The Future of Adventure

Some of this has been shared before. Still, people ask for details and release dates for adventures and modules for the Avremier setting. Progress is being made. For an idea of what to expect, here is my archival listing of most forthcoming projects. What follows is a collection of notes, placeholders, and tentative synopses. Inadequate apologies for the poor formatting.

Adventure Modules/Arcs for Development

·        Breathless Adventures: Today, there is a secret program within a certain Ministry that offers a “dark sanction” solution for the most extreme adventuring situations. These select groups of unliving agents are sent on the most dangerous missions into the least-hospitable environments. Legally, the Breathless are considered property of the Ministry. They are not alive, and they have accepted “employment” under strictly-defined conditions. One could view them as conscripts, or slaves, with no legal rights beyond what the Ministry grants them. Normally, when not actively on a mission, the Breathless are kept forcibly entombed or imprisoned within special vaults. 

·        Cataclysm of the Sky Crystals: As the light of dawn blushes into the morning sky, disturbing shapes are revealed. Gigantic crystal shards, each about 100’ high, float in place, all across the land. At noon, they all start to softly “hum” a single note. By sunset, countless crystalline beasts have emerged from underground lairs – each one joining in the resonant “hum.” That night, something changes – causing a wave of disharmony that spreads through every crystal and creature. Now, the first earthquakes start to rumble. The crystalline beasts are going berserk. Disaster is nigh.

·        Chateau Mothshade: A haunted half-ruin of crumbling stone and ominous silence. Who, or what, is Mothshade? 

·        Cold Light of Day, The: A powerful cabal of frost jotuns pool their knowledge and resources to turn the sun into a "cold star" that barely warms or illuminates the world - plunging everything into Fimbulwinter.

·        Conquests of the Dread Pharaoh: Mummified jackalwere that seems content to rule the empire he had in life – most of which is now empty desert. Spends his time and resources attempting to conquer a small river valley inhabited by jann and jann-blooded yalkhoi (hobgoblins). This valley represents the last of what the dread pharaoh claims as his own. 

·        Council of Toads: Collection of adventures and plot hooks for the town of Toad Crossing and surrounding environs.

·        Darkengap: A company of great and noble heroes defeated the titanic Glacial Wyrm and the creature’s frozen minions almost a generation ago. The accursed Age of Winter Darkness is finally ending and the ice is receding.

Rising seas are swallowing the land with merciless rapidity. Savage thunderstorms sweep across the realm, raking the landscape with blinding talons of lightning. Swarms of hideous, alien monsters issue forth from the place of fearful legend known as Darkengap – once buried beneath glacial ice.

The long-awaited spring is here – with a vengeance.

·        Dungeon of Illthrix: Beneath the House of Illthrix lie the private labs, workshops, and vaults where the Mad Artificer labored at his most infamous creations. Not so much his traps and cursed items, but truly arcane projects of baffling scope and purpose. Certain secrets have also been buried within the raised mound that supports the House of Illthrix. Secrets that may change the lives and perceptions of those adventurers that peek and pry into places perhaps better left alone.

·        Ether Age: It all starts with the nightmare fog. Seeping into dreams, distorting them into phantasmagorical horrors. The ethereal mists come from nowhere – and everywhere. Some are starting to live these nightmares while awake. Soon, there may be no escape. Omens and portents tell of more to come. The Heralds of the Swarm. The Harbingers of the World Weaver. What is the Swarm? Who, or what, is the World Weaver? How do we wake from the nightmare fog?

·        Fury of the Four Sisters: In the dense forest realm of Wilderwood can be found a quartet of jagged mountains known as the Four Sisters. Towering above the enormous trees, these peaks shrouded in eternal mist are said to have been home to the Witch Queens since time immemorial. Few are willing to brave the deadly miles of Wilderwood to visit the Sisters since the witches are not known for their kindness to strangers.

·        Ghosts of Chimerae House: Open with a murder mystery where the killer seems to be a ghost. The first victim is beloved Uncle Grevon - a noted planaturgist. Second, failed, victim is a woman come to collect and continue Grevon's research. 

·        Glacial Pyramid of the Storm Pharaoh: For centuries, the tales of "the tomb in the ice" brought explorers, historians, and treasure-seekers to the town of Harm's Way for a last stop on the journey north to the glacier. Now, the glacier is coming to Harm's Way, bringing the entombed Storm Pharaoh with it.

The town of Harm's Way lies directly within the path of danger - again. Honestly, a name change may be in order. The suggestion will be added to the agenda of the next town meeting - assuming there is still a town in which to meet. In the meantime, the call for heroes has been sounded!

