[3.5] Wanted: Tables!

[Jimp]

As an experiment I'm going to run a 3.5 game where everything that happens is rolled for randomly on a table. Where they are, what kinda of NPC they meet, what they want, what they want, where it is, what they fight, etc etc. The party will be around level 10 so that higher EL encounters on tables will be fine. The players aren't into the whole batman wizard thing, so party balance will be good.
What I'm looking for is tables. Tables, tables, tables. Tables tables, tables tables. Tables. The more the better. Either homebrewed ones or references to books, since between us we have nearly all the 3.5 books.

[jcsw]

---

No seriously...

Buying a Magic Item

1-5 - Not Available
6-10 - Only Available at 60% normal price
11-60 - Available at normal price
61-65 - Only Available at 130% normal price
66-75 - Not available, but similar item available
76-85 - Requires a sidequest, item is available upon completion (eg, "I require more lumber to make this sword, can you take this Ming vase to the lumberjack so that I may get some?")
86-100 - Roll for initiative

[Kurald Galain]

As an experiment I'm going to run a 3.5 game where everything that happens is rolled for randomly on a table.

Supposing you're not actually kidding...

This is one of the few places where FATAL might actually come in handy, because it contains tables for the most ludicrous things you could ever think of.

Some older RPGs have also numerous weird tables for character generation (e.g. RuneQuest) that can even cause you to die during chargen.



(edit) Also, just because it's fun to write,

NPC quest generator
An NPC spoken to has something useful, as decided by this table:

(1-2) information about a location the party should travel to, possibly including a treasure map
(3-5) information about another NPC that will cause that NPC to become more friendly (e.g. "ask X about Y!")
(6) information about an upcoming event with relevance
(7-8) information about history, lore, backgrounds, motivations, etc.
(9-11) mundane item(s), goods or services
(12) a magical item
(13-15) gold
(16-17) healing services
(18) miscellaneous spellcasting services
(19-20) roll again, but the information or item is flawed (false information, malfunctioning item, etc).

However, in order to obtain this, the PCs must do the following:
(1-3) bring the NPC something mundane and easily obtained, e.g. turnips
(4-5) bring the NPC something magical with moderate difficulty, e.g. a griffin claw
(6-7) bring the NPC something that belongs to another NPC (for which you should roll on this table again)
(8) bring the NPC something unique or non-existent (e.g. a dodo egg, or the king's sceptre, or some major artifact)
(9-10) bring the NPC information about, well, something (e.g. a long-lost brother)
(11-13) deliver something mundane to another NPC
(14) deliver something magical and/or highly expensive to another NPC
(15) defeat this NPC in some contest (riddling, arm wrestling, etc)
(16-18) kill a nearby monster (or small group thereof) of appropriate CR
(19) kill a nearby important and well-guarded NPC, or very visible high-level monster
(20) perform some tedious labor, like rerouting a river or cleaning out all the stables

[Raz_Fox]

I believe you could Google Central Casting: Heroes of Legend if you need NPC help. It takes a while to make a character, but it can really help - it's got excellent personality tables to roll on.

Oh, and good luck.

EDIT: NOOOOO, newbDM! The horror of a review for that game scarred my mind for days. Stay. Away. From. FATAL.

[kjones]

Hackmaster has exactly what you're looking for. Tables, tables, tables.

[newbDM]

Supposing you're not actually kidding...

This is one of the few places where FATAL might actually come in handy, because it contains tables for the most ludicrous things you could ever think of.

Some older RPGs have also numerous weird tables for character generation (e.g. RuneQuest) that can even cause you to die during chargen.



(edit) Also, just because it's fun to write,

NPC quest generator
An NPC spoken to has something useful, as decided by this table:

(1-2) information about a location the party should travel to, possibly including a treasure map
(3-5) information about another NPC that will cause that NPC to become more friendly (e.g. "ask X about Y!")
(6) information about an upcoming event with relevance
(7-8) information about history, lore, backgrounds, motivations, etc.
(9-11) mundane item(s), goods or services
(12) a magical item
(13-15) gold
(16-17) healing services
(18) miscellaneous spellcasting services
(19-20) roll again, but the information or item is flawed (false information, malfunctioning item, etc).

