A small port seems the perfect place to dock when a freak storm forces the small trade cog, Sea's Rock, to find solid ground. But the newly discovered port town raises questions: where are all the residents, and are any of them still alive? This module favors investigative and inquisitive playstyles over kicking in the door with swords drawn. Without at least one Medium female humanoid PC or a PC who can speak and read Orc, this may be a difficult module for the players to complete in a cohesive manner. Published by Insomniacs Ink
The Northmen and their allies play hardball. The Northmen are on a rampage, and only the duergar know why. Discover the secret of the iron orb. In the lands of the Northmen, near the city of Tallborg a mysterious relic was uncovered in a mine: a perfect orb of black iron. The orb was taken to the temple. When Ulvmard, high priest of Odin lifted the orb it revealed its true nature. The orb levitated from his hands, floating before him. The orb had changed Ulvmard, bestowing him great powers. The orb spoke to him with flattery and advice. As he became reliant on the orb, its power over him extended, bending him to its will and taking control. It used him to further its agenda: destruction of the dwarven race and restoration of the duergar! Claiming to be acting on Odin's behalf, Ulvmard lead the Northmen to rise up against the dwarves, and ordered raids to pillage the southern kingdoms for the materials he would need to construct a colossal iron warrior to defeat the dwarves. This adventure has viking and norse mythology influences. Pgs. 50-71
"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
From The Magazine: "Every summer, Duke Hightower holds a competition quite different from the traditional jousting and archery tournaments held by similar lords of his station. The rules of his tournament change from year to year, and, to oversee the games, the duke has appointed two wizard brothers who help choose the setting and create the rules and challenges of the competition. This year the competition is called the “Owlbear Run,” an overland race that requires each participating team to escort a live owlbear from the town of Telvorn to the town of Milvorn. The teams will face a variety of challenges; some are devised by the wizards, others by the competing teams or their sponsors, and some occur entirely at random. All of these tests are in addition to the challenges inherent in motivating a temperamental owlbear. Fortune and fame await the first team to cross the finish line, and the local lords sponsoring the race are eager to enlist skilled champions for their causes." Pgs. 2-27
The player characters have put into a tropical island for repairs to their ship. But the local village is almost deserted, and the jungle hides a secret that is both terrible and tragic. Can the player characters put to right something so foul that it seems there can be no redemption? An adventure for four 2nd level characters. For 5th edition Dungeons and Dragons. Includes a write up for the necrophidius and a new creature called a spirit of despair that combines a template with an NPC class to present a new challenge to the PCs.
This tongue in cheek adventure brings new PCs into a small town after an adventure. Upon arrival they quickly discover that the small agricultural community has just been robbed of its harvest supply. With the seasonal change coming those supplies are necessary for the town’s survival. One of the victims of the attack was an alchemist. Contained within his bag were a few Potions of Growth. The bitter taste of the potion disagreed with the bandit who discovered it and he flung it into a field. Unfortunately for the PCs oversized fowl must be overcome before dealing with the bandits. Used as a fun one-shot for my group this scenario can be quite deadly if played poorly. Will your players save the day and feast on a Giant Turkey? Gobble this adventure up for free!
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 ancient world of Harth withers beneath its dying sun…but it’s not dead yet. Welcome to the strange and dangerous city of Carcassay, huddled below the skeleton of a titan rat, sprawling above the ruins of countless dead civilizations. This is where folk come to find wealth, power, revenge, secrets, oblivion… and everything in between. Carcassay is a sandbox city adventure. There are many locations to explore in, around, and under the city. Players can explore any place at any time, and may radically reshape the city’s politics, economy, religions, and physical existence. There are standard dungeons stacked under the city, and GMs are encouraged to keep adding more dungeons… all the way down. Tone. It leans more toward low fantasy or sword-and-sorcery. Most shops look like real shops. Most people look like real people. But strange and horrible things lurk everywhere as soon as you start to scratch the surface. This is my Lankhmar. Carcassay is a vast, bizarre city. It has over 100 locations where you can meet Chaos cultists, Lawful knights, retired adventurers, shopkeepers, brewers, musicians, artists, scientists, hermits, royalty, beggars, doctors, space vampires, eldritch horrors, machine priests, crab colonists, mushroom farmers, mummies, assassins, and diplomats from distant lands… and the moon. And every one of them has goods or services to sell, and a quest (or three) to offer. What sort of quests? Fetch a relic, assassinate a rival, find a relative, steal a soul, implant an agent, cure a disease, stop a riot, solve a murder that hasn’t happened yet, hunt a thief, locate a shrine… the list goes on. And for every Quest, there is a specific Reward: money, weapons, relics, Chaos mutations, exclusive memberships, information, Angelic miracles… the list goes on. This is a place where you can make a lot of money, but also where you can spend that money on interesting goods and services. Factions? We have a few. Seven Chaos cults, five knightly orders, two mercenary companies, four wealthy families, six (seven!) Corpse Lords, foreign diplomats, rival innkeepers, rival tavern owners, plus all the dungeon-delving gangs currently mucking about underground. When you grow weary of all the adventures at ground level, there are three classic dungeons buried under the city to explore. This book contains months (if not years) of campaigning. Enjoy the Chaos.
