The situation

A bell rings inside a foundry, followed by another, then a third. Nobody is touching them. A visible silver ripple jumps from one suspended bell to the next, making each ring once as it passes.

Orven Dask, the bellfounder, is scrambling along an overhead maintenance gallery. He points to an enormous cracked bell hanging above the open loading doors. If the ripple reaches it, he says, the entire thing will fall.

There are six intermediate bells between the workbench and the great bell. The ripple has already crossed two when the characters enter the situation. The workshop is packed with chains, tools, spare metal vessels, hanging counterweights, and places to climb or maneuver.

What is actually happening

Orven once captured the great bell's first toll in an enchanted glass vessel so he could preserve its original resonance for future tuning. The bell later developed a severe crack and was taken out of service. Minutes ago, Orven accidentally shattered the vessel.

The imprisoned toll escaped as a magical echo. It can pass through open air and ignore obstacles that would stop a creature, but it is attracted to resonating metal. Whenever it enters one of the smaller bells, it is briefly held there while the bell vibrates. Then it continues toward the bronze that originally produced it.

The great bell's damaged mounting will not withstand another full resonance.

Run the pressure

The echo advances about one bell per minute. Its path is visible as a silver ripple in the air, and the ringing makes its current position unmistakable. As it gets closer, chains tremble, tools rattle across the benches, and the overhead gallery begins to sway.

Orven can often predict its next stop by listening to the changing pitch, but he cannot get ahead of it alone. His help is useful rather than essential: the characters can see and hear enough to work out the route for themselves.

If the echo reaches the original bell, a deafening toll fractures its support brackets. Several tons of bronze crash through the loading platform and into the alley beyond.

The complication

The obvious response is to silence all the bells. That is exactly the wrong thing to do in advance.

Each intermediate bell attracts the echo and briefly slows it. If a bell is muffled before the echo arrives, the sound simply bypasses it and heads farther along the route. Show this directly: Orven stuffs cloth into one bell's mouth, and the silver ripple skips that bell entirely.

The party needs to use the resonance as an opportunity, not eliminate it indiscriminately.

Possible approaches

Trap the sound during a ring. Get to a bell while the echo is still vibrating inside it. Wrap the rim, immobilize the clapper, or otherwise damp its resonance at that exact moment. The trapped sound dissipates. Doing this before the echo arrives does not trap anything; it removes a delay.

Redirect its path. A large metal vessel, spare bell, or suitable hanging counterweight can provide another resonant target. Striking an object with a suitably deep tone can attract the echo away from its usual path. A diversion is temporary, however: the characters must use it to bring the sound into reach of a trap or it will resume seeking the great bell. Repeated strikes also consume precious time.

Interfere with the magic. Dispel Magic can unravel the escaping enchantment. Silence placed directly over the moving echo destroys its ability to sustain itself through resonance. But putting Silence ahead of it, over bells it has not reached, can remove the delays and accelerate the danger.

Prepare for failure. If interception is no longer realistic, reinforce the great bell with chains, braces, or magic and evacuate the loading area and alley. The final toll still strikes with enormous force. Strong enough reinforcement might prevent the collapse, and evacuation can prevent casualties even if the mounting fails.

The encounter works best when players can understand the pattern through what they observe and choose their own solution. The critical distinction is simple: silencing a bell before the echo arrives speeds it up; damping a bell while the echo is inside can stop it.

Greetings everyone!

We are Drias Guild, a small independent group made up of three Italian guys, founded with the goal of writing and publishing one-shots and campaigns for D&D 5e/5.5e.

We've just released our first oneshot: Raven Mood's Carnival, a horror adventure designed for 3–6 players of 5th level, with an estimated playtime of 4–6 hours.

The party finds itself at Raven Mood’s Carnival, the infamous traveling freak show created by Frederick Raven Mood, where street performers, extraordinary creatures, merchants and monsters of every kind gather from across the realm. They soon discover, upon entering the terrifying “Hellish House of Frederick Raven Mood,” that the carnival is merely a ruse orchestrated by Mood himself to kidnap the unfortunate...

The module includes:

• A 15-page adventure
• 18 original illustrations (NO AI)
• 2 maps
• 7 tokens
• 3 original minigames that can be reused in other campaigns
• 1 puzzle
• 1 customizable invitation ticket for your players

If you want to support us you can buy it on DMs Guild!

