Welcome to a world where ancient secrets hide in dark forests and old ruins hold incredible power. Our Adventures section gives you amazing stories, clever plots, and full campaigns that will challenge your heroes and create legends. You can find quick battles or long adventures. Each quest is made to spark your imagination and push your party toward greatness.
This world has been shaped by old wars and hidden secrets. To understand what makes this place special, you need to learn about the fallen kingdoms, the magic that still flows through the land, and the dangers hiding in old places. Read the History of Cresthaven to learn about the past. This knowledge will help you understand your adventures better.
The Setting
A setting is the part of the world where your character lives, explores, and gets into trouble. It includes the physical location, such as a village, city, or wilderness area, but it also means the people who live there, the stories unfolding around them, and the conflicts waiting to be uncovered. A good setting has recurring NPCs, connected quests, hidden tensions, and the chance for players to leave their mark. It’s where rumors start, where adventurers gather, and where the edge of civilization meets the unknown. Strange things happen here. People vanish. Old secrets resurface. This is the kind of place where a single decision can shape what happens next.
The village of Cresthaven sits in the rocky hills as a place of hope and adventure in a tough world. This is not just any town. It is a living community where merchants sell rare items, tavern stories tell of lost treasures, and every person you meet has secrets that could start your next big quest.
Full of connected stories and endless possibilities, the Village of Cresthaven is the perfect starting point for both small and huge campaigns. Here, what your players choose matters to the whole community. The people remember what you have done, and every time you visit you will find new mysteries and chances for adventure.
Adventures
An adventure in Cresthaven is a focused game session or short series of sessions that presents a complete scenario for the players to explore. Adventures typically include a specific location, a central threat or mystery, and opportunities for tactical combat, roleplaying, and discovery. Some adventures last a single evening, while others unfold over two or three sessions. They’re designed to drop into an existing campaign or run as self-contained one-shots. Whether exploring ancient ruins, navigating a haunted forest, or surviving the lair of an alien predator, an adventure gives your party a clear goal, meaningful choices, and consequences that ripple through the world.
The adventure Goblin Raiders walks new Dungeon Masters through the rules and situations common in a typical game of Cresthaven. Designed as a low-stakes, high-guidance introduction, it covers the basics of exploration, combat, ability checks, conditions, and player decision-making. Each scene includes notes, reminders, and suggested responses to help new DMs learn as they run. Whether you’re guiding your first group through a goblin ambush or navigating a simple cave map, Goblin Raiders is the ideal on-ramp for learning the rhythm and structure of Cresthaven gameplay.
The perfect place for new heroes and Dungeon Masters to start
Near the village of Cresthaven, in the deep and dangerous Darkwood forest, goblins are causing trouble at the old Ruins of Darramoka. This adventure teaches new players how to explore dungeons while helping new Dungeon Masters learn how to run their first game.
The story might be familiar, but that’s the point. It gives you a solid foundation to learn the basics without getting lost in complicated plots. Built for five players and one Dungeon Master, Goblin Raiders introduces simple monsters and common situations that every adventurer should know how to handle.
The real adventure begins when you reach the cellar doors. From that moment on, you’ll learn step by step how to explore dangerous places, work as a team, and grow stronger with each challenge you face.
Trouble brews beneath a beloved village tavern. Giant rats. A scheming ratling. A magical fog that turns battle into chaos. Do your players have what it takes? Pests at the Cross Arms Inn a full Cresthaven adventure for 1st-level heroes.
Awakened in a sticky web, your party finds themselves snared in the heart of a nightmare. Chilling skittering echoes through the darkness of caves once home to a goblin clan, now eerily silent except for the rhythmic pulse of something alien. Giant spiders, guided by an unseen intelligence, have transformed this delve into a labyrinth of fear and death. Can you escape the web, uncover the gruesome fate of the goblins, and confront the monstrous mind pulling the strings before you become the next meal?
The Infernal Gauntlet is a high-stakes dungeon encounter designed for 4-5 players of Level 4. Trapped by the enigmatic “Architect of Despair,” players must navigate a series of deadly rooms, each testing different skills and attributes.
Explore the haunted ruins of Marrow’s End in Shadows of Marrowgrave, a thrilling Cresthaven RPG adventure where players become both hunters and hunted. Can your party survive cunning ambushes by elusive ghouls, navigate deadly catacombs, and uncover the dark secrets lurking below?
Deep beneath the abandoned mines of Black Hollow, an ancient darkness stirs. The townsfolk speak of whispers in the night, of vanished miners, and of a long-forgotten entity that should have remained sealed. This mystery horror adventure for six 3rd-level characters takes players through a cursed town, haunted tunnels, and a buried temple where they must uncover the truth before the Hollow Shade consumes them all. Will your party break the cycle of doom—or become part of its legend?
Encounters
An encounter is a focused moment of tension, danger, or discovery where the players’ choices have immediate consequences. Encounters can involve combat, negotiation, exploration, or environmental hazards. They are the core building blocks of an adventure, each one presenting a challenge to solve, a threat to face, or a secret to uncover. In Cresthaven, encounters are designed with tactical depth, meaningful terrain, and clear objectives. A well-run encounter tests the party’s planning, creativity, and teamwork, and often reveals something deeper about the world or the forces at play.
