Sunday, December 21, 2014

My first random encounter table

Not related to the ongoing campaign, but since we won't be able to meet to play over the holidays and I was bored at work I wrote up this d20 random encounter chart for the adventure setting that is contemporary Cairo. There are several inside jokes and probably requires a functional knowledge of current Egyptian politics and a bit of arabic but that's how we roll:

You are adventuring in Cairo when:

  1. Traffic. You are 1d4 hours late to whatever you were hoping to do today; a roll of 4 means an important person is passing and good luck getting anywhere
  2. A group of young men aggressively try to sell you jeans. Make a charisma check at DC 12 or find yourself in an upper story sweatshop trying on pants.
  3. Infrastructure failure (roll 1d4): 
    • 1. Electricity cut
    • 2. Sewage pipeline has exploded in the street
    • 3. Building or bridge collapse
    • 4. The worst pothole (DC 10 Dexterity check, failed save means you fall into infinite gaping void of the pothole. You and all your possessions disappear)
  4. Food poisoning: take 1d8 poison damage and make a constitution save at DC 15; a failed save means the ghost of the questionable meat will take over your body and force you to kill the nearest donkey butcher. 
  5. A ravenous mob of 2d6 Tantes. The tantes use pack tactics and will cast entangling illogical argument and things were better a long time ago. Each turn with the Tantes you must take an intelligence test at DC 10, on failure you will inflict d8 damage to yourself. 
  6. d10 shabab (50% chance that shabab will be riding 1d4 motorbikes), the shabab know the spell mahraganat and cast it at as a level 8 magic user.
  7. Sentient cloud of tear gas
  8. A mysterious alchemist offers to cure any diseases your party suffers from by turning them into skewers of grilled meat
  9. d6 plainclothes police appear and accuse you of violating whatever law is popular this week. They will accept a bribe of d4*100gp
  10. A giant monster formed from mountains of bureaucratic paperwork given life by years of frustration. The monster is immune to non-magical weapons, and unless the proper stamps and signatures are used against it cannot be killed, only banished until it returns after d4 days. On the plus side, the monster is only active between the hours of 10AM-3PM
  11. A taxi driver who will complain and attempt to sexually harass you. You must negotiate a fare to Nasr City. If defeated he has a Staff of Taxi Meter, which can be used d4 times each day to make small distortions to distance, time or monetary amounts.
  12. Black cloud! Suffer 2d6 pollution damage or twice that on a failed save. If the black cloud reduces you to 0HP, you will rise again as a government spokesperson assuring citizens that the matter is under control. 
  13. Zahi Hawass, accompanied by 2d6 undead. He is in possession of the Hat of Indiana Jonsieness (the hat has no magical properties)
  14. Nos Sha’aban - You must head to the nearest bar and drink as much as you can before the bars stop serving at sunset
  15. d10 Salafis casting Shorten Pants and Grow Wiry Beard. Attacks by women deal them an extra die of damage
  16. Siyad’t al wazir al safir al basha al doctor al mostashar. A very important person with d6 bodyguards passes, failure to identify him by the proper titles will cause them to attack unless you donate d6*100 GP to Sanduq Tahya Masr
  17. A muezzin with a truly terrible voice renders the call to prayer so badly that a gateway to hell is opened in front of the masgid. The portal will remain open for 1d4 days but is guarded by a level 10 demon
  18. An urchin tries to sell you Kleenex. If you refuse impolitely the urchin curses you so that the next mundane item you need can only be acquired in ‘Ataba; the search will take 1d6 days through the labyrinthine alleys.
  19. More police, if you have four of anything, if there are four of you, or if anything four related can be a associated with your party you will be accused of being part of the Brother Muslimhood and attacked
  20. Roll again twice on this table and combine the results into one event of a sort only Egypt is likely to produce.

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