For generations, the isolated village of Hollowmere has sacrificed one of its own to keep an ancient horror imprisoned beneath Saint Harrow's Church. Now a blood-covered survivor has fled the village, claiming that everyone is dead. Something has gone terribly wrong, and the adventurers must uncover what happened before it's too late.

The Red Tithe is a 75-page dark fantasy and folk-horror one-shot adventure for D&D 5E (2014) and 5.5E (2024), designed for 3-6 characters and approximately 4-6 hours of play.

The adventure combines investigation, exploration, roleplaying, moral dilemmas, and challenging combat as the characters investigate an abandoned village, encounter monstrous creatures, and uncover the truth behind a centuries-old tradition.

What makes the adventure different is its multi-tiered structure. The same story can be played at three separate level ranges:

• Tier I: Levels 3-4
• Tier II: Levels 10-11
• Tier III: Levels 17-20

Each tier features appropriately scaled encounters, DCs, and a different manifestation of the main antagonist, the Blood Moon Beast.

The manual also includes 6 custom monster stat blocks, 3 battle maps with 8 total versions, and 4 tokens for tabletop or VTT play.

Whether you're looking for a Halloween horror one-shot or a dark adventure to integrate into your ongoing campaign, The Red Tithe is designed to work in either setting.

I've included several preview pages, maps, and one of the monster statblocks in the images!

You can find the complete adventure on DriveThruRPG!

My Kickstarter for 300+ Mythological Items for 5E and 5.5E is also live now! The campaign includes a physical hardcover, as well as printed editions of my previous manuals.

You can find more of my creatures, magic items, and manuals on DriveThruRPG, my Linktree, or right here on r/JonnyDM!

We're AAW Games, the publisher of Ashes to Venom.

This preview includes adventure material, locations, maps, and an encounter from the starter. Ashes to Venom is a short level-1 adventure with six ready-to-play drow heroes for both 5E 2014 and 2024.

In occupied Hopeholme, the party must recover a secret dossier from ruined Niss Manor and smuggle it past the Coalition. Their cover story is salvage; their real work is rebellion.

The complete digital starter is free with email signup:

https://adventureaweek.com/after-the-fall-presale/#starter

I've always thought Pandora's Box would make for a fantastic item in D&D, so for my latest project, I decided to turn it into a fully playable 5e artifact, trying to preserve both the original myth and its potential as a major plot device.

The box has several interesting properties. While closed, it grants its bearer powerful protection, but opening it even slightly releases lesser evils that can afflict nearby creatures with various conditions. Opening it completely, however, is another matter entirely: it unleashes a catastrophe upon the world, potentially bringing plagues, wars, famine, or other disasters.

There's also a curse that gradually tempts its owner to open it, making it particularly dangerous even in the hands of otherwise sensible adventurers.

One aspect I especially wanted to explore is Hope, which remains trapped inside the box. In the original myth, its significance is surprisingly ambiguous, and I think that opens up some fascinating possibilities for a campaign. Perhaps Hope is a benevolent spirit capable of reversing the devastation, or perhaps its continued imprisonment serves a much more mysterious purpose.

This is one of the artifacts from my 300+ Mythological Items for 5E and 5.5E Kickstarter, which is currently live! The book features hundreds of items inspired by Greek, Norse, Egyptian, Asian, and many other mythological traditions, with both their original lore and playable mechanics.

You can find the project here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/mythoschronicles/300-mythological-items-for-5e-and-2024

Have a great day!

The Headless Horseman is more than just an undead rider with a flaming pumpkin for a head. He's a vengeful spirit bound to the mortal world by an ancient curse, with his steed, armored body, and spectral jack-o'-lantern forming a single, inseparable entity.

Legends tell of a fallen soldier, executioner, or knight who was beheaded for his crimes and returned under a cursed harvest moon. Some believe his spirit is connected to Samhain, when the boundary between the living and the dead grows thin enough for restless spirits to cross.

Wherever he rides, crops rot, animals panic, and the air fills with the smell of smoke and freshly dug earth. And simply defeating him isn't enough. Unless a specific funerary ritual is performed, the Horseman eventually rises again to continue his hunt.

