The d66 dramatic situations

Preparing plots for players is bad, but preparing plots for non-player characters is a great way to instigate an adventure hook. Building-out an NPC plot also helps develop wider context for your setting. We'll use Georges Polti's list of 36 Dramatic Situations as a starting point.

• There are other similar "plot type" collections like Booker's Seven Basic Plots, Tobias' 20 Master Plots, and Propp's "functions". I'm using Polti's 36 because they strike a good balance of specificity, it's public domain, and 36 works in a d66 table.
• Depending on the selected plot we'll tie-in NPCs, factions, key items, and more; either generating new ones with tools like Cairn 2e Warden's Guide, Maze Rats, or reusing things that already exist in your setting.
• Some of these work better than others; if you've never mentioned a distaster or a revolt in your game, it might be awkward to casually throw one in (or not!).

The process: Roll d66 to get a plot structure, then roll up some factions, characters, key items, and whatever else from your favorite tables. If you have an existing setting with factions and characters then pull some from there. Plug them into the compenents of the plot prompt and see if they make sense.

• Don't try to cast the PCs as one of the subjects in the plot, these plots should only involve non-players.
• When PCs encounter others involved in the plot they have the choice to help one side over the other, play them against each other, or ignore it completely if it doesn't interest them.
• The PCs might not encounter the plot at all but instead explore the aftermath and its impact on a location.
• The examples below are just examples, let your random rolls guide the direction you take the plot prompt.

1.1. Supplication: A suppliant who is being persecuted seeks help from an authority.

• A Faction pursues a Character who travels to get help from another Faction.
• A Faction is stranded by an Event and seeks assistance from a local Faction.
• A Character intervenes on behalf of a Faction that's oppressed by another Faction.

1.2. Deliverance: A rescuer saves an unfortunate from a threatener.

• A Character attempts to rescue another Character from a caved-in dungeon they were exploring.
• A bandit Character distracts members of a Faction because their partner can't escape without being noticed.

1.3. Crime pursued by vengeance: An avenger pursues punishing justice against a criminal.

• A Character hunts the Monster that killed their spouse.
• A Character plots an elaborate revenge scheme on a Character that falsely accused them of a crime.

1.4. Vengeance taken for kin upon kin: An avenging kinsman pursues justice against a guilty kinsman in rememberance of a victim kinsman.

• A grieving Character travels to kill their family member Character who killed their other family member.

1.5. Pursuit: A fugitive flees a just or injust punishment.

• A Robinhood-like bandit Character flees because a wealthy Character put a bounty on their head.
• A soldier Character deserts their Faction after being asked to carry-out an immoral order.

1.6. Disaster: A vanquished power loses everything; either informed by a messenger or at the hands of a victorious enemy.

• A former town leader Character is victim of a smear campaign by a Faction and is now ostracized.
• A messenger Character travels to tell the leader Character their military has been defeated.
• A Character is the last survivor of a Faction that suffered a natural disaster.

2.1. Falling prey to cruelty/misfortune: An unfortunate suffers a misfortune; possibly at the hands of a master.

• A Character is stuck in the dungeon, being pursued by a ruthless Monster.
• A powerful Character conducting experiments in a nearby area causes the destruction of a town.
• Poor weather decimates the resources of a Faction.

2.2. Revolt: A conspirator plots against a tyrant.

• A Character uses the dungeon as a home base for their attacks against the tyrannical ruling Faction.
• A small Faction plots to overthrow the ruthless Faction in charge of the local town.

2.3. Daring enterprise: A bold leader takes an object from an adversary.

• A Character conducts an elaborate heist of a Magic Item from a Faction.

2.4. Abduction: A guardian rescues the abducted from the abductor.

• A Character with a very particular set of skills acquired over a very long career hunts the members of a Faction to find their kidnapped child Character.
• A Character has kidnapped another Character to prevent them from being sacrificed by a Faction who is trying to retrieve them.

2.5. The enigma: An interrogator gives the seeker a problem to solve.

• A Character poisoned by another Character seeks the antidote, a mushroom that grows in a dangerous Location.
• A Faction tries to find a murderer that leaves riddles at the crime scenes.

2.6. Obtaining: A solicitor wants something from an unwilling adversary; or a mediator tries to work out a deal between two opposing parties.

• A Character negotiates with a Faction for a Magic Item they have.
• A Character acts as mediator between two Factions who both want control of a Region.

3.1. Enmity of kin: A malevolent kinsman and a hated kinsman fight each other.

• A set of sibling Characters try to cut each other out of their parents' will.
• A Character and their in-law Character try to undermine each other.

3.2. Rivalry of kin: An object of rivalry causes conflict between a preferred kinsman and a rejected kinsman who are in competition.

• Two Characters share the same love interest Character and attempt to woo them.
• Two sibling Characters compete for the approval of a parent Character.

3.3. Murderous adultery: Two adulterers conspire to kill a betrayed spouse.

• A Character plots to kill their spouse Character and run away with their paramour Character.
• A paramour Character plots to kill their lover's spouse Character.

3.4. Madness: A madman goes insane and wrongs a victim.

• A Character snaps, rejects their former life, and becomes a weird little freak living in the dungeon.
• A Character suffers an enchantment, leading them to mistakenly kill the leader of their Faction.

3.5. Fatal imprudence: An imprudent distracted by a pursuit or just being neglectful, loses an object or wrongs a victim.

• A Character myopically determined to find the Magic Item, ignores and loses their family.
• A curious Character ignores advice to avoid the dungeon and unleashes Monsters on the town.
• A naive Character believes the claims of a cult Faction but gets trapped after joining.

