Sometimes things are not what they seem. While the PCs are sailing through pirate-infested waters, a crewman spots the floating wreckage of a sailing ship. Two survivors are standing on the deck waving frantically. The survivors — an eccentric old man, and a noble woman, claim to be merchants from Waterdeep, but are in fact pirates. During an attack on a merchant vessel, the old man, a mage, had missed with a fireball and hit their own ship causing serious damage and killing several crew mates. As punishment, the pirate leader left them marooned on the wreckage, taking the ship they had attacked. This is a short module focused on roleplay. Combat is unlikely as the pirates have no reason to attack or threaten their rescuers. The female survivor seeks a hidden treasure, which could provide a hook for ongoing adventure. While the module isn't explicitly written for solo play, it could be easily adapted for any group size provided the power balance between rescuer and pirate is maintained. Pgs. 24-25
In the fetid waters of the Rotbog, the Wraith’s Breath lies wrecked. Those squalid remains were once the proud vessel of the Dread Pirate Ghostbeard, during his fanatical pursuit of the Lost Gold of Tagua. Whether he found a piece is not known, though it is said that a mere touch of the treasure can infect one’s soul with the ‘Gold’s Will’ – a compulsion to reunite the scattered booty. Perhaps that explains Ghostbeard’s mad obsession. Risen of the Rotbog is a short, undead-pirate-themed encounter for four to six 2nd level characters that builds towards a chilling showdown with the Dread Pirate Ghostbeard. It can be easily slotted into an ongoing campaign, or can work as a short one-shot. The file includes a battle map - one version for the players, and one with GM annotations.
The Bell Wood has always been rumored to be a dangerous place, full of strange creatures and odd happenings. Timber from the wood is highly sought after for its reputed magical properties, so brave foresters sometimes dare the wood to harvest trees to finance their futures. But this time, people are dying. Loggers are vanishing, their mutilated bodies recovered from the undergrowth hours or days later. What has changed in the wood? Can anyone solve the mystery? And can they survive the investigation? A Triple Kingdom Adventure.
The king's notice asked for adventurers to undertake a mission to a far land. It was marked with the rune for "high danger, high reward" so of course you volunteered. The king has heard of a great obelisk that towers over a ruined city in a far country. He wants to know more about the obelisk and its strange powers. Your job is to find the obelisk and bring back a report to the king. The mission seems absurdly easy...until you reach the jungle. Don't think the king is through with you if you get back to the capital city alive. You haven't seen the last of that jungle yet. Is a share in the spoils of an ancient civilization worth the risk? Don't forget to pack you bug repellent! TSR 9187
Hanging out in the city of Acre has gotten mundane and the old adventuring itch is flaring up. Your fruitless search for jobs quickly changes as a farmer locates you. He indicates that he has a minor farming problem with a land shark that the party can deal with. Once this job is completed, the party is approached by more opportunities!
A murder mystery adventure for AD&D. Can the police solve the mystery in time? The Arch Mage is dead. Murdered. The players must solve the mystery before time runs out. Pgs. 41-61
On the outskirts of town lies an ancient temple to an unknown deity. Periodically, undead creatures issue from the catacombs beneath it. The party receives a commission from the city elders to venture into the catacombs and exterminate the undead. Pgs. 64-71
One page side quest, one page maps. For decades old Alma Scarlet-thorn and her cat, Ferox, entwined as witch and familiar, reveled in tormenting travelers passing near her lair. But, recently, Alma has favored her newly created mist golem more. Although Ferox has enjoyed the power of their bond, she now believes the magical connection is no longer worth this jealousy. The cat, Ferox, has been searching for a way to punish her mistress or remove the golem. Adventure hooks provided. Published by Wicked Cool Games
Centuries ago, a beholder named Yeryl fled from the place of his birth and wandered the countryside in search for a place to call home. After many sleepless nights spent carving out a safe nook for himself in the wilderness, he at last slipped into slumber. In his dreams, he found an ideal place for his lair: long-abandoned ruins hidden amidst a dull and barren valley. Yeryl spent years transforming the place to suit his paranoid designs. Visitors were rare enough, and the few that made it to Yeryl’s lair were quickly destroyed or forced into the beholder’s service, building the lair ever deeper and more magnificent. As time went on, Yeryl finally completed his task. Safe at last, but with nothing to occupy his mind, Yeryl was struck by melancholy; was this lonely and empty life truly what he had chosen for himself? On that day, Yeryl made a decision: next time an adventurer came to his lair, he would welcome them in. With this resolution in mind, Yeryl began to dismantle his traps and replace them with ones he considered to be more fun. Unfortunately, for all his good intents, Yeryl has not yet realised that killing people is a bad way of getting them to like him. Yeryl's Super Happy Fun Murder Dungeon is a highly obnoxious and mildly ridiculous collection of traps, combat and puzzles designed to test your players' wits and patience. It is optimised for a group of four to five 3rd level players, but the text also contains a guide for level adjustments for different sized groups.
Monster hunting is a noble profession for only the bravest adventurers. But when a monster queen hires the party to reunite her family and restore her honor, the traditional methods of death and dismemberment are no longer on the table. Melusine is missing her children and the party must recover them all alive.
