Random Ruins for Gothic (and Fantasy) Adventures

18 Monday Jun 2018

Posted by Daniel James Hanley in Ghastly Affair, Gothic Gaming, Historical Gaming, OSR, Random Tables

Tags

blackpowder, dreadpunk, Ghastly Affair, gothic game, Gothic Gaming, Gothic Horror, Gothic Literature, Gothic Romance, random encounters, Random Table, Romantic Horror, Romanticism

What’s a Gothic story without some dark and forbidding ruin with a tragic history? The following tables will help you create ruins for one-shot scenarios, or as points of side interest in larger Affairs. Of course, they’re useful for medieval fantasy adventures as well.

Table 1: The Original Structure

d20	The ruin was originally a…
1	bell tower.
2	church.
3	cathedral.
4	shell keep.
5	motte and bailey castle.
6	concentric castle.
7	courtyard castle.
8	compact castle.
9	star fort.
10	half-timber grand house.
11	brick grand house.
12	stone grand house.
13	small country villa.
14	windmill.
15	monastery.
16	convent.
17	tower house.
18	watchtower.
19	Roman (or other ancient) temple.
20	Roman (or other ancient) villa.

Table 2: Cause of Abandonment

d10	The place became a ruin on account of…
1	a conflict or war.
2	a curse on the inhabitants.
3	the owner (or ruler) dying without a clear heir.
4	a deadly disease that struck the household.
5	being claimed by a creature of supernatural evil.
6	being ruined in a storm.
7	being destroyed by fire.
8	a popular uprising against its former inhabitants (or owners).
9	one of the inhabitants dying tragically (or horrifically), and the place holding too many bad memories for the survivors.
10	the local water supply becoming (or being deliberately) poisoned.

Table 3: Most Notable Feature

d20	*A notable feature of the structure is…*
1	an intact fresco of great artistic merit.
2	the intact statuary of great artistic merit.
3	one or more rare plants growing wild.
4	the mass of skeletons still strewn about. Will they rise as Walking Skeletons?
5	a strange tree growing alongside (or in the middle of) the ruins.
6	a single intact and inhabited tower standing in the midst of it.
7	that the Basement, Crypt, or Dungeon is largely intact (and possibly inhabited).
8	how the wind blowing through the structure makes a peculiar sound.
9	the graffiti that covers the standing walls.
10	the shocking lack of the usual plants or animals (even insects). Do not roll on Table 12.
11	the evidence of recent inhabitants.
12	the treasure buried on the property (gold, artwork, a rare book, etc.).
13	that it is used as a graveyard for heretics, vagrants, criminals, or other unwanted people.
14	it is apparently maintained in its current state by some unknown person (or people).
15	it is still Restless.
16	its strange architectural style.
17	it looks far older than it actually is.
18	it appears to have been used as a meeting place by witches, or for a black magic ritual.
19	someone has been using it as a ready quarry and/or lumber source.
20	it is so picturesque that it is frequented by poets, artists, and picnickers.

Table 4: Completeness of the Structure

d6	Overall, the building is…
1 – 2	basically intact.
3	three-quarters intact (or on three sides).
4	half intact (or on two sides). Skip Table 5. Ruin will not have a roof.
5	a quarter intact (or on only one side). Skip Table 5. Ruin will not have a roof.
6	mostly scattered rubble, with only some small structures (such as archways) remaining. Skip Table 5. The ruin will naturally lack a roof.

Table 5: State of the Roof

d6	The roof is…
1	completely intact.
2	intact, but very leaky.
3	full of holes.
4	full of holes, and collapsing. The floor below will be strewn with debris.
5	partially gone.
6	completely gone.

Table 6: State of the Interior Walls

d4	The interior walls are…
1	mostly intact.
2	severely water damaged.
3	covered with holes.
4	completely ruined.

