236. The night is starry and rather calm. Early in the second watch, three tiny clouds (visible mainly because of the moonlight) come scudding across the sky at very high speed. On careful inspection, the 'tiny clouds' appear to have humanoid shapes. In actuality, hese are three powerful NPCs using wind walk to survey the area; their errand has nothing to do with the PCs.
Asking as a new DM, but is it really a good idea to give PCs events that have literally nothing to do with them or the story? Won't it just be a huge distraction that they MAY chase for the entire session, until to be really annoyed/disappointed when there is nothing more to it?
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Don't let the thread die!
Also, I've taken the first 200 events, removed extraneous posts, cleaned up some grammar, and put them here so they are easy to look through. All authors are, of course, credited before their entries. I'll update it every 50 or so that we get. 200+ Campsite Events
Excellent. Thanks, BZ.
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241. While digging the latrine for the night, the party discovers bedrock just a few inches below the surface. They must choose the sight for their -relief- carefully or risk a ... leak. This could get nasty if they are particularly careless.
242. While digging the latrine for the night, the party finds near perfect digging dirt and quickly finishes. That night, they are beset suddenly by very large and very angry badgers who smell downright revolting (save or nauseated). Investigation (or the next person to pee) finds that the latrine has collapsed into a Den, now empty.
243. While digging the latrine for the night, the party has the tremendous fortune to uncover a Portable Hole. When they open it, however, 188.5 sq.ft. of refuse and old waste cascade out all at once. Nausea, Filth Fever, and other nastiness ensues.
who the heck digs latrines at night? that's not standard campsite fare.
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244. While setting up camp for the night the party discovers that someone has dug a latrine!
245. The campfire suddenly explodes. Roll Reflex for half damage.
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246. After breaking camp in the morning, the party discovers a perimeter of footprints drawn around them, as if something was circling them. The tracks seem to be undettered by solid objects, disappearing on one side, and reappearing n the other with no interruption.
247. There is no noise at night, no animals, no birds, not even the trees settling.
248. Cast out for his 'vision,' a bard sits near the camp at a campsite of his own, loudly demonstrating his (lack of) talent with massive drums. He begins at approximately 10:30pm. If confronted, he proclaims he's being artistically persecuted.
249. After awakening, the party discovers a dead assassin with a knife in his back and a note reading 'You're welcome.'
246. The party comes across an old cabin in the woods. Inside the place is a decent place to camp, but there is an unusually thick chain and lock sealing the trapdoor to the root cellar. They also find a box set with a sideways scroll through 2 rollers; this box, when a switch is flipped, reads the scroll aloud as if through a magic mouth. The recitation is the recording of a wizard who sought solace to translate the "Necronomicon Ex Mortis: roughly translated, 'Book of the Dead'". It gives the book's command words aloud, then reports the wizard's wife, Henrietta, has died and been buried in the root cellar.
247. The PCs find a particularly unique shrubbery with a herring laying next to it.
248. While scouting for fresh water the PCs find (Roll 1d4: 1 - silver, 2 - minor, uncut gems, 3 - gold, 4 - iron) in the stream from some nearby source; using this they may attempt to survey the area for this source which may or may not already be guarded by workers.
249. Loud, sorrowful shouting is both forceful and incoherent; it rises up from somewhere near the campsite. If investigated they find a man, kneeling before the bloody clothes of a woman and 2 children, as well as a handful of personal effects of the same people. At the moment the PCs arrive he is poised to thrust a longknife into his abdomen. If the PCs interrupt the rite he begs for them to allow him to finish his suicide for failing his wife and children. If allowed to continue, he commits the act and then asks the party (even if they thought they were undetected by the man) to behead him. Finally, if the man is not beheaded, he returns to haunt any of them who witnessed the act as a ghost
250. The PCs find a suitable campsite in the wilds; nearby they find evidence that previous campers have made use of the site but that they've constructed nests or sleeping platforms in higher areas off the ground (in the trees, on rocky overhangs, or other places depending on terrain). At night the ground comes alive with fist-sized glowing beetle larvae who wriggle up out of the earth.
Whoops! I guess I shouldn't just post and run! Sorry about that folks...
