An investigative city crawl adventure for Shadowdark RPG (or any OSR-style system), designed for experienced players levels 1-2 Set in the decaying city of Brannam, players unravel a web of fear, blood, and buried secrets. A local alchemist has begun killing in secret, rekindling old fears of an old terror. The city's decline threatens to spiral into collapse, and far below, something older and hungrier waits to wake. This adventure includes: 3 separate dungeons (The flooded Sewers, the forgotten Catacombs, and the cursed Ruins of Edric von Braech's keep) Open ended design and layered mysteries with multiple outcomes and failure states A fully explorable city with random encounters, evolving factions and escalating panic. Custom rules for spell mishaps, nightly murder checks and decay events as Brannam unravels Modular content designed to drop into your campaign
Yesterday, young Tobias went to investigate an old tomb by himself. Everyone told him it was a bad idea. Everyone was right. Today, you and your companions awaken to a town in chaos. Why is the temple sealed behind a divine shield? Why are children and worshippers trapped within? How do we get inside? What did Tobias do?! Ragged Hollow is a full-service starting town, full of classic creatures and challenges all updated and brought together for newbies and nostalgia-lovers alike. There are goblins and witches in the woods, a house full of traps, a basement of vermin, kobolds in a cave, bandits on the road, riddling ravens, a 50-room temple dungeon, nursery-rhyme monsters, living nightmares, Lovecraftian horrors, and tons of unique items to find. This is a mystery with lots of relevant side-quests around the town. The heroes can investigate the situation, get into the temple, save the innocents, and stop the monsters. And get some loot! ADVENTURE TYPE: Medium Dungeon / Town / Wilderness Adventure DESIGN NOTES This adventure is intended for characters levels 1 to 4. It includes several wilderness areas (forest, hills, mountain), a bustling town, several local mini-dungeons, and one 50-room temple dungeon. Each area contains various encounters and unique items. There are many opportunities for combat, but it is possible for players to explore most areas and complete many interactions without any combat at all, depending on their choices. INCLUDES: Story hooks, dialogue prompts, random encounters, stat blocks, original creatures and treasures, and maps. KEYWORDS: town, village, forest, goblins, goblin market, witches, hags, hills, bandits, ogres, mountain, kobolds, caves, dwarves, temple, clerics, nightmares, demons, riddles, traps, ghosts, fairy tales, Lovecraft, mutant
When huge stones fall out of the night sky, A deadly curse settles over Gravencross. Help the village exorcise the Demon Stones. “The sun had set an hour ago, and the rain lashed down and the wind howled on the dark moor. A storm this late in the season was unusual, but this one seemed different. The clouds were more menacing, tinged with anger, the rain colder and more biting than usual. Skerrill had to find the lost calf and get him back to the farm before his father came back from the city on business. He’d been looking for two hours now, and he was right in the middle of the moor when the storm hit. He knew he should have turned back as soon as darkness fell, but then he was never the brightest boy in the valley. If only he had remembered to lock the farm gate. The calf was now likely dead anyway having stumbled among the boulders and rocks, panicking in the dark, and then fallen in a floodwater stream and drowned. Either way, he was in more trouble than he could imagine. Suddenly, a bright flash of white light and a roaring peal of thunder were preceded by an explosion as a huge object fell from the sky and impacted the ground of the moor no more than a stone’s throw from him. Dirt, mud, water, and debris erupted from the impact site, flying high into the air and then covering the moor for hundreds of feet all around. Skerrill was knocked to the ground instantly and covered in the fallout from the blast. His ears rang and his head spun, but he staggered to his feet in a daze. He stumbled to where the blast had happened only moments before, and in a depression in the ground lay a huge stone glowing orange as if hot. Skerrill passed out. Two more thunderous explosions crashed in the distance.”
