In the aftermath of AD&D Second Edition's "Return to the Tomb of Horrors," the demilich Acererak was thought destroyed. In truth, his spirit lingered and now after eons he schemes once more to achieve divinity. The characters must travel to three extraplanar dungeons, in addition to the remains of the original Tomb, in order to stop this from coming to pass.
A bizarre journey into the realm of sleep. A casual visit to a living, nightmare theater. The King sends the party to speak to the Oracle, a Titan named Andromicus and ask about the fate of the kingdom. But the titan is asleep and sleeping he draws the heroes into his dream! This very weird adventure imagines the titan is dreaming three different five act plays whose stories intertwine and intermix randomly. The heroes find themselves in a random act of a random play and must "solve" the central tension of the act to put the Titan's mind at ease and move on to the next Act. Once they solved five different acts (which may happen out of order and each be from different stories) they exit the dream and the Titan wakes, allowing the players to ask the Titan Oracle a question. Some acts are short roleplaying encounters, some are full on combat scenarios. While the players can earn experience, and might get some cash, any magic items they find are illusory! A unique adventure with a lot of promise for an open-minded DM. Seems very like a classic Star Trek episode and in fact follows many of the same rules about Gods and Dreams. Pgs. 5-15
Written by the setting’s creator, incomparable RPG author Monte Cook, Ptolus: Queen of Lies is an action-packed fantasy adventure painstakingly re-designed for Ptolus: Monte Cook’s City by the Spire. Involving numerous challenging scenarios for characters of 11th level, Queen of Lies is filled with dozens of dark elf personalities, cunningly showcasing their alien culture—a world of merciless betrayal and sinister lusts. Deep below the surface, in the sunless lands of the Netherdeep, creatures of darkness build weapons and amass armies, dreaming of invasion. An attack on a peaceful elven shrine in Emerald Hill sends the heroes on a quest to retrieve stolen artifacts and kidnapped friends. All signs point to the actions of the dark elves of Ul-Drakkan, far below the city of Ptolus. However, even within that ancient fortress, there exists a deeper darkness.... Underground enemies lurk beyond every twisting passage, and strange creatures abound. The foul culture of the dark elves is both decadent and cruel, and the heroes may discover that they’ve stumbled into a web of deceit and treachery spun by the self-styled queen of the dark elves. Can the player characters complete their mission without being discovered, or will they find out, perhaps too late, that their actions been orchestrated all along by the wicked Queen of Lies? Published by Fiery Dragon Productions
Characters explore a dangerous, but sparsely populated temple in search of the Staff of the Dragon. They will encounter traps, environmental hazards, and a nest of lizardfolk. The characters are rewarded for a 'look but don't touch' approach to the temple's features. The real highlight, though, is the closing encounter. Once the staff of the dragon is retrieved, it can transform the characters into dragons for a set period of time. As they exit the temple, they are beset by an ancient dragon and the stage is set for an epic brawl as the characters take to the sky in dragon form. Can be completed as a one-shot.
