Written by Capt'n Quaalude (contact me)
HTML by my wife Robin
These events don't always have to be directly effect the players. They might be background events that happen in other cities that the players hear about. Hey, if Buffalo, NY (the last Camarilla city in NY) falls to the Sabbat, word is going to get around, ya know? Let the players know things go on outside their little world.
Major Political Events (1d10)
1 - Armistice
Armistice - Pick two enemies, anybody really. They declare a truce. This doesn't stop any military build ups, but it does allow some breathing room.
Change of Allegiance - Choose a group or someone important. They change sides. A bunch or anarchs join up with the Camarilla. A cabal of Tradition mages joins the Nephandi. A local pack of BSD's want to join the Glass Walkers. Just anybody at all.
Death of a Major Personage - Pick someone important: a Prince, a Justicar, a Sept Leader, an Arch-Mage, etc. Someone important somewhere dies. Good guy or bad guy, your choice.
Fall of a Major City - Oops, The Sabbat took over X, or the Technocracy captured Y, or the Garou managed to liberate the BSD hive in Z. Either way, some major city somewhere fell to an outside force. Maybe something good, maybe something bad.
Internal Dissension - This is either within a clan, sect, tribe, or tradition or what have you. Pick one and think up something that would bring about internal dissension. Have fun!
Major Campaign - The Sabbat crank it up. The Technocracy begins to sweep the streets with HIT marks looking for Reality Deviants to kill. The Wyrm begins a major assault on a caern. Someone somewhere starts a MAJOR offensive against someone else.
Major Change in Group to Group Relationship - Pick two groups. Are the friends? Things go sour. Are they enemies? Perhaps things chill between them. Somewhere somebody pulled something off and relationships have changed.
Technological Advance - In the human department, somebody somewhere came up with a wild new advance in the science department. The invention of human cloning would be a good example. Electronics that run off of the human nervous system. Think big. Natural Disasters (1d10)
Want to shake things up? What better than an earthquake! Nothing gives the players something new to think about than a volcano coming up through your haven. Some may not be applicable in your campaign, but give thought to something new and exciting. You never know when the players might want a change of pace.
1 - Avalanche/Land Slide
Avalanche/Land Slide - Large amounts of snow/dirt slide down a mountain side and flatten/bury everything at the bottom.
Cave-In/Sink Hole - The Nosferatu Warren caves in or the lowering water table causes a sink hole to form. Sink holes have opened in less than 3 seconds destroying entire buildings and sections of highway.
Epidemic/Disease/Plague of Locust, Rats, Tel evangelists, etc. - Ouch! The kine come down with the Ick. Everybody gets paradox inflicted stomach virus. Due to flooding, rats invade the city. Throw something nasty at the players.
Fire/Forest Fire - Either burn down the local forest (Making the Gangrel and Garou come looking for someone to blame) or burn down a good portion of the city. Something Major that effects the local economy. Like a 60 story high rise, the one with their haven in it ...
Flood/Tidal Wave - Then there's the counterpart to fire, water! A lot of it, make the rivers rise, make the basements and underground warrens flood. Make them think, "So, this is how the third generation felt." If they have beach front property, show them how Atlantis felt.
Meteor Strike - Sky lab falls on the PC's head/haven/car/cat. Ouch! Can they sue?
Solar Flare - Fun for the whole family! Really mess with their heads, have electronic stuff go crazy, have wyldlings jump out of the woodwork. Have the moon start doing sunlight damage to kindred for a few days. If the players complain, say, "Hey, it's an unexpected Solar Flare. It's on the table." then shrug.
Tornado/Hurricane - See the movie "Twister". If your city is on the coast, have a big 5 day hurricane come in from the South and mess with everybody's life for a week or so.
Volcano - The BIG ONE! Hard to pull off with a straight face, but for those who have managed to Role-Play "Dante's Peak" - no one has ever said it was boring. Getting players to place where they will buy a volcano erupting is a problem. A problem left up to the apt student. Under Siege Table (1d10)
This is the table for when your players are in a war zone. If it's open conflict, and you want to spice up things, give a roll on the table.
