My game prep often goes like this:
1. Create a name for a town
2. Come up with 2-5 ridiculous things happening in the town
3. Write the NPC's associated with each of the above things
4. Use those NPC's to generate the main locations of the town, and stock the related NPC's in obvious locations.
5. Seed 2-3 jobs / quests per ridiculous thing amongst the various NPC's.
6. Profit
As my entry for Table Jam this year, I took all the ideas I've ever come up with or used in a game, and put them below! Hope you enjoy; if you use this to write an adventure site, let me know!!
d66 *Things Going On* in A Bog-Standard Fantasy Town
11 cannibal cult. Every d4 1 winter 2 spring 3 summer 4 fall festival they kidnap an innocent partygoer, cut their leg off and eat it. For the duration of the festival, their dark deity regrows the leg, at which point, they cut the leg off again, and eat it again. Current record is 24 legs consumed from one person in a 12 hour period.
12 noble (doesn't get out much) with magic powers that have made them d4 1 angry 2 socially anxious 3 deaf and mute 4 blind. If they get stressed, wild magic surges. Quite rich and rob-able.
13 father of two bit by a goblin. Slowly turning into a goblin himself. He attacked and bit two mercenaries. They're hot on his tail, as the only way to avoid their own transformation is to kill the father. His kids are trying to hide the change by feeding him locally sourced (read: stolen) goat.
14 the most religious-y person in town is having an affair with someone who's married. Everyone's cool with the affair part (it's that kind of religion) but the married person's kid(s) hate it. Trying to Parent Trap Mom and Dad back together, and would love some help.
15 the sheriff's daughter shacked up with the deputy. The deputy killed the sheriff when the sheriff discovered them together. The couple is now on the run.
16 the beast comes at night to take the d4 1 weakest 2 strongest 3 hottest 4 ones it can get. It can be repelled with d4 1 briers 2 thyme 3 copper 4 dogs
21 a mage magically caged three ancient beasts. That was a thousand years ago. The cage is failing, letting the beasts run loose on prime numbered days, but also forcing them back home at the end of those days.
22 someone killed unjustly is back as an unsleeping revenant. They cannot rest until they avenge their own death, but don't know that yet. They have attempted to get rest by d4 1 stealing alcohol 2 killing other people 3 killing themselves 4 getting other people to kill them.
23 The town hero is infected by something. They're stronger, but angrier, and growing more so each day. The hero's friends try to hide it, but it'll come out one way or the other.
24 A new d4 1 Company 2 Kingdom 3 Free League 4 Socialist Republic is attempting to take over the town government, and doing pretty well at it. If the new boss takes over, they're pretty quickly going to enslave everyone.
25 A wounded farmer arrives; bandits killed their family and took their farm. The "bandits" are themselves farmers from the next town over, seeking refuge from invading d4 1 undead 2 horse archers 3 mercenaries 4 holy knights. In d4 days, that group will attack this town.
26 A wedding. Amidst the preparations, a wizened sage and several helpers pour molten iron into precut grooves in the ground, forming intricate patterns of concentric circles. The groom has been possessed by a powerful, ancient demon, and the sage is planning a mid-ceremony exorcism. Too bad he's fueling it with the life-energy of all the guests in attendance.
31 The town council is considering criminal charges against d4 1-2 the party's favorite NPC 3-4 a party member. If a majority of the council votes against that person, they will be executed. But, for the right price or task or job or argument, maybe the PC's could sway a few votes.
32 Someone with a particularly useful talent has been kidnapped. The kidnappers intend to use the talents of this person for their own d4 1 terroristic 2 criminal 3 religious 4 petty ends. The kidnappers are actually law enforcement in disguise.
33 The well has been poisoned, and no one knows who did it. It was the sweet old grandparent, who is tired of all the changes these days, and wishes everyone would chill the heck out. They honestly intended to put a sleeping potion down there, but mixed it up with cyanide.
34 Beatific community which welcomes everyone with open arms, but before too long, they begin speaking of the conversion of the Father. The father is a black stone statue of a former leader. It can see the present and the future, but does not know the past, and communicates telepathically. In rituals of worship, secretes a black gooey substance, which converts ingest. Those who consume it become convinced that statue knows what is best for them and for the world. You can't stay unless you convert.
35 Two brothers, each wizards, created a massive tower, and then concealed it within an ordinary looking grain store. The older brother killed the younger, just as the younger trapped the older in an imprisonment spell. After a thousand years, the tower is leaking out of the grain store back into the real world. The younger brother's ghost seeks help to keep the older brother contained.
36 A cult. Once a year, they push a child through a portal to their deity in return for magical power. This lets them maintain peace and prosperity in their part of the world, but the kids never return. Everyone says the deity is benevolent.....
41 Killer cows. A lot of people have been dying, and it's all due to aliens that look like cows with swords, invisibility, heat vision and laser. They've also got a spaceship. Conceal themselves in the cow herds throughout this area. People will keep dying until they are stopped.
42 The child of the richest person in town is missing. They were most recently seen with their older sibling, who is a notorious drug addict. The older sibling has no recollection of what happened. The village is all too happy to torture the truth out of the older sibling, but the child just wandered off, twisted their ankle and is stuck in a dell.
43 A cult gave birth to a new god - this little deity didn't like that. It killed them all but not before the leader of the cult sealed it into the basement of the temple. No one has been down there since, and the only one who knows what really happened is the cult leader, who still attempts to feed the deity every fortnight. With people. Maybe the PC's?
44 A holy order of knights has sworn themselves to the service of the town's leaders. In actuality, they now take stuff from people and say, "the town needs it." Pretty much everyone has had enough, but who's going to kick them out?
45 Someone in town is being hunted because d4 1 they committed very very justified murder 3 a misunderstanding 3 breaking an outdated but culturally important taboo 4 because the people in the town are assholes. They're currently hiding under the floorboards of their mentor, who wants to help them escape town.
46 After the loss of a loved one before their time, a very normal person is driven into necromancy. This village has seen an increase in the deaths of small creatures, including dogs, cats and cows. The past few nights, this normal person has been stalking a drunk widower, hoping to kidnap them and kill them to bring the loved one back.
51 A powerful telepath enthralls four siblings, and then forces two of them to fight to the death in the town bar. The telepath is arrested in the aftermath, pending transit to the big city for their crimes, but the other two siblings want to break the telepath out. They'd love some help, and the town law would love some additional deputies.
52 A gorgeous place, with happy young people who live satisfying lives. However, these normal people regularly lose their minds; attacking those around them before rapidly aging to death. Beneath the town square, they have the giant body of a dead god, which they cannibalize to stay young and happy. Without eating from it, they die, and they're running out of meat.
53 Townspeople get rich, marry the person of their dreams, or become six inches taller, and then randomly kill their neighbors. A deity, the Prince of Stars, contacts people telepathically, promising to grant any wish now in exchange for an undetermined future favor. That favor is always murder. Their prophet lives in the sewer under town, facilitating the telepathic connection and gathering disciples.
54 The sun turns off for an hour each day, leaving this place 20 degrees colder than usual on average. A mage cast a spell to siphon energy from the sun to brew booze faster and better. They would undo the spell, but don't quite know how. It'll only stop if the mage dies or if the sun is repaid all the energy that was taken from it.
55 Religious feud over some incredibly obscure theological issue. The two sides fight in the streets and turn worship services into brawls. One side is led by a young charismatic street preacher, the other by a stodgy old religious leader. Within the week, one or the other will gain enough power to lead a violent purge of the other side, but it'll be a close call which side it will be.
56 A morally good, powerful mage, who has visibly lost the ability to do magic. At night, a clown who attacks everyone associated with an evil organization. They're the same person. The evil organization partitioned this mage's mind, separating the magic from the mage, even though the clown persona still carries out the wishes of the main person.
61 An eclipse. Then, a two headed goat is born. It rains fire and ash. Then, a dog is found dismembered and gutted. The town is *convinced* it is a witch, and will not be satisfied until one burns; if you don't find one, they'll just pick someone. There is no witch. (This one is just Witchburner)
62 A man kills his wife. A woman drowns her children. A child kills their dog. All are found covered in paint. A local painter has created a work which drive all to see it to murder, and now he is hiring out his work to the highest bidder.
63 On the night of the full moon, a beautiful person, bearing powerful magic, shows up in the town. They give good gifts, heal people, fix buildings, and punish wrongdoers. Then they disappear before dawn. They are actually a wolf, given these abilities by the deity of the hunt. All those they touched or helped will themselves turn into wolves at the next full moon, staying that way forever.
64 A town wins a battle, signs a favorable trade deal, and stocks up on food right before a famine. At a cave outside town, two guards stand watch, letting no one in but the mayor. Inside, a demon immobilized by rot and illness. They are spending the last years of their life helping this town dominate their neighbors simply because they find it funny.
65 A townsperson, dead, covered in moss and mold, grown into the ground. After a deadly plague, only this village remained untouched. The town druid had merged themselves with a tree, loosing a pollen which inoculated the townsfolk against the virus. Now, the pollen is slowly killing people by turning them into plants. The druid-tree can't understand why that's a bad thing.
66 A dragon, who can turn into human form, has taken the guardianship of this town. However, they radiate such powerful magic that it actually draws countless magic hunters to the town. There were four casualties from their incursions in just the last week, and there will be more the longer it goes on.
See it on Itch here!!
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