DMsGuild creator Shawn Merwin has announced that he is giving away the first adventure, The Night Land, from the twenty part Oracle of War series until August 25! Don’t miss your chance to grab this awesome Eberron adventure.
Shawn had this to say in his Reddit post:
I’m joining forces with the DM’s Guild to offer a free adventure in celebration and anticipation of the release of the Eberron: Forge of the Artificer. I’ve written quite a bit of Eberron content going all the way back to 3rd Edition for Wizards of the Coast, for Keith Baker’s projects, and independently–it is one of my favorite settings and one that’s been very important to my career as a game designer.
The adventure is called The Night Land, and it’s the first adventure in a full campaign called Oracle of War, which takes characters from level 1 to level 20. Will Doyle, who has worked on so many great 5e products, was the architect of the campaign, and I helped him bring it to life–and it was one of the most satisfying projects I’ve worked on.
From now until 25 August 2025, you can get The Night Land for free on the DM’s Guild. Whether you are a lifelong Eberron fan, or you are just getting into the setting for the first time, I hope you enjoy it.
We reached out to Shawn to learn more about this adventure, its themes, and the reliable quality of Adventurers League content on DMsGuild.
Eberron is such a beloved setting with so many plot hooks to entice players and Dungeon Masters. What are some of the themes within this adventure?
This adventure begins the first part of the Oracle of War campaign, and those first few adventures combine the great Eberron setting with the vibes of Westerns and post-war intrigue. The themes touch on post-war resilience and conflict, the idea of bringing law to a lawless territory, and working as a team to survive odds that would otherwise be overwhelming. It introduces the players to the town of Salvation and the area of Eberron known as the Mournland.
What made you want to explore the Mournland?
The Mournland is one of the great mysteries in the Eberron setting. What happened there? Who caused the devastation of the nation of Cyre? What effects are still active in that ruined land? But the Mournland also works on a more basic narrative level. Where there is devastation, loss, and mystery, there is also opportunity. Pieces of that destroyed land are still out there waiting to be plundered. What treasures might await those brave or foolish enough to enter and explore?
If folks love The Night Land adventure, can you shed light on where the Oracle of War adventure series goes afterwards?
Very quickly, in the first few adventures, that sense of adventure and profit that characters going into the Mournland have is rewarded… or possibly punished. The characters learn some secrets about what happened in Cyre during the war, and they are thrust into a world-changing conflict that might be much more than they can handle. But they also have picked up some tricks along the way that just might save them. Throughout the entire Oracle of War campaign, there are so many great adventures that explore themes, cross genres, and explore tropes in ways that are not often done so expertly in fantasy TTRPG adventures.
What makes Adventurer’s League titles so reliable and high quality?
This campaign was led by the incomparable Will Doyle, who designed the adventure outlines and also wrote some of the adventures. Will went on to work with Wizards of the Coast directly on adventures as diverse as Wild Beyond the Witchlight, Descent into Avernus, and Tomb of Annihilation, to name just a few. All the adventures were written by some of the best adventure designers in the business, including folks like James Introcaso, who went on to create the game Draw Steel; like Rich Lescouflair, who went on to create the game Esper Genesis; or like Celeste Conowich, who went on to create Tales of the Valiant for Kobold Press. And that’s just a few of the fine creators who worked on the adventures.
The Adventurer’s League was a training ground and a spotlighted stage for people who’ve gone on to do great things, and I was fortunate to be able to help will choose the best of the best to expand on his tremendous story beats to create memorable adventures in a world that just oozes conflict, heroics, and amazing stories waiting to be told.
Don’t miss out on this chance to claim The Night Land from DMsGuild while it’s available for a limited time!