Adventure #213

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

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.
Encounter Old Villain
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.
Legend and Rumor
In this classic story hook, the hero stumbles across some new or long-forgotten knowledge that promises great
treasure or gain.
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.
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.
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.
Tavern/Inn
This is a classic fantasy setting, the residence of travelling heroes and the home of the tavern brawl.
Shacktown of the Oppressed
Part of the action centers around the tenements or shacks of the worst part of town; perhaps an allied NPC lives here
or the characters are fugitives hiding out in the nasty part of town.
Corruptor
The Corruptor is the villain who wants to make something nasty out of something that is currently nice. He may be
working on a small scale -- i.e., wish to corrupt one character or a few characters, particularly PCs and their favorite
NPCs. Alternatively, he may be a big-scale villain trying to change an entire city or nation into a jaded, debased pit
of sin, hatred and death.
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 taken one of the heroes down with him.
Inquisitor
This villain is the one who interrogates the heroes and NPCs captured by the villains. He accompanies the other
Minor Villain out into the field and works on anyone captured; he enjoys inflicting pain and suffering.
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.
Terrain Monster
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
When the heroes are trying to sneak through a guardpost, citadel, or city where they can't afford to be recognized,
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.
Pit and the Pendulum
Actually, we're applying this term to any of many time-delay deathtraps. In this sort of trap, the villains capture the
Deathtrap
heroes and place them in a trap which will soon kill them -- it operates on a delay, often based on a timing device or
a burning fuse.
Horseback
Chase
This is a relatively short chase -- it only needs to go on for a mile or so before even the best horses are winded. If it
goes on longer than that, the horses may collapse and perhaps die.
Birthmark
Omen/Prophesy One of the heroes has a birthmark that pertains to the adventure in some way. He may have a birthmark identical to
some NPC -- for instance, some person endangered by the Master Villain. This mystery can give the hero his reason
to become involved. Alternatively, his birthmark may mark him as a hero fulfilling some ancient prophecy.
Secret Embarrassment
Finally, the villain may have some aberration or secret shame that will force him to flee when he is confronted with
Secret Weakness 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.
No Hurting the Villain
Special
For some reason, the heroes cannot afford to fight the villain directly. For instance, what if a demon possesses the
Condition
body of the child of one of the characters, or a very important child spoken of in prophecy, one without whom the
world will perish?
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.
False Path to the Artifact
Once again, if the heroes have had too easy a time finding the artifact capable of destroying the villain, give them
Red Herring trouble this way: When they get to the place where the artifact is supposed to be contained, they find the coffer or
chamber or whatever empty, obviously looted by robbers, who have scrawled such remarks as "Kelrog was here!"
upon the walls.
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.