If you’ve ever wanted to raid a classic pharaonic pyramid, but really hate sand and scorching heat, this might be the adventure for you!

·        Goblin Artifact Trilogy: Interconnected adventures featuring goblins with dangerous and powerful magic. The Goblin Grinder is an artifact discovered and modified by goblins into a horrible device that takes living creatures to grind out into small goblin-shaped flesh golems. One human = 2-3 goblin golems. The Jumping Jewels of Janxie Jat are the stones that allow the Dimmer Goblins to travel the planes. Janxie is a goblin term for “lucky.” Possibly the stones are six in number (maybe more). One blue and the others are green. Smooth on one side and faceted on the other. Blue stone controls the others. Powers of teleportation and plane travel. Also, planar acclimation. The Clatterdoomalion is a kit-bashed artifact engine that the goblins have little real control over. They just want to go down in history as the greatest goblin artificers ever. But, they made it better than they know and it is a real threat to the land. They got lost on the way to a great conclave of goblin makers and are now on a barely-controlled rampage across the realm.

·        Hell-Met by Moonlight: A whirlwind of dark planar energies howls through an open portal and tears through a nearby graveyard, animating bodies, and spinning across the land with a small army of undead.

·        Hot Cider, Cold Comfort: No available information at this time.

·        Hungering Dark, The: Talk is mostly of those who fell to the cave-in, but no blame is directed to those who operate the mine. Conditions were exceptionally good and the miners have always been well taken care of. Some of the older miners whisper of ghosts in the deeper shafts - most of which had been closed off because the ore had been depleted - but some claim it was because of some kind of curse. There are still miners that have not been found and efforts are being made around the clock to clear rubble and open more of the lower shafts - even wizards have been sent to assist...though hope is not running high. 

·        Last Dungeon, The: While you were kicking doors and taking names in your latest dungeon crawl, the rest of the world came to a sudden, and quiet, end. How did it happen? Can anything be done? Why are you, and this dungeon, the only things still here?

·        Last Gasp of Laudro Buogalei: No available information at this time.

The Laughing Menace of Archumn Hall: Beneath a ruined fortress, a former prison, lies a neglected warren of passages and chambers. From this ruin, according to local authorities, bizarre raids are being inflicted upon nearby settlements. Most of those authorities are now dead, or missing.

What makes these raids "bizarre?"

"The raiders are mostly gnolls. But that's not the bizarre part. Every one of them has stark white fur, and giggle or cackle constantly like mad hyenas. Listening to the horrible noise has supposedly driven some people insane. Then, they start to laugh. They can't stop. They laugh and slobber and choke. Some of them die. Others go off with the gnoll raiders, laughing all the way. They never come back."

"The gnolls come and take things. Some of the things are valuable or important, like jewels and food and weapons. Other things are just...things. A doll head, some soup spoons, a lady's feathered hat, a used hanky, an empty wine bottle, a rusted mouse trap - you get the idea. Or, maybe not. Who can say?"

"There's something else up in the ruins. Something pale and big and round that floats about. Sometimes you can hear it muttering, or singing, but decent words are difficult to make out because it's hard to get close enough. And there seem to be many different voices at once. The white gnolls kneel to the floating thing and give it stuff from their raids."

"Animals have fled the hilltop and environs of the ruin. Even birds no longer fly over the place. My invisible friends say something bad is happening and something worse may be coming. They say you can help. Can you? Please?"

·        Marooned on Slumbering Serpent Atoll: PCs recruited to pilot bizarre magical submersible to recover a treasure from an old shipwreck. During the expedition, the ship that brought them is attacked and sunk, with only a few survivors. No sign of the cause of the destruction. The sailors claim there was a rumble, like thunder, then the ship broke apart. There is an island in the distance - the only land in sight.

·        Masks of the Violet Death: A popular and exclusive wine-tasting is interrupted by a masked madman that bursts into the room to hurl a bomb. The billowing cloud released by the device fill the room and the bomber escapes under cover and confusion. The cloud is permeated with spores that effectively poison all those who drank certain wines.

The cloud will kill most of  the patrons in the tavern - but it will take time. A few victims die immediately - the rest will grow progressively more ill until they finally succumb. One patron drank a dose of antidote just before the attack - obviously anticipating the need. A small, empty flask is left behind for discovery.

