WELCOME TO TROPELAND! Version 0.01 BY DR. GERALD RAVENPIE 2023
2 WHAT’S THIS… This document is an update of the old (okay, maybe no that old, it was published only 10 months before this one!) Higher Resolution add-on for the first edition of the VISORPGZ game, but also a revisiting and expansion of the all trope-related aspects from the second edition. Nevertheless, as in its previous incarnation, this add-on is as system-agnostic as it can be, so it can be used with any other solo RPG games. Or GM-less RPG games. Or classical RPGs, from 1vs1 to ‘I know have to GM ten players each game-night, please someone shoot me’. Once said that, as this document takes the VISORPGZ as starting point, you should get familiar with some of its nomenclature (or, to be precise, one piece of nomenclature and one mechanism, in order to translate it to your chosen system. Don’t worry, it won’t take too long. o Chapters. VISORPGZ games are divided into chapters, something that is, more or less, the equivalent of a session. Nevertheless, if there’s one long time skip during one session, you can see it as the end of a chapter and the beginning of a new one. o Rolling on tropes tables. Just to clarify, when you are prompted to roll on one of the Trope tables included in this Add-on, you just have to roll two d10 dice of different colors: one to select the column and one for the row. It’s assumed that a white die is used for the former and a red die for the later, but you can use any two colors you want. THE GENRERATOR The Genrerator is a tropeomatic (I know, I know…I probably should stop making up words) system for generating plots, game content, or random events, based on the use of tropes (being applied straight, or played-with in some way)…all of that while following the expectations of some specific genre. Or, to be precise, a mix of specific genres. To apply this system, when you set-up your game you must create a Genre Table based on those genres you want to define it, from those available (more about that later). In this very page, you’ll see an example of a blank Genre Table, still unfilled. Don’t worry, it won’t stay that way for too long… D6 GENRE 1 2 3 4 5 6 EXECUTIVE MEDDILING FILLING THE GENRE TABLE In order to prepare the Genre Table, first you must decide which are the narrative genres you want in your game, i.e., which of the available Tropes Tables you want to use for generating plots, scenes, random events, etc. On the other hand, some of the selected genres should (and would) appear in more than one cell, which leads to the following four options: Two flavor fudge. Fill the 1 to 3 cells with one genre, and the 4 to 6 cells with a different one. Use this option if you want to play a ‘X meets Y’ kind of game, both of them which equal weight in the story. Sundae. Fill the 1 to 4 cells with one genre, and the 5 & 6 cells with a different one. Use this option if you want to play a ‘X with Y’, kind of game, with the latter working as a modifier to the former. Topped Sundae. Fill the 1 to 3 cells with one genre, the 4 & 5 genres with a second one, and the 6 cell with a third one. Use this option if you want to play a weird mix or, as you’ll see soon, to include a very specific subgenre to refine the main one, or the other two. Three scoop ice cream. Fill the 1 & 2 cells with one genre, the 3 & 4 cells with a second one, and the cells 5 & 6 with a different one. Use this option if you want to play a kitchen-sink history, or ‘X meets Y meets Z’ history where X, Y & Z have equal weight in the narrative. Of course, you can use other combinations if you want: for each taste, there’s a color. And an ice-cream! We want to play in a game of monster-hunting, manga & anime style, and with a healthy doses of comedy. Okay I want to play it, so just humor
3 me, jeeze! So, among the different options, I choose the Three scoop ice cream one, with the three following flavors: Action!, Comedy & Horror. This way, the Genre Table will look like this. D6 GENRE 1 Action! 2 Action! 3 Comedy 4 Comedy 5 Horror 6 Horror EXECUTIVE MEDDILING USING THE GENRE TABLE You use the Genre Table each time you must (or want to) roll for a trope during your game. The process is quite simple: you roll 1d6 and look the result in the Genre Table. If that result was unchecked, you use the Trope Table corresponding to that genre, and check the corresponding box. If that result was already checked, on the other hand, you select any other among the still unchecked ones (prioritizing those with the highest number of unchecked boxes, when possible). When there’s only one result unchecked and you use it, check it and then uncheck the rest; this is called ‘resetting the Genre Table’, by the way. And…that’s all! Of course, one you get your trope, you still have to give it a meaning. Generally speaking, you can use one of the three following options: Theme. The trope can represent a relevant theme in a plot, scene, event, etc.; something more abstract than material, which will give flavor to other tropes or events happening in the same timeframe. This way, the more poetic, allegoric, literary, etc., tropes usually fit better in this category…but they’re not the only ones! Game content. The trope can suggest a character, an item, a place, a piece of setting lore, whatever. There’re tropes that specifically call for it, but that’s just one option, so feel free to take them as it says in the tin, or reinterpret them. Write down the final meaning of that trope…but also keep near the original result, just to remind you from where it came! Foreshadowing. You can write down the trope in a literal way, without giving it any meaning…for now. This works for any kind of trope, and gives you a sense of ‘okay, something’s gonna happen related to this, but…what?!?’. In other words, foreshadowing. Once you give a specific meaning to that trope, on the other hand, you should take note of it, as it won’t be not just a foreshadow anymore, but an established fact! EXECUTIVE MEDDLING If you don’t like a specific result, or at any given moment you would like to introduce a trope from a genre that isn’t mentioned in the Genre Table, or if you want to use one the options in the Genre Table instead of roll it…just do it! Your game, your rules, after all! Nevertheless, if you want to apply a bit of self-restrain (i.e., the following is an optional rule…or, to be precise, even more optional than the rest), check one box in the Executive Meddling section of the Genre Table each time you act this way. Once all those boxes are checked, it probably means that you’re meddling a bit too much. But remember: ‘shouldn’t’ ‘couldn’t’. The good news is that, when you reset the Genre Table, you also erase all those Executive Meddling checks. Time to star meddling again, free of regrets! WAIT, THAT AGAIN?!? What happens when you roll a trope that you have recently used (or is pending of using) second time, or even more? Because, let’s be realistic, this isn’t a matter of if it’s gonna happen, but when. Well, you have the following options: Give it a different meaning than the original one. Maybe you already have one Artifact of Doom that you have two throw into a volcano (by the way, have you thought about asking those Eagles?), but why should it be the only Artifact of Doom in your game? After all, that orb of long-range communication, or whatever, seems quite intriguing... Play with it. Action out-of-character, you can use an exaggerated or subdued version of it, play it just for laughs, or even totally subvert it. In character, you (or the NPCs) may discuss it, defied it…or even lampshade it (this one, specially, if you have rolled that trope too many times!) Just apply the original interpretation. After all, a trope is a trope because of its recurring nature, and fate seems to be telling you that you should use this one, this way, this time.
