One Night Stands

Jungle Ruins of Madaro-Shanti

Another of the One Night Stand Series, Jungle Ruins of Madaro-Shanti is an adventure for a party of 4-8 characters of fourth through seventh level. A century ago or more, when the town of Cholagadi was just a frontier fort on the coast, Madaro-Shanti was the most powerful city-state in the entire Ambicuaria Jungle.  Its citizens were highly advanced in the arts of magic, and even retained some vestiges of magical quasi-technologies perhaps more ancient than humankind itself.  Their prosperity made for jealous enemies, none more covetous than the powerful and sorcerous Kiengaa Tribe of the deep jungles.  The Kiengaa plotted against Madaro-Shanti, making dark pacts with the monstrous ape-centaurs known as the Borsin, and with the monkey-faced, snake-like monsters known as the Hanu-Naga.  Once this terrible, unnatural army was gathered, the Kiengaa and their allies laid siege to Madaro-Shanti itself.

As the walls of Madaro-Shanti fell, and the invaders swarmed into the city, the high priest of the city closed himself within the royal shrine, praying to all the gods for intervention. Yet none of the gods answered his prayers until the last – and that was Ojala, whom the people of Madaro-Shanti knew as a god of evil and treachery.  A deadly bargain was struck that night, and true to his promise, Ojala caused a horrible wasting disease to strike the besieging army.  But the full extent of the evil god’s treachery became clear when the surviving people of Madaro-Shanti themselves began to succumb to the same disease which had slain their enemies.  Within a fortnight, all the people of Madaro-Shanti had either died of the plague or scattered into the depths of the predator-filled jungle.

In only a few years, the city was overgrown by the jungle and fell into ruin, but the magical disease was to have one final consequence. Not only did the contagion affect the Kiengaa and the Madaro-Shanti – it also infected the mind of a powerful nature-spirit that inhabited the surrounding jungles. The nature-spirit Cho-Odaa, driven mad by the disease and hungry for vengeance against all humankind, has discovered the means to exact a terrible reckoning

Death in the Painted Canyon

Death in the Painted Canyons is an adventure for the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game for 4-6 characters levels 5-6. The Pathfinder is helpful for the use of this Roleplaying Game GameMastery Guide adventure as many of the NPC stat blocks appear in it, though other stats can be substituted as necessary. The party should includes a mix of abilities, especially characters with investigative and survival skills. It would be helpful, but not necessary, if at least one PC has some knowledge of the Painted Canyons, or at least some experience with desert survival. Also, a PC or companion with the scent ability (or who has an item or spell that grants it) would be helpful, but is not needed. If your party lacks investigative skills, there are clues as to the criminal conspiracy in the gnoll encampment, or you can just drop that aspect of the adventure and run it as a stand up fight. Parties lacking survival skills or desert experience can hire a guide at Salt Springs for 3 silver shekels (gp) a day. There is a hidden secret behind all the events of Death in the Painted Canyons; a great deal of combat can be expected, and those attempting this adventure should be prepared for a vicious battle before resolving the plot.

Spire of Iron and Crystal

For centuries, out in the wilderness beyond civilization’s reach, there has stood an enigmatic tower known as the Spire of Iron and Crystal. It is a bizarre and ancient structure; four massive, egg-shaped crystals are mounted into a twisting, ornate structure of rounded metal girders, one crystal at the top and the other three mounted lower down. Moving lights seen inside the huge crystals suggest that they are hollow and even inhabited, but no one has ever discovered the secret of how to enter them. This is not surprising, for the tower is located on a broad stone ledge halfway up a sheer cliff face, the glassy walls of which have killed several adventurers who attempted to climb down to the tower almost a hundred feet below. Over the course of the last few months, with considerable effort and some highly questionable methods, the adventurers have assembled quite a bit of information about the Spire – things not widely known, even among the wisest sages of the lands. Most importantly, they believe they know how to enter the structure safely. Once per year, the sun shines through an ancient runestone at the edge of the great cliff upon which the Spire stands; for a period of three days when the stars are aligned with the runestone, an invisible causeway manifests, connecting the highest crystal of the tower with the edge of the cliff, far above. According to the party’s information, it is only during the first hour of evening, while the sun is visible through the runestone that the ramp remains in being. This information promises to allow the party access to the riches of the tower, which are lavishly described in rumor and lore. They have equipped a small expedition and made their way through the trails of the wild borderlands to their goal: the tower and its still-unplundered riches.

Dread Saecaroth

Saecaroth! That most infamous den of wickedness and hatred… a tower stretching up in defiance toward the gods themselves… where the priests of the Unholy Three committed acts of such evil that the gods themselves lay the tower low. Now hardly a stone stands upon the plain where the tower once brooded; the priests and minions of the Three were driven into the passages and tunnels beneath the surface where they were hunted like rats by those powerful enough to destroy them. Two centuries have passed, and the grass has grown over the site of the obscenity which once dominated the countryside. Those with wisdom may find the entrances to the dungeons underneath, and those with strength may wrest the treasures still rumored to lie in its most hidden depths, but beware!… legends whisper that some of the priests of the Three still dwell deep below… performing unspeakable rites to their alien gods and always seeking fresh and powerful sacrifices… Now you and your comrades have learned the location and the history of this foul and forgotten place. Will you plumb its depths and bring forward the forgotten secrets and treasures that lie deep within, or will you become yet more corpses at uneasy rest in the corners of this terrible place?

Scorned

The PCs arrive in the bustling town of Whiterush and are hired to help solve protect a caravan from bandits. However, there is much more going on in the town than meets the eye and the PCs are in deeper than they originally thought.

(4-6 PCs of 5th Level)

Curse of Shadowhold

Another of the One Night Stand series. The Haunted Woods has stood for centuries on the edge of the Western Frontier, with the rough-and-tumble town of Nerimar serving as gateway to the unknown dangers of the wild. When a battered, lone elven ranger comes to town seeking adventurers willing to brave the depths of the shadowed wood where even his people refuse to go, there must be dire trouble indeed. From the ill-starred elven village of Golden Oak to the haunted halls of Shadowhold, it is up to a band of heroes to release the elves and their home from a curse that has spanned thousands of years and to finally shed the light of day on a terrible secret just as old.

Curse of Shadowhold is an adventure for a party of 4 – 6 characters of 10th level.

It is set in the generic setting of Frog God Games so that it can be easily placed in your favorite campaign world.