About: This encounter was cooked up in the Write your First Encounter workshop by the Storytelling Collective. It CAN be slid in as a side quest in any urban or sub-urban context, or be adapted to add confusion to any rescue mission you are presently running. Synopsis: Through the doorway a young woman shackled to the wall matching the description of Helena can be seen. Though disheveled and looking to be in great discomfort, her beauty is remarkable. But on closer inspection, there are other people here — three identical Helenas! Noble woman Elize Cleron has hired the party to infiltrate the catacombs under the Schaefer Estate and free her twin sister Helena. Helena is being held captive by the Schaefer family, trade rivals rumored to have ties to the underworld. Elize has been unable to free her sister herself because of her identical appearance. Rather than pay an unrealistic ransom, Elize has provided the party with what they need to break her out. This encounter is intended for 3rd level characters.
An oasis exploration and lava-filled obsidian dungeon crawl for 4-5 players of 5th to 6th level. Battle elemental evils, save captured sandworms, claim unique elemental magic items. A malevolent and ancient elemental lies imprisoned within a lava-filled obsidian cavern. Explore the hidden passages before his shackles break and havoc is unleashed upon the nearby oasis! 10 pages of oasis exploration and lava-filled dungeon peril! Statblocks for the life-cycle of desert sandworms, plus three unique elemental magic items like "Summer's Bane" - an armlet of compacted ice that grants the wielder a magical bow, and the "Embershard" - a dagger made from the jawbone of a red dragon that imbues the wielder with elemental magics. Run the adventure your way - drop the PCs off at the dungeon entrance and explore the perlious cavern, or let them cavort in the oasis before uncovering the lingering threat. We hope you enjoy the desert oasis and obsidian-carved dungeon crawl from the Heart of Arcana.
The tritons have arrested the keeper of Skyhorn Lighthouse for unleashing vile, bug-like abominations into the sea. When a lone triton comes to the characters and asks their help in exonerating the keeper, will the heroes rise to the challenge and confront the dangers lurking in the deep? The Corruption of Skyhorn Lighthouse is a 5-7 hour adventure for 8th-level characters. You can run The Corruption of Skyhorn Lighthouse as a standalone adventure or as a follow-up to The Secrets of Skyhorn Lighthouse, a free 5th-level adventure downloaded over 100,000 times with 350+ five-star reviews! Inside the The Corruption of Skyhorn Lighthouse, you'll find: -Three new monsters that prowl the ocean depths -A goblin submarine, a darkmantle sea captain, and a marid with a pet starfish grove -The Arcane Library's signature format to make running the adventure effortless -Combat cards for monsters, PCs, and special treasure -Gorgeous maps designed for easy use with Virtual Table Tops
Tillius Morganstein aka the Mad Mage has selected your group to investigate an ancient temple hidden below the peaceful waters of Lake Springwood. The wizard is too old to investigate the area himself and has enlisted your help. While he has studied the ancient texts dedicated to "Bulu" he cannot define what dangers may lurk or what treasures may await those brave enough to delve into the submerged halls but surely the rewards will be great!
The Walled City of Vandosia sits on the bay and is surrounded on three sides by water. One of the more interesting features of this city is its massive sewer system that keeps water and waste flowing out of the city. Rumors have it that these tunnels are home to special problems of its own. Are your players ready to brave the gritty underside of Vandosia?
Ages ago, the tower stood as a bastion against banditry and marauders. But civilization has long since retreated from this area, and a band of goblin thieves has taken up residence in the ruined tower. Local woodsfolk beg the PCs to rid the place of the bandits before they are victimized again by the goblins of the Broken Tower. Pgs. 18-23
Crippled, wingless, old and a thousand times more dangerous. Surely, a crippled dragon is less dangerous than a healthy one. Pgs. 35-45
In the beginning, a pair of sphinxes — one male and one female — guarded a desert temple in relative peace. They watched over a vault that held a magical ring that could change the world. The androsphinx — Bazymoros — succumbed to corruption; he denounced the trickster god who created him. Bazymoros forged a pact with the demon god, Baphomet, becoming violent and sought to claim the item in the name of his patron. In an effort to save the world, the gynosphinx Asmuzi defeated him. She locked Bazymoros away, never again to see the light of day. The androsphinx remained as an example of what not to become. It has been so long since this battle that much of the knowledge of Bazymoros has disappeared from the collective memory of the races that inhabit the world. All that remains is the knowledge of the dangerous gynosphinx made from the flesh of human and creature. . . and the treasure she keeps.
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
Riverton is in Peril! Chaos has reared its ugly head in the troubled town of Riverton! You and some new friends have left home to seek your fame and fortune. Brace yourselves, opportunity is about to hit you right between the eyes! The time has come to show you were made for better things than scratching out an existence on some hardscrabble farm, or slaving away in the hold of some perfumed and effete Peer of the Realm. Grab your sword, don your armor, ready your magic wand; adventure awaits!
Have you ever wanted to raid your neighbor’s garage for that tool they “borrowed” a year ago? Or dig through your friend’s closet because you know half your wardrobe is hiding in there? What if you had a band of adventurers to do it for you? The wizard Rastakeen needs a book returned that he lent his not-so-esteemed colleague, Frex, some time ago. Apprentices are for running errands you don’t want to do yourself, right?
A free adventure for the Pathfinder RPG, focusing upon a city ravaged by a natural disaster and besieged on all sides. Party levels 4-5 will face off against a half-dragon, half-demon overlord known as Ymial, a demonic seductress, goblin warbands, and drow slavers beneath the ground all while trying to discover the secrets of the city of Fairhaven. Works well for players who are looking to visit a large town and face off in a high-stakes conflict even at low levels. Includes lots of details on the town, from rumors to residents.
