For months, the dreams of the people of Emystrell have become dark and terrible. It seems their nightmares have come to life as in recent weeks, people have mysteriously gone missing, vanishing in the night without a trace! Everyone is too paralyzed by their own despair to do anything or venture far from the safety of their homes. Emystrell is on the brink of collapse. The baron is offering a handsome reward to anyone who can show proof of the end of whatever evil curse that has taken hold of their town. This adventure is designed for a party of 3-5 heroic characters from the 2nd to 3rd level. It has elements of mystery and investigation in the first section which can be detailed and highly involved for groups that enjoy the process of searching for clues and solving mysteries or just as easily glossed over for groups that are more tactics focused. The second section of the adventure features the dungeon: a labyrinthine complex of an ancient elven crypt which the thieves guild has used as a base of operations for a decade...until the serpent worshipping cult arrived. The third section of this book is the detailed map and notes on the town and surrounding area of Emystrell. Roleplaying notes are kept light to allow for room for your own interpretations and details to NPCs remain as free to do with as you choose unless I felt inspired and hoped to give you a cool idea. This adventure has hooks for Dungeon Masters interested in a larger campaign involving the sinister plots of the Yuan-Ti (snake people) as well as other interesting adventure hooks (such as the giants in the nearby mountains or the stolen gem: The Eye of the Dragon). These plot points are intentionally left vague for you to fill in the gaps based on what your players seem interested in. You are invited to use this as a launch point adventure to lead your heroes on a larger adventure that might someday set them against an Anathema Serpent demigod, or it may simply be the adventure that begins their journeys and the evil of Yargoth stops here at Emystrell. If your campaign is set in a pre-published setting, this town of Emystrell can be replaced or fit into any campaign with a few tweaks to local gods and names. If you are playing in Dragonlance, you could replace Yargoth the Dread Serpent with Tiamat, or Dendar in Fearun. The local goddess, Tyr, could be the Tyr from the Forgotten Realms or even Norse myth if that is your campaign setting.
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
The player characters have been invited to compete in the infamous Laureate Trials. The Laureates are a well-known adventuring guild. Once a year, they allow a select group of known adventurers to take part in the Laureate Trials. The prize is becoming an official member of the Laureates, with all the perks and responsibilities that awards. Rumour has it that new initiates will be awarded a coveted Laureate Pin, with special powers of communication. This adventure is a starting module, designed for new players and Game Masters. It should take 1 - 2 hours with a standard group of 4 players. Everything you need to know is contained inside or in the Dungeons & Dragons Basic Rules. It is ideal for helping a beginning group of heroes get started and giving them a motivation for further adventures. Inside, there are Trials to test Agility, Wits and Combat, plus a special encounter at the end which will determine the fate of a forgotten individual.
In the dark days of the Chaos War, a band of heroes sets forth to recover the famed Chaos Reaver - a sword said to possess the power to banish creatures of Chaos from the land. Converted to 3.5e from the original SAGA version published in Polyhedron UK #7 (1999).
Under raging stormclouds, a lone figure stands silhouetted against the ancient walls of castle Ravenloft. Count Strahd von Zarovich stares down a sheer cliff at the village below. A cold, bitter wind spins dead leaves around him, billowing his cape in the darkness. Lightning splits the clouds overhead, casting stark white light across him. Strahd turns to the sky, revealing the angular muscles of his face and hands. He has a look of power - and of madness. His once-handsome face is contorted by a tragedy darker than the night itself. Rumbling thunder pounds the castle spires. The wind's howling increases as Strahd turns his gaze back to the village. Fas below, yet not beyond his keen eyesight, a party of adventurers has just entered his domain. Strahd's face forms a twisted smile as his dark plan unfolds. He knew they were coming, and he knows why they came, all according to his plan. He, the master of Ravenloft, will attend to them. Another lightning flash rips through the darkness, its thunder echoing through the castle's towers. But Strahd is gone. Only the howling of the wind - or perhaps a lone wolf - fills the midnight air. The master of Ravenloft is having guests for dinner. And you are invited. TSR 9075
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!
