In ages past, the wizard Karavakos made a deal with devils, which resulted in him being trapped in an extradimensional pyramid, unable to escape. His only hope for escape is to lure adventurers into the Pyramid, in hopes that they will destroy his splinters and return his power to him. But his wife Vyrellis, whom he slew in a rage when the Pyramid formed, still lingers in spirit and wants nothing more than to see him laid low... Although set to allow PCs to just fight through each encounter, tips are included for PCs negotiating with the factions trapped in the pyramid.
A Giant Ransom is a short adventure for four 11th-level characters. There are opportunities for diplomacy, stealth, and combat, based on the choices the PCs make, so any mix of classes is appropriate. The adventure can be set in any campaign world, in a frontier region near glacier-covered mountains. In the first episode, the PCs were employed by Duke Ambrinigan to exchange a ransom of 10,000 gp in gems for a golden lion that was taken by frost giants in a recent raid. While waiting for the giants to arrive at the designated meeting place, the PCs watched as the white dragon Whildenstrank attacked the giants and then flew off with the statue. Charged with returning the golden lion statue at all costs, the PCs dealt with the remaining frost giants and then headed west, toward the lair of the dragon in the midst of the nearby glacier. Along the way, they encountered Velg the Dragon Tamer, another frost giant who was also on the trail of the dragon. Velg may or may not be with the party now. The PCs are now traveling across the flat icy surface of the glacier, and may have just noticed something burrowing under the ice, heading straight toward them.
Part One of the Umbral Aristocracy Trilogy. Rumors abound of a map that leads to a treasure of unimaginable value. When chance drops the map into your hands, you have the chance to become wealthy beyond your wildest dreams. But you’re not the only ones with that dream. The chase is on. A Two-Hour Adventure for Tier 1 Characters.
Strange things are afoot in the Moonsea. The factions have called all those willing and able to investigate strange occurrences in the region surrounding Phlan. Dark whispers and unseen terrors lurk in the misty shadows between this world and someplace much more sinister. Unveil the horrors before it is too late! Part one of Misty Fortunes and Absent Hearts.
Days ago, a portal to the Elemental Chaos appeared near the PCs’ home city. Since then, it has grown into an enormous sinkhole that periodically belches fire and brimstone. The rip in reality threatens to overwhelm settlements and a nearby river unless someone ventures through and closes it from the other side. Pgs. 102-107
East of Beregost, nestled in the outskirts of the Wood of Sharp Teeth, Durlag’s Tower has intrigued and yet stymied adventurers for decades. Stuffed full of mechanical traps and arcane wards, and rumored to be inhabited by fiends, very few have managed to extract any REAL treasure from the former home of Durlag Trollkiller. However, a powerful item in the ancient fight against the giants is said to be housed there, and the cloud giant Baron Rajiram has committed significant resources toward recovering it. After a pleasant tea in her garden, Seer calls upon you to beat him there and put a stop to his efforts! Sequel to Durlag's Tower.
A fallen clock tower holds components from an ancient artifact. Upon discovery of the components, competing agents look to launch expeditions to uncover additional components scattered across distant places—and times. The now-lost Temple of Moloch and the construction site of the legendary Tomb of Horrors are two of those locations. However great the risks, finding the components demands the effort, for whoever does so can reassemble the fabled Infernal Machine of Lum the Mad!
The city has been plagued by mysterious nighttime assassinations that leave behind no clues about who might have perpetrated them. Divinations from temple of Ioun adherents suggest the guilty parties can be found under a nearby curio shop. The PCs set off. Beneath the shop waits the Poisoned Shadows Assassins Guild, as well as a greater danger than the party expected. Pgs. 54-59
HSING bears foul news: SEER has been captured. While exploring the ruins of Ulcaster in search of knowledge pertaining to runes (or perhaps even how to create them), they were separated and now the pseudodragon fears the worst. Without SEER's guidance, the efforts of the assembled factions in these recent events may all be for naught.
