The Premature Burial is the first in a series of four interconnected stories that recall the themes and atmosphere of Edgar Allan Poe's Tales of Terror. Baldur's Gate, year 1492 DR, a dark and terrifying sect works secretly in the slums with the aim of punishing all those who have long oppressed, marginalized and killed the city's poorest and weakest citizens. The patriars, unaware of anything, are the cult's main targets, and a magical plague is about to fall on them that can cause a veritable slaughter. The characters will find themselves caught up in these dangerous events and will be drawn into a spiral of horror, blood and madness that will strain their bodies and souls. The Prior who leads the mysterious cult has "a special plan" in mind for them and will do anything to achieve his goal. Players will be forced more than once to question their morals and make difficult choices in a scenario of complex social conflicts, personal revenge stories and tremendous machinations. What repercussions would the cult's plan have if it were carried out? And what would happen instead if it were averted and the patriars continued to run the city as they always have? Shadows as black as night once again loom over Baldur's Gate, and this time they may change its face forever. - Adventure: story lasting 4 to 8 hours for characters ranging in level from 4 to 6 - Setting: adventure set in the famous city of Baldur's Gate but easily adaptable to any setting - Narrative: detailed descriptions and an emphasis on story immersiveness - Roleplay: in-depth characterization of NPCs with biographies, descriptions of their personalities and their physical appearance - Bestiary: 3 new customizable opponents with the mechanics "Affixes," which can add an extra degree of complexity to confrontations, and " Weak spots," which grant a strategic advantage to characters who manage to discover them - Magic: obscure and unknown spells used by cultists to carry out their plans - Layout: designed to make it easier for DMs to browse information, featuring special attention to color coding and visual immediacy of text boxes - Maps: 3 maps available in high resolution, VTT and printer-friendly versions - PDF: available in high-quality, interactive, printer-friendly print versions - Playlist: a collection of songs selected by the authors to create the right atmosphere during game sessions
Captured! While trekking across a trackless wasteland, your stalwart band has fallen into the clutches of a nefarious gang of desert raiders. Imprisoned in a subterranean chamber, you are bereft of all of your equipment and magic items, save for a few tattered loincloths. But as chance would have it, an opportunity to escape the cell presents itself. To escape, you must head deeper into an ancient sealed tomb, armed with nothing but your wits and anything you can find along the way. Getting to the surface is just one of many challenges, as you still need to recover your precious equipment, and flee the Lost Oasis, which is surrounded by an inhospitable sea of solid glass!
A retired adventurer approaches our heroes with a mission - help find a former comrade, a talented young wizard who went missing twenty years ago. The quest takes them into a magical underground lair, where every room reveals something as remarkable as it is deadly. But they soon realise that finding the wizard was the easy part...
A Brelish spy steals and defects with a powerful magic sword and the adventurer's have been hired to track down and recover the item. This adventure features a lengthy chase overland on horseback, on a train, and an airship. Along the way the adventurers will also have to deal with third parties seeking to recover the sword for themselves, such as Warforged agents of the Lord of Blades who have hired halfling mercenaries riding glidewings (pteranodons), and Emerald Claw raiders piloting an opposing airship. This adventure can be run stand-alone or as a sequel to The Forgotten Forge and Shadows of the Last War.
A secret ruin has been discovered beneath the king's palace and the adventurers must seek out a missing wizard who went exploring. The royal palace was built on the remains of a keep that was abandoned many years ago. Recent renovations have uncovered a secret passage that leads deep beneath the castle, and the court wizard Dorja went down to investigate... he hasn't been seen since. What no one knows is that the ruins beneath the castle are actually a temple to a dark god. Inside, undead husks roam that once worshipped there before they were sealed in long ago. The high priest of the temple, wishing to elongate his life, made a pact with a dark god and became a vampire. Now he waits on his throne for the day when he'll be freed from his self-imposed prison.
