Kobolds. To some, that name means “a tiny creature that dies easily”. To others, that name invokes fear and dread of a relentless, diabolical nightmare. This adventure introduces you to the latter. If your party is unlucky enough to enter the kobold-infested mountain, they will wish they hadn’t after triggering traps around every corner. And if that doesn’t discourage them, the red dragon surely will.
Long ago, a local priest created a warded graveyard on a remote hillside. As the years passed, it gained a reputation as a spot whose defenses were powerful enough to keep undead in and tomb robbers out. Adventurers began to bring the remains of any creatures they suspected might become restless in death to the Tomb Steppe for interment, and in time they also sought aid against such creatures from the friendly priest. After his death, a brief spate of undead activity commenced, then died away once again. As the years passed, the tales of undead activity in the Tomb Steppe faded into legend, and colonists began to move into the lands nearby. The town of Night Falls was founded a short distance from the graveyard, and it grew quickly into a thriving trade center and farming community. Realizing that the Tomb Steppe was safe enough during the day, the citizens began burying their dead there rather than building new crypts on pristine farmland. Because this method of interment was cheap and easy, people from many surrounding communities brought their dead to the town as well. The business of burial brought new prosperity to Night Falls, and a guild called the Funerary House sprang up to control the trade. But it seems that the threat from the Tomb Steppe has not entirely been laid to rest. The Great Mausoleum -- the largest and finest tomb in the steppe, has been unsealed, and an apparition has been seen within. Who will go to the Tomb Steppe by night and reseal the tomb? Lest Darkness Rise is a short adventure for four 7th-level characters. In keeping with the season, it has a stronger horror theme than most D&D adventures. This scenario can be used as the climax of a series of adventures featuring its secondary characters, or it can simply be a site-based adventure that the PCs stumble across at the right moment. The scenario is set in a semi-civilized area in the far north, far from cities and churches, where winters are harsh and summers never get very hot. These inhospitable conditions have resulted in a low humanoid population. The scenario need not be set in such a wilderness; a rural farming community far from cities works just as well. The only real requirement is that the area have few settlements. The action takes place in the small town of Night Falls and a nearby necropolis of tombs, mausoleums, and graves known as the Tomb Steppe. As always, feel free to adapt the material presented here as you see fit to make it work with your campaign.
Lord Falcon’s nest holds a new brood of evil. Falcon’s Peak is an AD&D® game adventure for 5-8 characters of 1st-3rd level. The party should include a thief and at least one experienced cleric; a ranger would also be of help. The use of stealth and silvered or magical weapons is advised.
Not all evil spawns in ancient ruins or on fiendish planes. Sometimes, all corruption needs to take root is a jealous memory, cultivated bitterness, and a lonely place to bloom. An elusive killer is leaving a trail of noble blood across the city. When the PCs are recruited to protect an influential spinster, they discover that more is afoot at Dromdal House than anyone suspects. In fact, they may be the ones who need protection, from their aging ward. Pgs. 18-28
As you move throughout the countryside a rider appears in the distance and begins to close quickly. Hand going to your weapons you ready yourself for danger but notice the rider is very young. Timmy Little introduces himself and warns you of a bout of Goblin-Pox at his village. Many people are sick and need help. Timmy says he and other young people have been sent out to find heroes to save the town and asks if you can help. While the boy cannot provide a great deal of information on the malady he advises you that the people of Troburtandban who aren’t sick can help with information. Once you agree he rides off to find additional help.
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!
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.
The prince's godmother commissions you to retrieve the prince's jade crown, held in the tower of the vampire! The vampire's tower has three levels, and the three-level dungeon below 45 rooms. The party must be wary! Lethal traps abound. Marching order is important. A straight-forward dungeon crawl with many Gygaxian rooms and encounters. No roleplaying to speak of. Pgs. 4-18
The shifting desert sands have revealed an ancient obelisk from a forgotten age, an obsidian monolith whose presence is having an unsettling effect on the surrounding desert. Ancient dead arise from the dunes, dangerous jackalweres launch attacks on caravans and villages, and the mysterious Order of the Obsidian Eye has flocked to the unearthed ruin for reasons no doubt dire. What monstrous portents do these events foretell?
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 widening the dead magic areas and increasing the number and power of constructs and undead that inhabit the complex. The PCs had just entered the Forsaken Temple's crypt in the last episode. Now they can begin to penetrate deeper into the crypt, discovering more of its hidden dangers.
The Creepy Handshake is a dark comedy 5e micro-adventure of urban investigation. Wander around the city, investigate the latest robberies, and uncover the mystery of a strange lost pet. This adventure is part of the supplement Tiny Weird Adventures - Urban Edition, a collection of short adventures to be used in conjunction with the fifth edition of the most popular fantasy RPG of recent times. Although it was written with a system in mind, it can be easily adapted to any other medieval fantasy RPG.
