Adventure #107

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.
Rescue NPC(s)
The characters must rescue one or more kidnapped NPCs, probably from the stronghold of the
kidnapper. Obviously, they must get to said stronghold, break in, rescue the kidnappee, break out, and
escape back to safety; this usually requires careful and clever planning and a large dose of luck.
Mystery Woman
Create an NPC "mystery woman" sure to be fascinating to your hero and have her keep appearing
inexplicably in his life. As he becomes interested and investigates her, he keeps stumbling across the
villain's plans and becomes inextricably mired in the plot. (For female player-characters, the Mystery
Man is just as useful.)
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 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.
Temple/Church
This can be either the church of some lofty and good diety, or the dark and grisly temple of some horrid
deity (doubtless filled with evil soldiers and monsters), or even the temple that the madman villain has
dedicated to himself for when he becomes a god.
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.
Destroyer
This villain is like the Corruptor, except that he likes destroying instead of corrupting. He operates like
the Conqueror, moving in his armies -- often nonhuman or monstrous armies -- and destroying
everything in sight. Again, the Destroyer could easily be an evil god or demon, meaning the heroes wil
have to find his weakness in order to thwart his current plan.
Inquisitor
This villain is the one who interrogates the heroes and NPCs captured by the villains. He accompanies
the other Minor Villain out into the field and works on anyone captured; he enjoys inflicting pain and
suffering.
Single-Minded Soldier
This most trustworthy of villain minions is the experienced, competent, persistent soldier -- a fieldtrained 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.
Absent-Minded Expert
Ally/Neutral The characters find they need an expert in some fields -- pottery, alchemy, whatever -- but all they can
find is a somewhat daffy and absent-minded master of that subject. He's useful when around his subject
matter, but otherwise absent-minded, incautions, in frequent need of rescuing, etc.
Beast Amok
Monster
Some time when the heroes are in a village or city, an animal, probably an otherwise tame or captured
Encounter
beast, is set loose by the villain's minions or driven mad by the Master Villain. The beast goes berserk in
the crowds; if the heroes aren't inclined to capture or kill it, it goes after them.
Seducer
One of the characters is invited to a romantic liaison with an attractive local. This local can just be
Character
interested in a brief tryst, could fall madly in love with the hero and follow the hero through the rest of
Encounter
the adventure, could be a Loving Deceiver monster encounter, could be a thief and rob the hero blind, or
could be a spy or assassin working for the Master Villain.
Avalanche
This is an outdoors trap. Some time when the heroes are in a narrow canyon or gorge, or are on a snowDeathtrap
covered mountain, their enemies can arrange to dump an avalanche upon them (rocks and boulders in
the first instance, snow in the second).
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.
Time Limit
Finally, the most obvious condition to place on an adventure is to give it a time limit. If the Master
Special
Villain is going to conclude his evil spell in only three days, and his citadel is three hard days' riding
Condition
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.
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.
NPC Turns Traitor
Cruel Trick He may alert he enemy when the heroes are planning a raid; he may steal the artifact and take it to the
villain; he may stab a hero or important NPC in the back (literally) before departing.