In this adventure, the coastal village of Fair Haven needs the characters’ help. For decades, Fair Haven has relied upon its lighthouse to guide merchant vessels into port. But on a recent stormy night, the lighthouse suddenly failed. The trading ship Nymph’s Kiss was dashed on the rocks, and smugglers have already raided the wreck. Somebody has to restore the lighthouse, but the locals are afraid to go near because it shows all the signs of being haunted. Yet there might be more to the story, since there’s something living in the sea caves below…
Unlike other Dungeon Crawl Classics, this volume does not present a completed adventure. Instead, it presents a set of DM tools that will make your job easier. This book of dungeon geomorphs gives you everything you need to map out exciting underground adventures. The geomorphs are modular map segments designed to be combined in a variety of ways. There are 124 map segments, encompassing mazes, dungeons, underdeep caverns, monstrous lairs, castles, ruins, halls, and many other intriguing places to explore. Together they combine to make thousands of possible maps!
This new version of the classic adventure is completely updated to 3.5 edition. In The Lost Vault of Tsathzar Rho, a defenseless village asks the characters to slay an out-of-control ogre. Sounds easy enough. But the ogre, who used to be nothing more than a nuisance, has become crazed and psychotic. When the characters arrive at its cave, they find a subterranean portal has connected the cave to a much larger underground complex. Something in that complex has transformed the ogre and many other local creatures into fiendish marauders. In fact, it’s the lost vault of Tsathzar Rho, an ancient wizard and prophet of the Outer Gods, who are gathering their foul minions for battle.
Villagers have gone missing! A mix of clues, superstitions, and omens point to the brooding citadel of the emerald sorcerer. This silent monolith has sat undisturbed atop a windy ridge for centuries. Legends say that a green-skinned sorcerer dwells there, where he conducts strange experiments and builds enigmatic machinery. His green-skinned constructs patrol the grounds of his citadel, and he is seen only rarely when he ventures out on nefarious errands that end in horrid screams and strange lights coming from his citadel. Now it is time to penetrate his inner sanctum…
The Lady in Blue, a mysterious figure of cosmic power, enlists a band of simple peasants for a strange task. They are to follow an invisible bridge until they arrive at a hole in the sky – and then jump through. Death awaits all but the bravest, strongest, and luckiest, but the Lady offers a reward beyond all the riches of the world: the chance to change the very stars these peasants were born under, and thus change their destiny.
The legendary city of Freeport is a seedy port town where former pirates settle down to become "businessmen" while street gangs fight over the slave trade. In the deepest warrens of this already dangerous place, mad cultists worship unspeakable gods - and sometimes these sinister deeds bubble to the surface. There's a dark shadow over Freeport today, as yet another innocent child has gone missing. The trail leads to the old Cresh Manor, boarded up but not forgotten. The city needs heroes to find these missing children. But are the heroes brave enough to conquer the dark shadows of Freeport?
The Borderlands. An untamed wild region far flung from the comforts and protection of civilization. A lone fortified Keep is the only bastion of Good desperately striving to maintain the forces of Chaos at bay. But Evil is everywhere, lurking in dark caves, fetid swamps, forlorn forests. Bands of cutthroat brigands and ruthless tribes of humanoids eager to clash with the forces of Food rove the region. The Borderlands hold many secret wondrous locations, and opportunities for fame, prestige, and fortune are plentiful. But equally abundant are the perils, risks, and challenges to those brave enough to explore the wilds. Sharpen your swords and axes. Purchase your iron rations and tinderboxes. And Don't forget at least one 10-foot pole. Adventure awaits those with the mettle to confront Chaos in the Borderlands!
Murder! Ripples of shock pour through the wee hours of the sleepy fishing shanty of Port Scuttle. An innocent young fishmonger, beloved by the locals, has been brutally murdered in her own shop. Stunned by the grisly act, the typically hardened townsfolk turn to powerful heroes to investigate the gruesome deed. Could the fishmonger’s recent discovery of a massive black pearl be a possible motive? The heroes’ goal is to not only bring the perpetrator to justice, but determine the twisted purpose behind the ghastly act. Concerned townsfolk decry that the evildoer must hang for his or her despicable crime. Yet when the heroes finally track down the murderer, he is already dead by the noose, and the investigation has truly only begun. Clues hint at even darker designs, as an ancient evil stirs to reclaim a once lost malevolent relic. Tackle the challenge of solving the despicable murder of an innocent, and thwarting the diabolical schemes of a powerful brine vampire. Th e adventure is set in and around a small fishing port located on the windswept craggy cliffs of an ocean. The author draws on two inspirations for this adventure: The Pearl, by John Steinbeck, and an unnamed adventure plot by the author’s astonishing wife, Lisa.
Centuries past, Lady Ilse ascended to scion of House Liis by trading the archdevil Mammon what he wanted most: her immortal soul – and a diabolical betrothal. The triumph proved hollow, for every year on the eve of her fell covenant, she was beset by visions of Mammon and her foul promise. Seeking to save herself, she was buried alive, swaddled in the holy symbols of a dozen divergent faiths. This desperate ploy held Mammon at bay for centuries…but a devil can afford to wait a very long time. After hundreds of years, the last of the holy wards has fallen. The devil has come to collect his due. Tonight a storm crashes against the ancient manor house and forgotten spirits rise from the muck and mire. The fallen belfry tolls once more, announcing the hellish fete. As the adventurers arrive to explore the Black Manse, Mammon calls for his winsome bride. He will leave with a soul at the end of the night. The only question is: Whose?
