Procedural Adventure Design in D&D (YouTube Video Transcript)

(00:00:00) Your YouTube transcript will appear here (00:00:00) Welcome to Bandit's Keep. I'm Daniel. (00:00:03) Today I want to talk a little bit about (00:00:05) prepping for your game, specifically (00:00:07) using procedures to do so. So, I got a (00:00:09) message on my patron and they basically (00:00:12) were asking if I had any resources or (00:00:14) ideas about using a procedure when doing (00:00:17) preparation. So, of course, there's (00:00:19) procedures when we're running the game, (00:00:21) but how do we prep for the game or (00:00:23) create adventures? So, I said I there's (00:00:25) a couple things I've used in the past (00:00:26) that I could talk about. And one of them (00:00:28) I've definitely talked about before, (00:00:30) which we'll talk about in a second. Uh, (00:00:32) the second one I don't know if I have on (00:00:33) this channel. And the third one, we'll (00:00:35) see if I get to it. But let me start by (00:00:37) saying that when you are prepping for (00:00:40) your adventures or creating an (00:00:42) adventure, I like to think of three (00:00:45) types of adventures. There's the (00:00:48) locationbased adventure, which basically (00:00:50) is something like a dungeon, or it could (00:00:52) even be a town. It could be a, you know, (00:00:55) set of caves you're investigating. It (00:00:57) could be a ruin. But basically, the (00:00:59) party is going into a location and (00:01:02) they're investigating it. They're (00:01:04) getting the treasure. They're they're (00:01:05) doing the stuff that parties do, right? (00:01:07) There's no plot. I hate to use that (00:01:10) word, but there's no real story there (00:01:12) except that they're just going to get (00:01:13) treasure. We've heard that there is a a (00:01:15) tomb of a mummy that was uh a stand (00:01:19) sandstorm blew and kind of cleared the (00:01:21) entrance. peasants opened the gate and (00:01:23) two of them immediately died and then (00:01:26) ran away in fear. Well, the party (00:01:28) thinking, well, we're not peasants. We (00:01:30) can go handle that, right? So, that's a (00:01:32) location basically. You just go and (00:01:34) you're getting the treasure. There are (00:01:35) hidden stories. There's things that went (00:01:37) on. There's histories that you can put (00:01:39) into it, but basically it's a location. (00:01:41) There's no planned path at all for the (00:01:44) PCs to go on or no planned path where (00:01:46) the adventure might go if they don't do (00:01:48) anything. It'll just sit there, right? (00:01:50) The other thing would be an eventbased. (00:01:53) Okay, so an event-based adventure is one (00:01:55) where something is going on, right? And (00:01:58) the player characters are going to (00:02:00) intersect with what's going on and (00:02:02) change it in some way, hopefully to (00:02:05) their favor. So this could be that (00:02:06) they've been asked to do something. They (00:02:08) could also witness something. So uh (00:02:11) politics can be involved in here, some (00:02:13) kind of a scheme. But basically, you (00:02:16) know, the the princess and her her guard (00:02:19) are going to be in town for a (00:02:20) presentation of a medal to a great (00:02:22) general uh on next week. And whenever (00:02:25) she travels, she travels with less (00:02:27) guards obviously than the castle, but (00:02:29) she brings with her lots of jewelry. So, (00:02:32) the party might think, well, we could go (00:02:35) steal that jewelry. Or they might be (00:02:36) hired by the thieves guild to steal the (00:02:37) jewelry. And as the adventure (00:02:41) progresses, stuff will happen, right? (00:02:43) They'll arrive, the guards will do this, (00:02:45) the princess will do that. They they're (00:02:47) on a schedule and it's moving forward (00:02:48) whether the pieces get involved or not. (00:02:50) And then of course when they do, that's (00:02:53) when that's when the adventure happens, (00:02:55) right? The third type, which I'm not (00:02:56) really going to talk about prepping for (00:02:58) this time, but we'll do another video if (00:03:01) people are interested, is the journey. (00:03:03) So I think a lot of times we ignore the (00:03:05) journey. We think about hex crawling, (00:03:07) but we don't think about the idea that (00:03:08) an the journey itself can be the (00:03:11) adventure. that is you could travel from (00:03:13) one place to another and that is the (00:03:15) adventure. Now there might also be an (00:03:17) adventure where you end up but that's (00:03:20) meant to be an adventure. Not just like (00:03:21) an inconvenience or a challenge but (00:03:23) actually an adventure. So if we talk (00:03:26) about the first kind, my favorite source (00:03:28) to go to is the first source I ever (00:03:30) learned on which is basic expert or (00:03:32) basic Dungeons and Dragons. So I have my (00:03:34) iPad down here. So if I'm looking down, (00:03:36) that's what I'm doing. I've got the (00:03:37) basic book up on the screen. You can see (00:03:39) the cover of it. And on page B51, (00:03:44) we get into the (00:03:47) the dungeon master section on creating (00:03:48) adventures. And we can just look at (00:03:50) this. This is this is a procedure. The (00:03:52) best part about BX to me besides it (00:03:54) being just really easy to run is that it (00:03:57) is just loaded with procedures. That's (00:03:59) why a lot of people will use this is (00:04:01) also for solo. You know, I myself am (00:04:03) using uh OD&D which this is, you know, (00:04:07) one step up from OD and right. one step (00:04:09) up in the future from O&D. Okay, so here (00:04:12) we