A Life Full of Adventure

Setup: In an uninhabited locale, far from the protection of a city or keep, sits an unassuming temple to [insert an adventure appropriate deity from your setting]. The inhabitants of the temple are kind and inviting. They offer to feed the party and allow them to rest as long as they like. It doesn’t take long to realize that all the clergy are unarmed women. There’s neither a man nor a weapon in sight. GM: The priestesses are all weretigers. They are curious about people and events outside the temple. They are not worried about attack. Don’t hesitate to have something/someone attack the temple while the PCs are there if you wish. However, every local creature knows better than to invade the temple. If you would like this to be more of a mystery for the party to figure out, here are some examples of clues they might find: Easy: The priestesses all have either black hair or are bright orange redheads. Easy: All the priestesses have gold or amber eyes. Easy: The priestesses move almo...

Orc Wereboars are a specialized type of lycanthrope that the goblinoids have long been developing. Usually grouped in a troop of no less than 6, the shock troops are a self-contained fighting unit. When arriving at a battle site, 1/2 of the troops will transform into an orc/boar hybrid form while the other 1/2 of the troop attacks with missile weapons. When the hybrid creatures are in melee range, the remaining members of the unit will change into hybrid form and join the attack. Orc Wearboars follow all the other rules for Lycanthropes listed in the Basic DMG. Depending on surrounding fauna, they may ride large war-boars into battle, but they inevitably dismount once changing to their hybrid form due to the berserker rage that overtakes them. Orc Wearboars have been bred to possess the best characteristics from either form when in hybrid form. D&D Basic Stats: AC: 4 HD: 4+1 (THAC0: 15*) Move: 150’ Attacks: 1 tusk/bite Damage: 2d6 No. Appearing: 6+ Save As: F:4 ...

On the mountain peak, Sherrad lifted his hammer and roared in defiance to the thunder and the driving rain. “Show your faces, cowards” he yelled to the sky. There was never an answer from above. This time, however, there was an answer from below. “Your arm is injured, master. Come. Let me bind it for you.” Looking down, Sherrad saw Mark standing unconcerned over the body of a beastman but looking straight up at him. The physician’s apprentice was no good in a fight, but he could forever silence those who weren’t quite dead at the end of the battle. And he was becoming a darned good battle medic. Sherrad descended. The cut on did burn, now that the boy mentioned it. Rayaellana appeared from behind a tree. “The rest are dead.” Sherrad stared at her for a few seconds before turning back to Mark. The fact that the she calmly related the death of multiple beastmen was uncanny. She was barely over five feet tall and didn’t carry a weapon. With her spells and her unarmed fighting style, Sh...

Most people ignore the disheveled man [pushing the shopping cart/driving the rusty old Ford/driving the rusty old landspeeder] filled with junk he seemingly picks up at random along his day. He has a reputation for being smelly and none too bright. Those who know Sully, however, know that he is a treasure trove of hard to find parts and harder to find information. To those in the know, Sully can reach deep into his carrier and often pull out the part they are looking for. If not, he can have it for them the next time he is in their area. Sully is a wanderer, constantly moving from settlement to settlement. He wears badges all over his patchwork coat. To the untrained eye, these badges merely seem to hold his coat together. To streetwise people, these badges are signs of personal protection given to him by every major gang/group around. He is also rumored to have magic that protects him from mutants/monsters. To the outsider, he's not worth attacking. To the knowledgeable, he's ...

There are twenty questions going around about different ways DMs run games. I decided to add my 2 cents. I answered them for my D&D (2e) game. Maybe I should answer them for my WarHammer game next... 1. Ability scores generation method? Roll six stats using 4d6, drop the lowest. Arrange in order desired to create the character you want to play. 2. How are death and dying handled? 0 HP is unconscious. -10 HP is dead. 3. What about raising the dead? If you have it, cast it. If you can get to a temple, you might find someone who can cast it…if you can afford the price (money, quest, whatever). 4. How are replacement PCs handled? I’ll work the replacement PC in as soon as I can. This usually only take a few minutes and a bit of liberty with the new PC’s background, as allowed me by the player. Or, the player can jump right in if there are other NPCs around that they want to turn into PCs. 5. Initiative: individual, group, or something else? Individual. Let there be some consequence ...

F-, Tonight I need an item forgotten in a closet in the Grazlov estate in town. Guard dogs roam inside the gate, but they will be overfed and relatively sated. The sides of the house are less guarded than the front or back. I will have the rear window on the right side of the house left unlocked. The closet you are looking for is up the backstairs on the left before the privy. Bring me the empty looking sack lying on the floor on the right wall. -S Frendei was chilled to the bone. The Halfling stood in the pouring rain, trying hard to scout the stone mansion ahead. At his feet, rivulets of water wore hard at the muddy road. The job had to be done tonight, regardless of the weather. Pulling his boots from the sucking mud, Frendei slipped around the main gate to the shadows along the side of the house. Frendei examined the window. It was unlocked, as promised. A little grease on the moving parts would help make sure he wasn’t heard. The party inside the house was loud enough to cover any...

GM idea From Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles Keep the players on the ropes for extended periods. Keep on the Borderlands was fun. The players had the Caves of Chaos to explore. They could poke their noses down any cave they chose and adventure until they felt like they were done for the day. They would either run out of spells or run out of supplies and head back to town. Sometimes the adventures in the caves only lasted a half-hour, game time, before heading back to the keep. This is a good introduction, but experienced players can handle more of a challenge. From what I’ve seen in the Sarah Connor Chronicles (and maybe all the Terminator movies, I don’t remember) is that the party gets beat up by the terminator, somehow manages to escape, and then the terminator catches up again before the party is fully healed. The party starts each encounter with fewer resources, whether they are bullets, escape vehicles, or hit points (if you will). If the show was a game, the players...