Table 7: State of the Doors

d4	The doors are…
1	all present, wherever there are intact frames.
2	mostly present, but many are damaged.
3	mostly gone, and those few remaining are heavily damaged.
4	all missing.

Table 8: State of the Furniture

d12	The furniture is…
1	somehow mostly intact, and in place.
2	all in place, but many pieces are ruined.
3	all in place, but completely ruined.
4	still present in part.
5 – 6	still present in part, but mostly ruined.
7 – 12	completely gone.

Table 9a: State of the Standing Exterior Walls (Unroofed)

d6	Long shorn of their roof, the exterior walls are…
1	somehow mostly intact.
2	intact in some places, with holes in others.
3 – 4	three-quarters their original height.
5	half their original height.
6	a quarter of their original height.

Table 9b: State of the Standing Exterior Walls (Roofed)

d6	Under the remains of the roof, the exterior walls are…
1	mostly intact.
2	intact in some places, with holes in others.
3 – 4	mostly sound, but one part seems about to collapse.
5	half intact, but half seem about to collapse.
6	seemingly about to completely collapse.

Table 10: State of the Windows

d8	The windows…
1	are somehow completely intact. Roll again if the roof is missing.
2 – 3	have intact frames, but most of the panes are broken. Besides the stained glass used in churches, the panes of pre-17^th century windows were usually made of flattened animal horn, parchment, or sometimes thin sheets of alabaster.
4 – 5	have intact frames, but the panes are missing.
6 – 8	are completely missing.

Table 11: State of the Floors

d6	The floor is…
1	intact and clear.
2	intact, but strewn with debris.
3 – 4	partially intact.
5	partially intact and strewn with debris.
6	long gone.

Table 12: Vegetation

d8	The vegetation about the structure is…
1	sparse
2	sparse, and sickly.
3 – 4	wild and overgrown.
5	profuse, but sickly and dying.
6	just a sprinkling of mushrooms, lichen and fungus.
7	an overgrowth of mushrooms, lichen and fungus.
8	twisted, grotesque, and unnatural in appearance.

Table 13: Current Inhabitant(s)

d100	The ruin is inhabited by…
1 – 25	Nobody. It is truly deserted.
26 – 30	Nobody, but is frequently used by local lovers for trysts.
31 – 35	Nobody, but is frequently used as a playground by children.
36 – 40	Nobody, but is frequently visited by peasants picking mushrooms, or gathering herbs.
41	1d12 Aerial Sprite(s).
42	1d2 Badger(s).
43 – 49	1d12 Bandit(s).
48	1 Beast-Man.
49	1d12 Beggar(s).
50	1d4 Black Bear(s).
51	1d2 Brown Bear(s).
52	a Bzou.
53	1d4 Cannibal(s).
54	1d4 Common Vampire(s).
55	a Coven of 2d8 Witches.
56	2d4 Cultist(s).
57	1d6 Demoniac(s).
58	1d6 Demoniac Beast(s).
59	1d6 Demoniac Corpse(s).
60	a Demoniac Object.
61	1d6 Deserter(s), from the local military, or an invading force.
62	a Dragon or Dragon Worm.
63	1d4 Escaped Prisoner(s).
64	a Feral Child.
65	1d4 Fire Demon(s).
66	1d2 Fox(es).
67	1d12 Ghoulish Revenant(s).
68	1d2 Gigantic Animal(s).
69	1d3 Goblin(s).
70 – 75	1d12 Gypsies.
76	a Hermit.
77	1d4 Leper(s).
78	1d4 Living Gargoyle(s).
79	1d20 Mindless Revenant(s).
80	an Ogre.
81	1d4 Phantom(s).
82	a Plague Vampire.
83	1d6 Possessor Demon(s).
84	a Raging Lunatic.
85 – 86	1d100 Rats.
87	1d2 Raven(s).
88	a Reanimated Wretch.
89	a Satyr.
90	a Spectral Animal.
91	1d12 Terrestrial Sprite(s).
92	1d6 Viper(s).
93	1d20 Walking Skeleton(s).
94	1d4 Wayward Shadow(s).
95	1d4 Werewolves.
96	1d8+4 Wild Dogs.
97	1d2 Wildcat(s).
98	1d10+6 Wolves.
99	a Wraith(s).
100	a Zoomorphic Revenant.

