Adventure #65

Espionage
Espionage adventures are active, grim scenarios involving spying and perhaps other cloak-and-dagger deeds such
as assassination or rescue.
Win War
Goal
In this adventure or set of adventures, the characters become part of an army -- a force assaulting another kingdom,
perhaps, or an army defending one realm from another.
Dying Delivery
Story Hook
On some occassion when the hero is out wandering the streets or is otherwise all alone, a dying man bumbs into
him, hands him something, says a few words, and dies.
Series of Villains
This is a very dramatic plot, and very well-suited to oriental campaigns. In it, the heroes have undertaken a quest,
usually the finding and defeat of the Master Villain. They may have to travel to his citadel, or head off in another
Plot
direction to find some artifact capable of defeating him, or run away from pursuing villains until they can figure
out what's going on. All along their route, they are set upon by villains -- each villain has a name and distinct
personality, and each encounter is life-or-death for the heroes and villains; the villain never escapes to safety if the
tide turns against him, he fights unto death.
Chase to Ground
First, you have the Heroes Chasing the Villain. The villain, after a series of encounters with the heroes, is running
to safety, to some place where he can acquire more power, or to somehwere he can accomplish some dread
purpose such as assassination or mass murder. The heroes chase him, have to deal with the obstacles he leaves
behind, and finally catch up to him before or just as he reaches his goal. Here, we have the final duel between the
villains forces and the heroes. Second, you have the Villain Chasing the Heroes. Often, in a story like this, the
Climax
heroes have found out how to defeat the villain -- such as getting to a particular temple and conducting a particular
ritual. The villain chases them all through their quest, catching up to them just as they're commenciing their ritual;
they must, with heroic effort, conclude the ritual while suffering his attacks. Third, you have the Master Villain's
Sudden Escape Attempt. This takes place in adventures where the Master Villain's identity is unknown until the
end. His identity is revealed and he makes a sudden bolt for freedom; the heroes give chase. This usually results in
a dangerous foot-chase through nasty terrain -- such as across rooftops, through the dungeons, or across an active
battlefield.
On the Road
General Setting Most of the adventure takes place on the road, as the heroes are travelling from place to place. This is especially
good for adventures where heroes are investigating a wide-ranging mystery, are part of a caravan, or are being
pursued by loathesome villains.
Legendary Forest
Specific Setting I This classic adventure site is the sometimes dark and fearsom, sometimes light and cheerful, always magical and
incomprehensible forest inhabited by the oldest elven trives and most terrifying monsters.
Demi-human Community
Specific Setting In wilderness areas, this will be a large community of demi-humans -- elves, dwarves, halflings, whatever -- or
II
intelligent nonhumans such as orcs. If your action is taking place in a city, this could be a hidden community (such
as a secret underground dwarf community) or a section of the city inhabited mostly by demi-humans.
Corruptor
The Corruptor is the villain who wants to make something nasty out of something that is currently nice. He may be
Master Villain
working on a small scale -- i.e., wish to corrupt one character or a few characters, particularly PCs and their
favorite NPCs. Alternatively, he may be a big-scale villain trying to change an entire city or nation into a jaded,
debased pit of sin, hatred and death.
Corrupted Hero
Minor Villain I This villain was once a hero, possibly one known to the players. He was seduced by the dark side of the dungeon
master. Because of his own weakness, or of a curse, he has become a villain, a pawn of the Master Villain.
Single-Minded Soldier
This most trustworthy of villain minions is the experienced, competent, persistent soldier -- a field-trained officer
Minor Villain II who serves the villain with military precision. He is usually encountered in the field as leader of the villain's field
operations. He is not encountered directly until the middle of or the latter part of the adventure; until then, the
heroes encounter only his subordinates.
Talkative Barkeep
This classic encounter is the garrulous innkeeper who has information the characters want; trouble is, they'll have
Ally/Neutral
to bribe him to get it, or agree to stay at his inn, or buy a lavish meal, or listen to his incessant stories about his
career in the army, or whatever.
Monster
Reconaissance Monster
Theme

At some point in the adventure, the Master Villain will become aware of the heroes' activities against him. If he has
magical abilities or a magical servant, he will send some sort of quiet, clever monster to spy on the heroes. The
heroes should have an opportunity to realize they're being spied upon, leading them to a mad scrable as they try to
capture or destroy the spy.
Blackmailer
If the party is pulling a scam, this person knows it and can tell the potential victim; if they're wanted by the
Character
authorities, he's willing to alert the authorities that they're here; if they're hiding out from the Master Villain, he's
Encounter
going to tell said villain that they're here; he may have kidnapped one of their favorite NPCs and be holding him
for ransom; and so on.
Rock and a Hard Place
This trap starts out as an Animal Pit, Pit and the Pendulum, or Tomb Deathtrap, but an obvious escape suggests
Deathtrap
itself very early on. Trouble is, it leads into even worse danger. The hole out of the animal pit may lead to the lair
of an even worse animal; it may lead through a succession of dangers (collapsing old catacombs, into an
underground river, into a den of zombies) before the heroes reach the light.
Special Terrain
You can make any chase more memorable by having it take place in a setting to which it is utterly unsuited. For
Chase
instance, horse chases are fine and dramatic when they take place through the forest, out in the open plains, or
along a road -- but they become diabolical when they take place inside the Royal Palace or in dangerous,
labrynthine, treacherous catacombs.
Totem Animal
Omen/Prophesy If a hero has an animal which is his totem, he may see the animal engaged in a fight to the death with another
animal -- one which, coincidentally, is the totem of one of the villains. How his totem defeats the other -- or is
defeated by it -- gives the hero some clues as how to fight his actual opponent when the time comes.
Holy Symbol
The villain may have the traditional weakness to a specific holy symbol -- but don't choose just an ordinary one. It
Secret Weakness may be a holly symbol no longer used by the church, or may be some forgotten variation of the current symbol.
(For instance, the cross may not work, but a variation -- such as the Roman cross -- might; alternatively, it might
have to be a holy symbol which has undergone some unfamiliar ritual.)
Time Limit
Finally, the most obvious condition to place on an adventure is to give it a time limit. If the Master Villain is going
Special
to conclude his evil spell in only three days, and his citadel is three hard days' riding away, then the heroes are
Condition
going to be on the go all throughout the adventure -- with little time to rest, plan, gather allies, or anything except
get to where they're going.
Respect Quandry
This is much like the Ally Quandry, only at a greater distance. The heroes have been utilizing the aid of two (or
Moral Quandry more) powerful NPC allies. Now, in the course of the adventure, the heroes come across a task which can be
accomplished in one of two ways -- say, through military intervention or by esoteric magic. The problem is, the
NPC allies are arguing for different choices, and the one whom the heores choose against will no longer aid them.
Lying Rumor
This is the worst and most useful type of red herring -- the interesting rumor which just happens to be false. In
Red Herring
adventures of this sort, the best Lying Rumor concerns the Master Villain; it gives the heroes some "important"
information about him which later turns out to be useless.
Heroes Must Work with Villain
If they have to work for the villain, it's due to some hold he has over them -- probably, he's kidnapped one of their
Cruel Trick
NPCs and will kill this person if his demands aren't met. Put the heroes through the encounter where they have to
do something they are loathe to do, such as sack and pillage a temple, before they have the opportunity to retrieve
their friend.
Encounter

Based on tables from the Dungeon Master's Design Kit by TSR, Inc.