Low-Level Loot: Part Deux

Months ago, back in May, I posted a set of one-line rewards called Low-Level Loot. The idea of these rewards was to provide GMs with some interesting, non-mundane treasure to hand out to players. After all, mundane treasure is, well, mundane, and standard magical items are astoundingly expensive.

Of course, the d20 system has a (mostly) careful balance of expected gold rewards, magic item costs, and magic item power. So, by handing out nonmundane rewards, you are messing with that balance. But I find—especially at low levels—balance can be easily shifted, even in the middle of a session, to make up for PCs having an unexpected advantage.

The other way to avoid that unbalancing aspect is to take existing mundane rewards and reskin them into something fantastical. I've talked about this before, and I still think it is a great way to give your PCs cool stuff without getting into many issues with balance.

So, here are a handful of interesting treasures for low-level d20 characters, a mix of modified and reskinned items.

Low-Level Loot

1. Healer's Rod: A slim birch rod, approximately 2 ft. long, with a glass orb at one end that is attached to the rod by copper wire. The wielder gains a +2 bonus to Heal checks. The wielder can also expend a charge to attempt a heal check as a full-round action, if she meets or exceeds DC 15, the target is healed 1d4 hp. The rod only has 10 charges, and when it is out it no longer provides the +2 Heal bonus.
2. Wardstone: A heavy glass orb with traces of silver within. While holding the Wardstone in one hand, the wielder gains a +1 shield bonus to AC, but also suffers a -1 penalty to Balance, Climb, Hide, Jump, Move Silently, and Tumble due to its weight and uncanny ability to glow or hum at just the wrong time.
3. Glove of Force: A white leather glove that magically changes to fit the hand of any Small, Medium, or Large humanoid creature. While wearing the glove, the wearer can make unarmed attacks up to 15 ft. away (this provokes an attack of opportunity). The wearer can also attempt to trip or disarm targets up to 15. ft away; the wearer gains a +2 bonus to attack rolls to disarm a target. If the wearer fails at a trip or disarm attempt, she can allow the glove to fall at her feet to avoid being tripped or disarmed by the opponent.
4. Circlet of Assault: A brass and leather headband inscribed with old runes and set with a single, off-center pearl. The wearer of the circlet can use a standard action to send a bolt of blunt energy at a single target up to 50 ft. away. To do so, she must place a finger on the pearl in the circlet and concentrate. The wearer makes an attack roll, and if the attack hits, deals 1d4 bludgeoning damage.

Random Encounters: Mythical Mountain

Time for another set of random encounter tables! This is the last of the "new" genres, so now I will go back through some genres I've already addressed and create tables for new locations.

As always, the goal of these tables is to allow you to create an interesting encounter in a genre (mythical, in this case) at a specific location (here, a mountain). Hopefully, these tables are reminiscent of classical mythologies, and they inspire you to create a memorable, mythical encounter.

Mythical Mountain

Creature
1. A mountain goat with a snake’s head
2. A tribe of tiny mouse people
3. An eagle with two heads: one head spits fire, the other exhales sleeping gas
4. A gigantic earthworm that can eat granite
5. A winged tortoise who speaks only in rhymes
6. A humanoid creature made half of tree and half of rock

Environment feature
1. A dark cave is lit only by a glowing stalactite.
2. A narrow cliffside path crumbles away at the edges.
3. A long canyon is prone to rockslides.
4. An abandoned shrine has an aura of death.
5. A bank of black, impenetrable fog is rolling down the mountain from above.
6. A small spring burbles nearby, and the sound it entrancing.

Surprise
1. Half-vulture, half-wolf creatures swoop down out of nowhere and attack everyone.
2. A bolt of lightning strikes the creature.
3. The ground shakes, and a deep voice bellows from nearby, "Who disturbs my slumber?!"
4. The creature transforms into a tall humanoid with antlers and ram's hooves.
5. A warrior leaps out, seemingly from nowhere, and tries to slay the creature.
6. The creature begins fading, and hurriedly marks a strange symbol in the dirt.

