Driven mad by the darkness of winter, the Prioress of the Red Abbey begins her work. After months of research and work in her lab, she found a way to summon beings of light to push back the darkness, if she could control their destructive natures. The characters find themselves investigating odd deaths, chasing weird weather phenomena and trying to help locals harmed by these creatures of light.
To arms! To arms! The battle lines are drawn as desert men and inhuman tribes wait poised to strike on the fertile and rich lands of the east. The call has gone out through the civilized lands. The armies have been raised to match the invading foes from the west. Nobles and peasants have joined swords to greet the foes. But Fate or Chance has decreed another role for a small few. No glorious banners will wave on their march. No squadrons of knights will charge at their word. Instead, they will fight the war with stealth, secrecy, and cunning. The risks they will take are great, but the fates of both armies lie with them. It begins one night for your party far from the fighting. Suddenly you are entrusted with the most dangerous mission of the war. Can you cross the Sind Desert, occupied now by enemy armies, to find the Great Pass? Can you find the one known only as The Master? What will you do if you find him? So begins your adventure in The Master of the Desert Nomads, the first module of a two-part adventure that can be concluded in the exciting Temple of Death or played entirely on its own. Can your party do what must be done? TSR 9068
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.
Sacred relics of the monastery, the eyes of the dragon, have been stolen from their rightful place in the eyes of the Ascendant Dragon statue. The elders have chosen one from among their ranks to go and retrieve these two fist-sized emeralds and bring them home.
While traveling through a jungle expanse, the party meet a trader named Smera with a strange tale. Turned away from a nearby outpost, the trader is now heading back to civilization. Curiosity leads the party to the outpost, which has been destroyed. A strange disease has taken the outpost’s inhabitants, who built the place in support of a scholarly excavation of a nearby temple ruin. Following the path carved through the jungle by the excavation team, the PCs find the temple and its secrets. In this moss-covered and dark adventure, the party explores an old temple, faces its verdant guardians, and finds the source of the strange disease.
The Ghost Tribe of Orcs have been driven from their home under Wyvern Tor by some terrible evil and have traveled to the top of the hill overlooking Phandalin where they camped last night. Their chief, driven mad by unknown horrors, prepares to attack the city and claim it as his new home. The heroes, who raced to the town ahead of the orc tribe, spend the night helping to prepare defenses and rest when they can. Can the heroes help defend the town or will the orcs wipe out the inhabitants of Phandalin? Once the town is safe, how will the PCs handle a moral dilemma? Orcs Invade Phandalin is the second of four parts in the After Lost Mine series. It will play out the invasion of Phandalin using the new mass combat rules from Unearthed Arcana. Part III will be the trip to the orc’s former cave settlement and then into the darkness beneath. Part IV will have the party deal with the terror from the Underdark that drove the orcs out.
The Temple of Tesh-Yatra is a setting-neutral dungeon delve for a party of 6th level adventurers, inspired by the classic funhouse dungeons of yesteryear. The dungeon takes 6-10 hours to fully explore. It features a high proportion of non-combat encounters: puzzles, exploration, and the occasional deadly centrifuge. The ungodly fusion of a mad scientist’s lab and a planar temple, the dungeon includes an encounter that can launch your players into the Nine Hells – for a price... The Temple of Tesh-Yatra includes two new constructs to use in your game: the sinister Maimers, and the enigmatic Skorverra; as well as a new magic item: the Amulet of Tesh-Yatra, an artisan’s dream! The Temple of Tesh-Yatra also comes with a VTT battlemap (transparent PNG format). The Temple of Tesh-Yatra was originally set in the Outlands, as an extraplanar dungeon. But given its self-contained nature and the Temple's age, it is well-suited to any wildnerness, and would work equally well seeding a hex crawl.
A flameskull lord that calls itself the Bright Lord of Everburning Fire has taken control of a primordial node deep within the Elemental Chaos. It long ago shrugged off the control of its original creator and now follows its own plans and desires. Top among these is the desire to tap into the power of a fire primordial and increase its own status from undead creature to demigod. Pgs. 156-161
Into the Forsaken Temple's Crypt is a short adventure for four 10th-level characters. The adventure takes place in a buried temple crypt, which has been sealed for centuries. Dungeon Masters can adjust it for higher-level characters by widening the dead magic areas and increasing the number and power of constructs and undead that inhabit the complex. The PCs have entered the Forsaken Temple's crypt and started exploring a bit. They had the opportunity to work with some drow to get past clay golems. Now they face a greater danger, but maybe they'll turn back before it's too late.