Mechanically, the Headless Horseman is a CR 14 undead built around mobility, relentless pursuit, and devastating attacks. His Fiery Greataxe deals slashing and fire damage, with additional necrotic damage against frightened enemies, while Laughing Skull allows him to hurl his flaming pumpkin head at enemies, unleashing a fiery explosion that deals 10d6 fire damage.

His Ghostride ability lets him pass through solid objects, while his legendary actions allow him to charge across the battlefield, stun enemies with Glare of Embers, or mark a target with Harvest Mark, making that creature especially vulnerable to his attacks.

I've also included four optional traits to customize the encounter, from leaving burning hoofprints behind to relentlessly tracking creatures that try to escape him.

The Headless Horseman is from Undead & Undead: The Ultimate Undead Handbook, available for 5E and the 2024 Edition on DriveThruRPG!

The manual includes 90+ undead statblocks, each with optional traits and variants, alongside an undead lair system, 50+ magic items, customizable templates, necromantic rituals, campaign tools, and VTT resources. It's designed to give DMs plenty of options for building undead encounters, from minor restless spirits to powerful necromantic horrors.

My Kickstarter for 300+ Mythological Items for 5E and 2024 is also live now! The campaign includes a physical hardcover, as well as printed editions of my previous manuals.

You can find more of my creatures, magic items, and manuals on DriveThruRPG, my Linktree, or right here on r/JonnyDM!

Foreword: I previously posted this text in another subreddit but deleted it shortly after because I was open about having used AI for the final version of the text. Since I was a bit vague about the exact extent back then, I’d like to clarify it here so I don't get accused of "people not even bothering to write stuff themselves anymore, but expecting others to read it."

To be clear: I only used AI for analysis—specifically to check for typos, sentence structure errors, and to give me suggestions for better phrasing. I did this because I have dyslexia (LRS), which makes my raw text quite hard to read. That is literally all I used it for. I hope this clarification helps, and I appreciate your understanding! Either way, I hope you like my campaign idea.

(Btw. The Original Text was German, cause i am German. I used a Translator to make an English Version)

Campaign Concept: The Dream Realm

Genre: High Fantasy, Surrealism, Exploration, and Moral Dilemmas

The Core Concept

Long ago, a group of mages managed to capture a Beholder and place it into a magically induced sleep using a massive arcane machine. They had discovered that a Beholder’s dreams can manifest into reality under the right conditions. Their device amplified this capability and allowed them to actively influence and direct the creature's dreams.

What initially began as the greatest magical achievement of their era brought unimaginable wealth and prosperity to them and the surrounding settlements. Over time, however, the mages realized they had created a power that no one could control forever.

Unwilling to destroy the apparatus, yet terrified of it falling into the wrong hands, they banished it along with all their research to another plane of existence—a place where time flows differently, preventing the device from simply decaying over time.

They believed they had solved the problem.

They were wrong. The machine kept working.

Without its original controllers, the Beholder’s dreams are no longer steered. Instead, they continue to be amplified, expanding wildly without restraint. A strange, alien realm has emerged—a dimension whose landscapes, inhabitants, and physical laws are born entirely from the mind of a sleeping Beholder.

Now, this realm has begun bleeding into the Material Plane.

When Reality Begins to Dream

At first, the changes seem harmless—or at least mysterious. A local lake suddenly takes on impossible colors and becomes populated by unheard-of fish species. In a nearby forest, trees grow in impossible geometry, paths loop endlessly back to their starting point, and local wildlife mutates into increasingly absurd forms.

Over time, these incursions grow more frequent and dangerous. Entire regions distort, alien creatures manifest, and the boundaries between the two planes begin to blur.

A local ruler—a Count, King, or regional authority—recognizes the threat and hires a party of adventurers to investigate the source of these anomalies and find a solution.

Their investigation eventually leads them to the Dream Realm and the arcane device responsible for the corruption.

A World Without Fixed Boundaries

The Dream Realm grants the Dungeon Master immense creative freedom. Born from the subconscious of a sleeping Beholder, it can take virtually any form:

• The heroes might traverse surreal landscapes, encounter nightmarish creatures, or discover peaceful, breathtakingly beautiful locations that feel almost paradisiacal.
• They could meet bizarre inhabitants, form bonds, and interact with beings whose very existence depends entirely on this realm.

