The heroes hurry to reclaim a treasured item that an evil hag has hidden away. The item they seek is well guarded by dangerous foes bent on destroying any that dare enter their domain. Estimated play time - 1 hour. This product contains two combat encounters designed for 4th level PCs, an extensive backstory, new monsters and new magic items. The encounters are easily adapted to almost any campaign setting. The text also includes optional changes that DMs may consider when running the adventure for their own campaigns. This side trek encounter is the second of a three-part "Fey's Bargain" encounter series.
About: This encounter was cooked up in the Write your First Encounter workshop by the Storytelling Collective. It CAN be slid in as a side quest in any urban or sub-urban context, or be adapted to add confusion to any rescue mission you are presently running. Synopsis: Through the doorway a young woman shackled to the wall matching the description of Helena can be seen. Though disheveled and looking to be in great discomfort, her beauty is remarkable. But on closer inspection, there are other people here — three identical Helenas! Noble woman Elize Cleron has hired the party to infiltrate the catacombs under the Schaefer Estate and free her twin sister Helena. Helena is being held captive by the Schaefer family, trade rivals rumored to have ties to the underworld. Elize has been unable to free her sister herself because of her identical appearance. Rather than pay an unrealistic ransom, Elize has provided the party with what they need to break her out. This encounter is intended for 3rd level characters.
This couldn’t get worse. The key you are searching for has fallen into the hands of the eye tyrant of Skullport himself. Now you just need to rob Xanathar without getting disintegrated. Part Three of the Skullport Shakedown trilogy. A 2-4 Hour Adventure for Tier 2 Characters. Optimized For: APL 8
"The trees bend, twist and rearrange themselves as the sun fades, replaced by a single massive moon hanging high in the sky. You find yourself somewhere altogether different with bigger more gnarled trees, everything more vibrant with color in the bright moonlight. The bold browns, purples and blues around you don't feel real, more like something from a beautiful painting. Yet here you stand..." This is a one-shot adventure through one of the twisted fairy tale baronies of Thelanis. In it, the players find themselves in a strange land seeking an item they know little about. They will encounter a village whose people have been turned to shrubs, be shrunk down to a 20th of their size in a garden of tiny trees, fight a tree which is also a beholder, and come face to face with the Lady in Shadow herself. The adventure is for four level 5 players (though adjusting for 3-6 players would be minimal effort) and is expected to take around five hours. It is a great introduction to the planes of Eberron for DMs and players alike. It includes: * An exciting mystery to unravel * Three vicious new monsters to fight: earth bear, topiary beast, and the treeholder * Simple rules for running a skill challenge * A series of detailed maps for each combat encounter and an image for the puzzle encounter
Wild transmutation magic suddenly blasts through the sleepy town of Pinebrook Dell, turning the inhabitants into classic D&D monsters! Can the party reverse the effects as they too begin to slowly mutate? This one-session adventure is a love letter to classic D&D. Every monster the party might encounter dates back to the earliest days of the game... and the players are slowly turning into monsters themselves! Mechanics are provided for players to start turning into monsters (Gelatinous Cube, Beholder, Mind Flayer and more!) as the adventure progresses, with fun puzzles tailor-made to highlight their monstrous new abilities. This module is for 4-6 characters at level 4.
Synopsis: Goblin Bathwater, a magical drug, has taken hold in a sleepy coastal town at the edge of the Empire. As the characters investigate the origin of the drug, they uncover an international criminal conspiracy, wild and ancient magic, and a threat to reality itself. Contents: This beautifully made, 54-page adventure offers: A fully fleshed out, setting-agnostic starter area, brimming with colourful NPCs and hooks for adventure. Balanced encounters to bring characters to level 2; then some more devious encounters on their way to level 3. Three mini-dungeons built on the design philosophy of the "5 room dungeon method" Multiple big, cinematic set-piece boss encounters what will make your players feel epic. A facetted intrigue, which does not immediately suggest a simple, ready-made solution but invites the players to come up with their own, personal approach. Why pick this adventure? Hey, my name is Marius. This is my first time publishing on the DMs Guild but I wouldn't call myself a newcomer. I started playing Pathfinder 1e back in 2014. When I took over as our group's DM in 2019, we swapped over to 5e. We have run many, many modules and adventures since. Currently I play three games a week. In short: You could say I'm hooked. I created The Goblin Bathwater Incident as the ideal adventure for in-between your big modules, but it isn't a simple little adventure. With a playtime of about 30 hours, it still manages to hit that sweet-spot, where it establishes context, makes you grow fond of NPCs, and makes those big bossfight wins so much sweeter, all without taking more than a few sessions. The Goblin Bathwater Incident is different from many of the 1st tier adventures in that it pits the characters against traps and monsters, but also asks difficult, open-ended ethical questions, where a simple strategy of "apply sword to head of bad guy" will not cut it.