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
No-one knows why, but many of the villagers of Greenmist have been going insane. Not only that, but something has caused the surrounding environment to transform into fetid swamps. Heroes from far and wide have gone into the swamps to destroy the source of the madness, but none have returned. The truth is that the psychic whispers of an aboleth have invaded the minds of Greenmist's people. The creature called Seedooloo has been using forbidden magic, mad science, and the strange ability of his kuo-toan worshipers to grant himself the power to drive the surface world to insanity. The Call of Seedooloo includes monsters found in Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes.
The door to the Abyss can be opened with good intentions. An act of mercy released a creature of unspeakable evil. Now, only you have a chance to stop it. A vrock has been trapped inside a stone circle outside the village of Sundown. This stone circle remained untouched for thousands of years, until an unwitting mage decided to depetrify one of the standing stones that he mistakenly thought was a helpless farmer. This released the vrock, who killed the mage and has been trying to regain enough power to plane shift back to its home. This module primarily is based on investigation and problem solving, with a final fight with the vrock at the end. Roleplaying should be emphasized. The town of Sundown is fleshed out with NPCs and stores for player exploration. Pgs. 4-16
The Dark Tide of Damodan is an underwater rescue adventure, where time is of the essence. A mysterious disease is killing of locals and visitors alike in the port town of Havenword. While the adventurers are in town, Havenword is attacked from the sea by nasty fish-headed creatures. After the battle, the characters learn that the creatures dragged off several townsfolk. They have been tasked with finding the captives and returning them safely. The only problem...they were taken out to sea. The characters must delve into the depths into an underwater keep to rescue the captives. Using the knowledge the captives to help locate one another, all the while, avoiding the sinister Damodan's forces. Will the characters turn the tides in their favor? Or will they swim with the fishes? Published by Crit Academy
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
"Ambush at Boxcar Rocks" is a two hour adventure for character level 1-3 (3-6 players) but is easily adapted to challenge higher level PCs by adjusting the spawn rate and the spawn limit. It features one hand-drawn, color map. It can be run as a brutal oneshot gauntlet or a quick side quest to pad the players purses. Deep within the labyrinth of massive, glacier deposited rocks there is a natural cave once used for interring the dead. Now the bones of the pit within stir because of a foolish neophyte. A listless, blood thirsty horde tramples toward daylight and nothing will remain in their wake...
A Ghastly Mess is a one-shot adventure for a group of 3rd-level characters that takes place in a haunted mansion Unlike your regular haunted house, the inhabitants of this building are far from scary. The ghosts of the former staff still live in it—or, well, unlive—not realizing they’re deceased and unable to move on because of it. The Lord of the mansion still awaits the return of his beloved, Lenore, for which he has commanded the staff to have the house in pristine condition. Help the only alive member of the staff, a sleepwalking old-man, clean the house, defeat any and all monsters that might be lurking in the somewhat abandoned building and help the ghosts pass on to the great beyond in this short but exciting adventure! The story includes a host of interesting characters for your players to meet, each with their own unique personalities and accompanying art; an array of unique monsters specially designed to challenge your party in more ways than one; and an intriguing mystery surrounding Lenore’s fate and what happened to the members of the staff. Now, you might be thinking “hey, this ain’t spooky at all, what gives?” and to that I say: how dare you?! Nothing is scarier than doing your chores! That’s why we built an adventure around it! That being said, A Ghastly Mess is not meant to be a scary story, but rather an interesting mystery-type of social adventure. Most combats can be resolved by running away, the stakes are low, and the NPCs don’t think of the situation as anything more than a normal day in their lives. The tragic aspects of the story have already happened by the times the characters show up, and the intent is for everything to go well from there.
The party approaches the Dwarven Kingdom of Narol'Duun, where things are far different than in your typical dwarven empire. The first major difference is that Narol'Duun is split into three distinct categories of dwarven tribes based on the main type of ore that they mine and refine. The dwarves take on characteristics of these ores - the Cobalt Dwarves having a tinge of blue to their hair, the Copper Dwarves having tough skin and beards of shining reddish-brown, and the skin of the Iron Dwarves is a deep grey in color. These dwarves engage in trade and drink, but the one thing that they are sure to never do is breed outside of their respective tribes. To be found in a relationship with a dwarf of another tribe is to be exiled to the surface - a punishment worse than death for most of these dwarves. On this particular adventure, the party finds themselves caught up in a case of forbidden love between a royal member of the Cobalt Dwarf family - Nadom Glintstone - and a simple merchant woman from the Copper Dwarf tribe by the name of Lajeera Copperfist. They have been doing their best to keep their love a secret for they both know the risks, but the Cobalt King, Norgith Glintstone, has suspicions and is deeply afraid of the damage such a scandal could have on his family's reputation. He doesn't want to draw any attention to the situation, so it is difficult to find a dwarf of his own tribe that could look into it further, so when the party comes along he sees it as a perfect opportunity. He will hire the party to look into the situation with Nadom, offering grand rewards in exchange for the truth if they can provide proof. The party will be torn between multiple threads of possibility in this adventure – telling Norgith the truth about his son's affair with Lajeera, helping Lajeera to permanently change her form to that of a Cobalt Dwarf so they can be together, or perhaps even trying to end the tribalistic ways of the dwarven kingdoms all together. This is a heavily role-playing based adventure, perfect for those who would rather talk their way through a difficult situation than cut their way through it, but there is still some combat along the way depending on the party’s choices. This story will decide if love can win out against all odds or if the temptation of coin is greater than the happiness of others.