Adventure #06

Espionage
Theme
Espionage adventures are active, grim scenarios involving spying and perhaps other cloak-and-dagger deeds such as
assassination or rescue.
Settle a Debt
Goal
A player character may find himself in the position of needing to settle a debt. He could gamble away all his money
and need to raise some more to repay the gambling house before its enforcers come for him. On a more personal
level, the character may need to settle a debt of either money or honor that he owes to an NPC.
Grim Necessity
Story Hook
If the hero doesn't involve himself with this adventure, he's going to find himself suffering or dead -- period. That's
the hook to bring him into the adventure... but you have to determine why he'll suffer or die if he doesn't become
involved.
Event
Plot
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.
Scattered Duels
Climax
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.
Under the Sea
General Setting
This sort of high-fantasy adventure takes place in and under (not on top of) the sea. The heroes require access to
some sort of magic item or spell that allows them to breathe water for long stretches, and might adventure in the
uncharted depths or perhaps in a community of sea-breathers.
Classic Dungeon
Specific Setting
I
This would be the standard monster-filled labyrinth; perhaps it's a nesting ground for the master villain's monster
troops.
Caves of Magical Folk
Specific Setting
II
These can be either beautiful, glittering homes of gorgeous magical peoples, or the dank and terrifying lairs of
horrible monsters.
Corruptor
Master Villain
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.
Moronic Muscleman
Minor Villain I
This fellow is a huge, powerful monster of a fighter. His job is to smash anything the villain tells him to smash. He
does that very well, but don't ask him to do any thinking; he has no time for such brainy stuff.
Childhood Friend with a Dark Secret
Minor Villain II
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.
Villain Ally
Ally/Neutral
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
Monster
Encounter
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.
Belligerent Soldier
Character
Encounter
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.
Animal Pit
Deathtrap
This is a classic trap of the adventure genre: The heroes (perhaps just one hero) are dropped into a pit filled with
dangerous animals -- snakes, lions, bears, whatever. They must either fight the beasts or delay them until they can
escape -- climb back out, open a secret door, break down a wall, have a rope lowered by friends above, etc.
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.
Reincarnation
Omen/Prophesy
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?
Holy Symbol
Secret Weakness
The villain may have the traditional weakness to a specific holy symbol -- but don't choose just an ordinary one. It
may be a holly symbol no longer used by the church, or may be some forgotten variation of the current symbol. (For
instance, the cross may not work, but a variation -- such as the Roman cross -- might; alternatively, it might have to
be a holy symbol which has undergone some unfamiliar ritual.)
Time Limit
Special
Condition
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.
Respect Quandry
Moral Quandry
This is much like the Ally Quandry, only at a greater distance. The heroes have been utilizing the aid of two (or
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.
Extraneous Details
Red Herring
When giving the heroes details on their enemy -- for instance, details they are learning from investigations and
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.
NPC Turns Traitor
Cruel Trick
He may alert he enemy when the heroes are planning a raid; he may steal the artifact and take it to the villain; he
may stab a hero or important NPC in the back (literally) before departing.
Based on tables from the Dungeon Master's Design Kit by TSR, Inc.