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.
It all begins with a simple request (doesn’t it always?) from an old farmer. The request – protect his cattle herd from vicious wolves. Simple enough for the brave adventurers, right? But it doesn’t stay that way. Not at all. Soon, the adventuring party will find themselves in the thick of it as they solve puzzles, avoid traps, fight for their lives, and endure witty taunting. And in the end, they discover an artifact that may, or may not, be useful to them. This adventure includes a cursed shield, a new undead creature, and a new artifact. Total party experience earned is approximately 14,500.
𝐍𝐨𝐰 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚𝐧 𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐛𝐲 𝐂𝐇𝐑𝐈𝐒 𝐇𝐎𝐋𝐌𝐄𝐒 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚 𝐏𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐑-𝐅𝐑𝐈𝐄𝐍𝐃𝐋𝐘 𝐃𝐔𝐍𝐆𝐄𝐎𝐍 𝐌𝐀𝐏! 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐑𝐔𝐈𝐍𝐄𝐃 𝐓𝐎𝐖𝐄𝐑 𝐎𝐅 𝐙𝐄𝐍𝐎𝐏𝐔𝐒 is a fifth edition (5E) conversion of the ground-breaking introductory adventure for Dungeons & Dragons that served as a DM aid in the first 𝐃&𝐃 𝐁𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐜 𝐒𝐞𝐭, released by TSR in 1977. This set included a 48-page rulebook covering the first three levels of play, and was skillfully edited by 𝐃𝐫. 𝐉. 𝐄𝐫𝐢𝐜 𝐇𝐨𝐥𝐦𝐞𝐬 from the original 1974 D&D rules written by 𝐆𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐆𝐲𝐠𝐚𝐱 and 𝐃𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐀𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐨𝐧. Holmes advanced the "Sample Dungeon" concept by writing a new thematic dungeon with a strong backstory, creating an adventure that has remained a fan favorite over the decades. Officially, its only title is "Sample Dungeon" but colloquially it goes by various names based on Zenopus, the doomed wizard who built the dungeon under his tower. An adventure for 1st to 2nd level characters; four pregenerated characters are included. Also includes ideas for using it as an adventure site in 𝐆𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐭𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐒𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐬𝐡. 𝐍𝐎𝐓𝐄: Using this conversion requires a copy of the original dungeon found in the (1977) Basic D&D rulebook. However, Wizards of the Coast has provided a free pdf of this dungeon since 2008 on their website, see the first page of the pdf for the link. 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐒: Introduction, page 2 The Setting, page 3 About the Dungeon, page 4 Dungeon Master's Map, page 5 Areas of the Dungeon, pages 6-13 Appendix A: Further Reading, page 13 Appendix B: Dungeon Factions, page 14 Appendix C: Portown Rumors, pages 15-17 Appendix D: Use with Ghosts of Saltmarsh, pages 18-19 Appendix E: Pre-generated 1st level characters, page 20 𝐈𝐧𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐝𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬, 𝐍𝐏𝐂𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐌𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐜 𝐈𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝟓𝐄: Cleaning Cube, Veteran Smuggler, Thaumaturgist, Monstrous Sand Crab, Lemunda, Monstrous Rat, Brazen Head of Zenopus, Verminslayer Longsword, Lesser Wand of Petrification, Scroll of Stone to Flesh The Ruined Tower of Zenopus was featured as part of the "D&D Classics" column in Issue #32 of Dragon+ magazine! Go to 𝐝𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐨𝐧𝐦𝐚𝐠.𝐜𝐨𝐦 or find the link on the Wikipeda page for Dragon magazine. 𝐂𝐑𝐄𝐃𝐈𝐓𝐒: Original Dungeon: J. Eric Holmes Conversion, Added Content & Cartography: Zach Howard Content Review & Editing: Scott McKinley Interior Art: Chris Holmes (“Octopus Attack”, page 9) Cover Art: “Italian Coast Scene with Ruined Tower” by Thomas Cole, 1838. Open Access Image from the National Gallery of Art at images.nga.gov Format: Derived from the “Adventure Template for Open Office/LibreOffice” by Dale Robbins on DMs Guild Dungeon Maps drawn using the application Gridmapper by Alex Schroeder
A One-on-One Competition Module for Thieves Level 8 Your peaceful evening has been interrupted by an unusual request. As a thief, your skills are unmatched, but can you rise to the challenge of thieving for a powerful and frightening wizard? Do you have a choice? The Gem and the Staff is a special One-on-One competition module designed for one player and on Dungeon Master. The Module contains two separate scenarios, so you can switch roles with the other player after the first adventure. Scoring sheets and encounter summaries are provided for each adventure to make running competitions quick and simple. Character figures and a map book are also provided to help visualize the adventures. The player's maps are designed so you can see the rooms as they would appear. Complete DM's Maps are included. TSR 9050
In this adventure, designed to last for a 3-4 hour session, the player characters encounter (or are directed to) a mysterious object in the mountains: A strange, silvery disc around one hundred feet across. If they make it past the deadly laser turrets and the very hungry sole survivor who lurks inside the only viable entry, they can explore the derelict craft. They will find several magic items, including a solar-powered laser pistol, as well as evidence of the ship's dead masters: The brain-eating illithid. But with technology comes other ways to stay alive over long periods of time, and the greatest danger is accessed by pushing the only lit button in the entire ship...
