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Secret of the Cistern Ziggurat adventure cover showing spellcasters and a purple crystalline creature in misty ruins
Adventurers and monstrous creatures battling on a stepped ziggurat surrounded by waterParty confronting a large amphibious creature and smaller foes in a brick sewer tunnelAdventurers on a torchlit sewer walkway with crocodiles in the water belowParty facing a plant-like caretaker through an illuminated doorwayGiant plant-like creature rising from a pool surrounded by lily pads and adventurersFour-panel overview showing the ziggurat and surrounding passages exposed as water levels descendParty at a chamber doorway below a raised walkway beside the zigguratChamber cutaway showing a pool and caretaker above the party's entrance

5e Adventure - Secret of the Cistern Ziggurat

Virtual Tabletop Journey and all VTT Journey patrons present Secret of the Cistern Ziggurat, an original 5th Edition adventure for a party of four Tier 2 characters.

The desert city of Nebaris faces a crisis: its ancient wells have run dry. A calamitous flash flood destroyed the royal apothecary, washing potions and magical substances into the sewer system. Can the party uncover the source of the city's pure water before the sands reclaim it?

Explore the Sewer Ziggurat Tunnels, Caretaker's Chamber and bonus Cistern area as descending water levels reveal more of the adventure. Choose a Game Ready board for actual play, and read the adventure PDF's progression and hide-volume instructions before the session.

Game Ready - Hide Volumes HiddenGame Ready - Hide Volumes RevealedFull Artistic - Hide Volumes HiddenFull Artistic - Hide Volumes RevealedDownload PDF

Choose Your Board

All four actions lead to dedicated TalesTavern board listings, not assembly slabs.

  • Game Ready - Hide Volumes Hidden: the practical-play version, ready to bring your party into the action.
  • Game Ready - Hide Volumes Revealed: the practical-play version with hide volumes visible so the GM can learn their layout before a session.
  • Full Artistic - Hide Volumes Hidden: the full artistic version with hide volumes hidden. The source explicitly does not recommend this version for actual play.
  • Full Artistic - Hide Volumes Revealed: the full artistic version with hide volumes visible. This is also not recommended for actual play; use a Game Ready version instead.

The Adventure Includes

  • A roughly 20-page, low-narrative adventure, designed for easy reading and quick insertion into an existing campaign.
  • A challenge for four Tier 2 characters, with progression built around descending water levels.
  • Two full-page boss fight profiles, including tactics and quotes.
  • Two full-page NPC profiles, with quirks, abilities and personality.
  • Three progressive 2D maps, each with multiple water levels.

TaleSpire Setup and Progression

  • The three scenes are Sewer Ziggurat Tunnels, Caretaker's Chamber and the bonus Cistern.
  • This adventure uses TaleSpire's water-level feature. Follow the PDF's progression instructions rather than treating the map as a single static water level.
  • Read the adventure PDF's detailed instructions for hide-volume management and scene transitions before play.
  • Use Darkness fog when transitioning into interior rooms, as recommended in the source listings.
  • Use the quick environment and lighting blocks: look for the rooster, donkey, kitty and owl.
  • The adventure includes three 2D reference maps for use with the TaleSpire boards and instant-import creature blueprint links.

Credits and Support

Board design: Heimdahlr and PrincessPOPcorn.

Hide volumes: Demongund.

Presented by Virtual Tabletop Journey, with the support of VTT Journey patrons.