The island of Merehurst was once a bustling center for trade. But this was not to last, for in one single deadly night sixty years ago all the people and the animals of the town died - collapsing where they stood. The neighboring villagers of Coombe claimed that the miners dug too deeply into Ynyswel and the spirit of the isle was offended. The island gained a fearsome reputation and only the bravest would dare set foot upon its forested grounds. Yesterday strange lights were seen in the sky over the island and Ynyswel started smoking. The villagers can wait no longer. Brave adventurers must be found who are willing to investigate the Isle of Merehurst to either appease or oppose what lies behind the latest mysterious activities. Advanced Adventures #3 The Horror of Merehurst is an OSRIC(tm) module designed for 6-10 adventurers of 1st level.
A quick-paced exploration of the magic tower, home to the great Solomon, the Master Conjurer, an expert in fiendology. Adventurers have to find Control Orbs to disable the tower's security system before it destroys them, and discover the secrets of the tower in the process. Their progress will be ushered by a seemingly helpful entity with nefarious intent - Zarloxar, the blue Abishai. The success of adventurers could also finally spell freedom to the fiend... or not if players, under stress, will realize the trickery in time. Part of "Detailed Encounter" series - each "Detailed Encounter" - features new monsters with unique stat blocks, new magic items, a custom battle map, and detailed NPCs. It also has story hooks and advice enough, to quickly turn it into a separate adventure!
"The first raid on our village happened a little over 3 months ago. We awoke in the morning to discover that the Cooper family's house at the edge of town had been sacked in the entire family was missing," croaks Obed, the village elder. "We mounted a search party, but found no trace of them." The old man lifts his gaze to the west woods. "After the third such attack, we sent a messenger to seek aid from one of the larger towns nearby. He never returned." He turns back to face your party and continues, "We had no idea who or what was attacking our village... Until last week. Creatures in black robes drifted out of the woods to the west and began setting houses on fire. Then, they seized four of our bravest men and carried them, screaming, into the mists." Obed throws his mug of ale into the fire, suddenly angry, "The only creature capable of this evil is the Barrow King, who lives in the burial mounds to the west. But I swear, we have done nothing to focus his anger upon us, nothing!" Warily, the elder stands, leaning heavily on his walking stick. Slowly, he lifts it, pointing at each one of you in turn. "If it is the Barrow King, God help us!"
A unique skill-challenge focused adventure on a perilous cliff wall! A rift descending adventure where certain doom is mere inches away at any given moment.
Lured by a scroll where the long dead sorcerer Urgaan boasts about treasures hidden in his tower, the PCs arrive at the outpost near the Awaroth Woods. A 1 page adventure for OSR style games.
A bizarre journey into the realm of sleep. A casual visit to a living, nightmare theater. The King sends the party to speak to the Oracle, a Titan named Andromicus and ask about the fate of the kingdom. But the titan is asleep and sleeping he draws the heroes into his dream! This very weird adventure imagines the titan is dreaming three different five act plays whose stories intertwine and intermix randomly. The heroes find themselves in a random act of a random play and must "solve" the central tension of the act to put the Titan's mind at ease and move on to the next Act. Once they solved five different acts (which may happen out of order and each be from different stories) they exit the dream and the Titan wakes, allowing the players to ask the Titan Oracle a question. Some acts are short roleplaying encounters, some are full on combat scenarios. While the players can earn experience, and might get some cash, any magic items they find are illusory! A unique adventure with a lot of promise for an open-minded DM. Seems very like a classic Star Trek episode and in fact follows many of the same rules about Gods and Dreams. Pgs. 5-15
Thirteen generations ago, the ambitious first Duke of Magnussen made a fell pact with an unknown power, who asked for but one thing in return: the thirteenth daughter born to a Magnussen duke. Now, generations hence, the daughter of Duke Magnussen XIII is stolen away by a hooded executioner riding a leathery beast. As it wings back across the city walls to drop behind the Duke’s mountain-top keep, all who watch know it alights in the Magnussen family crypts, where the devilish secrets of thirteen generations have been buried and forgotten – until now… This adventure module also includes The Balance Blade, a short level 2 adventure in which a wizard’s patron makes a simple request: travel to another plane to retrieve a legendary blade of neutrality. But once the journey is in motion, the wizard finds that not all is as it seems!
A group of mysterious, sea raiders— capable of appearing from out of nowhere, striking, and disappearing— has terrorized a group of coastal states for some time. Now the leader of the states has asked the characters to infiltrate the raiders, find out how they operate, and put a stop to their activities. But once the heroes join the raiders, things aren’t as clear as they were led to believe. Will they succeed at their mission? Or join the raiders themselves? Pgs. 54-82
Lowharbor’s residents vanish when they die. A cloud of sour black smoke chokes their corpses and, when it clears, all that remains is a dusting of salt. Something or someone is stealing bodies through magic ritual, and the townsfolk won't stand for it! Send your party into the dank sewers below their feet to root out the necromancer's den of swirling filth! Why should you get this module? Skulking horrors and excitable clerics! Seven brand new monsters, including a low level mythic statblock! New disease rules! A mysterious threat! Six hours of play! Lavish presentation! A fantastic adventure for 5th-level players! Dead Ends is best for 5th-level players. It might be a little tough, but still winnable, for 4th-level, and should be fine for anything up to 8th-level.
