Today kid told me about aliens that throw razor discs that cut off your head then suck you into a portal where there is a dragon to kill and eat you. He is also a robot. Any awesome child inspired monsters out there?
Other crazy claims from kids today/this week:
eat too much chocolate turns you into a baby
boy has nightmares of barbi enforced feminizing him
another boy claimed to have had sequel to that dream and he cut barbi's head off
girl told me wouldn't marry a lefty or care what happened to one
aliens attacked boy in his room, parents scared off aliens
dragons are truly awesome, you just dont get it
Haiku of Encounter Tables
Have been working, sick, watching mad men and game of thrones and django. Writing effected a lot by this. So will get creative next month. Running Cthulhu, a no brainer, just find old scenarios nobody knows well. My DnD games are running sandbox style from mostly tables and players own questionable antics. Exploring map and city, occasionally find a good murder hole.
Have three big books printed out. One of all my island stuff and encounter tables. One of my redbrick dungeon book drafts (no editors getting anything done so im gonna start laying out so i can plan layout which should make easier to read). Last a book of my favorite tables from other bloggers. Thanks to everyone who has PDF button option on every post.
Writing tables is poetry to me. A good encounter is briefly described, has cadence and even other devices and sets imaginations soaring. Elegent and pleasing to get right.
- Tables help define the natural and political history of your world or dungeon
- They provide insight into local area
- Kick start possible adventure or provide a memorable interaction of some kind
- They beg questions like: how do normal people survive here?
- Tables fill in the blanks between staged events you deliberately include in game
- Offer opportunities for action if characters without sure purpose at the moment
- Represent obstacles and hazards that restrict the parties freedom of movement
- Every journey is a gamble with danger more common than lucky scores
- Tables are brainstorming banks of ideas for future
- Fill in those pauses in play or when adventurers are being boring
Old DMG pic of peasant farmers vs ankheg made me wonder how do peasants survive in a DnD world.
Highland Encounters for Exile Island d100
This is most needed for play right now in my game.
While kilts about, checkered pants, bare chests, blue woad and tatoos more common
Spiked hair and beards, beast and plant motifs on metal work
1 Bard on the road, messenger of nobility or druids
2 Bard on the road looking for subject of next epic
3 Bard on the road, sings for supper actually a spy
4 Black robed druids with undead looking for fresh corpses
5 Red robe blood druids looking for humans to punish in name of nature
6 Green robe druids friendly if party care for their animals well
7 Brown robe druids request hep to kill a invasive monster or species
8 A lone young warrior looking for adventure
9 A lone berserk looking to join a party
10 A group of young local warriors too keen for battle
11 A group of warriors insist on friendly wager or contest
12 A group of local warriors insist on gift from foreigners
13 A mounted scout sees party and reports to nearest lord
14 Mounted warriors of king question party - may escort them to court
15 A horrifying noise is actually a bagpipe player
16 A rogue wishes to serve and guide party, tries to rob them and run
17 A band of unreasonable berserkers with no interest in talk
18 Women on way to market or stream for washing
19 Local youths tease party and follow them for a while
20 Amazon women offer to liberate women in party
21 Old crone in shack offers to tell party future
22 Old crone in shack is a magical hag who wants to eat man flesh
23 Unicorn galloping in distance
24 Treant by nice rest spot watches party, stamps out camp fires
25 Dryad and her lovers investigate party
25 Warriors from several villages having ritual games day then a feast
26 Villagers having local festival, amorous and friendly (maypoles or sacred marriage)
27 Friendly villagers having festival, seeking sacrifices to burn in wicker man idol
28 Druids sacrifice their corn king iether a symbolic idol, real chief or any fool they can find
29 Wandering village idiot follows party
30 Mutant beserkers attack normal people
31 Kelpie water horse demon tempts heroes to ride then jumps in water to drown
32 Kelpie water horse in demonic woman form tempts party
33 Banshee haunts area by night, dwells in old barrow mound by day
34 Barrow with wights inside who roam by night
35 Druids sacrificing animals or person on monolith
