#24: No Rest for the Buried | A D&D 5e Gateway Adventure for 2-3 Players: Level 2 | Includes Bonus Adventure & Village Gazetteer

The dead are walking. A village needs heroes. Your table is ready.

No Rest for the Buried is a complete gateway adventure designed to introduce new players and families to Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition. When earthquakes crack open an ancient tomb and the dead begin to rise, the farming village of Millbrook turns to your party for help. Descend into the Valdris tomb, battle skeletons and zombies, rescue a trapped survivor, face a terrifying ghoul, and destroy the cursed jade amulet animating every corpse in the crypt.

Designed for New Players & Families

This adventure is built from the ground up as a first D&D experience. The encounters teach combat basics through play. The puzzles reward creative thinking. The story delivers clear stakes and satisfying heroic victory. Perfect for parents introducing teenagers to tabletop gaming, first-time DMs running their first session, or anyone who wants a fun evening of dungeon crawling without complexity or moral ambiguity.

TWO Complete Adventures in One Book

- No Rest for the Buried — The main 5-room dungeon adventure (2-2.5 hours)

- The North Road Bandits — A bonus sequel adventure with negotiation, moral choices, and multiple solutions (1-1.5 hours)

Everything You Need to Play

- Designed for 2-3 players using Level 2 characters

- 4 ready-to-play pre-generated characters with full backgrounds

- Complete stat blocks for every creature — no Monster Manual required

- Printable battle maps for every encounter

- DM Quick Reference Sheet for easy running

- Village gazetteer with NPCs, rumors, and adventure hooks for continued play

- Optional encounters to extend playtime if desired

- 15-20 minutes of prep time. That's it.

What's Inside

- A 5-room tomb dungeon with escalating challenges

- Classic undead enemies: skeletons, zombies, a ghoul, and a shadow

- Traps, puzzles, and a ticking-clock finale

- A frightened NPC to rescue

- A complete village (Millbrook) ready for future adventures

- Random encounter tables for the road and village

- 6 fully-developed adventure hooks for campaign continuation

A Note on Difficulty

This adventure prioritizes fun and learning over challenge. Experienced players may find the encounters straightforward — that's intentional. The goal is to create confident, excited new players who want to keep playing. Veterans looking for tactical complexity should explore our other Ready Adventure Series titles.

From Anvil & Ink Publishing

We specialize in adventures designed specifically for small groups. No scaling down required. No rebalancing on the fly. Just open the book and play.

The dead don't sleep. Neither will your players.

Read the Review: https://anvilnink.com/dd-5e-gateway-adventure-no-rest-for-the-buried/

Get the Paperback: https://amzn.to/4a5Q7LC