During a brief stop-over at a wilderness stronghold, a simple trip to a local provisioner reveals foul play! The shop has been broken in, and the shopkeeper is missing. But the place has not been burglarized. The heroes are thrust into an investigation. Clues discovered by the heroes’ hint at larger corruption that festers among the border lands surounding the stronghold. What sinister forces lurk beneath the keep?
Giants stalk the shifting sands as the lost city of Stylos awakens from its deathless slumber. The Fourth Age of Man is at hand! All that stands between the gigantic hordes of Stylos and their conquest of the world is your band of adventurers. Sinister traps, implacable foes, and the crushing tread of the dread Colossus all lurk within these pages, eager to test the courage and cunning of even the most accomplished adventurers.
Far to the west, beyond civilized lands, lie the Tolomak Islands— volcanic peaks covered in pestilential jungle and bestriding sunken ruins. The legends say the Tolomaks are home to treacherous witches, ferocious cannibals, moon demons, and worse! Wise are those who steer well away from these accursed jungle isles, but not everyone is wise… For the legends also speak of power unimaginable and treasures beyond the limits of mortal avarice. Now, under the light of the triple moons, a band of intrepid adventurers sails ever nearer the islands. With luck, they will escape with a fortune; without it, they may not keep their souls.
Punjar: wide-eyed madmen stalk the streets pronouncing the end of days, mail-clad priests crush the skulls of heathens underfoot, and timorous virgins are offered up in sacrifice within sooty temples. But even the greatest of shining temples and the strangest of mystery cults don’t dare to challenge the terrifying finality of Death. Until now. In Blades Against Death, the adventurers cross between the realms of the living and the dead, and wager their souls in a desperate bid to steal a soul from Death’s hoary grasp. To win over the God of Dooms, you must be the most daring, stalwart and cunning and – when all else fails – willing to test your blades against Death! A mid-level adventure for the Dungeon Crawl Classics Role Playing Game, Blades against Death offers characters a once in a lifetime escapade. Those that return from the Realms of the Dead will have earned the true title of adventurer, while those that fail will spend eternity in Death’s service.
Summoned by a coven of foul witches, the adventurers are bid through the Black Gate and across the multiverse, in pursuit of the crown of the fallen Horned King. There, in the icebound gloom of Thrice-Tenth Kingdom, they must pit their wits and brawn against his dread servants. His sullen citadel looms above the darksome woods and elfin ice caves, ruling over the mystic kingdom. Do you dare to ascend the throne of bones and declare yourself master of the Wild Hunt? Whatever your answer, the land beyond the Black Gate is sure to present a grim challenge for the even the hardiest of adventurers!
Evil lurks beneath the ocean! For years it has slumbered, but now it rises once again, threatening to wash over the surface world like a monstrous wave. Only a handful of stalwarts stand between the nefarious schemes of the deep and a world drowned in sorrows, but first they must navigate a wizard’s sanctum, a magical prison, and the most unusual dungeon they’ve ever faced! Can they stem the tide in time or will they lose themselves forever to the Sea Change curse?
This adventure is intended for 2 to 3 3rd-level PCs originally from Lankhmar, but can easily be adjusted to accommodate adventurers from other locales. Guidelines are also provided for scaling the adventure for up to six PCs. The events of this adventure lure the party from their home in the City of the Black Toga to an abandoned watch tower on the coast of the Inner Sea, not far from Ool Hrusp. After completing this scenario, they may find reason to further adventure in the Forest Land.
While investigating rumors of a dangerous blue dragon wreaking havoc in the deep desert, the heroes tumble under the sands into the magically sealed dome of an ancient palace. The temporarily weakened dome reseals above them, and they are left to explore the golden palace of Zahadran, once seat of power for the legendary Caliph Ardishir the Magnificent. But the dome is weak because it has been assaulted by the mythical storm demon Azi Dahaka and his trapped minions, evil creatures that were sealed under the magical dome to keep them from ravaging an unsuspecting world.
Eons past the fabled sorcerer-kings of Parhok perished in a rain of eldritch fire. But legends hold that one tribe survived the apocalypse, fleeing with their slaves to a hidden city, where the greatest enchanters of all time could sleep away the centuries, and awaken in a future age as rulers of a ruined land. Now once more the forbidden spells of the Parhok threaten the good folk of the Known Realms. A kingdom lies ensorcelled, a royal family ensnared by the forgotten dweomers of a long-dead race. When the best attempts of seers and diviners have failed, it falls to the heroes to save the kingdom. Have the sorcerer-kings risen to reclaim their bejeweled thrones? Or has a more sinister power bent their ancient magics to its sinister will? Only the most courageous and cunning of heroes will emerge victorious from Dragora’s Dungeon.
After arriving at a seemingly abandoned trading post, the heroes discover to their horror that all the inhabitants have been transformed into black trees! Upon further investigation, they find clues that lead them to the hidden lair of Nockmort, a treant gone bad. Nockmort has been transformed by the strange radiation of a meteorite he discovered, and now he is a terrible force of evil. The characters must enter his sunless garden to save the town. And along the way they just might discover fabulous treasure...
In ages long past and best forgotten, the world was ruled by worms. Deep within dreaming jungles, and high atop monolithic temples, fell priests sacrificed the blood of man and his kith to the mammoth war-worms. One wizard would return the world to the rule of the worm. From deep within the blood-soaked earth, calling upon the spirits of the slain and blood of the dying, rising from the moldering bones of fallen warriors, the war-worms have returned. Their foul Mother – last of her kin – births more crawling horrors with every passing hour. The age of the worm is once more upon us. The call is sounded: Who will rise to purge the darkness?