Adventure #214

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
Encounter

Deathtrap

Romance
This sort of adventure (rarely played, but worthwhile anyway) has as its central plot the romance between two
characters, usually a player-character and an NPC.
Gain Money
The heroes are intent on acquiring a fee or treasure. If it's a fee, you may wish to roll again on this page to learn the
patron's goal. If it's a treasure, pay attention to the Settings section, which will dictate where the treasure is, if not
who owns it.
Old Friend
Another classic story hook is the Old Friend, the childhood friend of our hero, who shows up in one of several ways
to drag the hero into the story.
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.
Prevented Deed
Here, the heroes have been defeated -- captured by the Master Villain, or so thoroughly cut up by his minions that
all believe them to be dead. And the heroes have learned, from the bragging of the villain, loose talk of his minions,
or examination of clues, what is the crucial event of his master plan. In any case, the battered and bruised heroes
must race to this site and have their final confrontation with the villain, bursting in on him and his minions just as
the knife or final word or key is poised, and prevent the awful deed from taking place -- and, incidentally, defeat the
master villain and minions who beat them previously.
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.
Magical Lake
This is the acquatic equivalent of the Legendary Forest, here beautiful and glistening, there treacherous and
dangerous, filled with water-breathing magical folk.
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.
Conqueror
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.
Snivelling Vizier
The Vizier is a throne-room villain. Functionally, he's rather like the Hard-Eyed Advisor, offering tactics and advice
to his master; but he's an ooily, sleazy, cowardly sycophant. He's usually brilliant in his field of advice but has no
combat abilities.
Childhood Friend with a Dark Secret
This Minor Villain is like the character of the same name from the Allies and Neutrals section. However, the heroes
find out early on that he's really working for the Master Villain. He may not wish to be helping the villains; his
family may be held hostage, or he may just be too frightened of the villain or otherwise weak-willed to refuse.
Alternatively, he could actually be evil now.
Merry Minstrel
This character follows the heroes in order that he might find inspiration for his song and storytelling. He can't be
shut up; he sings all the day long and into the night, is a showoff before crowds, and is far too noisy for a party
trying to remain unobserved.
Foreshadowing Monster
With this monster encounter, combat may not be necessary. This monster encounter exists to alert the characters to
the fact that something unusual is going on, a foreshadowing of their upcoming conflicts with the Master Villain.
Belligerent Soldier
The billigerent one has just had his ears pinned back by his commanding officer and is anxious to take it out on
some hapless civilian. If this is a city gate, he claims that the hero's papers are wrong or that he recognizes the hero
from descriptions of a wanted criminal; if this is the streets, he insults the hero's lack of military bearing, pretty
looks, clothes, smell, companion, or whatever it takes to provoke a reaction.
Rock and a Hard Place

This trap starts out as an Animal Pit, Pit and the Pendulum, or Tomb Deathtrap, but an obvious escape suggests
itself very early on. Trouble is, it leads into even worse danger. The hole out of the animal pit may lead to the lair of
an even worse animal; it may lead through a succession of dangers (collapsing old catacombs, into an underground
river, into a den of zombies) before the heroes reach the light.
Endurance
The Endurance Chase is not some sort of climactic chase -- it's a rugged, tiring, persistent pursuit that tests the
Chase
characters to their limits. In this chase, the heroes and villains are pursuing one another across a lot of territory and
they're not catching up with one another very fast. This may be a horseback pursuit across a hundred miles of
savannah, a camel chase across several days' worth of desert, or a chase across arctic tundra.
Comet's Progress
Omen/Prophesy Events during the adventure may be enlivened by a large and menacing comet which appears in the night sky for
several days during the scenario; the locals take it for an omen of doom. The comet may be the result of magic being
used by the Master Villain, or the comet's appearance can pertain to an old legend involving the Master Villain.
Lack of Familiarity
Secret Weakness The Master Villain, if he comes from the past or another dimension, or belongs to an alien race, might be
sufficiently unfamiliar with this world that he essentially defeats himself. How? By making incorrect guesses about
human behaviour. One classic error involves underestimating the human capacity for self-sacrifice.
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 day
Condition
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.)
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.
Artifact that Doesn't Work
Often, epic quests against powerful Master Villains require that the heroes find some legendary artifact, the only
Red Herring object which can defeat the villain. If your heroes have had no trouble getting to the artifact -- they've effortlessly
sliced through every obstacle you've put in their path and are confidently advancing on the resting place of the
magical item -- you can have it not work.
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.