Wizard Dad: Locations, Encounters and Objects that can be found in a Citadel Slum

So, I am playing an old school (genre not system) Sword & Sorcery campaign, the next leg of which takes me to the foreigners quarter of a community that live the shadow of a great and ancient citadel two miles into a glacier. I like my games to be a spontaneous as possible, but I don't necessarily want to spend a lot of play time working on trivium. So, here are three list of 10 things that can be found in the freezing foreign slums in the shadow of an ancient magical citadel... in a glacier.  

Encounters

1. Guard Patrols. (Are they honest or corrupt? If corrupt are they just take a bribe corrupt or do they constitute a gang unto themselves?)
2. Merchants. (are they poor and desperate? are they rich and cunning? are they poor and cunning? what do they have to sell?)
3. Rats. (are they normal rats? if not how are they abnormal?)
4. Stranded Foreigners (how did they get stranded here? how do they get by? why is there a foreign quarter at all?)
5. A drunk or otherwise intoxicated person (do they even notice you? is it a well off citizen slumming? Is it a desperate soul seeking solace in a bottle? Are they aggressive? Are they hallucinating?)
6. A local holy person (are they seeking converts? offering service to the poor? from a local cult? from a foreign cult found only in this district? Are they proselytizing?) 
7. A local mystic (Are they a diviner hawking fortunes? A fraud seeking money? An alchemist seeking ingredients?)
8. Thieves (are they part of a larger gang or organization? are they currently involved in thieving? are they seeking to profit or just to get by?)
9. Citizens (are they here for business reasons? are they poor and outcast and thus have to live amid the foreigners? are they arrogant because of there station, even if they have little more than the poor?)
10. A stalking beast (a dangerous animal released for the amusement of the mighty? a monster from the ice or steps? a mad man with a knife or sword? a murderous spirit?)

Locations

1. Tavern or inn (is it clean? is it a pit? do they bother to keep it warm? is it upstanding or hive of scum and villainy)
2. Guard Post (is it manned? clean? drab? full of trophies?)
3. Bureaucratic office (what do they do? are they corrupt? is the building in good repair against the squalor of the district or is it a symbol of order dragged into the chaos)
4. Private home of note (does it stand out because of its size? because of a aura of menace? is it a rambling mansion falling in on itself from disrepair, or the home of a famed hero/adventure/impoverished sage?)
5. Hospital or sanatorium. (who is sponsors it? is it free in this poor district or another way of squeezing pennies from the poor? Is just a place to store the sick until they die or can adequate care be given? Does it favor a certain class of people or is it open to the public
6. Casino or other house of Vice (does it front as a different sort of business? Is its trade open and visible or is it visited furtively? is it an accepted part of the district? does its reputation connect it to organized crime
7. Temple (is this devoted to a single god? a local power? a foreign cult? or maybe it is a place of spiritual philosophy that transcends, or is beneath, the care of the great powers. 
8. Apothecary (is this run by a wise one devoted to the healing arts? does it deal in trivialities as well as medicines? can you by illicit drugs at the back door and medicines out the front? does it even need to hide its darker more dangerous wares?)
9. The home of a mystic (is this a failed sorcerer now living in exile and shame? a shaman of the streets? a diviner or some other fortune teller? a very talented fraud? a witch with all the dark bargains this implies? or just a lore master who knows a few spells, but is steeped in information)
10. A gang warren (is this a brash building with the gangs symbol emblazoned on the building or is it just known as a dangerous place because of the ruffians hanging about the doors?)

Objects

1. Object made of un-melting ice (what is it? a statuette, a tool, just a chunk of glowing glacial ice?)
2. A weapon (what sort of weapon? is it broken? is it of mysteriously high quality?)
3. Rubbish (compost heap? broken furniture? is there something shining in the heap?)
4. A dead creature (is it a dog, a cat, a giant rat, or a human? Does it look out of place, diseased, mutilated, or dead by exposure?)
5. Paper/parchment (a book page that has been ripped out? A lost note? a list? an official document now far out of place? a leaflet such as a religious track or advertisement?)
6. Jewelry (is it junk jewelry? something simple of precious metal? Is it engraved? Does it have a precious stone? carved from ivory or bone?)
7. Dice or cards (crudely carved or painted? single die or card with ominous portents? well painted cards or ivory dice in a simple crude box? marked cards or loaded dice?)
8. Money or trade goods (a pittance? a substantial amount? too much to have been dropped by accident?)
9. Teeth (Human? predator? on a leather thong? artificial? ivory? metal?)
10. A key (simple? skeleton? barreled? engraved with address? so alien it may not be a key at all?)

