dunmanifestin 0.0.1

data/lists/default/encounter

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+|encounter
+[townHook]
+[woodHook]
+[miscEncounters]
+
+|miscEncounters
+A lush garden beckons with ripe vegetables.
+A demon marches atop [geologicalFormation.article] only a half dozen paces from you.
+A King's Sheriff holds a colorful wanted poster. He carefully studies the party as they pass by.
+[person] holds [wieldable.article]. He/She carefully studies the party as they pass by.
+One of the PCs spots a key. What's it for?
+A young man and woman riding a horse bareback, ill-equipped for travel, make to pass by you in haste. If questioned, they tell you they are lovers, fleeing a feud between their families who live in [settlement] the village ahead of you.
+A smiling roadside merchant roasts rats, frogs and squirrels on sticks.
+A smiling roadside merchant roasts [animal.plural], [animal.plural] and [animal.plural] on sticks.
+The road goes through a canyon bog filled with toxic, flammable gas.
+The road goes through [geologicalFormation.article] filled with toxic, flammable gas.
+A lone child blocks the bridge ahead, unless each traveler can guess her riddle.
+A local noble stumbles out of woods and falls flat on face with a knife in his back. His guards round the bend and exclaim, "You, halt!"
+A chatty [profession] walks alongside the party.
+A strange smell comes from the bushes.
+The side of the road is lined with mausoleums to long dead mercantile families. Some of them appear to have been broken into and doors hang free on rusted hinges.
+The PCs come across the scene of a massacre. A party of bullywugs lies slaughtered. The party hears crying and can find a young bullywug child. "My parents, dead," she croaks. "Killed by human soldiers. Help me get back to my tribe," she begs.
+A migration of 100 turtles scurry from the beach as you approach.
+A roadside shrine to a local deity is the scene of a gruesome murder. A woman's body, dressed in blood-stained white robes, lies in the middle of road as if dragged and dropped there. You see bloody steps heading away from the corpse towards the woods.
+A group of farmers repair a fence.
+The leafy bush to the left of the path begins to glow an iridescent hue.You stumble upon a small shrine dedicated to a deity of travelers. In the middle of the shrine you see a statuette with cupped hands, on which you can drop a coin for good fortune.
+Natives accuse the party of sacrilege and desecration, their ancient burial ground disrupted.
+A line of ducklings follow their mother across a busy road.
+A leather cord ties a well-groomed speckled horse to a nearby tree. The horse is fitted with an elegant but empty saddle.
+You approach a caravan of camels. It travels in same direction and the leader invites you to escort him as security.
+The road passes through a ruined, burned-out town that seems abandoned.
+A powerful storm forced you to take the only available refuge - an elderly couple's home, whose every room held numerous open cups of pungent hybiscalyptus root essence. The heated cups over the stove further suffused the air with it. Now, some days down the road from them and several washings later, you can still smell the sharp aroma upon your gear and clothes.
+You notice three small jars sitting in the middle of the road. One is open. You also see a bloated body lying with its back towards you. As you approach, you hear loud buzzing from the bushes nearby.
+A scraggly man sits at the crossroads. He offers dreams at a bargain price. To show he is being literal, he takes out a bottle containing a purple mist swirling inside.
+A funerary procession winds its way along the road, the clerics beseeching all they encounter for donations to the faith.
+A robed man bars the path and demands a toll, boasting of his great power as a wizard.
+The party falls in with a group traveling to a religious shrine. Eventually, the party becomes aware these are actually members of an opposing religion who plan to desecrate the shrine.
+A naked minstrel asks for a lift to the nearest Inn where he left his clothes and money to pay for your troubles.
+The PCs travel though an area suffering from a heat wave. The mid-day sun is exhausting and takes its toll on the characters.
+A riderless horse gallops past the party, its saddle marked by claws.
+All of a sudden the weather effects end, and all that remains is a silent twilight where the winds are dead calm.The carriage is overturned and all the passengers are dead. Or are they undead?
+The party happens upon a simple steel ring that causes the wearer to switch to the opposite alignment.
+The cemetery below the road is haunted by the tortured spirits of the murdered. On the full moon they rise up as skeletal aspirations and wraiths and terrorize travellers, pulling them into the catacombs below.
+A small group of kneeling, lifelike statues, frozen in fear or supplication.
+The road leads through a tunnel. Halfway through, the party finds a major wall and roof collapse revealing a large passage running adjacent to the road, with flickering lights visible further in.
+A pack of five feral puppies eats a kobold corpse in a crossroads area. They are less than a year old and they are a terrier breed meant for hunting. The leader of the pack is the best-fed and is not afraid to posture at the party if they get too close to the pack's latest meal.
+The bridge is guarded by shady-looking characters who claim to be "toll collectors."
+The routed remnants of a military group beg the PCs for help and assistance.
+A burly man sits next to a hay-wagon with a broken wheel. He waves in despair when he notices you.
+A pair of griffins driven from their mountain home by a beholder.
+Alongside the road, a man calling himself The Amazing Steve asks the party if they want to see a performance of his trained pets. The slightest affirmative answer causes Steve to give a whistle, and a huge swarm of ravenous locusts suddenly manifests.
+A man stumbles onto the road, clearly wounded, followed by a score of crows.
+A wagon train stopped on the road blocks traffic as the drivers feed their animals and fill waterskins in a stream.
+Unusually verdant and overgrown patch of road, with bandits wrapped up in vines begging to be let free.
+Partial eclipse of the sun.
+A strange sign carved on a tree near you seems fresh.
+The tower ahead topples down on the hillside and showers the road with enormous stones.
+A fat friar hurries past the PCs mumbling, "It isn't fair."The road is crossed by many animal tracks, as if a herd of beasts all crossed at the same time.
+An evil wizard tied to a stake, body still smoking.
+A traveling peddler sells animated toys.
+Heard before it is seen, a crying child sits alone in the middle of the road.
+A glowing fog engulfs the road.
+A lone foreign knight rides by.
+An earthquake drops the group and a large section of road into a sinkhole or chasm.
+A strange [animal] follows you at a distance.
+The road is riddled with pockets of quicksand.
+After one of the group treads in something sticky, animals start following the character with curious interest.
+Two groups of pilgrims from rival faiths block the road as they engage in aggressive debate. Each side appeals to the heroes for help.
+A large mob fleeing from something heads towards you.
+Three young men work on tipping over an occupied outhouse.
+A partially collapsed bridge has just two supporting beams remaining.
+A travelling blade-sharpener offers a special deal to the PCs to improve their magic weapons, but later the PCs discover the magic in the blades seems to be gone.
+A tall rock overlooks the road. As the group passes, a filthy hermit babble prophecies and throws rotten food at them.
+A group of angry-looking peasants are in the process of lynching someone from a tree by the side of the road.
+A glint of light upon the road draws your scout's attention. A small holy symbol lies in the open, abandoned.
+The King's men are repairing the road for the next 5 miles.
+A massive feather spirals from the sky to land on the road as a huge shadow passes overhead.
+A spreading sinkhole is destroying the road, making nearby terrain precarious.
+The road is filled with giant potholes. Sounds of scratching and scuffling come from one of the pits.
+A rusty suit of armor is home to something odd.A sailor traveling home with his sea-chest has a heart attack.
+The remains of an ambush litter the road, but the wounded courier struggles to the last to deliver his message.
+A band of orcs runs toward the party. They look over their shoulders and try to run through the party. Something dreadful has terrified them, something behind them, ahead of the party.
+Ruins of an ancient gate have fallen, blocking the road.
+Ambush: a fire lit behind the party. Hidden threat: spearmen forcing the possibly panicking steeds and pack animals off the road, archers in trees.
+While on the road the PCs come across a traveling merchant going the same way. The merchant asks if he can travel with them to at least the next village. During the night the merchant will attempt to steal from each PC. In the morning, if no one notices the theft, he will attempt to leave.
+You traverse a darkened path through light woods, a glowing chariot appears above the trees to one side.
+The sign ahead reads "Road Work Incomplete".
+An (innocent) escaped prisoner beseeches the party to help them hide.
+The remains of a traveling circus.
+A bright yellow sign with black markings seems to represent a man holding a tool of some sort.
+The PCs see a group of travelers surrounded and attacked by lesser monsters. Pack animals and steeds lost, the survivors have taken refuge on a large rock.
+A wandering troupe. They might ask to entertain the PCs for a fee, rob the PCs or talk about a big event happening further up the road.
+A wagon ahead has overturned. It appears to have been carrying four large metal containers that are now scattered about. The driver lies dead, some wicked pustules marking his exposed skin. One of the containers looks like it might be leaking some sort of liquid.
+An old stone cottage, overgrown with bushes and crab grass seems sturdy but abandoned.
+A giant stands by the roadside helping passers-by over a recent rockfall for a modest fee.
+The group comes to a wilderness trading post on the trail. The cantankerous oltimer who runs it offers a bounty for scalps.An enigmatic pair of monks who refuse to acknowledge the PCs.
+Traveling off the main road, the PCs feel like they are being followed. Who is hunting them?
+A wounded assassin needs a place to regain his strength before continuing on his way.
+A thick rope lies flat on the ground across the road.
+Three types of meat hang on a spit over a campfire in a makeshift camp. You try to convince yourself that it is indeed animal and not humanoid that sits above the open flames.
+The snowy road hides a collapsed sinkhole that will deposit the party on a slalom slide down a mountainside, with a course threading through large pointy outcroppings.
+A rider stops to ask for hurried directions. The rider thanks them and races ahead. When the PCs reach the next town, fresh Wanted posters are being nailed up with the group's faces sketched on and accusations of heinous crimes in the last town back. The locals all stare at the PCs.
+A well-spoken bugbear wearing fine studded leather armour is trapped under a fallen tree. He implores the party to come to his aid.
+At a river with slightly submerged ford, a sign reads "Ware the Greenteeth."
+An endless animal herd grazes in the middle of the road.
+A weathered obelisk sits by the side of the path. Someone has recently carved a message into it in an ancient script.
+Sharp rocks have broken off from a cliff and tumbled onto the open road.
+An illegal logging or mining operates nearby.
+You spy a chicken on one side of the road, looking diffidently at the other side.
+A land mine lays in wait for the PCs.
+A ranger stops by the group's camp one night and gives them advice on the trail ahead, places to camp and a tavern where they can get good rates if they mention his name. All his advice is good, but when they mention his name at the tavern, they're told he died years ago on that very road.
+Shopping list for potions lies on the ground.
+The King has enacted a toll bridge. Several peasants were unaware, and cannot afford the toll. They accost the PCs demanding then begging for change.The road leads you to an icy arch traversing a deep chasm whose vertical faces dive down so far below you cannot see where they converge. The slick surface and stiff wind present a tricky challenge to your footing.
+Scattered coins from a land you don't recognize shine inside the torn remains of a pouch.
+On a bridge, the PCs hear the roar of water much louder than the river they cross. Then the river level drops. Sounds of combat upstream reach the PCs' ears. At the battle site, mercenaries are trying to capture a water elemental. The elemental is good-aligned and will appeal to the party for help. The mercenaries, if aided, will not split their bounty from the wizard who hired them. The elemental, if rescued, will reward the party with random treasures from the river bottom, but the PCs acquire the enmity of the wizard who posted the bounty.
+A wizard rushes up to the PCs, running faster than a horse. The spell runs out soon, and he'd like company until his magic has been replenished.
+A band of children, hungry and footsore, who earnestly claim to be on a crusade to the Holy Land.
+A beheaded giant's corpse lies across the road, blocking it.
+A bare-knuckle fight in a dusty ring on the roadside. Crowd size?
+The party starts finding neatly severed body parts discarded on the road. An ear, then a finger, then a tongue.
+It is known this road leads straight to the next village with no side paths. Nevertheless, the road forks. A well-dressed attendant offers his counsel on which path to take.
+Outside the entrance to a silver mine, a group of protesters wave signs and shout racial slurs about dwarves stealing human jobs. As you watch, a group of dwarves entering the mine is set upon by some of the protestors.
+A dozen arrows rain down into the road from a great distance ahead of the party.
+Thousands of bats stream across the sky as the sun falls from view.
+A nesting magpie swoops the party.
+Alongside a busy road, an enterprising merchant has set up a small casino. Dice and cards are available, but does the merchant have a gambling license?
+A mechanized vehicle spews smoke from a large funnel and makes a hell of a racket. It diverts its course and increases speed when its occupants notice the party.
+The street is strangely deserted. Not a soul walks the pavements and litter swirls in the breeze. An unmanned cart with squeaky wheels rolls onto the street.
+A weathered old woman offers her camp to travelers, and a free meal. Looks like your lucky day.
+The party hears a long stream of invectives from further up the road. Then they spot a head upon the road - a person still alive, buried up to his neck.
+The road is littered with fallen leaves that cover a new pit trap.
+A bear carcass blocks the road.
+A small crude sign with Natural Hot Springs handwritten in charcoal points to the east.
+A farmer's family welcomes all travelers with free lodgings in the stables.
+An undead army marches down the road.
+A spring trickle of rain smiles on the farmers this day.
+A dragon flies across the sky.
+A sentry animal such as a bird, dog or rodent raises the alarm.
+Two men exchange blows in the distance. Each accuses the other of stealing a family heirloom.
+A humanoid dead by the side of the road with a knife in its back.
+A man hits a donkey with a branch and shouts, "Move, you flea bitten piece of crow bait!"
+The road is blocked by guards searching for violent criminals. Do the PCs look like the escaped convicts?
+A work gang labors to resurface the roadway under the watchful eye of the law. The arrival of travelers gives some of the work gang members the distraction they need to make a break for freedom.
+Jumping over these puddles would be a far easier a task if the road did not run right through a swampy bog landscape.
+A row of freshly dug graves line the side of the road, exactly the same number as the party.
+Along the side of the road you come across a long row of roses...do you stop and smell them?
+A parasitic dimensional traveler accompanies the PCs until attaching to one and sucking his life out. Any attempt to remove the traveler will harm the character he is attached to.
+A traveling peddler offers to sell the PCs a crystal ball at a huge discount.
+A bounty hunter with a prisoner would like to join the PCs until the next town. The prisoner likes the opportunities this brings.
+An arrow hits a nearby trunk, a message wrapped around the shaft.
+A seemingly empty wagon hurtles down the hill towards you.
+A famous bard and his boisterous entourage pass by on a two-horse carriage.
+A group transports the body of important person to another place for burial.
+The road stops at the jagged hole of a collapsed mine shaft. Something glints in the shadows.
+A fat drunk bard sings praises to the gods.
+The long mountain road leads to a tunnel. As it progresses deeper into the rock, it grows wider and develops a flagstone surface. At length, it emerges unexpectedly into an underground city.
+A group of much more powerful adventurers meet the party on the road, heading back from a nearby dungeon. They brag about the monsters they slew and loot they found there, and say there's probably a few scraps left behind that weren't worth their time to pick up, if the group hurries.
+Beneath the shade of a lone tree sits a messenger boy. He's exhausted and will tell every passerby he is re-considering whether he's in the right line of work.
+Whoo-eeeeh, what is that? A terrible stench fills the air. The PCs must roll below their Constitution score or vomit. Dead bodies, a dead monster, whatever you wish, lie rotting in the bushes.
+A cat wanders into the party's camp. It does not meow. It will eat if offered food, and may show appreciation with a little rub, but otherwise stays out of the way. It will follow the party for a few miles, and if ignored, it will leave.
+Just off the road ahead, bedrolls surround a bubbling cauldron over a stoked campfire, but there's no one in sight.
+Workmen replace a wooden bridge with a stone one. The detour is a day or more out of the way. The workers have finished a narrow path of stone, and might be convinced or bribed to allow you to balance your way across the precarious ledge. Watch your step.
+A wheel breaks or comes off your wagon.
+Your party hears a clatter of weapons and spirited invective before rounding a bend to find two men dueling about the roadway.
+An elderly man sits patiently beside the road with a folding chess set. He invites the PCs to stop, rest and play chess for a while in the shade.
+A unit of archers are out practicing their shots on the King's Highway. Beware stray arrows.
+Several sets of footprints are still visible from what appears to be a struggle from the night before.
+A sign that says exotic animals points to a path off the main road.
+A bridge is missing. Where it used to be is now a ferry service, for a sizable fee. The ferry looks like it might consist of bridge parts, and only takes a few travelers at a time.
+An annoying bard insists on joining the party.
+A talkative, intelligent parrot tries to persuade the party to take him to a nearby druid who can change him back into the person he was.
+Crucified men line the road for the next mile. One of them is still alive.
+A man swings down from a branch and proclaims to be the god of predictability.
+A cloud shaped like a holy symbol scuds out of sight.
+A startled and disheveled merchant approaches and warns you to be careful of the road up ahead. He tells you a large number of locals have taken to harassing and, in some cases, robbing all who travel the new road that bypasses their town. Apparently, they are upset about the dwindling trade from people bypassing their town and have decided to take matters into their own hands.
+A friendly rabbit is actually a polymorphed princess from a far away land. She asks for help.
+Cloying, wet mist makes fires difficult to start, papers soggy, bows unreliable, sword handles slippery. It also puts everyone in a sour mood.
+A huge crevasse splits the road in front of you. A rider sits on a horse across the crevasse and calls out to you in an accent: So, the marquis sent someone after all. Throw the ransom across now or he'll never see his precious daughter again!Ó
+A woman cries for help as she weeps over her husband's body. However, when you approach, a band of thieves spring from their hiding place and advance towards
+you. It is then, to your dismay, you notice the woman and her “dead” husband have drawn long daggers and are also advancing.
+A voice from the bushes by the road shouts, "We have you surrounded, Torvik! Your villainy ends here!" But who's Torvik?
+A pay-wagon heading for a nearby army trundles past, with not quite enough guards to challenge the party.
+Someone plays pipes up ahead.
+You see the remains of a trade cart. Closer inspection reveals corpses several feet away from the road, half buried, dragged there by the raiders.
+A group of robed scholars trade useful information in exchange for obscure lore.
+The road reaches a river. The ferry is on the far side, but no one is around.
+Strange noises come from the ground.
+A large mass of snow or rocks have collapsed into the hollow through which the road leads, impeding forward progress.
+A stranded traveler standing on the side of the road is the bait in a trap.
+A depressed bard bemoans life.
+As the road turns through a dense part of a forest, the party stumbles across a worn footpath carefully camouflaged with scattered underbrush and branches.
+A large wyvern suns itself in the middle of the road. It looks asleep.
+A laden cart proceeds down the road opposite the party, bobbing as though ox drawn, but with no apparent means of propulsion.
+A funeral procession winds its way along, complete with mourners, priests and servants who carry an ornate coffin.
+As bandits attack, the PCs realize a friend of theirs is among the robbers.
+A travelling merchant wants to buy a particular item from one of the PCs and refuses to take no for an answer.
+A traveler flees towards you, utter terror etched over his face. As he runs past you he screams a warning to flee the giant green monster that is around the next bend in the road. After watching his fleeing form disappear down the road, by chance you happen to glance something odd lying off the road behind some bushes. Closer investigation reveals some timber off-cuts, some discarded papier-mâché and a half empty tin of green paint.
+An unusually thin and dirty snow bear stands on its hind legs and roars. It looks hungry.
+A beautiful magical thing - such as a dryad or unicorn - flees from a mage. It's afraid and seeks help from the PCs.
+A cattle stampede surges toward the PCs.
+With a rumble, a rockfall hurtles tons of tumbling stone towards those on the roadway.
+A group of masons push carts of materials towards a town.
+A dirt path leads to a mound of stones pierced by a rusting longsword close by. Supplicants wait in line for their turn to pull the sword out.
+A roc has roosted nearby. PCs witness it taking cattle.
+A long column of mercenary light cavalry canters down the road.
+You find a large leather bag of gold coins on the side of the road. At the same time, three members of the guard ride up to you.
+The PCs spot a person in the distance who disappears.
+There is a mysterious flicker ahead, and one member of your party suddenly stops, paralyzed.
+A cart piled high with corpses sits in the middle of the road with not a living soul in sight.
+The road crosses a deep ravine via a bridge made of slightly-melted ice.
+A stray dog runs down the road with a boot in its mouth. A moment later, a PC realizes a broken bit of bloody shin-bone sticks out of the top of the boot.
+A patrol of bullying foot soldiers demand road tolls.
+The ground grows hot and foul steam rises from new-formed cracks in the roadway.
+A group of nomadic vagabonds approach in brightly painted wagons. A cousin of one of the PCs travels with the nomads. The cousin wants to see the world, but the PC knows her family would want her back.
+A band of kobold hunters hides and watches the road for human prey.
+A scruffy, twitching man digs a hole in the middle of the road.
+Several girls wash in a nearby river. A stern matron gives the PCs the evil eye.
+Who eats like this? A small pile of cow, horse or sheep remains lies decomposing next to the road. The remains are mostly legs and heads bitten off by something with HUGE teeth.
+A single warrior stands armed with shield, sword and spear unmoving in the middle of the road.
+A leathery-faced farmer asks for help. He runs a successful bee farm and produces the best honey in the land...or he did. Yesterday he purchased a new queen bee, but after gorging herself on the farmer's existing honey overnight, the queen has grown into a giant bee and gathered the farmers' bees into an aggressive swarm that attacks anyone in the vicinity.
+A group of farmers, bringing goods to town for trade, are willing to barter or exchange gossip.
+As the road rounds into a hollow, your party happens upon a bandits' ambush, but the bandits are waiting for traffic coming from the other direction.
+Psst, do you want to buy a crystal ball that really works? It's cheap! says a shady character while sneaking up on the PCs. (The price is cheap, and you might even lead the PCs to believe the ball works when they try to use it for petty things, but it is unreliable, maybe even cursed. And the big problem is that one or more groups of NPCs badly want this crystal ball.)
+The dark forest the road travels through is home to giant spiders that drop onto the party.
+An enormous rock blocks your path.
+A band of rowdy centaurs camp beside the road, scaring away the peasants who work the nearby fields.
+Army ants cover the road for the next 40 feet.
+A crazy man points at a PC's equipment and lists its magical properties - and he's right!
+The PCs encounter a cattle stampede. The stampede is nearby but no threat. What caused the stampede?
+A reanimated corpse sits in the road, but does not interact with the party in any way.
+Murdered travelers litter the road - they begin to animate.
+A traveling mage performs tricks and sleight of hand before a large crowd just outside town. While the mage has every eye captivated, his compatriot moves through the crowd, pilfering items.
+A small enclave of garish artists approach on a horse drawn cart. One member is naked and some of the others appear to be sketching him.
+A family is stranded on the side of the road.
+It appears travellers here have two choices. The high road (plagued by giants) or the low road (plagued by lizard men).
+The leading PC is attacked by a mammoth shark-like creature as it erupts from beneath the surface of the road.
+A young couple feverishly digs alongside the road, bickering all the while. It seems they're after something valuable buried by the road.
+A tree not normally found in this area (think palm tree in Scotland).
+A huge creature crashes through the forest to your left, breaking trees as it approaches the road.
+A little girl in a red cloak skips down the road.
+A dollhouse sits abandoned on the bridge ahead.
+The party catches up to a slender young woman disguised as a boy travelling along the road.
+Beggars accost the party, pleading for money.
+A large pool of congealed blood lies in the centre of the road.
+A gentleman offers the PCs a chance to sleep in his house for the night, but alas, he and his family have rather Procrustean ideas about guests.
+Orcs gather twigs and berries along the road with a clear, non-hostile purpose. Will the PCs attack just because they are orcs?
+A fierce yell pierces the air as the sound of thundering hooves grow closer.
+Prisoner's Road parallels the river. Old prison cages, iron maidens and hanging cages stand along the side of the road for several miles. Some are empty, while others contain the remains of the once living.
+A travelling salesman and his gaudy cart, complete with fast-talking snake-oil offers and a dancing monkey.
+A tearful family of wandering merchants block the road. Their youngest son has run into the "haunted forest" and are too scared to rescue him.
+A tree falls onto the road. Then a fireball blows up the tree. It appears the PCs are in the middle of a skirmish between druids and fire wizards.
+A lynch mob demands the party join them.
+A small party of armed knights under a noble's banner approach. Their outrider tersely demands the party yield the road.
+A dancing cloud of will-o-the-wisps or fireflies leads a hypnotized traveller.
+Ambush: a huge troll demanding bridge troll. Hidden threat, the troll has weakened the bridge.
+You hear a hoarse, rasping scream from the sky, and see a hawk soar overhead before it dives into nearby trees.
+The road surface starts to buck and writhe, trying to throw the group off. Is it an earthquake or a territorial elemental?
+A spider web blocks the road.
+Two dozen townsfolk chase a tarred-and-feathered merchant out of town.
+Substantial drag marks on the road lead into the nearby verdant foliage.
+Flowers by the roadside turn their heads to follow the party, and they're getting larger.
+A convenient ford through the wide river crossing the road is home to piranhas.
+Militia stop every wagon and search the contents of every bag and wagon box. You count 20 soldiers in all, each one armed with a pike, sword and shield. These are an elite tactical group who appear good at completing missions.
+A beehive buzzes angrily on a branch overhanging the road, and beneath it a figure lies gasping and puffy with dozens of stings.
+An overturned beer cart lies in the road. Nearby, an enormous troll snores loudly, surrounded by empty kegs.
+The locals use two or more names interchangeably for certain roads, but the maps or directions the PCs were given just use one.
+A group of armored soldiers approaches you and demand food.
+The rope bridge across the chasm has been chopped loose and dangles on this side. Did someone fleeing to this side cut the bridge, or is someone trying to trap the PCs?
+High level clergy rides by in a secure carriage, escorted by four heavily armed guards.
+A dryad weeps along the roadside meadow.
+A tunnel with a bricked up entrance spans the road.
+The road enters impenetrable wilderness and the only means of continuing on is via a canal.
+A disturbing sighing noise comes from an old well at a side of the road.
+A sudden snow storm blankets the road without warning.
+A set of shackles lies at the side of the road.
+A couple has chosen a small glade along the road for their wedding. However, the bride is weeping and the wedding party is frantically scouring the grassy area, for it seems the ring has been lost or maybe stolen.
+A boy rushes from a dilapidated, roadside tower claiming he has found the hideout of local bandits.
+A pompous noble stands in the road, flogging and shouting at his injured horse.
+A village can be seen to the west. It isn't on the PCs' maps.
+A scared group of travellers huddle on a small bridge. The group explains that bandits in the woods beyond the river have stolen everything they have. As the PCs cross the bridge, they are ambushed by bandits hiding under the narrow bridge. The "scared" group are part of the bandit gang.
+A placid lake swamps the road. Several stakes festoon the road near the lake's edge, each topped with a fresh skull.
+On the side of the road an old man and woman yell at each other about who forgot to pack lunch.
+An annual migration of flesh-eating or blood-sucking insects plagues the party's passage through a forest.
+3 pilgrims trudge along the dusty road, an old man and two young men. Simple travellers? Or are they more than they seem?
+A military force tracks a fugitive and insists on searching the PCs' retinue.
+The drizzle that has spattered its misery upon the party for hours graduates into a full-out storm, replete with lightning, crashing thunder and hailstones the size of plover's eggs.
+A fast ship in the bay is bombarding the helpless port with siege engines. It's out of range for the locals to deal with, and possibly not alone.
+A strange mist descends from nowhere, limiting your vision of the road.
+As you make slow progress down a deeply snowed over road, bandits dressed in white burst from lumpy mounds of snow to surround your party and demand your valuables.
+Two noblewoman argue about who is the most beautiful, and they want a PC's opinion.
+A haunting sight greets all passerby as skeletons swing loosely from a steel barred fence.
+The party takes down a stag for venison, but the stag is protected. It is one of the deer kept by a group of druids and their worshipers, who begin to hunt down the party with plans for dealing with them.
+Pillars of flame and smoke manifest on either side of the road. As the party draws closer, they see two wizards hurling spells and epithets at one another.
+Brigands use this road often. Recently the brigands attacked and looted a merchant caravan. Guards mistake the PCs for the brigands.
+A large crystal ball made of worthless glass lies half-buried in the ground. Upon viewing, it offers a clue or hook to upcoming adventure.
+You stumble upon an old scroll case wedged between a tangle of tree branches. Inside is a village's charter of rights and freedoms.
+A drunken traveler carelessly toys with a loaded weapon.
+The road leads through a dense forest. The tranquility is broken by the blasting of an orc warhorn, followed by about 50 orcs crossing the road.
+A tinker's cart with pots, candles and other small items sits parked and abandoned by the road.
+A giant spider web covers the road.
+Two strumpets (one half-elf and one human girl).
+Sickly green foam flows down a nearby hillside and over the road, dissolving everything organic in its path.
+A boisterous wedding party dances towards the PCs.
+A wounded hitchhiker comes into view.
+A dead magic user clutches a scroll in his stiff hand. The scroll says something important.
+Crashing branches and undergrowth ahead stop suddenly as a young child bursts out in front of you. He looks wildly in your direction and pleads, "Help me please they're coming!"
+A horse thief poses as a reputable merchant and strives to sell his stolen horses to travellers before the law catches up to him.
+From the bushes you hear the soft sobbing of a small child.
+A man steps from the woods and introduces himself as Captain Feeny.
+A paved road recently rebuilt with stone from nearby ruins. The group notices some stones are carved with odd patterns. Put together, the patterns make up a mural showing the location of a valuable treasure/dungeon/great monster.
+A huge, magical, glowing rock sits in the path. It hums louder when approached...like a bomb.
+A cart filled with caged children rumbles down the road.
+The warm rain that never seems to stop threatens the quality of goods carried by the travelers.
+A hooded farmer struggles with a broken wheel on his wagon over-full of turnips.
+A dead lion lays in the road, the victim of a swarm of wasps.
+The sunken road is flooded out with blood.
+A single stone has been recently erected in the center of the road.
+Kobolds burst out of the forest in panic in front of the party. What has them running?
+A chest lies forgotten in the middle of the road. Inside is a cursed magical artifact or treasure best left untouched.
+Three men chase an uncooperative horse.
+A hooded man driving a wagon covered with a black cloth passes you with good speed. You notice a coffin as the cloth falls off the wagon.
+A knight bearing the crest of a local lord is found rusted into his armour, in an uncomfortable position, by the side of the road.
+A giant footprint lies along the path. There are no other signs of such footprints in the area.
+In a shallow ravine parallel to the road, you see a large number of broken carts, wagon wheels and axles. The road subtly narrows at the same time.
+A crook-backed man covered by a black cloak limps along with a twisted rod. He shouts, "The end is nigh! Repent!"
+A toppled wagon, covered in blood and claw marks, lies on the road.
+A great stone bridge built over a chasm or river is bookended by gate houses. A box near the closed gate bears a sign: "2gp" with an arrow pointing at a slit in the box. Everything is silent inside the gatehouse but you see a hooded figure walking away on the other side.
+You awake to find everything you own has been removed during the night. Fearing theft, a quick search reveals twelve sets dwarven tracks, one set of unidentified human tracks and, lying in the middle of your campsite, a smoldering pouch of herbs that, when you sniff them, make you feel slightly drowsy.
+A mother begs travelers to find her missing son.
+An enormous dragon lands on the road in front of the group. It asks for directions to the capital, gives them a generous tip and then flies off with a loud proclamation of intending to raze it to the ground.
+The remains of a house stand beside the road. The walls are crumbling, but the fire place looks serviceable.
+A trans-dimensional tinker.
+A scarecrow in the clothing of a court jester has been erected in the middle of the road.
+A copper coin lies on the ground. What luck!
+You come across a small shrine dedicated to a holy deity. A small fountain provides you with refreshing, cool water.
+An exotic, almost alien weapon or tool lies on the side of the road.
+An NPC seeks the protection of the PCs. To grant it makes her enemies the PCs' enemies, and gives them the responsibility to protect a high-profile, fragile person.
+You feel as though the road's cobblestones are speaking in your mind.
+Ambush: hostile forces behind a barricade. Hidden threat: a strategically placed pit trap.
+Where the road goes down and then up, marsh lands have taken the road over. What remains is the road is soft and sticky, with disease a risk too.
+Recent signs of a fierce battle mark the road and the land around, but strangely there are no bodies, broken weapons or any other materials within sight.
+There must be a hundred coins or more leaving a trail off the road.
+A lute hangs from a limb.
+The ferry boat on the far side of the river appears untended. On this side, the rope that guides the ferry is attached to a massive pulley, ready to ratchet back across the river.
+Up ahead you see a young boy holding a sign and jumping up and down. As you get closer you see the sign reads "Prof. Hardwick's Hall of Wonders." The boy excitedly exclaims this new attraction has just opened and today only admission is a mere 5 coins.
+A large pool of water blocks the road, the surface ripples even though there is no wind.
+Buzzards circle a broken down wagon with dead livestock lying all around.
+The PCs chance on a farmhouse on fire.
+Debris spotted at a distance turns out to be a modest collection of helmets, weapons and ammunition abandoned upon the road.
+A field of kites litter the sky, their strings streaming down into a valley hamlet below.
+A flood washes out a riverbank, exposing a rotting coffin.
+A belligerent drunk wanders into the group's path demanding alcohol, money and to marry their horse.
+A wandering soothsayer demands a contest of will before revealing a prophecy.
+A pile of discarded clothing and equipment on the verge, and laughter coming from the trees nearby.
+The party interrupts a burial at a crossroads.
+A bounty hunter rides past, leading a badly-beaten captive on a chain who struggles to keep pace.
+A travelling magician is hitching for a ride.
+A circuit preacher makes the PCs his special project.
+In the distance you can hear the music and dancing of the local brothel. Home to the most beautiful ogres and bearded dwarf women in the land. Take your pick.
+A knife without sheath lies glittering in the stream below.
+A life-size chess set straddles the road. As the PCs approach, one of the pieces moves towards them.
+Mighty bolts of lightning begin striking the ground around the road.
+A lone commissar stands among the bodies of several deserters he has just executed.
+PCs discover a fresh grave marked with a helmet resting upon a sword thrust into the earth.
+You meet a caravan of camels going in the opposite direction.
+The PCs mysteriously repeat a piece of road they already passed, though the route has been dead straight to this point. The road even includes their footprints.
+A panicked and exhausted traveler staggers up to you and begs for protection. He tells you that, for no apparent reason, a group of thugs set upon him and tried to kill him about a mile down the road. He managed to slip into the tress that border the road, but he is afraid that the thugs will find him again soon.
+The wilderness is controlled by a dragon. It has a nest not far from the road. The PCs are approached by the dragon because it needs their help.
+A dozen townsfolk are running after a fleeing woman and attempting to stone her to death for being a prostitute.
+Two other adventuring groups argue in the middle of the road.
+A white stone road cuts neatly through a festering swamp. The stones are carved with protective sigils and regular dire warnings not to leave the path. Then in the middle of the swamp the road ends, the stones shattered and blackened.
+A devastating tornado sweeps toward the road, tearing up trees and flinging boulders.
+A wizard argues with his broom.
+A man or creature falls from the sky.
+A towering slot canyon seems to be the only path forward - the perfect place for an ambush.
+A sign reads "Danjer ahed!"
+On the side of the road sits a farmer. In his hands is a shredded blue dress, the size of a child and he clutches it to his chest, sobbing. Behind him is the smoldering ruins of a farmhouse.
+A band of young halflings stroll by happily, playing musical instruments. They salute the PCs as they pass and try to pickpocket them.
+PCs encounter the camp of a woman, her hen-pecked husband and their children.
+A old board game lies in the middle of the road (it does nothing, but watch the PCs squirm).
+You hear the rumbling, and feel the road thrumming beneath your feet. To one side, the view is obscured with dust rising up from the ground. Shapes rushing towards you resolve into cattle - hundreds of them, all running for their lives.
+The party crosses paths with the adventure's villain en-route to do another evil deed.
+A gypsy has set up a tent along the busy roadside, asking for a coin to tell your fortune. (The fortune could be nothing, or foreshadowing.)
+A bandit steps out of the woods before you and demands passage (1 gold piece per traveler). If challenged, he claims his men are hidden in the woods ready to shoot at his command. He takes a step backwards and a crossbow bolt embeds itself in the ground before him.
+A member of a despised race struggle to carry a load of mundane goods.
+A passing mail-courier's horse gets spooked and throws courier. The courier dies in the fall, and the mail bag has the seal of the King's Head of Intelligence.
+A rainbow rises from the road just up ahead.
+All along the route, the tops of the trees have been drawn and tied together over the road.
+Minor royalty rides by in secure carriage, escorted by four heavily armed guards.
+A coven of witches march along the hill's top path as the sun drops below the horizon.
+A large, disgruntled mob of people blocks the entire road and refuse to let anyone past. Strangely, every member of the mob is wearing a red arm band.
+While travelling on this road, none of your compasses work.
+After camping for the night on the roadside, the party wakes to find a field of sweet-smelling flowers has grown up around them.
+A lone hooded figure dressed in a long, dirty, red robe approaches slowly tolling a bell.
+A brand-new shoe lies on the trail.
+A gypsy caravan passes. They might have interesting items for sale or trade, but they have touchy tempers and strange customs. They might even want to capture a PC or pet to sell in the next town.
+A thief tries to infiltrate the party to steal from them.
+A fallen tree blocks the road ahead. You notice a path going around it but cannot see the other side.
+An nearby tree is infested with animated objects that attack travelers that disturb their swarm.