4 USING TROPES Okay, you have a trope. One related to one of the genres your game is based one. Now…what can you do with it? To be fair, that’s a decision you surely already took before rolling for that trope (there had to be a reason for doing that, hadn’t it?), but nevertheless let’s discuss your options…being them describing game content, making a trailer for the next chapter, and make something happens. DESCRIBING GAME CONTENT When you’re creating new game content (a character, a place, a plot, etc.) or you want to give additional details to already created content, you can use the Genre Table instead of (or in addition to) any other one. Theme. For plots, quests and the like, using a trope as a Theme is an excellent way of describing in a few words what you can expect of it. Not as ‘what’s gonna happen?’, but ‘how’s gonna feel what is gonna happen?’. Game content. Yes, it can happen: you may end up creating new game content even if your initial plan was just describing some already existing content. This is one way of introducing characters, places, etc., in a plot or quest, for example; an alternative way to those specific tables for characters and locations in the VISORPGZ game…but the more alternatives, the better! One advice: for this very-new created game content, better use those specific alternatives instead the Genre Table, or you may enter in an endless loop of content generation. Foreshadowing. Just to give some mystery (or a Mystery with capital letters, speaking in VISORPGZ game terms), you can just write down the trope and keep it for later. For the ‘now it’ll make a better story’ later, to be precise. Let’s start the game! … Oh, wait, there’s no protagonist yet? Rats! Well, let’s see if using the Genre Table give me some ideas to create one. I’ll roll two tropes and see what happens. In fact, I’m making all of this on the spot, with honest-to-God die-rolling. 1d6 (5) = Horror 1d10, 1d10 (5, 2) = Came back wrong 1d6 (4) = Comedy 1d10, 1d10 (7, 3) = Cue the pigs flying Well…let’s just say that our protagonist was a somewhat loser who had a very stupid death when slipped on a banana peel and fall downstairs (first) and through a tenth story window (second). Unexpectedly, and that’s an understatement, our protagonist came back as an avenging revenant…which is gonna be a problem because they has nothing to avenge. Seriously, even that banana peel was theirs! Also, that monsterhunting career doesn’t fit their tastes…but hey, it’s hunting monsters or being seen as a monster to be hunted, so better start learning! And once done that, the Genre Table looks like this: D6 GENRE 1 Action! 2 Action! 3 Comedy 4 Comedy 5 Horror 6 Horror EXECUTIVE MEDDILING CREATING THE TRAILER OF A CHAPTER This concept was already discussed in the VISORPGZ manual, but to the benefit of those who want to use this add-on with another system, let’s revisit it: at the beginning of each chapter (or, as already mentioned, game session), roll three tropes using the Genre Table and write them down. The idea is using all those tropes during the chapter…so you’re on a time limit, because they’ll vanish once it reaches its end. Initially, you just have to use each one only once, but don’t feel limited by this if you end up find plenty of times for giving it a good use. Theme. If you use one of these tropes as a theme, expect that it will permeates the whole chapter, or at least a relevant part of it: a full scene, or until the end of the chapter once you ‘activate’ it. Point is, when it’s the time to play it, play it at its full: the trope has less time to shine…so don’t blame it too much if it hogs the spotlight a bit. Game content. This doesn’t seem a good option, because why waste time creating something that may not even happen? Skip this option, thus. Nothing to see here. Keep reading, please. Foreshadowing. This’s probably the best use for these tropes, because it gives you carte blanche to use it however you want, whenever you want,
5 whatever you want, whatever you like, whatever you...okay, you get the idea. And that would be the right moment to use it for create game content! Let’s play the first chapter of the game…or, to be precise, a prologue: there’s no plot nor quests nor nothing to speak of, after all. 1d6 (5), already checked. As the Action! genre has been still unrolled, I’ll use the 1 result, then (1) 1d10, 1d10 (5, 10) = Training from Hell! 1d6 (6) = Horror 1d10, 1d10 (9, 8) = Satanic paraphernalia 1d6 (3) = Comedy 1d10, 1d10 (4, 1) = All hands down. Okay, so in theory I don’t need to give specific meanings to those tropes yet…but, as they are, they already give me an idea about the plot of the game’s prologue! It will be settled on a monster-hunter school, where our protagonist is gonna receive a veeeeeeery demanding training (with other newbies) by a diabolical teacher…in a literal way, because that guy’s half human, half demon. This way, I’m using the Training from Hell trope to set the theme of the prologue, and Satanic paraphernalia to create new content. I left the last trope as a foreshadowing of a future scene, then. Point is, the Genre Table now look like this. D6 GENRE 1 Action! 2 Action! 