Not everything here is hostile. Not everything is dangerous. And not everything that appears alien needs to be destroyed.

At the same time, this realm is not a simple dream one can wake up from. It is a physically tangible reality where the party can act, fight, suffer, and die. They have no innate control over the environment and must adapt to the unpredictable whims of a reality anchored by a sleeping monster.

The True Dilemma

At first, the party’s goal seems straightforward: destroy the apparatus and prevent the Dream Realm from encroaching on the Material Plane.

However, the longer they stay, the harder that decision becomes.

• What if they’ve made friends among the realm's inhabitants?
• What if they meet beings with their own distinct hopes, fears, and personalities?
• What if they realize some of these creatures are no longer just fleeting dream constructs, but living, sentient souls?

What happens to them if the apparatus is destroyed?

According to standard D&D lore, a Beholder’s dream creations usually fade away once the Beholder wakes up—unless it remembers them. But what happens to an entire self-sustaining plane preserved and amplified by an ancient machine? No one can say for sure.

The adventurers are forced to ask themselves: Are they willing to erase an entire world and its innocent inhabitants just to save their own? And even if they refuse to destroy it, how long can they contain its expansion?

Perhaps there is a third option. Perhaps there isn't.

Why I Find This Concept Interesting

This adventure combines the exploration of a surreal plane with a clear initial hook and a heavy moral dilemma that unfolds organically over time.

It works equally well as a classic dimensional expedition, an exploration-heavy sandbox full of weird encounters, or a deeply narrative campaign where players slowly question what "saving the world" actually means.

The exact entry point, inhabitants, hazards, and ultimate solutions are intentionally left open. This is meant to be a campaign framework—a foundation that any DM can adapt and build upon for their own table.

Inspirations & Encounter Ideas for the Dream Realm

The Dream Realm defies ordinary logic. Its physical laws, locations, and denizens can shift unexpectedly. Not every shift has to be hostile—some places can be ethereal, others disturbing, and some completely absurd.

Potential Locations & Encounter Seeds:

• The Endless Forest: Every path leads deeper into the woods, even when the party is certain they reached the edge. Occasionally, they stumble across familiar landmarks that shouldn't be there.
• The Sky Ocean: A vast ocean floats directly above an endless plain. Fish swim through the clouds, while massive waterfalls drop from the sky, vanishing into the ground without leaving a trace.
• The Uninhabited Metropolis: A city that feels alive and active, despite having no visible inhabitants. Doors open on their own, meals are served at taverns, and hushed chatter echoes from houses. Who is talking?
• A Peaceful Paradise: A valley overflowing with vibrant flora, friendly locals, and endless resources. It seems like the perfect place to rest. Why would anyone ever want to leave?
• The Living Nightmare: A landscape hunted by an invisible dread. The environment actively responds to fear—the more panicked the party gets, the more lethal the terrain becomes.
• A Timeless Place: Inhabitants remember events that haven't happened yet, while others relive the exact same day repeatedly without realizing it.
• A Realm of Memories: The party finds physical representations of long-forgotten events, strangers' lives, or even their own pasts. But are these memories truly theirs?
• An Impossible Wish: A dream creature desires something trivial to mortals, but impossible for itself—like wanting to see a real sunrise for the first time, or being given a true name.

These locations don't just have to be obstacles—they can offer lore, puzzles, allies, and moral choices. A creature that looks like a horrific monster might just be asking for help. A beautiful paradise might give a player character a reason to abandon the mission entirely.

Character Hooks & Motivations

The party members don't all need to share the same reason for entering the Dream Realm. Conflicting motivations can lead to great roleplay opportunities when the final decision approaches.

