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Adventure Tables

Adventure-specific NPC and encounter tables for when play leaves the prepared route.

These tables were built to support the released Mar de Oro adventures and Shadows of the Compañeros campaign. They are not the general setting tables and are not included in the existing GM Tables PDF.

Need general-purpose tables? Open Mar de Oro GM Tables for ports, associations, jobs, cargo, rumours, faction moves, Fortera signs, and names.

Quick adventure NPC

Combines five adventure NPC tables with three general published tables.

Choose a naming pool and generate a person.

Quick encounter

Choose a region, then roll its d12 table.

Add NPC uses the naming pool selected above. Add complication rolls the published Complications table. Quick rolls use the same visible encounter tables below.

Choose a region and roll.

Read the adventure tables (12 d12 tables)

NPC Tables

Use with any released Mar de Oro adventure when the GM needs a person who was not prepared. The Generate NPC button combines these five tables with the published Occupations & Roles, NPC Wants, and NPC Leverage tables.

Also used by the NPC generator: General published tables → Occupations & Roles, NPC Wants, NPC Leverage.

Adventure NPC · d12

Social Position & Affiliation

Used by Generate NPC

Where this person stands, and who they answer to. Affiliation types are generic; fit them to the local powers already in play.

  1. 1Unaffiliated local, known on this street or quay and nowhere else.
  2. 2Junior member of a guild, crew, or trade association.
  3. 3Household servant or retainer of a noble or merchant family.
  4. 4Minor official of a crown, colonial, or port administration.
  5. 5Agent of a trading house, paid by commission and watched by superiors.
  6. 6Member of a religious or charitable body, with its own loyalties.
  7. 7Serving or retired military, still tied to a regiment or ship.
  8. 8Respected elder or voice of a Golden Sea community.
  9. 9Foreign national, tolerated here and aware of it.
  10. 10Senior figure in a small institution who wants to be taken seriously.
  11. 11Debtor or dependant bound to a more powerful patron.
  12. 12Outsider working for whoever pays, with no public affiliation at all.

Adventure NPC · d12

First Impression

Used by Generate NPC

What the characters notice in the first few seconds.

  1. 1Too well dressed for this place, and uneasy about it.
  2. 2Tired to the bone, working on habit alone.
  3. 3Friendly at once, perhaps a little too friendly.
  4. 4Watchful, keeps a wall or a door at their back.
  5. 5Loud, confident, used to being the one who talks.
  6. 6Quietly precise; every word sounds chosen.
  7. 7Visibly injured, patched, or recently burned.
  8. 8Carrying something they keep a hand on.
  9. 9Openly suspicious of strangers, and of these strangers in particular.
  10. 10Distracted, keeps glancing toward someone else in the room.
  11. 11Formal and correct, hiding behind procedure.
  12. 12Amused, as if they know something the characters do not.

Adventure NPC · d12

Fear

Used by Generate NPC

What this person is trying not to let happen.

  1. 1Losing their position, licence, or post.
  2. 2Someone they love being harmed or taken.
  3. 3A debt being called in before they can pay it.
  4. 4An old mistake coming to light.
  5. 5Being blamed for something they did not do.
  6. 6Being noticed by a powerful institution.
  7. 7Being forced to choose a side in public.
  8. 8Poverty: one bad month away from ruin.
  9. 9Violence returning to this place.
  10. 10Being sent away, deported, or reassigned far from home.
  11. 11An Éterlumin failure: heat, rupture, or a system they cannot control.
  12. 12Being useless, forgotten, or replaced.

Adventure NPC · d12

NPC Complication

Used by Generate NPC

What makes dealing with this person harder than it first appears.

  1. 1They are already promised to help someone else.
  2. 2Their superior is present, or arrives soon.
  3. 3They are lying about one important detail.
  4. 4They are being watched, and know it.
  5. 5They owe money or favours to the characters' rivals.
  6. 6They cannot act without written permission.
  7. 7They are about to leave: a ship, a post, or the city.
  8. 8A relative or friend is tied up in the same problem.
  9. 9They misunderstand what the characters want.
  10. 10They are sincere but badly misinformed.
  11. 11Helping openly would cost them their standing.
  12. 12They want something small but awkward in return first.

