D&D General Hold Back the Dead - Free Digital D&D Adventure Coming 4th Feb

D&D Beyond's marketplace features a page for an upcoming digital adventure called Hold Back The Dead. The adventure will be free for registered users of DDB, and will be available from February 4th

Deep in the Western Heartlands, an evil Red Wizard conspires to overtake the land. Face hordes of deadly monsters and defend a mighty fortress from ruin in this challenging, single-session adventure.

Hold Back the Dead is a FREE digital adventure that is compatible with the 2024 Core Rulebooks. It contains a fortress map for Dungeon Masters and unlocks player-friendly maps, character tokens, and creature tokens for the D&D BEYOND Maps tool.

Registered users can claim their FREE copy of this digital adventure soon!

 

[Queer Venger]

I hope this is not the remains of what was to become the Red Wizards adventure path book. I was really looking forward to getting that adventure in hardcover!



If you like that sort mission (as do I), I very much recommend the underrated 1e module UK3: The Gauntlet. I've always thought this was an incredible "defend the fort" adventure that works on so many levels. The strategy for defense is entirely up to the PCs and there are some interesting side stories going on at the same time.

but its free!! And free is good!!

 

[EthanSental]

Ha! I found where the Red Wizards adventure was first teased. It was in this D&D Direct video from 2023. Chris Perkins's exact words were: "The Red Wizards, whose evil is on display in the D&D movie, will have their own epic story in 2025". Given that we know there isn't a big hardcover adventure coming this year, I'm pretty sure this freebie was what was being hinted at back in March 2023.

I wouldn’t exactly call a freebie adventure and epic story for red wizards….but that’s just me. I hope there’s more to come on that storyline.

 

[Parmandur]

I wouldn’t exactly call a freebie adventure and epic story for red wizards….but that’s just me. I hope there’s more to come on that storyline.

Dead certain that the FR books will have Adventure and Campaign stuff, and it will involve the Red Wizards. Easy money.

 

[MonsterEnvy]

Red Wizards might have been delayed to next year as well.

 

[abazaba]

It may be free, but they do still require you to provide your personal info (full name, physical address, phone number, etc.) to get access to it, which you may not have provided (yet) if you only have a (free) DNDBeyond account without having an (active) subscription. I get why they do it, but it still sucks. I'll pass.

 

[Parmandur]

It may be free, but they do still require you to provide your personal info (full name, physical address, phone number, etc.) to get access to it, which you may not have provided (yet) if you only have a (free) DNDBeyond account without having an (active) subscription. I get why they do it, but it still sucks. I'll pass.

Oh no, the company that makes things I like might be able to sell them to me more directly! Where will this madness end?!?!

 

[Echohawk]

This is now available to read.

Edit: Well, that was short. The adventure is basically a "protect the battlements" scenario with three waves of combat. If you've been excitedly waiting for an adventure which highlights the various schemes of the Red Wizards, this will be a disappointment. I've changed my mind about this being a potential preview of something from one of the upcoming Forgotten Realms books. It is so short that it easily could be. It feels more like something that was cut though.

 

[ChainzJade]

The Red Wizards finally!

 

[pukunui]

Oh no, the company that makes things I like might be able to sell them to me more directly! Where will this madness end?!?!

They used to just make it so you could click a "claim" button while logged in and it would be added to your collection. Now you have to go through the whole marketplace rigamarole, which is just annoying to have to do for a free product.

 

[Parmandur]

They used to just make it so you could click a "claim" button while logged in and it would be added to your collection. Now you have to go through the whole marketplace rigamarole, which is just annoying to have to do for a free product.

I can appreciate that...but even that required giving WotC certain qccoint information.