Dice Design

Since I started GMing more intensively, and especially since I got into OSR, this drive has only grown. This year began work on two related projects – a modular hexcrawl supplement (more on those another time) and a series of short adventures/one-shots. In the process, I decided to make them variable and replayble. So I created my own desing concept.

Modules and adventures

I am a fan of making my own adventures. I enjoy the modules of others, but I rarely run them and prefer to draw inspiration for my own work. I always have ideas about running the module differently or using elements or motives from it as a backdrop for something else. And I’m sure most of us do the same thing.
When I started designing this set of adventures, I wanted to avoid this problem and make the adventure structure less predictable, more exciting, and replayable. Since I’m an enormous enthusiast of dice rolls and (random) tables, I devised a concept that I dubbed Dice Design.

Dice Design

First of this is not a way of generating adventures through random tables. Instead, it is a process to make an adventure structure more variable and volatile.
Each adventure starts with a theme: Dragon hunt, Find the lost artifact, Clear out the mine, etc. This is the only set piece that is strictly defined. All the other adventure elements – Hooks, NPCs, Encounters, and Twists come in the form of random tables and can change for each playthrough.
Before each adventure, the GM should roll for each adventure element and flavor the adventure appropriately. Or pick out the ones you like. I don’t care.

Adventure elements

When writing the first adventure, I had a long think about what is needed to make an adventure captivating, enjoyable, believable and fun. I identified the four adventure elements, plus the Theme, as necessary for an adventure structure. Let’s have a quick look at all of them.
 

Theme – topic, goal, scenario, or call it whatever you want, this is the primary framing of any adventure. It tells the players – this is what they are out to achieve. Most often, the Theme is just a variation of an archetype – explore a place, escort someone, find a thing, confront an opponent/monster, rescue someone, escape someplace, make a journey, etc. Usually, just with a different coat of paint. The 10 adventure scenarios in B/X are prime examples of this.

Hooks – They constitute motivation. Why should the party be interested in the goal? What brought them there? Why are they potentially risking their lives? Mechanically, hooks do not have a significant role, but they are a crucial element flavour-wise. A different hook means a different motivation, role play, and play style.
 

E.g.  The Theme is to recover an artifact. A hook of bringing it back at any cost vs negotiating for it will probably lead to the party playing entirely differently, even if the ultimate goal is the same.
I have 4 – 6 different hooks per adventure. At the start, I roll for one.

Encounters - Every adventure has them. They are a core element. Through encounters, players interact with the game mechanics, the design and the world around them. They explore the world, see it, feel it, learn about it and so on. They constitute the absolute majority of gameplay. 

Encounters also shape the experience, play style and flavor of the adventure – an adventure with many combat encounters, differs significantly from a puzzle-heavy one, one focused on interacting with NPCs or managing resources. Or a combination of all.
 

I have at least 10 encounters per adventure. At the start, I roll for at least two (depending on the length of the adventure) and use the rest, or all, as a random encounter table.

Characters – Ranging from sages, mad hermits and village elders to mythological beasts, water spirits or just straight-up talking stone heads, NPCs are another form of interacting with the world, providing additional challenges and opportunities for roleplay.
 

In this design, understanding Characters differ from Encounters in that they are primarily used as points of guidance for the party and a more immediate connection to the adventure theme.

I have at least 4 Characters per adventure. At the start, I roll for at least two.

Twists – The change-ups or big reveals about the Theme. This element is what makes each adventure most specific. They can change the party’s motivations, undermine the players’ expectations and provide memorable moments. As most Themes are generally very similar, players will have a general idea of what they can expect from an adventure. Hence the twist.

E.g. The Theme is to hunt a dragon. Party prepares for the dragon encounter, gathers the intel, navigates the lair and confronts the beast. Only to find out that the Dragon is actually a cursed girl who was exiled from the village when young and seeks retribution on the one who exiled her – the village elder who hired the party in the first place.

I have at least 4 Twists per adventure. At the start, I roll for one and prepare accordingly. Someone could consider this an optional element…

In case this is a one-shot or the start of a longer adventure, each scenario has a party background.

How it looks

A brief description of this design in practice. The party is playing scenario Hope. It’s set in a dry, desertified part of the world. Their goal is to explore the Tower of Tornis Ghát.

Hook roll of  4: The part had come across mentions of this tower in an ancient tomb, stating that it holds riches and an artifact that can transform the future of this region.

Encounter rolls of 2,3,5: 2. A scorching heat wave; 3. Encounter with a riddle-hungry sphinx, 5. A Fata Morgana  - a mirage of an oasis that draws them deeper and deeper into the desert. These three encounters will take place. The rest of the table is used as random encounters.

Character rolls of 2,3: 2. Encounter with a Lilin nearby the oasis, willing to only help wise females; 3. Simurgh – a benevolent creature, part bird of prey, part canine, part lion, currently facing a problem with a thieving giant snake.
Twist roll of 4: The artefact inside is of great interest to the Demon Pazuzu, the servant of a mage king from the nearest city. He makes the party an offer that is hard to refuse.

Yes, I actually rolled for all of them while writing this article.


Outlined here is the framework of the Dice Design. I plan to make the individual adventures available on this blog once I get around to it. Each adventure includes a suggested map set-up, all the Elements mentioned above, and tables. The adventures are system-agnostic but primarily intended for OSR games.

 

Thanks for making it to the end of my first English article. I plan to make more of these.