Of all the inhospitable domains in the RAVENLOFT@ campaign world, Bluetspur is the cruelest and most gruesome. Nothing grows in the endless night, and lightning periodically falls like rain. The only place to escape those storms is inside the mind flayers' complex under Mt. Makab, but that is the last place where any sane person would want to go. The High Master Illithid has been hatching black plots by hatching vampiric mind flayers in his laboratories! His prodigies are horribly insane, but if he can complete his plans, he will achieve a new level of dark immortality. A pair of heroes has stolen the key to his success, but they have paid a heavy price for their bravery and are in desperate need of aid unlooked for. Meanwhile, the Lord of the Realm watches over the proceedings and plays havoc with the wits of both sides, sapping strength and will with all-powerful thoughts of darkness. A party of adventurers will need all of their skills to escape this black domain without the loss of life, power, or sanity! Enter now the perpetual twilight realm of Bluetspur, home to mind flayers, a land of relentless nightmares. There's no rest for the wicked or the good in this domain. Once caught within the borders of this desolate land, the characters must complete their mission without delay or lose their minds and become slaves of the Lord of Bluetspur. TSR 9264, from 1992
Minotaurs are fond of mazes, but rarely build them. Hex is an architect, engineer, and overlord all in one. A self-declared "Minotaur Lord", he is the only one of his kind known to exist. His lair is all he has, a gargantuan, ever-expanding labyrinth in which he keeps the spoils of his many conquests in youth. Now an ancient veteran, he works tirelessly to keep his hoard safe and to entice new adventurers to test themselves against his gauntlet of lethal traps. Tyrants and Hellions is a Dungeon Master's aide, containing fifteen villains complete with schemes, lairs, backstories, and everything else you need to drop them into your own 5th Edition Dungeons & Dragons campaign. Within its 400 pages you'll also find the methods, both mechanical and thematic, used to create villains that spark the imaginations of your players. Hex is one of these villains, and his adventure takes up 33 pages (pg 110-143). Published by 2CGaming
They sure don't make lawful allies like they used to. A question of morality versus ethics - made lethal. Pgs. 17-34
Old fog giants never die - they just slowly fade away. The House of the Brothers is an AD&D® game scenario for 3-6 characters of levels 6-10. Parties composed of less-experienced players should have higher levels, while seasoned players may be able to handle this adventure with lower-level characters. This scenario is designed to fit into the WORLD OF GREYHAWK™ Fantasy Setting. It takes place in hex M5-127 on the WORLD OF GREYHAWK boxed-set maps, three hexes north of Loftwick in The Yeomanry, on the border of the Jotens mountain range. If desired, this encounter may be used to expand a campaign using the supermodule GDQ 1-7 Queen of the Spiders, or it may stand alone. Of course, the scenario can be easily adjusted to fit into nearly any campaign world. The entire adventure may be dropped into a single evening's play. Pgs. 26-31
History states that Zobeck was reborn in blood 80 years ago, thanks in part to the creation of gearforged by a revolutionary coalition of workers and mages. Unfortunately, history has recorded only part of the truth, and the Praetors will do anything to make sure the rest remains buried.
The ravings of a mad prophet claim that a great evil has returned to Alik'bar and that this time, there shall be no salvation. Even those who previously vanquished the evil will be unable to stop it. Terror now grips the lower class populace while the guards and merchant class go about their days, ignoring the "Stories" of an unseen menace. "There is nothing wrong here," come the stern replies of the city guard. All the while the Mayor and his people retort, "the Evil in Alik'bar was banished long ago. This is nothing but vagrants and charlatans, begging for attention." The Church of Salvation has another opinion, but their words die down in a city griped with tension , apathy, and a demoralized poor class. The question remains: Why is there fear running in a city's slums? What does it have anything to do with the missing vagrants who disappeared so many years ago? Is there really a great threat, or is there a simpler answer? This is a sandboxy, mystery adventure in a city. There are secretly a green and a blue dragon leading factions in the city. In Cold Blood was updated to D&D 3.5 for the AEG adventure compilation 'Adventure II'
The Nobriskovs are a proud and pious noble family beset by troubles they wish to keep quiet. When their angelic daughter is abducted by duergar slavers, the player characters are asked to surreptitiously rescue her from her captors. However, the distinction between predator and prey blurs as they discover the noble scion's secret. What's included? 1 hair-raising adventure divided into single-page sections for easy running 3 fully-colored maps with unlabeled versions for players (made with assets from 2-minute Tabletop) 4 statblock variations for cursed creatures in addition to detailed mechanics on implementing a more virulent strain of lycanthropy 6+ ending permutations based on what the player characters do and how they do them Content Warnings: Violence, death, abduction, slavery, horror
The Approaching Swarm is a short adventure for four 9th-level characters. The party can consist of any mix of classes, but it should include at least one character that is good in wilderness settings, such as a druid, ranger, or barbarian, and at least one cleric. This scenario should prove a reasonable challenge for characters from 8th to 10th level. The adventure takes place in a swampland that is near a small settlement. The adventurers have located the secret lair of Aleretheral, an insane half-orc druid with mastery over vermin. He has been breeding and training monstrous vermin to defend his territory. With the adventurers invading his home, he will do anything he can to protect it.
