For instance, as with horror or suspense or mystery
you might replace Kingdom with Haunted House, or Build with Stalk, or Wizard
with Detective . . . and so on.
I suggest making a list of genre-specific persons,
places, things and events (anything and everything that comes to your mind)
then arranging, rearranging, as well swapping the options from the supplied
tables until you have those that are more suited to your preferred genre of
writing.
And after that?
Have fun with your new adventure generator!
The great thing is you only need the bare minimum
of supplies: a pen, paper, and everyone has some six-sided dice lying somewhere
around the house that can provide you the easy means required.
How to use:
Roll 2d6 (two six-sided dice) for each column of
the inspiration tables in this order: Thing > Action > Thing >
Fallout.
This creates a threat or entity that wishes to act
upon another entity, and if successful then fallout occurs. For example: a
Warlord (4) wants to Corrupt (6) a Kingdom (7) which causes Slavery (11).
-THING-
2. Horde
3. Monarch
4. Warlord
5. Monster
6. Wizard
7. Kingdom
8. Cult
9. Artifact
10. Interloper
11. Deity
12. Monolith
-ACTION-
2. Destroy
3. Protect
4. Discover
5. Steal
6. Corrupt
7. Revive
8. Build
9. Dislocate
10. Empower
11. Weaken
12. Control
-FALLOUT-
2. Plague
3. Exile
4. Upheaval
5. Tyranny
6. Slaughter
7. War
8. Desecration
9. Famine
10. Summoning
11. Slavery
12. Cataclysm
*Note: I did not invent this method or these tables
by any means. Tabletop gamers have been using them or some modified version of
this system for too many years to count for a single person to claim true credit.
Again, for your own adventure generator I suggest
you tailor your inspiration tables to your specific genre of writing. Want more
of a sci-fi? Then swap in Spaceship or Aliens. Is ‘Monster’ too vague a term
for your potential horror story? Then change it to something more specific like
Vampire or Werewolf or some other imaginary beast your characters might contend
with.
You can shorten or lengthen your adventure
generator as well if you care to invest a few dollars and purchase some
specialized gaming dice, or just add or subtract another six-sided die while
adjusting your inspiration tables’ numerics and their options accordingly.
With these tables (or any modified version of them) you can generate a story adventure in seconds that is easily applied to the protagonist, the antagonist, or any other of your characters, giving them an instant purpose to act upon and a reason to be acted against.
The possibilities are limited only by your imagination!