The Temple of Draxion is an adventure with 2-3 encounters that uses clever tactics, trickery, and good defensive positions to make low-level monsters challenging. The defenders in the encounter try to deceive the PCs; groups willing to accept anything the DM says at face value will horribly misjudge the actual level of danger they are in. The adventure is set in a partially-collapsed dungeon that was once a temple to Erythnul, but is now the headquarters of a pair of aspiring bandits, and their kobold employees. Pgs. 12-15
A band of evil fey, led by a corrupt bralani, has raided an eladrin city and kidnapped several respected elders. The fomorian king claims the rogues don’t act on his behalf, but the eladrin city threatens the fomorians all the same. To prevent war, the PCs travel through the Underdark of the Feywild—a wondrous place filled with the beautiful and the horrifying—in search of the evil fey and their captives. Pgs. 96-101
The Sea Witch is a short adventure for four 10th-level characters. The difficulty of the adventure can be adjusted by changing the level of main antagonist (Black Molly, the sea hag pirate) or by altering the number of her ogre servants. To tailor the encounter to groups of different levels, refer to table 4-1 in Chapter 4 of the DUNGEON MASTER’S GUIDE. The adventure is set off a lightly populated coastline known as Misty Bay, but adapts easily to any coastal region in existing campaigns. The sea hag known as Black Molly is a notorious pirate who has plagued the coastal cities for the better part of a decade. A successful Knowledge (local) check (DC 15) will reveal that Molly and her ogre crew have a filthy reputation as merciless killers who delight not only in plundering vessels for their riches, but also in destroying the ships themselves and sending all hands to the bottom of the sea. Now the villain and her followers have seized control of the Old Lighthouse of Misty Bay located off a lightly populated coastline. For generations the lighthouse beacon has protected the fishermen of this region, warning them of the dangerous rocks that lurk just below the level of the high tides. Recently, the hag has put out the beacon, darkening the lighthouse; misery and destruction are sure to follow as ships start to blunder into the rocks. Blackmail is apparently Black Molly’s aim in this venture: She conveyed a message to the nearest shore community, the fishing village of Poisson, demanding the princely sum of 50,000 gp. Until she receives this ransom, she intends to hold the lighthouse and its beacon hostage. The fate of the human keepers who tend the lighthouse is unknown to the seaside communities at this time, but they fear the worst. The Sea Witch is ostensibly a rescue mission: The PCs are pitted against the evil of Black Molly and the brawn of her savage ogre crew. It is the heroes’ task to retake the lighthouse and, if possible, free its captives from the clutches of their jailer. What neither the PCs nor the shore communities yet realize is that while she 1would be pleased to have the gold, Black Molly is in fact after bigger treasure. Molly has no intention of giving up the lighthouse — at least, not until she finds what her master sent her here for. Lying on the sea floor practically at the base of the rock on which the lighthouse sits is the wreck of the war galley Flying Cloud, which according to popular legend was captained by a cleric who wore around his neck an amulet of the planes. Black Molly wants this prize, but so far she hasn’t been able to find it. She’s scoured the wreck without finding any sign of the magic item. Now she’s trying to determine where to search next, for the item might well be somewhere near the wreck. If she can’t find it, she’ll start torturing her captives to find out if they have any useful knowledge about the amulet.
Though small, Seawell is a prosperous trading town with a good location on the coast. Next to it is a long peninsula that features mostly swamplike terrain. The inhabitants of this peninsula include tribes of lizardfolk, plus several kinds of reptiles and amphibians. Most of these creatures don't bother the town, and Seawell's militia is experienced at repulsing raids by the more aggressive lizardfolk. A large reef extends the entire length of the peninsula on the side away from Seawell. This great wall of coral is a favorite site for fishermen, but it has always presented a serious hazard to ships approaching from that direction. Thus, about 45 years ago, the people of Seawell built a lighthouse on a small promontory near the reef, about 200 yards from the shoreline. Operated by a family that lived inside it, this lighthouse ensured that ships could easily steer clear of the reef. A few weeks ago, ships stopped arriving from that direction. Three ships are now overdue, and the people of Seawell have begun to suspect foul play. Thus far, however, they have not been able to investigate because of increased raiding by the lizardfolk. Something has stirred them up, and the town militia has been too busy repulsing raids to mount an expedition to the reef. Wreck Ashore is a short D&D adventure for four 1st level player characters (PCs). The scenario takes place on and around a swampy peninsula that juts out from a longer stretch of coastline. Along one side of this peninsula stretches a dangerous reef. Just offshore on the reef side stands a lighthouse built to warn ships of the danger. At the base of the peninsula on the side away from the reef is a small port town called Seawell.
