The smells of the old fort hit first: damp stone, rust, and time. Then, the sounds: rat squeaks, beating wings, and the distant clang of metal beating metal. The fort’s breath is shallow, half-abandoned, half-occupied. What remains when duty outlives purpose?
How do! This is the fifth entry in the series of using MGS tracks to inspire an encounter generator. These [almost instant] encounter generators are for GMs who need an idea quickly; that said, it also works well for more relaxed prep time, and a starting point to build original ideas from.
Ben Milton’s Knave 2e and Kevin Crawford’s Without Number books were the main inspiration for this series. Both gentlemen have made these lovely sources of worldbuilding and encounter ideas!
How It Works
Get a d20, d12, d10, d8, d6, and a d4. Roll everything at once, check the tables below, and connect the results where it makes sense. The article flows from atmosphere (d4 environment, d6 aspects) to scene details (d10 features, d20 creatures). Narrative developments (d8 complications, d12 secrets) come last.
Of course, GMs are welcome to only use the tables they need, whatever workflow runs best. For more complex encounters, roll or pick multiple times and combine. There’s no need to link every element together. Sometimes results work best as separate hooks.
This article’s track is Old Fort. It’s available on the MGS store here. Alternatively, it comes as part of the 50 track album RPG Ambiences Vol. 9 which you can find here.
Here are all the tables:
Old Fort Roll Tables
d4 – The Environment
1. Creeping mist – wisps coil round corners. It blankets the ground, thick enough to mask feet. The sun is bleary; starlit nights shiver. What ghosts drift in with it?
2. Oppressive stillness – the fort holds its breath. Every sound an intrusion. There is so much history here. It demands hushed respect. Even the rats are nervous.
3. Faded glory – tarnished metals, torn banners, and washed out colours. Pause though, and memories of trumpets and parades stride into mind. Glory dims, but never disappears.
4. Embers for rebirth – rats squeak and bats flutter. Wood cracks and stone crumbles. But potential smoulders here. In the right hands, the old fort could be a jewel again.
d6 – Fort Aspects
1. Flooded dungeons– levels below ground are flooded with stagnant water. Ripples in the dark. Missing items turn up floating in the water.
2. Collapsed eastern wall – damage from a siege never repaired, just rubble and a make-shift barrier flapping in the wind. Something uses the entrance at night. Its tracks are huge.
3. Overgrown – weeds push through flagstones; vines and creepers are dragging the place back to nature. A vegetable garden struggles in the courtyard. Someone is trying to make the best of it.
4. Dust and desertion – thick blankets of dust coat everything. Footprints show everyone and everything that have entered. Sunlight shows particles that never settle.
5. Weeping walls – surfaces are slick with moisture. Moss grows in corners. Everything stinks of mould and mildew. Wood swells and warps. Metal rusts. Everything here is breaking down.
6. Rats – squeaks and patter of paws fills the night’s silence. And the gnawing. The gnawing never stops. Rats in the walls. Running up and down. Down, down, to where?
d10 – Its Features
1. Flag pole – the banner is in tatters and torn. No replacement available. Arguments simmer over whether to take it down or not. There’s always been a flag. Pride versus purpose.
2. The forge – functional, but rarely used. Fuel is scarce and once lit, things come during the night. Is fixing broken equipment worth the risk?
3. Officer’s mess – portraits of previous commanders watch the room. The silver service is tarnished but here. The nightly ritual of dinner feels ridiculous, but somehow necessary.
4. Bell tower – mechanism for the warning system has long since seized and ropes are half rotten. The days of terror are over, right?
5. Trophy room – displays from the glory days. Battle standards, captured weapons, prizes, and honours for the victorious dead. A shrine to relevancy.
6. Grain storage – silos are mostly empty; rationing is in full effect. Evidence of rats. Traps, poison, a cat: nothing works. Stores are shrinking. The rats seem without number.
7. Well – only local source of water. If it fails, the fort will fall. The bucket needs to be lowered further and further each day. Something attacks it.
8. The armoury – racks mostly empty now. What’s left is outdated or damaged. The garrison is badly under-equipped. Someone’s been selling.
9. Commander’s tower – tallest point and best view, but sealed for years. Stairs have collapsed and no one has the key. Sometimes at night, a lantern’s light spills from the window.
10. Old gallows – a relic of harsher times. Rope long rotted away. Kept out of fear, or respect. Names are carved into the wood. Victims, executioners, or both?
d20 – The Creature(s)
1. Acting commander – pretending to calmly read reports. Promoted by attrition, not merit or desire. Desperate.
2. Veteran – refusing to retire. This is home. Protective of the fort’s dignity. Stubborn.
3. Deserter who returned – warning anyone who’ll listen. Back after months away. Distrust from some, sympathy from others. Terrified.
