Settling down as the sky turns black with rest, you gather by the heated campfire and swap stories to pass the night. You hear tales of wonder and worry, descriptions of distant lands, plants, and beasts. Exchanged this night are stories of thieving travellers, worried giants, and godly squabbles. Ever wanted small stories to make travel more interesting than random encounters? Ever just wanted to run shorter games? Maybe you’re just low on prep time for your next session. In this volume of campfire tales you’ll find eight half-a-session length adventures that help with all these classic DM worries. Also included is an in-depth appendix of fauna, flora, locations, and more to help boost your game.
The players get more than they bargain for when answering a night-time call for assistance from a mutual friend. Can they escape the githyanki prison known as the Crucible and find their way home from the Astral Plane? Designed for characters of 5th to 9th level, the Crucible can be played as a standalone one shot adventure, or as the first in a four part series of connected one shots that see the party fight their way to hell and back.
At the request of a stranded djinni, you have three days to steal a diamond from the marbled, enchanted vaults of the Modern Artworks Museum. Investigate its defenses, disable magical wards, bamboozle the staff, battle a golem, and escape with the prize! A group that succeeds is rewarded with a single wish - the power to bring about almost anything you desire. Highlights of the adventure include (and are not limited to): - An alternate skill check system that keeps clumsy characters involved in the heist - A fight to the death with fantasy Botticelli's Birth of Venus - The Modern Artworks Museum, a trove of sculpture, frescoes and tapestries - Museum events: sketch and sip, a gala, seminars! - Museum brochure, including handy map and exhibit descriptions - A wish Clever and light-hearted, Diamond Heist adds brains and Renaissance style to any urban campaign. This adventure centers exploration, planning and roleplay. Players match wits against various spell effects, discovering and disabling magical wards to access their prize. A cumulative alarm level system replaces pass/fail steath skill checks, so one bad role doesn't ruin the heist. The artworks described are based on those of Renaissance Italy, with frescoes, marble sculpture, and haughty nobles aplenty. Content warnings: Death of a loved one, mentioned.
Adventures in Hawk's Rest is a love letter to low-level D&D: Studio Ghibli meets the Shire meets Lost Mine of Phandelver. An open-world hexcrawl for characters of 1st to 2nd level, Hawk's Rest is intended as a prologue to a longer campaign, with seven keyed adventure sites and fantastic maps by Dungeon Baker (How to Defend Your Lair, The Lazy DM's Companion). Hawk's Rest is written for new and veteran players alike but avoids the usual pitfalls associated with 1st-level adventures: not only are encounters balanced to avoid character death, but most combats can be avoided entirely with clever roleplaying.
Long ago, before the arrival of civilized humanoids, a large colony of ogres thrived in the local area. When a great invasion from another dimension threatened this colony, their king, Koptila, prayed for his people to be spared. The gods heard these pleas, but commanded Koptila to sacrifice himself. The leader did so, and the clan disappeared—whisked away by the gods and lost to time. Over the years, a city grew up above the former subterranean home of the ogres, and no aspect of Koptila’s ancient bargain was preserved or remembered. Even so, the stars are aligned for the return of Koptila and his people. These powerful repatriates are unlikely to appreciate the changes in their old home. A sage has found dusty documents prophesying this return, and he asks the PCs to investigate the catacombs to defeat the potential threat to the city. The PCs travel down through city sewers and subterranean passages before finding the catacombs that the ogre colony once called home. Pgs. 48-53
The Wizard's Assistant is a Tier 1 adventure for Dungeons & Dragons 5e. This adventure is designed to be accessible to both new and experienced Dungeon Masters, as well as players of all ages. Characters start at level 1 and end at level 5 - with plenty of possibilities for continuing the story after! The Wizard's Assistant starts simply, in the lonely village of Newfall. The wizard Iolanthe lives in Newfall with her assistant and romantic partner Diana, but Diana's hidden past is closing in. Adventurers come together over a seemingly simple task, only to find themselves embroiled in the machinations of a sinister gang. Can they locate Diana before her secrets tear her and Iolanthe apart? This game includes details of several locations, but can easily be adapted to nearly any setting.
A whispered voice calls from a coffin bound in chains, urging the heroes into the depths of the Shudder Mountains, a place rife with superstition and forlorn secrets. In the shadowy, pine-grown valleys of the Deep Hollows lurk mysteries of a bygone age and a new evil emerging from the ruins of the past. The adventurers must plumb the mountains’ secluded reaches to root out this rising terror before its power comes to fruition. Standing in their path are cackling witches, subtle devils, lingering spirits, and a foul thing that moves in the night. Can the heroes appease that which lies within the Chained Coffin and thwart the dawn of a new and terrible age?
Beginning in the prison of the Castellan of Whitecliff, this campaign arc takes the players from level one to four, presented as a sandbox area in a lonely and gritty peninsula full of villains and opportunities for the players to explore. Much like Stonehell, but for regional play. Published by Coldlight Press
A "web Enhancement" adventure for the D&D 3.5 Frostburn supplement. Arctic / Frostfell / Cold Several decades ago, a down-on-his-luck half-elf known as Captain Kerakes lost his ship after a run of bad luck in a game of dice. So when an investor approached him with an offer of a new ship and three-month mission, he jumped at the chance. His new employer was a rich but somewhat miserly nobleman named Jarren Skein. Having heard rumors of the glacier dwarves and their amazing weaponcraft, he had become obsessed with obtaining some of their weapons as trophies. Skein made Kerakes the captain of a ship called the Rusty Walrus and promised him a sizeable commission upon his return with the desired glacier dwarf weapons. The PCs must board the wreck of the Rusty Walrus and defeat the undead that infest it. Later, the ghost of Captain Kerakes begins to wreak vengeance on Jarren Skein s heirs. The PCs must determine the reason for the string of murders and track down the perpetrator.
