Showing posts with label Encounters. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Encounters. Show all posts

Tuesday, January 3, 2023

20 NPCs for a Weird-Fantasy Setting


Roll (d20):
  1. A woman with long silver hair. She seems ageless, and has a face like a perfect mask. Wears a cloak of white feathers, and carries a scepter tipped with a great black pearl.
  2. A blind man, with a cane made of human bone. He has no eyes, only pits of darkness in his sockets. He is always surrounded by a cloud of flies.
  3. A small child, with matted hair and big eyes. Dressed in filthy rags, and always giggling. Seemingly immune to harm.
  4. A great hulking brute of a man, with arms the size of tree trunks. Dressed in a loincloth of animal hide, and tattooed from head to toe with arcane symbols.
  5. An elf with golden skin and silver eyes. They always seems to be surrounded by a shimmering aura. Wears diaphanous robes that float in the wind.
  6. A small blue-skinned man with a wide head and large eyes. Wears a crown of barbed wire.
  7. A beautiful woman with long white hair and perfect features. Her eyes are cold and dead, and her hands are blackened claws.
  8. A small, sickly-looking man, with a hunched back and a beard of tangled weeds. Carries a large book bound in human skin.
  9. A shimmering, inhuman creature, composed of swirling energy. It cannot be looked at directly, and leaves burning afterimages in the retina.
  10. A world-weary woman, with a sharp tongue and a ready knife. She has a kestrel perched on her shoulder, and wears a faded scarf over her hair.
  11. A grinning man, always cheerful, no matter the circumstance. He has a wild mane of orange hair, and is never seen without his jester's motley.
  12. A taciturn man, with a face like a slab of granite. He has a great axe strapped to his back, and a pet badger that follows him everywhere.
  13. A cheerful halfling, with a quick wit and an even quicker temper. He has a penchant for drink and gambling, and is never seen without his lucky hat.
  14. A sober dwarf, with a long beard and a serious expression. He is a master craftsman, and always has his hands full with some new project.
  15. Enormous, body like a bloated tick. Beady black eyes on a asymmetrical face. A mouth full of fangs, and tech grafted onto its arms.
  16. Blue-skinned, and strikingly beautiful. Wears billowing white robes, and has six delicate wings. A necklace of delicate silver vertebrae dangles from her long neck.
  17. A tiny figure, barely larger than a child. Dressed in a raggedy patchwork coat. Its eyes are large and black, and seem to stare into your soul.
  18. A creature made entirely of clockwork. Cogs and gears whir and click as it moves. It has no face, only a blank metal plate where a head should be.
  19. A walking, talking pile of garbage. Clothes made of rags and tatters, face hidden behind a mask of grime and grime. It smells like rotting flesh, and its eyes shimmer with a sickening green light.
  20. A being of pure energy. It crackles and pops, and its form is ever-changing. It speaks in a voice that echoes and reverberates, and its eyes are two blinding suns.