5 thoughts on “Random Ruins for Gothic (and Fantasy) Adventures”

Ynas Midgard said:

June 21, 2018 at 11:40 am

Nice!

A little nitpicking: Table 6 is missing full stops, and there’s an extra “s” in “Beggar(s)”. “Nobody” shouldn’t start in capital in Table 13.

Here are three ruins I just rolled up to test it:

The ruin was originally a stone grand house. The place became a ruin on account of a conflict or war. A notable feature of the structure is how the wind blowing through the structure makes a peculiar sound. Overall, the building is three-quarters intact (or on three sides). The roof is completely gone. The interior walls are mostly intact. The doors are all missing. The furniture is completely gone. Long shorn of their roof, the exterior walls are intact in some places, with holes in others. The windows have intact frames, but most of the panes are broken. The floor is intact, but strewn with debris. The vegetation about the structure is wild and overgrown. The ruin is inhabited by 1d12 Bandits.

The ruin was originally a concentric castle. The place became a ruin on account of the owner (or ruler) dying without a clear heir. A notable feature of the structure is the intact statuary of great artistic merit. Overall, the building is basically intact. The roof is completely gone. The interior walls are mostly intact. The doors are mostly gone, and those few remaining are heavily damaged. The furniture is somehow mostly intact, and in place. Long shorn of their roof, the exterior walls are three-quarters their original height. The windows are completely missing. The floor is long gone. The vegetation about the structure is profuse, but sickly and dying. The ruin is inhabited by nobody, but is frequently used by local lovers for trysts.

The ruin was originally a monastery. The place became a ruin on account of a deadly disease that struck the household. A notable feature of the structure is the mass of skeletons still strewn about. Overall, the building is three-quarters intact (or on three sides). The roof is partially gone. The interior walls are completely ruined. The doors are all present, wherever there are intact frames. The furniture is still present in part, but mostly ruined. Under the remains of the roof, the exterior walls are seemingly about to completely collapse. The windows have intact frames, but most of the panes are broken. The floor is intact, but strewn with debris. The vegetation about the structure is twisted, grotesque, and unnatural in appearance. The ruin is inhabited by 1d2 Fox(es).

I like the results. These tables could be used to populate the wilderness quickly (with mini-dungeons and simple lairs, that is). I’d probably use it in conjunction with some other tables, because this one mostly described mundane details. However, interpreting the results in context might just give one enough juice to work with. Like the same disease that made the plants twisted also killed the monks in the last ruin; and those foxes are probably not just mundane foxes. Or the eerie sounds in the first ruin might actually be the bandit’s pipes, and they could be deserters.

Uhh, sorry for the long comment.

Reply
- Ynas Midgard said:
  
  June 21, 2018 at 11:43 am
  
  Of course I meant the extra “s” is in “Bandits(s)”.
  
  Reply
- Daniel James Hanley said:
  
  June 21, 2018 at 5:18 pm
  
  There’s definitely no need to apologize for your enthusiasm! Also, thanks for pointing out the typos. It’s another reminder why editors are wonderful people.
  
  Reply
sunlessnick said:

June 23, 2018 at 9:36 pm

Very neat! (Except in the sense of being tidy – ruins are rarely tidy – but you know what I mean).

Reply
- Daniel James Hanley said:
  
  June 24, 2018 at 11:58 pm
  
  Of course, if you roll a “14” on Table 3…
  
  Reply

The Engine of Oracles

~ Daniel James Hanley's Creations For Gaming. Home of the Ghastly Affair RPG.