A community for lazy dungeon masters
334 adventures found
Cover of First Blush
First Blush
5th Edition
Levels 1–2
16 pages
0

Start your own duet campaign! Teleport your way out of the confines of a castle to an ancient mountainside cavern with a secret waiting just for you... First Blush is the inaugural adventure of D&D Duet, bringing you high quality, ready to play material focused on supporting adventuring parties of 1 Player and 1 DM. This adventure is written for a first-level character in a one-on-one 5th edition D&D campaign. It encourages collaborative storytelling between the DM and the player and takes the PC through low-stakes social and combat encounters, culminating in a high-stakes combat far from home. You’ll find everything you need to jump-start your own two-person game. This product includes: 2-4 hour introductory adventure adaptable to any setting and spanning 2 parts All necessary stat blocks for monsters and NPCs 3 print and play battle maps 3 ready to go player sheets complete with background information and personality traits This adventure is perfect for a first-timer or an experienced player looking to explore the hobby in a fresh (sans traditional group) way. This would also make for a great session zero or breakout adventure for a player before the character joins a larger party. Published by D&D Duet.

Cover of Svarog's Anvil (5e)
Svarog's Anvil (5e)
5th Edition
Levels 4–6
52 pages
0

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!)

Cover of DDAL06-02 The Redemption of Kelvan
DDAL06-02 The Redemption of Kelvan
5th Edition
Levels 5–10
25 pages
0

A strange, foreign wizard calling himself Kelvan has appeared at the same time a mountain materializes out of thin air. He asks you to recover the Gloomblade from a Netherese ruin in order to help him with his research into this strange new mountain. A Two-Hour Adventure for 5th-10th Level Characters. Optimized for five 8th-level characters.

Cover of Acid Metal Howl
Acid Metal Howl
5th Edition
Levels 5–8
48 pages
0

In the deep desert lies the dead city of Yumar, the source of countless bizarre rumors. Was it destroyed by a demonic metal sphere? Did it sink into a pit of acid? Were its people transformed into cursed beasts? Is it ruled by vicious thieves or mad nuns? In fact, the only thing stranger than what happened to Yumar a century ago is what will happen a few days from now... ADVENTURE TYPE: Medium Sandbox City / Ruin DESIGN NOTES: This adventure is intended for characters levels 5 to 8. It includes a ruined city, shrine, wizard tower, menagerie, several factions, and the surrounding wilderness. 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, factions, illustrations, stat blocks, original creatures and treasures, and overview maps. KEYWORDS: city, ruin, celestial, angel, dwarf, dwarves, miner, thief, thieves, cleric, nun, shrine, adamant, adamantine, lycanthropy, mind control, nightmare, mutation, mutant, wizard tower, menagerie, body horror

Cover of Lost Citadel of the Scarlet Minotaur
Lost Citadel of the Scarlet Minotaur
OSR
Level 1
13 pages
0

A 1st-level dungeon crawl for Shadowdark RPG where the characters delve into a ruined citadel hunting for legendary treasures while avoiding the wrath of the infamous scarlet minotaur! Inside the citadel are secrets about the downfall of the warrior-cultists who once ruled it, three legendary weapons they wielded, and several factions of intelligent creatures to turn into allies or enemies. This adventure is part of the free, digital Shadowdark RPG Quickstart Set, which comes with two 68-page booklets (Player and Game Master guides), 8 pre-made characters with gorgeous art, and a form-fillable character sheet. Shadowdark RPG is what classic, old-school fantasy gaming would look like after being redesigned with 50 years of innovation. It's the world's greatest roleplaying game in a whole new light! Download the free Quickstart set here: https://www.thearcanelibrary.com/pages/shadowdark

Cover of FP11 - Johan's Lost Vault
FP11 - Johan's Lost Vault
AD&D
Levels 7–10
35 pages
0

At one time the City of Tygos was a bustling metropolis located in the southeastern portion of the Plains of Dorack. Sitting in the shadow of the Dorack Mountains this city flourished as a trading metropolis. Decades ago the leaders of the city, the Serpentine Cultists, began a racially charged campaign against certain factions of the Plainsmen tribes. The resulting response of the Plainsmen was devastating to Tygos and the city was levelled for the most part and the water supply was poisoned. The city was also home to a group of adventurers called JOHAN and their fortress was said to contain powerful ancient magic that was never recovered. If these items can be located the resulting power can bring continued success to your party’s wealth and fame.