Beneath the crumbling ruins of Blackthorn Manor lies a forgotten vault filled with alchemical secrets, restless spirits, and a deadly construct guarding its hidden treasures. Will your adventurers unlock its mysteries, or will they become its next victims? This three-room dungeon crawl is packed with puzzles, eerie encounters, and a battle against the Alchemical Guardian, an iron golem infused with unstable magical energy.
This encounter is designed for 4-6 adventurers of levels 3-5 who enjoy resource management, problem-solving, and unraveling dark mysteries. The party is cursed by the cunning hag Grythessa, doomed to awaken at the start of their journey every time they take a long rest. With illusions, enchanted minions, and the oppressive Veilwood Forest working against them, players must strategize to break the curse before they are trapped in an endless cycle of despair.
This encounter is well-suited for a party of 4-6 adventurers of 5th level or higher who are comfortable with a challenging fight. The young black dragon, Tenebris, offers a cunning and sadistic foe that can be particularly effective in a swamp environment.
Face a territorial troop of baboons on the scorching savanna in this exciting encounter! Perfect for Dungeon Masters (DMs) seeking to challenge players with a tense social situation. This encounter will test the party’s social skills, combat prowess, and ability to adapt to a potentially explosive situation. Will they appease the troop, fight their way through, or find a clever way to sneak past unnoticed?
This enigmatic archway challenges players with a vibrant display of color and a cryptic riddle. This encounter is perfect for integrating artistic themes and rewarding creative thinking. Difficulty: Medium.
Encounter a relentless swarm of giant ants in this thrilling cave adventure. Perfect for a DM looking to challenge players with an overwhelming enemy force. This encounter will test the party’s combat skills, resourcefulness, and ability to adapt to a seemingly impossible situation. Will they fight their way through the endless horde or find a way to escape the tunnel before they are overrun?
Encounter a fanatical Kobold Cult in the catacombs! Can you defeat their leader Korvus Blackwood and his priestess Sister Seline while they command an army of skeletal warriors? This exciting encounter is designed for adventurers of level 3-4 and offers a challenging tactical battle against cunning enemies. Will you prevail and uncover the secrets of the cult, or succumb to their dark magic?
A serene journey from Cresthaven village to a nearby stream takes a perilous turn as the party encounters an elaborate trap set by fishing spiders, turning an unassuming path into a battleground. “Arachnid Ambush” presents a quick, intense combat encounter against seven venomous spiders, testing the party’s might and strategy. Perfect for game masters and players looking for a swift and thrilling challenge, this encounter promises swift action and potential rewards for the brave.
Players navigate the perilous terrain of a rain-soaked rainforest, ensnared by a goblin shaman’s snare trap, while fending off an ambush. The encounter tests the party’s ability to escape traps, battle goblin skirmishers, and survive the shaman’s primal magic. Suitable for a party of four level 2 characters, this encounter requires players to have skills in perception and combat strategy, along with the potential for quick environmental adaptation and role-playing interactions.
“Caravan in the Crosshairs” is an encounter for four level 5 characters, combining aerial threats from griffon-riding bandits and environmental dangers in a snowy mountain pass. As the caravan faces a surprise attack, the adventurers must navigate treacherous terrain and combat both bandits and the harsh elements.
“Moonlit Glade” is an engaging encounter designed for 2-4 level 3 players in the Cresthaven RPG. Set in an ever-shrinking mystical glade, players are tasked with solving a complex riddle to appease forest spirits and escape an ominous fate.
“Hostage at Owlbear Ridge”, is an encounter for 2 level 4 adventurers who have been dispatched on a critical mission to negotiate the release of a hostage held by kobolds and their owl bear ally.
As you make your way through the dimly lit stone corridors, the air becomes heavy with a foul, garbage-like smell. The hallway ahead is filled with debris – broken furniture, old weapons, and piles of unidentified remains.
Horace Sharpcheeks’ tower, once overseeing Cresthaven, lies in ruin after a mysterious explosion, spawning a call to adventurers to investigate and clear out infesting goblins. This adventure, ideal for new Cresthaven RPG players, promises an exploration of hidden caverns and forgotten magic, available for purchase to bring this tale of intrigue to your table. Delve into the ruins, unearth the secrets, and be the heroes Cresthaven needs. For purchase at DriveThruRPG.
Nicolas, the beloved leader of the elves, has been taken, and time is running out to save him. “The Santa Situation” is a thrilling Cresthaven RPG adventure designed for 3-5 midlevel characters, where bravery and cunning are the keys to success. Compatible with OSR titles and adaptable to various d20 systems, your party’s quest to rescue Nicolas promises to be a memorable journey filled with holiday heroism. For purchase at DriveThruRPG.
Bestiaries for Published Adventures
These monster lists can be used with the following published adventures. Just replace the stat-blocks in the adventures with the ones provided.
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