At the end of 2019, just before the launch of Runeterra RPG v1.1, more precisely in November, the "#RPGVEMBER" a hashtag on Twitter where several people made, during 30 days, 30 RPG adventure ideas based on some pre-disposed words in a list related to this Hashtag.
The idea was simple, to create ideas of stories, adventures and campaigns with connection to the word chosen on the day. As the Twitter format is limited to less than 300 characters (only 280) having to include the word in question, synthesis was the big word, trying to synthesize as much as possible the idea of adventure based on that word in so few characters.
As the launch of 1.1 was on its way, I started the campaign too but with a difference, all adventure ideas would be set in Runeterrra, if not with references from the cities of Runeterra, with references to champions and other elements.
For some time I've been releasing the link of this thread, but unfortunately the twitter format for this is terrible, the posts were out of order and also the few characters forced some resources to stay out.
So, in this article we will revisit these 30 ideas, trying to keep them still succinct and brief, but not having the character limitation.
Still, it is important and interesting to note that many of these ideas can be used together, sequentially or even in parallel, creating longer bows and perhaps even a campaign. Most of them are described with some specific champion or city, but this may well be changed to elements that already exist in a campaign.
1 - Alchemist
A talented Noxian alchemist is on the run from Noxus. He has received reports of the use of his inventions in Ionia and, tormented by this, considers himself a monster. Destroyed by guilt, he flees from Noxus towards Ionia, where he wishes to be tried and pay for his crimes. However, his journey ends up stopping in Bilgewater.
The mission of the players is to take him from Bilgewater to Ionia, the big problem is that this alchemist is being hunted both by Darius and by Jhin. While Darius intends to take him back to Noxus, Jhin intends to take him to his contractors, so that he plays the same role but this time in Ionian hands.
Tips: Instead of Darius, perhaps the one who could be sent is Katarina or Talon with the goal of assassinating this Alchemist before he surrenders to Ionia many of the Noxian secrets. Instead of Jhin, it may be Zed who seeks out the Alchemist to use him in attacks against Noxus. Difficulties can exist both in Bilgewater in keeping the Alchemist alive while finding a way to go to Ionia and in Ionia itself, in keeping the Alchemist alive until taking him to the authorities or to some champion like Irelia or Karma.
02 - Androids
A mysterious contractor who does not want to be identified hires the players, directly or indirectly, to take over a project that was stolen from him earlier. If someone has knowledge in technology or magic, they can discover clues that point out that the project is a hextec brain structure, to create new constructs without the need for real hextec crystals.
Tips: The contractor can be either Viktor, who wants to create his machines for his "Glorious Evolution", or Heimerdinger, who wants to perfect his inventions, or even Jayce, who is trying to stop Viktor. This mission can have several dismemberments based on both player characters and NPCs. Although it is recommended that this mission happen in Piltover or Zaun, it may well take players to Noxus, Demacia, Shurima or even Águas de Sentina, where perhaps these plans are. Another way to extend this mission or continue it is in Ionia where some ingredients for this replacement can be found or have been discovered.
03 - Archaeology
A Demacian expedition disappeared a few weeks ago while they were looking for a lost laboratory in Durand. During the investigation, some old projects similar to Galio are discovered, besides other experiments that are previous stages. The most important thing is that traces of a new project are found, using Durand's concepts but not for a statue but a weapon of mass destruction. The situation is complicated when traces are found that the project may have come off the paper.
Tips: This weapon may either be real and functional and have been built, or it may be just a false clue to another construction or even the traces found are just the attempt to build it. Clues like something heavy being dragged, maybe some carbonized corpse or with some different characteristic could be halfway through the clues. Maybe Sylas is involved in this or just his group or maybe it was done to frame Sylas. Another possibility is that this is from some real home of Demacia who was building this in secret.
04 - Bastard
An even more cruel and bloodthirsty young pirate that Gangplank is spreading terror through Bilgewater in the power vacuum created after the fall of the former King of Pirates. Players are hired by Ganplank to help control this threat and contain the damage done by this pirate and his gang. During this, they discover clues that point out that the pirate may be a Bastard, brother of Gangplank.
