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.”
A special underworld encounter from DUNGEON Adventures! The toll may be higher than you can afford... To travel further into the Underdark the party must cross a bridge spanning a deep chasm. But to cross, they must pay the toll, or risk another route. Pgs. 47-54
Arnyn, a merfolk mercenary, has been hired to clean out the sewers below a thriving port city. Unfortunately, she jumped at the payday before truly understanding what she was being asked to do. Now she's looking for someone to take over her contract.
Kidnapped! The cursed Baron von Hendriks has kidnapped your betrothed. Now the madman wants as a ransom your Alandah's weight in unrefined gold! How are you going to pay? The baron himself has been kind enough to provide you with that answer: streams of raw gold gush from a burning mountain somewhere in the Sea of Dread. All you have to do is find this mysterious mountain. Unfurl the sails! The open sea awaits you and your crew as you sail from the city harbor. But beware! The Sea of Dread has more than earned its title over the centuries. Can you survive the perils of the sea? Will your crew mutiny before you reach the Burning Mountain? Or will you have to throw crew-members overboard just to make room for the gold? Solo adventure. "Lathan's Gold" is a real innovation in solo adventure design, considerably more complex than any of the gamebooks then being produced. Though the adventures uses the typical trope of numbered paragraphs, its paragraphs are divided into six types: "S"pecularum, "U"rban", Island "E"xploration", "C"oastal", "T"rade Routes, and "V"oyages. Players can jump between the sections, then return, in slightly freeform ways. Players are also required to keep track of hit points, money, and treasure (which were typical for the more advanced gamebooks), and rations, days remaining, and hull points (which were not). Another freeform element, quite unusual for gamebooks, is the "wandering monsters" table, which introduces semi-random encounters. TSR 9082
An introductory adventure for both new players and Old-School veterans alike. Explore an insect-haunted thieves guild secreted beneath a lighthouse. Claim the loot but beware the Skitterlord! 25 keyed locations Written for the Old-School Essentials (OSE) rule system
60 years ago, a wizard's tower was encased in a magical glacier. Now a crack has appeared, exposing the tower for adventures. Inside, a magic artifact turns any who did in the tower to undead, including the PCs.
Remember Fluffy? The cute little dog? Well... Fluffy Goes to Heck is a shamelessly absurd AD&D® game adventure for the six silly characters provided on pages 39-40, or 4-6 characters of 3rd-5th level, played by those with senses of humor. A good mix of classes and races is helpful but hardly necessary.
Goblin attacks have always plagued the farmers and merchants who live and travel along the roads leading to Whitesparrow. But a recent rash of new attacks are something different. The goblins of one particular tribe have gotten particularly smart, attacking with careful tactics and cunning ambushes. The village guards haven’t been able to outwit the goblins, even when laying traps of their own and hiring mercenaries to stop them. Even as goblins go, Rosethorn isn’t much to look at. He’s small and runty, and yet a lucky break placed him in charge of the Brownleaf goblin tribe. When he claimed a powerful magic relic from a dead wizard three months ago, Rosethorn found his intellect multiplied many times over. The world began to make a more intricate kind of sense to him, and he saw patterns in the ways other folk traveled the roads. After hiring a spy in Whitesparrow to tell him which wagons to pursue, Rosethorn cunningly bribed the wagons’ guards to throw battles in the goblins’ favor. He then moved the lair of the Brownleaf tribe away from their dank caves and into the ruins of the Bearded Man—an enormous dead tree at the center of the Howling Wood. There, Rosethorn continues his campaign of ambush against the foolish villagers, increasing his wealth and power with each robbery.
The Temple of Pure Ice lies beneath dozens of feet of thick ice which is often covered in even more feet of snow. The only ones who find it are those who already know where it is, which is an exceptionally short list. After working through the issue of finding the entrance, the challenges have just begun. Adventurers that make their way into this temple will endure battle while leaping across chunks of frozen ice, cross vast chasms with ancient arbalests, slide down twisted frozen pathways, and even be attacked by frozen raptors! But adventurers know that glory doesn't come easy.
The sleepy village of Raven's Lake has a secret: A terrible god lives in the depths of the settlement's namesake. The citizens of Raven's Lake know that something lives in the lake. People who go out on the lake after dark go missing far too often and frequently turn up weeks later with no memory of where they've been. The local church of St. Cuthbert has been abandoned no fewer than seven times in the last two years, each time its lone cleric packing hastily and fleeing town without a word. Adventurers who come to Raven's Lake have a habit of vanishing forever. The truth is that something does indeed live in Raven's Lake but it is far from a deity. It's an exiled aboleth by the name of Zlorthishen. Pgs. 33-36
In the kingdom of Keystone, at the mouth of the Manyforks River, stands the port city of Barnacus. It was founded two hundred years ago, and its strategic military and commercial location has made it the second most important city in the kingdom. The city is under the rulership of Haermond II, Duke of the province of Elcadan, a half-elf of high esteem who has been in charge for more than a century. His outstanding commercial politics have made the city very prosperous; almost every trade company in this part of the continent has a counting house in the port of Barnacus. Because of this prosperity, the city has suffered many pirate raids, and thieving activity is a fact of life for residents and visitors alike.
