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.
A kobold king lair suitable for four or five 8th-level characters. King Qalqat is gathering followers in a bid to establish his own realm. A wanted dragonborn fugitive, Brustival recently joined his ranks and his power. However, Brustival is now a wanted man and there's a bounty on bringing back his head to the local magistrate.
A wealthy sea-trader hires the PCs to solve a pirate problem and recover stolen supplies. Almost 100 pirates have made base in a treacherous cove. When the PCs arrive, most of the pirates are at sea on a mission. A large host of pirates remain in the base and force PCs to be creative with their approach, as a direct attack would be met with an overwhelming swarm of pirates. Unknown to the player's as they scheme is that the ship will soon return with its massive crew. The treasure cave is guarded by the dead sailors foolish enough to try and steal from the captain, who is the only one who can enter the cave safely. Players must be creative to deal with the pirates in the base and the approaching ship while still securing the plundered supplies in the treasure cave.
A one-shot adventure for level 1 characters, in which the party must investigate a series of mysterious happenings at an old, abandoned manor house on the outskirts of a small town.
The characters will investigate a grim mystery in the elven village of Alkai Tor, hunt for answers in a lethal swamp, and finally confront a desperate killer in the Temple of Shattered Minds itself.
Infiltration of a ruined archive; the players--beseeched by a mysterious psionic calling--work to uncover the machinations of the Nalar and hopefully free their captive held far below...
In this action packed scenario the players will be led down a violent path of vengeance. While traveling, the party encounters a beautiful foreign girl in danger. She only utters "help" before collapsing. After the quick and deadly skirmish the players learn that a poor girl is in fact a daughter of the eastern ambassador. She tells the players of all the terrible things that happened to her and begs them to act as her katharas, warriors who will return her honor. The bloody trail of revenge brings the players in a conflict with a vicious captain and his 30 warriors in several fully detailed combat encounters. They'll have to attack a bandit camp, defend a village against a raid and finally pick a champion for 1 on 1 duel to the death. 30 Dead Men features a short action adventure scenario. This adventure scenario is focused on combat encounters and strategic thinking.
"The Dark Forest" is an elder shadow drake lair suitable for four 8th-level characters. This adventure can be completed in one session. A hidden grove within a dark forest has been home to a tribe of alseids for generations. The tribe's most recent leader and spiritual heart was an alseid shaman called Riatha the Raven. Within the grove lies an ancient ring of standing stones atop a burial mount. Here, Riatha conducted sacred nature rites to honor and bless the forest and the tribe. During one of these ceremonies, the ground rumbled and a column of dense black energy shot straight up from the burial mound and into the night sky. Thick darkness enveloped the area, and the suddenly blinded alseids heard terrible roars. An instant later, the darkness dissipated to reveal a mysterious pool ringed with skulls among the standing stones. Two large, dragon-like creatures with black scales and burning red eyes glared at the confused alseids. One the ground lay the body of Riatha, deathly still. Terror and chaos followed as the creatures brought swift and sudden death, killing most of the alseid tribe members with razor-sharp teeth and deadly, black breath. The alseids that survived the inital, bloody attack fled into the forest. They counterattacked a few hours later, desperate to reclaim their grove and recover the body of their beloved leader, but the attempt was a fiasco and they were quickly driven off. Now, the few remaining alseids hide in the forest, frightened and unsure of what to do next.
A millennium has passed since the Green Death swept across Hyperborea. In that bygone age of pestilence, a noble family fled the City-State of Khromarium. Far beyond the walls of the city, they entombed themselves in order to elude the inescapable plague. Their necromancer placed them in a deep slumber from which they never wakened. Also he summoned a mythical serpent to guard the vault, a beast reputed to shed gems for tears from eyeless sockets. Tales speak of this beast as the Sightless Serpent. Now, a knave of Khromarium claims to have witnessed the legendary beast. For a pittance he will lead your party to its trail in this swords and sorcery style adventure
Start your own duet campaign! Teleport your way out of the confines of a castle to an ancient mountainside cavern with a secret waiting just for you... First Blush is the inaugural adventure of D&D Duet, bringing you high quality, ready to play material focused on supporting adventuring parties of 1 Player and 1 DM. This adventure is written for a first-level character in a one-on-one 5th edition D&D campaign. It encourages collaborative storytelling between the DM and the player and takes the PC through low-stakes social and combat encounters, culminating in a high-stakes combat far from home. You’ll find everything you need to jump-start your own two-person game. This product includes: 2-4 hour introductory adventure adaptable to any setting and spanning 2 parts All necessary stat blocks for monsters and NPCs 3 print and play battle maps 3 ready to go player sheets complete with background information and personality traits This adventure is perfect for a first-timer or an experienced player looking to explore the hobby in a fresh (sans traditional group) way. This would also make for a great session zero or breakout adventure for a player before the character joins a larger party. Published by D&D Duet.