The once-dwarven wizard Hehranna knows that her previous race, for all its pride and skill, is hampered and distracted by lesser concerns—family, friendship, emotion. Once they join the Hive, they won’t begrudge a few moments of pain in exchange for the industrious awakening she has to offer them. Pgs. 16-32
The valley of Haven was a peaceful land. Its crops were abundant, its citizens prosperous. Elves, Dwarves, Halflings, and Humans lived together in harmony. Hidden away in the heart of the Thunder Mountains, Haven was a safe place to live. The rivers were sweet and pure; the weather was pleasant and warm. Something terrible has come to pass in Haven - terrified refugees speak of a fabulous ruby uncovered in the mountains and a catastrophe that befell the palace. Whatever the cause, Haven now lies in chaos. Raiding bands of orcs, goblins, and hobgoblins terrorize the countryside. The disaster happened so suddenly that the citizens are confused and helpless. Without their leaders, who are trapped in the palace, they have no courage to fight back. The situation has become desperate. TSR 9044
Displace Beast Maze is an adventure that has one long encounter that is a combination of a puzzle (maze) and combat encounter (Displacer beast). The Displacer beast tentacle's ability to attack through the maze walls, knowledge of the layout, and hit-and-run tactics make the labyrinth both a useful and possibly deadly lair for the creature. Pgs. 27-29
You don't know where - or what - you are. You wake up in a dungeon. But how did you get there, and why? This adventure is for a solo paladin character, on a quest to gain a war horse. The character is suffering from amnesia and believes him/herself to be a normal fighter to begin. The quest begins with the character in the middle of an adventure in a dungeon, but not remembering how they got there. After defeating several undead including an intelligent zombie leader, the paladin gains a magic stone to summon a paladin mount. Pgs. 28-35
This high level adventure returns the PCs to Helvana. A recent adventure has netted the party some Adamant, a rare ore in Filbar that is excellent for constructing weapons of amazing quality. As you arrive in Vorshmorgan to locate a smith you quickly discover there are problems in town. The scenario was designed to give upper level players a challenge and pits them against one of the most feared creatures in the land!
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!
A plague has struck Waen Fawr, leaving hundreds dead, the city lawless and in crisis. The plague seems to drive those affected to violent, manic behaviour and the city militia have their hands full. Smoke shrouds the city as buildings burn, bandits and looters roam the streets amid the chaos. This adventure comes with tiles to create a city map as the players explore. Tables of rumours and random encounters are provided, as well as detailed location-based encounters. Pgs. 28-48
The Night of the Rise is a unique adventure that offers the party an alternative to the "hack & slash" approach. The opportunity for role play is high and it is sure to tap into skills and abilities most of your characters never knew they possessed. Not only does it offer a new experience for your players, but hopefully it has them smiling several times during the night. A request to deal with a bandit captain named Giles Ne'Ville sends the adventuring party on a two-day journey. During this journey, they find an entertaining way to deal with this Giles Ne'Ville. Will they use this opportunity? Or will they take the typical 'hack & slash' approach to dealing with villans? This adventure is written in a non-specific location but is easily insertable into any campaign as a one-shot adventure. I feel that it would work great in Strom King's Thunder as an added traveling encounter.
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
Genius rogue artificer Ichabod Russet hired ten of his most brilliant colleagues to collaborate and build the greatest automaton yet invented: a clockwork beholder. He dreamed their invention would catapult him into stardom and wealth. In a secret mountain laboratory under Ichabod's direction, each scientist devoted themself to developing one ray for the creature's mechanical eyes -- but when the mysterious tenth ray was added to the automaton, it became too powerful. The clockwork beholder broke free during QA testing and destroyed half the lab. Only a few of the artificers escaped to tell the tale, and for the most part, they're keeping their mouths shut.