Tips: Who hires the players can be either the Gangplank to clear their name and regain power or some other captain of some other crew or gang or even Miss Fortune. The pirate in question can be either a bastard brother of the Gangplank or his bastard son. Another option is that the pirate is not really related to Gangplank, but is using his name to impose fear on his opponents. Depending on the state of Bilgewater this mission can cumulate in a civil war with interference from other cities like Noxus, Ionia and maybe even Shurima.
05 – Booze
A simple delivery of goods in Bilgewater becomes problematic when one discovers that the cargo contains a beverage with magical properties, which can temporarily create uncontrolled killing machines. In addition, of course, it serves as fuel for war inventions and the cargo itself is basically a walking pump.
Tips: Who is sending this load and where to? Both the Noxus Empire can come into play using players to do dirty work under the cloths or even the High Council of Ionia, acquiring unstable weapons for their purposes, be it direct use or even the study of it. Perhaps Singed has some involvement with it, be it in the creation or even be directed to it the delivery. Problems can occur both during transportation and after delivery, with some chaotic situation happening at any time, before, during or after. Maybe pirates get access to the substance and become psychopathic creatures and crazy about killing.
06 – Mushroom
The adventurers' paths cross with Teemo protecting one of the portals to Bandle City, when one of them steps into one of its traps getting close to death. Teemo appears to save them and apologize after realizing that they are innocent, only next to that, also appear the creatures he is fighting. What seemed like a simple adventure can become a battle for survival and defend Runeter from the Hollow...
Tips: The situation can be something natural, with portals that are appearing spontaneously, portals that are appearing by some action on the side of Void or even portals that are appearing by some action made in Runeterra. In each of these cases, additional problems can arise, from servants of the Void trying to maintain the portal, conflicts that arise by misunderstanding, with people judging that the players are the ones who are opening the portal, even a simple adventure with completion after managing to close a single portal.
07 - Conspiracy
The players are hired to do a mission by a Chemical Baron, to escort some engineers who must fix a problem in a Piltover water supply plant that is "leaking". In the process they discover that it is part of a conspiracy to control the drinking water supply in Zaun. How will they react to this, following the orders and causing problems for Zaunitas but staying well with the Baron, or will they help the residents of Zaun and in the process fix trouble with the Baron?
Tips: The Baron can be from someone really dangerous and that the non fulfillment of the contract creates real problems for the players, or even a buffoon who does not have so much power. Such a leak problem can be from a real leak that is being taken advantage of by Zauinites to a problem caused by Zaunites or even not being a leak, but something natural and that the Baron is acting of bad character to profit from it. The narrative can be defined with one side being bad and the other good, but it can also be a complicated situation that creates problems for both sides, without a culprit. Urgot and his followers may be involved, as well as Ekko, Vi and even Jinx.
08 - Colors
Lights and fumes of strange colors have arisen from a canyon in Shurima where before it would have been the tomb of one of the Solar Emperors of the past. An expedition is mounted to investigate this at the request of Emperor Azir himself. The problem is that apparently the place is a nest of Xer'Sai. When investigating, one discovers that a mutation caused by magic is creating a variety of different Xer'Sai, with different colors and different powers.
Tips: This can be either accidental, or intentional, by Malzahar. Xerath may be involved in this and all be the fruit of some experiment in order for him to reach his fullness and recover a physical form. The scalability of this can be from a session adventure to a campaign motive, with consequences ranging from regional, even global. Rek'Sai may or may not be involved in this, but it is necessary to remember that she is not an "intelligent" creature in terms of articulation.
09 - Desire
Ryze recruits players to help him recover a Global Rune that is with an Arcane, he himself cannot go because this arcane managed to use the Global Rune to prevent Ryze from acting directly. Players have less than 12 hours to do this or the consequences can be catastrophic, with the possibility of the Rune exploding, the Arcane "absorbing" its power or even some other threat using the situation.
