Buy Me a CoffeeRandom Adventure Generator
| Theme | Horror |
| This type of adventure is designed to scare both the characters and the players. Just having a monster attack is not enough for a horror theme; the monster must first frighten the characters. | |
| Goal | Survive Environment |
| The characters could end up in a hostile environment which they must cross -- a desert, a jungle, or other hostile setting. In the course of the adventure they'll need to find food and water, resist the elements, and perhaps fight off attacks of the natives. | |
| Story Hook | Grim Necessity |
| If the hero doesn't involve himself with this adventure, he's going to find himself suffering or dead -- period. That's the hook to bring him into the adventure... but you have to determine why he'll suffer or die if he doesn't become involved. | |
| Plot | Series of Villains |
| This is a very dramatic plot, and very well-suited to oriental campaigns. In it, the heroes have undertaken a quest, usually the finding and defeat of the Master Villain. They may have to travel to his citadel, or head off in another direction to find some artifact capable of defeating him, or run away from pursuing villains until they can figure out what's going on. All along their route, they are set upon by villains -- each villain has a name and distinct personality, and each encounter is life-or-death for the heroes and villains; the villain never escapes to safety if the tide turns against him, he fights unto death. | |
| Climax | Chase 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 Setting | Alternate Plane |
| Most of the story takes place in an alternate dimension; this implies that either the PCs or the villains, or both, have magic powerful enough to bridge the dimensional barrier, or that the PCs stumble across some dimensional portal. | |
| Specific Setting I | Tavern/Inn |
| This is a classic fantasy setting, the residence of travelling heroes and the home of the tavern brawl. | |
| Specific Setting II | Military Encampment |
| This is best used in an episode involving warfare; it could be the good-guy army's encampment, from which the heroes launch their adventures, or the villains' encampment, in which case the heroes might have to sneak in on a mission or escape from it if they're captured. | |
| Master Villain | Organizer |
| This Master Villain is the head of the local criminal syndicate -- the Thieve's Guild or slaver ring, for instance. He's cold-hearted and unsympathetic, and human life means nothing to him. He employs assassins and musclemen against the heroes, and can only be reasoned with when it's going to profit him more to cooperate with the heroes than kill them. | |
| Minor Villain I | Mistress with a Heart of Gold |
| This character is much like the "Lover or Daughter of Villain" type of Mystery Woman from the Story Hooks section. In this case, she usually accompanies the Master Villain, but sometimes goes on missions of her own, where she runs into and develops affection for one of the player-characters. | |
| Minor Villain II | Mistress with a Heart of Gold |
| This character is much like the "Lover or Daughter of Villain" type of Mystery Woman from the Story Hooks section. In this case, she usually accompanies the Master Villain, but sometimes goes on missions of her own, where she runs into and develops affection for one of the player-characters. | |
| Ally/Neutral | Villain Ally |
| For some reason, the heroes find themselves in the company of a villain. Perhaps he's a minion of this adventure's master villain; he may be guiding the heroes to wherever they must leave a ransom, or, if the master villain is forcing the heroes to perform some mission, this villain ally is along to make sure they do it right. Whatever the reason, he's competent, unpredictable, and out for himself. | |
| Monster Encounter | Reconaissance Monster |
| At some point in the adventure, the Master Villain will become aware of the heroes' activities against him. If he has magical abilities or a magical servant, he will send some sort of quiet, clever monster to spy on the heroes. The heroes should have an opportunity to realize they're being spied upon, leading them to a mad scrable as they try to capture or destroy the spy. | |
| Character Encounter | Bandit Gang |
| When the heroes are en route from one place to another, have them run across one of the local bandit gangs. The bandits are faster and far more numerous than the heroes. But the bandits stay back. Basically, they're bandits who admire courage and prowess, and the bandit leader will challenge one or all of the heroes to a test of bravery or ability -- such as a horserace, a duel, a wrestling match, a joust, an arm-wrestling match where scorpions sting the loser, etc. | |
| Deathtrap | Avalanche |
| This is an outdoors trap. Some time when the heroes are in a narrow canyon or gorge, or are on a snow-covered mountain, their enemies can arrange to dump an avalanche upon them (rocks and boulders in the first instance, snow in the second). | |
| Chase | Aerial |
| The heroes could be riding pegasi or friendly griffons or allied great eagles; the villains could be carried aloft by gargoyles or demons. The prospect of taking a mile-long fall if one's mount is hit is a very daunting and challenging one for the hero. | |
| Omen/Prophesy | Totem Animal |
| If a hero has an animal which is his totem, he may see the animal engaged in a fight to the death with another animal -- one which, coincidentally, is the totem of one of the villains. How his totem defeats the other -- or is defeated by it -- gives the hero some clues as how to fight his actual opponent when the time comes. | |
| Secret Weakness | Love |
| The Master Villain possesses the "weakness" of genuine affection or love -- probably for some NPC, though it could be very intriguing if the object of his affections is a player-character. The heroes can then defeat the villain by holding his loved one hostage, or proving that his loved one will be seriously harmed, betrayed, or killed if the villain keeps up with his activity. | |
| Special Condition | Magic Doesn't Work Right |
| If the adventure is taking place on an alternate plane, then that plane's magic works oddly or not at all. (A spellcaster will find that just making himself useful is a challenge when none of his spells works.) | |
| Moral Quandry | Ally Quandry |
| You set up the situation so that the heroes have a good chance at defeating the Master Villain if they get the aid of two specific individuals, probably experts in fields relating to the villains' activities. But the two experts hate one another and refuse to work together, even if it costs them their world. | |
| Red Herring | Loony who Has It Wrong |
| You can have the heroes "aided" by a so-called expert who is actually a lunatic who doesn't know anything about what he's talking about. Once he's led the heroes off to some remote part of the continent, his evasive answers and bizarre behaviour will alert them that he really doesn't know anything about what he's pretended to be an expert on. | |
| Cruel Trick | Mission is a Ruse |
| In the course of their adventuring, the heroes discover they have been tricked into performing a mission which helps the Master Villain. |
Based upon tables from the Dungeon Master's Design Kit by TSR, Inc.