Expand your game with this collection of 56 NPCs of various Challenge Ratings, thirteen of which include maps and details of their lairs. Add these NPCs as a side-quest, a main villain, a one-shot, a bounty for easy money, or however else you wish. Written by some of the best-selling authors on the Dungeon Masters Guild and outstanding podcasters, each NPC includes an image, a backstory, motives, flaws, and a stat block. Some even include new magic items!
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.
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!
You are hired by a merchant to protect a rare item, a crystal crown, for one night against the attempts of the city's thieves guild. The arrogant guildmaster has informed the merchant that he will steal the crown and he cannot be stopped. Continues in Part 2 in Polyhedron #23 Pgs. 13-20
"A well-written adventure through a mansion filled with dark secrets." The party is recruited by an innkeeper to recover a flower from a nearby mansion. He is an alchemist and he is running short on his supply of the Midnight Violet. Town rumors warn the party to stay away. But, that's unlikely given that your heros are mighty and brave. While exploring the mansion, the adventurers will learn the story of the family that once lived there and what caused their demise. That is...if they live that long. Two new creatures and one new magic item are introduced in this adventure.
Everyone starts out their career with big dreams ready to take on the world. As you head out towards your fame you discover an abandoned manor house. With hope your in your heart you wonder if anything of value is left in the ruined building. Cautiously you enter...
Far above the village of Barovia sits Castle Ravenloft, the home and fortress of vampire lord Strahd Von Zarovich. Legends claim that Strahd flies with the bats and runs with the wolves to terrorize the countryside. Ancient tales also tell of dungeons and catacombs deep under the castle. Other stories recall the great halls, treasures, and glory of Ravenloft in centuries past. "House of Strahd" is a revision of the classic gothic horror tale I6: Ravenloft, one of the most popular adventures ever produced for the AD&D game. This version is updated for the AD&D 2nd Edition rules, and those from the Ravenloft campaign set. Count Strahd is now more powerful, and his castle is even more terrifying! TSR 9418
The Abyss Approaches! Something wicked—and monstrous—stirs around the rugged Isgeri town of Saringallow, where the hated legacy of noble Chelish diabolists runs deep. With the recent disappearance of several apprentices, the nearby menace of particularly grotesque goblins, and the unsettling rumors about the old Sarini Estate, Mayor Sandra Trinelli knows that she needs help, and she needs it fast! The heroes must confront one of these crises, or all three, if they hope to stem the tide of darkness that looms. Before too long, the heroes discover that villains with ties to the Abyss have set their sights on Saringallow, and won't rest until the settlement and all its innocent inhabitants fall victim to their madness-inducing predations! Gallows of Madness is a 64-page, highly versatile collection of three adventures for 1st-level characters. Each adventure also includes scaling information for parties of 2nd-level characters. Written with beginning Game Masters and players in mind while also providing challenging content for veterans, these adventures can be prepared quickly and run separately or in any order. For GMs who wish to run a deeper, more narrative game, this volume also offers an overarching timeline of events and detailed tips for running these adventures as a cohesive whole. Bonus content includes new monstrous foes and a gallery of NPCs to help easily connect the adventures, plus a gorgeous double-sided poster featuring an overview of Saringallow and a miniatures-scale battlemap!
Beware the cat-men's fury! This entry-level module pits a single player character of 2nd to 4th level against samurai cat-men. Rage of the Rakasta is specially designed as a one-on-one for a single DUNGEON MASTER and one player. It can also be played by a DM and a group of players or by a single player without a DM. Rage of the Rakasta takes place in the Thunder Rift game setting. It can be played by itself or as part of a campaign with other modules sharing the same setting: Quest for the Siver Sword, Assault on Raven's Ruins, Sword and Shield, Knight of Newts, and the forthcoming In the Phantom's Wake. TSR 9435
Just when you thought it was safe to take a long rest. She's Back! The terrifying SEQUEL to the PLATINUM bestselling, and Dragon+ Magazine featured horror adventure: The Haunt. The Haunt 2 is both a one-shot, and a sequel that can be run as either. Long, long ago St. Greycastle’s Hospital served the city through the years, mainly treating the wounded and sick among the militia. Over time, the lower basement was converted into a sanatorium, housing those who became maddened from enduring the violent, brutal orcs raids which plagued the region during that time. This was the place where Gertrude, the night hag, tormented patients, and created her masterpiece, the Evil Doll. Now, after all of these years, Montarthas Manor has finally fallen, and the Evil Doll has been wounded. She has returned to the only familiar and safe place she remembers, to lick her wounds and plot her next move. Her presence in the hospital awakens the evil inside, creating a nightmarish charnel house of terror. In addition, the hospital itself feeds on fear. Do your players have what it takes to enter the haunted and evil hospital, to finally end the haunt and terror of the Evil Doll?! Published by P.B. Publishing.
A gnome tinker summons the heroes to his workshop, but before he can explain his request a vengeful fey creature arrives and disrupts the meeting. Estimated play time - 1 hour. This product contains a combat encounter designed for 4th level PCs, an extensive backstory, detailed NPC descriptions, new monsters and new magic items. Easily adaptable to almost any campaign setting. This side trek encounter is the first of a three-part Fey's Bargain encounter series.
