People keep asking for "beginner" dungeons. Everyone can name "classic" dungeons - Tomb of Horrors, Barrier Peaks, Ravenloft, etc. - but in order for those adventures to make sense, there needs to be some sort of introduction. It's like all the adventures we have are Bach concertos. People keep writing amazing works of staggering genius, but someone needs to write a book on how to play the piano. I had the same questions, and since I couldn't find anything satisfactory, I decided to write the kind of dungeon I would have loved to find. I wanted to write the best basic OSR dungeon for beginners that I could, and I also wanted to show the design process. If you like this dungeon, please share it, tell people about it, print copies and leave them lying around local game stores, or email this post to friends who have "always wanted to try D&D but don't know where to start". The entire thing is and always will be free.
Everything would be fine if the person you're trying to help wasn't already dead. The requirements of honor reach even beyond the grave. A spirit asks the party to help grant it passage to the afterlife. Pgs. 9-11
Can you stop the haunting before tea? The ghosts of two warring wizards are trapped in the basement of the house. It is up to the party to end this old feud. Pgs. 68-70
For centuries, the volcano now called Mount Zulgar was the battlefield of a conflict between red dragons and frost giants. The final battle saw the extinction of the dragons and only a handful of living giants. The dwarves of the Frostblood clan used this opportunity to drive out the giants and take the mountain as their own for its rich deposits of gold. 100 have passed, and now the volcano bubbles to life once more, bringing with it all manner of fiery creatures. Miners have been killed, and implike monsters assault the citizens of the mountain. The master of the goldsmith's guild has called upon your party to snuff out the Fire in the Frostblood Mine. Fire in the Frostblood Mine is a 4-5 hour adventure for 4 3rd-level characters. It can be used as either a one-shot or as part of an ongoing campaign. This module includes a single-session adventure to introduce your players to the strange creatures of the inner planes, maps of the two levels of Frostblood Mine, and a unique sentient magic item.
In City Year CY444 the greatest Dwarf mage of all time, Archmage Panzar, mounted his Flying Pig and rode up to the Necklace to do battle with Guth-Targ Greller Ak Terraak, an Efreet, and her army in her asteroid palace. Despite his great magical powers, Panzar failed and his burnt and petrified body fell from the asteroid and crashed down upon a hillside somewhere in the Borderlands. His fall drove a narrow pit into the hillside to a great depth, although neither his body nor his legendary magical equipment were ever recovered. But now a seal ring bearing the mark of the House of Panzar has been found in a riverbed thirty miles west of the border city of Karan. The river is fed by streams emerging from the hill above it – Dol Jint. Could this large hill be the final resting place of the great mage and, more importantly, all his loot? The Pit of Panzar has over 300 encounter locations over 5 levels, this is a MEGA-DUNGEON scenario that follows the Dunromin University Press paradigm of Great Quality at the best possible value for money. The Pit of Panzar is designed for OSR and AD&D 1st and 2nd Edition, or pretty much any TTFRPG, intended for 5 to 8 adventurers of 6th to 9th level
Evil schemes are afoot in Cauldron, a metropolis of merchants built into the caldera of a long-dormant volcano. To foil the agenda of evil cultists, your band of adventurers must brave haunted jungle ruins, slay mighty dragons, and bind themselves to a layer of the infinite Abyss. Will their swords and spells be enough to save the Shackled City? Originally published as 11 linked adventures in the award-winning Dungeon magazine, the Shackled City Adventure Path is the most ambitious official Dungeons & Dragons campaign ever created. Now, for the first time ever, everything you need to play the campaign has been compiled into a deluxe 416-page full-color hardcover that also includes an 8-panel fully detailed map of the City of Cauldron, a 16-page full-color map and illustration booklet, and a brand new Shackled City adventure written by fan favorite author Christopher Perkins.
