The Hardest of Hearts is a gothic horror adventure for 4-5 characters of 5-6th level. It can be played over the course of 6-8 hours and should roughly take one playing session if the party is quick, or two if the party is progressing slowly. This is the first part of the Carnival of Lost Souls campaign. It can also be played as a standalone adventure. The Hardest of Hearts features: - Exciting journey through the cold wilderness of Lamordia, which features a special travel system and survival rules - Exploration of the old mansion which has been taken over by the vicious local gang - the Corpse Collectors - Several custom diseases to challenge your players - Moral dilemma at the end of the adventure which the characters will have to solve - New custom monsters to make combat encounters truly memorable and exciting - High-quality maps, also available in universal vtt format Look out for the next adventures in the Carnival of Lost Souls series: Dementlieu: Dance with the Devil, Kalakeri: The Forbidden Temple and Valachan: Hunter’s Moon! They will be released over the course of the next two months. Once all four adventures are out, we will also release a special Campaign Guide, which will explain in detail how to best set up and play the campaign. However, if you want to start your campaign right now, don’t worry - we have included a short appendix at the end of each adventure which will explain the basics!
About: This encounter was cooked up in the Write your First Encounter workshop by the Storytelling Collective. It CAN be slid in as a side quest in any urban or sub-urban context, or be adapted to add confusion to any rescue mission you are presently running. Synopsis: Through the doorway a young woman shackled to the wall matching the description of Helena can be seen. Though disheveled and looking to be in great discomfort, her beauty is remarkable. But on closer inspection, there are other people here — three identical Helenas! Noble woman Elize Cleron has hired the party to infiltrate the catacombs under the Schaefer Estate and free her twin sister Helena. Helena is being held captive by the Schaefer family, trade rivals rumored to have ties to the underworld. Elize has been unable to free her sister herself because of her identical appearance. Rather than pay an unrealistic ransom, Elize has provided the party with what they need to break her out. This encounter is intended for 3rd level characters.
The sleepy forest town of Aulbesmil has seen better days. Orcs and monsters lurk in the woods now, but the real menace hides in the town itself. The PCs arrive in town to investigate a mysterious tragedy that has befallen the townsfolk. As they explore the town, they learn of other strange happenings and must assemble the puzzle to figure out who is responsible for the thefts and disappearances. Eventually, they track down the baron's culprit and bring him to justice, as well as liberate the captive nephew of the Baron. Pgs. 16-28
Part 4 of the Carrion Crown Adventure Path brings the heroes to the small fishing village of Illmarsh. The party is searching for a dark rider of the necromantic Whispering Way cult and will discover the strange practices of the deeply religious inhabitants of Illmarsh. Rumors of madness, strange disappearances and human sacrifices to things best left unnamed lead them to investigate the town church and its history. They'll find a desperate people, caught in a war between beings from beneath the seas and invaders from the darkest corners of the cosmos. Can the heroes save Illmarsh from its tradition of terror? It is worth noting that this story is heavily inspired by The Shadow over Innsmouth by H.P. Lovecraft and the role playing game Call of Cthulhu. If you're planning on going through the whole adventure path of Carrion Crown, the module Carrion Hill could easily be fit between book 3 and 4, as the party will travel directly through the area where this one shot adventure takes place. This book includes: - “Wake of the Watcher,” a Pathfinder RPG adventure for 9th-level characters, by Greg A. Vaughan - Blasphemous secrets of the foul faiths known collectively as the Old Cults and sanity-shattering gods such as Azathoth, Nyarlathotep, and Cthulhu, by James Jacobs - A giant bestiary filled with eight classic monsters inspired by the writing of H. P. Lovecraft and the tales of the Cthulhu Mythos, by James Jacobs and Greg A. Vaughan - Laurel Cylphra’s discovery that the dead aren’t the only dangers in Ardis in a new entry into the Pathfinder’s Journal, by F. Wesley Schneider.
Nightmare of Blood! The village of Karvolia has paid its annual tribute of blood to the Red Goddess—but this year, none of the donors returned. Now the priestess commands the village elders to send another dozen young men and women to the edifice of stone that looms on the cliffs overlooking the village: the dreaded Blood Vaults. The terrified elders are willing to pay adventurers handsomely to find a way to make this second tribute pass them by. Unfortunately, the latest set of donors has already entered the Blood Vaults, and are being prepared for the donation process…
Remember Fluffy? The cute little dog? Well... Fluffy Goes to Heck is a shamelessly absurd AD&D® game adventure for the six silly characters provided on pages 39-40, or 4-6 characters of 3rd-5th level, played by those with senses of humor. A good mix of classes and races is helpful but hardly necessary.
