Autumnal Adventure Seed Generator

Even when Halloween comes to a close, Autumn has only begun to hit its stride. A time of harvest, a time of family, and a time for gaming - a last stretch of gaming, at least, before December smashes everyone's calendars... 

That in mind - rather than try to make another list of hex locations or a small dungeon: instead, I wanted to make a generator - a bunch of Fall-appropriate keys that can be used to generate a hex (or dungeon!) in your own home campaign! Dungeons are drawn, discovered, and delved - adventures begin and culminate: like the seasons, themselves, the phases of the passing year.

So from here, as follows, a d6/6/6/6/6/6 Autumnal Adventure-Seed generator!

(6d6 seems appropriate to the Halloween motif.)

Who and What

The first two dice determine who - in terms of NPC - provides the seed: not necessarily the quest giver, but maybe the hook-dropper - and what they are doing at the time: the verb to their noun, the action and impetus of what's inspiring the adventure seed.

Roll	Who:	...is doing:
1	Settlers in a new land	Trying to obtain seasonal produce
2	Farmers, generations settled	Engaging in a harvest celebration
3	Priests of nature	Engaging in a solstice rite
4	Mercenaries, homeless without conflict	Establishing external contacts
5	Traveling witch-hunters	Stocking up for winter
6	Academics, along among plebeians	Exploring forgotten wisdom

Note, a single number is provided with two columns - this does not mean that the single roll indicates both column results. The first die in the D6/6 should correspond to the first column; the second die to the second column. The same is true for additional tables below.

Where and In How Long

The next two dice determine where the adventure seed is situated - where the action is originating - and the timetable around which action must be taken or consequences will occur: 

Roll	Where:	Timetable:
1	A temperate land, quickly turning cold	In only a number of hours!
2	Bucolic country, blanked in leaves	Over the next few days
3	A fishing village, preparing for the ice	Over the next week
4	A center of learning	Over the next couple weeks
5	An overgrown or abandoned orchard	Within a month or two
6	A derelict house or manor	By the turn of the season

But They Are...

The last two dice determine who is opposing the aforementioned adventure seeders - who (or what) is standing between the first party and accomplishing their objective - and how they are opposing:

Roll	But ... :	...is opposing by:
1	Bugbears!	Guarding the way or road
2	The restless undead!	Attacking anyone who approaches
3	Strange spirits...	Spreading ruin or rot
4	Inclement weather	Pilfering supplies or the objective
5	Chaotic users of magic	Is scaring or harassing the "where"
6	A mysterious rogue (or troupe!)	...has hidden the key!

Let's Try it Out

Now that that's been established, let's try it out:

Ok - first attempt: I did not determine which color should represent which die in advance... but that's fine - I'll read them left to right:

• 1: Settlers in a new land...
  
• 4: ...are trying to establish external contact...
  
• 2: ...in a bucolic countryside, blanketed in falling leaves...
  
• 6: ...by the turn of the season, ....
  
• 6: ...but chaotic magic users...
  
• 1: ... are guarding the way!

Hmm... I appear to have rolled the fantasy equivalent of The Village. But - though the film has a 43% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, I seem to recall it still made $256 million. So - for your home campaign, a two-hundred-million dollar idea!

Trying again...

Ok - so this one is a little trickier to read left to right, but it worked last time, so we'll give it a shot:

• 5: Traveling witch hunters...
  
• 6: ...are exploring to find forgotten wisdom...
  
• 1: ...in a temperate land rapidly succumbing to the cold!
  
• 1: They have only a few hours...
• 2: ...to bypass the restless undead...
  
• 4: ...who are
  

That's a Sword and Sorcery adventure if I've ever heard one! I might write this one up... good stuff.

One more go...

Oh come on, dice positions. Hmm... left to right, top to bottom:

• 4: Mercenaries, homeless as conflicts cease for the cold season...
  
• 3: ...are engaging in a traditional solstice ritual...
  
• 4: ...on the grounds of a center of higher learning.
  
• 6: By the time the winter ends, ...
  
• 2: ... the resultant restless undead ...
  
• 4: ... will have devoured and despoiled the college archive!
  

That last one was a bit of a stretch - but - I still like it. Would run an adventure about a group of soldiers who, in a foreign place, mistakenly unleash an unliving menace into the archives of a massive college.

Delve on, readers - and don't forget to post the recaps of your adventures!

Public domain artwork retrieved from the National Gallery of Art and OldBookIllustrations.com and adapted for thematic use. Attributions in alt text.