4. Merchant’s daughter – flirting with soldiers. Comes on delivery runs. A spy, friend, or just bored? Observant.
5. Chaplain – attending a shrine. Convinced fort has become sacred. Targets naysayers. Faithful.
6. Cook – cooking something unheard of. Daily miracles with dwindling supplies. Practical.
7. Scav[enger] – returning with much needed gear.Morally flexible. Thief or hero? Resourceful.
8. Drunk – drinking away guilt. Former officer. They know things, have seen things. Morbid.
9. Optimist – making jokes. Keeps people’s spirits up with banter. Is help really coming? Determined.
10. Quartermaster’s ghost – hiding. Not actually a ghost. Hoarding supplies. Seen at night. Nervous.
11. Local hunter – resting. Not military, but trades game for supplies. Respects skill, not rank. Thrill-seeker.
12. Child refugee – seeking protection. No one wants the responsibility. Learning hard lessons fast. Resilient.
13. Tax collector – demanding money. Has legal power, but no muscle. Wants funds the fort doesn’t have. Bureaucratic.
14. Tracker – carving a leg bone. Still here despite contract finished. Tolerated, not trusted. Devoted.
15. Medic – performing surgery. Old doctor died; no one else stepped up. Out of their depth. Burdened.
16. Cadet – proposing improvements. Young, educated, full of theories. May never get commission. Idealistic.
17. Nightwatch – sharpening blade. Prefers darkness and solitude. Doesn’t share everything they see. Taciturn.
18. Beastmaster/Horsemaster – feeding beasts. Feeds them better than himself. Seems to barely sleep. Guilty.
19. Noble – hiding in exile. Maintains airs, has connections, but no power. Jolly and optimistic.
20. Armourer – maintaining gear. Inadequate tools and materials, but expert improvisation. Quality is their religion. Meticulous.
d8 – The Complications
1. Logistics fail. Expected delivery never shows. Resources low. Abandon the fort, reap the wild, or take from locals?
2. Command crisis. Old commander died/went mad. Rivals have split the camp. Conflict is brewing.
3. Squatters. Refugees or bandits took abandoned sections. Noisy, ravenous, and getting more desperate.
4. Old command. Orders to protect a nearby bridge are obsolete but countermand never came through. Duty versus pragmatism.
5. Wildlife incursion. Something has claimed the fort. Bats in the towers. Wolves in the stables. Bigger animals grow bolder.
6. Desertion. More have left this week. Morale has collapsed. Command are running out of options.
7. Under observation. Someone is watching the old fort. Scouts perhaps. Assessing defences. Or waiting for a larger force.
8. Raiding party. Beastmen or wilder things are howling in the night. They loot, burn, and kill as they go. Each night, they come closer.
d12 – The Secrets
1. In a hidden drawer, secret letters. Between the commander and someone in the capital. Furious claims made. The fort had its support cut deliberately.
2. Behind loose bricks, contraband. A haul of jewels and illegal weapons. Where is the owner?
3. In an abandoned footlocker, a journal.Confesses to murders, and notes where the bodies are. Ghastly treasure, too.
4. On a dusty shelf, engineer’s plans. Shows the fort’s layout, structural weak points, secret rooms, and forgotten defensive features.
5. In a stack of logbooks, an ancient duty roster. Hundreds of names listed; shocking comparison to current garrison. Shows fort operations at peak. Old wisdom may help current problems.
6. Among forgotten scrolls, pension documents. Shows everyone stationed should get huge back pay. Legally sound. However, requires presenting in the capital.
7. In an old crate, healing supplies. Aid kits, medicine, and potions. Some expired. Health is wealth here.
8. In a dropped scroll case, a local map. Shows resources, settlements, and rare hunting grounds. Out of date in places, but a sacred grotto is likely still there.
9. Buried under rubble, a locked strongbox. Weight suggests something very valuable or important inside, but no key. Breaking open an open, though risks damage to contents.
10. In a Missing-In-Action soldier’s pack, a bundle of family letters. Never delivered. Reading feels a violation, but contains info on promises and debts. Who is Agathys?
11. In the armoury, a bow made of yew. Whispers the name of its target. Detests hunting.
12. On a half-mauled body, a spy’s report. Denotes plans for an attack on the fort in two days. There is a codename: contact or traitor?
Example Encounter for Old Fort
Roll Results:
d4: 4 – Embers for rebirth
d6: 6 – Rats
d10: 7 – Well
d20: 12 – Child refugee
d8: 7 – Under observation
d12: 4 – Engineer’s plans
My Idea for the Encounter:
The smells of the old fort hit first: damp stone, rust, and time. Then, the sounds: rat squeaks, beating wings, and the distant clang of metal beating metal. The fort’s breath is shallow, half-abandoned, half-occupied. What remains when duty outlives purpose?
A child, couldn’t be more than nine, is staring up at two guards as they argue with each other, gesticulating furiously in the girl’s direction. Behind them, a shriek goes up as two more guards seem to be struggling to haul up the bucket from a well.
Despite the state of the fort, this must have been a formidable strongpoint in its heyday. Glancing around, the thought might occur that it could again one day. But if the lull, there comes the squeaks of a rat. Many rats. Somewhere from inside.
Below the fort, unknown to the incumbents, is an ancient, occult grotto. It’s the source of the rats, and the trouble with the well. Banishing the rats will lead to the fort/grotto becoming a holy site, with pilgrims flocking to the area. The influx of money will see the fort restored.
If the PCs help the refugee, she will show them the engineer’s map she found which she found while sheltering in the warmth of the old forge. If the PCs do not intervene, they may find the map if they explore themselves.
The observers are occult priests who have come to the area, feeling the power of the awakened grotto. They will enter the fort and request to consecrate the grotto for a local god dedicated to fresh water, fertility, and growth.
Tips for Using These Tables
I wrote some tips on using roll tables here. However, some important things to highlight:
– Try using awkward results before tossing them away. Often it’s the unexpected combinations that build the most memorable stories.
– Modify the tables as you like. Change them; add to them; mix them up. GMs will know what will work best for their own group.
Other All-in-One Encounter Generators
Finally, for anyone curious about or missed the previous encounter generators, here is a list with links:
Temple of the Stars
Ship in Blizzard
Snowing
Forest River
Have a lovely day!
