Legend tells of a long-dead empire of sphinxes, ruled over for millennia by a great queen named Ankharet. She fell into darkness and her empire was shattered, as her subjects rebelled and cast her down. Unable to kill her, it is said that they bound her with great magic and buried her in a tomb, to wait for the foretold heroes who would be able to slay her and end her evil forever. Their empire in ashes, the sphinxes scattered to roam the world in bitter freedom, save a single great androsphinx. On the edge of the mysterious Barren Hills, between the mountains and the Great Desert, there is a gigantic statue of a crowned gynosphinx, ancient beyond reckoning. At its feet, a great androsphinx known as Khubsheth the Prophet has dispensed counsel and prophecy to all who come to him for longer than mortal records can tell. The heroes have come to visit Khubsheth, whether for counsel, prophecy or out of curiosity, but as soon as he lays eyes on them, he attacks! Upon his defeat, he tells them that they are the heroes foretold by the legend of Ankharet. Ankharet ruled over a long-dead empire of sphinxes, but she fell into darkness. Her subjects rebelled and cast her down, but were unable to kill her. It is said that they bound her with great magic and buried her in a tomb, to wait for the foretold heroes who would be able to slay her and end her evil forever. Kubsheth the Prophet tells the heroes that they must enter the tomb of the long-dead sphinx queen, kill her, and destroy her cursed crown, an artifact of tremendously evil power. As his blood seeps into the sands, a doorway opens at the base of the statue, leading down into darkness…
Can the city of Redshore be saved from utter destruction? "The Razing of Redshore" is a D&D adventure that confronts the party with the destructive force of an awakened sperm whale druid and the sinister machinations of a secret cabal of powerful assassins. It is designed to provide such a group with an opportunity to continue their adventuring careers into the realms detailed in the "Epic Level Handbook". This book is not required to make full use of this adventure, though; any pertinent information from the supplement is reproduced here. Pgs. 72-106
A rare breed of wolf has apparently been staging daring attacks on citizens of Rendrick. A group of hunters seek to claim bounty on the beast, but as the PCs quickly learn, the wolf isn't all it appears. Something sinister lurks in the woods near town, and the PCs must act quickly to save innocent lives. Pgs. 16-26
Beneath the fetid roots of a noisome swamp linger the pathetic remnants of a once proud and noble tribe. Laid low by a powerful narcotic administered by their ambitious (but wildly paranoid) mistress, the lizardfolk of the Dark Oak are but a shadow of their former greatness. Now, in the fetid caverns below the slumbering body of a diseased treant she plots to bring bloody slaughter to the folk of the nearby villages before her followers forget their proud heritage and sink into a lethargy from which there is no escape.
When the members of The Red Drakes adventuring party go missing with precious cargo, it's up to the characters to find them before a blizzard hits. Can the group survive the grisly revelations waiting for them in the remote peaks of Frostfall Pass? The Snow Stalkers is an ice-cold horror adventure for 5th-level characters. It's a one-shot that takes about 3-5 hours to complete and includes: -A race against a deadly blizzard and abominable enemies -Three new monsters that relentlessly stalk the characters -Combat cards for each monster, PC, and special treasure -High-quality digital maps for use with virtual table tops
A secret ruin has been discovered beneath the king's palace and the adventurers must seek out a missing wizard who went exploring. The royal palace was built on the remains of a keep that was abandoned many years ago. Recent renovations have uncovered a secret passage that leads deep beneath the castle, and the court wizard Dorja went down to investigate... he hasn't been seen since. What no one knows is that the ruins beneath the castle are actually a temple to a dark god. Inside, undead husks roam that once worshipped there before they were sealed in long ago. The high priest of the temple, wishing to elongate his life, made a pact with a dark god and became a vampire. Now he waits on his throne for the day when he'll be freed from his self-imposed prison.
This is an adventure for a party of level 4-6 designed to showcase a number of newly created Oozes in the Beyond the Black Pudding compendium. The party is brought in to help figure out what to do about a giant ooze that is threatening to engulf a small town. They discover that it is being called by a magical beacon somewhere nearby, and by following a small ooze they are able to find where the signal is coming from. It turns out to have been set off by The Visionary, an intelligent Vitreous Humor (a kind of ooze beholder) with dreams of power who discovered it in an ancient temple to Juiblex. Unfortunately, having turned it on, The Visionary had no idea how to turn it off again and is now barricaded in the depths of the temple, assaulted by oozes on all sides.