Art by Shusei Nagaoka

Friday, September 16, 2022

50 Weird-Fantasy Hex Landmarks


Roll (d50): 
  1. A settlement circled by gargantuan winged beasts.
  2. Monolithic columns surrounded by fog at the base.
  3. A 1000 ft diameter shaft of flame rising into the heavens from an enormous pit.
  4. Structures of constantly shifting colors.
  5. Dozens of perfectly preserved statues carved from a precious stone, depicting mythic beings.
  6. A ziggurat with holy people standing at the top.
  7. The bones on an enormous beast, 3d100+300 ft in length.
  8. Hundreds of ornate mausoleums of past rulers.
  9. A large well, overgrown with brush and filled with waste oils.
  10. A carved megalithic block with inscriptions of various laws throughout Aquilus.
  11. A settlement filled with houses made from tanned human skins.
  12. Several tunnels at the perimeter of a pit, they run deep into the earth. 
  13. Fields with corroded metal cylinders on the ground arranged in mathematical patterns.
  14. A settlement of houses built on the backs of large creatures. The town is nomadic.
  15. Dozens of pits. It is impossible to estimate how deep they are. 
  16. Dull-gray rocks with swirling patches of electricity surging through them.
  17. A military training base.
  18. The ruins of a recently burned settlement lying in ashes.
  19. A rotting aqua-duct defaced with holy symbols.
  20. A  lush area filled with savage plants and hidden predators.
  21. A canyon of breathtaking majesty.
  22. Plains of grass with dim dancing lights above.
  23. A settled marsh area with stilt houses.
  24. Amphitheater of statue shrines, dedicated to gods and heroes.
  25. A large grassy field where the grass is perfectly rigid. The grass acts as tiny daggers.
  26. A pond of acidic water. The reflections are not what they should be.
  27. Secluded homes, dense with an unseen population.
  28. A titanic living shadow.
  29. Geysers randomly erupt. They cause strange mutations to those caught in them.
  30. Mounds of revolting garbage and faeces.
  31. The remains of prison, with courthouses, execution facilities and holding cells.
  32. A submerged mystical fountain.
  33. Large, sensuous flowers of all hues grace a meadows. 
  34. The roots of a massive gargantuan dead tree.
  35. Several dozen poles mounted with signs, pointing towards various distant lands.
  36. Carved trio of protruding faces all looking and pointing the same direction.
  37. A small settlement which is a utopia. 
  38. A garden infested by deadly plague.
  39. Billions spheres of water like a sky ocean flying by and forming patterns.
  40. Cracks appear when walking on the ground, but disappear once people have passed.
  41. Town where buildings are created from monster bones, scales, and giant insect carapaces. 
  42. A glorious estate. Everything is strangely pristine. 
  43. Huge cavern system, which is a dead creature's digestive tract.
  44. A drifting garden of floating reflective liquid orbs in various sizes.
  45. A tower with a large network of tunnels created by the former residents.
  46. A tower with a beam of light shooting into the sky, visible both night and day.
  47. A huge necropolis with hundreds of tombs and headstones.
  48. An area filled with giant footprints, foul smelling contaminated water remains in each one.
  49. A pleasure palace. 
  50. The collapsed and eroded blocks of an ancient structure concealing the entrance to a vault.

Friday, August 26, 2022

20 Megastructures



Roll (d20):
  1. A labyrinth of mazes, reaching deep into the earth. It is said that if you can find your way to the centre, you can have any wish granted.
  2. A tower that stretches from the bottom of a very deep pit, all the way to the top of the sky. It is said that if you climb to the top, you will be able to see the future.
  3. A vast desert, stretching as far as the eye can see in all directions. In the centre is a small oasis, and it is said that if you drink from the fountain there, you will be able to see the past.
  4. A giant clock, perpetually resetting itself to zero. All who look upon it fall into a deep sleep, from which they never wake.
  5. An array of enormous mirrors, orbiting the sun, which reflect and magnify its light, making day and night unnaturally bright.
  6. A crystal palace, in the middle of a great desert. It is said that if one breaks even the smallest piece of the structure, the entire palace will shatter.
  7. A city, contained within a single, enormous glass bottle. The citizens are said to be under a powerful curse, dooming them to live out their lives inside.
  8. A staircase, leading up to the sun. Each step is made of a different kind of metal, and no two steps are the same size.
  9. A library that contains every book ever written. It's possible to get lost in here for years and never find the same book twice.
  10. A cathedral made entirely of glass. The stained glass windows show scenes from other worlds.
  11. A vast white city, so beautiful and perfect that it is said to be the work of angels. It has no doors or windows, and no one has ever found a way in.
  12. An island that is the home of a giant tree. The tree is so big that its roots form mountains, and its branches provide shelter for an entire city.
  13. A tree, as big as a mountain, with a trunk made of stone and leaves of metal. It is said to be the first tree, and the source of all metal in the world.
  14. A palace, made of a crystal so clear it is almost invisible, that contains the throne room of the queen of the fairies.
  15. A black pyramid, miles on a side, built on the edge of the world. It grows larger every day, threatening to consume the world.
  16. A thin metal rod, a million miles long, that stands upright. At the top is a small platform where a single person can stand.
  17. A transparent orb the size of a small planet. It is completely empty inside.
  18. A lattice of powerful magical crystals, embedded in the rocks of a mountain. The mountain is slowly growing as the crystals absorb magical energy from the surrounding area.
  19. A flat mirrored plain, a thousand miles across, and perfectly flat. Thought to be created by god, so they could see their reflection.
  20. A city build on the back of a giant turtle, that slowly swims through the planes, stopping at other cities to trade.

Art by Neil Blevins

Thursday, June 30, 2022

What Caused The Cataclysm?


