333 Non-Deadly Encounters


Pathfinder First Edition General Discussion

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Shadow Lodge

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130. A one eyed old man is walking down the path with his two wolves. Has a couple Ravens who sometimes come and talk to him. If asked what he's doing he states he's looking for the murderer of his son who has recently escaped his prison.
If one of the characters does something exceedingly brave, he says he'll make sure they meet his daughters.

131. As you go through a town, you notice that the oddly unemotional people seem to be transporting seed pods of some sort.


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132. In the middle of a snowstorm, the party runs into a small homestead. The family within tells them that one of their children went out before the blizzard started. The PCs are high enough level that a snowstorm isn't likely to kill them, but can they find the child before it claims their life?


Dot!


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133. A cluster of philosophers arguing about what a paladin is allowed to do. Bonus points if it isn't clear that they're arguing hypothetically, and the party thinks they really did the thing being discussed.


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Kobold Cleaver wrote:

113. An abandoned treehouse.

114. An abandoned farm.

115. A horse caught in briars.

113.75: A horse caught in abandoned tree house


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134. The party encounters a rather confused young woman attempting to "unfold" a gilded brass box on wagon wheels. If they assist, the work takes hours until its completed, revealing a massive clockwork gate that seemingly leads to nowhere. Consulting an odd-looking pamphlet, the young woman awkwardly fishes out a key from a pouch and inserts it into the side of the gate and spinning a cogwheel. She awkwardly thanks the PCs as the gate powers up before stepping into a starry field, and the gate folds back up again. Without the instructions, it takes a DC 50 Knowledge (engineering AND arcana) or Craft (mechanical) check to just unfold the damn thing again, and there seems to be no way to make it work with the key gone.

135. The PCs enter one of their favorite taverns to instead find a sprawling interdimensional, yet somewhat cluttered and cozy, tavern containing a variety odd beings. They include a leonal decked out in full battle gear, some sort of naval captain with a hat of disguise, a red dragon and a silver dragon chatting amiably by the fire, a wandering teacher, and a variety of others. All of them are extraordinarily friendly and greet the rather confused PCs, and invite them to come back anytime. Thereafter, the PCs occasionally open a door to find the same tavern. This happens in both the most fortunate times (fleeing a dangerous monster) and the most unfortunate (when one has to heed nature's call).


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136. While walking through the forest, the PCs stumble across the fabled Witchmarket. What wonders would the PCs find there?

137. The PCs come across a completely abandoned hamlet. Other than the ravages of time, there is no apparent damage to buildings, no bodies or skeletons, and no signs of conflict. Looking in the buildings reveals that things were laid out as if someone had merely stepped out for a moment and planned to return immediately: remains of food in a cooking-pot still hung over the ashes of a long-dead fire, a half-woven tapestry in a loom, a dull knife on a workbench next to a whetstone, etc. Strangely, nothing seems to have been looted from any of the buildings.

138. A corpse hangs by the neck from a tree, its hands bound behind its back. A sign pinned to its chest reads, "Heretic."


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Pathfinder Adventure Path, Lost Omens, Starfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber

139. Four old men fishing. One is gaunt and clearly hungry, one is coughing and bringing up a healthy level of phlegm, one is belligerent and has a belt knife, and all three of them defer to the fourth who never speaks.

139a. A hundred miles and major terrain hurdles later, the same four old men are playing cards next to an old run-down barn. Repeat as necessary.

140. A traveling theater troupe tries to hire the PCs services. However, being a traveling theater troupe, they're low on cash, and try to pay either in food and board, performances, personal, uh, services, or other low-cost alternatives.

141. An old man (80+) and a young girl (8-) having a spirited discussion about the reality of faeries. The old man insists they're real, the girl claims he's full of it.

142. A cleric carrying a sack of clattering bones. He claims they're the remains of three great holy men of his order that he's taking to the nearest church in order perform a miracle. He cheerfully shows the bones to the PCs if they ask- while one of the skeletons appears human, the others are downright peculiar.


I've never dotted a topic before. But this is actually genuinely excellent material. Good job, paizo board!


Dot.
On a side note, why 333 encounters?