Weeds trail the water. The sandbar just off the shore shifts. A reptile rumble, a splash. Now a gaping maw. A roar. Claws splintering wood. The boat capsizes. You are in the river, now. He is the Bachelor: a pale crocodile, as long as five men lying end to end. He swallows hunters, families, trading skiffs. Prospectors fear to go out. Witches mutter. They say he causes landslips. They say he is a god, a curse -- an old, old sin, staining the river. They say he has been killed, before. He is pulling you under. Lorn Song of the Bachelor is a 48-page riverine adventure and dungeon crawl module, inspired by the crocodile stories of Southeast Asia -- particularly Sarawak. It features: Tragedy, a bloody curse, and a love gone very sour Open-ended factional interplay between local villagers, a foreign merchant Company, and a giant supernatural crocodile -- and its motivating spirits Multiple random tables, including: magical fabrics woven by god-possessed craftspersons; trinkets of a now-fallen Monkey Empire; medicinal herbs and animals 19 new creatures, including: mind-controlling catfish; golems made of teeth; a pregnant tiger spirit Wilderness travel up an enchanted river An extraplanar dungeon complex that can change the surrounding environment A morally complex treatment of colonialism, within the framework of an adventure module A giant crocodile who really wants to eat you
It was supposed to be a simple job... A strange merchant offers you a simple job – pick up and deliver cargo. You have three days to get it a mere fourteen miles through the city. How hard could it be? A Simple Job is a journey through the city of Anduria, a cascading series of events that takes the heroes to explore strange locales and bargain with even stranger creatures. What secrets does the city hold, buried away for countless centuries?
You are hired by a merchant to protect a rare item, a crystal crown, for one night against the attempts of the city's thieves guild. The arrogant guildmaster has informed the merchant that he will steal the crown and he cannot be stopped. Continues in Part 2 in Polyhedron #23 Pgs. 13-20
PL1 – Encounters at Gormell is the initial adventure for the campaign in the Principality of Lockerbie. This series of adventures are set in the land known for the large city of Kettlespit and the capital of Xado Keep. The land resides to the south of the mountain range called the Spines, home to a devastating series of magic wars years ago. This land was the site of many battles and skirmishes and the western reaches are still very dangerous. This offering provides information on the village of Gormell and a variety of different scenarios to get your first level players up to second level and beyond!
The follow up to the ratfolk warlock lair, A Rat Among Us, Part One. It is suitable for four or five 3rd-level characters. The lairs can be run separately or together as one longer adventure. The Demon Lord of Rats is making his play for control of the city. Will our stalwart adventurers find the source of his power and thwart him?
A deathpriest hierophant of Orcus has turned the lower catacombs of a cemetery into a base for the undead and demonic horde it is gathering. The deathpriest loses control, however, with the arrival of a balor, and its carefully orchestrated forays to snatch victims have turned into wholesale slaughters. The PCs arrive in a nearby town to meet with a merchant who promised to sell them a long-coveted magic item. They are not altogether pleased to arrive to find the aftermath of a brutal attack—and no sign of their item. Pgs. 150-155
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.
When a group of archaeologists put out a call for adventurers to help them escort a valuable artefact back to civilization, nobody expects anything out of the ordinary. However, our heroes have more than mere bandits to deal with at Havel’s Cross... Undead monsters roam the night and an ancient artefact stirs within a long forgotten temple. Getting to the bottom of the mystery will require a strong sword-arm and an even stronger stomach.
'A Doven Investigation' is an adventure for 5e to take characters from level 1 to 3. Within the city of Doven a series of bizarre accidents have worried city authorities. They suspect the origin of these accidents come from a necromancer and so seek out a group of adventurers to hire. Their job is to find out what is causing these accidents and put a stop to it. This job though won't be as easy as it seems. The party will have to make sure to not accuse innocent people, work what the city authorities aren't telling them about these accidents and finally uncover the more infernal origin of what endangers Doven. This adventure serves as a sandbox mystery adventure presenting the party a variety of ways to uncover what truly is happening in Doven. It is a good way for a parties characters to meet up and explore the city of Doven together as they work out more and more about the city.
A 20th level one-shot "An ancient white dragon guards a mystical portal. Its power grows and threatens the world with eternal winter. Can the adventurers close the portal and defeat the dragon? Or will they end up just another frozen snack?" Not sure of what to throw at your epic level players? Try this! This 20-page, 4-6 hour adventure is sure to give them a chance to prove their worth. It includes... - An arctic location adaptable for any campaign - Three large battle maps - Action-oriented stat blocks for all monsters - Snow weirds! - ...and other stuff! Perfect as a high-level one-shot or a campaign finale.
This one-shot takes place in a post-apocalyptic, steam-punk style of world. Steam powered vehicles of bronze, iron, and steel are used by most civilizations and competition over areas containing water is heated and frequent in the middle of this expansive desert. In this adventure, the party finds themselves involved in the plot of a woman named Therra to kill off the oppressive overlord of one of these desert villages. The party must steal a group of these vehicles - choosing to split themselves between the massive fourteen-wheeled Ravager, the flamethrowing Firestarter, the spike-covered Skewer, and the two-wheeled vehicle known as the Sidewinder, as they flee across the wastelands. They will fight off goblin, kobold, and orc vehicles as the overlord gives chase and eventually faces off against them in a final battle of steel and steam. There will likely be a great deal of chaos - people leaping onto vehicles, being rolled under them, or performing risky but entertaining maneuvers . . . make sure to embrace these and turn them amazing scenes. It is more about having a great time than it is about following the rules, especially in this particular one shot.
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.
In a small hamlet, things are strangely becoming tidy in the night. Far from being pleased, the citizens are alarmed by these events. A local painter has gone missing, as has a travelling scholar. What is going on here?