The temple lay just ahead, and within the answers to a great many questions about the recent goings on in Port Nyanzaru. The journey here has been long and arduous and hopefully soon at an end. Leave your trepidations at the door; there’s exploring to be done! Part Three of The Jungle Has Fangs Trilogy.
Dare to defy death in this adventure for the world’s greatest roleplaying game. The talk of the streets and taverns has all been about the so-called death curse: a wasting disease afflicting everyone who’s ever been raised from the dead. Victims grow thinner and weaker each day, slowly but steadily sliding toward the death they once denied. When they finally succumb, they can’t be raised—and neither can anyone else, regardless of whether they’ve ever received that miracle in the past. Temples and scholars of divine magic are at a loss to explain a curse that has affected the entire region, and possibly the entire world. The cause is a necromantic artifact called the Soulmonger, which is located somewhere in Chult, a mysterious peninsula far to the south, ringed with mountains and choked with rainforests.
Oblivion is a town like no other. Situated in a hidden valley within a high mountain range and accessible only via air or a secret tunnel through the mountains, it has remained unknown to all except its inhabitants for uncounted centuries. What happens when a natural disaster exposes the town to the world and lets loose an ancient danger at the same time? Will the PCs aid those in need?
Darkness looms near Winterhaven! Kobold brigands have grown ever bolder in their attacks, marauding the once peaceful town, and a known explorer has been missing ever since their departure to the excavation site of a dragon burial site. When the party investigates, they will discover that the kobold's leader, Irontooth, bears a tattoo of a ram-headed demon. This is a troubling portent, for the townsfolk will report that this can only mean the dread god Orcus, master of death, has an active cult in that ruined keep! It is up to the party to enter the Keep on the Shadowfell and put a stop to the cult's fell machinations before it threatens all the realm. There they will fight the evil priest Kalarel, Scion of Orcus and seal off the vile portal to the dark realms he is master of. Should the heroes seize victory, glory and treasure are sure to be theirs. But first they must endure the challenges of that dreaded KEEP ON THE SHADOWFELL!
The necromancer Tal Lorvas has unearthed an underground tomb that dates back to the height of the ancient tiefling empire. Lorvas has been terrorizing the surrounding lands with his vile experiments, and now he hopes to find a ring, hidden in the tomb, that is tied to a ritual he wants to perform by the rise of the next full moon. The PCs must enter the tomb of Empress Nemeia, deal with the servants of the necromancer, and confront Tal Lorvas before he can claim the ancient relic and move one step closer to ultimate power over the undead. Pgs. 36-41
Despite the adventurers’ best efforts, more creatures joined under Bad Fruul’s banner. No longer content to simply attack caravans or isolated homesteads, the hill giant warlord descends upon Parnast at the head of a great force of humanoids. SEER warns the adventurers (directly now) in time to rally the town and prepare defenses, but a heroic effort is required to break the siege.
“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
From The Magazine: "Every summer, Duke Hightower holds a competition quite different from the traditional jousting and archery tournaments held by similar lords of his station. The rules of his tournament change from year to year, and, to oversee the games, the duke has appointed two wizard brothers who help choose the setting and create the rules and challenges of the competition. This year the competition is called the “Owlbear Run,” an overland race that requires each participating team to escort a live owlbear from the town of Telvorn to the town of Milvorn. The teams will face a variety of challenges; some are devised by the wizards, others by the competing teams or their sponsors, and some occur entirely at random. All of these tests are in addition to the challenges inherent in motivating a temperamental owlbear. Fortune and fame await the first team to cross the finish line, and the local lords sponsoring the race are eager to enlist skilled champions for their causes." Pgs. 2-27
Reavers of Harkenwold pits the heroes against the Iron Circle, a company of cruel mercenaries that has seized control of the small land of Harkenwold. In this adventure, the heroes become daring rebels and lead the folk of Harkenwold against their oppressors.