Martin's Fortune is a short classic horror quest that can be easily put in any (low) fantasy setting. This adventure scenario features a dark and trilling backstory and several handouts for your players. The quest is very much in the horror element and there are advices on how to approach the horror scenes. Adventure Synopsis: Martin Wesley, decedent of a faithful servant of Lord Amren Stieber recruits the players to pillage the Lord's lost tomb. Searching for the tomb reveals that forgotten history leaves its traces to this very day. The forest around Amren's resting place is cursed and veiled in darkness. When the party finally arrives to the Lord's tomb, they discover that it is something more - a jailhouse. Their prize will have to be earned in blood. Even when they vanquish the undead fiend, they can't be too safe, for the Lord's madness has become immortal. Published by: Adventurer's Inn
The adventurer awakens buried in a coffin only to be inadvertently rescued by a goblin grave-robber. With no recollection of how they came to be buried alive, the adventurer is thrust into an encounter with the goblin and his party who have stolen a precious heirloom off their unconscious body. Before starting this adventure the GM and player should discuss what heirloom item the adventurer possesses. Though having immense sentimental value, the heirloom shouldn’t be magical, and it should be of minor monetary value. It should be a worn item that can easily be removed such as a ring, bracer or necklace.
The insurgent agent Adan, a spy in Alvedara, came across plans for an upcoming assault on Bodrun, the largest remaining dwarven clanhold in the South. Though the dwarves were unknown to him, this Sarcosan rebel decided that he must do his best to get word to these allies in the mountains. He stole the plans and abandoned his cover identity, fleeing east along the Eren and hoping to find succor in the Forest of the Sahi before his trek into the Kaladruns. He didn’t make it that far. A legate spyhunter was on his tail within hours of his departure, and with his stronger mount and divinatory magic, was sure to run him to ground on the Horse Plains of Erenhead. Adan hoped to throw off the scent of his tracker in the town of Malima, where he had contacts and might be able to wait out the legate in a safehouse. Unfortunately, the situation in Malima had worsened since Adan had last been there, and it had become a place of exile for Alvedarans with the plague. It was a question of choosing the lesser of two evils: plague and possible death in Malima, or torture, betrayal, and certain death at the hands of the legate. Adan chose to hide in Malima, but contracted the plague while hiding from his pursuers. Though unable to contact the outside world, Adan sent his familiar, a raven, eastward in the hopes that it would reach a dwarven settlement that could send agents to aid him. The raven made it to the Hagaran Observatory in the Forest of the Sahi, where the PCs have been assisting the sages of the observatory. Midnight Runner Up - Gen Con 2005
"Something is weird about this party in 16th century Scotland! A famous thief stole a magical jewel and hid inside a castle where a party is taking place. Enter the party, find the jewel, escape with your life. In the first half of the adventure, the player characters will explore a weird party in search of the thief Jougal. They’ll likely piece together that this party is not “normal” and that this castle is not safe. In the second half, the baobhan sith will reveal themselves, red caps will set the castle on fire, and the PCs will find themselves locked in a burning hellhole. The adventure will likely change from a fun party-crawl into a stressful fight for survival. This is the NIGHTMARE PHASE." This adventure blends elements of horror, survival, and mystery, requiring players to use both their combat skills and their wits to navigate through the treacherous and evolving scenarios within Firnhirst Castle. Written for Cairn RPG
Dungeon Full of Monsters is a modular megadungeon for use with Labyrinth Lord and other old school fantasy role-playing games. The megadungeon is composed of 50 individual sections, separated into 5 different levels. You can assemble these in any configuration you like, either randomly or not, either before the campaign or on-the-fly in play. You can also use these sectiosn on their own, without reference to the larger dungeon itself. The second half of the book contains dozens of monsters, illustrated in full colour, often with multiple variations and types. Combined with the unique monsters located in specific dungeon sections, this book contains over 150 different monster stat blocks. There are criminal organizations, insane cultists, meddling deities, evil wizards, undead kings, infernal demons and other invaders from beyond the stars, numerous unspeakable horrors and arcane beasts, and even a few rival adventurers. Use these monsters with this dungeon or any other. Specific conversion guidelines for The Nightmares Underneath are also provided.