Ruling uncontested in his Abyssal layer of the Gaping Maw for eons, Demogorgon's reign as first among demon lords may be coming to an end. The storm clouds gather as his inviolate sanctum is about to be breached by an unlikely alliance from across the planes. Despite its combined strength, this invasion offers no guarantees of success. For the alliance faces no house of straw, but rather the entrenched hordes and reinforced ramparts of the home of the Prince of Demons. "Prince of Demons" is the final chapter in the Savage Tide Adventure Path, a complete campaign consisting of 12 adventures appearing in Dungeon magazine. For additional aid in running this campaign, check out Dragon magazine's monthly "Savage Tidings" articles, a series that helps players and DMs prepare for and expand upon the campaign. The time has come to challenge the Prince of Demons! An army of demons and eladrins stands ready to mount an assault on his Abyssal realm of Gaping Maw, which should give your players the distraction they need to prevent Demogorgon from activating the savage tide and driving a world insane. Pgs. 60-99
With Pardor in the middle of a heated civil war, your PCs have their own futures to ponder. Pulling into the fortified town of Parmatu, the group quickly discovers that they are not the only strangers in town. The plot thickens quickly as the adventurers discover that the other strangers are none other than a member of the royal family. Can the PCs help defend the rightful heir against a group of marauders hell bent on catching the young lord?
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?
The abandoned Tower of Ulvarum Orvernus stands atop an asteroid nearly a quarter mile in diameter, located roughly 5 million miles from the planet’s surface. The asteroid maintains Earth-like gravity and a breathable atmosphere, with habitable temperatures. This is all sustained through the harnessed power of a bound Air Elemental and Earth Elemental. If either of these Elementals are freed, the asteroid’s environment will quickly become inhospitable. The PCs may find themselves drawn to the asteroid through a forgotten portal, seeking a way to return home. Alternatively, they might be lured there by rumors of a powerful item or hidden knowledge within the tower’s extensive libraries. A multi-level tower filled with traps and strange encounters including animated armor, alien plant life, giant spiders, and a doppelganger.
On the southern shores of the Moonsea, the residents of Mulmaster have eked out a living where others would likely have given up long ago—in a bleak city where corruption is rampant and the Church of Bane holds sway. In these five short, introductory adventures, you will travel the breadth of the City of Danger, meet its people, see its sights, and witness firsthand how the city truly has earned its ominous moniker. An introductory adventure for 1st-2nd level characters. City of Danger is broken into five mini-adventures, each designed for one to two hours of play. Therefore if you are attempting to run all five missions in one session you need a minimum of five hours to do so (and probably more). If running this adventure as part of an event that cycles players through quickly, the DM should be familiar with the mini-adventures that he or she is going to run. At public events, time is often the most important factor. Get the players into the mini adventure as quickly as possible, keep an eye on the clock, and take whatever shortcuts are necessary to stay on schedule. If time is not an issue, let the characters spend more time interacting with the non player characters within the mini-adventures. It is not required that the mission be played in order.
An exclusive party at an illustrious antiquities museum. A missing benefactor and host who turns up dead. A missing mummy, the crown jewel of a new exhibit, and a hardboiled detective trying to make sense of it all. And a party of adventurers caught right in the middle! Welcome to the Lucaryen Museum of Antiquities, enjoy your visit. We recommend for your safety not to wander the halls at night; some of our exhibits have a habit of coming alive and attacking the unwary. Not to mention other guests who may have something damming to hide, and a loose set of morals. Don’t worry - I’m sure you’ll be fine! In this pulp thriller mystery one-shot, your players will be thrust into the role of Occult Detectives, investigating the murder of the museum’s namesake and searching the premises by night to uncover clues and the whereabouts of a missing mummy. Inspired by films such as Night at the Museum, The Mummy, and classic ‘Whodunnit’ murder mystery tales, your players are sure to have a killer time! Featuring: 15 pages of content, comprising 4-8 hours of play A full-scale, two story museum for your players to explore Shady NPC suspects and unlikely allies, complete with unique stat blocks Myriad potential encounters and one epic final Boss Fight, with 46 unique creatures from the Monster Manual, Volo’s Guide to Monsters, and Mordenkainen’s Tome of Foes Helpful tips for newer DMs
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.
In order to stop a series of devastating giant raids, the party must venture into the stronghold of the frost giant jarl Grugnur to both recover the giants' plans and eliminate Grugnur, who is the tactical head behind the operations. The adventure is part of the "Against the Giants" series originally by Gary Gygax, hence the writing credit.