3 Comedy 4 Comedy 5 Horror 6 Horror EXECUTIVE MEDDILING MAKING SOMETHING HAPPEN When during the game, you want to make something happen, you can roll some kind of random event in your table of choice, or you could use a trope instead (or in addition to). You can use one of those trailer tropes you have at your disposal, one trope associated to the current plot or quest, or a new trope from the Genre Table. And regarding the last case…forget about Foreshadowing: you want to use that trope now! Instead, use it to give a Theme to a random event, or to generate new Game content on the spot (as when you use a classical random encounter table…but this time you will encounter narrative conventions instead of wandering monsters). A few minutes into the prologue I want to know what happens next so I’m going to roll a random event. But, at this point, this totally looks like a High School story, son I’ll roll in that table this time even if it’s not in the Genre Table. High School 1d10, 1d10 (6, 7) = Gang warfare. There are factions in this school, then? Ah, yes, now I see: one faction is made by the ‘100% human’ students, and the other by the ‘not-totallyhuman’ ones. And there’s gonna be a fight…with our clueless protagonist caught in the middle! And so then, after all these examples, the Genre Table ends up looking like this. Two more uses (not counting executive meddling), and it’ll be time to rest it. D6 GENRE 1 Action! 2 Action! 3 Comedy 4 Comedy 5 Horror 6 Horror EXECUTIVE MEDDILING
6 GENRES & SUBGENRES By looking at the trope tables available in both V I S O RPG Z and this add -on, it can be see that there’s a mix of tables with 100, with 50, or with 25 tropes…each one with their own meaning: 100 tropes. These tables concern the more generic genres, as Action !, Comedy, etc. Thus, they’re more apt to be used as 3 -entries genres (or, at the very least, as 2 -entries ones) when creating the Genre Table. 50 tropes. These tables concern genres that are a) very wide and, thus, have been subdivided in different sub -genres (as the case of Sci -fi, Space & Cyberpunk), or b) somewhat specific genres that are, nevertheless, very troperific just by themselves (as the Pirates or Zombie outbreak ones). They can be used, thus, as 3 -entries, 2 -entries or 1 -entry genres with equal ease. 25 tropes. There are very specific genres, or examples of a subgenre from a more general one. Or, as in the case of Gangsters, Slashers or Ninjas, subgenres that are very troperific, but with plenty of those tropes already covered in another table (in these cases Crime, Horror & Chanbara, respectively). Thus , they should be just used as 2 -entries or 1 - entry genres, as they better work as a side -dish instead of as the main course. At the right, you’ll find an index of all the available trope tables, sorted first by size , and then alphabetically. Those tables in cursive were already present in the V I S O RPG Z core manual, but they have been included here again for your convenience. Note that there have been some changes in some them, as separating the former two -part tables (as High School & Anime), expanding (as Drama), etc. And also note that some tropes will appear in more than one table…but that’s WAD, because some tropes fit more than one genre too well. E.g., you can see plenty of ‘Incoming missile’ in Action ! stories, but that’s also a staple of the Modern War genre, so…yes, it appears in both tables, even if it’s expected than the latter case would probably be more realistic (and tragic) tha n the former. GENRE PAGE Action ! (100) 7 Comedy (100) 8 Crime (100) 9 Drama (100) 10 Fantasy (100) 11 Horror (100) 12 Romance (100) 13 Chanbara (50) 14 Cosmic horror (50) 14 Cyberpunk (50) 15 Faery tales (50) 15 High school (50) 16 Modern war (50) 16 Pirates (50) 17 Post -apocalyptic (50) 17 Sci -fi (50) 18 Slices of life (50) 18 Space (50) 19 Spies (50) 19 Swords & Sorcery (50) 20 Tragedy (50) 20 Western (50) 21 Zombie outbreak (50) 21 Gangsters (25) 22 Musical (25) 22 Ninja (25) 23 Slasher (25) 23 Peplum (25) 24 Regency England (25) 24
7 ACTION! 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 1 A coveted McGuffin! A dangerous fall! A deadly poison! A mysterious figure! A new challenger enters the arena! A shoot from the dark! A spectacular heist! Almighty janitor! Alone against danger! An attempted kidnapping! 2 An improvised weapon! An open challenge! Astonishing powers! Badass boast! Battle Royal! Bavarian fire drill! Better lucky than good! Big explosion! Bloodsport! Bound and gagged! 3 Breaking glass! Bullet time! But for me, it was Tuesday! Cackling villain speech! Casual danger dialog! Chekhov's gun! Chekhov's skill! Clash of powers! Collapsing mineshaft! Collateral damage! 4 Conveyor belt o' Doom! Countdown of Doom! Crawling through the air ducts! Crushing walls! Curb storm battle! Dirty fighttrick! Dramatic entrance! Elevator fight! Exotic locales! Explosive bobby-trap! 5 Extreme sport! Fast-paced chase! Fight on top of a vehicle! Flooding room! For Science! Gas leak! Guns akimbo! Gust of wind! Hidden weapon! Hostage situation! 6 Incoming missile! Innocent bystanders! Just a flesh wound! Killer pets! Knock-out gas! Law of inverse ninja power! Left for dead! Loads and loads of weapons! Lost in the wilderness! MacGyvering time! 7 Master Vs. Disciple! Mexican standoff! My name is [insert name]! My kung fu is stronger than yours! On the rooftops! One in a million shot! One last bullet! One-person army! Panicked crowd! Prepare to die! 8 Reinforcements are coming! Righteous fury! Riotous mobs! Rope swing!! Secret underground passage! Shut up, Hannibal! Shut up, Kirk! Slippery floor! Snipper attack! Spikes of doom! 9 Spy games! Suddenly disarmed! The Brutish Giant! The building is on fire! The enemy of my enemy! The Hired Gun! The Masked Avenger! The Old Master! The reckless scoundrel! The whole world is watching! 10 The wrath of Mother Nature! This time is personal! Thunderstorm! Touch of Death! Training from Hell! Ultimate technique! Uncontrolled power! Vanishing in plain sight! Vitriolic best buds! Words of encouragement!