36 Leananshae a faerie vampire who preys on bards slowly while helping them reach new heights
37 Centaur warriors try to kidnap party women or youths
37 Satyrs attempt to seduce women folk in party with song and dance
38 Drunken Hill giant in kilt with club demands booze and flesh
39 Faeries try to make party sleep and steal gold
40 Dancing fairies try to trick party into faerieland gateway
41 Aloof elf hunters watch party from afar
42 Naked elf maid tempts party with her breast milk, highly addictive and charms drinkers
43 Herd of dear gallop past
44 Elk peacefully grazing, will bellow fiercely if party threaten their young
45 Irish stag (mega fauna deer) blocks the past, looking for a fight
46 Wolf pack stalk party till opportune moment for attack
47 Werewolf by day as human joins party, by night attacks
48 Wereboar beserker by day as human joins party, by night attacks
49 Werebadger bandits offer to join party by day, by night attacks
50 Werefox maiden by day seduces party and stirs up trouble, by night robs them
51 Were lynx maiden offer to join party by day, by night disapears and returns at dawn
52 Swan Maidens looking for enslaved sister and her feathered cloak
53 Viking explorers looking to trade bur willing to rob or rape easy targets
53 Slavers will trade if party strong or will try to kidnap if weak
54 Druids or Hags or Witches with cauldron offer potions or prophecy
55 Crucified foreigner bodies with heads missing
56 Warriors drinking and comparing severed head collections, party might tempt them
57 Tribal meeting seems friendly event but could turn into bloodbath from a single insult
58 Bard competition overseen by druids
59 Intelligent animal requests aid from party - some monster in the woods causing trouble
60 Huge inter tribal drinking contest with druid brewers and even non human teams
61 Witch tries to sell party beserker sword +2 with evil blood drinking persona
62 Stag riding elves trail party for a while, if approached set werewolf on party and flee
63 Lizard men hunting with clubs, spears but leader in human finery and kilt
64 Orc warrior raiding band, looking for easy prey for slaves
65 Goblins harvesting mushrooms, may trade potions or magic but tricky
66 Hobgoblin warriors riding boars looking for victims
67 Goblin wolf rider warband seek merchants to rob
68 Bandits rob the rich to help their cause, outcast tribe seek to restore old position
69 Villagers desperately want a chief or king, will sacrifice after seven years rule
70 Battlefeild covered in headless looted corpses
71 Lost children escaped tribal massacre
72 Wild hairy forest men dancing in woods, friendly to all temporarily
73 Wild hairy forest men outraged by intruders on their sacred land
74 Wild hairy forest man druid or sorcerer attacks party with magic
75 Wild hairy forest woman chased by hunters, she will reward rescuers with potion
76 Coven of witches - by day preparing for festival, by dark a nightmare monster orgy
77 A witch demands a party member be her lover for night or else, she uses illusions and drugs to aid
78 A pagan wild wizard confronts party and advises them of a great magic relic quest in area
79 Huge cut turf chalk drawings in hillside, turf cutter working or villager seeking fertility
80 Naked girls jumping over a huge fire pit, seeking pregnancy from fire god but heroes will do
81 Friendly community welcome party but try to sacrifice by night for cannibal feast
82 Witches dousing huge stone phallus in blood
83 Beast trainer with quality animals for sale to worthy folk
84 Beast men on ferocious rampage over area
85 Beast men dancing and drinking in friendly mood
86 Blind goose girl off to market, geese actually 7 gold dragons in disguise
87 Beast flies overhead d4 1=black dragon 2=green dragon 3=wyvern 4=griffons
88 A bagpipe playing bard-lich calls horde of skeletons and vanishes if his toys destroyed
89 Three headed ogre with club demands toll
90 Talking goat pleads for help, family kidnapped by trolls
91 Minor demon or devil demands blood sacrifice to pass
92 Knight demands a duel or joust to pass him
93 Bear riding beserker attacks foreigners
94 Pile of pale corpses un-looted on road, evil blood drinking tree men ambush party
95 Tartan wearing highland bugbears ambush party
96 Couple on run from clans seek aid from party, will earn hate from both clans
97 Wandering white robed druid, willing to heal and advise strangers
98 Elf archer challengers party, loser gets to be slave for a year
99 Wooden idol filled sacred precinct, a Druid school in session
100 A lake where locals sacrifice criminals and swords for the lake goddess
Just. . . wow! You, sir, have outdone yourself!
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