Minotaurs are fond of mazes, but rarely build them. Hex is an architect, engineer, and overlord all in one. A self-declared "Minotaur Lord", he is the only one of his kind known to exist. His lair is all he has, a gargantuan, ever-expanding labyrinth in which he keeps the spoils of his many conquests in youth. Now an ancient veteran, he works tirelessly to keep his hoard safe and to entice new adventurers to test themselves against his gauntlet of lethal traps. Tyrants and Hellions is a Dungeon Master's aide, containing fifteen villains complete with schemes, lairs, backstories, and everything else you need to drop them into your own 5th Edition Dungeons & Dragons campaign. Within its 400 pages you'll also find the methods, both mechanical and thematic, used to create villains that spark the imaginations of your players. Hex is one of these villains, and his adventure takes up 33 pages (pg 110-143). Published by 2CGaming

Hunt a terrifying predator in this adventure for 2nd-level characters set in the world’s greatest roleplaying game! A frightened tabaxi bursts into your tavern with his blood-soaked daughter, begging for aid. A ferocious beast known as the stalker injured her in a harrowing attack. What’s more, the injured girl was not alone when the stalker attacked, and she fears the beast has taken her beloved to be its dinner. The old tabaxi begs the party to enter the forest and eliminate the stalker. This second-level adventure is perfect for new DMs and players alike. Enter the dark Airedale forest, hunt the stalker, and save Edge of the World, or bring back his body. Included in this adventure: A quest to rid a forest of a terrifying predator. Ambushes, exploration, and intense last stands. Cold and dark forests dripping in cobwebs. 4 random encounters to help you extend the adventure as needed. Approx. 4 hours of fun. A gripping adventure for 2nd-level players. Visit the dark forest of Airedale!

Chip off the old block. The dwarves of Underduin and Thunderdelve have made some new friends … and enemies. A stronghold of dwarfs has been takin hostage and its up to the part to save them and return the stronghold to its former glory. XS2 Thunderdelve Mountain may act as a prequel. Pgs. 8-31

For a thousand years Mezar-Kul has known only war, and now the Overlord reigns supreme. From his gargantuan metal fortress he rules the blasted remains of the planet’s last city. Hope seems lost – until visitors arrive from a distant world, bringing uncanny, magical powers. Your adventurers must pick a path through twisted ruins, ancient missile silos, strange monorail systems, and a conflict with four deadly factions to save a world – or destroy it! Note: This adventure does require that the party have some access to spell casting, whether through an item or class that requires a spell casting roll.

During a brief stop-over at a wilderness stronghold, a simple trip to a local provisioner reveals foul play! The shop has been broken in, and the shopkeeper is missing. But the place has not been burglarized. The heroes are thrust into an investigation. Clues discovered by the heroes’ hint at larger corruption that festers among the border lands surounding the stronghold. What sinister forces lurk beneath the keep?

There was no greater scholar, explorer, or collector of antiquities in the area than Hallomak Stromm. The enigmatic Stromm recently passed away, and the PCs have received personal invitations to appear at the public reading of his will. Pgs. 72-77

While you search for treasure, others search for you. A treasure vault without guards or traps - can it be true? Pgs. 16-30

A snow hag lair suitable for four or five 7th-level characters. Mother Rime lives north of a small fishing village in the far cold north. For years she's hidden her true nature from the townsfolk, appearing as an old benevolent wild-woman to the town. When one of Mother Rime's 'children' break from her cold-hearted ways, adventurer's are sought to seek to correct the evil in the north.

The invisible enemy. Rats, cats, and double-drats. Six months ago, the residents of Luskwald heard rumors from passing merchants of a possible goblin incursion into the region. News from the nearest city confirmed speculations that goblin tribes were massing in the distant hills. Worried about the future of his small community, the Laird of Luskwald commissioned a stonemason and several carpenters to rebuild a damaged keep two miles north of the village. The repair crew worked for weeks restoring the keep's fallen walls, while waiting nervously for the first goblin to show its ugly head. For the first several days the restoration proceeded according to schedule, but in the weeks that followed several 'accidents' led many to believe the keep was cursed or haunted. In the past week three of Luskwald's villagers have died, each the victim of a grisly assassin whose identity remains a mystery. Several citizens have heard or seen peculiar things over the last several days, leading them to believe that Luskwald has been cursed, or worse, ravaged by angry spirits--perhaps sent by a greater evil that dwells within the ruined keep! Pgs. 34-52

The chapel, once populated by the priests and priestesses of Eldath has now been desecrated by cult of necromancers who sought its secrets to prolonged life. They soon discovered the bodies of the chapel’s clerics they slew, and those interred in the catacombs below, were unnaturally strengthened and preserved by the chapel’s white waters. Their bodies were soon used to create powerful undead. Seeing this desecration of her followers, Eldath stemmed the flow of her life-giving waters. The cultists remain in her chapel, seeking to corrupt the well and harness its powers for their vile plans. Published by Arcana Games.