Far from shore, in the cold depths of the ocean, lies a legendary whirlpool, five fathoms wide, hungry for sailors, their ships, and their goods. By its side sits a man-eating monster, many-headed and hungry for any who escape the maelstrom. But beneath these perils are the ruins of a palace, rumored to be filled with treasure beyond imagining and, maybe, a history of secrets lost to time beneath the waves. In the midst of a storm, the party’s ship is caught in a strong current. The whirlpool traps them inside of the ruins of an underwater palace, which was once home to a group of nymphs and now is the last vestige of the story of how the nymph Scylla was transformed into the infamous peril she is today. Pgs. 165-171
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
"The end times approach. To everything there is a season. Every campaign has to come to an end sometime, so why not go out with a bang? The Apocalypse Stone is an epic adventure to challenge high-level characters, but beware, it will destroy your world. This adventure has it all: gods and devils, plague and pestilence, rains of fire, and world-shattering conflicts. Here is an opportunity for PCs to display undreamt-of heroism. . . or fall to ultimate defeat. The Apocalypse Stone is a tool for Dungeon Masters to present extremely challenging encounters for high-level parties, to wrap up a long-running campaign. . .or both. This adventure is a literal universe-ender. Past a certain point in the campaign, there is nothing the players can do. The world *will* end.
Long ago, when the Dragonborn Empire of Arkhosia thrived, the flying citadel Ustraternes was undone by tiefling magic. Now, a dragonborn zealot with dreams of renewing the lost glory of his ancestors explores the ruins—and unleashes a plague of rampaging drakes on the terrified locals. The story offers PC's the chance to tame a Warwing Drake, disperse a mob, parley with undead, and battle within an alpine meadow that defies gravity.
Deep in the swamp, villagers claim something unnatural is happening at a large manor on the edge of town. A suspicious owner whose wife died years ago is attempting something dark and terrible, and it's up to the party to stop him. The true fun of this adventure lies in the house itself, which is filled with hidden references and homages to the works of Edgar Allan Poe, with the author himself filling the role as the suspicious home owner.
Lord Dragle was set to auction off his most recent discovery, the Shroud of Olindor. The elven relic was certain to make Dragle a wealthy man. Such a pity he had to die. But the plot surrounding Dragle’s death is far more layered than it appears. It is up to the player character to discover the hidden motives and ultimately recover the Shroud of Olindor. Part 2 of the Olindor Trilogy.
A 4-hour adventure for 9th-10th level characters A sleepy lakeside village wreathed in fog, rumors of a lake monster, local disappearances, a band of assassins terrorizing the city, and a travelling circus sideshow that seems to be at the center of it all. “Come one, come all to the greatest show in the world! Step right up, ladies and lords, to see the wonders of the natural and unnatural world! Trained monstrosities from across the globe have been gathered for your amusement and examination! Strongmen, jugglers, acrobats, and sword swallowers join exotic acts and foods from the four corners of the known world and beyond! You, my friend, have the privilege of witnessing the spectacle, the amazement, the wonder of the circus of the stars! Step right up and buy your tickets now before they're all gone! Limited seating is available and no one will be seated once the show has begun!”
What elder evils lurk in the depths of the freezing mountain ruins? Find out in The Stoneheart Ruin! The adventure features: An adventure set in a desolate, wintry mountain landscape. 16 pages full of intrigue and mystery, containing full color maps, plus 2 unique monster stat blocks. Provides a great introduction to Mind Flayer lore and mythos for Tier 1 players. Can easily be set in the Spine of the World for use in Rime of the Frostmaiden. Let your characters test their mettle as they climb and face the ancient dangers lurking in the cracks of The Stoneheart Ruin! “I have no explanation for any of these finds. We heard disturbing noises coming from further within the mountain; thunderous and growling.” Excerpt from a pamphlet, signed: “Koralia Meadring, Anthropologist Extraordinaire” Koralia needs you to investigate her most recent discovery: a ruined cavern deep in the mountains. Her small team of academics did a cursory walk-through and think they've found a big breakthrough! However, they left in a hurry after being frightened by the horrors they heard coming from deeper in the mountain. They escaped and found one of their team was missing - a goliath named Marek. You must climb the mountains and locate the ruin, make certain that it is safe for study by Koralia’s team, and if possible, find and rescue Marek, whose fate is uncertain. Made during the November 2020 RPG Writer's Workshop.
Goblin attacks have always plagued the farmers and merchants who live and travel along the roads leading to Whitesparrow. But a recent rash of new attacks are something different. The goblins of one particular tribe have gotten particularly smart, attacking with careful tactics and cunning ambushes. The village guards haven’t been able to outwit the goblins, even when laying traps of their own and hiring mercenaries to stop them. Even as goblins go, Rosethorn isn’t much to look at. He’s small and runty, and yet a lucky break placed him in charge of the Brownleaf goblin tribe. When he claimed a powerful magic relic from a dead wizard three months ago, Rosethorn found his intellect multiplied many times over. The world began to make a more intricate kind of sense to him, and he saw patterns in the ways other folk traveled the roads. After hiring a spy in Whitesparrow to tell him which wagons to pursue, Rosethorn cunningly bribed the wagons’ guards to throw battles in the goblins’ favor. He then moved the lair of the Brownleaf tribe away from their dank caves and into the ruins of the Bearded Man—an enormous dead tree at the center of the Howling Wood. There, Rosethorn continues his campaign of ambush against the foolish villagers, increasing his wealth and power with each robbery.