+A press gang accosts travelers just down the road.
+A mounted patrol of soldiers ask travellers what they have seen, then pass on the King's warning to be law-abiding.
+An otherwise empty stretch of highway, with two rival taverns facing each other across the road. The publicans try to outdo each other loudly on the discounts and benefits of their respective establishments to the party. Both seem desperate for customers.
+A massive statue stands by the roadside, so worn by weather as to be nearly featureless. Taken as a patron saint of travelers, offerings lay scattered around the statue's base.
+Fog reduces visibility on the road, making progress riskier.
+A restaurant owner offers fresh tea and a cup of rice to local beggars.
+Arrows whiz out from both sides of the trail. It's an ambush!
+The party finds a number of bodies, hastily buried by the side of the road and uncovered by recent storms. How do they give these people peace? Or should they: perhaps these are the bandits killed by earlier adventurers, or the adventurers killed by bandits.
+At dusk or dawn, you see a man-sized shadow from the left side of the road waving its arms at you. "Over here, quickly, I've caught one!"
+Workers block the road demanding an increase in wages.
+A giant sinkhole opens up right in front of you.
+Two precocious children offer to buff shields or dust boots for money. They follow PCs at a distance calling them names if rebuffed.
+A stone guard tower has toppled over, blocking your way.
+It started as a milk run, but the young noble you are charged with escorting has developed a bladder infection, and now the need for rest stops has become ridiculously frequent.
+A sudden rain of fish, frogs, worms or other creature.
+The PCs see an illusion of a ten mile deep chasm stretching to the horizon.
+In a passage tightly walled with tall cliff faces, some of the cobblestones are blackened. Contact with these stones leaves scorches and burns on any exposed limbs. They seem to be increasing in number as the road progresses.
+A long line of refugees trudges along the road.
+A troll is doing a poor job hiding behind the shade of an old oak tree. What is it up to?
+A prey animal runs past. Is it chased by a predator?
+The remains of caravan hide a traumatized child whose family was captured by humanoid monsters.
+Not long after leaving a village suffering from drought, the party happens upon a blazing forest fire.
+A person fleeing arranged marriage seeks refuge with the PCs.
+Hairs rise on the back of a character's neck. It feels as if someone is watching them. Then they hear a whispered message. (For reference, the PC is on the receiving end of a Scry and Message cast through a Scry.)
+A woman scolds her husband loudly as two tearful children look on.
+A small man cuts grass with a sword.
+The road through the forest is closed because the King is hunting and does not want the deer disturbed.
+You approach a washed out bridge on a dry river bed.
+The road is closed for construction.
+A farmer with a slow oxen team blocks the path ahead.
+A mob of mutated animals stumble onto the road and advance towards you. You can't help but wonder what caused these animals to undergo such an unholy transformation.
+A man with many masks walks towards the party. He has a strange gait, like he's bouncing instead of walking. He says, "Excuse me, I have been traveling very far and am looking for a sparring partner, could you help me? If you win, I'll grant you one wish, if you lose, no harm done and I'll be on my way." This man is a mimic, and all abilities will be copied by him. The way to "win" is to stand there for a few turns doing nothing.
+A tree full of wind chimes.
+A ranger chases after a talking frog.
+In need of food and shelter from the elements (or from enemies), the characters come to a ruined tower full of revelling adventurers. But the Rules of the House say no one may enter until they have entertained the rabble with a rousing tale.
+Mmmm, the sweet smell of tarts and pies fill the air. Right in front of you are the cooling pies and sweet treats nicely placed on a raised stone table. No gnomes, halflings or fairies about. Perhaps they would not miss a tart or two.
+The PCs happen upon a shimmering pool. A knowledgeable PC might know the legend that says the pool is said to show an individual exactly where he or she shall be in two years time.
+A toll-booth with guard and an official Inspector who wants to confiscate something strange or valuable.
+Travelling freak show, filled with freaks, secrets, dangers and opportunities.
+Picked mushrooms lay on stump to dry.
+At the end of a long day's ride, the party looks forward to the comforts and familiarity of the Embridge Inn. But as they round the bend, they see the courtyard gate ajar and even more ominously, Kendrick the duty footman nowhere in sight.
+A fortune teller's tent stands at a crossroads.
+A rainbow bridge leads to some weird magical dimension.
+A large barrel lies on the side of the road, guarded by a young boy and his slingshot.
+Human footprints head off in one direction, blood with drag marks go in another direction.
+In an arid tundra plain, a wooden sign juts out of the ground alongside a faint path. A crust of ice and snow hides the sign's markings.
+A book filled with illustrations of a wealthy family lays by the road side.
+A bugbear and his bride ride by in a royal carriage.
+A roadblock and checkpoint have been set up by local church militants.
+When at the bottom of a steep sloping road, there is a rumble and a large boulder comes rushing toward the PCs. When the rock finally stops, the group spots old bloodstains and a kill-score carved into the side.
+A deranged, barefoot man on the verge of starvation and wearing rags sits by the side of the road. He rocks back and forth muttering, "The hills have eyes...the hills have eyes...the eyes of the hills are alive inside." He ignores the PCs, but if anyone touch him, he screams out "Archan-galak!" in terror, collapses and dies.
+An elf hunter proposes a contest of skill. "100gp to the first to bag three of the birds attracted to this pond."
+A band of lepers or plague-carriers on their way to a nearby spring with supposed healing properties.
+A man dressed in strange garb waits at a crossroads, looking confused.
+A strange storm rolls in fast, and lightning bolts drop every minute within 50 feet of the party. There is no obvious cover on or near the path.
+An abandoned and haunted farm provides a promise of shelter.
+A great number of frogs appear from the heavens and crash down among the party members. If examined closely, the party finds a gold piece in the belly of each frog.
+Druids are dismantling the road.
+The wilderness is controlled by a dragon. It has a nest not far from the road. The PCs are threatened by the dragon for a toll for using the dragon's road.
+A strange old man offers the PCs a book in a language they cannot read.
+In error, a company of knights on a quest hunts down the PCs for a terrible crime. When the knights realize their mistake, they insist the PCs join their noble quest to capture the evil criminals.
+A woman on the road is actually a shape-changed harpy.
+A shrine to a god of travel stands by the roadside. The shrine looks ancient but has been recently cleaned by someone.
+Gnomes hold a yard sale.
+A man in shabby clothes and bearing a pole with an unusual flaming taper affixed to its top passes you on the cobble walkway, lighting the street lamps for the evening.
+Small wain, with a farmer and a donkey with dislocated knee.
+A crippled goblin asks for help after being trampled in a hit-and-run.
+Beside the road lie the remains of an old rotten catapult. Strangely, it seems as if someone is attempting to repair it, though whoever it is doesn't appear to be about at the moment.
+The road quickly becomes narrow and overgrown with thorny plants that are poisonous.
+Brigands ambush the party. After the fight, a search of the bodies uncovers a treasure map.
+The den of goblinoids is shunned by most travelers, but a truce surrounds it as humans can't destroy it, nor can the goblins destroy the human settlement. Trading and socializing are possible, though dangerous. The PCs stumble into one of these negotiations as it turns hostile. If the PCs throw in with the humans, the goblins will run away. Then the human settlement blames the PCs for bringing the might of the goblins down on the area.
+A young woman in simple clothes cries beside the road. She will explain she is a deer magically transformed into a girl by a cruel wizard who caught her stealing from his garden.
+A deserted city made completely of glass appears out of nowhere in the middle of a fog.
+An odorous mess of rotting fish litters the path.
+A large and colourful wagon is stopped by the roadside. A travelling troupe of actors practices their next show.
+A furniture maker has a problem with low overhanging branches that interfere with the taller parts of his merchandise on his wagon.
+Up ahead you see a landslide has blocked the road. The large stones and rubble the landslide brought down have made the road impassable, but it has also unearthed something strange.
+You find a small, moss-covered stone with strange weathered patterns in a pouch. It is in the middle of the road and you don't see or hear anyone else around.
+The day has been calm. Suddenly a strong gust of wind assails your party, holding steady for a long beat, followed by more calm.
+You come across a patch of freshly scorched earth and blackened bushes on one side of the road.
+Ambush: a mixed force of orcs and thieves. Hidden threat: infiltrator and sabotage in the PCs' traveling group.
+A carriage is pulled over and the driver is looking for help - his passenger is giving birth.
+In dense wilderness where only the road is passable, the group finds the trail covered in increasingly thick slime. The PCs eventually find themselves stuck behind an enormous and slow-moving snail.
+A dog or other animal tries to make you follow it.
+It is dark and a commoner stands next to a wagon with a torch, yelling a woman's name and begging her to come back. After a fight over something stupid, like when to camp for the night, she stomped off into the dark woods. The twist: his wife is a visibly obvious monster (like a giantess or centaur).
+A carriage is stuck high up in a tree.
+You're halfway across an icy bridge when motion below catches your eye. Through the nearly transparent arch, you spy an orca chasing a seal in the frigid water below.
+A military force has taken control of a section of the road for reasons of national security. They refuse to let the PCs pass.
+While resting at a small pond off the road, a flock of white geese land in the water. Soon afterward a lone goose lands nearby. This goose is a golden brown color and its feathers appear to shine in the sunlight.
+A portal opens and demons spring out. The leader says, "This isn't the slave city, is it?" Then they try to grab the PCs as a substitute.
+Loud tribal shouts can be heard from about a mile ahead. Must be another local custom you need to adapt to before you make first contact.
+You come to a stretch in an iced-over road where cracks form a latticed network across the surface.
+A ship lies by the side of the road, but there's no water nearby.
+A warm and hay-filled barn by the roadside is a far nicer place to stay the night than the open road. However, another group of travelers already rests there and are unwilling to share.
+A large snake bathes its massive body along the width of the road.
+Three dead cats, hanging by their tails from the branches of a nearby tree.
+Eyes appear in the forest canopy above.
+A traveling circus looks for a missing creature.
+A toll booth requires all magic items be surrendered before entering the country.
+A dangerous magical monster flees its former keeper. And now it's hungry. Do the PCs look like a threat or easy food?
+A traveling paladin swears undying love to one of the PCs.
+An executioner and victim walk towards the block. Guards and clergy watch with grim faces.
+The group comes across a three-way traffic jam at a fork in the road, and three arguing wagon masters refusing to give way.
+A leprechaun blocks the road.
+In the morning while breaking camp, the PCs spot a bush that wasn't there before.
+A beautiful woman, adorned in the robes of an enchantress, emerges from hiding near the road and implores you to lend her aid.
+A rude toll collector (legitimate) demands payment for the King's Road.
+A fearsome troll hangs suspended from a hunter's snare, the rope is slowly unravelling.
+An odd-looking elderly man appears just out of bow range. He puts his hands on his hips and shouts, "Are you adventurers? If you are, have I got a deal for you!"
+A character gets dragged 5 feet off the road by a mysterious force.
+A blood covered map case lies beside the road.
+Two people argue over the possession of a goat.
+A giant's thunderous and rumbling snores end abruptly.
+You realize the road appears to have a face, and it is giving you an odd look.
+You see children playing on the road. When approached, they look startled and run off into the woods.
+Elemental storms churn ceaselessly around the battle-scared ruin of an ancient shrine.
+None may pass. A knight bearing a foreign banner stands before the bridge. He makes it clear you will not cross unchallenged.
+Old ring sticks out of the dirt.
+Wow, what did that? An enormous pile of steaming fresh feces lies right in the middle of the road. It's a really big pile.
+Now you see what has the vultures circling: a large animal carcass ripped to shreds and strewn about the road.
+A burned cart rests in the center of the road. The attacker is still at the scene, devouring or looting the corpse of the driver.
+A group of pilgrims travel to a holy site.
+A festival or pilgrimage in a field beside the road celebrates the holiday of a saint.
+A multitude of shields, each bearing the heraldry of a different knight, hang from a nearby tree.
+The sunlight at dusk or dawn is delicious and warm, though experienced warriors know it also reduces visibility towards the sun to nil.
+The staff of the tavern where the PCs plan to spend the night have been replaced by bandits who now rob and murder unaware travelers.
+An empty camp lies ahead. The fire's embers are still warm, but the ground is strewn with clothing, weapons and tent poles.
+In an overgrown clearing on the road's edge the party can see the ruins of an abandoned guard tower.
+Three animated broadswords weave back and forth in the middle of a steep-sided pass.
+A pack horse slows and strains against a wagon. A company member asks volunteers to help pull the vehicle.
+A full featured magical show plays in the town square.
+A large antlered deer jumps to the road, looks defiantly at the travellers and disappears into the bushes.
+A large rock cube, covered with strange markings, stands by the side of the road.
+A broken holy symbol inhabits one of the deep, encrusted, muddy boot prints on the side of the road.
+The party finds a sack lying in the road with no one else around.
+A necromancer uses his talents to animate animal and human corpses and forces them to perform in a roadside circus. The creepy part is townsfolk from a nearby village seem to enjoy the show a bit too much.
+You round a bend in the road to see a carriage being held up by a group of bandits.
+A merchant follows the party and insists he was going the same direction. He tries to sell his wares to the party.
+The road crosses a region of arid desert. Yet, on the hazy sandblasted horizon you see a solitary green tree. You rub your eyes for fear of mirage, but mirage or not, you still see the tree as green as ever.
+The PCs wake up to find their campsite has been ransacked. None of their normal gear is missing but their items are strewn everywhere (perhaps an important quest item is missing). A search reveals tiny fey footprints all over the campsite, and fairy laughter is heard nearby. This side quest would involve no combat, but would be rife with traps and dangerous illusions that would cover deadly traps.
+A chain gang digs ditches beside the road.
+A feral cat trails the party.
+The Mother Superior from a roadside nunnery looks missing novitiates.
+A single hooded rider goes by on a horse. A letter flies out of his bag full of envelopes.
+A raucous band of riders challenge the party to a race.
+A hanging is about to occur. A crowd gathers.
+A man dressed like royalty has amnesia.
+A silver spoon lies crushed into a wagon rut.
+You come to a massive gorge spanned by an intricately woven rope bridge with wooden plank flooring. When you are halfway across, the rope at both ends of the bridge bursts into flame.
+Guards approach and ask what business you have at the bridge they guard.
+A bend on the coastal road made smooth and slippery by the sea water splashing and spraying over it, brings risk of falling into the sea.
+A spooked horse guards a corpse.
+A tree of local renown, the Old King, stands atop a nearby knoll. The ancient tree is withered and gnarled, but legend says the boon of the gods is granted to any who offer it a blood sacrifice.
+A wealthy but naive young woman tries to train her tethered falcon in a nearby field. It is not going well.
+The PCs find a dead body on the side of the road. Trapped inside the corpse is a demon looking for a new host. And the PCs are looking pretty good....
+A tree burns brightly. Curiously, the fire is not spreading and the tree is not being consumed.
+For as far as you can see, the road has been pounded into a nearly impassable, mucky mess. You may navigate it at much reduced speed, or risk an adjacent murk of a wood for a chance at quicker passage.
+You become aware a bandit demanding a toll is actually alone and has set up a crossbow to fire when he triggers a badly hidden tripwire. He flees with your money, triggering another crossbow trap behind him.
+The PCs have many nights to endure as they travel on the road. The dark dreams of a single character are the first sign the PCs are under an indirect attack.
+A nervous horse is tied to a branch alongside the road.
+A copper piece from an ancient empire lies glittering in the dirt.
+PCs find a mysterious book on the side of the road.
+Guys, I nearly stepped on this miniscule caravan that looks just like ours....
+A wedding just wraps up outside the church as the PCs pass. A toddler dressed all in white with a basket of flowers starts walking ahead of the PCs spreading flower petals. She will wander ahead of them as far as they let her, and may insist that a woman holds hands with a man.
+A hole in the ground with strange tracks leading away.
+A murder of crows rises from the surrounding trees. You also hear shrubs shuffling from another direction .
+A band of travelling minstrels challenge the wisest looking member of the party to a storytelling contest.
+The party encounters a cute baby creature, with an angry mom not far behind.
+What was once the barracks of guardsmen overlooking the bridge is now in shambles. It looks like the destruction is recent as smoke rises from the ruins. You hear shuffling in the remains.
+The road runs between two poppy fields. They are blooming, releasing clouds of pollen into the air.
+Ambush: a band of mercenaries. Hidden threat: single-use magical support.
+The switchback leading to the mountain pass is washed out, so the party will have to climb the mountain the hard way.
+A path from the road leads to a collapsed house overgrown with foliage.
+The party comes across the wreckage of a traveling puppetry troupe that was attacked by bandits.
+Thunder and rain befall you just as you pass by an ivy-covered church.
+It becomes intensely silent. The effect ends abruptly if one steps beyond a certain area.
+A man staggers down the road toward the party. Before he gets to them, he collapses onto the ground.
+A vagabond, smelling strongly of alcohol, claims to be a god and demands the PCs worship him.
+An enormous swarm of giant insects blackens the sky as it returns to its hive in a nearby meadow.
+A woman on the road yells for help, saying bandits robbed her and her husband and left her husband for dead. If they allow her to take them to him, she leads them into a bandit ambush.
+Gnomes decide to test a new contraption near your camp. It's not such a surprise on this side of the world, but this early in the morning? Time to put a crossbow bolt in a gnome's rear side.
+A man in rags walks listlessly towards you, trailing a three foot chain locked to one of his ankles. If questioned, he relates a sad tale of injustice at the hands of his soulless captors.
+A wagon with a shattered a wheel sits by the roadside. Its replacement wheel leans against the wagon without sign of the wagon's owners. The wagon is actually a mimic, the replacement wheel its young.
+Vines cover the road ahead. They look innocent until one wraps a tendril around an ankle.
+The party walks through a patch of poisonous ivy.
+Shadow passes across the ground.
+A shiny brass plate nailed to a broken board lies on the road. The plate is engraved with the name of a prominent caravan transport company and some numbers.
+A person claims to be a guide and offers to help the PCs along a shortcut, for a "small fee" of course.
+An array of poisonous plants circle a beautiful and calm spring. Over time, toxic pollen has made the spring as dangerous as its surroundings.
+A flamboyantly decorated pole ferry operates at this river crossing, but the ferryman is a strange one indeed.
+A nearby summoning ritual has gone awry and a demon rampages across the road.
+A peculiar oasis comes into view ahead, isolated and surreal.
+The motionless figures blocking the road are a goblin war party turned to stone.
+An escaped prisoner (former tyrant in disguise) asks to accompany the party for awhile.
+The road narrows to a small, rickety bridge.
+A white stag steps onto the road ahead, looks directly at each party member, then bounds off.
+The tavern where the PCs plan to spend the night is closed because it was unprofitable and the innkeepers have moved to the next town.
+A desperate man offers to sell the group a "magic" acorn for a pittance. If the PCs buy it, the man runs away laughing madly, shouting "I'm free! Free at last! You poor fools!"
+High crops on your left and right rustle slightly as you approach.
+An old witch collects herbs from the bushes along the roadside while her cat educates passersby about the dangers of herbal medicines.
+The group meet an uncannily similar party of adventurers going the opposite way.
+The party finds an abandoned cart and pony, in good condition and with some supplies, near a clear trail that leads to a cave. A small construct guards the cave, and inside the cave are the remains of a wizard, scholar or priest, along with the bodies of two men at arms and several small creatures.
+A forest fire moves fast towards the party.
+A noble's carriage and entourage appear in front of you. The coachman says, "Out of the way peasants!"
+Part of the road turns to quicksand and pitches the party to the bottom of a dungeon before sealing up over top of them. The mad laughter of their most hated enemy echoes magically in their ears.
+An archway spans the road. Muddle paths bypass it on either side. Passing under the arch results in a terrible lightning bolt shock. If the victim survives, they will receive a divine vision. A clue or hook, perhaps.
+A single piper parades by, followed by a multitude of children.
+A roadside shrine houses an evil spirit that attacks travellers.
+A wandering zombie stays at the center of the road and attacks mindlessly. An easy kill, if it were not for the horde of undead roaming the nearby corn field.
+Near a bend in the road, the group spots two creatures fighting over a tattered cloth. After killing or scattering the creatures, the PCs realize they've stumbled onto three shallow, unmarked, hastily dug graves. Left with only their undergarments, the ravaged corpses leave few clues as to their origin.
+A roadside stand offered fresh vegetables and fruit to passers by.
+Noxious gas rises from a bog ahead, swallowing up the road.
+A gaunt traveler approaches and begs for bread and water.
+An ogre strides from the wilderness, offering his services as guide and bodyguard on a dangerous stretch of road. If paid, he serves admirably and departs. If attacked, he signals others of his band hidden nearby and they swarm to attack.
+A seemingly friendly travelling menagerie shares the road with the party, but some of their more dangerous animals get loose.
+The party finds a lake of molten lava.
+On a forgotten mountain path below a run-down keep, a squad of elderly soldiers in tattered armour challenges the group. They still loyally hold their position for a war that ended decades ago.
+Wind knocks a beehive out of an overhanging tree.
+Smoke starts billowing up from just over the next hill.
+The new slate road is surprisingly smooth and limits traction.
+An enchanted fountain suddenly appears beside the road.
+A row of hooded stone statues guard the sides of the road ahead.
+A robed figure on a runaway contraption, yelling for help.
+The brush on one side of the road breaks open as a great antlered buck leaps forth, clearing the path without ever treading upon it, and disappears on the other side. Close after, a hunter appears in pursuit, breathless and arrow nocked.
+The PCs encounter the corpse of a rare monster.
+The lone stone bridge across the chasm has long since collapsed. There is a rope bridge close-by in its place, though it too has seen better days. Going around the chasm will take a couple days more.
+At least three days from anywhere, your party finds a huddle of colorful tents and wagons, with gypsies about them, observing your approach in an appraising fashion.
+A single dragon's wing hangs from a tree beside the road.
+Two dozen townsfolk with torches and pitchforks head off into the woods, shouting about a monster.
+The road ahead narrows as the surrounding landscape turns into marsh.
+Dawn broke only a half hour ago, but suddenly night has overtaken you again.
+You come across a horse up a tree.
+At a flooded river crossing, the humming of insects becomes deafening.
+A vampire hunter seeks to temporarily join the team, warning of the dangers of his prey. Is the hunter actually the vampire?
+You find a large leather bag of gold coins on the side of the road. It is tightly knotted and a label bears the arms of the region's lord.
+A miniature keep with miniature animals.
+Knight asks a toll to continue along the road.
+The paths through the snowy mountains constantly change due to harsh winter weather.
+A crowd stacks branches around the feet of an old woman tied to a stake. They call for a torch amid cries of, "Witch" and "Burn her!"
+The road is lined with snakes sleeping in the sun.
+Rock salt juts up over the landscape.
+A lost child cries on the side of the road.
+A rat-on-a-stick vendor offers to hire the party to help him at a three-day harvest festival and tournament in a small city a half day's ride down the road.
+The road widens at the top of a hill into a large, paved plaza covered with stone statues. Two nearby giants ask the group if they'd mind stopping for a while and being a part of their chess game, as they're missing some pieces.
+Rock slide reveals cave entrance.
+Large, strong arms wrap around a tree beside you and rip it from the ground, roots and all.
+At first the bard you met along the road was quite entertaining, but by now you've heard his entire repertoire a number of times. Why won't he take the hint and be on his way?
+A collie stands in the middle of the road, it awaits the PCs and then tries to lead them somewhere. The dog leads them to an abandoned well in the woods. Ideas for the well: It leads to a dungeon with the collie's lost master trapped inside. Or "Timmy" is a troll using the dog to lead prey to his well.
+Golden eyes follow the party in the distance and a howl is let loose as either a warning or a beckoning.
+2d4 gnomes riding rabbits.
+A swarm of giant locusts descends. They get into armor, nip flesh, sting and don't die. They eat anything the party was hoping to gather for food, they will eat the party's food. It will cost days to go around them.
+A wagon bogged in the mud, with a cursing merchant and harried teamsters.
+Localized radiation.
+A farmer with lands adjacent to the road has a problem - a cow has fallen in a muddy stream and can't get up.
+The muted roar of falling water in the distance hints of a waterfall up ahead.
+At the head of the valley, a dam bursts, giving the party only moments to find safety before the flood waters arrive.
+A tinker provides all sorts of lurid rumours about the locale, then requests payment for his assistance.
+A campsite with several recently used fire pits is by the side of the road. Hastily abandoned? Sign of battle? Strange footprints?
+Four days of rain and even your oiled tarps are starting to fail. This must be a supernatural or magical storm? Are you getting closer to the source to father away from the trouble?
+A pack of hunting hounds races across the your path on the trail of...something. The sound of shouting indicates their master is not far behind.
+Two abandoned wagons one pristine the other in ruin.
+Four knights canter by on light horses, trailed by their squires leading the heavy horses and pack animals.
+Ruins of an airship crashed on the road impede travelers.
+Ambush: cavalry behind the PCs, keeping their distance. Hidden threat, infantry ahead.
+Something forgotten. At camp, a member of your party has rummaged through his packs numerous times in a mounting panic, but the last time he saw the mystic one-of-a-kind heirloom, you were at an inn three days back.
+Flies buzz around the party as the heat of the day becomes unbearable.
+The party is chased from the road by local tribals, herded towards a large nearby cave with a prominent, protruding entrance, sporting two large stalagmites, a damp, spongy floor, and a rather foul, steamy atmosphere.
+The ferry needed to cross the river is available, but the ferryman is hopelessly drunk.
+On an icy slope, someone has poured water down the trail turning it into a neafrictionless slide into a gulch/chasm/pit/cavern.
+A tree filled with dancing fairies catches your eyes. Strange really, there are no holidays this time of year.
+A corpse whose head has been swapped with that of some mysterious creature lies on the road.
+Four drunken sailors stagger down the road, singing bawdy songs and holding on to wenches. The girls look at you with grins.
+Refugees fleeing from the town or inn or settlement the PCs are trying to travel to stream back along the road.
+A wizard lies slain in the road, his insane Homunculus protects his body and belongings, swearing vengeance on all who disturb the corpse.
+Thousands of arrows rain down from a city wall, but not a single enemy can be seen and you have a view of the entire field.
+You see a strange cloud formation in the sky.
+The road passes through an abandoned village.
+A tree starts to complain about a PC's appearance.
+The group leaves a town they've helped/saved/rescued and head off down the road. Just out of town the grateful locals jump out and surprise them with an unexpected picnic celebration.
+The tavern where the PCs plan to spend the night is currently on fire.
+A new sign pointing down a narrow path off the road saying, "Fresh Berries - Pick Your Own."
+As your party rests, a harmless forest animal approaches from the woodline.
+A platoon of soldiers march past and their officer orders the party to fall in: they've just been conscripted.
+Minor royalty rides by on a sedan chair. Then one of its bearers trips on a rock. The noble screams, "Careful, idiots! I nearly dropped my meal." You notice a sealed parchment left behind on the ground.
+Someone wants to steal from the party to give to the poor.
+As the bandits begin their assault, the party hears a shriek as the caravan's pregnant passenger goes into labor.
+Mid-storm, the party reaches a rushing, swollen river only to find the bridge has been washed away. A bedraggled figure stands in the shelter of the wreckage. He gestures at the PCs with urgency.
+As the PC travel down a road, they pass a military camp. Morale in the camp is high, and the men are boisterous and relaxed. The PCs are treated in a friendly though detached manner as they pass.
+A wayfarer's tavern with the windows and doors boarded up from the inside and horrible claw-marks on the outside.
+The party find a trail of gold coins leading off the path.
+A band of ragged urchins make half-hearted attempts to pickpocket travellers.
+A burned cart rests in the center of the road. On the body of the driver (or rider) is an urgent message for one of the PCs.
+Thunderous noise shakes the mountain path. Giants? Dragons? Blasting?
+A dozen or so boys play in a clearing next to the road.
+The group passes an old farmer and his nag heading toward the same town the PCs are heading toward. He gives them a wave and a gap-toothed smile. A little while later they pass him again. And then again....
+Constant rain from recent days have turned the road into a muddy quagmire. A stuck wagon blocks the way. You don't see anyone around.
+Two score ragged men and women file by, dirty, eyes cast down, necks chained together in a line, as a slave driver and his men drive them forth to the next city.
+The PCs stumble into an ambush of bandits, but the ambush was intended for someone else (e.g., a messenger or merchants that will come along soon).
+A huge road sign at a crossroad giving distances and directions to hundreds of places, some the party has never heard of.
+The road suddenly ends. Nothing but wilderness lies beyond.
+A band of grim-faced knights halt the party at a crossroads while they bury the still-gnashing head of a necromancer.
+An ornate carriage has shattered its wheel and sits by the roadway. Tracks indicate whoever was in the carriage wandered into the wilderness.
+Many arrowheads pierce the ground, their shafts sticking out at many angles. Closer inspection reveals them to be no common hunting arrow.
+A gentle stream beside this road is home to a giant crocodile that lies in wait for unwary travelers.
+A small dire wolf cub drags small sticks across the road, playing in the dust as its mother watches from the forest.
+A scorned woman chases her cheating husband, throwing rocks at him when convenient.
+A tinker or tanner needs help to unblock his cart.
+Just ahead, a huge tree trunk flies across the road and crashes down on the other side. A giant dog chases after.
+Snowfall during the night covered the road and the landmarks. More snow is coming still. Not only is advancing difficult, but where is the road?
+A swarm of angry bees chases a bear across the PCs' path.
+The dark forest the road travels through contains magical statues that animate and attack when approached.
+You come across a freshly dug shallow grave by the side of the road.
+Three women chase a lone man down the road, beating him with brooms. He wears underclothes and carries his clothes in his hands as he runs.
+A girl with blood in her hair sits on a log up ahead.
+As you cross a small stream, your horse stumbles on a rock and falls, throwing you to the ground. You hear movement in the bushes nearby.
+A fallen tree lies across the road ahead. Closer inspection reveals it to be an injured treant.
+A nondescript traveller asks to travel with the group for safety. On the trip he asks to hear the group's exploits. The traveller is actually a famous writer or bard, and the group gets a widely-acclaimed book or song written about their adventures (or their tales of adventure stolen!).
+A questionable-looking troupe of entertainers argue with each other.
+A dark shadow blots out the moon and then it's gone.
+The road becomes a crumbling spiral staircase that scales a cliff.
+A small group of men take target practice with crossbows. They express great interest in you, and one invites you to put an apple on your head in exchange for a "special something."
+A surly man with a crossbow sits at the mouth of a covered bridge, the only river crossing for miles. He offers to guide the group safely through the short, straight, empty tunnel of the bridge for a fee.
+A ruined water bottle lies at the edge of the dirt.
+Spirits lift at the sight of a rainbow that seems to start from a particularly beautiful part of forest only a few miles off.
+The road turns to cobblestones.
+You travel at night under a new moon. Your party's scout points up at the sky, where traditionally stationary constellations swirl about as if stirred by a cosmic spoon.
+A small group of men take target practice with crossbows. They turn their bows on you immediately as you approach.
+As the PCs travel by a ruin near the road, their food and water is spoiled and ruined.
+A small group of men take target practice with crossbows. They express great interest in you and challenge you for a small wager. One of them boasts, "Jarvis here is the best crossbowman in the kingdom."
+Perfectly positioned in the middle of the road lies a dead body.
+The party runs over a shepherd's goat. The shepherd demands money equivalent to three or four times the goat's value. Then, as things settle down, another shepherd comes up and displays his injured goat. Guards then stop and take interest.
+A trail of bread crumbs on the road leads into a dense part of the forest.
+Fog across the road hides a sudden drop into a chasm.
+A crazy backwoods seditionist has made up his own country, with its own legal system and economy only he uses. He's a fairly powerful hedge wizard, and demands the PCs obey his laws.
+A group of travelers has stopped to rest their mounts by the roadside, and are having a drink and a quick dice game. Perhaps a merchant in the crowd is looking for an escort and will hire the party. The dice game is chance for a gambler in the party to earn a few coins. Maybe the whole thing is a scam run by brigands.
+The tavern where the PCs plan to spend the night is closed because the staff have been slaughtered by monsters that still lurk nearby.
+Bricks and motor debris litter the roadway as you near the clearing of ruined home.
+A roiling bank of fog moves fast towards you. Animals of all kinds escaping the fog flee past you. The animals bear a small dark red patch on their fur or feathers.
+The strong eastern wind shifts to the west, carrying with it a thick smoke that blows around you.
+A father looks for his runaway child.
+Sink hole reveals underground tunnels.
+The party is startled by a raven flying overhead that caws out one PC's name.
+An undead horse skeleton trots towards you, its bones clacking against each other in an almost musical fashion.
+At a rushing river, a ferry can be seen midstream with a vicious battle happening on deck.
+A group of drunk young noblemen pass the PCs, racing their expensive horses.
+Another party of adventurers rides past you in the opposite direction. You hear animated arguing over their next treasure hunt. A few yards further away, you see a map lying on the ground.
+A 12 foot wooden post stands beside the road. Something pale flutters on the top of it.
+Pilgrims of differing faiths and races brawl.
+The patron you met at the last inn enticed you down this trail with the promise of fortune and glory. Now he regales you with a story of a deceased relative who met his demise on this road in circumstances of foul, freezing weather. As he goes deeper into his tale, the winds rise and the snow begins to fall.
+A tree falls over with great force in front of you, another falls behind at the same time.
+Ravagers assault a merchant's caravan.
+Bathing in the stream was a good idea but the bubbles appearing are not yours.
+A dead minotaur sprawls at the side of the road, a huge axe buried in its back.
+A castle wall with just a crater inside.
+A couple of rats start following.
+A fat farmer and his plump daughter struggle with a broken wheel on his laden wagon full of turnip greens.
+Fool's gold sparkles in the dirt.
+A small community in the middle of the hostile wilderness looks like a good place to stop. The morale there is kept high by a preacher. It is unknown what motives the preacher has.
+Several knights practice jousting.
+A weird burst of power causes certain mutations.
+A massive stone with strange runes.
+The PCs come across pit traps, tripwires and arrow traps. They traps are from bandits that have moved on to a new ambush point. The idea is to put the PCs on edge and expecting an ambush that never comes.
+After sleeping on the roadside, the party wakes to find their entire camp surrounded by dew-spangled spider webs, yet they are unharmed.
+A traveler warns you to turn back as a dragon has been terrorizing the local populace. Forewarned, you slip off the road and cautiously advance. It is then you find dragon tracks heading east, but strangely, after each dragon print lies a small puddle of oil.
+The PCs witness the assassination of a member of a parade.
+A small rabbit hops across the road in front of you.
+The PCs pass a sullen military group tending wounded on the roadside. The PCs are treated with disinterest and offers of help are seen with suspicion.
+A powerful illusion alters the way the road appears to lead.
+A caravan has stopped on the roadside, with several bodies waiting burial. Many of those living seem ridden with disease.
+Workers construct a wall and gate across the road. The party is strongly encouraged by several guard members to pitch in and help.
+You see broken clay pots with spilled contents and the pieces of a broken wagon wheel. Sawdust and metal grindings suggest recent replacement.
+A band of foreign pilgrims on a sacred quest to find a magic tome.
+Two children chase chickens down the road.
+A trade caravan has set camp for the night. Trading and security are available for the PCs too.
+A driver or guard from a caravan sees the PCs as a potential new employer.
+The road narrows to one lane and an ox-pulled wagon is moving slowly ahead.
+A toppled wagon, surrounded by spilled goods, lies in the ditch.
+The path ahead is shrouded in darkness.
+A stand-off between a squad of soldiers and a band of political rebels.
+A magical wall spans the road.
+As you travel past an ancient graveyard, you are set upon by a horde of zombies that stagger out of hundreds of decaying crypts and tombs that litter this ancient necropolis.
+The group comes upon the scene of a recent grisly carriage accident, or witnesses it ahead of them on the road.
+An army marches swiftly to set up a surprise ambush against their enemies. They will take any measures necessary to prevent the PCs from giving away their position.
+The sun sets in a purple sky, and a passing traveler says it is an omen of _____.
+A traveler with the PCs slowly becomes undead.
+The party passes through a sudden fog that smells sweetly of rosewater. Not long after, voices, animal growls and loud crashes emanate from the mist from all directions.
+A man on an ostrich hurtles by, yelling to the PCs to give way.
+A small bright green snake falls from an overhanging branch into a PC's shirt.
+A posse chasing a killer ride towards the PCs. Do they mistake the characters for their quarry?
+Humanoid statue (flesh to stone).
+It begins raining cats and dogs. Literally.
+Every sign on the road has been defaced with the mark of a local brigand.
+A hailstorm drops (1-2 small, 3-4 medium, 5-6 large) sized hailstones.
+A dragon, wyvern or dinosaur gives lays an egg in the path ahead. The party may easily go around without trouble, as the mother is too involved.
+A woodsman asks for directions to an old woman's cottage so he can attack a werewolf.
+A box of hand tools lies scattered in the weeds at the edge of the road. You notice broken twigs next to the box and trampled grass leading further in the field.
+Four children chase a pig.
+The road takes a turn around a hill and you are surprised to see two giants sitting lazily on the ground holding enormous crossbows pointed at you.
+A black sack lies abandoned at the roadside. Something inside moves.
+A large, iron-banded chest lies half buried in mud, as if it fell off the back of a wagon.
+Something stirs below a deep puddles' surface.
+Several men fight ahead. Some are retreating traders and their guards taking the front, whilst the others are bandits moving to flank the group.