Tips: World Runes are an extremely powerful theme in Runarcana, its simple mention raises the level of the campaign. This can be minimized with Ryze presenting itself in another form or even the Global Rune not being mentioned, but only "a powerful stone". This story can scale from a simple weekend adventure to even a campaign theme, with huge consequences if they fail in the mission. In case it's something more direct, with Ryze visibly desperate, the suggestion is for characters of a slightly high level, between 12 and 16.
10 - Destination
A rising pirate in Bilgewater hires people outside his crew to escort a shipment. In it is the New Destiny that was recently stolen from Graves. One of the contractors is Twisted Fate and the players don't know if he is an ally or not.
Tips: The level of danger of this mission is extremely configurable, and can have a theme from humorous and funny, with clumsy and comical situations, even an extremely serious situation, with consequences that affect all Bilgewater. Twisted Fate can be involved, from causing problems for Graves either to something serious or to preach a play, to even trying to recover it for his friend Graves.
11 - Debt
A woman looks for the adventurers desperate, she has a debt and is about to be collected, she wants defense from her creditor and she is willing to pay a good amount for it. The creditor is Tahm Kench.
Tips: The woman can be someone important in Bilgewater, even Miss Fortune, or even a regular citizen. The unfolding of this story can be from a defeat to Tahm Kench in direct confrontation, or even a defeat of the players, with Tahm Kench putting them in a bad situation and forcing them to perform some task to leave the woman free. Common consequences can involve other demons like Evelyn and Nocturne, or even Tahm Kench reaching some enormous power and becoming a great threat. Or just the solution of this being simple and Tahm Kench getting angry with the players.
12 - Sickness
The players arrive in a city that has an outbreak of a disease. It begins by decreasing the magical capacity of conjurors, until it completely nullifies it and then begins to leave luminous purple pus bubbles all over the body. One of the conjurors of the group suffers the disease.
Tips: The disease can be natural or intentional, which makes it appear (in case it is natural) may be something that was dug up or some experiment that went wrong. The disease can be anything from something simple and passing, to something permanent. The fact that it creates purple pus connects to perhaps an illness of something connected to emptiness. It's interesting to explore elements of the campaign here if the void is a recurring threat or even if there is some villain who might be manipulating it. Depending on the region where this happens, several champions may be involved, such as Sylas in Demacia, Illaoi in Bilgewater, Nasus in Shurima, among many others.
13 - Slavery
Near Demacia when they come across a group of apparently very strong mercenaries, they see that they are taking slaves. One of the slaves is known to one of the players and the slave seems to be from Demacia's noble family.
Tips: The political landscape of the campaign can play an important role in this adventure, with Demacia putting herself in a complicated situation because of this. The importance of the family can also be impacting in this definition. If this reaches Jarvan IV, Garen, or even Xin Zhao, the story may have much more complex unfoldings. It is interesting that although slaves are the initial part of this, the reason they are using slaves can open up a lot of options for the campaign, from invasions of emptiness to sabotage in the kingdom or even pure profit.
14 - Oblivion
When they arrive from a mission in Nashramae, the contractor does not remember the adventurers and therefore does not want to pay them for the mission. Investigating this, they enter the path of Cassiopeia and a plot to take the city completely.
Tips: This idea is one more continuation of some adventure, it happens in Nashramae only by the possible presence of Cassiopeia, but it can be changed location according to the needs of the campaign. The interesting thing here is that the fact that the contractor does not remember the mission and the players, by itself, generates a new adventure. The reason he doesn't remember is something scalable, from a simple dispute, to Cassiopeia having done it so that he doesn't tell someone something and that puts the players on a collision course with her, among many other reasons.
15 - Fascination
In Piltover a new drug that seems to be coming from Zaun is causing embarrassment to noble families, with their daughters having fits of madness and running away from families fascinated by poor people. Investigating this, one discovers that a Chemical Baron is behind it.
Tips: Such a political plot can have many causes, one to be explored is that of some Chemical Baron in a power ascendant wanting to harm powerful families as part of an agenda, he may well be doing it alone, or be under the command of some Piltover aristocrat who wants to get in the way of other families to gain business advantages.
