RISE OF THE DROW - A one-shot adventure for level 1 heroes

Oct 5, 2026

Upload by ahduag

“Rise of the Drow” is a one-shot tabletop adventure for level 1 heroes, designed to be completed in 7 scenes in under four hours, almost entirely inside the Rybalkan cathedral. On the longest night of the year, the village of Rybalka faces an attack by drow of House Gullion aiming to steal the Moonshard, corrupting the Vigil for Light and causing chaos, and to abduct human prisoners as slaves and sacrifices. The heroes must stop the theft, douse flames, and descend into a magically corrupted reliquary while navigating NPC-filled scenes and provided GM tools.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryStory & Novel

FormatPDF

Pages20

Reading Time31 min

AccessFree to download

Beginning the Adventure

Adventure synopsis

Townsfolk Prayers

Known in Town

Exiting the Cathedral

Scene 1: Ritual Underway

Cathedral Small Talk

RISE OF THE DROW The Darkness arrives A one-shot adventure for level 1 heroes. ©AAW GAMES LLC Not for release. All rights reserved. Permission to copy for personal use only. ADvEnTuRE BAckgROunD Contents Beginning the Adventure 3 Scene 1: Ritual Underway 4 Scene 2: Torches Light the Way 5 Scene 3: Flames Beget Shadows 6 Scene 4: Shadows Beget Flames 7 Scene 5. Ceremony Corrupted 8 Scene 6: Shadows Beget Terror 9 Scene 7: Darkness Arrives 12 Appendix I: GM Advice 13 Appendix II: NPCs 14 Appendix III: Statblocks 16 aDvenTure BackgrounD Rybalkof thaeKislaavferkonKitni egrdvoilml, ai gneaonwi tlhdeerendegses populated by native tribes collectively known as the Vikmordere. The Rybalkan cathedral serves as a co-mingling center for these two cultures. The cathedral is presided over by a young priest of The Axiomatic General. Juriendor knows the importance of merging traditional Vikmordere ceremonies into local Klavek customs to ensure the survival of Rybalka. Juriendor is the caretaker of an artifact, the Moonshard, which helps him maintain this balance. For many years a tenuous balance has existed in this frontier village. Recently, the Moonshard detected a shift in the cosmic scales: A deity moving in the heavens, threatening to upset the balance of this realm. As the Moonshard became aware of the coming turmoil, the drow who serve this dark deity became aware of the Moonshard, and have taken steps to remove it from their path. 2 BEgInnIng THE ADvEnTuRE aDvenTure synopsis This adventure has been truncated to serve as a convention one-shot. There are 7 scenes to complete in less than four hours. Let the players know when they arrive that it will bea challenge to complete this adventure on time! Note also that the adventure takes place (almost) entirely within the confines of the Rybalkan cathedral, into which an entire village of NPCs has been packed. Refer to Appendix II for a cast of characters you can use to bring early scenes to life. On the longest night of the year, the village of Rybalka comes under attack by the drow of House Gullion with two goals in mind. First: To steal the Moonshard, throwing Rybalka into chaos. Second: To abduct a number of human prisoners as slaves and sacrifices. Every aspect of the raid on Rybalka and subsequent escape has been expertly planned by the drow. The adventure begins in Rybalka during the Vigil for Light. This ceremony takes place in the cathedral and suffers numerous interruptions, potentially sending the congregation into a panic, and into the darkness. With the village leadership distracted, the heroes are tasked with ascending the bell tower to douse the flames and save the cathedral from collapse. It is during this time the Moonshard is stolen. Without the Moonshard to complete the ceremony, Rybalka will not survive. The heroes must descend into the cathedral reliquary, now corrupted by some dark magic, and attempt to retrieve the artifact, or at the very least discover who is responsible for its theft. Townsfolk Prayers Beginning The aDvenTure When you’re ready to begin, paraphrase the following. On the longest night of each year, the frontier fishing village of Rybalka gathers in their cathedral to partake in the Vigil for Light to ward off the evil spirits of the nearby Dark Wood. This year, as the villagers made their preparations for the long night, storm clouds gathered and darkness descended mid-afternoon, hours before the village was ready. As calm but harried villagers gathered loved ones and talismans and began the trek up the hill toward the cathedral, the shadows awoke in the forest and descended on Rybalka. Amidst sleet and hail, at the edges of torchlight, the shadows danced just out of vision. The cathedral ahead is bathed in a warm light from inside, you are the last to arrive. The ritual has begun! Known in Town. The players’ characters are an adventuring troupe known to the people and mayor of Ryba

FAQs

How long is the adventure and how is it structured?

The adventure is a convention one-shot with 7 scenes to complete in less than four hours, arranged to fit the time allotment.

What are the drow of House Gullion trying to accomplish in Rybalka?

They plan to steal the Moonshard to throw Rybalka into chaos and to abduct human prisoners as slaves and sacrifices, with their raid and escape carefully prepared.

Where do the heroes primarily face the main challenges?

Most encounters occur within the Rybalkan cathedral: the heroes ascend the bell tower to douse flames, and later descend into the cathedral reliquary to retrieve the Moonshard or investigate the theft.

Oct 5, 2026

Upload by ahduag