143. A man in chainmail is playing chess with a gaunt, pale, hairless man clad in a hooded black robe. The man in chainmail appears to be losing.

144. After the PC's leave the dungeon, laden with loot, they are approached by a green haired man and a silver haired woman, who ask if they would like to make a deposit in the First Draconic Bank.


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Yeah, there are some really cool ideas being contributed here.

Why 333? Because people like lists, and an arbitrary high number makes it clear from the title that this is a list. If we reach 333 and are still going strong, I'll ask the mods to remove the number.

Actually, maybe we should just start tagging list threads with [list] or something. It might be more sensible.

145. A dog barking at a cat stuck in a tree. Bonus points if either the cat or dog are not what they seem—a quasit or imp, for instance, or a druid with poor mental self-control. Cookies if it's a cat on the ground and a dog in the tree.

146. A boa constrictor wrapped around the body of a dead humanoid. If the constrictor is forced away, the humanoid is seen to be wearing the holy symbol of an evil deity. Bonus points if the worshiper is not dead yet. Cookies if the snake is dead from channels, but is still stiffly wrapped. A new set of dice if the worshiper isn't evil.

147. A ruined old house with an intact porch. On the railing of the porch rests a vase containing a large watermelon. The mouth of the vase is much too small to fit the melon inside, indicating some sort of magic (or, for the riddle-savvy in the party, indicating that the melon was grown inside the vase). The melon itself is ripe and delicious, but there is no sign of who left it there.

148. The party encounters a large orchard containing fruit that would be ripe around this time of year—cherries for summer, apples for fall, winter pears for winter, kumquats/apricots/grapefruit for spring. Whatever it is, it is a particularly strong harvest, and there's plenty to eat. Bonus points if any fruit is taken away from the orchard quickly withers into empty hornet nests. Fresh jars of apricot jam if it doesn't, and really is just a nice orchard find. Cherry pie with ice cream if the fruit is fine, but the orchard belonged to a possessive neutral-aligned dragon as part of its "hoard", and by eating the fruits without paying the dragon homage the party has angered the slumbering creature.

149. A chess board, complete with all the pieces, with one side one move away from checkmate. Bonus points if the PCs manage to screw it up for the winning side somehow.

150. A beaver's dam that has been badly damaged in a recent storm, flood or disaster. Inside is one beaver and several kits. Bonus points if the damage foreshadows a later encounter, such as enormous footprints that indicate a hill giant smashed the dam to get at the other parent.

151. The PCs encounter a road sign that has been knocked over. There's nothing special about the sign—just an indicator of how far they are from the next town. Feel free to substitute other easily-amended "problems", like a damaged fence.

152. The PCs encounter a fallen tree blocking the road. Bonus points if they can determine the tree was cut.

153. The PCs encounter a snare set for wild game. It was placed with extreme incompetence, though—any PC with ranks in Survival can tell that whoever set this trap is unlikely to catch anything to eat with it.


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Pathfinder Adventure Path, Lost Omens, Starfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber

154. A youngster and their pet dog try to collect a toll from the PCs for passing through their territory. If pressed, the kid admits that "bacon will do nicely." The kid may be homeless,or might just be goofing off.

155. A lone woman, her head shaved bald, wearing a placard around her neck stating that she is an adulteress, walking out of town.

156. Three gravediggers working doubletime to fill in a dozen newly-emptied graves. Judging by their conversation, they're more aggravated than horrified.

157. A pyramid of monster skulls by the side of the road, with no indication of how they got there.

158. A field dotted with an excessive number of scarecrows-scarecrows which smell pretty ripe when the wind shifts. The neighboring village stands empty.

159. A log cabin in the middle of otherwise trackless wilderness, stocked with firewood, some preserved food, and clean bedding.
159a. Everything is sized for a Large creature.
159b. A young woman is already in residence,and welcomes the PCs, assuring them that her father will be along in a bit.
159c. The outside of the cabin and its sturdy door are scored with massive claw marks.

Scarab Sages

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Kobold Cleaver wrote:

Actually, maybe we should just start tagging list threads with [list] or something. It might be more sensible.

