Ruined Temple Campaign
For 2-4 1st-2nd-level players, 1 should be a priest.
This campaign can take place ANYWHERE, as long as it's in a desert. Any world or plane will do. The campaign is a ruined temple that the PCs find, on their way back from some other campaign.  It is meant to be for low-level characters, a good adventure with some really easy XP and treasure.

The PCs are returning home from another campaign, when they are ambushed by seven bugbears.  Needless to say, 7 bugbears are too much for a couple low-levels. The PCs aren't supposed to fight--they are driven into the desert by the bugbears, who, having a religious superstition about that desert, will not follow, but will wait for the PCs for about a week or so.  The PCs should go ahead and try to make their way through the desert; call it a little detour.

The PCs will travel for a day before they reach an oasis.  During this time, the DM should make use of randome encounters--
RANDOM ENCOUNTER TABLE (1d6)
1. orcs-1d4
2. hobgoblins-1d4
3. caravan-1d12 riders carrying (33% spice, 33% jewelry, 33% weapons/armor, 1% a magic item)
4. Rider- 1st-LV fighter accustomed to the desert, mounted on a horse or desert animal, 50% chance he will be friendly, 50% chance he's hostile.
5. Trader-wishes to trade goods with PCs.
6. kobolds- 2d4 +1
After a day of travel, they arrive at an oasis.  Read the following to the PCs:
 "Suddenly, over the next big rise in the desert, the wind-blown sand parts fro a minute, reveraling a large, beautiful oasis in the distance.  Palm trees hang majestically over a small, mirror-shining, chrystal-clear lake.  One of you cries out in joy, moving towards the beautiful spot in this big wasted land.  The others follow.
  "As you move closer, you begin to make out something curious in the oasis.  It is a ruined building, the size of a medium-sized house. It's bleached-white walls shine out in the sun, but chunks of stone have fallen and the walls are slowly crumbling. You can see a pair of double doors, although one of the doors is hanging off its hinges, and the other lies in two pieces in the sand. Wind and weather have obviously not been kind to this building."
  The PCs will undoubtedly want to explore after filling their water-pouches and taking some of the luscious fruit from the trees.  SEE RTemple.bmp for a map of the ruined temple.
  FOR THE DM
  The Ruined Building is the Temple of Asaroth, religious site of the ancient civilization Asar.  The Asars were a race of Plainsmen humans that worshipped the god Brithant of the Desert.  This Temple was not only a religious site but also a testing ground for "rookie" priests.  The magical tests have all but faded out now. However, one function remains--when a new priest enters to be tested by Brithant, a huge stone slab slams down over the door, trapping the priest, so that he cannot get out until the morning (if he's survived his tests), when the slab rises back up.  The spell that binds the stone slab still holds, although the testing magic is gone. Somehow the PCs trigger the slab when they enter, so that it will close behind them.  In the morning, they can leave, but in the meantime, they must spend the night in the Ruined Temple
  Ruined Temple.
  1. Worship Area. Read: "Suddenly a huge stone slab slams down behind you, closing off the only exit. A plaque is set on a small pedestal, reading, 'In the morrow, if you have survived your tests, you will be free.' Tests?  Sounds bad. In the meantime, you look around the building.  It is obviously a place of worship. The walls are painted snow white and are in perfect condition. You realize now that it was only the outer walls that were crumbling; the weather took its toll on them but the inner walls have been preserved through time.  Eight stone statues line the walls--four on each side of the long hallway. Each has a plaque set in it, with various names carved into the plaques. You read the names, 'Sarrya, Mithoss, Dreyac, Londrac, Sirrion, Xaytok, Yarr, Grahn.' They all appear to be high priests or prophets of some kind, because each bears a symbol of office--one a staff, one a medallion, etc. At the end of the white hall is a long dais, with a set of three steps leading up to it. Lying dead on the dais is the body of a rather stunning plainswoman, the cause of death unknown.  There are two doors in the hallway--one on either side near the far end of the hall.  The hallway continues around the dais." The priest in the group immediately senses the holiness in this chamber and urges the others to be reverent--this is a temple dedicated to a powerful deity. The PCs may take anything from the Statues they wish. There is a holy symbol+1 (new item-raises AC by 1, increases all attributes of a priest spell (range, duration, etc. by 10%, can only be used by priest.) which is etched with the sign of the good gods, a Staff of the Desert (new item, can only be used by priest, when command word "Sandstorm" is spoken, a sandstorm starts around caster, blinding all who oppose him, casing 1d2 dmg. per round as well, covers 60'radius beyond caster, one charge is lost each round.  Has 24 charges to start with, command word is etched into side of staff.), and three priest scrolls with Cure Critical Wounds (description in Player's Handbook.) NOTE: You may note that the PCs can read the Asaroth writing. It has a comprehend languages spell permanently cast on it that has not worn away.  Similarly, a few other spells remain in the Temple.