Dreams of the sleeping wizard seep into reality. Manifest familiars war over the fate of a remote islet. An infinite garden houses an escaped experiment. The god of purity is fooled for his blessings. Into the nightmare we go. 16 pages contain 3000+ words describing 10+ keyed areas to explore (complete the wandering monsters table), 10+ friends and foes to talk to, 10 magic items to use, and thousands of gold worth of treasure to plunder. The adventure is designed for B/X, or like-systems. It is suitable for 4 to 6 characters of levels 1 to 3. It is heavily inspired by the dungeon synth album The Sleeping Wizard by Umbría, which may serve as a soundtrack.
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
"A series of disturbances plagues the Dyn Singh Night Market, an endlessly changing maze of stalls filled with incredible wares, enticing smells, and magical lights. Accusations fly as the characters become entangled in a feud between the well-respected Tyenmo and Xungoon merchant families of the Siabsungkoh valley. To prevent the families' conflict from escalating, the characters must earn the trust of the market's vendors and gain their help to unmask who's behind a rash of vandalism and thefts."
Centuries past, Lady Ilse ascended to scion of House Liis by trading the archdevil Mammon what he wanted most: her immortal soul – and a diabolical betrothal. The triumph proved hollow, for every year on the eve of her fell covenant, she was beset by visions of Mammon and her foul promise. Seeking to save herself, she was buried alive, swaddled in the holy symbols of a dozen divergent faiths. This desperate ploy held Mammon at bay for centuries…but a devil can afford to wait a very long time. After hundreds of years, the last of the holy wards has fallen. The devil has come to collect his due. Tonight a storm crashes against the ancient manor house and forgotten spirits rise from the muck and mire. The fallen belfry tolls once more, announcing the hellish fete. As the adventurers arrive to explore the Black Manse, Mammon calls for his winsome bride. He will leave with a soul at the end of the night. The only question is: Whose?
Long abandoned and all but forgotten, Ridgeway Watch has fallen to lawless hands. Travellers talk of ambushes on the high pass, but few dare challenge Kessel’s gang. Can the heroes reclaim the ruin, or will they join the list of the missing?
Ten years ago, the local hunting lodge was shuttered after a series of tragic accidents. Now, a local lord has hired the adventurers to investigate the site. The catch: a medusa has been running an exotic creature smuggling ring out of the abandoned lodge—and was involved with the past tragedy. Pgs. 147-155
A cave-in at the dwarven mine exposed a passage into the eerie, alien world that lies deep below the surface. Monsters poured out of the darkness and killed many before the surviving miners made it back into the light. Now they seek brave adventurers to face the dangers down in the dark depths. As a one shot or the first adventure of a new campaign, The Eyeless in the Dark carries new and experienced players away from the light of the ordinary surface world and down into the fantastical dark depths where here there be monsters. Chock full of adventure, as well as design notes for Dungeon Masters that will help novice and veteran DMs provide their players with an exciting and memorable game night, and leave them eager for the next session. Use this adventure in combination with the Integrated Hill Encounters and/or the Forest and Grasslands to create an open world sandbox of adventures that can fill many sessions of a campaign.
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!
Goblins have taken over the town you live in. They are ransacking each and every building. You must either convince them to leave, or take them down.
The wizard Abracadamus hid the Forever Stone in the darkest depths of a failing mine, coerced monsters into serving as guardians, and rigged the dungeon with traps galore. Then he died, as all good wizards do. Many heroes have fallen prey to the Forever Stone’s lure of immortality. To date, only one stalwart band has plunged into the Mines of Madness and lived to tell the tale. You think you’re better than them? You think you got what it takes to grab life by the stones and conquer the dungeon that won the 2012 Gygaxian Award* for Bonecrushing Awesomeness? We seriously doubt it, but go ahead . . . prove us wrong! Mines of Madness is a Very Special D&D® Next Adventure written for PAX East 2013 and designed for four 3rd-level characters.
Beneath the blood moon, a dark monastery appears for one night atop a high plateau. Inside its walls, the mighty black lotus flower reaches its full bloom. Can the characters steal inside the monastery, defeat its sorcerous guardians, and claim the blossom before the sun rises? Monastery of the Shadow Sorcerers is a fiendish sword-and-sorcery adventure and includes: -An extra-planar monastery brooding beneath the blood moon -Sorcerer-monks who move like smoke and strike with fire and blade -Combat cards for each monster, PC, and special treasure -High-quality digital maps for use with virtual table tops