ADVENTURE # 90

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

Horror
This type of adventure is designed to scare both the characters and the players. Just having a monster attack is not
enough for a horror theme; the monster must first frighten the characters.
Thwart Monstrous Plan
This is a classic fantasy-adventure plot: The characters learn of some horrible plan made by a monstrous enemy, and
must thwart it before the kingdom is lost or the world is destroyed. This is an epic goal, and usually requires that the
characters go to all sorts of places, rounding up allies and artifacts, before being strong enough to face their enemy.
Hero Offended
Someone greatly offends the hero, so much so that he'll pursue his offender right into the adventure. (Note that this
usually means that the offender is a minion of the Master Villain. You'll have to decide whether the minion offended
the hero precisely to bring him into the adventure or just as a side-effect of his ordinary villain activities.)
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.
Ruins
These can be the ruins of some ancient civilization, an abandoned temple or castle, incomprehensible blocks of
stone arranged by ancient gods, etc. They can be magical or normal, inhabited by normal animals or by monsters,
centers of magic or just tumbled-down buildings.
Classic Dungeon
This would be the standard monster-filled labyrinth; perhaps it's a nesting ground for the master villain's monster
troops.
Conqueror
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.
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.
Talkative Barkeep
This classic encounter is the garrulous innkeeper who has information the characters want; trouble is, they'll have to
bribe him to get it, or agree to stay at his inn, or buy a lavish meal, or listen to his incessant stories about his career
in the army, or whatever.
Nocturnal Predator
This is a classic monster encounter; the arrival of a hungry carnivore in the middle of the night. Usually, this attack
happens to heroes camping between villages or out in the deep wilderness; a wild animal, attracted by food odors

(from the heroes' campfire or from the heroes themselves) sneaks in for a bite.
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.
Tomb Deathtraps
Another classic type of trap is the sort of triggered trap left behind in abandoned tombs, ruins, and catacombs. Here,
Deathtrap
a hero who touches the wrong step, floor tile, wall brick, torch bracket, mounted gemstone, or other device will
trigger some sort of ancient trap designed to kill tomb-robbers and intruders.
Special Terrain
You can make any chase more memorable by having it take place in a setting to which it is utterly unsuited. For
Chase
instance, horse chases are fine and dramatic when they take place through the forest, out in the open plains, or along
a road -- but they become diabolical when they take place inside the Royal Palace or in dangerous, labrynthine,
treacherous catacombs.
Reincarnation
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
Omen/Prophesy 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?
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?
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.
Lying Rumor
Red Herring This is the worst and most useful type of red herring -- the interesting rumor which just happens to be false. In
adventures of this sort, the best Lying Rumor concerns the Master Villain; it gives the heroes some "important"
information about him which later turns out to be useless.
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.