City Encounters for OSR Games

Staying at home this weekend, perhaps going out for an ice cream with the kids, so here's a d10 table with ten city encounters for your OSR game of choice, wether is Old-School Essentials, Labyrinth Lord, Sword & Wizardry, or any other clone of OE, B/X, or BECMI Dungeons and Dragons.

Use them to spice up your city sessions!

These are straight from the Encounters section of Lands of Legends Mundane. Check it out for hundreds more!

Civilization - Mundane Encounters

1.  False Money. Selling an especially valuable good, explorers are rewarded with ready money, but false (pyrite instead of gold, for example). They will probably find out when they try to pay for something to another merchant, who refuses their money and threatens to report them. The fake money in their possession may cause them trouble with the law and it's impossible to find anywhere the dishonest merchant (or he will deny everything and there will be no proof of purchase).
2. Masquerade. Following a centuries-old tradition, the city is dedicated to theater and performances for a full lunar month every year. Shows in traditional masks, disguises and costume parades invade the streets, while scammers, thieves and conspirators use masks and costumes to carry on their shady dealings. People and guards know, but no one can stop this tradition, nor wants to.
3. The Stairs to Atlantis. At a quay by the sea (or near a lake or under the ground) a large marble stair of great antiquity has recently been found. The steps continue into the water, far beyond the point any mortal can reach. Rumors say that they lead to a mythical sunken city, but nobody knows if it's true. Now they are patrolled by a newly formed brotherhood of men in black, ready to kill if someone begins to investigate.
4. A Weird Book. A sneaky fellow offers the group a bizarre book for a bargain price. It is an apparently useless collection of grotesque illustrations, but the price is really low. If the group investigates its provenance, or looks for a good buyer, they might meet a small and mostly harmless, even if a bit creepy, secret company: they call themselves the Gardening Society, and are a bunch of retired adventurers and bored aristocrats. They are collectors of curios and lovers of mysteries and stories of adventures, and might be a useful resource of information about the weird rumors, places and creatures of the world.
5. A Strange Thief. Mezzatacca, an old rascal, has trained monkeys to climb the outer walls of inns at night, enter through the windows or chimneys and steal purses and shiny objects. Hearing the monkey thief while sleeping is very difficult!
6. Dead or Alive. “Wanted” posters appear: ”Evil Enchanter and Murderous Arsonist, Adramalis Bargol, called ‘The Black’, has escaped from the Castle’s Prisons and is Wanted, Dead or Alive - Reward: 2000 Gold Pieces”. A portrait completes the poster, and the guy looks exactly like the party’s rogue (or other random PC).
7. Communication Masters. Elegantly written scrolls appear in the main plazas of the city: “Sir Horrast and His Most Intrepid Company, Defeaters of Dragons and Smiters of Evil, Are Here to Offer Their Services to All Those in Need of Brave Arms''. Sir Horrast, his party and their followers and attendants have just taken all the rooms of the most elegant inn in town. After a while, voices spread that the head of a dragon can be seen at the inn for 5 gold pieces; hired criers advertising the Intrepid Company can be heard during market days, and bards sing of their mighty deeds.
8. Archery Tournament. The local authority has announced that an Archery Tournament will be held in a fortnight. Competitors must pay a 10 gold entry fee, and will only be allowed to use bows and arrows lent by the local fletchers and bowyers guild. The competition includes shooting at targets, hares, breaking pottery, burning scarecrows with fire arrows, and shoot-and-climb-the-wooden-wall (with a roped arrow). The prizes are: A platinum medal (worth 1000 gold), a gold chain (100 gold pieces), and a superb pig (15 mo).
9. The Man Who Would Be King. After the death of the rightful king, in order to avoid the turmoils and revolutions of the past, a general armistice between the city’s factions has brought to an unprecedented decision: the man or woman (roll a die to determine the appropriate sex) who accomplishes a certain, heroic task for the city (GM choice) will become guardian and promised spouse of the infant scion of the old royal family, and obtain the throne.
10. Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing. An old, disgraced and impoverished noble from a minor feud is seeking a bold and rich, young spouse: a successful adventurer would just be perfect! In exchange for conjugal duties (this is essential!) and a rich dowry (this is essential too!), the brave character that wins her “heart”, will get a feud and a small territory to rule.

