Opens in a new tab
ZERO-PREP D&D 5E ONE-SHOTS and more
A One-Author Press · Forged for the Table

Zero-prep 5e One-shots You Can Run Tonight.

Dense, ready-to-run adventures for two or three players. Read it on the train, run it after dinner — no homework.

★★★★★
123 titles in print & PDF
│ Amazon · Kindle · Payhip PDF
Under New Management Review: Dungeon Core Landlord Book 4Deep Delving II Review: A Solo Dungeon Crawl Through a Drowned Dwarf HoldThe Death of a God Review: A Level 20 D&D One-Shot for 5eThe Harvest Tithe Review: A Level 0 D&D Folk-Horror FunnelWhere Dragons Die Review: A Dragon Graveyard One-Shot for D&D 5eThe Gnashing Court Review: A King Krampus Finale yule 5e adventure D&DThe Silence Yet to Come Review: A winter One-shot DnD for 5eThe Naughty List Review: A Krampus Urban Hunt Holiday One-shot 5eThe First Frost Review: A Krampus Christmas Mystery One-Shot for D&D 5eKrampus: A Yuletide Quartet: A Christmas D&D Bundle of 4 5e One-ShotsWar of the Whey: A Comedic Alien Invasion One-Shot for D&D 5eThe Halloween Horror Vault: A Halloween D&D Bundle of 8 5e One-ShotsThe Stitchery: A Frankenstein DnD One-Shot of Flesh, Sanity, and SacrificeThe Silver Bell: A Werewolf One-Shot for 5e Small GroupsThe Blood Waltz: A Vampire D&D One-Shot for 2–3 PlayersThe Ink-Stained Estate of Oiwa: A Japanese Horror One-Shot for Small GroupsThe Cinderwell: A Norse One-Shot Where the Ice Runs WarmThe Oni’s Road: A Samurai One-Shot Where the Mountain Judges YouThe Gilded Cage Review: A 5e Prison-Break One-Shot in a Sky PalaceLegend of the Dungeon Core Landlord, Book 3: Hostile TakeoverUnder New Management Review: Dungeon Core Landlord Book 4Deep Delving II Review: A Solo Dungeon Crawl Through a Drowned Dwarf HoldThe Death of a God Review: A Level 20 D&D One-Shot for 5eThe Harvest Tithe Review: A Level 0 D&D Folk-Horror FunnelWhere Dragons Die Review: A Dragon Graveyard One-Shot for D&D 5eThe Gnashing Court Review: A King Krampus Finale yule 5e adventure D&DThe Silence Yet to Come Review: A winter One-shot DnD for 5eThe Naughty List Review: A Krampus Urban Hunt Holiday One-shot 5eThe First Frost Review: A Krampus Christmas Mystery One-Shot for D&D 5eKrampus: A Yuletide Quartet: A Christmas D&D Bundle of 4 5e One-ShotsWar of the Whey: A Comedic Alien Invasion One-Shot for D&D 5eThe Halloween Horror Vault: A Halloween D&D Bundle of 8 5e One-ShotsThe Stitchery: A Frankenstein DnD One-Shot of Flesh, Sanity, and SacrificeThe Silver Bell: A Werewolf One-Shot for 5e Small GroupsThe Blood Waltz: A Vampire D&D One-Shot for 2–3 PlayersThe Ink-Stained Estate of Oiwa: A Japanese Horror One-Shot for Small GroupsThe Cinderwell: A Norse One-Shot Where the Ice Runs WarmThe Oni’s Road: A Samurai One-Shot Where the Mountain Judges YouThe Gilded Cage Review: A 5e Prison-Break One-Shot in a Sky PalaceLegend of the Dungeon Core Landlord, Book 3: Hostile Takeover
— ◈ —

The Forge

Every title is a complete, self-contained adventure — pick a cover and you’re ready to run tonight.

See the Full Catalog →

One-Shot Adventures

Run-tonight 5e · 118 titles View Series →

New from the Forge · Early Access

Ink Hammer. Battle maps, ready to play.

We built our own map maker for the maps our adventures need, and now it's yours too. Draw rooms and the walls build themselves, paint water and fire, light the scene with real shadows, then export to your virtual tabletop with walls and doors already placed.

  • About 1,600 assets, 6 plugins and 4 sample maps included
  • Universal VTT export with walls, doors and windows
  • One-time purchase. Sell or share the maps you make
  • Desktop app for Windows 10 and 11
$19.99

Early Access price. Version 1.0 included.

Also on itch.io

Roadside Tavern battle map made in Ink Hammer, with lighting and shadows

Twisted Fairy Tales

Dark Fables · 6 titles View Series →

Solo & Duet

Solo & Two-Player · 6 titles View Series →

The Dungeon Master's Library

101 books. One download.

101 Anvil N Ink titles, from our very first adventure to our 100-book milestone and one beyond. Ready-to-run one-shots, player guides, solo games, and full LitRPG novels: over 200 hours of adventure. Delivered as PDF & EPUB, with the interior art files and battle maps included.