This one-shot takes about 3 to 4 hours to complete and is optimized for four to six 1st-level heroes. It works as a gentle introduction to new Draw Steel players, demonstrating the main mechanics that make up the game one at a time. The characters are locally famous heroes who were recruited by Basil, a mutual acquaintance, former Courser operative, and current tavern keeper. An old friend of his needs help on some Courser business, so the heroes must meet on the Red Boar tavern and wait further instructions. What they don't know is that the Coursers have been compromised; their leadership is now controlled by Ajax the Invincible! Under Ajax's command, the Coursers's main function has become to get rid of any obstacles to the tyrant overlord's imminent invasion of Blackbottom. The heroes' "mission" is actually just one of several ambushes taking place in the city to kill those who pose a threat to Ajax's rule.
When devils slay the knightly leader of Arwyll Stead and orcs from the Hell's Fury tribe attack the town, all hope seems lost for the brave people living on Lastwall's border. The coincidental arrival of the mysterious half-orc Vegazi also raises unsettling questions, and it's up to the heroes to make sense of these events and end the Hell's Fury tribe's threat to Arwyll Stead once and for all. What does Vegazi have to do with the raiders' diabolical plot? Who will rally Arwyll Stead now that the town's icon has been cut down? And who is the mastermind orchestrating the orc tribe's alliance with devils from beyond?
Morgansfort: The Western Lands Campaign is the first published campaign setting for the Basic Fantasy Role-Playing Game. This module includes a brief description of the Western Lands: A campaign adventure area consisting of the remnants of a once-great empire, a pair of important free cities, and a vast wilderness territory, plus Morgansfort, a detailed "home base" for adventurers set in the western lands. Also included are three adventures designed for a part of new player characters, comprising a total of six dungeon levels: The Olde Island Fortress: a two-level dungeon environment suitable for beginning adventurers, located near Morgansfort. The Nameless Dungeon: a three-level dungeon designed to be a bit more challenging. The Cave of the Unknown: a one-level dungeon filled with strange monsters led by a fearsome master. This campaign module combines: The Western Lands, a briefly sketched campaign area; Morgansfort, a detailed "home base" for an adventuring party; The Old Island Fortress, a two level dungeon suitable for beginning adventurers; The Nameless Dungeon, a tough three level dungeon; and The Cave of the Unknown, a dungeon controlled by an evil magic-user. This campaign module is highly suitable for starting a new group, even a group of new players. Published by basicfantasy.org
A beautiful face hides treachery and deceit. Treachery, betrayal, and a flower of ice. Samurai Steel is an AD&D® game Oriental Adventures module. Any Oriental PC race or class is suitable, though at least one ninja or yakuze should be included. Gaijin PCs are not recommended. This adventure is compatible with the campaign setting in OA1, Swords of the Daimyo. Pgs. 37-47
This Digital Quarterly is built around a series of four micro-dungeons that can be used as an introduction to The Roslof Keep Campaign for characters just starting out. These dungeons should allow for a small group of players to not only become familiar with each other but also gain a level before taking up the banner of the Ivory Scimitar and entering Mithelvarn’s Labyrinth. As Roslof Keep is built around characters being asked to take up the Ivory Scimitar banner, it makes sense that they wouldn’t be completely ‘green’ and also might have gotten a bit of a reputation within Daern Kelton and Roslof Keep as trusted adventurers who are looking to help out the locals. This reputation can be used to bring The Folio: Digital Quarterly #6 the characters into the sights of House Aldenmier and, therefore, push characters into the campaign on a more realistic basis. It should also be noted that beginning Dungeon Level 1 with a level of experience is something that will be invaluable to the party and the early stages of the campaign. This adventure is formatted to both 1E & 5E gaming rules.
A supernaturally powerful storm, mudslides, and agitated dinosaurs are the least of the worries in the tropical village of Mora. The village's spiritual leader, the Zombie Master, has gone missing, and now undead rise from sodden graves and the village matriarch lies dead, murdered by her own son. What dire menace awaits in the flooded catacombs below? Set on the infamous Isle of Dread.
The party visits the village of Bellmare, where a hag has recently been slain, and which has since been plagued with deadly wintery weather during the Summer Solstice. The party meets the head of the village, who asks them to find the cause. When the party reaches a small hut in the mountains, they encounter a hag. Rather than attack them, she offers them information to help stop her sister from enacting revenge upon Bellmare. Pgs. 109-117
Brambletoe Hall has ever been deep, warm and filled with mirth. Here, the good mayor Willie Brambletoe has long presided over a board of warm mutton, fresh apples, berries, peaches and the like, as well as wondrous breads, warm butter and cool drink. Mayor Willie invites all, inviting may various and sundry folks to sit and eat with him, or to gather about his great hall and make merry, pass the time and exchange news of distant happenings in exotic lands. But something has changed in that noble Halfling's Halls and a Shadow of Evil has taken up abode there. Not many days past, in those deep hours before the dawn, the sounds of merriment changed to cries of despair. A haunting came to the Good man's home and left an air filled with the noise of terror and a foul odor of unrepentant evil. Abandoned now, a shadow has hung over the hall ever since. Foul play or murder, none knew. But the Shadow of Fear has spread, stalking the environs of Newbriar. And the locals now say Newbriar has come at last to know the shallow welcome of the other world. In fear, the folk of Newbriar have called for aid, sending riders forth to find courageous heroes willing to rid the town and its sufferages of the terror of the Shadows of the Halfling Hall.
