Akeni was born a servant to a powerful drow family deep underground, but her personality was anything but servile. When she was caught in an affair with the house matron's mate, she killed the matron and her own paramour and fled, eventually stumbling into the lair of a powerful beholder mage named Ormathulak. Akeni knew immediately that the creature was just the ally she needed to wipe out her hated family. Pgs. 56-60
Something fell. A sickly gloaming lit up the night like mock daylight, just for a moment, and then the hills trembled. Now, an alien entity lies brooding in a crater gouged out of the moor. Local folk are enraptured with the toothsome jelly exuded by this being, but are blind to the true nature of the events unfolding in their rustic little backwater.
What makes Heroes into Villains? Damien Anthilas has fallen from ally to adversary, but something desperate in him has struck a chord with you. Why would he risk everything to steal the memories of the citizens of Anduria? Left with only a cryptic clue, the characters seek answers from the burned out remnants of his former home. Anthilas Manor is a place of dark magic and even darker history, where the ghosts of the past hold sway and the influence of the mad god is still felt to this day
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.
The Kingdom of Halruaa’s past is a mystery. The disappearance of the entire kingdom during the Spellplague and its subsequent return has always been looked upon as feat of magic that will never be replicated and Halruaa’s Council of Elders has dedicated itself to ensuring that this magic remains hidden. rumors are starting to surface that someone may have found a way to duplicate the feat and this has made faction leaders throughout Toril nervous, especially when recent communications with Faction agents in the area have grown silent. What can be discovered in the Kingdom of Halruua? Are the rumors true or is there something else entirely happening? The Discarded Gem is a 3 to 4-hour adventure for characters level 1 - 4.
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?
The Final Stand of the Fallen Leaf is a companion adventure made to go along with the events unfolding in Folio #17 (WS4 Samurai's Fall). It contains the information needed to run a side adventure that will finish off the Distant Turtle City story line with the final defeat of the Fallen Leaf Ninja Clan. Distant Turtle City is now free, at least in the aspect of the curse, but a dark power still lives near the old city graveyard, and that power will surely continue to rebuild and spread if not expunged once and for all. This adventure is formatted to both 1E & 5E gaming rules.
Beware of Baba Yaga and her infamous hut! Baba Yaga is an ancient crone who is said to have power over day and night itself. Many seek her out for her wisdom, which she has gleaned from centuries of travel through numerous worlds. Others, bolder and more foolish, search out the hut to plunder its treasures, which Baba Yaga has gathered from every corner of the multiverse. None, thief or scholar, who enter the Dancing Hut of Baba Yaga leave unscathed. How will you fare now that the great Baba Yaga is in your neighbourhood? TSR 9471
Long ago, a local priest created a warded graveyard on a remote hillside. As the years passed, it gained a reputation as a spot whose defenses were powerful enough to keep undead in and tomb robbers out. Adventurers began to bring the remains of any creatures they suspected might become restless in death to the Tomb Steppe for interment, and in time they also sought aid against such creatures from the friendly priest. After his death, a brief spate of undead activity commenced, then died away once again. As the years passed, the tales of undead activity in the Tomb Steppe faded into legend, and colonists began to move into the lands nearby. The town of Night Falls was founded a short distance from the graveyard, and it grew quickly into a thriving trade center and farming community. Realizing that the Tomb Steppe was safe enough during the day, the citizens began burying their dead there rather than building new crypts on pristine farmland. Because this method of interment was cheap and easy, people from many surrounding communities brought their dead to the town as well. The business of burial brought new prosperity to Night Falls, and a guild called the Funerary House sprang up to control the trade. But it seems that the threat from the Tomb Steppe has not entirely been laid to rest. The Great Mausoleum -- the largest and finest tomb in the steppe, has been unsealed, and an apparition has been seen within. Who will go to the Tomb Steppe by night and reseal the tomb? Lest Darkness Rise is a short adventure for four 7th-level characters. In keeping with the season, it has a stronger horror theme than most D&D adventures. This scenario can be used as the climax of a series of adventures featuring its secondary characters, or it can simply be a site-based adventure that the PCs stumble across at the right moment. The scenario is set in a semi-civilized area in the far north, far from cities and churches, where winters are harsh and summers never get very hot. These inhospitable conditions have resulted in a low humanoid population. The scenario need not be set in such a wilderness; a rural farming community far from cities works just as well. The only real requirement is that the area have few settlements. The action takes place in the small town of Night Falls and a nearby necropolis of tombs, mausoleums, and graves known as the Tomb Steppe. As always, feel free to adapt the material presented here as you see fit to make it work with your campaign.
