THE RUINED TOWER OF ZENOPUS is a fifth edition (5E) conversion of the ground-breaking introductory adventure for Dungeons & Dragons that served as a DM aid in the first D&D Basic Set, released by TSR in 1977. This set included a 48-page rulebook covering the first three levels of play, and was skillfully edited by Dr. J. Eric Holmes from the original 1974 D&D rules written by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. The original set included an exemplary dungeon level, but it was a loose collection of examples and not geared toward starting characters. Holmes advanced this concept by writing a new thematic dungeon with a strong backstory, creating an adventure that has remained a fan favorite over the decades. Officially, its only title is "Sample Dungeon" but colloquially it goes by various names based on Zenopus, the doomed wizard who built the dungeon under his tower.
An adventure for 1st to 2nd level characters; four pregenerated characters are included. Also includes ideas for using it as an adventure site in Ghosts of Saltmarsh.
Released on DMs Guild in January 2020. Separate VTT-optimized map files (DM and Player version) added May 2020. Version 2.0 (dated October 2020) released in November 2020.