Encounters in the Savage Wilderness contains 19 encounters / mini-adventures, a few new creatures and items, and downloadable maps. We've also added suggestions on how to use the encounters in Eberron.
A fast-paced one-shot from the bestselling author of The Secrets of Skyhorn Lighthouse! A shadowy force gathers inside the abandoned halls of Lastwatch Keep. Can the players defeat the drow invaders before they escape to the underworld with sinister intelligence about the surface? Shadows of Lastwatch Keep is a one-shot adventure for four or five 4th-level characters. It takes about 3-4 hours to complete and includes: -A drow strike team desperate to escape the keep’s surprise foe -A new monster, the drow commando -Combat cards for each monster, PC, and special treasure -A beautiful, hand-drawn map by Jake from Beware the Wizard
The Hag's Hexes is a 66 page guide designed by Dungeon Masters Guild luminaries like JVC Parry and Janek Sielicki alongside rising stars and old stalwarts like Matt Butler, Matthew Gravelyn, and Tim Bannock. It was created with one thing in mind: to make hags more than the sum of their (often meager) Challenge ratings, giving them the mechanics, roleplay potential, and weird magic that can inspire campaigns, lay low kings and warlords, and potentially ensnare unwary Player Characters into campaign-changing curses or long-term bargains that force them into terrible moral quandaries! Split into five chapters, the authors have provided everything a DM needs to terrify their players for years to come. The Bestiary features over a dozen monsters; some are new hags, some are their minions or even their mobile lairs, and one of them -- the Shaitan AKA Desert Hag -- was featured in Monsters of the Guild! Bargains & Curses is a chapter filled with ideas that can kick-start campaigns, threaten valued NPCs, or put Player Characters' very existence and morality at stake. Chapter 3 includes two dozen items of wonderment, weirdness, and dread, ranging from fairy tale-inspired items of whimsy to terribly cursed items of horror. Chapter 4 is titled "Filthy, Vile & Downright Dirty" and provides dozens of roleplaying tips to make hags come alive, new mechanics inspired by and expanding on Volo's Guide to Monsters (coven spell lists, aunties, grandmothers, alternative coven members), and ends with useful combat tactics for each of the hags from the Monster Manual and Volo's Guide, as well as tactics for covens. Finally, Chapter 5 presents five encounter groups (with sub-encounters) to give you quick story seeds and monster lists that you can put together in minutes to create a single encounter or to inspire a full campaign, and ends with three full-length adventures -- each with 3-5 encounters -- that showcase many of the new monsters, rules, magic items, and so on that appeared in earlier chapters. Each of these adventures comes with an encounter map meant to act as inspiration for hag lairs, and they include useful mechanical ideas for terrain effects and descriptive keywords listed directly on the map for added inspiration and easy customization! Designed by Tim Bannock. Written by Matt Butler, JVC Parry, Janek Sielicki, and Tim Bannock. Edited by Matthew Gravelyn and Tim Bannock. Cover Art by Elena Naylor. Cartography by Tim Bannock using Inkwell Ideas' Dungeonographer (Dungeonographer is copyright Inkwell Ideas). Layout & Graphic Elements by Elena Naylor with Tim Bannock. Interior Art by Arcana Games, Bruno Balixa, David Lewis Johnson, Dean Spencer, Earl Geier, Filip Gutowski, Jacob E. Blackmon, Joyce Maureira, Petr Kratochvil, Jayaraj Paul, Brian Brinlee, and Wizards of the Coast.
The ancient forest known as the Wildering Woods has a reputation for confounding those who dare venture through it. When a series of unusual events befall a nearby lumber camp, the player characters are asked to seek out a mysterious wizard rumored to reside within. As the adventure unfolds, it soon becomes apparent that big trouble awaits them inside the forest. What's included: 1 fanciful adventure divided into single-page sections for easy running 2 fully-colored maps with unlabeled versions for players (made with assets from 2-minute Tabletop) 3 custom creature statblocks with clickable links for quick access Content Warning: Violence, death, abduction around the Wildering Woods, a fey-inhabited forest whose residents are being terrorized by a delusional hill giant who believes he is a wizard.