What caused the cataclysm? (d30):

  1. A bright comet, long awaited by religious fanatics, appeared in the night sky.
  2. One of the three ancient sisters woke from her long sleep.
  3. An ancient tome, bound in human skin, was stolen from the cathedral.
  4. A reclusive wizard was seen carrying an unconscious woman through the forest.
  5. The heir to the throne was born with two heads.
  6. The local witch offered to show the townspeople “what true power looks like”.
  7. A series of natural disasters, unseasonable weather, and mass animal deaths occurred.
  8. One hundred years of peace came to an abrupt end when the neighboring kingdom invaded.
  9. The area around the ruins of the old temple began to glow with an eerie light.
  10. A previously unknown tribe of barbaric people emerged from the mountains.
  11. A dragon was spotted flying overhead.
  12. A group of adventurers returned from their quest with a magical artifact.
  13. The seal on the underworld was broken, unleashing hordes of demons.
  14. An earthquake destroyed a major city.
  15. A cauldron of witches stirred up a potion to cursed the land.
  16. A comet, previously thought to be a good omen, actually brought death and disease in its wake.
  17. A magical barrier, meant to keep out evil, was breached.
  18. A mutation, caused by exposure to toxic waste, began to spread like wildfire.
  19. A meteorite collided with the moon, causing devastating tidal waves.
  20. A magical weapon, meant to be the salvation of the world, was used for mass destruction.
  21. A religious sect, long thought to be harmless, began a mass suicide.
  22. One of the few remaining dragons in the world rampaged through the countryside.
  23. Dwarves began to congregate in the mountains, great rumbling noises emanating from their caverns.
  24. Stubbornly independent sentient plants, co-existing with humans for generations, began to rebel
  25. People started disappearing in the night, never to be seen again.
  26. Unusual things began happening to people’s shadows.
  27. The sun was suddenly blotted out by an immense, dark body.
  28. A single, massive tree appeared in the middle of the town square.
  29. A deep, low frequency humming noise was heard throughout the land.
  30. A pair of comets crossed the sky, one red and one blue.

What happened during the cataclysm? (d30):

  1. The molten core of the planet became exposed, leading to rapid cooled and the creation of a new crust.
  2. The atmosphere burst into flames, engulfing the planet in an all-consuming fire.
  3. The sun was extinguished, plunging the planet into an endless darkness.
  4. Supernovas went off simultaneously in every galaxy, causing an explosion of cosmic proportions.
  5. Every planet in the universe was torn apart, leaving only their cores behind.
  6. Every living creature was incinerated in the universal fire.
  7. The cosmos was reset, with new stars, galaxies, and planets being born.
  8. The original cataclysmic event happened again, but this time it was even more destructive.
  9. The cycle of destruction and rebirth continued infinitely, with each cycle becoming more and more violent.
  10. Beasts of all size and shapes began to rampage through the land.
  11. The oceans boiled away, leaving only steaming hot water behind.
  12. The sky rained down blood for days.
  13. The sun disappeared, and was replaced by an eerie green glow.
  14. The moons shattered, raining down pieces on the surface.
  15. A giant creature awoke from its slumber and began destroying everything in sight.
  16. A strange disease began infecting and killing people by the thousands.
  17. The sun disappeared, plunging the world into an everlasting night.
  18. Electricity crackled in the air, arcing off of everything it came into contact with.
  19. Massive sinkholes appeared, swallowing up anything that got too close.
  20. Volcanoes erupted all across the world, blanketing the planet in ash.
  21. Meteors fell from the sky, crashing into the surface and causing widespread devastation.
  22. The planet was bombarded with radiation from an unknown source.
  23. Structures made of stone and other non-metal materials were liquified.
  24. The very fabric of reality began to unravel, with entire creatures and landscapes appearing and disappearing at random.
  25. Time itself began to break down, with creatures and objects aging and de-aging erratically.
  26. The laws of physics were broken, resulting in creatures and objects defy gravity, being able to pass through solid matter, etc.
  27. Portals to other dimensions started appearing, often disgorging hostile creatures.
  28. Energy blasts began appearing out of nowhere, vaporizing anything they touches.
  29. Psychic storms ravaged the minds of all sentient creatures.
  30. The ground began to produce crystalline structures that shredded anything that touched them.