Nightmares that kill, a mysterious thief that only steals knick-knacks, tales of a huge beast terrorising fisherfolk, an inn with disappearing guests, discoveries of hidden magic portals and rumours of an assassin at large: None of these things are enough to stop the ever-flowing tide of traders and travellers crossing the Bridge of Fallen Men, but its protectors - Cormyr's Purple Dragons - are short on time, and courage... ...will adventurers answer the call?
The goblin, King Tatter-roo, and his tribe are plagued by an unseen hunter. They have placed an unusual plea to anyone who will listen. The promises of goblin wealth and peace amongst the free people is attainable for a limited time only. All King Tatter-roo requires is an inquisitive mind and a sharpened blade.
Your investigations into weird occurrences in Waterdeep's Field Ward leads you to the source of a disease that suddenly breaks out. You are the only ones who know of the cure, but you won't be able to procure it if you remained quarantined like the rest of the ward. The clock is ticking for you and your allies.
The Shades of Bodach Ridge Whitepeak has a dark history of black magic originating with the evil witch Skruul the Reaper. The dark rituals she conducted seemed sure to plague the region, until a plucky group of adventurers thwarted her plans sending her into a state of perpetual fractured undeath. Now souls scatter from her old haunt on Bodach Ridge. What could have set these souls free?
Year of Rogue Dragons is an adventure designed for four players who take the roles of newly hatched evil chromatic dragons. The story will introduce a specific section of the Forgotten Realms along with its prominent individuals, organizations and a segment of its history. The adventure will draw the players into a conflict between three local factions, and a mystery, which they must solve and use to their advantage in order to eliminate every menace that threatens their life from the onset.
The Merfolk Queen asks adventurers to help retrieve merfolk roe (eggs) from a sahuagin raiding party lead by a sahuagin priestess, with custom water-based magic items as reward. The adventure is for three to four 5th level adventurers at a hard difficulty. Pgs. 137-145
About a year ago, an adventuring party found themselves encumbered with more treasure than they knew what to do with. After brief deliberation, the group buried their hoard in a remote grotto inhabited by water birds. It was only a matter of time until one of the resident scavengers exhumed a most unfortunate item. Armed with a headband of intellect and a stash of other equipment for the taking, Belladonna the Bin Chicken began to study the abandoned spellbooks. The ambitious fowl quickly advanced as a mage, and set her sights on conquest of the surrounding areas.
An exclusive party at an illustrious antiquities museum. A missing benefactor and host who turns up dead. A missing mummy, the crown jewel of a new exhibit, and a hardboiled detective trying to make sense of it all. And a party of adventurers caught right in the middle! Welcome to the Lucaryen Museum of Antiquities, enjoy your visit. We recommend for your safety not to wander the halls at night; some of our exhibits have a habit of coming alive and attacking the unwary. Not to mention other guests who may have something damming to hide, and a loose set of morals. Don’t worry - I’m sure you’ll be fine! In this pulp thriller mystery one-shot, your players will be thrust into the role of Occult Detectives, investigating the murder of the museum’s namesake and searching the premises by night to uncover clues and the whereabouts of a missing mummy. Inspired by films such as Night at the Museum, The Mummy, and classic ‘Whodunnit’ murder mystery tales, your players are sure to have a killer time! Featuring: 15 pages of content, comprising 4-8 hours of play A full-scale, two story museum for your players to explore Shady NPC suspects and unlikely allies, complete with unique stat blocks Myriad potential encounters and one epic final Boss Fight, with 46 unique creatures from the Monster Manual, Volo’s Guide to Monsters, and Mordenkainen’s Tome of Foes Helpful tips for newer DMs
We get it. Factions are an integral part of D&D, but it's not always clear how to use them in your campaigns. Luckily, Factions of Sigil has you covered for each of the twelve main factions found across Sigil and the Outlands! This supplement goes over the various rules and lore around the primary factions found in Sigil and the Outlands, making it easy for any new or veteran DMs to integrate the factions more into the core stories being told, and making them feel more useful for the players that choose to join. This adventure sees the characters ally with the Athar of Sigil to raid the Abbey of the Iron Star and destroy the devils within who are attempting to bring Asmodeus to Sigil.
