A new, expanded, OSR-ised, prettified edition of Joseph R. Lewis’ Ragged Hollow Nightmare which was rated among The Best by Tenfootpole. Joseph Lewis hit a perfect balance between the classics of dungeonverse fantasy and the whimsy of the folk tales we love so much (as testified by our Folklore Bestiary. we released last year), adding a dash of dreamworld strangeness and a pinch of body horror to spice up his brew. We did our best to respect his recipe when adding our extra material (about 30 pages of it). We worked with Joe and Li-An (the perfect artist to give life to spooky Ragged Hollow and its strange surroundings) to make the best module we could: a solid introduction to old-school gaming for both players and gamemasters. And for the veterans among us, it also makes an excellent, full-fledged campaign starter. Nightmare over Ragged Hollow is a sandbox adventure centred around a quaint town at the edge of the kingdom. But however quiet life in Ragged Hollow is, the town lies between places where you shouldn’t be traveling alone. Places like Gloam Wood (“A witch or two lurk there!”), the Bleak Mountains (“I’m told there are bugbears…”) and their infamous Mount Mourn (“Home, they say, to cursed Dwarven ruins”), not to forget the Wailing Hills (“Bandits on every road!”). There’s even a haunted house by the river (“That mad inventor riddled it with traps!”). But only when an impenetrable dome of golden light materialises around the Temple of Halcyon (“Hey, my kids go to school there!”) do things really get out of hand. Some selfless heroes (or, failing that, a bunch of greedy ne’er-do-wells) should really get involved. One town with three adventure mini-sites Three small dungeons One 50-room dungeon Three hexes with 16 detailed locations Two groups of potential allies or rivals Sixteen pre-generated characters One deadly countdown! Written for the Old-School Essentials (OSE) rule system
Operating as secret agents for the Lords of Waterdeep, a promising lead takes you deep into the world of the Xanathar, but what will it take for you to return?
In an age obscured by mist and memory, Sir Galen the Brave and his knights struck down the Drake of Crestmoor with steel and flame. But as the years turned, and the heroes returned to dust, their deeds faded into myth. Doubt lurked where awe once dwelled, and in time, the bards sang of lesser deeds. In the hollows of the wilderness, the stones of their forgotten tomb crumbled beneath ivy and shadow. The Cursed Knights of Crestmoor is a short dungeon crawl for four characters of levels 1-2 using Shadowdark RPG ©. The adventure is designed to be easy to run for new game masters. Players should not be cavalier in their approach to this dungeon. There are threats in the tomb which could easily kill foolhardy player characters. Long ago a band of knights led by Sir Galen slew the black dragon known as the Drake of Crestmoor - a malevolent creature whose true name was Morghast the Black. With his dying breath, the dragon cursed Galen and his friends that they would never find rest in death. Today, the once well-kept tomb has fallen into ruin. Some time ago a band of kobolds moved into the subterranean mausoleum and began using it as a base of operations. More recently, a lizardfolk shaman named Kall’eth and his warband arrived and took over, pressing the kobolds into their service. Kall’eth came to Galen’s tomb to recover the knight’s Fireblade - a sword of dwarvish make used to slay Morghast long ago. The tomb is crawling with kobolds, lizardfolk, and the restless husks of Galen and his compatriots. A magic sword, a missing wedding ring, and plenty of adventure await you in…The Cursed Knights of Crestmoor!
The Licktoads, once the great and fierce goblin tribe in Brinestump Marsh, were defeated by human adventurers! All that remains of the tribe are its four goblin "heroes". Homeless and bored, they left their swampy homeland to join the neighboring goblin tribe, the Birdcrunchers. The good news is that the Birdcrunchers are willing to let the goblin heroes join their tribe. The better news is that the Birdcrunchers have heard of these four, and want one of them to become their new chieftain. The bad news is that before the goblins can join, they'll need to endure a series of dangerous and humiliating tests. Very dangerous. Very humiliating. The worse news is that lately Birdcruncher chieftains have had really short lifespans—they're being killed by the pet fire-breathing boar of a local ogre who wants the Birdcruncher land as his own. Part 2 of the We Be Goblins series.
Jarl Aelfric Whitehand of Jotunspine, one of the Moonshae Isles, is not happy. His ward, Cordin Wainthrower, has disappeared. Clues imply that Cordin has headed for a ruined keep deep in the Giantspine Mountains. The characters are tasked by the jarl to track down Cordin and bring him back to safety – the Giantspines are filled with many dangers including the legendary Winter King, a fey of great power. Will the characters force Cordin to return to the keep or help him in his quest to restore a family heirloom? If they help him, they must face the chilling depths of the crypt of Icegate Keep. Icegate Keep is an adventure for the first tier, levels 1 to 4. The adventure includes full scaling recommendations for each level, as well as four pre-generated PCs at each of the four levels. The adventure is designed to be tough for the pre-gen PCs, who have little magic to brave the icy mountains. It is estimated to take 4-6 hours to play. The adventure has several new monsters including Ice Wights, Ice Zombies, Frostsnakes, and the infamous Winter King. New magic items are also included such as the greatsword Frostreaver, the ancient Snowbane dagger, the Horn of the Howling Wolf, and the Throne of the Winter King. There is a player handout outlining the legend of the Winter King and three battlemaps showing separate levels of the small keep.