Thursday, June 16, 2022

80 Colonies, Bases & Research Stations



Roll (d80):
  1. Jettisoned space-junk city, factions vie for resources.
  2. Kafa, lava world, home to alien race, intense heat.
  3. Kastovsky, water world, eternally dark, unknown creatures.
  4. LJ-526, bar on space-station, home to aliens and exiles.
  5. Malka, desert planet, hostile natives, xeno-archeology.
  6. Niflheim, ice world, dark secrets, buried technology.
  7. Outpost 12, on a gas giant, research station, strange experiments.
  8. Pandora, ring-world, home to many cultures, dangerous wildlife.
  9. Post-Terra, after Earth was ruined, new start on Mars.
  10. Proteus, genetic research facility, home to many clones.
  11. Ragnarok, dead world, home to ancient evil, dormant for now.
  12. Ruins of Ree, lost world, home of the last dragon.
  13. Shaad, desert world, home to aggressive nomads, great sandworms.
  14. Sova, jungle world, home to a lost civilization, dangerous animals.
  15. Starlight, orbital city, home to the wealthy, zero-gravity areas.
  16. K’thon, mining planet, company town, dark secrets.
  17. Kari-atha, Ringed gas giant, very beautiful, very dangerous.
  18. Lave, water world, many oceans, many island chains.
  19. Magnetar, dying star, strange energy, aliens?
  20. Mecrosa, heavily industrialized, dark & polluted.
  21. Newton, ice world, research station, guarded by cyborgs.
  22. Oronos, volcanic world, lava tubes, hostile environment.
  23. Outskirts, beyond the frontier, lawless & dangerous.
  24. Proteus, ocean world, undersea cities, strange creatures.
  25. Quarantine, planet used to contain diseases/aliens.
  26. Rhegium, desert world, oasis city, ancient ruins.
  27. Sargasso, space junk yard, dangerous place to salvage.
  28. Terra 2, earth like planet, warring factions, ruined cities.
  29. Thule, arctic world, research station, hostile wildlife.
  30. Typhon, lava world, volcanic activity, hostile environment.
  31. Kreton, sunny planet, planet-wide desert, oasis-cities.
  32. Lir-Drak, volcanic world, lava fields, ash-cities.
  33. MS 896, plant life, giant crystals, teeming with fauna.
  34. New Russia, in the asteroid belt, home to criminals.
  35. Nil-OBrien 17, mining facilities, factories, long hours.
  36. Orbital 3, space station, home to rich/elite, spa-resort.
  37. Quirinious Beta, water world, huge ocean, small land-masses.
  38. 20 Rubicon, war world, home to many battlefields, no safe areas.
  39. Sargasso, gaseous world, home to many floating cities.
  40. Shiloh, quiet world, home to many retirees, no violence.
  41. Starlight, abandoned world, home to many ruins, no life.
  42. Terra 2, desert world, home to many oasis-cities, hostile wildlife.
  43. Thanagar, home world, beautiful planet, home to many galaxies.
  44. Kelar 7, giant gas planet, colonists live on giant dirigibles.
  45. Kress, desert world, small oasis-villages, spice mines.
  46. L-point, space station, connection to the Relay.
  47. New Bungie, small planet, agility training, no weapons.
  48. New Earth, earth-like, just trying to survive.
  49. Nexus, space station, home to many criminals.
  50. Outpost 12, small outpost, home to many exiles.
  51. Ragnarok, jungle planet, full oftrees and rivers.
  52. Sanctuary, water world, many refugees.
  53. Sentinel, security planet, home to many military.
  54. Tartarus, ice-moon, home to criminals and near death.
  55. The Belt, asteroid belt, great place to find minerals/ores.
  56. The Forge, industrial planet, home to many factories.
  57. The Wheel, space station, home to many gamblers.
  58. Titan, gas giant, home to many miners.
  59. Libertus, prison colony, stories of torture.
  60. Magnaura, large magna-region surrounding star, research.
  61. Moffen 5, atmospherically dead, lifeless hulks of ships.
  62. Noi, water world, one large continent, many cultures.
  63. Oasis, in a Belt, agricultural, greenhouses and water mines.
  64. Outland, beyond the Perimeter, outlaws, criminals.
  65.  Kallin, desert world, dried ocean floor, acid rain.
  66. L-point, black hole, terraforming research, hidden tech.
  67. Mol, gas giant, mining station, home of the loners.
  68. New Beginnings, first human colony, everyone’s new home.
  69. Planet X, mineral rich, uninhabited, unknown origin.
  70. Ruins of Tarkus, ancient space station, now a trap.
  71. Sanctuary, asteroid, refugee camp, home of the outcasts.
  72. The Belt, asteroid belt, home of the miners, tech-world.
  73. The Dark Side, moon, no atmosphere, has water & ice.
  74. The Forbidden Zone, area of space no one goes to, legends.
  75. The Outlands, unclaimed planets, home of the free.
  76. Panthalassa, water world, one large ocean, many cultures.
  77. Relay, space station, connection to the L-point.
  78. Salus, earth-like, unified under one government.
  79. Tau Ceti, water world, sea-faring cultures, many islands.
  80. Thanatos, desert world, site of an ancient disaster.

