.com/e/round-table-119-giants-and-the-talented-bestiary/ 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐍𝐆𝐄 𝐋𝐎𝐆 𝐉𝐮𝐥𝐲 𝟐, 𝟐𝟎𝟏𝟔 𝐔𝐩𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞: The big update! Fixed several editing and grammar errors, including an error in Appendix D, and the repeated paragraph on page 12 (page 13 in new document). Added a new special event - Hanging the Vistani - to Chapter 1 which ties together several dangling plot threads. Clarified "Adjusting the Adventure" & added Werewolves in the Mist to the "Adventure Hooks" in the Introduction. Added two pieces of thematic filler art. 𝐀𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐥 𝟏𝟖, 𝟐𝟎𝟏𝟔 𝐔𝐩𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞: Added a DM's cheat sheet PDF to the zip file.
When the hunters become the haunted. Some haunted houses are best left unexplored. The third adventure in the 'Mere of Dead Men' series! Pgs. 48-71
Your adventures have taken you to strange places before, but in the eyes of your experienced party, few of these places are as unusual as the bizarre Land Beyond the Magic Mirror. Here the delightful and the light-hearted often hide great challenges and dangers; here you will journey through a landscape unique among fantasy role-playing scenarios. This adventure was first conceived by E. Gary Gygax as part of the Greyhawk Castle dungeon complex and has been the source of challenge and fun for many skilled players of the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons game. It is finally available to all players and can be added to your existing campaign with ease. "The Land Beyond the Magic Mirror" is designed so that it may be used with its companion scenario, EX1: "Dungeonland." Still, "Land Beyond the Magic Mirror" may easily be played on its own, and should offer hours of excitement in its strange landscape! An adaptation of Lewis Carrol's book 'Alice Through the Looking Glass' into a dungeon crawl, and a sequel to the module EX1 Dungeonland which adapted 'Alice in Wonderland' in the same way. TSR 9073
Yesterday, young Tobias went to investigate an old tomb by himself. Everyone told him it was a bad idea. Everyone was right. Today, you and your companions awaken to a town in chaos. Why is the temple sealed behind a divine shield? Why are children and worshippers trapped within? How do we get inside? What did Tobias do?! Ragged Hollow is a full-service starting town, full of classic creatures and challenges all updated and brought together for newbies and nostalgia-lovers alike. There are goblins and witches in the woods, a house full of traps, a basement of vermin, kobolds in a cave, bandits on the road, riddling ravens, a 50-room temple dungeon, nursery-rhyme monsters, living nightmares, Lovecraftian horrors, and tons of unique items to find. This is a mystery with lots of relevant side-quests around the town. The heroes can investigate the situation, get into the temple, save the innocents, and stop the monsters. And get some loot! ADVENTURE TYPE: Medium Dungeon / Town / Wilderness Adventure DESIGN NOTES This adventure is intended for characters levels 1 to 4. It includes several wilderness areas (forest, hills, mountain), a bustling town, several local mini-dungeons, and one 50-room temple dungeon. Each area contains various encounters and unique items. There are many opportunities for combat, but it is possible for players to explore most areas and complete many interactions without any combat at all, depending on their choices. INCLUDES: Story hooks, dialogue prompts, random encounters, stat blocks, original creatures and treasures, and maps. KEYWORDS: town, village, forest, goblins, goblin market, witches, hags, hills, bandits, ogres, mountain, kobolds, caves, dwarves, temple, clerics, nightmares, demons, riddles, traps, ghosts, fairy tales, Lovecraft, mutant
Death Is in the Cards The remnants of the Ebon Fold are cutting a deadly path through the Falkovian countryside, draining travelers of their life force and leaving withered corpses in their wake. Hot on their trail you come across the sole survivor of one of these deadly attacks, a young vistani man with an extraordinary skill for fortune-telling. His tarokka deck helps close the gap between you and the assassins. Together you follow the trail through Darkon, the dark domain of the lich lord Azalin, to the city of Nartok. With an Unholy Alliance... Something very strange is happening in Nortok. The killers enter the Temple of the Eternal Order and don't come out. It seems that the state of religion of Darkon is giving succor to these assassins. To make matters more confusing, the Kargat, the domain's secret police, has put aside its feud with the Eternal Order and has a large contingent staying at the temple as well. These three organizations working together bodes ill for the residents of Nartok. ... And Schemes Within Infernal Schemes Great amounts of life energy are being collected for some foul purpose, although no one seems to know what exactly it is. The tarokka cards provide only mysterious glimpses of the future - a future in which a powerful evil sweeps the land and Death walks the world. Can you discover the truth of what is happening in the temple in time to avert the disaster predicted by the cards? Death Ascendant is a full-length adventure that can be run as a stand-alone scenario or as the second part in the Grim Harvest series. It contains a 64-page adventure booklet plus a full-color poster map detailing the Temple of the Eternal Order. TSR 9526
One bad apple. The brownies would have been fine, except for the addition of one unexpected ingredient. This is a starting adventure for one druid. They set off on a wacky adventure with teh help of their driud master. Pgs. 22-31
The Assassin's Knot is a sequel to The Secret of Bone Hill, picking up on themes from that module and shifts them to a new locale. The player characters must solve the mystery of who killed the Baron of Restenford, with evidence pointing to somebody from the town of Garrotten. The scenario describes the town and its castle. The Assassin's Knot module is different from most of its contemporaries in that it contained no dungeon or dungeon-like area. The longer the players take to find the murderer, the more unfortunate events occur in the village. The village, Garrotten, is reputed to be the place to go to have someone killed. The entire village shuts down when the Baron of Restenford is found dead, mutilated beyond the possibility of magical restoration. Three small clues are all the player characters have to unravel the mystery. TSR 9057
Some games aren't played for fun. A friendly little gambling game - with the most bizarre players and rules! Pgs. 24-32
Something is amiss in the town of Rhiannon. Recently raided by a band of vile creatures, the citizens of Rhiannon were shocked to find their lord at the root of the incident. And now Lord Kent is holding a competition for “all walks of life with a propensity for the gambling arts.” Will the PC aid the citizens of Rhiannon and uncover the truth about the mysterious Lord Kent? Or will the PC take this opportunity to line her own pockets? Either way, the answers lie inside the walls of Lord Kent’s keep and the gamblers within.