The village of Strangelight is on the border of the fey lands, and so its eccentric inhabitants are well-accustomed to magical danger. But now, a fiendish warlock and her devils are terrorizing the village, and only a hardy band of heroes can stop them... The focus is on exploration and social interaction, but it features an epic boss battle! This adventure has been thoroughly playtested, requires minimal preparation to run, and can be easily used with any Fifth Edition campaign!
The Demesne of Rangers is at war with the Horde of the Black Blood – an alliance of rampaging tribes of goblinkin. It is the heart of winter and the forest sleeps uneasily under a white veil. This is a time to huddle before the fire, not be out in the cold fighting a war but the heroes have no choice but to infiltrate the occupied territory in order to find and destroy the dreaded Goatskull Helm. Hope for victory hinges on the success of this quest and the call goes out for heroes to gather. The Goatskull Helm is an adventure module compatible with the Fifth Edition. This 35-page adventure is designed for a party of 1st level characters and will see them through to the 3rd level. This adventure is set in a fantasy medieval world with the mythological flavour of Ancient Greece. However, it can be easily adapted to any other medieval fantasy setting. This adventure includes entries for familiar monsters that are modified to better fit the setting as well as five new monsters and new equipment and magical items.
It’s finally happened! The Demoncall Ritual has begun, and creatures from the Abyss are streaming out through the Cellend family crypt. Heroes are needed, not only to slay the demons and stop the ritual, but to accept the risk of reversing the ritual to seal the Demoncall Pit forever.
The Bale Crossing is a short adventure for Draw Steel. It takes about four hours to complete and is designed for 3 to 6 2nd-level heroes. It places the heroes at the center of a cat-and-mouse game between House Vorona and the agents of Ajax on a voyage across the Bale Sea. Directors can use this adventure either as a follow-up to The Fall of Blackbottom or as a drop-in scenario in a larger story featuring the power struggle between factions in Capital, Ajax's war of conquest, or war dogs. The adventure features advice for skipping straight to the action in a hot start, an optional negotiation, three possible montage tests, and a dynamic final combat with guidance for running the encounter as a stealth mission or a boarding action across the decks of two ships. If they succeed, heroes will earn 2 to 7 Victories.
Break in. Do the job. Survive the fallout. In a city so vast as Pindus-on-Isles, if you want to get ahead, you need to cozy up with someone powerful. And do something dangerous. When Hope the Fixer shows up at your door with a job from an anonymous employer, the pay is good enough. Are you? Seems there’s a thief holed up in a Wizard’s Egg, a stone laboratory suspended high on a tower. The anonymous employer wants the stolen goods trashed. It’s in Lightmill though. Those glittering skyscrapers are no place for basegels like you. Get your disguise together. Hope’s got the hippogriffs. It’s destruction time.
In the peaceful village of Auchendale, the local blacksmiths have lost their enchanted forgehammer. Trickery is afoot and soon enough, the adventurers will have to embark on a chase, in a comedy of errors and misfortune. Follow the path of the Forgehammer from a rural village, through the summery farmlands and deep into the forest and its shadowy undergrowth – all in one gameplay session, in a generic setting easily adapted to all manner of worlds. Designed for introducing your group to D&D with a focused 3-4 hour questline. This adventure fits best with a level 3-4 party. Includes hand-drawn illustrations and maps. Published by: Green Bird RPGS
"The broken outline of Cear Ferros emerged on the horizon. Its ancient walls stand silent and looming as you approach them, casting long and eerie shadows across the land." An adventure through a cursed castle crawling with undead in search of missing merchants. For Shadowdark Published as part of the Shots in the Dark collection.