𝐁𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐔𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐢𝐭𝐲 is a 𝐃&𝐃 𝟓𝐭𝐡 𝐄𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 adventure designed for a DM’s use in any 𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐨𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐧 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐦𝐬™ campaign. It was designed and written by writer, editor, and developer Monica Valentinelli (𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐟𝐥𝐲 𝐑𝐏𝐆, 𝐕𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐞: 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐚𝐬𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝟐𝟎𝐭𝐡 𝐀𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐄𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐇𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐕𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐥 𝟐𝐧𝐝 𝐄𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬), with rules and editing by developer, writer, and editor Scott Holden (Scarred Lands RPG, Ravenloft RPG, EverQuest RPG, and EVE Online). 𝐁𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐔𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐢𝐭𝐲 takes place underground in a section of a major city. The party will navigate sewers, worked tunnels, forgotten crypts, and freshly dug passageways to fend off adversaries in order to rescue hostages and return them safely to the surface unharmed. Can your party emerge victorious and save the day? 𝐈𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐝𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝: * Adventure background and hooks * Map to the Undercity * Detailed location guide * Suggestions to increase and decrease the Challenge Rating * Advice to customize the adventure to your party * New! Crimson Coins thieves' faction and characters * New! Ten Legs tribe, Goblin Beast-Master, and Beast-Rider monster variants * New! Corrupted Shield-Guardian monster variant * New! Ancient Revenant monster variant This adventure includes three, separate three-to-four hour long missions that can be run in any order, depending upon the needs and composition of your party members. While this was designed as an adventure module for 7th- to 9th-level characters to be run in the recommended timeframe, you will find notes to adjust the missions to increase or decrease their difficulty and length. 𝐀𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫: Monica Valentinelli writes stories, games, essays, and comics about magic, mystery, and mayhem. Find more titles by Monica on 𝐃𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐓𝐡𝐫𝐮𝐑𝐏𝐆.𝐜𝐨𝐦 and 𝐃𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐓𝐡𝐫𝐮𝐅𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧.𝐜𝐨𝐦.
A wandering farm boy falls foul of an ancient trap and is plunged into a death-like sleep. The cure lies in a temple hidden in the green gloom of Merthington Woods, but to find it, the adventurers must brave a set of terrible traps laid by a forgotten sect of priests...
Something is amiss in the town of Rhiannon. Recently raided by a band of vile creatures, the citizens of Rhiannon were shocked to find their lord at the root of the incident. And now Lord Kent is holding a competition for “all walks of life with a propensity for the gambling arts.” Will the PC aid the citizens of Rhiannon and uncover the truth about the mysterious Lord Kent? Or will the PC take this opportunity to line her own pockets? Either way, the answers lie inside the walls of Lord Kent’s keep and the gamblers within.
Kobolds. To some, that name means “a tiny creature that dies easily”. To others, that name invokes fear and dread of a relentless, diabolical nightmare. This adventure introduces you to the latter. If your party is unlucky enough to enter the kobold-infested mountain, they will wish they hadn’t after triggering traps around every corner. And if that doesn’t discourage them, the red dragon surely will.
Something lurks in the shadows inside the caverns under the hill called Brin Brenin. Ancient enemies of mankind have returned for revenge, starting with the tomb of a long-forgotten hero. Somewhere inside are answers to forgotten questions, deadly monsters, and hidden treasures.