BOOOO-RING! Arbitrary large numbers FOREVER!

160. A garden full of fresh, fleshy round fruits (tomatoes, plums, persimmons, blueberries, etc.) - every single one of them has a jack-o-lantern-like face, some of them rather ornate, carefully carved into it.

161. The PCs have exceptionally weird dreams while sleeping underneath a tree shaped like a brain.

162. An unusually bright-eyed goblin is peddling - of all things - literature, most of it of a deeply discontented political bent. "We haz nuffink Toulouse butt hour CHAINZ!" He sometimes shouts out to the crowd.

163. The town's intricate bamboo aqueduct has fallen to pieces, and the PCs need to fix it. Bonus points if you represent this by giving them a jigsaw puzzle to solve. Cookies if you give them some kind of 3-D puzzle. Cake if you give them a disassembled Mouse Trap game.

164. A demented behir thinks that if he can only build himself a big enough cocoon, he will metamorphose into a beautiful dragon.

165. A (mostly) harmless Chaos-entity from the deep Maelstrom is squiggling around the local town/wilderness/dungeon with insatiable curiosity.


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Kobold Cleaver wrote:
133. A cluster of philosophers arguing about what a paladin is allowed to do. Bonus points if it isn't clear that they're arguing hypothetically, and the party thinks they really did the thing being discussed.

The argument turns uglier the longer they stick around.


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Cole Deschain wrote:
139. Four old men fishing. One is gaunt and clearly hungry, one is coughing and bringing up a healthy level of phlegm, one is belligerent and has a belt knife, and all three of them defer to the fourth who never speaks.

I had to reread that one. Nicely done.


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166. A giant or an ogre is seen walking the other way on a deserted road, he is dragging a massive sack and a greatclub behind him. He appears bloodied and exhausted, he pays the party no mind. If provoked he drops his sack and runs. Bonus points for creative use of whats in the bag.

167. A man wearing ragged nobles clothes approaches the party and offers a silver amulet for free (prestidigitation effect on it), he pressures them to take it off his hands (he believes it is cursed and he can't seem to throw it away, maybe giving it away will transfer the curse). If accepted he will run away jubilant (and if the pc's are suspicious and discard it, it returns to them in every loot). If they refuse, he doggedly pursues them stealthily attempting to slight of hand it onto them.

168. A platinum piece lies on the road, just beneath a tree. It is unmovable (or an illusion), as they attempt to take it, a voice giggles at them from the branches above. If they harass the voice, it throws a vial of brewed reek and runs off (invisible).


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169. A party member notices a fresh-baked pie left to cool in a windowsill. No one is watching. Bonus points: Someone is watching. Pie if the "someone" is a very specialized arbiter inevitable.


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Pathfinder Adventure Path, Lost Omens, Starfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber

170. A riderless horse, munching contentedly on grass. Its empty saddle bears the insignia of some group or individual the PCs should be familiar with.

RPG Superstar 2012 Top 32

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171. Some reveling ecstatics toss brightly colored handfuls of paints, dyes, and powders as they run through town.

172. The speeding wagon drives by and a bag of magic beans falls out the back of the wagon.

173. A school marm guides a line of school children holding hands from a zoological garden to a museum.

174. A pair of halflings are struggling to push a large cage containing a sad, bedraggled tiger.

175. A flock of vultures is carrying babies away from town, and desperate parents are giving chase.

176. The PCs overhear a persuasive hermit tell a squad of constables that some nearby shamans "these are not the druids you are looking for."

177. A veiled stonemason is selling realistic life-sized statues.

178. A merchant is selling a new brew consisting of a hot dark bittersweet concoction. He is also looking for investors.

179. A shadowy form leaps from one rooftop to another before disappearing out of sight.

180. A pedal-powered wagon with a giant barrel filled with living fish is serving the freshest sushi.


I'm Hiding In Your Closet wrote:


67. An old wizard and his new apprentice, a naive but bright farm-boy, are looking for a ride/escort to a distant land - as fast and discreet as possible.

bonus points if they're call Neb and Ekul.


dot

RPG Superstar 2015 Top 32

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181. A young man is carefully whittling smooth strips of bark off of dozens of trees in the area. Whenever a woman passes by, he asks them to model for a moment while he sketches a small feature of their face (eyes, nose, brow, lips). If asked why, he says that he wants to know what his wife is supposed to look like when she's finished.

