101 Adventures

101 Adventure Ideas for Writers

Introduction:There are many paths to adventure, more than can be listed here. This is a tool for
writers who face the challenge even more formidable than the Tarrasque... the blank page.

by Jeromy Schulz-Arnold

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One Hundred and One Adventures
1. The Great tree, a huge ancient tree in town square,
was struck be lightning the night before last. Work-
ers re moving the debris discovered a secret passage.
None have yet dared to enter.
2. A sink hole has opened beneath the a pro minent lo-
cal cathedral revealing a network of cataco m bs even
the eldest priests never knew of.
3. The Council of Mages needs a rare book that is jeal-
ously guarded by a paranoid old her mit. Acquire the
book.
4. A neurotic local druid needs help purging ver min and
blight fro m his protectorate, a nearby swa m p or
m arsh.
5. The party has an annoying yet har mless fan, a fop-
pish young rake who was last seen entering the
Necropolis at dusk to prove his m ettle.
6. A troupe of minstrels arrive in town led by a very
alluring young cantor. Those who hear her songs fall
m a dly in love with her.
7. A exotic wo m an approaches the party asking for help
in searching for her husband; a Caliph who was kid-
napped by a de mon of sand and fire.
8. The water at a local fountain has turned oily black
and reeks of bile, a proble m that m ust be solved
quickly. Clean water grows scarce.
9. The violent sea stor ms have caused so me very valu-
able and very dangerous things to wash ashore.
10. A party of heroes who vanished m a ny years ago have
returned appearing as they did when they left. They
do not re me m ber anything.
11. An old m a n, after a visit fro m a powerful seer, re-
m e m bers he was once a powerful m age. He seeks to
find this seer again in hopes of re me m bering m ore
about his past life.
12. A diplo mat is to be sent to a hostile kingdo m to bro-
ker a peace treaty, protect hi m at all cost.
13. A tax dispute has arisen in a backwater village far
fro m the capital. None of the previous e missaries
have returned, go and find out why.
14. The Duke's Faire is a great place to enter contests of
skill for m o ney and prizes. This year the grand prize
is an ite m highly coveted by one of the player's
characters.
15. Many, m a ny years ago the elders of this town struck
a deal with a diabolical heathen god who has now
co me to collect his tribute.
16. Upon arriving in town the player characters are given
a hero's welco me, showered with gifts, praise hospi-
tality and the overwhel ming a morous advances of
m e n and wo m en alike.
17. An insidious cult of local ani mists has been growing
in popularity. Their hideous chi meric m e m bers now
recruit by abducting local children, find the m and
put an end to their zealotry.
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18. Within a dungeon, castle etc. there is a solid m etal
roo m full of lu minescence. Upon entering the PCs
find the mselves whisked away to another place, time,
planet, plane etc.
19. A portal appears in a disused part of town, no one
but the PCs see m to be aware of it's presence.
20. Friar Goodheart was once an assassin, rivals fro m his
past have co me to settle an old dispute.
21. Merchy the Mad has created a bizarre m achine. There
are no instructions and no one knows what it does.
Merchy has died leaving the m achine to whir and
hu m. How should the m achine be dealt with?
22. A curiously life like statue in town has started m ov-
ing, even talking to passerbys.
23. A mighty wizard lives in solitude on a nearby island.
There have been no signs of life in m a ny weeks, local
authorities want the PCs to go check in on her.
24. The phylactery of a lich has co me into the possession
of a boy in town an is slowly eating away at the lad
while the lich channels his devastating power through
his cursed necklace.
25. A venerable local priest and healer dies and is
buried. The next m orning every depiction of an angel
is now covering it's face with it's hands as if weeping.
26. The ghosts of a local ce metery who once reveled ca-
cophonous at night, now are silent.
27. A local lord in need of skilled archers and assassins
asks for help in liaising with a petty and overly criti-
cal thieves guild m aster.
28. Returning fro m a loot haul in a dungeon, the PCs
co me to a m assacre. They are accused of the slaugh-
ter and trying to resell their ill-gotten goods. Can
they prove their innocence to a co m m u nity distrust-
ing of outsiders?
29. A crop spate has forced locals to revive worship of an
ancient fertility goddess. All of her local shrines,
fallen into decay, m ust be repaired and reconsecrat-
ed.
30. A powerful Psionist, fearing secrets would fall into