The Lamenting Lighthouse is a four-hour adventure for 5th-10th level characters, designed for Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition, with a nautical theme, heavy undead and horror elements, and mysteries to solve! One lonely lighthouse shines the way through the rocks and shoals that deny entry to the northern Moonshae Isles. But when the party’s transport approaches, a horrific gale at their backs - no light is in sight... The party must venture ahead of their vessel in a race against the storm to the restore the beacon before their ship is lost. What has befallen the keepers, and what dark secret does the lighthouse hold? Will the heroes prevail, or will they join the lighthouse's lament? This adventure can easily be inserted into a run-through of Ghosts of Saltmarsh. This one-shot can also serve as a nautical interlude in any on-going campaign where the characters have to take to the sea. Included with this adventure are: + 6 original custom creatures, the dread wraith, the dread wight, the swarm of seagulls, the captain, the rating, and the sailor + 12 player hand-outs with notes that shed light on the mystery of the lamenting lighthouse, with a randomization mechanic that ensures a degree of replayability + 9 original fleshed out NPCs, including personality traits and roleplaying tips + 2 original magical artifacts + 7 hand-drawn maps of important locations + a story reward and 2 story hooks for continuing the adventure (depending on how the adventure resolves)
The PCs follow the trail of some particularly competent kobold thieves to the lair of a dragon cult deep in the swamp. There they discover efforts underway to grant sentience to the skeleton of a powerful red dragon once named Flame. Eventually the PCs determine that trouble has returned to the Western Mountains in the form of a band of fire giants ruled by a clone of the original red dragon named Flame.
An ancient secret is discovered in an overrun border town, long ago forgotten by the elves of the east. It is a magical key—so obscure that history does not remember its form or even what it unlocks. But an unseen evil searches tirelessly, even as the lost knowledge finds its way into the most unlikely hands. The adventure contained within these pages will take a group of heroes from city to ruins, from wasteland to dungeon, and from despair to hope. It presents new creatures, spells and magic items. Published by Sovereign Press.
Goblins have returned to the area of Westgate, seeking an ancient magical item constructed for their foul kind. In their search, the goblins attack an imperial convoy secretly disguised as a merchant’s wagon. The knowledge that goblins are near must be kept quiet from the public, thus a small band of adventurers is required to seek out the creatures and the stolen magic item, deep inside the warrens of the great goblin chief! But the adventure does not end there...
Thomepreus’ curse is a classic crawl with elements of exploration, mystery and time travel. A curse has befallen the heroes and the source of their predicament is located in a buried temple. Here a forgotten cult have used a magical sand clock to curse their enemies. The temple seem empty but the arrival of the heroes appear predetermined and soon the heroes are propelled through time to arrive in the past. Here clues and objects are required to solve the mystery and to break the curse. However, they must hurry before cult members complete the preordained curse on the heroes.
Get ready to Draw Steel like a Viking! Apotheosis is a norse-inspired adventure designed for a group of three to six 1st-level heroes, set in the fictional world of Orm, where the players help to create the pantheon! Plot Hook: There has been tension for generations between two neighbouring regions in the country of Kvysia: Kjalwick on the north-west coast, and Oruma on the north coast. It is common for the two regions to raid back and forth until another uneasy truce is called. This time, though, the Orumians have gone too far... What's included: - A 1st-level adventure lasting two, maybe three, 4 hour sessions. Heroes can expect to earn between 6-8 Victories. - A forked adventure! Depending on if the heroes win or lose their first encounter, the adventure goes one of two ways. Two groups may experience completely different endings! - Custom Rival statblocks, for before they become the heroes' real Rivals. Descriptions of each provided to help bring them to life through roleplay! - Eight encounters, including a seafaring montage and a potential negotiation (if the heroes are charismatic enough!). Adjustments for between 3-6 heroes are included. - Encounter sheets, custom maps and statblocks for each of the encounters! Designed in a way to make best use of Draw Steel's mechanics in interesting and fun ways, for both the Director and the players. - Custom Retainers and modified titles to suit the adventure. - Printable, lightweight documents designed for online or pen & pencil play.
Wild transmutation magic suddenly blasts through the sleepy town of Pinebrook Dell, turning the inhabitants into classic D&D monsters! Can the party reverse the effects as they too begin to slowly mutate? This one-session adventure is a love letter to classic D&D. Every monster the party might encounter dates back to the earliest days of the game... and the players are slowly turning into monsters themselves! Mechanics are provided for players to start turning into monsters (Gelatinous Cube, Beholder, Mind Flayer and more!) as the adventure progresses, with fun puzzles tailor-made to highlight their monstrous new abilities. This module is for 4-6 characters at level 4.