182. One of the player's reflections has been trying to warn them about something by writing in the fog on the mirror. Unfortunately, they can only do this when nobody can see the mirror, so they have always had to start writing before there was fog. The mirror is finally fogged and covered in dozens of warnings.

183. A man has created a sizeable workforce of animal skeletons and small constructs that he rents out cheaply to work farmland and mills. The people that this has put out of work are protesting near the town hall.

184. A tall, thin man dressed all in pale blue offers to buy a bonafide, genuine smile for someone in the party.

185. A woman drops a package in a crowd. If anyone calls out to her, she runs at a full sprint through the crowd. Anyone inspecting the package hears a small whimper from inside.


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186. A child of about 12, trying to hire someone to go after the men who killed their family. They have little cash, no applicable skills,and only the haziest notion of who the bad guys are and where they hang their hats. What they do have is an even younger sibling to worry about.

187. The self-proclaimed strongest man in the village/city/region/nation challenges the strongest PC to some species of contest.

188. A blighted field, with gaunt, angry farmers turning over their meager harvest to local tax assessors.

189. A powerful aroma of lilacs assaults the PCs' senses in someplace totally inappropriate

190. An Orc (or Hobgoblin, or some other "monster" race) and a human (or elf, dwarf, whatever) scowling at each other, but not making any hostile moves. If spoken to, the human only responds in Orcish, and the Orc speaks a local human dialect. They claim that a witch swapped their bodies as a punishment for disobeying her.
190a. They're lying, and it's simply a con to get the PCs into their designated trap/killing zone.
190b. They're telling only part of the truth- the witch did swap their bodies- because they asked her to. The PCs constitute their payment to the witch.

191. An overturned cart hitched to two dead horses. The shredded corpses of several people lie nearby...next to the ruptured cages that the cart had been carrying.

RPG Superstar 2012 Top 32

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192. Two dudes who dumped their Int AND Wis scores cannot find their cart!


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193. The PCs find a "haunted" "wishing well". At the bottom of the well is a talking frog.


194, In the square in the middle of town a dance competition is taking place. A group of bards* provide musical accompaniment, while four people sit on a raised area, pronouncing judgement on each couple at the end of their routine. The players are asked to join in... as are their characters.

* - What's the collective noun for bards? A racket?


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dysartes wrote:

194, In the square in the middle of town a dance competition is taking place. A group of bards* provide musical accompaniment, while four people sit on a raised area, pronouncing judgement on each couple at the end of their routine. The players are asked to join in... as are their characters.

* - What's the collective noun for bards? A racket?

The only collective term I know is a group of hobos is called a "murder"


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Turelus wrote:
I'm Hiding In Your Closet wrote:


67. An old wizard and his new apprentice, a naive but bright farm-boy, are looking for a ride/escort to a distant land - as fast and discreet as possible.
bonus points if they're call Neb and Ekul.

...And they have a foppish and verbose diplomat, and a mute gnomish mechanic with them...


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195. The PCs enter a village to find the whole town gathered in the square listening raptly as a priest gives an empassioned sermon. The priest is of a deity opposed to the party's religious leader.

196. The party artives at a town in the midst of a major festival, and people have come from miles around. While there are lots of activities, there are no rooms available at any of the inns.

197. A major storm breaks while the PCs travel. The storm is completely out-of-season. (E.g. snow in summee.)


198. The party finds a baby. Wackiness ensues. Bonus points if it's 1d4 goblin babies.
199. The party is visited by an elderly person seeking shelter for the night at their camp, house or the inn they're staying at. Bonus points if the elder is extremely rude and entitled, eating the PCs' food and messing with their stuff. Cookies if the elder is some disguised fey, archmage or angel.

Come to think of it, that last one might very well be life-threatening. There is no way anyone is gonna mess with those PCs' stuff without a fight breaking out.


