Adventure #103

Theme

Goal

Story Hook

Plot

Climax

General Setting

Specific Setting
I
Specific Setting
II

Master Villain

Minor Villain I

Minor Villain II

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.
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.
Dying Delivery
On some occassion when the hero is out wandering the streets or is otherwise all alone, a dying man
bumbs into him, hands him something, says a few words, and dies.
A-B-C Quest
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
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.
On the Sea
Most of the action occurs on the sea -- the heroes are shipborne for some reason, docking in lots of
ports. Again, this is good for adventures where the heroes are investigating clues left all over the map,
are part of some trading enterprise, or are being pursued by villains.
Classic Dungeon
This would be the standard monster-filled labyrinth; perhaps it's a nesting ground for the master villain's
monster troops.
Laboratory
This can be alchemical lab of a friendly wizard, or the horrible experimental chamber of the villain
where new monsters are created and relased upon the world.
Organizer
This Master Villain is the head of the local criminal syndicate -- the Thieve's Guild or slaver ring, for
instance. He's cold-hearted and unsympathetic, and human life means nothing to him. He employs
assassins and musclemen against the heroes, and can only be reasoned with when it's going to profit him
more to cooperate with the heroes than kill them.
Lovable Rogue
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.
Misguided Moralist
This fellow has been convinced that only by helping the villain achieve the Master Plan can he improve

the world. He tends to be encountered all through the adventure's plot, usually escaping from the heroes
and taunting them for their wrong thinking. Fortunately, he's no more effective as a villain than he is as
a thinker.
Congenial Madman
Ally/Neutral This fellow is a pleasant, happy lunatic whom the heroes encounter; after the initial encounter, he
follows them wherever they go, commenting on their plans, behaving strangely, getting underfoot, and - very occassionally -- proving to be a real help.
Powerful Tester
Here,
some powerful, intelligent monster with shapechanging ability turns into a human form. When the
Monster
heroes encounter him, he is in need of help or having trouble. He also obviously can't reward the heroes
Encounter
for their help, and will only serve to slow the heroes down from their quest. If the heroes help him
anyway, the Powerful Tester reveals himself in his true form and offers to aid the heroes in their quest.
Lying Accuser
A captured thief may accuse the character of putting him up to the theft; an abandoned mother may
Character
accuse the hero of fathering the child; a reputable witness (working for the Master Villain) may accuse
Encounter
the hero of a murder or robbery. The hero shouldn't know what he's accused of until he's hauled in by
the authorities.
Coliseum
If it's appropriate, you can have the heroes captured by the local authorities -- particularly when they're
Deathtrap
in an exotic land, lost world, or whatever -- and have them armed with gladiatorial gear and dropped
into a coliseum for the entertainment of the locals. (Note that this works much better with fighting-type
heroes than spellcasters.)
Special Terrain
You can make any chase more memorable by having it take place in a setting to which it is utterly
Chase
unsuited. For 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.
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.
Secret Embarrassment
Finally, the villain may have some aberration or secret shame that will force him to flee when he is
Secret Weakness 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.
Magic Doesn't Work Right
Special
If the adventure is taking place on an alternate plane, then that plane's magic works oddly or not at all.
Condition
(A spellcaster will find that just making himself useful is a challenge when none of his spells works.)
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.
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.
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.