A Ghastly Mess is a one-shot adventure for a group of 3rd-level characters that takes place in a haunted mansion Unlike your regular haunted house, the inhabitants of this building are far from scary. The ghosts of the former staff still live in it—or, well, unlive—not realizing they’re deceased and unable to move on because of it. The Lord of the mansion still awaits the return of his beloved, Lenore, for which he has commanded the staff to have the house in pristine condition. Help the only alive member of the staff, a sleepwalking old-man, clean the house, defeat any and all monsters that might be lurking in the somewhat abandoned building and help the ghosts pass on to the great beyond in this short but exciting adventure! The story includes a host of interesting characters for your players to meet, each with their own unique personalities and accompanying art; an array of unique monsters specially designed to challenge your party in more ways than one; and an intriguing mystery surrounding Lenore’s fate and what happened to the members of the staff. Now, you might be thinking “hey, this ain’t spooky at all, what gives?” and to that I say: how dare you?! Nothing is scarier than doing your chores! That’s why we built an adventure around it! That being said, A Ghastly Mess is not meant to be a scary story, but rather an interesting mystery-type of social adventure. Most combats can be resolved by running away, the stakes are low, and the NPCs don’t think of the situation as anything more than a normal day in their lives. The tragic aspects of the story have already happened by the times the characters show up, and the intent is for everything to go well from there.
TSR 9375, from 1992
The hobgoblins were not the only forces that remained after Kalarel was slain. Before the Keep’s portal was fully sealed, evil spirits from the Shadowfell escaped into the Nentir Vale. They were drawn to Kalarel’s own dark soul, which remained in the mortal world thanks to a spirit-orb the priest had created to prevent him from moving on after death. The presence of these malignant spirits caught the attention of a frost witch called the Rime Mistress and her followers—unaligned territorial beasts—who rose up to defend their domain. The Rime Mistress knows that the spirits present a greater threat than the hobgoblins do, so she and Prang, the Iron Gauntlet leader, have agreed to an uneasy truce. Thus, the hobgoblins and the creatures of the Cairngorm Peaks are united in their struggle against Kalarel’s spirit army.
While resting in the merchant City of Gurdikar, a merchant approaches the party to investigate the disappearance of his nephew, whom he believes was betrayed by a rival house. The party must go into the into the mountain valley to find the missing nephew, return him if alive and discover any evidence of suspected treachery. Pgs. 43-51
Kidnapped! The cursed Baron von Hendriks has kidnapped your betrothed. Now the madman wants as a ransom your Alandah's weight in unrefined gold! How are you going to pay? The baron himself has been kind enough to provide you with that answer: streams of raw gold gush from a burning mountain somewhere in the Sea of Dread. All you have to do is find this mysterious mountain. Unfurl the sails! The open sea awaits you and your crew as you sail from the city harbor. But beware! The Sea of Dread has more than earned its title over the centuries. Can you survive the perils of the sea? Will your crew mutiny before you reach the Burning Mountain? Or will you have to throw crew-members overboard just to make room for the gold? Solo adventure. "Lathan's Gold" is a real innovation in solo adventure design, considerably more complex than any of the gamebooks then being produced. Though the adventures uses the typical trope of numbered paragraphs, its paragraphs are divided into six types: "S"pecularum, "U"rban", Island "E"xploration", "C"oastal", "T"rade Routes, and "V"oyages. Players can jump between the sections, then return, in slightly freeform ways. Players are also required to keep track of hit points, money, and treasure (which were typical for the more advanced gamebooks), and rations, days remaining, and hull points (which were not). Another freeform element, quite unusual for gamebooks, is the "wandering monsters" table, which introduces semi-random encounters. TSR 9082
This is the second of the "High Forest Factbook" adventures series. The caravans have stopped arriving from the North. Lady Morgwais has asked you to investigate and help reopen the trade routes. What begins as a quick job turns into a race to save a queen. This module includes a detailed description of the Elven village of Reitheillaethor including it's NPCs. It can be run either as a continuation of the adventure started in "Menace of Merric", as an extended stand alone adventure or the three individual tombs included in it can be run as short one-off adventures.
