TOME OF ADVENTURE DESIGN KICKSTARTER PREVIEW Author Interior Art Matt Finch Del Teigeler Brett Barkley Chad Thorson Editor J.E. Shields Russell J. Cone David Bezio Layout Jeff Preston Matt Finch Paul Fini And more to come! Suzy Moseby Copyright 2009-2022, Matthew J. Finch, all rights reserved. “Mythmere” and “Mythmere Games” are trademarks of Matthew Finch. KICKSTARTER PREVIEW COPY - NOT INTENDED FOR SALE Giant fan blades Wizard’s hobby Defend the gates Goes across the barrier A good deed LOCATIONS Approach #1: Overview Approach Tables 1-1A and 1-1B are simply alternates for each other: they provide an overall description of the location, and something/ someone that either currently occupies the location -- or that once gave the location its name, but is not necessarily still there. Roll independently for each column on the table: the table requires four rolls of d100, not just one! Arrant nonsense Ancestry is key Floor is lava Table 1-1A: Locations (Overview) Structure’s Description (1d100) Structure (1d100) Feature (first word) (1d100) Feature (second word) (1d100) 01 Adamantine Abbey of the Ant- Abbot 02 Aerial Aerie of the Ape- Actor 03 Amphibious Asylum of the Baboon- Alchemist 04 Ancient Aviary of the Bat- Altar 05 Arachnid Barracks of the Beetle- Apparition Guard a person who is under threat 06 Astrological Bastion of the Bitter Apprentice 07 Asymmetrical Bazaar of the Blood Assassin Prisoner in a magical cage 08 Bizarre Bluffs of the Bone- Beast 09 Black Brewery of the Brain Behemoth 10 Bleak Bridge of the Broken Binder The answer is in the picture An astrologer Discolored Mosaic tiles Key with a strange shape Clay oil lamps Banquet hall Die Roll 11 Blue Cairn of the Bronze Bishop Images are reversed 12 Bronze Canyon of the Burned Breeder A wolf attacks 13 Buried Carnival of the Cabalistic Brood 14 Celestial Castle of the Carnal Brotherhood 15 Circuitous Cathedral of the Caterpillar- Burrower The Book of Stones 16 Circular Cellars of the Centipede- Caller Rotten 17 Clay Chapel of the Changing Captive Misunderstood 18 Coiled Chapterhouse of the Chaos- Ceremony Webs aren’t from spiders 19 Collapsing Church of the Cloud- Chalice 20 Concealed City of the Cockroach- Changeling Serves as an example What was burned 21 Contaminated Cliffs of the Crimson Chanter Surrounded with curtains 22 Convoluted Cloister of the Crippled Circlet Tactics: a bridge 23 Corroded Cocoon of the Crocodile- Clan 24 Criminal Coliseum of the Dark Collector 25 Crimson Contrivance of the Death- Combiner The tall thought woven sails, that 2 | Tome of Adventure Design (Revised) - (Kickstarter Preview) Table 1-1A: Locations (Overview) continued flap unfurled above the tide of hours… Structure’s Description (1d100) Structure (1d100) Feature (first word) (1d100) Feature (second word) (1d100) 26 Crooked Cottage of the Decayed Congregation 27 Crude Court of the Deceitful Coronet 28 Crumbling Crags of the Deluded Crafter 29 Crystalline Craters of the Dinosaur- Crawler Power vacuum 30 Curious Crypt of the Diseased Creator Writing on the wall 31 Cursed Demi-plane of the Dragonfly- Creature Doorway to the asteroid 32 Cyclopean Dens of the Dread Crown 33 Decaying Dimension of the Elemental Cult 34 Deceptive Domain of the Elephant- Cultists 35 Decomposing Dome of the Feathered Daughter 36 Defiled Dungeons of the Fiery Demon 37 Demolished Dwelling of the Flame Device 38 Demonic Edifice of the Flying Dreamer 39 Desolate Fane of the Ghostly Druid 40 Destroyed Farm of the Gluttonous Egg 41 Devious Forest of the Gnarled Emissary Counteracting forces 42 Diamond Forge of the Half-breed Emperor 43 Wrath of the Elements Dilapidated Fortress of the Heart- Executioner 44 Disorienting Foundry of the Hive Exile 45 Divided Galleon of the Hollow Experimenter 46 Dormant Galleries of the Horned Eye 47 Double Garden of the Howling Father 48 Dream- Garrison of the Hunchback Gatherer 49 Earthen Generator of the Hyena- God 50 