+Blood red-orange flowers dot the ground as far as the eye can see. Animals, including mounts, balk at entering the area.
+A structure looms above the trees as you pass. A guard tower formed of rough hewn timber breaks above the treetops.
+A butcher hangs fresh kills on poles on his custom made meat wagon.
+A small abandoned community in the middle of a hostile wilderness looks like a good place to stop. Why was it abandoned?
+A spotted dog chases a squirrel across the road, mere metres in front of the party.
+A group of travelling merchants try to mend a broken wheel on their wagon. They ask the heroes for help, but they are actually a band of thieves who attempt to pickpocket the heroes as they work.
+The PCs encounter a military group in a wrathful mood. Soldiers were recently assassinated, and the PCs are treated with extreme suspicion.
+A wizened tinker sells charms from his cart: dried frogs, finger bones, cat skulls and the like. Leaving him, you turn to find he is eerily distant. And then out of sight altogether.
+A man with a monkey is polishing a goat's hooves on the side of the road.
+The falling rain grows thicker. Through the gloom, metal glimmers as a body of troops approach.
+A knight of a holy church and his retinue have ridden out on a holy crusade against evil and demand others who serve the cause of good to join their cause on the spot.
+A battle-scarred and seasoned warrior crashes from the undergrowth and screams, "Run! For the love of the Gods! They're coming!" and races terrified down the road.
+A dead dragon with large bite marks.
+The road crosses a deep ravine via a rickety old rope bridge.
+As you round the corner you see a pile of smoldering cloth on the ground.
+The road starts to get muddy. Soon the mud is two feet deep. Water in the ditches alongside starts to bubble.
+A stretch of the road proves to be exceptionally well maintained. But why? And by whom? Still, it means the journey advances well.
+Early in the morning hours, a herd of deer cross the road ahead of the party. In the middle of the herd is a large white dire stag. If undisturbed, the herd will pass peacefully.
+A potions cart has broken its axle and has spilled its cargo into the road. Trouble is brewing.
+A widow/widower and children planting a tree/flowers for their loved one, who died on the road.
+A troll and a halfling that have swapped bodies.
+A squad of Royal Guard recruit the PCs to defeat some nearby threat to the kingdom.
+A large herd of bison slowly cross the road. A twig breaks and the herd starts to stampede in your direction.
+A large fish lies in the middle of the dirt road and acts as a roadblock. How are you going to move it and what is it doing here?
+A majestic elk sprints past with something golden caught in its antlers.
+Throwing rocks across the lake was a good way to spend time waiting for comrades. Unfortunately, the lake starts to throw the rocks back. What did you just do?
+The garrison of a toll bridge has been slaughtered and replaced by bandits or monsters.
+The ferry for the river crossing ahead is missing and there are signs of a struggle on the bank.
+The flowers in the field ahead grow in rings of colors.
+The road has been destroyed by war.
+Two duelists fight each other, seconds standing close by.
+The circuit judge lies passed out on the road.
+A pleasant and polite gentleman in a smart carriage stops the party for directions and news of the road. But in the trunk lashed to the back the party hear children crying.
+Your party's mage begins to sniff at the open air. The rest of you note hints of some odd glimmer or convection from the corners of your eyes. "Casting here recently," the mage remarks.
+A stranger on the road tells each PC to repent of their sins. He knows details.
+A door stands beside the road, but there is no sign of the rest of the house.
+A pungent smell assaults your nostrils, and you notice squash-sized road apples in front of you.
+The innkeeper from a day's journey back was insistent this road only led to the next village. Where then might this unmentioned fork lead? More importantly, which is the way to the next village?
+The party finds dozens of poor souls buried up to their necks in the road. So dense are these heads crowded together that should the party attempt to pass through, the heads assault their ankles and feet with bites.
+A large flying shadow passes overhead, spooking the horses.
+A fence crosses the mountain trail. No other structures are in sight. Tracks along the far side of the fence line are no more than two days old and appear to be mostly ovine.
+While on the road the PCs come across a traveling merchant. The merchant offers a free sample of his tincture, which he claims does everything from curing warts to making you stronger and smarter.
+A dog trails the PCs, staying in the distance but always there in the morning.
+A great green djinn sits dejectedly upon a rock alongside the road. When pressed or plied for favors, the djinn instead tells the party a story of his part in an ill-fated love triangle.
+The sounds of goblins and trolls enjoying a feast likely of poached elf and BBQ elk.
+A wine merchant's wagon has shattered a wheel and he offers passers-by cut rate prices on his wares as it is getting repaired.
+A tiny earth elemental, dryad or other "essence of nature" crosses the PCs' path, oblivious to their presence.
+Signs of a fierce skirmish mark a lonely road. Arrows stick out of trees, javelins jut from the ground, bodies with symbols sewn into their cloaks lie in disarray.
+You see a saddled horse tied up to a tree.
+The party arrives at a large inn at a major crossroads. The inn is completely deserted, and the only sign of life is a dagger stuck point-down in the middle of a table off to the side of the main room.
+Local city watch demand aid to find a fugitive from justice.
+An unscrupulous ragged old hermit steps out from his wooden shack and demands fresh supplies.
+From a low-hanging branch, a panther reaches out and bats at a PC's head.
+Said the farmer to the party: "The town's down the road a ways, but whatever you do, when the road forks, don't go left, there be trolls under them bridges."
+The inn the PCs were travelling to has been completely destroyed.
+For 50 slow miles, the party climbs uphill under the relentless sun that chaps ground and lips alike.
+You can see a small storm up ahead, making its way toward you.
+An ugly old woman struggles to bring her wash basket of wet clothes up from the creek to the road. She stumbles and drops the laundry back down the slope.
+After defeating a large but perfectly mundane animal on the road, the corpse hisses steam and opens up and a rather sweaty and oil-streaked gnome crawls out.
+A convenient ruin, with a small fireplace and one or two low walls remaining, seems too convenient.
+The bridge just ahead is washed out.
+A monk, collapsed and bleeding on the roadside, pushes an unremarkable ring into a PC's hands and desperately whispers, "You must..." before expiring.
+A potion seller has set up a stand along the road. Are they really magic potions? Or just colored water and a phony magic aura?
+A violent earthquake creates a deep rift across the road.
+A horse neighs as you find a coaching inn. It's getting dark and clouds roll in while warm light glows under the door. A pleasant smell of boiling stew fills the air.
+Your party either passes a band of pilgrims headed quietly for sacred terrain.
+On a wooded trail, just around a turn in the road, a rope has been strung between two trees high enough to catch a mounted rider. A horse, still saddled, grazes nearby and there's blood smeared on a nearby tree.
+An old woman piles branches at the feet of several people tied to stakes by the roadside. "Try to burn me!" she snarls, cackling.
+A large barrel lies on the side of the road. Contents?
+A procession of wailing flagellants approaches, led by four monks carrying religious icons.
+On the inside corner in the road is a campsite with people.
+An army camps along the road.
+A winding path through a swamp leads repeatedly to stinking black pools and treacherous mud-pits.
+A big winged predator eats its prey in the middle of the road.
+A band of elves run past.
+As you travel, the wild flora to the side of the road becomes less random and more orderly.
+A cave next to a mountain trail has a merry fire crackling and a pot of stew bubbling away, but no sign of occupants.
+Near the road a nest of massive red eggs rests snugly under a large bush.
+A two foot doll strides purposefully down the middle of the road, dragging a large butcher knife behind it.
+A pub table with glasses and a keg.
+An angry street preacher harangues the party.
+A bard sits on a rock, singing songs about people walking along the road in that moment.
+An angelic being appears with a message for the PCs.
+On the inside corner in the road is a deserted campsite with a fire.
+A group of apprentice wizards use the road as a place to practice spellcasting.
+An old, overgrown sign declares: "No Steel Beyond This Point, by Order of the Treaty." Below is a hollow tree stump full of rusting weapons, armour and tools.
+A trail of blood leads off the road.
+You hear haunting music playing in the distance.
+Something on the wayside catches your eye. Further inspection reveals an overgrown, forgotten little temple dedicated to a deity of nature. You see small vines bearing red grapes hanging in the open arch leading inside.
+A pack of starving wolves fights over the body of a lone traveller.
+A huge boulder has been pushed in the middle of the road by hill giant raiders.
+There is a sudden earth tremor followed by a mighty roar. A cavern full of terracotta warriors armed with a variety of mundane weapons appears. The warriors seem to be inanimate.
+A cloaked and hooded stranger pitches over dead at the PCs' feet.
+The road forks at a small sign. To the left the sign reads, "Certain Death Awaits." To the right the sign reads, "A Great Treasure Awaits."
+A crazed highwayman attempts to return stolen valuables to a PC, thinking he robbed the character before and now wants a clear conscience.
+Footprints filled with burning flames cross your path. Fire giant?
+For a moment in the night, something huge blocks the moon from sight, and then it's gone again.
+A cage hangs at the crossroads. Within, a prisoner laments his false imprisonment. He claims to be innocent of the murder of which he stands accused, and begs for release.
+A merchant carries a number of twisted glass objects.
+A beggar on the road is actually a shape-changed demon.
+The wind carries a fragrance, hinting at what lies out of sight. Smelly monsters? A large fire? The sweetness of fresh bread?
+A group of religious pilgrims gather around a small shrine.
+A secret society of mages with armed guards who see threats in everything.
+A man looks for his lost ring.
+A flawless white mare trots unattended down the road.
+Heavy foot thuds and sonorous rumblings resolve into the deep-throated hunting song of a giant, drawing nearer, prowling the nearby woods.
+An arrow flies from somewhere and lands in front of you.
+The road descends into a valley of pastoral beauty.
+A band of sprites, pixies and other fey block a narrow bridge and demand a toll in the form of a performance from each traveler.
+An explosion just ahead rocks the party.
+Ambush: roadblock on a straight road with deep ditches. Hidden threat: flammable liquid in the ditches.
+A lost gnome asks for directions.
+Strange flashes and explosions in a nearby gully: are they the result of a spell battle or a natural phenomenon?
+Two guards stand against a tree at a junction, both sound asleep.
+An ominous thunderstorm brews overhead.
+We forget what life was like when roads were privatized. The adventurers would probably prefer fighting trolls to the endless tolls demanded by every petty kingdom, noble, and landowner.
+A nearby swamp floods onto the road.
+A sweet meat smell might lure PCs off the road into danger.
+A dead raven lies on the road, pierced by a bright blue fletched arrow.
+A lone traveler turns out to be an obsessed fan of the PCs and their exploits.
+The meadows to either side of this road are filled with scented flowers. If a PC stoops to pluck one, it puffs tiny seedlings into his face.
+A trail of blood leads from the road to a nearby barn.
+At a river, a sign reads "Bridge out" but the bridge is still there and seems intact.
+The party see a mass of crows circling above a known safe haven/tavern/camping spot that lies just ahead, and the smell of smoke and roast meat hangs in the air.
+The royal guards are rounding up all travelers with arms. Must be mustering an army.
+A peasant demands the party accompany him and listen to his tales of pigs. If any refuse he becomes enraged and attacks.
+A zombie or other mindless undead is stuck in a hole on the side of the road. It is wearing the signet ring and other identifying equipment of a nearby ruler's only child the party knew and liked.
+As you walk along the sidewalk, a small child runs onto the road in front of the oncoming traffic. His terrified expression says he is not going to stop.
+Smoke rises in the distance. It might be a raid, slash and burn agriculturists, a forest fire or an army encampment.
+An aggressive bear attacks the party's mounts.
+An old shrine at a side of the road, with some food offerings.
+A solitary monster has made camp near the road and sleeps peacefully as the PCs pass.
+An addressed package fallen off a cart lies on the road.
+The blizzard blinds the party and covers the road sign that marks the correct direction.
+A weapon master battles 10 brigands to a standstill as they try to steal his wagon armory. Sooner or later he will tire.
+A figure kneels in the grass on the side of the road, oblivious to the group's approach. They have lenses in frames over their eyes and seem to be making notes and sketches about insect life.
+A village guard patrolling the road asks for the PCs' license to bear weapons.
+A line of guards blocks off the road. One of them directs traffic onto a small side road that seems to lead to nowhere.
+An injured wild dog howls on the side of the road.
+Recently assaulted merchant's caravan with just one survivor.
+He's Flimme, I'm Flamme, and have we got a deal for you!
+A travelling peddler sells curses.
+A bridge crosses a river of fog - no not fog - a river of spirits or ghosts.
+The PCs are caught by an earthquake, and a newborn chasm blocks their path.
+A howling wind blows up from nowhere sending anything not tied down tumbling into the distance.
+The road passes through a blasted heath.
+Deep in the wilderness, the road leads to an ice bridge crossing a gully. As you test the arch for soundness, several wolves emerge from beneath it to menace you.
+A baby dragon cries loudly as it staggers about in the centre of the road.
+An annoying writer shows up and tries to sell the party his book. He proclaims it is the most awesome best thing since the invention of wine.
+Pilgrims who have just been denied entry to the holy of holies due to lack of proper sacrifice find the party suitable candidates.
+A fallen-tree bridge over a stream turns out, while the group is halfway across, to be a mired treant.
+A gorge or enormous sinkhole has opened in the road, creating a deep or bottomless pit which will take some time to circumnavigate.
+The ferry needed to cross the river is damaged, and the ferryman needs help and materials to repair it.
+A cursed warrior guards the bridge ahead. He lets the party cross if they can break his curse or provide information pertaining to his possible cure.
+The party spots a gaunt and disheveled zombie werewolf eating its prey.
+A leprechaun offers a PC his last dying wish before passing from this mortal coil.
+The angry, maniacal giant appears to love fire - and hate horses.
+Ambush: robbery in progress. Hidden threat: close quarter forces hide in bushes.
+A damaged slaver wagon sinks swiftly into the marsh. Tethered hostages struggle frantically to escape.
+Religious icons mark where locals died in an accident - one of them is defaced.
+The road loops back on itself. Do the PCs notice?
+An impossibly tall ladder rests against the branch of a tree, its top vanishing into the low clouds.
+A fallen tree lies across the road blocking the road. A dryad sobs in the branches.
+A bull, larger than any you have ever seen, snorts and rampages about the road destructively.
+A sign says, "Kittens: Free to Good Home" with a box beneath. There is one kitten left.
+They're not flowers: they're butterflies!
+Markings of a dangerous tribe line the road.
+Three milk cows have gotten into loco weed and it's time for their milking.
+Stray dogs attack a sheep.
+The muffled cries of a kitten draw your attention to the side of the road. A burlap sack with something wiggling inside it lies in the brush. (Upon opening the bag flip a coin. Heads: it's a normal kitten - a bit hungry but otherwise unharmed. Tails: it's a dead cat. The cat died of hunger several days ago. If the PCs just close the bag after finding the dead cat, it will start wiggling and crying again. Any time the bag
+is opened, flip a coin again. The bag will always have either a dead or alive cat inside it, until you take the cat out, in which case, it's just a burlap sack.)
+The PC in front falls into a deep pit, then a bunch of savages attack from all sides.
+A disreputable merchant has set up a road stall that sells pies. Unfortunately, the pies are made with rotten meat, and whilst the pies taste fine, all who eat them become violently ill.
+A farmer struggles with a broken wheel on his laden wagon full of potatoes. His young son throws baby potatoes at you.
+A huge winged shadow flies over your party, following the direction of the road.
+The sky darkens as the trees grow together over the path.
+Some sort of carnival blocks the road. The carnival seems festive, but the details are all wrong. As the party draws near, a threatening demon manifests before them and politely suggests a substantial detour as the demon ritual simply cannot be disturbed.
+Among the normal trees lining the roadway are several that resemble humanoids twisted in agony.
+The source unseen, a rhythmic knocking can be heard far off the side of the road.
+A burnt-out toll-station, with the murdered bodies of the toll inspectors still scattered around.
+The party spots several dragons, griffons and rocs flying over the adjacent mountain range. One of the dragons veers towards the party and commences a slow and purposeful descent.
+A crow lands on a PC's shoulder, grabs a shiny ornament from her hair and flies away.
+Rains have turned a segment of the road into mud. Pack animals and steeds can wade in it, but wagons may well get stuck.
+A wounded dragon lies across the road.
+A group of people stand around a burned corpse nervously looking at each other, then in the PCs' direction. Some try to quickly leave the scene while the more brave and curious continue to wait for the PCs' approach.
+Caltrops scattered liberally across the path. A sign reads, "Beware! Trap!"
+A man sits on a wall along the road.
+Barbed wire lies in an entangled mess across the road.
+The road forks around a monolith, statue or war memorial. The stone has been recently daubed with occult symbols in fresh blood.
+The ground rumbles as the PCs move through a mountain pass. It's an earthquake! The characters can escape with minor injuries from bouncing rocks, but just around the bend, a massive sinkhole has swallowed the entire path.
+Someone does not want guests. Three skulls impaled upon sticks block a side trail that branches off the road.
+Two horses gallop by your party, dragging a flailing driverless wagon behind.
+In a mountain pass, someone has built a high wall across the path the party was following, forcing them instead into the mouth of a nearby cave.
+An enraged boar bursts out of the forest and charges straight at you. Minutes later, an angry nobleman appears and demands why you have interfered with his hunt.
+A pleasant voice seems to chant on the breeze.
+Ahead is a field of fragrant and vibrant flowers, fruit trees or berried bushes. Unbeknownst to the party, the flora is poisonous.
+A soft groan from the canopy alerts a PC to bloodied figure held to high branches by silver nails.
+A truly massive mimic has installed itself as the bridge on a lesser-used ford. The disappearance of travelers on this trail has led to this path gaining a sinister reputation.
+A depressed bard asks sing-song, rhetorical questions of the PCs.
+A sloping segment of the road sparkles beautifully with black ice that formed during the night.
+The PCs come to an unmarked and unfamiliar crossroads. Which is the right way to go? Where do the other three paths lead?
+You approach a rickety, swaying bridge.
+An old woman at a crossroads offers to give a PC anything he wants for a lock of their hair.
+The road is blocked by a village with plague markers outside it.
+A group of small well-dressed children approach. At first glance, none seem older than 
+The PCs encounter a cattle stampede. The stampede is nearby but no threat. The PCs are blamed for causing the stampede by the chasing cowboys.
+The road closed due to slime migration.
+The usually empty road is crowded with traffic.
+A young runner, a messenger bag slapping against his back, sprints past the party.
+A brightly colored fair with many wagons, minstrels, jugglers and acrobats. They struggle with an exotic beast attempting to break its last chain.
+A party of soldiers escorts a prisoner chained hand-to-foot with a bag over his head.
+A loud crash echoes as a small child falls from a hiding perch in a tree near the road.
+The road suddenly ends in a cave.
+You suddenly realize these horses hate fire.
+A tile of the paved surface has a covered mark.
+Creepy crawling insects scurry from a hole in the ground.
+Thieves snatch a hostage from the party, then demand the recovery of valuables from a nearby ruin for their safe return.
+A battalion of soldiers approach the party on the way to battle. Their commander tries to "recruit" the party into her fighting force.
+The road before you becomes paved with smooth, shiny cobblestones. A tremor runs the length of the road and too late you realize what you mistook for cobblestones are actually the scales of a giant serpent.
+As the PCs enjoy their lunch on the roadside, they hear ticking from the nearby bush. Sitting on a rock behind a bush is a clock that reads the correct time. However, at the twelve-o-clock position, at midnight, the words "The End of the World" are engraved into the face.
+The sweltering heat upon this lightly forested road has slowed your progress down to a crawl. A cool breeze from an adjacent wood draws your puzzled gaze to the snow-covered trees and ground therein.
+A squad of soldiers have set up to search people on the roadside. Their sergeant beckons the party to approach.
+At a lake alongside the road, a group of barbarians holds a solemn Viking-like funeral, burning the ferry with the corpse on it.
+A strange door stands upright in the middle of the road.
+A gypsy fortune teller offers to read one party member's palm, and oddly, she says she'll do so for no charge whatsoever.
+Two people are arguing over the possession of a pig in a canvas bag.
+A mass of small birds swoop from the sky and begin murderously pecking and slashing your faces.
+The field is filled with enormous and mishappen plants that smell faintly of rotting flesh.
+A druid and her animal companion takes their rest by the side of the road.
+A young woman with a crying baby wrapped in a shawl is hotly pursued by a band of rough-looking men.
+A young woman stands on the bridge, crying about something that fell in the water.
+A weapon sharpener approaches the party.
+The PCs come upon a sobbing woman holding a teenage boy who looks to have been severely beaten. She explains her youngest son was attacked by a gang. Of more immediate danger is her oldest son who has gone off to exact revenge.
+Tearful villagers plead with travellers to save their village from a ravaging beast.
+A sinkhole releases a cloud of mephits.
+A pack of feral dogs follows the party.
+Wayward pilgrims stand enthralled on an old church road as two epic bards have a musical duel.
+A merchant drives past you on a heavily laden wagon. The content is covered by thick grey cloth but you hear the sound of jiggling glass.
+You come across the remains of a battle. Several dead men lay pierced by arrows. Each wears the same uniform bearing arms of a well-liked baron, their ornate scabbards and quivers empty.
+A scruffy kid has set up an apple juice stall on an old wooden crate. The cloudy juice is from old fallen apples and doesn't taste that good.
+A tree has fallen on a wagon carrying an alchemist and his laboratory.
+Horns blow in the distance.
+A bear cub has caught its foot under a root beside the road. Mother bear is getting more distressed by the wails of the panicky cub.
+A flock of birds erupt from the tree line as the party nears the forest.
+The road disappears into a massive cave that goes deep underground.
+A caravan is stopped on a bridge and everyone has been turned to stone.
+Two young nobles recklessly race carriages along the road, heading straight for you.
+Three men dig a pit in the middle of the road, guarded by a huge thug.
+A cannon rings out a cry of devastation in the cool night air.
+As the party approaches the mage's abode, a stone golem partially buried in the path's flagstones rises to menace them.
+A small number of riderless mounts gallop towards your party.
+A gentle stream beside this road is a magical trap, causing any who drink it to fall asleep, becoming vulnerable to thieves, who may or may not be waiting for such a thing to happen.
+Several foreign knights practice at the tilts.
+Two wagons going in opposite directions have met on the only passable section of road (the rest of the road was washed away by a previous flood). The road section is now so narrow only one wagon can pass at a time, but neither wagon driver is prepared to back down. The situation is made worse by all the other travelers now stuck behind both wagons. With so many differing opinions and everyone becoming impatient, tempers grow shorter by the minute.
+Kobolds attack a merchant's wagon. Two kobolds attack the door with hatchets. The door blows open and a kobold is thrown out of the wagon. A dwarf appears in the doorway, brandishing a hammer. The dwarven merchant has purchased some of the kobold tribes' eggs, which were stolen from their lair yesterday by an opportunistic rogue. The kobolds have tracked the eggs to the wagon, killing the rogue en route a few miles away.
+Partway through a tunnel, a strange glowing fungus infests the walls and ceiling. As you pass beneath it, something drips down and acid starts to eat away at your skin.
+An ancient wolf, forced out of his old pack by a new alpha male, hunts travellers on the roadway.
+The waist-high grass hides two dozen dog houses.
+A forest fire burns on the side of the road.
+The wilderness is controlled by a dragon. It has a nest not far from the road. The PCs are approached by the dragon because it is interested in learning whatever lore and interesting stories the party can share.
+A group of noble knights who would love to share a campsite and stories.
+Broken statues litter the road.
+A PC narrowly avoids stepping in fresh dung deposited by a creature the characters know is much too powerful for them to fight directly.
+A child watches sheep in a nearby field and tries to strike up a conversation with the PCs out of boredom.
+A gentle stream beside this road is home to malicious fey creatures that trap unwary travelers.
+A runaway horse and cart.
+A magpie lands on a PC's head and simply rides along for a while.
+An old woodsman, with a broken axe nearby and a hastily bandaged and bleeding leg, slumps against a tree trunk.
+The tavern is a good place to stop for the night as it is the only safe place for miles. Unfortunately, the innkeeper knows this and charges high prices.
+On a large road, a ship on wheels manned by eccentric road-pirates assaults the party.
+The sky turns green. Then the wind dies down and funnel clouds appear.
+Two ranks of royal guard form between you and an oncoming procession, allowing the large entourage and perhaps the king himself - difficult to say with all the covered carriages - to pass by.
+Volcanic activity sends rivers of lava across the road, threatening to cut the group off in a sea of fire.
+A group of much less powerful adventurers meet the party on the road, returning defeated from a nearby dungeon. They offer to give the party information on what they saw there in exchange for a share of the treasure.
+The wind holds a scrap of paper against a tree. The paper turns out to be a wanted poster offering a hefty sum for one of the PCs. The party has never been near the town offering the reward.
+In the distance, pillars of flame, smoke and feathers periodically erupt. As you draw closer, a lone wizard makes mystical passes in the direction of another tree.
+A miniature tarrasque naps in a sunny spot on the trail.
+The road has potholes in it, wreaking havoc on steed and pack animal legs and wagon wheels.
+A hawk soars overhead. You hear the bells in its jesses. It circles the same spot without tire.
+Unusually cold though clear weather causes hardship on pack animals, travelers, steeds, wagons.
+A pile of stone rubble at the side of the road holds no significance, except as a marker for the sleeping place of a large mimic masquerading as part of the road.
+A lone, decrepit milestone marks the distance to a city you've never heard of.
+The road you are on is now a ravenous, snake-like creature. It twists and writhes beneath your feet. Its eyes pop open, and the face turns towards you.
+A ranger trains his bear on the side of the road.
+A band of twenty storm giants are incredibly stupid and bad at math. When they capture travelers they can be "paid off" for one copper coin each.
+On the road ahead is an accident scene, with injured people and ruined vehicles.
+A huge earth elemental eats the road ahead.
+A large battle axe sticks from a tree. Is it indicating a direction to take?
+A pair of farmers have a discussion about crop rotation.
+A fifty-way intersection marked with bad directions to odd locations lies before the PCs.
+A pit trap on the road's verge has caught a vociferous pet dog.
+Localized unseasonable weather confronts the party (for example, snow in the summer).
+Cold rain that freezes on touch makes progress hazardous.
+A visitor stops to ask for directions to an interesting place.
+A strange object lies in the middle of the road.
+It's early dawn. Out of a thick fog a tall figure emerges.
+From around the corner a harried man runs towards the party. Chasing him is an angry woman brandishing an ornate wooden rolling pin.
+A druid has planted trees on the road, "taking it back" for nature.
+The smell of swine fills your nostrils as you make your way down the valley slope. What wonders will you see when you round the bend?
+While the PCs encamp, a huge swath of ants approaches and begins to take the PCs' provisions.
+A beat up, screaming princess flees a fire rhino ridden by a knight in molten armor.
+Weird Joe, a halfling who owns a floating inn, attempts to sell the PCs fire wine, which is literally 99% alcohol on fire.
+A farmer pushes a cart of hay towards town.
+A heavily wounded soldier.
+Flowing magma is not a threat at this distance. Still, the pungent scent in the air can only worsen if you continue on this path.
+A small pouch showing a crest or emblem lies near the road. It contains lead figurines of exquisite detail and in realistic poses.
+Two small children stand all alone beside the road. They are dirty and the youngest one cries easily. They wait for their parents to return. They do not know why their parents left.
+Poles with impaled rotting heads line the sides of the road.
+The bridge over the ravine seems to be out. Nearby a huge fallen tree stretches across the expanse, promising a precarious crossing.
+Deep in the wilds, both sides of the road become crowded with floating mirrors.
+In a night passage through the woods, your party's scout stops everyone, motioning for silence. As everyone becomes still, whispers come from among the trees on either side, the words indistinct.
+An elf of questionable morality offers free potions to all who pass through the elf woods.
+Several beautiful drunk women stumble out of the bush and mistake the PCs for wealthy merchants.
+An elderly woman wanders the verge of the road, bent double and carrying a basket of foraged produce. She asks the party for a ride on their wagon to ease her tired feet.
+A old man wanders up and down a stretch of road, unable to remember where he was going.
+A traveling sheriff stops the party and issues a citation for some minor infraction.
+Beggar asks for help.
+An immense dire wolf blocks the party's passage. Your hired guide raises a quavering finger and points, uttering the local legend's name: "Frostbite!" He then turns on his heel and runs back towards the village where you hired him.
+You are crossing a bridge when, suddenly, from behind one of the bridge's pillars, a man steps out and demands you pay a toll to cross. You ask by what authority
+does he collect the toll and the man produces a dubious looking bit of vellum with what appears to be the King's seal stamped upon it.
+Hidden behind some bushes is a shrine dedicated to an unknown deity. It looks ominous.
+A mud slide threatens to sweep the party into a swollen river.
+A group of bandits arguing and blaming each other over the chest of something useless they just stole (feather dusters, mouse-traps, fishing weights).
+Screams of pain come from a covered wagon on the road's shoulder.
+Eying you warily, another party of adventurers allows you wide berth as they try to make their way around you.
+Intoxicating flowers line the road on either side.
+A spy joins the PCs, aspiring to use them as cover to get to the PCs' destination.
+An unruly child has gone missing from a cart. The parents want the PCs to find the child.
+The garrison of a toll bridge has been slaughtered and the PCs are accused of doing it.
+A pile of dead bodies lies arranged in a pentagram with ever-burning magical flames licking them.
+Workers from a nearby village doing major work on the road now lie dead and the job is half finished.
+An empty gypsy wagon lies broken in a ditch.
+A gypsy intercepts the most charismatic member of the party and tells him of a vision she had. She predicts the party member will find a beautiful person in the next city and it will be the love of his life. She provides no further details. Later on, a beautiful person flirts with the character.
+A pair of children approach, their eyes wandering and faces anxious. They seem lost.
+Jumping cobblestones.
+Along a forgotten and plant-strewn trail lies a conspicuously clean shrine to an ancient pagan deity.
+Acid hits the party.
+A will-o-wisp floats eerily across the center of the road.
+A wagon is stuck in the mud. Anyone who helps learns the wagon carries bricks of gold for a secret mission to ransom a prince. The wagon driver gives several bricks to the party for their help in the mission.
+Four goblins clad in loin cloths burst out of the bushes and accost the party with piteous cries. They beg the party to rescue them from pursuing slavers. Seconds later the party hears creatures fast approaching.
+As though from the blue, a large volley of arrows falls down among the party as they travel along the road, but the attack is not repeated.
+See it? says the scout. "You must stand just so." Assuming the position, you can see what the scout sees - an odd portal showing through to some blasted landscape, floating in the air alongside the road, visible only from this one place.
+A large area of the road in front of you is covered with a thin layer of ashes and soot. You hear crackling from above and look up just in time to see a fireball come down towards you.
+A lightning bolt strikes the ground in front of you.
+A wizened gray mage stands beside the road. With taunts and abuse, he dares any approaching spell caster to outperform him.
+The group is followed from the last town by a band of children who want to go on adventures with them.
+Strange tracks lead off the road.
+A bloodied old man cries for help.
+A drunken sailor stands on a bridge, issuing challenges.
+The troll demands a ridiculous sum to cross his bridge...or take his place as guardian!
+A treetop house hidden near the road seems like a good place to make an ambush.
+A woman stops and prophesies that one of the characters is going to die.
+A druid preaches to passersby on the road into the city, telling of the evils of civilization, and how the city encroaches upon the woods and nature.
+Pieces of a splintered wagon litter the path.
+A small group of drunken men take target practice with crossbows, shooting at apples on each other's heads. Your hear one say, "I'll tell 'ma if you don't let me shoot the crossbow too"
+It is said many gods walk the land as mortals. Could the beautiful being bathing in the stream be one?
+You find a small leather bag. It smells of moisture, and contains a set of keys and a vellum map to the location of a small keep.
+A meteorite crashes to earth in the middle of the road.
+A traveling cleric requests the party donate half its coins to an orphanage in the next town down the road.
+The road is littered with mines or bear traps.
+A toll bridge where the garrison doesn't only collect tolls but also searches all travelers - looking for drugs, illegal weapons, stolen goods, or whatever the PCs may (or may not) carry.
+Up ahead a wyvern lands. A man in armor and tabard dismounts and faces you.
+The road is in terrible condition after sabotage or bombardment.
+A whole tribe of 80 goblins marches toward a village.
+An old man in outdated-looking armor approaches the party on horseback. He accuses a PC of being a half-orc and challenges them to a fight. Closer inspection reveals some of his kit to be fake - his helm is just a bowl.
+Travelling through this haunted country at night lands you in the bony clutches of a barrow wight and his retinue.
+A large herd of cattle cross the road in front of you. As they cross, they become spooked, for reasons unknown, and begin to stampede.
+The PCs encounter a large flock of sheep and its shepherd. The shepherd is a rogue looking to pick up a few extra coppers (silvers or gold too!) from the PCs as they are distracted by the sheep.
+An earthquake shakes the area and tears a rift in the roadway. The rift might be a small crack or as drastic as a 20 foot shift (1906 San Fran earthquake, for example). This event should have impacts further down the road (on settlements, other travelers, other encounters).
+In an area of volcanic springs, clouds of venting steam and jets of boiling sulfurous water burst from the ground.
+The way ahead is suddenly a lot less picturesque as a hail of arrows flies towards your group from nearby rocky outcroppings.
+A slave caravan passes by. The slaves are bugbears.
+Five cowled monks on a pilgrimage kneel in the middle of the road, praying softly.
+A pack of wolves spooks the PCs' animals but is smart enough not to get close. They just stay near enough so the pack animals are almost unmanageable.
+Several chariots blow by chasing a large wild boar. Men scream, "In the name of the Prince!"
+Uneasily, you pass a moonlit graveyard far out in the countryside. You travel in silence until a plaintive child's wail pierces the night, coming from among the gloomy tombstones.
+A thief in a hanging cage at an intersection begs for a crust of bread. Children throw baby potatoes at him.
+The road breaks out of the dense forest into a clearing. You see a large coach house with outbuildings. Smoke rises from the chimney and you hear hearty drinking songs within.
+In a slight depression in the road, the party hears a sudden rushing noise, and looks up to see a seven foot high flash flood bearing down upon them.
+Strange balls of light surround you, causing momentary confusion.
+A mob of villagers flee the brigands who burnt down their homes.
+A militia practices their ranging with a local catapult. For fun, a few decide to launch themselves into the lake beside the road. Looks like fun, maybe they are willing to share their new toy.
+A mad enchanter, from a hiding spot, summons a large hedge maze invulnerable to most attacks.
+The broken hull of a lost ship beckons absurdly from the forest edge.
+You pass an inn at a crossroads when a sudden blast tears away the wall.
+Gypsies have set up a camp at the crossroads.
+A soft mewling is heard from a clump of bushes. Upon investigation, the source of the sound appears to be a baby owlbear.
+The bridge behind you collapses. There's no way back to safety.
+A toddler crawls in the middle of an otherwise empty road.
+A man-sized bolt lays broken on the stone cobbled road.
+You can't remember hearing the wind bellow like a huge beast before, and the yells of your party are quite lost upon it. Then a massive funnel cloud touches down not one hundred yards before you. Behind it, you spy two more.
+You hear music coming from a small box with numbers on it from the side of the road.
+The canyon is steep, craggy and loud. The crash of angry rapids echo below. There are no visible routes to the bottom.
+A thick fog has settled on the bridge ahead.
+A group of peasants are met travelling to the market in the next town. They offer cheap produce.
+The road is lined with criminals chained to stocks, with only hands and heads poking through. A visible punishment for wrongdoers. Many of the criminals shout they are innocent. Is this land corrupt or are the laws justly doled out here?
+A group of well-to-do merchants rest beside the road.
+The PCs find a voodoo doll the looks like someone they know.
+An empty and broken chest lies abandoned on the road. However, a carefull search reveals an intact and hidden compartment.
+A memorial avenue of trees commemorates a long-forgotten war.
+The road is blocked by a large but makeshift fortification, manned by a band of kobolds, goblins or ratmen.
+What seems like a typical thunderstorm sweeps over the area. However, as the storm reaches its peak with heavy rains and winds, strange things start to happen. PCs hit with the rain suffer temporary polymorph effects, and trees struck by lightning become sentient or turn into other objects or living things.
+A smouldering unattended campfire starts to burn the roots of a nearby tree.
+A skeleton lies at one side of the path. It shakes its head as if to say "don't go this way" when someone passes it.
+A stranded traveler standing on the side of the road is in need of help.
+The steeple of a church blocks the road.
+A red-faced farmer struggles with a broken wheel on his laden wagon full of carrots. His daughter is quite comely.
+A crazy prophet travels this road telling everybody they are just imaginary characters in a game played between gods.
+As you negotiate the winding mountain pass you feel a tremor through your feet. Instants later, it becomes a rumble then a roar as rocks begin to fall around you.
+What's that? A pale and dead body bobs up and down in the nearby river. Perhaps an aquatic predator killed and stashed it underwater for future meals, and it has floated up.
+While you rest alongside the road, a pair of bear cubs wander out playfully towards you, questing for food. Ominous growls sound behind them as the bushes part to reveal the mother, hurtling towards you.
+Off to one side of the road you see a patch of glowing, flowering plants nobody recognizes.
+A sinkhole has opened at the roadside, leading into unknown caverns.
+A rat wearing fine clothing hurries down the road.
+A man named Hudson in outdated clothes asks the PCs for help carrying casks to a hollow a short distance away.