"A glitzy Wildspace gala on a glamorous pleasure cruise, a dozen priceless relics, and one chance to steal it all. Are you in, or out?" An Audacious Four-Hour Heist for Tier 2 Characters. Optimized for APL 8. Content Warning: Alcohol, Fantasy Violence, Gambling, Tobacco Use Get your disguise kits and thieves’ tools ready, as ENNIE Award winning author Jason Koh and ENNIE nominee Darryl Ho reunite to mastermind a space caper so good it’s criminal! The Huangfu hold the final key to the Monad’s millennium-old mystery, and YOU have ONE chance to steal it. Can you pull it off? Episode 9 of Ad Astra. This lovingly crafted homage to Hong Kong action cinema and Chinese fantasy fiction is designed to be played using Theater of the Mind, and supplemented by tasteful handouts in art deco style. Depending on the characters and their decisions, multiple endings are possible. Ad Astra is a series of loosely connected Spelljammer adventures for D&D Adventurers League. Traverse the stars in an ancient, arcane locomotive, and experience fresh takes on the spacefaring genre written and produced by bestselling Dungeon Masters Guild authors and international talents from the Dungeon Designers Discord community. Uncover the secrets of the Monad, explore unique and unconventional worlds, and unravel a mystery that spans a millennium! This product includes: - a 106-page adventure with multiple endings and ways to play - custom handouts to help get your players prepped for the perfect heist - appendices full of helpful tips and advice to get the most out of this adventure - custom images for selected NPCs - standard and printer-friendly PDFs
A generic tomb exploration. Usable for a quick one off or random exploration discovery. Sometimes a DM needs a fill-in adventure for when their PC’s go off script. This is a single location low role play adventure that can be inserted anywhere needed.
From the backcover: "Once a generation, they say, a strange comet appears in the sky overhead and the gates of Firestorm peak swing open, (twenty-seven years ago, your father led his band of adventurers into the mysterious mountain, never to return. Now the Dragon's Tear once more flickers in the sky, and the glass gates on the mountainside beckon. Will you pass through to discover the secrets that await beyond the portal none has ever dared and returned? The Gates of Firestorm Peak is the first adventure designed especially for use with the new rules presented in the three PLAYER'S OPTION books: Combat & Tactics, Skills & Powers, and Spells & Magic. While it can also be played using just the AD&D® game core rules (the Player's Handbook and the DUNGEON MASTER® Guide), this adventure offers a perfect opportunity to experience all the potential of the new optional rules. One of the highlights of this package is the first PLAYER'S OPTION player character record sheet. To meet the challenges of Firestorm Peak and escape with their lives, heroic adventurers must battle dark dwarves in their underground city, explore the abandoned caverns of the Elder Elves, and deal with weird alien entities from Beyond. Their goal is to stop the Master of the Twisted Caverns and his dark minions from completing his sinister plot before it's too late . . . if they can. Included in this product are a 96-page adventure book detailing the dungeon that lies beneath Firestorm Peak, 4 full-color poster maps detailing all the important locations in the complex, and a sheet of 56 counters for use with the tactical maps in major combats."
Fort Dalton along the River Lis was long ago destroyed. Now rumors tell of foul cults practicing their dark rites within the fort’s ruins. Are the rumors of elemental cults true or are the rumors a cover for some other sinister plot? A two-hour adventure for 1st-4th level characters.
The Haunted Hamlet and other hexes details four unique modular locations for your game. Made for old school essentials, but can easily be used with other old-school systems or even 5E. The four locations detailed in the zine focus on gameable content and being easy to use at the table. The locations are not connected to one another and can be sprinkled onto your campaign map however you like, or run as one shots. The PDF is graphic and art heavy and utilizes random tables and other tools to make it easier for GMs to run in a pinch. Details: 40 pages Single column text 8.5 x 5.5 aspect Black & White Bookmarks Four hex locations Random tables A rival NPC party A sky merchant A one page town Two hirelings
When the brides of death become the marauders of Nibenay, When the dead must die and the unsleeping must wake, Then the Dragon shall be born anew. For centuries the Veiled Alliance has been a thorn in the side of the mighty sorceror-king Nibenay. Now the stars are right and the mysterious Shadow King has decided to rid himself of his unremitting rivals. But the Veiled Alliance is not easily defeated. They too have been watching the stars, and they know that the history of the great city has reached a crucial juncture. Both sides stand ready for a great battle, but neither is prepared for the disaster that looms over the city. By the time the sun rises again, the city will be in ruins and the task of rebuilding it will fall squarely on the shoulders of a small band of adventurers. The future is theirs to decide, for good or evil.