1 - Ambush
Ambush - Plain and simple a bunch of bad guys hide, jump out and try to hurt/kill/capture the players.
Enemy Patrol - The players see an enemy patrol before they have an opportunity to see the PCs. The PCs get to ambush the NPCs. What fun!
Friendly Forces - Friendly forces to the player show up and offer to help the players, want the player's help, or maybe they just want to hang. Or maybe they've had mind control devices planted in their heads and are waiting for the right moment to have their brains detach for their spines and flail tentacles around and ... and ...
Intelligence - Due to luck, skill, or help from high command, the players find themselves in possession of intelligence that would be useful in the conflict. It could be VERY IMPORTANT that this information gets to the right people, or doesn't fall into the wrong hands, or maybe the information is bogus and is designed to lure the PCs to an ambush. Your choice.
New Supplies - For what ever reason, the players get fresh supplies of guns, money, lawyers, blood, quintessence, talens, what ever. Either they stumble across it or someone gives it to them.
Opportunity for Profit - An opportunity for profit that has nothing to do with the current conflict presents itself. A neutral third party wants help getting the shipment of Y to X. A Garou wants to pay a lot for a rocket launcher the players happen to have.
Opportunity for Treachery - Someone gives the players an opportunity to do a Benedict Arnold. They offer the players a lot to change sides, look the other way, or in general make a profit at the cost of their side.
Personal Challenge - Pick a PC. Someone has a personal grudge with that person and challenges them to a one on one fight. It can be to the death, to the surrender, to the boot licking. They can be from friendly forces or arch rivals. Think, be creative.
Raiders - Someone wants to take advantage of the chaos and a third party comes in to attack. The third party is looking for profit and then wants to bug out. They can attack either side, they don't care.
Reinforcements - Sounds good, huh? Unlike the friendly forces this is reinforcements for the bad guys. It could be a shipment of guns, fresh troops, or just an ultra powerful NPC come to change the balance of power. Who knows? Peace Time Table (1d10)
Things quiet around town? Well not for long with the Peace Time table! Give a roll and lighten up those boring Sunday afternoons.
1 - Bad Weather
Bad Weather - Always fun, the bad weather encounter effects life in so many ways. Players stuck outside get to find shelter. It's easier to sneak up on people. Phone lines can go down so people cannot reach help and are cut off.
Blackout - Shut off the power at night to everything. Let the players have fun.
Crime - Not Joe Blow crimes, a real crime WAVE. Serial Killers and Jewel Heists and well, Cool Crime. All the time, over and over again until they get caught. WHEEEEE!!!
Equipment Malfunction - Something breaks. A car gets a flat, a tree falls on the haven. Have fun, think big.
High Command - If the players are anything other than total Xenophobes, they are members of supernatural organizations. The Camarilla Archon stops by. An Euthanatos wanders into town looking for mages to recycle. The Silver Fang Phoenix pack stops by to ask about if the players ever talked to, looked at, or was on the same planet as a BSD and why shouldn't we kill you right now for the Good of Gaia? Time to judge those characters on their QUESTIONABLE choices of the past. I hope they have more Time than the Death Mage who just happens to stumble across incriminating evidence. What a coincidence!
Important VIP - A VIP shows up. Someone the players like. Great RP-ing opportunities. It's up to you if you want to assassinate the VIP and frame the players or not.
Trader - Someone shows up with stuff for trade and sell. Mystical items, maps to the havens of sleeping elders, just about anything. Of course it could be a Ravnos, and the magic sword could be the former property of the Head of the Inquisition. (You're going straight to Hell for that one!)
Riot/Civil Disorder - YEEEEEE-HAW!!! Nothing better than lootingand pilliging. If you want to keep it low key, have it be a protest where the police go nuts and beat the Hell out of the protesters. Show them the violence inherent to the system. Heck, the players might like the violence inherent to the system.