go. Here is what they what they ask (00:04:15) you to do when you're creating this. So (00:04:16) the first step when you're and these are (00:04:18) basically I'm going to go again we're (00:04:20) going location based. The first step (00:04:22) that they recommend a is choose a (00:04:24) scenario. So basically a background (00:04:27) theme or idea. So they give you 10 (00:04:29) examples and actually I think I've I'm (00:04:31) pretty sure I've made all 10 of these. I (00:04:32) will point to the uh to the playlist if (00:04:36) there is one or if I don't somebody (00:04:38) comment with playlist. Sorry, I'm bad at (00:04:39) pointing to lists. Um where I go through (00:04:41) and I build each one of these. But (00:04:43) basically, you've got option uh options. (00:04:45) Exploring the unknown, investigating a (00:04:47) chaotic outpo post, recovering uh ruins, (00:04:51) destroying an ancient evil, and and it (00:04:52) gives you tells you what it is, right? (00:04:54) So, if we go uh let's see, destroying an (00:04:56) ancient evil. The evil is usually a (00:04:58) monster NPC. Sometimes the evil is (00:05:01) deeply uh buried and reawakened by (00:05:03) recent digging. This theme is often used (00:05:05) along with others. For example, uh it (00:05:08) may be destroyed so that ruins can be (00:05:10) resettled. Right? So we have ideas of (00:05:12) where we can start here. And if you (00:05:13) don't know, so if you're doing this like (00:05:14) literally by a procedure, the first step (00:05:16) is choose a scenario. Now assuming that (00:05:18) you don't have an idea, then you can (00:05:20) literally just roll here and then kind (00:05:22) of let that feed you. From here I would (00:05:25) use so additional things you could use (00:05:26) would be any kind of like oracle or word (00:05:29) list you can you know again maybe I'll (00:05:31) do another video on that if people are (00:05:32) interested in it like the idea of just (00:05:33) like open a book to a certain page and (00:05:35) point at a word right and that gives you (00:05:37) things going you could use something (00:05:39) like mythic uh GM emulator that have (00:05:42) these um mythic bastion has great spark (00:05:46) tables basically you you can use that to (00:05:49) form it but let's assume that you you (00:05:51) know you have one of these escaping from (00:05:52) enemies (00:05:53) you know, that's pretty uh cut and dry, (00:05:55) right? That I wouldn't necessarily use (00:05:56) for a location base, although you could, (00:05:58) right? Um maybe rescuing prisoners. Some (00:06:02) of these are a little bit more could (00:06:03) lean into event base. But again, I think (00:06:06) if I was doing a location based, I would (00:06:07) work with this procedure because not (00:06:09) that's just step one, if you will. (00:06:11) Right. So, step two, decide on the (00:06:13) setting. So, here we go. Here we can (00:06:16) again we can roll if we want castle or (00:06:18) tower caves or cavern you know you might (00:06:21) have a stronghold or a town here again (00:06:23) you roll on the type of adventure it is (00:06:25) you roll uh where it look takes place (00:06:28) right so let's let's let's just kind of (00:06:29) do this and I'll kind of spitball I have (00:06:30) some dice over here all right so d10 I'm (00:06:33) rolling a nine (00:06:35) using a magic portal that'll be fun okay (00:06:38) and where is this magic portal located (00:06:41) five (00:06:43) ancient temple writes itself, right? So, (00:06:46) we need to use this magic portal that's (00:06:48) in this ancient temple, and that's our (00:06:51) that's our goal. Now, that doesn't mean (00:06:53) we were hired to do it. It means that we (00:06:55) find in this case, cuz I'm doing a (00:06:57) location based adventure. It means that (00:06:59) we were we we find out about an ancient (00:07:02) temple that has a magical portal, and (00:07:04) that portal leads to a place where (00:07:05) there's a bunch of treasure. That's why (00:07:06) the player characters would want to do (00:07:07) it, right? Or maybe the portal allows (00:07:09) them to go to um [clears throat] let's (00:07:12) say a a lost city full of riches, right? (00:07:14) And they want to be the first ones to (00:07:16) get there, right? They used to be trade (00:07:17) with this uh ancient city. Now this (00:07:20) maybe the player character is going to (00:07:22) uh set it back up again or just go there (00:07:23) and get some treasure and come back. So (00:07:26) they're going to go there and (00:07:27) investigate, right? They're there might (00:07:28) they might bring some stuff to trade. (00:07:30) They might, you know, if they know this (00:07:31) much about it, they might bring extra (00:07:33) rations. They got to, you know, they got (00:07:34) to figure out why they want to do it. (00:07:35) The other thing is a using could be (00:07:37) destroying or closing if you want to do (00:07:38) it that way, right? Like that though (00:07:41) ends up being more of a event-based. So (00:07:44) maybe we'll go back to that in a second. (00:07:45) But again, I'm using this one for (00:07:47) location based. So once we get do that, (00:07:51) now we decide on special monsters to be (00:07:52) used. So this is one of those things (00:07:54) that can kind of block you up. Normally (00:07:57) I would say just pick a monster that (00:07:59) makes sense, right? And you could say, (00:08:02) but then you might say, well, I want a (00:08:03) procedure for finding that. Well, the (00:08:04) simplest thing that I found that works (00:08:06) pretty well is if we go I believe it's (00:08:07) on the next page. Nope, two pages. If we (00:08:10) go two pages