d100 - Dungeon Fauna

Dungeon Rooms and Corridors are often rife with Monsters and horrible Beasts, but what other smaller creatures might be flourishing in those depths? Here’s a d100 Table with some Dungeon Fauna to hopefully breathe a little detail into the various vermin and other (mostly harmless!) Denizens that dwell down there. As with it’s companion Table (Dungeon Flora) these are largely intended to provide a little bit of embellishment and not necessarily trigger those full fledged “Encounter Procedures.” So should you need to dress up an otherwise “Empty” room with a bit of life, some of these little critters might just do the trick.

d100 – Dungeon Flora

Sometimes, when Stocking a Dungeon Room or Corridor I find myself at a loss at what to do with an otherwise “unremarkable” area. Occasionally, I’ll decorate these with a little bit of harmless spelean flora or fungi, remarkably thriving somehow in those dank and dark locations. Usually, this is just for a bit of flavor, a way to distinguish this place from the next, but occasionally these have ended up serving as Welcome Waypoints or Lucky “Landmarks” in musty Mazes or other particularly perplexing Places. This is just one example of how that off-the-cuff “fluff” can end up becoming much more fictionally relevant for an attentive Player. However, one must always be wary that these decorative distractions do not consume too much precious Time or Resources.

Here are a Hundred Sample Specimens of these Peculiar Plants that one might find growing in those depths:

d100 - Magic Beans

Here’s a rather unusual Table that I put together concerning Magic Beans. It’s been a little while since I’ve done something a little more whimsical, or food related (like my infamous Garlic table) and while musing on other “Single Use” Magic Items, my mind kept returning to Fairy Tales.

A Bag of Beans will usually contain multiple beans. I generally default to 3d6, with any doubles adding and rolling again, but you are welcome to season the amount to taste for your tables. Some of the effects might be pretty potent and require a little stinginess. You use a Bean once, and it’s done.

This d100 Table is rendered in categories should a specific type be required. My hope is that these should be mostly self-evident: Swallow Beans are consumed, Sling Beans are hurled at a someone/something (either by hand or with the namesake Missile Weapon), Sow Beans need to be Planted, and Store Beans placed somewhere.

The main category that might be a little unusual is the Swindle one. These are benefits that are gained if the otherwise mundane Bag of Beans is traded/bartered with another for something of great value to the other Party. The Swindler gains a wonderful Boon if successful. Usually, the Bilked is left just with a bag of Normal Beans as part of the transaction, but every so often that process could imbue them with Magic all their own (2-in-6, roll on the table to determine which properties they gain.)

d100 – Sentient Swords

Random Rolls on the Treasure Tables often produce Magical Swords. This is especially common with the Flat Distribution in some of the earlier presentations. Sometimes they might even result in the temptation to place a Sword with a Special Purpose or Intelligence. These Swords often have a slew of additional abilities and some can even communicate via various Languages. I usually assign a Sentient Sword a number from 1-20 (more talkative ones receive a lower number) when this number is rolled on a die in Play, it can serve as a reminder to me to make a comment or quip if appropriate.

The same rules for making NPCs Memorable generally apply to these Treasures. Should a Sword be Sentient, I do like to dress them up a little further by applying a Personality and it is often hard for me to resist adding a few pertinent Powers. They do say that all Magic Swords deserve Names, but I feel that the ones that the Players can communicate with deserve this doubly so at least.

Here's a table of a hundred Swordbound Souls. While lately I’ve been cleaving a little closer to only applying this quality to Magic Swords exclusively, it is often nice to graft them onto other Weapons as well (a Snarky Dagger or Belligerent Battle Axe can be a nice change of pace!)

d100 - Encounter Activities: Rival Adventuring Parties

A little while back now, I completed some Random Tables that were focused on each of the Monsters listed in B/X and OSE. When I was working on these, I made a quick list of Monsters that appeared in their section, and used this as my baseline, but I had neglected to give a generous gander to those Encounter Tables, leading to a glaring omission: The Rival NPC Adventuring Party.

When these show up in your Dungeons/Adventures it can often lead to surprising situations. On their own they work a little bit like an Opposed or Neutral Faction: Players know that they’re in direct competition for any Glory or Gold that might be found nearby. Sometimes those lovely Rivalries develop, but they can also serve as a way to swell Ranks as erstwhile Allies, or even as a pool of replacement Player Characters if necessary. So here are a Hundred Activities that those Rival Adventuring Parties might find themselves getting up to. As always, strategic substitutions of a few Nouns can make a given entry a bit more bespoken to the given situation.

d00 – Peculiar Portals & Distinctive Doors

Sometimes, those “Special” Results on the sainted Stocking Table might leave a Referee a bit at a Loss. There are only so many Statues, Pools, or other features one can sprinkle about. One option I sometimes like to consider is using this as a cue to add in a Strange or Unusual Door.

I am pretty comfortable with injecting a bit of humor and whimsy into my Dungeons on occasion for a slight break in Tension, and this table began with a few ideas I cribbed from a Tunnels & Trolls Dungeon that I dug. Every Door in that Dungeon had something to say it seemed! While that might be a bit excessive for most Mythic Underworlds, here are a few ideas for that can be used to make these Thresholds of Exploration a bit more interactive. Some are a bit more akin to Puzzles, other might benefit from a quick Reaction Roll to determine their Disposition to the Party, etc. I love presenting the Players with Opportunities to talk to things, so many of these Doors can Speak or have their own Personalities. There are an awful lot of Rules about interacting with Doors in these games after all!

d100 – Unconventional Shields & Bizarre Bucklers

Quick Table with some examples of non-standard shields and other off-hand protection. Inspired by a post from Rise Up Comus, here are a hundred ideas to make those more memorable. Most are a bit more on the Mundane side, but I couldn’t help but have a few that emitted a bit more Wonder. There’s always this Magic Shields Table as well though if you’d like to embellish them a bit more.