*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.
Lord Blackmoor's son has been kidnapped, and is being held in the crypts beneath an ancient fortress. Can our heroes rescue the boy before he is sacrificed in a diabolical ceremony? The party responds to a plea for assistance from Lord Blackmoor, whose son Willet has been kidnapped. Blackmoor desperately needs someone to mount a rescue mission. The party journeys along the old East Trail, facing bandits and dangerous obstacles before delving beneath the ruins of Firestone Keep, encountering fearsome enemies and ancient magic. Finally, the party must fight for their lives as the truth about Willet’s abduction is revealed.
Ever been on a long running campaign and in one of the sessions one or a few players couldn’t make it? This adventure was made to be used as sort of a filler episode to fix that. Made for a small party of 1st-4th lvl characters and to be played in a single session. Story summary - The Gold Knife Bandits, a gang formed by a former army squadron that deserted. They are remarkably loyal to each other and are known in the area for attacking army caravans and camps. However, after several months of unfortunate loots. They decided to house a cultist of Beshaba and do what he asks to take away the curse of misfortune the gang is obviously under. Unfortunately, that includes using some members of the party as a sacrifice. The party will find the bandits cavernous hideout, clear through it, face the cultist, the Bandit's old boss, or both! All in a day’s worth of adventuring.
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 fabled mines of Dhol Kuldhir once showered the Dalelands, Cormyr, and points beyond with precious gems and expertly crafted jewels. Operating from a hidden complex in the Thunder Peaks, their exquisite craftsmanship was said to rival that of even Thunderholme. Almost as quickly as it rose to prominence it vanished, along with all of the dwarven miners, crafters, and untold riches. Some speculate that the mine ran dry, and the inhabitants abandoned it for a more plentiful location. Others believe that they probably fell victim to one of the many goblin tribes plaguing the area. The truth, however, is much more grave. Centuries later, the nearby town of Keen is beset upon by unlikely thieves, the local innkeeper charges a small band of unlikely allies to investigate the string of burglaries. What they uncover leads them to the long-lost dwarven mine. In the darkness, they will have to brave insidious traps, cunning monsters, and the dreaded new lord of Dhol Kuldhir.
This is Underdark Sidetreks, 𝐚𝐧 𝐨𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞-𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐤𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐎𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐀𝐛𝐲𝐬𝐬 𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐔𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐝𝐚𝐫𝐤 𝐜𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐢𝐠𝐧. What’s inside? Steam-Vents encounter featuring a new steam nereid creature. The Xorn’s Madness encounter. Duergar Outpost adventure – A duergar high priest (with stats) discovers the location of a hidden shrine to Marthammor Duin, dwarven deity of safe travels. Written by Jim Sharkey, contributor to Sword & Sorcery Studios’ Creature Collection 3 & Lost Lands and Frog God Games’ Book of Lost Spells.
A town in Falkovnia finds itself stuck in a time loop that repeats the final hour before it is overtaken by a legion of undead. Only the PCs and a mysterious crone are able to remember the events of each cycle. The heroes must find a way to prevent the destruction of the town and stop the cycle of death!
Hellmaw Island is a place of legend, a hidden fortress protecting the greatest treasures in the world. Rumour says it is guarded by wicked traps, bizarre and terrifying monsters, and maddening enchantments. Our heroes have been tasked with penetrating this mysterious stronghold, and they will find it to be stranger and more dangerous than anything they have encountered before. Assault on Hellmaw Island is a 5th Edition Dungeons & Dragons adventure for characters of levels 5-10. It will take 4-8 hours to complete.
A 4 hour adventure on the high seas and in the Shadowfell optimised for 8th level characters A dangerous fugitive is on the run from the Lords Alliance and the Order of the Gauntlet. As the net closes in on the fugitive, the heroes are deputized by the order and boards a departing ship to flush out the target of the manhunt. Shore Leave is a product of the ENNIE 2020 Silver Winner RPG Writers Workshop. The first half of the adventure takes place on the high seas where the characters search for a dangerous fugitive hiding onboard a ship. When sahuagins board the ship and a kraken appears from a maelstrom, things get desperate. The second half of the adventure starts when the characters are shipwrecked in the Shadowfell where the manhunt continues through a dangerous bog. This adventure can be used as a: * Stand-alone one-shot adventure * Starting point for a Shadowfell campaign * Filler adventure to transport characters across vast distances via Shadowfell or dilate time
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.