Troll in the Dungeon!

In case you aren't familiar with Harry Potter, there is a part in the first book (and movie) where a teacher runs into the crowded great hall and shouts that there is a troll in the dungeon. The school erupts in panic and hijinks ensue for the heroes.

This is far from the most interesting or creative way to introduce a problem to your characters, but if you use it sparingly, it is effective. What better way to galvanize your PCs into action than by having an NPC burst in on them and scream that danger is nearby. Bonus points if that NPC immediately faints so that he or she cannot provide any other useful information.

This is a very silly exercise, but here are some more urban fantasy threats that could appear in unlikely locations.

Troll in the Dungeon

1. Zombies in the kitchen!
2. Imps in the chimney!
3. Nixies in the vents!
4. Goblins in the bathroom!
5. Minotaur in the hallway!
6. Efreeti in the back seat!
7. Dragon in the atrium!
8. Vampires in the elevator!
9. Witches on the veranda!
10. Gorgon in aisle 5!
11. Dark elves in the storage shed!
12. Sirens on the sound stage!

Stolen Movie Plots, Ready for Use

So, on one of my favorite RPG blogs (DMing with Charisma), there is an article about designing a game session in 60 minutes. As part of the article's advice for planning a session in an hour, it contains a segment for determining the plot arc for the evening.

Go to your bookshelf, DVD case, video game collection, whatever place you have that stores creative media. Look over what you have and grab a few items with which you’re familiar.[...]Given what you’ve grabbed, consider each and boil it down to its most basic conflict. This is the plot you’ll use for your session [...] For these purposes the heroes and most of the setting are irrelevant. We only want a conflict and perhaps an antagonist, so ignore everything else.
[...]
When we look at [The Avengers film] very, very broadly, looking at the villain and conflict gives us “a magician appears to herald and lead invaders”. That’s the sort of thing you want because it gives you a lot of wiggle room.

This is my favorite part of the article, and I come back and read the article in its entirety every few months (or so it seems to me).

In fact, I like the idea so much, that I have spent some time going through a number of the movies on my own shelf and breaking them down in the same way. These villainous plots are suitable for adaptation into an array of settings, and I encourage you to go read the article yourself and then take a look over your own favorite pieces of fiction.

What can you see beneath the surface? What great plot awaits adaptation? I've provided a list of my own (which contains some psuedo-spoilers), but I'd love to hear from you about how you were able to break down your favorites.

Villainous Plots

1. Invincible warriors search for a magical item. (The Fellowship of the Ring)
2. A traitor unleashes an army. (The Two Towers)
3. A hermit tries to steal a magical item. (The Return of the King)
4. An assassin appears in an unfamiliar land to kill an important woman. (Terminator)
5. A warrior seeks a power source hidden in a person. (Thor: The Dark World)
6. A councilor plots to kill everyone who might ever oppose him. (Captain America: The Winter Soldier)
7. A war priest seeks information about a powerful weapon. (Star Wars IV: A New Hope)
8. A merchant army invades a peaceful community. (Star Wars I: The Phantom Menace)
9. A corrupt politician fabricates a massive war. (Star Wars II: Attack of the Clones)
10. A prodigious warrior betrays his order. (Star Wars III: Revenge of the Sith)
11. A prince plans to wed an unwilling woman. (The Princess Bride)
12. A skilled assassin seeks fugitives at any cost. (Serenity)
13. A politician gains the unthinking obedience of the military and seizes absolute power. (Divergent)
14. A ruthless politician tries to unlock an ancient secret. (Insurgent)
15. Militant cultists follow a globe-trotting trail to an ancient artifact. (Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade)

Wandering Traveler

PCs tend to do a lot of traveling, especially in fantasy games. This could be part of the legacy of epic quest stories like The Lord of the Rings and the quest for the Holy Grail by King Arthur and his knights. It could also be because we want our games to have a large scope, covering many different lands and cultures.

