d30 Table for Boons and Bad Luck in Character Creation

This is a simple d30 table to use to spice up the character creation process.  Below are 30 attributes 15 of which are good, or boons, for the character, while the other 15 are considered negative in some fashion.  During the character creation process you simply tell the player about the table, and give them the option to take a chance on the roll, but the boon or curse, for lack of a better term, is considered permanent throughout the character's life, and should not be re-rolled unless specified by the table.  I would recommend rolling these early in the process of character generation (i.e. after rolling ability scores, choosing race and class, but before buying equipment or selecting proficiencies or skills.)

 

d30 Table for Boons or Bad Luck

1. Character begins game with no starting money or equipment 

2. Adept with the arcane. Magic users begin game with ability to cast 1 additional 1st level spell (re-roll for non magic-users)

3. Weakness to cold. -1 to hit in cold environments and -1 to all saves vs cold attacks

4. Scholarly. +1 to Intelligence stat

5. Poor aim. -2 to hit with any missile weapon

6. Favored by divine being. Clerics can turn undead at one level higher (re-roll for non clerics)

7. Easily surprised. -1 penalty to surprise rolls

8. Improved health. Character starts with 3 additional hit points

9. Poor upbringing. -10% starting gold pieces.

10. Improved natural strength. +1 to Strength stat

11. Fear of snakes.  Will react per Fear spell when encountering any kind of snake, or snake-like creature

12. Small amount of elven/dwarven lineage gives human character 10' infravision (re-roll for demi-humans)

13. Prone to sickness and disease.  5% added penalty when faced with prospect of contracting a disease or illness

14. Hated enemy.  +1 to attack any monster type of player's choice

15. Poor vision.  -1 additional penalty in low-light situations. -10' infravision for demi-humans

16. Hearty Constitution. +1 to Constitution stat

17. Weakness against poison. -1 to all saving throws vs poison

18. Quick movement. Increase movement rate by 1

19. Poor health. Character starts with 1 less hit point

20. Begins game with twice the amount of rolled starting gold pieces

21. Apprehension to magic. -1 to all save vs spells

22. Wise soul. +1 to Wisdom stat

23. Naturally clumsy. -1 to all Dexterity checks

24. Quick healer. Character heals 1 additional hit point when resting for a full day

25. Unable to read or write in character's own language, or any other language (re-roll for magic users)

26. Hardness. Natural +2 bonus to Armor Class

27. Weak tolerance to alcohol. Incurs penalties from drinking twice as fast as normal

28. Natural agility. +1 to Dexterity stat

29. Bad night at the brothel. Character starts with a venereal disease that causes -1 penalty to all rolls until cured.

30. Weapon of choice bonus. +2 to hit with one preferred weapon type (longsword, short bow, broad sword, etc.)

Share Your Dice

Tim over at Gothridge Manor posted an entry asking other gamers to post their dice in a "show me your dice" marathon. Here's a pic of some of mine.  My d30, a couple of 20 sided d10s, and some of my gamescience dice.

Spicing Up Wilderness Encounters

I'm in the middle of fleshing out my hex map for the Stonelands for my tabletop Cormyr campaign, and after some time keying the main points of interest, I decided rather than key the rest of the hexes with otherwise mundane notes, I'd simply create a table, which could apply to most wilderness excursions.  Besides, this gives me another perfect excuse to use my d30 in play.  If you don't own a d30, not to worry.  Just use a d20 and use the first 20 encounters.  When you use an encounter with the d20, scratch it off and replace that number with one of the 10 remaining for future use.

Here's how it works: When checking for random wilderness encounters, if you roll for an encounter, roll another d6.  On a 1-4 use your standard wandering monster/wilderness encounter table you've prepared for the area.  On a 5 or 6 use the following table:

