Creating a Random Adventure Outline

TaDa! A random adventure outline was just created. Click the little dice icon a few times to see it roll different adventures up. Here is the output that I got, and we will work with:

Theme:
Mystery Here, the characters are presented with a mystery - often a murder - and have to find out who did what to whom.
Characteristics: A murder or other crime; a maguffin to force the characters to investigate the crime; frequent (usually non-violent) interaction with civilian authorities.
Ground Rules: None..

Goals:
Retrieve Item This goal is like the Rescue, except the victim is an inanimate object. This item may be an artifact, a paper containing evidence against a character or patron, an antidote needed to save another NPC or player-character, or just some item of sentimental value; an item which one NPC hires the characters to steal from another NPC..

Story Hooks and Maguffins:
Old Friend Another classic story hook is the Old Friend, the childhood friend of our hero, who shows up in one of severalways to drag the hero into the story. Some of the ways include:
(1) He Asks for Help. The Friend shows up to ask the hero for help. He or his family is being menaced by some side-effect of the villain's plan. (The Old Friend could actually now be a traitor, leading the hero straight to his enemies, if you prefer.)
(2) He Is Killed. The Friend dies on the hero's doorstep; the hero is obligated to investigate. There will be enough clues found on the Friend's body to lead the hero into the plot. (As an interesting variant, the Old Friend can have become a villain and been killed by an NPC hero, leading to some confusion on the PCs' part.).

General Setting:
Cosmopolitan City Most of the story takes place in a large, sophisticated city; center the villains' plot and activities around that city.
This setting is best suited to adentures involving more people than monsters; most of your villains should be human or demi-human..

Specific Settings:
Laboratory This can be the alchemical lab of a friendly wizard, or the horrible experi-mental chamber of the villain where new monsters are created and released upon the world.
Palace of the Ruler The heroes could be here for many, many different reasons: Trying to get a favor from the ruler, part of some nobleman's retinue, members of the palace guard, sneaking in to save the ruler from assassins, sneaking in to assassinate the ruler, thrown into the dungeon for crimes they did or didn't commit, etc..

Allies and Neturals:
Crusty Old ProfessionalAgain, the heroes need an expert in a certain field - this time a craft or art, such as blacksmithing, engineering, horse-training, or whatever.
The only or best professional they can find is an aged expert. He's crusty, cranky, and sharp-tongued; he constantly complains about the food, the weather, his companions, the decline in skill of his co-workers since he was a young man, the road conditions, his working conditions, the rotten pay he's receiving, and so on. You can have him actually possess a heart of gold or be just as nasty as he sounds.
Character level and Abilities: Experience level just below characters' party average..

Master Villain:
The Corruptor The Corruptor is the villain who wants to make something nasty out of something that is currently nice. He may be working on a small scale - i.e., wish to corrupt one character or a few characters, particularly PCs and their favorite NPCS. Alternatively, he may be a big-scale villain trying to change an entire city or nation into a jaded, debased pit of sin, hatred and death.
This character is best used for horror adventures; he also works very well for revenge melodramas (if he has already corrupted someone or some place dear to the player-characters).
Character level and Abilities: Often, an evfl god or demon, particularly one skilled at magic, is very appropriate for this role; in this case, the heroes will probably not be striving to kill him, which might be impossible, but to thwart his latest plan. If the Corruptor is a human or demi-human, he should be a powerful magic-user several experience levels above the player-character average. In any case, he should have hordes of minions or some spectacular magic that helps him corrupt the righteous..

Minor Villains:
The Corrupted Hero This villain was once a hero, possibly one known to the players. He was seduced by the dark side of the dungeon master. Because of his own weakness, or of a curse, he has become a villain, a pawn of the Master Villain.
Usually, the heroes encounter him once or twice, long before reaching the adventure's climax, and have inconclusive fights with him; it's best when he can duel one hero who recognizes him, then can get away to safety.
It may be that he is now committed to evil; it may be that he's ambivalent. If the latter is the case, then he, like the Childhood Friend, will have a big choice to make when the story's climax comes around. If he chooses for the heroes then he, too, is likely to be killed ;or his trouble.
Character Level and Abilities: Same character class and approximately the same experience level as any one of the more powerful party members - especially the one most likely to have heard of him or be a friend of his.
The Misguided Moralist This fellow has been convinced that only by helping the villain achieve 't'ne Master Plan can he improve the world. He tends to be encountered all through the adventure's plot, usually escaping from the heroes and taunting them for their wrong thinking. Fortunately, he's no more effective as a villain than he is as a thinker.
It's very hard to convert him to the heroes' cause; he's too wrapped up in his own cause. It can be done, however, if the heroes can demonstrate that the Master Villain has, say, lied to him.
Character Level and Abilities: This character is usually a fighter or cleric a few levels less experienced than the average player-character..

Plots:
The Series of Villains This is a very dramatic plot, and very well-suited to oriental campaigns. In it, the heroes have undertaken a quest, usually the finding and defeat of the Master Villain. They may have to travel to his citadel, or head off in another direction to find some artifact capable of defeating him, or run away from pursuing villains until they can figure out what's going on.
All along their route, they are set upon by villains - each villain has a name and distinct personally, and each encounter is life-or-death for the heroes and villains; the villain never escapes to safety if the tide turns against him, he fights unto death.
The adventure becomes a war of attrition; the villains gradually wear down the heroes, perhaps killing some of them, as the heroes go about their quest. By the time the heroes reach their enemy, there is no doubt that one side or the other will utterly perish.
This is a type of plot not suited to happy-go-lucky campaigns or villains..

