The ancient world of Harth withers beneath its dying sun…but it’s not dead yet. The land is still riddled with villages in danger, cultists in caves, angels gone mad, eldritch horrors making strange deals, raging dragons, bandits in the woods, and cruel monsters lurking in every shadow. These 13 adventures span a wide variety of locations, environments, creatures, and genres. They are meant for use as quick-play sessions or one-shots, or to be dropped into campaigns as side-quests. These are linear dungeons and mini-quests full of interactivity and strangeness, encouraging exploration, risk-taking, and creative combat. ADVENTURE TYPE: One-Shot / Low Level / Combat / Exploration / Village / Wilderness / City / Subterranean / Dungeon Delve DESIGN NOTES These 13 adventures are intended for low-level characters around Level 3 Overall, these adventures tend to be linear dungeon delves in caves or single buildings 93 unique encounter locations 69 original magic items 71 original monsters (with 28 illustrations) 13 maps/diagrams Each adventure runs 2-4 hours in length
The Dysmal Swamp is a coastal wetland that stretches over 100 square miles. Devoid of any urbanization, the ecosystem enjoyed its dank sanctuary. A community of bullywugs called the swamp home for generations, hunting and maintaining the balance of the land. The land also appealed to the Belange Company, a wicked fey-run enterprise making cheap magic items, who needed a secluded location far from both thieves and oversight. When the Belange Company established their magical workshop in the swamp, the bullywugs attempted to drive them off. However, the Belange Company’s supply of magical items provided enough firepower to protect their endeavor, and many bullywugs fell in the initial conflicts. The Belange Company began crafting scores of magical items to be sold across the region, using a cheap alchemical process that produced a nasty liquid byproduct glowing with chaotic magical energies. Rather than devise a new process, the Director decided to discharge the waste into the swamp. As production increased, so did the pollution, and the sludge began to warp the wetland. The region’s typically reclusive bungisngis population became aggressive. It is only a matter of time before these mutated swamp giants lay waste to bullywugs.
For those who trekked through Jeopardy Caverns and Urgoth’s Canyon a short trip to the north will land them on FV3 – Road to Kak. From this location the party can continue on their quest of fame and fortune with a variety of different encounters. Much like the canyon adventure this one presented different options of travel for a group of young adventurers.
The Approaching Swarm is a short adventure for four 9th-level characters. The party can consist of any mix of classes, but it should include at least one character that is good in wilderness settings, such as a druid, ranger, or barbarian, and at least one cleric. This scenario should prove a reasonable challenge for characters from 8th to 10th level. The adventure takes place in a swampland that is near a small settlement. The adventurers have located the secret lair of Aleretheral, an insane half-orc druid with mastery over vermin. He has been breeding and training monstrous vermin to defend his territory. With the adventurers invading his home, he will do anything he can to protect it.
Years ago the valley was green, and animals ran free through golden fields of grain. The princess Argenta ruled over this peaceful land and the people were secure and happy. Then one day a warrior riding a red dragon appeared in the skies over the princess’ castle and almost overnight the tiny kingdom fell into ruin. Now only ruins and rumors remain, and what legends there are tell of a fabulous ruby still buried somewhere within the Palace of the Silver Princess TSR 9044
30 Ravenloft adventures inspired by various domains of dread, including Gothic Earth, that can be played as a single campaign! Dreams of Solitude is a collection of thirty exciting adventures that can either be played as a campaign, run as a one-shot, or have pieces taken out to supplement your current home game! You'll meet your match against Atarte, the evil master of dreams, who will task you to defend ancient fortresses from the undead, explore a terrifying maze, fight in the trenches of world war 1 or even a karaoke contest with werewolves! It's SO much fun, and you'll be able to go back for more adventures, again and again! Adventures summary: Demon's Isle: Explore a watery cave and find your way to the Pirate Demon Zekel! Airic's Forest: Survive a forest ruled by werewolves while you try to find the cure for lycanthropy! Fractured City: Enter a glitchy uncompleted illusory town and try to find the "Butcher" that roams the dark alleys. The Heinfroth Heist: Enter Dr. Heinfroth's asylum and steal his journal without becoming his test subject! Tomb of the Hentempet the Red Queen: Face Hentempet the red queen inside her Pharaoh tomb! Graveyard Of invitation: Enter a cursed graveyard and follow the clues to find the reason why the undead have risen! Fey Blood Merchant: Help the Vistani child escape his Rakshasha master before he returns! Horrors in Chateaufaux: Play the role of the Gendarmerie guards and find out who creates chaos in the roads of Dementlieu! On the Run: Explore an ancient tomb and escape the curse that you have unleashed! Vampire Escort Child: Can you help this poor child leave this jail meant for monsters? Defend the Keep!: Command your own military force to defend a keep against waves of undead! Lena's Pets: Explore the heidius laboratory of Frantisek Markov's student and escape before you become body parts for her next experiment! Lava trip: Who would want to be inside an ACTIVE VOLCANO? RUN! Escape Rooms: Find the way to escape before time runs out! How investigative are you? Singing Showdown: Karaoke competition with werewolves??? Labyrinthine Horror: Can you escape the labyrinth before the Vampiric Minotaur catches you? Teety's Hunt for Lulo: Find Teety's elusive love in an enchanted forest of pain! Monster Lab: Create your own Flesh Golem and make sure you are a good parent! Through fire and steel: Run through the No-man's-land while enemy planes and tanks bombard you and assassinate the enemy general! Don't forget to dodge the bullets! Drowning in Filth: Will you manage to escape before you drown in filth? Wilted Roses: Explore the forests of Sithicus and find the Black Rose Effigy! Shyclin’s Circus: An encounter inspired by the Carnival. The joke's on you! Among Us: Can you find shelter in a small cabin found in the woods? The Free Trader, Mist Runner: Avoid the enemy pirate ship at all cost while trying to reach the port with your own ship! The Curious Case of the Man Who Drowned in Air: Solve a detective's case in Victorian era London! Night at the Museum: Protect the museum's artifacts from invisible adversaries! Raid the Shadow: Lay siege on a castle controlled by the undead! Who could be its ruler? Journey to the Center: Control a mechanical worm of Kwalish and drill to the center of the earth to mine mithril! Journey Through Barovia: Visit Barovia's most famous places while trying to solve riddles or die trying! Choose Nothing: Solve a Death Slaad's riddle or get mad! The Final Dream: Tackle Atarte and their illusions in an environment that continiously alters between all of the dream-adventures! Only few can take on a Darklord and live to tell the tale! Published by Mistfactor Press
The colony of Farshore has survived on its own for years, a secluded and struggling hamlet perched on the western shore of the tiny island of Temute. An island dwarfed by the savage landscape across the narrow channel to the north, a landscape of rugged mountains, tangled jungles, and trackless swamps. This is the Isle of Dread, and its resources and hidden treasures are matched only by its peril. Yet for all these dangers, what may bring doom to Farshore is not an invasion of inhuman monsters from the mainland, but an invasion of all-too-human monsters from across the sea. "Tides of Dread" is the fifth chapter of the Savage Tides Adventure Path, a complete campaign consisting of 12 adventures appearing in Dungeon magazine. For additional aid in running this campaign, check out Dragon magazine's monthly "Savage Tidings" articles, a series that helps players and DMs prepare for and expand upon the campaign. Issue #352 of Dragon magazine features rumors of Farshore, a helpful list of improvements the PCs can make to the colony, and other features to help get PCs oriented in their new home on the Isle of Dread. The destruction of a pirate ship signals the beginning of a Crimson Fleet invasion. The PCs must race against time to prepare for the onslaught before an old enemy can release another savage tide. Pgs. 28-59 Also see Pgs. 60-71 Backdrop: Farshore City of Hope.
One page adventure, one page map. On the edge of a lake/ocean’s windswept field/forest, outside of his small stone home, a very old, callous human magic user, Cyfrin the Wrathful, summoned an invisible stalker in a magical binding circle. First he began to taunt the stalker, proclaiming his dominance over it, describing its powerlessness to do anything but carry out the old spell caster’s will. Next, Cyfrin dispelled its invisibility, ordering it to execute his plan. In Cyfrin’s excitement, he gazed upon the stalker’s now visible, horrifically impossible face - and abruptly suffered a stroke, dying on the spot. Still imprisoned, the stalker wants freedom. Will the PCs help it? Adventure hooks provided. Published by Wicked Cool Games
Centuries past, Lady Ilse ascended to scion of House Liis by trading the archdevil Mammon what he wanted most: her immortal soul – and a diabolical betrothal. The triumph proved hollow, for every year on the eve of her fell covenant, she was beset by visions of Mammon and her foul promise. Seeking to save herself, she was buried alive, swaddled in the holy symbols of a dozen divergent faiths. This desperate ploy held Mammon at bay for centuries…but a devil can afford to wait a very long time. After hundreds of years, the last of the holy wards has fallen. The devil has come to collect his due. Tonight a storm crashes against the ancient manor house and forgotten spirits rise from the muck and mire. The fallen belfry tolls once more, announcing the hellish fete. As the adventurers arrive to explore the Black Manse, Mammon calls for his winsome bride. He will leave with a soul at the end of the night. The only question is: Whose?
For the past 5 years this elven village has been plagued by undead creatures of the nearby swampland. The undead are consisted of unlucky elf villagers or travelers who were foolish enough to walk through the swampland. It is unknown how the undead appeared in the swampland in the first place, but it is rumored that a demonic entity has found shelter in a cave inside the dark forest next to the swampland and it is being worshipped by necromancer cultists. This adventure is for parties no larger than 5 characters and no higher than level 5.
This quest is for a party that urgently needs to resurrect a fallen character but lacks the means of casting or accessing standard resurrection spells. With no other options, the party seeks a hag whose preternatural magic can bring the deceased character back to life. However, the characters must save the hag from a misguided group of knights looking to slay her. Includes a quest-related NPC that a player can control if they're waiting for their character to be resurrected.