The adventures in Dalentown continue in The Darkness Beneath Dalentown. Workers in the town’s sewers have stumbled upon the long abandoned halls of the dwarves that once settled beneath this region. What they’ve found is a haunted library. What they’ve woken is something far more sinister! The Darkness Beneath Dalentown features hordes of oozes, undead, and demons festering for years in an ancient dwarven mining stronghold. Now, they are slowly working their way to the surface, and the folk of Dalentown are in dire peril!
Do you want to run or play an adventure where characters start at level 13 instead of ending at level 13, and actually get to progress to 20 like the rules say they should? Do your players like to travel far and wide, exploring a huge unknown area? Do your players like to change their plans on a whim, and travel somewhere other than where they told you they planned to go last session? Do your players feel like fighting against an empire at odds of 20,000 to 1? Do your players want to commit occasional acts of sky piracy? Do you want an adventure that is designed to handle players using Scrying, Transport Via Plants, and Teleportation on a daily basis? If you answered yes to some of these questions, this adventure may be for you. Check out the detailed preview packet, which includes a campaign log showing how this adventure has actually played out. WARNING: FULL OF SPOILERS; VERY LONG. Against the Idol of the Sun is an epic hexcrawl campaign designed for high-level play. Adventuring parties should start at about level 13, and will likely end the campaign at level 20 with multiple Epic Boons. As a hexcrawl, there is no set adventure path that the party must follow. There is only one encounter that's even close to plot-mandatory aside from the climactic battle. Anything else can be skipped or handled in any order. The players are free to move about the map in any direction at any time, limited only by the risk of enemy action and encounters. The DM, meanwhile, is encouraged to have foes react to and actively hunt the PCs once they become a threat. Along the way, they may find and explore a number of dungeons, including a millenia-old laboratory in the grips of a time distortion, several mines that were abandoned for good reason yet may hold wealth within, and other challenges appropriate for high-level characters. This module is heavy on Exploration and Combat, but the Social aspect of D&D also is necessary as the player characters meet new peoples, work to convince them that they can make a difference, motivate them to action, and create overall plans for the NPCs and factions to follow off-screen to support the players in their main assaults. The key set piece encounters, which are optional but highly probable, involve attacking well-defended temples in the centers of enemy cities. Planning for these attacks will require paying attention to reconnaissance, timing, the use of allies, how to enter, and how to exit and break contact succesfully when dealing with enemies that fly faster than most player characters can walk. The adventure does not include artwork, and the maps are basic.
This is a short adventure than can be completed in a single session, for 4-5 players of 1st level. The old church at the edge of town has long been abandoned, but a week ago several robed figures arrived in town and have taken up residence in the old church. Since then, the townsfolk claim to have seen a strange mist around the building, and several folks have gone missing. Little do they know, these cultists have awoken a long dead necromancer, who seeks to bind a dark power to its will.
Pursued by wolves and worse, the party must fight a running battle to take refuge at the relative safety of the Bittermoon Inn, a decrepit old inn high in the mountains. But night is falling, can they uncover the secrets of the inn and use them to survive the night? This adventure can be played as a stand alone one-shot, or can be used as a drop-in side quest to almost any campaign. It is suitable for a party of about 5 characters at the First Tier (Levels 1-4). The players must fight a running battle with wolves to reach Bittermoon, then they must discover the secrets of the inn before escaping through a smuggler's tunnel. Finally they must face off against their unseen opponent at Skull Cavern. There are four encounter maps included with this title.
A black dragon’s treasure hoard has been located in the Twilight Marsh, and within it are secrets that hold interest to the factions. With the dragon marauding over the countryside, the horde is left unguarded. Now is the time to plunder its lair!
Captain Brunswick’s Manor is a dark, dream-infused adventure where players unravel the mysteries of a haunted noble estate. As they navigate twisted corridors, confront eerie foes like the Dreamborne Wyvern and Auntie Sol, and face mind-bending trials in a nightmare-filled dream realm, the party must find a way to free Captain Brunswick and his daughter from their cursed slumber. With multiple routes through the manor and unique magical rewards, this adventure offers both intense combat and chilling roleplay. Boss Fights: Engage in memorable battles against Captain Brunswick, the Dreamborne Wyvern, and the malevolent Auntie Sol. Puzzle Encounters: Solve challenging trials that mix dream and reality, testing both wit and strength. Legendary Weapon: Unlock Tulva, the Tide Bringer, a powerful magic weapon that evolves with its wielder.
