The Official Story
The dry hilltops danced with fire. Throughout the heart of the wild badlands the humans called the Wyrmsmokes, great bonfires had been kindled atop the ridges overlooking Elsir Vale. There thousands of warriors had gathered — hobgoblins in armor dyed scarlet, thick-thewed bugbear berserkers, goblin worg riders and skirmishers and archers, and the scaled ones as well, who often towered over the rest. For so long they had fought each other, tribe against tribe, race against race, engaged in the endless test of battle, feud, and betrayal. But tonight . . . tonight they stood together, hated enemies shoulder-to-shoulder, shouting together as brothers. And they saw that they were strong, and together they danced and sang and shook their blades at the smoke-hidden stars overhead.
On the hundredth step he stopped and turned to face the waiting warriors. He was tall and strong, one of the hobgoblin chieftains, but dull blue scales gleamed along his shoulders, and jutting horns swept back from his head. “I am Azarr Kul, Son of the Dragon!” he cried. “Hear me, warriors of the Kulkor Zhul! Tomorrow we march to war!”
War is gathering in the dry brown hills known as the Wyrmsmoke Mountains. As midsummer settles over the land, smothering everything in heat and dust, the fierce warriors of the Kulkor Zhul — “People of the Dragon” in the hobgoblin tongue — gather beneath the dreaded Red Hand banner, ready to sweep down out of the Wyrmsmokes and conquer the human lands below. Your player characters face an onslaught of fire and steel the likes of which few have ever seen.
Red Hand of Doom (3rd Edition Adventure)
Red Hand of Doom is an adventure module for the 3.5 edition of Dungeons & Dragons. It is designed as a generic D&D adventure that can be dropped into any campaign world, including a personal one. Instructions are given in the first pages of the module on where to place it in the worlds of Greyhawk, the Forgotten Realms, and Eberron (the three primary campaign settings of D&D at the time of release). The 4th edition Scales of War Adventure Path locates the setting of this adventure, the Elsir Vale, in the World of the Points of Light setting.
The adventure was indicated as appropriate for characters of experience levels six to twelve, but the designers have stated that it is targeted to levels five to eleven. The adventure is expected to take players weeks, or even months, to complete.
Contents
Part I: The Witchwood
Marauder Attack
Drellin’s Ferry
Witchwood Random Encounters
Jorr’s Cabin
Blackwater Causeway
Vraath Keep
Old Warklegnaw
Skull Gorge Bridge
Goblin Raid
Chimera Attack
Massacre at Drellin’s Ferry
Part II-A: The Elsir War
Easy Skirmish
Dirty Rotten Looters
Mercenary Gold
The Not-So-Sick Spy
Barghest Reavers
Marked for Death
Captured!
Into the Horde
Part II-B: The Blackfens
Blackfens Random Encounters
Road Blockade
Spawn of Tiamat
Killiar’s Hunters
Starsong Hill
Lizardfolk Huts
Bell Tower
Town Hall
The Elf Alliance
Part III: The Ghostlord’s Lair
Thornwaste Random Encounters
Varanthian’s Lair
The Lion’s Path
Guardroom
Ooze Pit
Guest Quarters
The Pool of Rebirth
Chamber of the Betrayed
Shrine of Blight
Part IV: Enemy at the Gates
Brindol
Audience with the Lords
Save the Walls
Rampage of Fire
Streets of Blood
The Coffin Maker’s Shop
The Cathedral Steps
Victory Points
Part V: The Fane of Tiamat
Wyrmsmoke Random Encounters
The Mark of Tiamat
Foyer
Guard Barracks
Torture Chamber
Priest Cells
Laryssa’s Kitchen
Great Temple of Tiamat
Cavern of the Guardian Spawn
Outer Sanctum
High Wyrmlord’s Chambers
Treasury
Inner Sanctum
Tiamat’s Wrath
Characters
Locations
Organizations
Magic Items
Miscellaneous
Red Hand of Doom 5th Edition
For the Fancy Lads campaign I have been updating Red Hand of Doom into 5th edition and switching out the Hobgoblins into Orcs to better tie into a Player Character’s backstory.
Mostly, you can sub in appropriate 5e monsters and things work well. (Though apparently Hell Hounds are tougher in 5e than they were in 3.5!). Reddit also stumbled across this thread: http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?525127-Converting-Red-Hand-of-Doom-to-5e where someone’s done most of the work for about half the campaign.