The Wizard's Amulet for 5e (free)

Frog God Games/Necromancer is giving away a pdf of The Wizard's Amulet adventure revised for 5e. See here: http://froggodgames.com/5th-edition

Bushi d6 - Encounters

I've been slacking. Anyways, here are some preliminary encounters I'm adding in. Most, if not all, will be flushed out a little more, though not too much. 

Encounters 

1. A wandering samurai challenges the player to a duel. He is young and inexperienced, and he has a powerful father. 
2. Bandits are attacking local farmers. They ask the players for help. 
3. An evil sorceress has spread a plague in the town. The players must find her and make her end the disease. 
4. The samurai’s lord wants the player to escort his daughter to a neighboring lord for marriage. She isn’t interested, and another lord wants to stop the wedding, through any means necessary. 
5. Something has been kidnapping local children. A local priest thinks it might be a kappa from a nearby lake. 
6. A beautiful woman asks the samurai for help. If he follows her, she leads him to a secluded area and tries to kill him. She is a ninja hired by an enemy lord. 
7. A sinkhole has opened up in a corner of a town. It has exposed some of the underworld, and bakemono and oni will begin terrorizing the area. 
8. A neko philosopher and a human priest are engaging in a furious debate. They both turn to the samurai and ask him to be an impartial judge. 
9. A band of saru has emerged from their forest, seeking the aid of the local lord. The players must engage with them, and potentially help them in the jungles. 
10. A dragon has been sighted in the area. The players must get the locals to safety and possibly speak with the creature. He may be friendly, or he may be evil.  
11. The local river has stopped flowing. The players must seek out the river spirit and find out why. 
12. Dragon cultists are kidnapping people and taking them away as sacrifices. The players are tasked with eliminating them.

Acting as bodyguards

A fun adventure that I have run is having the player group act as bodyguards for a noble or politician. Sometimes I have the noble be competent and basically nice to the group, and other times he is an idiot who abuses them at every opportunity. Either way, they have to keep him alive.

Assassins I have used included another well-rounded adventuring party, archers using poison, and someone loosing an owlbear into a crowded market where the noble was shopping (despite the players protests about him doing this).

It can be a very interesting dynamic. Players have to risk themselves, sometimes even jumping in front of an attack, to protect someone else. They don't just line up and kill everything. They have to look out for someone else, who often has no protection (and once only had three hit points and no armor).

It definitely caused some strong reactions from my friends. A couple of them loved it. The sit-there-and-roll-dice-but-rarely-talk dwarf player hated it.

Elections in a fantasy world

Something that pretty much never happens in fantasy settings are elections. They really don't fit the genre, so it's not surprising. It's also MUCH easier to write about a ruler and his nobles than about a mob of ever-changing politicians.

Election security would be a nightmare. You'd have to defend against mages changing votes, legal duels between political opponents, and the random monster attack.

Serfdom would also be non-existant. You can't have serfs if they can vote. One way to deal with that would have only rich people vote, or maybe only elves can vote. Then you'd have an aristocracy with voting, which really isn't the same thing.

In any case, having election season roll around during a campaign would provide hundreds of potential adventures. Players could defend candidates, blackmail candidates, or even just straight-up kill candidates (either for money or because the guy did something to them).

Wegmar's Wondrous Wagon of Wonders!

This is a take I've had on a post someone had made a few years back regarding magic shops, which is a topic currently at the RPGSite.

 

Wegmar is a tall, thin man, wearing a silk smoking jacket and a top hat. He is loud, waves his hands a lot, and will try to sell a glass of water to a man standing next to a river. He has a large, enclosed wagon drawn by two small gray mules. He travels the dimensions, selling odds and ends and magic items. 

The first sign he is near is a glowing blue magical circle appears on a nearby road. Then the sound of wagon wheels rumbling, and his wagon appears. The gate vanishes shut behind him.

 

Most of his stock is useless junk. Things like small wooden toys, candy, and elixirs "guaranteed to heal any illness" (and which are just bottles filled with sugar water).

However, he does have a small selection of magical components, a few potions, and a few scrolls. He's also very likely to have some kind of miscellaneous magic item, such as a crystal ball or rope of climbing. He does not sell weapons and armor, magical or not.

