Come on up for a bite. Sometimes the adventure comes to you. The local inhabitants of a large town have been disappearing and its up to find what is causing and bring back the people that have disappeared. Pgs. 48-59
While exploring for hints of the Kobolds lair, an unexpected plea changes everything. This is the fourth and final adventure in a miniseries with the following adventures being: A Chance Encounter The Mystic Circle An Urgent Rescue In addition to the adventure, there are a few of maps of the adventure area as separate jpeg files. There is also a printer friendly version of the adventure.
Taag'thrith, born a gith but transformed into an illithid by ceromorphosis, has been finally found purpose: the assimilation & understanding of all knowledge. Taag'thrith plans to unleash a 10th level spell that will grant him just that-at the cost of all sentient life on the Material Plane. Will the heroes be able to traverse the dangerous corpse of a dead God, find Taag'thrith's aqueous lair the Eternal Spirals, & pit their foes against one another in order to destroy the foul lich once and for all? Or will they fall prey to the threats trapped within the Eternal Spirals & sink beneath the surface forever? They Came from the Deep is the second 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.
Displace Beast Maze is an adventure that has one long encounter that is a combination of a puzzle (maze) and combat encounter (Displacer beast). The Displacer beast tentacle's ability to attack through the maze walls, knowledge of the layout, and hit-and-run tactics make the labyrinth both a useful and possibly deadly lair for the creature. Pgs. 27-29
The invisible enemy. Rats, cats, and double-drats. Six months ago, the residents of Luskwald heard rumors from passing merchants of a possible goblin incursion into the region. News from the nearest city confirmed speculations that goblin tribes were massing in the distant hills. Worried about the future of his small community, the Laird of Luskwald commissioned a stonemason and several carpenters to rebuild a damaged keep two miles north of the village. The repair crew worked for weeks restoring the keep's fallen walls, while waiting nervously for the first goblin to show its ugly head. For the first several days the restoration proceeded according to schedule, but in the weeks that followed several 'accidents' led many to believe the keep was cursed or haunted. In the past week three of Luskwald's villagers have died, each the victim of a grisly assassin whose identity remains a mystery. Several citizens have heard or seen peculiar things over the last several days, leading them to believe that Luskwald has been cursed, or worse, ravaged by angry spirits--perhaps sent by a greater evil that dwells within the ruined keep! Pgs. 34-52
Blinsky's Toyshop is our take on what happens to Blinsky and Piccolo during, or after the Curse of Strahd campaign. Blinsky, the toymaker in Vallaki with the cute monkey wearing a pink tutu, received a large inheritance from a long-time client. The client, Obtavius Swat, a retired adventurer and avid collector of toys, left his entire estate to Blinsky. The estate included coin, precious gems, art, and his collection of toys, some made by Blinsky and others he acquired during his travels. Blinsky used the fortune to pay a wizard to create a small island in the middle of Lake Zarovich, located just outside of Vallaki. He then paid masons and workers to build a fantastic new toyshop, which he designed to be an experience for both the young and old alike. Though the number of children in Barovia was increasing, mostly imparted to the devil Strahd’s downfall, Blinsky wanted to touch the inner child of the adults in the city. He wanted happiness. He wanted smiles. He named the castle Blinsky’s Toyshop of Marvels. One of the toys, a small silver tiara kept in a black satin-lined ivory jewelry box, was such a lovely piece. Blinsky couldn’t stand the thought of leaving it in the box. He already had enough gold and losing the small tiara wouldn’t be a large loss, so he decided to give it to his monkey – Piccolo (see Creatures of the Toyshop). He smiled at the thought of her running around in her pretty, shiny tiara. Sadly, as Barovian luck would have it, trapped inside the tiara is the sole of an evil gnome wizard named Aribetha Strangge. In his old age, Obtavious Swat forgot that he and his fellow adventurers used the tiara to imprison the gnome’s soul. Yesterday, when Blinsky placed the tiara on Piccolo’s head, silver tendrils cascaded from the tiara and into poor Piccolo’s skull, allowing Aribetha to control the monkey. Now, Aribetha has incapacitated Blinsky in the toyshop’s tower, brought many of the toys to life, and imprisoned or killed many of the workers and customers. The adventure includes costumes (which the character may wear), Strahd Hand Puppets, and a possessed Piccolo.