Ebony Glade of the Ice Goddess 51 Eldritch Globe of the Immoral Golem 52 Elliptical Grotto of the Immortal Grail 53 Enchanted Hall of the Imprisoned Guardian 54 Enclosed Halls of the Insane Head 55 Entombed Harbor of the Insatiable Horde 56 Eroding Hatcheries of the Insect Hunter Lanterns 57 Ethereal Haven of the Iron Hunters A chase 58 Fertile Hill of the Jackal- Hybrid Trapped in a dream Die Roll (Kickstarter Preview) - Starting Points: Locations | 3 An ambassador (mercantile) Militia duty Extremely wise Glowing ooze A strange mystery One step forward, two steps back Unintended consequences Orange rune Windstorm Lawyer Chain of evidence The Book of Apparent Nonsense Ceremonial spear The cloak Doorway to the planes Armor of the elementals The Book of Guilds Instruction manual Strange Geometries Encrusted with salt Table 1-1A: Locations (Overview) continued Temporal machine Structure’s Description (1d100) Structure (1d100) Feature (first word) (1d100) Feature (second word) (1d100) 59 Fortified Hive of the Jade Idol 60 Fortress- Holt of the Jewel Jailer 61 Glittering House of the Leech- Keeper Circle of gemstones 62 Grey Hut of the Legendary Killer Splendid flowers! 63 Hidden Island of the Leopard- King 64 High Isles of the Lesser Knight 65 Invulnerable Jungle of the Lion- Lich 66 Isolated Keep of the Loathsome Lord 67 Labyrinthine Kennels of the Lunar Mage 68 Living Labyrinth of the Mad Magician 69 Moaning Lair of the Mammoth- Maker 70 Mud- Lighthouse of the Man-eating Master 71 Octagonal Lodgings of the Mantis- Monks Residual lightning 72 Painted Manse of the Many-legged Mother Waiting for the arrival 73 Pearly Mansion of the Mist- People 74 Pod- Marsh of the Monkey- Priest 75 Poisoned Maze of the Moth- Priesthood 76 Quaking Megalith of the Mutant Prince 77 Remade Mill of the Ooze Princess 78 Ruined Mines of the Outlawed Puppet A party 79 Rune- Monastery of the Polluted Reaver Covert operations 80 Sea-swept Monolith of the Rat- Resurrectionist Moon walkers 81 Silent Mounds of the Reawakened Scholar Wild and reckless 82 Spiraling Necropolis of the Resurrected Seed An owlbear 83 Star- Nest of the Sabertooth Shaper 84 Storm-tossed Obelisk of the Scarlet Sisterhood 85 Sub- Outpost of the Scorched Slitherer 86 Sunken Pagoda of the Secret Society 87 Tall Palace of the Shadow Son 88 Temporal Pavilion of the Shattered Sorcerer 89 Three-Part Pits of the Skeletal Sorceress 90 Titanic Prison of the Slime- Spawn 91 Towering Pyramid of the Slug- Star When copper crosses iron Hold my beer In retrospect it was a bad idea Wrath of the Vessel Consumes too much Chains Jousting A tank of fish Exiled follower Strange and similar to oil Notched and damaged Perils and prophesies Roc When the spiderweb falls to the ground Exiled leader Religious Riots Pickled peppers Abnormal Die Roll 4 | Tome of Adventure Design (Revised) - (Kickstarter Preview) Table 1-1A: Locations (Overview) continued Professor Structure’s Description (1d100) Structure (1d100) Feature (first word) (1d100) Feature (second word) (1d100) 92 Toxic Rift of the Snail- Statue 93 Treasure- Sanctuary of the Snake- Surgeon 94 Triangular Sanctum of the Twisted Tree Water Gates 95 Unearthed Shrine of the Undead Tribe Captain of a river barge 96 Unfinished Spire of the Unholy Walker 97 Unnatural Stockades of the Unseen Warlord 98 Urban Stronghold of the Wasp- Weaver 99 Watery Tower of the Worm- Whisperer 100 Wooden Zeppelin of the Zombie Wizard Die Roll Jailor Ceramic Green owl Pickled onions Attacks villains Infected by something The lure of shiny things The lights show the way Table 1-1B: Locations (Overview) Roll independently for each column on the table: the table requires four rolls of d100, not just one! This part is in poor repair Structure’s Description (1d100) Structure (1d100) Feature (First Word) (1d100) Feature (Second Word) (1d100) 01 Airborne Abbey of the Ant- Artifact 02 Aromatic Aerie of the Armored Assassin 03 Azure