Fantasy Seeds

Authors: Chris Field, Noah McLaughlin, Scott Moore, and Keith Taylor
Editors: Joseph Browning and Suzi Yee
Seed Art by Ian Armstrong

Introduction During a nautical adventure, the PCs catch sight of a clutch of

Welcome to Seeds and to this first product in the new line by small, but very dangerous creatures sunning themselves on a coral
Expeditious Retreat Press. Seeds are story ideas, plot ideas, crea- reef. The PCs are in no immediate danger, as the creatures are
ture ideas, adventure hooks, anything that can grow into an more concerned with catching enough sea gulls to feed
enjoyable gaming experience. Each seed is small (only their brood than with them. However, the creatures
a paragraph or two at most) and each Seed product make valuable familiars or are worth something as
will be small as well (only four to five pages), but spell components. Does greed win out over common
just like their namesakes, they have great potential sense, as the treacherous currents make the reef
when provided with the right environment. more dangerous than the creatures that call it home?
Fantasy Seeds is roughly four pages packed
with adventure ideas suitable for fantasy gaming.
We’re also collecting seeds for three other genres Despite mounting evidence that he’s growing
(horror, supers, modern) and there will be future Seeds senile in his old age, a once great paladin is
in these categories. We’ve gathered this first bunch of seeds gathering troops for a crusade to a distant, savage land
through a paid open submissions call at Enworld and RPGnet, but to fight a rising threat that no one is sure actually exists.
we hope that you’ll be inclined to send us your seed ideas for perusal
and possible inclusion in future Seeds products. We’d love a continual
series of Seeds created by the very people who enjoy reading them the The successful conquest of a neighboring kingdom pushes all the mon-
most. sters and bandits from that land directly into the PCs path as they struggle
So drop by the Expeditious Retreat website, checkout our sub- to complete their mission.
mission guidelines to find out more about the process, and then send us
your seeds. Hopefully you’ll soon be reading the latest Seed contain-
ing your successful seeds. Whew! Enough with the alliteration already, A kingdom’s laws change overnight, allowing duels to the
on to the fun! And like always, the first one’s for free... death to settle matters of honor. Long simmering rivalries burst
to the surface, and duel and counter duel lead to bloody feuds,
Joseph Browning & Suzi Yee and eventually to civil war, unless the PCs can calm the situation.

Requires the use of the Dungeons & Dragons, Third Edition Core Books, published by Wizards of the Coast, Inc.
The party finds itself in the middle of a generations-old war between The players come to a small village only to find everyone in
two pixie clans. a panic. The townsfolk are in an uproar because their prized
possession, the Gem of Azaria has been broken. The gem
gave the town access to mysterious and wondrous powers,
Philosopher’s Flies begin plaguing local temples and universities. thereby providing the town with protection from general evils.
These tiny fairies feed on ambient wisdom and their swarms multiply
in the presence of great thinkers. They’re harmless, but annoying,
constantly chattering to each other, misquoting great truths, and A seemingly worthless trinket that the PCs find is actually the key to a
making any secretive movements impossible. Also, they’re very hard massive gate to an infernal plane. Agents of both good and evil forces hunt
to get rid of, as your most intellectual PCs are just about to discover. the party for the key but determining who is what is not a simple affair.