Surviving the shipwreck is easy; living through the wizardly bet afterward is not. Their game could mean your lives. A storm caused the PCs' vessel to sink and is now forcing them to seek shelter in the keep on the remote isle. Their goal is to locate a boat or some other means of transportation to return to the mainland after the storm has passed. But first, they must survive the tests and traps the island's inhabitants have set for them. Pgs. 45-64
Base of Operations is a short adventure intended for four 5th-level characters. DMs can easily modify the adventure to suit higher- or lower-level adventurers, or larger or smaller parties of adventurers. Simply adding a few monsters to every encounter area makes the adventure more challenging for larger parties, and adding levels to any of the humanoids can make them more of a threat to high-level groups. For low-level adventurers, make the relationship between the two factions within Brightstone Keep more strained, and take away a few monsters from each group. You can remove levels from some of the humanoids in the adventure to make it a lower-level challenge, but it is important that the orc cleric (described in encounter area 8) still have the ability to animate the dead. Still, he can have fewer minions around him when encountered, and that makes him less of a challenge for a lowlevel party.
A snow hag lair suitable for four or five 7th-level characters. Mother Rime lives north of a small fishing village in the far cold north. For years she's hidden her true nature from the townsfolk, appearing as an old benevolent wild-woman to the town. When one of Mother Rime's 'children' break from her cold-hearted ways, adventurer's are sought to seek to correct the evil in the north.
The nefarious master wrestler Dib, the goblin, is "terrorizing" the streets of the town (or city). Since his defeat in his roadside fortress, the would-be chieftain has plotted his revenge. Gathering to him a new batch of dim minions, Dib has transformed a stolen merchant wagon into a machine of war. The wagon is powered by several goblins inside who, while devoted to Dib, lack the strength to pedal the thing quickly or consistently. Dib's plan to wreak a path of havoc through the streets has resulted in something a bit more disappointing. In this light-hearted and quirky adventure for four first- or second-level PCs, the party must confront the war wagon, gain entry to it, and defeat its defenders—the lives of several potted plants and a few market stalls depend on it!
Beneath Castle Bergfried lies the vault of the grief-struck Baron – heavily infested with a crystalline virus from the past. Here an adventure party must choose between rival forces that seek to explore the vault and decide the future of the Inside World. ‘Vault of the Mad Baron’ is the second installment in a series of three modules in the Inner World. It can be played as a stand-alone adventure or be added as a small barony to an ongoing campaign. The scenario can be used with Swords & Wizardry or any other early variant of game rules and is suitable for PCs level 2-5. Inside you will find: A 60+ page old-school module with a layout optimized for fast and easy interfacing. An adaptable barony complete with town, castle and dungeon. Unique districts with encounters and sights. 6 major factions fully detailed with headquarter, plans, and missions for the PCs. Detailed description of a castle and associated dungeon levels. Downloadable maps for both players and the Referee. Locations allowing the PCs to travel to another era within the setting. Unique new creatures and magic items.
Please come right in. What can we get started for you? We’re so sorry about that noisy eyesore across the street. I assure you, steps are being taken to solve that little nuisance. Oh yes. Steps are being taken. We have some lovely new teas in from far-away lands. Very mild but oh so delicious. And our cook just took some gorgeous biscuits out of the oven. I’ll bring you some to nibble. Now I need to run down to the basement for some more linens. I won’t be gone long, but my girls will take care of you while I’m away. And I’ll get that racket across the street taken care of. Yes, I most certainly will. Miss Teree runs a elegant teahouse in the upscale part of the city. But when a kobold, Sug, buys the inn across the street, her sales plummet. But then Sug starts finding rats in his basement, and they somehow manage to kill his bouncer. Sug suspects Miss Teree has something to do with his bouncers death, but he needs help figuring out how.
The rich merchant Quintus Felerius has not slept in a week. He is paranoid of vengeful nightmare wraiths that seek to kill him in his sleep. Exhausted and delirious from his lack of sleep he hires experienced adventurers to stand guard in his bedroom while he sleeps. Little do they know that the curse upon Quintus is about to sweep them into the Nighmare Zone of the vengeful Ikari... Nightmare Zone of the Ikari is a Shadowdark RPG adventure designed for 7th level characters that takes them inside the mind of their troubled patron after he and his previous mercenaries were cursed by a vengeful Oneiromancer. Explore his troubled past and see if you can keep him from panicking and taking all of your minds with him. The adventure is designed as a oneshot, but can be incorporated into an ongoing campaign pretty easily since it takes place in another dimension.
This quest is for a party whose members all perished in the same encounter. The loss of an entire party is hard to recover from and often spells the end of an adventure. However, with the assistance of the enigmatic Raven Queen, the party’s tale might not be over just yet. The characters must wander through the Fortress of Memories; confront their pasts, present selves, and possible futures to return to life. Includes a quest-related NPC that a player can control if they're waiting for their character to be resurrected.
As you begin your path to adventuring fame, fate brings you a gift. The military is attacking a humanoid army not too far away but their powerful force has splintered the insurgents. Different groups of aggressive humanoids are now off on their own and the military is overwhelmed trying to track them down. Word has it that one such group is headed to the revered Oracle at Nyo! Your time has come and fame is within reach!
A wizard's hideous transformation spells trouble for the kingdom of Nyrond. A D&D adventure for 5th-level PCs but adaptable for levels 2-8.