d100 | What Might Motivate Players to Choose this Adventure | How Characters Learn About the Opportunity |
---|---|---|
1-4 |
Ability to move inconspicuously in certain groups or places |
A person offers to trade information about the opportunity in exchange for money |
5-8 |
Additional form of movement: swim or breathe water, fly, teleport, etc |
A person offers to trade information about the opportunity in exchange for money |
9-12 |
Better equipment (possibly magical) |
Dream or vision suggests the opportunity in symbols and metaphors |
13-16 |
Bonuses to saving throws under certain circumstances |
Friend, relative, or mentor of a character informs party of the opportunity |
17-20 |
Cure disease |
Inquiries in taverns lead to a rumor of this potential opportunity |
21-24 |
Enhanced ability to cast spells |
Inquiries in taverns lead to a rumor of this potential opportunity |
25-28 |
Enhanced ability to see or hear |
Inquiries in taverns lead to a rumor of this potential opportunity |
29-32 |
Gain experience points or levels |
Legend or prophesy suggests the opportunity |
33-36 |
Gain forgiveness or pardons for prior actions |
Letter or message is intercepted by characters (possibly due to mistaken identity, possibly overheard) |
37-40 |
Gain hit points |
Letter or message is sent to characters |
41-44 |
Improve physical appearance |
Potential employer contacts party to offer the opportunity |
45-48 |
Improve initiative, rate of attacks or speed of actions |
Potential employer contacts party to offer the opportunity |
49-52 |
Improvement in movement rate |
Potential employer contacts party to offer the opportunity |
53-56 |
Improvement or bonus to class ability (turning undead, picking locks, etc) |
Potential employer contacts party to offer the opportunity |
57-60 |
Increased strength or other ability score |
Potential employer contacts party to offer the opportunity |
61-64 |
Learn additional language |
Potential employer contacts party to offer the opportunity |
65-68 |
Money |
Potential employer contacts party to offer the opportunity |
69-72 |
Noble status or improved social status |
Potential employer contacts party to offer the opportunity |
73-76 |
Permit travel (casting of teleport, creation of planar gate, opening of dimensional gateway, etc) |
Potential employer contacts party to offer the opportunity |
77-80 |
Permit travel (required documents, safe-passage, etc) |
Potential employer has posted signs with some details of the opportunity |
81-84 |
Provide needed equipment |
Potential employer has posted signs with some details of the opportunity |
85-88 |
Receive useful information |
Recently arrived people bring back word of the opportunity |
89-92 |
Remove a curse (or other problem lingering from a prior adventure) |
Rumors are floating around with some details of the opportunity |
93-96 |
Reverse aging |
Rumors are floating around with some details of the opportunity |
97-100 |
To-hit or damage bonus in certain circumstances |
Sent dream suggests the opportunity in clear terms, but without revealing who sent the dream or why |
Table 1-10: Hooks and Motivations (d100)
Motivations for players to choose adventure
Finally, there’s a table of possible motivations for the players/characters themselves. Players don’t like their characters to be “forced” into a particular adventure – which means you’ve got to offer a reason to choose one adventure over another. This table of motivations is quite useful no matter whether your initial creative spark comes from the Locations tables, the Mission tables, or the Villain’s Motivation tables.
Citation
Tome of Adventure Design, p. 26 (http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/97423/Tome-of-Adventure-Design?affiliate_id=678287)
A random result will be collated from each column