338095-Sample.Pdf

Sample file

Credits

Designers: Adrián L. Sanjuán, Juan Del Río Cover Illustration: “Horn at the Gate”, by Arthur Rackham Interior Illustrations: Wizards of the Coast (DMs Guild Creator Resources) and Public Domain images. Special Thanks: Max Spencer, Noelia G. Novas, Tim LaSalle.

DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, D&D, Wizards of the Coast, Forgotten Realms, Ravenloft, Eberron, the dragon ampersand, Ravnica and all other Wizards of the Coast product names, and their respective logos are trademarks of Wizards of the Coast in the USA and other countries. This work contains material that is copyright Wizards of the Coast and/or other authors. Such material is used with permission under the Community SampleContent Agreement for Dungeon Masters Guild. file All other original material in this work is copyright 2020 by Adrian Lopez Sanjuan and Juan Del Rio Celorio and published under the Community Content Agreement for Dungeon Masters Guild.

CONTENTS

Contents ...... 1

Perilous Encounters ...... 3

The Forsaken Sanctuary ...... 5

Events and Locations ...... 5

The Valley of the Baboons ...... 5

The Door of the Monkey...... 6

The Hall of Mirrors ...... 7

The Haunted Corridors...... 8

The Trapped Creature ...... 9

Dramatis Personae ...... 10

The Ritual ...... 13

Events and Locations ...... 13

The Yard ...... 13

The Hut ...... 14

The Broken Tower ...... 15

The Prison Cellar and Laboratory ...... 15

Dramatis Personae ...... 16

The Battlefield ...... 18

Events and Locations ...... 18

The Field of Death ...... 18

The Defeated Knight ...... 19

The Broken Machine ...... 20

Dramatis Personae ...... 20 Sample file

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The Shrine to Old Gods ...... 24

Events and Locations ...... 25

The Corrupted Wilderness ...... 25

The Shaman ...... 26

The Sacred Mound and the Blood Tree ...... 27

The Lair of the God ...... 27

Dramatis Personae ...... 28

The Deserter...... 30

Events and Locations ...... 30

A Deal for Blood and Honor ...... 30

The War Camp ...... 32

The Mad Warlord ...... 33

Dramatis Personae ...... 34

The Seven Whisperers ...... 38

Events and Locations ...... 38

The Tree of Death ...... 38

Conversation in the Dark ...... 39

Dramatis Personae ...... 41

The Flock of Fury ...... 43

Events and Locations ...... 44

The Ruins Above ...... 44

The Tunnels Below ...... 45

The Crumbling Tower...... 46

Dramatis Personae ...... 47

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PERILOUS ENCOUNTERS

Welcome to the lands over the hills far beyond, past the dried riverbed and the ruins of old.

Player characters might spend countless hours over old maps written in ancient times; making arrangements for the perilous journey ahead and finding the fastest route through untamed lands far from civilization… but the wild and savage forests, deserts, hills and mountains have other plans for them.

Dark rituals, dangerous warlords, slumbering gods, crumbling ruins, strange creatures, cruel war and other perils wait for you among these pages. But knowledge, treasure and experience aplenty are the reward for those bold enough to explore the dark and wild things lurking on the edge of civilization.

The following collection of seven encounters has been crafted with the experience gathered running roleplaying games over many years. Survive the exciting adventures presented in this book, and tell the tale at the next tavern in exchange for a few drinks and perhaps a place to sleep by the fire.

You can easily integrate these encounters into your own campaign world by linking the non- player characters and locations to your narrative, play them as side adventures between locations or simply enjoy them as one-shot scenarios with the same or a differentSample set of characters. file Welcome to a land of danger and adventure.

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his page describes the format of a The level of detail provided here is enough to perilous encounter. play the adventure with only little preparation from the GM. If it’s not The flavor text goes here, and it will described at this level: it’s not important, T set you in the right mood for what’s you probably don’t need it, or you can make about to come. it up on the spot without much TITLE OF THE ENCOUNTER consideration. How many guards protect the camp gates? Is there any additional This section describes the background of the treasure to loot? Does the monster know encounter and provides a cohesive narrative they are coming its way? ... It’s really up to to frame all the events during the game, so you. it’s easier to improvise details. Make these encounters yours by using your Keep in mind that this background is a non-player characters, assigning a banner suggestion only; and there is nothing you to the dead soldiers on the field, drawing a cannot change, remove or add to your games. map of the orc camp, etc. Our aim is to If you are playing this encounter as part of a provide you with flavorful encounters full campaign, you may want to link the of ideas that you can use as written, develop locations, non-player characters and legends into full adventures or rip apart to use its here described to your own world. Otherwise best parts in your games. you are good to go as it is. CLARIFICATIONS AND ADVICE EVENTS AND LOCATIONS Sections like this one are used to provide advice on running this encounter and specific game mechanics. This section describes each of the events and locations needed during the encounter. DRAMATIS PERSONAE

INSTANCE OF EVENT OR LOCATION This section lists all non-player characters

A short introductory text is given for each and monsters with their motivations and stat event or location, setting the scene for the blocks. Some of the characters and monsters more detailed information provided in the are referred directly to the Monster Manual paragraphs below. for stats, but you will find the vast majority of the information you need within these pages. The first sentence is in bold, facilitating content search during play. Each of these paragraphsSample provides detailed information file about the event or location.