16 - Faith
In Freljord adventurers are surrounded by members of a new apocalyptic faith, they manage to get rid of the situation in a reasonably simple way. If they investigate, they find out that these fanatics are part of a ploy to attack Sejuani and his leadership of the Winter Claw, machined by an old lover of his mother who wishes to take her place as Mother of War. The leader is involved with emptiness
Tips: This new faith may be similar to Malzahar's propagation in Shurima, with the woman taken by some insanity that makes her align with the planes of emptiness, maybe mental control, maybe some parasite of emptiness that is feeding off her anger, or even controlling her to do something that opens a great portal to the Void. Or even it could be just a person's attempt to take the place of Winter Claw leadership.
17 - Flowers
A new species of flower has grown in Zaun in an erratic way in people's bodies. This happened after they opened a new layer in the drain. Strange rumors of bizarre creatures begin to appear here and there. Maybe they dug too deep.
Tips: The flower in question can be from several origins, from magical to chemical, precisely because it happens in Zaun and is some form of interaction of nature with the Ash of Zaun. Its effects can also be varied, from just annoying with the removal, to even more severe, causing death. Another thing to note is that there may be someone behind it having deliberately caused this problem.
18 - Fluffy
A shepherd from Poros desperately seeks help because his flock is being reduced day by day. On the spot there are footprints of an immense creature. The conclusion is that Gnar, when he gets mega, goes out at night and finds the Poros, becoming friends with them, raising them to an untouched garden of difficult access.
Tips: This adventure can serve to introduce characters and champions, it can have a more playful theme or even dark with an unexpected conclusion. The important point is to pass that even a "monster" like Gnar in his huge form is a friend of the Poros. It can be a breathing adventure for a table that has come out of a complicated and even heavy sequence of adventures. It can be developed in many ways, with Pores stuck in vineyards, rescue pores in the most diverse situations and things that serve for a breath.
19 - Hunger
A village on the border of Noxus and Demacia is starving for sanctions on both sides. There are nearby resources that could be used but under Noxus or Demacia guard. The head of the village asks the adventurers for help to solve this, the reward is an artifact.
Tips: Another venture that can be developed in several ways, vilanizing Demacia, Noxus or both. The reasons for the sanctions may be the presence of magic, or even some wounded soldier from enemy territory, a deserter, or something similar. The artifact in question may be exactly the reason why the city remains standing, not being attacked by either side, leading the players to the moral dilemma, after completing the mission, whether they take the artifact as a reward or not. It's interesting that the inhabitants don't know that it's precisely the artifact that protects them, forcing even more the players moral dilemma and opening chances for new stories.
20 - Humanity
In Zaun a large number of people have appeared with visibly expensive implants. At night, the implant takes control of them and takes them to work in a factory while they sleep, without knowing it. Viktor is shaping humanity according to his plans.
Tips: What exactly Viktor is doing is open, it can be from something extremely evil or just something morally questionable. As Viktor's nemesis, Jayce may be involved in the mission, or even be the one who hired the players for it. The implants can be from simple control tools to tools that enslave people, turning them into enemies that ideally should not be killed. A possible solution is if there is some wave transmission tower that serves to control people, the existence of a tecmaturg can generate interesting outcomes.
21 – Hell
Welcome to the world of the Dead, a desolate place made of sand and an eternal nightfall. A dead-end hell, except... to be killed in your sleep. How will the whole group leave this place?
Tips: This can happen to the whole group or just a few members, for the most varied reasons, from a villain who has used some strange spell, to the ingestion of some unknown substance. The mechanism of exit must be something uncertain and cause the players to worry. Mordekaiser can play a role in this adventure, even if it is only an illusion and the very entrance into the world of the dead is a powerful illusion.
22 – Invasion
In any city of Runeterra an invasion of the Empty begins. Too powerful creatures are appearing and massacring people, being fought by champions and all possible force. The players have to find a way to close the portal by running away from the monsters.
