The Chinese legend of Lady White Snake, like a serpent shedding its skin, is a tale that’s been renewed many times. At its core, it is a tale of a water snake granted magic and human form when a mortal man drops a god’s gift of immortality into the river. It is a story of friendship in which the white snake saves a green snake’s life and shares her powers. It is a story of jealousy in which a turtle spirit covets their immortality and plots against them. It is a story of selflessness in which the white snake sacrifices all—trapped in a pagoda for eternity—to save, from the turtle spirit, the same mortal man she’s grown to love. But in some retellings, it is a story of evil and good, Lady White Snake, an evil demon, and the turtle, a well-intentioned monk. Or it is a story of treachery, the green snake betraying her closest friend. This adventure embodies the multi-faceted nature of the original legend transformed over centuries. The town’s healer, Lady White, has been captured, and everyone in the village has a different story to tell. It’s up to the characters to decide who they trust, what they believe, and what they’re going to do about it.
Levitt Ansell, a local human celebrity and philanthropist in the town of Askert, wants to recruit a party of adventurers to help him on a mission, so he has put out flyers around the town telling candidates to come to his house on this date, and has arranged a kind of obstacle course in his garden to test their mettle. Contestant teams are invited to enter a pavilion and collect as many eggs as they can. Some need physical skill, others need puzzle-solving, others a little luck, and just a few need combat. Originally designed as a short introductory adventure for a campaign to bring 1st-level characters together.
This heist adventure that takes place almost entirely at Fort Bones. It is split into five scenes: Karrnathi Opening. The characters meet Vedim ir’Durna, a noble from the region who is willing to help the player characters infiltrate the Fort. Guild Handler Lhara introduces their prize: a necromantic artifact called the Queen of Night, tied to the plane of Mabar. Valenar Gambit. Whether by wit or stealth, the characters find their way inside the walls of Fort Bones. They might use the incoming Valenar attack as a distraction, find a secret entrance, or plant themselves on a visiting dignitary’s staff. Castling. Safely inside, the characters must figure out when the artifact is unguarded, and find their way into the castle’s inner sanctum. Check. The characters must navigate their way past a magical vault door, then descend into the crypts. The Queen of Night is guarded by a terrifying construct. Endgame. With the artifact in their hands, will the characters be able to escape with their lives?
It is Midwinter. The air is cold, the wine is warm, and all sensible adventurers have their feet up before a blazing fire. But a mysterious bard, a broken man, and a clockwork pig, lead our heroes into an extraordinary land full of strange magic and terrible danger. Before the adventure is over, they will be faced with a heartbreaking dilemma, one that can't be resolved through might alone. It features exploration, roleplaying, puzzle solving, and fanastical combat encounters! The adventure includes 10 new monsters, 8 new magic items, and an amazing map by Elven Towers!
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.
The Horror of Horticulture Valentine Manor is beauty entrapped in architecture. The lavish stately home is renowned throughout the realms, and its gardens even more so. However, despite its famed beauty something has found its way into the garden and corrupted its allure. Could it be something to do with the new gardeners, or something even more sinister? Free adventure!
On the eve of her wedding, Sita Obarskyr, princess of Cormyr, has vanished. The only clue: an invitation from Irina Ruthven, an avatar of Loviatar. Can the adventurers meet with Irina, face their hidden desires, and help Sita? This adventure explores the theme that avoiding pain is avoiding life. It’s light-hearted, kink-positive, and erotic. Eroticism is a dance with our senses. It’s about anticipation, about wanting rather than getting. It is not pornography, and need not be sexual or romantic. Because the characters’ desires shape the narrative, it is important to talk to your players beforehand. Ask them if desire is something they want to explore in their characters, and if they are willing to share narrative responsibilities with you.