·        Missing, Presumed Dead: Adventurers are disappearing. Sure, your lot tend to meet a gruesome end in some dark hole or forgotten ruin. But, this is different. Some vanish “on the job,” while others simply disappear from their room at the inn. None are ever seen again. Come to think of it – one of the members of your own adventuring group is overdue for the muster meeting to your next mission…

·        Nefugoro – Temple-Palace of the Golden Ape God: These sprawling ruins are almost more like a small city than a palace, a massive sprawl of carven stone built by the kamujin (ogre magi) of the past millennium. What became of the builders and their civilization, no one seems to know.

The current ruler of the city is a particularly large and powerful bar-lgura demon. Resembling a huge, evil orangutan with glossy red-gold fur, this demon has set itself up as the deity of this region for many years. Summoned centuries ago for some forgotten purpose, the demon cannot leave the city and directs the activities of its crumbling domain from a gaudily restored throne room in the great temple at the heart of Nefugoro. Calling itself Naochli, this old and crafty demon has gathered followers and worshipers to suit its need and preferences. Monstrous and intelligent apes and ape-like creatures infest the region and other bar-lguras of normal might serve as Naochli’s lieutenants. The “ape god’s” Summon ability will only call the bar-lguras of Nefugoro to him, not a demon from another plane. The largest and most terrible servant of the “ape god” is a gigantic two-headed ape resembling a gorilla and a mandrill. It is as if King Kong and Demogorgon had produced offspring. This monster serves Naochli, but is not terribly intelligent and sometimes difficult to control. Yes – Nefugoro is like a demonic scene from The Jungle Book, with a fiendish King Louie in charge.

·        Nemesis Gathering: Portions of a treasure map come into the possession of a small number of adventurers, or to patrons of adventurers. Per the clues and instructions found on these pieces, the individual owners have gathered at a specific place and time to pursue the treasure. Once they have become acquainted, and assembled the full map, the group ventures forth on the first leg of the journey.

·        Not Carved in Stone: In recent years, there has been a niche market among the fashionably wealthy for "monster sculpture." Stone statues that are actually petrified victims of gorgons, acquired by adventurers, and sold as pricy curiosities. Business has been good. Many wealthy households and establishments boast one or more of these "statues." Now, today, these statues have started returning to their living state - coming to life without warning and wreaking havoc wherever they may be. As a problem created by adventurers, it must be solved by adventurers!

·        Paradise of the Orchid God: Along with a thriving industry of acquiring rare orchids for wealthy collectors at great risk and expense, there is a shady and even riskier market. Many fae will return to nature in some form when they die. Some will become a specific type of tree, while others may turn into a flowering shrub. Well, one type of sprite becomes an exquisite and unique species of orchid when it passes. Collectors have started clamoring for these flowers, despite their incredible rarity, the danger in procuring them, and the risk of angering the Faerie Realm. Being so rare, and considering the money involved, some very unscrupulous orchid-hunters have taken to hunting and killing this sprite for its transformative flower. These “Faerie Orchids” also begin to cause problems when taken into people’s homes. Once the Fae Lords get wind of this practice, a Second Harrowing may follow. The heroes must find and end the ring of corrupt orchid-hunters to avert disaster. Also, consider the wealth and power behind those who might oppose the heroes in their efforts. Let's hope they find an honorable and influential patron. 

The Phantom Executioner of Spiretop: This module, ST01, is the first of a series set within and around the troubled village of Spiretop. A killer leaves a trail of headless corpses, and not a single clue to follow. The victims are left lying in the open, their neatly-severed heads not far from the bodies. There are no signs of struggle, nor of the victims attempting to flee. Townsfolk fear to leave their homes after dark and local authorities are at a loss to solve the crimes, or to keep them from happening again. Spiretop has long been known for its eccentricities and a somewhat Gothic character, but this is the town’s first serial killer.

·        Pillar of Thunder: The party was recruited by Sebastani Crane, initially to find clues regarding his vanished father’s whereabouts. The trail of information led to the Crane ancestral home in southern Tivra, also revealing that ‘Crane’ was not the family’s true name. Tomorrow, your mentor is sending your group by ship to the southern coast of Canaea, a humid and windy place with a civilization somewhat less advanced than you are used to. Your destination is a natural rock formation at the bottom of a towering waterfall, worked by ancient hands into a temple, called the Pillar of Thunder.

Prisoner of the Iron Sanctum: No available information at this time.

·        The Rampant Rabbits of Duskfell Glebe: Large black rabbits seen near town, fearless and elusive. Small animals start to disappear – then, small children. A black rabbit is almost always seen leaving the scene of the disappearance. Finally, adult townspeople begin to vanish. Confront the rabbits – possibly finding their warren and discovering their true nature. Learn the fates of the lost victims.

