As the story goes, worshipers of Bahamut and worshipers of Gruumsh spent years warring. As the dead piled up, a Bahamut faithful crafted a weapon of devastating power. Most of the inventor’s peers balked at its use, but some felt it was justified. Those few who used the weapon were twisted into mad, dark beings by its corrupting power. The rest of Bahamut’s flock locked them and the weapon away in a dungeon prison. The dungeon and its terrible secret were long forgotten—until a group of rakshasas happened across the ancient tale. Now they seek the weapon for their own designs. Pgs. 132-137
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
The Bloody Maul of Kord is a magic weapon protected by the priests of Kord, who occasionally allow a noteworthy hero to use it when going on a dangerous quest worthy of the storm deity’s blessing. Six months ago, Atrimos of Ardor took the Bloody Maul for a quest to the Caverns of Demise, hoping to end attacks to the realm being launched from the caverns. He never returned. Now, the clerics of Kord hire the PCs to go into the caverns to retrieve the Bloody Maul of Kord—and to find Atrimos, if possible. Pgs. 108-113
Centuries ago, a green dragon terrorized the civilized lands near its lair. As the beast grew in power, countless cult followers gathered. With the help of its worshipers, the dragon transformed into a runescribed dracolich. The dragon and its cult grew larger and more powerful over the centuries. This, of course, led to war with the surrounding nations. After terrible battles and much loss, the cultists were slaughtered and the dragon destroyed, but its phylactery could not be found. The beast reformed, gathered cultists anew, and again was defeated. The phylactery still could not be found. This time, the powers of civilization decided not to destroy the beast, but to trap it, locking it away and setting various guards. Recently, a divination ritual performed by someone the PCs respect revealed that great peril will arise if a creature lairing in Mount Sorrowspire (the dracolich) is not destroyed. Pgs. 180-185
Every fifty years, a pair of storm titans met to pray in an isolated and well guarded cloud temple. This time, they have obtained a copy of the fabled Ritual of the Primordial Gate and are exploring its secrets in hopes of bringing a lost primordial to the world. Divine messengers are sent to the PCs to enlist their aid in disrupting the storm titans’ efforts.
The Raiders’ Hideout is a series of underground chambers (or perhaps the interior of a pyramid) that serves as a base of operations for a band of gnoll desert raiders. The PCs have come to exact a measure of justice for recent brutal caravan raids. They’ve tracked the gnolls to their lair, where they intend to end the threat to desert trade once and for all. Pgs. 30-35
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
At the behest of Orcus, Demon Prince of Undeath, a mighty deathpriest hierophant has begun assembling a powerful strike force. He intends to launch the first of many assaults on the world, readying it for his master’s arrival. With the help of potent allies and grand rituals, the PCs have discovered a route to the Abyssal headquarters of this hierophant. This delve begins as the PCs teleport from the world to the first of a complex of interconnected chambers deep in the Abyss, linked only by portals. Pgs. 126-131
Numerous towns sit in the shadow of Rak’Sarn, a mountain of flames and death. Each day near sunset, the volcano lets loose a blast of molten rock and ash, and the ancient red dragon Dal’Sarnquin swoops down the mountainside. By the time dawn breaks, another settlement has been burned to the ground. The PCs must track the dragon to his lair and defeat him before more towns are destroyed. Pgs. 196-191
A group of snaketongue cultists has occupied an abandoned, partially sunken temple near a swamp. They grow impatient waiting for their yuan-ti master to join them, unaware that he has been slain by a rival faction of yuan-ti. Frustrated, the cult strikes against nearby villages in the hope of drawing the favor of Zehir. Investigating rumors of a serpent cult harassing a nearby town, the PCs have explored the swamp and discovered the overgrown temple. Its once-ornate stone door now hangs off its hinges, providing a narrow space for one character at a time to squeeze through. Pgs. 42-47
Jelendra, a tulani of summer, has gathered a small following of dark fey creatures to help her get revenge against the Highridge Arcane eladrin elders. When they had the nerve to question her interest (they called it “obsession”) in the destructive power of the Wild Hunt, Jelendra flew into a rage and stormed out of the Highridge Arcane. Now, she controls a fane to an ancient spirit of the Wild Hunt. Not knowing what became of her, the elders ask the adventurers to find Jelendra. “Let her know that she is missed, and we want her to return home,” one elder says. Pgs. 114-119
