donjon; Random Adventure Generator

donjon

#StandWithUkraine 🇺🇦

Random Adventure Generator

ThemeAction/Adventure
This is the most common and straightforward sort of adventure there is. In the Action/Adventure scenario, you present your characters with a task and then confront them with obstacles to overcome in order to accomplish the task successfully.
GoalProtect Endangered NPC(s)
One or more NPCs are in danger, and the characters must protect them. They might be doing this for a reward, or because one or more of the NPCs is a friend or relative of the character. You need to decide what the characters are protecting the NPCs from. The NPC might be a wealthy or powerful person being sought by assassins or kidnappers. The NPC might be a whole village of peasants who are being terrorized by a bandit chieftan.
Story HookBetter Late than Never
Some bad guys have arrived and done some bad guy things. The PCs were none the wiser. The bad guys have now made good their escape, and the PCs have caught wind of it in time to chase them down before they make it back to their lair, their home nation, behind enemy lines, etc.
PlotEvent
For this plot, choose some sort of event -- a tournament, a holiday, a celebration called by the king, a masked ball, or whatever -- and set the commencement of the Master Villain's plan against that backdrop.
ClimaxChase to Ground
First, you have the Heroes Chasing the Villain. The villain, after a series of encounters with the heroes, is running to safety, to some place where he can acquire more power, or to somehwere he can accomplish some dread purpose such as assassination or mass murder. The heroes chase him, have to deal with the obstacles he leaves behind, and finally catch up to him before or just as he reaches his goal. Here, we have the final duel between the villains forces and the heroes. Second, you have the Villain Chasing the Heroes. Often, in a story like this, the heroes have found out how to defeat the villain -- such as getting to a particular temple and conducting a particular ritual. The villain chases them all through their quest, catching up to them just as they're commenciing their ritual; they must, with heroic effort, conclude the ritual while suffering his attacks. Third, you have the Master Villain's Sudden Escape Attempt. This takes place in adventures where the Master Villain's identity is unknown until the end. His identity is revealed and he makes a sudden bolt for freedom; the heroes give chase. This usually results in a dangerous foot-chase through nasty terrain -- such as across rooftops, through the dungeons, or across an active battlefield.
General SettingCosmopolitan City
Most of the story takes place in a large, sophisticated city; center the villain's plot and activities around that city. This setting is best suited to adventures involving more people than monsters; most of your villains should be human or demi-human.
Specific Setting IMadman's Fortress
This is the citadel of a major enemy: Strong, unassailable, filled with soldiers and monsters, lined with secret passages and deathtraps; not a wholesome place for adventurers to spend their time.
Specific Setting IIMansion of a Lord
This can be the home of a villain -- the characters may have to break in and rescue someone or steal evidence, or break out if they've been captured -- or of a heroic ally, in which case it may be used as the headquarters for the heroes' plans and activities.
Master VillainConqueror
This character is moving his army in to take over; that's what he lives for. He's been the enemy of your characters' nation's ruler, and has launched a full-scale invasion of your characters' favorite nation. The heroes have to beat their way through or elude his hordes of soldiers in order to get at him; better yet, they might lead their own nation's troops against his and outthink him in military fashion.
Minor Villain IChief Assassin
The Chief Assassin is the favorite killer of the Master Villain. The Assassin works mostly in the field, first killing witnesses who might prove harmful to his master, then zeroing in on the player-characters. He usually meets his end before the adventure's climax, but he may taken one of the heroes down with him.
Minor Villain IISingle-Minded Soldier
This most trustworthy of villain minions is the experienced, competent, persistent soldier -- a field-trained officer who serves the villain with military precision. He is usually encountered in the field as leader of the villain's field operations. He is not encountered directly until the middle of or the latter part of the adventure; until then, the heroes encounter only his subordinates.
Ally/NeutralGovernment Observer
For some reason, the heroes' ruler wants one of his own people accompanying them. Whatever the reason, the heroes are now stuck with a haughty, self-important royal observer, an expert in (probably) military tactics or espionage. He continually offers unwanted advice and tends to get the heroes into trouble by pulling rank whenever he's not satisfied.
Monster EncounterLoving Deceiver
One of the player-characters, specifically one of the better-looking ones, attracts the attentions of a very attractive local of the opposite sex. This local person, encountered in unthreatening surroundings, invites the hero off to a liason away from his friends and other people. Of course, this person is a human-appearing monster of some sort; once alone with the character, he/she will attack the character with monstrous intent.
Character EncounterNew Enemy
In the course of his ordinary activies, one of the heroes can make a New Enemy. Hurrying along the street, he can bump into a disagreeable fighter for whom an apology isn't enough; in a tavern, he can make some innocuous remark that you deliberately have the irritable fellow misconstrue as an insult. The New Enemy will only exchange heated words with the hero at this point, but will appear again later in the adventure and will eventually have to fight the hero.
DeathtrapAnimal Pit
This is a classic trap of the adventure genre: The heroes (perhaps just one hero) are dropped into a pit filled with dangerous animals -- snakes, lions, bears, whatever. They must either fight the beasts or delay them until they can escape -- climb back out, open a secret door, break down a wall, have a rope lowered by friends above, etc.
ChaseSpecial Terrain
You can make any chase more memorable by having it take place in a setting to which it is utterly unsuited. For instance, horse chases are fine and dramatic when they take place through the forest, out in the open plains, or along a road -- but they become diabolical when they take place inside the Royal Palace or in dangerous, labrynthine, treacherous catacombs.
Omen/ProphesyInnocent Fulfills Prophecy
An innocent could fulfill a prophecy -- one which endangers his/her life. This innocent might, for instance, be the one who is supposed to slay the king, but is not a mighty adventurer able to protect himself from the king; the heroes may find themselves sheltering and helping this poor dupe.
Secret WeaknessSecret Embarrassment
Finally, the villain may have some aberration or secret shame that will force him to flee when he is confronted with it. It could be something as simple as the fact that his nose is too big, or that he is a small and nebbishly wizard pretending to be some vast, powerful demonic power. When his shame is revealed, he is too humiliated to continue; this is a good option for comedy adventures.
Special ConditionStolen Identities
This option requires that the Master Villain be of godlike power oor possess some sort of artifact. Once the Master Villain realizes that the heroes are on his tail, he uses his powers or artifact and steals the heroes' identities. One day they wake up -- and no one knows who they are. They retain their memories of themselves and each other, but no one else does. (The villain knows them, though.)
Moral QuandryFriend Quandry
At a critical point in the story, one of the campaign's NPCs makes an impossible demand of one of the heroes.
Red HerringLying Rumor
This is the worst and most useful type of red herring -- the interesting rumor which just happens to be false. In adventures of this sort, the best Lying Rumor concerns the Master Villain; it gives the heroes some "important" information about him which later turns out to be useless.
Cruel TrickNPC Turns Traitor
He may alert the enemy when the heroes are planning a raid; he may steal the artifact and take it to the villain; he may stab a hero or important NPC in the back (literally) before departing.

Based upon tables from the Dungeon Master's Design Kit by TSR, Inc.