Somewhere in the region of Thesk, at the small village of Amaranth, a despicable night hag has taken residence in the farmstead of a native family. There, she devised a malicious magical disease called Lungsprout and intends to infect the unsuspecting villagers with it, using her deceptively aromatic candles. As if that wasn’t enough, she has created a powerful servant, a cross between a golem and a homunculus. She aims to slowly but steadily wipe out the entire village, and use the villagers as fuel for her hideous experiments. The players will have to rush against time and investigate the village, finding clues that will eventually lead them to the night hag herself. Will they be able to save the villagers and destroy the hag and her abominable creations?
The Anchorin Family and its namesake home, Anchorin Manse, have gone quiet along with many of the townsfolk of Adwher who worked in the manse or on the grounds. The patriarch of the family and accomplished artificer, Webster, has inherited a fascination with the multiverse from his father and now has created a machine that has allowed an entity from the far realm into his home. With his obsession growing and the help of this entity, Webster modified the memory of his family and sequestered himself in a separate wing of the manse to continue digging into the nature of the multiverse. Soon after, his recklessness released a deluge of planar energy into the home, transforming most of the inhabitants and staining areas of the house with the unique planar effects of the various planes. Now the family’s estranged son Eccles has returned to discover the fate of his family and potentially collect his inheritance but is unable to enter his childhood home. Eccles and the few remaining townsfolk are looking to hire a few bold adventurers to investigate what happened to the family, the manse, and potentially collect some very rare, perhaps legendary magical items. Enter the manse, tour the planes, take a villain, leave a villain, it’s up to you. One thing is certain, verity and villainy is relative in a manse of special purpose.
"There's this huge fish in my mine," says the gnome, "and you've got one week to get rid of it." A little fishing trip - with you as the bait! A gnomish mine at the bottom of Whitelake is being terrorized by a giant pike. The party has a week to find a way to capture or kill the beast. However, once they do, another monstrous fish attacks. The party eventually finds a tribe of merrow has claimed a cave on the north shore and are releasing the fish to keep the gnomes away. Pgs. 8-15, & 64
The Cult & the Tribe Lizards and Goblins and Demons, Oh My! DUNGEON MODULE T1: THE CULT & THE TRIBE Goblins weilding magical blue fire are attacking the peaceful lizardfolk in the swamps near Timbertown. They've come to the humans for help, and Baron Ferrand needs heroes to head into the swamp and find out what's happening. As if that wasn't enough, demons are roaming the countryside, summoned by cultists of the Fraternity of Tharos, one of whom is secretly an important person in the town. Can you help the lizardfolk and keep the town safe?
As you begin your travels to fame and glory you have discovered the road is actually paved mostly with dirt and boredom. You have heard of the caravan attacks at Feastelburg and have begun to make your way to fame and fortune. As light begins to fade from the sky you have come upon a sign welcoming you to the small lake community of Crystal Shores. What appears to be a smoldering funeral pyre is near the lake’s edge and a small group of children play near the road. Your journey to the caravan raiders is halfway there. A few more days and you will begin your life as adventurers!
"The Riverfront Rat Gang" is a ratfolk lair, also featuring wharflings and a doppelrat, designed for five 1st level characters. This adventure can be completed in one session. The old dockyards once served as the primary center of commerce in town. Years ago, political pressure from an influential merchant who wanted the docks to be loser to her business forced shipping concerns to move their docks upriver. The new facility accommodates larger ships, and the old docks fell into disuse. Talk of converting the property into a set of riverside shops died when a rat infestation proved to be an unsolvable problem. Thus, the old dockyards have been decaying for years. This situation suited a former thieves' guild member, a ratfolk rogue, named Matimer Creel. A botched robbery (for which Matimer blamed his accomplice) turned the guild against Matimer, who fled from certain death at the hands of the guild master. He hid out in the old dockyards, confident that not even guild members bothered to go there. From there he began to exact revenge against the guild by ruining its plans or stealing directly from it. He also befriended the rat population, thanks to a golden rat's tooth he acquired, and the vermin help with his schemes. A trio of rat-like wharflings and a doppelrat, washed up on the riverbank near the docks, have joined Matimer's retinue.