This short adventure can be used to give a 5th level PC an experience point boost, if they have fallen behind. As the name suggests, it takes place in a swamp, where a group of Lizardmen are terrorizing the local farms. Unbeknownst to the farmers, a far larger threat exists in the swamp…
The Brotherhood is a league of paladins dedicated to truth, justice, and the defense of the kingdom. The guard the borders. Recently, one of the more remote Brotherhood outposts has reported that one of their patrols did not return. The PC must investigate, and determine what has become of the missing paladins.
An ancient cave, defended by ancient death traps and weird arcane seals conceals the antediluvian vault of an archlich whose reign predates recorded history. Undisturbed for untold eons, the vault now stirs thanks to the machinations of cultists who have meddled with secrets best left undisturbed... This module sends the heroes to an ancient cave occupied by cultists dedicated to the Mists of Madness. Defended by ancient death traps and weird arcane seals, the caves conceal an antediluvian vault, the resting place of an archlich whose reign predates recorded history in the Known Realms. Undisturbed for untold eons, now the machinations of the cultists and their eladrin master threaten to awaken the archlich, to dire ends that none can predict.
This exploration adventure is planned to be played by 4 to 5 level 4 characters. The characters, led by old Maddie (who also hides a big secret), will go deep into the swamp and into the caves to retrieve the green heart.
The Approaching Swarm is a short adventure. The party can consist of any mix of classes, but it should include at least one character that is good in wilderness settings, such as a druid, ranger, or barbarian, and at least one cleric. The adventure takes place in a swampland that is near a small settlement. The characters have just arrived in the small settlement of Crivdall, which is a fort on the edge of a huge, dangerous swamp. In the dead of night, a small armada of monstrous vermin attacked the characters and their hosts, and the PCs may have spied a mysterious figure that controlled their actions.
Millennia ago, aberrations from Xoriat, the Realm of Madness, were driven from Eberron. The Gatekeeper druids–mostly orcs–placed powerful dimensional seals throughout Khorvaire to prevent the creatures of Xoriat from returning. To repair a breach in one of the seals at a settlement called Tjorda, a Sealguard Complex was built. An immortal guardian ws tasked with attending to the repaired crack in the seal. Thousands of years later, the Gatekeeper druids rediscovered the sealed complex. Even without knowing its precise history, they ascertained its sacred nature and have guarded it from then on. Being sealed in to protect the site and commune with the inner guardian is considered a great honor. Much of this history has long-since been forgotten. But 10 years prior to the adventure’s start, Vilda Karrte–a relic hunter with her own agenda–tracks a Xoriat artifact called the Spiral Well to the complex. Turned away by the Gatekeeper, she forces her way inside, grievously injuring them. Having discovered Vilda’s journals, Provost Nigel Faurious, through the Clifftop Adventurers’ Guild Handler Lhara, tasks the adventurers with recovering the Spiral Well.
In this adventure players are set first on a simple task, to solve the disappearance of the local witch before outside forces take an interest. But as the players get deeper, they will rapidly kind themselves on a quest for far more, as they range from an alchemist's lair on a crumbling tower down to a dark swamp full of mystery and danger, seeking a holy relic that might lead them to the outskirts of Hell itself. All in service of the sleepy Village Sujeira and the dusty souls within. 1452: Saving Sujeira’s Soul is an adventure set in northern Portugal on an alternate history Earth during the year 1452, in a world where history is much the same, but for the fact that the Rus are all hirsute dwarves, the hordes that poured out of central Asia were orcish (and half-orcs are mostly janissaries split among the Ottoman Empire’s demesnes), and elves are creatures of rumors and myth. Halflings live among the English and Portuguese in villages and farms, while goblins are pests best left for dead in the wilds between civilized countries. The Church arms its inquisitors with holy blessings, for witches are not mere milk-souring old women but vile devil-pacted souls, and wizards and sorcerers seek human and kine for sacrifices to fuel their darkling magics. There be dragons on the edges of the world, and ogres and sea serpents and giants, but the alchemists of this world know things beyond mortal ken and fight these horrors with science and canny concoctions. Published by Coldlight Press
An investigative city crawl adventure for Shadowdark RPG (or any OSR-style system), designed for experienced players levels 1-2 Set in the decaying city of Brannam, players unravel a web of fear, blood, and buried secrets. A local alchemist has begun killing in secret, rekindling old fears of an old terror. The city's decline threatens to spiral into collapse, and far below, something older and hungrier waits to wake. This adventure includes: 3 separate dungeons (The flooded Sewers, the forgotten Catacombs, and the cursed Ruins of Edric von Braech's keep) Open ended design and layered mysteries with multiple outcomes and failure states A fully explorable city with random encounters, evolving factions and escalating panic. Custom rules for spell mishaps, nightly murder checks and decay events as Brannam unravels Modular content designed to drop into your campaign
Barovia has long suffered under the rule of Count Strahd von Zarovich, but the evil that plagues this land extends well beyond the walls of Castle Ravenloft. See what keeps the good citizens of Barovia awake at night.