Example Hooks:

• The Mages' Heir: A descendant of one of the original creators. They grew up on family legends and want to see the legendary device firsthand—or perhaps reclaim their ancestors' lost knowledge.
• The Fallen Noble: Their family's former wealth originated from the machine's prime era. They seek to restore their house's glory and might be tempted to use the device for themselves.
• The Dutiful Knight: Protecting the realm is paramount. They are ready to stop the Dream Realm at all costs—until they meet the innocent beings thriving inside it.
• The Curious Scholar: Wants to study and document this unknown plane, believing the knowledge could benefit mortal understanding. But when does academic curiosity become recklessness?
• The Dreamer: Has spent their life searching for a place where the impossible is real. The Dream Realm is the fulfillment of a lifelong wish. What if they find something here they could never have in the Material Plane?
• The Penitent: Responsible for a past tragedy, they view this dangerous expedition as a chance for redemption.
• The Collector of Wonders: Rare artifacts, unknown flora/fauna, and impossible physics are priceless to them. They might try to smuggle something out without understanding the consequences.
• The Skeptic: Believes reports of a "dream dimension" are wildly exaggerated and seeks a logical explanation. Entering forces them to reevaluate their worldview.
• The Seeker: Looking for answers to a deeply personal quest—a lost loved one, a stolen memory, or a way to undo a past mistake.
• The Opportunist / Treasure Hunter: Sees an untapped market for rare materials, influence, or unique trade. They aren't inherently evil, but their priorities differ greatly from those trying to save the world.
• The Guardian: Met a creature from the Dream Realm before the expedition began (perhaps it saved their life or begged for help), making the mission deeply personal.

made some improvements to my interactive dm hub and would like some more feedback please try it here :)

Try Mini Encounter

I've been working on this setting for a while, and after a few tries, I've put together a timeline! This is my first time writing a homebrew setting, so please be kind and give me ideas and feedback for it!

-The Age of Beginnings-

The world was freshly made by the gods, a world adrift the Astral Plane among others. Life went on as most worlds do; gods created beasts to represent them, and they began to make settlements. This began with the founding of several kingdoms, with their respective gods forcing war upon them, such as the occasional orcish raid sent by Gruumsh (god of Orcs) out of hatred for Corellon (god of Elves), as Moradin (god of Dwarves) went to work crafting the mountain-dwelling Dwarves. Sooner than later, the world was populated and war broke often. During this time, the first King of Ephoris was born: [Deciding, Percival?] Draken. He had united the humans in the area and allied with the elves in the conflict against the Orcs, one that would last for millennia and shed much blood.

-The Age of the Flayed Mind-

Despite its relative isolated location in the Astral Plane, it did not leave it completely safe from outside threats. From massive Nautiliods came Mindflayers on their mission to create the "Grand Design", a vile attempt at assimilation across all things in the known multiverse. They went plane to plane, world to world, searching for more hosts, more resources, more territory. More. They besieged the young world, taking mind after mind, consuming brains and establishing outposts. Nearly 80% of Ephoris' realm was absorbed, made into thralls or transformed into the psionic beasts through a dreadful process called Ceremorphosis. Having established a new branch of their world-spanning empire, they now had yet another foothold to conquer from.

-Age of the Broken Mind-

After some time of the world being consumed by the Illithid presence, whether it be due to the decadence and complacently of the Illithid Empire, or maybe some kind of weakness, the muscle of the empire, that being the Gith, broke free from their mind control. As a united front, they banished the empire in under a year, with nearly their entire presence on the Astral Plane gone and the Illithids hiding in the deepest depths of the Material Plane. Ephoris was free once more, and made an executive order to seal the underground with mass move earth spells and constant surveillance of the underground, later renamed The Underdark. It became a kind of prison network for the royalty of Ephoris, where many, such as the worshipers of Lolth who later became the Drow, and the most greedy of traitorous Dwarves in the Orcish War, who later became the Duergar, were banished. Only the royalty knew of the Underdark prison, as it faded into myth and obscurity.

-Age of Blood-

This period is marked by two things: The Great Orcish Boom, and the Githyanki Raids. The Orcs, who had been longstanding enemies of the Kingdom of Ephoris, decided to fully devote themselves to Gruumsh, allowing them more of his power, along with them practicing more and more rites of violence and bloodshed. Additionally, the Gith had not forgotten this tucked-away plane, as they had devided into two halves: The violent and raiding Githyanki, and the rigid and thoughtful Githzerai. The Gith had divided, with one half wishing to conquer the world like their previous oppressors, and one half who wish to fight the other and keep the world in balance. The Githyanki had decided to establish an outpost on Ephoris, with the intent on hunting down Illithids and taking this plane. They had made a deal with Tiamat the Dragon Queen to allow them chromatic dragons as steeds, and they used them to devastating effect. Due to the effects of age in the Astral Plane, several dragons grew to adulthood weeks into being in Ephoris, and decided to make their dens there. Along with the increase in Chromatic Dragons came Metallic Dragons, who also for a time lived within the plane, sent by Bahamut in an endless tug-of-war between the two. Along with the Metallic Dragons came the Githzerai, who wished to stop the Githyanki's conquest.

