Party Makeup Maker With a few dice rolls, you’ll think you’ve been campaigning together for ages. Randomized Tables oleplaying isn’t just about understanding your own backstory—it’s about the connections you make with the other players at your table. This table is meant to help players develop an immediate connection with other members of the party, as well as a motivating factor or shared detail that will inform how your characters interact. To use it, roll 1d100 with the person to your left and right at the table (skipping this step if that person is the GM), then fi nd the corresponding entry on the table. For extra variance, roll 2d100 and use a diff erent entry for the second column. Once you’re done, every player will have at least one direct connection to another party member, and some will have two. GM Note These relationships are often intentionally vague, so as to give players more room to expand on them as your game unfolds. That said, those that are specifi c could directly confl ict with characters’ backstories—and if that’s the case, feel free to roll again. And again and again and again until you fi nd something the duo partnering up can agree on. R 1d100 Relationship Detail 1 Parent and child... ...who are not on speaking terms. 2 Stepparent and stepchild... ...who don’t trust each other. 3 Members of the same guild... ...who are enablers. 4 Childhood sweethearts... ...who keep distracting one another. 5 Co-workers... ...who secretly think the other is useless. 6 Coach and trainee... ...who have a not-so-secret handshake. 7 Sponsor and acolyte on a vision quest... ...who have no sense of direction. 8 Beloved comedy duo... ...who can’t stand the sight of each other. 9 )!Ɲ *"0ǽǽǽ ...who get into shouting matches. 10 Partners in crime... ...who are hiding a dark secret. 11 Study buddies... ...who like to cut corners. 12 Former prison cellmates... ...who created their own language. 13 Siblings... ...in love with the same person. 14 Stepsiblings... ...who are relentlessly competitive. 15 Half-siblings... ...who never met their dad. 16 Magician and assistant... ...who refuse to be separated. 17 Benefactor and ward... ...on the lam. 18 Knight and squire... ...on a months-long bender. 19 Mogul and hypeman/ woman... ...trying to launch a new product. 20 Twins... ...who are literally attached at the hip. 21 Landlord and tenant... ...who are trying to outlast one another. 22 Cousins... ...who created a controversial new religion. 23 Bartender and patron... ...who have the same exact conversation every day for eternity due to a hex. 24 Roommates... ...who can never remember each other’s name. 25 Amateur athletes... ...who have a bonedeteriorating curse. 26 Actor and director... ...who have publicly stated their hatred for the arts. 27 Neighbors who’ve lost their homes... ǽǽǽ +! +ȉ1Ɯ+!1%"&/ insurance agent anywhere. 28 Teacher and star pupil... ǽǽǽ4%, /",3"/ ,+Ɯ!"+1 and underprepared. 29 Subjects of an arranged marriage... ...who speak to each other through other people. 30 Bounty hunter and quarry... ǽǽǽ4%,-&00"!,ƛ1%"4/,+$ people. 31 Performer and stunt double... ...who get mobbed by fans wherever they go. 32 Inventor and test subject... ...who just lost their funding. 33 Victims of the same criminal... ...and one is a fraud. 34 Explorer and local guide... ...who are carriers of a deadly virus. 35 Traveling fans of the same bard... ...who are fresh out of narcotics. 36 Amatuer sleuths... ...with insomnia.
