Adventure #254

Theme

Goal

Story Hook

Plot

Climax

General Setting

Specific Setting
I

Specific Setting
II

Master Villain

Minor Villain I

Minor Villain II

Ally/Neutral

Monster
Encounter

Action/Adventure
This is the most common and straightforward sort of adventure there is. In the Action/Adventure scenario, you
present your characters with a task and then confront them with obstacles to overcome in order to accomplish the
task successfully.
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 palyer character, or
just some item of sentimental value -- an item which one NPC hires the characters to steal from another NPC.
Dying Delivery
On some occassion when the hero is out wandering the streets or is otherwise all alone, a dying man bumbs into
him, hands him something, says a few words, and dies.
Geographic Progression
This is the simplest sort of adventure plot. The heroes have an area to investigate or travel through; they have
encounters based on where they are. For instance, the traditional dungeon, where monsters are tied to specific rooms
or areas. Or, if the heroes are travelling along a narrow valley or through an enchanted forest, they might suffer
ambushes and other encounters fixed to various points along their travel plan. The plot, then, is getting to the villain
by surviving the intervening obstacle encounters.
Prevented Deed
Here, the heroes have been defeated -- captured by the Master Villain, or so thoroughly cut up by his minions that
all believe them to be dead. And the heroes have learned, from the bragging of the villain, loose talk of his minions,
or examination of clues, what is the crucial event of his master plan. In any case, the battered and bruised heroes
must race to this site and have their final confrontation with the villain, bursting in on him and his minions just as
the knife or final word or key is poised, and prevent the awful deed from taking place -- and, incidentally, defeat the
master villain and minions who beat them previously.
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.
Classic Dungeon
This would be the standard monster-filled labyrinth; perhaps it's a nesting ground for the master villain's monster
troops.
Palace of the King
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.
Lovable Rogue
This Master Villain isn't really evil -- he's just chaotic and fun. Cheerful bandits in the forest who rob from the rich
and give to the poor, singing and rope-swinging pirate kings, and romantic, sophisticated duellists all belong to the
category of the Lovable Rogue. Often, the Rogue will not be behind the nastiness the heroes are encountering; he
may be in competition with them for the prize they're seeking. Often the heroes and the Rogue (and his minions)
will have to team up to succeed at their task. Just as often, the Rogue will try to get away with the whole treasure.
Moronic Muscleman
This fellow is a huge, powerful monster of a fighter. His job is to smash anything the villain tells him to smash. He
does that very well, but don't ask him to do any thinking; he has no time for such brainy stuff.
Chief Assassin
The Chief Assassin is the favorite killer of the Master Villain. The Assassin works mostly in the field, first killing
witnesses who might prove harmful to his master, then zeroing in on the player-characters. He usually meets his end
before the adventure's climax, but he may taken one of the heroes down with him.
Talkative Barkeep
This classic encounter is the garrulous innkeeper who has information the characters want; trouble is, they'll have to
bribe him to get it, or agree to stay at his inn, or buy a lavish meal, or listen to his incessant stories about his career
in the army, or whatever.
Stampede
Should the heroes ever cross plains or prairies, their villainous enemies may wish to stampede a herd of large
animals at them. Alternatively, beasts in the forest may be stampeded by fires set by the villains; in this case, it will
not be one sort of animal charging through, but a mixture of terrified forest animals, from the smallest fox-cub to the

largest bear.
Old Friend at the Wrong Time
Character
When the heroes are trying to sneak through a guardpost, citadel, or city where they can't afford to be recognized,
Encounter
one of the characters' old friends recognizes him and loudly renews their acquaintance in full view of the guards
looking for the characters. This usually leads to an exciting chase as the heroes must escape.
Mutually Assured Destruction
In this very nasty deathtrap, the heroes are bound up in such a manner that any one of them may get free of his
Deathtrap
bonds -- but when he does, all his friends perish. Obviously, the heroes' task is to find some way for everyone to get
out alive. Perhaps an intricate series of cooperative rope-cutting will defuse the trap; perhaps a coordinated
maneuver will get everyone free as the trap is being sprung.
Horseback
Chase
This is a relatively short chase -- it only needs to go on for a mile or so before even the best horses are winded. If it
goes on longer than that, the horses may collapse and perhaps die.
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.
Holy Symbol
The villain may have the traditional weakness to a specific holy symbol -- but don't choose just an ordinary one. It
Secret Weakness may be a holly symbol no longer used by the church, or may be some forgotten variation of the current symbol. (For
instance, the cross may not work, but a variation -- such as the Roman cross -- might; alternatively, it might have to
be a holy symbol which has undergone some unfamiliar ritual.)
No Lawbreaking
For some reason, at one point in the story, the heroes cannot allow themselves to break the law -- even when it
Special
would help them greatly to do so. For instance, the heroes may be asking for the help of a king whose word is law
Condition
and whose power is immense. When they arrive for their audience, an emissary of the Master Villain is making a
similar plea for help. If the heroes attack and kill that emissary, they will lose any chance at the king's help -- in fact,
he may order their execution.
Saving Quandry
Moral Quandry Finally, another classic quandry 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.
Lying Rumor
Red Herring This is the worst and most useful type of red herring -- the interesting rumor which just happens to be false. In
adventures of this sort, the best Lying Rumor concerns the Master Villain; it gives the heroes some "important"
information about him which later turns out to be useless.
Villain Accompanies Party
In this distressing situation, the Master Villain, in disguise or his secret identity, accompanies the heroes for much of
Cruel Trick their quest. He gets to know them, learns their strengths and weaknesses, learns their plans, 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.