In all of the chaos, the kingdom did what it could to survive. Thousands died as settlements became ruins, and legends were told about those who survived the chaos and those who helped them. Among the legend was the legend of Brasshaven (Seen in "Settlements") as well as the first sighting of the Kuo-Tua in Hayfall. In the conflict with the orcs, the goblinoids of the land were forced into hiding, and after some years of fighting, allied with the Kingdom despite the wishes of their god Maglubiyet. This caused a schism in the goblinoid host. One half stayed loyal to Maglubiyet and spread thin across the nation, and one became an ally to Ephoris.

Throughout all of this chaos, eventually both sides of the Draconic Conflict and the Gith conflict ended, with nearly all of the draconic beasts and all of the Gith decided to retreat to their original planes, leaving a scarred, weakened Ephoris.

-The Age of Gold-

After the pain of the Age of Blood, the Ephoris has begun to heal. With the goblinoid threat becoming a tool to help cut down on orcs, nearly every single Orc in the continent has been slain, and whatever few remain are no longer enough of a threat to live in fear. Centuries pass, with much of the Gith's War becoming folk tales and Orcish Savagery becoming horror stories. By now the Duergar and Drow have fully fell into their niches as the Underdark has become its own ecosystem, and trade has flourished among settlements due to (Mostly) safe trade routes. However, as all lies do, the surface has begun to crack. In the most remote parts of the Kingdom, entrances to the Underdark have opened, allowing the Mind Flayer menace an opportunity to strike once more. The current king, King Archibald Draken, was to be escorted through the darkness as both an archeological expedition and to see if the tales told through his line were true.

He was taken by the Illithids, and replaced with an intellect devourer.

The Mind Flayers had largely concerned themselves with awaiting their eventual freedom. By breeding inhuman beasts, feasting upon the minds of their fellow prisoners, and expanding the power of its Elder Brain, with the additional creation of an Ulitharid. Now that they have a pawn in royalty, all they need is to knock the house of cards over. They need more pawns.

-End-

And that's what I have so far! Please let me know if it makes sense, since this is mostly based off of Volo's Guide and MToF. Have a good one!

Hello fellow adventurers,

Today we are excited to share another extended preview of Mythological Items, now live on Kickstarter!

This is our new D&D 5E and 2024-compatible manual dedicated entirely to magic items inspired by myths, legends, and ancient stories from around the world.

Inside the book, you will find 300+ mythological magic items, including weapons, armor, wondrous items, and scaling items designed to grow alongside your characters and campaigns.

Our goal with Mythological Items is to create more than a simple collection of treasure. Each item is designed to feel like part of a myth: something that can serve as a reward, a quest hook, or even the center of an entire adventure.

The book includes items inspired by many different mythological traditions, including Greek, Norse, Egyptian, Asian, American, Roman, Mesopotamian, African, and other mythologies from across the world. Whether you want divine weapons, cursed artifacts, heroic relics, monster-themed treasures, or legendary items tied to ancient stories, this book is built to bring myth directly to your table.

The Kickstarter page includes a full presentation of the project, several previews, and a free 30-page PDF preview showing a sample of the content from the book.

You can also find many of our other manuals in PDF and high-quality print editions, with special prices currently available both for Mythological Items and for all our other releases.

You can visit the Kickstarter page here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/mythoschronicles/300-mythological-items-for-5e-and-2024

Thank you again for your support. We hope to see you on our journey!

Published writers, I ask for advice.

I got my first rating, which I was very excited about, but it is a 3-star rating. I'm a nearly devastated, I'll admit, but I think I'm more bothered by the lack of review and feedback than the actual rating.

Have you been given a poor rating of work you worked hard on, were proud of? What was your response and how do you handle it now?

I have a new interactive DM hub I'm testing out comes with a full written Mini encounter can you guys try it out for me and give me some feedback? Helps me to improve on it.

Try it here MINI ENCOUNTER AND DM HUB