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200. A group of young children, wearing homemade "wings" (sticks and fabric scraps tied together and bundled on their backs) encircle the party and squawk and chatter like birds. At first it's cute and funny, then their relentless screeching turns ugly and unnerving. BONUS if the group physically attempts to remove the children from their path, as the children then "burst" into a cloud of crows and fly off noisily.

201. Whilst investigating some underground ruins, the party finds a round, stone-lined room in which stands a single white candle on the floor. The flame flickers slightly upon their arrival. It remains lit no matter the attempt to extinguish it, so long as it stays in the room. BONUS if someone kneels close to the candle and whispers their own name at the flame, for this results in the ability to cast Spark as a SLA.

Shadow Lodge

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202) An unfettered Eidolon walks down a street eating meat on a stick. Children follow behind happily.

Scarab Sages

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203. A candyman purveys confectionery shaped like rare and terrifying monsters (bodaks, mohrgs, neh-thalggu, mothmen, tzitzimitls, etc).


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204. The party enters a village that seems normal at first... and then they slowly realize that there are no children visible anywhere.

205. As the party travels down a road, they are passed by three fully-armored knights riding very unsual mounts. (e.g. ostriches, giant insects, bears)

206. A group of ragged lepers approaches the party, begging for alms or to be cured of their diseases.

207. While in a city, a desperate-seeming woman approaches the party with the following offer: "I'll give you 500 gold coins if you tell the guards that I've been with you for the past two hours!" Just then, a troop of guards approaches.

RPG Superstar 2012 Top 32

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208. The party enters a village and realizes everyone is a twin!

209. A group of gnomes are trying to keep a hot air balloon from taking off--and need help!

210. A paladin school marm is on a field trip with her students--and her students are elementary school-aged orcs, goblins, kobolds, and gnolls.


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Here are some I recently dropped into my asylum:

211. You see an elderly overweight human male 30 feet in front of you. He is sitting in a loincloth on the floor. He looks up at you and asks "Why Mud?"

212. A deep penetrating cold sensation sends shudders up and down your spine. It hurts your brain in a manner similar to a "brain freeze"
213. About 25 feet in front of you, you see the shredded remains of several dolls.There are probably 4-5 dozen dolls, all made of cloth. The majority of them are either missing their heads or have their eyes removed. A few of them have drops of blood on them and some of the others have a strong smell of urine.

214. Up and down this corridor are dried piles or mud or excrement. The corridor has a very strong, unpleasant odor associated with it.
215. This corridor is lined with bird nests. Several small sparrows flutter about through the hallway. Some head off in the direction of the central room, others fly off towards other side rooms. Each of them have some type of deformity- missing leg, missing feathers and some are even missing their eyes.

215. A young human boy is running up and down this corridor. He is about 7 years old and is very gaunt and disheveled. He is smacking himself in the face, the head and the chest at random times, all the while crying out "I just wanted a donut."
216. Midway down this corridor you see a brand new jack in the box toy sitting on the floor.

217. As you enter this corridor, you see complex mathematical problems written on the wall. Upon closer inspection you notice that there are problems written upon problems. Further down the corridor you notice 2 humans and 2 gnomes each writing problems on the wall. They are completely oblivious of you and each other. They step on one another without missing a beat, all the while writing. You also observe that their writing quills have long since dried out and they are writing with their shaved fingernails.

218. A large misshapen dwarven male is sitting in this corridor. His back is against the wall and he is biting down on piece of a 2x4 that is approximately 18 inches long.

219.This corridor is imaculately clean. A small elven girl dressed in a dark purple cloak is playing with an elaborate wooden dollhouse. She looks at you, smiles and then returns to playing. You observe her for several seconds and notice she does the same routine over and over and over.

220. Ear piercing shrieks ring up and down this corridor as three nude female half orcs run up and down the corridor. They do not pay any attention to you as they beat each other about the head, back and shoulders.

221. This corridor is eerily quiet. Chicken feathers are strewn all about the entire length of the corridor. There is a very strong smell of chicken feces burning your nostrils.

222.A high pitched moan tears up and down this hallway 6 times. It goes back and forth and stops after several seconds. You then hear a sinister laugh then nothing.