Always living in the shadows is hard when you're a clever and regal creature like a kobold. Now it's time to make a name for yourself and bring honor and prestige to your clan. In Little Trouble in Big Absalom, you take on the role of one of five kobolds from the Hookclaw clan tasked with exploring a treasure-laden vault discovered by a team of Hookclaw diggers. Enticed by the potential wealth, the kobolds brave terrible dangers in what turns out to be a grandmother's basement before being asked by the kind old lady to retrieve her magical hedge trimmer from a neighbor's garden. Little Trouble in Big Absalom includes two mini adventures that can be played back to back or alone—filling as much or as little time as you have for madcap adventure. In addition, the five pregenerated kobold characters provide a preview of the upcoming Pathfinder Advanced Player's Guide in this exciting offering for Free RPG Day! Grab some dice and some friends and play the role of determined kobolds!
This Christmas, Santa Claus must die! Adopt the role of one of history’s iconic Christmas villains and raid Santa’s North Pole base in order to destroy Santa’s corrupted form. Due to Grinch’s machinations, Santa’s jovial form has been corrupted and he’s called off his annual gift-giving journey. Now, the Spirit of Christmas gives Grinch an ultimatum: he must assemble a team of other famous villains, infiltrate the North Pole base and destroy the corrupted Santa Claus so he can be reborn and deliver presents. The team will have to navigate environmental hazards, deal with four factions of Santa’s elves and finally battle the Man in Red himself. However, each team member has their own secret agenda to complete … and time is running out!
Dread Abbey is a one-shot designed to be played in a single session, taking approximately 5 hours, preferably on an especially spooky evening! The adventure is designed for two to six 2nd-level heroes and can grant up to 6 Victories. Each of the heroes embodies a different character archetype, including the jock, the diva, the nerd, the comic relief, the professional, and the believer. Each archetype grants: * A title * Some role-playing lines the hero might say, which have mechanical consequences in this adventure * Something they can do to participate even if the hero should die * A revised title if the hero should live and continue to another adventure The adventure contains: * 1 optional negotiation with the harbinger * 1 montage test as you sanctify the abbey * 2 combat encounters with undead and a gloom dragon * guidance on abbreviating parts to hasten the adventure if you need to Included in addition to the adventure pdf: * One map of the abbey for use in the montage test * One battlemap for combats in the abbey * Handouts of each of the archetypes for the players
We get it. Factions are an integral part of D&D, but it's not always clear how to use them in your campaigns. Luckily, Factions of Sigil has you covered for each of the twelve main factions found across Sigil and the Outlands! This supplement goes over the various rules and lore around the primary factions found in Sigil and the Outlands, making it easy for any new or veteran DMs to integrate the factions more into the core stories being told, and making them feel more useful for the players that choose to join. Complaints have been made to the Transcendent Order of a Slaad and its Bladeling allies that are disturbing the peace in Sigil, who in turn have tasked the characters to restore a sense of tranquility to the old Mastervale Manor.
A magic shop, The Travelling Salesman, has appeared in town just in time for the party's arrival. This shop specialises in being in the right place, at the right time, with the right equipment, for the right adventurers. Its wisteria-covered frontage adorns any old blank wall space, and immediately looks like it's been there for decades. Large paned windows are smeared with age-old dirt and hint at the vast array of interesting objects inside. The shop belongs to Yannik Willowbough, an exhausted-but-jovial halfling with a passion for helping others. At least, it belongs to Yannik now. It was once home to a lich, Verdenia Siskin, who has recently concocted the perfect way to exact her revenge. She just needs a party of adventurer's to turn to her point of view. This adventure contains: - A (hungry) planes-travelling magic shop and former home of a powerful lich. - A lich who takes particular delight in winding adventurers around her little finger to do her bidding. - A planar tear that threatens to pull the whole town (or more!) into the Shadowfell. - A spooky house of delights. - NPCs whose motives will be thoroughly questioned by the party. - A 3—10 hour adventure for a party of any level and composition - Depending on the outcome the party may also benefit from: - A planes-travelling base of operations - A recurrent NPC quest-giver and/or helper - A devious, and eternally patient, antagonist. - Four original hand-drawn maps to support combat and exploration, with seperate versions suitable for VTTs. - Advice for new DMs to run this adventure smoothly. - A separate accessible adventure pdf. This adventure was written as part of the Storytelling Collective's Write Your First Adventure workshop. Content warnings: Horror, gore
A scenario for a single player taking the role of Moonstone, a 3rd-level elf caught up in an Arabian Nights adventure - no Dungeon Master required! It's also possible to use one of your own D&D characters, or even an AD&D fighter/magic-user.
