#RPGaDay2025 - Create one game thing a day for 30 days!

[Croco]

22.08.
Ally: Reasons that creatures want to ally with the PCs.

Roll	Result
1	Treasure, either as payment or to retrieve some that’s too difficult to get alone.
2	Following an agenda and the PCs are just right as (unwitting) pawns.
3	Altruism. Exceedingly rare.
4	Boredom. Can’t stay sealed in a dungeon room forever.
5	Deception, planning to betray the party later, either running off with treasure or attacking during a crucial time.
6	Grass looks greener on the side the PCs are on.
7	For incomprehensible or unknowable purposes.
8	Hatred of something else is greater than hatred of the PCs, but power is also weaker. Likely to switch sides during the battle if chances are looking good.

[Todd]

Day 23, Recent:

Meanwhile, Back at the Ranch

When the party is off on an adventure, roll to see what’s happened at their local base of operations while they’re away.

Find out what you missed at the blog.

[Croco]

23.08.
Recent: Recent events of possible concern to the PCs.

Roll	Result
1	Hordes of undead are on the move through the land, purpose unknown.
2	Caravans moving through the northern mountain chain have failed to arrive.
3	A dragon was spotted flying along the edge of the desert.
4	A cabal of sorcerers was seen entering the eastern woods.
5	There hasn’t been word from the farms to the south for a while.
6	An unknown island has been spotted not far from the shore.

[Croco]

24.08.
Reveal: Some truths the PCs might or might not uncover.

Roll	Result
1	The wandering undead horde is not the work of some necromancer, but is instead engineered by a hostile kingdom to weaken the region.
2	The bandits are under the sway of a dryad to keep people away from the forest.
3	The dragon and the sorcerer are working together to complete a strange ritual.
4	The treasure hoard seen from the entrance of the dungeon is in fact not real, but an illusion hiding an especially clever roper.
5	The riddles of the sphinx are impossible to solve because they are just nonsense made up on the spot.
6	The cult appears sinister but is harmless (for now), and is blamed by the region’s ruler to explain away the current inadequacy and incompetence of governance.

[Todd]

Day 24, Reveal:

The Book of Revelations

A magic item for Troupe or your tabletop role-playing game of choice, found in well-stocked but abandoned libraries.

All will be revealed at the blog.

[Todd]

Day 25, Challenge:

Miss Opportunities

The seed word for this post is “challenge” but, rather than come at it literally, I’m going to look at a figurative challenge that I am facing: should attacks in combat always do something? If so, what? I’m going to look at this through the lens of my game, Troupe, but you can probably apply it philosophically to any game you’re playing, unless that one already has never-miss mechanics.

Take up the gauntlet at the blog.

[Croco]

25.08.
Challenge: The types of challenges the PCs will generally face.

Roll	Result
1	Monsters: The old classic. Requires no explanation, me thinks.
2	NPCs: Singular, factions, societies. The challenges here ranges from power (magical, military, societal), ambitions (schemes and plans) to relationships (aggravating one might aggravate countless more).
3	Treasure: Might be fake, might be cursed, might be sentient. How to transport it safely, how to keep it safe.
4	Traps: Range from accidental to insidious, obvious to undetectable, mischief to death. Creativity needs to be countered with creativity.
5	Wilderness: Where to go, how to stay on course, how to circumvent dangers.
6	Dungeons: It’s a dungeon, can do anything with that. For example, one could say the dungeon is the real world and anything outside of it is but a dream, thus the challenge is not getting lost in the unreal (maybe that’s more of a challenge for the GM).

[Croco]

26.08.
Nemesis: Reasons the PCs get on someone’s bad side, creating their own nemesis.

Roll	Result
1	Stealing their treasure. A cult’s sacred idol, any coin from a dragon’s hoard.
2	Disrespecting them, intentionally or not. Nobles, petty tyrants, gods.
3	Releasing them. Undeads, demons and other ungrateful creatures.
4	Wounding them. Most flee when wounded, but some hold grudges longer than wounds last.
5	Destroying something they care about. A sorcerer’s latest experiment, a dryad’s tree.
6	Through no fault of their own, either due to higher purpose or arbitrarily.

[Todd]

Day 26, Nemesis:

The Heart of Darkness

The ultimate nemesis in the setting I’m building around Troupe is The Gloom. The Gloom is, in essence, anti-creation. It is the End and seeks the end of all things. Because of the vigilance of the Greater Gods, it cannot act directly in the world. Instead, It constantly presses the boundaries imposed upon it, worming tendrils of influence to twist and corrupt living beings through Despair and Hopelessness.

