Brass Jester
Mongoose
Hello everyone, just gained the Conan RPG and its got me back to Swords and Sorcery RPG'ing in a big way. I've never tired of REH's stories and also did some wargaming in Hyboria way back based on the late Tony Bath's wargames stuff.
Now, what I'd like to share is my system for creating adventures. I've developed this and used it in various forms since 1977.
Basically, it works on a system of keywords rolled randomly, plugged into a matrix to suggest how they interact.
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The centre word is the key 'theme' to the plot. The top words are what caused this to come about. The bottom left word is the likely outcome and the bottom right word is the active element within the plot. However, all the word can interact with each other and even with themselves. Also this is usually what will occur if the PC's do not intervene.
Following is a list of keywords that I have set up for the Conan game. Obviously, you can change or expand these onto other tables as necessary, for example I have all the Eastern Kingdoms on another table to be rolled as necessary.
KEYWORDS
1. City
2. Jungle
3. Mountain
4. Creature
5. Raiders
6. Bandits
7. Picts
8. Hillmen
9. Merchant
10. Trade Goods
11. Betrayal
12. Treachery
13. Message
14. Mistake
15. River
16. Lake
17. Swamp
18. Ruined temple
19. Ruined city
20. Castle
21. Fortress
22. Village
23. Tomb
24. Cave
25. Hidden
26. Sorcerer
27. King
28. Noble
29. Scholar
30. Priest
31. Temple
32. Supernatural
33. Omen
34. Prophecy
35. Tower
36. Army
37. Battle
38. Skirmish
39. War
40. Attack
41. Defend
42. Camp
43. Desert
44. Oasis
45. Tree
46. Forest
47. Hills
48. Island
49. Ship
50. Reavers
51. Ocean
52. Underwater
53. Cavern
54. Sea monster
55. Undead
56. Zombies
57. Vampire
58. Kidnapping
59. Slaves
60. Slave market
61. Weapon
62. Armour
63. Thievery
64. Escape
65. Captured
66. Scroll
67. Book
68. Rare item
69. Quest
70. Horror
71. Insanity
72. Civil war
73. Hyborian kingdoms
74. The Eastern kingdoms
75. Player-characters
76. Non-player characters
77. Event
78. Monument
79. Major event
80. The Black Kingdoms
81. Stygia
82. Magic item
83. Pirate
84. Weather
85. The North
86. Romantic
87. Story twist
88. Unforseen
89. Ambush
90. Colour
91. Jewel
92. Treasure
93. Wealth
94. Power
95. Shrine
96. Statue
97. Reputation
98. Honour
99. Allegiance
00. Child
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I think an example might be in order:-
Ship Colour
Statue
Weather Thievery
Er.... right.(This was rolled as I typed this.)
OK, here goes:
A ship, with the PC's on board, runs into heavy weather. In the hold is a statue of unusual colour [Orichalcum, the fabled metal of lost Atlantis?] The weather is sourcerous in nature and a pirate ship attacks.
A ship, carrying a staue of red gold from the East, goes down in a storm. The merchant hires the PC's to recover the statue; a rival merchant has hired NPC's for the same job.
As you see, the format is versatile. It won't do the job for you; it's supposed to make you think.
Try it out, see what you think. If you do use it and like it, please mention me as the creator.
Now, what I'd like to share is my system for creating adventures. I've developed this and used it in various forms since 1977.
Basically, it works on a system of keywords rolled randomly, plugged into a matrix to suggest how they interact.
-------------- -------------------
------------------------
-------------- -------------------
The centre word is the key 'theme' to the plot. The top words are what caused this to come about. The bottom left word is the likely outcome and the bottom right word is the active element within the plot. However, all the word can interact with each other and even with themselves. Also this is usually what will occur if the PC's do not intervene.
Following is a list of keywords that I have set up for the Conan game. Obviously, you can change or expand these onto other tables as necessary, for example I have all the Eastern Kingdoms on another table to be rolled as necessary.
KEYWORDS
1. City
2. Jungle
3. Mountain
4. Creature
5. Raiders
6. Bandits
7. Picts
8. Hillmen
9. Merchant
10. Trade Goods
11. Betrayal
12. Treachery
13. Message
14. Mistake
15. River
16. Lake
17. Swamp
18. Ruined temple
19. Ruined city
20. Castle
21. Fortress
22. Village
23. Tomb
24. Cave
25. Hidden
26. Sorcerer
27. King
28. Noble
29. Scholar
30. Priest
31. Temple
32. Supernatural
33. Omen
34. Prophecy
35. Tower
36. Army
37. Battle
38. Skirmish
39. War
40. Attack
41. Defend
42. Camp
43. Desert
44. Oasis
45. Tree
46. Forest
47. Hills
48. Island
49. Ship
50. Reavers
51. Ocean
52. Underwater
53. Cavern
54. Sea monster
55. Undead
56. Zombies
57. Vampire
58. Kidnapping
59. Slaves
60. Slave market
61. Weapon
62. Armour
63. Thievery
64. Escape
65. Captured
66. Scroll
67. Book
68. Rare item
69. Quest
70. Horror
71. Insanity
72. Civil war
73. Hyborian kingdoms
74. The Eastern kingdoms
75. Player-characters
76. Non-player characters
77. Event
78. Monument
79. Major event
80. The Black Kingdoms
81. Stygia
82. Magic item
83. Pirate
84. Weather
85. The North
86. Romantic
87. Story twist
88. Unforseen
89. Ambush
90. Colour
91. Jewel
92. Treasure
93. Wealth
94. Power
95. Shrine
96. Statue
97. Reputation
98. Honour
99. Allegiance
00. Child
--------------------------------------------------
I think an example might be in order:-
Ship Colour
Statue
Weather Thievery
Er.... right.(This was rolled as I typed this.)
OK, here goes:
A ship, with the PC's on board, runs into heavy weather. In the hold is a statue of unusual colour [Orichalcum, the fabled metal of lost Atlantis?] The weather is sourcerous in nature and a pirate ship attacks.
A ship, carrying a staue of red gold from the East, goes down in a storm. The merchant hires the PC's to recover the statue; a rival merchant has hired NPC's for the same job.
As you see, the format is versatile. It won't do the job for you; it's supposed to make you think.
Try it out, see what you think. If you do use it and like it, please mention me as the creator.