Cover of Rise of the Drow-5e
Rise of the Drow-5e
5th Edition
Levels 1–16
552 pages
0

Tonight, a ceremony of light is taking place on the surface. Meanwhile, a world away in the city of spiders, a drow matron solidifies a pact with soul-consuming entities who require great sacrifices in trade for unimaginable power. Drow eyes turn to the surface. This book contains a mega-adventure and setting, taking characters across the surface and into the depths of the world. Adventurers will meet unique denizens, battle horrors of the Underworld, explore epic locations, and fight to stop the rise of the drow.

Cover of The Burning Goblins
The Burning Goblins
5th Edition
Level 1
61 pages
0

The quiet village of Greenfork is in a state of uproar, scarred twisted looking goblins raided the village during the night and kidnapped the miller’s daughter. The Mayor has put out a call for adventurers to bring the girl back safely and end the goblins threat once and for all. This adventure starts just outside the village of Greenfork and thrusts players straight into the action. This book contains a full length tabletop roleplaying fantasy adventure: Advancing players from one to three. Sixteen monsters and characters. New Games Masters advice and guides. A fantastic first adventure for new players, but more importantly this adventure was designed with first time Games Masters in mind, giving you as many tools as possible to help run the game. Published by Blue Sword Games

Cover of The Goblin Bathwater Incident
The Goblin Bathwater Incident
5th Edition
Level 1
54 pages
0

Synopsis: Goblin Bathwater, a magical drug, has taken hold in a sleepy coastal town at the edge of the Empire. As the characters investigate the origin of the drug, they uncover an international criminal conspiracy, wild and ancient magic, and a threat to reality itself. Contents: This beautifully made, 54-page adventure offers: A fully fleshed out, setting-agnostic starter area, brimming with colourful NPCs and hooks for adventure. Balanced encounters to bring characters to level 2; then some more devious encounters on their way to level 3. Three mini-dungeons built on the design philosophy of the "5 room dungeon method" Multiple big, cinematic set-piece boss encounters what will make your players feel epic. A facetted intrigue, which does not immediately suggest a simple, ready-made solution but invites the players to come up with their own, personal approach. Why pick this adventure? Hey, my name is Marius. This is my first time publishing on the DMs Guild but I wouldn't call myself a newcomer. I started playing Pathfinder 1e back in 2014. When I took over as our group's DM in 2019, we swapped over to 5e. We have run many, many modules and adventures since. Currently I play three games a week. In short: You could say I'm hooked. I created The Goblin Bathwater Incident as the ideal adventure for in-between your big modules, but it isn't a simple little adventure. With a playtime of about 30 hours, it still manages to hit that sweet-spot, where it establishes context, makes you grow fond of NPCs, and makes those big bossfight wins so much sweeter, all without taking more than a few sessions. The Goblin Bathwater Incident is different from many of the 1st tier adventures in that it pits the characters against traps and monsters, but also asks difficult, open-ended ethical questions, where a simple strategy of "apply sword to head of bad guy" will not cut it.

Cover of Madness at Gardmore Abbey
Madness at Gardmore Abbey
4th Edition
Levels 6–8
128 pages
0

This deluxe adventure takes heroes into the ruins of Gardmore Abbey, a monastery that was once the base of a militant order of paladins devoted to Bahamut. According to legend, the paladins brought a dark artifact back from a far crusade and stored it in their abbey for safekeeping, and evil forces gathered to assault the abbey and take it back. What the legends don’t tell is that this artifact was actually the Deck of Many Things, a force of pure Chaos. This adventure brings characters into the extensive dungeons beneath the ruins - dungeons that are warped and twisted with the raw forces of Chaos surrounding the cards of the deck.