Mythic Index Topic 11: The Creature Crafter Expanded

Adventures are made up of many elements, but if action is your goal, a good monster is probably the first thing we reach for, but after your first few decades as a player or GM some of the surprise goes out of even the most fierce monster. In comes the Creature Crafter to the rescue. 

The Creature Crafter on its own is a very useful book but it can be a bit much for spontaneous real time play. The articles below help to speed up its use, or replace it all together. 

Looks like you have a tough fight ahead. Swords high and best of Luck.

• “Creature Crafter Simplified”
• MM Vol. 13, pg. 14
• “One-Page Creature Crafter”
• MM Vol. 34, pg. 3

Mythic Locations 2: Mad Libs Locations For Location Crafter RPG supplement, Neighborhood of a Metropolis

So, I am playing a game which is going to have a long urban segment. I want to get a feel for what is in the foreigners quarter. Before playing it out I am going to build a template, as I did way back in Mythic Locations 1, some months ago. After play and populate it I will then post up a finished district here, for any of you folks to put to what ever use you want, but the template will be setting agnostic.

If you want to do this for yourself, pick up MM #16 and you may well want to have the core book Location Crafter

Lets dive in. I am skipping the City Region Descriptors Table and the City Story Descriptors Table for now because I want an agnostic template. That leads us to jumping straight into the various city elements until we hit complete. (You can find a useful fillable PDF at https://www.wordmillgames.com/resources.html).

1. Location (small) PP(progress points) 0 Random (Confusing/Small) ; Encounters PP0 Expected; Objects PP0 Random (Inactive/Prized); Connection Roll on Description Meaning Tables (Happily/Aromatic)

2.Location (small) PP1 Expected ; Encounters PP1 None; Objects PP1 None; Connection Leads directly to another Area.

3. Location (small) PP2 Expected ; Encounters PP2 None; Objects PP2 Known, or Random (weapon/magnificent); Connection Same, with a curve or turn

4. Location (small) PP3 Random (Moving/Empty) ; Encounters PP3 None; Objects PP3 None; Connection Roll on Description Meaning Tables (Majestically/Quaint)

5. Location (small) PP4 Random (Positive/Modern) ; Encounters PP4 None; Objects PP4 Expected; Connection Roll on Description Meaning Tables (Mechanical/Mysterious)

6. Location (small) PP5 Expected ; Encounters PP5 Random (Generous/Mighty); Objects PP5 Known or Special (EXIT HERE); Connection Same

7.  Location (small) PP6 Known or Special (Supersized complete) ; Encounters PP6 Expected, PP-6; Objects PP6 Expected; Connection Stairs

8.  Location (small) PP7 Expected, PP-6 ; Encounters PP0 None ; Objects PP7 None; Connection Same

9. Location (small) PP1 Random (Active/Warm) ; Encounters PP1 None ; Objects PP8 Expected; Connection Bridge

10. Location (small) PP2 Expected ; Encounters PP2 Expected ; Objects PP9 Expected, PP-6; Connection Expected.

11. Location (small) PP3 Expected ; Encounters PP3 Expected ; Objects PP3 Random (fortunate/enormous); Connection Same, with a curve or turn

12. Location (small) PP4 Complete (Expected) ; Encounters PP4 Expected ; Objects PP4 None; Connection Same, with a curve or turn with barrier.

After I have a chance to wander around and get to know the district I will put up the filled out portions and 

Mythic Index by Topic 10: Themed Adventures and Theming Adventures

Oof. This is a big topic, but an important one.

Mythic can, straight from the book, offer any type of game, and if you play it straight from the book, assuming you can be a bit nuanced with your Fate Questions, you can guide it towards any play style. 

The articles below offer some help to get the exact game you set out to play, with combinations of systems and tips, that take some of that pressure of nuance off of your mind, so you can focus more on the fun!

