Part 5 of the Carrion Crown Adventure Path takes place in Ustalav's capital Caliphas. The heroes are in the city to follow the trail of evidence left by the neromantic cult The Whispering Way and strengthen their bonds with the mysterious Order of the Palantine Eye. Whilst in the city, they uncover a string of murders. When they discover that all the victims were vampires, they descend into the underground vampire city and have the possibility to form a tentative alliance with the vampire clans. If they help solve the murders, the vampire lord promises to help them on their quest. What role do the deadly necromancers have in the undead murders plaguing Caliphas? What secret grudge exists between the cult and the rulers of the night? And will the heroes be able to save the capital without sacrificing their very souls? This book includes: - “Ashes at Dawn,” a Pathfinder RPG adventure for 11th-level characters, by Neil Spicer - A gazetteer of fog-haunted Caliphas, the mysterious and deadly capital of Ustalav, by F. Wesley Schneider - A terrifying look into the blasphemous church of Urgathoa, goddess of gluttony, disease, and the undead, by Sean K Reynolds - Laurel Cylphra’s attempt to steal a soul stealer in the Pathfinder’s Journal, by F. Wesley Schneider - Six new monsters by Crystal Frasier, Patrick Renie, and Sean K Reynolds
The small village of Angst in western Famore has a humanoid problem. A missive on the message totem is calling for help to dispatch these pesky raiders. It is believed that they are working out of the abandoned Opair Keep. Locals gasp in amazement as the locale is well known to be cursed!
In this adventure players are set first on a simple task, to solve the disappearance of the local witch before outside forces take an interest. But as the players get deeper, they will rapidly kind themselves on a quest for far more, as they range from an alchemist's lair on a crumbling tower down to a dark swamp full of mystery and danger, seeking a holy relic that might lead them to the outskirts of Hell itself. All in service of the sleepy Village Sujeira and the dusty souls within. 1452: Saving Sujeira’s Soul is an adventure set in northern Portugal on an alternate history Earth during the year 1452, in a world where history is much the same, but for the fact that the Rus are all hirsute dwarves, the hordes that poured out of central Asia were orcish (and half-orcs are mostly janissaries split among the Ottoman Empire’s demesnes), and elves are creatures of rumors and myth. Halflings live among the English and Portuguese in villages and farms, while goblins are pests best left for dead in the wilds between civilized countries. The Church arms its inquisitors with holy blessings, for witches are not mere milk-souring old women but vile devil-pacted souls, and wizards and sorcerers seek human and kine for sacrifices to fuel their darkling magics. There be dragons on the edges of the world, and ogres and sea serpents and giants, but the alchemists of this world know things beyond mortal ken and fight these horrors with science and canny concoctions. Published by Coldlight Press
With Pardor in the middle of a heated civil war, your PCs have their own futures to ponder. Pulling into the fortified town of Parmatu, the group quickly discovers that they are not the only strangers in town. The plot thickens quickly as the adventurers discover that the other strangers are none other than a member of the royal family. Can the PCs help defend the rightful heir against a group of marauders hell bent on catching the young lord?
The night air is chilly, but the crackling fire you've started warms your bones comfortably. Crickets chirp, and you smile up at the stars, glad for the quiet evening. There is a loud roar, and you are blinded momentarily as the campfire suddenly surges up into the air. The flames split down the middle, revealing an abyss that leeches the warmth from your soul. Out of this hellish place stumbles a black-cloaked figure clutching a scythe. Quickly, you reach for your weapons. The strange apparition staggers for a moment. Then, gathering its strength, it pulls back the hood on its cloak. Beneath is a bleached skull with stars for eyes. "I am Azrael, Lord of the Undead," it hisses. "Or rather, I will be Azrael, after time itself has died." Even as Azrael speaks, decay begins to eat away at its body, and the god shudders. Holding one arm up to watch as tiny fissures form in its bones, the deity sighs, "Ah, sweet Entropy, come to claim me at last." It's gaze sweeps back to you. "But no, not just yet. First, I must set events in motion." Weakness begins to overcome Azrael, and it sinks to one knee. "Long ago, I became the most powerful of all the gods, in spite of my enemies' efforts to stop me. Delirious with power, I destroyed the other gods and eventually fell to feasting upon the souls of their worshipers. After devouring every living creature, I consume the planets and, eventually, the stars themselves, until I was left alone, in darkness." The god struggles to finish its message as its bones turn to dust and blow away, "Unexpectedly, I felt remorse for what I had done. I grieved for the universe I had destroyed, but I lack the power to recreate it. So, I have come to you, to beg you to do what I cannot." Azrael reaches into its cloak and produces a leather sack. "Take these items and use them." As Azrael dissolves, it gasps out, "Kill me tonight, or tomorrow will never dawn." All that remains is a pile of dust and a leather bag.