One reason why they call it "the dead of winter." A year ago, a white dragon came out of the mountains north of Polarton, attacking trappers, driving off game, and marauding as it pleased. The dragon is seriously affecting the financial stability of the town. Therefore, the town council has placed a bounty on the dragon. This is a short arctic adventure. Pgs. 15-19
On the shores of the Sea of Fallen Stars, in a small and xenophobic coastal town, there is a mystery that must be unraveled. People have started disappearing during the past months, as a direct result of the criminal activities going on in town, under cloak and dagger. The players must examine clues, talk with witnesses, and investigate further, to help the people of Saltwater restore peace and order. The smuggling mastermind and his lackeys, including a vicious shapeshifter, will stop at nothing to stop the players from achieving their objective. This is a starting adventure for players and DM’s alike, which may also be used as a starting point of your campaign and easily adapted to any small coastal town in your game world. It involves a great deal of roleplaying and some degree of battle, depending on the player’s decisions. A cloak and dagger investigative adventure, for nerves hard as steel and fists tough as nails.
In this small 14 page adventure module, help the small village of Bull's Creek and a druidic grove! When a powerful nature spirit gets sick and lashes out, heroes are needed. Can your players stand up to the sickness that seeks to kill not only the organism that is the forest but, everyone else around too? Secret Grove of the Forest Goddess- a 5e SRD adventure for levels 1, 3 or 5. In James Grammaticus' Dungeon Short series, James explores fantasy worlds and settings in short bite-sized one shot adventures that be used on their own, can spring off into a larger campaign, or can be used as a side-adventure in a campaign. Featuring an entire dungeon, town, and forest exploration, Secret Grove of the Forest Goddess has everything you need to give your players a great introduction to the game.
Decades ago a small but influential cult controlled a small area around the Dwarven holdings of Agar. For unknown reasons this cult died out and the shrine was lost to the sands of time. Recently the local thane has received reports that there has been renewed activity in the area and a gathering of humanoids in the area. While the thane’s men have fought bravely they were no match for this group and the call has gone out for brave adventurers to assist with the problem. While your party is young you do have an adventure or two under your belts and this may be the challenge to make you famous….if you can handle it.
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.
Bale, the kind gnome and owner of Bale's Outfitting Outpost, requests that the adventurers track down a group of youngsters that rented horses from him. The horses are overdue and Bale believes that he may have been swindled. Unbeknownst to the gnome, the party of young adventurers has met a dark fate. Will your adventurers accept Bale's request to track down the youngsters and, in doing so, find out what really happened? Or will they leave more blood on the trail? The module includes an introduction to Bale's Outfitting Outpost, encounter stat blocks, maps, and a battle stat tracker. Note: You do not need the Bale's Outfitting Outpost module to run this adventure.
The land of Felora is a stable pedocracy off the Feso Seaway. Generally considered a safe place to live because of a low humanoid population and a large defensive wall that rings the country. The same cannot be said for the area to the west known as the Wildlands. Once a thriving human land the area was taken over in humanoid raids a century and a half ago. With the aggressions against the wall lessening the Council of Wisdom is organizing groups to go in and explore the land for possible "taming". Potential explorers will be paired off with non-combatant survey teams. Are you new adventurers ready for a job? Played at Epic Nerd Camp '17!
SQ3 – Hatadage Cult takes a group of initial adventurers on their first challenge. This short adventure allows a group of new or low level PCs hear news of a kidnapping from a nearby thorp. Role playing will be key to learning more about the disappearance before heading into the hills near some old ruins. This is the site of a group of cultists that have kidnapped the young woman and mean to use her in a sacrifice!
