The party is called to investigate ghostly wails heard in a nearby crypt where a noble knight was supposedly laid to rest centuries ago. Un-beknownst to the townsfolk, the crypt actually holds the remains of a bandit lord, who was dressed in the knight’s armor as part of the knight’s plan to fake his death. The wailing is caused by the restless spirit of the bandit lord, newly awakened by mischievous fey who now play pranks on the village for their own amuse-ment. Players will need to navigate traps and puzzles set by the fey, uncover the truth of the crypt’s inhabitant, and lay the bandit lord’s spirit to rest.
Do you want your players to feel like they are in a zombie movie, struggling against a deadly horde that tries to surround them, overpower them, and bear them down to the ground to be devoured? This is an adventure that can threaten even the stoutest of characters, and is not recommended for parties of levels 12 or below unless they are larger than normal. This module is designed to take 4-8 hours of play and cover a single day, depending on the party’s speed of play and how thoroughly they decide to explore. It includes suggestions and some plot hooks that can be used to tie this easily into a variety of long-running campaigns, or it can be run as an indepdent adventure. The players will come upon a sacked town, figure out what happened, track an item whose theft has ominious implications for the region, and explore a partly-flooded old temple to end the threat. It's primarily combat-focused, but there are a few areas where exploration and route choice makes a difference, as well as traps if the party goes for the optional temple treasury. The antagonists in this module are mostly ghasts and ghouls, but the module title and cover page are deliberately selected to not spoil this. These are greater ghouls and ghasts that can challenge higher-level characters, backed up by mobs of lesser ghouls that can surround, paralyze, and devour the weak and unlucky, led by a Warlord whose aura can drive even the stout-hearted into forgetting their plans in a moment of madness.
A dungeon of tricky puzzles, ancient magical secrets, and more than a few lingering mysteries, designed to be played as a standalone adventure and not incorporated into another campaign. Six adventurers descend into the Temple of Mysteries to find a mystical artifact called the Strand of Tears. Seems straightforward enough, except that some of the party may not be who they say they are. In fact, none of the party may be who they say they are. Not only that, but they might not be who they don't say they are, either! Worst of all, they're trapped in the ruins of an underground temple specifically designed to keep people from proceeding unless they're proficient in puzzle-solving...and there may be doppelgangers on the loose.
Bugbear Fight Pit is a mini-adventure with a single main encounter that follow the Bugbear Jeeshank tricking the players into a trap with the challenge of single combat to stop his activities. If the players fall for it, they will be faced with a large number of ranged attacks, and additional clever tactics and use of the terrain. Pgs. 15-17
In this town, nothing goes like clockwork. A voice in the darkness offered him power, with only one string attached: first he had to find some adventurers. A fiend and minions of the plane of fire have set up shop beneath a small town, and have been attracting evil minions to their lair! In this town of Jenkel, the religious leader (named Broderick) is secretly under the influence of the demon and has been doing her will out of his own greed for power. A tilted pyramid appeared in the town years ago, and is actually the tip of a tower buried in the town. The tower leads to a dungeon and a shrine where the party can fight off the demon and rid the town of the evil influence. Pgs. 18-31
For the past 9 years the small town of Haren’s Watch has been plagued by a wicked fey spirit known only as Mr. Grin. Every year the creature and its fiendish little minions torment the town over the course of three nights, culminating in the kidnap and transmutation of one of the village children into a lifeless statue made entirely of coal. It is the tenth year of Haren’s Watch suffering this calamity and this year, amidst a raging blizzard, a weary party of adventurers seeks refuge in the small village... The adventure favours characters and players who enjoy roleplaying and exploration but contains additional optional encounters for players who enjoy more combat focused play.
Dark Water Trap is a mini-adventure that has a single encounter that involves Duergar using darkness and anti-darkvision to get the player to fall into a Pit trap full of water, so that the party will drown. The encounter either works as a standalone (Ie. the Duergar have been causing trouble), or as a part of a larger adventure or dungeon, Duegar or otherwise. Pgs. 26-27
In lieu of a monetary reward for their latest adventure, the PCs have been 'gifted' land ownership in the form of a former religious holding on the coast. While the party cannot collect taxes, they can rennovate the building and use it as a base of operations as they adventure around the Katorian Sphere. Best of all, it sits on a vineyard!
In this level 1-5 adventure for 3-5 players the party is tasked with the rpg standard mission a.k.a. catching rats in a cellar, only in this case they are not rats but guinea pigs. However this is all a big ruse to get some test subjects together, because the mage who gave them the job actually wants to start a gameshow. People from around the world can compete here for prizes in front of a live audience. However the games will have to be tested and that's where your brave adventurers come in. This adventure contains 10 different puzzles, 10 different rewards and tips on how to adjust the encounters for players of higher and lower levels than the recommended level of 3.