Long ago, a local priest created a warded graveyard on a remote hillside. As the years passed, it gained a reputation as a spot whose defenses were powerful enough to keep undead in and tomb robbers out. Adventurers began to bring the remains of any creatures they suspected might become restless in death to the Tomb Steppe for interment, and in time they also sought aid against such creatures from the friendly priest. After his death, a brief spate of undead activity commenced, then died away once again. As the years passed, the tales of undead activity in the Tomb Steppe faded into legend, and colonists began to move into the lands nearby. The town of Night Falls was founded a short distance from the graveyard, and it grew quickly into a thriving trade center and farming community. Realizing that the Tomb Steppe was safe enough during the day, the citizens began burying their dead there rather than building new crypts on pristine farmland. Because this method of interment was cheap and easy, people from many surrounding communities brought their dead to the town as well. The business of burial brought new prosperity to Night Falls, and a guild called the Funerary House sprang up to control the trade. But it seems that the threat from the Tomb Steppe has not entirely been laid to rest. The Great Mausoleum -- the largest and finest tomb in the steppe, has been unsealed, and an apparition has been seen within. Who will go to the Tomb Steppe by night and reseal the tomb? Lest Darkness Rise is a short adventure for four 7th-level characters. In keeping with the season, it has a stronger horror theme than most D&D adventures. This scenario can be used as the climax of a series of adventures featuring its secondary characters, or it can simply be a site-based adventure that the PCs stumble across at the right moment. The scenario is set in a semi-civilized area in the far north, far from cities and churches, where winters are harsh and summers never get very hot. These inhospitable conditions have resulted in a low humanoid population. The scenario need not be set in such a wilderness; a rural farming community far from cities works just as well. The only real requirement is that the area have few settlements. The action takes place in the small town of Night Falls and a nearby necropolis of tombs, mausoleums, and graves known as the Tomb Steppe. As always, feel free to adapt the material presented here as you see fit to make it work with your campaign.
A newly constructed temple of Bahamut lies along a road outside a rural township. As the PCs approach the place, a scream for help erupts within it. Pgs. 60-65
The Auburn Desolation is a forsaken waste of treacherous sand and unbearable heat within the Shadowfell. Gloom-wrapped serpents and foul undead haunt the wastes, striking out at unsuspecting travelers from sandy graves. Pgs. 88-95
Something stirs in the dark heart of the Warwood, and in response something stirs in the stars. A simple encounter with bandits on the road leads the PCs to a frightening place where even dreams are deadly. Cultists seek to free the soul of a terrible entity from beyond the stars. The PCs must retrieve the soul vessel of a long-dead evil paladin to stop cultists’ plan from coming to fruition. Pgs. 60-92
An expedition to the Amber Temple reveals another major minion of the enemy and uncovers a secret weapon that may help defeat them. Part Ten of Misty Fortunes and Absent Hearts.
The Soulmonger is shattered and its pieces scattered across the peninsula of Chult. Dire forces seek those shards for their own nefarious purposes, and the Red Wizards are rumored to have found a number of them already. Can you wrest those necromantic artifacts from the hands of the dread mages? Part One of the Broken Chains Series. A Four-Hour Adventure for 17th-20th Level Characters.
Hunt for the Thessalhydra is a short adventure published by Wizards of the Coast as a tie in to the "Stranger Things" franchise and part of the Stranger Things Dungeons & Dragons Starter Set. The adventure features characters, locations, and monsters inspired by that series. The adventure is suitable for characters of level 3-5.
The time has come to fight back against Hillsfar. Elanil Elassidil tasks you with uncovering valuable information to be used in a strike against the leader of Hillsfar, First Lord Torin Nomerthal himself. The only problem is that what you need is protected within the walls of the city.
Still falling through time, Waterdeep has grown into a small city with a problem, a vampire problem, but an old friend offers a solution. Part Three of the Folded Time Trilogy. A Two-Hour Adventure for Tier 1 Characters (bonus objectives are available to take play to 4 hours). Optimized for APL 3.
A vast Feywild swamp slowly seethes into the mortal world, conjured by a malevolent hag. The Murkendraw's unstoppable progress widens Rotten Ethel's dominion by a few steps each day, and with it, the hag's ambition. When Rotten Ethel kidnaps the fairest pixie of all, the swamp's advance suddenly quickens. The fairy folk need brave heroes to turn back the tide and venture forth to rescue Glitterdust.
A proud paladin’s quest for glory against marauding orcs ends in tragic failure with his disappearance and presumed death. Worse still, an artifact of his faith entrusted to him has gone missing. Can the adventurers reclaim the artifact and force an end to the hostilities, or will the brightest beacon of good in the Western Heartlands be extinguished? Pgs. 28-43