Just The Caffeine Talking

Random Encounters: Martian-Ravaged London

(Yes, the Random Encounters are back! Once again, I'm going to try to put up one table each week.)

The Martians dropped down out of the sky onto southern England in the spring of 1899, and got as far as London before succumbing to Terrestrial germs. They left behind a devastated city, transplanted Martian organisms, alien super-technology — and Victorian society completely shattered. Now survivors are emerging from hiding, and Her Majesty's government is trying to re-establish control over the ruins.

ENCOUNTERS IN MARTIAN-RAVAGED LONDON

(Roll 1d20 if the characters are moving about the city, 1d10 if they remain in one place.)

1. Roll Twice and Combine
2. Plot Advancing Encounter: Something relevant to whatever has brought the heroes to London.
3. Disguised Detective: London's greatest consulting detective, cleverly disguised (roll again on the table to see who he's impersonating). Roll 1d10 to see who he's searching for. 1-2: German Spies (#4), 3-4: Martian Survivor, 5-6: Player-Characters, 7-8: The Professor (#8), 9-10: The Ripper.
4. German Spies: A party of 1d4 technical experts from Friederich Wilhelm University in Berlin, accompanied by twice as many German Army engineer troops. The scientists have Mauser pistols, the soldiers carry rifles. They're officially here to "evaluate the need for assistance" and unofficially to grab any Martian technology they can find.
5. Mobile Plant: A Martian species which has proved resistant to Terrestrial pathogens. During the day it spreads its leaves and stays in one place, but at night it moves about looking for living prey. The plant is blind and deaf, hunting only by scent. It has a lethal sting.
6. Naval Patrol: The near-annihilation of the British Army and London's police have left keeping order in the hands of Royal Navy shore parties. This is a team of 1d6 sailors armed with rifles, an ensign or petty officer with a pistol, and a medical corpsman. Their main priority is to locate and help survivors. They'll ignore minor looting, but meet violence with summary execution.
7. Poisonous Fog: London's infamous "pea soup" fogs have only gotten worse with the smoke of burning buildings, refugee campfires, and the deadly gas weapon of the Martian invaders. The fog covers an area 1d10 times 10 yards across, and anyone caught in it must hold his breath or take poison damage.
8. The Professor: One of England's greatest mathematical minds — and one of its most ruthless criminals. The Professor rode out the invasion in his hidden headquarters, and now is taking advantage of the chaos. He's looking for Martian devices to study, looting carefully-selected houses and museums, and assassinating all rival gang bosses as they return to the city. The Professor is accompanied by 1d6 thugs, all heavily armed.
9. Thieves: An organized gang of looters, searching for food, liquor, weapons, and valuables. With the death of the Martians they've gotten more ruthless about eliminating witnesses.
10. Wandering Lunatic: Unhinged by the horrors of the invasion, this poor individual roams the streets, calling the name of an incinerated loved one. There's a 50 percent chance that the Lunatic will mistake one of the heroes for the object of his or her search, and pursue the party thereafter.
11. Checkpoint: A fortified position at a major road intersection, manned by 2d6 Royal Marines commanded by a Naval lieutenant. Their mission is to prevent looters or curiosity-seekers from entering the city, help survivors get food and medical help, and prevent violence.
12. Flooded Area: The choking Red Weed and the destruction of drainage and water systems left an area 1d100 yards across flooded. The water's 1d6 feet deep — but there's a 10 percent chance the explorers will stumble into a deeper section by mistake. Obviously any basements, sewers, and Underground Railway sections in this area are completely flooded.
13. Gang: A band of survivors don't want you poking around their neighborhood. 2d6 toughs armed with butcher knives and clubs chase the intruders out.
14. Martian Lair: One of several outposts the Martians set up during their brief occupation of the city. It contains 1d6 items of Martian Tech (see below), 1d8-3 Mobile Plants (#5), 1d6-4 captive humans, and 2d6-10 Martian survivors (#12).
15. Martian Survivor! One of the Martian biology experts, who realized the danger from infection and managed to immunize itself. Now it hides out in the ruins, feeding on unwary refugees and plotting to trade its scientific knowledge for survival.
16. Martian Technology: Roll on the Martian Tech table below.
17. Pub: The Queen Victoria pub, in a shabby East End square untouched by Martian invasion, is open for business. The beer's overpriced and the place is lit by kerosene lanterns after dark. Customers include Royal Navy sailors, looters, scientists, Germans, and a handful of neighborhood holdouts. For now there's an unofficial truce in the pub, and troublemakers are quickly taken care of. Permanently.
18. Ruin: The party stumbles across an iconic London building half-smashed by Martians. There's a 50 percent chance that 1d8 Thieves (#9) are searching the place.
19. Trap! During the invasion Army troops and guerrillas planted improvised mines and tripwires to slow the Martian fighting-machines. The booby-trap is a dynamite bomb packed with nails and wire. Roll 1d6 to see how well it's concealed. 1-3: Obvious, 4-5: Average concealment, 6: Fiendishly well-hidden.
20. Tracks: Roll again to see what the party finds traces of.

