Adventure #62

Comedy
This adventure is fun for fun's sake. Its basic purpose is to provide humorous entertainment with a minimum of
actual danger or tragedy.
Encounter Old Villain
Goal
If your campaign has a villain who shows up again and again to bedevil the heroes, then this is an episode featuring
that villain. You might wish to roll once again on this section to see what the villain's goal is.
Not in Kansas
Story Hook
The PCs are minding their own business and find themselves transported to a strange place. They must figure out
where they are, why they are there, and how to escape.
Geographic Progression
This is the simplest sort of adventure plot. The heroes have an area to investigate or travel through; they have
encounters based on where they are. For instance, the traditional dungeon, where monsters are tied to specific
Plot
rooms or areas. Or, if the heroes are travelling along a narrow valley or through an enchanted forest, they might
suffer ambushes and other encounters fixed to various points along their travel plan. The plot, then, is getting to the
villain by surviving the intervening obstacle encounters.
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
Climax
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.
Under the Ground
General Setting In this variety of adventure, the heroes descend into vast cavern networks beneath the earth's crust. There, they can
encounter bizarre races and primitive tribes, hitherto-unknown monsters and strange landscapes.
Temple/Church
Specific Setting I This can be either the church of some lofty and good diety, or the dark and grisly temple of some horrid deity
(doubtless filled with evil soldiers and monsters), or even the temple that the madman villain has dedicated to
himself for when he becomes a god.
Mansion of a Lord
Specific Setting This can be the home of a villain -- the characters may have to break in and rescue someone or steal evidence, or
II
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.
Zealot
This villain is like the Conqueror, but he's not trying to conquer to own; he's trying to purge the world of
Master Villain
something he feels is pure evil (another religion, a human, demi-human, or nonhuman race of sentient beings, a
custom). He operates just like the Conqueror, enslaving or killing all those who belong to the "wrong" race or
philosophy.
Single-Minded Soldier
This most trustworthy of villain minions is the experienced, competent, persistent soldier -- a field-trained officer
Minor Villain I 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.
Mistress with a Heart of Gold
Minor Villain II 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.
Congenial Madman
This fellow is a pleasant, happy lunatic whom the heroes encounter; after the initial encounter, he follows them
Ally/Neutral
wherever they go, commenting on their plans, behaving strangely, getting underfoot, and -- very occassionally -proving to be a real help.
Monster
Terrain Monster
Theme

Don't forget the simple run-in with the animal belonging to the terrain where the heroes are: Every type of
wilderness has its predators and big, nasty herbivores.
Old Friend at the Wrong Time
Character
When the heroes are trying to sneak through a guardpost, citadel, or city where they can't afford to be recognized,
Encounter
one of the characters' old friends recognizes him and loudly renews their acquaintance in full view of the guards
looking for the characters. This usually leads to an exciting chase as the heroes must escape.
Tomb Deathtraps
Another classic type of trap is the sort of triggered trap left behind in abandoned tombs, ruins, and catacombs.
Deathtrap
Here, a hero who touches the wrong step, floor tile, wall brick, torch bracket, mounted gemstone, or other device
will trigger some sort of ancient trap designed to kill tomb-robbers and intruders.
Water
Don't forget the water chase: Whether it's a battle of seamanship between naval vessels, a chase of rafts toward the
Chase
inevitable waterfall ahead, a contest of canoeing ability, or a chase between the villain and his giant shark vs. the
heroes and their dolphin friends, the water chase can be a distinctive and dramatic one.
Hero Fulfills Prophecy
Omen/Prophesy This is the most useful sort of prophecy. In the early part of the adventure, one of the heroes discovers that he
fulfills some ancient prophecy.
Love
The Master Villain possesses the "weakness" of genuine affection or love -- probably for some NPC, though it
Secret Weakness 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.
Stolen Identities
This option requires that the Master Villain be of godlike power oor possess some sort of artifact. Once the Master
Special
Villain realizes that the heroes are on his tail, he uses his powers or artifact and steals the heroes' identities. One
Condition
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.)
Honor Quandry
You want to use this on the character with the most strongly developed sense of personal honor -- someone who
Moral Quandry has lived all his life by a strict code. Toward the end of the adventure, this character realizes that the best way to
defeat the Master Villain is a violation of that code. For instance, the character might be a paladin, who discovers
that the only possible way for the heroes to defeat the Master Villain is to sneak up on him and stab him in the
back.
Extraneous Details
When giving the heroes details on their enemy -- for instance, details they are learning from investigations and
Red Herring
readings -- you can give them just a few details too many. This may prompt the heroes to investigate the "extra"
(i.e., irrelevant) details in addition to the relevant onces, thus losing them valuable time.
Wanted by the Law
Cruel Trick
One final complication, one which occurs pretty frequently, is when the heroes are wanted by the law. When
they're wanted by the law, they have to travel in secret and very limited in the resources they can acquire.
Encounter

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