d133 Roadside Meetings

With my ongoing campaign heavily influenced by Professor Dungeon Master, I figured it was time to share one of my first PDM inspired creations, something I made years ago and have used frequently since.

One of his first campaign videos, described a session that was essentially a series of road encounters based on a big list that he'd prepared in advance. Rather than share his list, he urged viewers to create their own. I did. 

I wrote a bunch of encounters on post-its while killing time between other activities and pasted them into my notebook. It was fun typing them up and reminding myself how they really imply a setting (something very WFRP-ish). 

1. Hanging cage

2. Vagrant looking for work

3. Blackmailer head to town to confront her victim

4. Artisan with a cartload of wares

5. Political dissident - not too shy to criticize the establishment

6. Political commissar - ready to enforce proper belief

7. Man chained to a tree

8. Wagon full of stolen art, abandoned

9. Frankenstein's monster, escaped

10. Hunchback struggling to fend off two beautiful bullies

11. Zhentarim mercenaries - Fantasy Blackwater

12. Evil alchemist - Eager to source exotic ingredients and promising high pay

13. Friendly alchemist - Free samples!

14. Gunpowder Wagon - Driver and guards are dead

15. Assassin - If the players have a hit out against them, this is the guy. If not, he's super nice

16. A friend of the party, fleeing from an angry gang. Maybe they deserve it?

17. Acting troupe

18. Friendly woman with a pet monkey (a pickpocket)

19. Sudden ice storm

20. Blizzard - whiteout conditions

21. Crows fill the sky

22. Party is stalked by wolves - they'll strike at the first proof of weakness

23. Cripples, struggling towards town

24. Poisoned berries by the side of the road

25. Incense daisies

26. Traveling surgeon

27. Dentist

28. Barricade

29. Broken bridge

30. Muddy ford

31. Shepherds

32. Wolves feasting on a corpse

33. Vigilantes, out for blood

34. Drug deal in progress

35. Liquor shipment

36. Kidnappers and victim

37. Madman raving

38. Lady serial killer

39. Drunk rival

40. Earth tremor

41. Carnivorous worms

42. Damsel fleeing from a mob

43. Witch hunter

44. An old friend

45. Berserkers ambush

46. Skaven scouts

47. Fugitives - they'll offer gold for help hiding a nobles corpse

48. Panther

49. Former employer

50. Friend - on the run from the law & claiming innocence

51. Former hireling

52. Flirty noble - Will hit on a player character and will be sulky and vindictive if rejected

53. Bandits

54. Mercenaries - on the way to reinforce a local lord / join a fight

55. Pilgrims

56. Fog

57. Rainstorm

58. Distant Thunder

59. Hailstorm

60. Cold Snap

61. Tax collector

62. Preacher

63. Peddler

64. Noble with entourage

65. The roadside remnants of a ritual

66. Standing stone

67. Tomato vendor

68. Stone arch

69. Wine cart - overturned and many bottles smashed

70. Furtive fugitive - with lips sewed shut

71. Viking raiding party

72. Courier

73. Merchant - big sale!

74. Stolen carriage

75. Inquisitor

76. Grenadiers

77. Chaos knight

78. Burning house

79. Prison transport wagon

80. Arrested heretics, en route to the church's punishment

81. Robbery in progress

82. Meat wagon

83. Archers

84. Fortune teller

85. Book seller

86. Wounded traveler

87. Villagers looking for kidnapped friends

88. Indentured miners & their cruel foreman

89. Penniless crusaders

90. Moneylender

91. Coal carts

92. Farmers travelling to market in convoy

93. Knight alone on his charger

94. Gallows

95. Fresh Grave

96. Deserters

97. Hanging meat

98. Traveling bard - terrible singer, skilled burglar

99. Heads on pikes

100. Game Warden

101. Flagellants

102. Grave digger

103. Executioner 

104. Friar

105. Posse

106. Fruit trees

107. Mushrooms

108. Herbs

109. Starving refugees

110. Coach with broken wheel - filled with scrappy immigrants, ideal adventuring recruits

111. Foreigners camped out

112. Mudslide

113. Toll booth

114. Overturned carriage

115. Warning sign

116. Mutes

117. Lepers

118. Mutant

119. Hunter with pack of dogs

120. Duelist

121. Witch

122. Pay wagon

123. Chuck wagon

124. Soldiers

125. Inn

126. Gossip

127. Many dead animals

128. Hill people

129. Bounty hunter 

130. Wizard

131. Cultists

132. Thieves

133. Cannibals