The Legend of the Black Monastery Two centuries have passed since the terrible events associated with the hideous cult known as the Black Brotherhood. Only scholars and story-tellers remember now how the kingdom was nearly laid to waste and the Black Monastery rose to grandeur and fell into haunted ruins. The Brothers first appeared as an order of benevolent priests and humble monks in black robes who followed a creed of kindness to the poor and service to the kingdom. Their rules called for humility and self denial. Other religious orders had no quarrel with their theology or their behavior. Their ranks grew as many commoners and nobles were drawn to the order by its good reputation. The first headquarters for the order was a campsite, located in a forest near the edge of the realm. The Brothers said that their poverty and dedication to service allowed them no resources for more grand accommodations. Members of the Black Brotherhood built chapels in caves or constructed small temples on common land near villages. They said that these rustic shrines allowed them to be near the people they served. Services held by the Brothers at these locations attracted large numbers of common people, who supported the Black Brotherhood with alms. Within 50 years of their first appearance, the Black Brotherhood had a number of larger temples and abbeys around the kingdom. Wealthy patrons endowed them with lands and buildings in order to buy favor and further the work of the Brothers. The lands they gained were slowly expanded as the order’s influence grew. Many merchants willed part of their fortunes to the Black Brotherhood, allowing the order to expand their work even further. The Brothers became bankers, loaning money and becoming partners in trade throughout the kingdom. Within 200 years of their founding, the order was wealthy and influential, with chapters throughout the kingdom and spreading into nearby realms. With their order well-established, the Black Brotherhood received royal permission to build a grand monastery in the hill country north of the kingdom’s center. Their abbot, a cousin of the king, asked for the royal grant of a specific hilltop called the Hill of Mornay. This hill was already crowned by ancient ruins that the monks proposed to clear away. Because it was land not wanted for agriculture, the king was happy to grant the request. He even donated money to build the monastery and encouraged others to contribute. With funds from around the realm, the Brothers completed their new monastery within a decade. It was a grand, sprawling edifice built of black stone and called the Black Monastery. From the very beginning, there were some who said that the Black Brotherhood was not what it seemed. There were always hints of corruption and moral lapses among the Brothers, but no more than any other religious order. There were some who told stories of greed, gluttony and depravity among the monks, but these tales did not weaken the order’s reputation during their early years. All of that changed with the construction of the Black Monastery. Within two decades of the Black Monastery’s completion, locals began to speak of troubling events there. Sometimes, Brothers made strange demands. They began to cheat farmers of their crops. They loaned money at ruinous rates, taking the property of anyone who could not pay. They pressured or even threatened wealthy patrons, extorting money in larger and larger amounts. Everywhere, the Black Brotherhood grew stronger, prouder and more aggressive. And there was more… People began to disappear. The farmers who worked the monastery lands reported that some people who went out at night, or who went off by themselves, did not return. It started with individuals…people without influential families…but soon the terror and loss spread to even to noble households. Some said that the people who disappeared had been taken into the Black Monastery, and the place slowly gained an evil reputation. Tenant farmers began moving away from the region, seeking safety at the loss of their fields. Slowly, even the king began to sense that the night was full of new terrors. Across the kingdom, reports began to come in telling of hauntings and the depredations of monsters. Flocks of dead birds fell from clear skies, onto villages and city streets. Fish died by thousands in their streams. Citizens reported stillborn babies and monstrous births. Crops failed. Fields were full of stunted plants. Crimes of all types grew common as incidents of madness spread everywhere. Word spread that the center of these dark portents was the Black Monastery, where many said the brothers practiced necromancy and human sacrifice. It was feared that the Black Brotherhood no longer worshipped gods of light and had turned to the service of the Dark God. These terrors came to a head when the Black Brotherhood dared to threaten the king himself. Realizing his peril, the king moved to dispossess and disband the Black Brother hood. He ordered their shrines, abbeys and lands seized. He had Brothers arrested for real and imagined crimes. He also ordered investigations into the Black Monastery and the order’s highest ranking members. The Black Brotherhood did not go quietly. Conflict between the order and the crown broke into violence when the Brothers incited their followers to riot across the kingdom. There were disturbances everywhere, including several attempts to assassinate the king by blades and by dark sorcery. It became clear to everyone that the Black