However, in order to obtain this, the PCs must do the following:
(1-3) bring the NPC something mundane and easily obtained, e.g. turnips
(4-5) bring the NPC something magical with moderate difficulty, e.g. a griffin claw
(6-7) bring the NPC something that belongs to another NPC (for which you should roll on this table again)
(8) bring the NPC something unique or non-existent (e.g. a dodo egg, or the king's sceptre, or some major artifact)
(9-10) bring the NPC information about, well, something (e.g. a long-lost brother)
(11-13) deliver something mundane to another NPC
(14) deliver something magical and/or highly expensive to another NPC
(15) defeat this NPC in some contest (riddling, arm wrestling, etc)
(16-18) kill a nearby monster (or small group thereof) of appropriate CR
(19) kill a nearby important and well-guarded NPC, or very visible high-level monster
(20) perform some tedious labor, like rerouting a river or cleaning out all the stables

What is FATAL?

Although I do not plan on going as far as the OP, my players have said that my homebrewed Material World/Plane is "highly Chaotically Aligned", so I could probably use such thing. Plus, a book/game/magazine/whatever which "contains tables for the most ludicrous things you could ever think of" sounds EXTREMELY up my alley. I could have a lot of fun with it.


Also, here is something I made up for my group, since they have a habbit of wanting to "Get lucky" while in cities.

The "Getting Lucky" Table:

Spoiler

Show

"Getting Lucky"
(This table is meant to be used when players are in a town and want to "Get Lucky")

01: Attracts a Succubus
Attracts a MM1 Succubus in disguise. Attempts to seduce player and take player to Inn Bedroom (or similar isolated place) to get naughty, and midway through start sucking life out of him.


02-40: No luck tonight
Nothing happens. Player goes to bed alone.


41-60: Player "Gets Lucky"

Roll #1:
01-60: Mate is of race player desired
61-65: Mate is an Elf
66-70: Mate is a Dwarf
71-75: Mate is a Gnome
76-80: Mate is a Halfling
81-85: Mate is a Half-Elf
86-90: Mate is a Half-Orc
91: Mate is a Orc
92: Mate is a Gnoll
93: Mate is a Kobold
94: Mate is a Goblin
95: Mate is a Drow
96: Mate is a Ettin
97: Mate is a Troglodyte
98: Mate is a Pixie
99: Mate is a Nymph
100: Mate is a Cow

Roll #2:
01-10: Mate is Hideous looking
11-20: Mate is Very Unattractive looking
21-30: Mate is Unattractive looking
31-70: Mate is Mediocre looking
71-80: Mate is Attractive looking
81-90: Mate is Very Attractive looking
91-100: Mate is Breathtaking

Roll #3:
01-10: You ran out in Terror
11-20: Mate was Terrible in bed
21-30: Mate was Bad in bed
31-70: Mate was Mediocre in bed
71-80: Mate was OK in bed
81-90: Mate was Incredible in bed
91-100: Mate was The Best Sex you ever had



61-70: Player "Gets Lucky", but gets exposed to an STD
See table in Book of Erotic Fantasy for STDs


71-75: Player "Gets Lucky", but it turns out that "It's a trap!"

Roll #1:
01-60: Mate is of race player desired
61-65: Mate is an Elf, but it turned out to be A Trap
66-70: Mate is a Dwarf, but it turned out to be A Trap
71-75: Mate is a Gnome, but it turned out to be A Trap
76-80: Mate is a Halfling, but it turned out to be A Trap
81-85: Mate is a Half-Elf, but it turned out to be A Trap
86-90: Mate is a Half-Orc , but it turned out to be A Trap
91: Mate is a Orc, but it turned out to be A Trap
92: Mate is a Gnoll, but it turned out to be A Trap
93: Mate is a Kobold, but it turned out to be A Trap
94: Mate is a Goblin, but it turned out to be A Trap
95: Mate is a Drow, but it turned out to be A Trap
96: Mate is a Ettin, but it turned out to be A Trap
97: Mate is a Troglodyte, but it turned out to be A Trap
98: Mate is a Pixie, but it turned out to be A Trap
99: Mate is a Human, but it turned out to be A Trap
100: Mate is a Cow, but it turned out to be A Trap

