Sooner or later, your players will ignore your narrative breadcrumbs in favor of aiding a random NPC. This is good and right. But it helps to be prepared when it happens!
One Roll Wonders are a way to throw together RPG locations and points of interest in the time it takes for a bathroom break!
To make something on the fly, grab one of each of the polyhedral dice: d4, d6, d8, d1, d12, and d20. Roll them all at once and consult the tables.
The results provide a ready-made NPC or adventuring locale. You might need to massage them to create something coherent, or you might find a result that appeals to you more than what you rolled. Whatever gets the game moving again is the right call!
Want more help keeping things running? The Prepared! Expanded Collection is an group of pregenerated one-shot adventures that helps you look like an improv master. 12 Peculiar Towers is an adventure collection that can mesh up with these tables to avoid railroading until you redirect the players into more comfortable territory. Try them both!
The Wizard’s Tower
| d4 | How tall is the tower? |
| 1 | A quaint two stories, perhaps smaller on the inside than the outside |
| 2 | A modest three story fixer-upper for the cost-conscious arcanist |
| 3 | Five stout stories that dominate the horizon |
| 4 | Four stories reach to the sky, with another five subterranean levels |
| d6 | What is the tower made of? |
| 1 | Rough-hewn stone |
| 2 | Baked mud bricks |
| 3 | Pozzolana, a powder that turns to stone when mixed with water |
| 4 | A strong metal alloy |
| 5 | Sturdy, yet flammable bamboo. The whole tower phases in and out of the Material Plane, creating additional protection against mundane threats |
| 6 | The tower has no physical walls but is protected by a wind barrier created by trapped air elementals |
| d8 | What else is near the tower? |
| 1 | A large lake that’s the source of water for a nearby settlement |
| 2 | A growing city that wants to tear down the tower |
| 3 | The tower guards the entrance to an ancient megadungeon |
| 4 | A roost of highly territorial birdfolk |
| 5 | A relatively safe entrance to the Underworld |
| 6 | An amphitheater dating back to antiquity |
| 7 | Eight monumental standing stones built in a pattern around the tower |
| 8 | A dumping ground for failed magical experiments |
| d10 | Who guards the tower? |
| 1 | Goblins who the wizard tolerates because they offer him gifts. |
| 2 | Kobolds —so many traps. |
| 3 | A cacophony of bony defenders, which are primarily cackling skeletons (see Tome of Beasts 2) with a smattering of clacking skeletons (see Creature Codex). |
| 4 | More demons than you can shake a stick at—which you will need to do survive. |
| 5 | Flab giants (see Tome of Beasts 1) magically shrunk to Small size (perish the thought if the magic is dispelled). |
| 6 | Ghosts of the wizard’s ancestors bound to certain rooms who know centuries of secrets. |
| 7 | Assassin vines and chaos creeper (see Tome of Beasts 3) that have been grown around the walls of the tower. |
| 8 | Ahu-Nixta allies summoned from the Void. (To see the full complement of ahu-nixta foes, see Creature Codex, Tome of Beasts 2, and Tome of Beasts 3). |
| 9 | A cursed swolbold (see Creature Codex) who just won’t stay dead. |
| 10 | The tower is a massive mimic that is the wizard’s landlord. The rent is overdue, and the tower hungers for payment. |
| d12 | What is the wizard’s magical specialty? |
| 1 | Abjuration |
| 2 | Conjuration |
| 3 | Divination |
| 4 | Enchantment |
| 5 | Evocation |
| 6 | Illusion |
| 7 | Necromancy |
| 8 | Transmutation |
| 9 | Shadow (see Book of Ebon Tides) |
| 10 | War (see Tome of Heroes) |
| 11 | Gravebinder (see Underworld Player’s Guide) |
| 12 | Entropy (see Midgard Hero’s Handbook) |
Where Have I Seen This Idea Before?
The One Roll Wonder idea was pioneered by Kevin Crawford in the Stars Without Number RPG and can be found in many Sine Nomine Publishing products. Go check them out, especially if you’re looking for a splendid old school gaming.