The Kierhammer clan of dwarves pride themselves as excellent excavators, but the respective families are not without friction. While clearing the entrance to the tomb of an ancient king, tensions rose following the death of one of the Kierhammers, who seemingly fell accidentally. It is your job to ensure the clan stays united, and when disease strikes, to make sure resources are managed properly, so that the mission is complete and you all return alive. A wicked force, however has other plans...
"The Devil Box" is a D&D adventure suitable for four 2nd-level PCs, although it can be modified for parties of 1st or 4th-5th levels as noted int the "Scaling the Adventure" sidebar. Characters completing the adventure are likely to advance to 3rd level. Much of the action takes place in a small town during a festival; this town can easily be dropped into an existing campaign. Since "The Devil Box" expects the PCs to deal with kobolds as temporary allies, it throws in some ethical dilemmas for good-aligned characters. Paladins and good-aligned clerics my have difficulties with such an alliance, but kobolds are definitely the lesser of the two evils involved in this adventure. If the party spurns the assistance of potential kobold allies, you may wish to modify the adventure to make it a bit easier on the player characters, as encounters have been written with the assumption that the heroes have a little help. Uploader's note: A hilariously creepy adventure involving a circus (freakshow), with in style illustrations! (Grid maps included, but not separate maps.)
Looking for a little extra jink and maybe some excitement? It seems the Doomguard lost track of their coveted ship of chaos. It's flying about the abyss, driving the local tanar'ri even more barmy than they already are. Several factions want to get their hands on the Doomguard's stake, so there's bound to be a few job offers for bloods looking for a little action. Every sod's got a tale to tell about the abyss—it's the sinkhole of the multiverse, after all, peopled with every kind of scum a body can imagine and a few he can't. Never been there? Well, there's no time like the present. *** "In the Abyss" is a Planescape adventure for a party of four to six characters of levels 8 to 10. A simple errand to salvage the lost ship of chaos allows the player characters their first opportunity to explore the most notorious plane of them all. Of course, complications are as inevitable as the tanar'ri! The Planescape Campaign Setting and Planes of Chaos boxed sets, as well as the Planescape Monstrous Compendium Appendix, are required to run this adventure. TSR 2605
The whispered worries grow more fanciful and terrifying by the day... where has the loremistress gone?... what's wrong with the master smith?... who-or what-stalks the marketplace?... The questions need answers, and heroes are needed to do the asking! But the only thing worse than what hunts the mist-shrouded streets is what lies beneath them... Adventure in Dun Eamon: Demons roam the streets of the city of Dun Eamon, criminals rule the night and an important local power figure has gone missing. Can your heroes unravel the clues that lead through every social element of the city, into the hearts of its inhabitants and far below its streets in search of answers? Or are some mysteries better left unsolved? Uncover An Artifact: The Grey Citadel is a mini-campaign of urban detective work and dungeon exploration designed for four or more characters of 5th level. Set in a rain-soaked, rough-and-tumble frontier city, The Grey Citadel offers numerous colorful NPCs, a richly unique location, new monsters and magic items plus enough plot twists to provide hours of role-playing and door-kicking adventure where your wits must be as sharp as your swords!" This adventures mixes dungeon crawl with city investigation, keyed encounters and timed encounters.
An expansion on the original Tomb of Horrors with plot and explanation. Contains a facsimile of the original adventure. The Dark Intrusion is causing the dead to rise from their graves. This is linked to a being known as the Devourer. Following the trail of Desatysso, a wizard who followed a similar quest, the players must enter the Tomb, and beyond that, the cursed City that Waits and the Fortress of Conclusion.
Ages of Buried Evil The Bonegarden is a small nation ruled by the dead, a circular cemetery 1 mile in diameter, surrounded by a magical containment field that keeps its denizens from spilling into the innocent world beyond. Within the gate lies one of the true blights of the Domain of Hawkmoon, an immense graveyard that serves as the prison for the doomed spirits of thousands of history's most awful criminals. Those inside are determined to escape, and one of them may have found a way... An Endless Forum of Adventure The cemetery is a self-contained battlefield that abounds with undead of types the heroes have never seen, each with its own special plan for escaping its eternal confinement. The Bonegarden contains dozens of new spells, feats, monsters, and magic items. All the action takes place inside a mile-wide arena where the dead are the majority and the living are hunted like wild game. The heroes have come to the cemetery in search of adventure. The only question is... can they get out?
