Adventure #112

Theme

Goal

Story Hook

Plot

Climax

General Setting

Specific Setting
I
Specific Setting
II

Master Villain

Minor Villain I

Minor Villain II

Horror
This type of adventure is designed to scare both the characters and the players. Just having a monster
attack is not enough for a horror theme; the monster must first frighten the characters.
Thwart Monstrous Plan
This is a classic fantasy-adventure plot: The characters learn of some horrible plan made by a monstrous
enemy, and must thwart it before the kingdom is lost or the world is destroyed. This is an epic goal, and
usually requires that the characters go to all sorts of places, rounding up allies and artifacts, before being
strong enough to face their enemy.
Old Enemy
This is a straightforward story hook; the hero learns that his oldest enemy is back and is very active in
the campaign, up to something. The hero will naturally want to investigate and will walk right into the
story.
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 personality, 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.
Chase to Ground
First, you have the Heroes Chasing the Villain. The villain, after a series of encounters with the heroes,
is running to safety, to some place where he can acquire more power, or to somehwere he can
accomplish some dread purpose such as assassination or mass murder. The heroes chase him, have to
deal with the obstacles he leaves behind, and finally catch up to him before or just as he reaches his
goal. Here, we have the final duel between the villains forces and the heroes. Second, you have the
Villain Chasing the Heroes. Often, in a story like this, the heroes have found out how to defeat the
villain -- such as getting to a particular temple and conducting a particular ritual. The villain chases
them all through their quest, catching up to them just as they're commenciing their ritual; they must,
with heroic effort, conclude the ritual while suffering his attacks. Third, you have the Master Villain's
Sudden Escape Attempt. This takes place in adventures where the Master Villain's identity is unknown
until the end. His identity is revealed and he makes a sudden bolt for freedom; the heroes give chase.
This usually results in a dangerous foot-chase through nasty terrain -- such as across rooftops, through
the dungeons, or across an active battlefield.
Exotic Distant Land
The adventure will take the heroes to some fascinating and exotic distant country, where they'll have to
cope with new customs, monsters unfamiliar to them, and very colorful NPC encounters; choose one of
the more fascinating foreign lands from your campaign world.
Craftsman's Quarter
This can occur in either the shop of the master craftsman of a palace or manor, or the guild-area of a
city.
Tavern/Inn
This is a classic fantasy setting, the residence of travelling heroes and the home of the tavern brawl.
Destroyer
This villain is like the Corruptor, except that he likes destroying instead of corrupting. He operates like
the Conqueror, moving in his armies -- often nonhuman or monstrous armies -- and destroying
everything in sight. Again, the Destroyer could easily be an evil god or demon, meaning the heroes wil
have to find his weakness in order to thwart his current plan.
Coward
This character is an ordinary grunt minion of the Master Villain, but he's a coward. He's deathly afraid
of the Villain and the heroes. He's best used when you plan to have the heroes captured; by his
mannerisms, you can make it clear to them that this fellow is a coward and they will begin to work on
him psychologically.
Avenger
This character is much like the Master Villain of the same name, but he's not in charge of all this

villainy, and he's definitely an enemy of one of the player-characters. You'll have to decide who he is
and why he hates one of the heroes; he could be anything from a recurring villain to someone who
simply lost a fight to the hero once.
Inquisitive Chronicler
Ally/Neutral This character is a historian who wishes to accompany the heroes to record their exploits. He constantly
pries into the heroes' backgrounds, asking questions that are none of his business, as the adventure
continues.
Noble Beast
Monster
With this encounter, the heroes find that they have to capture -- but not injure -- some sort of powerful,
Encounter
noble beast in order to accomplish their mission. For instance, to reach a mountain-top aerie, they must
capture pegasi and ride them up to their enemy.
Lying Accuser
A captured thief may accuse the character of putting him up to the theft; an abandoned mother may
Character
accuse
the hero of fathering the child; a reputable witness (working for the Master Villain) may accuse
Encounter
the hero of a murder or robbery. The hero shouldn't know what he's accused of until he's hauled in by
the authorities.
Animal Pit
This is a classic trap of the adventure genre: The heroes (perhaps just one hero) are dropped into a pit
Deathtrap
filled with dangerous animals -- snakes, lions, bears, whatever. They must either fight the beasts or
delay them until they can escape -- climb back out, open a secret door, break down a wall, have a rope
lowered by friends above, etc.
Aerial
The heroes could be riding pegasi or friendly griffons or allied great eagles; the villains could be carried
Chase
aloft by gargoyles or demons. The prospect of taking a mile-long fall if one's mount is hit is a very
daunting and challenging one for the hero.
Hero Fulfills Prophecy
Omen/Prophesy This is the most useful sort of prophecy. In the early part of the adventure, one of the heroes discovers
that he fulfills some ancient prophecy.
Love
The Master Villain possesses the "weakness" of genuine affection or love -- probably for some NPC,
Secret Weakness though it could be very intriguing if the object of his affections is a player-character. The heroes can
then defeat the villain by holding his loved one hostage, or proving that his loved one will be seriously
harmed, betrayed, or killed if the villain keeps up with his activity.
Time Limit
Finally, the most obvious condition to place on an adventure is to give it a time limit. If the Master
Special
Villain is going to conclude his evil spell in only three days, and his citadel is three hard days' riding
Condition
away, then the heroes are going to be on the go all throughout the adventure -- with little time to rest,
plan, gather allies, or anything except get to where they're going.
Friend Quandry
Moral Quandry At a critical point in the story, one of the campaign's NPCs makes an impossible demand of one of the
heroes.
Loony who Has It Wrong
You can have the heroes "aided" by a so-called expert who is actually a lunatic who doesn't know
Red Herring anything about what he's talking about. Once he's led the heroes off to some remote part of the
continent, his evasive answers and bizarre behaviour will alert them that he really doesn't know anything
about what he's pretended to be an expert on.
Villain Accompanies Party
In this distressing situation, the Master Villain, in disguise or his secret identity, accompanies the heroes
for much of their quest. He gets to know them, learns their strengths and weaknesses, learns their plans,
Cruel Trick and just as soon as it's most efficient for him, he thwarts their current plans and leaves. Alternatively,
the Master Villain might be with the heroes all along, up to the very end; the heroes know that one of
their companions is the villain, and the whole thrust of the story is finding out who he is. This is the
whole purpose of most Mystery-type adventures.