forward, we have the (00:08:12) wandering monster list. You can (00:08:14) literally just roll on this and I will. (00:08:19) Okay, that is a 20 wolves. Okay, (00:08:23) interesting. So, now we've got a portal (00:08:25) in an ancient temple that we want to go (00:08:27) through to get treasure. And the main (00:08:30) monster in this thing is wolves. So, and (00:08:32) again, this is a first level dungeon. (00:08:34) So, basically, we've got a den of (00:08:36) wolves, and they have the wolves have (00:08:38) built their den, I should say, in this (00:08:40) ancient temple. And in there is a (00:08:42) magical portal that we want to use to (00:08:43) get through to get to this other place (00:08:45) where we can get treasure. Right? So, (00:08:47) that's what we're doing, right? So, now (00:08:49) the next step I want to say is draw our (00:08:51) map. Yeah, draw the map is the next (00:08:53) step. Now, this is a step that if you're (00:08:54) just trying to do it with a procedure (00:08:56) and like relatively quickly, I would say (00:08:57) find a map online. Dyson logos is the (00:09:00) obvious, but if you're not going to (00:09:02) publish it, then a lot of times you can (00:09:04) grab almost any map you can find, right? (00:09:06) So, I would maybe just type in map of (00:09:08) ancient temple. It could be a real (00:09:09) actual ruins of an ancient temple or, (00:09:12) you know, some kind of thing from a (00:09:13) book. It could be an RPG product. It (00:09:15) could be something like a Dyson's logos (00:09:16) map. You could also draw it if you want, (00:09:19) you know, if you if you feel so (00:09:20) inspired. Any of these steps, you can (00:09:22) just do what you want. Now, we know our (00:09:25) main monster is wolves. So, we come to (00:09:27) stop the dungeon. And I think this is (00:09:29) the part that is very valuable to a lot (00:09:30) of people when we're doing this. So I'm (00:09:33) just going to read from it a little bit. (00:09:34) To stock a dungeon means to fill in the (00:09:36) general details such as monsters, (00:09:38) treasures, and traps. Special monsters (00:09:40) should first be placed in the (00:09:41) appropriate rooms along with special (00:09:42) treasures. The rem remaining rooms can (00:09:45) be stocked as DM wishes. Uh you know, if (00:09:47) you have no preference, then you just (00:09:49) roll for all of them. So to me, I would (00:09:51) say, okay, we have this pack of wolves, (00:09:54) and let's see. It says that there's from (00:09:56) 2 to 12. Since we've decided this is our (00:09:59) main monster and this is basically their (00:10:01) layer, what we're going to do is it says (00:10:03) 2 to 12 here for the wandering, but I'm (00:10:04) going to come over to the monster (00:10:06) section (00:10:09) and we see wolves here. Now, we have (00:10:11) normal wolves and we have direwolves. (00:10:13) Now, direwolves are a higher level (00:10:14) monster, so you could make a boss if you (00:10:17) want of a direwolf, but I feel like you (00:10:20) probably want to just stick with wolves (00:10:21) with this idea, right? Especially if (00:10:22) it's a first level party. If you have a (00:10:23) slightly advanced first level party, (00:10:25) like they've got some experience, maybe (00:10:26) they've picked up a few magic weapons or (00:10:28) a large party, then you know, or if (00:10:31) maybe one of the characters is second (00:10:32) level, then you could always throw in (00:10:34) like a direwolf if you want. But when we (00:10:35) look at them, their uh number appearing (00:10:39) is 3 to 18 in a layer. So, I would go (00:10:42) with that number and I would probably (00:10:45) base it on the number of them. You could (00:10:47) either roll obviously, but I think since (00:10:50) you're building this from scratch, I (00:10:51) would think about what would be in a (00:10:53) good kind of combat if you will based on (00:10:56) the party that you have. So if you're (00:10:58) using like let's say OD and D rules (00:11:00) typically if a monster is (00:11:03) a higher level than the dungeon if you (00:11:05) will. So this is a second level monster. (00:11:07) So two at monster and the dungeon is (00:11:09) first level then you want the number (00:11:12) appearing generally for a random (00:11:13) encounter is one, right? So, I would say (00:11:16) something like, but it also says unless (00:11:18) there's something that normally operates (00:11:20) in packs, right? So, you've got to kind (00:11:22) of figure out how you want to distribute (00:11:24) your monsters, but I would probably say (00:11:25) that near the most important treasures, (00:11:27) which is the portal, right? You're going (00:11:29) to want probably, you know, maybe half (00:11:31) the number that could possibly be there. (00:11:33) So, let's say you're going to have six (00:11:35) or seven, right? Which is half of what (00:11:37) would be in a random encounter, you (00:11:39) know? You know, and again, you got to (00:11:39) kind of get a feel for this, but then (00:11:41) you can also think about the idea of (00:11:42) like, okay, so if I have six or seven (00:11:45) wolves together, and I have a party of (00:11:48) four first level characters, they're (00:11:49) going to be dead, right? So, you got to (00:11:51) think about that a little bit. If the (00:11:52) party is four first level characters, (00:11:54) maybe you want to keep it down to like (00:11:56) three wolves or something like that. (00:11:58) Typically, if you want like a fair (00:11:59) fight, and I would not make a lair fight (00:12:01) fair, you want the number of hit dice of (00:12:03) the monsters to be roughly equivalent to (00:12:06) the levels of the player