Fairy Seas & Islands for OSR Games

Going for a short weekend trip to beautiful Genoa, so here's a d10 table with ten fairy seas & islands encounters for your OSR game of choice, wether is Old-School Essentials, Labyrinth Lord, Sword & Wizardry, or any other clone of OE, B/X, or BECMI Dungeons and Dragons.

These are straight from the Encounters section of Lands of Legends Fairy. Check it out for hundreds more!

Seas & Islands- Fairy Encounters

1. The Three Swordfish. Three swordfish approach the heroes’ vessel. Their bills are real steel weapons sprouting out of their muzzles: a rapier, a sabre and a broadsword, and they are fully capable fighters. They were bloodthirsty pirates, cursed by the sea fairies to protect a thousand ships from pirates attacks. When their task is fulfilled, they’ll return to their original shape and be free from the curse. They’ll escort the heroes’ ship, and will try to trick them towards some pirate ship, as they’ve already saved 999 vessels and can’t wait to be human again.
2. Geppetto! A terrible monster wanders these seas, a dogfish big enough to contain shipwrecked people and fish escaped from digestion. Meeting this monster probably means losing one’s ship and ending up shipwrecked and swallowed. Inside the monster a little group of people can survive and make long journeys. As described in the legends, in order to exit from the jaws of the monster, it has to regurgitate.
3. The Island under the Sea. This island looks like a towering obsidian pillar, visible from afar. Dozens of ships and boats dock between the rocks surrounding it. On its surface is the access to a system of caves going down below the water, where an entire population lives. There are hundreds of people and it is a thriving port. The caves are dry and waterproof, well ventilated and equipped with spring water, thermal water, animals and edible plants, and even underground sources of biological light.
4. Flying Rocks. These flying rocks were thrown by an angry titan against the wily sorcerer Brassalandro who had robbed him of the magical bag of zephyrs. The sorcerer summoned a djinn that stopped the rocks, leaving them suspended midair. Today the rocks wander slowly with the wind, and host several nests of harpies.
5. The Reef Village. Lost in the sea there is a crescent-shaped "island" made of pure coral. The reef has grown so much that some men have cut coral "bricks" and used them to build a village of several dozens of cabins. People living in this place go fishing, use seaweed for crafting and trade with sailors, selling pearls, shells and corals in exchange for wood, rope, leather and metal tools.
6. Pufferfish. The Gods of the Depths use the Pufferfish to lead people of the surface to their realm. These big fish can swallow a “passenger” whole, kept safe and dry inside a transparent bubble-stomach, which allows them to breathe and see the outside (air is provided by the gill system). Inside the fish, heroes can reach the luxurious mansions of the Tritons and the Sea Gods. But why are they trying to summon the heroes?
7. Old Crabman. This old fisherman lives in a hut by the shore. He admires crabs and considers them superior to human beings in every respect. He’s ready to deliver long speeches about how the different types of crabs move, hunt, rest, mate, fight. He knows because he has been taught the crab language by the mermaids, and is willing to teach it to anyone who proves to love crabs as much as he does, by managing to fish ten different types of crabs in one week and keeping them alive.
8. Primate Pirates! This corsair ship’s crew is made of nimble monkeys and mighty apes! Their captain is a human, a cruel old buccaneer who commands his horde thanks to a magical amulet that casts a never-ending “Charm Primates” spell and makes its bearer understood by all primates.
9. Singing Undines. Some water elementals follow the ship and constantly hum a simple tune. If someone on the ship sings back to them, or plays a musical instrument, they push the ship, making it travel faster. As soon as the music on the ship ceases, they lose interest and disappear.
10. Triton Hero. A triton knight in seashell armor, armed with a coral spear and riding a giant seahorse, is pursuing a sea dragon who has kidnapped the mermaid princess of this sea. He might need help and if victorious might share his triumph at the Sea King’s court.

