Things in the dungeon

Another random list for your enjoyment (roll a d20)

*Creatures in the Dungeon*

1.) Rodents of Unusual Size
2.) Lizards
3.) Snakes
4.) Large spider
5.) Hundreds of thousands of small spiders
6.) Trolls
7.) Gnomes
8.) Homeless people
9.) Other adventurers
10.) Cockroaches
11.) wild dogs
12.) eels in the water
13.) you're not sure but it had really large teeth
14.) salamanders
15.) Nothing at all. It was a fruitless trip
16.) lots of random bones
17.) mummies
18.) These guys

19.) a smith with his forge

20.) bats

Random List: Magic Missile

So the magic missile is boring? Here are ten ways to describe the effects of the spell for your players so that don't roll their eyes when you say "you get hit with magic missile for 3 points of damage".

1.) smoky tendrils come from the hands and head fo ryou

2.) the wizard stands there and shoots black bars at you

3.) he opens his mouth and a stream of bees comes flying out 

4.) hundreds of spiders drop from the ceiling and come up from the cracks to bite

5.) he makes a gesture and the nearby _______ (fill in the blank with whatever material is handy) splinters, attacking with devastating force

6.) flame comes from his finger tips

7.) fluorescent green slime balls

8.) bursts of acid

9.) birds appear from nowhere and viciously peck

10.) streams of venom

The point is not to extol the virtues of magic missile but to get the brain thinking about different ways of describing things. An effective technique for a GM is to get the players to describe what they do in a way that's not boring. Instead of them saying "I throw a fireball", ask them to describe what they're doing, or do it for them. It can really help with the immersion.

As a GM, you'll want to keep your spells consistent with each wizard, or have your players up in arms. For example if they meet one wizard who casts magic missile and it comes in the shape of a stream of bees and then the next time it's 100s of tiny daggers, they'll think it's a different spell, and rightly so. 

Wandering Minstrel Table

A random list for you. 

*Wandering Minstrel Table (roll a d12)*

Roll a d12 on each list and then combine the results. Or mix and match. Really you can do whatever you'd like with it. 

Instrument
1.) Silver lute
2.) Wooden flute (think Native American)
3.) Pan pipes
4.) Guitar
5.) Wooden Harp
6.) Mandolin
7.) Drums
8.) Violin
10.) Silver flute
11.) Small silver harp
12.) Sackbut (feel bad for this one)

Appearance
1.) Finely dressed in bright colors
2.) Fat and shabbily dressed in dull colors
3.) Extremely tall
4.) Wears an extremely brightly colored cloak
5.) Clown shoes
6.) Statuesque woman
7.) Tiny woman
8.) Wears drab colors in shades of brown and gray
9.) Lots of jewelry
10.) Funny hat
11.) Scruffy beard
12.) Missing a finger

Musical style
1.) Love songs sung ironically
2.) Martial tunes
3.) Bawdy ballads
4.) Lovelorn songs
5.) Religious hymns
6.) Popular dance music (but played a dirge-like pace)
7.) Dirges and other funeral music
8.) Popular dance music
9.) Everything
10.) Lullabies
11.) Wedding songs
12.) Anthems (these are religious anthems as used in the Baroque period and brought to perfection by Handel in his Chandos Anthems)

Magical R