Adventure #116

Theme

Goal

Story Hook

Plot

Climax

General Setting

Specific Setting
I
Specific Setting
II

Master Villain

Minor Villain I

Minor Villain II

Ally/Neutral

Monster
Encounter
Character

Mystery
Here, the characters are presented with a mystery -- often a murder -- and have to find out who did what to whom.
Explore a New Area
The heroes are hired or convinced to enter an unmapped area and explore it. They may be making a map; they may
be trying to find someone who disappeared into this area in the past; they may be following legends that tell of
treasure in the unexplored interior.
Not in Kansas
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.
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.
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 footchase through nasty terrain -- such as across rooftops, through the dungeons, or across an active battlefield.
Exotic Distant Land
The adventure will take the heroes to some fascinating and exotic distant country, where they'll have to cope with
new customs, monsters unfamiliar to them, and very colorful NPC encounters; choose one of the more fascinating
foreign lands from your campaign world.
Catacombs
These can be catacombs beneath a living city or a ruined one; they can be long-forgotten or still in use.
Demi-human Community
In wilderness areas, this will be a large community of demi-humans -- elves, dwarves, halflings, whatever -- or
intelligent nonhumans such as orcs. If your action is taking place in a city, this could be a hidden community (such
as a secret underground dwarf community) or a section of the city inhabited mostly by demi-humans.
Advance Agent
This villain is the vanguard of some sort of invastion; often, he is trying to open up a portal to a dimension full of
trapped demons and evil gods.
Corrupted Hero
This villain was once a hero, possibly one known to the players. He was seduced by the dark side of the dungeon
master. Because of his own weakness, or of a curse, he has become a villain, a pawn of the Master Villain.
Lovable Rogue
This character is like the Master Villain of the same name, except that he has no minions of his own and serves at
someone else's bidding. However, he's very independent, not always working in his employer's best interests; he
often makes fun of the Master Villain's pretensions and may suffer that villain's retaliation because of it.
Grumpy Old Professional
Again, the heroes need an expert in a certain field -- this time a craft or art, such as blacksmithing, engineering,
horse-training, or whatever. The only or best professional they can find is an aged expert. He's grumpy, cranky, and
sharp-tongued; he constantly complains about the food, the weather, his companions, the decline in skill of his coworkers since he was a young man, the road conditions, the rotten pay he's receiving, and so on.
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.
Mean Drunk

Encounter

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.
Tomb Deathtraps
Another classic type of trap is the sort of triggered trap left behind in abandoned tombs, ruins, and catacombs. Here,
Deathtrap
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.
Aerial
The heroes could be riding pegasi or friendly griffons or allied great eagles; the villains could be carried aloft by
Chase
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.
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.
Element
The Master Villain can be banished, dispelled, killed, or otherwise defeated by some of element or item. The Master
Secret Weakness Villain tries to get rid of all the examples of this element in his vicinity; he doesn't let his minions carry it or bring it
into his presence. But he's not stupid; he doesn't announce to the world what his weakness is. He tries to hide his
concern within another command. If he's allergic to red roses, for instance, he orders all "things of beauty" destroyed
within miles of his abode.
Omnipresent Observer
If a wizard, demigod or god has forced the heroes to undertake this quest, he may be with them continually -- in
Special
spirit.
He can't help them, but does magically watch everything they do. And when they do something he doesn't
Condition
like, he tells them about it -- loudly and nastily. (This is distressing when they're trying to break into a fortress or
sneak through enemy lines.)
Respect Quandry
This is much like the Ally Quandry, only at a greater distance. The heroes have been utilizing the aid of two (or
Moral Quandry more) powerful NPC allies. Now, in the course of the adventure, the heroes come across a task which can be
accomplished in one of two ways -- say, through military intervention or by esoteric magic. The problem is, the
NPC allies are arguing for different choices, and the one whom the heores choose against will no longer aid them.
Lying Rumor
Red Herring 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.
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.