d30 Hexcrawling Wilderness Oddities

01. Makeshift altar with humanoid remains and dried blood staining the ground.  A sacrifice to some cruel god took place here.
02. Unconscious man/woman is tied to a tree (or bound to some other wilderness feature). Naked and has been robbed by brigands.  Hungry and weak from dehydration (perhaps a frostbite victim if traveling in winter season).
03. A pack of wolves (or other animals) is surrounding a woman and small child, threatening to attack.
04. Campsite with a smoldering campfire.  Anyone with tracking can make a check to determine there were 6-7 people camping here a few hours before and left heading the same direction as the party's goal.  Perhaps a group of adventurers seeking the same destination as the party?
05. Scene of a recent skirmish.  Dead humans/demi-humans (possibly adventurers) along with several gnolls scattered about.
06. Shallow grave with makeshift tombstone, on which is written: "Here lies Ralston. Thief, liar, and craven."
07. A cougar (or some other animal) chewing on the remains of a goblin.
08. A mage sitting under a tree reading over a book.  He tells party he is waiting on a friend, but doesn't mention why or whom.  He answers questions vaguely.  After a few minutes he starts repeating himself.  Eventually, he fades away/vanishes.
09. A female boar and several piglets.  The female will attack if PC's seem threatening to her piglets.
10.  An unoccupied cottage. Remains of farm animals outside. Bowls with food on a table within.  Abandoned for some time, but occupants seemingly just up and left.
11. Band of gypsies (possibly lycanthropes.) They offer various sundries and oddities for sale, and will read the fortunes of the PCs.
12. Lost caravan guard. He/she was guarding a merchant caravan which was attacked by bandits. He/she fled, and is now lost in the wilderness.
13. Remains of a funeral pyre.  Fire has long since burned out.  Ashen remains of humanoid on top of pyre.
14. Small pond with a beautiful woman swimming nude, her clothes on the bank.  She will seem surprised, and will attempt to seduce a party member.  She is actually a succubus.
15. Skull of a hill giant, now covered in moss and grass in patches.  Looking inside the mouth reveals a small cache with 100sp (and possibly a clue relevant to the adventure/area.)
16. Traveling pilgrims of some lesser deity.  They will offer healing, or other priestly services for a charitable contribution (which is unreasonably high.)
17. Body of a dead adventurer in chain armor, pierced with several arrows.  He is holding a sword to his chest in ritualistic fashion.  Searching the body reveals a clue about the PCs goal, or a map to another site.
18. A chimera flies overhead carrying in one of its jaws the dead body of a human.  It won't seem to notice the party unless they engage it.
19. Mad hermit named Boltus.  Adorned in the skins of various animals.  He seems crazy, but is actually a 9th level Ranger.  If PCs ask questions relevant to their adventure, there is a chance he can give info amidst his seemingly insane rants.
20. Band of hunters camping.  They know the area well, and if PCs are friendly will offer assistance.
21. Large overturned statue of a cloaked figure holding a sword covered in vines and other vegetation.  At base of statue is a secret compartment containing a map/clue of area.
22. Twisted dead tree in the distance with what appears to be a humanoid hanging from a limb by a rope.  When PCs approach, the figure is gone.  Tree is gray and dead, and marked with arcane runes of some foul god.
23. A wandering druid with a bear.  He/she will offer assistance and information to area, if PCs can somehow prove they are not endangering the lands.
24. Stone statues of 3 ogres twisted in horrific poses.  They are somewhat crumbling and covered in vegetation. Perhaps victims of some spell or monster effect from long ago.
25. A magical well seemingly in the middle of nowhere.  If PCs drink from the well, they instantly feel rejuvenated, and gain +1 to all attacks and saving throws for 3d10 turns.
26. A young boy pinned under a fallen tree from a lightning strike.  His leg is broken and he can't pull himself free.
27. A stone bridge over a small river crossing guarded by a gnome mage who seems of little consequence to adventurers.  He charges 50sp to cross his bridge.  PCs can easily overpower him and cross the bridge.  If they do so, however, they will be hunted by an Invisible Stalker.
28. A rare fungus is found which has a purple luminescence.  If any herbalists are in party, they can identify as a component for certain disease cures and potions.
29. A man lying unconscious and naked on the ground.  He doesn't remember how he got there, and seems in a panic with a nervous demeanor.  He will flee as soon as possible.  Man is actually a werewolf.
30. A small abandoned cave.  Entrance is overgrown with vegetation.  Inside is a cot, and a locked chest.  Chest contains 100gp.

Got my d30; Also a Random d30 Dungeon Oddity Table

A while back I ordered a first edition MERP boxed set, as I always wanted to play/run it, but never had the opportunity back in the day. After thumbing through the rules again for the first time in many years, I noticed that the game itself calls for a set of twenty-sided d10's. Most of you old schoolers out there are likely familiar with these dice, but I have not seen one anywhere in a number of years. The boxed set I bought second-hand came with 2 standard d20s. I presume the previous owner did not understand the games' use of the proper twenty-sided d10's and just threw in some old d20's he had laying around. An easy mistake to make. And yes, I know that MERP could easily be played by substituting other dice in lieu of the twenty-sided d10's, but call me anal. I wanted the dice the game was supposed to use.

