What Makes Heroes into Villains? Damien Anthilas has fallen from ally to adversary, but something desperate in him has struck a chord with you. Why would he risk everything to steal the memories of the citizens of Anduria? Left with only a cryptic clue, the characters seek answers from the burned out remnants of his former home. Anthilas Manor is a place of dark magic and even darker history, where the ghosts of the past hold sway and the influence of the mad god is still felt to this day
A supernaturally powerful storm, mudslides, and agitated dinosaurs are the least of the worries in the tropical village of Mora. The village's spiritual leader, the Zombie Master, has gone missing, and now undead rise from sodden graves and the village matriarch lies dead, murdered by her own son. What dire menace awaits in the flooded catacombs below? Set on the infamous Isle of Dread.
The king has hired adventurers to investigate the sudden rash of giant attacks and strange phenomena around the town of Bywater. Meanwhile the townsfolk believe an evil witch is directing the attacks and only the magic sword of the town's founder can defeat her.
Into the Forsaken Temple's Crypt is a short adventure for four 10th-level characters. The adventure takes place in a buried temple crypt, which has been sealed for centuries. Dungeon Masters can adjust it for higher-level characters by expanding the dead magic areas and increasing the number and power of constructs and undead that inhabit the complex. Some things are best left untouched, and some secrets are best left untold. One such secret is the location of the resting place of the traitor Ellowyn Blacktree. Her body has lain undisturbed for centuries, undead but immobile, in the prison the elves created for her. The elven histories tell that Ellowyn was a powerful wizard back in a time beyond human reckoning. While others worked diligently to learn magic, Ellowyn's arcane powers came to her quickly. In her youth, she called this a blessing from Corellon Larethian, and she worked diligently to serve him for the good of all elvenkind. In time, she became one of seven female elves entrusted with the care of a mythal, or elven place of power, devoted to preserving the balance of magic and nature. But Ellowyn, it is said, kept a terrible secret of her own: She had fallen in love with a drow whom history knows as Orith To'rellen. One dark winter night she betrayed her sisters, Corellon, and all of elvenkind by allowing Orith and the followers of Lolth to overrun and defile the mythal. Ellowyn herself was then betrayed by the drow, who abandoned her on the surface near a vampire's lair as they returned to their home in the Underdark, leaving her to face certain death and elven justice alone. In the depths of their grief and anger, the elves sentenced Ellowyn, perhaps unwisely, to dwell forever in the darkness that she had chosen, thus ensuring that she never followed the normal path of life and death that most elves take. Many elves died at her hands before they could restrain her. With terrible spells rarely seen even in that ancient time, they bound her in an underground crypt far away from any living thing. There, the legends say, she waits, nursing a terrible hatred against elves, drow, Corellon, Lolth, and especially Orith To'rellen.
Through acrid mists and bitter waters they march. They are quiet, making no sound as they leave the marshland. Spears held high, the warriors scan the fog for signs of the attacker. Every step took them further from their old lands. Every step brings them closer to the lands of their 'allies,' who had abandoned them when teh marsh turned black and foul. Every step churns up more of the poisoned water as it seeps between their scales and below the skin. So many had already died on this march, and after the attack, they had so few left... The mists part in the night. The village's light bathes them in a false welcome. The human guards are unsteady, either from poison or drink. The town celebrates the end of the trade season, but not a man raises a toast to the creatures that died for it. So many had died from the first attack of the beast and from the aftermath, but the humans would suffer for such treachery...
The whispered worries grow more fanciful and terrifying by the day... where has the loremistress gone?... what's wrong with the master smith?... who-or what-stalks the marketplace?... The questions need answers, and heroes are needed to do the asking! But the only thing worse than what hunts the mist-shrouded streets is what lies beneath them... Adventure in Dun Eamon: Demons roam the streets of the city of Dun Eamon, criminals rule the night and an important local power figure has gone missing. Can your heroes unravel the clues that lead through every social element of the city, into the hearts of its inhabitants and far below its streets in search of answers? Or are some mysteries better left unsolved? Uncover An Artifact: The Grey Citadel is a mini-campaign of urban detective work and dungeon exploration designed for four or more characters of 5th level. Set in a rain-soaked, rough-and-tumble frontier city, The Grey Citadel offers numerous colorful NPCs, a richly unique location, new monsters and magic items plus enough plot twists to provide hours of role-playing and door-kicking adventure where your wits must be as sharp as your swords!" This adventures mixes dungeon crawl with city investigation, keyed encounters and timed encounters.
A "simple errand" is never what it seems. It's a wizard's privilege - and curse - to change his mind. Pgs. 3-7
The Anchorin Family and its namesake home, Anchorin Manse, have gone quiet along with many of the townsfolk of Adwher who worked in the manse or on the grounds. The patriarch of the family and accomplished artificer, Webster, has inherited a fascination with the multiverse from his father and now has created a machine that has allowed an entity from the far realm into his home. With his obsession growing and the help of this entity, Webster modified the memory of his family and sequestered himself in a separate wing of the manse to continue digging into the nature of the multiverse. Soon after, his recklessness released a deluge of planar energy into the home, transforming most of the inhabitants and staining areas of the house with the unique planar effects of the various planes. Now the family’s estranged son Eccles has returned to discover the fate of his family and potentially collect his inheritance but is unable to enter his childhood home. Eccles and the few remaining townsfolk are looking to hire a few bold adventurers to investigate what happened to the family, the manse, and potentially collect some very rare, perhaps legendary magical items. Enter the manse, tour the planes, take a villain, leave a villain, it’s up to you. One thing is certain, verity and villainy is relative in a manse of special purpose.