8 COMEDY 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 1 …and that would be wrong Abhorrent admirer Accidental pervert All hands down Angrish Arson, murder and jaywalking Backfired prank Balloon belly Berserk Button Big eater 2 Big Lipped Alligator Big 'Shut up!' Big sweat drop Bishie sparkle Bleeped word Bread, eggs, milk, squick Breaking the fourth wall Brick joke Captain Obvious Chirping crickets 3 Clown car Collective groan Comic damage Comically missing the point Corner of woe Crouching moron, hidden badass Cue the flying pigs Deadpan snarker Disproportionate retribution Dope slap 4 Embarrassing acquaintance Embarrassing photograph Empty pockets Excruciating long speech Face fault Face palm Funny background event Gilligan cut Gonk Gratuitous foreign language use 5 Ha ha ha no Hammer-space Hanging one's head Head desk Heavy sleeper Hiding behind a stick High-five left hanging Horrible singer Humiliation conga Hyperventilation bag 6 I take offence for the last one! I'm not dead! I'm standing right here! Impact silhouette Improbable weapon user In vino veritas Incompetent sidekick Inconvenient resemblance Insult to rocks Ironic karma 7 Let us never speak of this again Lethal chef Lost in translation Minor injury overreaction Mischievous kid Motor mouth No indoor voice No social skills Nosebleed Obnoxious fan 8 Oh, crap! Moment One dialogue, two conversations Only sane guy Overreacting big 'Nooooo!' Phrasing! Poe's law Priceless Ming Vase Ridiculously cute critter Sad trombone Shout-out 9 Silly walks Skewed priorities Slapstick Small name, big ego Stop helping me! Stupid sexy Flanders Terrible artist Terrible driver That was not a compliment! Too dumb to live 10 Too kinky to torture Twinkle smile Unplanned crossdressing Vaudeville hook Vocal dissonance Wardrobe malfunction Wink 'Ding!' Yelling at a cloud Your approval fills me with shame Zany scheme
9 CRIME 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 1 Accidental murder Amoral attorney Arsony Art thievery Bank robbery Big scam Black market Blackmailing Border patrol Bounty hunter 2 Breaking parole Bribery Code of silence Conflicting evidence Cool blood murder Corrupt politician Court-martial Custom agent Cybercrime Death squad 3 Death threats Diplomatic immunity Dirty cop Disinformation and propaganda Disturbance of public order DNA traces Double agent Drug overdose Drug trafficking Embezzlement 4 Extradition laws Fall guy False testimony Federal agent Fencer Forced labor Foreign account Front company Good cop, bad cop Gunrunner 5 Hardboiled detective Hate crimes Honor among thieves Hostage exchange Housebreaking Illegal gambling Illegal immigration Incriminating evidence Industrial espionage Influence peddling 6 Innocent witness Insurance fraud Internal affairs International crime Isolation cell Jail break Jurisdiction issues Kidnapping Life imprisonment Lost evidence 7 Lynching attempt Maximum security prison Meddling paparazzi Medical negligence Military secret Miscarriage of justice Mob war Money counterfeit Mysterious disappearance Papertrail 8 Parole officer Patrol car Pay-a-bail Pickpocket Prisoner transfer Professional killer Protection racket Pyramid scam Repeat offender Rigged match 9 Safebuster Security cameras Serial killer Skeleton in the closet Sleeping with the fish Smoking gun Special crimes unit Sports doping Surprise witness Suspicious accident 10 Tax evasion The snitch Trade in organs Undercover agent Unregistered firearm Vigilantism Violent crowd War crimes White collar crime Workplace harassment
10 DRAMA 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 1 Achilles’ heel Acting on an impulse Ain't Too Proud to Beg Androcle's lion Approval seeker Bad boss Becoming the mask Bitter betrayal Blind loyalty Blind wrath 2 Blood feud Broken friendship Broken promise Cassandra truth Clashing sides Coming of age Conflicting loyalties Cycle of revenge Death seeker Die as a hero… 3 Dramatic weather Driven by envy Driven by greed Driven by lust Due to the dead Enemy mine Even Evil have standards Evil twin Face turn Facing defeat with dignity 4 Feuding family Fire forged friendship Flashback Forgiven, not forgotten Hate sink Hate to the different Heel turn Heel-face door slam Hidden depths Honor before reason 5 Hostile crowd How the mighty have fallen Hurtful truth Ignored epiphany Ironic echo Jerk with a Heart of Jerk Jerk with a Heart of Gold Jerkass has a point Loss of confidence Misplaced retribution 6 Missed opportunity Mood swing Paranoia fuel Personal vendetta Pragmatic decision Prank gone wrong Punished hubris Redemption equals death Refusal of the call Riding a tiger 7 Sadistic decision Screw the money, I have rules! Screw the rules, I have money! Screw the rules, I make them! Self-fulfilling prophecy Separated at birth Sic transit gloria mundi Silence of sadness Sins of the past Social rejection 8 Solemn vow Sore loser Stepford smiler Team dissent Tears of joy Tears of remorse Tears of sadness The Abyss looks back The Atoner The beginning of the end 9 The great reveal The halcyon days The Incorruptible The lesser evil The Redeemer The Unfavorite The Woobie Them's fightin' words Too good to last Tranquil fury 10 Troubled past Unable to cry Unexpected return Unexpected reunion Unreasonable figure of authority Used to be a sweet kid Villainous glutton White lies With great power… You hate what your fear
