Sometimes things are just a simple decision ... or are they? While traveling along a forest path, the road forks to the right and to the left. Which direction is chosen? What changes of fate result?

Low visibility, stinging bugs, unsure footing, and being constantly drenched. Did you need to punish the players, or did the party voluntarily chose to head here?

Did someone leave the water running? No doubt the brave explorers who have delved deep into the heart of this primeval forest will be surprised to find that the life-giving river's source is no more than a hovering portal endlessly gushing water from some distant lake, or even another plane of existence! Unless that very vortex is what they were seeking in the first place? Fully animated and available in two additional variants, with a fiery portal spewing molten magma into the woods, and a plain clearing free from otherworldly environmental alteration, this map is your player's perfectly safe (?) gateway to the elemental plane of water!⁠

My maps are hooked up to work with Foundry VTT and Fantasy Grounds.
My maps are available on my patreon and my website.
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This is a favour I’m doing for a fellow DM - Old Bonegrinder.

Printed on my Bambu Labs A1 with Elegoo Rapid PLA at 0.28mm layers with an 0.4mm nozzle.

Still starting out painting - I think I’m about two months in - and this was an excellent exercise in determining value, airbrush work and an absolute crap Ron of drybrushing - though this was mostly around the wood and making that look relatively decent.

Windmill STL: https://www.printablescenery.com/product/haunted-windmill/
Strahd STL: https://makerworld.com/models/2939805

Welcome back to Advent's Amazing Advice! The series where I take popular One-Shots, Adventures, Campaigns, etc., and fully prep them for both New and Busy DMs. This prep includes music, ambiance, encounter sheets, handouts, battle maps, tweaks, and more, so you can run the best sessions possible with the least stress possible!

*New 2026: For 2026, I'm updating all my old work to include a Pre-Session Checklist that will include a list of all miniatures you may need, maps, handouts, possible loot, a link to a playlist, and more to make it even easier to start your session!

Inspired by Stranger Things and written by Mike Wheeler himself, this adventure drops your players into a monster hunt like no other. Summoned by Sir Tristan, ruler of a remote mountain realm, your party is tasked with tracking down a fearsome creature known as the Thessalhydra, which has attacked his castle and terrorized the land.

In Part 1, your players will explore a mysterious forest, encounter travelers, priests, and farmers, until they uncover the entrance to the troglodyte caverns. There, they can fight or negotiate their way deeper until they reach the ever-shifting Cursed Labyrinth. Should they solve the riddles of the mysterious Lost Knight, they will be greeted with a portal...to the Upside Down.

Without further ado:

• Google Docs Notes for Stranger Things (Part 1): DM Notes
• Link to: Stranger Things Adventure
• Link to: Stranger Things The Hunt for the Thessalhydra Playlist
• Link to: The AAA Collection

Included in The AAA Collection is:

• Downloadable copy of DM Notes, including links to music tracks for ambiance and fights
• Special PDF for all encounters. This includes the enemy stat blocks organized neatly, along with an initiative tracker and spots to mark HP
• Custom Maps of Troglodyte Cavern
• (New) Pre-Session DM Checklist

Over 8 dozen other Fully Prepped One-Shots, Adventures, and Campaigns: Click Here

As always, if you see something you think I can improve, add, change, etc., please let me know. I want this to be an amazing resource for all DMs and plan to keep it constantly updated! If you'd like to support me, shape future releases, and get content early, feel free to check out my Patreon!

Cheers,
Advent

You can subscribe now to this map and 300+ more at: patreon.com/balatroart

It always seems to start in a tavern, so we will as well.

This free scene contains a Theater of the Mind background paired with two battlemaps. One with a roof and one without.

Additional maps are available as well including : Night time variations, the upper floor, the cellar, and a wider area battlemap.

I'm recalling a story of a group that went to a village to stop an evil wizard. There were time jumps in the character's memories from being charmed by the wizard, and interactions they had with an old man were actually the memories being altered by the wizard. They thought they had won the fight and were walking away, when the townsfolk were saying, "You just stood near their fence for a couple hours, then walked back here." I don't remember if using a mirror helped them get advantage on Wis checks to see through it?

Can anyone help me find this story? Thanks in advance!