characters. So (00:12:07) four first level characters is four. So (00:12:10) these are two head dice of beast. So a (00:12:11) fair fight would be two, right? So three (00:12:14) makes it a little bit tougher. So maybe (00:12:16) there's three in the layer part and (00:12:18) maybe for wandering you have one to (00:12:20) three, something like that, right? And (00:12:22) then you figure out how many are total (00:12:23) and then you're good to go. Place the (00:12:25) wolves in key strategic positions. I'd (00:12:27) put some near the portal. Obviously the (00:12:29) wolves don't know or maybe they do that (00:12:31) the portal is valuable. Maybe the portal (00:12:33) just happens to be deep in the temple (00:12:34) and that's where they're at, right? But (00:12:36) we're going to want some wolves that are (00:12:37) outside, right? We're going to want some (00:12:39) wolves that are in the temple and we're (00:12:41) going to want some wolves that are at (00:12:43) the portal. So, we can distribute those (00:12:45) out. Maybe you'll say there is a total (00:12:47) of 18 potential. And we're going to say (00:12:49) that there's, you know, 2/3 of them or (00:12:51) like about 12 in the (00:12:55) in the actual layer. And then we're (00:12:58) going to say that the other six are (00:13:00) basically could show up. You could do a (00:13:02) ticking clock here, right? So again, (00:13:04) this is just something they can do. From (00:13:07) there, let's go back to our procedure. (00:13:10) So now we have stocked the dungeon with (00:13:12) our main monsters and the portal, which (00:13:14) is our main treasure, and also some (00:13:15) other treasures, right? Like you want to (00:13:17) make it worthwhile if this is one (00:13:20) adventure, like one session basically. (00:13:22) And you want about a quarter the amount (00:13:25) of experience points for each person in (00:13:27) the party that will get them to the to (00:13:29) next level. So I usually base it on a (00:13:31) fighter cuz they're not the lowest, but (00:13:32) they're not the highest. So, I would (00:13:34) say, and let's say we're back to our (00:13:36) group of four, I would get at least (00:13:38) 2,000 gold pieces worth of treasure on (00:13:41) this level, probably a little bit more, (00:13:44) right? And they can be it can be in (00:13:45) various things. Maybe the portal itself (00:13:46) has some kind of, you know, gems (00:13:49) attached to it. Maybe the the wolves, (00:13:51) it's a temple, right? So, maybe there's (00:13:53) chalicees and there's some, you know, (00:13:55) stones in the wall that are partially (00:13:57) valuable or in the floor. There's (00:13:58) statues. It doesn't have to be a bunch (00:14:00) of coins, right? But that could be (00:14:01) obviously like a collection box maybe (00:14:03) near the door kind of a little bit in (00:14:05) but not too close to the beginning where (00:14:07) they can just smash that open and get a (00:14:08) few gold pieces just to start with. (00:14:10) Right. And of course make a bunch of (00:14:11) noise so the wolves hear them. So once (00:14:13) we've done that we basically we have our (00:14:15) map. We have our main treasures. We have (00:14:17) our main enemies. Now we look at this (00:14:20) chart here to fill the rest of the (00:14:21) dungeon. We roll 2d6. The first one (00:14:24) tells us what's in the space. The second (00:14:25) one tells us if there's treasure. Okay. (00:14:28) So we roll. Let me see a couple d6s (00:14:30) here. So if I take 2d6 in the first (00:14:33) room, I rolled the six and a five. A six (00:14:36) is empty and there's no treasure cuz (00:14:39) it's empty, right? So that's an empty (00:14:41) room. Nothing there, right? I roll (00:14:42) again. We got a one and a six. That's a (00:14:45) monster. And with a six, there's no (00:14:47) treasure. So there's some wolves in here (00:14:49) probably, right? Again, you could make (00:14:51) the whole thing wolves, but to make (00:14:53) things more interesting, we could look (00:14:55) at our our go back over here again and (00:14:58) look at our ren our random wandering (00:14:59) monsters. Remember, this is a temple (00:15:01) that's exposed to the elements that (00:15:02) anybody can get in and out of. So, there (00:15:04) could be nearly anything in here. So, (00:15:06) let's roll a d20 and see what this what (00:15:08) this monster might be. (00:15:11) Seven. Actually, that's 17. Sprites. Oh, (00:15:14) there's sprites in here. How amazing is (00:15:16) that? Where would sprites be, right? (00:15:18) Sprites are kind of like fairies. Maybe (00:15:19) they're just wandering around just (00:15:21) causing havoc. Sprites are also a (00:15:22) wilderness type thing, so it makes sense (00:15:24) for them to be near wolves, right? So, (00:15:26) that's kind of fun. We could have uh (00:15:28) sprites in this place and they can just (00:15:29) mess with the party, right? By casting (00:15:31) curses on them and such. Okay, so and (00:15:33) again, we go through each of the rooms (00:15:35) in that way. So, I rolled a two, which (00:15:38) is a monster again, and five, which is (00:15:41) no treasure. So, again, some kind of (00:15:42) monster with no treasure, right? and (00:15:44) eventually you will fill all the spaces. (00:15:47) If you find when you're done that (00:15:49) there's too many monsters or too many (00:15:52) empty rooms or whatever, you can (00:15:53) obviously you'll know like you'll get a (00:15:55) sense for it as you do this more and (00:15:56) more. But the the next parts of this is (00:15:58) this. It gives you a little bit of a (00:16:00) description on what like traps could be, (00:16:02) what specials could be, and of course (00:16:04) obviously empty is empty, right? So (00:16:06) specials might be a moaning room, right? (00:16:08) Or a room turns and sinks and the doors (00:16:10) lock, right? That could be kind of fun, (00:16:11) right? If it's not a second level of a (00:16:13) dungeon, maybe the doors just lock, you (00:16:15) know, and the party has to figure their (00:16:16) way out, right? Maybe, you know, you get (00:16:19) closed off so you can't go backwards. (00:16:20) You can only go forward, right? And your (00:16:22) your treasure traps might be like a (00:16:23) poison needle. It's a classic. Any kind (00:16:26) of thing like that. Obviously, your room (00:16:27) traps are things like poison gas and (00:16:29) such. Any room that has treasure that (00:16:32) does not have a monster, you use this uh (00:16:36) chart over here to roll how much (00:16:38) treasure is in the room, and you go from (00:16:40) there. So basically, let's say that the (00:16:42) sprites had had treasure. Sprites have (00:16:46) treasure (00:16:47) su treasure best for sprites. So again, (00:16:51) we can just go to our treasure section (00:16:53) and we can look at treasure type S and (00:16:55) we could roll to see what they might (00:16:56) have, right? They might have two to (00:16:57) eight pieces of gold per individual. (00:16:59) That's what they have. So if there's a (00:17:00) bunch of sprites in here, they got a few (00:17:02) gold pieces. And again, we could have (00:17:04) this in any form that we want, but you (00:17:05) know, there you go. A little extra gold. (00:17:07) They may may or may not be a combat, you (00:17:09) know, depending on your uh your (00:17:11) situation, right? Uh sprites are kind of (00:17:13) fun and hopefully they can give (00:17:15) information to the party, right? And (00:17:17) once we do this, we're basically done, (00:17:19) right? For a location-based dungeon, (00:17:21) that's all we need. We have a reason for (00:17:23) them to be there, which you can then (00:17:24) create some rumors or have somebody ask (00:17:25) them. We need rooms that are filled with (00:17:27) stuff, monsters and treasure, and some (00:17:31) tricks and traps and something fun. And (00:17:33) you know, once you build the thing, you (00:17:35) can start to think about why things (00:17:38) might be the way they are. Maybe you (00:17:39) want to have a reason for the sprites to (00:17:40) be there. Maybe not. But that's all (00:17:42) stuff that you don't necessarily have to (00:17:44) do in this type of adventure because if (00:17:47) the party hasn't done a bunch of (00:17:49) research, then it doesn't really matter, (00:17:52) right? They might go in the room with (00:17:53) the sprites and see. You might say, "Oh, (00:17:55) there's writing on the wall or (00:17:56) something." They might make an a copy of (00:17:58) it. You don't need to know what it is (00:17:59) right the second, right? they can (00:18:00) research that and maybe that's another (00:18:02) adventure. So once we have that going, (00:18:05) right, that's nice and simple. The other (00:18:07) type of adventure would be more event- (00:18:09) based. Now again, you could do it with (00:18:10) this as you saw as I was kind of going (00:18:11) through this. Some of these could (00:18:13) definitely be more event based. You (00:18:14) know, we could do the exact same thing (00:18:15) using a magic portal could be event (00:18:17) based, right? It says magic portal is a (00:18:18) device that magically sends creatures (00:18:19) from one place to another. It's usually (00:18:21) a door to another dimensions and (00:18:24) basically it says that uh they can be (00:18:27) used in all different ways, right? So, (00:18:28) we can take the same thing and make it (00:18:29) an event based thing by basically having (00:18:31) it that something's happening with the (00:18:32) portal and the player characters are (00:18:34) going to want to do something or not (00:18:35) with it in order to, you know, solve a (00:18:38) problem, right? Maybe this in this case (00:18:40) they're hired to do it, right? You need (00:18:43) to close this portal or maybe they need (00:18:45) to use the portal to go do a mission, (00:18:46) right? So, the event might be that the (00:18:49) princess is right I've said before is (00:18:50) coming into town. They're going to be (00:18:51) robbed and the you find out about it but (00:18:54) you're 10 days ride away. However, there (00:18:56) is a magical portal that can get you (00:18:58) there instantaneously. So, the party is (00:18:59) going to the magic portal to go through (00:19:01) it so they can get there and warn the (00:19:03) princess, right? So, you could have (00:19:05) effectively the same monsters, the same (00:19:08) map, but now the goal is different, (00:19:10) right? And a lot of times what will end (00:19:13) up happening here is pe the players will (00:19:15) treat it differently, right? If they (00:19:16) know they need to get to the portal and (00:19:17) they'll get through it to save the (00:19:18) princess from being robbed, they are not (00:19:21) going to necessarily explore every nook (00:19:23) and cranny of this place, right? they're (00:19:24) and obviously if they're if they know (00:19:26) the portal is there, they probably know (00:19:27) where it is. They might even have a (00:19:28) rough map of the temple, right? Whereas (00:19:30) if they're exploring it, so it's a (00:19:32) location based, they're going to go into (00:19:33) every room and you want to add a little (00:19:35) bit when you're running it. You want to (00:19:36) add that little bit of tension to to, (00:19:38) you know, inspire them to kind of look (00:19:41) around, right? Make