d100 - So You've Spent Too Long At Sea...

Just as there is a Mythic Underworld and Mythic Wilds, why not also cultivate Mythic Oceans? Perhaps when one spends a bit too long aship, or adrift and lost, the Sea begins to change them. Should you find yourself in need of some rather Misfortunate Fates to befall those Adventurers who have spent far too long afloat and away from safer shores, here is a table with a Hundred Ideas. These might also serve as suitable Callous Curses from fickle Kelp Dryads, territorial Sea Hags/Whitecap Wizards, or even something spouted by swindled Cyclopes. They could also be useful as novel Nautical Drawbacks for certain Sea-Themed Magical Items.

For other tables with this sort of Ill-Fated Foreground Growth please see:

• So You Didn’t Make It Out Of The Dungeon...
• So You Didn’t Make it Out Of The Wilds...
• So You’ve Been Brought Back from the Dead...

d100 – Treasure Map Minutia & Cartograph Complications

Representing a full fourth of the Random Results when Scrolls are generated as Magical Treasure in most of the earlier presentations, Treasure Maps can sometimes end up making quite frequent appearances. B/X even recommends that the Referee prepare several in advance for this reason. I always endeavored to have a few handy, tucked away in the binder, just in case.

In world artifacts that get used in Play like this are wonderful things, and I know over the decades I’ve made many a Map replete with those slightly scorched edges, strategic tears, and even the requisite tea-staining in order to pass them out to the Players. I try not to get too precious with them these days, mostly because I want to encourage Players to write on them and make them “their own.” But these kinds of “In World” Maps will always serve as a wonderful way to Telegraph Dangers, Disseminate Rumors, and foster interest in other areas in a Setting. I’ve compiled some ideas for dressing them up a bit or making them a bit more memorable below. Hopefully some of these can serve as a springboard when the need arises to try your hand at making a few Pre-Prepared Treasure Maps for your game, even if some prove a bit impractical for “physical props!”

If you tire of typical Parchment, Paper, or Vellum, see the Form column of my Atypical Scrolls of Protection & Assorted Aegides post for some other ideas for surfaces they may be scrawled upon.

d100 - Where is that Treasure Hidden?

As another elaboration to assist with Dungeon Stocking duties, here is a Table I’ve put together of some potential locations to secrete the occasional “Hidden Treasure” that can show up during the process. Many of the entries here also include a bit of “Dungeon Dressing” as well that might help provide ideas for rendering the space in addition to any other contents placed.

Usually when I am stocking this sort of thing, I may include a few subtle Clues or other Tells, but sometimes it has been secreted so skillfully that it might take more thorough investigation of the environment to reveal it. For this reason, I usually don’t factor in these rewards for the purposes of determining whether or not a Dungeon has “enough” Treasure: Those hidden Troves are just a bit of a bonus to reward diligent exploration.

d100 - Lair Locations

When Stocking Hexes, I occasionally find myself at a loss when it comes to all those “Lairs” that can get generated in the Process. Those Encounters/Monsters need to shelter or sleep somewhere after all! But this can lead to leaning on the same stock results, slightly re-skinned, for multiple locations. I decided it might be useful to have a List/Table with a few more ideas that I could refer to or remix during this process.

Here are one Hundred micro-vignettes for those Monster Locations with just a dab of detail to start the process rolling should it need to turn into something more “Site-Based” later. Not necessarily full-fledged “Dungeons” but just a succinct starting point for embellishment mostly. Having a few “features” to elaborate upon is sometimes enough to render the place more fully in my mind’s eye.

d100 - Heavenly Hallmarks or Gifts for the God-Touched

Many months ago, I completed a table for Tiefling Traits and Infernal Features in which I promised a Post pertaining to their more Angelic/Aasimaric Counterparts. I plinked away at a smattering of entries and then promptly misplaced the Table, only to serendipitously sumble upon it the other day.

Should you not use those beings of Divine or Celestial Heritage in your games, I suppose some of these Blessed Boons could easily be more akin to some of my Fighter Features for Variegated Veterans for the Cleric Class or even proudly pinned on a Paladin. But I think there’s also some utility in using them as a bit of Foreground Growth/Alternative Advancement though: What sort of holy handouts might one receive for tidying a Timeworn Temple, sprucing up a Sacred Shrine, sipping from a Sanctified Spring, or even inadvertently engaging with a mercurial Godling? Some could even serve as a more auspicious bequest, granted after being Brought Back from the Dead.