‘The Secrets of the Twisting Colossus’ is a tale of alchemy and transformation. The heroes are the material components in the creation of an addictive potion. The heroes are lured into the experiment by the alchemist Paricalus, and once the heroes understand the true purpose it will be too late. The only escape is to understand the subtle clues around them and to keep moving forward. At the end of the experiment lies salvation but also the grand finale. If the heroes escape the experiment, they can confront their tormentor. In this 5E module (suitable for level 4-6 & adaptable to any setting), you will find: • 40-page module. • 3 colored maps and downloadable options for FG, Roll20. • 3 Appendices covering NPCs, magic items, and alternative chambers. • Handouts containing visual depiction to entice players. • 2-3 sessions of gameplay. • A dynamic dungeon where chambers change position. • Rules for miniaturized game play. • Old-school play-style suggestions. • Possibilities to use the module as a springboard to planar adventures. If you enjoy this module please let me know. Any feedback is greatly appreciated. Have fun!
So you want to be a Mage of High Sorcery? To join the esteemed organization, you must travel to the Tower of Wayreth and undertake the most important event in your life—the harrowing Test of High Sorcery! If you can survive where so many aspiring mages have failed, you will forever bind your soul to the Gods of Magic and gain access to untold arcane secrets. The Test of High Sorcery is the perfect adventure for new and veteran players looking to experience Dungeons & Dragons in a new way! It is a solo adventure, where your choices have meaningful consequences, but it also provides balanced rules to play with a group or a Dungeon Master. This 154-page tome features: - A sprawling adventure that fits perfectly as an expansion to any Dragonlance campaign, Dragonlance: Shadow of the Dragon Queen, or as a stand-alone replayable experience - A tale full of sorcerous intrigue, featuring many new characters alongside iconic favorites like Fistandantilus, Takhisis, Fizban the Fabulous, and the Gods of Magic - Innovative Destiny and Trait mechanics make your choices really matter—and ensure every mage’s Test of High Sorcery is a unique experience - Over 60 possible outcomes to determine which Order of High Sorcery you join and provide compelling new plot hooks for your character during future adventures - Dozens of unique locations with rich stories and sorcerous challenges that Dungeon Masters can use to create their own version of the Test of High Sorcery - New magic items and stat blocks, with mechanics that support clever use of enemies’ weaknesses and the environment against them - Four gorgeous sample characters, with interactive character sheets designed to be new-player friendly so that you can jump right into the story - A detailed primer on the history of Krynn and how it relates to the Mages of High Sorcery - A community survey when you finish to let you see how you compare to other mages taking their Tests of High Sorcery
The lizard men are just pining for the fjords. A plague of locusts is bad enough, but when the locusts are each a yard long, the farmers need professional help! A swarm of giant locusts has been eating all the grapes and leaves from the vineyards of Vineyard Vale! In addition, lizard folk have attacked and destroyed several steads in the vale. The farmers are desperate, but what they don't know is that these events are linked! A mage known as Rhungold the Trickster has been orchestrating the attacks and locusts to try to scare the farmers off the land so he can claim it as his own. The players slowly piece the story together by investigating a fairly linear story through a cave, a marsh, and finally to a compound owned by the wizard Rhungold. Pgs. 6-16
A monster amonkst us... The monastery of Montelegro was once a major center of academia, but it fell out of favor when its library burned to the ground some 20 years ago. (The fire is rumored to have been started by the candle of a monk who fell asleep while reading.) Without books to attract scholars and patrons, the order of monks that run the monastery has dwindled. Now the monastery is a mere shell, its once-thriving halls empty. Only 21 monks remain. The order that runs Montelegro supports a number of scribes dedicated to copying and illuminating books of all kinds. The most talented of these illuminators was Brother Abel of Corbone, a young monk fresh out of the university. A few days prior to the adventure, Brother Abel witnessed a miraculous sight. While walking about on the outskirts of the monastery, he beheld a vision of his god. The vision instructed him to build a well upon the spot where he stood. If Abel did this, the god promised prosperity would return to Montelegro. Unfortunately Brother Abel was unable to fulfill his god's vision and appears to have taken his own life.... Or was there Murder in the Monastery? Pgs. 8-17 & 55
