18 January 2013

Improved Place Generator

This is a follow-up to when I blogged about my Impromptu NPC and Place Generator. If you read the comments to that post, Imaginos complained about some combinations being impossible because only one die was used and hence some runes woud l only be rolled with some given row/column combinations. My answer was that I liked simple-n-easy tools, and rolling one die only was my idea of simplicity.

Well, for (a) curmudgeons like Imaginos and (b) people who are OK with rolling two dice when they roll on a random table, here's my IMPROVED PLACE GENERATOR.

So everything works exactly like in the Impromptu Place Giannirator, except that you roll two dice.
  • Die No.1 (the blue die on the photograph) is used to determine the details of the place, as per the original Place Giannirator.
  • Die No.2 (the orange die on the photograph) is used to determine the owner/founder of the place, again per the original Giannirator.
  • And here's the final twist: in order not to have the runes linked with the rows and columns any longer, you will now use the rune under die No.2 with roll No.1, and the other way round.

click to enlarge
Die No.1 — the Place
(remember: die No.1 is the blue die)
Sixth row yields a VILLAGE.
Value rolled: 7: most houses have more than one level
Eighth column yields Average.
The rune under the other die is the Darkness Rune.

Die No.2 — the owner/founder
(remember: die No.2 is the orange die)

1. The die stops in the fifth row, first column.
2. Value rolled: 6.
3. Archetype: CITIZEN. The value rolled (6) yields us the following result: Journeyman / Crafter of a Superior level.
4. On top of the 1st column: 13.
5. Size Small
6. The rune under the other die is the Movement Rune.
Bonus: the map under the transparent sheet. The orange die stopped over the sea, north of the Umathelan coast.

Here's a possible interpretation of the results:
The party arrives in an average-sized village, in which most houses have more than one level. All in all, it is quite populous. The houses are tall and close to each other, so the place feels quite dark, especially in its narrow alleys.
If the PCs have a letter of credence, or are travelling on behalf of an important patron, or are otherwise well-known or puissant, they are introduced to the alderman/burgomaster/provost of the village. He's a jolly, shortish man who leads the local Guild of Artisans. He is himself a skilled wheelwright. Although not particularly dexterous, the man is able to craft high-quality cart wheels. Buying a set of wheels from him will increase the distance travelled by day on any given Umathelan road by 10%. If the PCs manage to get to know him better, they will learn that the man is actually not from Umathela. He was born in Seshnela and travelled throughout the mighty Middle Sea Empire, before settling in Umathela for the love of a local woman.

1 comment:

  1. > curmudgeons like Imaginos

    LOL ! :-)
    At least, you didn't call me an "old fart"... :-)

    ReplyDelete