Monday, June 13, 2022

50 Encounters in the Underworld


Roll (d50):
  1. The Whispering Graveyard, full of restless spirits.
  2. The Eternal Prison, said to hold an immortal foe.
  3. The City of Shadows, a place of dark secrets and lies.
  4. The Forest of the Shade, the trees are alive and watchful.
  5. The Ivory Tower, built of human bones.
  6. The Palace of Rust, home to the Iron Duke.
  7. The Library of the Damned, where knowledge is a curse.
  8. The Maze of Madness, where the walls are alive and hungry.
  9. The Garden of Dreams, where reality is an illusion.
  10. The Domain of the Doppelgängers, where all is not as it seems.
  11. The Fortress of the Faceless, home to the nameless creatures of the night.
  12. The Tower of the Titans, where giants walk the earth once more.
  13. The Lost city of the Seers, drowned in time.
  14. The Coliseum of the Damned, where undead beasts fight.
  15. The Arena of the Lost, where gladiators battle to the death.
  16. The School of the Necromancers, teaching the dark arts.
  17. The Blackest Mountain, cover in ash.
  18. The Devil's Playground, where toys never break.
  19. The City That Dreams, where all nightmares come true.
  20. The keep of forgotten truths, now madness.
  21. The Harrowed fields, where the air screams.
  22. The Court of the Black Queen, where all kneel.
  23. The Mausoleum of Lost Souls, where none can rest.
  24. The Arena of Blood, where only the strong survive.
  25. The Forge of the Damned, where all are tortured.
  26. The Palace of Mirrors, where all truths are lies.
  27. The Abino Queen, who only sees in black.
  28. Maggot-Ridden Corpses, piled high in heaps.
  29. Gnawing Hounds, led by a skeletal master.
  30. The Lich Lord's Treasure, guarded by a skeletal dragon.
  31. A Slumbering Beholder, dreaming of domination.
  32. A City of Shadows, where the sun is never seen.
  33. A Forgotten King, entombed in a dreaming coma.
  34. A Mad Wizard, babbling in a cell of his own making.
  35. An Ancient Green Dragon, slumbering on a hoard of treasure.
  36. Angelic Custodians, cleaning the Eternal Archives.
  37. The Architects, designing universes from blueprints.
  38. The Infinite Darkness, brimming with stars.
  39. The Celestial Bureaucracy, filing away hours.
  40. The Great Wheel, spinning through time.
  41. The Gates of Horn and Ivory, leading to dreams.
  42. The Underworld Express, speeding through the darkness.
  43. The City of the Dead, home to the departed.
  44. The Lost Library, searching for any who remember.
  45. The Academy of the Artificers, rivalrous and dangerous.
  46. The Court of the Thousand Fools, a jester's paradise.
  47. The Palace of a Thousand Doors, forever shut.
  48. The Void Between the Worlds, choked with souls.
  49. The Gloom, a place of endless night.
  50. The Observatory of the Gods, said to see all.