En garde! "Go away, or I shall taunt you a second time!" A duchess recruits the party to deal with a monstrosity. Pgs, 60-67
Several days ago, a colony of myconids were born from the gloom and rot of a swamp near a small fishing town. They found a place to form their new colony, and settled on a crumbling mausoleum in a long-forgotten graveyard. Their rapport spores have been spreading unchecked, and have begun to infect the dead buried underneath the marsh. These dead have risen as spore servants, which the myconids are using as watchdogs to protect their new home from unwelcome intruders—like the adventurers. In this encounter, the characters stumble upon an old country graveyard in the middle of a swamp. When they investigate, they fall under attack by the living dead! Once they fend off their undead assailants, an investigation of the mausoleum reveals the true villain behind the attack: a group of mycanoids that infested the corpses with their spores, turning them into telepathically controlled puppets. From here, the characters can either negotiate with the mycanoids or kill them. This encounter’s three acts are: The Discovery: the characters find an abandoned graveyard. The Trial: the characters are attacked by undead. The Revelation: the characters learn that the zombies are really mycanoid spore servants, and can try to reason with the mushroom-people or destroy them. Either way, there’s treasure!
Villagers have gone missing! A mix of clues, superstitions, and omens point to the brooding citadel of the emerald sorcerer. This silent monolith has sat undisturbed atop a windy ridge for centuries. Legends say that a green-skinned sorcerer dwells there, where he conducts strange experiments and builds enigmatic machinery. His green-skinned constructs patrol the grounds of his citadel, and he is seen only rarely when he ventures out on nefarious errands that end in horrid screams and strange lights coming from his citadel. Now it is time to penetrate his inner sanctum…
For centuries, the Three Kingdoms have warred endlessly. The river flowing through it holds so many dead on its banks that the locals call it the River of Blood. But now, a new peril rises. With all three armies tucked into their winter camps, patrols and outposts on all sides report ambushes with alarming frequency - those who survive to make their reports, that is. None can say just who attacked them, however, for the assailants appear from the fog or in the middle of a snowstorm, hit hard and fast, then disappear. Arden, Duke Regent of Tyndall, fears that the dead have risen to haunt the living. Is he right?
This setting is a collective of different area encounters for several different character levels. While this land was a frequently traveled area for the adventurers it was used for a variety of challenges. While not every challenge is met for every level it is up to the PCs to decide if they are up for the challenge they discover. Of course you can always ‘discourage’ or hide some encounters from the party. It can also be used in an area frequented by the PC party that can offer an increased challenge with each visit they make.
A Giant Ransom is a short adventure for four 11th-level characters. There are opportunities for diplomacy, stealth, and combat, based on the choices the PCs make, so any mix of classes is appropriate. The adventure can be set in any campaign world, in a frontier region near glacier-covered mountains. The newly appointed Duke Castaril Ambrinigan has recently relocated to a modest, newly constructed keep near the frontier town of Ormanlak. He and his family arrived safely, but a caravan containing family heirlooms was waylaid by a band of frost giant raiders. Most of the items were of no consequence to the Duke, with the exception of one: a three-foot tall golden statue of a lion. The Duke, wanting to avoid a war, sent an emissary to the frost giants. He offered gems totaling 10,000 gold pieces in value as ransom for the lion. The giants accepted, and a time and place was set for the exchange. But there is more. A white dragon named Whildenstrank lives in the midst of a nearby glacier, and has maintained a network of winter wolf spies, including some in the frost giants' camp. Through these spies, Whildenstrank learned of the capture of the golden lion, and the upcoming trade. Thinking that the lion would make a fine addition to his frozen treasure hoard, Whildenstrank has prepared to strike.
Arson, rioting, sabotage, murder - and no suspects. Watchmen are murdered, ships explode and sink in their berths, and savage monsters are summoned in the streets - but no one can catch the killers. The party must navigate the growing tensions between rival factions in the city. After following clues to a tavern, The Flying Hamhock, the party will need to defeat a powerful Hivemind which is behind the attacks. Pgs. 47-64
Why should anyone travel the cracked cobblestones of the Old Road? The fortress that once cast its shadow across the road does so no longer - some whisper that the earth swallowed the fortress whole in an age long past. Four brave adventurers resolved to discover the truth and set off down the Old Road, but they never returned. This adventure is a first level adventure for beginning players set in the dungeon of the fallen fortress.
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?
Not everything worth stealing is worth cash The party must recover a stolen patent of nobility from a thieves' guild, in order to stop a civil war. Pgs. 12-22
The quest: find a woman's son who has been missing for 10 years. She's only just received a map that may lead to his last known whereabouts. An adventure for characters that features battles, environmental hazards, and roleplaying. The 38-page PDF includes hand-drawn maps, art, stat blocks, and a battle stat tracker. The overall adventure is 15 pages. This adventure has even been test played by four DM's from around the world.
An alternative way for the Directors to start their new Draw Steel campaign. Fight off the goblin bandits, survive the ravenous undead, and lift the curse from the town of Sour Falls. This short first-level adventure provides you with two possible combat encounters, a montage test, and a negotiation. From the Ashes is a short 3–4 hour adventure for Draw Steel, written for a group of three to six 1st-level heroes and the Director. This free adventure is an alternative way for experienced Directors to start a campaign. The adventure provides you with two possible combats, a montage test, and a negotiation. By the end of From the Ashes the heroes restore an abandoned town, gaining a base of operations that could lead them to future adventures.