+Up ahead you see the bannermen of an opposing country leading soldiers across the land, destroying crops beneath their many marching feet.
+A beautiful farmer's daughter runs the roadside fruit stand.
+Cheap way station food leads to food poisoning.
+A member of a hostile race flags down the group with a white cloth and offers to surrender to them and reveal secrets in exchange for protection from its own people.
+The group arrives late at night at a tiny village straddling the road. They secure accommodation and food from the friendly locals and fall asleep. In the morning the village is empty and ruined, as if abandoned years ago.
+As the road passes through a hilly region, you spy a cave, from which can be heard the voice of a singing female.
+As you turn the corner, a dwarf and elf are standing over a stack of goblin corpses. They argue over the kill count. For a twist, change to a hobgoblin and orc, standing over dwarf or elf corpses.
+Trudging through a blizzard, you party begin to hear songs in the howling wind - siren songs which are increasingly difficult to ignore.
+The path ahead changes from dirt to feathers marched down into the soil then to a thick blanket of feathers.
+You come to a large ravine.
+A tribe of orcs drives a herd of dire boars to market.
+A roc/dragon/flying carpet speeds overhead and drops something glinting into the wilderness near the road.
+A gate to another dimension of time or space rips open in front of you.
+You awaken from camp surrounded by a parliament of owls. Nature is judging you.
+A half-sunk and broken statue peeks from roadside foliage.
+Your urgent need to take a bathroom break disturbs a reclusive cult's shrine.
+People dressed in white togas dance in a circle, chanting something happy.
+An older and obviously rich man travels with a beautiful young peasant.
+A hulking figure rises out of the mists ahead, followed by smaller shadows around it.
+The road ends with...nothingness. What happened here?
+A table on the roadside holds a large basket of fresh vegetables. A sign reads "1 copper a bunch: honesty is a virtue!"
+A wooden table stands at the side of the road, empty apart from a deck of cards laid out in a curious pattern.
+As bandits attack, the robbers realize a friend of theirs is among the PCs.
+A passing traveler warns you the trees ahead are full of drop-bears, but he darts off down the road before you can question him further. You have never heard of drop-bears and the traveler seemed to be talking and ranting to himself as he ran off.
+A ghost blocks passage.
+An approaching funeral procession takes up the whole road, forcing the PCs off the road.
+The PCs come to a rough and crumbly road. The ground was disturbed recently by a bulette and the PCs may fall into an empty tunnel, an occupied tunnel (by the bulette or something taking advantage of the tunnel), or just find the road travel difficult.
+On the side of the road are dead animals in various stages of decay. You notice a deathly silence around you as your approach the swollen, rotten corpses.
+The PCs spot a sword in a stone.
+The forest ahead sways as if caught in a violent windstorm, but the party feels no wind.
+A woman asks for directions.
+A single rowboat floats by on the river beside the road.
+The party find a child at the base of a tree trying to rescue a cat caught high in the branches. While the party's attention is diverted upward the little pickpocket goes to work.
+A dozen vehicles, each traveling at high-speed, come barreling down the road towards you.
+An injured old man lies on the path, but his wounds aren't as bad as they seem.
+A sable haired moose prances in the forest clearing.
+The gale is of such strength that going against it is difficult, and the flying road dust gets everywhere. Steeds abhor it as it gets in the eyes. Visibility is low and ranged combat upwind near-impossible.
+Children sling stones at the party from the fringes of the road.
+You are moving along a road through heavy forest. The road ahead is blocked by a mass of trees and debris after a tornado tore through the area. A small village is known to be near.
+The smell of bread baking wafts across the road.
+Amorous monsters are attracted by one character's smell and begin stalking him.
+Someone has scattered caltrops across the road.
+Ghouls and zombies emerge from the shadows of the roadside woods. Instead of attacking, the entities wail mysterious warnings to leave the road.
+A riderless wild-eyed horse with a saddle slowly stumbles along the road, its flanks heaving from recent exertion.
+A lost child sobs beneath an oak tree.
+A grass fire burns on the side of the road.
+The distant ring of steel disturbs your day's hunt.
+As you get the roadside campfire going and put on the pot of beans, the party is surprised by the manifestation of a number of ghostly travellers, silently staring into the fire and attempting to warm their extended, translucent hands.
+A tall scarred troll wielding a tree trunk emerges from beneath the bridge you just crossed and demands a toll for crossing "his bridge."
+You become very sleepy for no reason.
+You pass another group of adventurers resting on the side of the road. The smell of ale and roasting meat fills the air. They smile and wave at you, gesturing to visit.
+Many years of spilled blood at a contested crossroads has lent the road itself a dark sentience. Those who camp nearby suffer nightmares and the attacks of evil ghosts.
+You encounter a monk, a monkey, a turtle and a pig, all heading west.
+A man dressed in black leather darts across the road. He drops a small bag and returns for it as the party examines it.
+A weathered sign points off the road, but with no apparent trail to follow.
+The end of a rainbow shimmers around an old tree stump.
+An old man sits on a tree stump smoking a pipe.
+Several signs warn of the contents of a well you can just see atop a hill.
+The normally busy road is strangely empty.
+The next 100 yards of road are covered with newly grown grass.
+A giant waits in ambush behind a recent rockfall, hurling the fallen stones at any who refuse to pay his toll.
+A plaintive bleating draws the party's attention to small creatures in their path. The party's wilderness expert declares it to be a host of baby chimeras.
+How did these get here? Ladies clothing and under clothing are strewn in the bushes along the road.
+A group of pilgrims resting beside the road, all dressed in simple robes. They look exhausted. Many are barefoot and have bloody feet.
+A plague of giant blue and yellow locusts starts to cross the road in and around the party.
+The Mad Mage, a formerly brilliant wizard, now pesters the party with the incoherent rants of a man driven mad by a botched invisibility spell.
+You decide to camp not far from the roadside, but while setting up, a ghost rises up and tries to possess you. (If successful, the PC runs off into the night, leading the party to a cave-in that claimed the ghosts' life, hoping the party will complete his long forgotten quest and allow his spirit to rest. If the possession fails, he beckons the party to follow. If they do not, he flies into a rage and attacks.)
+Refugees flee a plague litter coming down the road.
+On a desert trail, an oasis appears with several recently-dead animals lying around the water hole.
+A peddler wishes to trade with the traveling PCs, most persistently.
+All of the food in the area (berries, etc.) has been poisoned or is rotten.
+Noble Robin Hood-type outlaws request the party's aid in recovering one of their own captured by an evil overlord.
+A small group of men take target practice with crossbows. The target in question is a pumpkin patch besides a rundown cottage.
+An unscrupulous wizard has animated this section of the road so it throws travelers about with violent tremors and pelts them with debris from the roads' surface.
+From a hill overlooking a narrow, winding road, the PCs glimpse two wagons racing toward each other.
+A drunken dwarf staggers along, challenging everyone to a wrestling match.
+A human skeleton is pinned to a tree by an arrow. A backpack lies nearby.
+Overcast day, fog blanketed ground. A moneylender cries in his wagon and the local farmers weep from the famine. This is a bleak and dreary place.
+A runaway wagon pulled by a pair of rhinos careens down the road.
+A dilapidated vehicle overgrown with edible flora lies near the road.
+Ambush: small monstrous humanoids. Hidden threat: soft ground with spikes, tunnels, underbrush.
+A group of travellers or pilgrims approach. As they pass, one glances up at a PC and yells "YOU!"
+A goblin, on fire, runs shrieking past the party.
+So treacherous is the road, one of your mounts has thrown a shoe that cannot be found. There was no smith in the village you left behind.
+A goblin warrior proclaims himself the "King of Thieves." He carries a dagger and can hold his own in any battle against the PCs.
+The road cuts through a mountainside by means of a tunnel. Partway through, an underground river has broken through to cut across the path, its strong current challenging your progress with roaring rapids in the darkness.
+A rock with an odd, glowing rune sits by the road ahead.
+Lepers ring their bells and chant. They approach you: "Please milord, spare some coin?"
+Swinging from tree to tree, a mischievous band of monkeys besieges the party and try to seize a number of shiny objects.
+A noble, disguised as a filthy beggar, tests the party's compassion and generosity. If they pass whatever standard he's set, then he becomes a source of various quests that require personal sacrifice to accomplish.
+A dead horse, in full tack, lies dead in a ditch. The saddle bags are full of adventuring equipment, a few gems, a gilded goblet, and a map to what appears to be a treasure trove. Cursory examination shows signs of a struggle and drag marks leading further off the road.
+The group sees one group routing another leaving dying and dead behind.
+Noxious, bilious green gas covers the road ahead.
+An older gentleman hobbles along, apparently injured. If asked, he admits to being caught unawares and attacked by brigands and mumbles he should have known better. He asks the party for an escort until the next crossroads. During the trip (or during the conversation if the party refuse to help) he pick pockets as many of the party as he can for as much as he can.
+A young dog or other creature decides to playfully follow the party.
+A tree with bark chewed or clawed off at the bottom.
+A thin, elderly man hands out copper pieces to every child that walks by. Turns out he is the King. A small gesture to promote his good standing with the people. People who have started to think the old king is growing soft and cold hearted.
+A tinker with an over-encumbered mule looks worried the PCs might be evil. The mule stumbles and starts to tip.
+A mangy dog eating the carcass of a unrecognizable animal run over by a cart is the center of a swarm of flies and a foul stench. The dog may try to defend its prize, or follow the party, stinking all the while.
+A battered chest lies off to the side.
+You come across the body of a dead dragon, its' enormous form creates an impassable roadblock.
+A stranded traveler standing on the side of the road is a con artist.
+A giant skeleton bounds atop a rock cliff.
+A loyal mount stands wounded in the road, protecting its unmoving rider who lays supine upon a copious amount of blood. Lowering its head, it snorts as your party draws near.
+When the ancient hermit hunkered down by the roadside sees the party, he jumps up and yells, "The prophecy, the prophecy, it is fulfilled!" He then runs into the corn field behind him.
+A PCs kicks up a stone that has a strange mark.
+The wizard's tower is a stopover for many. A small town has grown around it as a result.
+As you trudge forward, a loud cracking sound brings you short. A light flashes brilliantly, then before you appear humanoid figures of no species you've ever encountered.
+Walking towards you barefoot is an old monk. He appears to carry only a water skin and staff. He only speaks a regional language.
+A circus is set up alongside the road. A barker on the roadside cajoles you to "come inside and see what wonders it holds."
+The road crests a hill, and spread out before the group is a stunning, sweeping vista of the land beyond. A painter sits nearby, capturing the scene, and asks the group to pose for his foreground.
+A large chunk of ornate (and possibly foreign) masonry blocks the road, with signs it recently fell out of the sky.
+The sign next to the road has an illustration of a monster and reads "Violent Wild Beast Crossing."
+A dirt dwarf crawls out from the local dump sprawling across the road. The smell is putrid.
+The party finds a grouping of shallow caves laid out in a precise geometric pattern.
+The road is rigged with an obvious and clumsily/hastily made trap. The PCs can hear drunken giggling from the undergrowth.
+A woman on the road yells for help, saying bandits robbed her and her husband and left her husband for dead. She leads the PCs to her husband who is close to death and needs immediate medical attention. If he dies then the party has gained a hanger-on they have to take to at least the next town, if not all the way home. If he doesn't die they have to find a way to travel to the next town with a dying man.
+Near the road is a mound the size of a grave, obviously of recent excavation, marked at its head by an upright stake.
+The air suddenly becomes cold or hot.
+A rowboat sits on the side of the road. There is no river or stream nearby.
+After a recent storm, a small rivulet crosses the road. All around it lay the bodies of dead birds and small rodents.
+The characters are presented with an alternate route to their destination. Which is safer or faster? And which is more comfortable and easier to travel? What's the cost for either route? How do the PCs get this information? Can they trust the source?
+An empty noose hangs from a thick branch overhead.
+Flies are buzzing around a shoe containing a foot in front of you.
+A wandering cleric begs the heroes to recover a relic for them.
+A nobleman's retinue is travelling up behind the PCs. Expect the guards to be rash and impolite.
+A pair of rangers fine-tunes their skills piercing a melon 600 paces away. Half a dozen arrows already riddle the fruit.
+A potion lies on the road. Beside it is a wooden sign with words etched in charcoal. The sign reads "drink me."
+The PCs find the tavern they planned to stay at is under attack by an armed group of people in uniforms.
+A colony of lepers migrates on the same road the PCs are using.
+A prison work-gang and their guards are rebuilding part of the road. The convicts use the arrival of the party as an opportunity for escape.
+Gray churning clouds part to admit a shaft of brilliant light, transfixing you party upon the road.
+A road sign saying where you came from is ahead of you.
+A group of guardsmen hang wanted posters on trees. One face looks familiar to a PC.
+From an old roadside shrine to an unknown god the group hears crying. A naked newborn baby lies upon the altar in a beam of sunlight, with no sign of anyone else about.
+The road ahead forks in six directions.
+A huge nest has fallen from a tree on the side of the road, and the strange-looking eggs within seem on the verge of hatching.
+Gravity seems to have been defied when you come across an upside down bridge. Is it just an optical illusion, did the builders read the plan upside down or is there more to this than first appears?
+The PCs spot a small cave up a nearby hill. Is it a shelter or a lair?
+The King's messenger needs a fresh horse.
+A rift to another dimension appears in the middle of the road. It might take the form of a rainbow end, a dark and crackling portal or a simple hole in the ground.
+A dwarf falls from the sky.
+A wind elemental likes to cause havoc along this road. Several travelers have warned you and authorities of the threat, yet the officials only answer with, "Whatever blows your skirt up."
+A row of severed heads on spikes and a warning sign claiming, "Dis Rode Belong Garg"
+Giant birds fly off from a dead, thunderstroke tree.
+A band of foreigners/non-humans in garb the group don't recognise halt the PCs and ask urgent questions in a language nobody understands.
+A large dragon circles overhead like a hawk hunts for prey.
+A Tyrannosaurus rex chases down a triceratops.
+A fallen cart has pinned its driver underneath. The cargo of the cart may also involve contraband goods.
+A family of elves are trying to illegally cross the border.
+Road passes under a strange stone arch.
+A large tree suddenly crashes down in front of you.
+A strange oily substance runs out of a cliff face, forming slick puddles that cover the road.
+Very small kobold/goblin/not-really-threatening humanoid wearing an old carpet as a cape leaps into the path and demands tribute as King of the Road.
+You approach gypsy wagons in a circle. At first you hear people talking and children playing. The closer you get, you start to hear whispers. When very close, you are greeted with complete silence and you see no one around.
+The road is packed with traffic, all of which is going the opposite direction of the PCs.
+A crazed halfling, starved out of his mind, attacks the PCs and rips their packs apart with his teeth in search of food.
+Ambush: archers behind a tree across the road just around a bend in the road. Close quarter forces hide in bushes.
+Monstrous mount ridden by a gnome.
+The road closed due to snow, regardless of the season.
+Bounty hunter tracks his target.
+The party encounters a young man attempting to protect an injured and horrified young woman from a mob / bandits / hitmen. Although he appears to be normal, the man gives off an intimidating aura, such as that of a powerful spell-caster or an elite fighter. It soon becomes obvious that, regardless of the reason why the young woman is in danger, the young man is not only willing to slaughter the pursuers but may well be capable of doing so if the party fails to intervene.
+The party observes someone - or perhaps a group of someones - performing a ritual at a shrine in the middle of a grove of trees. The party does not think they have been seen.
+The party strays too close to a hive of stinging insects or an ant mound, causing the creatures to rise up in defense of their territory.
+A retreating army has fled into the woods seeking refuge after a rout. The warriors may mistake the party for a pursuit force from their opponents.
+A local hedge wizard does indeed have a series of hedges and gardens surrounding his tower. He is tending to a new hybrid flower he recently cross-bred when the party approaches. If the party is amicable he'll gladly tell them all about it.
+Pitfalls, snares, metal teeth and other such traps lie dangerously close to the road. A careless hunter, or bandits staging an ambush?
+A hunter, guide or druid tells the party someone important (such as a noble or prominent businessman) has a small keep in the area. The important someone values their privacy, and does not take kindly to strangers appearing without a good reason.
+The party encounters a young woman in a bright red cloak. She is carrying a basket and claims to be heading off to see her grandmother.
+A child has fallen in the river and is struggling to stay afloat. A parent or older sibling is attempting to throw them a rope, but the child is too panicked to grasp it.
+The party encounters a brawl between a group of hill giants and a group of forest giants, who each accuse the other of trespassing into their respective territory.
+Squirrels, monkeys, or other animals taunt the party.
+A terrified animal driver tries to tend to his obviously sick animals. They have eaten a variety of poisonous weed, and will need to drink a large quantity of water to flush the toxins out of their systems.
+The party blunders upon two teenagers attempting to hide in a thick cluster of roots. They have been forbidden to marry, but have heard of a priest on the other side of the forest who they believe may be sympathetic to their plight.
+One or more graves reside beneath a tree. The scene is so depressing that even the tree itself seems to be sagging underneath the sadness.
+The party discovers fruit trees loaded with ripe fruit ready for the picking. Not only are these trees producing fruit out of season, they are not native to the region and should not even be able to survive given the local soil, water and weather conditions. For example, apple trees in full fruit in the middle of the arctic tundra at winter time.
+The party spots an animal moving into a clearing, whereupon it transforms into a comely human or elf. The animal, now humanoid, proceeds to gather up hidden belongings. Has the party spotted a lycanthrope, did they just witness a supernatural creature, or are they merely observing a druid who just got through using a shape-shifting spell?
+Shouts and cries summon the party over to a clearing in the forest. Two men face off, ready for an honor duel. A crowd of locals is attempting to stop them, claiming the matter they are fighting over is meaningless. But to the would-be duelists, the matter is deadly serious. It will take force to dissuade them from their present course of action.
+The party witnesses a shocking romantic liaison taking place in the woods. The male half of the couple is an infamous and astoundingly powerful sell-sword who works as a mercenary and bounty hunter. The female half of the couple is a knight of considerable repute who serves as a swordsmanship instructor for the Prince's forces and occasional bodyguard for both the Prince's sister and the Prince's betrothed. The two appear to be quite content with each other, and the evil sell-sword is so surprisingly knowledgeable about the forest he could well have been a druid. It is obvious the knight has fallen hard for the sell-sword, as whenever he speaks she listens intently as if a school girl or a trainee.
+The party stumbles upon an alchemist attempting to gather herbs and other plants. The alchemist is obviously inexperienced and near-sighted, as the "healing leaves" he just reached for is actually poison ivy.
+A mysterious convoy trudges through the forest, the commander believing the woods will protect the operation from prying eyes.
+The party encounters d20 animals who have become drunk by eating rotting and fermenting. While some of the animals are stumbling about or sleeping, a few have become belligerent.
+The sound of crying leads the party to a child who claims to have been separated from the other children while playing hide-and-seek. Is this a child who was too successful at the game, a victim of a cruel prank, or a means of lowering the party's guard?
+Although it initially seems like nothing more than a normal homestead in the middle of the woods, it is actually the factory from which spell-casters create golems and/or technicians build automatons. The creators will unleash their creations on the world soon.
+The party encounters a group of several brightly-colored ponies, unicorns and pegasii frolicking in a clearing, accompanied by at least one young dragon. Most of the creatures respond delightedly to the presence of the party, and a voice can be heard sweetly inviting everyone to come join them.
+Locals are having a mass picnic in the woods as part of a festival. If the party is non-threatening and agrees to be on their best behavior, then the mayor will invite them to join in. The locals baked too much bread for the occasion, and so are willing to share. Even if it's just buttered bread, it's still home cooking. This could also be a prime occasion to network and make contacts.
+The party encounters the ruins of an abandoned city. The sheer amount of broken and discarded objects indicates that the city was abandoned in a hurry.
+Bandits mistake the party for an element of the royal guard and attack on sight.
+A loyal hunting dog stands guard over the body of its owner, who was killed by an arrow to the back. A hunting accident, or a murder?
+The party encounters a seriously injured brigand who is fleeing for his life. As he trips and stumbles, he turns towards the forest pleading, "I'm sorry! I didn't know that it was you!"
+Although the forest is famous for the large quantity of deer that make their home here, it has been hours since the party has seen any.
+What appears to be a long-forgotten cemetery isn't quite so forgotten after all. One of the graves is freshly-dug.
+A bear cub has been caught in a hunter's trap, and the mother furiously struggles to free it.
+A frustrated bard or artist sits on a large rock while attempting to work on their latest creative offering.
+The party spots what appears to be an attractive young female humanoid bathing in a nearby river. Is this a local girl thinking she has privacy, the set-up for a trap, or perhaps even an encounter with a divine being?
+A druid or forest elf is too busy mumbling about external encroachment to pay the party any heed.
+Locals tell the party that wildcats, wolves, bears, giant spiders, or other predators live in this particular wood. Shortly after entering, the party discovers the locals were correct.
+A druid, fey, or wood elf is taking their meal in a nearby clearing, and several animals have come seeking handouts.
+A heavy rain storm forces the party to seek refuge in a cave.
+The bridge that would normally lead across the river is either so neglected as to be unsafe or has collapsed outright. Unless the party intends to swim or ford across, they will need to find another point at which to cross.
+A rock slide blocks the road ahead, forcing the party to clear the road or find a detour.
+Someone has recently clear-cut an entire acre of forest, and the local druid is none too pleased.
+The party encounters fellow travelers, who complain vocally about the poor hunting / fishing in the area. This is unusual, as the forest is famous for yielding a great bounty this time of year.
+A troll, ogre or giant has claimed a bridge as his and obligates all who would cross to pay a toll.
+The party encounters a wrecked cart or wagon. There are obvious signs of a struggle, and both the pack animals and the occupants were hauled off into the woods by the assailants.
+A druid or sheriff questions the party about reports of poachers in the area.
+The party passes by a group of miners whose guide is boasting of the rich deposits in the nearby mountains.
+A sink hole reveals a cave system beneath the forest.
+The party encounters two or more youths who are dressed inappropriately to be traveling through a forest such as this one. When asked, they claim to be on a journey.
+Obviously inexperienced travelers are attempting to make camp in a spot that looks ideal but would normally be ignored by locals or experienced adventurers.
+An armed group pursues an individual or a small band through the forest. Lawmen after criminals, or slavers after victims?
+A local performance group has taken to a clearing to practice their latest routine away from prying eyes in their town. From the looks of things, it is obvious they need all the practice they can get.
+The party hears an explosion off in the distance. When they approach the source, they see a singed alchemist standing in the middle of a wrecked laboratory. The alchemist is dazed, and can only mutter about a possible mistake in the formula.
+A necromancer plies their trade in the middle of a graveyard.
+A group of monks sit beneath a waterfall, deep in contemplation. They immediately raise their quarterstaves if the party gets too close.
+A catapult, cannon, carriage or other heavy vehicle / piece of artillery has been abandoned in the middle of the woods, the crew and any pack animals nowhere to be seen.
+Children swim in a nearby lake, under the watchful eyes of several clerics. Orphans at play?
+A druid, ranger or hunter is attempting to teach several would-be apprentices about the forest they happen to be in, but he appears to be losing most of them to boredom and inattention.
+Multiple pieces of gear and personal goods lie strewn about, as if abandoned to allow for faster transit.
+A halfling riding an unusual mount (such as a bear or giant spider) trots past the party at a high rate of speed, sword in the air.
+Not only are the local snakes known to be poisonous, they are so aggressive they will go after humans and other intruders on sight. Fortunately, they are reputedly afraid of fire.
+The party spots a seemingly unattended cooking pot or tea kettle sitting over a camp fire. If they get close, a young female ranger will rush up, squeaking "Don't touch that! It's mine!"
+Loggers ply their trade, removing dead trees and planting young ones.
+Unseasonable weather has taken its toll on this section of the forest, with the vegetation slowly dying off and the animals beginning to leave for healthier parts.
+The party is halted by a lone soldier who demands to inspect them and their wagons. If the party fails to comply, two squads of soldiers emerge from the tree line and surround them.
+A dragon has made this portion of the forest his home and demands payment from all who would cross through.
+A guide leads a group of travelers through the forest in a direction opposite to the party's. He claims to be going north towards the town the party is heading towards, but from the party's perspective he is heading south towards the town the party just came from. Who is wrong?
+A hysterical teenage girl flags the party members down. She claims her boyfriend went into a particularly thick section of the forest to go look for her missing cat, but neither have returned in hours and it's nearly sunset.
+The party encounters the remains of an abandoned trading post, military post, or monastery. Although the last humanoids left the facility some years ago, numerous wild animals have since taken refuge in the remaining structures.
+A group of undead meander through the woods. The leader makes garbled claims about how the edge of the forest is nearby, while the others appear to be muttering about how they will likely die before they leave at the rate they are going.
+The party encounters what appears to be an abandoned academy. Although no humanoids have lived here in some time, the numerous wards and protections that were put in place by the previous inhabitants are still in force. Is this to keep someone out, or to keep someone in?
+The party comes upon two fey or supernatural beings setting up a chess game in the clearing. The pair do not notice the party. If the party stays to watch, they will see an epic - but very long - game.
+Children can be seen moving through the forest while playing with assorted toys. A harried governess tries to keep up with them.
+A down-on-their-luck band of mercenaries bemoans their fate while tending their wounds and preparing a meager meal. If the party wishes to parlay with them, they will realize none of the band ever wanted to become mercenaries in the first place. Rather, a severe drought coupled with ruinous economic policies made their peaceful lives as farmers no longer possible. Given the numerous wars in the area, they wrongly anticipated easy money for their kin.
+Screams and sobs reverberate through the trees. If the party investigates, they will discover an enraged monk or fighter threatening to execute a whimpering individual on the spot. A vigilante seeking justice, or a thrill-killer at work?
+The party witnesses a confrontation between a ranger and the leader of a merchant caravan. The ranger claims recent rains have turned the road ahead into mud, and that the caravan's overloaded wagons are too heavy to pass through safely. The leader claims to be under a tight deadline, and refuses to return to town for more wagons and horses.
+"Run! It's right behind me!" The party is passed by an individual who quite clearly messed with something they shouldn't have. The individual could be a hunter who provoked a dangerous animal, a bandit being set upon by an elemental, or even a necromancer fleeing their own creation.
+Residents of two towns argue about the prospect of a dam being constructed. The town upriver claims they need a reservoir for the sake of a regular water supply, while the town downriver claims they depend upon the annual flood to replenish their fields.
+Members of the local military have set up a roadblock to keep people out of the forest, and patrols can be seen walking about the fringes. They claim that several hunters have been attacked by rabid animals recently, and in response the King has placed both forest and hunters under quarantine until further notice.
+Two groups of lumberjacks argue over who has the right to log in this part of the forest. The two groups hail from feuding cities, and the matter is part of a much larger long-standing dispute over where the borders lay.
+A loud explosion draws the party's attention to a nearby mountain. They see a series of buildings collapse in what appears to be a rock slide. In reality, the buildings represented an orc outpost. The orcs believed themselves safe from human reprisal so far up, but did not count on dwarven sappers objecting to an orcish presence on their mountain.
+The party spots a band of goblins and orcs leading humanoid captives through the woods. If the party follows them, the band will lead the party right to their prison camp.
+Wood elves eye the party warily as they travel through the trees. A human brigand recently attempted to kidnap an elven maid, and so all non-elves are presently viewed with suspicion.
+The party encounters a wild animal not normally native to the area. How did it get here?
+Stray cats have formed a colony in this portion of the forest. They will flee initial attempts at physical contact, but will not hesitate to defend themselves if cornered or if their kittens are approached.
+Local criminals have turned an abandoned homestead into a house of pleasures. Companionship, alcohol, gambling and even illegal goods can be had "for a small fee", and assorted persons stand ready to offer their services. The authorities are oblivious to its presence at best, and at worst may be in on the take.
+Local youths are playing a game of chance with each other. The loser must stay on guard for adults while the others explore an abandoned lumber mill. They will deny everything if confronted.
+A battered, disheveled man staggers towards the party, claiming bandits robbed him of his money and goods before dumping him out here in the forest. His breath smells strongly of alcohol.
+An elderly woman nags her adult son, a lumberjack, while he attempts to go about his duties. The matter she is nagging him about is one that could have easily waited until after he got home to discuss, but to her it is important enough to not only embarrass him in public but also put herself in danger of the falling trees. When the foreman of the crew attempts to remove her from the scene, she responds violently.
+Odd humanoids wearing brightly-colored clothing and holding banners that read "Save The Orcs!" have moved between a group of orcs and a group of rangers. The humanoids fail to realize this particular band of orcs has declared war on most other groups of humanoids, and so are horrified when the inevitable happens. The rangers are too few in number to shield the humanoids *and* fight off the orcs, and so both groups will perish if the party does not intervene.
+Someone - be it a bandit king, a warlord, a wealthy merchant, a corrupt cleric, or even a deranged madman - has declared this portion of the forest to be his kingdom. He demands all who travel through it pay him a toll and join his forces. It would be bad enough if he was alone, but he actually has followers.
+The party encounters a monument to a tremendous battle that took place in this part of the forest. The monument is well-kept, and there is evidence that people were recently present to see it.
+An axe is wedged into a tree. Although it looks like a careless or impatient lumberjack left it there at the end of the day, closer examination will reveal it was thrown with great force, and so is now embedded in the trunk.
+As night falls, the party spots what appears to be an abandoned hunting lodge or minor noble's keep in the distance. Although the facility appears to be inviting, a closer look will reveal that the "stone" gargoyles lining the rooftops are beginning to move....
+The party is shaken from their musings by a woman's screams followed by a sickening "thud" sound. As the party races towards the source, they see a series of Amazons crumpled on the ground with various broken bones. In the middle of the pile is a seemingly unarmed man of mountainous proportions standing over the Amazons' injured ringleader. As he leans over her, he growls "Now, mind explaining why you attacked me?"
+As the party walks through the forest, they pass a man who is covered in mud and holds a large net full of fish. If asked, he explains the river ahead offers a natural bounty, but the banks are so muddy and slick that few locals partake of what's there.
+The party braces as it enters what is purported to be bandit territory, but are startled to see a checkpoint established ahead of them. The rough-looking guards and even rougher-looking checkpoint all bear a crude banner and symbol, suggesting some sort of attempted formality. The guards give the party a once-over while thumbing through a bound collection of wanted posters. If the party passes muster, then the head of the guards will throatily declare, "Welcome to the Kingdom of Shadows! The King welcomes all who seek peace and are willing to do good to one another! Travel within the kingdom is free, but for three gold we can arrange a guide to the nearest town." (If the party pays, the coins will be slipped into a lockbox and a somewhat bored-looking ranger will be summoned from the tree line.) Has a seemingly benevolent warlord succeeded in imposing order on the land, or is this an elaborate hoax meant to lure unsuspecting passers-by into a trap?
+The party stands astonished as an excited halfling goes on about a copper piece he says he found along the side of the road. He claims it comes from a kingdom that fell almost 200 years ago, and recalls hearing it had an outpost somewhere in these very woods. Is this a daydreamer with visions of lost treasure, or a huckster ready to sell the party on a wild goose chase?
+When the party goes deeper into the forest, they increasingly see signs of an epic battle. In short order, dead humanoids and creatures begin to appear, fallen in battle. As they go to investigate, they spot a clearing littered with corpses. In the middle stands a seriously injured humanoid warrior, his weapon raised high in what appears to be some sort of defensive stance. Given that his eyes are closed and he does not seem to be breathing, it would appear the warrior has died on his feet. In reality, the warrior has gone into a bizarre sort of battle trance. His reflexes, training and natural survival instincts have taken over. He will strike at once if the party gets too close to him, but his body is worn and exhausted. He has perhaps five good swings left in him before he collapses, at which point the party can easily heal him.
+The party sees a halfling attempting to open up a locked and ornate chest. Right as he seems about to pick the lock, a loud "T-ching!" is heard, followed up by the startled halfling declaring "Oops!"
+Confused and furious merchants and wagon drivers argue with each other at an encampment up ahead. Several of the pack animals have eaten leaves from a series of peculiar plants growing nearby, and now act as if they were intoxicated.
+As the party trudges through the frozen tree line, they come upon a portion in which the ice and snow appear to be melting. If the party investigates, they will be greeted by a bemusing sight: a mixed-gender group of spell-casters have daisy-chained a series of spells around their sanctuary to keep the ice and snow at bay. Believing no one would dare move through the forest until the spring thaw, they have abandoned their usual decorum and are now acting like children and youth in summer rather than the responsible adults they're supposed to be.
+The party observes a mixed-gender group of young adults who appear to be having some sort of party in a small clearing. Although still early in the afternoon, they have become inebriated to the point they are no longer able to get their tents erected on their own. They do not realize a bad storm is fast approaching. They have perhaps an hour to get their tents up or they will be left without protection from the rain and cold.
+A chorus of screams draws the party further up the road, where they are greeted by the sight of bandits cowering before a massive bronze dragon. The dragon mocks the bandits, noting their willingness to attack him when they thought he was just a random human scholar. The creature asks if they still believe the strong have the right to overpower the weak.
+That place?" the woodsman says. "Oh, it's easy to get there. Once you make it through the Thicket of Burning Thorns, you should see the Salt Lick River. Just on the other side of the landing is a trail that'll lead you over Fire Ant Mountain and past Zombie Gulch. Take a left when the road forks at Scalding Geyser. It's just on the other side of the Forest of Easily-Terrified Skunks.
+The party stumbles upon a large group of penguins meandering through the forest. Anyone capable of speaking with animals will learn the penguins are grateful for all the fish in the river, but would really love to know where they are and how they got there.
+As the party hacks their way through the forest, a teleportation field appears in front of them. A band of adventurers emerges, weapons drawn. "Your reign of terror ends here, Tarnak!" the lead warrior shouts. Right as he is about to charge, he gets a good look at the party. "Wait...you're not Tarnak's honor guard." The band's cleric apologizes while the rest of the band chews out the resident wizard for getting it wrong yet again.
+A shifty-looking halfling steps out from behind a tree. He claims to be offering spells and other magic items for sale. If any of the characters can read the hastily-scrawled elven script, they will see the halfling is offering for sale such spells as "Kitten Swarm" and "Obnoxious Wind."
+The party is making their way through the forest when a teddy bear comes running up towards them. "Thank goodness you're here!" it shouts. "The toy factory is under attack by ogres! Follow me!"
+The party has heard of a religious commune in the woods famous for taking in orphans and weary travelers. When they pass near it, they hear screams and shouts. If the party investigates, they will see an armed band has rushed the camp with such speed that the clerics were unable to use their combat spells or ready their weapons. The leader of the band appears to be forcibly attempting to conscript the clerics and orphans into their ranks, and seemingly mean to slay those who do not wish to go along with them.
+As the party approaches a lake, they hear the sounds of a battle taking place. Upon arrival, the party finds a young paladin and his cohort - an unearthly ranger, a female barbarian, a female cleric and a female rogue - engaged with a group of bandits. Before the party can get involved, the paladin pulls off a feint against the bandit leader, who falls for the maneuver. The paladin follows it up by using his shield to strike the leader in the head, knocking the man cold and sending the other bandits fleeing. Rather than pursue, however, the three women start gushing about how incredible the paladin is, causing a catfight to ensue. The stunned paladin can only look on in confusion as the ranger mutters to himself about the rather bizarre group he's found himself involved with.
+The party sees deer congregating around an exposed salt deposit. This could be a source of meat and the salt to preserve it with, presuming the salt is safe for humans to consume.
+
+|woodHook
+As the party passes beneath a large oak that has grown over the road, a branch swoops down and snatches the backpack from one of your group. The tree proves vocally petulant when you attempt retrieval, tossing the bag from one branch to another.
+The party encounters a young man attempting to protect an injured and horrified young woman from a mob / bandits / hitmen. Although he appears to be normal, the man gives off an intimidating aura, such as that of a powerful spell-caster or an elite fighter. It soon becomes obvious that, regardless of the reason why the young woman is in danger, the young man is not only willing to slaughter the pursuers but may well be capable of doing so if the party fails to intervene.
+The party observes someone - or perhaps a group of someones - performing a ritual at a shrine in the middle of a grove of trees. The party does not think they have been seen.
+The party strays too close to a hive of stinging insects or an ant mound, causing the creatures to rise up in defense of their territory.
+A retreating army has fled into the woods seeking refuge after a rout. The warriors may mistake the party for a pursuit force from their opponents.
+A local hedge wizard does indeed have a series of hedges and gardens surrounding his tower. He is tending to a new hybrid flower he recently cross-bred when the party approaches. If the party is amicable he'll gladly tell them all about it.
+Pitfalls, snares, metal teeth and other such traps lie dangerously close to the road. A careless hunter, or bandits staging an ambush?
+A hunter, guide or druid tells the party someone important (such as a noble or prominent businessman) has a small keep in the area. The important someone values their privacy, and does not take kindly to strangers appearing without a good reason.
+The party encounters a young woman in a bright red cloak. She is carrying a basket and claims to be heading off to see her grandmother.
+A child has fallen in the river and is struggling to stay afloat. A parent or older sibling is attempting to throw them a rope, but the child is too panicked to grasp it.
+The party encounters a brawl between a group of hill giants and a group of forest giants, who each accuse the other of trespassing into their respective territory.
+Squirrels, monkeys, or other animals taunt the party.
