Adventure #137

Theme

Goal

Story Hook

Plot

Climax

General Setting
Specific Setting
I
Specific Setting
II

Master Villain

Minor Villain I

Minor Villain II

Ally/Neutral

Monster
Encounter

Action/Adventure
This is the most common and straightforward sort of adventure there is. In the Action/Adventure scenario, you
present your characters with a task and then confront them with obstacles to overcome in order to accomplish the
task successfully.
Survive Environment
The characters could end up in a hostile environment which they must cross -- a desert, a jungle, or other hostile
setting. In the course of the adventure they'll need to find food and water, resist the elements, and perhaps fight off
attacks of the natives.
Grim Necessity
If the hero doesn't involve himself with this adventure, he's going to find himself suffering or dead -- period. That's
the hook to bring him into the adventure... but you have to determine why he'll suffer or die if he doesn't become
involved.
Geographic Progression
This is the simplest sort of adventure plot. The heroes have an area to investigate or travel through; they have
encounters based on where they are. For instance, the traditional dungeon, where monsters are tied to specific rooms
or areas. Or, if the heroes are travelling along a narrow valley or through an enchanted forest, they might suffer
ambushes and other encounters fixed to various points along their travel plan. The plot, then, is getting to the villain
by surviving the intervening obstacle encounters.
Scattered Duels
In this climax, the heroes have gotten to the end of their quest -- they may have broken into, sneaked into, or
escaped from imprisonment within the villain's citadel, or have marched into the little town where the villain is
holed up -- and they become separated. You can separate them by having traps and tricks break the party apart, by
having them see two or three things they must resolve (such as danger to innocents or the appearance of minion
villains) pop up simultaneously; they'll have to run in all directions at the same time or suffer failure. Once the party
is broken down into bite-sized chunks, you confront each individual or small group with the enemy or enemies he
most deserves to face -- his personal enemy, the monster which defeated him before, etc. -- for a grand series of
climactic duels.
Torturous Terrain
The adventure takes place in some sort of unsettled, uncivilized, dangerous terrain; in action stories, the desert and
jungle work best; choose one of those two or decide on a setting that is similarly dangerous and exotic.
Craftsman's Quarter
This can occur in either the shop of the master craftsman of a palace or manor, or the guild-area of a city.
Magical Lake
This is the acquatic equivalent of the Legendary Forest, here beautiful and glistening, there treacherous and
dangerous, filled with water-breathing magical folk.
Agent Provocateur
This Master Villain is a clever spy who inflitrates an organization, order, or army, and tries to effect its destruction
by getting it to perform actions which will cause others to oppose it directly. The identity of this Master Villain is
usually a closely-guarded secret; the heroes will encounter his cover identity, but will not suspect that he's
responsible for all this chaos until they start adding up clues. Females in this role can be very, very effective.
Single-Minded Soldier
This most trustworthy of villain minions is the experienced, competent, persistent soldier -- a field-trained officer
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.
Single-Minded Soldier
This most trustworthy of villain minions is the experienced, competent, persistent soldier -- a field-trained officer
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.
Childhood Friend with a Dark Secret
One of the heroes is accompanied by one of his childhood friends... but said friend now has a Dark Secret. He does
strange and mysterious things (sneaks off to send messages, or behaves strangely around certain NPCs, or is scared
to death of certain harmless animals or situations) and will not explain why to his PC friend until late in the story.
Foreshadowing Monster
With this monster encounter, combat may not be necessary. This monster encounter exists to alert the characters to
the fact that something unusual is going on, a foreshadowing of their upcoming conflicts with the Master Villain.

New Enemy
In the course of his ordinary activies, one of the heroes can make a New Enemy. Hurrying along the street, he can
Character
bump into a disagreeable fighter for whom an apology isn't enough; in a tavern, he can make some innocuous
Encounter
remark that you deliberately have the irritable fellow misconstrue as an insult. The New Enemy will only exchange
heated words with the hero at this point, but will appear again later in the adventure and will eventually have to fight
the hero.
Pit and the Pendulum
Actually, we're applying this term to any of many time-delay deathtraps. In this sort of trap, the villains capture the
Deathtrap
heroes and place them in a trap which will soon kill them -- it operates on a delay, often based on a timing device or
a burning fuse.
Water
Don't
forget the water chase: Whether it's a battle of seamanship between naval vessels, a chase of rafts toward the
Chase
inevitable waterfall ahead, a contest of canoeing ability, or a chase between the villain and his giant shark vs. the
heroes and their dolphin friends, the water chase can be a distinctive and dramatic one.
Birthmark
Omen/Prophesy One of the heroes has a birthmark that pertains to the adventure in some way. He may have a birthmark identical to
some NPC -- for instance, some person endangered by the Master Villain. This mystery can give the hero his reason
to become involved. Alternatively, his birthmark may mark him as a hero fulfilling some ancient prophecy.
Secret Embarrassment
Finally, the villain may have some aberration or secret shame that will force him to flee when he is confronted with
Secret Weakness it. It could be something as simple as the fact that his nose is too big, or that he is a small and nebbishly wizard
pretending to be some vast, powerful demonic power. When his shame is revealed, he is too humiliated to continue;
this is a good option for comedy adventures.
No Weapons Allowed
Special
At some point in the story, the heroes must surrender their weapons. Perhaps they're visiting some quarter of the city
Condition
where weapons are not allowed; or a particularly peace-loving temple. In any case, once they're there, they are
attacked by enemies belonging to the Master Villain.
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.
False Path to the Artifact
Once again, if the heroes have had too easy a time finding the artifact capable of destroying the villain, give them
Red Herring trouble this way: When they get to the place where the artifact is supposed to be contained, they find the coffer or
chamber or whatever empty, obviously looted by robbers, who have scrawled such remarks as "Kelrog was here!"
upon the walls.
Wanted by the Law
Cruel Trick One final complication, one which occurs pretty frequently, is when the heroes are wanted by the law. When they're
wanted by the law, they have to travel in secret and very limited in the resources they can acquire.