Some ports are more dangerous than the storm. It's alive, it's hungry, it's growing. And you're on the menu. Alone, out in the wilds with a savage winter storm bearing down on you, you need shelter to survive. You stumble through the trees and smell wood-smoke. Ahead you spot the small fortified trading outpost known as Jacob's well. You're not the only traveller to find themselves stranded here in the teeth of the storm. The only problem, someone has bought something with them, it's alive, it's growing, it's voracious and you are all on the menu. Think Aliens and The Thing and you're on the right track. Has potential to be scaled to suit a group of adventurers. Pgs. 8-23
A fast-paced one-shot from the bestselling author of The Secrets of Skyhorn Lighthouse! A shadowy force gathers inside the abandoned halls of Lastwatch Keep. Can the players defeat the drow invaders before they escape to the underworld with sinister intelligence about the surface? Shadows of Lastwatch Keep is a one-shot adventure for four or five 4th-level characters. It takes about 3-4 hours to complete and includes: -A drow strike team desperate to escape the keep’s surprise foe -A new monster, the drow commando -Combat cards for each monster, PC, and special treasure -A beautiful, hand-drawn map by Jake from Beware the Wizard
You are going to play Draw Steel! Tonight! What do you need to get started? You need three things: you need some friends, you need the rules, and you need an adventure. The Delian Tomb for Draw Steel can provide you with two of three. This is the classic starter adventure from Matt Colville’s Running the Game series, expanded and updated for MCDM’s new fantasy RPG Draw Steel! The Delian Tomb includes everything you need to get started including a step-by-step tutorial for both players and directors! The game is fun to play AND run, and we made learning our new rules super-easy. Barely an inconvenience! This product includes: - Draw Steel Starter Rules - Ready-to-play heroes each with their own tutorial. - The complete Delian Tomb five-room dungeon. - The town of Broadhurst including local townsfolk bursting with rumors. - A sandbox wilderness for players to explore filled with adventure. - The Jagged Edge Goblins, their queen Bargnot, and their new stronghold; Castle Andreas! - Maps! Negotiations! Montage tests! An orc necromancer! Ratfolk bandits! You do NOT have to “read the whole adventure” before you start! We designed this adventure to teach you the rules as you play. Draw Steel is MCDM’s new, original fantasy RPG with a focus on fun, tactical combat and this adventure will get you playing with your friends in minutes.
Summary The party is sent to deal with a problem that should be instantly familiar to all rookie adventurers - exterminating giant rats that have taken up residence in a beer cellar. However, if they are to achieve their goal our heroes are going to have to get their first taste of a real dungeon as they explore the ruins of an ancient Wizard’s Tower. What is this adventure? This first-level adventure is designed for D&D veterans and complete beginners alike. It only uses rules, items, monsters and concepts found in the free basic ruleset that can be downloaded from the Wizards of the Coast website. That means that you and your friends can play this without having to buy anything other than snacks, drinks and maybe some dice - though even these can be replaced by the many free Dice Roller apps available for phones and tablets.
"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."
Explore an abandoned wizard’s tower in this short mini dungeon! This adventure is a Micro Dungeon. Preface Long ago a wise wizard named Adubeus lived deep within the forest. As he lived, he would pass out nuggets of wisdom to those in need, and aid the local townsfolk in times most dire. Long past are these happy days, however, and the kindly old wizard has not been seen in many decades. Some say he found a calling elsewhere in the world, while others whisper of his demise at the hands of a secret experiment gone awry. One thing is certain, however. His tower, long forgotten, still stands out there in the forest. Occasionally, some hapless person wanders upon it much to their personal peril. The specific details of Adubeus are left vague on purpose. This small adventure is intended to be played as part of a larger campaign, and the location can be modified to fit your setting. The reasons for your adventuring party to be heading towards the tower are entirely up to you, however, below are some good sample adventure hooks.
From the backcover: "Once a generation, they say, a strange comet appears in the sky overhead and the gates of Firestorm peak swing open, (twenty-seven years ago, your father led his band of adventurers into the mysterious mountain, never to return. Now the Dragon's Tear once more flickers in the sky, and the glass gates on the mountainside beckon. Will you pass through to discover the secrets that await beyond the portal none has ever dared and returned? The Gates of Firestorm Peak is the first adventure designed especially for use with the new rules presented in the three PLAYER'S OPTION books: Combat & Tactics, Skills & Powers, and Spells & Magic. While it can also be played using just the AD&D® game core rules (the Player's Handbook and the DUNGEON MASTER® Guide), this adventure offers a perfect opportunity to experience all the potential of the new optional rules. One of the highlights of this package is the first PLAYER'S OPTION player character record sheet. To meet the challenges of Firestorm Peak and escape with their lives, heroic adventurers must battle dark dwarves in their underground city, explore the abandoned caverns of the Elder Elves, and deal with weird alien entities from Beyond. Their goal is to stop the Master of the Twisted Caverns and his dark minions from completing his sinister plot before it's too late . . . if they can. Included in this product are a 96-page adventure book detailing the dungeon that lies beneath Firestorm Peak, 4 full-color poster maps detailing all the important locations in the complex, and a sheet of 56 counters for use with the tactical maps in major combats."