Strange events are occurring near the town of Yûlash—ground tremors originating from an old mind flayer hive. Our heroes are asked to investigate the old hive and determine the cause of the seismic activity, but another pressing matter is revealed to them, too. This Adventurers League legal adventure set in a small town near Yûlash. This module first premiered at TotalCon 2018. Contents include: PDF of the adventure PDF of the Adventurer’s League certificate High resolution maps
Take down a brutal crime boss in this one-shot heist with hijinx and heart. Explore Umizu, a seedy coastal steampunk city-state inspired by pre-modern Japan. Umizu is a Radiant Citadel locale that never got a full adventure--until now! Out of Luck features a cursed tanuki statue, a baby’s birthday party, and a steamboat fireworks battle! This one-shot includes everything you need to run a memorable caper: - Full-Color VTT-compatible steamboat bathhouse maps (DM and Player versions) - 8 Hand-drawn portraits and tokens for monsters and NPCs - Player handouts, a suspicion tracker, and three new stat blocks - Compatible with the Radiant Citadel or the Golden Vault; run as a one-shot or as part of a campaign - Thoroughly playtested and reviewed; over 30 players and DMs have gone through the adventure - A printer-friendly version Synopsis The Independent Merchants of Bright Moon Pier are sick of the Safe Oceans Society’s protection racket. After negotiations turn violent, the merchants opt for subterfuge. They hire the characters to infiltrate Boss Yashima’s birthday for her infant daughter and trick Yashima into accepting a cursed artifact, the Idol of Misfortune. Will this be a clean caper, or will the characters find themselves out of luck?
Beginning in the prison of the Castellan of Whitecliff, this campaign arc takes the players from level one to four, presented as a sandbox area in a lonely and gritty peninsula full of villains and opportunities for the players to explore. Much like Stonehell, but for regional play. Published by Coldlight Press
When one of the Lords of Waterdeep asks you to root out a threat to the city, you respond to the call. Prepare for a foray into Undermountain. Part One of the Vampire Hunt trilogy.
While enjoying some downtime in the coastal city of Forby, a disturbance catches your attention. You quickly discover that there is some trouble in the swampland to the north and the captains that navigate the area are quite upset. Is your group ready to get their waders on and figure out the problem in the swamp?
Cargo ships are being dashed against the rocks west of Hulburg, lured off course by a mysterious light. Is this the work of ordinary thieves, or are more nefarious forces at work? Wreckers is a stand-alone adventure that premiered at Kumoricon in Portland, Oregon in October of 2017. Includes: Adventure .pdf in English and Spanish Magic Item Certificate .pdf All maps as high-res .jpg
Your cousin Rolph is dead - and while there is cause for sadness, there is also cause for celebration. As his heir, you were willed his dominion: Fenhold. Of course, the Deep Swamp is threatening to engulf all of your new holding. People are seeing ghosts and disappearing mysteriously. Animals die without reason, and crops are suddenly blighted. The farmers don't like the swampdwellers, the swampdwellers don't like the farmers, and no one likes the halflings. The entire civil service of the dominion seems to have either worked for the failure of the dominion or resigned due to actions of the others. It's going to be tough task to make all this ship-shape once again, but you're 15th level now. Isn't it about time you settled down? TSR 9210
A tenday ago, the human settlers of Olostin’s Hold started hearing strange noises coming from the distant White Stag Hills. Noises of battle. Incessant sounds of thundering hooves, clashing steel, flying arrows, and screams of agony heard from miles away. Could those be the awakened spirits of the past? And if so, what could be done to lay them to rest? The answers are found in Cairn of the Centaur Conqueror, a Feywild dungeon that only appears once every 777 years...
Venzor Trench is set for a group of characters hired to deliver a magical item between two warring countries. The sea voyage becomes tumultuous and the ship goes down. With the mission unfilled the players utilize the magic item to survive on the bottom of the sea floor and continue to trek their way towards completing their misson through the legendary Venzor Trench!
After several successful adventures, you and your associates have found safe haven in the city of Acre in Dilad. While you enjoy a meal in “The Hole”, you learn of a recent theft of a merchant ship. A Captain Ibanez approaches your group and offers a job opportunity to get the missing ship back!
You wake up in a dark room with a group of friends. You don't know how you got here and your thoughts seem distant, echoing in your mind. The note you find reminds you your mission: retrieve the flower of oshadis and escape this temple alive. Culitsts and traps stand between you and freedom.
The gnomes built a dragon. Can you turn it off? We gnomes built this wonderful dragon but now the darn thing seems to be out of control. The party meets a hapless gnome tinkerer who's mechanical dragon has gone haywire! The construct is possessed by a spirit named Ahmoras. The party is led to a town called Gnomevale on the way to Mount Nevermind. Finding the town devastated by the automaton, the party follows in the wake into the mountains. The party has many ways to defeat the automaton, ranging from brute force to tricking the spirit of Ahmoras out of the construct. Pgs. 36-49
This scenario was presented to Gryphcon's 30th anniversary last year. The party finds themselves coming to the Triland on their way to Taco Del Toro. This island chain is unique in that it has a land mass made of clouds, hovering over the island. Upon landing, your group discovers that the governor's child has been abducted by a Cloud Giantess. Time for your hero hats...
A storm of unparalleled fury has been ravaging the peaks of the Earthspur Mountains for a tenday, and the Monastery of the Yellow Rose sits in its eye for now. Some monks have fled the monastery to the safety of Mulmaster and beseech you to convince their more obstinate brothers to retreat to the city before the eye of the storm shifts, and the monestary is in terrible danger. Can you brave the elements and convince the monks to escape?