d100 - Five Hundred Names for Dolmenwood Games

One can never have enough Names. A while back to assist a Referee in distress, I put together a few for Dolmenwood. Here are Five Hundred Names for Dolmenwood Games:

d100 - Wilderness Landmarks & d100 Overland Discoveries

Here are a few tables I have been working on that reached a point where I wanted to share their initial stages. Someday this list will likely meander its way to a thousand or some other ridiculous number, but until then, I decided to get these posted so I can move onto a few other tempting tables that are vying for my attention.

Wilderness Exploration is my favorite Tier of Play, so I try to sprinkle in some Landmarks or Features throughout. These Landmarks/Discoveries are useful for orientation and can make any mapping during Wilderness Adventuring (mental or otherwise) much easier. They can also make Overland Journeys more memorable by injecting Choice, a bit of Mystery, or even just some simple embellishment applied to the Shared Imagined Space that constitutes a Campsite or a place the Players decide their Characters need to Rest.

Landmarks/Discoveries are simply a mostly static feature within a Hex relative to another Feature/Encounter. These could easily work in conjunction with Hazards, Resources, or even Monster Lairs/Entrances to Site Based Adventures (the other categories I tend to create when stocking a map) or simply serve as Decorative Waypoints during Journeys. It stands to reason that within a given Hex (especially within the ubiquitous six-mile), there would likely be several of these memorable features, but sometimes a Referee might find themselves at a loss for something specific. Here are two hundred to hopefully help with that process.

d100 - Magical Hats & Helms

Another Random Table in my Series of Magic Items, this one focuses on Magical Helms, Hats, and other Assorted Headgear. It was a little tricky to try and insure that they could apply to all sorts of Head Coverings!

d100 - What's At The Bottom Of This Pit?

Decided to go ahead and round out this particular Table that has been lingering on my list for a spell. Sometimes those Pitfalls and Pit Traps don’t really receive much more attention than a Saving Throw after all.

See also: One Hundred Clues & Tells for the Tersely Detailed Trap, and I often find myself sometimes sprinkling a bit of Random Impedimenta down there as well.

d100 - Potential Spell Recharge Conditions

Here’s a quick d100 table I put together of some potential Mausritter-style Recharge Conditions to the GLOG spells that have been lovingly rendered for Cairn here. These sorts of requirements could come into play with each casting or on doubles or triples (like conventional GLOG Mishaps/Dooms) or after three "charges" are exhasuted (how Mausritter handles them).

d100 - Instigative Scenery & Interactive Décor

Sometimes when I’m stocking a Dungeon room or Indoor Encounter Area, I like to woolgather a bit about what might make an Encounter that takes place in this area more interesting or exciting. My rooms are seldom swept-bare or sparse affairs, but I’ve found it incredibly productive to sprinkle in some more proactive and even downright tempting descriptions into my set dressing from time to time. The way I see it, Adventurers are canny/competent folks and would always have an eye out for any kind of advantage they could eke out of the mise en scène, so to help get those ingenious juices flowing, I’ll sometimes embellish props with little hints like this. Just a suspicious soupçon here and there is sometimes all it takes to get that mindset established, and then the players end up embracing the frangibility in the fiction and start striving to exploit their surroundings.

These casual clues can sometimes make for much more dynamic and unpredictable combats but be fully forewarned that some Referee Rulings might be necessary to adjudicate these. When in doubt, I tend to clarify the actions the players are taking and ask questions about their goals and intensions to close any gaps, but sometimes a little bit of random chance can make a cunning plan or novel approach that much more exciting and engaging. Repurposing an X-in-6 or Reaction Roll can always work in a pinch, but even if it fails, the players have altered the environment in some significant way generally, and that can further inform the situation in intriguing ways.

Naturally, this sort of thing could be considered fair game for foes as well, but as with any potential Hazard or Trap, I find they tend to work a bit better when adequately telegraphed rather than sprung on the utterly unsuspecting. Sometimes this even leads to a race to see which side gets to avail themselves of the fight-shifting feature first.

d100 - Magic Gloves & Gauntlets

AAnother in my little series of Magic Item posts, this one is devoted to helpful Handwear. Though they’re not nearly as represented in the standard treasure lists as other garments (outside the occasional pair providing Ogre Power). Be it Glove or Gauntlet, rather than just applying a Magical bonus or malus, like most Magical Treasures, I often prefer them to serve as creative solutions to potential problems the players may face.

See also: Magic Blades, Magic Shields, Magic Bows, Magic Footwear, and Magic Cloaks & Capes.