Adventure #202

Theme

Goal

Story Hook

Plot

Climax

General Setting

Specific Setting
I

Specific Setting
II

Master Villain

Minor Villain I

Minor Villain II

Ally/Neutral

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.
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.
Missing Memories
One or more of the PCs wakes up with no memory of the recent past, and now they find themselves in some kind of
trouble they don't understand. The PCs must find the reason for the memory lapse, and solve any problems they
uncover in the meantime.
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.
Cosmopolitan City
Most of the story takes place in a large, sophisticated city; center the villain's plot and activities around that city.
This setting is best suited to adventures involving more people than monsters; most of your villains should be
human or demi-human.
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.
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.
Zealot
This villain is like the Conqueror, but he's not trying to conquer to own; he's trying to purge the world of 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.
Hard-Eyed Advisor
This is the sort of villain whom the heroes see in the Master Villain's throne room. He's hard-eyed and scary; life
means nothing to him and he enjoys killing. He's also a good advisor to his master.
Single-Minded Soldier
This most trustworthy of villain minions is the experienced, competent, persistent soldier -- a field-trained officer
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.
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 co-

workers since he was a young man, the road conditions, the rotten pay he's receiving, and so on.
Loving Deceiver
One of the player-characters, specifically one of the better-looking ones, attracts the attentions of a very attractive
Monster
local of the opposite sex. This local person, encountered in unthreatening surroundings, invites the hero off to a
Encounter
liason away from his friends and other people. Of course, this person is a human-appearing monster of some sort;
once alone with the character, he/she will attack the character with monstrous intent.
Belligerent Soldier
The billigerent one has just had his ears pinned back by his commanding officer and is anxious to take it out on
Character
some
hapless civilian. If this is a city gate, he claims that the hero's papers are wrong or that he recognizes the hero
Encounter
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.
Mutually Assured Destruction
In this very nasty deathtrap, the heroes are bound up in such a manner that any one of them may get free of his
Deathtrap
bonds -- but when he does, all his friends perish. Obviously, the heroes' task is to find some way for everyone to get
out alive. Perhaps an intricate series of cooperative rope-cutting will defuse the trap; perhaps a coordinated
maneuver will get everyone free as the trap is being sprung.
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.
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.
Coping with a Curse
Special
The curse might be making the hero progressively uglier, might be draining out his life-force (he's losing experience
Condition
which will be retruned if he succeeds), or might be making him progressively insane. Each day, as he sees his
reflection in a mirror or pond or fountain, he'll know himself to be less than he used to be.
Saving Quandry
Moral Quandry Finally, another classic quandry puts the heroes in the position of choosing between a grand opportunity to hurt the
Master Villain -- or saving the lives of a number of individuals.
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.
Heroes Must Work with Villain
If they have to work for the villain, it's due to some hold he has over them -- probably, he's kidnapped one of their
Cruel Trick NPCs and will kill this person if his demands aren't met. Put the heroes through the encounter where they have to do
something they are loathe to do, such as sack and pillage a temple, before they have the opportunity to retrieve their
friend.