37 Honey ambassadors... ...who are deathly allergic to bees. 38 -1 &+ +!#,/*"/Ɯ/01 mate... ǽǽǽ4%,02ƛ"/#/,* seasickness. 39 Ghost hunter and client... ...with a healthy fear of bears. 40 Personal trainer and new charge... ...who love a good high Ɯ3"ǽ 41 Estranged aunt and nephew/niece... ...who constantly argue about money. 42 Poet and muse... ...who gossip about each other incessently. 43 Addict and sponsor... ...who won’t ride wagons #,/#" /,## ))&+$,ƛǽ 44 Historian and part-time assistant... ...who’ve stolen a prominant author’s book idea. 45 Summer camp counselors... ...who despise children. 46 Members of the same temple... ..who have lost their faith. 47 Co-conspirators in a would-be coup... ...who are losing their nerve. 48 Longtime family friends... ...who have made a death pact. 49 An alchemist’s assistants... ...who always have snacks on hand. 50 Veteran cop and a rookie... ...who are becoming what they hate. 51 Strangers mistaken for one another... ...who simply love a good showtune. 52 Traveling tome sellers... ...who are both behind on rent. 53 Reluctant acolytes on a mission trip... ...who would rather be carousing and carrying on. 54 Roving restaurant reviewers... ...who have been banned from several establishments throughout the realm. 55 Government inspectors... ...who have misplaced their &!"+1&Ɯ 1&,+ǽ 56 Merchant and hired security... ...with little respect for authority. 57 The brains and the brawn... ...who love a good prank. 58 Fellow orphans... ...looking for a mysterious benefactor. 59 Concerned parents... ...trying to stop a dangerous outbreak. 60 Astronomer and astrologer... ...worried about the same comet. 61 Co-authors of a selfhelp book... ...who are shameless selfpromoters. 62 Forbidden lovers... ...who must prove themselves to a noble lord. 63 Strangers linked by a cursed item... ...who lose control of their faculties once every 1d6 days. 64 Town council members... ...who take pleasure in undercutting each other. 65 Robber barons... ...who are strangely anticapitalism. 66 / %",),$&010 ƞ"/1%" same artifact... ...who don’t know they’re being followed. 67 Spy and handler... ...who are in deeper than they know. 68 Alumni of the same school... ...who know each others’ dark secret. 69 Co-chairs of a planning committee for a major carnival... ...who need 1,000 signatures by next month. 70 Prize winners of the same sweepstakes... ...who harbor resentment over a misunderstanding. 71 Legendary adventurer impersonators... ...who don’t believe the rules apply to them. 72 Club owner and bouncer... ...who lack scruples. 73 Gambling buddies... ...who refuse to bathe out of superstition. 74 Reporters on the same beat... ...who have uncovered a vast conspiracy. 75 Freelance gravediggers... ...who’ve lost a skull of great import. 76 ,)2+1""/Ɯ/"Ɯ$%1"/0ǽǽǽ ...who never met a pun they didn’t oversell. 77 Subjects of the same demon... ...who need a way out. 78 Sociologists researching a thesis... ...who are dangerously curious. 79 Refugees of the same calamity... ...who bicker to pass the time. 80 Bandmates... ...who are both certain they are the talented one. 81 Terrible hypnotist and lone success story... ...who are gawked at wherever they go. 82 A noble and a pauper who changed places as a bet... ...who are trying to sell the rights to their story. 83 Animal rights activists... ...who are self-righteous. 84 Strangers who saw one another in a dream... ...and are marching toward their doom. 85 Noble and housecarl... ...who refuse to talk about their scars. 86 Bird watchers seeking a rare warbler... ...who are relentlessly positive. 87 Retiree and replacement... ...who are terribly homesick. 88 Thrillseekers with the same guidebook... ...who get antsy when forced to stand still. 89 Strangers indebted to the same crime lord... ...who love a good bribe. 90 Architect and foreman... ...who accidentally destroyed a whole town. 91 Accused of the same crime... ...and one of them is !"Ɯ+&1")6$2&)16ǽ 92 Competitive eaters... ...who don’t care for crowds. 93 Professional grapplers... ...who have three catchphrases each. 94 Undercover cops... ...who are disguised as humble pastry chefs. 95 Real estate developers... ǽǽǽ4%, +ȉ101,-Ɲ&--&+$ property. 96 Debt collectors... ...who constantly trade memories of the good ol’ days. 97 The creators of a new ale... ...who know they’ll be famous one day. 98 Escapees from the same cult... ǽǽǽ4%,01&))% 3"Ɲ 0% (0ǽ 99 Veterans of the same war... ...who get a new tattoo together every week. 100 A popular charmer and the goofball they bet they could make seem cool... ...who may also be falling in love. The Game Master’s Book of Random Encounters 251
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The Game Master’s Book of Random Encounters 255 Acknowledgements JEFF WOULD LIKE TO OFFER A FAIR AMOUNT OF THANKS... ...to the incredible team at Media Lab Books, without whom these pages would not have been created in any capacity. To Jasmine, for being an incredible collaborator and GM—this project would not have been possible without your inspiration and illustrations. To Liam, for providing material for this title that was so good it forced me to ask you to provide more. To Andrew, for answering all my RPG-related questions at any hour of day. To Paige and the Pretty Six, Jake and the Frothy Frogs, and each member of both the Jimmy Plural Project and the Gathered Company for helping assess (and in some cases truly derail) this material when it was just a bunch of random ideas. Your input and insight, whether intentional or not, helped to make it better. To Nick, Fiona, Buttons née Dijon Mayo, Trousers (R.I.P.), Malbec Whitetail, Zariel and Aemon—may your death saves always be ten or better. Finally, to my incredible wife. Th is title would not have been possible without your support (in allowing me to play hours upon hours of games each week), your patience (when I came home late from said games) and overall guiding yet not smothering presence. Every moment with you feels like rolling a natural 20. JASMINE WOULD LIKE TO THANK... ...my parents, for letting me come back home so I could work on this project. Your support and unconditional love is pretty great, not going to lie. Liam, for introducing me to the world of TTRPGs and for contributing some sweet locations to the book—without you I wouldn’t be writing this and the lack of TTRPG content in my life would have left me hollow. My long-term campaign boys: Th e Drop Ins—Red, Mantl, Elisa, Adelise and Rajaa—I’m still waiting for the day I’ll get enough time to have a villain monologue before their untimely death. Th e incredible parties who helped playtest this content: Seaman, North Sandhole, Yola Bean and Dortaela, as well as Dimitri, Felix, Grandma Hassle and Paerty. My incredible friends who encourage me every day to keep going: Becky, Natalie, Lauren, Sean, TJ, Shastra, Emma, Kelly, Liisa and Jarred—love you guys. And, of course, Jeff . I ended up losing count of the times your writing has made me laugh. It’s been such an amazing experience collaborating and illustrating your crazy ideas.