Player characters attacking the lair of monsters that have been menacing the local village is a common D&D trope. This adventure turns the trope on its head. In Goblin Defense, the players create goblin PCs, and have to fight off repeated attacks by adventurers who are stronger and better equipped than they are. Starting at level 1 and running until level 7, this module encompasses 16 battles against unique and typically themed groups of adventurers built using player character classes and rules. The module is designed for 3 players, each of whom takes on an individual role within the tribe, granting unique bonuses or options for actions outside of combat. Goblin Defense can also be played with 4 players, but is not recommended for 5 or more players without substantial revision. The players aren't alone. Each commands a squad of goblin minions who can help in combat... but goblins are fragile, and adventurers hit hard. Life as a goblin is often brief and violent. Many will die, but as long as some survive, the tribe will carry on. A simple ruleset is provided for managing actions during the downtime between each attack. During this time, players can work to train their minions to use better gear, hunt for food for their tribe, recruit replacement warriors, brew potions, and - most importantly - improve their lair and its defenses by adding walls, traps, tunnels, doors, alarms, and anything else their creative minds can come up with. As the exact layout and placement of defensive features is critical, this is designed to be played on a grid. A PDF is included with the map scaled to print on 24"x36" (Arch D) size paper, available at most print shops. DMs may enjoy the chance to briefly try out many different character class and subclass combinations as they attack and eventually fall to the goblin pests they're trying to eliminate. Page count: Information for the DM only 6 Information for the players 4 Adventurer statblocks 37
The Legend of the Black Monastery Two centuries have passed since the terrible events associated with the hideous cult known as the Black Brotherhood. Only scholars and story-tellers remember now how the kingdom was nearly laid to waste and the Black Monastery rose to grandeur and fell into haunted ruins. The Brothers first appeared as an order of benevolent priests and humble monks in black robes who followed a creed of kindness to the poor and service to the kingdom. Their rules called for humility and self denial. Other religious orders had no quarrel with their theology or their behavior. Their ranks grew as many commoners and nobles were drawn to the order by its good reputation. The first headquarters for the order was a campsite, located in a forest near the edge of the realm. The Brothers said that their poverty and dedication to service allowed them no resources for more grand accommodations. Members of the Black Brotherhood built chapels in caves or constructed small temples on common land near villages. They said that these rustic shrines allowed them to be near the people they served. Services held by the Brothers at these locations attracted large numbers of common people, who supported the Black Brotherhood with alms. Within 50 years of their first appearance, the Black Brotherhood had a number of larger temples and abbeys around the kingdom. Wealthy patrons endowed them with lands and buildings in order to buy favor and further the work of the Brothers. The lands they gained were slowly expanded as the order’s influence grew. Many merchants willed part of their fortunes to the Black Brotherhood, allowing the order to expand their work even further. The Brothers became bankers, loaning money and becoming partners in trade throughout the kingdom. Within 200 years of their founding, the order was wealthy and influential, with chapters throughout the kingdom and spreading into nearby realms. With their order well-established, the Black Brotherhood received royal permission to build a grand monastery in the hill country north of the kingdom’s center. Their abbot, a cousin of the king, asked for the royal grant of a specific hilltop called the Hill of Mornay. This hill was already crowned by ancient ruins that the monks proposed to clear away. Because it was land not wanted for agriculture, the king was happy to grant the request. He even donated money to build the monastery and encouraged others to contribute. With funds from around the realm, the Brothers completed their new monastery within a decade. It was a grand, sprawling edifice built of black stone and called the Black Monastery. From the very beginning, there were some who said that the Black Brotherhood was not what it seemed. There were always hints of corruption and moral lapses among the Brothers, but no more than any other religious order. There were some who told stories of greed, gluttony and depravity among the monks, but these tales did not weaken the order’s reputation during their early years. All of that changed with the construction of the Black Monastery. Within two decades of the Black Monastery’s completion, locals began to speak of troubling events there. Sometimes, Brothers made strange demands. They began to cheat farmers of their crops. They loaned money at ruinous rates, taking the property of anyone who could not pay. They pressured or even threatened wealthy patrons, extorting money in larger and larger amounts. Everywhere, the Black Brotherhood grew stronger, prouder and more aggressive. And there was more… People began to disappear. The farmers who worked the monastery lands reported that some people who went out at night, or who went off by themselves, did not return. It started with individuals…people without influential families…but soon the terror and loss spread to even to noble households. Some said that the people who disappeared had been taken into the Black Monastery, and the place slowly gained an evil reputation. Tenant farmers began moving away from the region, seeking safety at the loss of their fields. Slowly, even the king began to sense that the night was full of new terrors. Across the kingdom, reports began to come in telling of hauntings and the depredations of monsters. Flocks of dead birds fell from clear skies, onto villages and city streets. Fish