Asylum of the Army of the Automaton 04 Belowground Aviary of the Artificial Basilisk 05 Black Barracks of the Bandit Bat(s) Treachery where most expected 06 Blue Bastion of the Bear Beast Reptile 07 Bone- Bazaar of the Bone- Behemoth 08 Breathing Bluffs of the Brain- Berserker(s) 09 Brooding Bridge of the Breeding Cannibal 10 Bubbling Cairn of the Bronze Centaur 11 Calcified Canyon of the Centipede- Chieftain of Goblins 12 Cliff- Carnival of the Clan of the Chimera 13 Coastal Castle of the Cloned Cleric 14 Concealed Cathedral of the Cloud- Cockatrice 15 Conquered Cellars of the Conjoined Colossus Fluffy little dog 16 Contemplation- Chapel of the Crocodile- Creature Writing on the wall 17 Crimson Church of the Cursed Cyclops 18 Cruel City of the Dark Demigod 19 Cryptic Cliffs of the Decayed Demon Die Roll (Kickstarter Preview) - Starting Points: Locations | 5 True, except for one thing Mammoth Increments of space A hydra Dangerous walls Evil artifact Spatial retractor Trapped spirits A risky proposition Old religion The lyrics are a clue A distant music Roc migration season Table 1-1B: Locations (Overview) continued I make the cloak of Sorrow… Structure’s Description (1d100) Structure (1d100) Feature (First Word) (1d100) Feature (Second Word) (1d100) 20 Cunning Cloister of the Deceitful Displacer 21 Dank Cocoon of the Demonic Djinni 22 Dark Coliseum of the Deranged Doppelganger 23 Deadly Contrivance of the Diseased Dragon 24 Deadly Cottage of the Elemental Druid 25 Death- Court of the Enchanted Efreet Wreathed in webs 26 Dimensional Cradle of the Enraptured Eyeball Legends of Death 27 Diseased Crags of the Feral Frog 28 Drilling Craters of the Flame- Fungus 29 Emerald Crypt of the Flying Gargoyle(s) 30 Erratic Dens of the Forest Genie 31 Fabrication- Dimension of the Frost Ghost(s) 32 Factory- Domains of the Genius Ghouls 33 Fear- Dome of the Giant Giant(s) 34 Feeding Dungeons of the Grotesque God 35 Flesh- Dwelling of the Guardian Golem Very charismatic 36 Fossilized Edifice of the Half-breed Griffon Catapults 37 Frightful Fane of the Hallucinogenic Hag 38 Gas- Farm of the Hellish Harpies 39 Granite Forest of the Horde of the Hornet(s) 40 Green Forge of the Horned Horror Edge of the table 41 Grey Fortress of the Horrific Hound(s) Ceremonial sword 42 Harvest- Foundry of the Howling Hydra Spotted pattern 43 Heliotropic Galleon of the Hybrid Idol An attorney 44 Hidden Galleries of the Ice Infiltrator 45 Horned Garden of the Imprisoned Insect 46 Horrid Garrison of the Insane Larva Lost in translation 47 Hunting Generator of the Insidious Lich A scribe 48 Hydroponic Glade of the Iron Lycanthrope Lighter than expected 49 Industrial Globe of the Iron Mage 50 Intermittent Grotto of the Jade Magician 51 Intriguing Hall of the Lava Manticore 52 Inverted Halls of the Leeching Master A tree of stone Like a virus Something burned in a strange way Dangerous method The wrong markings From another plane of existence Droplets on the stone Big baskets containing grain Residual ingredients Problems underfoot Evidence of a way through Novices Hallucinogenic flowers Webs of stone Turtle shell Die Roll 6 | Tome of Adventure Design (Revised) - (Kickstarter Preview) Table 1-1B: Locations (Overview) continued Journalist Structure’s Description (1d100) Structure (1d100) Feature (First Word) (1d100) Feature (Second Word) (1d100) 53 Lethargy- Harbor of the Leopard- Medusa 54 Levitating Hatcheries of the Lunar Minotaur(s) 55 Limestone Haven of the Mad Monster Wrath of the Rocks 56 Midnight Hill of the Mammoth Mummy Primitive motor 57 Monastic Hive of the Many-legged Mushroom 58 Mosaic Holt of the Massive Naga 59 Mountain House of the Master Nomads 60 Murder- Hut of the Mastermind Octopus 61 Nest- Island of the Mechanical Ogre(s) 62 Obsidian Isles of the Mental Ooze(s) 63 Offshore Jungle of the Mind Pirate(s) 64 Orb- Keep of the Minions of the Priest(s) Trapped in the dungeon 65 Perilous Kennels of