  2. Dais.  Read: "The dais is a perfect circle about 10 yards wide.  A girl, abour twenty years old, lies dead in the center of the dais. Her skin is a deep tan color, her eyes are closed peacefully, her lips red as ruby. Something about her tells you she has been dead for a long, long time, but there is no stench, and her body remains preserved, somehow. Her clothing is the parched leather worn by everyone in this wasteland, and the only ornament she bears is a chrystal amulet, made of fragile glass, that appears to contain some kind of sand. SHe looks at peace, one hand holding the chain of the amulet. The dais is set in the middle of a small chamber at the end of the hall, and two stairs lead up from it on the right and left." The priest will feel a sense of warding from the amulet, as if it shouldn't be touched.  If anyone tries to handle the amulet, he will find he cannot get his hands within an inch of it, nor can he move it in anyway. The girl, also, cannot be moved. A plaque under the dais reads, "One who sacrificed herself for my cause.  One who is not forgotten." Again, it is written in the Asaroth language, but the PCs find themselves able to read it.
  3. Preparatory Room. Here the Priests prepared themselves fore religious rites, etc.  The room is a plain one.  Fragments of decayed cloth lie on the ground, the remains of the priests' and priestess' robes.  A normal holy symbol, etched with the symbol of Brithant, lies in the room. At the DM's option, the priest may/may not recognize it as the symbol of the Desert God.  A priest with religion proficency will recognise it right away.  A door leads into R5, a Test Room.
  4. Tester's Quarters. There is a creaking bed made of palm tree would here, one leg missing, the sheets decaying and filled with moths.  Nothing of interest is in the room but an old diary.  Most of the pages have been ripped out, but the PCs can make out enough to know that this was once a temple wear rising priests of Brithant wished to take a series of challenges to become priests and priestesses.  A door leads into R6, a Test Room.
  5. Test Room. The room is a large, plain room, completely empty now.
  6. Test Room. The room is a large, plain room.  The body of a young man lies on the ground, his stench filling the room.  He wears white robes and clasps a morning-star+2 in his hands.  A shield lies a few feet away. NOTE FOR DM: THE MAN DIED TAKING HIS TEST. BEFORE HIS REMAINS COULD BE MAGICKED AWAY, THE TEMPLE WAS ATTACKED.
  For the DM: The Temple was abandoned because it was attacked by hobgoblins. The Asars ran in fear, disregarding the Temple--except for one woman, Silhar, the woman on the dais.  She was one of the priestesses who was there.  When she saw the high priestess throw down her symbol of office--the amulet--she took it up and used it to try to fight off the Hobs. She killed many, but died then and there. The Hobs plundered the Temple, but were unable to reach the second floor because of the will of the god. The Asars were not allowed to return to their Temple because of their lack of faith and courage to fight for it. After death, Silhar's spirit was awarded the office of high priestess.
  THE SECOND FLOOR
  SEE RTemple2.bmp.
  A. 2nd Floor Hallway. Read:"Stairs lead up on the right and left of this floor.  Between the two stairs is a big, square area of empty space where you can observe the 1st floor below. Both hallways lead from the stairs, around the square area, and meet on the other side, where they merge into one.  On either side of this one hallway are two rooms--a door leads into each. It seems to you that the 2nd Floor is not quite as long as the first was." The doors lead into rooms B and C.  A secret door leads to Room D.  The secret door can be found by hitting a small stone that sticks out from the wall at the level of one's foot. The PCs may have to search to find it--or the DM might have one of them accidentally step on the switch.