Doomguard factioneers steal an ancient relic from the church of Fharlanghan as part of an apocalyptic plot involving the Harbinger House, and a group of Clueless adventurers chase them into Sigil on their quest to recover it. Celestian's Compass is a free one-shot adventure that was released for Free RPG Day 2017.
Rumor has reached your ears that the legendary Amulet of Rafael is in this region. Further investigation has revealed that a reclusive nobleman in the north called Xantus is currently in possession of the item. While details are sketchy about the item, it is well known that quite powerful in the hands of a mage. You decide that you will go north and locate the “Ice Lord” and see if he is willing to part with the item.
Pathfinder Lugizar Trantos recently returned from the Mwangi Expanse with haunted eyes and a pack full of strange idols. Absalom's famed Blakros Museum purchased his pieces and Lugizar vanished. The strange monkey idols he pulled from the misty jungles of Mwangi carry with them a fell curse, and now their power has laid claim to the museum. Can the Pathfinder Society uncover the source of the curse in time, or will the Blackros Museum be forever lost to the mists of Mwangi?
A new, expanded, OSR-ised, prettified edition of Joseph R. Lewis’ Ragged Hollow Nightmare which was rated among The Best by Tenfootpole. Joseph Lewis hit a perfect balance between the classics of dungeonverse fantasy and the whimsy of the folk tales we love so much (as testified by our Folklore Bestiary. we released last year), adding a dash of dreamworld strangeness and a pinch of body horror to spice up his brew. We did our best to respect his recipe when adding our extra material (about 30 pages of it). We worked with Joe and Li-An (the perfect artist to give life to spooky Ragged Hollow and its strange surroundings) to make the best module we could: a solid introduction to old-school gaming for both players and gamemasters. And for the veterans among us, it also makes an excellent, full-fledged campaign starter. Nightmare over Ragged Hollow is a sandbox adventure centred around a quaint town at the edge of the kingdom. But however quiet life in Ragged Hollow is, the town lies between places where you shouldn’t be traveling alone. Places like Gloam Wood (“A witch or two lurk there!”), the Bleak Mountains (“I’m told there are bugbears…”) and their infamous Mount Mourn (“Home, they say, to cursed Dwarven ruins”), not to forget the Wailing Hills (“Bandits on every road!”). There’s even a haunted house by the river (“That mad inventor riddled it with traps!”). But only when an impenetrable dome of golden light materialises around the Temple of Halcyon (“Hey, my kids go to school there!”) do things really get out of hand. Some selfless heroes (or, failing that, a bunch of greedy ne’er-do-wells) should really get involved. One town with three adventure mini-sites Three small dungeons One 50-room dungeon Three hexes with 16 detailed locations Two groups of potential allies or rivals Sixteen pre-generated characters One deadly countdown! Written for the Old-School Essentials (OSE) rule system
Far2 – Discord at the Docks is a short adventure based in the city of Phoenix in Fartook. Similar to Far1, this adventure is for low/novice level players. The adventure begins as your ship docks in Phoenix and you and your group debark. The scenario was designed for five players and gives them a variety of small problems to tackle. The PCs were on a delivery mission but mistook a subject on the dock as the intended recipient. The true owner is not pleased at the foul up and demands the party fix it IMMEDIATELY. Part of the inspiration for GenCon 17’s adventure, this scenario gives a number of “inconsequential” encounters that bring depth to urban adventuring!