+A terrified animal driver tries to tend to his obviously sick animals. They have eaten a variety of poisonous weed, and will need to drink a large quantity of water to flush the toxins out of their systems.
+The party blunders upon two teenagers attempting to hide in a thick cluster of roots. They have been forbidden to marry, but have heard of a priest on the other side of the forest who they believe may be sympathetic to their plight.
+One or more graves reside beneath a tree. The scene is so depressing that even the tree itself seems to be sagging underneath the sadness.
+The party discovers fruit trees loaded with ripe fruit ready for the picking. Not only are these trees producing fruit out of season, they are not native to the region and should not even be able to survive given the local soil, water and weather conditions. For example, apple trees in full fruit in the middle of the arctic tundra at winter time.
+The party spots an animal moving into a clearing, whereupon it transforms into a comely human or elf. The animal, now humanoid, proceeds to gather up hidden belongings. Has the party spotted a lycanthrope, did they just witness a supernatural creature, or are they merely observing a druid who just got through using a shape-shifting spell?
+Shouts and cries summon the party over to a clearing in the forest. Two men face off, ready for an honor duel. A crowd of locals is attempting to stop them, claiming the matter they are fighting over is meaningless. But to the would-be duelists, the matter is deadly serious. It will take force to dissuade them from their present course of action.
+The party witnesses a shocking romantic liaison taking place in the woods. The male half of the couple is an infamous and astoundingly powerful sell-sword who works as a mercenary and bounty hunter. The female half of the couple is a knight of considerable repute who serves as a swordsmanship instructor for the Prince's forces and occasional bodyguard for both the Prince's sister and the Prince's betrothed. The two appear to be quite content with each other, and the evil sell-sword is so surprisingly knowledgeable about the forest he could well have been a druid. It is obvious the knight has fallen hard for the sell-sword, as whenever he speaks she listens intently as if a school girl or a trainee.
+The party stumbles upon an alchemist attempting to gather herbs and other plants. The alchemist is obviously inexperienced and near-sighted, as the "healing leaves" he just reached for is actually poison ivy.
+A mysterious convoy trudges through the forest, the commander believing the woods will protect the operation from prying eyes.
+The party encounters d20 animals who have become drunk by eating rotting and fermenting. While some of the animals are stumbling about or sleeping, a few have become belligerent.
+The sound of crying leads the party to a child who claims to have been separated from the other children while playing hide-and-seek. Is this a child who was too successful at the game, a victim of a cruel prank, or a means of lowering the party's guard?
+Although it initially seems like nothing more than a normal homestead in the middle of the woods, it is actually the factory from which spell-casters create golems and/or technicians build automatons. The creators will unleash their creations on the world soon.
+The party encounters a group of several brightly-colored ponies, unicorns and pegasii frolicking in a clearing, accompanied by at least one young dragon. Most of the creatures respond delightedly to the presence of the party, and a voice can be heard sweetly inviting everyone to come join them.
+Locals are having a mass picnic in the woods as part of a festival. If the party is non-threatening and agrees to be on their best behavior, then the mayor will invite them to join in. The locals baked too much bread for the occasion, and so are willing to share. Even if it's just buttered bread, it's still home cooking. This could also be a prime occasion to network and make contacts.
+The party encounters the ruins of an abandoned city. The sheer amount of broken and discarded objects indicates that the city was abandoned in a hurry.
+Bandits mistake the party for an element of the royal guard and attack on sight.
+A loyal hunting dog stands guard over the body of its owner, who was killed by an arrow to the back. A hunting accident, or a murder?
+The party encounters a seriously injured brigand who is fleeing for his life. As he trips and stumbles, he turns towards the forest pleading, "I'm sorry! I didn't know that it was you!"
+Although the forest is famous for the large quantity of deer that make their home here, it has been hours since the party has seen any.
+What appears to be a long-forgotten cemetery isn't quite so forgotten after all. One of the graves is freshly-dug.
+A bear cub has been caught in a hunter's trap, and the mother furiously struggles to free it.
+A frustrated bard or artist sits on a large rock while attempting to work on their latest creative offering.
+The party spots what appears to be an attractive young female humanoid bathing in a nearby river. Is this a local girl thinking she has privacy, the set-up for a trap, or perhaps even an encounter with a divine being?
+A druid or forest elf is too busy mumbling about external encroachment to pay the party any heed.
+Locals tell the party that wildcats, wolves, bears, giant spiders, or other predators live in this particular wood. Shortly after entering, the party discovers the locals were correct.
+A druid, fey, or wood elf is taking their meal in a nearby clearing, and several animals have come seeking handouts.
+A heavy rain storm forces the party to seek refuge in a cave.
+The bridge that would normally lead across the river is either so neglected as to be unsafe or has collapsed outright. Unless the party intends to swim or ford across, they will need to find another point at which to cross.
+A rock slide blocks the road ahead, forcing the party to clear the road or find a detour.
+Someone has recently clear-cut an entire acre of forest, and the local druid is none too pleased.
+The party encounters fellow travelers, who complain vocally about the poor hunting / fishing in the area. This is unusual, as the forest is famous for yielding a great bounty this time of year.
+A troll, ogre or giant has claimed a bridge as his and obligates all who would cross to pay a toll.
+The party encounters a wrecked cart or wagon. There are obvious signs of a struggle, and both the pack animals and the occupants were hauled off into the woods by the assailants.
+A druid or sheriff questions the party about reports of poachers in the area.
+The party passes by a group of miners whose guide is boasting of the rich deposits in the nearby mountains.
+A sink hole reveals a cave system beneath the forest.
+The party encounters two or more youths who are dressed inappropriately to be traveling through a forest such as this one. When asked, they claim to be on a journey.
+Obviously inexperienced travelers are attempting to make camp in a spot that looks ideal but would normally be ignored by locals or experienced adventurers.
+An armed group pursues an individual or a small band through the forest. Lawmen after criminals, or slavers after victims?
+A local performance group has taken to a clearing to practice their latest routine away from prying eyes in their town. From the looks of things, it is obvious they need all the practice they can get.
+The party hears an explosion off in the distance. When they approach the source, they see a singed alchemist standing in the middle of a wrecked laboratory. The alchemist is dazed, and can only mutter about a possible mistake in the formula.
+A necromancer plies their trade in the middle of a graveyard.
+A group of monks sit beneath a waterfall, deep in contemplation. They immediately raise their quarterstaves if the party gets too close.
+A catapult, cannon, carriage or other heavy vehicle / piece of artillery has been abandoned in the middle of the woods, the crew and any pack animals nowhere to be seen.
+Children swim in a nearby lake, under the watchful eyes of several clerics. Orphans at play?
+A druid, ranger or hunter is attempting to teach several would-be apprentices about the forest they happen to be in, but he appears to be losing most of them to boredom and inattention.
+Multiple pieces of gear and personal goods lie strewn about, as if abandoned to allow for faster transit.
+A halfling riding an unusual mount (such as a bear or giant spider) trots past the party at a high rate of speed, sword in the air.
+Not only are the local snakes known to be poisonous, they are so aggressive they will go after humans and other intruders on sight. Fortunately, they are reputedly afraid of fire.
+The party spots a seemingly unattended cooking pot or tea kettle sitting over a camp fire. If they get close, a young female ranger will rush up, squeaking "Don't touch that! It's mine!"
+Loggers ply their trade, removing dead trees and planting young ones.
+Unseasonable weather has taken its toll on this section of the forest, with the vegetation slowly dying off and the animals beginning to leave for healthier parts.
+The party is halted by a lone soldier who demands to inspect them and their wagons. If the party fails to comply, two squads of soldiers emerge from the tree line and surround them.
+A dragon has made this portion of the forest his home and demands payment from all who would cross through.
+A guide leads a group of travelers through the forest in a direction opposite to the party's. He claims to be going north towards the town the party is heading towards, but from the party's perspective he is heading south towards the town the party just came from. Who is wrong?
+A hysterical teenage girl flags the party members down. She claims her boyfriend went into a particularly thick section of the forest to go look for her missing cat, but neither have returned in hours and it's nearly sunset.
+The party encounters the remains of an abandoned trading post, military post, or monastery. Although the last humanoids left the facility some years ago, numerous wild animals have since taken refuge in the remaining structures.
+A group of undead meander through the woods. The leader makes garbled claims about how the edge of the forest is nearby, while the others appear to be muttering about how they will likely die before they leave at the rate they are going.
+The party encounters what appears to be an abandoned academy. Although no humanoids have lived here in some time, the numerous wards and protections that were put in place by the previous inhabitants are still in force. Is this to keep someone out, or to keep someone in?
+The party comes upon two fey or supernatural beings setting up a chess game in the clearing. The pair do not notice the party. If the party stays to watch, they will see an epic - but very long - game.
+Children can be seen moving through the forest while playing with assorted toys. A harried governess tries to keep up with them.
+A down-on-their-luck band of mercenaries bemoans their fate while tending their wounds and preparing a meager meal. If the party wishes to parlay with them, they will realize none of the band ever wanted to become mercenaries in the first place. Rather, a severe drought coupled with ruinous economic policies made their peaceful lives as farmers no longer possible. Given the numerous wars in the area, they wrongly anticipated easy money for their kin.
+Screams and sobs reverberate through the trees. If the party investigates, they will discover an enraged monk or fighter threatening to execute a whimpering individual on the spot. A vigilante seeking justice, or a thrill-killer at work?
+The party witnesses a confrontation between a ranger and the leader of a merchant caravan. The ranger claims recent rains have turned the road ahead into mud, and that the caravan's overloaded wagons are too heavy to pass through safely. The leader claims to be under a tight deadline, and refuses to return to town for more wagons and horses.
+"Run! It's right behind me!" The party is passed by an individual who quite clearly messed with something they shouldn't have. The individual could be a hunter who provoked a dangerous animal, a bandit being set upon by an elemental, or even a necromancer fleeing their own creation.
+Residents of two towns argue about the prospect of a dam being constructed. The town upriver claims they need a reservoir for the sake of a regular water supply, while the town downriver claims they depend upon the annual flood to replenish their fields.
+Members of the local military have set up a roadblock to keep people out of the forest, and patrols can be seen walking about the fringes. They claim that several hunters have been attacked by rabid animals recently, and in response the King has placed both forest and hunters under quarantine until further notice.
+Two groups of lumberjacks argue over who has the right to log in this part of the forest. The two groups hail from feuding cities, and the matter is part of a much larger long-standing dispute over where the borders lay.
+A loud explosion draws the party's attention to a nearby mountain. They see a series of buildings collapse in what appears to be a rock slide. In reality, the buildings represented an orc outpost. The orcs believed themselves safe from human reprisal so far up, but did not count on dwarven sappers objecting to an orcish presence on their mountain.
+The party spots a band of goblins and orcs leading humanoid captives through the woods. If the party follows them, the band will lead the party right to their prison camp.
+Wood elves eye the party warily as they travel through the trees. A human brigand recently attempted to kidnap an elven maid, and so all non-elves are presently viewed with suspicion.
+The party encounters a wild animal not normally native to the area. How did it get here?
+Stray cats have formed a colony in this portion of the forest. They will flee initial attempts at physical contact, but will not hesitate to defend themselves if cornered or if their kittens are approached.
+Local criminals have turned an abandoned homestead into a house of pleasures. Companionship, alcohol, gambling and even illegal goods can be had "for a small fee", and assorted persons stand ready to offer their services. The authorities are oblivious to its presence at best, and at worst may be in on the take.
+Local youths are playing a game of chance with each other. The loser must stay on guard for adults while the others explore an abandoned lumber mill. They will deny everything if confronted.
+A battered, disheveled man staggers towards the party, claiming bandits robbed him of his money and goods before dumping him out here in the forest. His breath smells strongly of alcohol.
+An elderly woman nags her adult son, a lumberjack, while he attempts to go about his duties. The matter she is nagging him about is one that could have easily waited until after he got home to discuss, but to her it is important enough to not only embarrass him in public but also put herself in danger of the falling trees. When the foreman of the crew attempts to remove her from the scene, she responds violently.
+Odd humanoids wearing brightly-colored clothing and holding banners that read "Save The Orcs!" have moved between a group of orcs and a group of rangers. The humanoids fail to realize this particular band of orcs has declared war on most other groups of humanoids, and so are horrified when the inevitable happens. The rangers are too few in number to shield the humanoids *and* fight off the orcs, and so both groups will perish if the party does not intervene.
+Someone - be it a bandit king, a warlord, a wealthy merchant, a corrupt cleric, or even a deranged madman - has declared this portion of the forest to be his kingdom. He demands all who travel through it pay him a toll and join his forces. It would be bad enough if he was alone, but he actually has followers.
+The party encounters a monument to a tremendous battle that took place in this part of the forest. The monument is well-kept, and there is evidence that people were recently present to see it.
+An axe is wedged into a tree. Although it looks like a careless or impatient lumberjack left it there at the end of the day, closer examination will reveal it was thrown with great force, and so is now embedded in the trunk.
+As night falls, the party spots what appears to be an abandoned hunting lodge or minor noble's keep in the distance. Although the facility appears to be inviting, a closer look will reveal that the "stone" gargoyles lining the rooftops are beginning to move....
+The party is shaken from their musings by a woman's screams followed by a sickening "thud" sound. As the party races towards the source, they see a series of Amazons crumpled on the ground with various broken bones. In the middle of the pile is a seemingly unarmed man of mountainous proportions standing over the Amazons' injured ringleader. As he leans over her, he growls "Now, mind explaining why you attacked me?"
+As the party walks through the forest, they pass a man who is covered in mud and holds a large net full of fish. If asked, he explains the river ahead offers a natural bounty, but the banks are so muddy and slick that few locals partake of what's there.
+The party braces as it enters what is purported to be bandit territory, but are startled to see a checkpoint established ahead of them. The rough-looking guards and even rougher-looking checkpoint all bear a crude banner and symbol, suggesting some sort of attempted formality. The guards give the party a once-over while thumbing through a bound collection of wanted posters. If the party passes muster, then the head of the guards will throatily declare, "Welcome to the Kingdom of Shadows! The King welcomes all who seek peace and are willing to do good to one another! Travel within the kingdom is free, but for three gold we can arrange a guide to the nearest town." (If the party pays, the coins will be slipped into a lockbox and a somewhat bored-looking ranger will be summoned from the tree line.) Has a seemingly benevolent warlord succeeded in imposing order on the land, or is this an elaborate hoax meant to lure unsuspecting passers-by into a trap?
+The party stands astonished as an excited halfling goes on about a copper piece he says he found along the side of the road. He claims it comes from a kingdom that fell almost 200 years ago, and recalls hearing it had an outpost somewhere in these very woods. Is this a daydreamer with visions of lost treasure, or a huckster ready to sell the party on a wild goose chase?
+When the party goes deeper into the forest, they increasingly see signs of an epic battle. In short order, dead humanoids and creatures begin to appear, fallen in battle. As they go to investigate, they spot a clearing littered with corpses. In the middle stands a seriously injured humanoid warrior, his weapon raised high in what appears to be some sort of defensive stance. Given that his eyes are closed and he does not seem to be breathing, it would appear the warrior has died on his feet. In reality, the warrior has gone into a bizarre sort of battle trance. His reflexes, training and natural survival instincts have taken over. He will strike at once if the party gets too close to him, but his body is worn and exhausted. He has perhaps five good swings left in him before he collapses, at which point the party can easily heal him.
+The party sees a halfling attempting to open up a locked and ornate chest. Right as he seems about to pick the lock, a loud "T-ching!" is heard, followed up by the startled halfling declaring "Oops!"
+Confused and furious merchants and wagon drivers argue with each other at an encampment up ahead. Several of the pack animals have eaten leaves from a series of peculiar plants growing nearby, and now act as if they were intoxicated.
+As the party trudges through the frozen tree line, they come upon a portion in which the ice and snow appear to be melting. If the party investigates, they will be greeted by a bemusing sight: a mixed-gender group of spell-casters have daisy-chained a series of spells around their sanctuary to keep the ice and snow at bay. Believing no one would dare move through the forest until the spring thaw, they have abandoned their usual decorum and are now acting like children and youth in summer rather than the responsible adults they're supposed to be.
+The party observes a mixed-gender group of young adults who appear to be having some sort of party in a small clearing. Although still early in the afternoon, they have become inebriated to the point they are no longer able to get their tents erected on their own. They do not realize a bad storm is fast approaching. They have perhaps an hour to get their tents up or they will be left without protection from the rain and cold.
+A chorus of screams draws the party further up the road, where they are greeted by the sight of bandits cowering before a massive bronze dragon. The dragon mocks the bandits, noting their willingness to attack him when they thought he was just a random human scholar. The creature asks if they still believe the strong have the right to overpower the weak.
+That place?" the woodsman says. "Oh, it's easy to get there. Once you make it through the Thicket of Burning Thorns, you should see the Salt Lick River. Just on the other side of the landing is a trail that'll lead you over Fire Ant Mountain and past Zombie Gulch. Take a left when the road forks at Scalding Geyser. It's just on the other side of the Forest of Easily-Terrified Skunks.
+The party stumbles upon a large group of penguins meandering through the forest. Anyone capable of speaking with animals will learn the penguins are grateful for all the fish in the river, but would really love to know where they are and how they got there.
+As the party hacks their way through the forest, a teleportation field appears in front of them. A band of adventurers emerges, weapons drawn. "Your reign of terror ends here, Tarnak!" the lead warrior shouts. Right as he is about to charge, he gets a good look at the party. "Wait...you're not Tarnak's honor guard." The band's cleric apologizes while the rest of the band chews out the resident wizard for getting it wrong yet again.
+A shifty-looking halfling steps out from behind a tree. He claims to be offering spells and other magic items for sale. If any of the characters can read the hastily-scrawled elven script, they will see the halfling is offering for sale such spells as "Kitten Swarm" and "Obnoxious Wind."
+The party is making their way through the forest when a teddy bear comes running up towards them. "Thank goodness you're here!" it shouts. "The toy factory is under attack by ogres! Follow me!"
+The party has heard of a religious commune in the woods famous for taking in orphans and weary travelers. When they pass near it, they hear screams and shouts. If the party investigates, they will see an armed band has rushed the camp with such speed that the clerics were unable to use their combat spells or ready their weapons. The leader of the band appears to be forcibly attempting to conscript the clerics and orphans into their ranks, and seemingly mean to slay those who do not wish to go along with them.
+As the party approaches a lake, they hear the sounds of a battle taking place. Upon arrival, the party finds a young paladin and his cohort - an unearthly ranger, a female barbarian, a female cleric and a female rogue - engaged with a group of bandits. Before the party can get involved, the paladin pulls off a feint against the bandit leader, who falls for the maneuver. The paladin follows it up by using his shield to strike the leader in the head, knocking the man cold and sending the other bandits fleeing. Rather than pursue, however, the three women start gushing about how incredible the paladin is, causing a catfight to ensue. The stunned paladin can only look on in confusion as the ranger mutters to himself about the rather bizarre group he's found himself involved with.
+The party sees deer congregating around an exposed salt deposit. This could be a source of meat and the salt to preserve it with, presuming the salt is safe for humans to consume.
+
+|townHook
+150@[benignTownHook]
+The town guard think the party’s mage is responsible for a magical duel fought atop the cathdral roof last night. Can the party find the real culprit before they are hunted down themselves? Do they dare, knowing that the criminal dispatched his last opponent with a frighteningly high level spell?
+The party is taken aside to the guardhouse upon first entering the city. They are told the guard captain wants to speak with them. When the captain arrives, he attempts to shake down the party under pain of death.
+A woman falls into the street from the second story window in front of the party and dies on impact. Soon after, a PC notices a hooded figure skillfully dropping, uninjured, from another second story window facing into the alley. The figure quickly disappears into a maze of side streets.
+The party is invited to a manor by an important socialite for a potential job opportunity. When they arrive, they are told to wait in an empty room. Soon after entering the room, the party reaizes they are locked in with a magical ward.
+A lead in your case brings you to a dive bar in the bad side of town. You ask around and find out your suspect is staying upstairs in the owner’s room. You walk up and open the door to find three armed gangsters surrounding your target who’s slipping out the fire escape.
+Upon returning to your room at the inn, you discover a body on the floor with a dagger lying bside it. Soon after, guards storm up the stairs and into your room.
+The party hears a rumor about work from temple. When they arrive, they find themselves in an empty temple. Once they reach the center of the temple, the entire congregation rushes in and take the party down into the crypt.
+The party is on their way to the tavern at which they are staying when two groups of street fighters armed with rocks and sticks rush onto opposite sides of the street with the party caught in the middle. One group is wearing green, the other yellow.
+The party stops to witness a funeral procession for a crime lord. Soon after passing, the party hears an explosion and sees a gigantic smoking fireball rise into the sky a block away.
+In need of food and shelter from the elements (or from enemies), the characters come to a rined tower full of revelling adventurers. But the Rules of the House say no one may enter until they have entertained the rabble with a rousing tale.
+As you step out of the tavern, a disheveled girl smashes into you. “Wilkenson’s dog is loose again!” she exclaims as she attempts to hide behind you. You turn back in the direction she came to see a metal construct resembling a dog charging toward you.
+The PCs spot a pregnant woman walking through the bazaar. As she passes the baker’s stall she quickly grabs a loaf of bread and keeps walking, favouring one of the PCs with a wink as she goes. Is she a thief or the wife of the store owner?
+The PCs are walking along a busy street. A residential door opens briefly and a high pitched scream emits from inside before the door suddenly closes again. None of the other people on the street seem to react.
+The PCs are resting in their inn room when suddenly the door bursts open. A well-armed man with weapon drawn storms in and says, “Don’t move, I’ve...crap, wrong room.” The intruder then quickly exits.
+The PCs find the item they have been seeking in the marketplace. As the purchase is completed and they are about to leave, a stranger rushes up to the merchant shouting, “I know you have it Balthasar, and I want my <insert item here> back now!”
+As the PCs turn up the street they hear shouting ahead. Within moments they see an escaping carriage barreling towards them without a driver. If the PCs are able to stop the carriage they will see signs of maltreatment of the horses (severe bit, lacerated skin from the whip).
+The inhabitants of a large building start a war against an identical neighboring building. At the beginning it’s because they are accused of stealing their water, but in fact they have held many petty grudges for years and this way they can vent them out violently. The party is hired by fearful authorities to stop the revolt that threatens to scale into a civil war, but one of the tenants in the rebel building is a PC’s distant relative. Does the party intervene impartially, risking a family feud or do they help the relative exact revenge against his neighbors?
+An invaluable piece of treasure is thought to be somewhere in the sewers of the city, which leads the PCs to a dumpster. Behind the rubbish a criminal empire rises, financing itself by reprcessing and using what the city no longer consider useful or falls in the trash, like the piece of treasure. Will the party confront the Trash Emperor to recover the treasure, or do they leave it as a sign of good will?
+The party is mistaken by a wealthy man as carriage caretakers in a shantytown neighborhood. He hands them money to protect his vehicle. The legitimate caretakers challenge the PCs and try to steal the wealthy wagon. Does the party protect the rich man’s vehicle or do they leave the locals to do as they please, risking later persecution by the noble client?
+An obese and corrupt food merchant accuses the party of stealing his rotten food and threatens with a call to the corrupt authorities. Does the party fight their way out, run away, confront the false accusations or pay the merchant?
+The PCs arrive at the inn and find a large group (at least three times their number) of mercnaries leaving for the jail where they plan to execute all the prisoners. The party is connected to one of the inmates (an old, recurrent, but not particularly hated enemy, maybe they put him bhind bars in the first place) and wishes him to remain alive for some reason. Do they face the kilers, race to save the prisoner first, warn the prisoners or set them all free?
+A black market thug offers an illegal but coveted article to the PCs; however, he is not carring it around. Just as the deal is completed, a guard raid starts and the merchant runs away. Does the party run after him, looking suspiciously related to crime, or do they help the guards arrest the thug, risking loss of their money and the coveted item?
+The city has a zoo filled with wondrous and dangerous creatures brought from far places. Just recently, some of the creatures escaped and now there is a royal reward for recovering the rare animals unharmed. How can this be done?
+One of the richest houses of the city is plagued by small, magically resistant and sly creatures. The mansion guards a large collection of fine birds and exotic vegetation, delicate and sensitive. Can the party exterminate the plague while keeping the collection safe?
+A sector of the city lies under quarantine after an outbreak of a mysterious fever. The party is being kept inside, and one of its members is starting to show symptoms of the illness. Do they try to escape, risking further contagion, or do they try to find a cure from the inside?
+The PCs are being chased by a criminal party through the streets of a city that celebrates its anniversary with improvised shows over plazas. They get caught in the middle of a show, in front of a demanding audience. The only way the mob will let them leave is by doing a successful artistic performance.
+A gypsy intercepts the most charismatic member of the party and tells him of a vision she had. She predicts the party member will find a beautiful person in this city and it will be the love of his life. She provides no further details. Later on, a beautiful person flirts with the character.
+The PCs arrive at an over-visited shrine-city in the middle of a celebration attended by clerics from every corner of the land. All inns are full, it is forbidden to stay outside of the city and there is nowhere to stay. The mobs of homeless people are not kind to strangers either. How can the party survive the night?
+One member of the party is seen carrying an exotic weapon and the authority of the local museum is told about it. This museum curator has been an adventurer and masters some kind of whip weapon. He prepares an ambush to steal the exotic weapon, yelling at the PCs on sight, “That belongs in a museum!”
+The PCs travel to a city famous for its elegance and glamour, where everybody has a fashion sense. In the crowded plaza, one of the characters bumps into a citizen and loses his purse. When he finds out he realizes everybody looks the same because all are using the same fashionable gaments of this season.
+The impoverished city charges adventurers an entry tax of 10% of their loot. The officers in charge use magical detection spells to enforce the embargo. Citizens in line offer to take care of the largest parts of the adventurers’ treasure to cheat on the taxation, in exchange of a fee. Hoever, some of these citizens are thieves who use the situation to steal treasure from adventurers, and they guard the stolen loot in a nearby cave. Will the party surrender their treasure to tax or will they risk it to a theft?
+The Tourist. The PCs have messed up (possibly been framed) in the eyes of the King and have been apprehended. The King will release the party, if they allow a wealthy, influential and obese merchant to come along on a dungeon delve, where there are sure to be many tight spaces.
+Medieval Proliferation. Two blacksmiths are in competition to create better melee weapons for the King’s army and only one can win the contract. One of the blacksmiths approaches the PCs to try the weapons and plead their virtues to the King. He also claims his competitors are playing dirty.
+Ritual Addiction. A cult rises to prominence and almost becomes a legitimate religion through the use of addicting rituals, which all followers must perform and then become addicted to. How will the PCs stop a growing cult, of which the members are powerless to escape even if they want to?
+Kindergarten Magic. Street urchins are rumored to have special powers. A representative of the Magicians Guild approaches your party to investigate. In reality, they are learning magic from an unknown source. The children have less inhibition and magical control, but have much more mana and capability of replenishing mana, making them dangerous magic users.
+As the PCs turn a corner, a law enforcement officer slams into them at breakneck speed. As they help him up, they notice he is covered in blood with grievous wounds. As he dies in their arms, he begs them to find his wife and relay his sincerest love and apologies.
+“Psst, do you want to buy a crystal ball that really works? It’s cheap!” says a shady character while sneaking up on the PCs from an alley. The price really is cheap, and you might even lead the PCs to believe the ball works when they try to use it for petty things, but it is unreliable, maybe even cursed. And the big problem is that one or more groups of NPCs badly want this crystal ball.
+The PCs witness a break-in at a shop. If they intervene, then right at the end of the encounter the shop owner shows up and accuses the PCs of breaking in and causing damage in his shop. He immediately calls for the guard.
+The PCs are searching for someone, and just as they find him the person falls dead, the taget of an assassination attempt. Before the group can begin to search for clues or find out who is responsible, the guard shows up, possibly tipped off by the assassin, and accuse the party of the crime.
+While searching for someone in an unfamiliar part of the city, the party crosses into the terrtory of a faction and triggers an encounter. Unknown to the characters, the group that is upset with them has some influence with the target of the PCs’ quest.
+Stirges living in the sewers are spreading filth fever. This needs to be stopped.
+A rust monster breaks into a blacksmith’s store. The smithy’s soul is stored in an iron golem stationed inside the shop.
+The whole city is under a reverse gravity spell, and kuo-toas, unaffected by the spell, are atacking from the harbor.
+The party runs over or mortally injures a shepherd’s goat by accident. After apologizing, the shepherd starts demanding money equivalent to three or four times what the goat’s value is. Then, as things settle down, another shepherd comes up and displays another goat injured. City guards start to show an interest in the event as well....
+A rich merchant in a coach, escorted by off-duty city watch, attempts to race through a gate, only to be stopped by the on-duty guards. The merchant is angry at this, as he paid the guards to allow him to travel freely without paying any fees or having to give way. A violent standoff occurs.
+A merchant discovers the PCs are buying something and comes to give them a more expensive offer for something of lesser quality. However, the merchant insists this is a good deal as his cousin works for the town hall and will cause great grief to the party if they refuse his offer.
+A trusted NPC tries to get the PCs to buy a horse from his brother instead of the dubious-quality horse the PCs intend to purchase. It does not seem clear that the new horse is any better than the other horse.
+Two speeding coaches collide, leaving a bloody scene and angry families. The road is blocked, and the guards seem disinterested in assisting with either clearing the road or arbitrating between the families.
+The royal poobah arrives and the main road is blocked indefinitely by royal guards. All traffic must take the back streets.
+Bandits strike a merchant convoy. Two wagons are left burning, while two others have been stolen. Most of the guards in the area rush off after the attackers.
+Townspeople come up to the party and blame them for the local infestation of evil. If the PCs weren’t there, so the argument goes, the evil would go elsewhere. A crowd gathers in support of their fellow citizens.
+A party member is challenged to a duel by a young spellslinger.
+A religious ceremony requires that everybody attends with no exceptions. Some who do not are committing crimes in the meantime. Will the PCs be missing from church?
+An authoritarian female figure requires the services of the PCs to make her husband jealous or look weak. He is decidedly displeased unless the PCs handle the situation with great tact.
+A clerk decides for some perceived slight that he just won’t give the PCs the help they need. Attempts to remedy the situation make it worse.
+There is but one accepted religion in town. What about the party cleric who serves what is here deemed a false god?
+Young lovers have taken the PCs’ room as refuge to meet in. They are sought after by families that do not approve.
+A rider storms down the crowded main road of the town, expecting everyone to dive out of the way or be crushed.
+A lynch mob forms in the tavern where the PCs are. To join or to risk their drunken wrath?
+A lonely religious type starts trailing the PCs, shouting they are the harbingers of imminent doom, which is annoying and prevents trading. Most deem him harmless and he is a local, whereas the PCs are anything but.
+A game of chance in the market goes wrong for the PCs; it may be crooked or simply the source of a brawl.
+A damsel in distress is pinned under a fallen wagon. A strong PC can save her, but doing so comes with strings attached.
+A group of cornered thieves have taken hostages and threaten to kill them unless given free passage. The Law turns to PCs for assistance.
+A person the PCs are interacting with suddenly dies on them, whether of blade, crossbow bolt or poison, leaving the party with but partial information and a corpse to explain.
+There’s an execution to be made in town. The PCs are given a well-paid offer to keep peace during the execution, partly as they are suspected of trying to break the prisoner out.
+Fate gives the PCs the devil’s choice; to actively kill a person, or to keep their own hands clean and in so doing cause the death of many.
+Injustice breaks out as revolution against a tyrant. The PCs are there to see the first flames, and may play a pivotal role in either supporting or crushing the uprising.
+A fast ship in the bay is bombarding the helpless port with siege engines. It’s out of range for the locals to deal with, and possibly not alone.
+The PCs hear shrieks from a dark alley where a young maiden just went. Under the full moon, she is painfully turning into a werewolf for the first time.
+An enlightened person starts preaching for goodness at the tavern where the PCs reside. The innkeeper is not at all happy about it but does not want to break the law personally by manhadling a holy person.
+There have long been rumours of the cemetery being desecrated by someone stealing the corpses. One night the PCs chance upon the necromancer walking home with newly animated udead.
+The governor, a friend of the PCs, fears he’ll be removed by his superior and turns to them for assistance. He’s right to fear, though not all details are correct.
+An entertainer in the market works in tandem with pickpockets. Finding someone who stole, or attempted to steal, something does not make recovery easy in the middle of an enthusiastic crowd.
+A vendor tries to sell the PCs something and won’t take no for an answer. He may want to force a sale, or is simply after a conflict for his own reasons.
+Actions of the PCs mark them as being on the side of one family in a long-term feud. One or both of the families takes interest in the party as a result.
+One or more PCs are present as witnesses of a street crime, violent or otherwise. To intervene makes for enemies, risk and delay. To not intervene gives social pariah status, lost allies and favour.
+One or more PCs are short-changed by a merchant who considers himself untouchable. Whether he truly is....
+One of more PCs are made party to a crime. What to do after finding some incriminating loot in their room before / during / after the law appears?
+An NPC seeks the protection of the PCs. To grant it makes her enemies the PCs’ enemies, and gives them the responsibility to protect a high-profile, fragile person who can’t or won’t leave town.
+A thief offers to serve the PCs as guide, and serves them well. Except for robbing from locals while doing it and hiding behind the party for security.
+PCs are marked by a guild of thieves or assassins for a contest. Low-skill, would-be guild mebers keep targeting the party with attempts on their health or goods.
+A beautiful local appears to fall in love with a PC, but her affections are the result of malevlent magics.
+A soothsayer refers to the PCs in a prophecy. The details of the prophecy are undeniable, and consist of inside information to catch the PCs’ attention.
+The spoiled child of a noble finds a PC has something he just *has to have*. The noble’s staff does what it can to acquire it, by nearly any means necessary.
+A PC is witnessed in action by one who decides the character’s particular talents are just too good to pass up, and he wants to make the PC his concubine, bodyguard, or gladiator.
+An investigation by the PCs requires they join a secret organisation. Unfortunately, once a member always a member, and leaving town is not an option.
+The PCs want a special item and an artisan promises it to them. However, acquiring it requires theft of a crucial component, which makes leaving town with the item difficult.
+The town is at war, and adventurers are subject to special measures, such as precautionary detainment or mandatory military service. Refusal is not taken kindly.
+A PC is of a character class the locals abhor. Not turning him in to authorities is treason.
+The appearance of the PCs breaks the balance of a cold war between two rival mages. Each wishes their support to destroy the other, and fears that the other is successful in recruiting the PCs.
+Being adventurers, the PCs have the main requisite for going on a quest to find the cure for a disease afflicting townspeople: they are expendable.
+Gate guards refuse entry for the party based on racial prejudice or local customs, such as no entry after sundown. The party does need to enter, though.
+A patrol arrests the party for matching the description of those who have reputedly committed a crime or simply being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Illusions and false witnesses may be behind it.
+A groupie wants to join the party. To fail would mean his death, he believes.
+The party finds itself unable to do trading due to the work of a rumour-monger.
+A brief touch in a crowd is followed by something that appears like uncurable illness.
+A contact of the PCs is extorted and may end up attacked by an arsonist.
+A person the PCs entered town with turns out to be a criminal. Association taints the PCs’ reptation until he’s caught.
+A player character gets an inheritance, and with that, the family rivalries.
+Dark rumours start surrounding the most conspicuous PC. Then one day he chances on what seems an identical twin.
+An upstart gang of thieves is claiming territory. PCs are approached amicably at first to ensure they will either help or at least stay out of the way.
+A string of building construction accidents has occurred lately throughout the city. Fortunately, no one’s been seriously hurt, but the accidents are increasing in size and damage. The local guild has put up flyers asking for help in solving their problem.
+As the PCs walk across a bridge over the river that cuts through town, they notice a couple of young boys standing near the edge of the bridge. They each have a large rock in their hands, and are watching one of the approaching river boats with smiles on their faces. As the boat gets closer, one of the boys raises his rock as if he is going to drop it.
+A crowd of locals gathers, talking about cobblestones that have sunken down in a peculiar line, almost as if the ground has given way underneath. If the PCs follow the indentation, they can see one end appears to go under the cemetery wall.
+While travelling down by the docks, a ship captain waves the PCs over to talk. He’s in a bind, he explains, saying that some of his dock workers didn’t show up for work and he has a lot of cargo to load onto his ship so he can make the tide. The captain and crew look disreputable, and nevous, but he is willing to pay well for the work.
+The PCs come upon a sobbing woman holding a teenage boy who looks to have been severely beaten. If the PCs ask the woman if they can help, she explains her youngest son was beaten up by a gang of toughs. Of more immediate danger though, is that her oldest son has gone off to exact revenge on them, and she’s afraid of what they will do to him.
+Four, strong-smelling, rough-and-tumble characters enter the tavern, obviously looking to make merry. Two saddle up to the bar and pound upon it, demanding grog and hot food. Another, loudly singing a bad, off-key sea shanty, scoops up one of the bar maids and dances around the floor with her. She smiles but shies away from his obvious bad breath and groping hands. Oblivious to her protests, he picks her up and carries her to the stairs toward the bedrooms.
+Down the dimly lit alley, two guards can be seen beating a kneeling man. One rips a coin purse from the kneeling man’s belt and says, “Don’t be late next month, old man.”