Cover of The Pit
The Pit
AD&D
Levels 3–5
12 pages
0

What's waiting for you at the bottom? Adventurers are more than welcome - they're nourishment! Pgs. 4-15

Cover of I See Dead People Out of One Eye
I See Dead People Out of One Eye
OSR
Levels 2–5
2 pages
0

One page adventure, one page map. A necromancer desiring to increase her undead army has unleashed a zombie horde on a remote village. Patch, one-eyed dog of Duff the blacksmith, survived the village massacre which turned most of the inhabitants into zombies. The dog lost his eyepatch in the confusion. If a Speak with Animals or similar spell is used or if a character can read animal emotions well, Patch may tell the location of some of the zombies and the massacre's survivors. Adventure hooks included. Published by Wicked Cool Games

Cover of Campfire Tales: In-Between Encounters
Campfire Tales: In-Between Encounters
5th Edition
Levels 1–20
44 pages
0

Settling down as the sky turns black with rest, you gather by the heated campfire and swap stories to pass the night. You hear tales of wonder and worry, descriptions of distant lands, plants, and beasts. Exchanged this night are stories of thieving travellers, worried giants, and godly squabbles. Ever wanted small stories to make travel more interesting than random encounters? Ever just wanted to run shorter games? Maybe you’re just low on prep time for your next session. In this volume of campfire tales you’ll find eight half-a-session length adventures that help with all these classic DM worries. Also included is an in-depth appendix of fauna, flora, locations, and more to help boost your game.

Cover of B1-9 In Search of Adventure
B1-9 In Search of Adventure
BECMI
Levels 1–3
160 pages
0

THRESHOLD! The northernmost town in the Duchy - and your last stop before your adventures begin. Threshold, the gateway to mysterious castles, lost temples, deadly caves and caverns. You have heard the stories and legends, now you wish to see for yourself. This product provides a complete campaign adventure that will take beginning characters from 1st all the way to 3rd level and possibly beyond, drawn from the first nine modules of the B-series adventures. See individual adventure entries for Boss, Common Monster and Items lists. TSR 9190

Cover of The Shattered Circle
The Shattered Circle
AD&D
Levels 1–3
32 pages
0

The Shattered Circle is an AD&D® adventure for four to six player characters of 1st to 3rd level. For many ages, the standing stones known as the Circle of Cahervaniel have stood on a grassy hilltop, unremarkable and unmenacing, but something has changed. A powerful artifact deep within the earth has been uncovered, and its evil power has corrupted the recent inhabitants of a dungeon complex. The chitine live within, a cross between humans and spiders created by the drow, but trying to live a quiet existence. The evil Foundingstone has corrupted some of the chitine, and split their society in two, bringing them to conflict. Adventurers who navigate the chitine factions and dangerous dungeon will need to end the threat of the Foundingstone and the solve the mystery of the strange dark unicorn Mizar that has appeared recently around the stones. Interestingly, one of the unique magic items in this adventure, Icerazor - is said to have grown from a shard of Frostrazor, a sword that appears in a famous later adventure - Return to White Plume Mountain. There is a brief mention of Suloise, so it can be considered a Greyhawk adventure, but clearly states it can be placed anywhere.

Cover of Of Kings Unknown
Of Kings Unknown
AD&D
Levels 2–4
7 pages
0

This strange fruit has an unusual aftertaste. That horrible blue, bug-eyed monster you just fought - was it really an orc? An alchemist hires the party to gather as many moonmelons as possible for his own experiements. This strange fruit causes random mutations in the offspring of those that eat it. Unfortunately, it can only be found in the domain of a strange and mutated orc tribe. Pgs. 24-31

Cover of The Temple of Dawn
The Temple of Dawn
5th Edition
Levels 3–5
7 pages
0

The temple of dawn was once a place of miracles and wonders, the jewel of its valley. Now it’s nothing more than a folk tale hidden in lullabies and tall tales of boastful hunters. But not everyone has lost faith in the Goddess of Dawn. In this brief adventure, for 3-4 adventurers of level 3-5, Kendrick Rosenbud asks the players to retrive a gem belonging to his family from the temple of Aurora. After some days of travelling the party reaches the temple. from here on out its the players job to discovere the hidden room with the gem and take it back to Kendrick.

