The Dragon’s Tower

His name is Allan Mchone and he’s a twit. He’s a knowlegdable twit, though, and he’s breaking into computers everywhere. Like most people he wants to think he’s a good guy so he doesn’t actually do anything while he’s in the system he’s not authorized to access.

One thing you learn about him, reading an interview he gave after he was caught once, is Allan thinks he’s better than you. If he wants, you won’t catch him. You won’t even know he’s there.

Adventure Hooks:

• The party needs information and Allan hasn’t quite given up his old ways, just gotten sneakier. Who better to get the data?
• Allan is out of jail and looking to get a little of his own back. Not such a good guy now…
• The party needs to break into a system but Allan is the one protecting it now.

This could also work as an interesting background for a character you want to play.

You know them, no matter what system is your favorite. In fantasy: It’s made of wood, has a fireplace and some tables, the barwench and a few rooms upstairs. Upscale it and there’s a stable out back. Modern games have them, too, although they show up less often in my experience. Bars are more common social nuclei in contemporary modern settings.

But what if your players were traveling through a canyon and found this one? There, at the only source of water for 20 miles, is Korric’s Hall. Korric is an unimaginative fellow, a collector of rocks, which first led him to this place. After exploring several area caves, finding some unusual quartz and other gems, Korric noticed that the traffic always had to come here. Everyone needs water.

He used his gems, and some savings from earlier exploits, to hire diggers and miners to build the Hall. While there’s something of a pungent smell (dried manure is the main fuel, wood being scarce), most travelers forced to stop here enjoy the unusual fare Korric offers. Spike-growth salad is served alongside the very tasty remorhaz steaks. Fermented mare’s milk is chilled in the lower rooms and served by the young desert elf maid.

Adventure Hooks:

• Korric’s running low on food. He’ll pay well for anything edible the party can bring back.
• Bralani nomads have been plaguing travelers and driving Korric’s customers north to avoid them. Find out why these usually peaceful neighbors are causing trouble.
• Lallaneah, the elf maid, never looks up. Why?

All of this was 15 minutes thought after seeing a site about Unusual Hotels of the World. There’s something there for just about any game, no matter the setting. Check it out.

There’s this great little utility for Firefox out there called Stumble Upon! Basically, you enter some preferred topics, hit the button and it takes you to sites you’ve never seen before. So, I’m Stumbling my happy way around the internet, and I keep getting these cool gaming ideas! I’ve been running games in various genres from a myriad of systems for 24+ years now so I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. If you game for that long, seeing things in that kind of context is like breathing. You just Do It.

This blog is a place for me to share those ideas with everyone else. Using the internet in creative ways to make a better game.