Tuesday, August 16, 2016

Big Book of Random Tables


One of the more useful tools in my DM toolbox is my three ring binder full of random tables and adventure hooks. You never know when your original gaming plans will fall through and require you to improvise, or when you just don't have time to prepare for this week's session. That's when it's a good idea to have a lot of material for generating a super-cool adventure on the fly. I even find ways to use it when running pre-planned adventures, implementing details from character creation tables and random encounter generators.

This binder contains whatever useful tools and resources I can find, and I will share a detailed list of my sources for these in a future entry. When you are making your own Book of Adventures, there might be certain random tables that you have built yourself. Make it unique to your own game mastering style!

Here is a general list of the materials included in my own book:

  • The Mythic GM Emulator (Great for improvisational or GMless games, I will review this in a future entry)
  • Random encounter generators for various settings.
  • NPC trait and appearance generators (Can double as character creation tools for player characters)
  • Lore Sheets for various campaign settings.
  • The Big List of RPG Plots (And various other plot hook lists)
  • Lists of NPC names for various settings.
  • Other random tables ranging from tavern menus to alien creature creators to descriptions for scenery and character attitudes!
Consider what kind of info or inspiration you might find useful to have on hand during your next game session. Think of what might inspire you and help you overcome the dreaded writer's block. A book like this one could very well save your next game, or give you a starting point for a brand new adventure!

Happy ventures!

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