MARTIAN TECH TABLE

Note that humans may not be aware of what these machines are, or can do, unless they've seen the devices in action. Roll 1d10 to see what the machine is, and then 1d10 for its condition.

Devices

1. Black Smoke Launcher: A tube holding 1d6 Black Smoke rockets. Each rocket flies straight and level for 1000 yards or until it hits something, leaving a trail of poison gas 20 yards wide.
2. Blood Extractor: A system of glass pipettes and flexible tubes capable of draining and storing all the blood in a human body.
3. Crystal Egg:A psychic communication device linked with another Egg back on Mars.
4. Excavating-Machine:A powerful six-legged machine with big digging scoops.
5. Fighting-Machine:A giant war tripod armed with a deadly Heat-Ray and gas projectors. It has metal tentacles capable of snatching up a human from the ground.
6. Flying-Machine:A simple airplane with folding wings, capable of holding two Martians or four humans.
7. Handling-Machine: A multipurpose work machine with multiple tentacle arms and six stumpy legs. It's unarmed, but its powerful tentacles can demolish most Earthly buildings with ease.
8. Heat-Ray: A projector for the devastating Martian heat beam.
9. Power Cylinder: A shiny green metal cylinder capable of powering one of the Martian machines or weapons. It can operate without fuel for a decade, but prolonged exposure to it harms a person's health. If broken it contaminates an area 1d100 yards across.
10. Smelter:A machine capable of turning ordinary dirt into aluminum. It takes about 10 pounds of dirt to make 1 pound of metal.

Condition

(Roll 1d10 to see what shape the device is in.)

1 to 3: Wrecked. Completely smashed and inoperable. There is a 25 percent chance that the machine is leaking toxic substances. It still is instructive to study.

4 to 6: Damaged. The machine is obviously damaged, but one might try to operate it anyway. When operating there is a 10 percent chance of catastrophic malfunction per turn, and a 10 percent chance of leaking toxic material. Useful for study.

7 or 8: Subtly Damaged. It looks intact, but there is hidden damage. As above, there's a 10 percent chance per turn of catastrophic malfunction. Useful for study.

9: Undamaged. It's ready to go! All you need are eight tentacles and a superhuman intellect, and you can use it easily. Invaluable for study.

10: Still Running. Not only is it intact, it's powered up and functioning. The "industrial" devices like Handling-Machines or Smelters will still be executing their last instructions. All you have to do is figure out how to shut it down . . .

SITUATIONS IN MARTIAN-RAVAGED LONDON

For each encounter, roll 1d6 to see what that individual wants.

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

 

Random Encounters: The Ruined Arcology

It seemed like Utopia: a city in a single building — high-tech, secure, and "sustainable." Shopping, entertainment, health clubs, offices, and services all in one gleaming structure. When the giant multinational company built it, the planners envisioned a hundred-story "company town" filled with fifty thousand workers and executives. They'd get coddled and cared for in exchange for loyalty to the company. But no plan, especially not an architect's dream, survives contact with changing markets and land values. The company went bankrupt years ago, and now the building sits, caught in a tangle of conflicting claims and lawsuits, too big to fill and too expensive to knock down. Drifters, gangs, and all manner of shady characters have taken over entire floors. Police and the demoralized building security guards prefer to stay out.    

ENCOUNTERS IN THE RUINED ARCOLOGY

(Roll 1d20 when moving, 1d10 when stationary.)