During a common underground dungeon crawl, an earthquake rattles

Random, but necessary pieces of the PCs’ mundane gear (minor the surrounding region. The party is not seriously injured, but
spell components, sharpening stones, quill pens, etc) disappear the way back is hopelessly caved in, making any mapping
while they camp. Investigating, the PCs discover that the done to this point utterly useless. The characters must
thieves are “adventuring heroes” from a microscopic now travel deeper into the caverns, hoping to find
demiplane, and their quest for trinkets is as important another passage leading to the outside world. Due to
to their world as the PCs own quests in their world. the earthquake, creature activity has increased in the
cavern system, increasing the chance for wandering
encounters. Pit traps and other pressure-sensitive
It’s revealed that the dominant, good-aligned traps may be set off or exposed, leading characters to
church in the PCs’ region has a vault filled with believe formerly dangerous areas are now safe. However,
many evil and dangerous artifacts under the largest structural damage may cause collapsing floors, walls,
cathedral in the area. Whenever possible, these evil artifacts and/or ceilings at any point along the way, if the characters do
are destroyed, but those too dangerous or durable are stored here not progress carefully. And there is always the chance of aftershocks…
for safekeeping. In the name of security, the church is willing to kill
even members of the faithful who discover the existence of the vault.
A minor artifact has been removed from its hiding place, where
it has remained for many years. One of the player characters is
During their manhood ceremonies, the boys of a certain tribe instantly aware of this fact, as the item was once in the possession
prove their toughness with a series of brutal stick fights. Fights of an ancestor of his (a fact not immediately known to the character)
are to unconsciousness, and the scars gained are considered who hid it to keep it from falling into the wrong hands. The character
badges of honor. While passing through, the PCs are invited feels compelled to find the item and hide it again. During the journey
to watch (or if they really impress the tribe) to participate. to locate the item, the character encounters other distant relatives,
some he may know, some he may not, who are also under the same
compulsion. No one knows exactly what the item is, but they will
know in what direction it lies and when they are getting close to it
and will be able to identify it instantly on sight. If the item is now in supposed to be the same age. After proving to the party who he really
the hands of someone who will use it for just reasons, the characters is, the old man tells them of a cave not far from here where he went
may have to find an alternative solution if they wish to take away the into the cave a man, but emerged a frail, shadow of his former self.
item and hide it again. The item has a powerful curse on it that affects
those who keep it in their possession or use it for an extended period.
The Blood Fountain
Deep in the heart of the Blisterwood Forest lies the Blood
While traveling through a seldom-traveled part of the country, Fountain. Drinking of the fount’s enchanted blood confers great strength
the PC’s come across the remains of a caravan. The caravan appears and fortitude, but abuse of the fountain leads to a corrupting disease that
to have come under siege by some unknown force and succumbed inexorably turns one to evil. Many years ago, the Uisel, an order of elf
to their attackers. The caravan bares the markings of a rather well paladins, destroyed the evil cult that protected the Blood Fountain, but
known band of explorers. The attack has recently happened and were unable to destroy the artifact itself. Instead, they placed a permanent
there is evidence that the attackers took prisoners. There are tracks garrison there and destroyed all record of the fount, or so they hoped.
leading away from the attack in the direction of nearby hills. The party discovers the sole remaining reference to the
Blood Fountain, a map, a message or simply a reference in
As the PC’s approach a small village along the way a large codex of arcane knowledge. Further investigation
to their next stop, they notice that there are not the reveals a suspicious lack of any other information
normal sounds that should be coming from the about the Blood Fountain and raises the ire of the
village. No dogs barking, no children playing Uisel. Confronting the order is only the first hurdle:
loudly, no sounds of machinery not even insects over the years, the garrison posted at the Blood
in the background. Once inside the village, the Fountain has fallen under its evil sway and have
PC’s find the townsfolk dead from an illness. Every come under the control of Pavest, a lich and former
one shows varying signs of sickness, and makeshift member of the evil cult that protected the fount.
labs have been assembled with local fauna and other Pavest has great plans, the first stage of which involves
chemicals. Whatever has caused the town’s sickness has not creating an evil army fueled by the Blood Fountain. He is
dissipated and is still highly contagious. Each hour the party stays cunning, powerful, and not about to let the PCs get in the way of
in the village, a Fortitude Save is required. Failure of the Fortitude his vengeance against the Uisel or his domination of the kingdom.
Save means that the party member has caught the illness as well.