evil hands, hid so me potent m agical incantations in
his mind castle. Navigate this long-dead drea mers
dangerous subconscious and retrieve the spells.
31. A tattered ship with no visible crew on deck has
sailed into the harbor. Those who near the vessel
hear strange noises and s mell awful s mells co ming
fro m the lower decks. No one will enter the ship's
hold.
32. Barbarians have raided and destroyed a peaceful
abbey in the nearby woods. Infiltrate the skir mish
line and try to recover so me of the antiquities
cached there.
33. An aging wizard needs a band of capable adventurers
to clean up so me of her failed experi ments in her
base ment.
TITLE 2
 34. So me adventurers have returned with reports of
having found an abandoned Drow city. It is decided
that a group should be sent to study the ruins and
recover artifacts, it is only just too late as the PCs
realize why this settle ment was abandoned.
35. An island appears off the coast, the ad miral orders it
to be investigated at once.
36. Ferocious sand stor ms uncover a te mple beneath the
dunes. It was believed this reliquary was destroyed
long ago. Local Antiquaries insist that what ever
relics re main m ust be relocated for study and
preservation before they are swallowed by the sands
again.
37. Tensions rise as woods man and loggers encroach fur-
ther into the protectorate of a druid and his fey al-
lies.
38. Sailors report that a light house on a re mote island
has gone out. So meone m ust find out why.
39. A honest m erchant has found his stolen wares for
sale in a seedy junk shop, he hires the PCs to steal
his re maining goods back.
40. The PCs arrive at a s mall iron gated ce metery over
grown with ivy. Once explored the see gravestones
that bear their na mes.
41. A terrible plague has befallen the city, local clerics
hire out the PCs to help gather ingredients for cura-
tive m agic before too m a ny fall ill and die.
42. A bard, whose song and poetry attract mischievous
creatures, co mes to town.
43. The ruler of a nation rising to power de mands the
return of artifacts stolen during civil unrest.
44. A goblin captured during a raid tells of a treasure
trove inside the m assive skull of an ancient dragon.
It's jaws only open at midnight during a full m oon.
45. An old abandoned theatre has a trapped door that
leads to a disused te mple of a cantankerous god.
46. A mong the m a ny paintings in a local m useu m is a
painting said to be the only entrance to a great
treasure vault.
47. Two local pranksters are engaged in a friendly co m -
petition. One or both hire the PCs hoping to out do
the other's high jinks.
48. A haggard old wo m an of m agical tradition clai ms to
have lost her potion of agelessness in a pond full of
predacious lifefor ms.
49. A group of industrious gno mes have built a rudi men-
tary flying m achine but have crashed landed in a
dangerous land. Friends and fa mily hire the PCs to
rescue the m.
50. Hoping to open a tavern in a recently purchased
ra mshackle inn, a young halfing needs specialists to
drive out the resident nasties.
51. A dwarven s mith, hoping to attract m ore custo mers,
offers heavily discounted gear to the PCs. In ex-
change he asks the PCs to give hi m first crack at
purchasing loot and ge ms plundered during their ad-
ventures.
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52. Elven refugees begin to trickle into the area. Their
effort to stop the ra m paging m o nsters goes poorly it
see ms.
53. A half-elf, fleeing fro m an oppressive, intolerant new
regi me, brings news of an elven high court subverted
by a lich.
54. A tribe of friendly swa m p people wish to establish a
trade route across a for midable m orass.
55. A half-orc ani mistic druid needs help discovering the
forces behind the decay in her grove.
56. Plains people, renowned for their horse training, seek
talent to help capture an elusive and willful m o unt.
Pay ment for services rendered will be tendered with
a fine steed.
57. The PCs over-hear a bard's song calling for heroes to
acco m pany her to a nearby fort and help rescue her
wrongfully imprisoned co mrades.
58. A fa mous and wealthy bard seeks a crew of roadies
and opening acts for his traveling show.
59. A fiery cleric has long denounced the works of a
popular te mple as fake. On his death bed he asks
the PCs to continue his work and uncover the char-
latans.
60. Help a group of Dwarven fighters/blacks miths collect
precious ore needed to craft powerful ite ms. The
mines are dark and dangerous.
61. After m uch civil unrest, it is decided that the te mple
m ust be rebuilt first, aid a group of young clerics in
this task.
62. The Grand m aster has welco med outsiders to co me to
the abbey and help his students build a da m to pro-
vide m ore water to his thriving school.
