A missing mage... A ruthless band of kidnappers... A sinister conspiracy... Night Below, the first epic campaign adventure for the AD&D game, is designed to take the player characters from 1st level to 10th level and beyond. The PCs start as beginning adventures on a routine courier mission who soon become drawn into combating a sinister plot that menaces the pleasant land of Haranshire.
On a nameless, featureless demi-plane the Tarrasque rages across an all-encompassing nothingness. Last seen on Faerun a century ago during the cataclysm of Odobaz, the battle mage order of the Eldritch Storm sacrificed itself to banish the mighty titan to its demi-plane prison. Now a foul power emerges in the High Ice and nightmare visions of the Tarrasque trampling cities wrack the minds of the living—can your adventurers defeat the Horror Under the Mountain?
This material was originally published as two separate adventures, D1: "Descent into the Depths of the Earth" and D2: "Shrine of the Kuo-Toa." Contained herein are referee notes, background information, maps, and exploration keys intended for use with the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons rules. The adventure can be used alone or as part of an extended adventure that begins with G1-3: "Against the Giants" and continues with D3: "The Vault of the Drow" and Q1: "Queen of the Demonweb Pits." TSR 9059
How’d you get here? Let me explain... No, there is too much. Let me sum up. Rescued a retired hero's hapless nephew from goblins at some ruins on a hill Found out that there aren’t any goblins, but spider creatures called chitine instead Uncovered a chitine plot to start a war between the surface world and the drow Got convinced to try to stop that war Got trapped in the caves under the ruins Chased the chitine’s leader, a choldrith, further down into the cave system Nearly got crushed in a cave-in Fought your way through an undead infested mine Nearly got eaten by a colony of chitinous reptiles Picked up the choldrith’s trail and followed it deeper into the earth And now you stand at the entrance to a massive cavern filled with all manner of aggresive creatures. Yep, that about sums it up! And now, here you are, in this giant cavern thousands of feet beneath the surface. All you have to do is pick up that choldrith’s trail again, and manage to navigate the many factions vying for control of this little section of the Underdark. Good luck! And have fun storming the Hollows! This Gazetteer contains: Descriptions of the factions that live in The Shadowed Hollows, a massive cave complex far below the surface The underground city of Naakrasad and the important NPCs that live there Three quests leading to brief adventures within the Hollows for characters of level 4 to 6 7 custom maps of the Shadowed Hollows, Naakrasad, and the quest destinations All necessary monster stat blocks Everything needed to set the scene for the upcoming second chapter of the Into the Underdark Adventure Series
The kuo-toa are a piscine race with a psychic affliction that makes them behave erratically and invent gods when feeling threatened. That same affliction gives them the power to bring those gods to life. Blibdoolpoolp is the most widely worshipped, and thus most powerful, of their gods. Blibdoolpoolp views the kuo-toa as her children despite having been born after them. Like all good mothers, she nurtures and protects. One of her chief concerns is understanding the kuo-toa’s psychic affliction, which causes them to undermine themselves whenever they strive for greatness. She discovers that a corrupted elder brain deep in the Underdark has a connection to the race; though the connection gives them psychic powers, it also turns them into powerless thralls, explaining their self destructive behaviors. Constrained by the same leash on her children, Blibdoolpoolp seeks adventurers to destroy the elder brain. Its death would free the kuo-toa, but potentially at great cost: if the kuo-toa lose their powers, will Blibdoolpoolp die?
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."
