NovArchaic is table top RPG set in the modern world. It is being developed by my friend on Twitter @YFTechno We were discussing the Order of the D30 the other day and he wondered how a D30 chart / table would fit into his game.
This is what he and I brainstormed. When questing in the modern world you will at some point be adventuring in a larger metropolitan area. Unless you have meticulously mapped out the route your PCs will take the will at some point wander off your carefully prepared map (remind me to tell you about my gaming group and the time we were running a Savage Worlds super villain game. The group decided to abandon my carefully planned scenario and attempt to steal the WWII tank on display in the town square.)
It happens. PCs (fortunately or not) have minds of their own and you can never tell where or when they will leave your planned notes behind. In an urban setting you will need to be quick on your feet to describe buildings on unmapped streets that your PCs decide to wander down.
Random Urban Buildings
Roll your D30:
1 – 15 – Low Rise Apartment complex with a business on the ground floor.
Roll Against Table A for what kind of business is on the ground floor.
16 – 25 – Hi Rise – Assuming floor one is the Lobby, roll against table B for what the PCs will find on each subsequent floor
26 – 30 – Parking Garage. Roll a D30 for number of parked cars. DMs (also roll percentiles to determine how many of those vehicles are unlocked and lootable)
Table A – Ground Floor Business
1. Fish Market | 11. Green Grocer | 21. Weird Occult Book Store |
2. Comic Book Store | 12. Deli | 22. Locked |
3. Off Broadway Theater | 13. Ice Cream Shop | 23. “Adult” shop |
4. Dance Studio | 14. Coffee Shop | 24. Butcher |
5. Karate School | 15. Book Store | 25. Bakery |
6. Pharmacy | 16. Soup Kitchen | 26. Dry Cleaners |
7. Old Repair Shop | 17. Art Gallery | 27. Bank |
8. Locksmith | 18. Music Studio | 28. General Store |
9. Hobby Shop | 19. Barber Shop | 29. Small Ad agency |
10. Laundromat | 20. Shoe Store | 30. This is actually a front for a Gov’t Agency |
Table B – Various Floors of a High-Rise
1. Requires a Keycard to enter this floor | 16. A bunch of people in military uniforms |
2. Dewey Cheatem & Howe Law Offices | 17. Two little girls in matching dresses want you to play |
3. Andy Warhol-esque art studio | 18. Unoccupied / Under construction |
4. Stock Brokerage | 19. Empty except for dust and cobwebs |
5. Lots of small offices (roll Table C) | 20. What looks like the bridge of a SHIELD Hellicarrier |
6. Unoccupied / Under construction | 21. Many computer screens hanging on the wall |
7. Apartments | 22. Lots of small offices (but seedy looking) (Table C) |
8. Many seedy looking doors | 23. A Wizard’s Sanctum |
9. Telemarketer Call Floor | 24. Unoccupied / Under construction |
10. Bank Offices | 25. Hotel Rooms |
11. File Cabinets as far as the eye can see | 26. What looks like a forgotten Nikola Tesla laboratory |
12. Insurance Sales Office | 27. Seems Unoccupied (Random Monster encounter) |
13. A Deserted Array of Cubicles | 28. A Speak Easy Door. Password? |
14. Travel Agency | 29. A Rave |
15. Hotel Lobby | 30. Actually a front for a Gov’t Agency |
Table C: Small Office Occupants
1. Frank Drebbin P.I. | 11. Dixon Hill P.I. | 21. Nancy Drew P.I. |
2. A Dating Service office | 12. K.E.V.I.N. | 22. A Photography Studio |
3. A CIA safe house | 13. An MI-6 safe house | 23. A Mossaad safe house |
4. A Dot.com Startup | 14. The Lone Gunmen | 24. A Hookah Parlor |
5. Talk Radio 540 | 15. A Murder Scene | 25. A Tatoo Parlor |
6. Harvey Dent, Bail Bondsman | 16. Vacant | 26. A Medieval Tavern |
7. The Museum of Phlegm | 17. The Museum of Dental Floss | 27. The Museum of Rats |
8. Alien Graphics | 18. Paranormal Investigators | 28. An old KGB Safehouse |
9. A red light flashes, and you’re back on the street | 19. The Law Office of Murdoch & Nelson | 29.Not Vacant Random Monster Encounter |
10. Hercule Poroit P.I. | 20 Benoit Blanc P.I. | 30. Jessica Jones P.I. |
Return to the Order of the D30 Index