Tips: This adventure seems a simplification of others presented previously, but it can be formulated to be something really unique with the entrance of these powerful creatures. It can be a story where players are more spectators and champions are used, with players having to help them in smaller tasks. It is a type of adventure recommended for those who want to get a fast start with rhythm without, however, putting the players in exaggerated risks.
23 – Karma
The players are called by Karma in Ionia for a meeting. During the meeting, one of the past lives reveals that her life is in danger, but she can't know, or she will rather die than do what must be done: kill the spirit of a child killed in war.
Tips: The theme of this adventure opens possibilities of doing something extremely psychological of heavy atmosphere, an adventure extremely focused on extracting the moral dilemmas of each character and with the conflict to be solved. It may be that the research points to an alternative solution, or if the most drastic solution is chosen, it may bring immense consequences, such as the death of Karma or the death of the spirit and a revolt of the spirits. The narrative tone can range from psychological terror, something gloomy and sad, or even a journey into a fantasy reality that is the fruit of the child's mind, yet make it follow the natural cycle of things.
24 - Brands
A famous designer in Piltover was killed in a clothing brand war with two other designers. The players are falsely accused of the murder and the law is after them. However, besides the law, a killer over 150 years old has an interest in this situation and in finding out the truth.
Tips: The killer in question is Camille, she can be both a villain and a help to the players. The exact event may vary according to the general ideas of the campaign, with this adventure ending with Camille as an ally or opponent of the players. The very idea of the brands can serve to set the adventure in a reality closer to the players and modernity, it can be explored in any of the three axes, exploration, interpretation or combat and of course with any combination of them.
25 - Meteorite
After harvesting a meteorite and making a helmet out of its ore, a blacksmith gains supernatural powers and dominates an entire city, until another meteorite falls... how will players use this to solve the problem?
Tips: Here opens a sea of possibilities for how to use this other meteorite to solve this, perhaps creating another identical helmet, or even something that could end the helmet. The construction of this may be part of the adventure, moreover, the ore may have strange properties and be causing this attitude in the blacksmith. Several hooks can be used here, as a villain who emerges from that moment dominating the blacksmith, or even that appears after the problem is solved, as a consequence of interaction with the ore. The blacksmith himself can give rewards based on the ore to the players, or perhaps the great theme of the adventure is to find a way to purify this ore.
26 - Prophecy
A sale of industrial espionage will be made at the bar Prophecy in Noxus, an interested buyer hires the players to make the deal for him. The industrial secret is desired by several nations that have their representatives in the Prophecy.
Tips: This is the kind of initial plot that can have an immense variety of dimensions, from a simple sale from which some frustrated people come out, to a conflict between nations. Perhaps even what is "Prophecy" can be kept secret until the last moment completely turning the story over, or even be kept secret until after that, creating in the players the jump behind the ear in not knowing what is Prophecy. This element can be used later in the campaign demonstrating that things unimportant at the beginning of it can become immense consequences.
27 - Rebellion
A talented and renowned hunter is in town, children surround him asking for autographs and stories that he answers promptly. But at night strangely everyone revolts against him and seek him to crucify him. He asks for help from the players to come out alive.
Tips: The fact that there is a famous professional player with this same "nick" can be used as a bridge for people interested in playing who are not so familiar but who follow the competitive League of Legends of Brazil. It is recommended to use a light and playful theme, perhaps even comic about the situation in general. This hunter may well be a future ally, patron or even an important contact in the future.
28 - Storm
During the inauguration of an invention/ monument to provide free energy in Piltover, an interaction happens with Zaun's ash, creating an electrical storm that spreads through Piltover and Zaun causing a catastrophe and opening portals of emptiness.
Tips: Although the Void portals seem to be too generic a solution, they are extremely important in Runeterra's lore and are one of the most efficient ways to constitute a threat that does not have direct political consequences. Of course, this can be modified, instead of portals, perhaps the interaction with Zaun's ash will create explosions and with that a kind of cataclysm starts in Zaun with very serious consequences. The details of the creation of this monument can yield many stories as for example it was programmed from the beginning to cause this.