The Dark Tower A Worlds Without Number Compatible Adventure The adventure is set up so the Player Characters [PCs] can encounter diverse types of situations and different adventure styles, allowing for role-playing within a rural situation, with wandering monsters, and a dungeon/Deep encounter. The module offers a chance for the GM to immerse themselves and their players with as much, or little, detail as they want to put in. Rolling countryside surrounds The Dark Tower for miles. Giving you, the GM, the opportunity to fit the adventure into almost any setting within your game. I have left the ending open, allowing the GM to slot in further encounters or adventure twists to keep the game moving but with enough happening to turn it into more than one session if so desired. The Plot There are several options for the plot: A local innkeeper would like you to investigate the haunted tower on the hill. He is willing to offer a good reward. A local village Elder could ask the PCs to seek out/investigate/destroy the walking dead that have been seen around the tower. Please investigate the tower to see if the rumors are true. A Local priest would like the PCs to remove the possible undead worrying the locals from the tower.
The Soulmonger is shattered and its pieces scattered across the peninsula of Chult. Dire forces seek those shards for their own nefarious purposes, and the Red Wizards are rumored to have found a number of them already. Can you wrest those necromantic artifacts from the hands of the dread mages? Part One of the Broken Chains Series. A Four-Hour Adventure for 17th-20th Level Characters.
The Sea Witch is a short adventure for four 10th-level characters. The difficulty of the adventure can be adjusted by changing the level of main antagonist (Black Molly, the sea hag pirate) or by altering the number of her ogre servants. To tailor the encounter to groups of different levels, refer to table 4-1 in Chapter 4 of the DUNGEON MASTER’S GUIDE. The adventure is set off a lightly populated coastline known as Misty Bay, but adapts easily to any coastal region in existing campaigns. The sea hag known as Black Molly is a notorious pirate who has plagued the coastal cities for the better part of a decade. A successful Knowledge (local) check (DC 15) will reveal that Molly and her ogre crew have a filthy reputation as merciless killers who delight not only in plundering vessels for their riches, but also in destroying the ships themselves and sending all hands to the bottom of the sea. Now the villain and her followers have seized control of the Old Lighthouse of Misty Bay located off a lightly populated coastline. For generations the lighthouse beacon has protected the fishermen of this region, warning them of the dangerous rocks that lurk just below the level of the high tides. Recently, the hag has put out the beacon, darkening the lighthouse; misery and destruction are sure to follow as ships start to blunder into the rocks. Blackmail is apparently Black Molly’s aim in this venture: She conveyed a message to the nearest shore community, the fishing village of Poisson, demanding the princely sum of 50,000 gp. Until she receives this ransom, she intends to hold the lighthouse and its beacon hostage. The fate of the human keepers who tend the lighthouse is unknown to the seaside communities at this time, but they fear the worst. The Sea Witch is ostensibly a rescue mission: The PCs are pitted against the evil of Black Molly and the brawn of her savage ogre crew. It is the heroes’ task to retake the lighthouse and, if possible, free its captives from the clutches of their jailer. What neither the PCs nor the shore communities yet realize is that while she 1would be pleased to have the gold, Black Molly is in fact after bigger treasure. Molly has no intention of giving up the lighthouse — at least, not until she finds what her master sent her here for. Lying on the sea floor practically at the base of the rock on which the lighthouse sits is the wreck of the war galley Flying Cloud, which according to popular legend was captained by a cleric who wore around his neck an amulet of the planes. Black Molly wants this prize, but so far she hasn’t been able to find it. She’s scoured the wreck without finding any sign of the magic item. Now she’s trying to determine where to search next, for the item might well be somewhere near the wreck. If she can’t find it, she’ll start torturing her captives to find out if they have any useful knowledge about the amulet.
The Cult of the Dragon leads the charge in an unholy crusade to bring Tiamat back to the Realms, and the situation grows more perilous for good people with each passing moment. The battle becomes increasingly political as opportunities to gather allies and gain advantage present themselves, all centered in Waterdeep. Continuation of Hoard of the Dragon Queen.
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
Since time immemorial, you and your people have toiled in the shadow of the cyclopean ruins. Of mysterious origins and the source of many a superstition, they have always been considered a secret best left unknown by folk of your hamlet. But now something stirs beneath the crumbling blocks. Beastmen howl in the night and your fellow villagers are snatched from their beds. With no heroes to defend you, who will rise to stand against the encircling darkness? The secret of Chaos are yours to unearth but at what cost to sanity or soul? An introductory adventure for the Dungeon Crawl Classics Role Playing Game, Sailors on the Starless Sea pits a mob of 0-level adventurers against legacy of the Chaos Lords and their corrupted hordes. Delving beneath the crumbling ruins, the characters discover ancient crypts, a starless sea, and an ancient ziggurat, where death and treasure await in equal measure!