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
All of the Treasure, None of the Traps is an adventure that includes a single gauntlet of traps that contains twelve traps; meaning that it has either one or twelve encounters. The adventure consists of a long, twisting corridor with all of the traps set off, but these traps are reset by the PCs when they reach the center of the area. Pgs. 32-34
The kingdom of Dunador is in trouble. Since the king, Halfred of Dunthrane, was killed in a hunting accident, the land has hovered on the brink of civil war. Crown Prince Edmund, at 18 only half-trained and quite unprepared to assume the throne, has yet to be crowned. Currently he is on a pilgrimage to the holy shrine of Nevron in the province of Andevar. While the uncrowned king is far from home, anarchy reigns in Dunador. Throughout the realm, plots are brewing and evil hands are eagerly clutching at the sword of treason. Inevitably the focus of these intrigues is in the troubled province of Andevar to the north. For it is here that the young Prince has journeyed and here that he must be crowned. In this dark hour Dunador has but one faithful servant: Hollend, chief advisor to the old king. Painfully aware of all that is at stake, Hollend has sought the aid of a brave party of adventurers in a desperate bid to tip the scales in favor of truth and justice. But, even as the party secretly enters Andevar, the forces of evil strike with blinding speed and ruthless determination. TSR 9163
The first part of the Dreams of Red Wizards adventure path originally published for the D&D NEXT Playtest. Following the events Ghosts of Dragonspear Castle, a new set of adventurer's will see some of the repercussions of that adventure. This adventure is intended to be continued in the Dead in Thay adventure (Note that they Dead in Thay 5e adventure featured in Tales from the Yawning Portal is missing a significant portion of interlude that links Scourge of the Sword Coast to the events within the Doomvault). The adventurers arrive when Daggerford is crowded with refugees from outlying lands. Goblins, gnolls, and orcs have been raiding the countryside. Now, food is scarce and tension is high. Blame for a theft has fallen on the refugees, and the Duke of Daggerford has forbidden more of the displaced from coming into town. After overcoming difficulties to enter Daggerford, the characters learn more about the raids. As they fight against the humanoids and delve deeper in the darkness that encircles Daggerford, the characters learn of Bloodgate Keep. After a final fiendish ambush, they’re ready to confront the real threat to the area. DM Note: This adventure points the adventurers strongly towards Bloodgate Keep but that location does not appear until the Dead in Thay adventure; at several points the party may feel drawn to explore that location rather than continue their investigations around Daggerford. However, since Bloodgate Keep is only eluded to as a source of great evil power, it can serve to easily segue to an entirely different adventure path. As a NEXT Playtest adventure, Scourge of the Sword Coast uses milestone leveling and the included stat blocks for creatures do not necessarily match or even appear in the 5e Monster Manual, nor do they have XP values or challenge ratings. In some places it will reference rules used in the Playtest but dropped or changed in the 5e release, these are unlikely to substantially impact gampley with 5e rules.
The heroes arrive at the eponymous Keep on the Borderlands, a fortress on the edge of civilization built to stave off the chaos and evil of the wilderness. Using it as a home base, a party can make forays into the surrounding wilderness, encountering monster and marauder alike. The centerpiece of the adventure is certainly the CAVES OF CHAOS, a network of tunnels and caverns found in the walls of a nearby but isolated ravine. It is here that hordes of evil humanoids have made their home. Through combat and negotiation, the players can try to explore and map out these caves, perhaps with the aim of accumulating valuable treasure or even cleansing the land of evil creatures. However, even the Caves are not all they seem. Beyond the goblins and kobolds lurk dark horrors: cults dedicated to fiendish chaos and a Minotaur's enchanted labyrinth await the unprepared adventurer. But for the hero who is brave, clever, and fortunate in equal and sufficient measure, great treasures and glory await in the Caves of Chaos that lie beyond the Keep on the Borderlands! TSR 9034
A ten-part, fourthcore megadungeon designed to take a party of 4-6 players from level 1 to level 10. The Voice of All spoke three times before falling into silence. The first time to give shape to the Ancients. The second to give them the world as their domain. The third to build the TOWER for the war that was to come. And war did come. The Ancients, primordial warriors charged with protecting the world, were subverted by three great crusaders, vindictive and powerful. The Ancients were stripped of immortality and cast from the heavens to serve and suffer with the rest of humanity. The crusaders claimed new bodies for themselves, and became the Triumvirate, god-tyrants of all realms. The long line of descendants of the Ancients is dwindling, along with humanity’s last hope. What few remain have gathered to enter the TOWER OF THE ASCENDANTS. Crumbling stone tablets of ages forgotten say that a mortal who ascends the TOWER that pierces the heavens and slays the gods who dwell in its highest bower will reclaim lost immortality.