When local farmer Jonas Cappa goes missing while hunting mushrooms and then reappears, hours later, naked and without any of his belongings, his wife goes to the party to investigate. Jonas claims to have fallen into a hole in the ground, but none can be found. What really happened to him and can it be stopped before things get worse? (Spoiler: they are probably going to get worse). A one-shot adventure for characters of levels 1-4 designed to be dropped into any campaign, inspired by the X-Files (but firmly D&D).
Explore an abandoned wizard’s tower in this short mini dungeon! This adventure is a Micro Dungeon. Preface Long ago a wise wizard named Adubeus lived deep within the forest. As he lived, he would pass out nuggets of wisdom to those in need, and aid the local townsfolk in times most dire. Long past are these happy days, however, and the kindly old wizard has not been seen in many decades. Some say he found a calling elsewhere in the world, while others whisper of his demise at the hands of a secret experiment gone awry. One thing is certain, however. His tower, long forgotten, still stands out there in the forest. Occasionally, some hapless person wanders upon it much to their personal peril. The specific details of Adubeus are left vague on purpose. This small adventure is intended to be played as part of a larger campaign, and the location can be modified to fit your setting. The reasons for your adventuring party to be heading towards the tower are entirely up to you, however, below are some good sample adventure hooks.
For hundreds of years, Aknar Ratalla's tomb remained undisturbed, the Black Blade safely hidden within its vaults. Can a band of adventurers use the tomb's guardians and traps to keep it that way? Long ago, Aknar Ratella brought pain and desolation down upon the land. His reign of ruin was finally ended by an unlikely alliance of the forces of law: a band of devils and devas slew the warlord but were unable to destroy his dangerous weapons and relics. They chose instead to hide these potent artifacts of evil in a remote tomb, selecting a devil and a deva to stand guard over the tomb for the rest of time. For many centuries, the tomb stood unspoiled... but now, a new player has entered the scene. After infiltrating the tomb themselves, a band of adventurers must become its guardians and use its denizens and traps to prevent a monstrous gnoll chieftain from claiming the deadly artifacts hidden within for his own nefarious glory. Pgs. 58-80
What happens when adventurers become the owners of a brothel? When a roguish associate asks them to attend an oligarch’s party in his place? What lurks in the Cartways besides kobolds? And what will you say when another thief tells you the only way to find a treasure is to become hunted by the Praetors? Dark dealings, my boys, and a knife in the guts might be the price. Whose guts? Might be yours if you cross the wrong one of the Nine. How much evil should be done for the greater good? How many sinful men should die to save a pure soul?
When her father goes missing, a young adventurer has no other choice than to gather her friends and head for the city of Loudwater. Soon after she gets swept away in an obscure design threatening to drag the entire region into chaos and war. At the heart of this mystery, lies not only her father, but the long-forgotten history of her once-despised family and a primordial beast influencing events from the shadows, moving her family like pieces on a chess board. Visit www.perfumersdaughter.com for more information. You can also address me directly on The Perfumer's Daughter Q&A on Facebook. All battlemaps and dungeons are free to download for use in digital platforms (such as roll20) on the aforementioned site.
This adventure concerns a once-proud fortress that fell into the earth in an age long past. Now known as the Sunless Citadel, its echoing, broken halls house malign creatures. Evil has taken root at the citadel's core, which is deep within a subterranean garden of blighted foliage. Here a terrible tree and its dark shepherd plot in darkness.
Come and wolf down the adventure! It’s been a long time since the people of Welton have worried about anything but sheep ticks and late frosts, but now a pack of strangely determined wolves are spiriting away entire flocks at a time and driving farmers from their fields. With food running low and their sorcerer-in-residence nowhere to be found, the village council send out a desperate plea for brave adventurers to destroy the beasts. Is the job as easy as a walk in the woods, or is there more to the Wolves of Welton than mere animal cunning? There’s only one way to find out… A fresh take on the ancient 'kill ten wolves' quest that RPG fans will be so familiar with, The Wolves of Welton is designed to be played from start to finish in just one 3-6 hour session with limited preparation from the DM. All major characters have roleplaying notes included and full-size environment maps are included.
Arnyn, a merfolk mercenary, has been hired to clean out the sewers below a thriving port city. Unfortunately, she jumped at the payday before truly understanding what she was being asked to do. Now she's looking for someone to take over her contract.
While sitting around your favorite tavern, a loud explosion shatters the serene mood of Moscow. You sprint to the source and discover the distillery has exploded. The glum populace grumble loudly. With winter setting in and nothing to do the citizens rely on the libations from this business to cheer them up. You are approached to scour the canyon area before the winter sets in to find a few extra kegs for the people.