random table suggestions

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Venger Satanis

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I'm creating random tables for city adventuring in my current project, Cha'alt: Fuchsia Malaise. It's an eldritch, gonzo, science-fantasy, and post-apocalyptic campaign setting. Besides the usual d100 table of random things/people encountered in a city, what would you like to see in there?

Thanks,

VS
 
vending machines that take a variety of payments and give unknown items that might have weird properties
Things seen on public transport
Things that might raining down from above or get splashed on someone
random stores of the sort where you can't understand how they stay in business.
Options to rent out your time, body post-mortem, spirit, or bodily excretions; 2 tables, what they buy, then what you get in return.
Encounter tables for things invading your mental space if you sit still too long in certain places (also doubles as encounter list for people who have had their minds invaded).
 
vending machines that take a variety of payments and give unknown items that might have weird properties
Things seen on public transport
Things that might raining down from above or get splashed on someone
random stores of the sort where you can't understand how they stay in business.
Options to rent out your time, body post-mortem, spirit, or bodily excretions; 2 tables, what they buy, then what you get in return.
Encounter tables for things invading your mental space if you sit still too long in certain places (also doubles as encounter list for people who have had their minds invaded).
Wow! You don't lack creativity! I liked all of those!
 
  1. Services a random still-live terminal connects to.
  2. Random machinery still powered by an ancient Radioactive Isotope Thermal Generator.
  3. Random mutations installed by the syringe of CRISPR serum you found in the cryogenic freezer rolled in (2).
  4. Random D&D modules found in bookshelves in somebody's old basement.
  5. Random ANALR-grade chemical reagents found in an old laboratory. May include Flouroantimonic acid, Thioacetone, Dimethyl Mercury, Chlorine Triflouride or Asymmetric Dimethyl Hydrazine.
 
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One type of random table that I always love in modules or setting books are NPC generators that have multiple columns for a variety of immediately useful stuff for improvisational GMing. They can be rollled "straight up", as in, roll d100 once and use the entries across all columns for a single row, or roll once for each column.

Example:

NameProfessionAppearanceSocial quirkGoalSecret
short, easy to remember, memorablean actual job, class or social positionAn immediately obvious visual trait, including "looks like celebrity X"Quick and dirty ways to roleplay them (has a lisp, always winking, ends every sentence as a question, stand up)What they want the most right now at the moment you encounter themSomething that they don't want others to know about

I first "encountered" these in Vornheim, but have found them in other source books too, especially this one, which is free and WORTH it 120%: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/produc...ity-The-Holistic-City-Kit-For-Cyberpunk-Games

Heartily recommended, Venger Satanis Venger Satanis !!
 
One type of random table that I always love in modules or setting books are NPC generators that have multiple columns for a variety of immediately useful stuff for improvisational GMing...
I always liked the way Sine Nomine handled this. They create a table with one column for a d20 result, one for a d12, one for a d10, a d8, d6 and d4. You roll a handful of dice, one of each type, and read off a complex result from a single roll. This could be pretty good for designing random factions, and maybe here would be good for street gangs of various types. Something like d20 - general agenda and interest. d12 mode of operation regarding violence, intimidation, introspection, investigation. d10 collected assets available. d8 relationships to law enforcement. d6 external threats. d4 internal conflicts.
 
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