Find Hope in the face of Despair at the blog.

[Todd]

Day 27, Tactic:

Tactical Affinity

Using a shorthand to describe how creatures do things, specifically hunting or fighting, helps you run those creatures consistently which, in turn, allows players to learn behaviors and react to them. Here some rough categories that you can apply.

Make your next move to the blog.

[Croco]

27.08.
Tactic: Tactics that factions might employ against the PCs.

Roll	Result
1	Setting traps and ambushes.
2	Reinforcing an attacked location, both quantitatively and qualitatively.
3	Retreating from an attacked location with any treasure.
4	Targeted assassination attempts or thefts.
5	Targeting the PCs’ allies or resources, e.g. the clerics or MUs in town.
6	Changing the geography, e.g. collapsing the dungeon entrance.
7	Spreading rumors and influencing local politics against the PCs.
8	Feeding information to the PCs’ other enemies.

[Croco]

28.08.
Suspense: Some happenings to raise the PCs’ concern about their current situation.

Roll	Result
1	The fog starts moving, swirling around unnaturally.
2	An inhuman scream echoes from inside the cave.
3	The room starts shaking, dust falling from the ceiling.
4	All lights go out.
5	The rope bridge starts straining against the weight on it, rope slowly unravelling.
6	An unclear form enters the light radius for a split second, then retreats with a hiss.

[Todd]

Day 28, Suspense:

Sentenced to Death

I should have posted this yesterday. The inspirational prompt is “suspense” but I just could not come up with anything from it. “Suspense” comes to English via French from the Latin suspensus which refers to hanging up, making uncertain, and killing by hanging. This last definition is what I’m going to utilize to pivot to… creative executions!

Seal your fate at the blog.

[Croco]

29.08.
Connect: Things connecting PCs together.

Roll	Result
1	Utilitarianism: Working together is easier and more rewarding than solo adventuring.
2	Bonds to each other: Friends, family, same hometown.
3	Necessity/Dependency: Thrown into the dungeon together, escaping imprisonment.
4	Bonds to a third party: Serving the same ideal, patron or organization.
5	External Force: Cursed, geased or otherwise magically bound for some purpose.
6	Nothing: The default state of perfect strangers, though it rarely stays this way.

[Croco]

30.08.
Experience: Various ways of gaining experience, some more central than others.

Roll	Result
1	Recovering treasure: The old classic.
2	Overcoming monsters: Slay, trick, negotiate or scare off monsters.
3	Carousing: Spend money to get more XP (maybe only a certain chance), or alternatively this is how one gets XP from treasure in the first place.
4	Exploration: Finding new stuff in the wilderness, exploring deep levels of a dungeons or finding strange sites, etc.
5	Furthering one’s own goal: A small addition to the actual reward. Negotiating with the king to acquire land, establishing an outpost, etc.
6	Quests: Rescue the village kids, destroy the evil undead creating machine, etc.

[Todd]

Days 29 & 30, Connect & Experience:

Bonds & Experience

A short follow-up to my earlier potpourri of 1d6 tables because I yet again need to meet some blogging obligations and finish the month strong! In this installment, we’ll roll up some bonds and some alternate methods of gaining experience.

Connect the dots at the blog.

[Croco]

31.08.
Reward: Rewards the PCs may acquire from adventures.

Roll	Result
1	Wealth! Gold, Gems, Goods, etc. All that glitters, but not necessarily.
2	Trinkets! A fancy knife, a hook horror’s head. Not really valuable or magical things, but cool stuff to hang on your wall, so you can reminisce later.
3	Magic Items! Armor, weapons, potions, scrolls, etc. Fun stuff to use.
4	Retainers! A peasant rescued, adventurer recruited, monster hired.
5	Connections! Rescuing the noble’s kid, performing a good deed for the local church.
6	Changes! Pools that increase abilities, sages that teach skills, mutations from eating rotten apples. Permanent changes.
7	New possibilities! New ways of entering the dungeon, treasure maps, etc.
8	Experience! Both XP and player experience, e.g. how to deal with certain monsters.

[Croco]

RPGaDay 2025 finished!

[Todd]

Day 31, Reward

The Great Reward

Experience helps you level up but it isn’t and shouldn’t be the only reward for the doing of great things that characters do in a campaign. Looking beyond gear— devices that make numbers go up and render characters more puissant practically— there are other achievements for characters to chase and receive for their deeds.

Earn your keep at the blog.