• “Creating Mystery Adventures”
• MM Vol. 6, pg. 4
• “Using Mythic With Published Adventures”
• MM Vol. 3, pg. 4
• “Control Your Adventure With Keyed Scenes”
• MM Vol. 10, pg. 12
• “Emotional Quest Adventures”
• MM Vol. 14, pg. 3
• “Crafting Solo Horror Adventures”
• MM Vol. 19. pg. 20 
• “Conclusive Adventure Conclusions”
• MM Vol. 20, pg. 3
• “Turn Any Show, Movie, Or Book Into A Solo Adventure”
• MM Vol. 20, pg. 17
• “Generating Adventure Puzzles”
• MM Vol. 23, pg. 18
• “The Event Crafter”
• MM Vol. 24, pg. 3
• “Running Solo Procedural Dramas”
• MM Vol. 26, pg. 3
• “Giving Mythic A Personality”
• MM Vol. 27, pg. 3
• “Never-Ending Adventures”
• MM Vol. 28, pg. 3
• “Gather A Crew” Mythic Adventures”
• MM Vol. 32, pg. 3
• “Open World, Sandbox Solo Play”
• MM Vol. 33, pg. 3
• “Mythic Mass Combat System”
• MM Vol. 33, pg. 12
• “RPGs As Inspiration For Mythic Adventures”
• MM Vol. 35, pg. 3
• “Location Based Adventures”
• MM Vol. 36, pg. 3
• “Mythic Stress & Fear Rules”
• MM Vol. 36, pg. 16
• “Solo Roleplay In Video Games”
• MM Vol. 37, pg. 16
• “Solo Setting & World Creation System”
• MM Vol. 38, pg. 3
• “Make Your Own Elements Meaning Tables”
• MM, Vol. 38, pg. 26
• “Meaning Table Collections”
• MM, Vol. 40, pg. 3
• “Rules & Tools For Science Fiction Adventures”
• MM Vol. 40, pg. 16
• “The Villain Crafter”
• MM Vol. 41, pg. 3
• “Mythic as a Player Emulator”
• MM Vol. 41, pg. 18
• “3-Act Structure For Mythic Adventures”
• MM Vol.43, pg. 12
• “Creating Game Loops In Solo Play”
• MM Vol. 43, pg. 3
• “Running Solo Slice Of Life Adventures”
• MM Vol. 44, pg. 39
• “Magical Tradition Generator”
• MM Vol. 45, pg. 18
• “Star System Creator”
• MM Vol. 46, pg. 3
• “Solo Adventures In The Style Of Found Journals”
• MM Vol. 46, pg. 34
• "One Page Mystery Crafter"
• MM Vol. 47, pg. 3
• "Cozy Solo"
• MM Vol. 48, pg. 3
• "Steal the Rebellion"
• MM Vol. 48, pg. 16

Blog Update: Its Alive!

Through a stroke of good luck, at the ripe old age of 48, I am a student again. I am working on expanding my professional skills through some certification preparation courses. The only down side of this is that it does chew through the time I used to devote to blog articles. 

I am piping up just say "the blog still lives!" but perforce my output is drastically slowed. 

I do have a few project to post on the horizon. I have been experimenting with a cozy mystery setting which I feel could be a nice way to relax and a nice break from the normal super speed pace of rpgs. With that said though I am also going back to set piece building and I will be adding some locations that I had the good fortune to game through, that I think could be fun for other players or GMs as well. 

I can't give a firm date on when I will knock those out, but I can say, though slowed, I am still out here trying to put out some quality content to make your life as solo player a little easier.

If you read this far thanks for sticking with me.
W.D.

Variation 11: Using Mythic with Prepared Adventures

Using Mythic with Prepared Adventures (MGME2 pgs. 156 - 165)

Return to ToC

The general trend in solo pprpg gaming, as I have noted through personal observation, is to spin out stories spontaneously, perhaps using a few guidelines, like generating a few NPC and locations a head of time. 

With that said though, there is a great deal of fun to be had in the 50+ years of game modules that have been written by some of the best writers in the RPG field. It is only natural to want to give these a spin.

The essay "Using Mythic with Prepared Adventures", as a direct connection with an earlier iteration on the same theme found in 

• “Using Mythic With Published Adventures”
• MM Vol. 3, pg. 4.

The focus of this article is the same as the essay above, but there are a couple of other articles that can enrich the experience of using a module to guide you.

Perhaps you have already run the module through so there are few surprises to be found, but you would like to see how it would have unfolded with a different group who follows different strategies?

• “Mythic as a Player Emulator”
• MM Vol. 41, pg. 18

Or maybe you don't so much want to play the module, but use elements from it to enrich your more "traditional" solo experience?

• “Getting The Most Out Of Sourcebooks”
• MM Vol. 12, pg. 3

So go forth and game. All those classic gaming experiences are as open to you as a solo player as they would be to a group. It just takes a bit of a different point of view.

Mythic Index by Topic 9: The Adventure Crafter Expanded

The Adventure Crafter,  Drivethru RPG $11.95, is a useful tool for GM of traditional social RPG or for the solo player. It is useful for giving important high points in an adventure, that then you can connect by scenes, or even just to give the first launching scene, a gentle push if you will, after you have a character ready to go. The articles below expand on that utility.

The Adventure Crafter Expanded

• “Combining Mythic With The Adventure Crafter”
• MM Vol. 5, pg. 4
• “Generating Compelling Backstories”
• MM Vol. 8, pg. 11
• “Solo Play Strategy: Focusing In”
• MM Vol. 11, pg. 4
• “The Big Collection Of Big Examples”
• MM Vol. 17, pg. 23