The following is a randomly ordered table of various items, events, names and creatures that would appear in sword and sorcery tales. Use the table to spur your imagination when designing or running sword and sorcery adventures.

For example, rolling three times on the table gives me “Amoth“, “human vice or addiction“, and “Amoth” (again!). What do I get out of this? Well, perhaps there is a minor noble called Amoth who is secretly addicted to some kind of insidious lotus drug. He has an unknown twin brother (also called Amoth, see!) who commits heinous crimes in an attempt to blame and depose his brother. Amoth the innocent does not remember anything because he was drugged out when the crimes were committed, so he hires the player characters to investigate before he is lynched by the angry mob. Or something like that… got your creative juices rolling?

Update (March 10, 2010): I have incorporated the suggestions left in the comment section, and split the list into multiple tables (each having a maximum of 100 entries).

TABLE I



1 curved dagger

2 Dao-Khee

3 caravan or caravanserai

4 jewelry or gem

5 pirate ship

6 corrupt advisor

7 sewer tunnel

8 temple guardian

9 feat of desperate strength

10 cursed artifact or weapon

11 burglary or kidnapping

12 treachery or betrayal

13 naked female captive

14 perverted aristocrat

15 Amoth

16 sorcerous trap

17 drunken orgy

18 ancient law that demands a life be taken

19 blood-red

20 gladiatorial pit

21 mad magician or ancient mummy

22 old god from the stars

23 Pathar

24 maze of city streets

25 barren wildlands

26 savage or neanderthal

27 girdle of silk

28 elaborate human sacrifce

29 double-crossing

30 smuggler

31 peacock feathers or ostrich plumes

32 ancient chariot

33 spider or spiderweb

34 escape under of cover of night

35 well-guarded fortress

36 oath or exclamation

37 human vice or addiction

38 living for the day

39 port

40 concubine or temptress

41 black

42 dungeon

43 high priest

44 pyramid or ziggurat

45 forbidden tower

46 local guide

47 chance meeting

48 chieftain or prince

49 ghoul

50 pantherish grace

51 poisoned weapon or drink

52 cannibal or head-hunter

53 tent city

54 masked nomad

55 winged demon

56 slaver or kidnapper

57 arrogant noble

58 tyrannical government

59 wealthy merchant

60 secret society or hidden complex

61 carnivorous ape

62 king of thieves

63 slave

64 yellow

65 grinning bronze or ivory idol

66 inhuman skull

67 Zhuul

68 lotus-flower

69 two-handed sword

70 fist-sized gem

71 blue and gold tapestry

72 prison

73 ambush

74 sleeping giant snake

75 Ykhanthra

76 duel

77 eunuch

78 marketplace or bazaar

79 incense-burner

80 voluptous princess

81 raiders or brigands

82 steaming jungle

83 forgotten tomb

84 shipwreck

85 scroll or book

86 battle or battlefield

87 were-beast, she-wolf or half-human hybrid

88 strange stone or metal

89 pygmy or dwarf

90 wine or drunkenness

91 cult or secret organization

92 revenge or blood feud

93 heresy or persecution

94 murder or slaying

95 mystic from the East

96 perverted or degenerate entertainment

97 Urkhab

98 T’ntaa

99 cold iron

100 lost or degenerate civilization

TABLE II

1 oath or honor

2 blood

3 mammoth or elephant tusks

4 legend or lie

5 dying or inherited curse

6 betrayal or deception

7 temple prostitute or temple virgin

8 plague

9 servitude or captivity

10 banishment or exile

11 king of kings

12 desert or wasteland

13 corruption

14 dragon or giant reptile from a lost age

15 moon or moonlight

16 tentacled monstrosity

17 arcane or sacred ritual

18 snake-people

19 heir or chosen one

20 childbirth

Can you help me fill out the last next 20 entries? Leave a comment below!