The rough ground on the outskirts of the village of Col Fen once served as a graveyard for an evil temple destroyed long ago. A recent disturbance released some of the ancient evil buried here, and now the dead in this graveyard are beginning to walk. Several villagers have already vanished and more will die if the undead are not put to rest. Pgs. 56-63
A succubus with an unquenchable lust for power is turning the Cage into a ripping madhouse. And the Lady of Pain ain't pleased. . . . Something's foul in Sigil, berk. A mad slasher prowls the streets, leaving a trail of bloody clues in his wake. Leatherheads boldly court the Lady of Pain, longing for the sharp touch of her shadow. Even the silent dabus're acting barmy, a sure sign that the Lady herself is uneasy. Are these strange events tied to a madhouse full of spell-touched sods ready to slip the bonds of mortality? A curious body'd better step carefully. After all, the dead-book's full of fools who wished for power?or got in the way of another berk's wish. Harbinger House is a Planescape adventure for four to six characters of 4th to 7th levels. From Sigil to the Outlands and back again, the heroes must piece together a puzzle that could shake the Cage to its foundations. A dark secret of the multiverse wails to be discovered in the lunatic asylum called Harbinger House, and only the player characters can shape its power-for good or ill. TSR 2614
The seaside town of Ashenport has a troubled past and a dark secret. If you spend a night in Ashenport, you just might not wake up the next morning. "The Last Breaths of Ashenport" is an adventure of survival and alien horrors. The adventure is self-contained and can be placed in any setting. Pgs. 70-105
Stories of misfortune are often exaggerated, especially when they have been retold many times. For that reason, most people aren't taking seriously the claim that a sea monster living along the coast is eating whole ships full of sailors and swallowing entire families. But there's no denying a few facts -- the town of Lochfell is losing its citizens to a sea monster (one that walks on water no less), someone is stealing that same town's dead, and ships are beginning to choose other ports for unloading their goods. Such a scenario could doom the residents of the small port town to either a monster's gullet or the poorhouse. No one seems to know whether the town's two ongoing problems are connected, but the sea monster never leaves behind a corpse to bury. Is it collecting bodies for some dark purpose? Or did some more powerful evil creature create the sea monster to do its dirty work? Someone in Lochfell knows the answer, and it's up to the PCs to find it out. Lochfell’s Secret is a short D&D adventure for four 15th level player characters (PCs). The story is set in and around the port town of Lochfell. You can place the action in any section of your campaign world where a coastal town on a bay might exist. If there is a small town that the PCs visited in a past adventure but haven’t returned to in quite a while, so much the better. As always, feel free to adapt the material presented here as you see fit to make it work with your campaign.
The village of Orașnou is buried in winter's snows and facing starvation. An unseen beast has ravaged the livestock culled to pay Lord Strahd's tax and the village is thrown into panic and chaos. Can you find the monster and save the village from starvation, or worse? Part eight of Misty Fortunes and Absent Hearts.
This adventure concerns a once-proud fortress that fell into the earth in an age long past. Now known as the Sunless Citadel, its echoing, broken halls house malign creatures. Evil has taken root at the citadel's core, which is deep within a subterranean garden of blighted foliage. Here a terrible tree and its dark shepherd plot in darkness.
“Gorgoldand’s Gauntlet” takes place in a cave network in the side of a cliff overlooking a lake and can be inserted easily into any campaign. Gorgoldand’s Gauntlet is a site-based adventure with a pre-dominance of puzzles and traps. The PCs discover a map leading to the Gauntlet and explore it looking for treasure. They test their strength and wits against various traps and puzzles created by a gold dragon who converted a cave network into a proving ground to surreptitiously test the abilities of local adventuring bands. If they make it all the way to the end of the Gauntlet, they’ll have the chance to fight a dragon construct made of the dungeon's treasure hoard and have the chance to gain access to a magic item that can have a significant impact on their adventuring careers. Pgs. 39-51