255. A boar wanders near the camp, foraging. It doesn't seem particularly hostile, is a bit small, and reeks to high heaven. If unmolested it wanders off; if attacked it declares in common "How rude!" and flees. If any remarks are made about it's ugly or odiferous countenance it retorts "You're one to talk!" If entreated with food or otherwise treated well, the wild-shaped druid remains "in character" but conversing w/the party about the area and random topics; give the party a +2 Competence bonus in either Survival for the immediate area or perhaps some other very specific skill brought up in conversation.
269: A rain of frogs, fish, or lemmings arrives in a short but heavy downpour.
270. The party awaken with headaches, finding their camp-site strewn with empty alcoholic bottles/skins. Several male/female party members have awoken in utterly inappropriate bedrolls with utterly inappropriate sleeping partners (Will save DC20, fail and you can 'remember' what happened).
256. The party is awoken by a flock of penguins (or other completely geographically inappropriate animal). Hilarity ensues.
A friend once dropped yeti in the middle of a jungle wilderness with the explanation of 'yeti breeding season'
209. The PCs spot a little man in red robes with a balding pate of long, white hair lounging on a boulder. "Remember heroes," he advises wisely, "sometimes the way back is REALLY the way forward." He grins and hops down off his rock, circling around behind it, disappearing from sight.
Rats! I was just about to use that character! Well played.
271. In the middle of the night a swarm of earwigs erupts from the earth directly under the campsite. Treat as a centipede swarm, save that they don't actually bite (causing no hp damage), and don't have poison. They do make it impossible to sleep.
(This actually happened to a real-world friend of mine while camping in the Netherlands 20 years ago!)
271. In the middle of the night a swarm of earwigs erupts from the earth directly under the campsite. Treat as a centipede swarm, save that they don't actually bite (causing no hp damage), and don't have poison. They do make it impossible to sleep.
(This actually happened to a real-world friend of mine while camping in the Netherlands 20 years ago!)
EW EW EW EW EW!!! I can feel them ON me right NOW! GRRRooSS!
272. Upon waking the PCs notice one of their mounts wearing a wig, makeup and a dress (regardless of the animal's gender). It is highly agitated and regardless of whether or not it gets cleaned up it only moves half speed that day. Found among the beast's garments is a card in Sylvan reading "Thanks for a great time!"
273. The PCs find a journal among the underbrush. Most of the thing is illegible and ruined though at an initial glance they recognize a mostly intact drawing of the campsite area. The next page can clearly be read as: "BEWARE! If you are reading this, flee from this place at once! And whatever you do, by all you hold holy if you value your mortal souls, don't" and that's where the text ends.
274. A man in a fedora with brown, curly hair and wearing a long coat and multi-colored scarf bursts out of the underbrush. With him are a steel golem in the rough shape of a dog and a beautiful young woman, equally oddly dressed. He asks you the time, down to the day of the week, month and year, then cooly concurs with your statement. With a generous smile he offers you a "Jelly Baby"; some form of food in a clear pouch in his pocket.
275. As the PCs hunt for firewood, water and a good place to camp, they spot a vicious worg standing in a clearing, sniffing. Suddenly it dives for a hollow log where it wrenches out a goblin in its fangs. "Tag; you're it!" it howls tearing the hapless humanoid's throat. The goblin merely giggles as it exsanguinates before the beast. More giggles can be heard, concealed in the undergrowth all around. Suddenly one expertly hidden goblin leans over to one of the PCs and hisses "get'cher OWN hidey hole, I ain't gettin' tagged next!"
276. Ticks. Lots and lots of ticks...
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282. A natural but extremely intense windstorm whips through camp. Depending on setting this flings cutting dust and sand (1d6 Slashing damage), heavy branches, stones and foliage (1d6 Bludgeoning/piercing damage) and may uproot large flora in the area (3d6 Bludgeoning damage). Fort save DC 15 or DC 20 Survival check for half damage.
283. PCs searching for a campsite find Diminutive size rings of mushrooms. All are perfectly circular (not natural) and each has a pile of sweet-smelling yet unidentifiable organic matter that glitters like crystal. Nearby they hear the tinkling laughter of the Fey. If this is investigated they find yet another ring; in this one the glittering substance is fairly warm and ooze-like. Beside this ring are soiled leaves with the same glittery substance and a Diminutive book entitled "The Big Book of Potty Reading" written in Sylvan.
Dotted for later.
Dotted...there's some great stuff here.
