GMs Cookbook Random Events 2.pdf

Random and unexpected events can help give

your campaign a realistic verisimilitude. It gives

the players the idea their characters exist in a real

breathing world and things are occurring outside

the scope of their limited perceptions. ey can

experience unexpected weather, witness strange

actions that make little sense when you don’t know

their context, or encounter other travelers all over

the campaign world.

ese random events should be used judiciously;

you don’t want to derail the adventurers while they’re

doggedly pursuing clues in their quest to uncover

the location of the Harem of the Concubines of

the Rakshasha. But you do want to add some spice

when the action slacks of, or the adventurers are

kicking their heels trying to igure out what their

next move should be.

e random events listed in this installment

of the GM’s Cookbook take place on the road

while the adventurers are traveling from location

to another, or traveling overland through the

wilderness. ese events are left open-ended;

you’ll have to improvise if the players

wish to involve themselves in the event

but isn’t that when some of the most

memorable roleplaying moments

occur? When things go of the

rails and something unexpected

and

unpredictable

just

happens.

ON THE ROAD

e following ten entries are appropriate for

random events on and well-traveled road or trail.

illed eyes and holds a spear over his head.

Closer inspection reveals the “orc” is actually

an expertly carved statute made from the

remainders of a fallen tree. It is painted just as

brilliantly and looks realistic even up close. At

a distance it is indistinguishable from the real

thing.

ere is an abandoned wagon in the road

ahead. It is stuck in a muddy rut and has lost

a wheel. It is full of rotting fruit that is being

picked over by insects and small animals from

the nearby wood.

A large boulder blocks the road ahead.

Inspection reveals that it either fell from a

great height or was driven into the ground be

tremendous force.

e bodies of several gnolls strung from the

high branches of nearby trees sway in the

wind. e bodies are all riddled with arrows

with bright red letchings. A large puddle of

congealed blood lies below the bodies.

An unexpected cloudburst has caused a nearby

stream to overlow and loods the road ahead.

e hard rain and soaked terrain not only

makes for hard traveling but may make it hard

to stay on the road.

A bridge ahead that crosses a small gorge is

completely covered in thick, stringy webs. As

the adventurers approach the see an enormous

web extends below the bridge, between both

sides of the gorge. e web contains the bodies

of several dead horses, a few saddles, and

several partially smashed crates, but no people.

ere are no spiders large or small to be found.

e adventurers can easily hack through the

webs covering the top of the bridge.

e adventurers notice there are several freshly

dug holes in the road ahead. ese are large

enough to cause problems for a cart or wagon

and need to be navigated around by those on

horseback. After another ten minutes of travel

the adventurers round a bend in the road and

discover a dirt-covered dwarf is busy digging

up the road with a shovel and pick. He eyes

the adventurers suspiciously. He’s convinced

an ancient treasure cache is buried here and is

afraid someone may be trying to beat him to

it.

A column of chanting monks passes going

the opposite direction. ey chant in a strange

guttural tongue and march under a cloud of

incense that pours from their censers.

10 A fork in the road bears a moss-covered

stone marker indicating directions to the next

destinations along either path. e marker

has been defaced and the names have been

chiseled of. Hung from the tree branch above

the marker is a holy symbol of the god of

death.

A haggard and bedraggled halling approaches

along the road from the opposite direction.

She tells a sad story of being chased by bandits

who rode out of the wood. Her horse went

lame after she eluded them and she was forced

to put it down. She cut some meat from the

horse to help her on the remainder of her

journey but has now run out of food and water.

She asks the adventurers if they can spare

anything to help her complete the last leg of

her journey.

IN THE WILDERNESS

e following ten entries are appropriate for

random events while traveling overland or through

the woods.

e adventurers catch sight of a ierce looking

orc staring out from the wooded perimeter

at the side of the road. He has wild, hate-

e adventurers happen upon a woodsman

digging a grave. Another woodsman lies dead

with an arrow in his chest. e woodsman

will panic upon seeing the adventurers and

immediately begin to explain himself. He

claims he shot his friend accidentally while

the two were hunting in this wood. ey

are several days from home and he couldn’t

possibly carry his friend, a much larger man,

all that distance.

In a clearing ahead stands the remains of a

burned-down cabin. Several charred bodies

can be found inside, but anything valuable

has long since been picked over. e cause of

the ire is not evident, and the trees and grass

around the area have either grown back or

were left unmarked by the ire.

e adventurers encounter several snares and

traps in the overgrown woodland ahead of

them. Fortunately these traps have been here

for years and the ropes have rotted and the

metal components have rusted, rendering

everything inoperable and harmless. Inspection

of the traps by a character with the appropriate

knowledge or skills will reveal that the traps

were designed to catch either large animals, or

possibly humans and humanoids.

e adventurers are trekking through a wood

when several frogs drop from the sky around

them. A few moments later a Fortean rain

ensues as frogs begin falling from the sky.

A massive tree falls nearby. e adventurers

spy, through the thick cover of trees, a giant

beaver pulling the fallen tree towards a river in

the distance.

e adventurers witness a meteor come crashing

down on the planet. is can happen during

the day but would be much more spectacular

at night. e meteor punches through the

side of several trees, sets some bushes and

undergrowth alight and cuts a jagged rut in

the ground. e meteor ofers no danger or

great mystery to the adventurers (other than

being red hot for several hours after impact). If

the characters can haul it along with them they

could sell it to a blacksmith who could use the

metal to make weapons and armor.

for a dire creature that’s been terrorizing that

part of the woods. He urges the characters to

move on quickly so they don’t spoil his hunt or

accidentally encounter the dangerous creature

themselves.

A small clearing is covered in short dark green

grass. In the middle of the clearing stands a

ring of toadstools, a fairy ring. Depending

on your campaign this could be a mundane

coincidence, an ill omen, or something with

true magical signiicance (turning those

entering the ring blind, cursing them, or

transporting them to the kingdom of the

faefolk).

e adventurers nearly trip over the pommels

of rusty broken swords and the edges of rusted

shields that are all protruding from the muddy

ground. is was the site of a great battle

decades ago and there is ruined weapons,

rusted armor, and skeletons embedded in the

soft soil.

Gusty winds start whipping through the trees,

kicking up dust and leaves. e trees bend and

creak. e adventurers are nearly knocked over

every time a gust cuts through the woods.

It makes for rough going as the characters

are bufeted by the wind and battered by

whipping branches. e winds carry strange

sounds, which may or may not be a trick of the

weather.

GM’S COOKBOOK: RANDOM EVENTS #2

By Michael Todd

Todd. Reference to other copyrighted material in no way constitutes

a challenge to the respective copyright holders of that material. Some

artwork is from the Image Portfolio series.

10 From overhead the adventurers hear someone

calling down to them. An elf is perched in a

tree forty feet above the ground. He has a large

longbow in his hand and his quiver hangs from

a branch close at hand. He quietly explains

that he’s been perched there for days waiting

Big Finger Games, the Big Finger Games logo are trademarks

work of iction. Any similarity to actual people, organizations, places,

or events is purely coincidental.

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