Rumors have been spreading in small towns and hamlets, regions isolated in the far reaches of the wilderness and cut off from major cities and trade routes. Rumors of strangeness in the forest, where the animals suddenly watch with intelligent eyes while the sound of a crone’s laughter pierces the veil of night. Rumors of young men and women disappearing without a trace in the wilderness. Rumors of a cottage that walks on enormous chicken legs. Rumors of Baba Yaga. Those rumors turn out to be true and the Dancing Hut of Baba Yaga has come once again to haunt, confuse, befuddle, and terrorize the far corners of the land. The Grandmother of Witches cackles in her flying mortar as she sails over the trees, a shadow in the darkness, but what does she want? Why has she come? And what strangeness awaits in her fantastic hut on dancing chicken legs? Brave heroes are needed to head out and find the answers to these questions and more! Welcome to the Dancing Hut of Baba Yaga, an adventure unlike any other. Baba Yaga, the Grandmother of Witches, has come to town, and her dangerous and mysterious Dancing Hut beckons adventurers to brave its wondrous depths. Open the doors, unlock the puzzles, and meet the famed witch, her adopted daughters, and a host of other strange characters. This module presents the Dancing Hut and its most famous owner, Baba Yaga, as an adventure site worthy of high-level exploration. You can use the module in many different ways, and the Adventures in the Hut section provides ways to entice characters to seek out Baba Yaga. In general, the adventure environments presented are designed to challenge a party of characters levels 11-16, but with some adjusting and focus on non-combat solutions, a party of lower-level characters could also explore the Dancing Hut.
Irtep’s Dish is an adventure for characters from 6th to 8th level. This adventure requires the skills of a rogue or some other expert at traps, a cleric or character that can heal allies and offer beneficial bonuses to the team, a wizard or other master of the arcane arts, and a fighter to take care of “the heavy lifting.”
Today we kick off offerings from Margou Campaign. This scenario takes a group of 3rd level PCs that come upon, with help, an abandoned manor home. Perhaps they will find treasure or maybe death is about to find them!
A Beholder Love Story A dwarven mineshaft has become the new home of the heartbroken beholder Sindryl. Discover who could be wicked enough to separate Sindryl from his love Prix'am, put a stop to their plot, and restore Prix'am's missing heart. A 3-6 hour Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition adventure for Tier 2 characters. This adventure includes: 2 New Monsters (including 1 New Beholder!), 3 New Magic Items, New NPCs, a Minecart Skill Challenge, Romantic Random Encounters for the Underdark!
Welcome to Cirria’s Gambit, a four- to six-hour adventure for 2nd-4th level characters, designed for Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition! This adventure invites you and your players to a fiendishly fun party with revengeful devils, a succubus who just wants to go back to hell, snobbish nobles, intoxicated socialites and one really irritated banshee! Cirria wants to go to hell! There is only one tiny problem: her mistress Glasya, archdevil of the sixth layer, has banished her for insubordination. So, what’s a succubus to do in Cirria’s place? Take over a local noble family and organize a grand feast like this boring plane has never seen before to channel the emotional energy of her guests into a ritual to open a portal, of course! Isn’t it obvious? Cirria’s plan only had one tiny unaccounted for issue: Lady Kaera, matron of the noble house Cirria targeted, is a banshee. Cirria found a momentary solution – but that will only hold so long as no intrepid group of adventurers disrupts it… This adventure can be run as a one-shot or inserted into an on-going campaign. The theme fits Baldur’s Gate: Descent into Avernus particularly well!
This quest is for a party looking to regain a character’s soul. A character whose soul has been claimed by another entity cannot be resurrected through standard means. To regain the lost soul, the characters involve themselves in a conflict between a master thief and an archdevil. This quest assumes that the PCs would be willing to form a contract with an infernal entity. Includes a quest-related NPC that a player can control if they're waiting for their character to be resurrected.
An Adventure for Odysseys & Overlords Standing on a lonely, bare mound in the bottom of a dell full of swirling fog, a castle from the time of the Schism crumbles, forgotten. Inside, treasures—and terror—await. A writ of salvage has been posted in Chandra's Haven: 500 gold coins to the brave adventurers who find Misthollow Castle and secure it for Salamon Castos, a wealthy merchant. Castos claims to be the scion of the noble family which ruled Misthollow and built the castle generations ago. Castos grudgingly agrees to allow the characters to keep whatever they find in securing the castle, though he insists on right of first refusal on anything of value. The Odysseys & Overlords Player’s Guide is available at https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/275042/Odysseys--Overlords-Players-Guide The Odysseys & Overlords Game Master's Guide is available at https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/275040/Odysseys--Overlords-Game-Masters-Guide
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?
You have few complaints this night as you rest in the common room of the Crooked Crow Inn. While winter has passed, the night air carries enough of a chill to make any hearth a welcome sight. The village of Havehollow is typical for this part of the realm. Livelihoods made from farming and livestock with a few merchants and the Inn catering to travelers along the kingsroad. Good folk who know that hard work is what's needed to make it through harsh times. As you finish your meal you notice a fellow traveler, a rave haired woman, walk to the front of the common room with lyre in hand. She plucks a few practice cords then breaks into song. Seasons come and go Moons wax and wane Time seems so slow To the spirits of Havehollow... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I am not the original creator! The original can be found here: http://www.enworld.org/forum/rpgdownloads.php?do=download&downloadid=1011 As a note, for Astabar himself I found he was an underwhelming boss for 1st level characters, reccomend making him have Flesh Golem stats Published by One-Shot RPG