There are many entrances to the Feywild, but none so grand as appearing before the throne of seelie fey, the Summer Court. The Summer Games, a bestselling mini-arc intended for 5th level characters, introduces a party to court intrigue in the Feywild, headed by Queen Titania with King Oberon at her side. In the tourney the party must navigate unknown dangers, asked by the Summer Queen "How will you win? With skill? With truth? With wit? With wager? Or without? These five tasks lie before you, and you must complete them all to continue." In the hunt your characters must quest for a magical, talking beast. But in the end, will they catch the White Hare, or will they wish they had? In the maze players must navigate a shifting labyrinth riddled with pit traps and Feywild nasties. At the feast the party is presented with their reward for their trials, the payment for being the entertainment at this courtly gathering… or perhaps they’re on the menu. This mini-arc references stat blocks presented in Mordenkainen’s Tome of Foes and the Monster Manual. Also provided within the PDF: download links to VTT and tabletop compatible maps relevant to scenes presented in the Summer Games.
This DnD encounter also provides stats for Pathfinder system The tiny isle of Sandspit is a favorite place to maroon recalcitrant shipmates, for across the bay, the headland falls are visible to castaways. Wicked currents prevent escape from Sandspit, and the unfortunates discarded there slowly die of thirst in sight of the lifegiving waters.
One reason why they call it "the dead of winter." A year ago, a white dragon came out of the mountains north of Polarton, attacking trappers, driving off game, and marauding as it pleased. The dragon is seriously affecting the financial stability of the town. Therefore, the town council has placed a bounty on the dragon. This is a short arctic adventure. Pgs. 15-19
A generic tomb exploration. Usable for a quick one off or random exploration discovery. Sometimes a DM needs a fill-in adventure for when their PC’s go off script. This is a single location low role play adventure that can be inserted anywhere needed.
Oblivion is a town like no other. Situated in a hidden valley within a high mountain range and accessible only via air or a secret tunnel through the mountains, it has remained unknown to all except its inhabitants for uncounted centuries. What happens when a natural disaster exposes the town to the world and lets loose an ancient danger at the same time? Will the PCs aid those in need?
A cadre of githyanki has come to the world in search of rich plunder and soft targets. It has set up a base in the lower levels of an abandoned fortress ruin. A caravan of travelers spotted a githyanki while it hunted for food. Rumors of an invading army from the Astral Sea quickly spread through nearby towns, and the PCs have arrived to investigate. Pgs. 84-89
The Thieves Guild Ebonclad has learned of a construct that would make an ideal guardian or soldier. Unfortunately the constructs creator is looking to sell this to The Crown. It is in Ebonclad's best interest to intercept this construct before its abilities can be demonstrated. The party plays the role of a group of saboteurs, required to sabotage or destroy a construct named Marx before it can be demonstrated to The Crown in less than a day’s time. The mission’s primary objective is to locate the construct Marx and destroy or sabotage it. If Marx is destroyed outright, the party will need a patsy to pin the crime on. If possible, the party should steal Eva Dalphane’s schematics for Marx, as well as investigate how the artificer brought the construct into the city undetected.
Great riches and sudden death, free for the taking. The owners of the vault dared all looters to test their wits against it. Hundreds of years later, the vault is still unopened. Now, it's your turn to try to get in. A heavily trapped vault containing a whole lot of treasure. Little combat. Pgs. 41-46
INTRODUCTION Some say the world is dying. Others say the desert is growing. In either case, merchants and princes always desire new ways to cross the Great Sand Sea. Today, someone has found a way to fly over it. Who will tempt fate and join the maiden voyage of the Desert Angel? No one knows what dangers or treasure have lain hidden in the heart of the desert for all these eons. If you survive, you will be the first. ONE-SHOT This adventure is intended as a one-shot, but it can easily be inserted into a campaign. Any time your players wish to travel to a distant city, you can simply say there is a large desert in their way, but luckily there is a new flying ship they can travel on. Good luck with that! DESIGN NOTES This adventure is intended for low-level characters (1-3). It is primarily geared for social encounters and combat. It runs 2 to 5 hours. Players ride a flying ship across the desert. Monsters attack. Passengers plot treachery. Mysterious locations appear. You can keep the tone serious or play up this ridiculous sequence of disasters for laughs.
When an ill-favored orb drops from the sky and devastates the countryside, only the PCs stand between an ambitious wizard, a cult of dragons, and a dark ambition that could bring an army of fiendish wyrms into your campaign world! "The screams became overpowered by the sound of the terrible falling star--a black orb of malign energy hurled from the firmament in the dead of night. In that instant, the village of Rhale was utterly destroyed, reduced to a hollow crater of flaming decay. Now, frightened talk of a dark presence descended from above has taken root, though none can put name to the faceless fear that might reside within this terrible orb." While traveling the countryside, the player characters witness an explosive event - the falling of a meteor into a distant hillside. Soon thereafter, they encounter several mercenaries menacing some refugees. From them, the PCs can learn, that a group of dragon worshippers called the Black Covenant are in the area and intend to use the fallen star for their own nefarious purposes. Upon arriving at the crater, the PCs find that the falling star is in fact a massive sphere of iron with an opening in its side. They enter the sphere to find a small complex of rooms protected by numerous traps and guardians. They also battle several members of the Black Covenant, until they make their way to the heart of the complex, where they discover the source of the Covenant's interest in the Black Egg, they try to use it to create a half-fiend red dragon. The PCs must succeed if they wish to prevent the creation of an army of fiendish dragons. Lot's of monstrous NPCs with class levels and templates for enemies (half-black dragon orc warriors level 7, for example) are used in this adventure. Pgs. 57-78
It's like a 'Legend of Zelda' puzzle dungeon, but instead of Link, you play as a group of grubby grave robbers. Also, there's way more eyeball stuff. Puzzle Dungeon: The Seers Sanctum is a system neutral adventure for characters of level 1 to 4. It will work with any old school games like Old School Essentials or B/X or the most recent version of the world's most popular roleplaying game. What's in it: * 10 room dungeon crawl where each location has its own mysteries to poke and experiment with * Cohesive puzzles that build on each other * Lets players to discover their own solutions in true OSR fashion * Magic items and equipment that change how the players interact with their environment and previously explored areas * Use as a 4-6 hour one-shot or the start to a planar hopping campaign for wherever you'd like to go
A friendly little cottage and a dreadful secret. As the adventure begins, the PCs are on a journey through temperate, wilderness hills -- perhaps toward a destination of importance in the ongoing campaign, or they might merely be wandering in search of heroic opportunities. Pgs. 20-25
The PCs have traveled to the Nine Hells to confront an outpost of devils responsible for slave raids on their homeland. In this realm of burning ash and fire-streaked skies, the infernal legions prepare constantly for war. Pgs. 138-143
The giants are only a half-mile away - straight up. Giants and humanoids that sail down from the heavens? Where could they be coming from? No base town or general area map has been provided, as this adventure can take place anywhere and can be easily integrated into any existing campaign.The DM should make sure that the town in which the PCs start is large enough to provide most anticipated supplies, spells, and services. This module is not a simple hack·and slay expedition. It also involves diplomacy and wit; if the PCs attack everything in sight, they may be destroyed. But the adventure is not entirely negotiation, for it has a good share of hearty dungeon exploration as well. Pgs. 4-23
This strange fruit has an unusual aftertaste. That horrible blue, bug-eyed monster you just fought - was it really an orc? An alchemist hires the party to gather as many moonmelons as possible for his own experiements. This strange fruit causes random mutations in the offspring of those that eat it. Unfortunately, it can only be found in the domain of a strange and mutated orc tribe. Pgs. 24-31