A Runelord Rises! The Rise of the Runelords Adventure Path concludes! The Runelord of Greed, Karzoug the Claimer, stirs in the legendary city of Xin-Shalast. There are more forces than an ancient evil wizard at work in this remote corner of Golarion, a place where the boundaries between reality and nightmare are unnaturally thin. Karzoug's minions have awakened as well, among them giants and dragons and devils and worse. Could there be an even deeper evil poised to emerge from the darkness at the dawn of time? Can the Rise of the Runelords be stopped?
With the docks of Distant Turtle City behind them, the challenge of the city's castle still lies ahead. Ancient dwarven samurai were lords of the mighty estate, but now it has fallen to darkness. What secrets and horrors might be found there are disheartening enough, but with a city of the shadow dead at their backs, the adventurers have little choice but to put an end to Molo's corruptions once and for all. Come join the battle against legendary tortoise oni, stealthy gaint mantises, corrupted beasts, undead half-dwarven guards, and even a rumored shadow dragon! This adventure is formatted to both 1E & 5E gaming rules. Also available in PDF.
Evil Reigns in the Elven Ruins Where elves once built the shining city of Myth Drannor, demons and devils now prowl in search of prey. Ancient evil slumbers beneath mossy stones, waiting for those foolish enough to venture within its grasp. Bold swordsmen, stealthy rogues, and skillful wizards have all met their end within the walls of Myth Drannor. But the lure of the city's magical treasures still draws heroes and villains alike to tempt death—or worse. Drawn by the dream of limitless magical power, the Cult of the Dragon has carved out a secret stronghold in the heart of the ruins. Using the power of a corrupted pool of radiance, the Cultists stand poised to attain their goal of subjugating all of Faerûn... unless a group of brave heroes can stop them first.
"The end times approach. To everything there is a season. Every campaign has to come to an end sometime, so why not go out with a bang? The Apocalypse Stone is an epic adventure to challenge high-level characters, but beware, it will destroy your world. This adventure has it all: gods and devils, plague and pestilence, rains of fire, and world-shattering conflicts. Here is an opportunity for PCs to display undreamt-of heroism. . . or fall to ultimate defeat. The Apocalypse Stone is a tool for Dungeon Masters to present extremely challenging encounters for high-level parties, to wrap up a long-running campaign. . .or both. This adventure is a literal universe-ender. Past a certain point in the campaign, there is nothing the players can do. The world *will* end.
After having one adventure under your belts you set sail to deliver a package across the open seas. A problem with nature causes their vessel to make an unscheduled stop on a small island that was home to a spice dealer for water. Problems ensue on the island and the party quickly discovers they aren’t “feeling themselves”. This item was played at WhosYerCon convention this past year in Indianapolis!
Your cousin Rolph is dead - and while there is cause for sadness, there is also cause for celebration. As his heir, you were willed his dominion: Fenhold. Of course, the Deep Swamp is threatening to engulf all of your new holding. People are seeing ghosts and disappearing mysteriously. Animals die without reason, and crops are suddenly blighted. The farmers don't like the swampdwellers, the swampdwellers don't like the farmers, and no one likes the halflings. The entire civil service of the dominion seems to have either worked for the failure of the dominion or resigned due to actions of the others. It's going to be tough task to make all this ship-shape once again, but you're 15th level now. Isn't it about time you settled down? TSR 9210
"The broken outline of Cear Ferros emerged on the horizon. Its ancient walls stand silent and looming as you approach them, casting long and eerie shadows across the land." An adventure through a cursed castle crawling with undead in search of missing merchants. For Shadowdark Published as part of the Shots in the Dark collection.
A desperate rescue beneath the waves. The Deadly Sea is an oceanic quest for 4-8 characters of 4th-7th level in the AD&D® game. The use of magical items or spells which aid undersea combat, movement, and breathing is strongly advised. The ability to open locks is also helpful, as are mariner skills and knowledge. See additional notes in the section ‘‘For the Dungeon Master.” The adventure begins at a seaport which the Dungeon Master should name and develop as desired, to fit the circumstances of his campaign. The names of other areas may be changed to fit the campaign as well. This module requires some detailing and planning prior to use.