223. Towards the end of the corridor you see a small gnome dressed as a clown. He is suspended on the ceiling with several strong ropes. Rivulets of drool drip from his mouth onto the floor. Directly beneath him is a dried pile of mucous
and blood.

224. Floating in an eliptical pattern in mid air are several dozen "rubber duckies". They all have orange glowing eyes. Some have dried blood spattered on them. The duckies continue towards you, past you and then circle back at the end of the corridor and continue back the way they came.

225. You hear several dogs barking though you see no dogs. They aren't growling, just barking.

226. This hallway is completely filled with 3 inches of ice cold water. The water is completely still and level.

227. The entire floor of this hallways is covered in eating utensils. Most of them are rusted and unusable. The entire hallways is covered nearly 4 inches thick.

228. A gentle fog billows and rolls throughout this entire corridor. Every several seconds or so you can swear you see the faces of loved ones from your past form in the mist, only to dissipate fractions of a second later.

229. A squirrel is sitting in the center of this corridor. It does not move. It's eyes are fixed on your party. It is about the size of a small dog.

230. You get about midway through this corridor when you hear the voice of a human girl. "Why did mommy leave me? Why don’t I have a pretty dress like all the other girls. Someday I will be a ballerina and dance. Mommy….mommy……" her voice trails off. It goes quiet for several seconds then you hear some sobbing.

231. You cautiously enter this corridor. You immediately hear the sounds of metal rubbing against metal. You look to the front and back of yourselves and do not see anything. You then slowly turn your eyes upward and notice dozens and dozens of metal meat and fish hooks gently swaying back and forth. These hooks extend the entire length of the corridor and abruptly end at the doorway to the room at the end.
232. About halfway down the corridor you see dozens and dozens of mesh bags filled with glass eyes. Some appear to be very very old, some even look like they may have been wooden and marked with ink for the pupil. You cannot tell for sure but at times you'd swear the eyes were watching you and not fake.

233. Several dozen emaciated looking goblins scurry up and down this hallway. Some have several scars about their faces, others have bloated stomachs and some others have dried blood from around their eyes, ears and lips. They all wield very bright tindertwigs. They seem completely oblivious to you and run in and out of your party as you observe them.

234. This hallway smells putrid and it doesn't take you very long to figure out why. Lining the hallway are several bloated and distended bodies of dead and rotted farm animals- chickens, cows and goats. The stench is overwhelming. In a matter of milliseconds, several of the corpses explode launching digestive acid and enzymes in every direction.

235. This corridor is covered in a greenish yellow slime. It isn't slippery, just feels a bit rubbery under your feet.

236. As you enter this corridor you hear the sound of a large clock ticking. You peer up and down the corridor but do not see anything out of the ordinary. The ticking does not stop nor does it get louder or softer.

237. The floor of this corridor is somewhat uneven and there are spots where it is cracked. You notice approximately a dozen gnome children swimming in the holes that have water in them. There are even some children pretending to be swimming in the holes that are completely dry.

238. About 20 feet down this corridor you see several humans in tattered white utility jackets pacing back and forth. They aren't saying a word but they gesture amongst themselves as if they were engaged in a very heated verbal conflict. You pause momentarily to assess the situation and see what appears to be a garden planted another 20-30 feet past them. Upon careful inspection, all the plants appear to have withered and died some time ago. As you take all of this in,two of the humans immediately stop arguing and turn and look at you. You notice that their tongues have been cut out. They don’t say or gesture at you, they just stare. After a few seconds of staring, one of the men jumps onto the backs of a woman. She puts him on her shoulders and they run down to the garden. He thumps his chest and punches the ceiling.

239. Along the roof of this corridor is a massive nest of locusts. They move about and fly in and out of your group. Near the center of the corridor is what appears to be the carcass of some animal that the locusts are feeding on. They do not appear to be too concerned with your however.


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240. While the party is travelling in a plain, they must go through a cloud of fog. After they entered it, they end up realizing that they are somewhere completely out of place for this region (like a tian village or a jungle forest). When they get out of the fog, they are still in a plain. If the party ask to people living in the neibourghood, they are told taht there are only plains where they went.