Everybody's a fool for a lost kid. He wanted power but settled for scraps - for now. The outcast wizard Lertol has adopted two leucrotta, and their team is ambushing passing travelers and robbing them with no-one the wiser. The players first fall into this trap when the leucrottas mimic a lost child and a search party in the middle of a night at camp. If the players leave to investigate the voices, the wizard loots the camp while they are gone. The players can then follow the wizard back to his lair and get their treasure back. Pgs. 48-49 & 28

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...

You and your associates were planning on making it big as adventurers...you just didn't think it would happen so soon! This one page offering takes the players through the wilderness with an opportunity to swing by for some healing as well!

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?

If you're looking for a light-hearted adventure, you've come to the right place. Can a wizard and her beloved chef live a quiet life of baking and brewing, or is trouble destined to enter their innocent kitchen? It's up to the player characters to see what these two have cooked up before things get too hot to handle (without potholders, anyhow). Game designer Andy Collins offers the latest in our series of monthly free adventures. This original Dungeons & Dragons scenario, including full description and stats for a crusty new culinary creature, is suitable for a party of four characters of 2nd level. Adventure Preview When Andolyn met Gendrew, it seemed a match made in heaven. Andolyn was a skilled wizard with a love of a good meal, looking for an excuse to settle down from adventuring, while Gendrew was a master chef looking to create new methods of cooking. Together, they took up a quiet life of baking and brewing, content to live in a small cottage on the outskirts of town. But now one of their experiments has gone horribly wrong, and the characters must save poor Gendrew from his own delicious concoction, while defending themselves from the inhabitants of the cottage, and one unwelcome invader.

While searching for a series of missing people in the Galago Hills, the party comes across a cave decorated with disturbingly life-like statues. What lurks in the cave isn’t anything as simple as a monstrous basilisk, however. After all, what evil could possibly be as dark and dangerous as that which lurks in the heart of mortal men?

Deep in these caverns overrun with all sorts of foul creatures are two sister hags. Once of the same coven, they now have a bitter rivalry but both refuse to the leave these caverns they call home. The cave received its name thanks to the terrifying sounds that echo through it. Some say it is just the wind brushing against the stone but the rumors all speak of two horrifying sisters casting curses and performing diabolic rituals with human sacrifices in a never-ending hatred. Heroes will face goblin, hag, bat, hook horror, and other terrifying monstrosities deep within the tunnels of The Shrieking Caverns. This dungeon does not contain any of the puzzles from the puzzle section, though there are a few situations the players will find themselves in that will require more than phsyical strength. That being said, this dungeon contains many combat encounters and is expected to take multiple nights to complete.

Tree houses are not just for kids. This roadside stop could well be your very last. These characters may be of any class, race, or alignment, although characters of good alignment have added incentive to rid the world of the evil depicted herein. The characters should possess only a low to moderate amount of magic, as too much will throw off the balance of the scenario. The Dungeon Master should pay particular attention to the viewpoint of the antagonists: three braggarts. This Scenario is designed to be used as the player PCs travel from one adventure to another, along the fringe of a swamp. The players should be given no introduction for the scenario. Treated it as an extended random encounter. The adventure takes place in the village of Rotting Willow and the nearby swamp. The village lies at the intersection of two trade routes. One route follows the edge of the Great Cypress Swamp and is well traveled because it is shorter (although not safer) than larger trade routes. A smaller route runs east and west, ending abruptly where it meets the swamp route. Pgs. 4-10

You come across a poster for a novelty stage act, and the performer looks exactly like...YOU! They're using your name, and your face! Worse still, their performance is OUTRAGEOUS! You need to put a stop to this, your reputation is at stake! This is a one-to-one adventure designed for one player of the bard class and one DM.

Side-Trek adventure When your PCs gain access to the teleport spell, their whole world changes. That simple spell opens up instantaneous, long-distance travel. No more long overland journeys or dangerous retreats through hostile territory. All it takes is clasped hands and a word from the wizard, and poof! The PCs are where they want to go. Except that it isn’t that simple, because teleport isn’t foolproof. The off-target teleports are a matter of scattering your PCs someplace else on the map and forcing them to get their bearings and make the long overland journey anyway. But this Side Trek focuses on the really intriguing column on the teleport chart: “similar area.”