the Mist- Princess A fortified position 66 Philosophical Labyrinth of the Monkey- Pudding(s) 67 Platform Lair of the Moon- Puppet 68 Poorly-built Lighthouse of the Moth- Rakshasa 69 Procreation- Mounds of the Sand- Spawn 70 Pulsing Lodgings of the Mutant Rat(s) 71 Putrid Manse of the Narcotic Salamander Transformed material 72 Ramshackle Mansion of the Poisonous Satyr Fortune-teller 73 Red Marsh of the Polluted Scorpion 74 Reversible Maze of the Predatory Serpent 75 Sacrificial Megalith of the Raider- Shaman 76 Sapphire Mill of the Reaver Shaman of the Orcs 77 Scarlet Mines of the Reawakened Simulacrum 78 Seaweed- Monastery of the Resurrected Skeletons When the light hits the prism 79 Sentient Monolith of the Sabertoothed Slime(s) Traps react to spells 80 Shadow- Necropolis of the Scarlet Sphinx 81 Ship- Nest of the Scheming Spider(s) 82 Shunned Obelisk of the Sea- Spirits 83 Singular Outpost of the Shadow Statue 84 Sinister Pagoda of the Skeletal Titan 85 Slaying- Palace of the Slime- Toad Die Roll Young dragon Bronze statue Like a hippie Traps react to movement Kept in a cage Dreams from the Citadel A distinctive belt Giant statue Confident Only one thing was left behind Depends on your perspective Carter Bottle of poison Harpies Succubus Private investigator Hallucinogenic runes A word in the wrong ear Bronze crown Links of grass (Kickstarter Preview) - Starting Points: Locations | 7 Table 1-1B: Locations (Overview) continued A fey guardian Structure’s Description (1d100) Structure (1d100) Feature (First Word) (1d100) Feature (Second Word) (1d100) 86 Star- Pavilion of the Slug- Tree Face in the stone 87 Temporary Pits of the Smoke Troglodytes Immobilized 88 Treasure- Plane of the Snail- Troll(s) 89 Tumbled Prison of the Snake- Tyrant 90 Twilight Pyramid of the Spell- Warlord of the Orcs 91 Unsealed Rift of the Summoned Wasp(s) A shadowed place 92 Unstable Sanctuary of the Tribe of the Witch Chambers of the oracle 93 Unthinkable Sanctum of the Undead Wizard 94 Vertical Shrine of the Unholy Wolves 95 Vile Spire of the Vampiric Worg(s) 96 Wailing Stockades of the Villainous Worm 97 Walled Stronghold of the Water Wyrm A tree of bronze 98 Waterborne Tower of the Winged Wyvern Evidence of treachery 99 Weird Webs of the Wounded Yeti 100 White Zeppelin of the Wraith- Zombies Expects proof Die Roll Religious Unrest Requires a certain fuel Goblins at work Retribution Solvents and acids An unpleasant tree Forbidden rites Source of healing A funeral took place Bronze oil lamps Example results from the tables above might include things like “The Twilight House of the Vampiric Wolves,” or “The Temporal Sanctum of the Insatiable Knight.” These are good starting points for the development of an adventure; enough, at least, to start putting your mind into gear. You might end up with a location that’s completely different from your initial starting point once all the pieces have fallen into place, been arranged, and been polished. But that’s the nature of the creative process. Getting it started is often the hardest step. Fungi Ceremonial garments Approach #2: Purpose Approach Table 1-2 below is not used in conjunction with Table 1-1A or 1-1B; it is an alterna- The owner of a small bazaar tive approach to generating seeds for an adventure location. The table is focused more The eyewitness disappeared much more creative thinking than Table 1-1A or 1-1B, because many results will be Face in the mirror A missile trap Like a bird on the purpose of the location than upon its past or present occupants. This table requires quite bizarre at first glance. This is deliberate; without strange conjunctions, tables don’t yield creative results. Table 1-2: Locations Location Contents (Word One) (1d100) Location Contents (Word Two) (1d100) 01 Ancestral Altar Trophy room 02 Awakening- Barge A parliament of owls 03 Battle- Beacon 04 Betrayal- Bowl Stealth Valuable because of its age Die Roll 8 | Tome