What elder evils lurk in the depths of the freezing mountain ruins? Find out in The Stoneheart Ruin! The adventure features: An adventure set in a desolate, wintry mountain landscape. 16 pages full of intrigue and mystery, containing full color maps, plus 2 unique monster stat blocks. Provides a great introduction to Mind Flayer lore and mythos for Tier 1 players. Can easily be set in the Spine of the World for use in Rime of the Frostmaiden. Let your characters test their mettle as they climb and face the ancient dangers lurking in the cracks of The Stoneheart Ruin! “I have no explanation for any of these finds. We heard disturbing noises coming from further within the mountain; thunderous and growling.” Excerpt from a pamphlet, signed: “Koralia Meadring, Anthropologist Extraordinaire” Koralia needs you to investigate her most recent discovery: a ruined cavern deep in the mountains. Her small team of academics did a cursory walk-through and think they've found a big breakthrough! However, they left in a hurry after being frightened by the horrors they heard coming from deeper in the mountain. They escaped and found one of their team was missing - a goliath named Marek. You must climb the mountains and locate the ruin, make certain that it is safe for study by Koralia’s team, and if possible, find and rescue Marek, whose fate is uncertain. Made during the November 2020 RPG Writer's Workshop.
Welcome to Cirria’s Gambit, a four- to six-hour adventure for 2nd-4th level characters, designed for Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition! This adventure invites you and your players to a fiendishly fun party with revengeful devils, a succubus who just wants to go back to hell, snobbish nobles, intoxicated socialites and one really irritated banshee! Cirria wants to go to hell! There is only one tiny problem: her mistress Glasya, archdevil of the sixth layer, has banished her for insubordination. So, what’s a succubus to do in Cirria’s place? Take over a local noble family and organize a grand feast like this boring plane has never seen before to channel the emotional energy of her guests into a ritual to open a portal, of course! Isn’t it obvious? Cirria’s plan only had one tiny unaccounted for issue: Lady Kaera, matron of the noble house Cirria targeted, is a banshee. Cirria found a momentary solution – but that will only hold so long as no intrepid group of adventurers disrupts it… This adventure can be run as a one-shot or inserted into an on-going campaign. The theme fits Baldur’s Gate: Descent into Avernus particularly well!
This beginning level adventure pits your PC party against humanoid thugs who have found a nice niche in a narrow pass headed to HAVENDALE. Adorning the pass is a rock formation that appears to be a large skull thereby giving its name to the pass. These humanoids are led by a large Ogre named Roark. The mayor of Feastelburg has placed a bounty on the head of Roark and his evil minions. Is your party strong enough to rid the area of this menace?
Kavalar Coppernight, a dwarf prospector, led a couple of dozen volunteers in a quest for rich veins of ore. Several months ago, they began underground mining operations, as well as a surface excavation for a small keep. Hearing of this development, the mayor of the nearest town sent two veteran militia members to investigate. They should have returned two days ago, and the mayor is growing anxious. The PCs are asked by the mayor to find out what happened to the two militia members. Pgs. 12-17
"Lost Halls of Everforge" is a flame dragon wyrmling lair suitable for four or five 3rd level characters. This adventure can be completed in one session.
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?
It all begins with a simple request (doesn’t it always?) from an old farmer. The request – protect his cattle herd from vicious wolves. Simple enough for the brave adventurers, right? But it doesn’t stay that way. Not at all. Soon, the adventuring party will find themselves in the thick of it as they solve puzzles, avoid traps, fight for their lives, and endure witty taunting. And in the end, they discover an artifact that may, or may not, be useful to them. This adventure includes a cursed shield, a new undead creature, and a new artifact. Total party experience earned is approximately 14,500.
An Arch-Mage who can kidnap a dragon is one tough Arch-Mage. Definitely not for those who are afraid of heights. An evil archmage, Ezoran, has kidnapped a dragon in order to discover the means to seize control of a cloud giant's castle. The adventures are tasked with rescuing the dragon by the dragon's mate. The adventure revolves around tracking and navigating through dense jungle and working through a cloud giant's fortress. Pgs. 50-63
INTRODUCTION Some say the world is dying. Others say the desert is growing. In either case, merchants and princes always desire new ways to cross the Great Sand Sea. Today, someone has found a way to fly over it. Who will tempt fate and join the maiden voyage of the Desert Angel? No one knows what dangers or treasure have lain hidden in the heart of the desert for all these eons. If you survive, you will be the first. ONE-SHOT This adventure is intended as a one-shot, but it can easily be inserted into a campaign. Any time your players wish to travel to a distant city, you can simply say there is a large desert in their way, but luckily there is a new flying ship they can travel on. Good luck with that! DESIGN NOTES This adventure is intended for low-level characters (1-3). It is primarily geared for social encounters and combat. It runs 2 to 5 hours. Players ride a flying ship across the desert. Monsters attack. Passengers plot treachery. Mysterious locations appear. You can keep the tone serious or play up this ridiculous sequence of disasters for laughs.