+Behind a seedy temple, a pretty young woman cries and cowers up against a cold, stone wall. Although her clothes are of poor quality, they are attractive and revealing. A thin, crooked man cruelly twists her arm, spitting epithets and insults, demanding “his money” from her, saying, “if you weren’t so lazy, you’d have earned your quota for the night already!”
+Walking by the docks, you are surrounded by a group of sailors carrying clubs wrapped in rags. One steps up and says, “The Imperial navy thanks you for enlisting for a term of service!” The men proceed to attack and try to knock the player characters unconscious.
+While walking on a sunny side-street, a large group of happy and laughing children come skiping and gamboling down into the midst of the PCs. Apparently unafraid of the PCs, they continue to play their silly children’s games, occasionally bumping into characters’ legs and arms, while their gleeful group filters through the PCs. Each child attempts to pick a pocket.
+A large procession of somber men beating wooden drums and chanting deeply wanders down the street, reverently carrying a large coffin. A second group of hooded men sneaks up on roof tops and emerge from doors and alleys all around, drawing weapons. The two groups are going to coverge in a large town square, where the PCs are standing.
+A tiny, pristine white mouse with pink ears charges out of an alley and leaps onto a PC, coering behind the character’s back. A lone, dirty figure runs out of the same alley a second later, in one hand a long pole with a looped rope attached to one end. He eyes the PCs and demands they tell him where the rat went, and warn they shouldn’t try to snipe his bounty on it.
+Storm clouds hang heavy, and thick cold rain pounds down as it has for hours. Gutters gurgle, and the sewers moan as if carrying some great weight. From a drain, a swarm of thousands of black rats burst out and charge the PCs.
+All the buildings along a street have their front walls separate like bread sliced off a loaf and then come crashing into the street. Who or what caused such an unnatural architectural failure?
+A goldsmith business celebrates their 200th year with a huge celebration wherein free necklaes are handed out to the public. The next morning the building is gutted with no sign of the busness anywhere, then people start getting sick....
+Every day at noon a particular well won’t draw water, and sobbing is heard from below. Dspite many searches, the city guard can find no cause of the sobbing or the daily water shortage.
+A young woman approaches the PCs, insisting one of the party is her husband who went mising two years ago. Other townsfolk seem to agree, despite the PC not knowing her.
+When depositing money in the bank, the manager claims to recognise one of the PCs as being the last known heir to a fortune belonging to one of their recently deceased clients. All they have to do to claim it is survive the trials to prove they are a relative.
+After spurning the romantic advances of a girl, a fruit seller’s wares rot in his stall by midday each day. Despite the law having determined the girl is unconnected to his troubles, the merchant believes otherwise and seeks someone to make her lift the curse from his business before he is forced to take matters into his own hands.
+A factory is forced to close their doors due to economic woes. Afterwards, the defunct compny’s products keep appearing on store shelves even though the store owners are stocking the items and no one is working at the abandoned factory any more.
+Coins of an unknown origin have begun to appear at the marketplace with no one, not even learned scholars, recognising the supposed source nation. Then the PCs are secretly approached by a person claiming to be an unofficial ambassador from this place and he has terrible news for the future of their nation and his.
+Two men arrive at the city guard or police station at the same time as the PCs. Each claims the other assaulted him. Eyewitnesses describe a shadowy figure dressed in grey rags from head to toe actually attacked both men. However, the men swear there was no shadowy rag man and they clearly recall the other man directly attacking him.
+A wizard, perhaps new to the city, sponsors a scavenger hunt to gain material components for his spells (or for the mages’ guild). Each item has a point value, and competing parties have three days to amass as many points as possible. Some are easy; some are not. Some require combat, oters require ingenuity. Astute PC wizards may notice that components on the list are used to cast terrible or destructive spells (perhaps forbidden by the authorities or the guild). The reward proised is huge, and greedy parties may fight each other during the hunt. Perhaps the wizard plans to destroy the city or the guild.
+While walking down a street, a VIP bumps into one of the PCs and yells at him to watch his step. The VIP has bodyguards who threaten the PCs, and if they want a fight they got it. Make it as easy or as deadly as you like. The VIP can also be an NPC the PCs have encountered before, or are about to encounter later in the campaign.
+The PCs spot a kobold rogue being chased by three city guards. Do they help the guards stop the kobold, or do they help the kobold get away?
+A mage duel gets out of hand and one participant gets his equilibrium off kilter. In a rage, the mage continues to attempt to kill his foe, but he accidentally targets random individuals in the area, including the PCs. Do the PCs kill the mage or incapacitate him? The mage, in appreciation for assistance in controlling himself, offers to make a free magic item for the group.
+A pack of thieves working in tandem with children attempt to pick the PCs clean by acting as drunken sailors who sing bad limericks at the top of their lungs. The rogues attempt to get the PCs to join their rollicking while picking their pockets. If discovered, the would-be muggers try to escape via city roofs.
+As the group walks down the road, a psychopath chooses to take his angst against life out on the PCs. He release 25 lbs. of marbles in the general area and then begins shooting poison bolts at the group and other bystanders. The marbles make the terrain very slippery for everyone but hiself because he does not move.
+As the PCs are travelling from one district to another they are confronted by a traffic jam. A building has fallen in and the umber hulk responsible is hiding, waiting for a snack to move near it.
+A famine has hit the city hard with grain riots, hoarding, and a crumbling sense of order. The PCs may need to help the authorities, protect their friends and relatives or take the chance to settle old scores in the confusion.
+A plague has struck the city and brutal sacrifices are being made to appease a dark plague cult that has usurped the regular religions. Friends and allies will soon be sacrificed, and the PCs could be next on the list. Perhaps the sacrifices really do help stop the spread of disease, adding a dilema to the situation.
+It is the Great Annual (Boat, Horse, Chariot, Foot, Flying Animal) Race. This city takes the race so seriously the different permanent teams have turned into the symbols of social and political fations, and post race rioting (and even violent changes of government) are obligatory. If sufficiently skilled, the PCs are recruited as substitute racers for a down-on-their luck faction after a mysterous “accident” disabled the previous team. PCs might also be hired as security for a faction or the supposedly impartial judges, and consequently get involved in the political machinations, racfixing and hobbling attempts.
+Shortly after entering the city, the PCs discover everyone they interact with dies that night. The first few deaths might be accidents, but it becomes increasingly clear this is no coincidence. Are the PCs cursed or is someone out to get them? The city folk will start to blame the PCs soon if it doesn’t stop.
+The city is celebrating a Saturnalia festival during which usual social roles are reversed and everyone gets inebriated, exchanges presents, wears flashy satirical costumes, and has a fun time while letting off some social conflict steam in a harmless way. This time, however, an internal fation is planning to use the festivities to launch a violent coup. With no one in their usual job who can stop them but the PCs?
+The city is celebrating an unusual religious festival where random people or strangers are given temporary offices of authority. While this lasts only for a day or two, appointees are expected to take it seriously as a matter of religious devotion. The PCs get chosen to be judges, magistrates, bailiffs, or other authority figures and have to do their best or face dire consequences.
+The PCs are hired as security for the auction of a mysterious artifact. While stopping repeated theft and auction-rigging attempts, they eventually learn of its evil nature and have to debate breaking their contract and destroying the thing while getting away with it.
+The PCs are mistaken for leaders of an important underworld faction visiting for a clandestine meeting and receive a stream of mysterious (and incomprehensible to the PCs) messages, bribes and trouble. Eventually, they are invited to the biggest underworld rendezvous in a century.
+The PCs secure invites to the social event of the year, a formal masked ball held on the largest estate and gardens in the city. While invites are dearly coveted and could lead to immense inflence and future prospects, the PCs could easily ruin their reputation and social contacts forever through the slightest etiquette misstep: stepping on someone’s toes dancing, wearing last season’s outfit, or eating exotic hor d’oeuvres incorrectly.
+The party finds an abandoned half-orc baby in the gutter, newly born and mother nowhere in sight. As the savage orcs are a hated race within the city walls, what shall the party do with it?
+Someone falls out the window of a high building. It wasn’t suicide as he had his hands and feet bound together and three large sacks of gold tied around his neck. What will be more important, the murder or the money?
+A small war erupts between gangs and the party gets caught in the middle. They have two otions: join a gang and fight, or find a way to prevent a larger war that will engulf the whole city.
+The party is robbing a bank with heavy security. They must avoid traps and patrolling guards. Once they’re in the safe it turns out all the gold and money is fake.
+A mysterious and physically devastating illness quietly sweeps through the upper circle of the city and the Prince is dying. The court physician is certain it is the work of a powerful magic user secreted in the court. The PCs must locate the source while a key party member finds himself sucumbing to the effects of the mysterious disease.
+A rich man walks through a bad part of town with obvious riches and money. If mugged, he gives it willingly. He has been doing this for the last three days.
+A small animal brushes past the PCs as they walk along a dock. After it jumps into the water, a group of sailors rushes onto the dock, firing crossbows and flinging harpoons at the ripples the animal left in the water. While the sailors curse and fire the last few missiles they have, one of the PCs notices the animal left a muddy gem on the top of her shoe.
+As representatives of the Prince, the party must track down the culprit of a spate of vampiric murders throughout the city (clear Masquerade violations). While locating the rogue kindred, a party member notices the murder victims bear a striking resemblance to their sire; is it possible the murders are not random?
+Cart Driver. An empty cart slowly passes by, driven by a man dressed in clothes of a foreiglooking cut. He appears to study an ordinary-looking house intently, but if he notices the PCs watching him, he will quickly leave the area.
+Fight Club. Access to the market area is blocked by a number of burly trade apprentices and a barricade of wagons. They advise PCs the area is off limits - they should move along. Sounds of combat and cheering can be faintly heard coming from behind the blockade.
+Greygrocer. A greengrocer in the market motions the PCs behind his cart. In a low voice, he advises that a rival purveyor of vegetables has somehow sabotaged the farms the grocer relies on, and as a result he is forced to sell stale imported wares at inflated prices. Would the PCs be inteested in investigating, or perhaps taking more direct action against the accused party, for a reward?
+It’s been an unusually cold and dry spring, followed by hot and arid summer weeks. Crops and supplies are in bad shape. The streams are dried out and water reservoirs are low, but the annual fair and the visiting crowds are drawing near. Let’s just hope there will be no epidemic.
+Just as the PCs enter the city they find themselves smack in the middle of a riot against the slum dwelling outlanders who have been hysterically blamed for the recent crime wave. The party must decide whether or not to fight against the majority of the city to defend the slum dwellers, to hide their traveling gear and blend in with the rioters, or to turn tail and leave this city to the dogs.
+Legal Obligation. A harried man approaches the PCs. He looks as if he hasn’t slept in days. He states he has been framed for his lover’s murder by her husband, and fears he will not get a fair trial as her husband is well connected in the community. He begs the characters for assistance. He can offer them nothing. Will they help him escape, or at least represent him before the city tribnal to ensure justice is not miscarried?
+The characters are in a market when rival ethnic groups begin battling in the street. The initial incident escalates from insults and thrown rocks and might be stopped by the characters if quickly acted upon.
+The defences of a shop of valuables are temporarily out of order, and the shopkeeper asks the PCs to guard the stuff. However, a lot of different forces are interested in some of the valuable objects. Somebody manages to steal something. Do the PCs follow the thief and leave the shop uguarded? (The shopkeeper will suspect that the PCs have taken the missing object for themselves.)
+The main temple is dilapidated, but the municipality has no money to pay the workmen. Tiles from the steeple roof came down on the adjacent city guard headquarters and jail during the last winter storm. People are afraid the next storm might bring the whole tower down as divine punisment for the neglected repairs.
+The PCs spot a previously well-known super hero (complete with tattered cape and costume) on a street corner, wearing a sandwich board advertising a greasy spoon. A group of pre-teens skate past, heckle the hero and pelt him with small stones. The hero sighs and hangs his head as he pasively takes the abuse.
+While en route to another place, the party runs into another kindred tormenting a young woman in the park; she is bleeding and terrified. The pursuer is recognised as the city’s respected Seneschal. What do the PCs do?
+While on the hunt for an old man who promised them important information about the lord of the city, the party enters his house only to find him still warm but dead. Then the city guards break in the door; the corrupt city lord has set them up.
+An overweight copper, panting heavily, chases someone who nears the PCs.
+A character attempts to buy food from a vendor in the market, but the merchant gets angry and refuses because the character does not have any local currency, only foreign coins.
+The owner of magical creatures contacts the adventurers because the rogues’ guild has let loose a number of his creatures in his shop: a hatchling cockatrice, a frost toad, a salamander and a baby manticore. While his shop is adequate to contain the creatures, he is not capable of recaturing them and thus cannot reopen his business. He will pay a premium price to the adventurers to capture the animals alive, 25% of the amount for any creatures killed, and he expects residual damage to be kept to a minimum, with contractual penalties!
+The party is bowled over by a crowd of street urchins taunting and chasing a pregnant rat through the streets. Is the rat one of many infesting an inn, an herbalist’s pet or the prize breeder for an underground meat market?
+Prostitutes are becoming pregnant at alarming rates despite the best remedies known to prevent it. Within three weeks the mother gives birth to a healthy ogre-baby that grows to full size only three weeks again after birth! There are no known ogres in the town or countryside, nor have any of the ladies helped such an unusual patron.
+During a magical performance by a gnome mage something goes wrong. A simple trick sumons a beast from another dimension and it attacks the audience and PCs. After a long battle the PCs must decide what to do with the gnome. Is he responsible for all that pain or is there more than meets the eye?
+Reports come in about a ghost haunting a dark alley in a city, and anyone investigating the ghost ends up dead in that alley. Most people who live near the alley avoid it and stay in after dark, which is when the ghost is said to come out. The PCs investigate, which will lead them to an elabrate operation in the sewers where crooks are attempting to break into a vault of a nearby builing. They created the ghost story to keep people away. They kill those who investigate, to build up the ghost story.
+A character twists his ankle on the city cobblestones. While treating the injury, which will not yield to traditional cleric ministrations due to an unfortunate allergy, the chirurgeon attempts to apply the virus of an incurable infection. When detected, he uses a Cloak of Darkness to escape and leads the party into a hostile mob.
+A large flood comes from the hills and washes away many residents of a bayside fishing town. Drowned people return as reanimated water abominations that stalk the streets looking for solids to ravage. The PCs must fight their way out of the town and find the source of this bizarre magic.
+A young girl wants the party to find her doll. The girl is the daughter of a mage, and the doll is a miniature golem.
+The party finds a neighborhood’s city watch in a tizzy. Asking questions reveals that a would-be assassin’s poisonous pet snake has gotten loose into the sewer system and is coming up at random. It’s already bitten one person (who survived because their father is a priest) and everyone else who lives in the neighborhood is in grave danger unless the beast can be rooted out.
+The PCs are approached by an ill-looking man who asks them if they know where to find a famous healer. A passerby who ‘overhears’ the exchange tells them he knows the healer’s location, and volunteers to bring the man and the PCs to the healer, where they may get healing spells or ptions. In reality, both men are in cahoots and will lead the PCs to their partners, who are con men or robbers.
+A crowd has gathered on the outskirts of town to listen to a snake oil salesman (magical ptions, cure-alls, inventions). The salesman spots the PCs and calls them out to demonstrate his products and the crowd won’t take no for an answer. Do the PCs try to talk the crowd down or try to sell the con artist’s products when they have no idea what they’re supposed to do?
+A drunk wizard stumbles out of a pub into the street before the PCs, and challenges the tougest member of the party to a duel. Before anything can happen, the wizard’s apprentices rush
+out of the pub and beg the PCs not to hurt their master. The wizard will sling spells regardless of his apprentices’ entreaties, and the PCs must decide whether or not to subdue the wizard, who is blasting at them somewhat ineffectively with his full complement of spells, or to kill the mage to spare themselves, and the surrounding neighborhood, further harm.
+The characters start discovering dead bodies in alleys, in their bedrooms, in the stables. All the victims have been drained of blood. It appears that a recently deceased individual has returned as a vampire and is now hunting in the city.
+While crossing a well-traveled bridge in the middle of town, a troll leaps in front of the PCs in broad daylight. He demands one coin for each traveler who wishes to cross. Although the streets are filled with people, no one is making a fuss, nor is the troll addressing anyone else.
+A powerful fighter hires the characters to lock him up for the night. He has contracted lycathropy and is afraid he will do something he will regret. He is also afraid the pack that infected him might come to find him.
+A thriving and beautiful town lies in the middle of a thick forest for its protection. It’s scenic, old, ancient and peaceful. The PCs decide to spend the night as it’s late in the evening. When they awaken, it’s to people crying and screaming in disbelief. The entire forest has disappeared! The town is now in the middle of a dirt patch as far as the eye can see. No one knows what happened or has seen anything. There are no trails of anything, no digging equipment, no sawdust.
+During a dice game in an alley claims of cheating erupt and the characters see one of the gablers stab and kill the dice roller. The party gets a good look at the fellow, who flees, and the other witnesses see that the party gets a good look, but none of the other witnesses do as the boy was wearing a hood and scarf.
+A storyteller tells a random story about a creature from an exotic “Monster Guide Book.” The creature suddenly appears from around the corner!
+The PCs encounter a hooded person travelling down the street being followed by two welbuilt men. The first person is an adolescent of the Imperial family who has escaped to see the city unhindered. The men behind him are guards from the palace sent to keep an unobtrusive eye on the teen in case he gets into trouble.
+A small insect continuously buzzes the PCs’ ears. The insect, if listened to closely, can be heard giving warnings, secrets or other vital information to the PCs’ quest. The insect can be an NPC transformed or simply an intelligent being in disguise.
+A landlord is convinced one of his tenants is actually a dragon disguised as a human. He wants the tenant out but is afraid to evict them himself. He wants the PCs to evict the tenant without causing damage to the building.
+A group of women are attempting to lynch a beautiful girl claiming she is a witch and that she has bewitched their men folk. None of the men folk are around, so the women are taking this chance to kill the girl. Is the girl a witch, a succubus or innocent?
+The PCs pass through an ethnic district and accidentally break several taboos, possibly resuling in their expulsion by a mob.
+Magic items in the PCs’ possession lose all magical qualities while in a certain part of town.
+An apparition of a drowned sailor has been seen going into taverns along the waterfront. It enters the tavern, goes to the bar, asks for someone named Penny, then leaves.
+As the party wanders, a surly fellow approaches: “We don’t like yer kind here!”
+A merchant approaches the PCs with a box. He is willing to pay above-average rates for deliery, but the box must be kept chilled and airtight. An inventive (or cruel) referee will have many ideas about what could be waiting inside if the box is opened.
+One of the PCs is invited to volunteer as a guest in a “smoke and mirrors” magic show. The PC fails to follow directions and exposes the trickery used by the performer, causing the audience members to become hateful and angry, and then rush the stage for a refund.
+One of the city wells has dried up. As the PCs pass the well, they can hear a scrabbling sound coming from inside it.
+A daily stagecoach fails to arrive. Do the PCs investigate?
+A half-orc sells kittens by the roadside. Do the PCs investigate?
+One of the PCs is able to outperform a local performer. This shames the celebrity, who then forms a hatred for the PC and begins to find ways to save their own reputation while bringing down the PC.
+An explosion occurs in a tower owned by a solitary wizard. Someone should make sure he’s okay, but is it wise to disturb a wizard who wants to be left alone?
+A man on a unicycle juggles three bags as he weaves through the crowd. He then crashes into a PC, possibly causing the character to drop or spill something.
+A man dressed in tweed with a bow tie teleports into the street, runs screaming across it, and teleports away.
+A guild needs a special ingredient or piece of equipment to finish their project in an annual competition. The PCs are hired to infiltrate a competing guild to steal said thing.
+A circus has camped just outside of town, and the locals are enjoying the show. One of the stars of the circus goes missing, and the circus master blames a prominent citizen of the town.
+Townsfolk gather for a hanging while the PCs spot a group of NPCs gathering behind a nearby building readying to rescue their falsely convicted friend.
+Citizens are scared to death of a creature ravaging the region. The creature is actually an escaped exotic pet that still carries the chains and tethers of its captivity, making it seem extraodinary when seen at night, from a distance or at a glance.
+The corner of a prominent temple has collapsed. The building was in good repair, there are no sewer tunnels under that corner, and there has been no authorized construction in or under the building.
+A little boy confronts the party and shoots them with an imaginary gun.
+The party stumbles onto an amorous couple, one of whom is married to a PC’s friend.
+The PCs are invited by the ruling party to a public religious ceremony. The person whom the PCs need to talk to is being sacrificed in the ceremony for the good of the community (to protect them from a monster, to abate an evil god, etc.).
+A famous adventurer was found dead outside the main gate and his body laid to rest in one of the temples. What’s he doing walking into the tavern? And why is he coming toward your table?
+A bunch of hombres wander around looking for a “waffle-house.” One of them is nursing a black eye.
+Two teenagers are racing wagons when one smashes into the front of a shop. You notice people carrying a pair of trunks out of another store down the street while the locals are distracted by the wreck. Should you alert the watchmen or deal with it yourselves?
+A wild-eyed zealot tries to incite a riot. If the party does not act quickly to calm the gatheing crowd they could get caught up in the violence. The fellow is calling for the overthrow of the authorities and a form of anarchy.
+A bee stings a nearby child who blindly runs to a party member for soothing.
+A thief makes sure he is caught pick the pocket of a PC. As soon as he is detected, he makes a break around the corner. He should take something relatively important to ensure the PCs chase him. The thief will lead them down a nearby alley, where his fellows are waiting in second floor windows to snipe out the party.
+Goods are going missing from stores in broad daylight. Owners have gaps in their memories, and if pressed, can be made to vaguely remember a kindly soul offering to help hide their more valuable items from thieves.
+While moving through a marketplace, a character notices an old foe watching him from a window of a building across the street. The old enemy quickly disappears when noticed, and before the character can go to investigate, something else starts happening with other members of the group nearby.
+The Scaly Schooner on the Fisherman’s Wharf explodes as the PCs pass by. Amongst the screams and fire, a badly burnt, wild-eyed man in scorched pirate’s garb stumbles over to the PCs and hands them an enormous red ruby. “It’s not the last one, but don’t seek the treasure!” he hisses at the PCs before collapsing at their feet.
+Every purchase made by a PC nets them extra change or additional items. Something on their clothing - a symbol, insignia, brooch - entitles him to these boons.
+A child is crying in a dark alley. If PCs decide to help the child, it attacks them with blood coered face and black eyes. Will the PCs kill a young and innocent child?
+On the night of the new moon for the past three months, two ships with black sails have put into the city port, arriving and leaving in the dark of night. None of the watchmen at the port have seen them discharge or take on any cargo or passengers. Tomorrow night is another new moon.
+PCs meet a bounty hunter at a tavern. They are asked to help him capture a villain holed up in a nearby building.
+The party evades the watch by means of an abandoned branch of the city sewers. They suprise a group of giant otters escorting a person to the river. Do the PCs fight or parley with the initially hostile otters?
+At a tavern, the party finds an immaculately dressed half-ogre (who is wearing clothing fit for royalty and a massive belt) challenging patrons to a drinking contest at a fee of 5 GP to enter and 1 CP per shot; the prize is 1,000 GP. The half-ogre’s belt is actually a Girdle of Slow Poison, which coupled with his high constitution, gives him an unfair advantage over the competition. The party must somehow get his belt away from him to win.
+The PCs are shopping during market day in a city when a preacher telling of the horrific doings of an oppressive government is arrested and forcefully taken away, screaming. Do the PCs intevene and risk being noticed by the city guardsmen and hunted down, or do they let this injustice slip to avenge the preacher another day?
+A foreign dignitary is murdered at an out-of-the-way inn and the dignitary’s escorts all suspect each another. As a group of objective outsiders, the PCs are brought in to investigate the murder when all they want to do is rest for the night.
+A merchant is whipping the bejeezus out of an intelligent talking mule who is desperately tring to explain that the load the merchant wants it to carry is too heavy. The merchant is too furious with the mule to listen, and the mule is stubbornly refusing to obey, which only makes the mechant angrier. The load may or may not be too heavy, but the beating is severe and getting worse. The mule appeals to the gathered crowd, watching and mostly silent, for help.
+A young man, who is obviously not an adventurer, claims he has a map showing the location of the cache of an adventuring group that went missing. He offers to sell the map to the PCs.
+One of the party has an allergic reaction to an exotic spice or pollen in the air.
+A merchant’s son decided to go adventuring and got killed. His adventuring companions refuse to relinquish his sword back to his family, although the family has a legal will documenting their rights to all his property. The PCs have been contracted to recover the boy’s possessions.
+Rats have been seen exiting the sewers in large numbers in one section of town. Sewer worers have explored the region and reported nothing except an eerie calm and a feeling of being watched. The PCs find a homeless man, stripped naked and beaten, huddling near a sewer entrance and babbling that “the Master has arrived.”
+A chatty bard walks alongside the party repeating random bits of conversation.
+A small group of goblins wants to enter the town. They claim they want to settle down and open a tinker shop. Is this some kind of ruse?
+A geezer follows a young and handsome dandy wearing a sword: “Yeah, now yer talkin’, Roy!”
+A prominent businessman, known for being honest and good-natured, disappears. The PCs stumble across his body, tattooed with symbols of an evil deity and garbed in dark robes. Was he a cult’s victim or member?
+The boards in front of the general store creak as the PCs approach, but no one can be seen walking across them.
+A merchant is hosting a party and hires the PCs to find and furnish the main course for the feast. The problem is the merchant wants them to capture it and render it harmless so it can be slaughtered at the feast. But where do you find a basilisk, and how do you make one harmless witout killing it?
+One of the party members steps in a pile of poo. Someone with wilderness lore can identify that the dung belongs to a dangerous predator.
+A cat stuck in a tree mewls at the party.
+As the party enters town someone crashes through the big window of the saloon during a brawl.
+A door bursts open as 2d6 drunks fill the street in a fist fight.
+The characters pass a storyteller who seems to be describing the party’s current adventure. The names have been changed, and the storyteller claims it is just a story, but is it? Does the story contain a clue that the party needs, but perhaps overlooked, or is the clue a red herring?
+The sheriff holds off a lynch mob intent on dragging away his prisoner.
+A rival’s henchman the PCs defeated is now being made to fight every night in the pits as a punishment for failing his master. Do the characters rescue him from certain death, or enjoy a night at the games betting on how long he lasts.
+Kali, a common low-life, murdered a family of dwarves several months ago. Since then, he has been making a lot of money selling the supply of explosives they kept in their store. Now, his supply is running out and he’ll do anything to find someone who can unlock its secrets.
+The PCs encounter an angry guard at a merchant stand. After a few harsh words, the guard draws his weapon and kills the merchant. Should anyone be caught staring at the scene, the guard reacts rashly, threatening observers, maybe even killing one or two. If the PCs challenge the guard, they will be persecuted by the law. No one will testify on their behalf for fear of the same oucome.
+As a PC enjoys food at the market, several children run up and gather around, hungrily eyballing the food the character is eating.
+The most renowned chocolateer in all the land has gone missing. The rewards for his safe return are substantial and posted all over town. His wife claims something large came through the roof and snatched him away in the middle of the night.
+As the PCs catch a pickpocket, the thief tries to plant a bauble in their pockets instead of stealing. As the PCs interrogate him, he turns invisible while a small cloud of smoke hides his tranformation (or other bizarre description hides his escape) as town guards come to apprehend the thief.
+A group of well-intentioned necromancers are dedicated to performing a ritual to animate
+the dead corpses in a city graveyard to act as public servants. The question is, can they control this magic or will it be a hazard to everyone? And will the society react well or will there be public outcry as their long-dead grandparents take out the trash? The PCs can try to convince the necrmancers to stop their ritual or slay them. If they cannot do either of those, they’re in for a treat of either rioting citizens or mobs of uncontrollable undead unearthing themselves from their graves.
+A large house on a hill in the city has been unoccupied for years but is perfectly maintained. Occasionally, eerie blue lights are seen glowing in its windows. When teenagers dare each other to go into the house one of them disappears.
+A man the PCs know is found murdered in his room. The only evidence of the killer is an acient symbol of a cult painted on the wall in the victim’s blood. Upon investigating further, the vitim left a note hidden before he died, located in the pot of a rose plant down the street at a flower shop. When they get to the shop to get the note, they find out that all the plants and flowers have been sent to a wedding taking place nearby. When they get the note back (however they pull that off) they will get more insight to this small but deadly cult operating outside of town and they must shut it down before anyone else gets killed, and to avenge their friend.
+An amateur bard’s music is so terrible that anyone who listens to it gets a screeching heaache. The bard is vain to the point that he thinks he’s a virtuoso, and refuses to believe he’s the cause of so much suffering. The innkeeper offers free food and lodging to the first person who can get him to change his tune.
+The PCs are approached by a beggar girl, who pesters them for money. If they refuse to give her any money, she begins to cry and several large men claiming to be her family emerge from a side-street and accuse them of molesting the girl and demand compensation. An unsympathetic crowd begins to gather and the city watch is nowhere in sight.
+When the PCs arrive, people are afraid of one PC. They run away, close their shops, scream. The PCs are then approached by the guards and thrown in jail.
+While walking to town a PC stumbles and falls into an old mine shaft and finds a corpse holing a map. The maps leads to quick treasure but is guarded by a villain.
+The Overlord challenges everyone to recover decorative tiles that bear parts of a message. It concerns a future quest to a neighbouring town’s temple. The party runs afoul of a competing party of searchers.
+An orphanage has caught fire, and most of the children are trapped inside. The building is threatening to collapse, and the cries of children can be heard, even over the roar of the flames.
+The PCs are contracted to get a rare item in a city but learn its owner is offering it as a rward in a tournament. Do the PCs lie their way into the tournament so they can win the item, or do they try to steal it from under the entire town’s nose?
+A young woman is in the middle of the walkway on her hands and knees. She seems to be deperately searching for something. There is a pair of glasses at the party’s feet.
+A house cat is in the tree. It is not distressed. In fact, it looks like it is stalking someone, about to pounce on the party or some other unwary traveler.
+A few sun bleached papers blow by. Soon after, a harried scribe runs past. He offers a copper piece to recover any of the papers.
+Upon arriving in town, people stare at the party from every window, door, balcony and street corner. Someone offers a funny insult, and soon everyone is gutting themselves, laughing at the PCs.
+A PC surprises a peeing drunk who jumps and starts hitting the PC’s shoes.
+In a store window, a living mannequin sneezes, swears, and gets back into character.
+A little kid asks the party what they are doing in town. A shadowy figure hides nearby, whispeing into the air at no one.
+A hat rolls along in the wind. In the headband is sewn a map. The hat is covered in dried blood.
+A dog slinks up to the party and begs for scraps. A bloody mark has been carved into its flank. The mark might be a clue or cult symbol or just a warning.
+A group of young nobles are racing horses through the streets and nearly ride down the charaters. The nobles are arrogant, rude and more than slightly drunk. How the party handles this sitution will determine how well they are received by the various factions in that city.
+A bride and groom ride down the street in a horse drawn carriage. The horses suddenly rear up and the cart threatens to topple. A terrified goblin tries to dodge flailing hooves. Do the PCs go to the cart, horses or goblin?
+Someone is targeting prostitutes the PCs have had dalliances with. They soon become unwecome in the local fleshpots and may become suspects in the investigations of the local gendarmes.
+The Curling Shovel tavern is not the wealthiest in town, but it does have a base of returning customers. This is despite their lacklustre swill and dog trough meals. Something must keep all those patrons coming back, but what is it and does it have anything to do with the nightly gurgling noises heard from the sewers beneath the kitchen?
+While exploring a foreign city mostly populated by different race, a character is approached by a group of folk of his own race. They seem to spread out as if to surround the character while the leader demands, “What brings you to our fair city?”
+Members of the Ladies of the Night thieves’ guild target the most handsome male in the party. Each year a contest is held to pilfer the most expensive item from the handsomest stranger in town. Not only does the victor thief win a large sum of money, but a night with the robbed gentlmen to boot!
+Every time the PCs enter a building, an alarm is triggered. The alarm is accidental or is trigered by something the PCs do or carry. The town guard become irritated by the locals crying wolf and eventually stop coming when the PCs set off the alarm.
+A drought wreaks havoc in town. The PCs are asked by a medicine man to help locate water using his tools. Once the water is found bad guys show up to break the water supply or steal the tools.
+A small child steals something from a PC. It runs away to a big bad guy and gives this thing for food.
+An apocalyptic street preacher has been predicting the weather and minor events with unering accuracy. As the PCs pass by one day, they hear him predict an important person’s death.
+One of the PCs is grabbed from behind and taken hostage by a robber being pursued by the city watch.
+People in a small town are nervous about news of a massive army heading in their direction. People are panicking and leaving the town. Rumours circulate as to the appearance, traits, horors and evil this army does. Upon investigation, the PCs find out these rumours have been going on for some time, and usually perpetuated by an old geezer who supposedly saw this army first-hand when he was young and fought them in person. Following him will lead the PCs to a secret meeing with the old geezer and a prominent man who is trying to scare the entire town away so he can claim it all for some richly gain (gold or treasure buried underground, a hidden mine rich in veins
+of silver, a magic artifact long disappeared there, hidden catacombs containing a evil book or gem).
+The party spots a crowd forming in a large marketplace. It turns out that members of two or more rival mage guilds have literally bumped into each other, and harsh words are being said. There is a real possibility this could break out into a fight, especially since the city watch is nwhere to be seen.
+The youngest member of your group angers a patrol of the city guard, and is chased down Gerdil Lane, well-known for its seamy inhabitants. Now it’s a lynch mob! How to rescue him and avoid attracting the ongoing hostility of the patrols?
+A flock of chickens peck at the street. Upon investigation, it seems they are eating small gems.
+A party member gets a dull, throbbing headache. Then they find a small doll on the ground resembling the PC with a pin in its head.
+A rubbery mass sticks to the boot of an adventurer. It seems to be a doughy figure resembling a noble.
+A round-faced boy is looking for his pet frog, Trevor. The PCs hear a croaking noise coming from a building where several thugs lounge out front.
+A wandering crazy man runs up to you, slaps you on the back yelling “Tag!” then runs off. A food fight breaks out in a nearby eatery.
+A bored guard walking a beat spots the PCs and enquires about their business. He fishes for information he could sell to certain folks he knows.
+The Sheriff stands on his soapbox entreating the townsfolk to form a party (becoming deptized) and ride after the “Hole in the Wall Gang.”
+A man being chased by the guard runs headlong into one of the party. As they fall together in a pile, the man plants an item on the PC. The guardsmen catch the fellow, beat him to a bloody pulp, and drag him away to the dungeon. When put to the question the fellow admits he planted the item on the character, so the city guard will soon be looking for the PC and the item. What is this item and why is it so important to the city guard?
+A plague of rats has befallen the best bakery in town. A fat and greedy wererat can’t resist nightly visits in rat form to gorge himself on the delicious treats. He has so far killed every cat and dog used to try and stop the monster rat.
+While exploring a foreign city mostly populated by different race, a character catches sight of a group of his own race nearby talking. One of them waves at the character in a friendly manner. The character moves through the crowd to go meet them, but when he arrives, they have moved on.
+An orphan tags along with the PCs, staying with them regardless of destination or present danger. With each passing day, another orphan joins the first. Even if killed, lost, or captured they always return. The PCs must discover the legend regarding the orphans and make an appropriate sacrifice/ritual to appease the curse and dismiss the orphan spirits.
+A dignitary was murdered recently and one of the PCs resembles the suspect.
+A group of laborers is having a loud argument with the person who hired them. They demand back-wages, while the person who hired them complains about their shoddy workmanship. Both parties stand in the middle of the street, making passage impossible.
+A boy is kidnapped. The PCs are asked to locate him. The only information they are given is the kidnappers are known to work out of a certain location.
+A streak of bad luck has hit town hard. People have been injured in accidents, fires, sicness. People report seeing a black cat near them before the accidents happen. Confronting the cat should be entertaining as trying to harm it will only bring bad luck to the PCs (bow strings break, sword slips out of hand and gets lost, shoes become untied, etc.). Catching it will be difficult as
+it is with any cat. Best thing to do is follow it and see where it goes, which will lead them to a big tree that the cat enters. The cat is actually a shape shifting spirit, a trickster, just having fun with the town. The PCs will have to pass a test or riddle or perform some task for the spirit to get it to leave the town alone.
+A young noble claims to be the dispossessed heir of the ruling family. When the guard come to question him, he claims the party can prove his claims to royalty are true.
+Part of the Old Town wall collapses, revealing a passageway descending to who knows where. Ah well, down we go. But the party meets (fill in your favourite enemy group from your campaign). A running battle up and down crumbling stairs ensues, until everyone falls into a rotting Great Hall, where a demon arrives to referee the battle. Fight the demon, fight your enemies, fight everyone, run away?
+PCs are caught in a fight between two rival gangs and are mistaken by both sides to be their enemies.
+A tentacled and somewhat eldritch horror approaches the PCs looking for investors in what appears to be a pyramid scheme, announcing from an unseen mouth that they can get in on the ground floor of a wonderful money-making opportunity. It promises a thousandfold return on any investment, and no ill will if the offer is refused, though it leans heavily on the PCs to accept its offer via partial glimpses of its true form.
+A flustered woman drops her shopping. A feral cat trails the party.
+A passing child drops her candy and cries.