Grim Forest Areas for OSR Games (+ ANNOUNCEMENT)

Halloween is almost here, and here's a d10 table with ten forest areas for your OSR game of choice, wether is Old-School Essentials, Labyrinth Lord, Sword & Wizardry, or any other clone of OE, B/X, or BECMI Dungeons and Dragons.

These are straight from the Areas section of Lands of Legends Grim, which is part of the Halloween Sale on DrivethruRPG. Check it out for hundreds more!

...and there's also a big ANNOUNCEMENT! Wondrous Weavings Warped & Weird is up and available as Pay What You Want at DrivethruRPG! Check it out for an alternate arcane magic system for Old-School Essentials!

Forests - Grim Areas

1. The Dead Wood. The trees are grey and leathery, with black, swollen leaves, because they are undead. There is no undergrowth, just mold and fungi (including such monster types as random encounters). Zombi Dryads feast under the black leaves, and rumors say enormous undead Treants lurk in the most remote areas of the wood.

2. The Evil Forest. All vegetation is evil to non-animal beings. Roll 1d6 every hour: a random character stumbles for 1d4 damage, or is stung by some poisonous vine: Save vs Poison or suffer -2 to all d20 rolls for 24 hours.

3. The Forest of Suicide. Centuries ago, during a period of famine and war, the poorest of the villagers came to this woods one at a time and hanged themselves, to remove a mouth to feed from their families. The pain and horror of these acts haunts the place, and those who travel in the forest can meet specters, voices and new suicides hanging from tree branches. Heroes failing a Save vs Spells begin to feel the desire to commit the same act and should they fail three consecutive days will have to be physically restrained from doing it.

4. “Help me... Please, help me...” This wood is infested with forest hyenas, treacherous and cruel animals digging burrows in the ground and among the roots of trees. They know how to imitate the human voice and utter a few words that they have learned from their victims (screaming, "help" "mercy" and so on...) and use this skill to lure explorers and assault them in a pack. A WIS roll allows one to understand there is something wrong.

5. The Dance of the Alders. Spending the night in these woods is very dangerous. Around midnight, distant sounds of flutes and dancing lights might attract explorers to a glade where dark creatures, looking like bewitched elves, are dancing in the moonlight. The creatures invite everyone to dance with them. If a person refuses three times or fails the dance (a DEX roll), then one of the creatures will strike him, causing a terrible disease (mummy’s rot, for example). Dancing with the creatures is just exhausting: non-stop dancing until dawn, but it will not bring any other result.

6. Fields of Asphodel. Small white flowers grow in this forest, capable of stealing the lives of explorers through their breath. Everyday travelers must pass a Save vs Death or temporarily lose 1 point of Constitution. As they lose their points, the asphodels around them become more vivid and florid.

7. Groans from the Trees. This forest resounds with groans that seem to come from everywhere. There are no green plants, and no straight branches: all vegetation is dark, gnarled and twisted, with no fruit but only poisoned thorns. The groans come from the trees themselves. Snapping a branch or hitting the bark with a blade releases cries, blood and words: the trees are miserable men turned into plants by the ancient Witch of the Woods who lives inside the forest.

8. Ironwood. This dark forest’s trees have deep red foliage all through the year. All the beasts living here have a 10% chance of being mutated with a partially metallified hide or carapace that grants +4 to their Armor Class and may be employed to create special armors.

9. Crawlwood. The trees of this forest live in symbiosis with long lived giant snails: most trees grow on top of the snails’ partially flattened shells. During the night each tree crawls for about d6 feet and all the forest is slowly moving towards the same direction. The undergrowth is scarce, as it is consumed by the snails and the soil is often slippery with the slime left by the snails.

10. Forest of Madness. Evil spirits haunt this forest: for each night spent here, one random character will hear a voice in his head ordering him to kill one of his comrades. If the character refuses to obey, he has to Save vs Spell or is forced to harm himself, continuing until restrained, dead or unconscious, or until a cleric successfully turns away the evil spirit, or until the break of dawn. Lone travelers are unaffected.