Got off the lists some time ago, but still valid
Mike
On Wed, 2004-03-03 at 23:53, Michael Adams wrote:
Below could easily be modified for other than standard fantasy RPG.
From: "James Chrisman" <I_ATE_BREAKFAST@y...> Date: Tue Jan 6, 2004 6:34 am
Subject: Adventure seeking in town
01 Assault/Raid Maps and possibly floor plans; offensive and defensive weapons; location of critical stores; number and types of defenders.
Victims, with a list of weapons and loot. Small military group (e.g.
border patrol); arms, armor, and treasure. A military operation in which an attempt is made to capture an enemy alive for interrogation purposes.
02 Banditry Composition of forces; cargo list, and distribution of the same.
A victim; his weapons and loot. A building layout (e.g.
bank or store); defenses and location of safe.
03 Bounty Hunt/Posse A wanted person or persons, preferably armed, dangerous, and with a price on their heads.
* Characters may voluntarily go bounty hunting or may be drafted into a posse.
04 Brawl Classically, a barroom scene; tables, chairs, patrons, and bar must be located and described.
* A clich�, true, but always fun.
05 Breakout A prison map; defense scheme; location of all prisoners, cells, and guards; a person to rescue. A map of an enclosed, outdoor prison camp; location of guards and defenses.
* Instead of breaking someone else out, perhaps the characters may have to break themselves out! A dungeon or tower. Otherwise as "Breakout, jail" above.
* Rescuing a fair maiden is the classic example.
06 Caravan Escort Composition of caravan (i.e. number of mules, wagons, etc.); defenses.
* type of caravan should be specified (e.g. food, spices, silks, etc.)
07 Cattle Drive Cattle; sellers and buyers; departure and destination points; routes to and from.
* Not only cattle, but any type of livestock may be used; also a trail may not yet be in existence. (See Trailblazing.)
08 Coup d'etat A region with a ruler to be overthrown or discredited.
* This region may be as small as a village or as large as an empire.
09 Duel A real or imagined insult; a challenge; seconds and a judge; statistics and weapons of challenger. A "home team"; its weapons and special abilities; rules for engagement; a suitable locale.
* One to keep in mind when a character starts to fool around with a lord's lady!
* Combat may be lethal or non-lethal.
10 Execution/Assassination A victim; a sentence to be carried out, or an employer.
* This should not be just a simple "hit." Rather, the target should be far away, powerful, and protected.
11 Exploration An unknown region; a commission to explore and report.
* The area may be a possible construction site, or it may be an entire continent.
12 Feud, inter-family or inter-business Brief history of feud and feuding families; reason for involvement of characters. History of feud; nature of feuding parties; fees to be paid for "hired guns."
13 Hijack A vehicle or vehicles to be hijacked; a reason for hijacking same.
14 Hunt, big-game or commercial A nasty beast; some obstacles for the player characters, and a prize for the capture of the thing. The location of a animal lair; the treasure within; above all, the associated infants and eggs.
* The prize may be greater if the prey is brought back alive. (This is intended for sport.)
* There is good money to be had selling animals, mounts in particular, on the open market. However, this can be a very high- risk venture; also, a professional hunter must be hired.
15 Intrigue A plot (to be accidentally uncovered by the players); Statistics and abilities of the conspirators.
* This usually involves the wicked relative of a ruling family attempting to usurp power by discrediting or eliminating someone near the throne. Characters may either thwart the plot or join it!
16 Kidnap One victim; location of same; social status of victim; possible ransom makers.
* Number and type of bodyguards at referee's discretion.
17 Madman One berserk individual to terrorize a district, town, or quarter, by any means.
* He may be rabid, thus contagious!
18 Obstacle Course A defined territory with several lethal and/or non-lethal obstacles.
* Typically, a powerful individual will offer future employment; However, they must first pass one little test. Survivors get the job!
19 Parcel/Message Delivery An item and nature of same; name of individual to receive item and under what conditions. Employer and terms of employment.
* The item or message need not be necessarily known to the characters.
If the item or message is of considerable power or importance, someone will surely true to rob the adventurers.
20 Personnel Escort A person or persons to escort; a purpose to the voyage; employer and terms of employment.
21 Pilgrimage Escort/Crusade A holy shrine to visit, worship, or rid of infidels; a typical caravan with supplies.
22 Piracy The layout of a vessel; its location (deployed or in port); crew, defenses and cargo.
* Risky; profitable, but those caught must pay terrible dues.
23 Rescue, from men Perhaps a town surrounded by hostile forces that needs reinforcements or someone about to die at the hands of unfriendly natives.
24 Rescue, from natural forces A good-sized earthquake, flood, fire, or blizzard should do the job; someone or something to rescue; its location and intervening obstacles.
* This is mostly for characters with morals, but there is an occasional reward.
25 Riot An angry mob with a grudge. The mob, or be drafted to quell the riot and control looters.
* Characters may join
26 Sabotage/Arson, building or ship Factory, shop, or other building plans; defenses; type of building and construction; location of machines and equipment inside. Plans for a vessel and immediate vicinity of waterfront/spaceport; nature of on-board security; nature and location of cargo.
* Characters run two risks: 1) becoming wanted by the law;
2)_ getting caught in their own blasts!
27 Salvage An item, vessel, or vehicle lost in wilderness and a rumor or map referring to the same.
* Salvage is a high-risk venture; there may be a fortune or it may all be gone.
28 Smuggling An illegal object or substance to smuggle, a source for such
* The longer the smuggling goes on, the more likely the items.
smugglers are to be caught or betrayed. Also, other underworld figures may resent the competition. A war; usually revolutionaries in need of weapons and supplies. A source is needed here, too.
29 Spy/Undercover A mission; methods of infiltration and extraction.
Applied in connection with police or as private investigators.
* For example, to catch smugglers.
30 Sting/Switch/Swindle/Scam Suckers, and a plan.
* Characters may perform this; better yet, it may be performed on them!
31 Tournament A choice of events to enter (e.g. jousts, light-saber duels, Wrestling, etc.); in the statistics of opponents.
* Be sure to give the non-player characters appropriate bonuses their class (i.e. wrestlers should have high strength, etc.).
32 Trailblazing A hitherto impenetrable swamp, sea, or mountain range; an economic need for a road through; and some businessmen to stake a venture.
* Initially, a route must be found, in itself a dangerous undertaking; secondly a road must be built.
33. Murder. Someone has been murdered, and you have limited time to figure who the murderer is, since one of your NPCs is the prime suspect.
34. Kings Daughter: Local lords daughter (or son) has fallen madly in love with one of your party members, (play this up for humor purposes)
and she/he wants them. Alot of role playing.
35. Infiltration: You have to infiltrate the next town over, for what purpose, get creative. Methods, get creative. Chance of success, have fun.
36. Into the crypt: Somethings smells bad under the city, and you have to investigate.
For what ever reason. One I love is there is a whole town under the city, that is coming up to let the uppers know they are not appreciated, namely all the bodies and sewage and like.. Catacombs are great.