Cover of Lost Mine of Phandelver
Lost Mine of Phandelver
5th Edition
Level 1
63 pages
19  0

"More than five hundred years ago, clans of dwarves and gnomes made an agreement known as the Phandelver’s Pact, by which they would share a rich mine in a wondrous cavern known as Wave Echo Cave. In addition to its mineral wealth, the mine contained great magical power. Human spellcasters allied themselves with the dwarves and gnomes to channel and bind that energy into a great forge (called the Forge of Spells), where magic items could be crafted. Times were good, and the nearby human town of Phandalin (pronounced fan-duh-lin) prospered as well. But then disaster struck when orcs swept through the North and laid waste to all in their path. A powerful force of orcs reinforced by evil mercenary wizards attacked wave echo cave to seize its riches and magic treasures. Human wizards fought alongside their dwarf and gnome allies to defend the Forge of Spells, and the ensuing spell battle destroyed much of the cavern. Few survived the cave-ins and tremors, and the location of Wave Echo Cave was lost. For centuries, rumours of buried riches have attracted treasure seekers and opportunists to the area around Phandalin, but no one has ever succeeded in locating the lost mine. In recent years, people have resettled the area. Phandalin is now a rough-and-tumble frontier town. More important, the Rockseeker brothers - a trio of dwarves - have discovered the entrance to Wave Echo Cave, and they intend to reopen the mines. Unfortunately for the Rockseekers, they are not the only ones interested in Wave Echo Cave. A mysterious villain known as the Black Spider controls a network of bandit gangs and goblin tribes in the area, and his agents have followed the Rockseekers to their prize. Now the Black Spider wants Wave Echo Cave for himself, and he is taking steps to make sure no one else knows where it is." Extra Info from AL.com users: by @marcellarius. "There are a variety of locations in this adventure: the town of Phandalin, a gang hideout, a ruined keep in the forest, a destroyed village, and Wave Echo Cave (a dungeon crawl). The adventure is written in a sandbox style and relies on the players to choose their path. Phandalin offers several side-quests which could serve as hooks for continuing adventures. The premade characters have ties in their backgrounds to NPCs and locations. If you're not using these you'll need to consider other ways to introduce key NPCs."

Cover of The Ruinous Palace of the Metegorgos
The Ruinous Palace of the Metegorgos
OSR
Levels 1–6
20 pages
0

Why Go to the Ruinous Palace? 1. Old Gold to be Stolen from Old Places 2. Rumors of Supernatural Fecundity and Ruination. What wizard would not wish to study such? 3. Nearby communities are hemorrhaging Livestock. The Dragon learns to hunt and gather. 4. A forest Unmolested for centuries… could become a fortune in Timber. Ruinous Palace of the Metegorgos is a new adventure from In Search of Games for your standard dungeon fantasy game. It's easily inserted into any campaign, requiring little modification to adapt to any of a number of dungeon fantasy systems (we recommend Lamentations of the Flame Princess). While written for levels 1-3, the adventure works well with parties level 4-6 as well.

Cover of The Paradox Engine – A Level 5 Adventure of Time-Bending Catastrophe
The Paradox Engine – A Level 5 Adventure of Time-Bending Catastrophe
5th Edition
Level 5
10 pages
0

A Level 5 Adventure of Time-Bending Catastrophe Part of the Thirsty Tiger Tales series Beneath the crumbling ruins of a legendary arcane academy lies the Paradox Engine—a dangerous temporal device that shattered the very timeline it was built to study. Now, a deranged scholar known as the Mad Chronomancer seeks to rewrite history itself. In this time-twisting dungeon crawl, players must brave unstable magic, flickering echoes of the past, and a rift into the academy’s golden age—where they’ll confront the Mad Chronomancer before his actions doom the future forever. Two-timeline dungeon: Navigate the same vault in both past and present Puzzle rooms with lasting consequences Unstable combat environments and unique timeline hazards A solo boss fight that bends time against the players Includes the Temporal Warp Cloak, a rare magic item that glitches your image through time This one-shot is perfect for groups looking for a high-concept, low-prep adventure with puzzle-solving, combat variety, and an arcane twist.