Dr. Rudolph Van Richten and his network of investigators have hunted and put an end to numerous creatures of the night across the Domains of Dread. But some foes are more elusive than others, and will require the aid of heroes to put an end their reign of terror and close out these open cases. A simple rest turns into a waking nightmare as visions of death haunt the heroes’ dreams. A Dream of Eternal Sleep is the introductory adventure to the ghostly Night Terror, Kazander, and begins within adventurers’ own dreams. It provides the basis for an extended campaign that will take heroes through the cerebral and nightmarish domains of dread as they seek a way to confront this foe in the Nightmare Lands. Content Warning: Near-death Experiences, Recurring Nightmares, Sleep-walking, Possession.
With the rising of the Blood Moon, the accursed abode of the Blood King returns to this world. The lord of all vampires comes to claim the blood that is owed to him. His halls contain treasures and secrets that would make any ambitious adventurer abandon reason and caution to seek them out. Will you risk your soul for gold and glory in the Halls of the Blood King?
Gifts for Him is a short, challenging, open-ended, gothic-horror, 5E-compatible Christmas adventure for tier 1 characters to be run in about three sessions, but it can be easily adapted as a one-shot. It contains over 25 pages with original artwork, three original battle maps, three unique monsters, stat blocks for five NPCs, three magic items, and a partridge in a pear tree. ----- The village of Bargrave has a secret. Every year, on Christmas Eve, the villagers cower in their homes while a savage beast prowls the streets, wreaking bloody doom on whomever has not left it a suitable gift on their doorstep. But Elias Buhl has had enough. This year, the old farmer won’t be buying the beast a gift, hoping instead to bait it into attacking him at his homestead, where he will trap and kill it once and for all. But he can’t do it alone. Buhl has hired a band of adventures to help him fortify his home, set traps, and slay the creature. They have three days to prepare, gather allies and equipment, and plan their defense. Or… They can dig a little deeper and uncover what Bargrave has been hiding all these years. Will they slay the beast, as agreed? Might they capture it to use it for their own ends? Can it be redeemed? Or will they die — their blood melting the snow — just the latest victims of the creature’s reign of terror? --- Gifts for Him is a complete, playtested, illustrated adventure that is currently pay what you want.
About: This encounter was cooked up in the Write your First Encounter workshop by the Storytelling Collective. It CAN be slid in as a side quest in any urban or sub-urban context, or be adapted to add confusion to any rescue mission you are presently running. Synopsis: Through the doorway a young woman shackled to the wall matching the description of Helena can be seen. Though disheveled and looking to be in great discomfort, her beauty is remarkable. But on closer inspection, there are other people here — three identical Helenas! Noble woman Elize Cleron has hired the party to infiltrate the catacombs under the Schaefer Estate and free her twin sister Helena. Helena is being held captive by the Schaefer family, trade rivals rumored to have ties to the underworld. Elize has been unable to free her sister herself because of her identical appearance. Rather than pay an unrealistic ransom, Elize has provided the party with what they need to break her out. This encounter is intended for 3rd level characters.
The first savage tide has already touched the mortal world, yet none who live today recall this time of red ruin. Unleashed from the cruel heart of a fell seed known as a shadow pearl, this savage tide swept over an ancient city perched atop the crown of a remote island. The tide transformed beggar and noble, merchant and thief, resident and visitor into feral, ravenous fiends. The fruits of centuries of labor came crumbling down in a matter of days, and when the survivors tried to stem the tide by destroying the pearl, the resulting blast of power sunk their city into the boiling lake of death. Through it all, the Abyssal architect of the savage tide watched, taking pride in the ruin. When the tide's final ripples had faded, what was left became known as the Isle of Dread. Now, after a thousand years, the true masters of the Isle of Dread look upon new targets, new cities beyond the horizon, compelled by the hateful will of their demonic lord Demogorgon to prepare for the coming glory. This time, the doom will not be limited to one hapless city. This time, all of civilization waits unknowing on the shore, blissfully ignorant of what the incoming tide brings in. "There Is No Honor" is the first chapter of the Savage Tide Adventure Path, a complete campaign consisting of 12 adventures that will appear in the next twelve issues of Dungeon. For additional aid in running this campaign, check out Dragon's monthly "Savage Tidings" articles, a series that helps players and DMs prepare for and expand upon the campaign. Issue #348 of Dragon kicks off this series with details on six affiliations based in Sasserine that your players may wish to join. And if you're running Savage Tides in the Forgotten Realms or Eberron, make sure to check paizo.com for the latest conversion notes for each adventure. The Savage Tide Adventure Path debuts as a new band of heroes confronts exotic monsters, undead pirates, and a sinister guild of thieves on the cusp of unleashing a murderous coup. Pgs. 14-46