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 | Rescue NPC(s) |
| The characters must rescue one or more kidnapped NPCs, probably from the stronghold of the kidnapper. Obviously, they must get to said stronghold, break in, rescue the kidnappee, break out, and escape back to safety; this usually requires careful and clever planning and a large dose of luck. | |
| Story Hook | Legend and Rumor |
| In this classic story hook, the hero stumbles across some new or long-forgotten knowledge that promises great treasure or gain. | |
| Plot | Event |
| 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. | |
| Climax | Scattered Duels |
| In this climax, the heroes have gotten to the end of their quest -- they may have broken into, sneaked into, or escaped from imprisonment within the villain's citadel, or have marched into the little town where the villain is holed up -- and they become separated. You can separate them by having traps and tricks break the party apart, by having them see two or three things they must resolve (such as danger to innocents or the appearance of minion villains) pop up simultaneously; they'll have to run in all directions at the same time or suffer failure. Once the party is broken down into bite-sized chunks, you confront each individual or small group with the enemy or enemies he most deserves to face -- his personal enemy, the monster which defeated him before, etc. -- for a grand series of climactic duels. | |
| General Setting | On the Road |
| Most of the adventure takes place on the road, as the heroes are travelling from place to place. This is especially good for adventures where heroes are investigating a wide-ranging mystery, are part of a caravan, or are being pursued by loathesome villains. | |
| Specific Setting I | Lost City |
| This is the remnant of some lost civilization or expedition, still thriving in some forgotten corner of the world. Remnants of lost civilizations can even inhabit cavern systems beneath campaign cities, preying on the above-worlders for their goods, slaves, and sacrifices. | |
| Specific Setting II | Craftsman's Quarter |
| This can occur in either the shop of the master craftsman of a palace or manor, or the guild-area of a city. | |
| Master Villain | Lovable Rogue |
| This Master Villain isn't really evil -- he's just chaotic and fun. Cheerful bandits in the forest who rob from the rich and give to the poor, singing and rope-swinging pirate kings, and romantic, sophisticated duellists all belong to the category of the Lovable Rogue. Often, the Rogue will not be behind the nastiness the heroes are encountering; he may be in competition with them for the prize they're seeking. Often the heroes and the Rogue (and his minions) will have to team up to succeed at their task. Just as often, the Rogue will try to get away with the whole treasure. | |
| Minor Villain I | Single-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. | |
| Minor Villain II | Chief 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 take one of the heroes down with him. | |
| Ally/Neutral | Inquisitive Chronicler |
| This character is a historian who wishes to accompany the heroes to record their exploits. He constantly pries into the heroes' backgrounds, asking questions that are none of his business, as the adventure continues. | |
| Monster Encounter | Nocturnal Predator |
| This is a classic monster encounter; the arrival of a hungry carnivore in the middle of the night. Usually, this attack happens to heroes camping between villages or out in the deep wilderness; a wild animal, attracted by food odors (from the heroes' campfire or from the heroes themselves) sneaks in for a bite. | |
| Character Encounter | Mean Drunk |
| The Mean Drunk works much like the Belligerent Soldier except that he's not as tough, is of course drunk, and is usually accompanied by other Mean Drunks. | |
| 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 | Footrace |
| The chase involves the characters on foot, probably through such terrain as city streets or the corridors of a palace. One hero may realize that the's being pursued by a party of enemies and choose to run for it; the heroes may have caught up to the Master Villain, prompting him to run for his life. | |
| Omen/Prophesy | Reincarnation |
| The hero, seeing the portrait of some long-dead nobleman, may be surprised to see his own face staring back at him. All evidence points to the fact that our hero is the reincarnation of this person, and the Master Villain may desire to destroy any trace of that nobleman's existence. Just as appropriately, this long-dead nobleman may have died after making some important choice -- such as choosing love over career or career over friends; and the choice he faced is identical to the one the hero now faces. Will our hero defy the prophecy and choose as he did in a previous life, or will he choose the other option and see what happens? | |
| Secret Weakness | Secret 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 Condition | Time Limit |
| Finally, the most obvious condition to place on an adventure is to give it a time limit. If the Master Villain is going to conclude his evil spell in only three days, and his citadel is three hard days' riding away, then the heroes are going to be on the go all throughout the adventure -- with little time to rest, plan, gather allies, or anything except get to where they're going. | |
| Moral Quandry | Friend Quandry |
| At a critical point in the story, one of the campaign's NPCs makes an impossible demand of one of the heroes. | |
| Red Herring | Lying 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 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.