  B. Treasure Room. Here the offerings to Brithant were left. The priest will have the feeling that these treasures are worthless to Brithant, given to him by insincere worshipers. NOTE: Silhar's offerings were teleported up to the big oasis in the sky, or wherever Brithant lives. In the room are the following: -1,500 gp in platinum, silver, and gold-7 gemstones worth 30gp, 10gp, 500gp, 420gp, 50gp, 75gp, and 200gp-3 objects of art: a necklace worth 25gp, a brooch set with opals and worth 100gp, and a staff with a gold head worth 50gp.  The staff can be used as a quarterstaff with +1 to dmg and -1 to THAC0 (the gold head makes the difference).-two rings: jumping and free action (see Dungeon Master's Guide for descriptions).
  C. Treasure Room. Here are kept the belongings and treasures of the Asaroth priests. There is another Staff of the Desert here, a Decanter of Endless Water, 2,000 gp, eight brooches worth 30gp each, 16 bracelets worth 15gp each, 16 earrings worth 15gp each, and twenty Cure Light Wounds scrolls (see Dungeon Master's Guide for Decanter of Endless Water and Player's Handbook for Cure Light Wounds spell).
  D. Secret Room. This was the place of private worship for the priests and priestesses.  Upon entering, the PCs will feel incredibly uncomfortable.  The priest will be inspired to either bow, or sit by the stained galass window and ponder the deity Brithant, or perform some other act of worship. Once he has done this the others feel fine, and the priest feels a deep sense of holiness. Since they are spending the night anyway, the DM might hint that this is where the priest wants to sleep, and that the party should stay together.  The DM might also hint, if a PC doesn't think of it, that a room with a secret door is a good place to sleep "in case of danger." Sleeping in the Secret Room is a good idea, because the next day...

DAY TWO
Hobgoblins raid the temple, as they did 700 years ago when the Asars fled. If the PCs are in the Secret Room, the Hobs will not find the door and therefore, not know about the PCs.  Otherwise, the PCs will awake to the sight of Hob spears at their throats. If they are in the Secret Room, the priest will awaken first, because of a dream he has. He will see either the deity of good, Brithant, or the deity he serves. The deity will tell him to leave the secret room, sneak up to the railing in the hall around the open space, and look down onto the 1st floor.  If the priest does this, he will see 100 Hobs arguing and smacking each other, sparring, and otherwise defiling the Temple. Up on the dais is a black-robed mage, smiling at his hoard and trying to figure out how to reach Silhar's amulet, which is glowing softly as the result of a detect magic spell.
 Whether or not the PCs are captured or not, they will have to challenge the mage, hoping that the killing of their leader will cause the others to run. If they don't, the mage will eventually get tired of trying to get the amulet and will challenge them for sport. If angered, he will even offer to take them all on at once.  Once defeated, the Hobs will not flee as expected but will immediately converge on the PCs.
 At this point Silhar comes into play. Suddenly the corpse stands up, holds the amulet aloft, and cries out, "Surge!". Suddenly the Temple is bathed in heat. Sand flies about, stinging and hurting the Goblins. Each is burned for 1d6 dmg., then takes 1d4 dmg from the sand and is blinded.  The PCs are untouched.  Half of the Hobs turn and flee, but the other half remain.  Then Silhar cups the amulet in her hand, whispers something, and appears to concentrate. After a moment the wind dies down, and the temple trembles. Then a huge hole rips through the ground, and the head of a huge desert dragon bursts through, bellowing and breathing fire.  The hobs scream and run, the rest of their morale gone as they flee out through the door. (THE DRAGON IS AN ILLUSION) The dragon vanishes suddenly, as does the hole in the floor.

