Adventure #23

Action/Adventure
Theme
This is the most common and straightforward sort of adventure there is. In the Action/Adventure
scenario, you present your characters with a task and then confront them with obstacles to overcome in
order to accomplish the task successfully.
Win War
Goal
In this adventure or set of adventures, the characters become part of an army -- a force assaulting
another kingdom, perhaps, or an army defending one realm from another.
Old Friend
Story Hook
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.
A-B-C Quest
Plot
This is an epic sort of plot. In it, the heros are given (or undertake) a task to perform: The taking of a
city, the rescue of an innocent, the destruction of a monster, the creation of a magical item, the defeat
of a Master Villain, etc. But the path to victory is not a simple one. To get to their goal, Event A, they
find that they must first accomplish some other task -- Event B. But when they undertake the task of
accomplishing Event B, they find that they must first accomplish Event C. This goes on for several
encounters, until the heroes accomplish all the obstacle events which prevent them from returning to
Event A, their original goal.
Chase to Ground
Climax
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 foot-chase through nasty terrain -- such as across rooftops, through
the dungeons, or across an active battlefield.
Exotic Distant Land
General Setting
The adventure will take the heroes to some fascinating and exotic distant country, where they'll have to
cope with new customs, monsters unfamiliar to them, and very colorful NPC encounters; choose one
of the more fascinating foreign lands from your campaign world.
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.
Tavern/Inn Specific Setting
II
This is a classic fantasy setting, the residence of travelling heroes and the home of the tavern brawl.
Conqueror
Master Villain
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.
Lovable Rogue
Minor Villain I
This character is like the Master Villain of the same name, except that he has no minions of his own
and serves at someone else's bidding. However, he's very independent, not always working in his
employer's best interests; he often makes fun of the Master Villain's pretensions and may suffer that
villain's retaliation because of it.
Mistress with a Heart of Gold
Minor Villain II
This character is much like the "Lover or Daughter of Villain" type of Mystery Woman from the Story
Hooks section. In this case, she usually accompanies the Master Villain, but sometimes goes on
missions of her own, where she runs into and develops affection for one of the player-characters.
Gibbering Madman
Ally/Neutral
Some poor wretch blundered into part of the master villain's plan and saw too much. What he saw
drove him crazy. He gibber and jabbers, occassionally uttering clues about what he's seen, but just isn't
coherent. He knows enough that the heroes will need to take him along to comment on what they're
encountering, though, so he can't just be met and forgotten.
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.
Thief Character
Encounter
At some point in their adventure, the heroes have a run-in with thieves.
Rock and a Hard Place
Deathtrap
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.
Footrace
Chase
The chase involves the characters on foot, probably through such terrain as city streets or the corridors
of a palace. One hero may realize that the's being pursued by a party of enemies and choose to run for
it; the heroes may have caught up to the Master Villain, prompting him to run for his life.
Innocent Fulfills Prophecy
Omen/Prophesy
An innocent could fulfill a prophecy -- one which endangers his/her life. This innocent might, for
instance, be the one who is supposed to slay the king, but is not a mighty adventurer able to protect
himself from the king; the heroes may find themselves sheltering and helping this poor dupe.
Secret Embarrassment
Secret Weakness
Finally, the villain may have some aberration or secret shame that will force him to flee when he is
confronted with 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.
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.
Friend Quandry
Moral Quandry
At a critical point in the story, one of the campaign's NPCs makes an impossible demand of one of the
heroes.
Artifact that Doesn't Work
Red Herring
Often, epic quests against powerful Master Villains require that the heroes find some legendary
artifact, the only 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.
Based on tables from the Dungeon Master's Design Kit by TSR, Inc.