From time out of mind, the standing stones known as the Circle of Cahervaniel have stood lonely vigil on a grassy hilltop. Sheepherders once moved their flocks over the hill and through the circle, sometimes resting in the cool shadows cast by the ancient stones. Everything changed when a stone finger fell, revealing a fissure in the earth. Now, dark shadows caress the circle after the sun sets. Creatures out of nightmare dance upon the hillside at night. Many swear that a unicorn of deepest ebony now hunts all upon two legs who draw near, while stunted creatures scurry in the shadows, abducting sheep from their sheds and drawing them down below ground for food. After the disappearance of a sheperd, fear grows stronger in neighboring villages. Who will brave the black hollow of the ancient Circle of Cahervaniel? Heroes of stern mettle must descend into the cavity and explore the ancient spaces existing there. Product History "The Shattered Circle" (1999), by Bruce R. Cordell, is a generic adventure for AD&D 2e. It was published in January 1999. Origins: Another Generic. After Wizards of the Coast began publishing D&D, their first year and a half of generic adventures were all classic revivals: returns to RPGA tournaments, to classic adventures, and to Dungeon scenarios. Even "A Paladin in Hell" (1998) was a return in its own way, to the demons and devils that TSR had become afraid of. Wizards was staking out new ground by reclaiming the past. "The Shattered Circle" (1999) was the first generic Wizards adventure that was simply a generic adventure, with no deeper origins and no hidden motives. Artifacts of Note. the foundingstone and the harp Euphonious are both one-off named magic items. However, it's sword Icerazor that's the most interesting. It's said to have grown from a shard of Frostrazor — a sword that would only appear ten months later in Return to White Plume Mountain (1999). There, it's listed as one of Keraptis' four implements of power, alongside Wave, Blackrazor, and Whelm — meaning that Icerazor (and this adventure) are just one step removed from White Plume Mountain itself. Monsters of Note: Chitine. It's somewhat curious, given the Greyhawk and Neverness connections, to note that the chitine debuted in MC11: "Monstrous Compendium Forgotten Realms Appendix" (1991). The spider-humanoids have generally been a Realms creature, featuring in bestiaries and histories for that setting. However, they also received a more generic "Ecology of the Chitine" in Dragon #223 (November 1995), which introduced the choldrith, or chitine priestess. This is their major adventure appearance. When asked about pronouncing their name Cordell says that he "can't be 100% sure of the original designer's pronunciation", but he prefers "KI-TEEN". About the Creators. By 1999, Cordell was one of D&D's most prolific writers. He'd previously authored many slightly related adventures, such as The Gates of Firestorm Peak(1996) and the sahuagin (1997) and illithid (1998) Monstrous Arcana adventure trilogies. This conversion guide allows DMs to run the original module with 5th Edition rules. To use this conversion guide you will need a copy of The Shattered Circle, originally available in hard-copy and now for sale in Digital format at the DMs Guild. This adventure is a generic adventure, not specifically based in any existing setting. Suggestions are given in the conversion guide to place the adventure in the Forgotten Realms.
After arriving at a seemingly abandoned trading post, the heroes discover to their horror that all the inhabitants have been transformed into black trees! Upon further investigation, they find clues that lead them to the hidden lair of Nockmort, a treant gone bad. Nockmort has been transformed by the strange radiation of a meteorite he discovered, and now he is a terrible force of evil. The characters must enter his sunless garden to save the town. And along the way they just might discover fabulous treasure...
"More than five hundred years ago, clans of dwarves and gnomes made an agreement known as the Phandelver’s Pact, by which they would share a rich mine in a wondrous cavern known as Wave Echo Cave. In addition to its mineral wealth, the mine contained great magical power. Human spellcasters allied themselves with the dwarves and gnomes to channel and bind that energy into a great forge (called the Forge of Spells), where magic items could be crafted. Times were good, and the nearby human town of Phandalin (pronounced fan-duh-lin) prospered as well. But then disaster struck when orcs swept through the North and laid waste to all in their path. A powerful force of orcs reinforced by evil mercenary wizards attacked wave echo cave to seize its riches and magic treasures. Human wizards fought alongside their dwarf and gnome allies to defend the Forge of Spells, and the ensuing spell battle destroyed much of the cavern. Few survived the cave-ins and tremors, and the location of Wave Echo Cave was lost. For centuries, rumours of buried riches have attracted treasure seekers and opportunists to the area around Phandalin, but no one has ever succeeded in locating the lost mine. In recent years, people have resettled the area. Phandalin is now a rough-and-tumble frontier town. More important, the Rockseeker brothers - a trio of dwarves - have discovered the entrance to Wave Echo Cave, and they intend to reopen the mines. Unfortunately for the Rockseekers, they are not the only ones interested in Wave Echo Cave. A mysterious villain known as the Black Spider controls a network of bandit gangs and goblin tribes in the area, and his agents have followed the Rockseekers to their prize. Now the Black Spider wants Wave Echo Cave for himself, and he is taking steps to make sure no one else knows where it is." Extra Info from AL.com users: by @marcellarius. "There are a variety of locations in this adventure: the town of Phandalin, a gang hideout, a ruined keep in the forest, a destroyed village, and Wave Echo Cave (a dungeon crawl). The adventure is written in a sandbox style and relies on the players to choose their path. Phandalin offers several side-quests which could serve as hooks for continuing adventures. The premade characters have ties in their backgrounds to NPCs and locations. If you're not using these you'll need to consider other ways to introduce key NPCs."