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
As the floating cities of Netheril hover peacefully in the air, the winds of intrigue boil all around them. The phaerimm continue to plot the downfall of the Netherese even as Karsus prepares for the casting of his greatest spell. Undead walk the land, driving orcs and humans before them. And somewhere below the greatest nation of Faerûn, the Tarrasque awakens from a long slumber. How the Mighty Are Fallen, is an adventure designed for use with the Netheril: Empire of magic boxed campaign setting (which is required to play this adventure). Within these pages, the final heroes of Netheril can : Gather the spell components, that Karsus requires for casting his "most wondrous" spell, the only 12th level spell ever known. He just needs a few body parts from two creatures - A gold dragon and the Tarrasque. Reuinte lost lovers after they have been separated by death. Nopheu's wife was killed in a magical explosions, and now he's finally saved enough money for her to be resurrected. Certainly a dead body couldn't pose a threat to a band of stalwart heroes?! Follow the winds of fate to wherever Tyche delivers them. Numerous side adventures allow players to take their characters to a variety of different locations. Some heroes might want to follow the trail of the missing nether scrolls, while others might want to join the resistance and fight Karsus and the other archwizards. But only the bravest hearts can take the first step... TSR 9540
In ancient times, the area now known as the Dyrgalas Fens was home to a flourishing civilization of nature worshippers who wrested a living from the forest around them, built open-air temples, and generally did well. Over the centuries, a series of natural disasters (some say a series of foolish magical experiments) led to a rising water table and turned the forest into a vast swamp. As the water rose, most of the people left. Today, a few stalwart humans remain in the fens, living off the land through hunting, fishing, trapping, and even some agriculture. In addition to these honest folk, the Dyrgalas has some less savory residents, including both black and green dragons, trolls, hags, escaped criminals, and a host of lycanthropes. Most of these creatures prey on travelers foolish or unlucky enough to enter the fen, and sometimes raid both inside and outside the fen. This adventure, intended for characters of levels 6 to 8, deals with one group of raiders who make their lair in the Dyrgalas. A weretiger called Gavriil has formed a group of assorted lycanthropes into a band of cunning brigands. The lycanthropes favorite caper involves infiltrating a merchant caravan while posing as travelers, merchants, or swords for hire, then attacking it from within. Gavriil and his servants also take on kidnappings, murder for hire, and any other unsavory tasks that come their way.
If absolute power corrupts absolutely, Matron Maelora best beware; her plans for total domination of the Underworld are already close to satisfactory completion, while attacks on the Upperworld have become increasingly successful. The other power-hungry drow families of Holoth may despise her but they know a true leader when they see one, and House Gullion has been revealed as the family to lead them all on the path to glory. With the entire Underworld in chaos and the Spider Goddess regularly communing with her chosen Matron, far greater dreams than mere regional conquest are within the grasp of the drow, as Maelora prepares her grand dark elf army for victory! With other mystical allies standing firm with the Matron, other Underworld races beneath her heel or cowering behind fortified walls, and every drow ready to play their part when she gives the word, what could possibly stop her from achieving her final triumph and fulfilling her destiny? But even the greatest of plans has a flaw if you look hard enough, and a party of stout heart and strong resolve can make a difference. At first, such a party may well believe it is on a smaller adventure, perhaps to win a few baubles or some small acclaim by rescuing a few kidnapped villagers. Soon, however, those adventurers will realise that much more is at stake, and that they are the ones who will need to make moves against the evil Matron Maelora and her increasing dominance if both the entire Underworld and Upperworld are to be saved. But how will they go about it? Can they ensure their own success when an entire city is standing against them? Only they have the chance to halt the Rise of the Drow! Published by AAW Games.
Candlekeep is under siege, and it needs adventurers to help protect it! Heed the call to defend the legendary monastery and stand against the tide of evil. Confrontation at Candlekeep was used as a D&D Next playtest for D&D 5E. It was released to organized play Dungeon Masters in August 2013, and ran at Gen Con, PAX, and other major conventions. The adventure includes rules for running multiple tables, but can also be run for just one table. The attack on Candlekeep by forces of Asmodeus is tied to the events in Ed Greenwood's novel about the Sundering, "The Herald."
In this adventure, the heroes face the sinister Baron Metus, the vampire who took the life of Van Richten's son, Erasmus. Metus, with Daclaud Heinfroth, has been doing the bidding of the ghost of Madame Radanavich in her quest to destroy Rudolph van Richten. But Metus has his own reasons for seeing van Richten destroyed as well. Included in Bleak House: The Death of Rudolph van Richten TSR 1141
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