Brotherhood was far more than just another religious order. Once knives were drawn, the conflict grew into open war between the crown and the Brothers. The Black Brotherhood had exceeded their grasp. Their followers were crushed in the streets by mounted knights. Brothers were rounded up and arrested. Many of them were executed. Armed supporters of the Black Brotherhood, backed by arcane and divine magic, were defeated and slaughtered. The Brothers were driven back to their final hilltop fortress – the Black Monastery. They were besieged by the king’s army, trapped and waiting for the king’s forces to break in and end the war. The final assault on the Black Monastery ended in victory and disaster. The king’s army took the hilltop, driving the last of the black-robed monks into the monastery itself. The soldiers were met by more than just men. There were monsters and fiends defending the monastery. There was a terrible slaughter on both sides. In many places the dead rose up to fight again. The battle continued from afternoon into night, lit by flames and magical energy. The Black Monastery was never actually taken. The king’s forces drove the last of their foul enemies back inside the monastery gates. Battering rams and war machines were hauled up the hill to crush their way inside. But before the king’s men could take the final stronghold, the Black Brotherhood immolated themselves in magical fire. Green flames roared up from the monastery, engulfing many of the king’s men as well. As survivors watched, the Black Monastery burned away, stones, gates, towers and all. There was a lurid green flare that lit the countryside. There was a scream of torment from a thousand human voices. There was a roar of falling masonry and splitting wood. Smoke and dust obscured the hilltop. The Black Monastery collapsed in upon itself and disappeared. Only ashes drifted down where the great structure had stood. All that was left of the Black Monastery was its foundations and debris-choked dungeons cut into the stones beneath. The war was over. The Black Brotherhood was destroyed. But the Black Monastery was not gone forever. Over nearly two centuries since its destruction, the Black Monastery has returned from time to time to haunt the Hill of Mornay. Impossible as it seems, there have been at least five incidents in which witnesses have reported finding the Hill of Mornay once again crowned with black walls and slate-roofed towers. In every case, the manifestation of this revenant of the Black Monastery has been accompanied by widespread reports of madness, crime and social unrest in the kingdom. Sometimes, the monastery has appeared only for a night. The last two times, the monastery reappeared atop the hill for as long as three months…each appearance longer than the first. There are tales of adventurers daring to enter the Black Monastery. Some went to look for treasure. Others went to battle whatever evil still lived inside. There are stories of lucky and brave explorers who have survived the horrors, returning with riches from the fabled hordes of the Black Brotherhood. It is enough to drive men mad with greed – enough to lure more each time to dare to enter the Black Monastery.
As the City of a Thousand Forges perseveres in the face of threats both internal and external, the effects of the planar portal continue to make everyone uneasy. When unusual individuals are drawn to the city because of the portal’s power, heroes are asked to keep the peace and ferret out anyone intending to bring harm to Melvaunt. A D&D Adventurers League adventure set in Melvaunt. The characters investigate six groups/individuals to work out their real purposes in Melvaunt.
Gray Mountain lies deep in the lush elven forest. The temple there was a haven of meditation and learning - until taken over by an evil cleric known as the Rahib. Far under the mountain, he paces before the temple's great altar. A brown-robed servant rushes in and falls to his knees, trembling at the sight of the Rahib's black panther. "Rahib, adventurers came to the village as the sun rose - the strangers now protect Rahasia." A scowl crosses the Rahib's face. "I must have Rahasia! Attack again tonight." As the servant scurries away, a deep growl rises from the giant cat. Gripping the panther's leash, the Rahib paces again, speaking out loud. "We must dispose of these strangers quickly; the secret beneath the temple will not wait much longer." Note: the setting is unspecified, but certain tie-ins, like the wines, prefigure Ravenloft. See: https://twitter.com/chrisperkinsdnd/status/703751906703749120 TSR #9115
The Fall of Blackbottom is an adventure for the Draw Steel roleplaying game for 1st-level heroes. It’s intended for four to six players, including the Director. This fast-paced, high-stakes adventure assumes that players have moderate experience with the Draw Steel system and the game’s core rulebooks. The Fall of Blackbottom begins on a calm morning at the Drunken Fool, a three-story inn renowned for its baths and jaunty atmosphere. When Ajax’s siege plunges the city into chaos, the heroes are instructed by a member of the Chain of Acheron to lead civilians to a safehouse where the Chain will regroup and help the helpless flee the city. When the heroes arrive at the safehouse, however, it becomes clear that no one is coming to help. What’s more, one or more of them are wanted by Ajax, known to the Overlord by name. Their lives—and the lives of everyone they’ve saved—now rest solely on their shoulders.