Or it could be that we just want an excuse to use the Ice Troll Berserker and the Sand Dragon in the same adventure.

At any rate, until PCs get to be quite powerful, travel generally entails walking or riding across the lands. And on those travels, the PCs are likely to meet other travelers. After all, the world is a big place, and unless there is a very good reason, travel would not be uncommon. And when travelers meet, the least they can do is exchange rumors as they pass, right?

Wandering Traveler

1. A merchant caravan hauling exotic spices and oils from a faraway land
2. A minstrel with a broken lute
3. A vagrant beggar wearing a tattered red cloak
4. A priest/priestess willing to bestow blessings upon those in need
5. A con artist trying to sell worthless trinkets as magical charms
6. A patrol of royal knights who are in a hurry
7. An adventuring party with darkly mirrored members
8. A dragon with injured wings

Rumors

1. The monarch of the neighboring kingdom has fallen ill.
2. Dark elves are preparing to wage war.
3. An unnaturally powerful storm is on its way from the coast.
4. A cyclops has been seen in a forest a day's travel from here.
5. Gnome explorers have uncovered the City of Stone Mothers.
6. Wood elves are falling into comas with no explanation.
7. The mayor of the nearest town is offering a bounty for locks of dwarven beards.
8. Local halflings are holding an eating contest to choose their new leader.

Six-Word Sparks XII: Miscellany

It's been a while since I posted any six-word sparks, so I thought it must be time once again.

Six-word sparks are phrases that get straight to the core idea of an adventure, setting up its most important aspects. Using only six words prevents the spark from becoming a full story before the players get involved. That limitation serves as a strength, allowing the story to develop alongside the PCs' actions, rather than in spite of their actions.

Six-Word Sparks

1. Townsfolk fall asleep; sorcerer demands payment.
2. Swordmaker forges "unbeatable" sword, holds competition.
3. Living tornado ravages countryside, approaches city.
4. Merchant seeks mercenaries: Ghost Canyon shortcut.
5. Dogfolk mistaken for werewolves and persecuted.
6. Desert spirits drift northward, bringing sandstorms.
7. Dogs start disappearing from local homesteads.
8. Corpse-covered barge floats into wharf.
9. Stray cats gather in alleys, planning.
10. Beneath the lake, diamond knives glitter.

Random Encounters: Superpowered Sewer Tunnels

As with previous random encounter tables, this is designed to be able to generate an interesting random encounter in a specific genre at a specific location. Hopefully, this will be more relevant to you than simply handing out a d100 table of completely random encounters that leave you with wildly disparate (or even impossible) encounter elements.

In this case, the tables below should generate a dynamic encounter in a superheroes setting in the sewer system below a largish city.

Creature

1. Nuclear-powered android

2. Four-armed alien princess

3. Squad of blaster-wielding goons

4. Anthropomorphic crocodile

5. Rat-themed supercriminal

6. Rogue vigilante

Environment feature

1. The stench is debilitating to anyone with a nose.

2. The area is a maze of branching tunnels and hidden alcoves.

3. The water is much deeper than it looks.

4. The tunnels open into a cylindrical room, where the wastewater flows in a series of waterfalls.

5. Detritus of every kind litters the walkways of the tunnels.

6. The walkways on either side of the tunnel are far apart and linked only by long wooden boards laid across the water.

Surprise

1. A rush of filthy water comes crashing through the tunnels.

2. A blast of super-cooled air rolls down the tunnels, freezing the rushing wastewater as it goes.

3. One of the nearby grates spews a gush of wastewater tainted with mutagenic chemicals.

4. The walls, floors, ceiling, and rushing water all flicker and disappear, revealing the interior of a large alien vehicle.

5. Black-clad ninjas armed with electrified blades ambush the PCs and the creature.

6. The cries of a child echo from somewhere, but the tunnels can carry sound a long way…