To the End of Time Sample file Winghorn Press & Richard Jansen-Parkes Credits Design & layout: Richard Jansen-Parkes Maps created with Campaign Cartographer 3 Images sourced through Dungeon Masters’ Guild and Adobe Stock Images Legal DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, D&D, Wizards of the Coast, Forgotten Realms, the dragon ampersand, Player’s Handbook, Monster Manual, Dungeon Master’s Guide, D&D Adventurers League, 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. All characters and their distinctive likenesses are property of Wizards of the Coast. This material is protected under the copyright laws of the United States of America. Any reproduction or unauthorized use of the material or artwork contained herein is prohibited without the express written permission of Wizards of the Coast. ©2016 Wizards of the Coast LLC, PO Box 707, Renton, WA 98057-0707, USA. Manufactured by Hasbro SA, Rue Emile-Boéchat 31, 2800 Delémont, CH. Represented by Hasbro Europe, 4 The Square, Stockley Park, Uxbridge, Middlesex, UB11 1ET, UK. Sample file Taking D&D to the Limit A Word of Warning… pic-level D&D is, well, epic. By the time Running epic-level games can be tricky for both the characters are approaching the level cap they players and the DM. Everybody has a huge array of become capable of more and more incredible E options both in and out of combat, and some high feats, and though 5th edition has scaled things down levels spells that can completely change the game. somewhat the party still begins to function on a level For this reason, this adventure is one best far removed from that of normal men and women. attempted by fairly experienced groups, who are Barbarians will be capable of wrestling giants, able to handle the volume of attacks, lightning bolts Monks will leap to the rooftops in a single bound, and explosions emitted by their characters. Rangers become capable of taking down a battalion of At the same time, the DM will need to be a little Orcs in a single flurry of blows and Wizards tear apart more prepared than usual. Running a game at this space and time on a whim. level requires you to be able to think on your feet, as In short, it’s something that every gamer should characters will be capable of feats that can suddenly get to play around with at least once. take the adventure in an entirely unexpected However, this is something that most groups direction. Even the greatest DMs in the world can be struggle to achieve. It’s comparatively rare for a a little flummoxed when the Wizard decides that an campaign to reach beyond level seven or so, and even Arcane Gate sounds like a better idea than actually long-term games tend to reach some sort of conclusion fighting the dragon blocking their path. in the mid-teens. Pushing back against this and trying to put the Most committed players have some sort of adventure ‘back on track’ is a natural response, but idealized character hanging round in the back of their one that you should probably ignore. Your players head, designed to take advantage of all the abilities on Sampleare file going to be incredibly powerful, and that’s at offer when you get 20 levels under your belt, but they least half of the appeal of this scenario. rarely get to use them. Good luck! Which is where To the End of Time comes in. What is This Adventure? Tempani, a former ally of their benefactor, has lost This one-shot is designed to give players a taste of epic her mind in the wake of a voyage to the reality- level adventuring without the need for two years of twisting shores of the Far Realms. She has launched a campaigning first. It can be completed in a single long plan that she claims will save the material plane from session, or two or three shorter ones and should be its insidious tendrils, but exactly how effective this relatively straightforward to run. will be and how catastrophic its side effects is yet to The players get to pick from pre-generated epic- become clear... level heroes (downloadable free from Over the course of their adventure the party will winghornpress.com) or create their own, complete encounter all manner of powerful creatures far with backstories of valor and adventure. At the very beyond the reach of regular adventurers, and face moment of their death, these titanic heroes are tasks that would leave even stout-hearted heroes plucked from their own time by a powerful angel and dumbstruck. tasked with saving the world - and possibly much So sit down and grab some dice… it’s going to be a more besides - one last time. long night. of arcane sigils. He is clutching at a deep wound in his The Tower of Time side and torn white wings hang limply from his back. he adventurers wake up on the floor of a In a deep, resonant voice the being introduces large, airy room with polished oak floors itself as Ahmzael, a Planetar – a type of angel – of T and a high vaulted ceiling. Oghma and asks the adventurers about the last thing The walls are lined with shelves that hold a huge they remember. number of books, as well as an array of timekeeping Interview with an Angel devices – hourglasses, sundials, candles, etc. Tall windows let in bright sunlight and show a view of wild Ahmzael explains that he used Chronomancy, a highly mountain peaks. forbidden magic, to rip them from the very moments However, as the adventurers look around them of their death. He desperately needed help from they will notice signs of fighting. Some shelves are legendary heroes, but the magic is so incredibly cloven in two by enormous slashes, others are dangerous that even having mortals know it exists is scorched and blackened as if exposed to an intense incredibly dangerous. fire. Torn pages litter the floor and shattered glass Cautiously, the angel adds that the spell he is twinkles among the piles of sand that used to be channelling is only keeping them in the current time- hourglasses, while the slumped forms of humanoids frame temporarily. When it inevitably fails, they will wearing bloodstained robes lie against walls or sprawl be sent back to their correct time, where they will die. on the floor. This is completely unavoidable, he claims An incredibly tall, well-muscled humanoid with (truthfully). He adds that they are not the only doomed lustrous green skin is sitting on the floor withinSample a ring ones file in this scenario – his use of Chronomancy is strictly forbidden, even to one as powerful as himself. What do I Remember? For his transgressions he will be completely destroyed, without even the promise of an afterlife. Each of the adventurers was ripped from their own Rather than save themselves, Ahmzael asks that timeline at the very instant before their death. the heroes help him to save the entire world. In return, Their last memory may be that of leaping from a before he is destroyed he will grant them one boon – Pegasus onto the back of an Ancient Red Dragon blessing descendants, creating statues, etc. with sword in hand, then seeing the ground rush The angel will reveal the following information: towards them as they buried their bade in its neck. ● This is a mountaintop shrine to Oghma, where Maybe it was of the dread Lich screaming as high-ranking Clerics and Celestials study history their phylactery shattered beneath the hero’s and Chronomancy. hammer, and then raising a single finger to point at ● A few hours ago the shrine was attacked by a them… former friend of Ahmzael’s – a Solar named Work with your players to create ‘final’ battles Tempani. She is one of the 24 most powerful that were sufficiently epic and – hopefully – didn’t angels in creation and is at the forefront of staving leave them with too much unfinished business. off incursions from the Far Realms. ● She appeared at the shrine unannounced, The Black Lake accompanied with dozens of lesser angels. Her blazing sword was stained an inky black and her The bright lights of the shrine fade as you feel the strange magnificent robes were stained and torn. From the rushing sensation of teleportation magic. Suddenly, the moment he saw her, eyes Ahmzael knew that pressure disappears and you feel the rush of cool air on madness had overcome her. your skin as you emerge into reality once more. ● Tempani and her angels demanded that the As you pull away from your fellow adventurers and shrine’s inhabitants turn over all they knew about take stock of your surroundings, you see that you’re on the Chronomancy and assist her in a project that she shore of a great subterranean lake. The inky blackness of claimed would ‘prevent the Far Realms from the cavern is broken only by a phosphorescent purple glow destroying everything’. However, Ahmzael fears that shimmers across the surface of the water. that her plans will likely cause huge damage to the On the far side of the lake the cavern walls close in, world, or render it completely unrecognisable as and right at the point where they meet is what appears to timelines change and paradoxes are erased. be a temple, barely visible in the wavering light. ● When they refused, she killed all those who The adventurers have emerged from the teleportation opposed her, taking what she wanted and spell on the southern edge of the lake and stand within abducting those that possessed skills she needed.