The Old Tower, Isolated and Ominous -- A Wizard's Retreat Generator

 

        "...Warlocks exert little influence in our politics. They rarely leave the confines of their 'House of the Undying'--a pompous name, but I admit, a strange and dark tower. It is said that none who enter ever leave." -- Xaro Xoan Daxos, Game of Thrones

        Mages like towers. It probably has something to do with being fearful of torch-wielding mobs, a desire for privacy, or maybe due to the frequency of their experiments escaping their control. Much like how a Ferrari or Maserati would be seen as an aspirational item in our world, perhaps spellcasters see towers similarly? Whatever the case, the lonely, isolated tower is a standby in fantasy fiction of all stripes. Some aren't even towers. The only true requirement for a place like this is that the beings who originally built it intended it as a redoubt or hermitage to practice a mystical skill of some kind.

Oops.

        To use this generator, roll 4d8 and then consult the tables below. I've purposely tried to leave some of the answers vague for use by individual referees. Unsurprisingly, this table is of limited use for low or no-magic worlds.

d8	What form does the structure take?
1	Some sort of vehicle, such as a...1: Walking hut, 2: Ship, 3: Caravan or Wagon, 4: Floating Castle.
2	A series of tunnels hewed into a mountain or cave.
3-5	A classical wizard tower. Tall, spindly, imposing.
6	A monastery, school, library, or some other open place of learning.
7	A castle, manse, or other opulent abode.
8	Simple rustic house.

d8	Who lives or studies there?
1	A powerful wizard, like an Arch-mage
2	A Guild, College, or some other educational organization.
3	Completely abandoned.
4	Seemingly abandoned—roll again on this table, ignoring this result or number 3. The new result is hiding or somehow cloaking themselves.
5	No one. A watchful group stands guard near by to ensure it stays that way.
6	Nobody. The monsters who moved in, or the experiments who escaped murdered everyone.
7	A group of scavengers or looters have moved in, and are attempting to plumb secrets they cannot understand.
8	A powerful mage or group of mages have moved in and taken the structure as their own. The rightful owners may be dead, ascended, or alive somewhere else.

d8	What was meant to be studied here?
1	Necromancy.
2	A specific school, other than Necromancy. Roll 1d7 to determine the school.
3	Whatever struck the fancy of those who built the place.
4	Temporal or dimensional manipulation.
5	The creation of strange chimeras such as Owl-Bears or Displacer Beasts.
6	Immortality, or some other means of escaping corporeal death.
7	Magic bent to military purposes.
8	Communion with the gods beyond the stars.

d8	What sort of defenses or quirks does it possess?
1	It can move in some impossible way, whether that be teleporting, traveling to other planes, or existing simultaneously in a number of places.
2	It is bigger on the inside than the outside. The place is so large inside that it is easy to get lost or endlessly turned around.
3	There are no entrances or exits of any sort. Magic is the only way in.
4	A ferocious guardian lurks somewhere within, or nearby. This could be a golem, elemental or some other dangerous arcane creature.
5	It is shifted out of time or space in some way. It may appear only during certain times of the year or day, or time may flow strangely within the place.
6	Made out of some obviously dangerous material like broken shards of glass, chunks of impossibly cold ice, or crystalized agony.
7	Surrounded by a beguiling and maze like forest, desert, lake, or seemingly normal terrain.
8	It is in some impossible location, such as upside down on a cliff face, within a volcano, or simply floating above the ground.

Step on a crack and you'll break an Elf's back! -- A superstition and myth generator

 

        Welcome to another post in my generator series; we've covered such various topics as romance, holidays and games of chance. Today I'm presenting a superstitions generator, perfect for telegraphing ancient threats, or just being spooky around a camp fire.

        Who doesn't love a good myth? From oral traditions and fairy tales, to urban legends and creepypasta, these tales are with us throughout all levels of our storytelling and fiction. Remixed and rewritten endlessly, they form the basis for D&D, and table-top gaming as a whole. Unlike real life, D&D has a far, far greater chance of these rumors being quite true.

        To use this generator, simply roll 4d8 and consult the relevant tables below. The results have been left purposely generic to give room for setting specific flavoring.

d8	What happened in the past that inspired the belief?
1	A battle caused the deaths of many on both sides, including a local hero.
2	A great king or leader disappeared or died, and are promised to return someday.
3	Star-crossed lovers died in a suitably melodramatic way.
4	A serial killer, or mass-murderer made their mark on history.
5	An experiment gone wrong, magical or othwise that resulted in mass deaths or destruction.
6	A mysterious event caused the supposed enlightenment or rise of a historical figure of faith.
7	The observation of some strange, or otherwise uncommon, or seemingly magical event.
8	The entry, exit, or proclimation of some powerful being into the world, such as a Fiend, Celestial, or Spellcaster.

d8	How has it changed by the present?
1	Grossly warped from it's original telling. Details have been omitted, or lost entirely.
2	It has devolved into a song, poem, or game.
3	Appropriated by the believers into a moral or ethical tale and modified for those purposes.
4	It has been updated repeatedly to resonate with a changing status quo.
5	It was rewritten to be better suited for performance.
6	Repackaged as an advertisement, or some other cynical means to sell a product.
7	Entirely unchanged.
8	Conflated with another belief, roll on the table above and combine both results.

d8	How seriously is it taken?
1	Seen as an amusement, like a children's song or game.
2-5	Widely held, but unquestioned or otherwise seen as banal.
6	As a token of faith, or community identification.
7	Suppressed as being potentially dangerous, or otherwise disruptive to the status quo.
8	Held close to the heart, to the point of it being taboo to speak against it.

d8	How widespread is it?
1	Members of a single family or lineage
2	The children of a neighborhood or town.
3	A specific region like a city-state, or several villages.
4	A guild, military order, or some other secular organization.
5	Held as true by a certain ethnicity or species.
6	Believed by a specific faith.
7	An entire culture.
8	The entire world.

        Howdy there folks! I had to take a short break from the "Magic, Madness, & Sadness" series for a little while. I was getting a bit burned out, but I'll be back to it next week. As always, thanks for reading, and please remember to comment or follow!