Since time immemorial, you and your people have toiled in the shadow of the cyclopean ruins. Of mysterious origins and the source of many a superstition, they have always been considered a secret best left unknown by folk of your hamlet. But now something stirs beneath the crumbling blocks. Beastmen howl in the night and your fellow villagers are snatched from their beds. With no heroes to defend you, who will rise to stand against the encircling darkness? The secret of Chaos are yours to unearth but at what cost to sanity or soul? An introductory adventure for the Dungeon Crawl Classics Role Playing Game, Sailors on the Starless Sea pits a mob of 0-level adventurers against legacy of the Chaos Lords and their corrupted hordes. Delving beneath the crumbling ruins, the characters discover ancient crypts, a starless sea, and an ancient ziggurat, where death and treasure await in equal measure!
A mysterious adventurer stumbles into an inn in the night, looking for an escort to the nearest temple. Before the night is over, he inexplicably disappears, leaving a trail of corruption leading into the nearby woods as packs of twisted forest creatures emerge to plague travellers. Pgs. 83-89
Hi! I am pleased to present the official English-language release of the Italian best-selling adventure: La Seconda Alba Nera – The Second Black Dawn! If anyone is looking for a good starter adventure for 5th edition but wants something a bit grittier and darker may I recommend it. The Second Black Dawn is coming ... The king is missing. Hordes of undead spread across the kingdom like a plague. Outlaws attack and pillage defenseless villages. A party of adventurers is called upon to explore the region and investigate the mysterious disappearance of the king. Main Features: - A compelling, dark adventure estimated to last over 30 hours of gameplay and bring the characters from 1st to 5th level. - Five new monsters and one new weapon - Random encounters designed specifically to integrate with the tone of the adventure. - A list of music suitable for use as a soundtrack to accompany the adventure, to engage the players and emphasize the adventure's atmosphere. - Four pre-generated characters usable for the adventure. - Hypertext links in both the index and the text and bookmarks included. - An optimized PDF also available in a printer-friendly version. Find out what is bringing the kingdom to its knees... before it’s too late! Thanks to Marco Fossati for the translation and Simon Collins for the English-language editing. Any questions, please ask!
Sometimes protecting the cargo is easy but getting the pay not so much. Work has been scarce, coin hard to come by, armor needs maintenance, weapons need to be sharpened and food is needed in the belly. Monsters on the road, on the other hand, are more and more common.
In Prisoners of the Drow, a band of adventurers storm a drow outpost, confront the drow mage in charge of it, and rescue prisoners held within. The heroes must bypass traps and devious defenses to reach their goal and accomplish their mission. The adventure is designed for a party of five adventurers between levels nine and twelve. It features: Encounters by Level - Varying types and quantities of creatures are suggested based on the party's actual level, allowing each encounter to present the appropriate challenge to the party. Encounter Notes - Suggestions for how to run combats are provided for game masters who place an emphasis on engaging, tactical battles. Inciting Action - Suggestions for ways to present the adventure to players are provided. Ease of Use - The format and style of the document allows the game master to find information quickly while running the game at the table. Detailed Maps - What's an adventure without maps? Not much else to say here. This adventure is designed as the first in a two-part series. The second adventure Into the City of Spiders takes the adventurers into a drow compound far from the surface. https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/247674/Into-the-City-of-Spiders
Deep within a forgotten temple lies the Storm's Eye, a powerful sapphire coveted by the monstrous Behir, Krykzor. In The Storm's Eye, adventurers must navigate deadly traps, confront ghostly knights and phase spider minions, and solve a lightning-powered puzzle, all while racing against time to escape a collapsing temple. Designed for a party of levels 6-7, this one-shot adventure offers thrilling combat, intricate puzzles, and dynamic challenges as players face the storm and claim the treasure—or risk being lost forever.
The Vault of Pallon the Pious is an adventure for four 2nd level PCs. A famous pirate captain came to worship a lawful god in his final years. After a lifetime of plundering, pillaging, scuttling, and murdering along the coastline, the fear-inspiring Pallon the Merciless rebranded himself as Pallon the Pious. But, a history of violence is a hard thing to reconcile, and the salty old dog slowly succumbed to madness. His most precious possession was a set of scales that reflected perfectly his own inner conflict. The Scales of Misjudgement are buried deep in the treasure room of his crazed rock-island vault.
The Case of the Kidnapped Cartographer A dear friend of the party has gone missing; Boddyknock the gnome cartographer, supplier of maps and charting equipment. Can the party solve the mystery of his disappearance? Do they have the bravery to delve deep to recover their lost ally? What horrors will they uncover in the cavernous expanse beneath their feet?
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.
