Hope everyone is doing well. I haven't posted in a bit. Had a little time this morning while family slept in to do some gaming brainstorming. I grabbed my copy of Knave 2e. Rolled up a random NPC. Knave 2E is fantastic for helping a GM brainstorm ideas. In just a few minutes I had rolled up Bartholamew Brandybold, a down on his luck former jester/oracle.
Maybe he once was the jester of the local noble and was kicked out on the street when he fell out of favor. Does he know secrets about the noble or the noble's family? Is there a secret way inside the noble's mansion that he knows about? Does he hold a grudge for his mistreatment?
Bartholamew Brandybold
Former Jester, former Oracle, now a down on his luck "wretch".
Next, I wanted a location. Where would the players encounter this, down on his luck, fellow. Back to the wonderful tables in Knave 2E and I quickly had a unique and equally suitable (disturbing) location. The poor, unquiet village of Oil Seep. A truly destitute place, where a black oily substance oozes up out of the ground and is slowing covering everything in a slick, oily coating. Many of the villagers are sickly and weak from the exposure but are too poor (or not allowed by the local noble?) to leave. What is the oil? Is it a curse? Well, that's where the players come in...
And what makes a region even more interesting is a strange wizard's tower nearby. Once again, some random rolls and I have Xedu's Tower. A tall creepy stone tower on the far outskirts of the region. Stone vents are known to spew out a poisonous gas at irregular intervals. The gas has killed all vegetation in the immediate area around the tower. All sane folk give the place a wide berth. What is the gas? rumors say the wizard has a captured Green Dragon held below the tower and the poisonous gas is the dragon's breath weapon, but no one knows for certain...
So next time your players go in an unexpected direction, grab Knave 2E make a few rolls on the great random tables and you will quickly have a memorable NPC/Encounter/Locale! The system your playing doesn't matter (although personally I'm an OSR guy).
This encounter could easily be inserted into most any fantasy campaign regardless of the system you are using! Let me know how it goes!
-Good Gaming! B.B.
I know some don't care for AI generated art, but the visuals help me come up with ideas.
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