Dracula, the Lord of Shadow and Darkness, has covered the land in shadow and dispatched armies of monsters and undead from his magical castle. His armies threaten to overrun major cities and plunge the world into a literal Dark Age. The last of the vampire-hunting clan that traditionally opposed him has disappeared, and still the armies advance. He must be stopped. If that's not enough motivation, it is well-known that his castle is full of magical items and great riches... but also great danger. If you've ever wanted D&D and Castlevania to meet, look no further. This adventure is exactly what you wanted. Every area of the castle poses different and unique challenges to keep the party engaged and on their toes. Written for the DM as a ready-to-run adventure, it is designed for four to six characters. The adventure starts at level 3 at the outer defenses of the castle, and ends with the party advancing to level 13 after defeating Dracula in an epic battle. The adventure includes documentation to help even a new DM succed, including suggestions for how to run each of the area "boss" monsters in combat. There are approximately 50 new enemies and over 3 dozen new magical items. It also comes with a list of suggested music for many areas of the castle, and a 25-page campaign log recounting an actual tabletop play-through of this adventure from the DM's perspective.
Some weeks ago, a tiny sliver of shadow crept into Yarralanya Swamp. It fed on the worms, then on the fish and snakes, growing larger over time until it threatened the lives of the swamp folk, who took up their weapons and fought back, to no avail. In order to buy time for a second attempt, the swamp folk began to steal livestock from the nearby village to satiate the beast’s hunger. After all, who but those villagers could be responsible for unleashing this threat? Soon after, a band of adventurers visiting Rishel’s Hollow find themselves tasked with a simple mission: end the theft of cattle by whatever means necessary. This adventure should run for 3-5 hours, either as a standalone one-shot or as part of an existing campaign, especially one featuring creatures from the Shadowfell or the experiments of a mage. Encounters assume a party of 4-6 level 4 characters.
Centuries ago, the priest-king Kyuss sacrificed his nation to fuel his lust for divinity. He left legions of the hungry dead in his wake, along with a ruined city that now hides the truth behind the coming apocalypse. A man became a god in this worm-eaten city, and the secrets hidden there may hold the key to his defeat. "The Spire of Long Shadows" is the seventh installment of the Age of Worms Adventure Path, a complete campaign consisting of 12 adventures, several "Backdrop" articles to help Dungeon masters run the series, and a handful of poster maps of key locations. For additional aid in running this campaign, check out Dragon's monthly "Worm Food" articles, a series that provides additional materials to help players survive this campaign. Issue #339 of Dragon presents a magical pool owned by Manzorian that can give the PCs just the edge they need to survive what awaits them in the "Spire of Long Shadows." Pgs. 59-89
The giants are only a half-mile away - straight up. Giants and humanoids that sail down from the heavens? Where could they be coming from? No base town or general area map has been provided, as this adventure can take place anywhere and can be easily integrated into any existing campaign.The DM should make sure that the town in which the PCs start is large enough to provide most anticipated supplies, spells, and services. This module is not a simple hack·and slay expedition. It also involves diplomacy and wit; if the PCs attack everything in sight, they may be destroyed. But the adventure is not entirely negotiation, for it has a good share of hearty dungeon exploration as well. Pgs. 4-23
The temple of dawn was once a place of miracles and wonders, the jewel of its valley. Now it’s nothing more than a folk tale hidden in lullabies and tall tales of boastful hunters. But not everyone has lost faith in the Goddess of Dawn. In this brief adventure, for 3-4 adventurers of level 3-5, Kendrick Rosenbud asks the players to retrive a gem belonging to his family from the temple of Aurora. After some days of travelling the party reaches the temple. from here on out its the players job to discovere the hidden room with the gem and take it back to Kendrick.
Nestled on the coast of the Azure Sea is Saltmarsh, a sleepy fishing village that sits on the precipice of destruction. Smugglers guide their ships to hidden coves, willing to slit the throat of anyone foolhardy enough to cross their path. Cruel sahuagin gather beneath the waves, plotting to sweep away coastal cities. Drowned sailors stir to unnatural life, animated by dark magic and sent forth in search of revenge. The cult of a forbidden god extends its reach outward from a decaying port, hungry for fresh victims and willing recruits. While Saltmarsh slumbers, the evils that seek to plunder it grow stronger. Heroes must arise to keep the waves safe! Ghosts of Saltmarsh combines some of the most popular classic adventures from the first edition of Dungeons & Dragons including the classic ‘U’ series and some of the best nautical adventures from Dungeon magazine: The Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh Danger at Dunwater The Final Enemy Salvage Operation Isle of the Abbey Tammeraut’s Fate The Styes All adventures have been faithfully adapted to the fifth edition rules of Dungeons & Dragons. Furthermore, this book includes details on the port town of Saltmarsh, as well as plenty of hooks to kick-off each adventure. Play through each story in a seafaring campaign leading characters from level 1 through level 12, or pull out sections to place in ongoing campaigns in any setting. The appendices also cover mechanics for ship-to-ship combat, new magic items, monsters, and more! “The Saltmarsh series consistently ranks as one of the most popular classic D&D adventures,” said Mike Mearls, franchise creative director of D&D. “With its ties to ocean-based adventuring, it was an obvious step to augment it with additional sea-based adventures and a robust set of rules for managing a nautical campaign.” Hoist your sails, pull up anchor, and set a course for adventure!