                                                                        Thursday, June 2, 2022

                                                                        50 Cities, Citadels & Other Weird Structures



                                                                        Roll (d50)
                                                                        1. Gigantic creature made entirely of volcanic glass, eternally frozen in the act of birthing an even more massive offspring.
                                                                        2. Sprawling city made of the corpses of dead gods, still twitching and moaning in their eternal damnation.
                                                                        3. A cathedral that is also a living creature, its stone walls writhing and its gargoyles howling.
                                                                        4. A city within a city, each building a smaller replica of the one it surrounds, until the very centre where a single miniature building resides.
                                                                        5. A school of thought manifested as a physical structure, where great minds can be found debating with one another in the halls and classrooms.
                                                                        6. A floating palace made of cloud and rainbows, where the sun and moon converge in the sky to form a third light.
                                                                        7. A building that is also a mirror, reflecting back whatever is placed before it, no matter the size or nature.
                                                                        8. Flailing mass of tentacles, bony plates and vestigial mouths, seemingly carved from the stone of an ancient city buried beneath the earth.
                                                                        9. City block sized creature, composed entirely of eyes, wailing eternally in tongues unknown.
                                                                        10. A single tree, bearing fruit of an unknown kind, hanging in the middle of an infinite black void.
                                                                        11. Great chain-beacon, a fiery mountain-top citadel surrounded by a constantly smoking sea of lava.
                                                                        12. A city in the clouds, accessed by towers of crystal and metal rainbows.
                                                                        13. A palace made of inverted glass pyramids, their points planted in the earth.
                                                                        14. A colossal tree with a city in its canopy, its trunk a spiraling stair leading to the heavens.
                                                                        15. A school forcity in which all the lessons and academic buildings are suspended by a single massive ballast stone.
                                                                        16. A seemingly abandoned city, with every door and window boarded up. But if one looks close enough, they can see thousands of pairs of eyes staring back at them from the cracks.
                                                                        17. A colossal tree, with a city living in its branches, its roots tearing through the ground below like grasping fingers.
                                                                        18. A transparent fortress, made entirely of diamond, in which everything and everyone can be seen as if under a microscope.
                                                                        19. A city in the shape of a cage, with great spires reaching up to the sky, meant to keep something in, or keep something out.
                                                                        20. A living mountain, whose every step shakes the ground, and whose breath is a storm.
                                                                        21. Great redwood palace, riddled with tiny holes, like a honeycomb, through which an eerie green light shines.
                                                                        22. Mountain top arena, where two teams of magi face off in a grand game of capture the flag, using summoned creatures as their pawns.
                                                                        23. A city within a city, an entire metropolis contained within a single building, each district separated by walls, bridges, and streets.
                                                                        24. Floating fortress composed of a patchwork of salvaged ships, lashed together with chains and sails billowing in an otherworldly wind.
                                                                        25. A building that is alight with a raging inferno, but does not burn.
                                                                        26. A giant sundial, where the hours are told not by the sun's progress, but by the whim of the winds, which can speed up or reverse time at their leisure.
                                                                        27. A palace made entirely of crystal, where every voice echoes a thousand-fold, and every footstep shatters a thousand shards.
                                                                        28. A city in the clouds, where the buildings are held aloft by massive balloons, and the only way to travel between them is by flapping great wings of feathers and wax.
                                                                        29. Great birdcage of living metal, wires sparking with electricity, holding aloft a single white feather.
                                                                        30. Drum-shaped keep, every surface a different musical instrument, eternally playing a discordant melody.
                                                                        31. Castle in the form of a many-eyed, many-mouthed woman, screaming in silent terror.
                                                                        32. Transparent fortress of unbreakable glass, full of identical clones of a single inhabitant.
                                                                        33. A house of cards the size of a city, constantly rebuilding and collapsing in on itself.
                                                                        34. A cathedral in which the pews and rafters are carved with the howls and agonies of the damned, while the floor is a single great stained glass mural of the final judgment.
                                                                        35. A manor house with a great sundial in the front yard, with each hour represented by a different season, and each season by a different climate.
                                                                        36. A city of fortress-sized blacksmith's forges, with billowing smoke day and night, and the incessant sound of a thousand anvils being hammered.
                                                                        37. A floating palace of opalescent crystal, illuminated from within by a thousand candles, each representing a different star.
                                                                        38. A temple whose ceilings and walls are alive with constellations, and whose floor is a great map of the cosmos.
                                                                        39. A mix of every material known to exist all thrown together to create a single jumbled mess of a temple.
                                                                        40. A city sized mill with mountains for grinding stones, valleys for chutes, and a stream of lava for a flowing river.
                                                                        41. A school where everyone is both student and teacher, and the only lessons are those learned in dreams.
                                                                        42. A single tower that extends up and down through all planes of existence, with an infinite number of rooms, each containing something different.
                                                                        43. Dormant volcano sporting a great cathedral grafted to its side, belching lava-encrusted bells.
                                                                        44. Great obsidian ziggurat, gears and cogs turning eternally to some unknown purpose.
                                                                        45. Vast city made completely of gold, all evidence of industry or habitation hidden behind opulent facades.
                                                                        46. A palace made completely of wax, slowly melting in the heat of twin suns.
                                                                        47. Sprawling fortress partially submerged in a murky green swamp, its towers and parapets adorned with weeping gargoyles.
                                                                        48. Enormous beehive made of petrified wood and obsidian, swarming with crystalline bees the size of mammoths.
                                                                        49. Gigantic geodesic dome over a great city, the interior a pristine crystalline environment, completely sealed from the outside world.
                                                                        50. A city on the back of a living, moving creature the size of a mountain, its countless spires and bridges draped in cascading vines.

                                                                        Art by Tim White.

                                                                        Thursday, April 14, 2022

                                                                        The City of Sphäre


                                                                        With a populace of just over a million, the majority living in slums, Sphäre is a notorious hub for Aquilus' most sophisticated marketplaces for predictions. Patrons can stroll streets and side alleys, finding fortune-tellers who desperately pitch information and visions of a potential future.

                                                                        Prophets and seers are not born with gifts however. They are addicted to stardust, each speck containing a part of the collective memory and potential of the universe. This allows the addict to enter cosmic consciousness, experiencing everything as a whole, rather than a chain of separate events. The raw dust is transformed into an ingestible narcotic in Sphäre's underworld by the nefarious elite, a dark and twisted experiment in how the future can be defined by those who stand to profit from it. 