Wegmar accepts coin for non-magical doodads, since they don't really cost him anything to acquire.If a customer wants to be something that is actually magical, he prefers to either trade for another magic item or he will accept a favor, to be collected at some later date.

The favor will be collected at some later date, and is generally going to have the players going on a short adventure to recover some magic item that Wegmar wants. If the players try to attack Wegmar, he and his wagon will disappear, never to be seen again.

Any players who owe him a favor must fulfill it when he asks, or they will suffer a non-removable geas that gives them a -1 to hit, damage, and all saving throws until they start trying to complete the adventure for Wegmar. After they acquire the item he wants, his wagon will reappear near the adventure site and he will collect it.

Bunch of updated/new BFRPG pdf's available

For those who don't check regularly, there are a bunch of new and updated materials for the Basic Fantasy Roleplaying Game. Chris was busy over the holidays. I recommend checking them out.

There are new adventures and a monster supplement, all of which should make your game even better. A number of adventures have also been updated, with more material and better editing. As a bonus, these materials are easily ported to any other Old School game.

What if dungeoneering was illegal?

Throughout history, grave-robbing has been illegal. Yet many adventures feature the party going into some crypt to search for treasure. Why wouldn't this be illegal?

It would be interesting if an adventuring party went back to town, loaded with loot, and were then confronted by the local constabulary. They might be arrested, heavily fined, or just have all their possessions confiscated.In very religious countries, it's likely that they would be executed.

Just something I thought might be an interesting twist for a campaign.

The Royal Wedding

The adventurers ride into a new city after having completed some dungeoneering or other adventurous activity. Upon entering the city, the find all the streets decorated with ribbons and garlands. They are even given a tax holiday from the local collectors. Upon asking around, they find that the local prince is getting married to the daughter of the neighboring duke.

The following day, crowds gather near the city keep, and all the roads near it are shut down by the city guard. The wedding is held in the Great Cathedral next to the keep. Upon the completion of the marriage, the prince and his new wife appear to the populace and give their first married kiss. Bells ring throughout the city, and the crowds go wild.

A parade is then completed in the area, with the local nobles in carriages and surrounded by mounted cavalry in their finest equipment. All of the rich merchants and nearby nobility are in attendance, and participate in the parade. The parade goes to a rich mansion located nearby, where all the rich and famous mingle in a great party.

Adventure opportunities:
1. Assassins attempt to kill a member of the wedding party, whether it's the king, the duke, or the bride or groom. The PC's may be implicated, or might be in a position to stop the assassins.
2. Nobles hire the PC's to act as guards.
3. A jealous baroness hires the PC's to cause a scene with the bride, that will make her look bad, preferably without being implicated themselves.
4. An evil sorcerer tries to curse the bride, and the PC's must stop him.
5. Evil cultists attempt to poison the wedding party, and the PC's find out about it only hours before the wedding.
6. Ratmen from the sewers plot to kidnap the Duke or King, and the PC's have recently discovered their lair.
7. A dragon picks that day to try to burn down the city and the city guard is completely unprepared because of the wedding. The PC's must jump into action.
8. The bride knows the PC's from her own city, whether as heroes or villains, and will let her groom know about them if they attend the wedding.
9. The PC's are local heroes and are guests of honor. The local nobles try to use them to further their own plans.
10. The PC's are wanted for a crime they may or may not have committed. If they attend the wedding or the parade, they will be recognized and the city guard will attempt to arrest them.

Government-approved adventurers

I picked up the RQ version of Wraith Recon, and I really like the idea behind it. Basically, adventurers are formed into special operations teams and used to fight the enemies of the state. This provides a source of adventures, and gives the GM an easy way to guide a campaign.

Another thing I like is that the adventurers are given gear to use by the government for each mission. If they are sending you to kill undead, you will get lots of holy items to use. If the next mission requires you to take on orcs, you could get wands of fireballs and magical armor and weapons.

This approach is pretty cool, to me. You can overpower the characters for one mission, and then take away any gear that would normally be game-breaking because they are now going on a new mission. I would hope that other publishers take note.