This short adventure is set in the Ravenloft domain of Lamordia where the PCs find themselves trying to save a beautiful maiden from the mad scientist, Dr. Victor Mordenheim, who is trying to restore life to his dead wife. TSR 9336
Devilish sorcery and ancient steel merge in the form of a reborn menace rising in the wild hills on civilization's verge. As the badlands burn with wildfire, an arcane warlord gathers his monstrous troops under his tattered banner. He is rumored to be immortal, and it will take tremendous bravery, immense cunning, and more than a little luck for stalwart adventurers to end his campaign of malice. Can your mighty heroes locate the War-lock's one weakness before his forces drown the realm in blood and fire?
(Note: The titular crown is in this adventure, but it's up to the GM to provide their own stats for it, should the PCs obtain it) A short three-combat dungeon delve: Trolls with remarkably proficient tactics have been causing trouble for years. Track them to their lair then kill the trolls & their leader who has a black crown beaten into the flesh of their head.
With rumors of disappearances running rampant in the area, your group comes into the small community of Morla Dale with more questions than answers. Several wanted posters during your journey have shown a criminal called Sukits the Butcher. Perhaps this strange individual is behind the abductions?
A few weeks ago, a neogi flying ship met with misfortune in a furious thunderstorm as it was setting out on a long journey. Heavily damaged, it crashed on an isolated rocky beach. Several neogi and their slaves were killed or injured in the crash, but five of the small monsters survived, along with four umber hulks and a handful of other useful slaves. Under the leadership of the sorcerer Neex Hist, the neogi are working to repair their ship so they can continue their interrupted voyage. In the meantime, they have set up camp in a large sea save close by the site of the shipwreck. While the repairs continue, the neogi and their minions are scouring the area for anything of interest - there's no point in leaving potentially valuable merchandise in the vicinity of the crash site, after all. Pgs. 101-106 Suitable for lvls 6-8 in 5e, using 5e stats.
When a Pathfinder Society Priest of Nethys disappears in northern Geb while studying the Mana Wastes, the Society sends you to uncover her whereabouts and find her journals. Arriving in the town of Bitter End, you find it deserted but for a few mysterious creatures never before seen on Golarion. Those creatures quickly lead to more and soon you're embroiled in a mystery that could effect the very fabric of reality. Will you solve the mystery of Bitter End or find yourself lost forever in the Mana Wastes?
Good folk have vanished. Those who were once disparaged and forgotten now wield power unlike anything seen before. Rulers and sages turn a blind eye to the disturbing events unfolding around them. In every corner of the Lost Lands, the Cult of the Veiled One spreads unchecked. Prophesizing a cleansing jihad of flames and the coming of the Burning One, the cult has erected its brazen spires in every land. What follows depends on the wit and courage of mighty heroes who must rise to the occasion and take the fight to the enemy in its very stronghold. Will they succeed, or will they succumb to the temptations of the Veiled One’s court and join in the conquest of their home world? A fabled city of wishes on the edge of an eternal flame. The City of Brass is a rich combination of sand-box style role playing adventure, planar exploration, and twisted dungeons designed to test even the most seasoned adventurers.
This adventure is about a quest to save a city that disappear underneath there feet in a power play by a wizard from another plane. The previous ruling wizards are trapped in magic coins scattered nearby and help defeat the evil wizard on an inverse material plane and end with the players going into the middle of a sun to convince the ruling fire elemental to give the city back. TSR 9204
"Enter a garden of earthly delights. The sun has stopped setting over the king's favorite garden. It seemed like a harmless curiosity at first but the animals have turned violent and strange alien beings have appeared. The duke has placed a bounty for enterprising sell-swords to end the curse of endless daylight. Hideous Daylight is an adventure module for Old-School Essentials, Cairn, and compatible with other pen-and-paper RPGs with old-school sensibilities. Player characters will navigate a 20 point hex crawl to end the strange curse affecting the land. An adventure for low-level characters. 33 pages of non-linear, character driven adventure in the OSR tradition. Two keyed dungeons and a 20 point hex-crawl. A bucolic fantasy setting easily insertable into fantasy RPG campaigns. Dangerous new monsters, weird magic items, and an unpredictable random encounters table. Features two gazebos."