284. A loud angry voice in the middle distance calls out "Fire!" There is no sudden conflagration and no discharge of missiles after this cry. About two minutes later, the voice calls "Fire!" again. This nuisance will abate eventually: PCs who take enough interest to seek out the source of the problem will find a small bird capable of mimicing human speech.
Just watched Oz the Great and Powerful last night w/the kids. The movie was kind of boring and tedious for me though the kids liked it (9 & 11 year old girls). However, my wife, my kids AND I all laughed out loud at the following scene:
The wizard and his companions are just entering the Dark Forest. As they take their first few steps...
Creepy Black Birds: "You'll Die...You'll Die..."
Wizard (incredulously): Did...did those birds just say we're gonna' DIE??!!!"
It occurred to me that'd be hilarious for a PF game! Thanks for putting your spin on it Emancipator Uplands.
284. A loud angry voice in the middle distance calls out "Fire!" There is no sudden conflagration and no discharge of missiles after this cry. About two minutes later, the voice calls "Fire!" again. This nuisance will abate eventually: PCs who take enough interest to seek out the source of the problem will find a small bird capable of mimicing human speech.
Was expecting some stupid giants attempting to play golf and yelling "Fire" instead of
Fore."
285. When the PCs awaken in the morning the trees and shrubbery, just outside of camp, has moved. Not in that its gotten up and re-rooted or that it's alive; rather some woodland creature has used Wood Shape to bend limbs, twist trunks and such. Their initial Survival check is at -5 to set out that day.
Alternately the Wood Shape might have produced the following effects:
- faces on the larger fauna which animate w/Magic Mouth spells
- hands or other appendages for confounding the PCs
- intertwining to create a maze of some kind
286. A local petty noble or warlord has laid claim to the area of wilderness the PCs have chosen to camp in for the night. Upon awakening in the morning they are met by a patrol from this authority and must explain their trespassing and possible poaching. This is not a monstrous evil and may in fact have some grounds in law, so this event is meant more as a roleplaying exercise though it may devolve into a fight.
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287. In the middle watches there is a loud hail from the middle distance. A (somewhat more powerful) band of adventurers are headed back toward town heavily laden with swag, and they want to sell their plunder to the PCs (in exchange for gems, scrolls, potions - no heavy stuff!) Aside from any magical items the GM wishes to roll randomly or deliberately introduce, this is the PCs' great chance to pick up forty suits of lice-infested goblin armor, a perfectly good couch, twelve sets of manacles, and all sorts of other yard-sale items - much cheaper than they'd cost in town!
Perfectly good couch, score!
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288: The PCs find a clearing suitable for camping, but in the center is a large iron device. A Kn(Engineering) check reveals its purpose was to sift precious stones and metals out of dirt, and that the clearing it now stands in was once the foundation of a prospector's shack-- the device has outlasted both its owner and the wooden shack it once stood in, but is too rusty to function. A second Kn(Engineering) check, followed by a sunder check, allows the PCs to remove a few choice bits of scrap metal worth 4d10 gp.
289. The PCs find the most ideal and pristine campsite to the environment. In the center of this is a corpse; upon spotting said horror its head twists 180 degrees, it's milky-white eyes clapping upon one PC. The thing hisses "GET OUUUUTTTT!!!!" before slumping to the ground whereupon the land around it begins to rot and collapse.
290. The PCs find a pre-made campsite. It contains a picnic-style trestle table, one iron grill, and a piñata. The trees are festooned as if for a party.
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292. Breaking through the underbrush, the PCs find piles of cut shrubbery... and a herring.
293. The party finds a nice flat area overhung by stone. The ground is ideal for sleeping, gives space enough for the whole party and a sentry, and the rear rock face will reflect the heat of their fire back on them. In short, its a near-perfect place to camp. The only thing stopping the PCs from taking possession of the site is a strange rabbit who won't leave. (the rabbit is a vampire; build for APL +4)
294. As 293, but the campsite is just on the other side of a stream. The stream has a modest foot bridge guarded by a revenant (again... APL +4) dressed all in black with black plate mail. The revenant may sacrifice any limb to continue fighting with no loss of its HP; if this option is chosen there is no rabbit in the potential campsite
296. The PCs are forced to camp underground. A Perception check DC 20) reveals a hastily scrawled message on a rock stating "This is the cave of the Beast ARRRgggghhhhh"
297. While scouting for a campsite the PCs find a squire with a MASSIVE pack on his back and a pair of coconuts in his hands. As the party watches, an arrow hits the squire square in the chest; a fatal blow. Said arrow has a sheet of vellum attached to it. The squire hisses: "Message for you sir" to the most officious member of the party. Said message will be whatever is appropriate to the campaign; alternately it may be a plea for help from a princess in a tower or the whereabouts of a McGuffin the party seeks in a nearby nunnery...
