Trial of the Slime Lord
A downloadable adventure
March 2024: Updated with five pieces of brand spankin' new art by Jeri Honeywell!
Trial of the Slime Lord is a gauntlet adventure for 3-5 players and zero-level characters. It is designed for Shadowdark RPG but is broadly compatible with OSR and NSR systems.
This cursed dungeon serves as a sort of crucible for an ooze-worshiping cult. Those who survive are granted a boon from the Slime Lord. Those who do not, wander the halls as the unquiet dead, doomed to serve the ooze for eternity. The player characters have just been kidnapped from their village and thrown in a pit to face the Trial of the Slime Lord. The adventure begins as the cultists slide a heavy stone lid over an opening in the ceiling. With nothing more than their wits and the clothes on their backs, they must escape or die.
Trial of the Slime Lord includes:
- Necromantic slimes
- Hammers
- Psychedelic slimes
- New monsters and magic items
- Edible slimes
- VTT Maps
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This is an excellent introduction to Shadowdark and level 0 gaunlets. I ran this for my first time DMing Shadowdark, and all my players were new to the system as well.
My players instantly embraced the lethality and dark comedy of the situation they had been thrust into. By the end they were chanting the incantations of the slime lord in unison whenever anything noteworthy happened. They escaped the dungeon with many tales of sacrifice and glory. Highly recommended.
This is probably the best Shadowdark gauntlet published so far. It took our party of 5 about 4 hours to run. Deadly, but felt fair. Great puzzles. It really helps establish the resource management aspects of SD in a way that was engaging to the party.
Drop Mugdulblub’s name a few times as the party is pushed into the first chamber and again if they get out and you have a perfect intro to the Gloaming setting from Cursed Scroll 1.
My first party finally made it! I've run 5 sessions and 2 PCs have successfully escaped today! :D (~40 dead PCs)
They earned their Level 1 status and their legendary items from this dungeon.
My first time running a SD game. This was written exceptionally well, made it easy to handle. Took 3 and a half hours with 6 players. All had a great time! Question... what software donyou use for your maps?
Thanks for posting! I used Dungeondraft for the map.
This is an extremely brutal adventure. I've yet to see a party survive. BUT, they have had a blast playing it.
Glad to hear they're enjoying it, at least! I've gone back and forth on the difficulty. Ultimately, I've decided to leave it as-is to hopefully teach players that combat is a last resort, and that they should look for alternatives and advantages.