The Dead Lover

The party awakens (this includes the whole party, even if there was Dower is a simple priest of a good-aligned god. He is the
a nightly watch as they mysteriously fell asleep) to find the campfire spiritual leader of a small community in the highlands, an area ruled
going and an old man sitting next to it. The old man is a powerful arch by the towering Castle Calier and the debauched Lady Luxana Porine.
mage sent to warn the party about a growing evil in the mountains. An Recently, trouble has come to Dower and his people. Strange beasts
evil so old, nothing remains from the time of its creation. However, roam the roads at night: pitch black horses that race like the wind,
there is an artifact that might be able to force the evil back into slumber. huge swarms of bats and packs of sleek, white wolves. Dower himself
The old man is familiar to one of the party members. However, they are has fallen ill. His nights are restless and he can be heard crying out in
his sleep, but no one can wake him until dawn. His waking hours are In the meantime, the kingdom’s defenses are greatly
spent in a haggard state and he often lapses into incoherent mumbling. weakened, and the neighboring nation of Palurn quietly prepares
Meanwhile, raucous debaucheries in Castle Calier continue unabated. for war. They expect a swift victory, for Kyle Waln is their own
Lady Porine is a powerful vampire who delights in corrupting agent. Long years of careful planning, espionage and magical
moral men like Dower. She has dominated him for some weeks now research have placed the Waln family in good standing with the
and at night uses an enhanced nightmare spell to trouble his soul further. Alcair dynasty, unquestioningly under the evil sway of Palurn, and
In his nightmares, Dower is a powerful noble in a distant land where in possession of an artifact which is slowly killing King Alcair.
he lives a decadent life of evil with his lover, a disguised Luxana. This is the seed for a series of adventures. The party is one of those
sent out by Kyle Waln. Their quest is harrowing but fruitless. Along
the kingdom s border, they witness the forming Palurian army, and
The Beast of Erinton must escape with this intelligence. The news is reported to Kyle
A terrible beast is killing commoners and peasants in the city Waln, of course, and he attempts to have the PCs assassinated.
of Erinton. For some time the attacks went unnoticed, but one month The PCs must expose the traitor and avert the coming war.
ago the mayor’s daughter, Isa Horun, was slain while visiting
the ill in the Low Quarters. Now, the entire city lives
in fear, and the beast continues to elude the Silver Corruption
Palm, the city s guards. There are only a handful of A ravening dire bear, usually a creature of
survivors, and their reports are vague or conflicting, the deep forest, attacks the hamlet of Japic. A
but it is apparent that the beast is some kind of wolf. corrupted wound found on its corpse explains
The beast is actually a fiendish dire wolf, but the bear’s unusual behavior. Only the dwarves
it is only a tool. A powerful summoner, Yarl Colum, that live in the mountains beyond the forest have
controls the dire wolf. Yarl leads a cult opposed to such weapons as to cause the wound. The PCs
the mayor s rule of Erinton. The Bloody Maw seeks traverse the forest to find the dwarves expanding
to use the wolf in order to spread fear and dissension their territory at a furious pace, clear-cutting the forest
amongst the people of Erinton and eventually to overthrow below their mountain in order to fuel their expansion.
Mayor Horun and the Silver Palm. Their ranks include a number The dwarves have found a particularly rich vein of mithral and are
of evil clerics and rogues along with several nobles, the Mayor’s excited about the discovery. But precious ore is not the only thing they have
sister Kalyne and Gerar Fost, the Silver Palm’s second-in-command. found. Their furious mining has awoken dire creatures in the depths of
the mountain; murderous beasts that begin to attack the dwarves. Worse,
the stubborn dwarves are unwilling to admit their troubles and under the
Traitorous Designs sway of a vengeful aranea sorcerer, the dwarf council rebuffs the party.
King Alcair is dying. The disease appears to be magical, but However, there is a small resistance, which entreats the PCs to
not even the most powerful casters in the realm can cure him. The help them. These insurgents are willing to bargain: they will slow their
King s steward, the cleric Kyle Waln, has received an oracular vision destruction of the forest if the party will rid their hearth of its corruption.
from his deity that the King can only be cured by the Tears of Twilight.
The message is vague, but Waln has not hesitated to send out scores of
the King’s best men to search for these Tears, whatever they may be.
 When a kindly druid took Olar under his care, things seemed to turn
Liberators around for the half-elf. However, evil had planted an undeniable seed in
Dissidents in the Gagash, a goblin tribe, want to leave and start him, making Olar a difficult student. His druid patron finally sent Olar away.
their own clan, following a charismatic and non-violent seer. Their Now, alone again and burning with anger, Olar uses his
tyrannical chieftain, Wapak Spiderskewer, refuses their entreaties and druidic abilities to wreak havoc on those who have wronged him.
punishes the dissidents incessantly. One cult member, Suza, manages to He has created a special salve that twists treants into wrathful
escape and entreats the party to liberate her fellows. Faced with the party’s machines of evil and has already directed his minions to destroy the
prowess and internal dissention, Wapak allows the dissidents to leave. grove of his former master. Now, Olar marches which his treants to
However, months ago, he planted a spy amongst the cultists. While the village that had exiled him. There will be no ransom or mercy.
the PCs escort the cultists to a new home, the spy helps scouts from the Gagash
track the party’s movements. Wapak leads a war party to the cults new home
and attacks when he’s certain the party has left. Again, Suza manages to
escape the carnage and finds the PCs once more. Wapak, not content merely
Cold Flame
A single centaur, wounded and confused, stumbles from the
with punishing the dissidents, is now bent on vengeance and is creating forest, mumbling only something about the living shadows
alliances with several goblin tribes to hunt down the party. and the cold flame. Even when his wounds are healed,
he remains incoherent until his wisdom is restored.
Gerick’s tribe lived peacefully alongside a
Flight of the Gorgons tribe of wild elves for centuries. A month ago, the
In the mountain valley of Harcor, a flight of harpies elf tribe suddenly disappeared with hardly a trace.
are corralling entire herds of gorgons. The flight is led Gerick led a small band of warriors to search for
by the harpy Ranger known simply as Piercing. Piercing their long-time allies, and managed to track them
has been a threat to the area for years, but has recently to a ruined village at the forest’s edge. But the
subjugated a flight of her own and now begins to further elves were different: twisted by a foul enchantress,
her ambitions to control the entire mountain range. There are they captured and tortured Gerick and his companions.
few civilized settlements anywhere near Harcor, but a small tribe The torture consisted of throwing the centaurs deep into
of unusually intelligent hill giants calls the mountain valley home. the catacombs beneath the ruined village temple, where dwelt
The hill giants, once their trust is earned by the PCs, are powerful numerous undead horrors. Gerick’s ravings allude to the shadows and
allies. However, Piercing’s flight is becoming a true menace, especially allips that he encountered there, and their strength draining attacks.
now that she has found an ally in Turnoi, a juvenile red dragon. Together, Now, the enchantress and her subjugated minions hunt the
Piercing and Turnoi have managed to create a few half-dragon gorgons rest of Gerick’s tribe, hurling their captives into the catacombs and
and have mated themselves to produce a clutch of half-dragon harpies. cruelly betting on how long they will survive. With the new influx
of victims, the number of undead in the catacombs grows, and
they have begun to wander outside, menacing the forest at large.
The Root of Evil
An evil druid is corrupting the treants of the forest. Olar is a
disgruntled half-elf, denigrated by both of his parents’ communities
and finally cast out of his village for killing his brother. He
spent long years in the depths of the forest, barely surviving.
OPEN GAME LICENSE Version 1.0a which specifically excludes the Open Game Game Content You are copying, modify- Content using the name of any Contributor
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W
hat follows is a scrap of