sure everything's (00:19:43) like a little bit hidden so that they (00:19:44) can, like I mentioned at the beginning, (00:19:46) that treasure box, right? when they're (00:19:47) coming through, it's obvious that (00:19:49) there's a a donation box there and they (00:19:51) smash it open and that makes them think, (00:19:52) "Oh, people come here and donate (00:19:54) things." It gets their their heads (00:19:55) going, right? Or like you see an altar, (00:19:59) right? And there's like dust and but (00:20:02) where there's dust there there used to (00:20:03) be like places where like a you know (00:20:05) cups could be or something. And then the (00:20:06) player character is like, "Oh, there's (00:20:07) some cups here somewhere." And they got (00:20:09) to look for them. Maybe the sprites have (00:20:10) picked them up and carried them to (00:20:11) another room. Right? So that's how you (00:20:14) do the first one. Okay. So now let's (00:20:15) talk about more. Let's dig into the (00:20:17) event base, but let's build it with a (00:20:18) different system because I kind of (00:20:19) wanted to show a couple of different (00:20:20) systems when we did this. That was kind (00:20:22) of the point here. This is actually the (00:20:23) random sword and sorcery adventure (00:20:25) generator. It was created by Ben Ball. (00:20:27) It was created for Hyperoreia or (00:20:30) Astonishing Swordsman and Sorcerers of (00:20:31) Hyporia original, I guess. And I will (00:20:34) put a link to this. It's free as far as (00:20:35) I know. You could download it from You (00:20:37) used to be able to anyways download it (00:20:38) from Northwind Adventures, which is (00:20:40) where Swordsman Sorcerers Hyporeia comes (00:20:42) from or Hyperoreia these days. (00:20:45) This is a sword and sorcery generator, (00:20:47) right? So, it's more of a plot (00:20:48) generator. So, with this, we go through (00:20:51) it and we're seeing what's going on. And (00:20:54) then again, like I said before, the (00:20:55) player characters are going to get (00:20:56) themselves involved in it. So, for this, (00:20:58) I think I'm going to get a piece of (00:20:59) paper. Well, we're going to go through (00:21:01) this and I'm going to make notes and (00:21:03) we'll and I'll show you how it builds an (00:21:04) adventure. And in fact, the document (00:21:07) itself has an example at the bottom. (00:21:09) But, let's just start here. So (00:21:10) basically, (00:21:12) if you're going to have a sword and (00:21:14) really any adventure, but sword and (00:21:15) sorcery adventure, you got to have a (00:21:16) title, right? So I love that this gives (00:21:18) you the ability to make a title. It's a (00:21:20) d20* (00:21:21) 2. So we'll roll two d20s here. (00:21:25) Obviously, you could roll them one at a (00:21:26) time if you wanted to. That is 11 and 8. (00:21:30) So prophecy (00:21:33) of silence. (00:21:35) [clears throat] (00:21:36) Prophecy of silence. I mean, honestly, (00:21:39) just that alone [laughter] (00:21:42) is could be enough to get you going, (00:21:43) right? So, that's the name of it. Now, (00:21:46) we go to the mission. (00:21:49) Let's see. We got a d20 rule. (00:21:53) That is seven (00:21:56) explore. And that says roll place to be (00:21:58) explored. Okay. So, we roll the next (00:22:00) table. (00:22:02) Explore 20. (00:22:05) Explore a valley. I guess the valley of (00:22:08) silence, right? (00:22:10) All right. So, we're going to be (00:22:11) exploring a valley. Now, next, (00:22:15) the hook. The hook's always important. (00:22:19) We've got uh let's see, that's a three. (00:22:23) The hook is asked asked as a favor. All (00:22:26) right. Ask asked as a favor. Okay. (00:22:28) [clears throat] (00:22:29) So, we were asked as a favor or the (00:22:30) player characters were asked as a favor (00:22:31) to explore this valley. The antagonist (00:22:36) is a five is a cult leader. Okay. (00:22:42) Oh, (00:22:43) that's interesting. [clears throat] (00:22:44) Potential ally. (00:22:49) 17 (00:22:50) A vengeful spirit. Wow. [laughter] Okay. (00:22:54) All right. We got a complication. (00:22:57) 12 (00:22:59) Money letter comes to collect from PC. (00:23:01) Okay, so money letter lender. (00:23:05) We've got an obstacle and a twist. (00:23:08) Obstacle is six, twist is 12, (00:23:12) a deadly environment, (00:23:14) and forced to ally with an enemy or (00:23:18) rival. Okay, so deadly environment. (00:23:22) Okay. (00:23:23) And then the reward, (00:23:27) we got 15 (00:23:31) or manservant. You know, depending on (00:23:33) your game, you know, that may or may not (00:23:35) work. Let's uh let's try that again. I (00:23:37) don't think I want to go that way in my (00:23:38) games, but you know, it is sword and (00:23:40) sorcery. Roll twice. All right, so we (00:23:43) got again (00:23:45) 19 and [clears throat] five. Roll five (00:23:48) times. Oh my god. Okay, I'm just going (00:23:49) to pick one. uh favor of powerful NPCs. (00:23:52) Okay, so this is interesting. Again, let (00:23:54) me just look through that. I was writing (00:23:56) it down. Let me just look through. So, (00:23:57) it's this is the prophecy of silence. Uh (00:24:00) the the party has been asked to explore (00:24:02) a valley asked by one of their friends (00:24:04) or as a favor. So, they're not being (00:24:06) hired. They're being asked to do this. (00:24:08) Uh the antagonist is a cult leader. The (00:24:12) uh (00:24:14) the potential ally is a vengeful spirit. (00:24:17) The uh complication is that the money a (00:24:20) money lender has just shown up to (00:24:23) collect from the PCs. Okay, so let's (00:24:26) roll back for a second. This is pretty (00:24:29) cut and dry