3.6. Involuntary crimes of love: A lover and a beloved are unknowingly in a taboo relationship until a revealer reveals this fact.

Note: Polti means this to be a relationship between family members but that's weird for a TTRPG plot so these examples are alternative interpretations.

• A Character's lovable idiot spouse-to-be Character is actually a tansformed Monster, a fact uncovered in a wizard Character's journal.
• An angry Character suspecting their spouse Character of cheating finds them unknowingly with an exact copy, a wizard Character has transformed themself out of jealousy.

4.1. Slaying of kin unrecognized: A slayer kills, or nearly kills an unrecognized victim.

• An assassin Characterfrantically tries to undo a trap they set before it kills their target, after they realize it's their spouse (or sibling) Character.
• A Faction is in turmoil after the second-in-command Character accidentally killed the leader Character after assuming they were a member of an enemy Faction.

4.2. Self-sacrifice for an ideal: A hero sacrifices for an ideal.

• A Character gives up their comfortable life to go into service for a Faction.
• A Character, having promised to retreive their family's Magic Item heirloom, enters a dangerous dungeon.

4.3. Self-sacrifice for kin: A hero sacrifices for the benefit of a kinsman.

• A Character is lost in a dungeon after their partner Character sacrified themself to prevent harm from a trap.
• An adventurer-at-heart Character leads a boring life in support of their town's wellbeing.
• A Monster eneters a knowingly deadly confrontation with a Faction to give their children time to escape.

4.4. All sacrificed for passion: A lover sacrifices a person or thing in pursuit of an object of fatal passion.

• A Character leaves behind their family in pursuit of exploration.
• A Character pays their entire life savings to obtain a Magic Item which is ultimately of little practical use.
• A Character goes insane while trying to harness the power of a Magic Item they discovered in a dungeon.

4.5. Necessity of sacrificing loved ones: A hero wrongs a beloved victim because of a neccessity for the sacrifice.

• The leader Character of a Faction keeps a Monster at bay (or believes they do) by sacrificing their own family.
• A Faction holds a lottery every month to choose a community member that will be scrificed to keep a Monster at bay.

4.6. Rivalry of superior vs. inferior: A superior rival and an inferior rival battle for an object of rivalry.

• A wizard Character and a mundane Character sabatoge each other in pursuit of the affection of a desired Character.
• A powerful leader Character of a Faction tries to defeat a local Monster before the town poopsmith Character does.

5.1. Adultery: Two adulterers betray a deceived spouse.

• Two Characters are discovered having an affair.
• An adulterer Character is discovered having an affair with a weird little freak Character in the dungeon.
• A leader Character is betrayed by their spouse for the leader of an enemy Faction.

5.2. Crimes of love: A lover and a beloved knowingly pursue a taboo romantic relationship.

Note: This has the same caveat as 3.6. Involuntary crimes of love.

• A Character pursues a relationship with a member of a Faction outlawed by the community.

5.3. Discovery of the dishonor of a loved one: A discoverer finds wrongdoing committed by a guilty one.

• A leader Character learns their advisor Character had ulterior motives in advising them to clear out a local dungeon.
• A leader Character discovers their child Character has been operating as an assassin for a seedy Faction.

5.4. Obstacles to love: Two lovers are kept apart by an obstacle.

• A royal Character falls in love with the town poopsmith Character but is expected to marry other royalty.
• A royal Character, approaching the date of an arranged marriage, plans an escape with their preferred commoner Character.

5.5. An enemy loved: A lover of a beloved is also a hater or allied with a hater of the same.

• A Character loves another Character who assassinated an important member of their Faction.
• A Character loves another Character who is hated by the Faction because they generally suck.

5.6. Ambition: An ambitious person seeks a coveted thing while being opposed by an adversary.

• An adventurer Character tries to steal a Monster's treasure hoard.
• A political Character seeks a higher seat of power in a Faction despite the old guard attempting to stop them.

6.1. Conflict with a god: A mortal challenges an immortal.

• A mundane Character tries to convince worshippers of a God (real or imagined) that they are wrong.
• A mundane Character flees retribution for their attack on a wizard Character.
• A mundane Character prepares for a fight against an immortal Monster.

6.2. Mistaken jealousy: A jealous person believing a cause becomes erroneously jealous of an object.

• A paranoid leader Character is erroneously convinced their Faction has turned against them after misinterpreting a vague fortune from a scam fortuneteller.
• A Character is erroneously convinced their spouse is cheating because a Character in love with them spread a false rumor in hopes of getting a chance to be with them.
• A vain leader Character has a magic mirror that tells them there's a better looking person in the region; the magic mirror is lying because the wizard that created it dislikes the leader.

6.3. Erroneous judgment: A mistaken person believing a cause erroneously passes judgement on a victim instead of the actual guilty person.

• A royal Character claimed responsibility for a mistake actually caused by their poopsmith friend Character in order to save them from a more severe punishment.
• A Faction framed another rival Faction for stealing the Magic Item from a wizard Character.
• A Character lets the town believe another Character instigated a Monster attack against them when they know it was actually their own spouse who's responsible.

6.4. Remorse: A culprit wrongs a victim or commits a sin and admits guilt to an interrogator.

• A Character feels guilt for killing a Monster they knew was harmless.
• A disgraced "adventurer" Character admits they didn't get their wealth from plundering dungeons but instead stole from the community's gold reserves.

6.5. Recovery of a lost one: A seeker finds the found one.

• A Character travels to find their missing sibling.

6.6. Loss of loved ones: A kinsman spectator witnesses an executioner kill a kinsman slain.

• A Character finds the body of another Character from their Faction killed by a Monster.
• A fortuneteller reveals to a Character that their lost sibling has been killed in a dungeon.