Month: August 2026

Mike’s Free Encounters #121-130

 

https://www.dmsguild.com/en/product/580112/mike-s-free-encounters-121-130

 

Ten Ready-to-Run Challenges for Every Tier of Play

 

Save time and surprise your players with this collection of ten unique encounters. From low-level pests to high-level legendary monstrosities, this collection of Free Encounters provides the overworked DM with everything needed to add a memorable challenge into an ongoing campaign or run a quick standalone session.

 

This volume spans a wide range of levels (1–13) and environments, featuring everything from scorched deserts and frozen wastes to haunted catacombs.

 

What’s Inside?

 

This collection includes ten complete encounters, each featuring lore, custom stat blocks, new items and spells, and high-quality battle maps.

  • MFE #121: Swarm of Dire Cicadas (Level 1). A farmstead defense against a magical sonic menace that causes deafness and death.
  • MFE #122: Devil Dungeon Donkey (Levels 2–3). Infiltrate a ruined temple to find a missing party and their donkey.
  • MFE #123: Iron Donkey (Levels 3–6). Escort a paranoid dwarven smith into a dragon’s domain to recover the secret of forging mechanical, fire-breathing donkeys.
  • MFE #124–127: The Widow’s Kiss Series (Levels 3–13). A four-part series where a PC is marked by a sentient hand crossbow and must duel lethal rivals across the world, including a master Kreen archer, an undead enforcer, a giant remorhaz hunter, and a fey bard.
  • MFE #128: Pyramid of the Scorpion (Levels 6–9). Breach a desert stronghold to stop a cult of scorpion-worshipping assassins from manufacturing a venom that negates poison resistance.
  • MFE #129: Temple of Bones (Levels 7–11). Enter the final tomb of the undead hierophant Mortivox Severus, facing bone-constructs, undead, and a flesh-melting acid trap.
  • MFE #130: Chelonian Hydra (Levels 7–11). Hunt an amphibious monstrosity—a fusion of turtle, hydra, and octopus—recently awakened and hangry.

Features

  • The Widow’s Game: The “Kiss,” a cursed mark used by a sentient artifact to track and test potential wielders.
  • Expanded Bestiary: Over two dozen new stat blocks, including legendary casters like Mortivox Severus (CR 13) and unique creatures like the Grave Digger Golem and the Chelonian Hydra.
  • New Magic Items & Spells: Discover items like the Bone Staff and Brontidion, or master spells like the Flense and Bolt of Decay spells.
  • Dungeon Donkey Rules: Extensive lore and mechanics for standard, elemental, necrotic, and mechanical dungeon donkeys.
  • Full Integration: Every encounter is designed to work as a standalone event or fit into the ongoing Consortium Series of adventures.

Product Details

  • Recommended Levels: 1–13.
  • Format: Detailed backgrounds, history, tactics, and scaling options for each encounter.
  • Maps Included: High-quality battle maps for every location, including versions with and without grids

 

https://www.dmsguild.com/en/product/580112/mike-s-free-encounters-121-130

 

 

Videos for my D&D products are available on my Eternal Library: Random Universes YouTube channel.

Information about my other D&D products is available on my web site, drmcl.com and my free to subscribe Random Universes: Eternal Library substack: https://eternallibrary.substack.com/

AI Images in PDF: AI image generators were used to generate some images in the PDF. Photoshop, which incorporates AI features, was also used in image creation and modification.

AI Free Maps:  All maps were created without AI using Inkarnate (https://inkarnate.com/) or Campaign Cartographer 3+ (https://www.profantasy.com/products/campaign-cartographer-3)

AI Free Fantasy Ground Unity File: The FGU .mod file contains no AI generated content.

 

What do you get when a wizard combines a snapping turtle, an octopus, a moray eel, a hydra, and a dash of demonic corruption?

Before his home was consumed by the Merak, the eccentric wizard Jah-Aims specialized in creating exotic pets for the wealthy. Utilizing ancient “combination cubes,” he produced wonders like the winged cat and flops like the scorpion squirrel. But when war escalated, the factions demanded weaponized horrors.

Influenced by the succubus Kullina, who secretly introduced chaotic demonic elements into his experiments, Jah-Aims set out to create the ultimate amphibious engine of terror. By fusing the eggs of a snapping turtle, octopus, moray eel, and hydra, he forged the Chelonian Hydra.

Though Jah-Aims was eventually slain and his laboratory buried, his dormant masterpiece survived. Now, after decades of slumber, the Chelonian Hydra has awakened—and its insatiable hunger has driven it to hunt once more.

What’s Inside?

The Chelonian Hydra (CR 12): This Huge monstrosity features:

  • Turtle Powered Defense: A rock-solid AC 19 natural armor shell.
  • Five Moray-Eel Heads: Capable of devastating venomous bite attacks.
  • Grappling Tentacles: Tentacles that can grapple and restrain up to four targets simultaneously.
  • Ranged Bone Spines: Demonic projectiles that allow the hydra to kill targets from afar.
  • Acidic Volley: A recharging 30-foot cone spit attack that melts flesh and armor alike.
  • Regeneration: Cut off one head, and two more grow back!

Four Battle Maps: Ready-to-use combat maps offering diverse battlegrounds.

  • Building Map: A farmstead setting for a terrifying land assault.
  • Beach Map: Perfect for a coastal clash (complete with a dock).
  • Sea Bottom Map: For deep-sea, underwater confrontations.
  • Shipwreck Map: Fight amidst the sunken ruins of a merchant vessel destroyed by the beast.

Can your players shatter the shell or will they become the next meal of the Chelonian Hydra?

Mike’s Free Encounter #130: Chelonian Hydra – Dungeon Masters Guild | Dungeon Masters Guild

Videos for my D&D products are available on my Eternal Library: Random Universes YouTube channel.

Information about my other D&D products is available on my web site, drmcl.com and my free to subscribe Random Universes: Eternal Library substack:

Random Universes: Eternal Library

Mike LaBossiere’s game writings for D&D and Call of Cthulhu
By Michael LaBossiere

 

Enter the Temple of Bones and challenge the undead hierophant!

 

Designed for 3–6 characters of levels 7 to 11, this adventure fits easily as a standalone encounter or as an addition to your ongoing campaign—including direct integration with the Consortium series (before or after C8: Tomb of Ice).

The Story

The quiet town of Linaria was once known only for its high-quality flax—until a brutal civil war and a ruthless necromancer left it in ruins. Stephanus, the town’s young priest, survived the slaughter but turned his back on his peaceful deity. Seeking vengeance, he embraced a dark god of death and ascended to the rank of Hierophant, being renamed Mortivox Severus.

 

Severus used undead to excavate a sprawling dungeon beneath the town’s graveyard, carefully laying the bones of his fellow townsfolk to rest. Now, the undead priest slumbers in his final tomb. The PCs can claim his bone armor and his powerful bone staff. But be warned: his tireless creations still guard the catacombs, and they do not welcome intruders.

What’s Inside?

  • Detailed Battle Maps: Includes maps for the Temple Exterior (Walled Graveyard), Mausoleum & Ratacombs, All Paths & Acid Trap, and the Graveyard & Hierophant Chamber.
  • New Monsters & NPCs: Fight your way through custom undead and constructs, complete with full 5e stat blocks:
    • Mortivox Severus (CR 13): A formidable Death-domain legendary spellcaster who wields devastating spells and lair actions.
    • Grave Digger Golem (CR 9): A massive flesh-construct that uses its shovel to batter and bury foes.
    • Carnis Remotor (CR 6): Vulture-like constructs of bone designed to strip flesh from intruders using flensing claws and flesh-melting acid breath.
    • Bone Watcher (CR 3): Multi-armed, multi-skulled guardians with blindsight, spider climb, and a thunderous shriek.
    • Ossiequitator Carnivorus (CR 1/2): Flesh-corroding oozes that ride inside the ribcages of ogre skeletons to dissolve their targets in battle.
    • Plus Burrowing Grave Ghouls, Bone Dogs, Ogre Skeletons, and ravenous swarms of Examen Murium Carnivororum.
  • Acid Trap: A magical bone glue and a rotating floor trap that drops characters into a deep pit of flesh-melting acid.
  • New Necromantic Magic Spells:
    • Flense (1st-level conjuration) – Strip the flesh clean off your targets.
    • Bolt of Decay (1st-level necromancy) – Blast foes with darkness and rot to leave them reeling.
  • New Magic Items:
    • Bone Staff (Rare) – Cast custom bone-themed spells or instantly dig a grave.
    • Heavy Bone Mail & Bone Half Plate Armor (Rare) – Enchanted armor that resists necrotic damage and provides the quiet of the grave.
    • Bone Glue (Uncommon) – Lay down a hidden, sticky magical hazard for unwary foes.

 

Product Details:

  • Recommended Party: 3–6 Players of levels 7–11.
  • Setting: Easily dropped into any graveyard or town ruins in your campaign setting.
  • Format: Ready-to-run encounter with background, history, tactics, and scaling options.

Will the PCs defeat Mortivox Severus, or will their bones be added to the walls of the temple?

 

https://www.dmsguild.com/en/product/579758/mike-s-free-encounter-129-temple-of-bones

 

Videos for my D&D products are available on my Eternal Library: Random Universes YouTube channel.

Information about my other D&D products is available on my web site, drmcl.com and my free to subscribe Random Universes: Eternal Library substack: https://eternallibrary.substack.com/

AI Images in PDF: AI image generators were used to generate some images in the PDF. Photoshop, which incorporates AI features, was also used in image creation and modification.

AI Free Maps:  All maps were created without AI using Inkarnate (https://inkarnate.com/) or Campaign Cartographer 3+ (https://www.profantasy.com/products/campaign-cartographer-3)

AI Free Fantasy Ground Unity File: The FGU .mod file contains no AI generated content.

 

Infiltrate the venom cult’s desert stronghold and stop a deadly new threat before it strikes!

Pyramid of the Scorpion is a complete, ready-to-run encounter for the world’s greatest roleplaying game, designed to challenge a party of 3-6 characters between levels 6 and 9.

 

Near the ancient city of Kanrak, a cult of devil-worshipping assassins known as the Al-Hashashin al-Aqrab (The Scorpion Assassins) has created a terrifying alchemical breakthrough. Deep within the forgotten tomb of Neb-Shed-Kheperu, they are manufacturing Ladghat al-’Aqrab al-Qatilah—a magic-infused venom specifically engineered to ignore poison resistance.

 

The city’s ruler, Sulemana the Just, needs a team of capable adventurers to shut down this operation before her elite dwarven guards are wiped out.

 

Features:

  • Detailed Maps: Features high-quality maps for the Pyramid Exterior and three levels of the Interior, including the scorpion farm, the alchemists’ laboratory, and the final tomb chamber.
  • New Monsters & NPCs: Full stat blocks for unique threats, including:
    • Bina al-’Aqrab: The “professional life extractor” leading the project.
    • Ladghat al-’Aqrab al-Bagheedah: A terrifying CR 9 Fiend (Devil) with crushing pincers and a deadly sting.
    • Scorpion Devils (Shaytan al-Aqrab): Brutal infernal enforcers.
    • Scorpion Alchemists: Arcane spellcasters who infuse their strikes with toxins.
    • The Four Officials: Ancient mummies serving as the pyramid’s original guardians.
  • New Alchemical Items: Rules and pricing for three types of poisons, including the resistance-piercing “Sting of the Deadly Scorpion”.

Information

  • Recommended Levels: 6–9.
  • Format: Modular encounter that can be run as a standalone adventure or integrated into the Consortium Series (specifically following C5: Desert Moon Dungeon).
  • Setting: Easily adaptable to any desert region in your campaign world.

Will the PCs purge the pyramid, or get stung by the cult’s newest creation?

 

https://www.dmsguild.com/en/product/579162/mike-s-free-encounter-128-pyramid-of-the-scorpion

 

Videos for my D&D products are available on my Eternal Library: Random Universes YouTube channel.

Information about my other D&D products is available on my web site, drmcl.com and my free to subscribe Random Universes: Eternal Library substack: https://eternallibrary.substack.com/