Climaxes:
Throne-Room Duel This is set up much like the Scattered Duels, except that you don't separate the heroes. It's harder to control whom fights who in this situation... but if it doesn't matter who has the final duel with the Master Villain, this is a classic climax choice..

Monster Encounters:
Beast Amok Some time when the heroes are in a village or city, an animal, probably an otherwise tame or captured beast, is set loose by the villain's minions or driven mad by the Master Villain. The beast goes berserk in the crowds; if the heroes aren't inclined to capture or kill it, it goes after them.
In ocean-going vessels, this beast could be caged trade goods en route to a foreign port.
Good Monster Choices: Ape, Babboon, Bear, Giant Beetle, Boar, Bull, Dragon (Baby), Flightless Bird, Giant Porcupine..

Character Encounters:
Press Gang This encounter works best with low-level heroes.
In any port city, the heroes, in a tavem or hostel, may find themselves set upon by ruffians employed by the city; these ruffians use clubs and strike to subdue.
If the heroes fight and beat the ruffians, they find themselves wanted by the law for assaulting officers of the peace. And if they fight and lose, they wake up to find themselves sailors, headed far away from their quest! Now they must decide whether they're going to jump ship, mutiny, or just settle down to a few years of seafaring life.
Character Level and Abilities: Fighters, first to third level..

Traps and Deathtraps:
Demolition Zone In this classic deathtrap, the heroes are placed (usually bound and weaponless) in some building or area just as it's due to be destroyed. Some examples:
(1) Deep in a mine as it's about to be flooded;
(2) In a building at the bottom of a mountain as the villains are preparing to cause an avalanche to fall upon it;
(3) In a building as it's set afire and burned to the ground;
(4) In a cursed temple as earthquakes are dragging it into the earth or toppling it from a clifftop;
(5) In a sinking ship;
(6) In a fort just as the final, sure-to-be-successful last attack by the enemy is beginning.
Plot Functions: Typically, the villains tie the heroes up, leaving them in this situation, and running off to escape the calamity. They seldom even look back; when they do, it's usually from a great distance. VVhat this means is that the heroes, if they escape, are given a great advantage: the villains may think that they are dead. The heroes have a little time to operate without villain intervention - at least until the villains learn they're still alive..

Special Conditions:
No Hurting the Villain For some reason, the heroes cannot afford to fight the villain directly. For instance, what if a demon possesses the body of the child of one of the characters, or a very important child spoken of in prophecy, one without whom the world will perish?.

Red Herrings:
(None).

Omens and Prophecies:
Birthmark Pertains One of the heroes has a birthmark that pertains to the adventure in some way.
He may have a birthmark identical to some NPC - for instance, some person endangered by the Master Villain. This mystery can give the hero his reason to become involved. (Why do the characters have identical birthmarks7 Either they're related - which a careful search of their mutual backgrounds might reveal - or they've been so afflicted by some god in order that the hero help this other person - which consultation with a high-level cleric can reveal.)
Alternatively, his birthmark may mark him as a hero fulfilling some ancient prophecy - see Hero Fulfills Prophecy, below..

Moral Quandaries:
The Saving Quandary Finally, another classic quandary puts the heroes in the position of choosing between a grand opportunity to hurt the Master Villain - or saving the lives of a number of individuals.
For instance, the heroes, sleeping in a small village while on the road in campaigns against the Master Villain, wake up one morning to hear two interesting things. A distant farmer has discovered that one of the most important Minor Villains and his men are encamped in a distant glade. If the heroes go there, attack and defeat him, they will score an important coup against the Master Villain. Trouble is, this farmer heard the Minor Villain discussing tomorrow's attack on this village; another party of minions, led by a less important Minor Villain, will be destroying this village today. The heroes can either travel to the site of the Minor Villain and strike a blow against the Master Villain, or stay here and weather the attack of the invaders.
Caution: This is only good when the heroes actually care about the innocents in their charge. If they're neutral, this is no quandary at all; they'll attack..

Chases:
Water Finally, don't forget the water chase: Whether it's a battle of seamanship between naval vessels, a chase of rafts toward the inevitable waterfall ahead, a contest of canoeing ability, or a chase between the villain and his giant shark vs. the heroes and their dolphin friends, the water chase can be a distinctive and dramatic one..

Secret Weakness:
(None).

Cruel Tricks and Complications:
Villain is Related to Hero In this very irritating complication, one of the heroes discovers that the Master Villain is related to him.
The villain might be his long-lost father or twin; perhaps this relative is not long-lost after all, but has secretly been a Master Villain for years, and only now has the hero discovered it. (This works well with the Organizer.)
This may or may not change the heroes' plans and approach. It could be that the heroes will now try to 'save' or reform the Master Villain; perhaps they won't. It doesn't really matter; this Cruel Trick is really not used to force the heroes to figure out a whole new approach to defeating the Master Villain. No, in actuality it's just another way of bending the related hero's mind and making him suffer as he has to confront and work against a relative he'd prefer not to have to oppose..