The fabled mines of Dhol Kuldhir once showered the Dalelands, Cormyr, and points beyond with precious gems and expertly crafted jewels. Operating from a hidden complex in the Thunder Peaks, their exquisite craftsmanship was said to rival that of even Thunderholme. Almost as quickly as it rose to prominence it vanished, along with all of the dwarven miners, crafters, and untold riches. Some speculate that the mine ran dry, and the inhabitants abandoned it for a more plentiful location. Others believe that they probably fell victim to one of the many goblin tribes plaguing the area. The truth, however, is much more grave. Centuries later, the nearby town of Keen is beset upon by unlikely thieves, the local innkeeper charges a small band of unlikely allies to investigate the string of burglaries. What they uncover leads them to the long-lost dwarven mine. In the darkness, they will have to brave insidious traps, cunning monsters, and the dreaded new lord of Dhol Kuldhir.
The ruined siege castles outside Absalom have long beckoned adventurers looking to make a name for themselves. Now an earthquake has cracked open one of these fabled ruins, and its lost mysteries and fantastic treasures lie exposed for the first time in centuries. But the tower's empty halls once more echo with living footfalls, and a new master has claimed the Fallen Fortress as his own.
The village of Haven-Fara has a problem - it's been overrun with spiders that have been forced out of their nearby lair. Yet could this spider problem be merely a symptom of something worse to come? When the backwater town of Haven-Fara wakens under a thick blanket of webs to find half its populace missing, its up to the PCs to descend into a silk-chambered nest of the arachnid abductors. In a vertical maze of web-lined tunnels, they discover a dying queen, a legendary treasure, and a secret that could change Haven-Fara forever. Pgs. 14-20 & 22-28 & 30, 32 and 34
Pridon's Hearth is Sargava’s newest colony, pushing the country’s borders further south than ever before and attracting treasure-hunters, fortune-seekers, and troubled souls hoping for a fresh start. But unnaturally powerful storms rock the tiny settlement just as the local lizardfolk tribe declares war on the colonists within. Are these threats somehow related? What became of the heretical cult of Gozreh that journeyed to the region a century ago, and do its corrupt teachings hold the key to calming the growing hurricane? Can the heroes protect the growing community from raging tempests and hostile monsters alike? And what role does the shadowy Aspis Consortium play in these recent dangers? These challenges and more await heroes willing to face down the Ire of the Storm! Designed for use with Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, this adventure is packed with excitement and unique personalities! Written by rising star Thurston Hillman, Ire of the Storm is a deluxe adventure for 1st-level characters, and includes 64 action-packed pages of tropical dangers, jungle ruins, and two new monstrous foes, plus a gorgeous double-sided poster map featuring the Sargavan colony of Pridon's Hearth and an exploration map providing an overview of the entire surrounding region. Players can expect to reach 6th level upon completion of this adventure—or wind up food for all manner of scaly menaces!
This adventure is suitable for four 6th to 7th level PC's and may be completed in a single session. Oithois the exceptional ice mephit and his foul underlings have uncovered a powerful relic at the entry to ancient ruins. The monstrous mephits seek to crack a hole between the material plane and their icy home world. Oithois plots to lead an army of elemental lackeys and conquer the civilized outposts of the north. This ice mephit has studied the machine and is confident he can open a gateway to the elemental plane of ice. PCs are approached by a frostbitten traveler, who pleads with them to assault the terrace. The adventurers must mount an attack against the mephits, contend with an unintentionally summoned young white dragon, and defeat Oithois upon the icebound terrace.
The natural world is dying and Thymia Scarletscale has had enough. It's time to destroy civilization and pluck the humanoid parasites from the face of this world. And honestly, is she wrong? Will the players succeed in infiltrating Thymia's lair The Verdant Phronstistery and bring an end to her schemes? Or will Thymia & her team of yuan-ti research assistants create an army of monstrous insects to wipe humanoids from the face of the world? Greenhouse of Nightmares is the first installment in Pretty Little Liches: a trilogy of adventures centered around three unique liches and their lairs designed for high-level play. These three lairs and the surrounding regions can be run independently as individual adventures or tied together into a mini-campaign that centers on the destruction of the Green Hand, an organization of dangerous liches. A 3-5 hour Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition adventure for Tier 4 (level 17-20) characters. This adventure includes: 6 Random Encounters for a Deadly Swamp, Battle Tactics for a 3-Stage Boss Fight, a CR 26 Medusa Lich with New Legendary Actions, 7 New Monsters, & 2 New Magic Items!
The party has been tasked with bringing the head of the fire giant king Snurre Ironbelly to the storm giant lord Krombaalt, as well as capturing the dwarven traitor Obmi Ironwhisper. Delving into Snurre's stronghold, they will also discover the sinister drow manipulating the giants. The adventure is part of the "Against the Giants" series originally by Gary Gygax, hence the writing credit.