·        Sanctum of Illthrix: Third in a trilogy exploring the mysteries and threats surrounding the villainous figure known as Illthrix. In this adventure, you will boldly go where no hero has gone before.

·        Shattered Dungeon: The residents of Three Corners were awakened by a mighty blast of sound that came from the craggy heights just beyond the edge of town. Emerging from their homes, the townsfolk gaped in wonder, and not a little fear, at the massive shapes that hung in the sky above.

Not clouds, but huge formations of stone and earth. Enormous pieces of the lost dungeon complex rumored to lie beneath the crags themselves - blasted outward and floating impossibly over and around the town. Within some of the broken surfaces could be seen exposed passages and chambers. Ominous shapes moved about within, never exposing themselves to full view.

How did the floating rubble get there? How long would it stay? Would it suddenly come plunging to earth? Would the horrible monsters that surely lurked within make their way down to terrorize the town? What could be done?

·        Shunned Catacombs of Night’s Embrace: Night's Embrace - infamous title of a necromancer that history records under no other name. Sealed away after death, this masked villain vowed to return and wreak vengeance upon those who ended his (her?) reign of terror almost forty years ago. All of those heroes are now dead, and eerie masked figures have started to appear at a distance to each of you - the heirs of those departed adventurers. Today, you have all been summoned to a collective reading of the wills of the dearly departed. Has vengeance been served? Will you be the next to fall?

Sunrise Mantle of the Cloud Tyrant: Recover the pelt of a ki-rin worn by an evil cloud giant as a trophy. The pelt can be used to restore the noble creature to life again.

 

Tears of the Gorgon: A famous adventurer and explorer was turned to stone years ago, and became his own monument. No magic has been able to return him to flesh-and-blood. Experts say he can only be restored by the tears or saliva of the gorgon that transformed him. Authorities were content to leave the adventurer as-is, until learning he is the only person who knows the location of the lost relic that can save the realm from an unholy plague.  

“They’ve taken Ruby! Beautiful, precious Ruby. The reward for her return will be generous – no questions asked. Please do not let her come to harm. 

The Unhallowing: That is what it would be called.

When Achurael, patron deity of Shardfell, seduced and killed Iunae, patron deity of Northwold, that realm became an unhallowed land. Many who died in Northwold rose again as horrible undead monsters with a thirst for the blood of the living. At first, the Northwolder priests struggled valiantly to put the monsters down. Without the blessing of their fallen goddess, their efforts were largely in vain. In time, they appealed desperately for aid to the Sun Church of the eastern domain known as Brightmorn. Tragically, they had waited too long.

A nation of vampires eventually rose to usurp the dominion of the living. Only the cleansing light of day served to keep the monsters from spreading far beyond the Northwold capital. Now, the realm of Brightmorn is under attack by those who would topple the power of the sun god and plunge the world into eternal night. The unhallowed rule the night.

Will you walk in the light, or skulk in the darkness?

·         

Versus The Giants: Giants of various types have been causing upheavals in the lands of men and other civilized races bordering Undomni, raiding and pillaging in coordinated and baffling fashion. Their targets have, so far, been places of learning and museums or archival houses. While there have been brutal slayings of innocents, the deaths have been, for a mercy, minimal. The local lords agree that these huge marauders are looking for something, and with a common will. The same lords have gathered a party of the most courageous and capable adventurers in the region to investigate these odd incursions, stop the raiders, and recover that which was stolen. These adventurers must follow any trails left by the giants, learn who may be responsible for their organized action, and what their nefarious goal might be. Meanwhile, the lords bicker and gather their forces in preparation for a threat that may or may not come from any quarter at all. These local rulers are nervous and eager to find a clear target for their wrath - the heroes should pray that they do not become the focus for that wrath, should they fail. In the meantime, this year's winter seems to be deepening in all defiance of the welcome spring season so close at hand.

·        When the River God Started Vomiting Corpses: For generations, the mighty city-state has offered human sacrifices to propitiate and honor their patron River God. Now, the massive idol is spewing forth bodies from its gaping mouth - undead bodies that prey upon the living. The god himself is silent, and his priests were among the first to fall. Unless salvation comes to the city, the undead will outnumber the living before the flood season.

