Dungeons & Dragons (5e) Archives

Every year around my birthday I run an online one-shot for some old friends. It’s a way to spend time with people I love who I don’t see very often and to run modules that haven’t made it to the table before!

This year’s selection was One Night in the Sinister Citadel, a fabulous little level 2 scenario for 5e from Goodman Games. Set in a crumbling tower in the process of being renovated into an auction house by an entrepreneurial tiefling, the PCs have been hired as night guards to look after various artifacts that will be on the auction block the next day.

The adventure is a bit of a slow burn in a good way. After locking the doors of the tower the players have a chance to explore the various areas of the auction house (although my players were well behaved and stayed away from the stairwell with the “do not enter” sign on it) before the most dangerous artifacts are delivered.

Without giving too much away, the action goes from 0 to 60 very quickly as the PCs must deal with a group of thieves guild hopefuls, the former inhabitants of the tower, and the tower’s security measures all at the same time. Clever players will find ways to pit each group against the others without causing too much collateral damage before the tower’s owner returns in the morning.

The adventure has some fun role-playing opportunities with the owner of the tower and a wizard who drops off some “special items” for the auction. There are several new magical items, a new spell, and a good selection of player handouts included in the module.

With all those moving pieces DMs are well advised to give the module a thorough reading (and make some judicious notes in the margins) before running it. Despite that, One Night in the Sinister Citadel is a simple, fun one-shot that can be easily dropped into any urban setting. I give it a strong recommendation.

Chris Doyle’s The Sunken Temple of Set was released in 2021 as one of Goodman Games’ Free RPG Day modules. It’s a 7th-level adventure for Dungeons & Dragons set in the classic Dark Tower setting and ties in with Goodman Games’ upcoming DCC/5e conversion of the original module.

The adventure’s titular temple is dedicated to the lesser deity Sobek, but has recently become the locus of a powerplay by a son of the evil god Set. The PCs can be roped into the conflict in a number of ways, but wind up (unwittingly) working on behalf of the temple’s former high priest to oust the usurper and his minions.

Things start off with a great sequence around the lake on which the temple is located as PCs must navigate to the entrance. Investigation and exploration are rewarded, with multiple paths possible. Once inside the PCs must contend with secret doors, an underwater crypt, and numerous crocodilian monsters, culminating with the three-headed son of Set, Makura. The module also features some new desert-themed weapons and spells.

I’ve had the opportunity to run Sunken Temple for my regular 5e group and online as part of Gary Con. Both groups enjoyed the old school challenge of the adventure, with my regular 5e group, which is made up of players relatively new to the hobby, particularly intrigued by a style of play they weren’t accustomed to.

Crafty players can make quick work of the module if they don’t do a lot of exploration — my Gary Con group completed it in about 3 hours by avoiding a major fight and speeding through the crypt. This might be mitigated somewhat in campaign play, when PCs are more prone to search for treasure than in a one-shot.

Bottom line: The Sunken Temple of Set is a fantastic 5e adventure with old school charm. It can be easily slotted into an existing campaign (my regular group is playing through Descent into Avernus, so the sunken temple became part of that plane’s hellscape) and can serve as a fun side quest or one-shot.

Module Review: One Night in the Sinister Citadel

Module Review: The Sunken Temple of Set