29 – Betrayal
Um dos jogadores é tomado por um organismo que controla pessoas feito pela Rosa Negra. Caso sejam espertos, podem conseguir usar isso a favor deles e fazer o “traidor” entre eles, na verdade trair a Rosa Negra.
Tips: Depending on how players relate to Noxus, Leblanc and Swain, this idea can easily provide the principles for a campaign. Such an organism can actually be a demon. How exactly players discover this and how it affects the behavior of this character is something that can be directed to any campaign goal. For a simple adventure it is also possible that the solution is simple and generates a combat against a magical creature.
30 - Sadness
An outbreak of Sadness is spreading through Demacia, hitting even the wizard hunters. A contamination in the water supplies has been carried out by the Sylas gang and no apothecary will be able to create an antidote. Will Demacia resort to magic?
Tips: Here it is possible to explore Demacia's repulsion for magic and, in lore, open this door in order to make it easier for the world to have a general level of magic closer to that of other fantasy worlds, with Demacia having to face up to its own hypocrisy. Another way to explore this is perhaps by exposing that several aristocrats are magicians who hide and use the magician hunters for purely political purposes, even plumbing the Crown.
As can be seen in the 30 ideas above, there are several ideas with similar principles, others that can very well be fitted into a sequence to generate arcs and campaigns. As the article says "More than 30" I will present to you a way to create more complex stories using these 30 basic ideas.
The method is simple, use a dice roller and run 4 times 1d30, noting these numbers and what is the theme of each aspect that will be worked on in the story.
Example: I did the rolling proposed above and after repeating rollovers that fell with equal numbers, I got the following sequence, 2, 17, 5 and 11.
With this we have the following words: Androids, Flowers, Booze and Debt.
The next step is to separate each of these words into a category among the four: Initial premise, Background, Development and Conclusion.
In each of these categories, we selected the content described next to the tips and formulated a general idea for the campaign:
- Initial Premise - Androides: Players are hired to search the Plans for the creation of a hextec brain.
- Background - Flowers: A new species of flower emerged in Zaun and with it rumors of strange creatures.
- Development - Booze: A load of a strange drink that is passing through Zaun
- Conclusion - Debt: A woman hires people to protect her from a creditor
With these results we have a background theme that is linked to the flowers of Zaun, this will be our central theme around which everything else will happen. With that we can start the campaign with the investigation of the hextec brains in Zaun or Piltover. This investigation will take players to Bilgewater, where they will find evidence of some relationship between the drink and the construction of these brains, perhaps that drink is a chemical substance in the formula. As a Conclusion we have the Debt and Tahm Kench, this can be modeled so that the Woman is someone important in Bilgewater who made a pact with TK and, knowing that she would be charged, researched some way to avoid this.
Your research led to the discovery of this new flower in Zaun, which causes several problems, but which can be used to extract a component that, when fermented, generates this strange drink. This woman is in contact with Viktor and in exchange for providing him with this liquid (since only she knows the process for extracting it) he sends the flowers to her.
The final confrontation can be with the woman in possession of the substance creating an army to fight TK. Regardless of the conclusion of this, there in Zaun the flowers continue to exist and cause problems, taking the players back there, where they discover that TK traveled with them and wants to dominate these flowers to feed, making the players have to align themselves with Viktor to beat him.
Maybe it seems at first it seems like a clumsy idea, with many elements, at this point comes the freedom of the master to modify these elements, after all, they serve only as a base, a source of ideas. You can very well tinker with the story and insert Zyra in Zaun, take the Tahm Kench out of the story and put Evelyn, modify the Cyborgs for the “sons of Ur” with Urgot, among several other changes that can be made to create the story structure with middle and end.
However, it is important to note that most of the time the players do not follow exactly what was planned, so it is important to have multiple openings for you to adapt what happens and continue the flow of the story.
With these “More than 30 ideas and tips” I hope you get inspiration for adventures for your table. Use them, use them all, use them as you see fit, most convenient and according to the development of your group, after all, RPG should provide fun for everyone involved.
Ah, finally, don't forget to leave a comment, suggestions, ideas, questions are always very welcome.
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