298. (if the PCs have a more noble bent...) the party happens upon a tower in the wilderness with noble pennants flying from the ramparts. The House represented is historically fickle. Guards atop the tower tell the PCs to go away in thick accents from a foreign land. If the party continues to ask for aid, they are first taunted and then a cow is launched from a catapult at them.
299. The party finds a dry spot in a marshy area. This is guarded by a Bog Nixie with great... tracks of land. She may only be bested by brute force or if one of the players sings, sings, SINGS... but of course they'll stop that, stop that, and elect to fight instead.
300. The party finds a campsite but it is guarded by APL +1 worth of their hated enemy. Just as the party readies to do battle they are interrupted by an old woman and the police from another plane of existence.
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Showing interest...
301. The steps of a huge creature are heard in the distance, followed by a loud thud. Should the party investigate, they find a immense (and immensely drunk) giant sleeping off his liquor.
302. As the party settles in for the night, a strangely dressed man holding a short wand near his mouth walks into the camp and begins to tell a narrative of the adventure the party has been on. If the party does nothing a knight rides past the man, killing him with a single blow from his sword and continues into the distance. If the party attacks the man, the first blow kills him. (Any good character with God given powerts/spells/etc. finds that his powers do not work for 24 hours, and he is wanted for murder on another plane.)
303. A strangely uniformed man walks into camp and states, "This is much too silly." Then disappears in a puff of smoke, a faint "And now for something completely different," is heard and a kilted man rides through the camp.
304. A large python slithers into the camp. The python does not bother the party unless attacked.
305. This works best if there is no watch. When the party wakes, everything within 50' of either their fire or the center of their camp is covered in a foot of snow, outside this radius everything is normal. (If they are in a snowy area, add a foot of new pink snow.) The snow doesn't react to the environment until the last member of the party leaves the radius.
306. There is a total lunar eclipse, (even if there is no moon or more than one moon).
How about we shift gears to more serious/epic stuff:
307. As the party beds down for the night the sky grows steadily brighter until a massive fireball streaks just overhead and explodes in an impact crater nearby. Insert whatever epic warning/encounter/prophecy is appropriate to the setting/campaign.
308. The first PC to take watch feels an eerie feeling, like being watched. In the distance he hears a sobbing and a grotesque slurping noise. As the moon comes through the clouds and the light goes from Dim to Bright for a moment, he/she spies a helpless woman, or what's left of her, bound to the side of a tree by her own innards; she is slowly being devoured. "Run..." she whimpers with her final breath, "they're EVERYWHERE". Just then the entire camp erupts with tentacles.
309. The party finds a beautiful lake to camp beside. As night begins to fall a vapor rises off the lake. It smells faintly of chlorine. Its then that they realize that the weird stones they passed on the way in were calcified piles of bones.
310. As the party is scouting for a campsite they find a clearing covered in many years of dead leaves from the canopy above. While they watch the leaves swirl and spin, as if beckoning them to dance. Any who dance with the leaf piles are grappled with a +14 CMB; if the grapple is successful they immediately take 1d8 +6 Slashing damage and need to make a DC 18 Fort save or suffer Slimy Doom. Choose to create more details for what this monster is on your own as befits your setting (Fey, Elemental, Demon, etc)
311. The party finds a campfire much similar to their previous one, it is in fact the same! Every night thereafter they make no progress on their travels for they are traveling the same ground each day till they take a moment to really get their bearing. Any attempt to do so ends the effect.
312. A charismatic stranger is suddenly noticed enjoying your campfire and greets everyone rather graciously. Upon further examination he has the strangest deep green eyes and crazy golden hair. He offers everyone some wine from his wineskin that never seems to empty and fills the party in on some ancient local lore. Hopefully nobody in the party does anything hostile since when he has told his tale and shared his wine he will revert to his true form as a gold dragon, bid the party farewell and fly away...