Adventure NPC · d12

First Move

Used by Generate NPC

What this person does if the characters do nothing.

  1. 1Asks the characters directly who they are and why they are here.
  2. 2Offers a small favour to see how it is received.
  3. 3Names a price before anyone has asked for anything.
  4. 4Warns them, quietly, about someone nearby.
  5. 5Tries to leave, or to end the conversation quickly.
  6. 6Calls over a friend, colleague, or superior.
  7. 7Asks for help with something unrelated but urgent.
  8. 8Tests them with a harmless lie.
  9. 9Mentions a rumour, watching for a reaction.
  10. 10Invokes rules, papers, or procedure.
  11. 11Makes a show of loyalty to a local power.
  12. 12Goes back to work and lets the characters make the first real move.

Regional Encounter Tables

Choose the table that matches where the adventure has moved.

Optional complication: General published tables → Complications.

Regional encounter · d12

Boca Serena Harbor

Canula Prime · working waterfront

Use with: Ash on the Ledger and other Boca Serena harbour scenes.

The working waterfront of Canula Prime's principal city.

  1. 1
    Situation
    A cargo net splits over the quay and crates scatter across the stones.
    Pressure
    The factor wants every crate counted before the watch arrives.
    Opportunity
    One broken crate holds something that is not on the manifest.
  2. 2
    Situation
    A harbour pilot argues with a foreign captain over the fee for the evening tide.
    Pressure
    The captain must sail tonight or lose a contract.
    Opportunity
    Whoever settles it earns a pilot's goodwill and local route knowledge.
  3. 3
    Situation
    Customs officers board a moored merchantman with a new inspection order.
    Pressure
    The crew wants witnesses so nothing goes missing.
    Opportunity
    The order's signature is worth a closer look.
  4. 4
    Situation
    A fishmonger's stall draws a crowd with a strange catch from the deep channel.
    Pressure
    A scholar wants to buy it before anyone else understands it.
    Opportunity
    The fishers know exactly where it came up, and will say for a price.
  5. 5
    Situation
    A dockworkers' crew downs tools over unpaid wages.
    Pressure
    The ship waiting on them is losing its berth by the hour.
    Opportunity
    Both sides want a trusted go-between.
  6. 6
    Situation
    A child runs through the crowd with a stolen purse and a sailor in pursuit.
    Pressure
    The sailor is drunk and armed; the child is terrified.
    Opportunity
    The child knows the harbour's back ways better than anyone.
  7. 7
    Situation
    An Éterlumin regulator on a lighter begins to whine and heat.
    Pressure
    The owner wants it quiet, not reported.
    Opportunity
    A skilled hand can vent it safely, and the owner will owe them.
  8. 8
    Situation
    A notice is posted: a berth auction at dusk, bidders by invitation.
    Pressure
    A small trader needs to get in and has no invitation.
    Opportunity
    Someone inside the auction wants an outside bidder to push the price.
  9. 9
    Situation
    A funeral procession for a drowned sailor passes along the quay.
    Pressure
    The widow wants to know why the ship did not stop to search.
    Opportunity
    The crew are ready to talk, but not near their officers.
  10. 10
    Situation
    A tavern keeper hires anyone to carry a message to a ship before it sails.
    Pressure
    The ship is already casting off.
    Opportunity
    The message is worth more to a third party than to its recipient.
  11. 11
    Situation
    Two crews brawl outside a chandlery over a disputed debt.
    Pressure
    The watch is coming and both captains want it forgotten.
    Opportunity
    Ending it without blood makes allies on at least one ship.
  12. 12
    Situation
    A well-known broker is quietly asking who arrived on today's ships.
    Pressure
    Someone is paying for names.
    Opportunity
    Knowing who is buying tells the characters who is afraid.

Regional encounter · d12

Summit District

Boca Serena · diplomatic and administrative quarter

Use with: Masks at the Table.

Official Boca Serena: embassies, clerks, guards, and receptions where standing matters.

  1. 1
    Situation
    A delegation's secretary drops a satchel of papers on the steps.
    Pressure
    They must recover every page before their superior notices.
    Opportunity
    Helping reveals which meeting they are late for.
  2. 2
    Situation
    Guards refuse entry to a hall without the correct seal.
    Pressure
    Someone important is waiting inside.
    Opportunity
    A junior clerk can issue a pass, if persuaded.
  3. 3
    Situation
    A reception spills onto a terrace; conversations shift when strangers approach.
    Pressure
    A host wants the gathering to look harmonious.
    Opportunity
    One guest clearly wants to speak privately.
  4. 4
    Situation
    A courier is stopped and searched in the street.
    Pressure
    The courier insists the letter is diplomatic and must not be opened.
    Opportunity
    Witnesses to the search may be useful later.
  5. 5
    Situation
    An interpreter is double-booked by two rival delegations.
    Pressure
    Both expect her within the hour.
    Opportunity
    She will trade what she has heard for a way out.
  6. 6
    Situation
    A petitioner kneels outside a residence with a written grievance.
    Pressure
    Guards are about to remove him.
    Opportunity
    His grievance names a real abuse someone would rather bury.
  7. 7
    Situation
    A minor noble loudly insults a foreign officer in a corridor.
    Pressure
    The officer's honour is at stake; a duel is being hinted at.
    Opportunity
    Defusing it wins quiet thanks from both households.
  8. 8
    Situation
    A servant is dismissed on the spot and walks out in tears.
    Pressure
    She has nowhere to sleep tonight.
    Opportunity
    She knows the household's routines exactly.
  9. 9
    Situation
    Rumour sweeps the district: a session has been postponed.
    Pressure
    Everyone wants to know why before their rivals do.
    Opportunity
    The first to learn the reason has a short-lived advantage.
  10. 10
    Situation
    An official offers the characters a seat at a dinner, unasked.
    Pressure
    The invitation is a test of whose side they are on.
    Opportunity
    Accepting opens a door; refusing sends a message.
  11. 11
    Situation
    A clerk's office is suddenly locked and guarded.
    Pressure
    Someone needs a document from inside today.
    Opportunity
    The guard on duty is new and unsure of his orders.
  12. 12
    Situation
    A portrait painter sketches attendees in a public courtyard.
    Pressure
    A subject demands a sketch be destroyed.
    Opportunity
    The sketchbook records who met whom, and when.

Regional encounter · d12

Porto Sombra / Old Docks

Boca Serena · old dock district

Use with: The Shadowed Tide.

Boca Serena's old dock district: narrow quays, old warehouses, and people who prefer not to be counted.

  1. 1
    Situation
    A lamp goes out along a narrow quay and footsteps stop.
    Pressure
    Someone ahead does not want to be seen.
    Opportunity
    Whoever it is will bargain rather than fight if given a way to leave.
  2. 2
    Situation
    An old warehouse door stands open, chains cut.
    Pressure
    The owner wants to know who did it before the watch does.
    Opportunity
    Fresh marks show what was moved and where.
  3. 3
    Situation
    A boatman offers a ride across the inner basin at an odd hour.
    Pressure
    He is paid to watch who crosses.
    Opportunity
    Paying him more turns a watcher into a source.
  4. 4
    Situation
    Neighbours gather around a collapsed stair in a tenement.
    Pressure
    Someone may be trapped below.
    Opportunity
    Helping earns the street's trust faster than coin.
  5. 5
    Situation
    A fence is selling goods off a blanket, eyes on the corners.
    Pressure
    He needs to move everything before sunset.
    Opportunity
    One item is traceable to a person the characters know.
  6. 6
    Situation
    A smuggler's lookout whistles as the characters pass.
    Pressure
    Something is being unloaded nearby that must not be interrupted.
    Opportunity
    Walking on without looking back is remembered kindly.
  7. 7
    Situation
    A harbour watchman takes a coin to look the other way, openly.
    Pressure
    He thinks the characters are part of whatever is happening.
    Opportunity
    His mistake can be used, or corrected.
  8. 8
    Situation
    A sick sailor is left on a warehouse step.
    Pressure
    His shipmates dare not take him to the physicians.
    Opportunity
    He wants to tell someone what he saw before he passes out.
  9. 9
    Situation
    Someone has painted a warning on a wall in a local community language.
    Pressure
    Locals are scrubbing it off before officials see.
    Opportunity
    Whoever reads it understands who is being warned, and about whom.
  10. 10
    Situation
    A gang of dock children demand a toll to use a shortcut.
    Pressure
    They are paid by someone older.
    Opportunity
    Treating them fairly buys eyes throughout the district.
  11. 11
    Situation
    A fire starts in a rope store and spreads toward a stacked cargo.
    Pressure
    Neighbours need hands for a bucket line now.
    Opportunity
    In the confusion, a locked back room is left unguarded.
  12. 12
    Situation
    An old woman who has lived here all her life invites them in for tea.
    Pressure
    She wants something done about a new, rough crowd.
    Opportunity
    She knows every hidden door on the quay.

