Deep in the swamp, villagers claim something unnatural is happening at a large manor on the edge of town. A suspicious owner whose wife died years ago is attempting something dark and terrible, and it's up to the party to stop him. The true fun of this adventure lies in the house itself, which is filled with hidden references and homages to the works of Edgar Allan Poe, with the author himself filling the role as the suspicious home owner.
In the fetid waters of the Rotbog, the Wraith’s Breath lies wrecked. Those squalid remains were once the proud vessel of the Dread Pirate Ghostbeard, during his fanatical pursuit of the Lost Gold of Tagua. Whether he found a piece is not known, though it is said that a mere touch of the treasure can infect one’s soul with the ‘Gold’s Will’ – a compulsion to reunite the scattered booty. Perhaps that explains Ghostbeard’s mad obsession. Risen of the Rotbog is a short, undead-pirate-themed encounter for four to six 2nd level characters that builds towards a chilling showdown with the Dread Pirate Ghostbeard. It can be easily slotted into an ongoing campaign, or can work as a short one-shot. The file includes a battle map - one version for the players, and one with GM annotations.
Give your game’s locations a character all their own! Build encounter themes, emphasize magic places, and connect it all to the monsters living there with Expanded Environments and Additional Actions. Use traits to make creatures stand out and enhance their bond with the land, then add lair actions to reinforce the connection and escalate the fight. New interactions encourage a race between players and monsters to gain the upper hand using the environment around them with additional options in combat. In non-combat encounters, regional effects keep the feel of magic heightened in the surrounding area. Grab characters’ attention, and limbs, in the clutches of fallen armies on the ancient battlefield. Apply library traits and lair actions to a dragon to create an encounter with a bookwyrm. Tempt characters with the allure of enchanted gold in the treasure hoard. Bend fire itself to your will in the heart of a volcano. With Expanded Environments and Additional Actions ties “where you are” to “what & how you fight” with 21 environment templates for attributes and abilities you can apply to existing monsters and places that include all of the following: 80 lair actions that give the terrain a role, and often a roll, in the fight. 75 traits so familiar monsters gain new tricks and special features. 73 regional effects to add to the wonder of the world between combats 64 interactions for players or monsters to make the most of their surroundings This supplement was designed for dungeon masters who want more dynamic combat and more magical encounters. The collection started as my own expansion of the environments found in MCDM’s Flee, Mortals! but can be used on its own (along with the existing D&D 5e rules).
On a trade road to the city-state of Tyr, a caravan is assaulted by a deadly obsidian shardstorm, forcing the survivors to band together and navigate the wastes to safety. But the force of nature that destroyed the caravan is under the malevolent control of the being known as the Wastewalker, who will stop at nothing to see the end of those that escaped his initial wrath. Can the heroes reach the Ringing Mountains before it’s too late?
"Something is weird about this party in 16th century Scotland! A famous thief stole a magical jewel and hid inside a castle where a party is taking place. Enter the party, find the jewel, escape with your life. In the first half of the adventure, the player characters will explore a weird party in search of the thief Jougal. They’ll likely piece together that this party is not “normal” and that this castle is not safe. In the second half, the baobhan sith will reveal themselves, red caps will set the castle on fire, and the PCs will find themselves locked in a burning hellhole. The adventure will likely change from a fun party-crawl into a stressful fight for survival. This is the NIGHTMARE PHASE." This adventure blends elements of horror, survival, and mystery, requiring players to use both their combat skills and their wits to navigate through the treacherous and evolving scenarios within Firnhirst Castle. Written for Cairn RPG
Pathfinder Lugizar Trantos recently returned from the Mwangi Expanse with haunted eyes and a pack full of strange idols. Absalom's famed Blakros Museum purchased his pieces and Lugizar vanished. The strange monkey idols he pulled from the misty jungles of Mwangi carry with them a fell curse, and now their power has laid claim to the museum. Can the Pathfinder Society uncover the source of the curse in time, or will the Blackros Museum be forever lost to the mists of Mwangi?