313. As the party drifts off into sleep the ground around them begins to writhe. Each of the party members is attacked by 1d4 rot grubs. If they do not move their camp, one hour later a number zombies (# of PCs +3) emerges from a mass grave either directly beneath them or nearby depending on terrain type.
314. The party is startled by sudden rumbling. They have inadvertently camped on the back of a gargantuan elder land shark or earth elemental which has merely been slumbering here in a years-long torpor. Now it is awake and doesn't even know the party is on it as it strides/swims away from the area, taking them with it if they do not make some Acrobatics checks.
315. From camp you spot a majestic sight: a griffon leaving her nest nearby. A small time later you then spy another winged form: a dragon descending toward the nest to steal an egg. The party may choose to do nothing, help the griffon mother or get inspired to make their own raid on the nest. Should the party defend the nest the mother provides a boon to them the next morning.
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316. A Pit Fiend and a Solar Angel stroll into the clearing as the party is eating dinner. Their bitter-sweet relationship isn't unlike Professor X and Magneto. They're hoping the PC's can help the two of them settle a bet: are mortals generally good-natured, or ill-natured? They seperately offer each member of the party a different morality-based question/scenario. Both the Devil and the Angel seem to imply that some sort of reward will be granted to the mortals who help them win the bet.
317. Camping over a rocky cliff in a star-lit dessert, a party member lights the camp fire. When he does, the stars seem to descend from the heavens until they float above the ground around the party. Anyone who makes a successful Knowledge: Nature check will observe that the tiny beads of light (varying in size from a speck of dirt to a large apple) have positioned themselves into a perfect 3-D replica of the solar system (complete with moons, asteroids and meteors), with the camp fire being the Sun.
318. As the party is breaking down camp in the morning, a tan-skinned human enters the clearing dragging, with difficulty, a very heavy log. If undisturbed, the man sets the log down close by the fire pit, considers its placement, nudges it an inch or two to the side, and sits down on it. He wears a manic, panicky face as he speaks:
And we're back. (he motions to the party members one by one) Here with me is the Earl of Westshire, his shoe shiner, a talking broom cupboard, and Her Majesty's eight month old child. (he holds for non-existent applause) Thank you, thank you. We have a great show for you this morning. Our first topic: the once noble Berafin of the Bronze Dragons was attacked by an evil wizard! His entire horde was stolen, and he was struck insane! He now wanders the forests in human form, interviewing worthy-looking adventurers as a means to seek revenge. Any adventurers who have refused were promptly eaten. His Earl-ness, your thoughts?
319. A Rabbi, a Priest and an Imam walk into camp...
320. As soon as the party leaves the camp in the morning, a score of Diminutive Fey appear and start to clean the campsite. If the party acts threatening at all, they disappear, only to reappear as the party goes to leave again.
321. Smiling Bob walks into camp. The first character to kill him gains an additional +1 bonus to the next attack made with the weapon that was used to kill Bob. This is an unnamed bonus that bypasses all DR.
322. A dormant Illusion spell lies within the party's most recent camp, which is triggered by cooking a certain dinner. If bear or deer is for dinner, an illusion of a cozy cave or forest den envelops the camp. If rodent is for dinner, an illusion of underground burrows or a network of tree branches envelops the camp. If foul is for dinner, an illusion of a cliff-side nest envelops the camp. If fish is for dinner, an illusion of an underwater reef envelops the camp. These affects have no effect on party survivability; they sure are fun to play around with, though, especially trying different dinners if the party needs to stay put for several nights.
323. The PC's have set up camp directly over a skunk's den.
324. A cat chases a mouse into one of the PC's tents while he sleeps. If the cat and mouse are separated before the mouse is killed, the mouse will communicate by writing in the dirt (or some other mundane way) that he is a noble, turned into a mouse by his vindictive wife, who set the family cat after him. If the party finds a way to turn him back and get revenge on his wife, he will reward them handsomely.
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325. The PCs find an uninhabited log cabin in the woods. The cabin's door has been left ajar and nothing of value is inside, but the cabin itself is newly constructed, and contains sleeping accomodations for eight, a fireplace, a desk, and has an ongoing Unseen Servant spell tending to the house. A Spellcraft check reveals that this is a Secure Shelter, cast by another traveling wizard who used it to camp last night and has since moved on. 1d4 hours after the PCs find it, the duration ends and it disappears.
Dot
Just making the cross reference in case you guys feel like being creative on another case: