A few rolls and you’ve got a unique adventure hook!
Coming up with an interesting scenario for your next game isn’t easy, all GMs feel the same way, so don’t worry if you get stuck with writers block. To help you overcome any potential creative ruts I’ve built this surprisingly robust and extensive adventure generator, usable with any fantasy TTRPG, wether it be DnD, Adventurous or Mörk Borg. All you need is a D6 and something to write down your idea on.
Adventure hook generator
This generator works by giving you creative prompts to build an adventure upon. It won’t give you fully fleshed out NPCs and dungeon maps, there are other tools for that. It’s built to fire up your creative muscles and establish an outline that helps direct your creative stream.
Below are six tables, all you need to generate an adventure is to roll 2D6 on each table, one dice for each of the two columns. There are of course many more elements needed to fully flesh out an adventure, but these 5 components are what I would consider the essentials, and once you have these you can fairly easily fill in the rest yourself, or use tools like our NPC generator, random encounter generator or list of forest encounters.
1: Objective
The main objective of the adventure, what the PCs are tasked to do. It could be rescuing the village blacksmith from the hobgoblins holed up in the abandoned mine (rescue) or kill the necromancer desecrating the local graveyard (destroy).
| D6 | Objective | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Retrieve | To Break a Curse |
| 2 | Defend | To Uphold an Oath |
| 3 | Capture | To Weaken the Enemy |
| 4 | Escort | For Diplomatic Relations |
| 5 | Destroy | To Aid the Community |
| 6 | Rescue | To Fulfill a Prophecy |
2: Target
The target of the adventure. It could be a forbidden tome (artifact), some important documents (information) or the black dragon Shadowmaw (monster).
The characteristics of the object will help you by adding further detail. If “Forbidden” might mean that the monster the PCs are tasked with slaying is actually revered as a god by a the locals, something the baron is either unaware of or unwilling to acknowledge, creating further tension. Furthermore, “Artifact” combined with “Blessed” versus “Demonic” will create two very different scenarios.
| D6 | Target | Characteristics |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Valuable Item | Coveted |
| 2 | Captive | Blessed |
| 3 | Monster | Demonic |
| 4 | Information | Ancient |
| 5 | Resource | Forbidden |
| 6 | Artifact | Cursed |
3: Location
The location of the objective. It could be The Sun God’s Temple that’s been infested by giant spiders (temple + infested) or The Sacred Grove of the Moon Druids (forest + sacred).
| D6 | Location | Location Detail |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Temple | Ruined |
| 2 | Settlement | Haunted |
| 3 | Tower | Sacred |
| 4 | Cave | Infested |
| 5 | Forest | Enchanted |
| 6 | Tomb | Plagued |
4: Creatures
The creatures involved in the adventure. These could be allies, enemies, or just neutral. Use the creatures as inspiration for further location details and the overall feel of the adventure. “Lizardmen” + “Dwarves” could mean that the “Cave” you rolled on table 3 is flooded and partly under water. Rolling “Elementals” on the other hand could mean that the “Cave” is a volcano. Think about the environment the creatures are usually found in, and use that to flesh out any details.
| D6 | Creature type 1 | Creature type 2 |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undead | Orcs |
| 2 | Lizardmen | Giants |
| 3 | Goblins | Demons |
| 4 | Elves | Insectoids |
| 5 | Dwarves | Elementals |
| 6 | Humans | Dragonkin |
5: Complications
Further details that add depth and interesting layers to the adventure. The complications will give you further inspiration for the interesting details and specifics of the adventure. “Poison everywhere” could mean that the tower you rolled on table 3 is surrounded by a field of poisonous mushrooms releasing deadly spores, or it could mean that the tower is home to a mad alchemist. Rolling “Monster” + “Cave” + “Disguised Foe” + “Political Intrigue” could mean that a dragon is masquerading as a wealthy noble, trying to infiltrate the baron’s court in order to sow discord and manipulate political decisions for its own mysterious ends.
| D6 | Complication 1 | Complication 2 |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rival Adventuring Party | Unexpected Ally |
| 2 | Time Constraint | Disease Outbreak |
| 3 | Poison Everywhere | Divine Test |
| 4 | Moral Dilemma | Betrayal |
| 5 | Collapsing Structure | Magical Disturbance |
| 6 | Disguised Foe | Political Intrigue |
Adventure example
Let’s roll some dice and use the outline to flesh out some details.
Roll outcomes
- Objective: Retrieve + To Fullfill a Prophecy
- Target: Monster + Forbidden
- Location: Forest + Sacred
- Creatures: Lizardmen + Giants
- Complications: Moral dilemma + Betrayal
Below is an outline created from the results, I’ve bolded the aspects derived from the rolls.
Outline
The newly appointed village elder of a small settlement located in a marshland region requests that the PCs capture an ancient giant bird living in the nearby swamp. They say they need it to fuel an ancient ritual that will bring prosperity to the village. However, the bird is sacred and a previous village elder once made a pact with the lizardmen living in the marshland, promising to keep the giant bird safe from harm.
Closing thoughts on this adventure generator
By simply rolling 2D6 five times you will have generated one out of hundreds of thousands of possible combinations that outline the details of an adventure.
The output won’t be a fully fleshed out adventure, you will of course have to fill in a lot of the details, but you should have an outline that gives you a good understanding of the situation as well as plenty of creative prompts to fuel your imagination.
If you found this adventure generator useful, check out our guide to improvising as a DM, The 14 challenges in TTRPGs and of course, our game; Adventurous!