Once every decade, the tides of the Empyrean Ocean recede far enough to reveal the highest eaves of a mysterious undersea tower. Long ago this was an eldritch fastness of Sezrekan the Elder, the most wicked wizard ever to plague the Known World, but now the tower is known simply as the final resting place of the fabled Black Pearl – an artifact rumored to bring doom upon all who dare to posses it. Tonight the moon nearly fills the sky, and the tides have already begun to recede. Adventurers have eight short hours to explore the tower before the dark waters return. The fabled Black Pearl will be theirs for the taking…if they can survive the Pearl’s curse.
Home to a variety of merchants, malcontents, and adventures this city has something for everyone. A group favorite for one-shot adventures my players all enjoy a visit to this city located in the Principality of Lockerbie. This city has a both generalized encounters and open challenges for any numbers of players. The open challenges (City adventure hooks) have been left to assign challenge ratings depending upon the characters encountering the issue. The vast sprawl of the city gives the players a multitude of businesses to shop in but gives the DM the flexibility to make it “fit” their campaign. I hope your characters enjoy Kettlespit as much as mine do!
The lord of a local realm is having his council members systematically killed or cast out for treason with little to no evidence to support the claims. This has been occurring for some time and a local shaman by the name of Borjah thinks he knows the cause. In his visions, he has seen a strange spirit shifting the shadows, a puppet master using the lord as its personal servant by warping his mind. This entity is slowly gaining power in the city and increasing its dominance over Lord Kestyl. Borjah attempted to warn the council of this corruption, but all those he informed ended up dead a few days later, so now he is taking matters into his own hands . . . with a bit of help from some willing adventurers of course. Borjah has a few strands of Lord Kestyl's hair, enough to create a strange potion for the party to consume. A potion that will link their minds to that of the lord and be able to fight back against the corruption that has taken hold. All they need to do is wait until his mind is at its most vulnerable . . . when he is asleep. Then, and only then, they can plunge into the mind of this once nobleman and drive back the forces of darkness that threaten to destabilize the entire political landscape of the area. The potion is powerful. Dying while in this dream state cause such severe mental trauma that it usually results in the death of that individual in the real world, so the party will need to be careful. The rules of the normal world don't necessarily apply in the realm of dreams, and as they close in on the entity things are sure to grow more and more chaotic and illogical. Find out if your players have what it takes to fight back against an invisible evil using nothing but their strength of will!
Everyone in the villages that once made up the Kingdom of Lilies knows the tragic tale of Queen Niva Brysis, a fair and beautiful sovereign from a past generation. The queen and her kingdom are often thought of in the same regard; the kingdom didn’t truly come into being until her birth, blossomed in her youth, and wilted away as the queen aged and succumbed to madness. Of course, this is in the annals of history now, as Queen Niva died decades ago, crazed and alone in her mountain keep… right? Not according to a new cult calling itself The Queen’s Adherents. This group not only claims that Queen Niva is alive and well, but she has regained her youth and former beauty. What’s more, they promise any that join their ranks may receive their queen’s blessing and become immortal themselves! The PCs are ultimately the ones that need to dissolve the cult from growing, and in doing so look into the mystery behind the queen’s enigmatic return. But be careful, because if looks could kill, this mission could be murder! Dungeons on Demand is a line instant dungeons you can drop into your campaign, each is designed for 4-5 player parties of specified levels, and each dungeon is complete with a back story, hand drawn maps, traps, puzzles, and reference information to monsters and treasure. You can customize each one to fit in your campaign however you wish, and each one can be played through in one or two gaming sessions.
The Auburn Desolation is a forsaken waste of treacherous sand and unbearable heat within the Shadowfell. Gloom-wrapped serpents and foul undead haunt the wastes, striking out at unsuspecting travelers from sandy graves. Pgs. 88-95
It's a horrible time to have a curse! Each wielding a powerful item to a family legacy, your players are a group of young adventurers who barely survive an attack on their order of vampire-hunters by agents of Dracula. After escaping, they discover Dracula has placed a curse upon the land which makes restful sleep difficult outside of hallowed areas. Dracula, "alive" on another plane but dead on this one, must be resurrected so they can kill him, end the curse, and avenge their dead. To accomplish this goal, the player characters must journey through forest, marsh, hill, and underground paths to retrieve relics of Dracula's last life from keeps and fortresses overrun by monsters and the undead. If they can resurrect him, he will be weak and easy to kill... but the adventurers aren't the only ones who want Dracula on the Material Plane, and Dracula is not the only vampire in the world. Gameplay overview This adventure takes the players from 2nd through 9th or 10th level on a milestone basis as they choose where to travel in what order to retrieve what they need. Starting at a happy gathering at the Belmonte Order, which the characters are hereditary members of, the campaign kicks off with a bang as the group retrieves their chosen legacy items, salvages what other gear they can in a race against time and a growing number of foes, and then escapes to begin their quest. In addition to the six main "dungeons," there are two optional regional lairs, traveling vampires, and many foes along the way. Most of the towns in the area have managed to survive, providing points of light at which the party may stop, long rest safely, acquire supplies, and socialize. Travel is hazardous! 5e classes are balanced for resource management across a 5-8 encounter adventuring day. The campaign is designed to have a semi-variable flow of encounters as the party traels around the area. Encounters grow progressively more difficult as time passes and the party spends more time within a region. These are not random encounters rolled on a table, but encounters designed to be unique to each area's geography, combat terrain, and mix of foes. As the party spends more time in a region or revisits it, the encounter difficulty increases. Dracula's curse requires a Constitution saving throw to successfully long rest outside of Hallowed areas (towns). The difficulty scales up over time, forcing the party to balance speed and safety as they try to accomplish their goals without pushing beyond the limits of what they can handle. The game concept, general map layout, and some enemy distributions are loosely inspired by Castlevania II for the NES, one of the forerunners of the "Metroidvania" genre. Dracula's Curse is indeed a game in which the forests are dark and full of monsters, and every night is a horrible one to have a curse. Includes 15 Legacy items, from weapons like whips and swords to a shield, a belt, or a decanter of holy water 60+ enemy statblocks 8 unique dungeons with unique layouts & challenges 5 inhabited towns with multiple named NPCs 100+ travel encounters (expect to use 30-50%) The module is printer-friendly with no artwork and straightforward grid maps for location-based encounters which require one.