Roll #2:
01-10: Mate is Hideous looking, but it turned out to be A Trap
11-20: Mate is Very Unattractive looking, but it turned out to be A Trap
21-30: Mate is Unattractive looking, but it turned out to be A Trap
31-70: Mate is Mediocre looking, but it turned out to be A Trap
71-80: Mate is Attractive looking, but it turned out to be A Trap
81-90: Mate is Very Attractive looking, but it turned out to be A Trap
91-100: Mate is Breathtaking, but it turned out to be A Trap

Roll #3:
01-10: You ran out in Terror, but it turned out to be A Trap
11-20: Mate was Terrible in bed, but it turned out to be A Trap
21-30: Mate was Bad in bed, but it turned out to be A Trap
31-70: Mate was Mediocre in bed, but it turned out to be A Trap
71-80: Mate was OK in bed, but it turned out to be A Trap
81-90: Mate was Incredible in bed, but it turned out to be A Trap
91-100: Mate was The Best Sex you ever had, but it turned out to be A Trap


76-80: Player "Gets Lucky", but chance of pregnancy

Roll #1:
01-60: Mate is of race player desired
61-65: Mate is an Elf
66-70: Mate is a Dwarf
71-75: Mate is a Gnome
76-80: Mate is a Halfling
81-85: Mate is a Half-Elf
86-90: Mate is a Half-Orc
91: Mate is a Orc
92: Mate is a Gnoll
93: Mate is a Kobold
94: Mate is a Goblin
95: Mate is a Drow
96: Mate is a Ettin
97: Mate is a Troglodyte
98: Mate is a Pixie
99: Mate is a Nymph
100: Mate is a Cow

See the Book of Erotic Fantasy for the appropriate race's chances of pregnancy without some kind of birth-control.


81-85: Player "Gets Lucky", but does so with someone he shouldn't

Roll #1:
01-10: Turns out she was the Mayor's (or an equivalent) daughter
11-20: Turns out she was the Mayor's (or an equivalent) underaged daughter. "She lied buddy!"
21-30: Turn's out it was the Sheriff's (or an equivalent) wife
33-40: Turn's out it was the daughter of the local Thieves' Guild's Boss
41-50: Turns out it was the girlfriend/bf of the leader of an until now unknown secret evil cult
51-60: Turn's out it was the fiancee of your current employer (reroll if no current employer)
61-70: Turns out it was the wife of a current/future important NPC (keep track of this if needed)
71-80: Make it up on the fly DM, so it relates to the current game.
81-100: Roll again, but this time she might be pregnant! (See Book of Erotic Fantasy for chances)


86-90: Player "Gets Lucky", but it turns out to have been a prostitute.
Player missread the signs. Afterwards she demands 25gp.

*Note: This will not cause a problem for classes like Paladin, because they did not really know.


91-95: Player "Gets Lucky", but wakes up without some of his CP/SP/GP/PP.
Haha! Turns out she/he was a thief.
01-20: Missing 25% of all coins
21-40: Missing 50% of all coins
41-60: Missing 75% of all coins
61-80: Missing 100% of all coins.
81-95: Missing 100% of coins + all clothes.
96-99: Missing 1 minor magic/psionc item of DM's choosing.
100: Missing 1 item of DM's choosing period!


96: Player "Gets Lucky", and wakes up married. (Roll to see if girl is pregnant)

97: Player "Gets Lucky", and wakes up married to Mayor's (or an equivalent) daughter.

98: Player "Gets Lucky" twice in Threesome! (Roll twice, but ignore rolls which lead to nothing.)

99: Player gets real lucky!!! (Roll 1d12. Reroll this many times. Ignore roll which lead to nothing.)


100: Player ends up pregnant! (Even if male, magically gives birth naturally)

Told you it was my kind of thing.

[Attilargh]

What is FATAL?

The game with tables for anal circumference. That pretty much sums it up.

[afroakuma]

InspirationPad has tons of tables with it, and lets you make more. It also autoruns the generating, so you don't need to do anything more than open the program and it will preroll for you. It also nests tables.