After spending a little time going through dusty old tomes and documents your group has discovered a tapestry offering you clues to a long dead and buried king. Since kings are usually buried with their riches and no information shows that his tomb has been located perhaps a little grave robbing may be in order! This adventure has several wilderness spots for exploration as well as an old burial cairn with several levels. The only problem is that the king isn’t really “dead” in the normal sense.
An unusually severe drought in a remote area recently worsened dramatically when three lakes dried up almost simultaneously. The locals suspect foul play, and the foulest player they know is a bugbear named Relgore -- the leader of a highly successful group of humanoid bandits. Could he be seeking revenge for the militia attacks that recently dispersed his band?
Continue your duet campaign or add something new! Wake up in a druid colony and embark on a quest for trust and truth with plenty of political intrigue, hidden plots, and exciting combat along the way! Second Glance picks up where our first adventure, First Blush, left off and invites the PC to explore their world, test their growing abilities, and get to know their mysterious crystalline companion. However, this adventure can be inserted into any campaign setting and scaled accordingly. Second Glance is part of D&D Duet’s mission to bring you high-quality, ready-to-play material that supports adventuring parties of 1 Player and 1 DM. This adventure is written for a second-level character in a one-on-one 5th edition D&D campaign. It lets the PC explore a druid grove and observe its mysterious residents before traveling to a too-perfect town with twisted secrets. They’ll take on a calculating magistrate, addled cleric, and dark forest creatures but find that other, more ancient mysteries lie in wait just beneath the surface. Everything you need for your own two-person game is inside! This product includes: -A 2nd or 3rd-level adventure adaptable to any setting -Stat blocks for FOUR new creatures and three NPCs -A region map, two settlement maps, and two site maps to aid the PC’s investigations -A fully realized town complete with shops, fleshed out NPCs, and places to explore -Side-quests for curious adventurers or those fond of gold and magical items -Detailed backstory for the ancient warrior sheltered inside the PC’s treasured amulet -A custom magical item And helpful tips for DMing a one-on-one game This adventure is perfect for those looking to begin or continue their duet campaign. It could also serve as a story hook, session zero, or multiclassing narrative for a PC who wants to become a druid. Published by D&D Duet.
The first part of the Dreams of Red Wizards adventure path originally published for the D&D NEXT Playtest. Following the events Ghosts of Dragonspear Castle, a new set of adventurer's will see some of the repercussions of that adventure. This adventure is intended to be continued in the Dead in Thay adventure (Note that they Dead in Thay 5e adventure featured in Tales from the Yawning Portal is missing a significant portion of interlude that links Scourge of the Sword Coast to the events within the Doomvault). The adventurers arrive when Daggerford is crowded with refugees from outlying lands. Goblins, gnolls, and orcs have been raiding the countryside. Now, food is scarce and tension is high. Blame for a theft has fallen on the refugees, and the Duke of Daggerford has forbidden more of the displaced from coming into town. After overcoming difficulties to enter Daggerford, the characters learn more about the raids. As they fight against the humanoids and delve deeper in the darkness that encircles Daggerford, the characters learn of Bloodgate Keep. After a final fiendish ambush, they’re ready to confront the real threat to the area. DM Note: This adventure points the adventurers strongly towards Bloodgate Keep but that location does not appear until the Dead in Thay adventure; at several points the party may feel drawn to explore that location rather than continue their investigations around Daggerford. However, since Bloodgate Keep is only eluded to as a source of great evil power, it can serve to easily segue to an entirely different adventure path. As a NEXT Playtest adventure, Scourge of the Sword Coast uses milestone leveling and the included stat blocks for creatures do not necessarily match or even appear in the 5e Monster Manual, nor do they have XP values or challenge ratings. In some places it will reference rules used in the Playtest but dropped or changed in the 5e release, these are unlikely to substantially impact gampley with 5e rules.
You and your cohorts have their first adventure under their belts and are now recognized heroes of the realm! You plan on building your reputations but one of your henchmen has promised his love that he would marry her. You and your group are happy to attend and quickly discover that danger lurks everywhere as bandits crash the celebration.