+Two young nobles approach the noblest-looking pair of party members and demand the chsen PCs act as seconds in their duel. The PC seconds must negotiable the details of the duel. If the duel results in death, the seconds will be charged as accessories to murder, and the PCs may have to flee the city. On the other hand, if the duel is non-fatal, they could gain honor and respect by behaving in an honorable manner.
+While moving through a crowded marketplace, a character of short stature manages to run into a large passerby. The two collide and both fall to the ground. The larger pedestrian had been carrying an armload of packages, many of which were damaged in the fall.
+A large toad sits on a barrel outside a seedy tavern attended to by a swarthy twinkle-eyed peddler. He claims that one lick of his skin will reveal the path to great fortune. Any takers are overcome by visions of adventure, treasure, and glory followed by several days of serious illness.
+One benign item the PCs carry is considered taboo by the townsfolk. People either bow or kneel, avert their eyes, or leave the PCs’ presence when said item is brandished. The item the population revere was lost, stolen or destroyed at some point in the town’s history and it has now returned, thanks to the PCs.
+Gambling with the cronies of an unsavoury innkeeper is not always the best course. He accuses you of cheating, starts a rumble - with all the customers turning on you - and calls the guard. They decide to arrest first, crush next and question tomorrow.
+The city is abuzz with excitement and activity, as it won a contract by the King to create amour and weapons for an upcoming war. Everyone is busy working; it’s an economic boom for the town. The PCs encounter a blacksmith drunk at the pub who says he was fired and beaten severely for speaking out when he tested armour and weapons made from the metal given to the town, and found them to be weak and structurally unsound. They’ll last for a few hits, then completely fall apart! The metal has been sabotaged so the King’s soldiers will be decimated. The blacksmith atempted to inform the King’s advisor, but he would not hear of it, and the blacksmith’s guild fired him and beat him up for giving them a bad name to the King. If the PCs investigate, they discover evidence the King’s advisor is a saboteur for the enemy.
+Two sons of wealthy merchants are having a contest to see who can survive the most duels unharmed. One of them challenges a PC to a duel.
+A troupe of well-armed adventurers pass by chatting about returning to the secret location for the rest of the treasure tomorrow.
+A little kid falls in front of a charging stagecoach.
+A person with a clipboard tries to get the PCs to register to vote. Private guards flank a door and stare hard at the PCs as they pass by. Someone appears from then disappears into the shadows of an alley.
+A group of thugs are robbing the son of a rich merchant. The merchant son yells and offers a rich reward if the party will protect him from the armed robbers, but it quickly becomes clear these are not simple robbers and that something deeper is going on.
+A cart sells roasted rat on a stick on the corner. The proprietor looks surprised as someone in a suit strolls up to order one with teriyaki sauce. Suddenly, the rats animate and attack, using the sticks sticking through them to pierce people before biting them.
+The streets are choked with onlookers, entourages, and beggars all trying to gain the recently arrived Duke’s attentions. During the chaos, one of the PC’s prized possessions is pilfered. Later, as the Duke departs, the PCs spot him carrying it.
+The PCs are completely ignored by all of the citizens in the town. Unless the PCs get physical or destructive, nothing they say or do gets a response.
+A guard officer has lost his badge of office and must find it before the end of his shift. One of the PCs spots an orphan beggar handing it discreetly to another beggar through a window of a nearby building.
+[personName] is a trifle effeminate in appearance, but he doesn’t like to hear that from anyone other than his father, [personName]. Loose lips slit noses - that’s what he plans for you, unless you can convince him and his minions otherwise, and he is six foot seven tall.
+The festival is in town. A large circus has arrived and the streets are full of fun and joy. Many acts and harmless but entertaining magic amaze the people. Once they leave, it’s discovered that some people have gone missing - homeless drunks, prostitutes and children. Following the circus, the PCs won’t find the missing townspeople. The owner lets the PCs search around and question the workers; he has nothing to hide. An important clue is that one of the missing people had an unusual tattoo of their clan or faith on their ankle. A sharp-eyed PC will spot the tattoo on the ankle of a caged lion. The circus is using some kind of magic to turn undesirables from towns into circus animals for the show!
+A street fight gets someone thrown into a horse trough - a trough with a deadly water snake in it.
+A small child asks one of the party if that is a real [baseItem] they have hidden on them.
+Mimes have infested the street and try to climb invisible ropes in front of a clearly unappreciative audience.
+A trio of nuns plays jump-rope. A PC gets a glance under one’s habit and spots a pair of hairy half-orc legs.
+A salesman offers great discounts on holy water. A careful PC might spot an evil symbol tatooed on the salesman’s neck.
+A woman carrying a stack of books trips in front of the party and falls over, scattering her books everywhere. One of the books is on demonology.
+An old codger knows of “lots of great adventures” that are, unfortunately, all dead ends.
+A hawk dives out of the sky and snags a mouse near the party or perhaps attacks a PC’s famiiar.
+The party witness a jail break as someone pulls the bars out of the stone wall by tying them to his horse and galloping off.
+A shady character approaches the party and offers a deal: he will trade news for news. If the party agrees, they will tell a piece of information for a piece of information in return. If the party tells the complete truth, the information they receive in return will be the complete truth, but if they lie, so does the info merchant. The more the party shares, the more they stand to gain.
+After a long journey or adventure, the PCs return to a favorite inn or tavern. One PC is aproached by an attractive person and several children who have a striking resemblance, claiming to be the PC’s abandoned family. The family seems to know every intimate detail about the PC.
+A small, exotic-looking child follows the PCs around. Every time the PCs encounter danger or a sinister local, the small child is seen again in their peripheral vision - is this a warning of some kind?
+Geronimus the Seer isn’t a seer. He’s a visiting wizard with a nasty temper and a curious sense of humour. The toes of the party members begin to writhe and wriggle, one toe at a time. When the PCs catch on, what do they do? Geronimus is said to have a rotten temper if you resist his games.
+The end of the world is nigh! People in the entire region are flocking to the temples because of a large, bright omen in the sky. Priests, monks and religious persons offer conversions and relgious services around the clock as swarms of people wish to redeem their souls for the afterlife. The massive fireball in the sky inspires panic in everyone, even royalty, who are giving large sums of money to have their souls saved first. The PCs investigate and stumble on some interesting facts: 1) people before this omen were not that religious, temples were visited rarely; 2) priests were barely making ends meet; 3) the fireball does not move; 4) the fireball just appeared one night, and at about the same time all the priests, monks and religious people started preaching the end of the world. The PCs find a large structure, possibly afloat (like a big balloon), that holds the fireball. The plan was devised by all the religious factions to help bolster their flocks, faith, free labour, and of course, monetary donations to the churches. The plan is that, in a month, the object will disapear, the people saved by their religious turnabout, and donations will have to be kept up lest the object return again due to their lack of faith.
+The PCs are hired by a merchant to recover a valuable piece of jewelry. The merchant turns out to be a ranking member of the thieves’ guild and the jewelry has been donated to a good temple. Do the PCs recover the jewelry, or risk the ire of the thieves’ guild?
+A very friendly cat weaves in and out of one of the party members’ legs. It seems the cat has been painted, and it leaves the PCs “marked”. Are the characters now targets for something?
+Déjà vu: there is something familiar about all this. (Give the PCs a couple of results just bfore they happen, giving them the choice to take different actions.)
+A political candidate and entourage sweep through the street shaking hands and asking who you’re going to vote for.
+A dead ox causes a grid lock.
+A weary traveler is mobbed by adoring children. They keep asking him if “he found it yet.”
+A little kid approaches one of the party. “Hey mister, can I watch yer horse fer ya? Fitty copers!”
+An undertaker lurks nearby. He points to each member and correctly guesses their height and weight.
+Not quite looking where he is going, one of the party steps in a puddle...of blood.
+Kids playing hide ‘n seek get into trouble when they see something they shouldn’t have, and come running to the PCs for help.
+One of the party has an intense itch. It spreads to anyone he touches until cured.
+The characters are drafted into a posse as a group of armed outlaws have just robbed the tax collector, and the lawful authorities have the right to require armed freemen to perform this public service. If the characters do not step up, they will chase the outlaws for 2d6 days before the law enforcement officials give up the chase.
+A random party member is stung by a bee. They spot a strange man sitting on a step nearby, tracing the air with his finger, muttering to himself. Suddenly, he jabs a finger in the air, and then another PC gets stung.
+A religious festival celebrates the Goddess of Truth and Magic. While the priesthood are soemn, the rest of the revelers seem intent on having a good time. The PCs can afford to let their guard down, as the priests of She Who Sees can intervene before troublemakers, pick pockets or otherwise cause disturbance.
+A young man approaches the PCs claiming to be the real Sheriff of this area. He wants to deutize the PCs and send them into the nearby mine to investigate strange lights and missing cattle.
+A sewer worker is found after being lost for several days and claims he saw a lizard man leaing a monster on a leash through the sewers. The monster touched his lantern and it crumbled to dust. The lizard man left him to find his way out of the sewers, blind.
+Anyone drinking the water becomes ill. The sickness lasts for a few days and causes vomiting, aches, pains and delusions. Other towns in the area have also been affected. Investigating this, the PCs find out the same river flows past all the towns affected. The PCs must travel upstream to find the source of the sickness, which brings them to a coven of witches poisoning the water.
+An old-timer runs up to a random party member yelling “Dan? Dan! Ya ain’t changed a bit in nigh on ta 15 years. It’s like seen’ a ghost...”
+Dogs chasing each other run by. One of them gets vicious and a wounded dog turns on the next weakest thing it spots - a PC, homeless man, wife bringing home baking....
+A rich man is carried past in a sedan chair. A young man trots along, waving some kind of paper diagrams at the man, saying, “It is located here, in the heart of it, I am certain! I just need a loan big enough to put a group together!”
+A bad batch of purple hued fungus in the food has left the magistrate a little shorthanded as the guards are all bedridden. The PCs are asked to lend a hand until the guards are up and about. That night a rash of gnome thieves reign terror on the town, stealing anything not nailed down and leaving little clockwork surprises for the locals and the PCs.
+A bard recognizes the PCs and begins singing ballads about their various exploits. The PCs are soon surrounded by a mob asking for favors and blessings.
+A bunch of awakened rats have escaped a laboratory and, mad with pain, attack the first things they see: the PCs. Though insane, they are cunning, and one of them has developed sorceous powers.
+A candlemaker delivers a special batch of candles to a wealthy merchant who lives alone in a big house. The next night the house is robbed and the PCs investigate. Will they find out about the drugged candles?
+A capable-looking party of hired adventurers approach the PCs with intentions of a shake down for some quest item they hold. This is just one of the rival factions coming in to play.
+A chamberlain approaches the party, asking them if they will take a meeting with his unnamed lordship to discuss a well-paying job opportunity, urging secrecy and discretion, and naming the time and place once the parties agrees. The next day, when the party shows, no one is there. Upon investigation, the PCs discover the prospective employer (an ambitious nobleman) was assassinated during the night, and the city guard seems strangely disinterested in the entire affair. Later, the chamberlain’s body is found in their rooms and rumors begin to fly of the group’s involvement in the murders.
+A character needs to convert foreign money into local currency and tries to enter the money changer’s establishment. Heavily armed guards at the door will not allow entrance to those with weapons and armor.
+A city is in the grips of a famine, and its people on the verge of riot, starvation, or both, when the PCs discover the city’s government has secretly hidden a large stash of food to feed the army, guards and themselves.
+A cleric accuses the mayor of being a gold or silver dragon.
+A contact agrees to meet the group in the cemetery at midnight. Patrolling guards arrest the PCs for criminal trespass, hindering them.
+A dead author haunts a secondhand bookstore, vigorously defending the last remaining copy of his only published work - “Sentimental Songs for a Soporific Summer” from Vanity Press. The boostore owner would like his store back. He’d also like to know how the book got into his store, as he doesn’t remember acquiring the infamously bad poetry book.
+A disheveled beggar follows the PCs through the streets of the city. He hounds the PCs until he gets a coin or a boot to the backside. How the PCs react will affect a later mission, as the beggar is royalty in disguise.
+A druid is speeding up the growth of several trees, seeking to use their roots to subtly destroy certain buildings. Unfortunately for him, the PCs notice what he’s doing, and he has no choice but to attempt to silence them.
+A druid raises funds and awareness of the cause by day, and robs and kills the wealthy by night. He claims a desire to follow the laws of the city and work within the system, decrying the nighttime attacks as the over-zealous actions of well-meaning but misguided people. His goal is to sow confusion and fear, and ruin trade by getting rid of those who engage in it.
+A figure in a dark cloak and a thick foreign accent asks the PCs to deliver an envelope to the head of the city guard.
+A filthy child fleeing from an older boy with a knife runs into the arms of the party. If the party helps him, they are later ambushed by a large child gang demanding the release of the boy, who has broken some rule and must be put to death.
+A fire on the bridges near the docks district is raging out of control. How much and what can the adventures salvage or save? People, property, plunder or a plunge into the icy waters below?
+A fire, earthquake, flood, or other disaster threatens the city’s Great Library, home of hudreds of irreplaceable tomes, maps, and scrolls. The PCs are called upon to help rescue as many
+of the documents as possible. In the process, the rules about sections of the library that are nomally forbidden to all but a select few are relaxed, and the PCs may gain access to some forbidden knowledge.
+A foreign diplomat has been kidnapped, polymorphed into an goblin, and dumped in a rough part of town, outside the inn where the PCs are staying.
+A foreign mercenary captain approaches the PCs. He and his men have been hired by the lcal ruler to beef up the armed guard patrols at night, keep the peace and investigate rumours of a planned revolt. He could use a few more on his squad, and the party looks like a healthy bunch and not scared of a fight. How would they like to sign up for few a nights’ work? They’ll be well paid for the effort.
+A foul and under-dressed woman stumbles out of an alleyway, clamping onto the nearest PC, claiming desperately, with a foreign accent, to be lady or noble of some foreign country. It all looks rather suspicious and more like a scam than a cry for help. The claim is true, however.
+A friend of one PC ends up missing. The party discovers a shop dealing in cheap magic armor has leather armor with the same markings as their friend’s. They need to remove the evil cultists working out of the tannery.
+A furious hill giant materialises in the town square. Can the heroes calm it or get it out of town with a minimum damage to life and property, or must they fight it at large risks? How did it get here in the first place?
+A gang has been kidnapping people and the party witnesses the latest attempt, with a little girl as the victim. But the party has a choice to make when the girl starts slaughtering the gang. Rakshasa are dangerous and not much concerned about collateral damage. Do they help the gang, flee, or fight only after the gang is beaten?
+A giant slug enters the alchemists’ district, creating confusion. It is a possible source of new potion ingredients, too, so the alchemists ask the PCs for help capturing the creature.
+A goblin has broken into an alchemist’s shop. The alchemist hires the PCs to stop it before it accidentally blows the place up.
+A group of ethereal filchers appear and begin stealing things only to place them in unlikely places (up a tree, swapping items on different people’s carts, inside a person’s backpack, down sewer grates and the like). The filchers are hired to cause chaos in the marketplace.
+The PCs are asked to keep tabs on a group of foreign diplomats (whether overtly, by showing them around, or covertly, by spying on them). The alleged diplomats’ behavior is so bizarre and ofensive, however, that it seems impossible to believe these are truly their native customs.
+A dark cleric is seen riding through the city with someone unconscious draped across his horse. Then the PCs learn about a kidnapping the next day. Do the PCs investigate this lead, which is just a dangerous red herring?
+The PCs are contracted by the neighbourhood leader to get rid of a werewolf and her minions who are terrorizing the locals. During the battle, the werewolf makes the group an offer: the gift of lycanthropy and the knowledge to use it, as well as the spoils from the town if they will join her. Leave the decision for the group to make as individuals and a group, as some may join and some may not. Do the members who join kill those that don’t? Ah, the possibilities.
+A group of town guards confronts the party demanding they present their belongings for search. The guards are responding to the claims of a poor peasant that the PCs have robbed him of his mother’s silver comb. In truth, the peasant is part of the thieves’ guild and is hoping when the guards search these travelers belongings he will spot riches for him and his friends to steal later that day.
+A hallucinogenic substance is released into a crowded place. Some people attack, some wader aimlessly into danger and others start hurting themselves. Who do the PCs help first?
+A historian at the university with a reputation for eccentricity has barricaded himself in a tower and refuses to come out, having uncovered something in his research that he believes would make him a target of a powerful group. The PCs have to talk him out, and in the process, learn the alleged secret in case his claims are true.
+A huge hole opens up at the centre of the city taking the largest temple with it. Rumours of dark rites abound and now strange, misshapen creatures crawl out of the hole wearing the robes of the temple’s clerics.
+A kobold smuggling illegal toxins into the city crashes into the PCs, sending his wares flying. The PCs must catch him and then work with him to develop antidotes, which are still in develoment.
+A large group of guards chases a terrified peasant who slips a torn book into one of the PCs’ pockets. Upon examining it, the PC finds the book is actually a noble’s diary, containing all of his personal secrets and aspirations.
+A lion escapes from the circus ten minutes before its big act. The PCs have to capture and return it, without knocking it unconscious.
+A neighbourhood home reputed to be haunted is actually infested with air elementals from a previous owner’s magical experiments, which to a non-expert observer could seem to mimic ghosts.
+A lovely NPC flirts with the least charismatic character. If a romance blossoms, then the day before the party leaves, the NPC will take off with whatever valuable item they can get away with. Getting it back will be an adventure in itself.
+A man, dressed in leathers, claims to be a doctor and capable of curing various maladies at a fraction of the market price. The PCs, if daft or desperate enough to take him up on his offer, will be anaesthetised or given sleeping potions. They are then robbed of their cash and other valuables (possibly including plot items) and thrown into the river. The doctor may be found living a few streets away.
+A man, dressed in the latest styles, offers the characters illegal or evil weaponry. He is a bagain, but if the characters accept, they may be tracked down by the law or good forces.
+A mighty construct guards an important building (the treasury, the mint, the palace) and is controlled by a magical device held by an official. When the construct simply walks away one day, is it a case of theft (and if so, for what purpose?) or has the construct acquired a newfound indpendence?
+A minstrel wanders, singing a ribald song about one of the PCs and the wife of the Sheriff. Inocent fun, or is someone trying to get the PC?
+A mob boils down the street in pursuit of a weak-looking man or woman.
+A noble’s tomb is found opened, the sarcophagus lid removed, and the body missing. Upon investigation, other bodies are missing from other graves in the same cemetery. The caretaker is being accused of grave robbing, but he swears he is innocent.
+A notorious villain is finally captured (perhaps by the PCs), brought to justice and executed. His body is displayed as a warning to others. When the body disappears sometime later, there are fears the villain has come back to life or that some necromancy is in the works. Or were the rmains simply taken by his family, seeking to give their loved one a proper funeral?
+A parade complete with Chinese dragon winds down main street. The dragon contains assassins who strike and flee into the crowd.
+A person dressed in strange clothing falls from a building and lands near the PCs, injuring his leg. He asks for help, as the sound of angry voices can be heard headed his way.
+A person runs through the market shouting Thief! Thief! The city guards chase after this peson. The one shouting has a bloody knife in their hand.
+A pickpocket steals something of value to one hero. As he runs after the thief, city guards arive and arrest another party member, while a third is charmed/confused/geased by a spellcaster. Someone is trying to separate the party, but why?
+A pie vendor offers a free serving of his new “fiery hot meat pie” to any brave enough to taste it. Aside from being incredibly spicy, one of the magical ingredients of the pie will make some unlucky individuals filled with a nearly uncontrollable rage. Those who suppress the rage tend to expel fiery flatulence a couple hours after eating.
+A popular street performer is brutally murdered in broad daylight by a stranger. When apprhended, the man breaks down in tears, babbling that he didn’t want to kill her but he had to.... What possessed the man to commit such a crime?
+A priest in the group is approached by a couple who wish to be married in secret, allegedly because the match is against their families’ wishes. Will the PC perform the ceremony and risk the wrath of angered parents, or deny the course of true love?
+A jail breakout disrupts the PCs’ downtime in town. As the newly freed prisoners riot through the streets, the PCs come face to face with the villain they helped lock up some time ago. He’s got himself quite a following since being locked up.
+A noble’s mysterious new lover is a succubus. The twist is the demon is not preying on the noble and is instead using its powers against the NPC’s unsuspecting enemies.
+A raccoon runs out the back of a shop holding a human hand in its mouth. The shopkeeper doesn’t appear alarmed, though the other customers aren’t quite so blase.
+A rain of blood/frogs/stones falls while the party is in a busy thoroughfare.
+A rare cockatrice egg has gotten mixed into a market shipment and sold to an innkeeper. Anyone who eats it is liable to turn into stone! Trouble is, there are 13 taverns in the city and it is almost time for breakfast....
+A recent upsurge of rodents, checked only by the rat catchers, causes damage and spreads disease. However, the catchers are actually a gang of upstart beggars and thieves whose leader can somehow control rat swarms to steal and intimidate shop owners. How do our heroes stop this meace and still deter a spreading plague?
+A rich merchant has lost a precious pendant down one of the street drains and offers anyone nearby a substantial reward for its return. (This could also be a ruse and some thieves are attemping to lure otherwise honest folk into the sewers to get mugged or captured for selling into slavery.)
+A rival needs time to complete his plans or plot, so he hires a kender to hang out with the party for several days to hinder the group.
+A rough and tumble gang of street urchins picks out a random party member and follows him about town, hurling coarse insults (about the PC’s race, class, place of origin, hair color, etc.), roten fruit, trash and the occasional rock, in an effort to provoke the party member. If challenged, they will flee to safety, but will return to continue their harassment later. The gang’s leader is the son of the Captain of the City Guard, so it will be dangerous for the PCs to get violent.
+A runaway wagon/Toyota with a bad accelerator barrels down the street.
+A series of shouts and screams alerts the PCs to an unfolding disaster. A molasses (or syrup or even beer) factory’s holding tank has collapsed, and massive amounts of sticky liquid (hundreds of gallons!) are rushing out and down the street, putting people at risk of being crushed, drowned or smothered.
+A serving girl assumes the role of a vigilante to seek revenge on the town watch. After investgating, the PCs can attempt to capture and turn her in for the sizable reward, or join her crusade.
+A ship that set off on a voyage of exploration many years ago, and was presumed lost, has rturned to the city’s port. However, no one seems to be aboard, and superstitious sailors are calling it a ghost ship.
+A sign hanging on the gate to a large mansion reads, “Gardner wanted: applicants must be tough, fearless, resourceful and provide their own weapons and armor - orphaned adventurers prferred! Apply within.”
+A small girl attempts to sell flowers to passersby who act as if she doesn’t exist. The PCs might be tempted to do the same, except the flowers are unlike any that grow in that country.
+A small infant monster climbs into the PCs’ wagon/saddlebag/backpack to hide from the town guard, who are hunting it down to kill it. When discovered, it befriends the PC and calls them mama.
+A small magical mishap from a wizard-in-training causes the PCs to relive the same day over and over again (ala Groundhog Day). The wizard has disappeared and now the PCs have 24 hours to find him and remove the curse before they must start the day all over again...and again...and again.
+A small, misshaped goblin rogue named Nerpal (nicknamed Pickle due to his overly green hue) discovers a bracelet near the entrance to an old abandoned manor house in the Residential Ward. The bracelet is two snakes, the tail of one in the mouth of the other, and it has the ability to turn the wearer into either a viper or constrictor, equal to the level of the wearer, plus other propeties, yet to be discovered. Nerpal discovered the shapeshifting capability and uses the bracelet to get out of trouble.
+A smelly, downtrodden man wearing the holy symbol of the group’s cleric approaches the party. When he sees the cleric shares his faith, he invokes a little-known holy right that compels the cleric to take him into his care.
+A stranger stumbles up to the PCs in a marketplace or tavern, utters a single phrase in a laguage none of them understand, and dies. They may have to consult with sages or other members of the stranger’s community to translate the words and learn what message was being delivered, if any.
+A sudden thunderstorm breaks out over the city and everyone scrambles for shelter. The PCs end up on the porch of a temple with a bearded man in long robes, who is looking intently at the black skies and seems to be muttering magic words.
+A talkative person thinks they grew up with you and starts a long, drawn out conversation.
+A thief steals something from a market stall. A guard notices, runs up, and arrests a different youth who was standing near the stall and looks nothing like the thief. Was there a crime commited the PCs didn’t notice, or is there something personal between the guard and the youth?
+Shattered, a thousand shards of crystal and gold, lying in the gutter, glistening in the first rays of dawn. “Them’d be ours,” says the largest (and ugliest) of the group of thugs standing at the end of the ally.
+A trained wyvern mount has escaped its owner and discovered city dwellers are easy pickins. The owner wants the party’s help in capturing the wyvern without killing it and without scaring it off into the wilderness never to be seen again.
+A troupe of actors and artisans has come to town and crossed your path. They ask you to join them in a bit of an impromptu show for the locals. Have the PCs perform skill checks to earn an extra bit of coin.
+A troupe puts on a play that romanticizes a normally dangerous monster. Teens are going mising after each show. What is really going on?
+A pretty herald tries to get the party to join them in an inn tonight. When the party arrives, the inn is packed with patrons that, in the end, don’t turn out to be patrons, but some shapchanging monsters preying on the party.
+An upset librarian seeks a group of adventures to get a book returned to him. Doesn’t seem like a big deal until the librarian tells the group the book was taken by an insane wizard who was mumbling something about raising an undead army. The book: How To Bring The Dead Back To Life.
+A victim of an apparent drug overdose is found in an alley, with a button bearing the symbol of a prominent noble family clutched in his hand. Was it an accidental overdose or a murder? And to what lengths will the family go to conceal their involvement?
+A vigilante is brutally murdering suspected crime figures. A merchant wants to thank him and tries to hire the heroes to capture him and bring him to dinner. This is obviously a setup...or is it?
+A well-behaved dog starts following the PCs around town. It can execute all sorts of complex tricks, and will follow the party even if they try to get it to leave (if only at a distance). Before long, the PCs are confronted by the dog’s owner and the town guard and accused of dog-napping.
+A witch puts a curse on city inhabitants where their souls are put into frogs. The witch orders her minions to step on all frogs, causing people to disappear.
+A woman in rags bursts from a nearby alley, city guards in hot pursuit, and slams into you. Deperation on her face, she throws a small cloth-bound bundle into your hands and gasps, “Protect the Kingdom. Don’t let them get this!”
+A woman wearing clerical robes stands in the street shouting about the gods. A priest from a nearby temple approaches her, and a physical altercation begins.
+A wrong turn during a city festival places the characters dead center in the path of a classic “bull run” already in progress. Better hope you can outrun angry animals.
+A young gentleman asks the PCs for help in locating his younger sister. He was not supposed to take her into the city (especially not the seedier parts!) but it was her birthday and she asked for the outing as a treat, only to vanish the moment he turned his back. He is reluctant to report her disappearance to the guards or his family, but was the girl abducted for some nefarious purpose, or did she run away of her own volition?
+A young girl struggles to carry two heavy buckets of water through the marketplace, despite being tormented by a pair of small monkeys who seem to be flinging pebbles at her. Off to the side, a pair of drunk gentlemen are placing wagers on whether or not she will drop the buckets before getting them back to her market stall.
+A young noble asks the PCs to take him on adventures. Even if the PCs refuse, he will try and follow. He is incompetent and a danger to himself and others, but his family is powerful, so it might not be a bad idea to let him come along.
+A young princess and magical sword are missing - the King’s own sorcerer flew away on a flying carpet with them. The sorcerer will try to get his youth back by sacrificing the girl to a huge snake while she tries to protect herself with the magical sword.
+After a day of shopping prior to leaving on a big adventure, one of the PCs returns with a child. The trouble is, they are being chased by a flying gargoyle.
+After a short and fatal scuffle with robbers in a bad district, cries can be heard in the ditance: “City guards approaching.” One bystander notes the party is now in trouble because killing inside the city is strictly forbidden, even in self defense.
+The PCs see a fight between three city militia and a trio of strangely garbed fighters. Then they see three mages, dressed similarly to the strangers, preparing to cast a spell on the fighting sextet.
+After heavy drinking bouts (adventuring is stressful work) one of the local bar heroes turns out to be a genius smith. For a small discount, he might help the PCs out in his particular area.
+“We agreed to 80 more today, not 40 today and 40 yesterday. Now either pony up, or scram, the deposit’s gone either way.”
+An abandoned building is reputed to be a site where a great evil once took place, and is shunned by the townspeople. In fact, the building’s basement contains a secret passage used by smugglers, who have spread the rumors of danger to keep their route hidden. But are the rumors completely false, or are the smugglers meddling with forces they do not understand?
+An alchemist, sound asleep in bed, awakens to pounding on his door. A man dressed in a black cloak, black breeches, and black, knee-high boots says he is the squire of a wealthy nobleman (the man does not provide the nobleman’s name) and his lord is in desperate need of 3 doses of the Potion of Whispering Darkness. Although the man offers to pay a price 10 times greater than nomal, the alchemist is concerned about the transaction because the potion requires the root of the fusharshia bush, a hallucinogen banned by authorities, and the possession of which is punishable by excruciatingly painful torture.
+An alien or uncommon species stands on a crate preaching that we should all treat each other like we treat ourselves. If pressed, he will teach that he believes all beings are reincarnated not just in space but also in time, and that we are all reincarnations of one being. He will be found at his current position for three days, by which time he either becomes bored or is arrested for cauing a public nuisance.
+An aspiring summoner loses control of something he summoned. The creature rampages through the city, but the party cannot kill it because it is a sacred vassal of the city’s patron god.
+An assassin is poisoning the guard dogs of a wealthy man when the PCs come upon him. Thining they’ve seen too much, he attacks.
+An assassination attempt is made on a prominent official, but it is clumsy and the official suvives, only to accuse a member of some group he wishes to see brought down (thieves’ guild, politcal radicals, a particular noble family) of the crime. Was the attack faked to discredit the official’s opponents, or was it a genuine attempt?
+An enemy has placed magical bombs throughout the city. The PCs need to find them and the enemies in the city in 24 hours.
+An influential merchant was murdered only a few days ago and now a strange disease has brken out in the poorer sections of town. Misfortune or malevolence?
+An iron golem with a gem burning in its chest steals from rich merchant’s homes in a spectaclarly noisy and destructive fashion and then vanishes into the sewers. The thieves’ guild wants this amateur stopped. Can the PCs figure out what’s really going on?
+A wealthy and attractive woman runs up to a PC exclaiming her husband has finally returned! As it happens, one of the PCs is the spitting image of a nobleman who disappeared under mysterous circumstances some time ago. Is the woman up to something or is she sincerely mistaken?
+An old beggar is a fixture of the neighbourhood, until he disappears, leaving only his faithful dog behind. The constabulary is unwilling to investigate, so concerned citizens ask the PCs to look into the incident instead.
+An old woman from the poor section of town wants an escort to visit her son on the well-to-do side. What is really going on here?
+An out of work shockboxer asks the PCs to sponsor him in the next city shockboxing match. After committing to the fight the boxer suddenly dies. The fight organizer, the leader of a crime syndicate, expects the boxer to show and threatens the characters with certain death if they canot find a replacement (see the movie Snatch).
+An urchin boy approaches offering to wash and water the party’s horses for some coin to help support his little sister. Unfortunately, while he has plenty of time to chat, his grooming efforts are dismal.
+An urchin runs past the least charismatic character, tripping on their legs, making a theatrcal schwalbe. The urchin accuses the PC of hurting him and gets lots of sympathy from a gathering crowd. After some time griping, the urchin and his mom will be content with a bribe. In the meatime, pickpockets target the rest of the party’s purses!
+The Queen asks the PCs to stop a riot between the guards and the townspeople without killing a single soul.
+Armed guards clear the streets in front of a long procession. A savage animal stands upright, wheeled on a rolling restraint cart and covered in chains. This bear-man has a steel-reinforced muzzle clamping his blood-stained jaws shut. You see the bars of the muzzle start to buckle and break; the nearest guards do not.
+As a diversion, bad guys have set up orphans chained to apple barrels selling apples. The apple barrels are loaded with explosives that detonate when the chain is broken or stretched to its limit.
+As the PCs return to town with their bounty-head, the townspeople meet them and demand they turn him loose. Included in the mob are the mayor, women and children. The sheriff who set the bounty is nowhere to be found.
+As the PCs walk the evening streets, perhaps heading back to their lodgings, they see a person standing near an alley get sapped over the back of the head by a hooded figure and then dragged into the shadowy alley. While watching the body disappear into the shadows they see the hooded figure look up at them and smile, a glint of light off a small set of fangs reflects in the moonlight. Does the group investigate?
+After tracking a pickpocket down, the PCs find he is a member of a gang of runaway and homeless children run by fear and intimidation by a high ranking member of the ruling class. Do the PCs help the children or do they leave them to their fate.
+Beneath the city are a series of ancient catacombs filled with the bones of hundreds or thosands of people buried centuries ago. When undead suddenly begin emerging from these mostlforgotten tombs and terrorizing the city folk, the PCs are called on to fight them, and to ultimately to uncover who or what is creating the creatures in the first place.
+Dozens of bird flocks arrive every day. Soon, there isn’t any space available on any roof top. The birds are not aggressive, but they are eating gardens, plants and outside food, and making a lot of noise. All but the oldest storytellers have forgotten that, hundreds of years ago, the bird god’s avatar gave his life in a fierce battle exactly where the city has been built.
+A buxom tavern wench offers to take a party member back to her hovel. Once through the door, he’s beset by five burly sailors and a Master-at-Arms looking to press gang him to fill out a ship’s crew for a long sea voyage.
+Carriage horses seem to be going mad and running wild throughout the city, causing several fatal accidents over the last few weeks. If something isn’t done, the mayor will have no choice but to put down every mount in the city limits. Even worse, wasn’t that the PCs’ stop back there?
+Cart traffic in the city seems to have come to a jam. People and carts are crowded in the street and unable to move. Investigation points to two fighters dueling for their honor in the middle of a major crossroads. Both of them being noblemen and excellent fighters, no one wants to intefere, and it looks like they are set to keep it up for a few hours.
+Characters walking down the street see a girl suddenly surrounded by light and she starts to panic. There is something she holds tight in her hand and seems to not want to let it go.
+Characters pass a café with tables out front. Outside, various groups dine, relax or talk busness over a mix of beverages. Upstairs is rented and used by the mafia (think the legitimate busnessman’s club from ‘The Simpsons’).
+Coming to a walled city, the PCs find the city gate closed and dozens of fighters and mages laying around the gate dead or near dead.
+Drunken revelers spill out an inn into a public park and create a disturbance. They’re angry because new curfews have forced them to leave earlier than normal. What reason for these cufews?
+During a street fair, a firecracker display goes terribly wrong. Showers of embers come raining down, starting a series of small fires in various places - thatch roofs, clothing strung on lines, straw in a backyard animal pen. Can all the hot spots be found and doused before the fire gets out of control?
+A PC notices the statue of a local hero is the spitting image of another PC. How can they eploit this?
+E’maal, a city scribe and part time messenger, approaches the party and gives one member a parchment. E’maal doesn’t know who sent it. Instructions on the parchment leads the group to go to a nearby store. The party member slowly becomes sicker and sicker due to a curse placed on the parchment that acts like a virus. Anyone the PC gives the parchment to gets a copy of the parcment and the original teleports back to the giver.
+Each year the city holds a festival of strength to commemorate an ancient battle or the death of a great hero. Various monsters are imported or summoned for the combatants to pit themselves against - but one escapes and rampages through the streets.
+An earthquake reveals an evil temple with an unknown tomb. An inscription tells of the rise of the occupant on the next full moon. They need to go in and stop the evil before it destroys the town.
+“I’ve been told the mayor put you in charge of the defence of the city _and_ the populace. Lucky you. The situation is rather simple: the Army of Gut-Fang is three hours away with 2000 or so well-armed orc warriors. Our 1000 troops are two hours to the south, there are 200 men here in the garrison, it’s going to take at least four hours to get the 4000 refugees into the city, there are 3000 people in the city, we have food for week, and water for two weeks. The orcs will probably besiege us for a month, assuming they don’t come over the remains of the wall.”
+Every new worshipper gets a free Continual Light globe. Upon their arrival in town, the party’s cleric heads to the local temple of his deity to pay his respects. He finds the clergy in chaos, as the people are leaving the church in droves to worship at a new temple dedicated to the revival of an ancient god. It’s all out battle to win over the faith of the people.
+Every NPC the PCs encounter seems to recognize one or all the PCs as a relative to one of the high ranking nobles. The nobles can be good and NPCs expect handouts, or the nobles can be bad and NPCs shrink away as the PCs walk about town.
+A rash of arson has the city fire brigade recruiting. Also, catching the arsonist wouldn’t hurt.
+A blind flower girl selling her flowers, 1 copper each, displays a few rare breeds. The flowers could have magical properties, be a valued spell component or be a deadly poison. The thing his, the flower girl is a sorceress who will try to lure the PCs in a trap if they follow her in the wood where she ‘gathered’ the flowers.
+Good citizens are sleepwalking and committing acts of crime. Is it something in the water? A spell?
+The group stumbles across a halfling running a 3 Card Gnoll game in front of a tavern. PCs ntice he is cheating and has racked up quite a sum against unsuspecting town folk. They also notice another suspicious character eying the halfling’s ill-gotten gains.
+A baby is growing 10 times faster than normal. Some folks believe it is a sign from a god, while others believe the baby to be under an evil magical influence and threaten to kill him.