1. Roll twice and combine
2. Plot advancing encounter: Someone or something related to whatever brought you into the ruined arcology.
3. Bats! This section is home to a huge colony of bats, which leave at twilight and return at dawn. They're harmless, but most people don't know that and a hundred thousand bats are kind of intimidating.
4. Blackout: All power goes out for 2d6 times 10 minutes. Elevators stop, corridors are pitch-dark, and electronic systems shut down.
5. Deranged Cyborg: It's an eight-foot machine of rusty steel and yellowing plastic, controlled by a human brain going mad inside its support tank.
6. Drone: An autonomous machine. Roll 1d6 to see what kind it is. 1: Biomonitor taking air samples, 2: Cleaner futilely trying to vacuum and wax the floor, 3: Delivery Drone with a package worth 1d100 dollars, 4: Hunter drone hunting you with a built-in submachine gun, 5: Media drone watching you, 6: Police/Security looking for trouble.
7. Gang Members: 2d6 young tough guys armed with knives and clubs. The leader has a pistol. They will at least demand a bribe, and may just decide to defend their turf by killing you.
8. Gas Trap: The air vents fill the room with knockout gas. Victims get a chance to notice they're feeling groggy before it takes effect. After half an hour two organ-harvesters arrive wearing gas masks. They purge the atmosphere, take out their tools, and start taking people apart.
9. Girl Scouts: 2d6 girls armed with AR-15 rifles, going door to door selling cookies. All of them have the Urban Guerrilla merit badge.
10. Vigilante: He's a veteran of urban warfare, and is fully equipped with combat armor and lots of weapons. This floor is under his protection.
11. Atrium: A hundred-story shaft with broken skylights at the top. It offers access to all floors, and a way out. There are elevators which may or may not work, stairs which may or may not be barricaded — or you could just climb up or down.
12. Burned-Out Floor: A fire swept through here a few months ago. The interior walls are blackened skeletons, the ceiling is gone, and the floor has hidden holes and gaps.
13. Chased! Roll again to see who's after you. Depending on who it is, the pursuers may be a loud angry mob, a determined hunter, or a stealthy stalker.
14. Chili Shop: Akira Minamori came here from Osaka to pursue his obsessive dream of creating the world's greatest chili. His tiny unlicensed chili parlor is neutral territory because nobody wants him to stop cooking.
15. Hacker: Xu Xi (a.k.a. "2O") used to be the keystone of the corporation's IT department, now he stays in his apartment living on drone-delivered sushi. He can use the building's monitors and security systems, and take over any drones. He knows (or can find out) a lot of secrets.
16. Holograms: This area is filled with projections of what the building designers imagined when the arcology was new. There are happy families, well-scrubbed kids, and affluent shoppers, all in demographically perfect ratios.
17. Illegal Gene Parlor: "Doc" Singh who runs this place makes a living doing basic medical care, but her passion is creating new hybrid organisms. Pull out any book of monsters to see what she's cooking up.
18. Mall Ninjas: 2d4 ninjas in full "ninja costume" armed with gift-shop katanas and throwing stars. They hide in unlikely places and attack by surprise.
19. Toxic Waste: It's expensive to dispose of hazardous substances properly, but stacking the drums in empty apartments in a building nobody cares about costs almost nothing. The unlabeled drums hold biohazards, poisons, corrosive chemicals, flammable or explosive substances, and radioactive material. And they're starting to leak . . .
20. Tracks: Roll again to see what happened or passed through just before you arrived.

SITUATIONS IN THE RUINED ARCOLOGY

(Roll 1d6 for the situation, then roll on the table above to see who or what is involved.)

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

Random Encounters: At Scintillation

You've wandered into the amazing Holiday Inn Centre-Ville in Montreal, but there's some kind of odd event going on. Over the course of the weekend roll 1d20 every hour during the day to see who or what you encounter.

1. Roll Twice and Combine
2. Plot-Advancing Encounter: Someone or something related to whatever brought you to Montreal in the first place.
3. Dim Sum Lunch: 3d20 people eating Dim Sum at one of the many restaurants in Montreal's Chinatown.
4. Koi Pond: A large pond occupies the center of the hotel lobby, crossed by 1d6 bridges. The pond houses large goldfish — what makes them so big?
5. Tour Group: A band of 2d6 people setting out to explore Montreal's Old Port area.
6. Jo Walton: Award-winning fantasy writer and organizer of the Scintillation convention. Her motives for doing so are a secret. There is a 50 percent chance she is reading a poem or story aloud when encountered.
7. Bookseller: A stall selling books by writers at the convention. There is a 25 percent chance of finding the book you're looking for.
8. Scientists! 1d6 scientists answering questions from audience members. At least one scientist is Diane A. Kelly.
9. Hotel Bar: Overlooking the Koi Pond, it has decent Dim Sum and slightly pricey drinks. Roll again on the table to see who is having a drink.
10. Game Session: An original Call of Cthulhu scenario run by a tall balding man. There are 1d6-5 people playing.
11. Max Gladstone: Fantasy author and occasional fencer; can be bribed to join in any skullduggery.
12. Fran Wilde: Fantasy writer and artist. There is a 50 percent chance she is accompanied by an invisible flying giant squid.
13. Rich Horton: Editor and reviewer with a large beard. There is a 25 percent chance that it is his birthday.
14. Editors! 1d6 Tor Books editors armed with cake knives.
15. Ada Palmer: University of Chicago historian and science fiction novelist, equipped with a robot flying car.
16. Reading: 1d6 authors reading fiction. There is a 50 percent chance it is fantasy.
17. Panel Discussion: 2d4 writers, editors, or scholars discussing a topic related to science fiction, fantasy, or games. There is a 50 percent chance per minute of learning some valuable information.
18. Concert: 1d6 writers and professors performing original music.
19. Party! 3d20 people in a function room eating cake and drinking Canadian beer.
20. Tracks/Aftermath: Roll again to see what you just missed. There is a 50 percent chance you will be drafted to help clean up.

Random Encounters: The Underground World

No, not the familiar roleplaying realm of 10-foot grid squares and angsty Drow. This is the underworld of pulp adventure! In giant caves and artificial tunnels, three factions war for supremacy: the sadistic Deros, masters of ancient super-science; the dreaded Fungus Vampires; and the primordial Cthonians. Explorers may find their way down here through natural caves, or aboard a mechanical mole machine. Getting out is the hard part.

ENCOUNTERS UNDERGROUND

(Roll 1d20 when moving, 1d10 when stationary.)

1. Roll Twice and Combine
2. Plot Advancing Encounter: Someone or something related to the reason the heroes are underground in the first place.
3. Bugs! A swarm of mutant cockroaches capable of generating (and withstanding) high temperatures. Anyone within the swarm takes burning damage, and gear made of cloth or paper may catch fire.
4. Cthonian: A huge silicon-skinned worm with tentacles and a hostile intellect. It cannot speak but can write with acid on the rocks. There is a 50 percent chance it is hungry, and desires only to eat the party, but otherwise it will try to force or bribe humans into serving it.
5. Dero Raiding Party: 2d6 Deros patrolling the caverns in search of runaways, fungal encroachments, or intruders from the Upper World. Half are armed with nerve-whips, the others have flamethrowers.
6. Flood! A sudden surge of water fills the cave you're in. Swim for the exit or risk being swept away.
7. Fungus Vampires: Once members of the Ahnenerbe-SS Hollow Earth expedition of 1940, they are now 1d6 gray brittle monstrosities desperate to feed on living tissue.
8. Giant Salamander: It's big, hungry, and relentless. Though blind, it can sense vibrations and follow a trail by scent, and it can squeeze through any opening.
9. Runaway Slave: A captive of the Deros who decided the chance of freedom was worth the risk. He bears the scars of horrifying surgeries inflicted as punishment, and knows a lot about the hidden empire of the Deros.
10. Tremor! Rocks fall as the earth shakes and shifts. Once the immediate danger is over, you may find old passages blocked and new ones created.
11. Ancient Passages: Artificial tunnels thousands of years old. The carvings on the walls reveal disturbing truths about the origin of humanity.
12. Dero City: A huge cave lit by radium lamps, filled by a labyrinthine city of gold and obsidian. 2d6 thousand Deros live here, with twice that number of slaves. Assume 1/20 of the Deros are trained soldiers armed with flamethrowers or nerve-whips.
13. Egg Chamber: A room holding 3d6 Cthonian eggs. Harming them makes you a giant superintelligent worm enemy for life. But Deros will pay well for them in slaves or ancient super-tech.
14. Fungus Hunters: 2d6 Fungus Vampires pursuing you. The Fungus Intelligence wants something and won't give up until it gets it.
15. Gas Cave: A cave full of methane. You start to feel dizzy after 1d6 minutes, and will pass out and suffocate if you can't get out. And if you have any open flame with you . . . BOOM!
16. Nazi Tunnel Machine: The Ahnenerbe-SS Bohrwagen,long since rusted into immobility. But inside there are usable machine-pistols, drinking water, canned meat, and sealed packets of hardtack. A clever technician can make use of the machine's parts, and it's possible the crew cached some loot here before the Fungus Intelligence took them.
17. Spiders: A cave full of webs and giant albino spiders.
18. Trap! (Roll 1d6) 1-3: Dero Psychic Field prevents you from leaving, 4-5: Fungus Spore Bomb infects you, 6: Crude Snare tangles you for 1d6 rounds.
19. Underground River: A swift and cold river, big enough for boats. Getting across it is a challenge, and one can only sail downstream. Where does it lead? There is a 50 percent chance that swimmers will attract Giant Salamanders or blind cave piranhas.
20. Tracks: Roll again to see what passed recently.

SITUATIONS UNDERGROUND

(Roll 1d6 for a situation, then roll on the table above to determine the parties involved.)

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

Random Encounters: Elizabethan London

The Virgin Queen is on the throne, Drake harries the Spanish at sea, and Walsingham counters their plots at home. Somehow, England is becoming a superpower, and London is at the heart of it all. In the narrow, filthy streets, noblemen rub elbows with footpads, while spies and poets drink together in the taverns. You can run into anyone in Queen Elizabeth's London. 

ENCOUNTERS IN ELIZABETHAN LONDON

(Roll 1d20 when moving about the city, 1d10 when stationary.)

1. Roll twice and Combine
2. Plot Advancing Encounter: Someone or something related to whatever brought you to London.
3. Barber: He's going door-to-door offering his services. These include a smooth shave, boils lanced, all the latest gossip, and possibly some throat-cutting if your enemies have paid him well.
4. Dogs: A pack of 2d6 feral dogs, and something has riled them up.
5. Drunken Sailors: They've blown all their pay on cheap wine, and now they're out on the street looking for (1) women, (2) more wine, or money to acquire (1) and (2).
6. Mountebank: He's selling magical charms and remedies, served up with an impressive line of patter.
7. Nobleman: Roll 1d6. On a 1-2 this is a gentleman incognito, his costly clothing hidden under a drab cloak. On a 3-4 it's a pair of noblemen out for an evening's entertainment. On a 5-6 it's a great lord and his entourage on horseback.
8. Spy: Roll 1d6. On a 1-3, this is one of Sir Francis Walsingham's counterintelligence agents. On a 4-5 it's a Spanish operative, and on a 6 it's a French spy. Any spy will have a cover identity, of course.
9. Tempest: More than the usual London drizzle; this is heavy rain and wind fit to knock down chimney-pots. Only a fool would be out on the streets in such weather.
10. Thieves: 1d6 men armed with cudgels, who want your valuables. If you have any important documents they want those, too.
11. Angry Mob: Somehow a rumor got started that you're a Spanish spy, or maybe a Jesuit, or possibly a witch. Maybe all three. Anyway, there's 2d6 times 10 people chasing you with mayhem in mind, and more joining all the time.
12. Bailiff: You have unpaid debts, and this man has come to detain you until they are paid. You can come along quietly, or his 1d6 followers armed with clubs will rough you up.
13. Bridewell: Once a royal palace, now used to house vagrants, debtors, and "disorderly women." The place is in terrible shape and looks like an awful firetrap. It's a big building full of odd additions and temporary construction, so anyone could stay hidden here for days.
14. Cattle: A herd of beef on the hoof, being driven to Smithfield for slaughter and sale. You'll have to wait for them to pass, which will take ten minutes at least, or risk cutting through the herd.
15. Den of Thieves: This tavern is a notorious haven for highwaymen, footpads, bandits, and pirates. Anyone who looks suspicious or well-off will get a hostile reception.
16. Fire! A house is ablaze, and the flames are starting to threaten nearby structures. There may be people trapped inside — and a large crowd is gathering in the street.
17. Player: A young fellow up from the provinces, who is a decent actor and a promising writer. He'll get involved in any goings-on if there's a chance of profit.
18. St. Paul's Cathedral: Not the one built by Wren, this is a vast medieval Gothic church. It's a center of trade and culture as well as faith: the city's booksellers have taken over the churchyard, and other vendors cluster around the doors.
19. Strangers: 1d6 men and women with strange accents (and barbarous grammar), who seem oddly obsessed with Court politics and the theatrical world. Their clothing is new and perfectly clean, and they all have perfect teeth. Are they spies? If assailed they can defend themselves with pepper spray and tasers.
20. Tracks/Aftermath: Roll again to see what you find traces of (in the case of specific buildings, you find tracks leading in that direction).

SITUATIONS IN ELIZABETHAN LONDON

(Roll 1d6, then use the table above to determine the identities of A and B.)

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 an object.

Random Encounters: Monster Island!

No one's exactly sure where Monster Island lies. Those secretive government men in sunglasses made sure it's omitted from the charts. It may be off Siberia, or in the Indian Ocean. It may even be a peninsula. Nobody knows for sure.

What we do know is that it had a thriving native ecosystem of giant creatures, most of them surprisingly aggressive. During the postwar era it became the perfect dumping-ground for invaders from space, radiation-spawned monstrosities, and the work of mad scientists.

Unfortunately the coverup worked a little too well. The people in charge of keeping Monster Island a secret forgot to pass key information to their successors. Only a few people even suspect it exists any more, and none of them know where it is or how to find it.

Which means any island you come across might just be . . . MONSTER ISLAND!

ENCOUNTERS ON MONSTER ISLAND

(Roll 1d20 when exploring or being chased, 1d10 when encamped.)

1. Roll twice and combine
2. Plot Advancing Encounter: Someone or something related to the reason you came to Monster Island — or to getting off of Monster Island again.
3. The Big Guy: The biggest monster on the island, probably trademarked. You know which one I mean. Not even the whole Japanese Self-Defense Force can stop it.
4. Blob Monster: It's a titanic mass of gelatinous flesh, oozing along and consuming everything in its path. You can outrun it — but for how long?
5. Mad Scientist: He's got a string of advanced degrees, a white lab coat, thick goggles, and epic hair. Some or all of the monsters do his bidding. And you're exactly what he needs for his latest project!
6. Storm! For 1d6 hours the island is lashed with high winds and powerful rain. None of the creatures seek shelter — instead the weather seems to make them even more aggressive.
7. Super-Apes: 2d6 Gorillas with human intelligence and a bad attitude. They may serve the Mad Scientist, or they may have rebelled against him as the first step toward conquering all humans.
8. Sylvia Scientist: The brilliant and lovely daughter of the Mad Scientist, she is much more sympathetic. Her own projects are conveniently portable, because she wants more than anything to leave the island.
9. Wicked Weasels: A swarm of fierce, flesh-ripping weasels!
10. Time-Lost Explorers: 1d4 travelers whose routine expedition somehow went awry, stranding them here. They may be from the past, or the future — or possibly they are the future selves of the player-characters!
11. Crab Canyon: It looks safe, until the big white "boulders" start to move and you realize this is where 1d6 Giant Crabs make their home.
12. Crashed Plane: It's a C-130, crashed here some time in the 1970s. The radio doesn't work and the plane will never fly again, but it does provide shelter, the first-aid kit is intact, and the cargo is just what you need right now!
13. Cyclopean Ruins: They're exceedingly ancient, maybe pre-human. The worn carvings show monsters you've already met, but they're fleeing something which isn't shown. There's a big stone door with a complicated seal on it — what's behind it?
14. Giant Spiderweb: This section of jungle is swathed in sticky strands tougher than steel. 2d6 Giant Spiders can sense if you're cutting a path, and will come hungrily to see what's struggling in their web.
15. Log Bridge: The path crosses a deep chasm, and you have a choice. Use the slippery log bridge, which large monsters could knock down into the abyss? Or swing across on vines — one of which is probably a big snake?
16. Non-Euclidian Zone: The geometry of this part of the island is bizarre. Distances are distorted, paths loop through time and space, and it's almost impossible to avoid getting lost.
17. Plesiosaur: The lake looks placid, but a Plesiosaur is lurking under the surface, ready to lash out with its long neck and snatch prey from passing boats.
18. Pursuers: Hungry dinosaurs are chasing you! Roll 1d10 to see what. 1-3: 1d4 Allosauruses, 4-7: 2d6 Velociraptors, 8: Lone Tyrannosaur, 9-10: Flock of 2d6 Pterodactyls*.
19. Volcano Erupts! The traditional sign that it's time to get the heck off the island. If you've only just arrived, this is merely a precursor to the eruption that will sink the place. Perfectly normal, nothing to be concerned about. If you've been chased around already, this is the Big One.
20. Tracks/Aftermath: Roll again to see what you find traces of.

*I know, they're reptiles, not dinosaurs. Sheesh.

Random Encounters: Aboard the Generation Ship

Travel between the stars takes a long time. Your ship has been voyaging for centuries, and centuries remain before it reaches the destination world. Unfortunately, over that kind of timespan, things can break down: ship systems, information storage, civilization . . .

The ship is huge, with vast habitat areas containing transplated ecosystems from Earth. Some of the organisms were genetically modified before the voyage began, and some have mutated. All are feral and many are dangerous. Even more dangerous are the rival tribes: the arrogant Komans, the warlike Scuridi, the horribly-mutated Tex, and the fanatical Virons.

ENCOUNTERS ABOARD THE GENERATION SHIP

(Roll 1d20 when moving about the ship, 1d10 when stationary.)

1. Roll twice and combine
2. Plot advancing encounter: Something related to whatever led you to venture beyond your village and explore the ship's wild spaces.
3. Bees! A huge swarm of bees, moving with deadly purpose. Their stings are supposedly non-venomous, but enough pinprick jabs can add up to real harm. The swarm is sentient and wishes to destroy any animals in the area. It gets less intelligent as the swarm takes damage.
4. Bodoc: An ancient medical robot, still loyal to its programming and eager to help humans. It can repair most injuries or acute medical conditions in a few hours, but there is a 10 percent chance that it only makes the problem worse.
5. Control Terminal: It has a touch-screen displaying controls and data in a language nobody reads any more. Fooling with it can have all sorts of results, from comic to deadly. But it's worth tryng because sometimes a terminal leads to fantastic treasure.
6. Cyanists: Some of the reclusive keepers of secret knowledge, feared by all the other tribes. They take samples and notes, and occasionally capture interesting-looking "ferals" for study. There are 1d6 Cyanists aboard a hover-platform, accompanied by a powerful robot armed with a particle blaster.
7. Life-Support Malfunction: A sudden spell of weather, completely wrong for the local environment (snow in a jungle area, sandstorms in a swamp, etc.). The weird weather lasts 1d6 hours, but the effects can last for days.
8. Mutant Rooster: It's as tall as a man, armed with a beak and vicious spurs, and it furiously attacks anything that doesn't look like a giant hen.
9. Strucker: A big construction robot, far gone in malfunctioning madness. It knows that people live in houses, so it attempts to grab any human it encounters and stuff them into one of the houses it has built. Inside there are the bones of previous occupants.
10. War Band: 2d6 members of an enemy tribe, armed with spears and bows. There is a 10 percent chance that the leader has an air-gun and 1d6 explosive bullets. If the warriors are Tex, there is a 20 percent chance that the leader has a laser gun instead.
11. Bandit Camp: You've stumbled across 2d6 bandits sharing a meal. Talk fast, draw your weapons, or start running!
12. Cargo Container: Everyone knows these white 3-meter cubes hold all sorts of valuable goods. Unfortunately, this one conceals 1d4 warriors of a rival tribe armed with metal swords.
13. Ghosts: An old holographic entertainment zone has activated again, so now you're menaced by intangible projections from an ancient Earth game. Use any other Random Encounters table to see what you see.
14. Intruders: There's a hole in the ground and 1d6 strange beings are climbing out of it to look around. They have six limbs, no heads, and wear sealed spacesuits. They're trying to figure out what this huge alien spaceship is doing near their home star system.
15. Pursuit! 1d6 enemy warriors riding a stolen hover-platform are after you.
16. Radiation Zone: The shielding here failed a long time ago, so now even the soil is mildly radioactive. Camping here produces long-term health problems, and living here leads to mutations in your descendants.
17. Ruin: This multi-family house was abandoned when the power systems failed. It still contains some forgotten personal items and tools, but the nearest tribe considers it sacred ground, taboo to outsiders.
18. Trading Post: A hatch to the service passages where the Tex tribe lives. A small settlement has grown up around the hatch, and the locals trade food for technological goods.
19. Tree-Puss: Not a cat at all, but a mutant octopus which climbs trees, using its camouflage to hide until prey passes below. It's quite smart and knows that humans have vulnerable necks just right for a couple of powerful tentacles to grab.
20. Tracks/Aftermath: Roll again to see what you just missed.

SITUATIONS ABOARD THE GENERATION SHIP

(Roll 1d6 to determine the situation, then roll 1d20 on the table above to figure out who's involved.)

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.

Random Encounters: Aboard the Alien Saucer

You managed to slip out of the lab before they could do whatever it was they were planning — and then erase all your memories of the event. Now you're wandering around the alien spaceship in your pajamas, trying to find a way back to Earth. The inside of the saucer is a maze of passages, hatchways, compartments, and lift shafts. Who knows what you'll find?

Roll 1d20 if you're moving around the saucer, 1d10 if you're staying put in a single compartment.

1. Roll Twice and Combine
2. Plot Advancing Encounter: Either a method of escape or a clue about the mysterious plans of your alien captors.
3. Dimensional Parasites: They look like multicolored geometric shapes and are drawn to sources of energy. Each is quite flimsy, but 1d6 of them appear each round.
4. Grey Crew: 1-2 standard skinny, big-headed, grayish-green ETs. There is a 50% chance they are searching for you and are armed with a paralysis wand.
5. Meteor Swarm! The saucer is bombarded by sand and pebbles which strike like cannonballs. Alarms start hooting and lights start flashing, and all the crew rush to emergency stations. There is a 10% chance the compartment you're in gets a hole punched in it.
6. Pleiadian Slave: Descended from humans taken off Earth before the Ice Age, this platinum-haired captive detests the Reptoids and will help you.
7. Predatory Xenomorph: It has nasty claws and teeth, and is very hungry. You look appetizing.
8. Reptoid Officer: A graceful and super-intelligent reptilian being, equipped with a multi-purpose electronic bracelet (acts as a door key, paralysis/pain beam, communicator, and translator). There is a 50% chance it is searching for you, in which case it is accompanied by a Robot.
9. Robot: A floating silver sphere equipped with force-beams, paralysis projectors, and a grating voice shouting one-word commands.
10. Time Loop: You're back at a previous encounter, as if everything since that moment never happened. But you remember . . .
11. Ambush: A Reptoid officer and two Grey crew have concealed their presence using an illusion-projector, and won't reveal themselves until they can get the drop on you.
12. Brain Room: Lined with cylinders holding the brains of individuals from dozens of worlds. Each has a communication link so you can speak to the occupants. All of them dislike the Reptoids, but that's no guarantee they're friendly to you.
13. Captives: A cell holding 1d4 other humans — but they're guarded by a Robot.
14. Equipment Locker: A compartment holding all kinds of useful devices (assuming you can figure out how to work them) — uniforms, spacesuits, weapons, tools, communicators, medical kits, fire extinguishers, force shields, and towels.
15. Guards: A pair of Greys armed with paralysis wands are guarding the exit from this compartment.
16. Psychic Hazard: This compartment is flooded with overwhelming sensations of despair and defeat. Only the strongest minds can resist giving up or falling unconscious.
17. Pursuit! 1d4 Greys armed with paralysis wands are after you!
18. Regeneration Chamber: 1d12 Greys in transparent pods, basking in refreshing crystal energy. It takes 4 rounds for the occupants to open their pods.
19. Trap! It looks like a human teenage girl, but it's actually a Reptoid in a cunning disguise!
20. Tracks: Roll again to see what you find traces of.

Random Encounters: Aboard the Mauretania

In 1925 the famous RMS Mauretania is the fastest and most luxurious liner on the Atlantic run, crossing from Liverpool to New York in just six days. That still leaves passengers plenty of time to get into mischief. With two thousand passengers, eight hundred crew, and vast interior spaces for stowaways to hide in, there's never a shortage of people to meet.

ENCOUNTERS ABOARD THE MAURETANIA

(Roll d20 when moving, d10 when stationary.)