A vast, sprawling mega-dungeon beneath the ruins of a nearby castle. Reports have surfaced of stockpiles of wealth within the passages. Regions previously devoid of monsters are reported to teem with renewed activity. Magical and mundane traps have brought foolhardy explorers to their doom. Changes within the passages and chambers have rendered old maps and knowledge dangerously unreliable if not outright useless. To the bold and daring, only one message needs to be heard: the castle and its dungeons are once more ripe for exploration, and new legends are ready to be made. Note: This adventure requires three books for it to be complete (sold as a package): Adventure Book, Map Book, and Illustration Book. Published by BRW Games
Silent crawlers with a venomous bite. Web spinners, creating sticky, beautiful homes that double as deadly traps. Nature’s most artistic killers. What fools would grow these tiny killing machines into the size of ponies or even larger? Gnomes! Opportunistic dark gnomes, looking for profit, who stumbled upon an inter-dimensional substance—experimental, yet undoubtedly powerful. Then something came creeping down the strand that connected the spiders to the inter-dimensional world, a shadow—the Shadow of the Spider Goddess! This adventure is designed for 5e for 4-6 characters of 6th level. The adventure is designed to link to the Lands of Lunacy setting from Fail Squad Games, but has been adapted to be run in any setting with no additional GM or player effort. The hold of Nevnooblin contains steam technology and creatures.
The Doom Desert in the Decanter of Delirium is an exotic OSR romp through a mysterious world of riddles, puzzles, inscrutable denizens. 5e compatible, this love letter to psychedelia is as vivid and beautiful as exciting and surreal. Get wrapped up in conversation with the dead drunks at the last saloon on earth, solve the sphinx riddle and discover the secrets of the Ziggurat, or break bread and wine with whispering harpies or the sun itself. This compelling narrative is written by Austin Holm and captures the exploration, social, and challenge pillars of a great game with the deft prose of a poet. With art by Maya Bee that captures the essence of the adventures many stunning scenes and characters. Your players will thank you for this one.
Adventure in a desolate magic-stained wasteland where fabulous crystal spires and fortresses plummet from the skies to tempt the desperate and the bold with magical gems and golden treasures. Find your fortune or find your death as you plunder the fallen sky tomb of an Empyrean despot. SCHEME with the unnatural denizens of the Crystal Tomb! UNRAVEL the secrets of the Dead King and his realm of misrule! LOOT strange magics and Opulent Treasures from beyond the sky's vault! A complete adventure for Level 1 characters and an introduction to both the dungeon crawl style play and the Crystal Frontier setting. Written with the new referee and players unfamiliar with older style games in mind, Tomb Robbers of the Crystal Frontier is built to start a campaign, use as a one-shot, or to drop in as an adventure locale in almost any fantasy world. The adventure has been designed for and tested with OSE, but is easy to use with any of the wayward offspring of the early editions of the first fantasy roleplaying game. Tomb Robbers of the Crystal Frontier emphasizes problem solving, faction intrigue, and exploration in the tradition of classic dungeon crawl adventures, but with a phantasmagoric fantasy Western aesthetic. NOW AVAILABLE FOR ERRANT AND OLD SCHOOL ESSENTIALS!
A malicious and virulent force possesses the Vermyr Woods. The local wild-life has fled; known paths have mysteriously vanished or shifted; and locals have been found hanging dead from trees yet their eyes watch... they always watch. The hopes of the people are dwindling quickly. Believing that evil harpies have afflicted the woods, brave Captain Harkin set forth to serve them righteous justice! Even the mighty druid Algalor is nowhere to be found. Time passes and their worries compound. Why have the harpies attacked? What is the fate of Algalor and Captain Harkin? What is this mysterious evil that plagues the Vermyr woods? Who is Cartman's dad? The heroes will stumble into this mystery as they travel to Homid. They will discover the truth of the harpies as well as the fate of the heroes who safeguarded this region by delving deep into a forest labyrinth that feels alive! Will it consume them or will they be strong enough to defeat the evil at its core! Published by: Paper Dragon Tales