A little information is a very frightening thing. Hundreds of years ago, the elves and the goblinkin fought for control of known space in the Unhuman War. Though the elves won that first campaign, they know the goblinkin are clamoring for a rematch. Recently the elves commissioned a few good adventurers to infiltrate the base of a new race of advanced orcs known as the scro. They were hoping to gain information on their enemies' numbers and plans. The news they found was far worse. The scro have discovered a weapon of awesome destruction, one that can lay waste to entire worlds. But the key to unlock its power lies lost and forgotten. Even now the scro are searching for it. When they find it, they will wreak destruction and revenge on the inhabited planets. The elves are looking for an adventuring team who can win this desperate race, and find the key first. Your PCs may be the only thing that stands between known space and doom. Heart of the Enemy is a 96-page adventure set in the Second Unhuman War. The second of a two-part series, it can either be linked with the previous Goblin's Return or it can be played as a stand-alone adventure. TSR 9347
Inspired by the "Happy Fun Ball" from the web series Critical Role, The Cube of Vanya is a magical adventure through demi-planes created by an ancient wizard, now destabilized by a malevolent dragon. The adventurers find themselves trapped within a series of themed planes with no idea how they got there. Navigating these planes to find a means of escape, they uncover the secrets of the cube while piecing back together their own memory. During the campaign the adventurers may fight shadow demons in an inn which is really a prison, flee a tornado while perched perilously in the sky, forge a weapon within a volcano, and much more. The module is structured in a non linear manner allowing the adventurers to choose their own way, or for the DM to pick and choose their favourite bits to highlight. The adventure was written with four level 5 players in mind but it would be easy to tweak for different sized groups around that level.
The shipping lanes south of Candlekeep have been disrupted. Unknown to anyone, an incredible alliance between a terran and a waterfolk tribe has caused the lamp at Gloomhaze Point lamptower to be extinguished. Merchant ships are being wrecked and plundered. The story unfolds in the nation of Amn. Adventurers will face a formidable kobold tribe that knows how to maximize its tactics, its smaller-than-human size tunnels, and an abundance of unique traps. The bloodthirsty sahaugin won’t be defeated without the adventurers taking a dive.
One Night Strahd (ONS) delivers the spectacle and catastrophe of gothic horror as a consistent and fast-paced short campaign for D&D 5e. It condenses and remixes the 200+ hour campaign of Curse of Strahd into a replayable adventure weighing in at 525 pages with 150+ illustrations, 12 maps, 16 encounters, 27 new magic items, and 60+ quick-play charts. With careful attention to the design of exploration, combat, and role-playing opportunities, our goal has been to make something for every DM and every table. After three years of extensive testing, we're proud to share this explosive adventure with you.
Gang War! is a companion adventure made to go along with the events unfolding in Folio #9 (DF2 The Lost Apprentice). It contains the information needed to run a side advenute during the events of The Hidden Valoria Campaign. Yep, you've stepped in it now! Cross blades with several of the gangs of the Patina to help avoid an all-out war that is likely to set the neighborhood ablaze! Once again the players are pressed into service to help keep the peace in the Patina when a rumor of a murder and deciet will pit on gang against another, their tenuous alliances threatening to pull other gnags into the mess as well. This adventure is formatted to both 1E & 5E gaming rules.
Venzor Trench is set for a group of characters hired to deliver a magical item between two warring countries. The sea voyage becomes tumultuous and the ship goes down. With the mission unfilled the players utilize the magic item to survive on the bottom of the sea floor and continue to trek their way towards completing their misson through the legendary Venzor Trench!
"Sometimes bugs are just bugs, and sometimes they are organized into a hive mind that is just as smart as humans. Ants are just that. In battle, the ants become a horde of raging combatants that form a blur on all sides. While ants are typically peaceful, they respond to a threat against the hive with a scale of violence that’s almost impossible to imagine. Utterly devoted to duty, ants never retreat from a confrontation—even in the face of certain death. Their engagements are brief and brutal. Working in teams, ants grab enemies, holding them in place until one of the warriors rips into the captive’s body, leaving it smashed and oozing." "Of Ants and Men begins as a quest to recover (e.g., steal) eggs from a giant anthill near the town of Endhome." "This adventure is designed for characters of levels 4 to 8." "The adventure can also be played (perhaps more effectively) by smaller groups. In response to many requests from our fans, the main encounters are designed to work well with groups of two to three characters of levels 6 to 8. Even a solo adventurer could do reasonably well, if the individual character had very good climbing, trap finding, and stealth skills. Druids, barbarians, and rogues will fare best in cases where the groups are limited in size." "While there’s plenty of opportunity for combat here, characters who think through a situation before drawing their swords are likely to do best. Hacking one’s way through is likely to result in character deaths."