died by thousands in their streams. Citizens reported stillborn babies and monstrous births. Crops failed. Fields were full of stunted plants. Crimes of all types grew common as incidents of madness spread everywhere. Word spread that the center of these dark portents was the Black Monastery, where many said the brothers practiced necromancy and human sacrifice. It was feared that the Black Brotherhood no longer worshipped gods of light and had turned to the service of the Dark God. These terrors came to a head when the Black Brotherhood dared to threaten the king himself. Realizing his peril, the king moved to dispossess and disband the Black Brother hood. He ordered their shrines, abbeys and lands seized. He had Brothers arrested for real and imagined crimes. He also ordered investigations into the Black Monastery and the order’s highest ranking members. The Black Brotherhood did not go quietly. Conflict between the order and the crown broke into violence when the Brothers incited their followers to riot across the kingdom. There were disturbances everywhere, including several attempts to assassinate the king by blades and by dark sorcery. It became clear to everyone that the Black Brotherhood was far more than just another religious order. Once knives were drawn, the conflict grew into open war between the crown and the Brothers. The Black Brotherhood had exceeded their grasp. Their followers were crushed in the streets by mounted knights. Brothers were rounded up and arrested. Many of them were executed. Armed supporters of the Black Brotherhood, backed by arcane and divine magic, were defeated and slaughtered. The Brothers were driven back to their final hilltop fortress – the Black Monastery. They were besieged by the king’s army, trapped and waiting for the king’s forces to break in and end the war. The final assault on the Black Monastery ended in victory and disaster. The king’s army took the hilltop, driving the last of the black-robed monks into the monastery itself. The soldiers were met by more than just men. There were monsters and fiends defending the monastery. There was a terrible slaughter on both sides. In many places the dead rose up to fight again. The battle continued from afternoon into night, lit by flames and magical energy. The Black Monastery was never actually taken. The king’s forces drove the last of their foul enemies back inside the monastery gates. Battering rams and war machines were hauled up the hill to crush their way inside. But before the king’s men could take the final stronghold, the Black Brotherhood immolated themselves in magical fire. Green flames roared up from the monastery, engulfing many of the king’s men as well. As survivors watched, the Black Monastery burned away, stones, gates, towers and all. There was a lurid green flare that lit the countryside. There was a scream of torment from a thousand human voices. There was a roar of falling masonry and splitting wood. Smoke and dust obscured the hilltop. The Black Monastery collapsed in upon itself and disappeared. Only ashes drifted down where the great structure had stood. All that was left of the Black Monastery was its foundations and debris-choked dungeons cut into the stones beneath. The war was over. The Black Brotherhood was destroyed. But the Black Monastery was not gone forever. Over nearly two centuries since its destruction, the Black Monastery has returned from time to time to haunt the Hill of Mornay. Impossible as it seems, there have been at least five incidents in which witnesses have reported finding the Hill of Mornay once again crowned with black walls and slate-roofed towers. In every case, the manifestation of this revenant of the Black Monastery has been accompanied by widespread reports of madness, crime and social unrest in the kingdom. Sometimes, the monastery has appeared only for a night. The last two times, the monastery reappeared atop the hill for as long as three months…each appearance longer than the first. There are tales of adventurers daring to enter the Black Monastery. Some went to look for treasure. Others went to battle whatever evil still lived inside. There are stories of lucky and brave explorers who have survived the horrors, returning with riches from the fabled hordes of the Black Brotherhood. It is enough to drive men mad with greed – enough to lure more each time to dare to enter the Black Monastery.
This AD&D scenario is designed to be a humorous departure from regular adventuring. The "heroes" are a fellowship of monsters on a quest to recover a magical item for an orc chieftain whom they have displeased. Having lost the map given to them, they must gain entry to a frontier outpost - probably by sneaking through sewers - and recover the map from a locked safe in the commanders quarters. Once they again have the map, the monsters must travel overland to an abandoned elven witches' temple on the shore of a mountain lake, where they will find the object of their quest. Pgs. 23-32
A new megadungeon from Three Castles Award Winner (2018) and Barrowmaze author Dr. Greg Gillespie! HighFell: The Drifting Dungeon is a 246-page classic megadungeon for use with any old school fantasy role-playing games/clone. The pages of HighFell are crammed full with new material, maps, and art, including a colour cover by Ex-TSR artist Erol Otus (that matches Barrowmaze Complete and The Forbidden Caverns of Archaia as sister-books). HighFell: The Drifting Dungeon will keep your players on their toes and your campaign going strong for years. HighFell is brought to you by the Old School Renaissance (so don’t forget your 10’ pole).