From the magazine: "The monster you're sent out after is so dangerous that even mind flayers fear it. And the illithids want your help!" Earthquakes hit the area around Needlespire mountain, affecting both dwarven and deep gnome villages, and the local mining industry. Deep gnome expeditions discover an illithid outpost! This adventure includes roleplaying encounters with both deep gnomes and illithid in their quest for the true cause of the earthquakes. The creature causing the earthquakes is a draknor which has sent its huge tentacles into the earth seeking magma to fuel its growth. Pgs. 38-60
The Shattered Circle is an AD&D® adventure for four to six player characters of 1st to 3rd level. For many ages, the standing stones known as the Circle of Cahervaniel have stood on a grassy hilltop, unremarkable and unmenacing, but something has changed. A powerful artifact deep within the earth has been uncovered, and its evil power has corrupted the recent inhabitants of a dungeon complex. The chitine live within, a cross between humans and spiders created by the drow, but trying to live a quiet existence. The evil Foundingstone has corrupted some of the chitine, and split their society in two, bringing them to conflict. Adventurers who navigate the chitine factions and dangerous dungeon will need to end the threat of the Foundingstone and the solve the mystery of the strange dark unicorn Mizar that has appeared recently around the stones. Interestingly, one of the unique magic items in this adventure, Icerazor - is said to have grown from a shard of Frostrazor, a sword that appears in a famous later adventure - Return to White Plume Mountain. There is a brief mention of Suloise, so it can be considered a Greyhawk adventure, but clearly states it can be placed anywhere.
The Ghost Tribe of Orcs were driven from their home under Wyvern Tor by some terrible evil. They marched to Phandalin and attacked only to be defeated. Then, the heroes journeyed to the orc’s former settlement beneath Wyvern Tor and found the source of the orc’s sardonyx and the umber hulk that drove the orcs out. Now, the party has to go deeper to deal with the terror from the Underdark that caused all of this excitement.
More than a hundred years ago, Delbera Axebringer—a mighty warrior and dwarven leader—slew the necromancer Audalot Karexin, but spared his young apprentice Zohir. In the ensuing decades, the bitter survivor brooded and plotted her revenge. Now, descendants of the Axebringer clan are vanishing, dragged screaming into the darkness by the animated bodies of their fallen kin. The Axebringers and their hometown of Davarn need heroes to break this family curse. What mysteries lie sealed within Delbera Axebringer’s ancient abandoned fortress? And what challenges lurk along the Blighted Path winding through the Darklands beneath Golarion’s surface? Down the Blighted Path is a deluxe adventure for 5th-level characters, and includes 64 action-packed pages of exciting battles, supernatural mysteries, and monstrous foes, plus a gorgeous double-sided poster map featuring an overview of the dwarven trading post of Davarn and a miniatures-scale battlemap! The author of this adventure, Monica Marlowe, was the winner of the 2015 RPG Superstar contest, in which hundreds of unpublished authors competed or the chance to write a Pathfinder Module. In addition to her adventure, this book contains a host of new monsters and magic items designed by the contest’s runners-up. Players can expect to reach 7th level upon completion of this adventure—if they can survive its deadly haunts, Darklands horrors, and furious villains both living and undead!
Recent earthquakes have unearthed a small section of a lost dwarven fortress. The dwarves are long gone, but rumors suggest they might have left treasure or weapons behind. After a journey into the Underdark, the characters find a barred iron door bearing the names of several ancient dwarven clans. Pgs. 90-95
The Baronies of Erlkazar, once a prosperous region of pastoral tranquility, is now a land of nightmares and dread. Bandit armies plague the region, terrorizing the populace and surrounding countries of Calimshan, Tethyr, Amn, and Turmish. Though these threats are terrifying enough, it is nothing compared to what awaits the people of Erlkazar at night. In caves, tombs, and subterranean communities beneath the seemingly pastoral villages of Erlkazar live the secretive Night Barony. Ruled by the vampire Saestra and her legions of darkness, these monstrous denizens of the Five Baronies are the real power in the region. The country’s only hope of liberation is you.
The Underdark is a subterranean wonderland, a vast and twisted labyrinth where fear reigns. It is the home of horrific monsters that have never seen the light of day. It is here that the dark elf Gromph Baenre, Archmage of Menzoberranzan, casts a foul spell meant to ignite a magical energy that suffuses the Underdark and tears open portals to the demonic Abyss. What steps through surprises even him, and from that moment on, the insanity that pervades the Underdark escalates and threatens to shake the Forgotten Realms to its foundations. Stop the madness before it consumes you! Note for DMs: This adventure is not for the faint of hearted, to run or to play. The module starts with 10 NPCs traveling with the party through the grueling Underdark. This number can grow. The encounters within the book are often incredibly deadly for the characters that would be going through it. This is because the module expects them to run or talk their way through the events, or, in some cases, the module expects them to lose. If your players aren't the kind of party to run, talk, or surrender, do not get this adventure. The module almost requires that you use milestone leveling because the experience provided does not commonly get players to the levels they should be once they get to certain milestones in the story (7th when they leave the underdark, 15th when they face the demon lords.) Good luck and happy questing.