BIG LIST
trivia . . . my collection of
RPG plots, in abstract
form. I built this by exam-
The
ining the premises of hun-
dreds of published adventures for all
systems (including those systems
dear and departed from print), trying
to boil them down to common
denominators. The results are pre-
sented here: arbitrary, and sometimes
redundant. Nevertheless, I turn to
A GM’s Aid by S. John Ross
Version two of RPG Plots
this list when I’m stuck for a fresh
premise for next week’s session of my
campaign, whatever that campaign
might happen to be about at the
Any Old Port the PCs). If the bad guys cross the
adventure’s “finish line” (cross the
county line, make the warp jump,
time. It helps me keep from falling
into thematic ruts (my least favorite
in a Storm etc.) there’s no way to pursue them
beyond it.
kind). With any luck, it might serve
The PCs are seeking shelter from the
a similar function for you.
elements or some other threat, and
come across a place to hole up. They Blackmail
Note: The “plots” are arranged in
find that they have stumbled across
alphabetical order by title. Since Usually through trickery (but some-
something dangerous, secret, or
the titles are arbitrary, this serves times by digging into the PCs’ past),
supernatural, and must then deal
no useful function at all. And if an antagonist has something to hold
with it in order to enjoy a little rest.
you want shakespearean five-act over the heads of the PCs and make
hoozits, plot trees, Man Versus them jump. This could be any kind of
Common Twists & Themes: The
Himself and other Serious Literary threat from physical to social, but it
shelter contains the cause of the
Bunkum, try Writer’s Digest. This depends on the villain having some-
threat the PCs were trying to avoid.
ain’t Oxford, baby. thing - even if it’s information - that
The shelter houses a Hidden Base
(q.v.). The PCs must not only strug- others don’t have. Now, he is pulling
the strings of the PCs, telling them

❉ Handy Tip!❉
gle for shelter, they must struggle to
survive. The place is a legitimate to do things they don’t want to. The
shelter of some kind, but the PCs PCs must end the cycle of blackmail,
are not welcome, and must win deprive the villain of his edge, and
hearts or minds to earn their bed for keep him temporarily satisfied while
Don’t Panic. A lot of GMs come to
the night. doing it.
the Big List only once they’ve
begun to panic. Don’t crucify
Common Twists & Themes: The
yourself just yet! In particular,
don’t fuss too much over plot, as Better Late adventure hook involves the PCs
many GMs do. All of the plots doing the villain a good turn, which
here can provide a tried-and-true, Than Never allows him to take advantage of them
(very cynical!). To succeed, the PCs
simple structure, and structure is
all you need a plot for in a role- Some bad guys have arrived and done must contact other folks that are also
playing game. Remember to play some bad guy things. The PCs were being used. The PCs aren’t the vic-
to the strengths of the medium – none the wiser. The bad guys have tims at all, but somebody they care
most all of which are about char- now made good their escape, and the about/are charged to protect, is.
acter, not plot. Only in an RPG can PCs have caught wind of it in time to
you experience a fictional charac-
ter on a personal, first-hand level.
chase them down before they make it
back to their lair, their home nation,
Breaking and
Outline your adventures to make
the most of that. Any plot that
behind enemy lines, etc.
Entering
contains more than a basic struc- Common Twists & Themes: The bad
ture is more likely to pull attention Mission objective: enter the danger-
guys escaped by stealing a con-
away from character, and that’s ous place, and retrieve the vital din-
veyance that the PCs know better
burning the bridge for firewood. gus or valuable person. Overcome the
than they do. The bad guys duck
All you need to do is be ready to area’s defenses to do so.
down a metaphorical (or literal) side-
roll with the curves and have fun
road, trying to hide or blend into an
hamming it up. Relax. Game. Common Twists & Themes: The goal
environment (often one hostile to
is not to extract a thing, but to
destroy a thing or interfere with a
process (kill the force-screen genera-
Copyright ©1999, 2002 by S. John Ross. The
Handy Tip stopped already, and you’ve
strayed into the Boring Legalese Zone! Aieee!
1 tor, assassinate the evil king, stop
the spell from being cast, wreck the
invasion plans, close the portal). The
Don’t Eat The
❉ Handy Tip!❉
goal has moved. The goal is informa-
tion, which must be broadcast or
otherwise released from the area as Purple Ones
soon as it is found. The job must be
done without alerting anyone. The The PCs are stranded in a strange Double up. A nice basic method
PCs don’t know the place is danger- place, and must survive by finding is the chameleon game, where
ous. The PCs must replace the thing food and shelter, and then worry an adventure presents itself as
with another thing. about getting back home. one type of story in the “hook
layer” but reveals itself as some-
thing else. Sometimes, the switch
Capture the Flag Common Twists & Themes: The PCs
must survive only for a short period
is innocent and natural – Don’t
Eat the Purple Ones, for example,
of time, until help arrives, the ship makes a good hook for Running
The PCs must secure a military target and/or radio is repaired, or some
for the good guys. There are bad guys the Gauntlet, and Most Peculiar,
such thing (in “repair” scenarios, Momma is a logical lead for
there that prefer not to be secured. sometimes the PCs must discover
The fundamental tactical scenario. Pandora’s Box. Sometimes, the
some fact about the local environ- switch is something more sinister
ment that will make such repairs or deliberate, with NPCs selling
Common Twists & Themes: The PCs possible). the adventure as one thing when
must assemble and/or train a force to
it’s really another. This can still be
do the job with them. The PCs are
working with flawed intelligence and Elementary, My innocent, in its way, if the NPCs
have been duped themselves, or
the target zone isn’t as described.
The PCs must coordinate their own
efforts with an ally group (possibly
Dear Watson if they’re just desperate for help
and worried that nobody will be
eager to tackle the real problem.
putting aside rivalries to do so). The A crime or atrocity has been commit-
target zone includes a population of ted; the PCs must solve it. They must
innocent people, fragile goods, or interview witnesses (and prevent
some other precious thing that must- them from being killed), gather clues
n’t be harmed in the crossfire. (and prevent them from being stolen factions (and chance and misfortune)
or ruined). They must then assemble try to deprive them of the thing in