Your GMs Are... JEFF ASHWORTH is a writer, editor and storyteller whose credits include work for Disney, Nickelodeon and World Wrestling Entertainment. When he isn’t working on special projects for Newsweek or Media Lab Books, he enjoys playing and designing games with his friends. In his role-playing career he has gambled with giants, sweettalked succubi and devastated dragons without breaking a sweat. In the real world, after failing a late-night Perception check, he was nearly crippled by a foot-piercing d4. He and his wife live in Brooklyn, New York, with their dog, Zelda. JASMINE KALLE is a writer, illustrator and editor hailing from the sunny tropics of Brisbane, Australia. She has a Master of Arts (Writing, Editing and Publishing) and several years of TTRPG experience—though she doesn’t tend to put that second part on her CV. In 2018 she embarked on an important quest that lead her to the frozen winter tundra of New York and it was there that she fi rst discovered some rather interesting dungeons, went on to fi ght more than a couple of dragons, and hasn’t looked back since. When she’s not traveling and running games for various friends around the world, she returns home to hang out with her cat, Kiba, and dog, Otto and regale them with tales of her adventures. OTHER CONTRIBUTORS LIAM GALLAGHER is a writer and gamer living in Brisbane, Australia. He has a great love of traveling in worlds both real and imagined. The fact that the latter is usually cheaper is no doubt responsible for his obsession with TTRPGs. Whether daydreaming about some future Antarctic expedition or GMing a crew of friends on a rollicking pirate adventure, his main wish is to have either his mind’s eye or his actual fl eshy eyeballs pay witness to new and incredible sights. MICHAEL SHEA is the creator of the wildly popular website Sly Flourish (slyfl ourish. com) and the award-winning author of The Lazy Dungeon Master, Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master, Fantastic Adventures: Ruins of the Grendleroot and many other RPG supplements. He has worked with numerous RPG companies including Wizards of the Coast, Kobold Press, Pelgrane Press and Sasquatch Games. Shea lives with his wife, Michelle, in northern Virginia.
the game master’s book of RANDOM ENCOUNTERS HUNDREDS OF ENCOUNTERS BILLIONS OF POSSIBILITIES 500+ customizable maps, tables and story hooks to create 5th edition rpg adventures on demand Jeff Ashworth e s ONE OF THE MOST EXCITING ELEMENTS of any 5th edition tabletop roleplaying game is that the story can go anywhere at any time. Unfortunately you, the game master, can’t possibly prepare for every unpredictable request, unfortunate die roll or unbelievably bad player decision. That’s where this massive tome comes in. Featuring more than 500 maps, roll tables and story hooks, The Game Master’s Book of Random Encounters is chock full of taverns, tombs and tantalizing twists as well as useful NPCs and story variants you can use to enhance an ongoing campaign or launch an entirely new adventure—all with a few simple rolls of the dice. INCLUDES Eight one-shot adventures suitable for all levels of play d100 tables for curses, dreams, party connections and more A random NPC generator to create characters on the fly Compatible with your favorite 5th Edition Fantasy Tabletop RPGs! media lab books THE GAME MASTER’S BOOK OF RANDOM ENCOUNTERS Ashworth Illustrations by Jasmine Kalle Foreword by Michael Shea