11 FANTASY 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 1 Adventurer’s Guild Alchemy lab Ancestral tomb Ancient war Angelic creatures Animated tree Artifact of Doom Artificial creature Assassin’s Guild Avatar of a God 2 Big Frigging Sword Blood covered battlefield Breath weapon Burning crusade Castle in the sky Chaotic magic zone City sewers City under the sea Clockwork City Conquering warlord 3 Council of Elders Cursed item Daring rogue Dashing swashbuckler Dead magic zone Deadly trap Demonic creatures Dire beast Doomed city Elixir of Life 4 Enigmatic riddle Fairyland Fallen Empires Forgotten God Giant rats Giant sea creature Here be dragons Isekai Jolly/Bloody pirates Living element 5 Living rock Living shadows Magic invisibility Magic potion Magic scroll Magic shop Magic weapon Magical barrier Magical blast Magical bloodline 6 Magical curse Magical impersonation Magical substance Mana node Martial monks Mind control magic Mind fooling illusions Monster infestation Noble in disguise N-parts McGuffin 7 Old grimoire Palace of Crystal Peaceful countryside Pest infestation Petrification Portal to other worlds Power hungry wizard Preachy cleric Raging barbarian Ravaging horde 8 Realm of the Dreams Sacred vow Sealed evil Secret door Shining armor knight Spoony bard Sufficiently advanced magic Summoning circle Swamp of Hopelessness Talking animal 9 Tavern brawl The End Reach of the World The Evil Empire The famine The Grim Reaper The prophecy’s Chosen One The siege The walking dead Thought warrior Town fair 10 Treasure map Twisted magical contract Twisting tunnels Underground world Undersea kingdom Unnatural weather Unpassable Mountains War-seasoned commander Wild druid Witch hunter
12 HORROR 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 1 A pact with the Devil A visit to the morgue Abandoned amusement park Abandoned mine Alien experiments Ancient curse Apocalyptic cult Baleful transformation Blasphemous canticles Blood stains 2 Body horror Buried alive Buzzing bugs Cabin fever Came back wrong Cannibal cult Clinic of Horrors Cold blood torture Cosmic horror Creepy child 3 Creepy crows Creepy doll Creepy mists Creepy old person Cries of pain Cursed bloodline Cursed videotape Deathly puzzle Decadent den of iniquity Decrepit mansion 4 Derelict building Desecrated altar Despair feelings Distress call Distressed animals Drug-induced hallucinations Found footage Ghost town Ghostly apparitions Horrible nightmares 5 Human hunt Human sacrifice Inhuman ancestors Inhuman features Isolated village Isolation feeling Jump scare Lonely Park Macabre Circus Macabre urban legend 6 Maddening visions Madness journal Madness mantra Maniacal laugh Marked for death Memory gap Messages in the static Missing corpse Monstrous fauna Mutilation 7 Mysterious creature Mysterious idol Mysterious vanishings Old basement Old bookshop Old cemetery Old creepy tome Old water well Oubliette’d Out of the corner of the eye 8 Out-of-body experience Partially burned notes Past atrocities Personal Hell Poltergeist phenomena Prophecy of Doom Rotten smell Sanity slippage Satanic paraphernalia Severed head 9 Shattered innocence Sinister conspiracy Sinister locals Slasher killer Subtle threat Sudden thump The Asylum The door closes The lights go off The lines are cut 10 The Orphanage The room gets cold Threats on the phone Uncanny valley Unnatural silence Unsettling vistas Useless authorities Whispers in the shadows Withering plans Writings in the wall
13 ROMANCE 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 1 A walk by the park An old crush Arranged couple Battle couple Blind date Chaperone's duty Cheating partner Chick magnet Childhood friends Declaration of love 2 Disastrous date Doomed love Double date Drowning the sorrows Dude magnet Failed flirting attempt Fear of love First kiss First love First sight love 3 For richer, for poorer Forbidden love Forgotten anniversary Fragile love Friendly breakup Friendly ex Happily married Heated argument Hidden love Hopeless suitor 4 Hurt feelings In love with love Insecure love interest Inspirational love Just a toy for you? Kavorka man/woman Kiss-kiss-slap Lack of commitment Let just be friends Long-distance relationship 5 Lost love Love across battle lines Love dodecahedron Love letter Love triangle Loves makes you stronger Loves makes you stupid Loving a shadow Married to the job Meeting the family 6 Mistaken for cheating Mistaken for flirting Mistaken for declaration Mixed feelings Mocked romance Mr./Ms. Fanservice Need to talk Now or never! Oblivious to love Obsessive admirer 7 Obsessive ex Officially betrothed Open relationship Poor communication Post-reject overeating Prank date Real life writes the plot Redeeming love Reigniting the flame Relationship for convenience 8 Resenting ex Revenge dating Rival suitors Romantic date Romantic gift Romantic keepsake Romantic wingman Samaritan relationship starter Scorned love Secret admirer 9 Secret relationship Shipper on deck Slap-slap-kiss Star-crossed lovers Stood up Suddenly revealed beauty The Casanova The green-eyed monster The strange couple The temptation 10 Too cute for words Toxic relationship Unresolved romantic tension Untimely interruption Valentine's day Vengeful ex Waiting the charming prince(ss) Why can't I hate you? Wolf in sheep's clothing Wrong declaration of love receiver