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he sound of a horn resounds in the Releasing Peryl is not an easy task. Atrahasis valley, shaking tree leaves and was an extremely secretive wizard and he scattering birds in the distance. knew how to protect his hidden sanctuary. It T Screeches of baboons rip through lies deep within the earth, and the bottom of a the silence that follows, coming deep circular chasm in a valley inhabited by from all directions in the dark forest that covers aggressive baboons, maddened by the sound the hills surrounding you. of the magical horn. An intelligent bronze door closes the way into the dark halls of the The eyes of dozens of creatures follow your wizard; traps and foul creatures guard the advance from the shadows as you get closer to access to the lower levels of the complex, the origin of the sound, until a clearly artificial keeping Peryl trapped inside. circular chasm appears between the trees like a gaping wound on the thriving forest. EVENTS AND LOCATIONS

THE FORSAKEN SANCTUARY Use the following events and locations to run

A strange creature has been trapped for a long this encounter. Use the map at the end for the time. He was once summoned from his dying upper levels of the sanctuary. world by the wizard Atrahasis, who was eager THE VALLEY OF THE BABOONS to learn the secrets of a soon to be extinct race. With the wizard now dead or banished A two hundred foot wide circular chasm sinks by a failed ritual, the alien creature - Peryl - into the earth in the wild depths of a hidden seeks freedom. valley populated with aggressive baboons;

Peryl often blows a maddening horn in the hidden sanctuary calling for help to the outside world; hoping that daring adventurers will come forth, find the sanctuary, and release him from his long captivity.

The horn sounds in the valley several times a day with no particular pattern, as Peryl calls for help when he feels lonely in the countless hours he spends dwellingSample in the dimly lit corridors file of the dead wizard’s sanctuary.

5 | P a g e poor creatures maddened by the frequent The god of the baboons is not a god at all, but sound of the horn that resonates from the a sentient bronze door guarding the depths of the earth. Stairs wind down from entrance to the sanctuary. The baboons the surface to a platform on the side of a deep bring down food sacrifices and their dead to lake with black waters at the bottom of the the platform in front of the door, chasm. inadvertently feeding the monster inhabiting the black waters. The sound of the horn resonating in the valley may have called the attention of the AGGRESSIVE BABOONS player characters; or perhaps they were A great number of baboons live in the valley - already looking for the forsaken sanctuary especially around the sanctuary - but not all of them of the dead wizard Atrahasis. can engage in combat at the same time, and many will flee from danger after attacking once or twice. The horn used to have powerful magical Describe the baboons as erratic and cowardly but properties, with power to drive mad entire obviously feral and enraged: circling the player armies; but with its creator dead for a long characters, jumping in front of them to attack and retreat, etc. time, its power is but a shadow of its former You can adjust this encounter to medium difficulty glory and can only affect minds over a long level using the guidelines in the Dungeon Master’s period of time. Guide and add more baboons during the fight to increase tension as necessary. After all, they are in the The baboons will follow the player characters middle of their valley and it is impossible to tell where the next baboon is going to come from. For instance, around the valley, jumping on the treetops, send more baboons to surround a player character fleeing and hiding if the characters attack. that separates from the group or is attacking from the However, as soon as they approach the relative safety of distance. chasm leading to the sanctuary door, the The baboons will retreat after a short while or if the player characters descend further into the chasm, as baboons will become aggressive and most of them are afraid to come down to the lair of attempt to kill the intruders thinking they their god. are attacking their god, who lives down the

chasm. THE DOOR OF THE MONKEY

The stone stairs around the circular chasm The winding stone stairs lead to a small stone are partially collapsed, requiring a DC12 platform standing on the dark waters Athletics or Acrobatics check to traverse inundating the bottom of the wide circular them safely. If failed, they will fall to the chasm. A clean and polished bronze door with stairs below taking 1d6 bludgeoning the relief of a monkey face closes the way into damage, being stunted for 1 round and the sanctuary below the earth, where the beingSample separated from the group for a short secrets of the dead wizard file await. while, making a perfect target for the baboons.

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The door is sentient. Its name is Jobuu the measure, but rather as an alarm to warn Magnificent, and it is an extremely proud him if anybody was in his domains. door tired of standing on that place for However, if permission from Jobuu to go hundreds of years. It complains that its only forth is not attained, it will provide false visitors are stupid baboons bringing fruit information about the sanctuary and its and their dead relatives to the platform; traps, laughing out loud about it. only for the creature of the lake to devour it all, since Jobuu can’t really do anything with the food or the corpses.

Jobuu is missing the knocking ring that opens the way into the tunnels. Usually both the knocking ring and the permission of Atrahasis are needed to open the door; but since Atrahasis is probably dead, Jobuu is happy to make an exception if they bring the knocking ring back to him. The knocking ring lies at the bottom of the black waters, where the creature lives. Some baboons tried to open the door a long time ago, only to be grappled by the creature with the ring still in their hand.

BLACK WATERS

The waters at the bottom of the chasm are dark and cold. Long aquatic plants grow from the bottom, reaching the surface and making a dense underwater forest. THE HALL OF MIRRORS

A plant-like creature lives here, feeding on baboons The first room of the sanctuary is a hexagonal and fruit offerings. It lurks underwater and floats on room with mirrors on all sides and no the surface camouflaging like a lump of algae. The knocking ring glitters at the bottom of the lake, still apparent door except for the way in. The floor grasped by the dead hand of a skeletal baboon. is covered with flat stones of different colors, not all of them safe to step on.

Brute force or other arts could be used to The color of the safe stones to walk on openSample the sentient bronze door, and this can changes depending onfile the side of the be inferred with a DC15 Investigation check. hexagon. The room looks certainly Atrahasis didn’t place Jobuu as a stopping suspicious, and characters blindly stepping

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