at the beginning, right? (00:24:30) We've got this idea that the a friend (00:24:32) asked them to explore the uh the valley (00:24:37) as a favor, right? There's some kind of (00:24:39) cult leader in there doing something, (00:24:40) right? Probably something that the (00:24:43) friend doesn't like, right? So depending (00:24:45) on your campaign, but what's interesting (00:24:48) is we have deadly environment is our (00:24:50) force to ally. So basically the way I (00:24:52) see this going is this cult leader is (00:24:55) doing something unscrupulous, right? And (00:24:57) this valley is kind of a distance away. (00:25:00) So the the reason why this is a (00:25:02) complication is that the uh the player (00:25:06) characters are not going to be able to (00:25:07) properly get themselves ready for it, (00:25:09) right? they're going to have to leave (00:25:10) town or deal with this money lender if (00:25:13) they want to try to get gear. Like maybe (00:25:15) they show up to get their gear and they (00:25:17) find out that or they come back from (00:25:19) seeing the friend and their their rooms (00:25:21) in the the tavern have been all their (00:25:22) gears been taken so they're stripped (00:25:24) down. So there's this complication like (00:25:25) they don't have everything they want to (00:25:27) have. They have just what's on them, (00:25:28) right? So they don't have that extra (00:25:29) 10-ft pole or rope cuz are they walking (00:25:31) around town with a rope, right? They (00:25:32) probably just have their weapons. Maybe (00:25:34) they were in armor, right? So now (00:25:36) they've got to either deal with this and (00:25:38) of course there's got to be because this (00:25:39) cult leader is doing something right (00:25:40) there. There is a bit of a ticking clock (00:25:42) on this. Maybe the friend asked them to (00:25:45) do something because again as we know (00:25:48) the reward is uh favor of a powerful (00:25:51) NPC. Maybe this friend is asking them to (00:25:54) do this because this powerful NPC is (00:25:56) going to be in danger if the cult does (00:25:59) the thing that the cult's doing, right? (00:26:01) And this friend is helping. Maybe it's (00:26:03) because that friend is some kind of an (00:26:05) adviser and they've already told this (00:26:07) NPC, but the NPC refuses to believe them (00:26:10) because, you know, they're too full of (00:26:12) themselves. They're too they've got too (00:26:13) much uh, you know, no, they can't mess (00:26:16) with me kind of thing, right? So now (00:26:17) they've come to you and said, "Look, I (00:26:19) can't go through normal channels because (00:26:22) the this is going on." Now, what's (00:26:24) interesting here is that the that we've (00:26:26) got a vengeful spirit in deadly (00:26:28) environment, which works perfectly, (00:26:29) right? You're basically got this valley (00:26:31) that this cultist is performing their (00:26:33) rituals or doing their stuff in and (00:26:34) they've made a spirit very unhappy and (00:26:37) because of that the valley itself is (00:26:39) going to be end up being the enemy (00:26:41) probably who they're going to force be (00:26:42) forced to ally with is in fact the cult (00:26:45) leader right they're going to get in (00:26:47) there stop the cult leader or try to and (00:26:50) then when you know when that conflict is (00:26:52) happening the twist is going to be that (00:26:54) they got to work together to get the (00:26:55) heck out of there right and assuming (00:26:57) that they get out and they get you know (00:27:00) they stop the ritual obviously and get (00:27:02) out with the cult leader. Or maybe not. (00:27:04) Maybe they don't ally with them, then (00:27:06) they'll get the favor of the NPC because (00:27:08) they the the thing will not have (00:27:10) happened. This whatever this the thing (00:27:12) the cult leader was doing. So again, you (00:27:14) could sit down and really think this (00:27:15) through. But this is a different way to (00:27:18) do it because now just get your your (00:27:19) head going. What's going on? And if you (00:27:21) see the difference here is I'm (00:27:24) effectively writing some kind of a story (00:27:26) in my head. And when you're doing an (00:27:28) eventbased adventure, that's how you're (00:27:31) going to do it. And you're going to kind (00:27:32) of block it out. Like the players are (00:27:35) going to be asked to do this thing, (00:27:36) right? The money lender is going to come (00:27:38) at a certain time, right? The cult (00:27:40) leader is working on this terrible (00:27:42) project that they're working on. It's (00:27:43) going to take x number of days, right? (00:27:45) The main NPC is going to be in danger at (00:27:47) a certain point. The spirit will be (00:27:49) awoken at a certain point, right? All (00:27:51) these things are going to happen on a (00:27:52) timeline. And depending on how quickly (00:27:54) or slowly the PCs react and what they (00:27:56) do, that will help be shape how the (00:27:58) adventure works, right? And of course, (00:28:01) you could easily, depending on your game (00:28:02) system, you could easily make it so that (00:28:04) they get gold as part of the favor with (00:28:06) the NPC. Maybe they get maybe this is a (00:28:08) slightly higher level game and this is (00:28:10) how the players get their first holding, (00:28:12) right? Where they get a tower or a small (00:28:14) cat keep to maintain with some land (00:28:16) around it, right? This could be that (00:28:18) kind of thing. or if they're a low-level (00:28:19) party, maybe this is how they're trying (00:28:21) to break into a guild they can't get (00:28:23) into, right? Because they're