simple shocking adventure

Strahd's Animated Armor

Monsters Curse of Strahd

or uses Shocking Bolt twice. Greatsword. Melee Weapon Attack: +6;{"diceNotation":"1d20+6","rollType":"to hit","rollAction":"Greatsword"} to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 10 (2d6 + 3

":"lightning"} lightning damage. Shocking Bolt. Ranged Spell Attack: +4;{"diceNotation":"1d20+4","rollType":"to hit","rollAction":"Shocking Bolt"} to hit (with advantage on the attack roll if the

Returned Sentry

Monsters Mythic Odysseys of Theros

easily manipulated into serving their more forceful brethren. Having purpose forced upon them, these Returned perform simple, artless tasks with middling efficiency. Their one virtue is their

composition and craftsmanship. However, selling a Returned mask isn’t a simple matter of cashing it in for coin. Most people on Theros know the tales of the Returned and want nothing to do with

Animated Coffin

Monsters Adventure Atlas: The Mortuary

boxes with simple fittings to elaborate, gilded sarcophagi and reverent, fabric-lined caskets. Beyond the City of Doors, animated coffins serve similar—albeit less industrial—roles

sardines 3 A groaning mummy 4 A patch of yellow mold (see the Dungeon Master’s Guide) 5 A slumbering vampire spawn 6 A portal to the Path of Graves (detailed in Adventure Atlas: The Mortuary) Poison, Psychic

Returned Kakomantis

Monsters Mythic Odysseys of Theros

composition and craftsmanship. However, selling a Returned mask isn’t a simple matter of cashing it in for coin. Most people on Theros know the tales of the Returned and want nothing to do with

. Convincing a merchant to buy a Returned mask, or dealing with the ramifications of such a sale, might prove to be an adventure in itself. Returned Nature. The Returned are undead. They need water

Returned Drifter

Monsters Mythic Odysseys of Theros

approximately 100 gp, based on its composition and craftsmanship. However, selling a Returned mask isn’t a simple matter of cashing it in for coin. Most people on Theros know the tales of the

effectively another sapient being’s face. Convincing a merchant to buy a Returned mask, or dealing with the ramifications of such a sale, might prove to be an adventure in itself. Returned Nature. The

Returned Palamnite

Monsters Mythic Odysseys of Theros

. However, selling a Returned mask isn’t a simple matter of cashing it in for coin. Most people on Theros know the tales of the Returned and want nothing to do with such cursed relics or with those

a Returned mask, or dealing with the ramifications of such a sale, might prove to be an adventure in itself. Returned Nature. The Returned are undead. They need water and air but not food or sleep

Tortle Legacy

Species The Tortle Package

I caught a big fish. Now I search for a good friend To share my lunch with. — Tortle haiku What many tortles consider a simple life, others might call a life of adventure. Tortles are

feeling homesick. Tortles embrace a simple view of the world. It is a place of wonder, and tortles see beauty in the ordinary. They live for the chance to hear a soft wind blowing through palm trees, to

Izzet Engineer

Backgrounds Guildmasters’ Guide to Ravnica

Spells Cantrip produce flame, shocking grasp 1st chaos bolt, create or destroy water, unseen servant 2nd heat metal, rope trick 3rd call lightning,

;ll make something happen. 3 Nothing is ever simple, and if it seems simple, I’ll find a way to make it complicated. 4 I tend to ignore sleep for days when I’m conducting

Elf Legacy

Species Basic Rules (2014)

enjoy simple yet lovely jewelry. A Timeless Perspective Elves can live well over 700 years, giving them a broad perspective on events that might trouble the shorter-lived races more deeply. They are

minstrels, artists, or sages. Human nobles compete for the services of elf instructors to teach swordplay or magic to their children. Exploration and Adventure Elves take up adventuring out of wanderlust

Lizardfolk Legacy

Species Volo's Guide to Monsters

If you’re considering taking a scaled one along on an adventure, remember this important fact. The strange, inhuman glint in its eyes as it looks you over is the same look you might give a

plans, or cultivating other methods to progress beyond their simple existence as hunters and gatherers. Hapless Soft Ones At their core, lizardfolk view other humanoids with an indifference verging on

Gnome Legacy

Species Basic Rules (2014)

whenever they can. Their homes are well hidden by both clever construction and simple illusions. Welcome visitors are quickly ushered into the bright, warm burrows. Those who are not welcome are

quick, if dangerous, path to wealth. Regardless of what spurs them to adventure, gnomes who adopt this way of life eke as much enjoyment out of it as they do out of any other activity they undertake

Adventure Premise

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Dungeon Master’s Guide

, and the opening of a portal to another plane of existence are other situations that could lead to adventure. A simple premise might also boil down to “a magic item that the characters want is hidden

away in a dungeon.” Browsing the magic items in chapter 7 can inspire you to create a simple adventure seed.

