Thursday 15 March 2012

Table - Stray thoughts




Another old school table I've never seen done, to go with the failed dungeons and rumour accuracy. It's for what the adventurers' minds might be getting up to during a pause or in a quiet moment. The idea is to supply musings the GM and players can weave into the action, and maybe encourage backstory and narrative arcs. It takes a D20 then a D6.

  1. Captivated by 1) apparently insignificant detail / 2) motion, perhaps inexplicable / 3) glimpse of unearthly beauty / 4) immensity of it all / 5) own genius / 6) death
  2. Craving 1) specific beverage, food or similar / 2) simple comfort / 3) a little respect / 4) love / 5) blood, ichor, lifeforce, mana or other energy / 6) absolute power
  3. Trying not to 1) think about it too deeply / 2) say something in any way unworthy / 3) give self or another away / 4) suffer same fate / 5) fall asleep / 6) wake up
  4. Fighting 1) urge / 2) demon / 3) panic / 4) bodily function / 5) combat / 6) fantasy
  5. Struggling with 1) knowledge, quite possibly forbidden / 2) unacknowledged or newfound desire / 3) role / 4) identity / 5) destiny / 6) impossibly catchy tune
  6. Wondering 1) what that thing could be... / 2) what if / 3) if really pawn of higher power / 4) if in any way responsible / 5) how it came to this / 6) how best to put it
  7. Hoping 1) no one heard it / 2) beyond all hope / 3) for divine or other intervention / 4) open/closed it properly / 5) all that been forgotten by now / 6) not yet too late
  8. 1) Desire / 2) Jealousy / 3) Anger / 4) Tears / 5) Mirth / 6) Creativity welling up
  9. Trying to recall 1) name / 2) face or equivalent / 3) number or sequence / 4) where left relevant item / 5) fleeting sensation / 6) why all seems so very familiar...
  10. Reliving 1) youth / 2) success / 3) failure / 4) last night / 5) freedom / 6) past lives
  11. Regretting 1) missed opportunity / 2) youthful indiscretion / 3) recent indiscretion / 4) recent meal or equivalent / 5) pact made or unmade / 6) what it is about to do
  12. Feeling 1) younger / 2) age / 3) insecure / 4) overlooked / 5) close / 6) empty
  13. Feeling sorry for 1) self / 2) last victim / 3) next victim / 4) one or more others in party, conceivably entire expedition / 5) childhood friend / 6) imaginary friend
  14. Calculating 1) distance / 2) dimension / 3) angle / 4) number left / 5) bill / 6) odds
  15. Drafting 1) epitaph / 2) ode / 3) love letter / 4) claim 5) / shopping list / 6) IOU
  16. Making 1) mental note / 2) best of it / 3) hay / 4) concession / 5) excuse / 6) out
  17. Running through 1) relevant but unfamiliar process / 2) route taken so far / 3) life to date / 4) words of wisdom / 5) enigmatic last words / 6) ABCs or equivalent
  18. Losing 1) faith / 2) feeling in extremity / 3) way / 4) track / 5) hope / 6) control
  19. Struck by 1) absurdity / 2) horror / 3) terror / 4) ennui / 5) remorse / 6) indecision
  20. Nothing 1) at all, in the usual sense... / 2) very much / 3) you need worry about / 4) can prevent it now anyway / 5) but unending pain down the ages / 6) -ness
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4 comments:

Trey said...

Heh. Thinking of these in the context of some common game situations is pretty humorous. Good stuff.

Porky said...

The comedy value is definitely there, and I got a bit carried away in places. Hopefully they can mostly be played straight too, interpreted in a way that suits the situation, characters and campaign, and the overall tone.

garrisonjames said...

This table would be interesting to use for those times when the players crash into some NPC's room, space or whatever--roll on this table to find out what they were doing before they were so rudely interrupted...

Porky said...

I didn't think of that, but you're right, and skimming the options, there seems to be real dramatic potential in the idea. Then again, Rude Interruptions or something like it could be a table all its own - Unforeseen Interventions, Those Meddling Bids, Facades Torn Down or Rips in the Fabric...