In the fourth installment of the Into the Underdark adventure series, characters come face to face with the heretofor unseen puppet master behind most of the strife and chaos in the Shadowed Hallows, Gyldrith the Chosen, a dreaded deep dragon! Includes: Three all new maps of Gyldrith's lair, and those of her minions Two all new monsters, the Ancient Deep Dragon and her Warlock of the Deep Dragon A new player option, the Deep Dragon patron for the Warlock Class. Unnumbered maps suitable for use in your favorite VTT Continues the story from Into the Underdark Part 1 - The Descent with areas and NPCs from The Shadowed Hollows Gazetteer
Far in the future, bards sing tales of kings and conquerors from ages past - but from your present. The Hero-Kings of legend are your player characters from your campaign, who even now shape the course of Cerilian history. More than simply an adventure collection, this 160-page book enables you, the Dungeon Master, to turn ordinary domain actions into oppurtunites for heroic exploits. Each of the eleven "legends" set forth here is based on a different random event from the BIRTHRIGHT Rulebook. Don't allow a mere die roll to decide the outcome of a blood challenge, rebellion, intrigue, or magical event - make the PCs forge their own destinies by confronting a madman who is "Blood Hungry," wresting the "Fang of Kriesha" from its evil wielder's grasp, thwarting a rival regent's "Double Dealing," and saving all of Cerilia from "The Gift of Azrai." These adventures are suitable for PCs of all levels and classes - wheter regents, scions, or commoners - and can take place wherever you campaign is set. This book also includes an appendix that offers advice for running different types of BIRTHRIGHT campaigns and creating your own adventures fit for a king. TSR 3125
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.
Side-Trek adventure When your PCs gain access to the teleport spell, their whole world changes. That simple spell opens up instantaneous, long-distance travel. No more long overland journeys or dangerous retreats through hostile territory. All it takes is clasped hands and a word from the wizard, and poof! The PCs are where they want to go. Except that it isn’t that simple, because teleport isn’t foolproof. The off-target teleports are a matter of scattering your PCs someplace else on the map and forcing them to get their bearings and make the long overland journey anyway. But this Side Trek focuses on the really intriguing column on the teleport chart: “similar area.”
The Borderlands. An untamed wild region far flung from the comforts and protection of civilization. A lone fortified Keep is the only bastion of Good desperately striving to maintain the forces of Chaos at bay. But Evil is everywhere, lurking in dark caves, fetid swamps, forlorn forests. Bands of cutthroat brigands and ruthless tribes of humanoids eager to clash with the forces of Food rove the region. The Borderlands hold many secret wondrous locations, and opportunities for fame, prestige, and fortune are plentiful. But equally abundant are the perils, risks, and challenges to those brave enough to explore the wilds. Sharpen your swords and axes. Purchase your iron rations and tinderboxes. And Don't forget at least one 10-foot pole. Adventure awaits those with the mettle to confront Chaos in the Borderlands!
"The module takes place in a large cavern that is part of an extensive underground cave network. It can be used as a side-trek encounter in the Undermountain or Night Below campaign." -- from the adventure. Includes a small keyed map of the cavern.
Sekarvu is a typical beholder. It spent much of its youth exploring underground realms and killing everything it found. One day, it came upon a large cavern filled with violet fungi. At the edge of the cavern, it found a small band of adventurers who had all but succumbed to the toxins of the fungi's tendrils. They offered little resistance to Sekarvu as it approached and began to feed on their still-writhing bodies. With its first bite, the beholder's life changed forever. Pgs. 52-55