First Adventure

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Dungeon Master’s Guide

campaign, refer to the advice in chapter 4. Keep the first adventure relatively short and simple, allowing plenty of time for the characters to get to know each other as the players roleplay. What’s

First Adventure If you’re using a published adventure to launch your campaign, use the character hooks in that adventure to bring the characters from their starting location to the adventure’s action

Adventure Duration

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Xanathar's Guide to Everything

can be different for each group. For more narrative adventures, try to focus on simple but flexible encounters or events. For instance, an adventure requires the characters to protect a high priest of

Adventure Duration Every adventure in a shared campaign begins and ends in the same play session. (If a group of participants wants to take longer to finish and all are willing to do so, they can

Linking Adventures

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Dungeon Master’s Guide (2014)

Linking Adventures A campaign in the style of an episodic television show rarely needs story links between its adventures. Each adventure features its own villains, and once the characters complete

the adventure, there are typically no loose plot threads. The next adventure presents an altogether different challenge having nothing to do with the adventure that preceded it. As the characters gain

Adventure Hooks

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Ghosts of Saltmarsh

Adventure Hooks Pulling the characters into this adventure is relatively simple. Aubreck is desperate for help, yet not quite ready to tip his hand. He fears that if he spreads the news of the

34. Guardians Bar the Way

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Tales from the Yawning Portal->a3

midpoint of this corridor is a 10-foot-square pressure plate (see “The Ruins: General Features” at the beginning of the adventure) that triggers if more than 30 pounds is placed on it. Shocking Blades. If

Tortle Race

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Tomb of Annihilation Supplement

Tortle Race I caught a big fish. Now I search for a good friend To share my lunch with. — Tortle haiku What many tortles consider a simple life, others might call a life of adventure

Keeping the Adventure Moving

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Dungeon Master’s Guide

Keeping the Adventure Moving Make sure your players have clear objectives they can pursue at every stage of the adventure. Three simple techniques can ensure that the players understand the task at

the adventure, someone they met along the way, or a character’s contact. When you’re planning an adventure, include NPCs who can fill this role. Evil Intrusion. If things start grinding to a halt, have

Simple Traps

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Xanathar's Guide to Everything

Simple Traps A simple trap activates and is thereafter harmless or easily avoided. A hidden pit dug at the entrance of a goblin lair, a poison needle that pops from a lock, and a crossbow rigged to

fire when an intruder steps on a pressure plate are all simple traps. Elements of a Simple Trap The description of a simple trap begins with a line that gives the trap’s level and the severity of the

Using This Book

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Dragon Delves

Running the Adventures later in this introduction). One-Shot Adventure Maybe you’re normally a player in an ongoing campaign, but you want to try your hand at being the Dungeon Master. Maybe you’re

ready to play. Or maybe your group needs a break or a diversion from the ongoing campaign. In any of these cases, you can pick an adventure from this book and run it. In an Ongoing Campaign Maybe

Survivors

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft

Survivors Terror doesn’t come just for the brave and prepared—often quite the opposite. Some of the most harrowing horror stories involve the least likely heroes, individuals who find their simple

lives transformed into waking nightmares. In most horror adventures, your players will employ familiar, adventure-ready characters. That doesn’t need to be the case, though. Instead, for short, low

Adventure Conflict

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Dungeon Master’s Guide

Adventure Conflict A premise can be a good starting point, but before you can turn it into an adventure, it needs a conflict worthy of the heroes’ attention. The conflict might be driven by a single

treasure, what conflict awaits the characters when they enter the dungeon? That might be as simple as “hostile monsters want to eat the characters” or “two rival factions of monsters inhabit the dungeon

Time in the Campaign

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Dungeon Master’s Guide

festivals. The answer to the question “When does this adventure take place?” can be as simple as “in the winter” or “during the fall harvest festival.” Timed Events Extraordinary events coinciding with

certain times of year make for great adventure opportunities. Perhaps a ghostly castle appears on a certain hill on the winter solstice every year, or every thirteenth full moon is blood red and fills