A nest of vampires has claimed a dark forest and the surrounding human towns as its domain. Some of the local residents revere the vampires and serve as daylight guardians and spies. However, most of the townsfolk live in a state of dread. Those townsfolk have finally scavenged enough valuables to hire a band of adventurers to destroy the nest. Pgs. 66-71
The Raven Queen’s servants often seek out mighty allies. One of these is the black dragon Quetzallus, who resides in a deep cavern on the Shadowfell guarding a stream of souls flowing into the Raven Queen’s realm. But a death knight named Raxikarthus, betrayed by the Raven Queen in life, now seeks to enslave this dragon for his own purposes. He madly believes that he can stand against the Raven Queen, and seeks allies of all stripes—even her own servants—to do so. The death knight has found a pathway into the Shadowfell thought closed by mortals. Beneath a decayed keep, the undead dragonborn has reopened this portal and led his forces into the Shadowfell itself. The PCs are called in to beard the death knight in his lair. They find it abandoned, but discover a strange passage in the lower reaches. Pgs. 162-167
Long ago, before the arrival of civilized humanoids, a large colony of ogres thrived in the local area. When a great invasion from another dimension threatened this colony, their king, Koptila, prayed for his people to be spared. The gods heard these pleas, but commanded Koptila to sacrifice himself. The leader did so, and the clan disappeared—whisked away by the gods and lost to time. Over the years, a city grew up above the former subterranean home of the ogres, and no aspect of Koptila’s ancient bargain was preserved or remembered. Even so, the stars are aligned for the return of Koptila and his people. These powerful repatriates are unlikely to appreciate the changes in their old home. A sage has found dusty documents prophesying this return, and he asks the PCs to investigate the catacombs to defeat the potential threat to the city. The PCs travel down through city sewers and subterranean passages before finding the catacombs that the ogre colony once called home. Pgs. 48-53
The PCs have traveled to the Nine Hells to confront an outpost of devils responsible for slave raids on their homeland. In this realm of burning ash and fire-streaked skies, the infernal legions prepare constantly for war. Pgs. 138-143
Kavalar Coppernight, a dwarf prospector, led a couple of dozen volunteers in a quest for rich veins of ore. Several months ago, they began underground mining operations, as well as a surface excavation for a small keep. Hearing of this development, the mayor of the nearest town sent two veteran militia members to investigate. They should have returned two days ago, and the mayor is growing anxious. The PCs are asked by the mayor to find out what happened to the two militia members. Pgs. 12-17
A band of evil fey, led by a corrupt bralani, has raided an eladrin city and kidnapped several respected elders. The fomorian king claims the rogues don’t act on his behalf, but the eladrin city threatens the fomorians all the same. To prevent war, the PCs travel through the Underdark of the Feywild—a wondrous place filled with the beautiful and the horrifying—in search of the evil fey and their captives. Pgs. 96-101
The necromancer Tal Lorvas has unearthed an underground tomb that dates back to the height of the ancient tiefling empire. Lorvas has been terrorizing the surrounding lands with his vile experiments, and now he hopes to find a ring, hidden in the tomb, that is tied to a ritual he wants to perform by the rise of the next full moon. The PCs must enter the tomb of Empress Nemeia, deal with the servants of the necromancer, and confront Tal Lorvas before he can claim the ancient relic and move one step closer to ultimate power over the undead. Pgs. 36-41
Every priest in the city dreamed last night of a forgotten temple carved into the side of a nearby mountain. In the dream, a storm raged deep within the temple, and the dreamers knew instinctively that evil forces sought to unleash that storm upon the surrounding lands. Pgs. 120-125
Days ago, a portal to the Elemental Chaos appeared near the PCs’ home city. Since then, it has grown into an enormous sinkhole that periodically belches fire and brimstone. The rip in reality threatens to overwhelm settlements and a nearby river unless someone ventures through and closes it from the other side. Pgs. 102-107