$450+ separately

$200
Get the Library
◈ ◈ ◈

Tried at Real Tables

Game Masters keep coming back for the same reason: it runs.

4.9
★★★★★
Average across 200+ verified ratings
123 titles in print & PDF
ZEROprep to run
2–3players per table
AmazonKindlePayhip
★★★★★

“Perfect for our small group. Set up in five minutes, played for three hours, everyone left grinning.”

Diana P. · Sunday Duet
★★★★★

“The read-aloud boxes actually land and the handouts are gorgeous. My players thought I’d prepped for a week.”

Alex M. · Weeknight DM
★★★★★

“Perfect for our small group. Set up in five minutes, played for three hours, everyone left grinning.”

Diana P. · Sunday Duet
★★★★★

“The read-aloud boxes actually land and the handouts are gorgeous. My players thought I’d prepped for a week.”

Alex M. · Weeknight DM
◈

Find Your Line

Each series is its own world. Pick a shelf and follow it.

Series I

One-Shot Adventures

Run-tonight 5e for two or three. Horror, heist, kaiju, cosmic dread — pick a night, pick a tone.

Enter the Series →
◈
Series II

Twisted Fairy Tales

Dark fables turned playable. Goblin courtship, warring pets, and imps with contracts to keep.

Enter the Series →
◈
Series III

Solo & Duet

No table, no problem. Crawlers built for one player, or one player and a DM.

Enter the Series →
◈
Reference

Roleplay Guides

Lore-rich race and class guides to deepen any campaign — the workshop’s reference shelf.

Enter the Series →
◈
A Free Table Personality Quiz

Discover Your Dungeon Master Type

DMs and players both. Answer a few very-real table questions, get your named archetype and four-letter code, and find out who you'd click with on the other side of the screen.

◈

From the Workshop

Field notes, design diaries, and free short fiction — a deep backlog of stories from the table.

Browse all stories →
Two adventurers investigate a murder in a candlelit manor library while three suspects watch, for D&D murder mystery one-shots
Blog

D&D Murder Mystery One-Shots: 9 Ready-to-Run 5e Mysteries for Small Groups

Nine ready-to-run D&D murder mystery and investigation one-shots for 2-3 players, ranked by the kind of case your table wants: classic whodunit, noir, monster hunt, comedy or courtroom.

Oct 24, 2026 · 6 min read Read more →
A goblin holding a glowing dungeon core stone in a sack, with a kobold foreman, a bowing skeleton and two mimics, from the Legend of the Dungeon Core Landlord series
Blog

Legend of the Dungeon Core Landlord: The Cozy Dungeon Core LitRPG Series

All four books of Legend of the Dungeon Core Landlord in reading order: a cozy dungeon core LitRPG about a…

Oct 24, 2026 · 5 min read Read more →
Christmas DnD one-shots: Krampus and holiday heist adventure covers
Blog

Christmas DnD One-Shots: Krampus, Heists and Holiday Horror for 5e

The best Christmas DnD one-shots for 5e: four Krampus adventures, two holiday heists, winter survival and free picks, with level,…

Oct 24, 2026 · 11 min read Read more →
Beach battle map for D&D
Battle Maps

Beach Battle Map: Shipwrecks, Smugglers and Landings for D&D

How to make a D&D beach battle map: surf, sand, rocks, tide pools and a shipwreck, plus five coastal encounter…

Oct 22, 2026 · 3 min read Read more →
Ship battle map for D&D
Battle Maps

Ship Battle Map: How to Run D&D Fights on Deck

How to make a D&D ship battle map: deck layout, levels below deck, rigging, boarding actions, lighting at sea, and…

Oct 22, 2026 · 3 min read Read more →
Forest battle map for D&D
Battle Maps

Forest Battle Map: How to Build D&D Forest Encounters That Aren’t Just Trees

How to make a D&D forest battle map that plays well: paths, clearings, water, cliffs, cover and lighting, plus five…

Oct 22, 2026 · 3 min read Read more →
Tavern battle map for D&D
Battle Maps

Tavern Battle Map: How to Build a D&D Tavern Fight Players Remember

How to make a D&D tavern battle map: layout, what to include, lighting, a second floor, and five tavern encounter…

Oct 22, 2026 · 3 min read Read more →
Dungeon map maker guide
Battle Maps

Dungeon Map Maker Guide: How to Design D&D Dungeon Maps That Play Well

How to design dungeon battle maps for D&D with a dungeon map maker: loops, chokepoints, secret doors, traps, light and…

Oct 22, 2026 · 4 min read Read more →
Battle map grid size and scale
Battle Maps

Battle Map Grid Size and Scale: The Numbers Every DM Needs

Battle map grid size explained: five-foot squares, one-inch print scale, pixels per square for Roll20 and Foundry VTT, and how…

Oct 22, 2026 · 3 min read Read more →