of Adventure Design (Revised) - (Kickstarter Preview) Table 1-2: Locations continued Die Roll Exiled nobility Location Contents (Word One) (1d100) Location Contents (Word Two) (1d100) 05 Binding- Boxes 06 Birthing- Cages 07 Black Cairn 08 Bone- Camp 09 Brain- Catalyst Jackal-headed 10 Breeding- Caverns Laboratory 11 Bridal Cells Sun festival 12 Burial Channel 13 Cannibal Chasm 14 Confessional Chimney 15 Confluent Circle 16 Crypt- Cocoons 17 Curse- Compactor 18 Dark Compass 19 Death Connector 20 Demon- Coops 21 Dimensional Crown 22 Discord- Dancer 23 Dissection Device 24 Draining- Disk 25 Dream- Docks 26 Earth- Dome 27 Ectoplasmic Factory 28 Egg Farm 29 Entropy Flowers 30 Entry- Forge 31 Eye- Fountain 32 Feeding Frame Big pottery jars 33 Fever- Gallery Pointed shoes 34 Filth- Game Subaqueation 35 Fire- Garden 36 Flesh- Globe 37 Focus- Grounds 38 Fossil- Harbor (Kickstarter Preview) - Starting Points: Locations | 9 Leaves of emerald Flip it upside down A celebration Winds of change Circle of lightning Food of the fey Out of season A stable Influence from afar A paradox of time Sand in the hourglass Dream stones A satyr Metal is cursed Homunculus Surrounded with vermin The armory Hidden motives Bride of the Monster Time to act Thunder Attacks cattle Barracks Doorway into green Table 1-2: Locations continued Counterspells Kept under glass Hidden password Held in stasis Die Roll Location Contents (Word One) (1d100) Location Contents (Word Two) (1d100) 39 Furnace- Harvester 40 Gate- Hatchery 41 Ghoul- Hive Part of the recipe is missing 42 Growth- Houses Pushed forth 43 Guard- Incubator 44 Harmonic Jars 45 Ice- Kennels 46 Illusion- Keys 47 Infesting- Kiln 48 Killing- Laboratories Attacks authority 49 Lifting- Lantern Silver orb 50 Lightning- Lens A fatal argument 51 Madness- Machine Waxworks 52 Malformation- Mandala Kobolds 53 Materialization Mirror 54 Meat Moat 55 Memory- Nets 56 Mind- Orb Ring of machinery 57 Minion- Organs Hidden ceiling 58 Mist- Ovens It’s similar, but not exactly 59 Moon- Pendulum 60 Mummification Pens 61 Murder- Perches 62 Mutation Pillars An odd tattoo 63 Mutation- Pipes Hidden things 64 Necromantic Pits The attack is underway 65 Obedience- Pools 66 Oracle- Portal 67 Outer Preserver 68 Paradoxical Priests A test of loyalty 69 Pattern Prism The wine was poisoned 70 Perfume- Quarters 71 Plague- Rafts But it had no eyes Kept in quarantine Roll for initiative Mystery Ah, faeries, dancing under the moon, a Druid land, a Druid tune! Teamster House of the Stars Bioluminescent Forbidden secret Manages excess water 10 | Tome of Adventure Design (Revised) - (Kickstarter Preview) Table 1-2: Locations continued Die Roll Hidden monster Location Contents (Word One) (1d100) Location Contents (Word Two) (1d100) 72 Pleasure Rods 73 Prayer- Rooms 74 Prison- Rune 75 Puzzle- Sanctum 76 Reaction- Separator Concealed scroll 77 Rearrangement Ship Liquid, solid, gas 78 Sacrificial Sphere A boat 79 Sand- Spiral Forms a shape 80 Screaming- Spire Spiders 81 Shadow- Spouts 82 Shaping- Stage 83 Simulacrum Statue 84 Skeleton Steps 85 Skin Swamp Dreams from the Tower 86 Slime- Theater Ring of toadstools 87 Spell- Throne 88 Spider Token 89 Storm- Tomb 90 Teleportation Tower 91 Tentacle- Traps 92 Time- Trees The city gates 93 Transformational Tubes Blue flames 94 Tuning- Vats 95 Unreality- Vines 96 Vision- Vortex 97 War- Wards 98 Winter Webs 99 Witch- Well 100 Witching- Wheel Most of the chapters dealing with specific adventure locales also contain shorter, more specific tables for generating locations Undying faith One who walks The Ooze-Pipes Calming Outrageous hats Shadow runes The touch of a hand Primordial slime Salt pork Steal the ship Blood of the fey Necklace with rotating gem A handprint Pushed forward The words of the queen Debugging Two diseases Pile on the drama in that terrain type. Where landsharks dance So it begins (Kickstarter Preview) - Starting Points: Missions | 11