14 CHANBARA 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 1-2 Ancestral katana Angry gaki Ashigaru troop Astute warlord Band of samurai Blind masseur Bloody battlefield Bowl of rice Buddhist temple Cherry Blossoms 3-4 Crowded matsuri Death duel Elder counselor Elder sensei Empty Throne Foreign missionary Greedy merchant Hard working peasants Incorruptible magistrate Inexperienced young daimyo 5-6 Invading army Kagemusha Loyal yōjimbō Master swordsmith Matchlock guns Mount Fuji Mysterious yōkai Ninja attack! Outlaws band Peasant rebellion 7-8 Pirate crew Power hungry warlord Red light district Rice taxes Ritual suicide Sake bottle Samurai duel Scheming courtier Shinto temple Somber ronin 9-10 Sumotori bouncer Sword saint Tea ceremony Test of Honor Test of Loyalty Unrested peasants War among lords Yakuza gang Yamabushi Young kabukimono COSMIC HORROR 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 1-2 Alien technology Amorphous aberration Ancient inscriptions Antiquities seller Apocalyptic log Artifact of Doom Blasphemous work of art Body horror Colossal monstrosity Cyclopean architecture 3-4 Degenerated town Diseased fancy Disjointed ramblings Disturbing physiognomy Doomed scientific expedition Fortean phenomenon Foul smells From beyond Going mad by the revelation Haunted bloodline 5-6 Hideous monolith Maddening music Madnessinducing tome Message in dreams Mysterious cult Nameless City Nameless monstrosity NonEuclidean geometry Old library Ominous chants 7-8 Psychically sensitivity Reanimated dead Ritual sacrifice Sigil of protection Sinister relic Strange eons Strange survivals Sudden suspicious dead Summoning ritual Terrible old man 9-10 The Great Old Ones The Lands of Dreaming The Outer Gods The stars are right They wait, dreaming Tomato in the mirror Unholy worship University professor Visioninducing drugs Whippoorwills laughter
15 CYBERPUNK 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 1-2 133t Hacker Archology Automated factory Black Ice Black market Brain uploading Corporate tower Corporate Assassin Corporate suit Corporate wars 3-4 Corporate Zaibatsu Counterculture movement Cult of the Machine Cyber Ninja Cyber psychosis Cyberfashion Cyberimplanted weapon Cybernetic limb Cybernetic malfunction Design drug 5-6 Drone vehicle Environmental activists Experimental drugs Flying car Identity chip Illegal cloning Killer robot Labyrinthine sewers Mercenary army Neon lights 7-8 Neural implanting Orbital colony Police State Polluted skies Powered armor Private police Rich paradise Security cam Seedy bar Sewer insurgency 9-10 Street Samurai Technological prototype The Warzone The Wasteland Ultra-violent gang Virtual assistant Virtual celebrity Virtual World VR addiction Weapon dealer FAERY TALES 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 1-2 Animated object Anthropomorphic personification Brutish giant David Vs. Goliath Enchanted Forest Evil magic Fairy Godmother Foolish promise Forbidden fruit Genie in a bottle 3-4 Gentle giant Haunted castle Healing plant Impossible task Jolly crew of pirates Karmic punishment Knight in shining armor Lost parent Love at first sight Loyal pet 5-6 Merry band of outlaws Mysterious traveler Noble brat Prince(ss) charming Prince(ss) in trouble Reluctant hero Rule of Seven Rule of Three Secret room Secret test of character 7-8 Spirited away Sword duel Talking animal Talking tree The Big Bad Wolf The Big Tournament The Curse of Shapechanging The Devil The Dragon The Fair Folk 9-10 The fairest of them all The Good Monarch The Good Monarch The Magic Sword The Old Wizard The youngest child Town's festival Trickster puck True Love Wicked stepparent
16 HIGH SCHOOL 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 1-2 Biology class Chemistry class Foreign language class H.E. class History class Literature class Math class Music class Physics class Science lab class 3-4 After-school cleaning duty Class representative duties Class representative elections Club exhibition Club meeting Council of Students elections Council of Students tensions Field trip First aids training New transfer student 5-6 P.E. class Pop quiz Scheduled test School health examination School open day Self-defense training Sport competition Study group Substitute teacher Swimming pool class 7-8 Clash between cliques Disciplinary measures Dodgy rumors Fire drill Food fight Gang warfare High School newspaper scoop Inter-class rivalry Interesting gossip Inter-school rivalry 9-10 Intra-class rivalry Lockers inspection Malicious gossip Malicious vandalism Petty theft Popularity contest Power failure Random vandalism Urban legend Yard fight MODERN WAR 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 1-2 Amphibian assault AWOL Band of misfits Behind the enemy lines Booby trap Collateral damage Combat medic Combat tank Counterstrike Covering fire 3-4 Cowardice in combat Dear [X] letter Elite unit Ensign newbie Field promotion Frontal assault FUBAR equipment Glory seeker official Hand grenade Heavy artillery 5-6 Helpless civilians Hostile civilians Incoming missile La Résistance Last stand Martial court Mass destruction weapon Medal of honor Military academy Mine field 7-8 Missing in action Night combat Pincer movement Prisoner of war R&R Reinforcements are coming! Retreat! Sabotage mission Scorched earth Secret plans 9-10 Secret weapon Shell-shock Sniper shoot Suicide mission The call of duty Top gun Trench warfare Unconditional surrendering Unruly platoon War crimes
