DnD OneShot-Kaney - Quest Overview - Someone’s Poisoned the Watering Hole!

Oct 6, 2026

A written Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition one-shot quest where players investigate contamination in a cistern beneath a town, clear hostile monsters, and report back for a reward. Designed for 4–6 hours and flexible player counts and levels, the adventure combines puzzle-solving, action, and hack-and-slash encounters across multiple dungeon-like areas. Key contacts include Guard Captain Feldain, with notable creature types including rats and spiders.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryStory & Novel

FormatPDF

Pages6

Reading Time9 min

AccessFree to download

Contents

Introduction

Quest Overview

Quest Hook - Someone’s Poisoned the Watering Hole!

Quest Set-up - Someone’s Poisoned the Watering Hole

Cistern Level 1

Intermission

Cistern Level 2

Final Thoughts

Introduction My name is Tim Kaney and this is an experiment. I recently got into Dudgeon and Dragons 5th Edition and was asked to run a one-shot adventure for the group with which I play. Me being me, I couldn’t settle on just one adventure – or what I viewed as local side quests. Eventually, I ended up making several written quests. The following in just one of those quests. It was part of a local scene where players could play this one adventure and that would be the end, or they could continue with the players completing the side quests in this area. The players would use prebuilt profiles, if they wanted, reveal all the missions they know, and then decide. In the first one shot, they were to make a quick decision in order to avoid being caught in a bar brawl. I wanted to split these up and provide them to the community for free so that others can enjoy the quest and either stick to what I created or take it a tweak it little for their own style, parties, etc. This being the first fully written quest, it seemed like a good plan to use this one. Focus was on more of a setting and mission described, how players interact with the environments, and the outcomes. There should be a mix of puzzle solving and hack and slash for this quest. That should help satisfy a few types of players out there. I tried to incorporate aspects of action, suspense, and horror into the quest. The experiment is that I have never made these before and only ran one session (not this quest) and I wanted to see if people enjoyed it ifI published this. This is meant to a DM to use to entertain their group of players. If I get positive feedback (at all) or even critical feedback on how to make it smoother, better, etc. I will go on to make more. If not, I know maybe I should focus on something else. Thankyou. Tim 3/20 DnD OneShot-Kaney Contents Introduction ....................................................................................................................................... 2 Contents ............................................................................................................................................. 3 Quest Overview .................................................................................................................................. 4 Quest Hook-Someone’s Poisoned the Watering Hole! .................................................................... 5 Quest Set-up-Someone’s Poisoned the Watering Hole................................................................ 6 Cistern Level 1 ................................................................................................................................ 9 Main Space 1.: Main Hall – 6 Rats ............................................................................................10 Main Space 2.: Well shaft, Inner cloister, Safe Space ............................................................... 15 Main Space 3.: Supply Room.....................................................................................................16 Main Space 4: Western Room-Air Shaft.................................................................................. 17 Main Space 5: Balcony / Floor Trap ..........................................................................................18 Main Space 6: Cistern Level 1 Observation Deck-Spiders (x6) & Giant Spider (x2) ...............19 Intermission ................................................................................................................................. 22 Resume ......................................................................................................................................... 22 Cistern Level 2.............................................................................................................................. 24 Main Space 1.: Main Cistern......................................

FAQs

How long does the DnD one-shot quest take?

The quest is designed for 4–6 hours.

What is the main goal of the adventure?

Investigate the cistern contamination, clear it of monsters, and report back to earn a reward.

Who is the point of contact for the quest?

The point of contact is NPC Guard Captain Feldain.

Oct 6, 2026

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