In The Black Midwinter is a Festive adventure, designed to be played in one session. The PCs battle an ancient evil threatening a remote village in the subarctic north. Very much the same as most D&D adventures, only this time, it’s Christmas themed! The adventure includes a new Legendary Item, The Deck of Merry Things (with full printable art to create a prop deck), five new monsters including Krampus (obviously) and The Yule Lads (not so obviously, unless you're really into Finnish Christmas Folklore), ten additional magic items and four new alignments (really!). This adventure is ideal for a one off, not entirely serious game separate from your regular campaign. Mulled wine, stupid hats and holiday cheer not included, but very highly recommended.
The nearby jungle is growing at a disturbing pace -- overnight, whole villages have been swallowed up by creeping vines. Rumors say the source is a corrupt and powerful temple deep in the jungle. In reality, the blight lords of Talona created a monstrous corpse flower and imbued it with the power of a cursed gem from an ancient temple of their goddess. After the blight lords released it into the forest, the corpse flower bent the surrounding jungle to its semi-sentient whims, recreating the temple out of plant life -- with an insatiable hunger for expansion.
Player characters attacking the lair of monsters that have been menacing the local village is a common D&D trope. This adventure turns the trope on its head. In Goblin Defense, the players create goblin PCs, and have to fight off repeated attacks by adventurers who are stronger and better equipped than they are. Starting at level 1 and running until level 7, this module encompasses 16 battles against unique and typically themed groups of adventurers built using player character classes and rules. The module is designed for 3 players, each of whom takes on an individual role within the tribe, granting unique bonuses or options for actions outside of combat. Goblin Defense can also be played with 4 players, but is not recommended for 5 or more players without substantial revision. The players aren't alone. Each commands a squad of goblin minions who can help in combat... but goblins are fragile, and adventurers hit hard. Life as a goblin is often brief and violent. Many will die, but as long as some survive, the tribe will carry on. A simple ruleset is provided for managing actions during the downtime between each attack. During this time, players can work to train their minions to use better gear, hunt for food for their tribe, recruit replacement warriors, brew potions, and - most importantly - improve their lair and its defenses by adding walls, traps, tunnels, doors, alarms, and anything else their creative minds can come up with. As the exact layout and placement of defensive features is critical, this is designed to be played on a grid. A PDF is included with the map scaled to print on 24"x36" (Arch D) size paper, available at most print shops. DMs may enjoy the chance to briefly try out many different character class and subclass combinations as they attack and eventually fall to the goblin pests they're trying to eliminate. Page count: Information for the DM only 6 Information for the players 4 Adventurer statblocks 37
A 3-4 hour adventure for 1st tier characters, which can be run as a 1-shot or as the beginning of a new campaign set in the Feywild. For tens of millennia, battles have raged across the Feywild, as the powerful and prideful archfey fought to divide the realms among themselves. Eventually the boundaries settled into four major territories: Summer, Autumn, Winter and Spring. These domains, and the smaller pockets of unclaimed territory between, came to be known as the Land of the Four Courts. The bitter rivalries between Winter and Summer and between Autumn and Spring never truly subsided, but for the past fifteen hundred years, an era of relative peace has persevered. Even so, peace is a fragile thing, and in the everchanging landscape of the Feywild it is all too easily broken.
The water pounds the base of the cliff with the relentless power of time. Jagged rocks appearing and disappearing in the foam of the sea like gnashing teeth. Above it all on the top of the black cliff sits a small house and the dark light tower. The magistrate has sent your party to investigate why the light has gone dark.