17 PIRATES 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 1-2 A love in each port Backstabbing Black flag Bloodthirsty pirate Bottle of rum Bustling tavern Cabin fever Cabin kid Cannon ball Castaway draft 3-4 Casting off Corrupt governor Crown envoy Dead calm Dividing up the loot Drunken sailor Eye patch Fencing duel Flogging Gang-pressed crew 5-6 Ghost ship Gunpowder gun Hook hand Inescapable prison King / Queen of the Pirates Letter of marque Losing course Man’o’war Marooned! Message in a bottle 7-8 Mutiny! Nameless island Palm and coconut trees Peg leg Pirate Code Pirate parrot Pirate-hunting fleet Roguish pirate Scurvy Sea monster 9-10 Sea shantie Shipwreck! Spyglass Squandered riches The Black Spot The gallows Thunder and lightning Treasure map Walk the plank Whirlpool POST-APOCALYPTIC 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 1-2 A light for the lost ones Barely fertile fields Black rain Bust a deal… Crumbling building Deathly winds Decayed highway Deserted settlement Feral former pets Food supplies 3-4 Fuel tank Gang of marauders Improvised gear Irradiated ghouls Junk Market Local militia Lost knowledge Medicine stash Nuke Old engine 5-6 Old power plant Old water supply Out of the ruins Polluted water Radioactive fallout Ravenous beast Reclaimed by nature Records from the past Road warrior Savage kid 7-8 Slave-riding Something to trade off Technology Savant The Blaster The City The Human Popsicle The Irradiated Zone The Master The New Religion The old sewers 9-10 The Reinstated Authority The Scientific Institute The Secret Valley The Social Darwinist The Vault The Wasteland Tribute collectors Two enter, one leaves War machine Weapons stash
18 SCI FI 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 1-2 Ambulant city Artificial human Automated city Big Frigging Gun Big Brother is watching Body swapping Cloning blues Combat drugs Combat simulator Corporate government 3-4 Crapshoot A.I. Cryogenization Cybernetic limb Dimensional travel Domestic robot Doppelganger infiltration Elite hacking Energy melee weapon Energy shield Flying city 5-6 Freak lab accident Genetic abomination Hive mind Humongous mecha I.A. assistant Kaiju attack Killer satellite Killer software Lotus-eater machine Mental implants 7-8 Nuclear fear Out of control nanites Outdated tech Powered armor Precursor technology Psychic powers Secret project Steampunk tech Sufficiently advanced technology Supersoldiers 9-10 The Info Net Ultraviolent gangs Uncontrolled pollution Underground city Underwater city Unscrupulous science Unobtanium Uplifted animal Virtual World War droids SLICES OF LIFE 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 1-2 Attending a festival Attending a film shoot Attending a live show Attending cram school Beetle/cicada hunting Bike ride Buying groceries Chatting online Community work Cooking lunch 3-4 Cosplay party Doing house chores Doing physical training Family time Going fishing Going for a walk Going to a bathhouse Going to a concert Going to the arcade Half-time job 5-6 Helping an elder Helping with class homework Home crafts Home repairs Jumble sale Karaoke singing Making a pie Mowing the grass Neighbor visit ONG work 7-8 Ordering food Partying Paying respect to the departed Playing videogames Reading a book Reading manga Relaxing bath Stargazing Street market Street entertainers 9-10 Tea drinking Trip to the beach or pool Trip to the countryside Visiting someone sick Visiting the temple Volunteer firefighting work Watching fireworks Watching the clouds Watching TV Writing in your Dear Diary
19 SPACE 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 1-2 Alternateselves world Aquatic world Artificial satellite Artificial world Asteroid belt Automated defenses Black hole Bug hunt Climatic instability Derelict spaceship 3-4 Desert world Distress signal Electromagnetic interferences Extradimensional visitors First contact Forbidden zone Galactic Empire Hollow planet Hostile fauna Hostile flora 5-6 Infectious disease Living world Lost colony Megafauna Meteor impact Nuking from orbit Parasite lifeform Planet-ship Precursor species Psychic anomaly 7-8 Quarantined planet Radiation leak Reality warper Sentient world Shields are failing Solar flare Space exodus Space mercenaries Space pirates Space shipwreck 9-10 Space fleet battle Space-God Temporal anomaly Terraformation troubles The last of their kind Tourism planet Unstable orbit Worlddestroyer tech Worlddevourer entity Worm hole SPIES 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 1-2 Agent provocateur Bang and Burn operation Black operation Brush contact Burned agent Chicken Feed Clandestine radio Cool car Cool jet Countdown bomb 3-4 Covert Action operation Deep cover agent Double agent Electronic espionage Electronic surveillance Encrypted data Exfiltration operation Eyes only document Fake accident Fake death 5-6 False flag operation False identity Foreign liaison Hidden weapon Honey trap Information exchange Intercepted signal Killer Laser Luxurious Casino Manchurian agent 7-8 Military secret Misinformati on & Propaganda Mission Control Poison pill Prisoner exchange Q Branch Ransacked doom Safe house Security cams Self-destruct message 9-10 Self-destruct base Sleeper agent Sponsored dictator Sponsored paramilitary Stash of documents The Defector The Mole The Torturer Tracking device Tuxedo and Martini