By a well-trodden road lies the estate of the Eryx family. At some point the estate was converted into a roadside inn. The merchant Robert E. Wardlove has received an urgent letter from his daughter Derleth. She begs of her father to arrive in haste to the faraway inn and take her back home safely for the Evening of Still Streets draws near... Enigma of the Eryx Estate is a break from the usual dungeon crawls of the Shadowdark RPG system recommended for characters of lvls 1-3. During this adventure players get to solve a murder and the mysteries that surround it. Exploration and intrigue are emphasized as player characters gain XP for uncovering secrets. Combat is in a more minor role during this adventure, but if the players don't figure out the mystery by midnight, they might be in a fight for their lives. The adventure is designed for ease of running with punctual room and character descriptions.
Your adventurers are in luck! They are stumbling into the town of Larksville just a day before the Annual Cockatrice Race! This event and the revelries surrounding make up a week of pure entertainment for anyone passing through the area. The town is of medium size with a population close to one thousand, but during their Fall Festival that number is nearly tripled as people from all around flood in. The air is constantly filled with music and the smell of delicious foods. There is a bard in every tavern and a drunk passed out in every street. Most buildings are hanging red, gold, and orange decorations (the official colors of the festival) and anyone wearing those colors receive discounts on goods!
Long ago, a powerful lich threatened the kingdom and was destroyed by mighty heroes. Though its phylactery could not be found, a powerful curse was laid upon the lich, trapping it inside its phylactery. This fading magic can’t hold the creature muchlonger, so the PCs must enter the phylactery itself in order to destroy the lich before it escapes back into the world. Pgs. 144-149
An Adventure for 0-Level Characters Remember the good old days, when adventures were underground, NPCs were there to be killed, and the finale of every dungeon was the dragon on the 20th level? Those days are back. Dungeon Crawl Classics don’t waste your time with long-winded speeches, weird campaign settings, or NPCs who aren’t meant to be killed. Each adventure is 100% good, solid dungeon crawl, with the monsters you know, the traps you fear, and the secret doors you know are there somewhere. For the past few years, an ogre that lairs in a cave near the wilderness town of Dundraville has demanded tributes of ale and supplies. The villagers were happy to comply, lest the brute attack them or destroy their property. But recently, the ogre changed his demands. Now he wants gold, building supplies — and captives! When the ogre walked into town only to have his request denied, he flew into a rage. The brute dragged two townsfolk off to his cave, to be eaten for sure! The villagers have no heroes to protect them — so someone must rise to the challenge! Six determined townsfolk have taken justice into their own hands. Can these village commoners defeat the ogre in his own lair before their fellows are eaten?
“A curse has hit Baron Ananias Galvan, the result of his son Philipe’s bad deeds. The young nobleman dishonored the beautiful daughter of Lady Josefa, the beautiful Joana, and did not commit to the girl. The Lady Josefa, a woman of knowledge of magic and necromancy, cursed the nobleman’s son and all his servants. Philipe was turned into an undead, and his property cursed. Baron Ananias hires heroes to invade the place and break the spell to bring the nobleman’s son back to his normal condition. However, for this to happen, it is necessary to face a horde of Zombies and unknown dangers. There are rumors that the property where Philipe lives is the secret to breaking this spell, but it is said that Lady Josefa didn’t only place Zombies on the site. Skeletons of dead people attack the unwary and there is a rumor that even a lich is present on such a property. Is this true, or is it the exaggeration of scared peasants?” Cursed House is a “One Shot” style adventure, one that you can play in an afternoon or fit into your larger campaign. This adventure is designed for up to 4 players from level 1 to 3. We recommend using the DCC, OSE, BX books or the old D&D books. Have Fun!
A spirit is attacking a town — no one knows why, but they’re determined to be rid of her. The adventuring party is recruited to investigate. However, what appears to be a simple haunting turns into a story of justice. Pgs. 43-59
The Underdark holds many secrets. A series of earthquakes and eruptions have rocked a normally placid land. Strange creatures sighted in the dark of night raise fears across the already disturbed countryside. As tales of a lost race that once warred with the drow begin to surface, only the boldest adventurers dare to descend into the shadowy darkness.
The village of Bad an Fithich is besieged by a monster and the villagers offer a reward for its head. Thus far none have succeeded, but the tales tell only of a large wolf, which seems like an easy bounty. The party’s first night in the village is marked by the cry of a banshee proclaiming their inevitable doom, but if they listen closely they may hear another story. Pgs. 119-127
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.
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!
A green dragon called the Dawn fancies herself a deity and has attracted reptilian followers that raid elven settlements. The PCs must find her temple in the woods and end the threat. Pgs. 78-83