Delve into ancient ruins of civilizations past in this one-session adventure for 4th level heroes of the world's greatest roleplaying game! The Corwyn Catacombs is a one-shot adventure that sees characters delve into ancient ruins of a precursor civilization to rescue citizens of Corwyn and keep the village safe from harm! Will the heroes succeed in vanquishing the evils that lurk within? Or will they meet a grisly end, to rise again as servants of the undying Chiran Empire? Published by Animancer
The graduates of the Magaambya are known as some of the greatest wielders of magic in Golarion. Now it's time for a new group of students to take their first steps on the path to greatness. In Threshold of Knowledge, you take on the role of one of five students from the prestigious Magaambya, the oldest school of magic in the Inner Sea region. When a teacher goes missing, it's up to these new heroes to step up and solve a wicked mystery that threatens the existence of the Magaambya itself! Threshold of Knowledge is a short adventure for 1st-level characters that takes the heroes into the Magaambya and the nearby city of Nantambu. In addition, the five pregenerated characters provide a quick way to jump into the adventure right away in this exciting offering for Free RPG Day! Grab some dice and some friends and play the role of new heroes in training!
Her Infernal Majestrix Queen Abrogail II of Cheliax summons her agents to the city of Egorian to address the current crisis with the Glorious Reclamation. Upon arriving in the bustling capital, the adventurers find themselves swept up in the cutthroat politics of the imperial court. To impress the queen and secure a royal audience, the wicked characters must scour the City of Thorns to root out and eradicate a secret organization that works to free halfling slaves. But to truly earn Queen Abrogail's trust, the adventurers must perform a sacrifice for the queen to renew House Thrune's contract with Hell, and there are many—both within the court and without—who wish to see the monarch dethroned.
To a wizard, knowledge is power, and the wizard Lirdrium Arkayz wants to know the mysterious secret of The Rock. Many have tried to discover it - but The Rock keeps its secret well. The wizard offers a rich reward to anyone bold enough to solve this dark mystery. But the road to The Rock leads to danger and hidden peril - dangers that have claimed the lives of many brave adventurers. Rashness and folly will lead to quick death, but riches await the clever and brave. Have you the wits, courage and skill to survive the Journey to The rock? TSR 9106
"Come on," they said, "It won't be so tough, just stopping a slavery ring," they said. "I don't know," you said. "Those slaves aren't even entirely human! How do we know they won't try to kill us?" But you went, and now you're having second thoughts. There were the thieves in the lost crypts of Empyrea, raising hundreds of - no, that's too disturbing to think about. There were the three daughters who - no, that's too painful to remember. Now there's this Egg of the Phoenix. What does that have to do with anything? This was supposed to be a cut-and-dried stop-the-slavers job. Who said anything about retrieving lost artifacts? Trudging through forests, traipsing through castles, trotting throug dungeons, traveling through other planes: this has turned into more than your run-of-the-mill adventure. The compensation had better be worth it! Provided, of course, you're around at the end to collect your share. TSR 9201
Sacred relics of the monastery, the eyes of the dragon, have been stolen from their rightful place in the eyes of the Ascendant Dragon statue. The elders have chosen one from among their ranks to go and retrieve these two fist-sized emeralds and bring them home.
The Keeper of the Flame—head of the Thranish church—has died and an election is coming. Two religious orders want their candidates elected by any means necessary. Deceit. Terror. Murder. Nothing can stand in the way of the Inquisitors of the Pure Flame. Except maybe a young girl who can perform actual miracles… "Nobody Expects the Thranish Inquisition" is an adventure for an EVIL party of 5th-level characters. The players take control of the ruthless, cunning, moustache-twirling inquisitors of the Pure Flame. Their enemies, the Flame of Purity (an entirely different religious order), have discovered a wonderchild—a girl named Jaela Daran—and are planning to elect her as the next Keeper. In order to prevent this, the characters must investigate three miracles that the girl has already performed and erase all traces of them. Then they must bring her before the assembly of cardinals and expose her as a heretic. What could possibly go wrong? The adventure takes place in the world of Eberron but can easily be transposed to another setting.