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241. The party is travelling through a populated, rural area. As they pass by a field, they see peasants out working (ploughing or harrowing in spring, ploughing or clearing weeds in summer, harvesting in autumn). The peasants sing while doing their work, an impressive performance with complex vocal harmony. Most songs are about the work currently carried out, but one stands out. It's about a foolish youngster setting out on an adventure, leaving family and friends behind. The song ends with the village getting the message of the youngster's death in a distant land at the hands of an evil overlord.

242. The party reaches a small village in a rather remote, seldom-travelled region. They are distraught to find that the village has no tavern. The villagers aren't complete strangers to travellers seeking shelter and an arrangement can be made for the party to sleep in a barn, other outhouse or, if the pay is sufficient, in a farm house. However, the villagers won't accept coin. They have no use of silver or gold until next fair, more than half a year away. The party can pay for their stay with trail rations or other foodstuff, tools, farm implements, common household items or labour. A character with Knowledge (Engineering) would be most useful for the village, since the grain mill is run-down and needs an examination. Suggesting appropriate repairs with a successful DC 15 check earns the party nice, warm beds, good meals for their stay and long-lasting gratitude from the villagers.

Scarab Sages

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243. Suddenly, it begins to rain clam chowder!


244. Suddenly it begins to rain acid. It doesn't deal any meaningful damage, but it's not fun to be outside in. The party might want to find a shelter, and fast! Bonus points if this forces a difficult choice, like continuing to slog through agonizing rain or taking shelter in a potentially monster-inhabited cave. Cookies if the party takes shelter in a cave and is later joined by a large, intimidating monster, which is actually nonhostile as long as the party lets it shelter with them.

Scarab Sages

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245. A farmer beseeches the party for aid with a mysterious problem: His crops are being...drained. Every carrot, tomato, head of lettuce, and sundry other piece of produce he shows you exhibits the same symptoms: dry, colorless, tasting like chalk and about as nourishing, and each one has the same pair of deep, pointy puncture marks somewhere on them....


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246. As the party approaches a village, they notice obvious signs of goblin presence. There are footprints, leftovers from foul snacks, acts of aggressions on local plant life and goblin-style markings on trees indicating trails and tribe boundaries. Upon reaching the village, the party finds it to be, well, maybe not thriving, but not burned to the ground either. The villagers are reluctant to talk about goblins, denying any signs of them the party has seen. If pressed on the issue, the villagers explain that the have entered an agreement with the local goblin tribe, exchanging in rather beneficial trade with them. Due to prejudices against goblins, they prefer not to speak of their trading parties fearing self-styled heroes might try to 'liberate' the village from goblin oppression. Bonus points if the trade agreement isn't as mutually beneficial as the villagers say, but rather a tribute imposed on the weaker part, with the stronger part threatening with annihilation if the tribute isn't paid or the true nature of the agreement is revealed to outsiders. Cookies if it's actually the village which is the stronger part.

RPG Superstar 2015 Top 32

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247. The party comes upon a group of people in a village square dancing feverishly. They appear exausted, and some have worn through the soles of their shoes to begin dancing on bloody feet. Someone standing nearby says that they've been like that for weeks. The villager who spoke up suddenly gets a nervous, wild look in their eye, whispers "Please. Gods, no.", and moves to join the dance.

248. A young boy approaches the party in the wilderness, or a backwater town. Eagerly greeting them by name and shaking each of their hands in turn. If the party asks the boy how he knows who the party is, he winks and taps the side of his nose, stating that he is lucky enough to be "in the know."

249. An elderly couple are arguing next to the side of the road where their cart has overturned. They appear to have been taking large numbers of furs and foraged herbs for sale.

250. A fierce woman in studded leather armor is driving wooden nails into a small mound of freshly moved earth in the center of a crossroads. Small seeds are scattered across the entire intersection and the soil is slightly damp with blood

251. A man is selling magical items from a ramshackle booth on the side of the road in the busy part of town. Some of them are rather rare and/or powerful, and he's letting them go rather cheaply, so the party is not the only people buying them. It eventually comes to light that all of these items were taken from the bodies of people killed by the regional assassin's guild, and that people found with them may be blamed for the assassination. As soon as he is finished pawning off his items, he demolishes his stand suddenly, changes his appearance and blends into the crowd.