From time out of mind, the standing stones known as the Circle of Cahervaniel have stood lonely vigil on a grassy hilltop. Sheepherders once moved their flocks over the hill and through the circle, sometimes resting in the cool shadows cast by the ancient stones. Everything changed when a stone finger fell, revealing a fissure in the earth. Now, dark shadows caress the circle after the sun sets. Creatures out of nightmare dance upon the hillside at night. Many swear that a unicorn of deepest ebony now hunts all upon two legs who draw near, while stunted creatures scurry in the shadows, abducting sheep from their sheds and drawing them down below ground for food. After the disappearance of a sheperd, fear grows stronger in neighboring villages. Who will brave the black hollow of the ancient Circle of Cahervaniel? Heroes of stern mettle must descend into the cavity and explore the ancient spaces existing there. Product History "The Shattered Circle" (1999), by Bruce R. Cordell, is a generic adventure for AD&D 2e. It was published in January 1999. Origins: Another Generic. After Wizards of the Coast began publishing D&D, their first year and a half of generic adventures were all classic revivals: returns to RPGA tournaments, to classic adventures, and to Dungeon scenarios. Even "A Paladin in Hell" (1998) was a return in its own way, to the demons and devils that TSR had become afraid of. Wizards was staking out new ground by reclaiming the past. "The Shattered Circle" (1999) was the first generic Wizards adventure that was simply a generic adventure, with no deeper origins and no hidden motives. Artifacts of Note. the foundingstone and the harp Euphonious are both one-off named magic items. However, it's sword Icerazor that's the most interesting. It's said to have grown from a shard of Frostrazor — a sword that would only appear ten months later in Return to White Plume Mountain (1999). There, it's listed as one of Keraptis' four implements of power, alongside Wave, Blackrazor, and Whelm — meaning that Icerazor (and this adventure) are just one step removed from White Plume Mountain itself. Monsters of Note: Chitine. It's somewhat curious, given the Greyhawk and Neverness connections, to note that the chitine debuted in MC11: "Monstrous Compendium Forgotten Realms Appendix" (1991). The spider-humanoids have generally been a Realms creature, featuring in bestiaries and histories for that setting. However, they also received a more generic "Ecology of the Chitine" in Dragon #223 (November 1995), which introduced the choldrith, or chitine priestess. This is their major adventure appearance. When asked about pronouncing their name Cordell says that he "can't be 100% sure of the original designer's pronunciation", but he prefers "KI-TEEN". About the Creators. By 1999, Cordell was one of D&D's most prolific writers. He'd previously authored many slightly related adventures, such as The Gates of Firestorm Peak(1996) and the sahuagin (1997) and illithid (1998) Monstrous Arcana adventure trilogies. This conversion guide allows DMs to run the original module with 5th Edition rules. To use this conversion guide you will need a copy of The Shattered Circle, originally available in hard-copy and now for sale in Digital format at the DMs Guild. This adventure is a generic adventure, not specifically based in any existing setting. Suggestions are given in the conversion guide to place the adventure in the Forgotten Realms.
The characters are summoned by the Norse gods to track down two dwarves, one of whom has made a weapon for the giants to use against the gods. The mission takes the characters to Jotunheim, on the plane of Gladsheim, to take the god-slaying weapon from the giants.
There is the well-known regional legend of Iptiz, a spirit naga whose greed was remarkable even among its own kind. Murderous raids and relentless pillaging yielded a hoard so valuable that the creature needed some place to store and protect it. Thus was the Vault conceived: an underground complex custom built to destroy anyone who is not its creator. Years ago, Iptiz's campaign of terror suddenly ended without precursor or cause. The location of the Vault was never discovered. Until now. The ring-city of Sulindal, built upon the shores of a mile-wide desert oasis, has come under martial law by an invading army of yuan-ti. They intend to exploit the resources in this renowned city of knowledge to locate the third and final Beacon of Selune. ...but for what purpose? A four to six hour adventure for four 5th level players.
For the past several days, dozens of strong earthquakes have rocked the coastal area surrounding the underground Temple of Poseidon. Since the first quake, there have been a growing number of reports of strange events and macabre occurrences throughout the area. Several families near the temple have abandoned their farms and refused to return. They claim to have been terrorized by inhuman specters who prowled about their farms late at night. One of the farmers says he found a farm animal crucified and eviscerated in a ritualistic fashion on his front porch. Following the first tremors, all communications with the Temple of Poseidon, seemingly the center of the troubled area, were cut off. Messengers dispatched to the temple to request guidance from the Holy Oracle located there have not returned. Now the darkness has spread to this town. Unnatural births have occurred. Strange cries can be heard in the night, and there is a cowl around the moon. Magical divining has proven useless in naming the dark forces that invade. Many of the townspeople have already abandoned their homes and those who remain have but one recourse left: They have sent out a cry for hardened adventurers, experienced in dispatching evil. They must travel to the temple to discover the fate of the men there, and, if possible, elicit their help in destroying the growing heinous power. Pgs. 31-46
Ever wanted to face the cold, dark, and dangerous unknown without the advantages of a fantasy hero? This is your chance! Fifth Edition Funnel puts a spin on character creation. In the Funnel, each participating player quickly generates several 0-level characters blessed with the abilities and low survivability of your average commoner. Those that survive will be promoted to 1st-level heroines and heroes. The Funnel bonds characters over common challenges they meet and (hopefully) overcome. The surviving 1st-level characters share a common origin as adventurers. Instead of merely rolling dice, there is a trial by fire where average people succeed against the odds to do something heroic (or hide under a table in a tavern).