                                                                        There is no cure for stardust addiction, which causes irreparable mental and physical trauma, loss of purpose and meaning, and eventual descent into self-destruction.

                                                                        Roll on each table below and combine results:

                                                                        Discoveries

                                                                        You come across... (d12)

                                                                        1. A city quarter where bio-mechanical humanoids reside, shunned by the populace. Some are former prophets. They spend their days churning complex clockwork machinery for no known purpose.
                                                                        2. A building where dead, celebrated prophets can be visited. They are entombed in clear, solid black glass. They appear to sometimes move inside if closely inspected. 
                                                                        3. Shops that sell crystal balls and divination cards. Some offer unusual items, such as luminescent superconducting ceramics and liquid crystal gel.
                                                                        4. A desolate necropolis where dead prophets are buried. It is decorate by enormous stone carvings resembling children's toys. Sphäre's children have carved these.
                                                                        5. Walled section of the city covered with obscene murals. There are hundreds of intricately carves marbled staircase that lead to nowhere.
                                                                        6. Garden overgrown with weird fungi and lichen. Here stand statues depicting Sphäre's greatest prophets. Each day their poses magically change. 
                                                                        7. An ancient golden barge which can fly, ready to take travelers to exotic destinations. It's very expensive.
                                                                        8. A building adorned with millions of valuable gemstones. Nobody seems to ever try to steal them. It is illuminated within by oil lamps which are rumored to burn for eternity.
                                                                        9. An park where statues of false idols stand. They have all been decapitated. Plants rarely grow here.
                                                                        10. A river of pure milk that that glows by night. Mothers come in the mornings with buckets, to collect sustenance for their children.
                                                                        11. A quarter on the outskirts of Sphäre, where a project has been continuing for hundreds of years to dig an endless hole to reach to the other side of the world. 
                                                                        12. Huge monoliths believed to have been designed by an ancient species. Some say they are inhabited by souls of Sphäre's original prophets.

                                                                        Encounters

                                                                        You meet...(d12)
                                                                        1. 2d4 children of prophets
                                                                        2. A suspicious hypnotist
                                                                        3. A fanatical cartographer
                                                                        4. A scared writer of riddles
                                                                        5. 1d3 feared elites
                                                                        6. A traveling show of mutants 
                                                                        7. An enigmatic wealthy outsider
                                                                        8. 1d3 merry priests
                                                                        9. Sphäre's oldest sage
                                                                        10. 1d4 disaffected plague victims
                                                                        11. 1d4 decadent court jesters 
                                                                        12. A bio-mechanical human
                                                                        ...and they are (d12)
                                                                        1. ...standing in front of a young oracle and being entertained  by amusing cantrips.
                                                                        2. ...bickering they paid too many gold coins for a prophetic reading. 
                                                                        3. ...demanding the players make a payment to the city.
                                                                        4. ...holding a basket of fresh, bloodied, human ears and eyes. These belong to prophets.
                                                                        5. ...attempting to crack open some very large unhatched eggs.
                                                                        6. ....kneeling in tribute to what they claim to be a demon summoned from another plane. There is nothing there.
                                                                        7. ...mercilessly beating a beggar, whilst laughing the entire time.
                                                                        8. ...bizarrely-deformed, running out of a palm reader's shop and screaming.
                                                                        9. ...picked up suddenly by a dark-winged shape that swooped from the sky.
                                                                        10. ...attempting to trade potions for armaments with the PCs.
                                                                        11. ...fending off a swarm of biological horrors.
                                                                        12. ...loudly predicting doom. 