Mage-M5, AC 6 (armor spell), THAC0 19, #AT 1, DMG 1d6+1 (quarterstaff+1), HP 14, Spells mem. magic missile, burning hands, grease, flaming sphere, web, monster summoning I, spellbook: magic missile, burning hands, grease, find familiar, featherfall, levitation, web, armor, continual light, light, fly, monster summoning I, flaming sphere, EQUIPMENT potion of healing, _polymorph other_ scroll, ring of fire resistance, quarterstaff+1, dagger
Hobgoblin status can be found in the Monstrous Manual.

AFTER THE HOBS ARE GONE:
  The door is open (duh, that's how the hobs got in and out), now. But before the PCs leave the priest turns and looks at the dais. Read the following.  "You see a figure seated there, looking down at the corpse. The figure is of a transparent woman, who looks exactly like the corpse. She reaches down for a moment and touches the amulet, then looks up at you and smiles. She addresses you: 'My gratitude, stranger, for saving this holy place. I sensed from afar that Brithant's Temple. The god brought you here, knowing I could not save his temple without you. It was he who sent the bugbears after you, driving you into the desert where you were guided to this temple. The mage--and evil man--knew of my amulet, and wished for it.  He was in control of a tribe of desert hobgoblins, which he took to this temple in an attempt to take the amulet by force. He bought a scroll from a powerful sorceror that would chain my spirit and not allow me to return--but when the wizard was slain, I was able to come back to the material plane and drive the enemies of this temple away.' She smiles beautifully, then sits cross-legged, hovering a few inches off the dais.
  'Let me tell you my story,' she says, 'This temple you see around you was once the place of worship of my people, the Asaroth. They were devout worshippers of the Desert God, Brithant--but not devout in heart.  Only in their words did they praise him, and not with their hearts. Most came here to become priests, and took the seven tests to reach the priesthood, but it weas not for the office--it was for the honor, and the wealth. I was Silhar, the youngest and newest of the priestesses. I was different--because I was made to take 8 tests, rather than 7. It was the first time in our history. But it was because I needed more experience--in his wisdom, Brithant saw that there would come a time when the hobgoblins would raid the temple for its gold. When the monster finally did come, the priests of our holy order turned and fled--leaving only me, the one Asar who would defend the holy house of Brithant. I took up the Desert Amulet, the medallion only a high priestess can touch, and was amazed when I found myself unharmed, though I held the amulet in my hands. That was when I realized I was to be the High Priestess of the Desert in place of the old one, who fled. I used the amulet, and fought the enemies of my lord to the death--my death.  And when Lord Brithant saw another event like the first coming, he knew I would need the help of someone living who could kill the mage and break the spell he would cast.  I give you my gratitude, brave adventurers. You will have henseforth the goodwill of Brithant on your side--especially you--' she bends down and kisses the forehead of the priest.  You feel just the slightest whisper of a breath as her spirit lips touch your forehead, and then she is gone."
   The following may/may not happen at the DM's optionb, depending on how nice he is and how powerful he plans on letting the PCs become.  Read: "As you gaze at the body of the High Priestess of the Desert, the hand gripping the chain of the amulet slips and drops over the side of the dais, leaving the amulet unprotected. Trying to put it back to rights, you take her hand in yours and take the amulet in the other. The amulet slips THROUGH her neck, becoming ethereal and then real again. You gasp as you realise it is the final parting gift of High Priestess Silhar and her god."

 Desert Amulet: Can only be used by priests, can only be used in the desert or within one mile of a desert.  Has two powers.
  1) Sandstorm: Creates a sandstorm in a 120' radius around the caster, doing 1d4 damage to all enemies of caster and blinding them as well. If in a desert, enemies also take 1d6 points of heat damage, which also lasts until the following round, where they take an additional 1d6. If not in a desert but within 1 mile of one, there is no heat and the sandstorm does only 1d3 damage. May only be used once a day, unless in desert. If in desert, three times per day.
  2) Mirage: Creates an illusion that takes up to 20 cubic yards of space. The illusion has sight, sound, temperature, but not touch qualities, and lasts for as long as the priest concentrates. The mirage takes up only 5 cubic yards if outside the desert.
  Also, the amulet protects against natural cold, keeping the wearer from discomfort or death from cold, and grants him 25% resistance to magical cold (i.e., priest takes only 75% of the dmg).