[newbDM]

The game with tables for anal circumference. That pretty much sums it up.

Is it a rare/old/hard to find book(s)?

Can it be easily converted to 3.5 by an amateur?

InspirationPad has tons of tables with it, and lets you make more. It also autoruns the generating, so you don't need to do anything more than open the program and it will preroll for you. It also nests tables.

What is "nesting tables"?

I have seen that program, but I do not understand how to use it.

[Eldritch_Ent]

Is it a rare/old/hard to find book(s)?

Can it be easily converted to 3.5 by an amateur?

tthhh... ffff... ghhh.... Look, people are serious about staying away from FATAL. It should ONLY be read in case of morbid curiosity, and even then you're better off reading the reviews for it. It's entirely NSFW and overall not worth the paper it's printed on.


As for the OP, there's something called "Toolbox" or the like out there that's literally filled with nothing BUT random tables for everything. At least I think it is- I only read it at someone else's house once.

[Kurald Galain]

It should ONLY be read in case of morbid curiosity, and even then you're better off reading the reviews for it. It's entirely NSFW and overall not worth the paper it's printed on.

I concur. Even if you view it on-screen, it's still not worth the paper it's printed on. You really don't want to read it.

[Zeta Kai]

What is FATAL?

If you must know, then go here. But be warned: this game is not for the faint of heart, weak of mind, or frail of soul. It is an abomination, & is justly reviled by those who walk in daylight.

Back on-topic, my favorite way to create gameplay tables is this:

1. Create a campaign setting (or use someone else's).
2. Introduce it to my assembled players.
3. Have them create their PCs.
4. Review the PCs for motivations, hooks, interests, fears, etc.
5. Craft a 40-row table with various starting scenarios, each of which lead to some interesting event or place in the game world.
6. For each place that the first table leads, I create another 40-row table, each of which also leads to some interesting event or place in the game world.
7. Start the game by rolling 2d20.

Now, there are 2 issues with this approach. First, a 40-row table (or T40, for short) should have as many different options as possible. I always put the most fortunate scenarios at the top, the most unfortunate scenarios at the bottom, & the most likely scenarios in the middle. The 2d20 approach makes it more likely to get some outcome near the middle. One can actually ignore outcome #1, because the minimum roll is 2 (this actually results in 39 possible scenarios).

Secondly, this approach requires a lot of work & preptime before a campaign begins. Each T40 can lead to another T40, in a continually branching tree of scenarios. Think of it like writing your own Choose Your Own Adventure. It can be daunting, so I often find shortcuts. The worst scenario on each T40 usually results in death for players, either automatically or through unwinnable battles. Some T40s can lead to previous T40s (be careful with this, because it can lead to recursive loops, which look bad when played).

Overall, the T40 approach worked for me in the only Random Table campaign that I ran. In the future, if I do another one, I'll probably be lazy, & only make 20-row tables & roll 2d10s.

[Thane of Fife]

Is it a rare/old/hard to find book(s)?

Can it be easily converted to 3.5 by an amateur?

There are no books (as far as I know). Rather the pdf is pretty much freely available online - you could probably do a google search (or, heck, just look around here - I think Matthew posted a link to a copy of the rules somewhere recently).

And don't listen to these naysayers - reading it can be amusing. The first spell on the spell list lets you steal people's kidneys (and other organs)!

And it would be fairly difficult to convert to 3.5, because it isn't related to d20 in any way.

[AstralFire]

Reading the review gets you the humorous highlights without having to suffer as much of the rest.

[Telonius]

I think we should put out the bat-signal for some of the Grognards. Older editions had quite a few more tables than 3.5.

[Prometheus]

You know if you made random enough, you should probably just make it all programmed.

[newbDM]

InspirationPad has tons of tables with it, and lets you make more. It also autoruns the generating, so you don't need to do anything more than open the program and it will preroll for you. It also nests tables.

Dude, that program is awful. You need to be a pro programmer to be able to use it. I have spent most of last night, and all of this morning trying to figure out how to make a simple table. What a waste of time.

[LCR]

I concur. Even if you view it on-screen, it's still not worth the paper it's printed on. You really don't want to read it.

I hate you ...