Clearing The Hex proof to deliver to the authorities, or

serve as personal ministers of justice.
their care.

Common Twists & Themes: The

There is a place where bad things thing or person is troublesome, and
Common Twists & Themes: The PCs
live. The PCs must make it safe for tries to escape or sidetrack the PCs.
are working to clear an innocent
nice people, systematically clearing it The destination has been destroyed
already accused (possibly them-
of danger. or suborned by the enemy, and the
selves). The PCs must work alongside
a special investigator or are other- PCs must take upon themselves the
Common Twists & Themes: The bad job that either the destination or
wise saddled with an unwanted ally.
things can’t be beaten with direct their charge was meant to do when it
Midway through the adventure, the
conflict. The PCs must learn more got there. The person is a person
PCs are “taken off the case” – their
about them to solve the problem. The attempting a political defection. Safe
invitation/authority to pursue the
Haunted House. The Alien arrival at the destination doesn’t end
matter is closed (often the result of
Infestation. The Wild Forest. the story; the PCs must then bargain
political maneuvering by an antago-
nist). The climax is a courtroom with their charge as their token
Delver’s Delight scene or other arena of judgment.
The scale is highly variable for this
(exchanging money for a hostage, for
instance). The PCs must protect the
type of adventure, from a small- target without the target knowing
The PCs are treasure-hunters, who about it.
have caught wind of a treasure-laden town murder to a planetwide pollu-
ruin. They go to explore it, and must tion scandal.
deal with its supernatural denizens Good Housekeeping
to win the treasure and get out alive. Escort Service The PCs are placed in charge of a
Common Twists & Themes: The The PCs have a valuable object or large operation (a trading company, a
treasure itself is something danger- person, which needs to be taken to a feudal barony, the CIA) and must,
ous. The treasure isn’t in a ruin, but safe place or to its rightful owner, despite lack of experience in such
in a wilderness or even hidden some- etc. They must undertake a danger- things, make it work and thrive.
where “civilized.” The treasure is ous journey in which one or more
someone else’s rightful property. The Common Twists & Themes: The PCs
treasure turns out to have a will of are brought in because something big
its own. is about to happen, and the Old
2 Guard wants a chance to escape. The
peasants, neighbors, employees,
etcetera resent the PCs, because
Long Or Short
their method of inheritance looks
❉
outwardly bad and everybody loved
the old boss. ❉ Handy Tip! Fork When Dining
Help is on the Way Surrender yourself to metaphor. On Elf?
I’ve written the plots in the lan-
guage of (typically very physical) The PCs are a diplomatic vanguard,
A person (church group, nation, action-adventure genres, trying to open up (or shore up)
galaxy) is in a hazardous situation because that’s the basic form of either political or trade relations with
they can’t survive without rescue. roleplaying adventure – but if a strange culture. All they have to do
The PCs are on the job. In some sce- you’re playing on more levels is manage for a day or so among the
narios, the hook is as simple as a dis- than that, the list can still punch strange customs without offending
tant yell or crackly distress signal. its weight. Just remember that anybody . . . and what information
every thing, place, and foe can they have is both incomplete and
Common Twists & Themes: The vic- really be a piece of information, dangerously misleading.
tim(s) is (are) a hostage, or under person, and unhealthy attitude,
siege from enemy forces, and the PCs as surely as a space station can
Common Twists & Themes: The PCs
must deal with the captors or break be a dungeon and a magical
were chosen by somebody who knew
the siege. There is a danger that any residue can be a fingerprint.
they weren’t prepared for it - an NPC
rescue attempts will strand the res-
trying to sabotage the works (pin-
cuers in the same soup as the res-
ning this villain might be necessary
cuees, compounding the problem.
to avert disaster).
The rescuees aren’t people, but ani- ones that get it will be the ones that
mals, robots, or something else. The
“victim” doesn’t realize that he needs
rescuing; he thinks he’s doing some-
can outthink and outrace the others,
deal best with the natives of the Look, Don’t Touch
area, and learn the most about their
thing reasonable and/or safe. The target. Each competing group has its The PCs are working surveillance –
threat isn’t villain-oriented at all; it’s own agenda and resources. spying on a person, gathering infor-
a natural disaster, nuclear meltdown, mation on a beast in the wild, scout-
or disease outbreak. The rescuees Common Twists & Themes: The ing a new sector. Regardless of the
can’t leave; something immobile and natives require the competing fac- scale, the primary conflict (at least
vital must be tended to or dealt with tions to gather before them as pals at the start) is the rule that they are
at the adventure location. The PCs to state their cases. The valuable only to watch, listen and learn. They
begin as part of the rescuees, and thing was en route somewhere are not to make contact or let them-
must escape and gather forces or when its conveyance or courier selves be known.
resources to bring back and proceed wrecked or vanished.
as above. Common Twists & Themes: The tar-