A trek across the Shadow Marches leads weary travellers to Blackroot, a quiet village of ramshackle huts nestled among the darkwood trees. Here, orcs and humans live in peace. However, all is not well. Something evil has crawled up from below, threatening to devour the village and its denizens. Only a party of brave heroes stands in its way. In Khyber’s Harvest, the PCs battle an ancient evil threatening a remote village in the Shadow Marches. The dark power of the planes has grown strong in this place. Depraved cultists and twisted aberrant creatures are dragging innocents down into ancient caverns to undergo a horrific transformation. To save these helpless villagers, the PCs must overcome the terrors of Khyber—a quest that brings them to the attention of the dreadful Belashyrra, the Lord of Eyes.
A traditional "funhouse" dungeon, White Plume Mountain begins with the archmage Keraptis stealing three artifacts and leaving cryptic poems with their former owners. The players are hired to recover the items, and find a bizarre dungeon in the side of the eponymous volcano. TSR 9027
A four-hour adventure for 5th-10th level characters. The enemy is revealed, but time short and if you are not successful in your mission to Mount Baratok, love will never die. Part fourteen and the finale of Misty Fortunes and Absent Hearts. In an effort to locate the evil witch Esmae Amarantha, the party must work to enable a tarot card reading by Jeny Greenteeth, a quixotic hag. However, finding casters to aid Jeny in her ritual is its own ordeal, and even if they succeed, there is still the task of venturing to Esmae's ritual site and putting a stop to her plans.
The three of you are a group of adventurous wanderers. You have journeyed to a far-off land in search of the fabled ROCK OF AGES, a mighty artifact which is rumored to confer everlasting youth, strength and health to its possessor. You have determined that it is somewhere in this vast land, but the legends place it in at least a dozen different places. The Second Official AD&D Masters Tournament. Pregenerated characters are referenced, but not provided. There are several original monster in here with bare-bones statics (AC, hp, Attacks, and Damage)
While at times cliché there are few adventures better than an old fashioned trek into the ruins of a deserted castle. This adventure pits a new adventurer against the decades old remains of a hilltop castle that is “haunted”. The old keep was the site of a mighty battle years before that swayed the power in the area but now it is the crumbling remains of the once powerful Baron Sancrist. While the old fortress is supposed to be deserted the area farmers and villagers swear they have seen the dead walk the parapets in the moonlight. Well you wanted adventure….here it comes!
Something sinister is brewing in the Emerald forest! It starts off simple, as they do. A group of fresh-faced adventurers is tasked with clearing out rats in the tavern cellar. What they find down there is something more than they bargained for. Now, they have to make a perilous journey across an uncharted forest to face off against an unknown threat (it’s a swarm of BrainiumOGL Rats). The fate of the entire world might be at stake! (or that of a small hamlet, at any rate!) Ratcatchers is a 4-6 hour setting neutral one-shot adventure for four to five characters of level 1-2. It has been designed keeping in mind players new to the game. Features A 25 page full-color and fully illustrated PDF, a printer friendly B&W version, and a tested for screen readers accessible version. A beginner friendly adventure that hangs a lampshade on RPG tropes, then sets said lampshade on fire. A template to convert any beast into were-rat hybrids. Rat-bunny and rat-pigeon, a.k.a. Trash Gryphons included. Several colorful battle maps for VTT use. Terrible rat based puns. Content Warning: The intended tone of this adventure is a mix of horror and comedy. Where it exactly lies on the spectrum of horror to comedy is up to you, the DM, and your players. There is depiction of body transformation and body horror, parental neglect and tight spaces. Also, there are rats. Lots and lots of rats. Published by undeadR
"Doom Croaker's Branches" is a lindwurm lair suitable for four or five 4th level characters. This adventure can be completed in one session.