An exceptionally smart ogre and its pet dire wolf have figured out the easy life. Why loot and pillage, when with a few words of common, you can threaten and intimidate your way to comforts?
The ancient world of Harth is dying, but you’re going to die even sooner if you can’t escape from Frostwyck. You’re lost in a frozen forest of deadly predators and mysterious recluses. Your only refuge is the tiny village of Frostwyck, where metal is rare and kindness is rarer. And there are worse things in the shadows than mere bloodthirsty beasts. Witches haunt the groves of the north. Most keep to themselves, content to guard their secrets and powers. But one torments them all. Dama Zhadna has cursed the village so that none can escape. And now you’re trapped here. You’re going to die here... ...unless you can escape from the Witches of Frostwyck. Just a few things players can do: - Escape from a prison barge - Free demon souls from a giant spider-house - Find a charming witch-lord hiding with his pet dragon - Evade a merciless warrior zealot who is hunting them - Discover the ancient secrets of the Elder Fey - Collect the "cunning tools" created by the hedge witches - Collect the eldritch weapons crafted by the ancient elves - Save a little girl made of snow Intense Factions! Will you help the Temple of Virune to eradicate the last of the witches? Will you help the witch-lords retake power over the north? Will you help the Gray Sisters protect the village from the dangers of the forest? Or will you venture underground and help the Elder Fey to escape their prison and take their revenge? Four New Mentors! While in Frostwyck, players can meet many skilled NPCs who might be willing to train a worthy adventurer. If you can complete 3 days of training, you can learn one of 16 skills from either a Hunter, a Fighter, a Priest, or a Witch. New PC Background: The Vulgoth Hedge Witch! In addition to some unusual medicinal gear, select one of 6 creatures of the northern forest as your familiars, as well as one of 6 "cunning" items that you enchanted (and might explode in your face!).
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.
Despite the adventurers’ best efforts, more creatures joined under Bad Fruul’s banner. No longer content to simply attack caravans or isolated homesteads, the hill giant warlord descends upon Parnast at the head of a great force of humanoids. SEER warns the adventurers (directly now) in time to rally the town and prepare defenses, but a heroic effort is required to break the siege.
Far above the village of Barovia sits Castle Ravenloft, the home and fortress of vampire lord Strahd Von Zarovich. Legends claim that Strahd flies with the bats and runs with the wolves to terrorize the countryside. Ancient tales also tell of dungeons and catacombs deep under the castle. Other stories recall the great halls, treasures, and glory of Ravenloft in centuries past. "House of Strahd" is a revision of the classic gothic horror tale I6: Ravenloft, one of the most popular adventures ever produced for the AD&D game. This version is updated for the AD&D 2nd Edition rules, and those from the Ravenloft campaign set. Count Strahd is now more powerful, and his castle is even more terrifying! TSR 9418
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
The pearl divers of Shoalbury are in trouble. A band of birdlike kenku and ogres have been ambushing and plundering outgoing shipments of pearls, and the villagers are growing desperate. And why are the bandits stealing eyes from the bodies of their victims? A single guard survived the most recent ambush with one eye intact, and his testimony may just be enough to lead a brave band of adventurers to the bandit lair, and to the sinister cult they serve.
A ghostly bird stalks a fishing village, killing its inhabitants. Solve its mystery and end the threat before it kills again! The Blight of Brineborough is a quest optimized for 2nd-level characters. It features a terrifying monster, two new magic items, and a sea shanty.
The door slams open so hard that the wall shakes and the hinges groan. To everyone’s astonishment, a goblin staggers in. He is badly wounded, with dried blood covering about half of his body. Only a moment before the air was full of the rattle of dice, the slap of cards, and cries of victory and defeat. Now the Gambling Golem is dead silent. The goblin lurches toward your table then collapses right in front of you. “Help me,” he croaks, looking up at you with bloodshot eyes. “I’ll make you rich!”
In the town of Easthaven, a group of adventurers is tasked on a routine mission to resupply an expedition to the Reghed Glacier. But everything is not quite as it seems, and it's not long before the chronographer's misfortunes become apparent.
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.
What links an infamous Zhentarim mercenary with a brilliant but tormented artificer? To find out, the adventurers must break the goblinoid siege of the village of Westfir. After the bizarre goblins are defeated, the Cornflower Hive must be destroyed. Ultimately, what secrets are held in the grain mill by the Westfork river? A D&D Adventurers League four-hour adventure for 1st-4th level characters.