                                                                        Wednesday, April 3, 2019

                                                                        Whoever Eats my Flesh


                                                                        The PCs enter a damp, room with a thick fog covering the floor. The walls and ceiling are covered with plants. From the dense foliage at the furthest part of the entrance, a figure will walk forward towards the PCs. He is human in scale and is completely made of vegetation and looks to have long hair and a beard. He appears old, messianic, wise, joyous and friendly. The plant man is a former wizard that experimented with travelling between planes. Something went awry and now he is here. He will stop at least 30’ from the PCs. If the PCs speak, the plant-man will answer back. He tells them he has a gift for all journeymen entering their structure. The gift is a part of his body which needs to be ingested. He answers no questions and insists that investing his body will provide the answers the PCs need. If the PCs agree, he will move a small part from his body that looks like a yam and hand it to each PC. This vegetative matter is a hallucinogen which will cause various effects. Roll d12:
                                                                        1. PC hallucinates and remembers their childhood. Begins to mindlessly sing lullabies. Is overcome by feelings of compassion and will be unable to attack another living being for 1d4+4 turns. 
                                                                        2. PC falls to the ground and goes into embryonic position. Has intense hallucination which is ecstatic, with numerous profound insights into their own life. Hallucination lasts 1d4 turns. Add 1 permanent point to Intelligence. 
                                                                        3. PC takes off all their clothes and begins rubbing themselves into sexual ecstasy. Add 1d3+1 temporary luck
                                                                        4. PC sees time and space vibrating simultaneously. Judge can randomly determine 1d3 rooms in the dungeons which PC can have prior knowledge before entering.
                                                                        5. PC develops telekinesis and can read thoughts of all living things. Lasts 1d10 + 2 turns. 
                                                                        6. PC becomes disembodied and turns to spores. They regenerats in the garden and are now part plant for the next 1d10+10 hours. The plants will fall off their body after that time. Add 1 to Intelligence. 
                                                                        7. Hallucinogen is poisonous to their system. Fortitude save (DC12), or 1d4 damage to HP and permanent loss of 1 to Stamina. If save is successful, then PC is so terrified and will suffer a -1d8 on all DC checks, initiative and attack rolls for the next 1d10 +2 hours.  
                                                                        8. The plant man will answer 1 question in great detail the PC asks. 
                                                                        9. The PC develops a third eye in the middle of their forehead. Add permanent 1d4 to Luck. 
                                                                        10. The PC communicates with a greater god and switches to the opposite alignment. If they are neutral, they have a 50% chance of becoming Chaotic or Good. Effect is permanent. 
                                                                        11. The PC sees such incredible and overwhelming visions. Will save (DC13) or they begin to poke one of their eyes out with either their fingers or an implement they have on them. Take 1d3+2 damage. 
                                                                        12. The PC becomes ecstatic and splits into two. They now have a doppelgänger with exactly the same stats which they can control for 1d3 days, after which time the doppelgänger dies. It can be kept alive by dark sorcery. 
                                                                        The plant-man will not attack the PCs. He is a wise guide. If he is attacked, whatever is cut by an implement will regenerate in 1d4 rounds. If he is burned, he will regenerate in random part of the room. If the entire room is burned, he will regenerate from a microscopic piece of vegetation in the room. He is impossible to eliminate completely and will always be friendly if he regenerates.

                                                                        Friday, October 5, 2018

                                                                        The World is Made of Words

                                                                        The PCs enter a room where humanoid entities called Language Miners are operating some kind of free-standing machine full of knobs, dials, levels and chimneys of various widths and heights. The machine is made of an unknown material. The design looks like it could have come from the Victorian-era Industrial Age of the 19th century.

                                                                        The Miners are using the machine to create language, the substance that builds the world. Letters of the alphabet rise from the chimney which initially appear solid, but slowly become a smokey, translucent substance and melt into air.

                                                                        If the PCs ask the Language Miners any questions, they answer back with the following. Roll (d7):
                                                                        1. “It’s been a long time since we’ve seen you...we’ve been expecting you. We believe you have many questions for us”
                                                                        2. “A mystery solved loses all luster...let us preserve the wonder of this event by leaving it unexplained”
                                                                        3. “In this circumstance, I can think of no useful magic.”
                                                                        4. “It’s creator would be proud to see such an inventive use for this device.”
                                                                        5. “Your lives hang in the balance. What is your choice?”
                                                                        6. “You have picked such an inconvenient time to arrive....I’m afraid we can’t attend to you at present. We are unable to take any questions at this time”
                                                                        7. “We have some very, very bad news for you...what you are searching for is very far away from here. And by the way....you are all doomed.
                                                                        Language Miners: (4 or more): Init +1; Atk language blast +1 ranged (60’ range, 1d8) or paralyzing scream (special); AC 16; HD 4d4+4; hp 15; MV 30’; Act 1d20; SP undead traits; immune to non-magical weapons; paralyzing scream (affects 1 target, DC 8 Fort save or immobilized for 1d4 rounds); SV Fort +2, Ref +3, Will +10; AL C.

                                                                        Language Miners are about 4’ high and look like a cross between a Halfling and Dwarf. They are plump, have tangerine skin, bright green hair, wear glowing white overalls as a uniform with brown long-sleeve shirts underneath, and polished brown boots. When describing them, use the Oompa Loompa men from the 1971 film Charlie and the Chocolate Factory as a comparison. 

                                                                        Stats provided are for DCC RPG.