63. A m o nk who has taken a vow of silence has been ac-
cused of a heinous cri me. Help her prove her inno-
cence.
64. Help a paladin re-sanctify a to mb belonging to hon-
ored dead of his order.
65. Assist a cadre of rangers in slaying a particularly
dangerous foe.
66. A rogue needs help escaping the city. In exchange for
the PCs help she offers a m a p of a dungeon she's
looted before but that is still full of treasure.
67. A burglar turned locks mith was found m urdered this
m orning, find the culprit.
68. A sorceress, senile in her old age, is no longer able
to control her powers.
69. A m agic prodigy has m a de a terrible, secret deal with
a vicious devil and his bill is co me due.
70. A potion m aster's apprentice has accidentally misla-
beled a nu m ber of potions sold at the bazaar. Help
track down the buyers before they take the philters.
71. So me fool has stolen the cruel arch -wizards fa miliar,
recover the missing co m panion before m ore innocent
people die.
72. A kindly wizard would like a feather fro m a swan m ay
for her new staff. See if the PCs are up to getting
one.
TITLE 3
 73. Inquisitors are going door to door looking for 93. A creature m a de of shadow and s moke has been seen
heretics and unbelievers. wandering around town at night.
74. Help a scholar find a book hidden in the trapped and 94. A local church's soup kitchen serves dragon toe soup
heavily guarded restricted book roo m of a wizard's co m pli ments of a brave knight. What of the dragon's
tower. hoard?
75. A m ysterious old her mit who lived in a nearby forest 95. A retired adventuring party seeks to establish a
has died. Search her mansion, a network of tree- school for adventurers, they need help clearing their
houses and underground tunnels, for anything note newly purchased grounds.
worthy. 96. When a group of adventurers returns fro m a treasure
76. When a star falls into a vast swa m p, strange beings haul, they are followed by unseen guardians eager to
e merge fro m the bog. They see m peaceful, find out exact revenge.
what they want. 97. So me very clever fey have placed and enchant ment
77. When children playing near a s mall seaside grotto on a treasure trove in a cave. Once the riches (coins,
find a cache of skeletons they inadvertently uncover ge ms etc.) leave the cave they beco me worthless
this peaceful ha mlet's dirty little secret. wooden coins, bits of colored glass and rusted junk.
78. A halfling paladin, wishing to retire, seeks heroes for 98. A lore master reads about the horrific end of an an-
one last quest: an expedition to recover his fa mily's cient civilization si milar to his own.
coat of ar ms fro m a deserted, ruined estate. 99. A crier arrives in town seeking heroes to deal with a
79. Following the downfall of a tyrant a power vacuu m proble m in a re mote region.
draws the PCs in as the people believe these heroes 100. A necro mancer skilled in gole m m a king has set loose
are the best hope of stability a mong petty, oppor- his latest abo mination on a hapless outpost.
tunistic factions. 101. The players die and begin the perilous journey
80. A local bard, full of tales of adventure, passes away. through the afterlife/planes to be reincarnated/res-
At his funeral, his voice is heard spinning a tale of urrected.
impending doo m.
81. So mething has been snatching people fro m their beds
at night.
82. A nearby town's population has beco me very lethar-
gic. They sleep 14-16 hours at a time and so me have
been seen sleep walking.
83. An outcast returns to his ho me town to carry out his
brutal revenge on the unsuspecting townsfolk.
84. The stru m pets of the city have begin killing their
johns. They clai m to have fallen into trances and
don't re me m ber such grisly events.
85. An evil cleric forbids all other divine casters fro m
using m agic or even wearing holy sy m bols in his
city-state.
86. An unpopular tyrant has just been dethroned, the
new governor asks the PCs to help keep the peace
during the unrest.
87. Local historians ask the PCs to retrieve artifacts
bartered to settle debts.
88. By order of a despot paranoid of revolt, there are no
weapons within the city walls. Local partisans ask the
PCs to help subvert the city.
89. The PCs, new in town, break an arbitrary law and
face a harsh sentence for the minor infraction.
90. Ships have been docking at and leaving port un-
m a nned, so me return with treasure in the hold.
91. A new order of spell casting knights have risen to
power. Their first goal is to fortify the town with
m agical defenses. Reagents for these wards are hard
to acquire.
92. A collective of Psionists founds a te mple in town and
their growing popularity breeds resent ment a m ong
the other churches in town.

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