Fun with Random Tables

[Dagger75]

We have all used them, any funny/ strange stories resulting from the use of a random tables and charts.

I shall tell mine.

Star Wars, The group conssits of a Smuggler and his NPC droid co-pilot. (Okay small Group) Any way he has got some cash so decides to go to one of the hundred worlds he knows and buy some cargo. Well it just so happend that Star Wars RPG magazine had a random cargo genarator table. I happily roll the dice.

First roll Container Types- Crates
Amount -30 Tons.
What is in the Crates - Roll the Dice -EMPTY.

So I tell the player There have 30 Tons of empty crates for sale. He laughs refusing to buy 30 tons of empty boxes.

He leaves jumps to hyper space to pick another random planet to jump to just to annoy me (I know you did that Pylar)

Well this time I use the handy dandy random Cargo tables and get 40 Tons of Vegatables and produce just piled in big mounds on the ground.

They were looking to buy crates to hold there produce. I don't know why a planet would not be able to scrape up boxes but hey thats what the random table said and I will be damned if I change the results. He tried to go back for the crates but somebodt beat him to it.

 

[Ulrick]

Once I made up my own random table for a Wand of Wonder.

One of the results was "Summon Dead Cow."

It was first used by the PCs being chased by some orcs. They used the wand and *poof* a dead cow appeared above the orcs and crushed them.

I admit, I got the idea from Monty Python and the Quest for the Holy Grail...

----

Another time I used the random dungeon generator in the back of the 1st ed DMs Guide.

I rolled up a 100sq room with a tyrannosaurus rex in it connected by a 10x10 room.

Elsewhere there was a secret door to room...next to it was a regular door to the same room--both doors lead from the same corridor.

 

[Pylar]

Random Tables???

Dagger,

I most certianly didn't just go there to annoy you...that was just an added benefit. As I seem to remember I was being chased after running an Imperial blockade and that planet just happened to be convienent. Ya can't blame a guy for trying to make an extra buck! Hmmm, I wonder how Mil would make it in your Drow Campaign?? *L*

Anyway this is fun with random tables. I always like to role randomly for magic items in my D&D campaign. Doesn't it always seem to happen that you roll for come epic item when the players are all first level. But when they get to a point where you might actually let an epic item into the game you only roll a +1 ring. Go Murphy

 

[Norfleet]

Random tables are especially hilarious in character generation sequences, particularly when they can end in a character dying. I recall reading about an RPG system wherein a character could die during chargen as a result of the random table rolls.

I imagine it's rather difficult to roleplay a dead character.

 

[UnDfind]

Random tables are especially hilarious in character generation sequences, particularly when they can end in a character dying. I recall reading about an RPG system wherein a character could die during chargen as a result of the random table rolls.

I imagine it's rather difficult to roleplay a dead character.

That would be one of the earlier incarnations of Traveller. I think there were some other games as well, but I can't think of them right now. Could you die during Mechwarrior character creation?

 

[doctorjeff98]

One of my favorite uses for random tables is to write down scenes from movies or books then use them as encounters in random order---the stories always turn out completely different than originally written. It's also fun to mix the scenes from various movies/books/etc into one randomized chart.

 

[Ferret]

I just thought about a way to roll for random tables.....

 

[UnDfind]

I just thought about a way to roll for random tables.....

Rolemaster anyone?

 

[doctorjeff98]

I do enjoy 'rollplaying' games.