·        Whistling Ruins of Goat Hill:

“The ruins sit atop the bare hill, moss blotching the crumbled walls like a disfiguring skin disease. Strangers often ask why we called the place the whistling ruins, until I bring them up on the windy days. Those holes in the walls aren't entirely random, you know. Lots of them were put there, angled just right. Some say by those who built the place so long ago, before the early settlers came. When the wind cuts across this hilltop out of the north and west, you can...well, here it comes, and you can hear for yourself. Eerie, isn't it? Like the music of the damned. Yeah, the wind goes almost as quick as it comes. Not a breath of air now to stir one hair on your head...but - the whistling --- it doesn't stop...but, it does get...closer...well, now - that's a first."

·        Wind of Bronze: The great Mystical Organ has been found in a hollow plateau and someone is using it to wreak havoc across the land. A brilliant, but somewhat unstable, composer (Hessic) has written his magnum opus in honor of the woman he loves (Eohari). This woman happens to be of noble birth and her father forbids this man to court her, not even allowing the composition to be played for her.

This drives the young man over the edge and he seeks revenge. Researching the existence and location of the Mystical Organ, he finally succeeds in finding the artifact in the desert, and proceeds to play his composition. The Organ is ancient beyond reckoning and the composer knows that his music will be heard, even in the distant city. Unfortunately, the Organ has also fallen into disrepair and the young man’s playing calls up terrible forces that howl across the sands, directly to the city. At first, the composer cannot control the monsters of wind and song that he accidentally awakens, but learns to in time.

To his horrified dismay, he finds that the creatures have caused the death of his beloved, but that her tyrannical father still lives. This begins a terrible war between the composer with his elemental servitors, and the nobleman with his armies. The armies that cross the desert to destroy the source of the invading monsters. Since the nobleman has become ruler of the entire region following the death of the last ruler, he brings the full might of the military to bear. The former ruler was also slain during one of the elemental attacks. Eventually, the battle comes down to an unfortunate fight between the deranged elementals of the Organ and the bound genies of the nobleman’s court wizards.

The heroes must find a way to resolve the conflict with a minimal loss of life and honor.

  

Wondrous Workshop of Ungald the Unrequited:

Then, there was the story of the artificer who went insane trying to perfect his horde of mechanical rust monsters.

This, for posterity, is the only tale of Ungald the Unrequited, artificer and poet.

Bullied by the thick-skulled scions of knights, and scorned by their joust circuit groupies, Ungald grew into a man more intimate with the workings of mechanisms and materials. In self-imposed isolation, Ungald turned his engineer's mind toward the crafting of devices that would improve the quality of life for all humanity. Far from the noise and unkindness of the town, the brilliant young man produced gadgets and machines to inspire wonder.

Then, a local lord built a fine new jousting arena not two miles from Ungald's workshop. Young knights came from five counties to compete, their giggling groupies in tow. Their all-night victory parties made concentration upon delicate and arcane mechanisms impossible. The shouts of the unwashed spectators, the delighted squeals of the unsullied "maidens," the stench of manure, sweat, rust - and...

Could the solution be so simple? All his torment ended in one brilliant stroke? Only time and toil would tell.

Ungald's prototype rust monster managed to destroy most of his tools and raw materials before the artificer ended his own creation with acid. The next mechanical rust monster destroyed itself. So did the next four. One desperate creation nearly killed him for the iron in his blood. Who knew?!

            In time, tales of escaped "rust golems" brought curious adventurers to the hidden workshop. Today, there are no such creatures known to exist. No one claims to know the fate of Ungald himself. In fact, there were none this chronicler could find that remembered his name.

The Worldseed Spore: One morning, a second moon seemed to appear in the sky. The collision of the colossal puffball fungus will cause widespread devastation, but not as much as might be expected. The plant is mostly hollow and not nearly as heavy as an object of similar size. The initial collision will rock the entire globe and cause widespread destruction at the point of impact. The outer shell of the spore will crumple easily when it strikes; immediately releasing a thick cloud of drifting fungal seeds that will pour across the world like a deadly, gritty fog. The spores themselves are not poisonous, nor immediately deadly in and of themselves, but they will choke and suffocate many living creatures caught in the initial release. These seeds anchor themselves to most surfaces and will generally start to sprout within one day of their arrival. A bewildering variety of fungus will erupt all at once, across the globe, turning the planet into a vast garden of pallid fecundity. Soon thereafter, sentient and monstrous types of fungal creatures will begin to appear across the land. These creatures seem to exist for the purpose of spreading the growth of the encroaching fungus, and to target possible resistance or saviors. Other forms of life are not tolerated on this new world and the planet will usually be transformed into an even larger worldspore within a month. The original worldseed spore will have crumbled to powdery rubble by the time this transformation is complete, but the creatures it has spawned will live on. Unless the Worldseed Spore can somehow be stopped.