252. A tengu is sitting and fletching arrows using his own feathers. Nearby is an oread blacksmith making arrowheads out of loose nodules of metal from his own shoulders and arms.

253. A young woman is sitting on a tree stump in the woods humming softly to no particular tune. As the party approaches, her voice shifts. It seems to take on both a low gravelly resonance and high whistling overtone, as she tries, somewhat successfully, to sing wordlessly with both parts of a familiar tune. If the party speaks, the woman jumps, clearly startled by their presence.


I'm Hiding In Your Closet wrote:
pointy puncture marks somewhere on them....

Howliday Inn?

RPG Superstar 2012 Top 32

powerdemon wrote:
I'm Hiding In Your Closet wrote:
pointy puncture marks somewhere on them....
Howliday Inn?

I was thinking "Bunnicula."


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Pathfinder Adventure Path, Lost Omens, Starfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber

254. An impact crater, with a perfect cube of black stone sitting in the middle of it. Nothing grows within the crater, even though the locals say it's been there as long as anyone can remember. Anyone stepping into the crater reports feeling a weird tingle, but no adverse effects are noted.

255. The dusty skeletal remains of what seems to be an adventuring party, clearly older than dirt. While their gear is aged to total uselessness, they could be a perfect match for the PCs if some allowances are made.

256. A young woman with a group of large rats following her everywhere she goes. She claims to have no idea why, but has taken to giving them names. The rats,for their part, are well-mannered specimens and seem solely interested in the lady in question.

257. A fishmonger in an inland village whose only neighboring body of water is a shallow stream, selling seafood that clearly comes from the actual sea.


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I'm Hiding In Your Closet wrote:
245. A farmer beseeches the party for aid with a mysterious problem: His crops are being...drained. Every carrot, tomato, head of lettuce, and sundry other piece of produce he shows you exhibits the same symptoms: dry, colorless, tasting like chalk and about as nourishing, and each one has the same pair of deep, pointy puncture marks somewhere on them....

258. The party encounters the vampiric bunny in the act. Because, come on, it's basically as threatening.

Blymurkla wrote:
246. As the party approaches a village, they notice obvious signs of goblin presence. There are footprints, leftovers from foul snacks, acts of aggressions on local plant life and goblin-style markings on trees indicating trails and tribe boundaries. Upon reaching the village, the party finds it to be, well, maybe not thriving, but not burned to the ground either. The villagers are reluctant to talk about goblins, denying any signs of them the party has seen. If pressed on the issue, the villagers explain that the have entered an agreement with the local goblin tribe, exchanging in rather beneficial trade with them. Due to prejudices against goblins, they prefer not to speak of their trading parties fearing self-styled heroes might try to 'liberate' the village from goblin oppression. Bonus points if the trade agreement isn't as mutually beneficial as the villagers say, but rather a tribute imposed on the weaker part, with the stronger part threatening with annihilation if the tribute isn't paid or the true nature of the agreement is revealed to outsiders. Cookies if it's actually the village which is the stronger part.

Cake if the village's name is Nilbog.

Scarab Sages

SmiloDan wrote:
powerdemon wrote:
I'm Hiding In Your Closet wrote:
pointy puncture marks somewhere on them....
Howliday Inn?

I was thinking "Bunnicula."

"Howliday Inn" was a title of one of the Bunnicula books.

Hmm...I just got back from seeing Rogue 1, and all but one of the trailers before it were remakes or sequels. It occurs to me now that there's never been a Bunnicula movie (although apparently there was a 20+-minute cartoon).


Adventure Path Charter Subscriber

258. An almost dead dwarf is found by the side of the road, his settlement has recently be slaughtered and razed by ogres - the town has been looted but is has gruesome scattered corpses all over.

259. After wiping out the goblin menace, a enterprising local opens up a store selling "Authentic Goblyn Merchandise - Novelties for all ages - Great Gifts for the children!".

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