Obliteration of the Forgotten High Priest
Roleplaying Tips Newsletter #0908
Need a nice dungeon adventure outline in three seconds? Got one for ya.
Generator Sage ELF has built an awesome (work-in-progress) Dungeon Adventure Generator using Campaign Logger’s newest features.
One new feature offers the ability to serve up Campaign Logger generators to your self-hosted WordPress blog. Other features include nested tables, custom weightings, and variables! It’s generatorpalooza.
So ELF toiled over weekends and evenings to build a great generator for you to showcase Logger’s power and get your creative juices flowing.
Head on over to ELF’s blog to use his Dungeon Adventure Generator along with a short article on the design of the generator.
Here’s an example of what you get after clicking the generate button:
Obliteration of the Forgotten High Priest
Motif: Infernal portal. A gateway to nether realms has opened, vomiting out hellish denizens of the underworld to occupy their new abode.
Villain: An evil high priest with a troop of guards.
Goal: The group of heroes must rescue a captive.
Macguffin: The adventure starts when the travelling band finds out about a mysterious libram of unknown purpose.
Treasure: Some lost treasure is said to be hidden in the dungeon — but little do they know it is being looted by hostile adventurers….
Dungeon complication: A competing group of adventurers is trying to reach the goal before the protagonists, and is willing to use also dirty tricks to win.
Difficulty: journeyman. This small-scale assignment is best suited for adventurers with some experience.
Here the group of heroes will have to face a ravening high priest and a band of guards. Will the group of travelers be able to rescue a captive?
Action Hook: Death of a friend
A friend of one of the characters (their nephew) has died because the actions of the high priest or the minions. It’s the group of heroes’s task to avenge the lost friend!
A copse of ancient, gnarly trees hides something in their midst: a beautifully wrought silvery gate adorned with strange symbols.
Entrance complication: Locals consider the area sacred and try their best to prevent anyone from desecrating the place.
Development Scene: Warning
A hastily scribbled note hints about dangers looming ahead.
This is a forlorn, big, irregular, polygon-shaped hall with rough stone walls and rough stone floor. The hall functions as a barracks.
Exits: There are two visible exits.
- door with an inset door [open],
- sliding door [false door].
Action Scene: Battle
The high priest’s forces arrive to battle the troupe in full force.
The place is a tiny, rectangular area. The hall has been modified to function as some kind of stall.
There are piles of hay in a corner.
Exits: There are three visible exits.
- iron-reinforced wooden double doors with an inset door with a peephole and appearing to be robust [ajar],
- double doors [closed but unlocked],
- door with an inset door [trapped: (a poison needle hidden in the door handle)].
Feature: On the wall: a balcony.
Development Scene: Advantage revealed
An informant here knows about a tool the adventuring party could use.
This is a medium-sized, squarish location. The place serves as an armory.
Exits: There are three visible exits.
- double doors [trapped: (a vat of acid balanced on top of the door)],
- iron-reinforced wooden double doors with a knocker [stuck],
- iron-reinforced wooden door with a knob [false door].
Action Scene: Contest
A guard challenges the troupe to a battle of wits.
The room is a big, squarish place. The place holds plenty of water and apparently has served as a cistern.
Exits: There are three visible exits.
- door with an inset door [ajar],
- iron-reinforced wooden door with a knocker and appearing to be strong [locked with a heavy iron padlock (requiring a small bronze key)],
- round crystal double doors with a knob [locked with a heavy iron padlock (requiring a grimy medium-sized iron key)].
Flavoring: Some toadstools grow here.
Development Scene: Hindrance
A charlatan slows down the progress.
The room is a small, rectangular hall. The location has been furnished into a bath.
In the middle of the room there is a basin.
Exits: There are three visible exits.
- double doors with an inset door [locked with a heavy iron padlock (requiring a small, nondescript key)],
- double doors [ajar],
- granite door with a peephole and appearing to be sturdy [false door].
Feature: On the wall: magical glyphs. In the ceiling: a murder hole.
Action Scene: Hazard
Hazard: The floor is slick with burning oil. [Affects movement and offense.].
The enclosure is a bleak, big, dart-shaped chamber with masonry walls and rough stone floor. The place looks like a study.
Next to a bookcase there is a writing desk.
Exits: There are three visible exits.
- oblong fir double doors with an inset door with a knob [locked with a padlock (requiring a uncared-for large iron key)],
- double doors [locked with a lock (requiring a in excellent condition small wrought iron key)],
- door with an inset door [false door].
Feature: On the floor: a blood stain and a firepit. On the wall: blood stains.
Development Finale: Final Revelation
The truth about the adventure’s goal is finally revealed!
The adventure culminates in a development scene in a massive cavern.
Resolution: Happy Ending
Everything turns out fine.
The chamber is a medium-sized, irregularly shaped hall with rough stone walls and silt floor. The chamber serves as a smith’s workshop.
Exits: There are three visible exits.
- rising door [closed but unlocked],
- double doors [ajar],
- double doors [locked with a padlock (requiring a ornate key)].
That’s the whole adventure outline, created using the Dungeon Adventure Generator with just one click of the button.
For those who like to geek out a bit on tech, some Campaign Logger generator features ELF has put to use in the Dungeon Adventure Generator include:
- Global variables passed between generators
- A formatting table that enables output in different output formats (HTML, plain text, Markdown, MediaWiki, reStructured Text, and Campaign Logger log entry)
- The Campaign Logger WordPress plugin
- Decision trees
- Initialization and testing functions
- Weighed probability values
- And a sizeable library of external help tables that are also available in the Campaign Logger generator library for everyone
You don’t need to know any of that to use ELF’s generator though! Try it out yourself at ELF’s blog.