Avalanches are hardly news in Icewind Dale. The frequency to which it is occurring, however, defies logic. What is the cause of this strange phenomenon? What horrors could have unleashed such force of nature with such reckless abandon? Horror Beneath the Frost is a slasher horror adventure set in Icewind Dale, deep within the Reghed Glacier. It features yetis, mind flayers and a boneclaw! The adventure is designed to be easily dropped into: • Any homebrew campaign where avalanches occur. • Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden campaign. • Plague of Ancients Seasonal Campaign for the Adventurers League (AL) organized play program. Inside you will find: • A slasher horror adventure optimized for five characters with an average party level (APL) of 8. • Scaling advice for three to seven 5th to 10th level characters. • A printer-friendly version of the adventure. • 4 digital maps importable to Roll20, Foundry VTT and your VTT of choice. Includes gridded, grid-less and printer friendly versions of the maps. • D&D Adventurers League compatible adventure (Dungeon Seed: This Seems Familiar | DC-POA-JL01)
In an enchanted forest glade you come across two goddesses locked in a fierce debate. The muse of art and the muse of history want you to help them settle their quarrell once and for all, and they're not taking no for an answer. This is a single forest encounter.
The town of Canticle Bay has long been dependent on ocean fishing for its economy, and as demand has grown, the town has increased its efforts to supply the inland cities with the best seafood. Recently, however, the men who go out on the boats haven’t been coming back. A newly formed group of adventurers have been sent by the guild to investigate the missing men. Where are they? Those that are still alive can be found in the watery depths amongst the Sirens sworn to protect the ocean. Faced with the truth, whose side will the party take?
Strange calamity has come to the Moonstone Reach. What was once a foreboding forest is now completely underwater, the gods Umberlee and Mielikki locked in dispute over the wondrous biome. Umberlee calls forhomage and claims dominion over what she sees as rightfully hers.
There's trouble in Allesley! An Eastbrook farm has been attacked and people slain. But by what? The people are frightened, the Reeve is concerned, and the Constable wants you to figure out what’s going on. The last time this happened, goblins attacked the town. Does this mean war? This is the first adventure in a series to come in 2017 which builds on the introductory mini-adventure in the Eastbrook starting area.
Beyond the Nidus waits the inner sanctum where the heroes must confront Zuggtmoy’s zealot priest and his dark followers. The cult is preparing to use the Noctic Urn to lure a horrific entity to the Material Plane. The adventurers must stop them, or woe to all should they fail. A Two/Four-Hour Adventure for Tier 2 Characters. Optimized for APL 8.
Gadof Blinsky is a famed toymaker known for bringing joy to children throughout the bleak country of Barovia. Or at least, he used to be. That all changed after Blinsky and his wife welcomed their first child. The toymaker fell into a deep fit of anxiety and depression from which he never recovered. In this mini-adventure, you will investigate Blinsky's toy shop and battle a strange toy that seems to have taken on a life of its own, eventually uncovering what happened to Blinsky’s family and unraveling the secret of what the toymaker is hiding in his attic. Blinsky is No Fun! is a one or two session side adventure, for characters of levels 4-5, for use in the Curse of Strahd campaign setting.
*THIS IS A D&D NEXT/5E PLAYTEST ADVENTURE* Imani, a Turmishan wizard and former adventurer, seeks the aid of heroes to infiltrate Dretchroyaster’s lair and recover the Diamond Staff of Chomylla—the key to powerful magic and wisdom locked away for thousands of years. In addition to his own sagely interest in the lore of lost Uvaeren, Imani recognizes the dangers of such powerful magic falling into evil hands. The dracolich has secured the staff in his lair’s cen- tral chamber, using ancient wards of protection that can be bypassed only by four artifact-idols once belong- ing to a cult of Bhaal. Each group of adventurers enters the dungeon through a different section of the dun- geon—a forgotten temple of Bhaal, a vast underground lake, a troglodyte village, or Dretchroyaster’s vaults. Dretchroyaster’s lair is no simple set of caverns and ancient ruins. It sits atop a source of great power and energy, which the dracolich and his Cult of the Dragon allies hope to use to unlock the secrets of the staff. Only by undertaking a unified assault against Dretchroyas- ter’s lair can the adventurers hope to recover the Diamond Staff and survive the dracolich’s fury. The adventurers must make their way through the lair and recover the Bhaalite idols that will help unlock the Diamond Staff, all the while dealing with the lair’s creatures and avoiding the dracolich as he pur- sues intruders. Entering the Chamber of the Diamond Staff, the heroes must overcome its magical wards and claim the staff before being slain by the dracolich and his servants.