The Sea Witch is a short adventure for four 10th-level characters. The difficulty of the adventure can be adjusted by changing the level of main antagonist (Black Molly, the sea hag pirate) or by altering the number of her ogre servants. To tailor the encounter to groups of different levels, refer to table 4-1 in Chapter 4 of the DUNGEON MASTER’S GUIDE. The adventure is set off a lightly populated coastline known as Misty Bay, but adapts easily to any coastal region in existing campaigns. The sea hag known as Black Molly is a notorious pirate who has plagued the coastal cities for the better part of a decade. A successful Knowledge (local) check (DC 15) will reveal that Molly and her ogre crew have a filthy reputation as merciless killers who delight not only in plundering vessels for their riches, but also in destroying the ships themselves and sending all hands to the bottom of the sea. Now the villain and her followers have seized control of the Old Lighthouse of Misty Bay located off a lightly populated coastline. For generations the lighthouse beacon has protected the fishermen of this region, warning them of the dangerous rocks that lurk just below the level of the high tides. Recently, the hag has put out the beacon, darkening the lighthouse; misery and destruction are sure to follow as ships start to blunder into the rocks. Blackmail is apparently Black Molly’s aim in this venture: She conveyed a message to the nearest shore community, the fishing village of Poisson, demanding the princely sum of 50,000 gp. Until she receives this ransom, she intends to hold the lighthouse and its beacon hostage. The fate of the human keepers who tend the lighthouse is unknown to the seaside communities at this time, but they fear the worst. The Sea Witch is ostensibly a rescue mission: The PCs are pitted against the evil of Black Molly and the brawn of her savage ogre crew. It is the heroes’ task to retake the lighthouse and, if possible, free its captives from the clutches of their jailer. What neither the PCs nor the shore communities yet realize is that while she 1would be pleased to have the gold, Black Molly is in fact after bigger treasure. Molly has no intention of giving up the lighthouse — at least, not until she finds what her master sent her here for. Lying on the sea floor practically at the base of the rock on which the lighthouse sits is the wreck of the war galley Flying Cloud, which according to popular legend was captained by a cleric who wore around his neck an amulet of the planes. Black Molly wants this prize, but so far she hasn’t been able to find it. She’s scoured the wreck without finding any sign of the magic item. Now she’s trying to determine where to search next, for the item might well be somewhere near the wreck. If she can’t find it, she’ll start torturing her captives to find out if they have any useful knowledge about the amulet.
This Adventure is based on the web comic series, Table Titans. It is set in the same village that part of the comic takes place in, however the path of the adventure does not follow the story line set in the comics. There are familiar elements that are a wink and a nod to fans of the comic, but it is a unique story. The adventure is set around the village of Haverford, currently beset by an unknown [i]Terror[/i] that has resulted in many many deaths in the surrounding forest. The adventures have arrived at this once peaceful hamlet and if they discover the source of the [i]Terror[/i] plaguing the region they will be handsomely rewarded. The Terror of Haverford is a starter adventure. Characters will advance from level 1 to 4 if completed. This adventure has both social and combat encounters, as well as combat encounters that can be solved socially. If characters aren't thorough in their investigations they will be taken by surprise by what lies ahead.
In part two of the Rock Con scenario, our group of heroes heads towards Bibliotheca. This urban adventure has a variety of encounters unique to the city setting. Can the group uncover the missing books?
At the request of a stranded djinni, you have three days to steal a diamond from the marbled, enchanted vaults of the Modern Artworks Museum. Investigate its defenses, disable magical wards, bamboozle the staff, battle a golem, and escape with the prize! A group that succeeds is rewarded with a single wish - the power to bring about almost anything you desire. Highlights of the adventure include (and are not limited to): - An alternate skill check system that keeps clumsy characters involved in the heist - A fight to the death with fantasy Botticelli's Birth of Venus - The Modern Artworks Museum, a trove of sculpture, frescoes and tapestries - Museum events: sketch and sip, a gala, seminars! - Museum brochure, including handy map and exhibit descriptions - A wish Clever and light-hearted, Diamond Heist adds brains and Renaissance style to any urban campaign. This adventure centers exploration, planning and roleplay. Players match wits against various spell effects, discovering and disabling magical wards to access their prize. A cumulative alarm level system replaces pass/fail steath skill checks, so one bad role doesn't ruin the heist. The artworks described are based on those of Renaissance Italy, with frescoes, marble sculpture, and haughty nobles aplenty. Content warnings: Death of a loved one, mentioned.
An ettercap and its flock of spiders invade an unspoiled forest protected by sprites. The sprites, desperate for help, recruit a party of adventures to aid them.
The Nexus spore is an intriguing Underdark adventure that can be sewn into any subterranean setting. This one-shot production was designed with long campaigns in mind, for when you want to break up the narrative to keep things fresh and interesting. This short adventure is ideal for players of level 5-7, although, much like the length of the adventure, it is easy to adjust. The adventure fits well into a single long session, or 2-3 short sessions. It comes complete with maps, stat blocks, boxed descriptions and a rare magic item.