Creating a Monster

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Dungeon Master’s Guide (2014)

Creating a Monster The Monster Manual contains hundreds of ready-to-play monsters, but it doesn’t include every monster that you can imagine. Part of the D&D experience is the simple joy of creating

the concept for your monster. What makes it unique? Where does it live? What role do you want it to serve in your adventure, your campaign, or your world? What does it look like? Does it have any

Newspaper

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Eberron: Rising from the Last War

to provide the paper with tales of your exploits as you search out adventure. Or you might be investigative reporters dedicated to shining the light of truth into the darkness of criminal, political

. The simplest chronicles appear as scrolls nailed to public message boards containing the pertinent news of the week. More ambitious chronicles—including the Aundairian Scroll, the Breland Ledger, and the Sharn Inquisitive—are presented as folded broadsheets nested together to form simple books.

Starting the Story

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Tales from the Yawning Portal

Starting the Story Kicking off a dungeon adventure can be as simple as having a mysterious stranger offer the characters a quest while they are at the Yawning Portal (or some other tavern). This

approach is a cliché, but it is an effective one. Use the following two tables to generate a couple of details, then tailor the particulars of the quest and the quest giver to suit the adventure you plan

Foreword

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Waterdeep: Dragon Heist

Foreword A simple question began rattling around in my head over two years ago as I was bidding farewell to Barovia, dragging myself out of the depths of Maelstrom, and planning a yearlong expedition

before work on the adventure was scheduled to begin. Matthew Mercer, whom you might know from the livestreamed show Critical Role, lent us his boundless imagination and helped flesh out the villains and

1. Create a Home Base

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Dungeon Master’s Guide (2014)

adventure locales. An area that size is likely to have one to three additional settlements as well as the home base, so give thought to them as well. 3. Craft a Starting Adventure A single dungeon

makes a good first adventure for most campaigns. See chapter 3, “Creating Adventures” for guidance. A home base provides a common starting location for the characters. This starting point might be

Appendix 3. Dungeon Master Tips

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Rrakkma

Appendix 3. Dungeon Master Tips PREPARATORY NOTES. As you’re reading through and/or running this adventure, pay special attention to areas that include creatures, noting whether or not the

area with additional details. It is highly recommended, to get the maximum enjoyment out of this adventure, that you have six players ready to play each of the pregenerated characters. Due to the

Droaam

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Eberron: Rising from the Last War

Sora Kell, this land grows stronger with each passing year. The Voice of BRELAND Boranel Cedes Western Reaches In a shocking move, King Boranel has ordered that all Brelish citizens who live west

different monsters can work together in unusual ways and how their special abilities could be used outside combat. Droaam offers a way to introduce monsters into any adventure, and for characters to

Setting

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Princes of the Apocalypse

Athas would have looked much like the Forgotten Realms. The four Haunted Keeps described in chapter 3 of this adventure are lonely outposts or ruins scattered throughout the badlands under which Tyar

-Besil lies. Rivergard Keep is admittedly a little problematic in a desert world, but the solution is simple: It lies on the dusty banks of a river long dried up. The Crushing Wave cultists occupying

Improvising Ability Checks

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Lost Mine of Phandelver

Improvising Ability Checks The adventure often tells you what ability checks characters might try in a certain situation and the Difficulty Class (DC) of those checks. Sometimes adventurers try

things that the adventure can’t possibly anticipate. It’s up to you to decide whether their attempts are successful. If it seems like anyone should have an easy time doing it, don’t ask for an ability

Secrets and Discovery

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Dungeon Master’s Guide

Secrets and Discovery In the course of an adventure, the players and their characters will uncover information that was previously unknown to them. Make sure the information they need to complete the

adventure is obtainable. Don’t hide important secrets or discoveries in places where the characters aren’t likely to uncover them. Make sure they can’t miss an important secret or discovery simply by

The Mourning and You

Compendium - Sources->Dungeons & Dragons->Wayfinder's Guide to Eberron

could expand, or do you prefer not to dwell on such things? If you’re religious, did the shocking tragedy of the Mourning cause you to question your faith, or did it reinforce it? If you’re an

. Consider these ideas. As a barbarian you could have been a simple peasant caught in the Mourning. Everyone else in your community was killed, but their spirits were bound to you. Your barbarian rage

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