+Guests who stay at a dockside inn sometimes disappear forever from their rooms in the middle of the night. Rumors suggest that press gangs and murderers are active in the area, but the inkeeper is adamant he runs a safe establishment and asks the PCs to solve the mystery.
+A dark stranger approaches the party. He is a litigant with a charge of malconduct on the part of the PCs. Real, or imagined - carrying a concealed weapon, a bad magic item, an ancient curse that haunts their steps, a badly disposed of undead follows them like a diseased puppy, not greeting some town dignitary in the proper way, failure to declare certain illicit goods at the gate, trading without a permit, looking lustfully at the daughter of a dignitary - anything to get the PC to court. There, it is revealed that besides the one charge, one of the PCs is also the suspect in a famous murder case (preferably the rogue-type character). Now they have two problems on their hand.
+In a crowded bar or restaurant, the PCs manage to offend a wealthy noble by sitting at his usual table. Can they smooth things over, or does it escalate into violence?
+In a crowded market, a trio of horsemen gallop through, smashing carts and forcing people aside, even trampling those who are too slow. They shout “[personName] is dead! Long live [personName]!”
+In a crowded marketplace, a young woman calls for help because her necklace has been stlen by a clever pickpocket. However, this is a scheme to allow her to unobtrusively pay off a debt incurred to a mobster, and the necklace was never actually stolen.
+In a crowded square a stranger shoves a sealed package into a PC’s hands, saying, “Finally I found you, you know what to do!” The stranger disappears in the crowd leaving the PCs to wonder what to do with the package. It may contain something horrible or valuable or is just a confusing trinket.
+In a nearby alley, three thugs look to be assaulting a woman. In reality, they are a group of rogues luring would-be rescuers into their trap.
+In a park you come on a couple of people playing a game of chess or some other game of metal skill.
+The gambler PC hears of a racket with a race, where all the participants are being drugged slightly to give the edge to a low-placed racer. The bets are paid 1 to It is, however, a false story spread by a bad bookmaker to cover bets against a star racer.
+To become a full-fledged member of the thieves’ guild, a novice thief must steal something noteworthy from someone dangerous to earn the respect of the other members. What if she targets the PCs for this task, not out of greed but out of admiration for their skills?
+In the Magic Market, a shady dealer offers to sell a party member an elaborately decorated Bag of Holding at a healthy discount that should put a wary buyer on notice. Unfortunately, a small, almost impossible to notice rip in the bag’s seam is actually a multi-dimensional hole that will suck anything placed in the bag into an astral void, where it is lost forever (short of a wish).
+In the midst of a city, trees and plants have begun to sprout spontaneously, taking over streets, plazas, and even whole buildings. A radical druid group is attempting to reclaim the urban environment for their nature religion.
+A PC spots a mummified hand necklace with a missing ring at a shop. The necklace registers as faintly magical, but the shop owner reveals it used to come with a specific ring. The necklace will, when coupled with the ring, work as a third ring slot. For a small fee, the shop keeper will reveal the former location of the hand to help the PCs track down the ring.
+In the square near where the PCs are staying is a homeless man. He is often catatonic or pschotic, but never drunk. Most people ignore or avoid him because of his outbursts. However, a few acts of kindness towards him - some food, a blanket on a cold night perhaps - will gain a PC a gift in return: a tattered map that shows the location of a hidden cache deep within the burial catcombs of the city.
+In this city, raising the dead is considered heresy because its people believe in reincarnation, and their faith holds that once a soul has moved on to its next life, to recall it will result in the death of its new body. This explanation is given when an infant dies without obvious cause, and the PCs are asked to track down whoever has committed this nefarious deed of raising the dead. Altenatively, the PCs might be accused of the crime themselves.
+A large cult has formed within the city limits. Membership soars while citizens around town have begun to disappear in disturbing numbers. The PCs may be searching for a single missing chaacter or many. The participants in the cult are devout followers and would sacrifice their own lives in the name of their new religion, though most are just innocent and good people. After breaking into the cult compound, the PCs discover that members are being slowly conditioned to drug-use, and eventually taken to the lower secret levels to become slaves. The slaves package drugs (to be sold by the evil temple leader) until they eventually die, and are discarded into a mass grave.
+It’s rag week at the Grand School of Magic. Exams have finished and the students can let their hair down. Anything goes as long as nobody gets hurt.
+It is late at night and before the PCs reach an inn they notice there is blood on every door in town. While none of the doors seem disturbed, a growling sound gets louder as the characters reach their destination.
+It is late at night and the PCs knock at the inn to get a room, but before they hear sounds of the owner waking, they smell smoke coming and see fire coming from within the building.
+It is late at night and the characters knock at the inn to get a room, but no one is answering even though all the lights are on.
+It is late at night and the characters knock at the inn to get a room. When the innkeeper finally opens the door, the PCs see he is covered by swarming spiders, ants or rats. He then falls at their feet and the swarm attacks.
+It is market day and nomads from all around bring their riding beasts to sell and barter. One of the mounts, a fine animal, goes berserk and rampages through the market. The seller offers the beast to whoever can stop it. Apart from the PCs, other adventurers try to stop the animal too.
+Notice goes out that criminals have escaped from the city dungeons. A reward for their cature is offered by city officials.
+Just when they need to get somewhere fast, the PCs run into a noble’s long and slow funeral procession that spans nearly half the city. PCs must get to the other side of the river of mourners without causing trouble or offence.
+A brewery holds a drinking contest where the winner gets a bottomless drinking pint and a cash prize.
+Giant rats attack the taverner’s daughter in the back alley. Hidden in the rubbish of the alley is a small locked box.
+The PCs are hired to obtain an item stolen from their employer by a rich noble. The noble is holding a grand ball at his estate, which should provide an excellent opportunity for the party get at the item.
+A messenger stops a PC on the street and gives them flowers from a secret admirer. They are the blooms of poisonous plants.
+Last year’s fad of pet alligators (or more exotic creature) resulted in many of the creatures being dumped down the privy or straight into the sewers. A couple of unsolved disappearances, and some strange sounds drifting up from the sewer grates at night, has the populous convinced that the abandoned pets are the problem. Is this just an urban myth or is there something sinister in the sewers? The city council hires the PCs to find out.
+Mrs. Hatchet hires the PCs to find her beloved puppy-baby-doggiekins, Poopsie, last seen ecaping into the park bushes after slipping out of his diamond collar. Mr. Hatchet would like to dicreetly bribe the PCs not to.
+The party members are bumped and jostled as they move through the crowded market during a celebration. When they reach their inn, one member discovers he has been robbed. Was it the beggar who pulled on his cloak or the striking dancer who teased him with a veil and a coy look?
+Near a pet shop, one of the caged animals displays a lot of anxiety over seeing one of the characters. The shop owner will notice and ask about the strange reaction. Then he tries to sell the pet to the PC.
+The city is rife with rumours as twelve graves at the cemetery are found dug up with the cofins open and empty. Have the bodies been raised as undead, and if so by whom and for what pupose? Or is there another, more mundane answer? The City Council is offering a lucrative reward to find out.
+Normally friendly and cooperative merchants of weapons have recently become reluctant to sell any silvered weapons or provide silvering for weapons. PCs hear rumours of wererat gangs uing intimidation and physical attacks against those merchants that refuse to stop selling or making silvered weapons. The characters then find a merchant willing to help - is he a former adventurer or a front for the gang to capture and kill do-good adventurers?
+A particular type of blue songbird is now all the rage as a pet among the city’s nobles. Even more fascinating is the fact that approximately 1 in 100 eggs sees a red version of the bird hatch instead. The crimson-colored avians are highly aggressive and dangerous versions of their peaceful blue counterparts. The PCs are asked to track down an escaped red version of the bird.
+On the death of the city’s ruler, the contents of his wine cellars are ceremonially distributed to the populace, resulting in widespread celebration and drunkenness. But if the ruler was posoned, perhaps there is some valuable evidence in those casks?
+On the outskirts of the city a kind elderly lady asks anyone who walks by if they’ve seen her nine month old lost kitten, Mittens, offering them some of her infamous “Travelers trail mix” and a old treasure map owned by her late husband as reward. All she knows is Mittens went missing in the shady section of town. (She also neglects to mention mittens is black panther that’s grown tired of table scraps.)
+The vendor the PCs happen to be buying from deals in illicit, forbidden and stolen goods. After making their purchases the PCs are tracked down. Can they prove they had no idea they engaged in illegal dealings?
+One of the citizenry grew up with a party member and is overjoyed to see them again. Surely a successful old friend can spare 1,000 gold pieces temporarily to feed his family/pay to have that curse removed/fund that amazing business opportunity? A group of thieves and an enchanter try to scam the party.
+A gambling-minded PC finds a local group that has more money than skill and is willing to lose to the PC as long as he is sociable.
+A perceptive PC notices a certain tree in front of their inn might be more than just a tree. It seems to be watching them. Why is nature watching them?
+One of the party is a dead ringer for a gang member who was supposed to deliver money to the thieves’ guild but has instead fled town with the loot. Convincing the guild the party member is not who they are looking for will not be easy, but maybe not as hard as the fight.
+Out late at night, the PCs see a fire beginning to spread up the walls of a popular inn. The PCs spot the likely arsonist fleeing the scene. As the suspect runs away, the alarm goes up that there are people trapped inside.
+A deliberately inept pick-pocket attempt on a PC by an apprentice serves as a distraction for a high level thief master, who pretends to aid the marked party member. The apprentice will flee if threatened; but if by chance the master’s pick pocket attempt is detected, five nearby thugs diguised as beggars will come to the thieves’ aid.
+The PCs witness a horse dying in front of a merchant’s shop they wanted to visit, blocking all access. The butchers who are supposed to remove the carcass take a long while to come. Meawhile, a representative of a new guild arrives and offers to purchase every shop in the street. This makes the merchant suspicious as he is likely to think it is the guild’s attempt to drive the prices down. Other traders in the street can tell about similar incidents that happened to them. They will gather and hire the PCs to shed some light on the matter.
+The PCs are hired to escort a tavern’s special brew to a private party across town. However, the thieves’ guild want it for their own soiree.
+The PCs come across a new game that seems to have it’s players in a thrall. Is this some curse or far realm mind game?
+A gambling den has a new twist on an old card game. Their version of War involves actual cobat to resolve the card game. The PCs are asked by a card player to act as “seconds” in the livcombat sections of the game.
+The PCs hear about heroes well known and loved in the area. The next day, the heroes happen to show up. Young women go crazy, older ones ask the heroes to bless their babies, the sick and weak reach out to touch them for blessings. When people ask the heroes their most recent achievment, they pretend to be responsible for the latest heroic act the PCs did.
+Rats have been overrunning the PCs’ favorite tavern and need to be eradicated. Where have they come from and what is to blame? Is it because of spoilt food stock in the cellar, the angry druid patron who was thrown out last week for not paying his tab, wererats from the sewers or wter elementals causing flooding after a failed arcane experiment.
+“I’ve never seen it before in my life.” “Sure”, says the guard, “some _other_ thief stole it yesterday, and hid it in your backpack for you to keep it safe....”
+A nearly forgotten religion now leaps in popularity. The decrepit church has a stained-glass window on its second level facing the street and, once a week, shadows in the shape of the relgion’s central figure appear in the window beckoning to the faithful. Are the divine appearances real or a ruse?
+Since the recent arrival of a dignitary and her entourage from a far realm, people have begun to feel ill and some of them disappear without trace day or night. All the PCs know someone who’s disappeared, and they set off to find out the location of the missing people. Will they manage to find out the ploy by the city council to kidnap people and carry out experiments on them whilst uing the regal visit as a cover for their deeds?
+Small sinkholes appear at night all over the city and no one knows why. A group of dwarves has discovered the perfect way to rob shops: bring the loot down to them. With plenty of holes and only some of the items missing, no one yet suspects a crime. Just one problem - one of the holes appears under the inn at which the party is staying.
+Some hapless citizen is harassed by ruffians. Will the characters step in to save this welknown, well-endowed, well-acquainted fellow so they can have him as a contact in the city?
+A shady character contacts the PCs on the street, inquiring whether they would like to aquire some illicit goods, such as forbidden metals, controlled substances or easy money. When they respond they are asked to come to an alley. After a deal is struck, the trap is sprung and the city guards will try to arrest the party.
+The PCs smell smoke. Rushing into the street, they see a building on fire with people trapped inside, The blaze spreads fast via wooden balconies attached to brick buildings, heading towards the PCs current digs, where their precious items are still stored.
+A strange, purple fungus from a nearby farm starts showing up in the local cuisine. It’s quite tasty and enhances the flavor of everything it is cooked with. The only ill effect is it gives a slight euphoria for an hour after eating it. That is, until the next full moon and everyone who has cosumed the mushrooms starts to act a little strange.
+“It’s quite simple sir, 30% of the value of all recovered goods for the state, 10% to the temple of Velenar, 5 gp per weapon in the city for transients, 1 gp piece for utility animals, and a one-off 20 gp adventurers’ licence, including a 5 gp late fee for post-recovery. Gate fees are, however, complimentary for licensed adventures. If you don’t have the cash, we can arrange for you to work off your debts to the public....”
+The adventurers are hired by a noble house to rid the Orc Quarter of a magical weapons smugling ring. Another party has the same goal, but different masters: intelligent ghoul thieves who want a bigger piece of the action.
+The adventurers stumble upon a priceless artifact - the magically preserved skull of a vampire lord. But can they survive the rival vampires who would be heirs to his throne, and a pack of haltroll, half-wolves charged with retrieving their master’s remains.
+The baron has hired the PCs to serve as security during his daughter’s twelve hour wedding ceremony, feast, and marriage consummation to the neighboring baron’s son (the entire ritual must be completed for the joining to be finalized). Unbeknownst to the PCs, the crime lord’s son is in love with the girl and a third baron hoped his son would be wed to her instead.
+An armored fighter walks up and drops a gold-plated dagger at a PC’s feet. The fighter says nothing but gestures for the character to pick up the dagger.
+The characters recognize the mayor’s daughter climbing out of a disreputable two-story builing.
+The circus arrives in town. A few days after, a reward is posted for the capture of exotic beasts that have escaped. Rumours circulate that the beasts were actually stolen by cultists that venerate them.
+The city aqueduct breaks. It is impossible to get dwarven engineers in to fix it because water wars have broken out.
+For a holiday, the city has a large scale scavenger hunt. The PCs mistake a coded time, loction and target scavenger hunt message as an assassination order.
+The city guard is drunk and disorderly. How to quietly subdue them without letting the bad guys know the town is unguarded?
+The city guard looks for two religious zealots reportedly to have come into possession of the King’s advisor’s spellbook. A young cleric and an old beggar approach the PCs asking for help in leaving the city by means other than the gates.
+The city has an ancient artifact - a large bell (perhaps in the highest tower of the palace, or the city hall or the grandest temple) that tolls on its own when a figure of major importance dies. One day it begins to ring, and the city falls into a panic - only to discover that all of the obvious candidates seem to be alive and well. Was it just a prank, has someone died and been secretly reurrected or replaced, or is there another explanation?
+The City Planning Department has been working overtime lately, upgrading and re-routing streets like crazy. It’s only when the odd storm starts to form over the City Accounting Department that anyone realises they have built a demon summoning sigil into the very stones of the city itself.
+A strange flying machine just crashed into the 15th floor of the Tower Of The Forgotten. The place is known to be haunted by the spirits of old wizards; a few guards went in but never came back.
+“Ah! He just killed my puppy!” exclaims the duchess, followed by the sounds of a dozen body guards drawing their weapons.
+A forest cleared for development reappears in ghost form. The spirit of a mad druid haunts the streets demanding a sacrifice.
+The group comes across a band of kidnappers tying up the governor’s daughter and placing her on a horse to her muffled objections. The governor is known as a huge jerk, corrupt politician, but very rich. Does the group intervene and rescue his daughter, do they dispatch the kidnappers and take her for themselves, or do they do nothing?
+The King’s son has run away to explore the wonders of the city yet again. Unfortunately, (pehaps because of some illegitimacy surrounding the PC’s birth?) one of the PCs just happens to be a spitting image of the run away Prince. Good luck convincing the guards when they find the poor PC; even better luck keeping his head once the truth gets revealed if they were playing along.
+The living water creature that attacked the rich matron and stole her jeweled necklace ecaped down a privy. Now it is in the sewers with its prize, lurking who knows where. Guess who gets to go down there and find out?
+Authorities have caught wind of a magic item smuggling operation happening in the city. While they are unable to uncover the truth behind these rumors, a new enforcer is transferred from
+a nearby city. He has heard the rumors as well and will help out, in a violent way. Every day he beats up all merchants that look suspicious to extract information from them. Both merchants and authorities want him gone as soon as possible, however he has the backing of certain influential people. Will the PCs help?
+The PCs have to destroy an evil weapon the bad guy was using to drain the life out of the town he was ruling. The catch is to get it across town to the wizard’s tower without touching it or they will be possessed by the evil spirits in the weapon. The bad guy’s cronies also plan an ambush.
+The party is present when a city is invaded.
+The party walks through a crowded area when a darkness spell blankets the area and people start screaming.
+The party catches a pickpocket. He is an orphan supporting himself and his sister, and begs for mercy from his captors.
+The party hears rumors of a daring break-in at the palace/bank/royal vault and arrive to find workmen on scaffolds apparently doing normal work. The workmen have proper credentials, but the party recognizes one member of the crew as a notorious criminal.
+The party is in a shop, buying their latest gear, when a commotion occurs outside. The shokeeper rushes out to investigate. Several orc prisoners being paraded through town have broken free of their chains. Will the party save the town from the orcish threat, or will they take advatage of the now empty shop with all its shiny baubles?
+The party is one of several freelance groups hired by authorities to act as extra security during an important gathering of political leaders. What seemed like easy money may cause the group an ethical or moral dilemma, as they are ordered to pacify peaceful protesters using deadly force.
+The party sneaks into a private home and are accosted by a female with a cast iron frying pan. The party must chase an opponent against the traffic of a parade or procession.
+The party spies an individual dropping off a package in a discreet but public venue. The pacage is intended as a ransom payment for kidnappers. The kidnappers are actually recovering costs owed by the victim to a third party.
+The party witnesses a known merchant bribing city guards.
+The party, while threading their way through an alley or dark lane, while pursued or in pursuit of someone, find a body that is still warm.
+The PCs are drunk celebrating at a carnival. A freak shows turns into a terrorist attack in diguise from mutants/zombies. Meanwhile, an evil illusionist is bewildering the entire crowd. Coplete mayhem reigns at the carnival.
+The PCs learn an assassin has been retained to eliminate a ranking government official. Suposedly, this official is corrupt and has been responsible for eliminating others above him in the chain of command, now making him second in power. Should the assassin be helped, thus saving the life of the benevolent ruler, or is this story a fabrication by someone with ulterior motives?
+The PCs receive a letter dated several weeks ago from someone whom they helped in a prevous adventure. It warns them that a group of suspicious people were asking questions about how to find them.
+The PCs return to their hometown for some much needed rest. It’s short lived, however, as reports of a ghost roaming the streets fill the air. After investigating, the ghost is revealed to be of one of the PCs somehow haunting its past. Can they stop their future death?
+The PC hear a strange noise going off. Following the sound they spot a weirdly dressed man leave a blueish, swirling gate under the arch of the porch of someone’s garden. He checks around casually, then proceeds determinedly in a direction to some place in the city.
+The PCs are hired to help evict deadbeat tenants from a cheap apartment building. The teants turn out to be a former world champion wrestler and his sorceress girlfriend.
+The PCs are relaxing in the local pub. They are disturbed when a guardian statue plows through the roof and reaches for the group’s mage (or thief).
+The PCs are struck blind by some enemy or force, and must find their way through the winding city streets to a temple, navigating by sound, touch, and smell, without falling victim to thieves (or worse) who would take advantage of their present state.
+The PCs are welcomed to a new city, when they discover from their host that one of them is about to be assassinated, but they don’t know who, and they are trapped within the city walls with the clock ticking down.
+The PCs follow an ancient map to a destination where a great treasure is said to lie, only to find that a town has sprung up on that very location in the intervening centuries, and the monment that marks the treasure’s location is now part of a lovely water fountain in the central square, its arcane symbols unreadable to the townsfolk.
+The PCs make it back to town and are resting while the neighboring clan of the one they just raided/killed has tracked them back and waits for the dead of night to spring on them.
+The PCs pass a flower-girl on the street. She sells tulips and sings rowdy soldier’s songs of bloody battles. If the PCs listen closely, they might just learn about a treasure buried in a battlfield near the city.
+The PCs see a gang attack a rich merchant in an alley. When they go to help everyone, incluing the merchant, turn on them.
+The PCs - out of money - decide to work for a waste-collector. On the bottom of one of the buckets they empty into his cart, one word is written: HELP.
+The PCs come across a tavern where an artist is trying to trade one of his paintings for drinks. The painting is truly bad.
+The PCs come across a wanted poster that perfectly describes them, but for crimes they did not commit. People are starting to point and whisper.
+The road beneath the PCs suddenly caves in and they drop 15’ into a ruined sewer. A mass of critters swarm over the trapped PC and his cohorts.
+The sewers and wells are infested with radioactive rats that poison the water supply. The costable hires the PCs to rid the town of the rats.
+The streets are not safe after dark for women any more. A sinister presence lurks in the shaows and appears to prefer preying on females. It seems to be invisible. It grapples its victims, squeezes the life out of them, then feeds upon them in some grisly manner before dragging the body to the river. What monstrous creature could be responsible, and how can anyone hope to catch something you can’t see?
+The Guard Captain, known to be a crook, asks the PCs for help finding his daughter who was kidnapped by the thieves’ guild. Will they help, since the Guard Captain has already demanded money to let the PCs enter the city?
+“I brought it yesterday, look here’s the receipt.” “So you’ve got one fake invoice, and I’ve got four witnesses who saw you running out of the shop without paying a single crown; you’re coming with me.”
+There are several notable mage guilds in town, most of whom don’t get along. One night at the tavern, the PCs spot a group of mages wearing the insignia of one guild poring over some tomes that are stamped quite obviously with a different guild’s symbol. Are the books stolen, or is somthing else going on, and should the PCs get involved either way?
+There is unrest in a city overrun with refugees. The mayor has enforced strict laws to maintain order, and there is talk of rebellion. Do they side with the rebels or the law?
+The PCs enter a town populated only by children. After investigation they learn the adults will be back soon; they always leave town at full moon because a demon eats the souls of the adults. In fact, that demon thing is a fake, but a thief takes advantage of the unguarded houses.
+This is OUR territory. The local thieves guild hears that an experienced thief has come to town who has not checked in with them. They send a few associates to visit the party rogue to remind him of the guild’s fees and rules, and, of course, penalties for failing to abide by them.
+A PC is awoken by the banging on the door. It is the Mayor’s daughter and she is begging for help as the Mayor was kidnapped by an earth elemental in the night.
+Three young women see one male PC and descend on him, each one calling him names and berating him for not being faithful to her. However, this is all a distraction for their male partner, who tries to pickpocket the PC’s companion while distracted by the girls.
+A shop selling delicious chocolates is doing a booming business, and the sweets are suspiciously good. The party is hired by a rival candy-maker to steal the secret recipe. Perhaps an actual additive ingredient has been placed in the candy? Or is the concoction magically enhanced?
+Two food vendors have set up shop on either side of a narrow but busy thoroughfare. Their advertising calls consist mostly of insulting each other’s wares. It’s a scorching hot day, tempers are rising, and they begin to threaten each other with physical violence about the time the PCs show up.
+Two large bands of kobolds are seen marching towards the city from opposite directions, one wearing red sashes, the other blue.
+Two rival nobles vie for the title of Master Craftsman and need the PCs to help them win by obtaining several raw materials, of the highest quality, from various vendors throughout town. They must also prevent the competitor’s assistants from doing the same through trickery, guile, theft or brute force without getting caught.
+A PC is mistaken as the long lost child of a grieving old woman. Despite all attempts to pesuade her otherwise, she persists in her belief, even bequeathing them with valuables and cheished heirlooms. As she has recently moved to this village, none of the villagers knows any diffeent either. Do the PCs take advantage of her? If they do, will someone looking for the real missing person find them or might the real person return?
+Upon leaving the city one of the guardsman checks the party’s equipment and notes lots of “contraband magical equipment” that were smuggled in to the city. Pay a hefty fine, lose those items or run like hell.
+A teenage urchin is being chased by a number of city guard. While he is quite agile, the nuber of guard deployed might be enough to corner him. He would probably get away if it wasn’t for the large leather satchel he is carrying clutched to his chest.
+For 200 hundred years, the old tower has stood; a dark, doorless, windowless, featureless obelisk that was once home to a powerful wizard who helped found the city. Yesterday, lights were seen near the top of the tower, as if windows had somehow appeared in the stone walls. Today, there are reports that a door is now visible at the base of the tower, but who will go knock on it?
+While at the bathhouse the building erupts in a firey blaze with choking smoke. This sends everyone into the streets, barely clothed. However, the fire is an illusion from a wizard’s appretice showing off to his friends. After the fire turns out to be nothing more than a trick, the owner is quite eager to find the culprit and offers a small reward.
+While cutting through a nearby alley to get to the local tavern, a panicked man in a cloak throws an unopened scroll in a PC’s hands. Whispering, “Tell no one” the cloaked man dashes out of the alley only to be pursued by the local guards, all disappearing into the crowds, leaving the PCs with a mystery.
+While haggling in the market the PCs notice people vanish for a few heartbeats then reappear. Nobody seems to find it strange.
+While in a tavern one of the PCs notices someone slipping something into another patron’s drink. What could it be? Is this an assassination? Drugging for a robbery? Perhaps an illicit drug trade? Do they get involved or let it play out?
+While sailing into harbor the PCs’ ship is mistaken for a pirate vessel that has been plaguing local shipping. As the ship is attacked do they defend the innocent crew, try to reason with the atackers or try to abandon ship and escape into the harbor?
+While walking past the cemetery, a blood-curdling scream erupts nearby. The light of a lantern disappears into a mausoleum. As the PC approach, they see a tunnel heading deep underground, and guarding the entrance, two large black dogs with red eyes that look at the group as their next meal.
+The breeze feels good as you open the inn window to let in some cool air. “I told you, keep that window closed!” comes the shout, as a you feel the wind of a arrow graze your head.
+You’re in the army now. The PCs are drafted into the local militia as the local lord has rceived intelligence that a humanoid horde, emboldened by their new leader, plans a direct assault on the city. The militia will need intelligence on the enemy’s strength and whereabouts, and every able-bodied person will have to help defend the town.
+You are flirted with by an attractive person. Their significant other notices.
+You are in a store or in front of it when a pick pocket or thief is seen and starts to run. Either you are the one to see the theft or someone yells to “stop thief.”
+You are walking along a street just as a horse or other animal decides to relieve themselves.
+You have an overdue fine. The party is asked to help in the investigation of a murder at the fmous but dull library. Why would anyone murder the young assistant librarian, and why would they steal such mundane books?
+You have entered an unfamiliar town and your weapons have been sealed. A gang of adolecent toughs try to pick a fight, escalating from taunts to bumping and shoving, to throwing street mud. The xenophobic town guard won’t intervene unless it goes to fists or weapons and then all of you might be arrested.
+Your favourite cafe gets invaded by gang members. They want you to scram so they can enjoy their new hangout in peace. Will you drive them out of the area or join their gang to keep going to the cafe?
+Citizens turn up inexplicably dead in their homes, each of which featured the same unusual cut flowers on display. Investigation can trace the flowers to a small florist’s stall in the market, run by a sweet young girl. She is enjoying the prosperity her new flowers are bringing, but becomes cagey and guarded when asked where she has been finding them (growing on the burial mound of executed sorcerer?).
+Brutal murders of the poor and homeless wrack the city. A wealthy nobleman hires the PCs to watch his wandering daughter, worried about where she goes when she sneaks out at night. Whilst she is always connected to the victims in some way and initially seems to be the killer, she is in fact trying to help the disadvantaged to bring some meaning to her jaded life. The real killer is an obsessed stalker, who follows her at night and erases the unworthy scum who are the recipients of her attention.
+A hauntingly fragile song echoes through the streets at dusk. The PCs trace the origin to a church’s bell tower, from which a jilted young lover threw herself in despair to her death. Now her spirit sings her lament to the setting sun. Does she recount her story and ask the party to deliver her by avenging her wronging? Or will she bitterly pitch any male characters from the tower to the cobbles below?
+A PC gains a secret admirer who leaves letters declaring her admiration. The notes become increasingly urgent and are accompanied by sinister gifts of sacrificed small animals and occult fetishes. Soon the PC receives fresh body parts and accusations of abandonment (the admirer will never directly confront the PC, but will wreak havoc on his property and relations in the PC’s asence).
+A mischievous fairy decides to have some fun with a PC, comically disrupting him at delicate moments by making flowers grow out of his ears, turning his helm into a bedpan, etc. With an important meeting on the horizon, what can the PC do to rid himself of this cheeky nuisance?
+A diviner hires the PCs to fetch him some rare mushroom. Unfortunately, they only grow amongst the haunted graves of the abandoned Old Cemetery, and must be harvested on a moonless night or be rendered useless. Trapped in the mushrooms are the restless souls of those whose grave-earth nourished them. From these, the diviner wrings out ancient family secrets and scandals with which to blackmail the living.
+A group of goblins, fresh from their foray from the sewers beneath an alchemist’s shop, climb out of the sewer grate and then begin throwing alchemist fire on many of the surrounding buildings and then commence breaking into store-fronts and stealing. Do the PCs fight the fires or stop the goblin looting problem?
+A noble is mortally offended by a PC’s behavior and challenges the PC to a duel a l’outrance (to the death). There is no way to back out without violating social mores and ruining the PC’s reputation. Careful investigation will reveal that the noble and PCs were subtly maneuvered into it by a third party trying to get the noble killed. And if the wandering adventurer gets killed instead, who cares?
+A child asks the PCs to help him find his pet dog. This simple task might lead them someplace where they are viewed with greatest suspicion.
+A grocer in the market motions the players behind his cart. In a low voice, he advises that a rival purveyor of vegetables has somehow sabotaged the farms that the grocer relies upon, and as a result he is forced to sell stale, imported wares at inflated prices. Would the players be interested in investigating, or perhaps taking more direct action against the accused party, for a reward?
+The party notices a hooded character attempting to sneak around in shadows doing his best to not be observed. The hooded man is trying to meet with the wife (or daughter) of a local nobleman for a romantic encounter. The party could get in the nobleman’s good graces by protecting his honor and preventing this meeting, or will they allow love to run its course?
+A leper has dropped his coin pouch. Should the PCs get his attention, he will gladly share valuable information as reward. However, should the PCs take the pouch, all who touch it are susceptible to his disease
+A young girl terrified of the local orphanage turns up ill with an incoherent story about the other children biting everyone.
+A group of kids plays on a gallows. One has put a rope around his neck, pantomiming being strangled, and it looks like another is sneaking up to kick him into the hole.
+A beautiful NPC falls in love with one of the PCs and thus starts several encounters involving her suitors. Some try to kill the PCs while others simply want to run them out of town. The girl is theirs and they don’t need any more competition.
+The PCs get embroiled in a local election scandal and are asked to help find the culprit behind fraudulent votes. Perhaps one of the candidates is glamoring the populace into voting for the “right” person using magic, alchemy, or other tricks.
+An eccentric and wealthy businesswoman in the city sponsors a contest and offers a large prize of something mysterious and cryptic: “the source of life and energy!” She creates a list of items that contestants must secure and bring back to the businesswoman to claim their reward, which will be a container of water in a fancy jug.
+
+|benignTownHook
+a chamber pot is emptied near or on the party
+cats chasing each other dart past the party
+asks "please watch this cart for me, just for a minute" of the party
+birds of prey circling overhead
+an urchin approaches for a minor scam
+a shadow passes across the ground
+smoke rises in the distance (brush fire)
+feeling of deja vu
+Insect swarm/nest on building
+Howling/barking in the distance
+Beggar asks for alms
+Children pester party
+Local teen wants to join party
+Graffiti on building
+Stumble onto amorous teens
+Child looking for pet frog
+Snake slithers away
+Street vendor (food, drink, trinkets, etc.)
+Rainbow in the distance
+Group of bats rise in the distance
+Drunken fist fight
+Stumble on lover's quarrel
+Religious pilgrims with vow of silence are jeered at
+"Recognized" by a drunk
+Overturned vegetable cart
+Criminal held in public stock
+Sudden sun shower
+Wind kicks up
+Street performer(s)
+Religious fanatic
+A discarded, tattered cloak
+A rusty old weapon found in gutter
+Dark storm cloud approaches
+Large beetle buzzes around head
+Kids playing game (hide 'n seek)
+Criminal in custody is marched past
+Mother looking for child
+Sandstorm
+Small dust whirlwind
+A dead ox causes a gridlock
+An overturned cart causes a gridlock
+A few sun bleached papers blow by
+Well-armed adventurers pass by
+Roof tile falls, barely missing party
+Approached by prostitute(s)
+Smell of baking/cooking
+Pimp ("you messin' with my woman?")
+Wailing baby
+One person chasing another
+Stench of feces
+Ray of light seems to surround one person
+Unusually cool breeze
+Rats are following you
+You get a dull, throbbing headache
+Injured bird lies helpless
+Skunk smell
+Eerily quiet
+Customer angry with shopkeeper
+Food fight occurring
+Stung by a bee
+Arid dust coats your mouth
+Cop/guard walking a beat
+Spoiled brat wants party item
+Someone teleports away
+Very friendly cat
+Parent scolding child
+Someone bumps pouch--nothing's missing
+Find a copper piece
+Parade in honor of minor saint, hero, etc.
+Foreigners arguing in their own language
+Allergic reaction to exotic spice/pollen
+Discount holy water salesman
+Witness a minor crime
+Something scurries away (chipmunk)
+Street preacher accosts you
+Witness a major crime
+Two religious processions meet head-on
+City watch follows you for 2d4 blocks
+Find a silver piece
+Dogs chasing each other run by
+Very active beehive nearby
+Howling gust of wind
+Approaching lightning storm
+Crow squawks repeatedly at approach
+Rubbery mass stuck to your boot (gum)
+Step in crap dog, dire rat, etc.
+Someone stomps in nearby puddle--splash!
+Street cleaner sweeps by
+Unconscious stranger on side of road
+Pair of small birds harass you
+Feral cat is trailing the party
+A case of mistaken identity
+Cloud shaped as holy symbol
+Shopping list for potions is found
+Old ring is sticking out of the dirt
+One person has an intense itch
+Hawk takes mole/mouse near party
+Find a gold piece
+Loose chickens peck at the street
+Passing child drops pottery, cries
+Raven lands in path, stares, leaves
+Injured mounted scout charges through the street
+Noble is carried past in a sedan chair
+Two hooded people whisper on street
+Young consumer is watched closely
+Singing floats out of nearby building
+Circus wagon trundles past, animal calls
+Weapon sharpener approaches party
+Large flock of birds flies acrobatics, then darts away
+Private guards flank a door
+Distracted senior totters straight for party
+Weary knight is mobbed by adoring children
+Partial eclipse of the sun
+Emaciated children tug at party sleeves
+People cheer for the party
+A strong, young, healthy beggar asks for coin
+A politician on a box of soap during a speech makes eye contact with a PC
+A cat is stuck in a tree and mewls at the PCs
+An escaped pet rodent rolling around the street in its ball bumps up against a PC's leg
+A religious leader and his incense burning retinue cuts across the PCs' path
+A diseased old man resting in a chair asks for help standing up
+A paint can spills from above and splashes PCs
+Political activists on parade beckon the PCs to join
+A dangerous fish in a tank bumps loudly against the glass
+A bee stings a nearby child who blindly runs to a PC for soothing
+A small bird egg drops out of a nest from above and land intact nearby
+An elf walks by with living snakes wrapped around his shoulders
+A visitor stops to ask for directions to an interesting place
+A fish vendor bends over to vomit and people point and laugh
+A sheet of music blows into a PC's face
+A garbage bin rattles; inside is a tied sack of kittens
+A depressed bard asks sing-song, rhetorical questions of the PCs
+A dangerous-looking racoon has claimed an apple cart as his--merchant beseeches PCs
+A known crime boss sits and reads while sweating shoe shine boy buffs and casts the PCs worried looks
+A woman with too much fashion going on breaks her shoe and stumbles into a PC
+A man gets down on one knee and proposes, drawing a crowd and knotting traffic
+A beggar with his hand down a drain hole brings up a ring and immediately asks the PCs to buy it
+Three performers in masks surround the PCs and do a ring dance around them
+Clothing tossed out a window during a lovers' spat lands on a PC
+A woman drops a basket of fruit--can the PCs dodge before squashing some?
+A crazy man points at PC's equipment and lists its magical properties--and he's right!
+A little boy confronts the PCs and shoots them with an imaginary crossbow
+PCs pass an alleyway blocked by a new spider web
+A fishmonger dumps a cart of rotten fish for scavengers to clean up
+A young noble passes trailed by a pickpocket
+A messenger collides with the PCs and numerous papers start blowing around
+A body of an evil wizard tied to a stake, body still smoking
+A chatty bard walks alongside the party
+A chess match
+A person passed out from too much drink, looted, with writing on forehead
+