In searching for some twenty-sided d10's I stumbled upon a site familiar to most I'm sure; http://www.gmdice.com/. They had the twenty-sided d10's available for a very low price (something like 25 cents, or maybe 50 cents each). Well, I thought this would be just as good a time as any to throw in some d30's into the order as well, since they had them available for only $1.50 each. I couldn't tell whether I was more excited to finally get myself a d30 or to get the twenty-siders I wanted!

My dice finally arrived in the mail yesterday, and I thought it would only be appropriate to make up a d30 table to celebrate the occasion.

Some folks say that the measure of "evilness" of a DM is how many save vs deaths his player has to make in a campaign, but I disagree. To me, there is nothing more thrilling than throwing out red herrings into a campaign and watching the PC's go crazy over nothing. That's where my table comes in. These are 29 random oddities that may appear in a dungeon, but have little to no impact on the PC's. Of course, you could easily use some of these to spark an adventure hook and make them actually mean something in the dungeon crawl, but if not, just roll occasionally on the table, and watch the players go nuts.

Another thought I had in making the table is the fact that often we know as DM's that dungeons are looted, restocked, looted again, and the process repeats itself, not only by the party in the campaign, but likely by many other adventurers over the years. In many entries in the table, you'll find the results of previous adventuring experiences by other adventuring parties along the way. Some examples include the soot covered hallway, which is the result of a fireball spell from a mage, or the hand hanging out of the wall as a result of a bad teleport attempt. I think these sort of oddities bring a dungeon crawl to life. So, enough rambling by me. Check out the table and enjoy.

d30 Random Dungeon Oddities Table

01. A sudden gust of wind whisks through the hall/room with a noticeablely foul odor
02. A ghostly image of a beautiful maiden passes through the walls and disappears
03. A loud, mad cackling echoes through the hall/room.
04. All torches the party are carrying flicker in and out like a strobe light for 10 seconds
05. Faint whispers echo through the hall/room
06. Shadows of 4 large humanoids appear on the walls approaching the party, but there is nothing there
07. Screams of a young woman can be heard echoing through the dungeon
08. A blue glowing orb appears in front of the party illuminating the hall/room then disappears
09. Small obsidian statue of creature with tentacled head and wings perched on a globe lies on the floor
10. The skeletal remains of an adventurer clinging to a necklace and a note which reads "For Aveyah"
11. Cultish symbol drawn in blood on the wall
12. Ritual dagger on the ground with fresh blood which never seems to dry. Even after the blood is wiped off it will reappear in minutes still wet
13. Uncovered pit trap with the remains of two adventurers imapled on its spikes
14. A group of giant rats scurries in front of the party with one carrying a gold bracelet around its neck
15. A strange fungus growing on the wall. When a PC walks near it one of its spores explodes creating a yellow gas cloud 3x3 feet. Save vs Poison or laugh hysterically for 1d6 rounds
16. A broken torture rack covered in cobwebs with the remains of a humanoid attached
17. A loose flagstone in the floor of which underneath is a small hole containing a music box
18. A messaged carved into the wall which says "Beware he who cannot be seen"
19. The remains of several giant rats scattered about all with their heads removed
20. A decayed human arm sticking out of a wall, the result of a botched teleport spell
21. A goblet with a clear liquid within resting on a table. If the liquid is consumed it makes the PC queasy, but nothing more
22. The skeletal remains of an adventurer impaled against the wall by a spear
23. The sound of a group chanting in an ancient indiscernible language echoes through the halls
24. A basilisk that has been turned to stone, probably from a reflection of his own gaze
25. Soot covers the walls, ceiling, and floor, along with the ashen remains of some humanoids
26. An open wooden chest with a leather-bound tome. If the tome is taken it will vanish and reappear in the chest
27. A broken, blood-stained altar now covered with the holy symbol of a good aligned god
28. A green slime consuming several giant rats. The slime can be easily maneuvered around by the PC's
29. One of the PC's hears a click sound as he steps on a loose flagstone, but nothing happens
30. Reroll twice and combine results