1. Roll Twice and Combine.
2. Plot Advancing Encounter: An encounter with someone or something connected to the reason you're traveling aboard the Mauretania right now.
3. Con Man: Prince Ivan Rudolf Habsburg-Romanoff is third in line to the throne of Estonia, and knows the location of the hidden gold of the Tsars near Tallinn. He just needs a few thousand dollars to cover expenses and will repay the loan tenfold — and make his benefactors Dukes! "Prince Ivan" is really Yves Bergier, formerly a waiter at the Ritz in Paris.
4. Gangsters: 2d6 tough guys in flashy clothes, heading back to New York from a visit to Sicily. They're touchy about insults, suspicious about nosy strangers, and tend to use threats and violence as the solutions to all problems.
5. Lifeboat Drill: Drop whatever you're doing and hurry on up to the boat deck! Find your assigned lifeboat! Everyone on board is milling about; you can get lost in the crowd or maybe get into someplace you wouldn't be allowed normally.
6. Monster: There's a vampire on board, or an alien carnivore in human form, or a demon jumping from host to host. Or maybe just a serial murderer taking advantage of a target-rich environment. Whatever sort of monster it is, you're all in peril.
7. Rat Swarm: A moving carpet of rats covering 1d6 square yards. They're maddened and hungry and attack anyone in their path.
8. Storm! A brutal North Atlantic storm lasting 1d4 days. During the storm the ship tosses violently and the decks are lashed by wind and rain. Most of the passengers stay in their cabins, leaving only a few hardy souls in the public spaces.
9. Tipsy Meddlers: Charles and Tillie Sinclair are very rich, drink champagne with breakfast before switching to martinis at noon, and love to solve other people's problems. If they take a liking to you, they can help in a variety of ways — Tillie went to school with the daughters of the President of the Cunard Line, Charles spent World War I doing espionage in Turkey and Central Asia, and both of them are considerably smarter than they look.
10. Wolf: It's a standard gray wolf, but how did it get aboard? If there's a full moon out, this might be one of the passengers . . .
11. Bomb! A handmade dynamite bomb inside a valise. Maybe it's intended for the characters, or maybe a disgruntled crewman or deranged passenger set it to sow chaos. The heroes may have to disarm it, or get it overboard, or deal with the after-effects of a blast.
12. Bore: Colonel Grouse-Potherby spent The War in darkest Manchester, but he firmly believes his epic anecdotes about his service are absolutely fascinating to everyone. The Colonel will attach himself to anyone who looks willing to listen, and will ignore any of their attempts to break free.
13. Drug Peddler: Kindly old Dr. Collins makes monthly trips across the Atlantic aboard the Mauretania, and his pal Freddy the steward sees that he is never disturbed. But if you're looking to buy cocaine or morphine, Freddy can steer you to Dr. Collins's stateroom. Neither of them take kindly to nosy interlopers.
14. Fumes: A careless workman spilled a bucket of paint thinner in one of the staterooms, and now the whole room reeks of toluene. If you breathe it too long it'll make you drunk or knock you out, and one lit match can turn the room into a firestorm.
15. Laundry Chute or Ventilator: It's a shaft leading from the upper decks of the ship down into the working sections where passengers never go. A quick way to escape pursuers, or dispose of something illicit.
16. Mysterious Inscriptions: Someone has scrawled Egyptian hieroglyphs on the wall in red paint — or is it blood? What do they say, and what does it mean?
17. Mysterious Lights: During the night you can make out lights in the dark water outside — and lights in the sky! A skeptic would say it's some sort of atmospheric effect, but it sure looks like some kind of strange vehicle keeping pace with the ship.
18. Shadow: Wherever you look, that odd little man with the obviously false mustache seems to be watching you. He's keeping track of where you go on board and who you talk to.
19. Ship's Infirmary: The Mauretania carries two doctors, and has separate hospital cabins for passengers and crew. You can get medical help here, at least as good as anything outside of a major hospital.
20. Tracks: Roll again to see what you find traces of.

SITUATIONS ABOARD THE MAURETANIA

(Roll 1d6 to generate a situation, and roll on the table above to see who is involved.)

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

WorldCon 76 Report: Day 2

On Friday the 17th I dressed in my frankly magnificent Professional Author costume and plunged into the convention. All the really interesting panels seem to be first thing in the morning, so I went to one on constructing alternate histories, called "If This, Then What?" After that I took a pass through the dealer room and came across Colonel Professor Doctor Brett Cox showing off his new book, which I immediately purchased and got him to sign.

At noon I did my own panel for this convention, "The Culinary Speculative: Food in Fiction." We talked about how food can be an important symbol in stories — though sadly nobody shared any recipes.

After that I met a friend for lunch and then spent the afternoon wandering about the convention. Because most of the panels are very well-attended, it's difficult to just drop into one after it starts, as there's no place to sit. 

At the end of the day I watched the panel on "Not Hugo-Nominated Novels You Should Read," and then joined some fellow writers and scientists for dinner at a Chinese place nearby. After that we attended a party hosted by Tor Books at the Hilton hotel, and finished the evening by cruising the room parties in the Fairmont Hotel.

Thoroughly tired and a little unsteady, we retired to the room and told the rest of the Crack Team to quit playing computer games and go to bed.