20 SWORDS & SORCERY 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 1-2 A few stood against many A sharp sword and a straight path Ace of spades Back from the Pit of Hell Band of scoundrels Barbarian hero Barbarians at the walls Battle rage Beast from a Lost Time Beast from Beyond 3-4 Beyond the realms of Death Breaking the law Consuming ambition Covetous merchant Crafty thief Cursed blade Cursed tower Dark ritual Day of Doom Decadent noble 5-6 Discourteous civilized person Dissipated riches Earning a throne Eldritch location Evil magic Exotic dancer Fear of the dark Fire and Wind from the sky Fleeing slave Gigantic melancholies and mirth 7-8 Honor among thieves Into the void Live, love, slay, being content Lost Temple Master of puppets Mercenary band Only pain hurts Ophidian cult Pirate crew Raiders from the sea 9-10 The secret of steel The Sunken Continent Thirst of blood To crush your enemies Treading jeweled thrones Troubled heir Uncaring Gods Underground people Venom trap Welcome to the jungle TRAGEDY 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 1-2 A death in the family Act of cowardice Brainwashing Broken dreams Broken heart Caught in a trap Change of sides Collateral victim Corrupted ideal Crippling addiction 3-4 Crippling fear Crippling injuries Crippling regrets Domestic accident Exiled Falsely charged Gaslighting Heroic BSOD Identity theft Job loss 5-6 Job problems Just forgotten Kidnapped Left behind Loss of an item Loss of faith Lost chance Marked as a criminal Memory loss Missed opportunity 7-8 Natural disaster Old wound Power loss Public shaming Random beating Ruined reputation Sadistic choice Severe sickness Shell-shock Start of darkness 9-10 Stressed-out Suddenly homeless Target of an attack Target of rumors Temporal(?) blindness The past is a lie Unsurmountable debt Vehicle accident Work accident Wounded pride
21 WESTERN 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 1-2 Bank robbery Bounty hunter Canadian frontier Dust devil Fire-andbrimstone Preacher Fist brawl Gold digger Greedy landlord Hanging judge Herd of buffalo 3-4 Herd of cattle High Noon duel Honest farmer Horse chase Indian village Loner gunslinger Loyal horse Lynch Mob Mexican frontier Military fort 5-6 Morbid mortician Outlaws band Poker game Railroad tycoon Rattlesnake Rodeo lasso Rustler Shot in the back Six shooter Smoke signals 7-8 Snake oil salesman Stagecoach Stick of dynamite Stubborn mule Tenderfoot The Civil War The Death Valley The Great Plains The Oregon Trail The Rocky Mountains 9-10 The Saloon The Town with No Name The town’s sheriff Tombstone Train robbery Trick shooting Wagon caravan Wanted poster Whiskey bottle White hat ZOMBIE OUTBREAK 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 1-2 Barricaded position Blocked door Blocked road Burn it with fire Catatonic survivor Cries for help Crawling limb Defiant to the end Disabling injury Distant shooting 3-4 Doubtful contagion Driven to suicide Eaten alive Emergency refueling Evacuation plan Fast zombie Fighting for resources Heroic sacrifice Hidden contagion Humans are the real monsters 5-6 Improvised weapon Jumping zombie Knownothing know-it-all Left behind Life or limb decision Lost in the wilderness Need of pharmaceuticals Never my fault No good deed goes unpunished Opportunistic scavenger 7-8 Panicked mob Patient Zero Power failure Promise of a sanctuary Quarantined zone Rumors of a cure Scientific lab Senseless sacrifice Slow zombie Social tensions 9-10 Straw nihilist Surprisingly clever zombie The Immune Triggerhappy military Undead horde Unforeseen access point Weapon supplies Zombie animal Zombified acquaintance Zone Zero
22 GANGSTERS 1-2 3-4 5-6 7-8 9-10 1-2 A friend of mine A friend of us An offer you can’t refuse Cold-served revenge Group of cagnolazzi 3-4 Keeping enemies close Kiss of Death La Famiglia Made man Making it look like an accident 5-6 Making your bones Mob War Nothing personal Omertà Sleeping with the fish 7-8 The Caporegime The Commission The Consigliere The Don The loose cannon 9-10 The Mustache Pete The ratter The speakeasy Tommyguns With a kind word, and a gun MUSICAL 1-2 3-4 5-6 7-8 9-10 1-2 Classical music theme Country theme Crowd song Death song Distant duet 3-4 Duet battle Duet song Epic orchestral theme Ethnic music Hard rock theme 5-6 Heavy metal theme Jukebox musical – The 60’s Jukebox musical – The 70’s Jukebox musical – The 80’s Jukebox musical – The 90’s 7-8 Love song Ominous chorus Opera Pop rock theme Rap theme 9-10 Rock opera Sad ballad Sudden musical ending Techno theme Villain song
23 NINJA 1-2 3-4 5-6 7-8 9-10 1-2 Disguise gear Distraction fire Flash step Foliage camouflage Goshiki-mai 3-4 Grappling hook Hiding in plain sight Kite Riding Kuji-kiri Kunai 5-6 Kusari-gama Multiple images technique Ninja assassin Ninja saboteur Ninja spy 7-8 Ninja village Ninja school Ninjato Nukenin Poison vial 9-10 Shadow merging Shuriken Smoke bomb Wall crawling Water walking SLASHER 1-2 3-4 5-6 7-8 9-10 1-2 Alpha bitch Asshole victim Blood and guts Bound & gagged Butcher knife 3-4 Creepy basement Creepy church Creepy derelict building Creepy farm Creepy forest 5-6 Creepy graveyard Final girl Frightful mask Gratuitous shower scene Hook and chains 7-8 Killer trap Not quite dead Past victims Severed head Severed limb 9-10 The Jerk Jock The Nerd The Stoner Useless adults Useless police
24 PEPLUM 1-2 3-4 5-6 7-8 9-10 1-2 Barbarians at the gates Bread and circus Christian martyr Civil war Corrupt governor 3-4 Decadent party Egyptian scribe Galley slave Gladiatorial combat Greek erudite 5-6 Indomitable gaul Influential demagogue Laurel wreath Phoenician merchant Pretorian guard 7-8 Public baths Sacrifice to the Gods Siege weapons Slave rebellion Triumphal procession 9-10 Turtle formation Tyrant Emperor Vae Victis! Veteran centurion War elephant REGENCY ENGLAND 1-2 3-4 5-6 7-8 9-10 1-2 A game of cricket A play by Shakespeare Ballroom dance Bare-knuckle boxing Big fancy mansion 3-4 Dark glamour Daughters' marriage prospects Dramatic weather Duel of honor Elopement marriage 5-6 Fortune of mysterious origin Gambling addition Gold digger Horse racing Master & Commander 7-8 Napoleonic Wars Official & gentleman Political oppression Regent’s Park Romanticism Vs Enlightenment 9-10 The Dandy The house servants The Révolution The rookeries Tragic love affair