Stories of the ancint lost city of Carsail and its fabulous artifacts are legendary. Now, the clerics of a seaside town have proven that some unusual items are indeed from the long forgotten city, but two priests and a mysterious stranger are missing. Players must risk life and limb, breathing beneath the water, to find the lost cities of Carsail and Mylduscor, and unlock the mysteries of the murky deep! TSR 9422
The tritons have arrested the keeper of Skyhorn Lighthouse for unleashing vile, bug-like abominations into the sea. When a lone triton comes to the characters and asks their help in exonerating the keeper, will the heroes rise to the challenge and confront the dangers lurking in the deep? The Corruption of Skyhorn Lighthouse is a 5-7 hour adventure for 8th-level characters. You can run The Corruption of Skyhorn Lighthouse as a standalone adventure or as a follow-up to The Secrets of Skyhorn Lighthouse, a free 5th-level adventure downloaded over 100,000 times with 350+ five-star reviews! Inside the The Corruption of Skyhorn Lighthouse, you'll find: -Three new monsters that prowl the ocean depths -A goblin submarine, a darkmantle sea captain, and a marid with a pet starfish grove -The Arcane Library's signature format to make running the adventure effortless -Combat cards for monsters, PCs, and special treasure -Gorgeous maps designed for easy use with Virtual Table Tops
What is this adventure? This is a short location-based prison break adventure where the characters explore a small-town prison. The whole adventure can be played in a typical four-hour session. Get In, Get Out! is perfect for situations where the party has broken the law and is captured by the local police, or they have to break out a prisoner, or any other prison break scenario you can think of. It is designed to be simple and the gamemaster is empowered to read and run it quickly. A 3rd level party is ideal for this adventure, but it can be easily tuned up to 5th level or down to 1st level by adding or removing a few simple enemies. A 3rd level party is ideal for this adventure, but it can be easily tuned up to 5th level or down to 1st level by adding or removing a few simple enemies. How to use this adventure? This is less of a specific adventure and more of a location setup, namely a small-town prison. Adventure can be designed either as a prison break or as a prisoner rescue scenario. See Adventure Hooks section for more on this. This adventure provides ample opportunities to be played as a smash and grab style of game or as a stealth heist sort of adventure. None of the situations are combat specific although there are plenty of options to get into combat. Gamemasters are encouraged to allow the players to complete this adventure without ever rolling for initiative. Clever play such as stake outs, gathering information etc. are key to successfully completing this adventure. What is included? The adventure pdf DM's map High resolution (3072x4096) maps for a prison (grid and gridless), which can be printed out as a tabletop map to play on.
"Ambush at Boxcar Rocks" is a two hour adventure for character level 1-3 (3-6 players) but is easily adapted to challenge higher level PCs by adjusting the spawn rate and the spawn limit. It features one hand-drawn, color map. It can be run as a brutal oneshot gauntlet or a quick side quest to pad the players purses. Deep within the labyrinth of massive, glacier deposited rocks there is a natural cave once used for interring the dead. Now the bones of the pit within stir because of a foolish neophyte. A listless, blood thirsty horde tramples toward daylight and nothing will remain in their wake...
Once a naval powerhouse, the Kingdom of Bane ruled the waters wherever they went. Four decades ago the neighboring countries noticed a stark difference taking over the once lush Bane. As the years progressed, rumors swirled about the downfall of the proud nation but the overall view was that a curse took over. The kingdom had been famous for the multitude of riches and magic it once possessed and it is widely believed that undiscovered treasures await any adventurer brave enough to test their mettle against the curse as well as the elements. This offering is 70 pages of magic, challenges, and a lot of urban discoveries. This scenario can be cut up and used as individual projects or as a massive campaign. The original campaign allowed the players to move from fifth level up to eighth!