“...when the floor trembled and the whole town shook, the people knew Mario had been found a couple of minutes later the dust settled again on the buildings and streets. Silence. The people’s wait to see who came out of the sewers, who would emerge victoriously was agonizing. The fate of the town swung on the outcome of the battle…” Extracts from The Witch Doomsday in Master Bard Blue Barry’s Tales of Silver. This adventure is designed for four to six 2nd- to 3rd level characters and is optimized for five characters. Designed to be a one-shot to play between four and six hours. A band of deep goblins settled in the sewers of Red Witch Cove and took the towns as hostages. They take what they want when they want it without regard for the people around them and their acts are bringing the doom of the town that the merchants were holding back. The package contains: -Color version. -Black and White version. -Maps and battle maps.
For months, the dreams of the people of Emystrell have become dark and terrible. It seems their nightmares have come to life as in recent weeks, people have mysteriously gone missing, vanishing in the night without a trace! Everyone is too paralyzed by their own despair to do anything or venture far from the safety of their homes. Emystrell is on the brink of collapse. The baron is offering a handsome reward to anyone who can show proof of the end of whatever evil curse that has taken hold of their town. This adventure is designed for a party of 3-5 heroic characters from the 2nd to 3rd level. It has elements of mystery and investigation in the first section which can be detailed and highly involved for groups that enjoy the process of searching for clues and solving mysteries or just as easily glossed over for groups that are more tactics focused. The second section of the adventure features the dungeon: a labyrinthine complex of an ancient elven crypt which the thieves guild has used as a base of operations for a decade...until the serpent worshipping cult arrived. The third section of this book is the detailed map and notes on the town and surrounding area of Emystrell. Roleplaying notes are kept light to allow for room for your own interpretations and details to NPCs remain as free to do with as you choose unless I felt inspired and hoped to give you a cool idea. This adventure has hooks for Dungeon Masters interested in a larger campaign involving the sinister plots of the Yuan-Ti (snake people) as well as other interesting adventure hooks (such as the giants in the nearby mountains or the stolen gem: The Eye of the Dragon). These plot points are intentionally left vague for you to fill in the gaps based on what your players seem interested in. You are invited to use this as a launch point adventure to lead your heroes on a larger adventure that might someday set them against an Anathema Serpent demigod, or it may simply be the adventure that begins their journeys and the evil of Yargoth stops here at Emystrell. If your campaign is set in a pre-published setting, this town of Emystrell can be replaced or fit into any campaign with a few tweaks to local gods and names. If you are playing in Dragonlance, you could replace Yargoth the Dread Serpent with Tiamat, or Dendar in Fearun. The local goddess, Tyr, could be the Tyr from the Forgotten Realms or even Norse myth if that is your campaign setting.
The small fishing village of Fairmarsh runs along the riverside of the Winding Water. An ancient tomb holding a dangerous trophy has been disturbed, unleashing a long-forgotten enemy on an unsuspecting village.
An ettercap and its flock of spiders invade an unspoiled forest protected by sprites. The sprites, desperate for help, recruit a party of adventures to aid them.
This adventure can be used in any setting that features landowning nobility as a social class. It focuses on the Firebird, a mythical creature from Slavic folklore similar to the phoenix. The characters begin inside a tailor’s shop where they’ve been gathered by Pero Toporov, the best tailor in the city of Krylo. The city is ruled by the confident and insensitive Baron Yuri, who commissioned Pero to create a beautiful cloak woven with the feathers of the Firebird, a creature known for its healing powers. Pero agreed on the condition that their work would be used to aid Yuri's citizens, who have been sick and ailing under Yuri's restrictive rule. Instead, the Baron took the cloak for himself. Pero is hiring the adventurers to help them break into the Baron’s fortress and steal the cloak back without being caught. The characters find a way inside the fortress and break into the dungeon, where the cloak is supposedly hidden away. Within the dungeon, the party finds the Firebird itself locked in a golden cage where Baron Yuri—wearing the magic cloak—is antagonizing it. Baron Yuri attacks them to protect his treasure and is not open to negotiation. However, the characters may try to befriend or capture the Firebird. If they sway the bird to their side it may help them fight the Baron. Once Baron Yuri is defeated, the characters can take the cloak for themselves or return it to Pero. Dethroning the Baron earns them the gratitude of the city’s people. If they return the cloak, Pero pays the adventurers and assures them that the cloak will be used for good from now on. Pgs. 173-179