Thursday, 7 August 2025

d20 Murder Hobo gangs you want to avoid in a dungeon (Amended)





































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Joys of moving to a red-tape state with less work and maybe worse outcomes more often

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This post is a sequel to:
https://elfmaidsandoctopi.blogspot.com/2025/08/maybe-murder-hobos-are-in-dungeon.html?showComment=1754450809586#c5621307871982652512

There rival party types are good to have on hand.
Stat up the ones you might find handy and keep ready
Or steal pregens from old adventures
Most of these will seek to attack or grift adventurers

d20 Types of Murderhoboes
1 Violent drunks out for drinking money and kill anything in the way, try and kill and betray rivals
2 Mercenary scum between work out to loot a dungeon, just like a burning city, will bully or attack rivals
3 Militaristic professional dungeon raiders who will employ engineering solutions, like blocking and fortifying entrances with pre-built structures, pumping in gas or smoke and other awful tricks. Experienced dungeon raiders who used to work for the empire, gathering magic for the millitary and money to fuel the state. Will have lodged a legal claim for this dungeon or know the local nobility
4 Dungeon Vets were once nice, innocent beginners, but now they are all bitter, spiteful and cursed by contact with dungeon parasites and curses. Violent and unstable, often assume rivals are monsters and it's easier to get rid of evidence in a dungeon. most have medical problems or a curse or carry a cursed item of evil
5 Thieves Guild expedition for profit, and wounded adventurers are the most profitable prey. Will be friendly to healthy-looking rivals and even share notes (might send you to a trap or encounter). Rely on stealth but will also surrender rather than fight to the death like most murderhobos
6 Psychotic outcasts too unstable for military or police. Going to the dungeon for fame and glory. Rivals are out to humiliate them, so they gotta die. They really like killing and robbing, and might even stay in the dungeon
7 Dangerous cult is actually a team of elite cultist relic hunters and assassins. May but ask questions about a relic or item. If they believe the party has it they will attack. If they think information is being withheld, they will kill most of the party, torture survivors, and then sacrifice them
8 Berserker barbarians who hate monsters, magic and civilisation. They like to smash art and burn books and wizards. They are here to cleanse it of malignant forces, and adventurers are just more. They might be friendly and offer to cooperate, then when all berserk and monsters are dead, they will turn on their allies standing
9 Cannibal Chaos Cult, who seem to be barbarians but are in the dungeon to eat whatever they catch. Sometimes includes a pet troll or ogre, or might all be doppelgangers. They may try deception and get players between them and their allies, then betray their party. Some are bererkers
10 Lycanthropes are a rough wilderness gang who smell badly and might seem to be friendly and offer aliances
11 Bandits desperate for money or food may be friendly if the party seem tough, but will betray them if the party seem weak. They may offer to fight for some food. Some might even be escaped convicts or urban gangs driving from their turf on pain of death. They all have bounties
12 Death cults often led by a spell user here to get corpses for necromancy. Might have undead with them and student magicians. Always will include some thieves and fighters. Rivals are threats because adventurers would normally kill them. Especially good priests
13 Non-Human Party made up of all non-humans and often the more evil versions. They are here to take over the dungeon, but may see use in rivals in the short term to help them seize control. "Only we can save you from the adventurers. We will lead you!"
14 Monster Party all are shapeshifters, including planar beings, changeling spirit folk, faerie, lycanthropes, dragons, undead and doppelgangers. A party might be mixed or all one type. They definitely want to betray, kill and eat adventurers after using them as cannon fodder. They might all pretend to be holy or naive young heroes or to be a desperate peasant mob on a quest
15 Academic party - keen to dissect creatures to measure their brains and other organs for students of bestiaries & anatomists. Some gather parts for alchemists and use dungeon loot to fund studies and research
16 Gourmet party - want to eat monsters and deliver body parts to the rich for feasts
17 Trophy hunters - want to kill monsters to make souvenirs like mounted heads, ashtray hands and umbrella stands. Some are taxidermists or focus on ivory. They are dedicated to the hunt and rivalry. Adventurers who cross them are the most desirable game
18 Rich dandy youths - with brutal veteran mercenary bodyguards who protect their lieges. Most are second or third unwanted children, but still spoiled. Some survive as competent and gain levels, but many more die. The mercenaries do live. They love treasure and can be overambitious, but the guards usually restrain them.
19 Poets & Artists with mercenary bodyguards. Seek inspiration, interesting objects, crude art of savages and experience seeing the stuff their clients love. Some are bards or magicians. More cowardly than dangerous
20 Monster Fighters - martial artists, warriors, barbarians, often with a priest or some other specialists here to fight for glory, honour and skill. Often claim a dungeon just to have duels. If they can't get a due,l they will become vindictive and provoke conflict and slander the party. Glorious fights are their only real interest. Many keep a few bards on hand to help spread gossip or slander 

updated thanks to a comment informing me my d12 was broken so now a d20

more like this in several versions of my murder hobo books

2 comments:

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