A newly constructed temple of Bahamut lies along a road outside a rural township. As the PCs approach the place, a scream for help erupts within it. Pgs. 60-65
Looks can lie as well as words. Magical minotaurs? Mutant giants? Vampires? One or more of these is preying upon the caravans, and you're going to stop them. A band of ogre magi took over an abandoned dwarven stronghold and have started ambushing merchant caravans. Their leader, Krugii, wants to gain enough power to eventually control a kingdom. In his quest for power, he has bonded a young bronze dragon and has accelerated its growth. The ogre mages all have different personalities and different forms that they prefer to polymorph into. The PCs are hired to take a caravan through Deception Pass and protect it against the random monsters that have been marauding lately (actually ogre mages in disguise). After protecting the caravan, the players track the attacks back to the stronghold of the ogre magi and clear it out. Pgs. 40-62
An Undying Evil In Belthaar, city of dark alleys, strange cults, and rival sorcerers, a threat rises from beyond the grave! Can you solve the mystery of the Necromancer's Knife before it is too late? Savage Swords and Sinister Sorcery "The Necromancer's Knife" is a stand-alone sword and sorcery adventure module, inspired by the pulp era tales of Robert E. Howard and Clark Ashton Smith. Venture in the footsteps of Conan the Cimmerian, Satampra Zeiros of Uzuldaroum, Imaro of Nyumbani, and other fabled thieves, reavers and slayers! Written for the Fifth Edition (5E) of the world's most popular roleplaying game, the adventure in this book can be easily adapted to any fantasy roleplaying game ruleset or edition. Note: This standalone adventure was originally published as part of the collection "The Spider-God's Bride and Other Tales of Sword and Sorcery". This new version has been updated to fifth edition rules and includes new maps and artwork.
"Several small wagon trains have recently been overrun by a force of goblins and wolves while the former were camped out at night. Among the attackers was a titanic black beast on which some of the goblins rode, a monster so huge that it crushed whole wagons beneath its feet and flung horses and riders aside with its arms." --from the adventure. Includes an extensive narrative opening to the adventure and a map of the cave system.
FOR PUBLIC POSTING: Last week, several laborers who were working to clean up the damage to our sewer caused by the recent earthquake had been found brutally murdered. Until further notice, citizens should stay clear of any sewer gratings, openings, or tunnels for their own safety. Do not allow children to play unattended in areas where such openings are known to exist. The governor is assembling a group of interested persons to investigate these murders. Each member of the investigation team will receive 500gp up front, with an additional 2000 GP to follow upon a thorough and satisfactory completion of the investigation, provided evidence that the matter has been dealt with is presented to the governor. If you desire to join this investigation, please apply at City Hall.
A beloved priest has gone missing, and sinister trouble stirs beneath the Church of St. Terragnis. Can the heroes rescue the victims of an age-old evil before it claims more innocent lives?
When the PCs turn up in the village of Ditch Nettle, they are tasked with solving the mystery of various disappearances. Will they be able to uncover the culprit, a worshiper of the long-dead cult of Morloski, goddess of the Slithering Brood. Or will they get stymied by local politics?
Tears for Twilight Hollow is about mystery, danger and deceit- the players seek a missing Paladin in an increasingly-troubled town, chasing clues around a village and through a valley only to discover that the Paladin's old friend long ago began worship of an evil S&M goddess. Betraying her friend and trapping her soul in a Devourer, a powerful extraplanar undead creature, the evil priestess continually parades the soul-bereft corpse of their fallen Paladin in front of the villagers in a show of 'sorrow', all the while gaining immense pleasure from the village's pain. Pgs. 62-110
Into the Forsaken Temple's Crypt is a short adventure for four 10th-level characters. The adventure takes place in a buried temple crypt, which has been sealed for centuries. Dungeon Masters can adjust it for higher-level characters by widening the dead magic areas and increasing the number and power of constructs and undead that inhabit the complex. The PCs had just entered the Forsaken Temple's crypt in the last episode. Now they can begin to penetrate deeper into the crypt, discovering more of its hidden dangers.
One Night Strahd (ONS) delivers the spectacle and catastrophe of gothic horror as a consistent and fast-paced short campaign for D&D 5e. It condenses and remixes the 200+ hour campaign of Curse of Strahd into a replayable adventure weighing in at 525 pages with 150+ illustrations, 12 maps, 16 encounters, 27 new magic items, and 60+ quick-play charts. With careful attention to the design of exploration, combat, and role-playing opportunities, our goal has been to make something for every DM and every table. After three years of extensive testing, we're proud to share this explosive adventure with you.
Your PCs are reaching the upper end of the heroic tier. New worlds are opening up to them—they might have already ventured to the Feywild, for example, and made contacts with inhabitants of that magical plane. Now they are ready to take their first steps into the darkness. The Shadowfell awaits... Vandariel, a shadar-kai witch who calls herself the Voice of Pain, is a fanatic devotee of the Raven Queen. She has founded and become the self-proclaimed high priest of a bizarre cult, the Lords of Pain, whose purpose is to bring more fey into the shadow pact with that goddess of death. Although the original shadar-kai entered this pact voluntarily, and the race breeds true, Vandariel is consumed by what she sees as a divine mission to reveal the mystery to all fey—whether they wish it or not. Those who do not come voluntarily to the truth are brought against their will. Dark stalkers move like the night, seeking out and abducting suitable subjects. This Side Trek can serve as an introduction to the dangers of the shadow realm. It works well for PCs who are approaching the paragon tier, since it presents a reasonable challenge for characters of 10th level. It is suitable as a climactic encounter for lowerlevel adventurers, as well. It consists of only two encounters.