Hidden Base I Beg Your get gets itself in trouble and the
PCs must decide whether to break
the no-contact rule in order to
The PCs, while traveling or exploring,
Pardon? mount a rescue.
come across a hornet’s nest of bad
guys, preparing for Big Badness. They
must either find some way to get
The PCs are minding their own busi-
ness when they are attacked or Manhunt
word to the good guys, or sneak in threatened. They don’t know why.
They must solve the mystery of their Someone is gone: they’ve run away,
and disable the place themselves, or gotten lost, or simply haven’t called
a combination of both. attacker’s motives, and in the mean-
time fend off more attacks. They home in a while. Somebody misses
must put two and two together to them or needs them returned. The
Common Twists & Themes: The PCs PCs are called in to find them and
deal with the problem.
must figure out how to use local bring them back.
resources in order to defend them-
selves or have a chance against Common Twists & Themes: The PCs
have something that the bad guys Common Twists & Themes: The tar-
the inhabitants. get has been kidnapped (possibly to
want - but they don’t necessarily
realize it. The bad guys are out for specifically lure the PCs). The target
How Much For revenge for a dead compatriot from
a previous adventure. The bad guys
is dangerous and escaped from a
facility designed to protect the pub-
Just The Dingus? have mistaken the PCs for some-
body else.
lic. The target is valuable and
escaped from a place designed to
keep him safe, cozy, and convenient-
Within a defined area, something ly handy. The target has a reason for
important and valuable exists. The
PCs (or their employers) want it, but
so do one or more other groups. The
3 leaving that the PCs will sympathize
with. The target has stumbled across
 Most Peculiar, help someone in trouble. They were
brought there by accident, as a by-

❉ Handy Tip!❉
product of something strange and
Momma secret. Some of the PCs’ enemies were
transported along with them (or sep-
Something both bad and inexplicable arately), and now they have a new
Double up, part two: Some very is happening (racial tension is being battleground, and innocents to con-
satisfying adventures weave two fired up in town, all the power is vince which guys are the good guys.
separate (or thematically-relat- out, the beer supply is drained, it’s
ed) plots together. An easy way
to make this work is to make
snowing in July, Voyager still has
fans, hordes of aliens are eating all Ounces of
one plot physical and the other
plot personal. That way just one
the cheese), and a lot of people are
very troubled by it. The PCs must Prevention
of the plots puts demand on the track the phenomenon to its source,
PCs’ location, while the other and stop it. A villain or organization is getting
one can tag along anywhere. ready to do something bad, and the
For example: the PCs are hired Common Twists & Themes: The PCs PCs have received a tip-off of some
to escort a prince to a summit so are somehow unwittingly responsible sort. They must investigate to find
he can appear before the mass- for the whole thing. What seems to out more about the caper, and then
es and end a war (a physical be a problem of one nature (techno- act to prevent it.
and simple example of Escort logical, personal, biological, chemi-
Service), but on the way, they cal, magical, political, etc) is actually Common Twists & Themes: The ini-
realize that the poor guy is suici- a problem of an alternate one. tial tip-off was a red herring meant
dal because state obligations to distract the PCs from the actual
have ruined his love life, and
must prevent his self-destruction
by either fixing the problem or
No One Has Soiled caper. There are two simultaneous
Bad Things on the way, and no
apparent way to both of them – how
convincing him to shoulder the
burden (a personal and
The Bridge to choose?
metaphorical example of
Ounces of Prevention).
The PCs are assigned to guard a sin-
gle vital spot (anything from a Pandora’s Box
mountain pass to a solar system)
from impending or possible attack. Somebody has tinkered with Things
They must plan their defensive strat- Man Ought Not, or opened a portal to
egy, set up watches, set traps, and so the Mean People Dimension, cracked
on, and then deal with the enemy a wall at the state prison, or sum-
another adventure (either as protago-
when it arrives. moned an ancient Babylonian god
nist or victim), which the PCs must
into a penthouse. Before the PCs can
then undertake themselves. The miss-
Common Twists & Themes: The even think of confronting the source
ing “person” is an entire expedition
intelligence the PCs was given turns of the trouble, they must deal with
or pilgrimage of some kind. The tar-
out to be faulty, but acting on the the waves of trouble already released
get isn’t a runaway or missing/lost –
new information could result in by it: monsters, old foes out for
they’re just someone that the PCs
greater danger - but so could not act- vengeance, curious aliens who think
have been hired to track down (pos-
ing on it, and the PCs must choose or cars/citizens/McDonald’s hamburgers
sibly under false pretenses).
create a compromise. The PCs learn resemble food, and so forth.

Missing Memories that the enemy has good and sympa-

thetic reason for wanting to destroy Common Twists & Themes: The PCs
the protected spot. can’t simply take the released bad-
One or more of the PCs wakes up ness to the mat; they have to collect
with no memory of the recent past, it and shove it back into the source
and now they find themselves in Not In Kansas before it the adventure can really
some kind of trouble they don’t end. The PCs are drawn in to the
understand. The PCs must find the The PCs are minding their own busi- source and must solve problems on
reason for the memory lapse, and ness and find themselves transported the other side before returning to
solve any problems they uncover in to a strange place. They must figure this one. A secret book, code, or
the meantime. out where they are, why they are other rare element is necessary to
there and how to escape. plug the breach (maybe just the fel-
Common Twists & Themes: The for- low who opened it). A close cousin to
getful PCs voluntarily suppressed or Common Twists & Themes: They this plot is the basic “somebody has
erased the memories, and they find were brought there specifically to traveled into the past and messed
themselves undoing their own work. with our reality” story.

4
Quest For the to win; they just wish to prevent the

Handy Tip! ❉ villain from winning. The event is a

Sparkly Hoozits ❉ deliberate test of the PCs abilities

(for entry into an organization, for
example). The event becomes more
Somebody needs a dingus (to fulfill a Throw yourself a curve. Your play- deadly than it’s supposed to.
prophecy, heal the monarch, prevent ers will, anyway, so practice early.
Pick two random entries from the
a war, cure a disease, or what have
you). The PCs must find a dingus. Big List and make your adventure Stalag 23
Often an old dingus, a mysterious on those, no matter what comes
dingus, and a powerful dingus. The up – the first one is the hook The PCs are imprisoned, and must
PCs must learn more about it to track layer; the second is the meat of engineer an escape, overcoming any
the adventure. If the same entry guards, automatic measures, and geo-
it down, and then deal with taking it
comes up both times, go with it! graphic isolation their prison imposes
from wherever it is.
Two layers can have a similar on them.
structure but very different roots
Common Twists & Themes: The din- or details.
gus is incomplete when found (one of Common Twists & Themes:
the most irritating and un-fun plot Something has happened in the out-
twists in the universe). Somebody side world and the prison security
already owns it (or recently stole it, Common Twists & Themes: The place has fallen lax because of it. The PCs
sometimes with legitimate claim or isn’t dangerous at all, and the vari- have been hired to “test” the prison
cause). The dingus is information, or ous “dangers” are actually attempts - they aren’t normal inmates. Other
an idea, or a substance, not a specific to communicate with the party by prisoners decide to blow the whistle
dingus. The PCs must “go undercover” some agent or another. for spite or revenge. The PCs are
or otherwise infiltrate a group or undercover to spy on a prisoner, but
are then mistaken for real inmates
society, gaining the dingus by guile
or stealth. Safari and kept incarcerated. The PCs must
escape on a tight schedule to get to
The PCs are on a hunting expedition, to another adventure outside the walls.
Recent Ruins capture or kill and elusive and prized

A town, castle, starship, outpost, or

creature. They must deal with its envi-
ronment, its own ability to evade them,
Take Us To
other civilized construct is lying in
ruins. Very recently, it was just
and possibly its ability to fight them.
Memphis And Don’t
dandy. The PCs must enter the
ruins, explore them, and find out
Common Twists & Themes: The crea-
ture is immune to their devices and Slow Down
what happened. weapons. There are other people active-
ly protecting the creature. The crea- The PCs are on board a populated
Common Twists & Themes: Whatever ture’s lair allows the PCs to stumble conveyance (East Indiaman, Cruise
ruined the ruins (including mean onto another adventure. Ship, Ferry, Sleeper Starship), when it
people, weird radiation, monsters, a is hijacked. The PCs must take action
while the normals sit and twiddle.
new race, ghosts) is still a threat; the
PCs must save the day. The inhabi- Score One for the
tants destroyed themselves. The Common Twists & Themes: The
“ruins” are a derelict ship or space- Home Team “hijackers” are government agents
ship, recently discovered. The “ruin” pulling a complicated caper, forcing
is a ghost town, stumbled across as The PCs are participants in a race, the PCs to choose sides. The hijackers
the PCs travel - but the map says the contest, tournament, scavenger hunt don’t realize there is a secondary
town is alive and well. or other voluntary bit of sport. They danger that must be dealt with, and
must win. any attempt to convince them is
Running the Common Twists & Themes: The
viewed as a trick. The normals are
unhelpful or even hostile to the PCs

Gauntlet other contestants are less honest,

and the PCs must overcome their
because they think the PCs are just
making matters worse.
attempts to win dishonestly. The PCs
The PCs must travel through a haz-
ardous area, and get through without
are competing for a deeper purpose
than victory, such as to keep another Troublemakers
being killed, robbed, humiliated, contestant safe, or spy on one, or
debased, diseased, or educated by just to get into the place where the A bad guy (or a group of them, or
whatever is there. The troubles they event goes down. The PCs don’t wish multiple parties) is kicking up a
encounter are rarely personal in ruckus, upsetting the neighbors, poi-
nature - the place itself is the “vil- soning the reservoirs, or otherwise
lain” of the adventure.
5 causing trouble. The PCs have to go
where the trouble is, locate the bad
guys, and stop the party.
 ❉ ❉ ❉
❉ Handy Tip! ❉ ❉
And finally, here’s The Little List of succeed without access to powers, thwart? Which innocents to rescue?
Nearly-Universal Plot Twists That equipment, or other resources they’re Which value or ideal to uphold? The
Work With Almost Any Plot Ever: The used to having. The villain is a recur- PCs must make a personal sacrifice
PCs must work alongside an NPC or ring foil. Another group comparable or others will suffer. The PCs aren’t
organization they’d rather not pal to the PCs has already failed to suc- asked to solve the problem, just to
around with (those who are normally ceed, and their bodies/equipment/etc render aid against a backdrop of
rivals or villains, or just a snooty provide clues to help the PCs do bet- larger trouble: get in a shipment of
expert sent along to “help” them, etc). ter. There are innocents nearby that supplies, sneak out a patient that
The victims are really villains and the the PCs must keep safe while dealing needs medical help, or so on. One of
villains are really victims. The PCs with the adventure. The adventure the PCs is (or is presumed to be) a lost
meet others who can help them, but begins suddenly and without warning heir, fulfillment of a prophecy, a vol-
won’t unless the PCs agree to help or buildup; the PCs are tossed into the cano god, or some other savior
them with their own causes. The vil- fire of action in scene one. The PCs and/or patsy, which is why the PCs
lain is somebody the PCs know per- must pretend to be someone else, or must do whatever the adventure is
sonally, even respect or love (or pretend to be themselves but with about. There is another group of PC-
someone they fall for, mid-story). The very different allegiances, values or like characters “competing” on the
PCs must succeed without violence, or tastes. The PCs can’t do everything same adventure, possibly with very
with special discretion. The PCs must and must choose: which evil to different goals for the outcome.

Common Twists & Themes: The PCs which case the PCs must both play be the only voice of reason to still
must not harm the perpetrator(s); National Geographic and simultane- the religious fervor, racial prejudice,
they must be bagged alive and well. ously try to escape with their skin, anti-monster sentiment, or whatever
The bad guys have prepared some- sanity, and credit rating) or the place else is the source of conflict.
thing dangerous and hidden as itself is very valuable and wonderful,
“insurance” if they are captured. The and something else there is keen on Common Twists & Themes: The PCs
“bad guy” is a monster or dangerous making sure the PCs don’t let anyone find themselves on the receiving end
animal (or an intelligent creature else know. Other potential conflicts of the adventure. Take any of the
that everybody thinks is a monster involve damage to the PCs’ con- plots here and reverse them, placing
or animal). The “bad guy” is a veyance or communication equip- the PCs in the position where NPCs
respected public figure, superior offi- ment, in which case this becomes (often the villain, fugitive, etcetera)
cer, or someone else abusing their Don’t Eat the Purple Ones. normally are. Instead of hunting,
authority, and the PCs might meet they must be hunted. Instead of fix-
hostility from normally-helpful quar-
ters who don’t accept that the bad We’re On The ing, they must avoid getting “fixed”
themselves (ow). Alternately, leave a
guy is bad. A balance of power per-
petuates the trouble, and the PCs Outside Looking In classic plot intact but turn the twists
upside down, making them twistier
must choose sides to tip the balance (or refreshingly untwisty).
and fix things. The “trouble” is diplo- Any of the basic plots in this list can
matic or political, and the PCs must be reengineered with the PCs on the

❉ Dedicated! ❉
make peace, not war. outside of it. Either the PCs are
accompanying other characters in the

Uncharted Waters midst of such a plot (often being

called on to defend the plot from the
outside, as it were), or they are The Big List of RPG Plots is dedi-
The PCs are explorers, and their goal minding their own business when the cated to the many, many fans
is to enter an unknown territory and others involved in the plot show up, who’ve let me know how helpful
scope it out. Naturally, the job isn’t and must pick sides or simply resist. it’s been, and especially to those
just going to be surveying and draw- who’ve helped make it better:
For instance, with Any Old Port In
ing sketches of local fauna; some- Peter Barnard, Glen Barnett, Colin
The Storm, the PCs could already be
thing is there, something fascinating Clark, David Lott, Jason Puckett,
enjoying (or native to) the shelter
and threatening. Marc Rees, Carrie Schutrick, and
when a strange group arrives. If the
Jeff Yaus, plus a few mysterious
“the PCs are unwelcome” variant is
heroes who never let me know
Common Twists & Themes: Either employed, then perhaps the PCs will their true identities. This is for all
the place itself is threatening (in
the GMs out there logging the
TM hours to give their players an
a

Creativity. Unbound.
6 enjoyable game.