A long, perilous ocean journey behind them, the crew of the Sea Wyvern finds itself shipwrecked on the Isle of Dread. Their destination lies well over 150 miles to the south, miles heavy with the threat of the island's terrible inhabitants. Yet the unknown enemies are far more sinister, for more than just dinosaurs hunt the vast jungles. Before long, a cunning fiend picks up their trail, and its duplicitous master demands their sacrifice. "Here There Be Monsters" is the fourth chapter of the Savage Tide Adventure Path, a complete campaign consisting of 12 adventures appearing in 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 #352 of Dragon explores the Isle of Dread in detail, providing a complete ecology of the island and the writing of Larissa Vanderboren. This article can be used as a player handout to represent the journals the group recovered from the Vanderboren family vault in the first adventure in the Campaign. Shipwrecked on the Isle of Dread! Faced with a dangerous journey, the PCs must escort a ragged band of castaways through monster-infested wildlands in order to reach the safety promised by the colony of Farshore on the isle’s southern tip. Pgs. 32-60
"A hundred-year curse caused by a group of adventurers slowly turned a tower and the hills around it into a region touched by the very finger of death, where life is incapable of thriving. As the curse grows in power and reach, on its way lie the town of Beregost, whose population now suffer, sicken and die every day under these nefarious powers. The government and local clerics infrutiferously attempt to remedy the situation, while desperately seeking any who could help them." Tower of the Pale Lady is a 4-hour adventure for a group of 1st-4th level characters. It is set in the town of Beregost, at the southern edge of the Sword Coast, in Faerûn, in Toril, in the Forgotten Realms. However, with little modifications, you can run this adventure in whatever world you wish. This adventure includes NPCs related to the story and to the Forgotten Realms, which might bring your players to other different plots as they play through. New ways of using old spells and items, presented as introduction to reinforce creative possibilities throughout play.
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.
The yuan-ti anathema, Hessatali, calls out to his yuan-ti faithful from his prison in the Abyss. His network of vipers has uncovered the ruins of ancient Ss’tatha’lass and the Fane of Hessatali, a fountain of pure venom that will return the demi-god to life. Above the buried ruins of Ss’tatha’lass, yuan-ti agents have moved to control the politics of Scornubel. The characters fall into a complex yuan-ti plot that spans the breadth of the realm, pits the heroes against the forces of the Abyss, and explores the culture of the yuan-ti.
Reeve Dunder Chorley has an offer you can’t refuse - perform at his village fete in exchange for a small fortune! Visit picturesque Brindlebury and dive into country life! Judge pumpkins, show off your skills, fight Elder gods… Smashing Pumpkins is a 5e Folk Horror adventure for a level 3-5 party. The adventure has five parts, four of which are set in a rural, sand-box locale. Total playing time is around 12 hours or 4 sessions, based on a party of 4 adventurers playing at Level 3. It can be played as a one-shot or part of a larger campaign. Included within the 80-page booklet: Over 12+ hours of gaming in an immersive sandbox environment full of interesting locales and encounters. Catchy narrative hooks, side-quests and minigames to draw your players in with hours of atmospheric play. 7 intricately detailed, full-colour maps (also included as jpegs for digital play) and over 15 interactive and eccentric NPCS. GRAB A CIDER AND JOIN THE REAP!
After basking in the glory of your accomplishments, you learn of a problem with a caravan attack. A group of possibly Goblins have brazenly attacked the Hamlet of Kako, burning it to the ground. The information comes from a local farmer that witnessed the carnage. Pack your gear…time to go back to work in the Principality of Lockerbie!
Venzor Trench is set for a group of characters hired to deliver a magical item between two warring countries. The sea voyage becomes tumultuous and the ship goes down. With the mission unfilled the players utilize the magic item to survive on the bottom of the sea floor and continue to trek their way towards completing their misson through the legendary Venzor Trench!
The natural world is dying and Thymia Scarletscale has had enough. It's time to destroy civilization and pluck the humanoid parasites from the face of this world. And honestly, is she wrong? Will the players succeed in infiltrating Thymia's lair The Verdant Phronstistery and bring an end to her schemes? Or will Thymia & her team of yuan-ti research assistants create an army of monstrous insects to wipe humanoids from the face of the world? Greenhouse of Nightmares is the first installment in Pretty Little Liches: a trilogy of adventures centered around three unique liches and their lairs designed for high-level play. These three lairs and the surrounding regions can be run independently as individual adventures or tied together into a mini-campaign that centers on the destruction of the Green Hand, an organization of dangerous liches. A 3-5 hour Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition adventure for Tier 4 (level 17-20) characters. This adventure includes: 6 Random Encounters for a Deadly Swamp, Battle Tactics for a 3-Stage Boss Fight, a CR 26 Medusa Lich with New Legendary Actions, 7 New Monsters, & 2 New Magic Items!