Caravan encounters

Not sure about anyone else, but I tend to have caravan guarding as one of my go-to campaigns. The PCs act as guards, and get to explore the world a bit. They also have a lot of NPCs around to interact with. It makes running a low level campaign pretty easy. Here's a list of potential encounters for anyone who uses this format:

Caravan Encounters
1.    A stone bridge crosses a river on the trail. Trolls have taken up residence beneath it. It’s possible they can be bargained with for safe passage.
2.    The local barbarian horse tribes are at war. The caravan is approached by a group of them. While parleying, a warband from the other tribe appears on the horizon.
3.    Toll collectors are on the road. They aren’t normally located at this bridge. Are they bandits or have the costs of trade risen without warning?
4.    Ambush! Bandits swarm out of the surrounding forest, intent on plunder.
5.    A tinker’s wagon is set up by the trail. The caravan may stop for repairs and to get news.
6.    Goblin wolf riders begin following the caravan. They are keeping their distance for now. Are there more goblins ahead?
7.    There is a magical drought. The normal watering holes are all dry. Can the mage responsible be bargained with or must he be killed?
8.    Plague town. A major stopping point is suffering from the plague. The caravan must bypass it. Profits and pay will be affected.
9.    Unexpected windfall. The caravan has goods that are desperately needed by a city. They pay very well, and everyone gets a bonus. The local thieves take note.
10.     A wizard joins the caravan as a passenger. Using his magic, the caravan makes much better time than normal.
11.    Some of the caravan guards really don’t like each other. They get into brawls in the evening. People in the caravan are starting to choose sides. One enterprising merchant is taking bets on the fights.
12.    The caravan is passing by an abandoned castle. There are rumors that it contains treasure, now unguarded. The merchants think that it might be worth spending a day investigating.

Adventures featuring religion

I think it would be cool if adventures featuring religion were published. Stuff like getting hired to recover an artifact by one faction of a church in order to one-up another faction of the same church. Or to make the local priest look really good so that he can get a promotion to bishop. In a world with real gods, it seems that there should be a lot of this stuff going on. But most published adventures avoid this like the plague.

I understand part of it is to try and avoid the "satan worshiper" crap, but most of that has died out nowadays. And seriously, if White Wolf wasn't affected by it, I doubt an OSR publisher would be.

Anyways, I think it would be a cool idea. If there is a sacred scroll known to be in some ruins infested with monsters, I'm sure the local priest would love to have it recovered. And he would also take the credit for the recovery, at least with his fellow priests. It's an easy way to add politics into a game, as well. If the party cleric recovers the scroll, he might use it to gain influence with his higher-ups, trading it for more recognition and maybe a magical reward of some type.

Best supported retro-clone?

Just talking new stuff published specifically for clones. 

I'm guessing Labyrinth Lord has the most published support at this point. There have been a lot of releases for this system over the winter. I think it's pretty cool just how much people like this game, even though it's not my preferred version of the rules.

OSRIC likely comes in next, as it seems there is a new module for it every month or so. I have no real interest in OSRIC or 1e anymore, though, but I'm glad those who do get lots of new adventures.

S&W gets a fair amount, especially with Knockspell.

Brave Halfling and Lamentations of the Flame Princess have really done some good work for all the clones. I hope they continue to be successful, though I'm aware LotFP may be switching gears to supporting Jim's own ruleset.

Published adventures, and how I use them

I very rarely use a published adventure as written. Too many times, my players will do something completely off the wall, or just ignore something that would cause the adventure to collapse before it even gets started. I've made a little list of things that I do that makes even stuff published for completely different systems usable.

1. Maps. These are always useful. I have a collection of photocopied maps in a binder that I can whip out at a moments notice.
2. NPC's. Also always usable. It's a bonus if they're written in the system I'm using.
3. Art. That cool picture of a vampire will be used somewhere.
4. General plot lines. These can provide some great inspiration, even if the particulars in the adventure wouldn't suit.
5. Little details. The room with a neat description and associated monster might get dropped into a completely different scenario, just because I like it. I've done this with a couple adventures that I've literally not used for anything else. It's kind of my "Well, at least I got this one little room out of the book" feeling.