d100 - Random Rivers

For this Quick Table I decided to take the same approach that I embarked on for my Some City Streets Table. Naming things is something I’m very fond of, because they often make those Rumors/Hooks/NPC Directions a lot more interesting when they are tied to a Place. Places with Names have an easier time earning Reputations, let Maps do a little more work, and are sometimes a little more memorable than their anonymous counterparts.

So, here’s a handy source of Names for Creeks/Streams/Brooks and Rivers, alongside a few additional inspirational details that can be sprinkled into those riparian routes.

d100 - Magical Lamps & Lanterns

While I was gathering subjects for my prior Magic Tools post, I combed the more conventional Equipment Lists for some ideas for which additional items might benefit from a little Wonder. When I saw the Lantern, I knew that these would likely deserve their very own d100 Table, because I suspected my furtling would find fertile fields for all kinds of ideas for those.

So here we have Hundred ideas for Magical Lamps & Lanterns, perhaps some are even worth hanging onto even after such things as Continual Light gradually begin to diminish their necessity. I remarkably was able to resist the urge to cram the list with a jumble of Djinni, but should you need a few ideas for those, there’s always my Encounter Activities.

d100 - Pecuniary Problems, Awful Arrears, & Delinquent Debts

Below is a Random Table full of potential ideas for Financial Dilemmas and Predicaments that could keep those Characters a little more Cash-Strapped. I suppose this could be used for saddling those Starting Characters with a bit of Debt that could help explain their motivation to go in search of Treasure and its associated Dangerous Situations. Might also be handy in conjunction with Carousing or associated with more Picaresque Play, where time elapses between Adventures, and we need a convenient explanation for why everyone’s “broke” again.

d100 - Hireling Hobbies or PC Pastimes

For a little diversion, here’s a table that contains a hundred ideas for Hobbies/Pastimes that might be useful for adding to Characters. Whether we’re decorating downtime descriptions, or coloring a Camping situation, I find that these can sometimes add a bit of fun details to Retainers and Hirelings, but I thought why not open this up to Player Characters as well? This might make a good Player Facing “roll or choose” type table for any Player looking to add a little more detail or embellishment to help elaborate on what their Character might find amusing or rewarding in that little bit of “spare time” they might get before, during, and after Adventuring.

Whether or not any of these passive pursuits merit tangible or mechanical impacts on the Game and its assorted Challenges however is something I’d rather leave as an exercise for the Table. I can see a few coming up in certain specialized situations, but it’s always more fun to Play in order to find things out!

d100 – Wilderness Woes & Hinterland Hazards

Journeys through those Wilder Places can sometimes be Challenging and Dangerous in addition to being full of Wonder and Discovery. When Stocking Hexes one of the results from my “repurposed” Dungeon Overland Stocking Table is something I’ve come to refer to as a “Hazard.”

The Hazard is a Hex Feature that might create problems for a Party that is traversing an area. These are usually more static features than your typical Encounters or Lairs, and their primary purpose is to create more of those wonderful Choices and Decision Points that make Overland Travel more memorable. These may deplete Supplies, impact other Resources such as Time (by creating Delays or Detours), or even just be downright Deadly. Just as with Traps tenderly placed in a Dungeon Room, the more Dangerous or Impactful something is, the more attentive I would be to Telegraph it in some way. I find that ensuring that your Local Rumor Tables have a few entries dedicated to a nearby Hazard are also incredibly useful for this.

d100 - Magic Tools

Here are some ideas for Magical Qualities that can be incorporated into some of the various Tools and Implements that might find their way into a Character’s Equipment. While Wonders are usually confined to Weapons & Armor for dealing with challenges associated with Combat, sometimes having the Right Tool at hand for a specific task is more interesting, especially if the tool in question has these sorts of unconventional features and benefits.

d100 – Swansong Abilities

During the earliest days of this Hobby a Referee named Mark Swanson devised a few Random Tables that would become known as “Swanson Abilities” or “Swanson Powers.” Rolling on these granted a Character an interesting minor feature or flaw that would set them apart from otherwise remarkably similar starting Characters of a given Class.

Some time ago, I set about devising my own Random Tables for this (and you can see some of the results in tables like my Fighter Features for Variegated Veterans) but I couldn’t shake my amusement with a silly bit of wordplay that came to mind. I began musing about a table of “Swansong Abilities” using that metaphorical phrase invoked to represent that terminal gesture or surprising effort just before Death or Retirement. These would be benefits or boons that take place exactly once, upon a Character’s often Untimely Demise, perhaps better if they were not known in advance, but instead diced right at that final, fatal moment.

The results of this somewhat somber wool gathering are contained in the Table below. We tend to see many tables devoted to grisly Deaths and gruesome Dismemberment, so I felt it necessary to provide a bit of balance to those. What if that Character's passing could turn the tide or grant gifts to the rest of the Party to make mortality more memorable in other ways?