Dead from Above is intended for use with four to six player characters of levels 6 to 8. It will likely take two game sessions to complete. The adventure is set in (and above) a hilly region at the outskirts of civilization, presumably one near the base of a mountain chain. With a little work, the GM can place Dead from Above wherever he or she desires in the campaign world.
OP5 – Corsair Cove is a short scenario involving the recently discovered lair of a pirate ship. With raids becoming a huge problem, the local magistrate has enlisted your group’s assistance to resolve the issue. The hidden lair has been found and you are being sent directly into this hidden cave along the cliffside to deal with them. Only a lightning raid stands the best chance of solving the problem.
The Tower of Bondage 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝟐 “Fane of the Jailers” takes you deeper into Aumvor the Undying’s dungeon of terror. As your players draw closer to the tower below, they will meet new horrors that include: ● 15 encounters with dark denizens including undead ● New Monster, “Walking Ooze” ● Margoyles of the AD&D era converted for 5th Edition. This adventure is part two of a six-part series that comprises six levels of dungeon and culminates in the PC’s escape from an underground prison of torture and madness, and if they choose, the destruction of the Lich known as Aumvor the Undying. In early 1320 DR Aumvor the Undying collected the greatest of all of the relics and lore of the Netherese Empire and secreted it away in his domain in Endless Caverns. There he awaited the return of the City of Shade. He did not have to wait long for it was but thirty eight years when it appeared. The undying one saw this as his long awaited opportunity to return and bring the Netherse Empire to its full glory. As quickly as it rose, it also fell, for even Aumvor could not foretell the advent of the second sundering. This change in the weave left him weakened and the nations placed under his yoke, rebelled. By 1487 DR the City of Shade fell and the end of Netheril was not far behind. From the ashes of an empire two times fallen, Aumvor the Undying plots again to restore Netheril. His ancient portal traps still in operation, he feeds on the living and grows strong again. Who can stop him? 𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐧 𝐀𝐮𝐦𝐯𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐔𝐧𝐝𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐄𝐦𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐍𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐥, 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐮𝐥𝐭 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐕𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐒𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐂𝐨𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐀𝐝𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐫’𝐬 𝐆𝐮𝐢𝐝𝐞. This exciting series presents the dungeons of Aumvor the Undying after the second sundering, desperately clinging to what little he has left. This may be the time to strike him down once and for all.
Stonefang Pass wends its way through the mountains of the Stonemarch, home to brutal tribes of orcs. The time has come to clear the pass and gain a foothold, so that it can be used for trade between the town of Winterhaven and the lands beyond the mountains. Brave adventurers are needed to rid the pass of monsters and liberate Stonefang Keep from the orcs. Who’s up for the challenge?
Ten days ride north of the great city, there is a small town named Treefall. Up until recently, this town was well known for its rich harvests, happy villagers, and prosperous weather. These days, however, the once-proud details from Treefall have turned darker. Instead of tales of unending prosperity, you hear hushed whispers of a great curse that has struck the once-happy village. Word has it that, where once roamed contented cattle, now strange beasts hunt by the moon's cold light and terrorize the hapless region. You have scoffed with the others at these stories. Despite the things you've seen in you adventures with your friends, the thought that such ill might befall such a sleepy town strikes you as terribly unlikely. There is plenty of evil in the world, true, but there are also much bigger and better targets. But, tonight despite the firmness of your disbelief, the stories come to find you. You have been traveling north along the roads on your own business, enjoying the rich fall colors and warm afternoons. Your camp os small and secure, with a roaring fire and meat cooking over the flame. It's one of those crisp autumn days that makes you long for a warm hearth after a long ride in the cool air. Still, the fire is good enough for now and you and your friends have a wonderful meal, talking and singing and laughing, anticipating a restful sleep beneath the blanket of stars. Until the beast attacks.
"The Clockwork Tower" is an azza gremlin lair suitable for five 3rd level characters. This adventure can be completed in one session.