Order of the D30 – Random Urban Buildings

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 Market11. Green Grocer21. Weird Occult Book Store
2. Comic Book Store12. Deli22. Locked
3. Off Broadway Theater13. Ice Cream Shop23. “Adult” shop
4. Dance Studio14. Coffee Shop24. Butcher
5. Karate School15. Book Store25. Bakery
6. Pharmacy16. Soup Kitchen26. Dry Cleaners
7. Old Repair Shop17. Art Gallery27. Bank
8. Locksmith18. Music Studio28. General Store
9. Hobby Shop19. Barber Shop29. Small Ad agency
10. Laundromat20. Shoe Store30. This is actually a front for a Gov’t Agency
On a 30, Re-roll on this table for what the Government Agency front looks like

Table B – Various Floors of a High-Rise

1. Requires a Keycard to enter this floor16. A bunch of people in military uniforms
2. Dewey Cheatem & Howe Law Offices17. Two little girls in matching dresses want you to play
3. Andy Warhol-esque art studio18. Unoccupied / Under construction
4. Stock Brokerage19. 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 construction21. Many computer screens hanging on the wall
7. Apartments22. Lots of small offices (but seedy looking) (Table C)
8. Many seedy looking doors23. A Wizard’s Sanctum
9. Telemarketer Call Floor24. Unoccupied / Under construction
10. Bank Offices25. Hotel Rooms
11. File Cabinets as far as the eye can see26. What looks like a forgotten Nikola Tesla laboratory
12. Insurance Sales Office27. Seems Unoccupied (Random Monster encounter)
13. A Deserted Array of Cubicles28. A Speak Easy Door. Password?
14. Travel Agency29. A Rave
15. Hotel Lobby30. Actually a front for a Gov’t Agency
On a 30, Re-roll on this table for what the Government Agency front looks like

Table C: Small Office Occupants

1. Frank Drebbin P.I.11. Dixon Hill P.I.21. Nancy Drew P.I.
2. A Dating Service office12. K.E.V.I.N.22. A Photography Studio
3. A CIA safe house13. An MI-6 safe house23. A Mossaad safe house
4. A Dot.com Startup14. The Lone Gunmen24. A Hookah Parlor
5. Talk Radio 54015. A Murder Scene25. A Tatoo Parlor
6. Harvey Dent, Bail Bondsman16. Vacant26. A Medieval Tavern
7. The Museum of Phlegm17. The Museum of Dental Floss27. The Museum of Rats
8. Alien Graphics18. Paranormal Investigators28. 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

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