just (00:28:24) nobody, right? So, you could look at (00:28:27) this in a lot of different ways. It (00:28:28) comes down to your group, but just (00:28:30) having the little bits of inspiration (00:28:31) and honestly, you can combine the two. (00:28:34) If when you get to the valley, you're (00:28:36) not sure what to do with it, you can (00:28:38) roll, you know, one d6 and a second d6 (00:28:41) and break the valley into little nodes (00:28:43) and is there a monster? Is there a trip (00:28:45) trick or trap? Is there treasure? And (00:28:47) those tricks and traps can be caused by (00:28:49) the vengeful spirit, right? It's as easy (00:28:51) as that really. So, in the end, but this (00:28:53) is great if you're like doing an (00:28:54) adventure. Let's say you're playing like (00:28:56) every single week, but you're doing (00:28:57) stuff that's like just connected (00:28:58) adventures, but not like an ongoing (00:29:00) story, per se. You basically can create (00:29:03) an individual adventure that week based (00:29:05) on what's going on here. You can also (00:29:07) create several of these loosely, (00:29:09) especially these event- based ones. This (00:29:10) is a great way to to work in a sandbox (00:29:13) because you have all these things going (00:29:14) on at once and you can actually see how (00:29:16) they intersect and cross. So, it's (00:29:18) really a good way to do it. Now, me (00:29:20) personally these days, most of the time, (00:29:23) because I'm running a long-term campaign (00:29:25) and I have lots of stuff going on in the (00:29:26) world, I basically generally create (00:29:28) NPCs/loss (00:29:30) and then let them get just kind of be (00:29:32) out there and then I also have events (00:29:34) going on, but they're generally on a (00:29:36) much larger scale because at this point (00:29:38) at these high levels, the PCs are really (00:29:40) driving the show. It's pretty rare that (00:29:42) like I have to come up with something (00:29:44) because the world is barely fleshed out. (00:29:46) But when you're first starting and when (00:29:47) I was first building this world and (00:29:48) everything, this is exactly what I did. (00:29:50) I would be reading a story, a short (00:29:52) story, reading a comic book, reading a (00:29:54) novel, and I'd be like, "Oh, that's (00:29:56) really cool how that, you know, ancient (00:29:57) city they found had this certain kind of (00:30:00) magic about it." And I would add that to (00:30:01) my world, right? And as the players got (00:30:04) closer to it, I would flush it out a (00:30:05) bit, either using the stuff in BX, you (00:30:07) know, roughly, or even using something (00:30:09) like this just to get some names and (00:30:11) words and ideas and NPCs. And I love (00:30:14) this just for the naming of the (00:30:16) adventures if I'm going to tell you the (00:30:17) truth. That's it's so good, right? (00:30:19) Because right from the beginning, as (00:30:20) soon as I heard prophecy of silence, I (00:30:21) was like, "Yeah, right. What is the (00:30:24) prophecy of silence? You could write it, (00:30:26) you know, uh and that could be what (00:30:28) maybe that's what who the friend is. (00:30:29) Maybe they're a seer, right? And they (00:30:31) saw something and that's why they're (00:30:32) telling the player characters because (00:30:33) they're nobody. They're they're a street (00:30:35) urchant that that normally is a (00:30:37) charlatan and flipping cards to tell (00:30:39) people their fortunes. Now they really (00:30:40) saw something and this prince or king (00:30:43) won't listen to them because they're (00:30:45) nobody. So they're going to you because (00:30:47) they're like look we've had dealings (00:30:49) before and do this favor for me and I (00:30:52) will try to help you in some way. That (00:30:54) kind of thing, right? Okay. So I hope (00:30:56) that helped. This is a again procedural (00:30:59) process of creating either a (00:31:01) location-based or a event-based (00:31:04) adventure. And you can kind of create (00:31:06) stuff as you go. Again, there's lots of (00:31:08) oracles and sheets you can just pull (00:31:10) random words from and stuff, but I think (00:31:12) the process, right, this uh this (00:31:15) procedure does help. And when you're (00:31:16) sitting down to do stuff, it's generally (00:31:18) how I do it. It just naturally when I (00:31:20) make a dungeon, I sit there and the (00:31:22) first thing I do is I put all the (00:31:23) important treasures and all the main (00:31:25) monsters in, then I start thinking about (00:31:27) what's in the other rooms. Sometimes I (00:31:29) make it just whatever's logical. (00:31:31) Sometimes I roll to see if there's (00:31:32) something in there or not. So, that's (00:31:34) the way that I learned how to do it. (00:31:35) It's the way I've been doing it and it (00:31:36) works for me. Hopefully, it works for (00:31:38) you. Let me know in the comments below (00:31:39) if you guys have other resources like (00:31:41) this or if there's a different way that (00:31:43) you do things. I would love to hear (00:31:44) about it. And also, let me know if you (00:31:46) want me to do a video about creating you (00:31:48) this procedural thing, but creating a (00:31:50) journey or just talking about journey (00:31:52) adventures in general. I feel like it's (00:31:54) something I want to talk about, but I (00:31:55) want to make sure there's interest. (00:31:56) Anyways, thanks so much for watching. (00:31:59) Check out other videos on my channel. (00:32:00) Again, I will try to put the link to the (00:32:02) uh all the adventures I made using the (00:32:04) BX system. And I'll talk to you soon.