Shortage - Oops. Thanks to the union strike/big storm/attack by giant cockroaches the area has run low on food/gas/toilet paper. Make the players due without. If they stockpiled the stuff have looters try to steal it and/or the government try to impound it. Make them work at keeping their stuff. Social Events(1d10)
On the happy side, you can have something happen that is the talk of the town. A social event everyone wants to attend, even if just to check it out.
1-2 Hollywood Movie Filming
1-2 A Hollywood movie comes to town and starts filming. What big name stars are here? Would the players like to be extras on the Set? What do the Toreador think?
Back to the SHDRAGM Background Flux Page
2 - Change of Allegiance
3 - Death of Major Personage
4 - Fall of Major City
5-6- Internal Dissension
7 - Major Campaign
8-9 - Major Change in Group to Group Relationship
10 - Technological Advance
It is up to you if this has any supernatural reason behind it, or if it just plain happened. BOTH are scary.
2 - Cave-in/Sink Hole
3 - Earthquake
4 - Epidemic/Disease
5 - Fire/Forest Fire
6 - Flood/Tidal Wave
7 - Meteor Strike
8 - Solar Flare
9 - Tornado/Hurricane
10 - Volcano
2 - Enemy Patrol
3 - Friendly Forces
4 - Intelligence
5 - New supplies
6 - Opportunity for Profit
7 - Opportunity for Treachery
8 - Personal Challenge
9 - Raiders
10 - Reinforcements
2 - Blackout
3 - Crime
4 - Equipment Malfunction
5 - High Command
6 - Important VIP
7 - Trader
8 - Riot/Civil Disorder
9 - Shortage
10 - Social Events (seperate table)
3-4 Wrestlemania or other major sporting event
5-6 Psychic Fair
7-8 SCA/Gaming Convention
9-10 Special
3-4 Wrestle mania #59 comes to town and the publicity stunts are in full force. This could beat a Brujah Rave if staged right ...
5-6 Never underestimate the draw of a HUGE Psychic fair. Perhaps there's some REAL mystical items there? Perhaps a psychic gives a "free" prophecy to a character because "the spirits told her to"? Perhaps wraiths try to contact some old friends - or enemies. Nothing is quite as disturbing as getting a message from the guy you killed a few years (or centuries) ago saying he hasn't forgot you and he's still pissed ...
7-8 A RP Gaming /SCA convention starts up. The college or convention site is covered with people in medieval style dress carrying broadswords (fond memories for some elder vampires? triggering derangements?). Trekkie conventions are fun too - and don't forget your Vulcan ears! (what freaks!)
9-10 My personal favorite social event is something my girlfriend Butterfly ran once - the Annual Meeting of the "Organization of Organizations" comes to town. This is an organization of 1001+ small organizations that get together because each one is too small to get a convention on it's own. Perhaps some supernaturals come here to recruit?
Meet people from COYOTE (Call off your old tired ethics - a prostitutes rights group), Flying Funeral Director's Association (future Samedi?), Haunt Hunters (group tries to contact ghosts and understand what happens after death), Keltic Society (publishes The Pictish Shaman), Loners of America, Make A Wish Foundation (grants dying children's wishes), Sarcastics Anonymous, Uglies Unlimited (Nosferatu take note!) and the National Hemlock Society (who's motto is, "Good life, Good death." Any budding Euthanotos out there?) Note: these are all REAL groups! Let your ideas go nuts. Anything that people could be fanatical about, there are like minded fanatics forming a group out there.
And what Black Fury would pass up the opportunity to lecture to 12,000 members of LAW - Ladies Against Women. (This is for real) LAW believes the degeneration of America started when women tried to be equal - after all, women were meant to stay home and be barefoot and pregnant and serve their man's every whim.
For off the wall groups may I recommend the book Organized Obsessions by Deborah M. Burek and Martin Connors published by Visible Ink Press. It has more ideas then I could ever put down here. You might be able to find it at your local library or at Edward R. Hamilton, Bookseller on clearance for $3.00.
On to the SHDRAGM Oops! Sometimes You Step In It Page
Copyright 1999-2004 Robert Goodfellow. All Rights Reserved.