Mad God's Key - Dungeon Magazine 114

Mad God's Key is a starter adventure for a campaign beginning at 1st level. It is an urban adventure that is perfect for introducing characters to a larger city, taking PCs on a trip through various districts. Originally written for D&D 3.5, it is another one that easily lends itself to conversion into other editions including 5e.

Fits like a glove . . . This can be put almost anywhere from Greyhawk (the setting it is written for) to Waterdeep, or in my case, Ptolus. While most of it takes place inside the city, there is one part that occurs outside. In the case of Ptolus that doesn't have to happen and the small dungeon is a great match for the district where I'll be placing it.

I'll be using this to start things off in the city of Ptolus when the characters arrive. The characters in my campaign are already quite a bit above the levels the scenario is designed to handle. Some adjustments are being made, but there's no harm in leaving some segments as an easier challenge as long as the story progresses properly. 

No detailed spoilers are included in this post. It'll all come out when the game session write ups are posted in the future, but some things will be mentioned.

The adventure begins in the Guildsman District when characters become involved in recovering a stolen key (the title of the adventure gives that much away). The trail leads to the Docks, to the Warrens, to Oldtown, to the Temple District, and then the Necropolis. The opportunities opened up by this progression make showing off what Ptolus has in store easy. There are more districts in Ptolus that are not touched on in this adventure, but something needs to be left for later. 

NPCs fall into place almost seamlessly for organizations within Ptolus. Later plot possibilities can be set up as if they belonged there the whole time. 

There is not a clock ticking to get things done, but it feels that sooner might be better than later, and sooner makes more sense for the course of events as some take place the same day that things get rolling. Spots do remain available to squeeze other stuff in between events, but you will want to keep the players involved in the plot so keep outside influences to a minimum.

As I write this post I am trying to goad myself to get on with painting a number of miniatures and pieces of terrain that will make for a good 'welcome to Ptolus'. Anyone that has followed this blog for any amount of time likely knows that motivation is often a weak point for me. At least I have them ready to be primed.

If you can land yourself a copy of Dungeon Magazine  #114 get it for this adventure.

Lord of the Scarlet Tide - Dungeon Magazine 85

In Dungeon Magazine issue #85 is an adventure titled Lord of the Scarlet Tide. Written for 3rd edition it is simple enough to convert for 5e. While the adventure as written is somewhat bland, the core elements can slide into a Ptolus campaign with little adjustment.

The premise revolves around a trapped powerful aberration being partially freed. I'm changing things so that someone took a magical tablet (one of five) that holds the necessary information for keeping it imprisoned. The creature causes a fungal disease to spread from its prison far below the city. Getting the tablet back where it belongs and performing the ritual to recapture the creature or defeating the monster is the goal.

The ideas and some encounters lend themselves easily to Ptolus. The big bad could easily be Galchutt. There’s also a non-typical mind flayer using what can pass perfectly as chaositech. Infected townsfolk, a behir, kuo toa (who originally imprisoned the thing), and ghosts are encounters to be had.

I originally intended to use this in my first Ptolus campaign for one of my two groups. Never got around to it before the campaign came to a halt.

I planned to have Castle Shard send the characters to a high end auction being secretly held. They would be told as cover to bid on whatever they chose (limited budget of 2,000 gold) while remembering everything being auctioned and report back. That is where they would learn about the tablet and its connection to the disease, or similar info that helps put the clues together.

Nightshade - Dungeon Magazine 7

Nightshade is a brief adventure in issue 7 of Dungeon Magazine. The scenario is so brief that it could be completed in a session or less, and will fit neatly alongside other activities a party might get up to in a Ptolus campaign.

It begins as what seems like a simple fetch quest when a well dressed individual asks the PCs to run an errand for him. He should likely approach someone that appears trustworthy such as a cleric, or if the party has made a name for themselves, anyone in the group might work. He indicates that he needs medicine picked up from a wizard/alchemist to aid a friend of his, and that he has an important meeting to attend that is keeping him from the errand. He offers to pay for their time.

This fellow has a secret that his enemies know and are going to try to interfere with the delivery of the "medicine". They've hired some muscle to handle that for them.

If the party agrees to the simple task they'll find the wizard's abode in the North Market down a side alley. Wizards can be anywhere in the city, though the well known places for them include Vock Row and Dweomer Street. I like how the location is described in the adventure so North Market it will be.

This particular wizard has a problem he can't control. He is cursed with massive mood swings. Negotiating with the wizard should be entertaining and at no time will he actually resort to violence except for self defense.

On the return trip the assassin, his competent fighter companion, and their 5 low powered goons (maybe some gang members, Pale Dogs perhaps) will attempt to get the party to turn over the potion.

It's pretty simple, but what makes it interesting is what the wider implications are in a setting like Ptolus.

This well dressed, somewhat foppish fellow is a ladies man of the love-them leave-them type and he has seduced the innocent daughter of a Noble House that would likely do horrible things to him if the secret got out. She of course is anxious to go public with their affair because she is smitten and believes they'll marry. He wants to prevent that without harming her so he commissioned a potion of amnesia.

As you can see, this scenario opens up plenty of opportunities to expand the story and involve the party in all sorts of intrigue where the nobility are concerned.

Dungeon Magazine Archive

I just learned that this exists. It's been up for at least 4 years, probably longer. Here is the address:

https://archive.org/details/dungeonmagazine   <---- Link

I love Dungeon Magazine, especially the older issues and I genuinely wish I had been aware of it from the beginning. Now I have the opportunity to read the issues and seek out material to borrow for my own game. 

I will be going through the issues and posting articles about some adventures and how to use them in a Ptolus campaign.

An Adventure in Restenford: A Lesser Known Lendore Isles Scenario

For fans of Len Lakofka's Secret of Bone Hill and the sequels Assassins Knot and Deep Dwarven Delve, there is another adventure set in the town of Restenford.

In Dungeon Magazine issue #71 is Priestly Secrets written by W. Jason Peck. The story involves the characters in a recovery mission for the church that definitely does not go as one might expect. Everything takes place in Restenford keeping the incidents contained and not involving overland travel other than movement in town.

No spoilers will be shared here since I hope readers will have a chance to play or DM the fun.

An object of importance has been "misplaced" resulting in a threatening infestation and worse. In the course of recovering the item and resolving the root issues, the party will not only encounter opposition in combat, but also challenges of a physical/terrain nature to overcome. 

I ran this for my old campaign group during the transition from second to third edition. The adventure is written for second edition, but can easily be converted to any other edition. The game went great and while the party made it through intact they did have some difficulties that almost resulted in losing a party member to a natural hazard.

While the characters will not get rich from the treasure available, there is the possibility that looting of the available treasure could give the DM the chance for a tie-in later in the campaign.

My original copy of issue #71 was, along with thousands of dollars worth of mostly gaming gear, "lost" during my last move. This is still a sore point. I just paid for a copy of the magazine from an Ebay vendor, it wasn't cheap, but at least I have it back in my collection.

Priestly Secrets will not make it into my Ptolus campaign as-is, but the premise is solid and the core elements easily fit into the setting. By placing the adventure in the Temple District or in North Market near the Necropolis, you can also have some of it take a detour through the sewers and it will still make sense. If it does make the cut, it will end up involving a priestly order that handles burial preparations and funerals, and I'll have to determine how to draw in the PCs since there won't be a Baroness requesting a cleanup.

You may discover a less expensive source for the issue than I did, and I highly recommend getting your hands on it if you are a DM.