Long ago, a small but mighty humanoid kingdom existed in what is now the local wilderness. Bugbear and ogre warriors fought brutal wars of expansion, earning great fame and amassing considerable fortunes from their predations. Those who died in battle were buried in large tomb complexes dug into hillsides and honored as patrons of the living. Among these tombs was the large tor known as Hightower. Though it was neither the largest nor the most famous of the kingdom's tombs, Hightower did represent a typical example of this kind of structure. As happens to all such nations, the cruel humanoid kingdom eventually fell to a more powerful foe that razed all its cities and outlying fortifications. Of the tombs, only Hightower escaped destruction -- largely because it was an unimportant monument in a remote location. A few tribes of humanoids that survived the devastation tried to use it as a fortress, but the humans with whom they clashed defeated them soundly and sealed the entrance with a huge, round stone to ensure that the tor could no longer be used as a base. Since then, Hightower has served as a landmark for travellers in the know, but it has otherwise been largely forgotten. But the electrical storms that have plagued the area in recent days have been quite severe, and a few weeks ago, a stray lightning bolt broke open the stone seal. Tonight, yet another terrible storm is sweeping through the wilderness, driving all creatures to take shelter where they can find it. Hightower looms on the horizon, and its door is no longer blocked. Will the PCs dare to enter its silent halls?
An ettercap and its flock of spiders invade an unspoiled forest protected by sprites. The sprites, desperate for help, recruit a party of adventures to aid them.
Uncover the curious tale... When the party are shipwrecked they take shelter in an old forgotten cottage. They soon find themselves uncovering the mysterious death. One thing is for sure, they are not alone... Back to the sea is a 3-5 hour one shot, recommended for Level 3-4 adventurers. It offers a refreshing and different look at Ghosts in D&D. Contains 3 beautiful original digitally illustrated Maps. Unique Monsters and interesting combat scenario. Encourages player creativity and problem solving. Screen reader version.
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
You are hired by a mine operator to retrieve the mine's gnomish engineer who has barricaded himself in the mine's lower reaches. But there's more going on than just a crazy gnome and his robots sabotaging the mine. You'll need to explore the forest, build alliances, and brave a rollercoaster ride on a mine cart to get to the bottom of this adventure (pun intended). This is a gamebook-style solo adventure that you can play in your browser. You make a 2nd level character sheet, roll your own dice, keep up with your inventory, spells, and HP, and are on your honor to be honest. It's all text-based with some public domain illustrations, and you click on options as you make decisions and roll the dice.
The Domes of Ishaq-Zahur adventure is a tabletop roleplaying game module for 5th Edition D&D and Pathfinder featuring challenging combat and traps, a gamut of mind-bending puzzles, a completely custom cast of NPCs and monsters, detailed backstory and plot, and guidelines detailing the best ways to run the sessions standalone or incorporate it into your ongoing campaign. Domes of Ishaq-Zahur introduces the players and characters to a dangerous desert world and the elusive history of the precursor races. Part 1 of the Fate of the Forebears Adventure Path Produced by 2CGaming
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
After arriving at a seemingly abandoned trading post, the heroes discover to their horror that all the inhabitants have been transformed into black trees! Upon further investigation, they find clues that lead them to the hidden lair of Nockmort, a treant gone bad. Nockmort has been transformed by the strange radiation of a meteorite he discovered, and now he is a terrible force of evil. The characters must enter his sunless garden to save the town. And along the way they just might discover fabulous treasure...
An Adventure for 0-Level Characters Remember the good old days, when adventures were underground, NPCs were there to be killed, and the finale of every dungeon was the dragon on the 20th level? Those days are back. Dungeon Crawl Classics don’t waste your time with long-winded speeches, weird campaign settings, or NPCs who aren’t meant to be killed. Each adventure is 100% good, solid dungeon crawl, with the monsters you know, the traps you fear, and the secret doors you know are there somewhere. For the past few years, an ogre that lairs in a cave near the wilderness town of Dundraville has demanded tributes of ale and supplies. The villagers were happy to comply, lest the brute attack them or destroy their property. But recently, the ogre changed his demands. Now he wants gold, building supplies — and captives! When the ogre walked into town only to have his request denied, he flew into a rage. The brute dragged two townsfolk off to his cave, to be eaten for sure! The villagers have no heroes to protect them — so someone must rise to the challenge! Six determined townsfolk have taken justice into their own hands. Can these village commoners defeat the ogre in his own lair before their fellows are eaten?
Barrow of the Culder is the initial adventure in the dangerous land of Provincia. Carrying on from this month’s free adventure, this scenario brings the adventuring party together in the small community of Merrydale. Two PCs will be meeting on the hill outside of town and then move forward to find additional members of the group as well as their first challenge. One PC will have received a job to find a missing minor artifact and have orders to gather any assistance…hence the party forms and has a common goal! After gathering their equipment they will follow a hidden trail to the final resting place of the feared warlord named the Culder.
The tomb of an ancient hero, lost in the tangled depths of the woods. A ring of standing stones, warded by the sinister Drune cult. A fairy princess who watches with timeless patience from beyond the veil of the mortal. A forgotten treasure that holds the key to her heart. Winter's Daughter is a romantic fairy-tale dungeon adventure set in the creepy old forest of Dolmenwood. Published by Necrotic Gnome