Adventure #07

Revenge
Theme
In this adventure, some villain has so offended one or more of the characters that he cannot be suffered to live.
(Alternatively, the injured party could hire the characters to avenge his honor.) The villain must be found or
otherwise gotten at, setting up the final duel or showdown between villain and characters.
Gain Money
Goal
The heroes are intent on acquiring a fee or treasure. If it's a fee, you may wish to roll again on this page to learn the
patron's goal. If it's a treasure, pay attention to the Settings section, which will dictate where the treasure is, if not
who owns it.
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
Plot
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
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.
Prevented Deed
Climax
Here, the heroes have been defeated -- captured by the Master Villain, or so thoroughly cut up by his minions that
all believe them to be dead. And the heroes have learned, from the bragging of the villain, loose talk of his
minions, or examination of clues, what is the crucial event of his master plan. In any case, the battered and bruised
heroes must race to this site and have their final confrontation with the villain, bursting in on him and his minions
just as the knife or final word or key is poised, and prevent the awful deed from taking place -- and, incidentally,
defeat the master villain and minions who beat them previously.
Under the Sea
General Setting
This sort of high-fantasy adventure takes place in and under (not on top of) the sea. The heroes require access to
some sort of magic item or spell that allows them to breathe water for long stretches, and might adventure in the
uncharted depths or perhaps in a community of sea-breathers.
Temple/Church
Specific Setting I
This can be either the church of some lofty and good diety, or the dark and grisly temple of some horrid deity
(doubtless filled with evil soldiers and monsters), or even the temple that the madman villain has dedicated to
himself for when he becomes a god.
Laboratory
Specific Setting
II
This can be alchemical lab of a friendly wizard, or the horrible experimental chamber of the villain where new
monsters are created and relased upon the world.
Ravager
Master Villain
This Master Villain is like the Destroyer, except that he terrorizes a very limited area -- such as a village, island,
castle, or clan stronghold. (He may want to destroy the whole world but be trapped where he is; perhaps his efforts
to free himself constitute the adventure's plot.) He stays in his area and terrorizes whatever comes into it.
Misguided Moralist
Minor Villain I
This fellow has been convinced that only by helping the villain achieve the Master Plan can he improve the world.
He tends to be encountered all through the adventure's plot, usually escaping from the heroes and taunting them for
their wrong thinking. Fortunately, he's no more effective as a villain than he is as a thinker.
Inquisitor
Minor Villain II
This villain is the one who interrogates the heroes and NPCs captured by the villains. He accompanies the other
Minor Villain out into the field and works on anyone captured; he enjoys inflicting pain and suffering.
Villain Ally
Ally/Neutral
For some reason, the heroes find themselves in the company of a villain. Perhaps he's a minion of this adventure's
master villain; he may be guiding the heroes to wherever they must leave a ransom, or, if the master villain is
forcing the heroes to perform some mission, this villain ally is along to make sure they do it right. Whatever the
reason, he's competent, unpredictable, and out for himself.
Ravager
Monster
Encounter
This is another classic monster encounter; the monster which is bedeviling a community or local area and will
continue to do so unless the heroes destroy or defeat it. Yes, this is similar to the Master Villain of the same name,
but the Ravager usually has no master plan -- it just wants to kill, destroy, or eat.
Character Lying Accuser
Encounter A captured thief may accuse the character of putting him up to the theft; an abandoned mother may accuse the hero
of fathering the child; a reputable witness (working for the Master Villain) may accuse the hero of a murder or
robbery. The hero shouldn't know what he's accused of until he's hauled in by the authorities.
Rock and a Hard Place
Deathtrap
This trap starts out as an Animal Pit, Pit and the Pendulum, or Tomb Deathtrap, but an obvious escape suggests
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.
Footrace
Chase
The chase involves the characters on foot, probably through such terrain as city streets or the corridors of a palace.
One hero may realize that the's being pursued by a party of enemies and choose to run for it; the heroes may have
caught up to the Master Villain, prompting him to run for his life.
Hero Fulfills Prophecy
Omen/Prophesy
This is the most useful sort of prophecy. In the early part of the adventure, one of the heroes discovers that he
fulfills some ancient prophecy.
Holy Symbol
Secret Weakness
The villain may have the traditional weakness to a specific holy symbol -- but don't choose just an ordinary one. It
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
Special
Condition
Finally, the most obvious condition to place on an adventure is to give it a time limit. If the Master Villain is going
to conclude his evil spell in only three days, and his citadel is three hard days' riding away, then the heroes are
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.
Honor Quandry
Moral Quandry
You want to use this on the character with the most strongly developed sense of personal honor -- someone who
has lived all his life by a strict code. Toward the end of the adventure, this character realizes that the best way to
defeat the Master Villain is a violation of that code. For instance, the character might be a paladin, who discovers
that the only possible way for the heroes to defeat the Master Villain is to sneak up on him and stab him in the
back.
Artifact that Doesn't Work
Red Herring
Often, epic quests against powerful Master Villains require that the heroes find some legendary artifact, the only
object which can defeat the villain. If your heroes have had no trouble getting to the artifact -- they've effortlessly
sliced through every obstacle you've put in their path and are confidently advancing on the resting place of the
magical item -- you can have it not work.
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.
Based on tables from the Dungeon Master's Design Kit by TSR, Inc.