Random Encounters: In the Wizard's House

It looks like a whimsical little cottage on the outside, but on the inside the Wizard's House is a bewildering maze of hallways, endless staircases, courtyards, and rooms of every size. The windows look out on a frightening variety of landscapes, some which cannot exist on Earth.

You're not the only ones exploring the Wizard's House. There are servants, guests, thieves, and the Wizard's own creations roaming the halls. Some are friendly, some are hostile — but none of them knows where the master has gone, or when he will return.

ENCOUNTERS IN THE WIZARD'S HOUSE

(Roll 1d10 if you're staying in one place, 1d20 when moving about the house.)

1. Roll Twice and Combine
2. Angel: An armored, winged warrior angel, hoping to ask the Wizard for the loan of a particular item or book.
3. Apprentice: A bumbling teenager, doing his best to act like a serious student of the magical arts. If any of the party are either a famous warrior or an attractive woman (or better yet, both) the apprentice will find excuses to hang around and make awkward conversation.*
4. Cat: A well-fed black cat with a single diamond on a gold chain around her neck.*
5. Demon: A dapper and polite former classmate of the Wizard at the Scholomance in Herrenstadt.
6. Invisible Servants: They may be invisible, but they sure make a racket, and pay no attention to anyone else as they sweep through the room, cleaning, dusting, putting things away (even if someone's trying to use something), shaking out rugs, and rearranging furniture.
7. Nosy Rival: Another highly-skilled magician, who claims to be just paying a social call on the Wizard, but is actually hoping to steal some of his sorcerous secrets.
8. Old One: A five-eyed, five-winged, tentacled creature from the hidden city at the South Pole, here to consult with the Wizard on an embarassing personal problem.
9. School of Fish: 2d10 large colorful fish swim through the room.
10. Thieves: 1d6 goblins disguised as maidservants. There's a 50 percent chance they're here to steal a particular item, and a 50 percent chance they're just looking for anything shiny.
11. Butler: A Fox-Spirit in human form, with impressive magical abilities of its own, the Butler tends to appear and disappear when you're not looking. Helpful but very busy.
12. Giant Eyeball: A huge eye, filling the room or passageway. It's obviously watching you. There's a 20 percent chance that the Giant Eyeball will take an interest in the party and follow them about.
13. Indoor Thunderstorm: This part of the house has thick black clouds hovering just under the ceiling, with lightning, high winds, and rain. Anyone passing through the storm has a 10 percent chance of getting hit by lightning, and a 100 percent chance of getting soaked.
14. Owl-Headed Bear: Nobody knows why, but every wizard seems to have one. This is a big, fierce specimen. It's trained not to attack guests or servants, but if the characters act like intruders it will try to eat them.
15. Permanent Houseguest: He came to visit many years ago and never left. The Wizard has long since forgotten about him, but he doesn't mind — he shows up for dinner, bores other guests with irrelevant stories, and knows where the good cigars are kept.
16. Tiger: It acts as if it knows where it's going and doesn't have time to stop to eat you.*
17. Trap: The Wizard has a strange sense of humor. This large room is actually his private swimming-pool, but he has cloaked it in an illusion to appear as an indoor croquet lawn. Anyone who steps onto the lawn discovers the trick, and gets very wet.
18. Uninvited Relative: She's a distant cousin of the Wizard and has come to demand that he do something about a family matter. If she can't find him, you'll do.
19. Window: This window looks out across a courtyard at an identical window, and you can see yourself looking back from the other side.
20. Tracks or Traces: Roll again to see what you just missed.

*Any encounter marked with an asterisk has a 10 percent chance of actually being the Wizard in disguise.

SITUATIONS

(Roll 1d6, then consult the table above to determine who A and B are.)

1. A desires B
2. A wants to capture B
3. A wants B dead
4. A wants to go somewhere
5. A wants to solve a mystery
6. A wants X

REACTION TABLE

(Roll 2d6 for each encounter, modified by any advantages or disadvantages the characters may have.)

2-3: Hostile — immediate attack or blatant social snub

4-5: Unfriendly — won't offer help and treats the party with great disdain

6-8: Neutral — normal reaction

9-10: Friendly — helpful and chatty

11-12: Very Friendly — won't shut up!

Comments

[garrettt]

This is a great concept.