This adventure is designed as a side quest that can be inserted into an ongoing adventure or campaign. It involves a series of three linking scenes (and an optional fourth research scene between the others) that can be placed in between the action of whatever other event the party is undertaking. Ideally the scenes of this side adventure should be spread out and inserted into the game over several sessions of play.
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.
The village of Trunton is the focus of conflict between the ruling paladin of the God of Vengeance and secretive cultists. As the PCs become embroiled in the unrest, a series of supernatural events lead them to investigate a ruined tower outside the village. When they discover the grim secrets underlying the situation, whose side will they take?
This 80-page supplement contains 38 encounters written by many of the Dungeon Masters Guild’s best-selling writers. Encounters in the Savage Jungles includes 23 encounters / mini-adventures of various difficulty that can be used while the adventuring party braves the uncharted and savage jungles. It also includes 15 Quick Encounters, and additional resources. Although inspired by the Tomb of Annihilation, these encounters can be used with any official D&D campaign, or in your own home campaign. Many could even be used in forest, wilderness, or swamp settings. These encounters are location generic and are designed to be easily added to any campaign. Use them to introduce new players, as inspiration for a new campaign, as a one-shot, or whatever else you can think of.
An omnious encounter with a fortuneteller sends a party of adventurers on a 200-mile journey across the Lands of Intrigue. While traveling throught the towns and terrain (detailed here for the first time) that lie in their path, they hear rumors and obtain clues about their mission. Their ultimate destination is Castle Spulzeer, a once proud stronghold that has become a den of terror. When the heroes enter the haunted keep, they meet a terrifying trio of residents: a madman armed with stolen magical power, a liche whose secret laboratory houses untold horrors and treasure, and a furious ghost bent on revenge. These three ensnare the party in their fight over an ancient weapon. Each will stop at nothing to keep it from the other two. The heroes must choose with whom they will ally - and the wrong choice could lead to their doom. Castle Spulzeer is an adventure complete in itself. However, as a crossover story, it offers every Dungeon Master a choice between two endings. The first leaves the party in the Realms. The second transports the characters to the Demiplane of Dread, where the plot continues in the Ravenloft adventure The Forgotten Terror. For 4 to 6 Characters of Levels 8-12 This conversion guide allows DMs to run the original module with 5th Edition rules. To use this conversion guide you will need a copy of Castle Spulzeer, originally available in hard-copy and now for sale in digital format on the DMs Guild. Visit Classicmodulestoday.com for instructions on creating your own classic module conversions and selling them on the DMs Guild. Castle Spulzeer was originally scheduled for publication by TSR in June 1997. Then, near-bankruptcy caused a total failure of TSR's schedule, resulting in no books being published from February through the very end of July. Some books would be delayed for over a year, and others would disappear altogether, but Castle Spulzeer was relatively lucky: it was just delayed four months, until October 1997. The reason may well have been its theming, and its crossover with the Ravenloft line, which made Castle Spulzeer a great Halloween release. Castle Spulzeer has an even more far-reaching connection: its ending can lead players to the demiplane of Ravenloft and The Forgotten Terror adventure. This was probably intended as a bit of advertising for Domains of Dread (1997), the third edition of Ravenloft which was released in August 1997. In other words: in their last days, TSR was working very hard to cross-market their products, but they didn't live long enough to see the success of the Spulzeer-Intrigue-Dread connection.
The Forge of Fangs has been located in Vanrakdoom. While many innocents have been saved from an undying fate, the forge remains. Artor Morlin would like to see it torn to the ground and the threat ended forever. Part Three of the Undying Threat trilogy. Optimized For: APL 13
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.
The quest: find a woman's son who has been missing for 10 years. She's only just received a map that may lead to his last known whereabouts. An adventure for characters that features battles, environmental hazards, and roleplaying. The 38-page PDF includes hand-drawn maps, art, stat blocks, and a battle stat tracker. The overall adventure is 15 pages. This adventure has even been test played by four DM's from around the world.
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.
Long abandoned and all but forgotten, Ridgeway Watch has fallen to lawless hands. Travellers talk of ambushes on the high pass, but few dare challenge Kessel’s gang. Can the heroes reclaim the ruin, or will they join the list of the missing?