Beneath the roots of a silver elm, there lies a sidereal prison… Vaz’kin’rai is a one-session adventure for the 5th Edition of the world’s most popular roleplaying game, which sees 1st level heroes venture beneath the village of Dur to uncover the secrets of a mysterious cosmic vault. What will the heroes find within? And what price might they pay for uncovering it? Featuring: Two bespoke creature statblocks, including a Paragon Creature! Four new magic items! Five premade characters suitable for playing through Vaz’kin’rai! A host of original artwork by Izzy Collins, Emma Durno, and Robin Baxter! A fully supported hook, as well as suggestions for others and how to develop the storylines and themes the adventure introduces into a larger game! A selection of free companion Sonoria – audio ambiences and sound effects you can use to bring the adventure to life sonically! Vaz’kin’rai comes embedded in an original campaign setting, but is self-contained enough that it can be sited easily in most other campaign settings with minimal effort. A selection of deities and lineage origins are also provided in the appendices to help fit characters within Vaz’kin’rai’s setting as presented. Go forth, and see what lurks within the vault of Vaz’kin’rai… Published by Animancer
As the cream of your crop, your party has been selected to act as diplomats on the Isle of Dawn at a historic meeting between Thyatis and Alphatia, timeless rivals. This could herald the dawning of an age of peace, unknown in the area for years past. However, things are not progressing s smoothly as planned. The powers of Entropy, headed by Alphaks, are out to ensure that this peace treaty is not finalized. Two of the diplomats are kidnaped - and you are framed! It's up to you to prove your innocence. This involves traveling to other dimensions, meeting vampiric spirits, and playing deadly games with the Night Spider. Ultimately, you must find and restore the Peaceful Periapt of Pax to its rightful place. Let the games begin. The events of Talons of Night may be played as a sequel to module M3, The Vengeance of Alphaks, or separately. The D&D Master Set Rules are necessary to run this game. TSR 9214
A band of heroes is drawn to Icewind Dale following rumours of strange magic and terrible deeds. Auril, the cruel goddess of Winter, has been driven to desperate acts by the death of her daughter, Nalkara. As Auril pursues brutal blood rituals to resurrect her loved one, the quest begins when one of Auril’s oathsmen convinces her to enlist the characters in pursuing a less bloody solution.
Somewhere under a lost and lonely hill of grim and foreboding aspect lies a labyrinthine crypt. It is filled with terrible traps and not a few strange and ferocious monsters to slay the unwary. It is filled with rich treasures both precious and magical, but in addition to the aforementioned guardians, there is said to be a demilich who still wards his final haunt (Be warned that tales told have it that this being possesses powers which make him nearly undefeatable). Accounts relate that it is quite unlikely that any adventurers will ever find the chamber where the demilich Acererak lingers, for the passages and rooms of the Tomb are fraught with terrible traps, poison gases, and magical protections. Furthermore, the demi-lich has so well hidden his lair, that even those who avoid the pitfalls will not be likely to locale their true goal. In the far reaches of the world, under a lost and lonely hill, lies the sinister TOMB OF HORRORS. This Labyrinthine crypt is filled with terrible traps, strange and ferocious monsters, rich and magical treasures, and somewhere within rests the evil Demi-Lich. TSR 9022
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.
A shadow from the past, the Ghost Tower of Inverness has loomed ever larger in the mind of the great Seer of Urnst, Now he has convinced the Duke that an expedition should be organized to go to the ancient keep and recover its greatest treasure — the fabled Soul Gem. TSR 9038
Tyr has been freed, and the mighty army of Urik has been turned back. These are new and strange times, indeed. Now Urik has become home - at least for a while - and there are new markets to shop, new streets to explore, and, oh yes, preservers to meet. Preservers, the keepers of good magic, have sent a mysterious summons. They are ready to embark on a new and dangerous plot to thwart sorcerer-kings and bring new life to Athas. To associate with preservers is dangerous to say the least, but when the king's templars uncover the schemes, a death mark falls upon all involved Will a desperate journey across the wastelands, with the templars in hot pursuit, end in victory or chaos? The answers lie in the hearts of mighty heroes and the resources of Arcane Shadows. In this adventure, the PCs find themselves in Urik, perhaps as a result of the war between Tyr and Urik that took place in Road to Urik. There, they become involved in a ritual meant to help a nascent Avangion (a very powerful wizard/psion of a generally benign type) reach the next stage of its development, but the ritual is interrupted by Urik's templars. The Avangion-to-be is left in a cocoon, and the PCs are tasked with bringing it to a new location in the wilderness where the ritual can be completed. They need to get the cocoon to the ritual location before it's too late, while evading pursuit as well as dealing with any wilderness dangers on the way, plus the evil machinations of a raiding tribe seeking the wizard for their own dark purposes. The adventure is fairly rail-roaded with a series of set encounters between points A and B. Like other Dark Sun adventures, it comes with a set of handouts. Unlike the previous adventures in the series, Arcane Shadows is not tied to the Prism Pentad novel series, nor is it really tied to the previous adventures. You can easily play it as a stand-alone without affecting the earlier ones. TSR 2410
Swamp creatures! They surround you now as you move slowly through the gurgling muck. How will you reach Quagmire now? Each day, the hungry sea swallows more of the ancient port city. A fierce fever ravages its people, and now - these foul monsters! Their beady eyes glimmer from deep within the tangled vines. Are these the creatures that have blockaded the city, turning away the ships that are the city's lifeline? Are these the scum that are starving the people of Quagmire, threatening an entire race with extinction? These creeps? Let's clean this jungle out! Quagmire includes a large-scale map that expands the D&D world and introduces new areas to explore. The adventure also includes new magic items and a special, expanded monsters section. Hurry! Hoist your colors, saddle your horse - go, before the city by the sea becomes the city beneath the sea! TSR 9081