October 31, 2022

Curse of Strahd adventure generator

Are you running a Curse of Strahd or other game set in Barovia? Have some curious players or looking for new ways of keeping things interesting yourself? Well here's a little adventure generator to help keep your exploration, adventure, and storytelling going strong! You can roll three d20s on this table to quickly spin up an idea for a new adventure, whether a rumour heard at the inn, assigned to the adventurers from an NPC, or via some other method of your choosing.

3d20Detail 1Detail 2Detail 3
1Find theUndead Vistana travelerIn the Town of Vallaki
2Burn theHeadless personOf Tser Falls
3Stalk thePitchfork-carrying mobKilling town pets
4Summon theOld bookIn the Village of Krezk
5Vindicate theForgotten hamletOf the temple
6Exhume theLost buildingMurdering townsfolk
7Battle thePossessed childIn the Village of Barovia
8Trap theSpiritCausing madness
9Scare theCrying child with no faceOf the child's game
10Run from theVampire/sAlong Old Svalich Road
11Appeal to theSwarm/s of maggotsOf the crumbled tower
12Impress theCompeting serial killersEnslaving townsfolk
13Catch theWerewolfIn River Ivlis
14Possess theRotting corpse/sOf Lake Zarovich
15Stop theLeper/sCursing/corrupting items
16Infect theCampIn a hidden graveyard
17Free theCoffin/sOf Svalich Woods
18Cleanse theTattered carriageDefiling the town's food and water
19Bury theLove letterIn/on Mount Baratok
20Party with theBonesOf the innocent

Open to interpretation

As you roll (or manually mix) columns you may find that things are open to interpretation. For example, you'll have to decide what it means to "cleanse" something. Or maybe you leave that up to your players. Mind you, then they may just end up giving werewolves baths. Some of the interpretation of columns also means deciding if you're going to add an oxford column between the second and third column or not, as sometimes that can vastly change the interpretation of things.

Choosing what to reveal

A general tip with horror, comedy, and thriller type stories is not to reveal upfront to those experiencing things what's going on. Keep in mind that adventure seeds such as these may be best played close to the chest. Maybe don't reveal upfront to the players that you're off to party with the bones of the innocent.

Think about why

This generator gives you seeds for an adventure. You as the DM need to come up with why that's happening and what the payoff is at the end, both financially and narratively.

Tell me about it

Lastly, I'd love to hear what your adventures are like! What's so enjoyable about prompts from a generator is to find out how they were interpreted. If you use this table to come up with something neat, share it with @bugandclaw on Twitter.

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