One-Shot Adventures

1 A harsh wind snapped Enfys' cloak and threatened to sweep her off her feet. She spit the snow and ice from her mouth and pulled her hood farther down on her face. She'd rather have her own cloak blind her than the freezing winds. Coming alone to find the Castle of Madness was perhaps the worst mistake she'd ever made. Still, Enfys strongly believed that trekking through knee-deep snow in search of this lost, frozen keep would be the ultimate test of survival. If she could survive here, she could survive anywhere. Fierce howls pierced through the moaning gales like a knife. Enfys slipped her gloved hand down to her worn sword. Just tundra wolves, she told herself. Wolves only attacked the weak – they'd have to find another meal today. About the Adventure e Castle of Madness is an introductory solo adventure for Dungeons & Dragons 5E. is adventure was originally writ- ten for the unpublished RuneQuest: Slayers roleplaying game, but has been adapted to D&D. While you need to have some passing knowledge of D&D to play this adventure, it is fairly beginner friendly. A GURPS Fantasy version is also available on www.1shotadventures.com is adventure is best for 2nd level characters, though you can also play it with a 1st level character and a henchman ally. If you don't have your own character, two pregenerated characters to pick from are included at the end of the adventure. If you've never played a "Choose Your Path" adventure before, it's easy. Just start with paragraph #1. Read it, and choose from one of the choices that the text gives you, and go to that numbered paragraph. Just don't read the entries in order! As you find any items you'd like to keep (which are bold-faced), jot that down on your character sheet. #1 It was already a freezing morning when you set out for the legendary "Castle of Madness" – the mysterious castle that is said to emerge from blizzards once every seven winters. Now, as it grows dark, the mountains' glacial winds of this valley make the temperature seem hundreds of times colder. Both hands wrap your winter cloak tightly around your body, but somehow you can still feel the ice- sharded winds as if on bare skin. You squint your eyes down at your weapon and wonder if it has become frozen to your belt. Nothing alive can possibly live in these temperatures, you reassure yourself, pushing back thoughts of the living dead you've heard emerge with the castle. Soon, you can make out the faint ruined form of the castle up ahead. e old crone's rotting map was right! Your best guess tells you it's another hour's walk in the harsh cold. Before you have time to think about the longer walk, you spot a gaping black opening in the snow. It must be a cave. e crone told you that underground tunnels could also lead into the castle. Could this be one? Or is it the lair of some beast? If you decide to explore the cave, go to 12. If you decide to continue your cold trek to the castle, go to 19. #2 Double-wrapping your hands to protect them from the cold, you dig under some broken statues. In a few minutes you've uncovered a beautiful antique mace, its metal head coated in an unusual blue lacquer. Digging some more, you realize something – the weapon still has a frozen hand attached to it! A second later, your boot brushes aside the remains of the man's face! e blue skin is cracked and broken. Apparently, some warrior died wielding this mace. v1.0 by J.C. Connors

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