Regional encounter · d12

Canula Roads & Estates

Canula Prime · roads, plantations, estates

Use with: The San Telmo Incident and overland scenes on Canula Prime.

Roads, plantations, market towns, and estate houses beyond the city walls.

  1. 1
    Situation
    A cart has lost a wheel across the road, blocking all traffic.
    Pressure
    The driver must reach market before noon.
    Opportunity
    Helping reveals what the cart really carries.
  2. 2
    Situation
    Estate riders stop travellers and ask their business.
    Pressure
    The estate is looking for someone who ran.
    Opportunity
    The runner is hiding nearby and needs help or silence.
  3. 3
    Situation
    A roadside marker stone has a letter tucked beneath it.
    Pressure
    Someone will return for it tonight.
    Opportunity
    The letter shows who is meeting in secret.
  4. 4
    Situation
    Labourers walk off a field in the middle of the day.
    Pressure
    The overseer wants them back before the owner hears.
    Opportunity
    Their grievance is specific, and fixable, by someone with standing.
  5. 5
    Situation
    A bridge toll has doubled since last week.
    Pressure
    The tollkeeper is under orders and embarrassed.
    Opportunity
    The new orders come from a surprising source.
  6. 6
    Situation
    A market town is holding its seasonal fair.
    Pressure
    A stall owner is being squeezed for protection money.
    Opportunity
    The fair brings together people who never otherwise meet.
  7. 7
    Situation
    A surveyor's party is marking a boundary through smallholdings.
    Pressure
    Farmers are gathering with tools and anger.
    Opportunity
    The surveyor's maps are accurate, and politically useful.
  8. 8
    Situation
    A post rider is found resting by the road with a lame horse.
    Pressure
    He must deliver his bag today.
    Opportunity
    He will let a trusted traveller carry one letter.
  9. 9
    Situation
    Smoke rises from an estate outbuilding.
    Pressure
    Staff are fighting it without calling for help.
    Opportunity
    Something in that building should not be there.
  10. 10
    Situation
    Travelling players ask for company on a dangerous stretch.
    Pressure
    They have been followed for two days.
    Opportunity
    They carry news from every town they have played.
  11. 11
    Situation
    A disused Éterlumin pump house hums again after years of silence.
    Pressure
    Locals are afraid and want it looked at.
    Opportunity
    The regulator is valuable and unclaimed, for now.
  12. 12
    Situation
    A widow offers lodging for the night at a lonely estate house.
    Pressure
    She needs witnesses to a dispute with her late husband's partner.
    Opportunity
    Her husband's papers are still in the study.

Regional encounter · d12

Open Sea

Golden Sea · shipboard and coastal travel

Use with: Sea travel between adventure locations.

Days between ports, where weather, crews, and other ships make the pressure.

  1. 1
    Situation
    Sails on the horizon hold the same course for hours.
    Pressure
    The captain wants to know their intent before nightfall.
    Opportunity
    Signal flags may open an honest exchange.
  2. 2
    Situation
    A merchant flies distress signals with no visible damage.
    Pressure
    Her master claims plague, fire, or mutiny.
    Opportunity
    The truth is aboard, and some of the crew want out.
  3. 3
    Situation
    The wind drops; the ship sits becalmed in heavy heat.
    Pressure
    Water rationing begins and tempers fray.
    Opportunity
    The idle days bring secrets and bargains to the surface.
  4. 4
    Situation
    Wreckage floats past: planks, a cask, a sea chest.
    Pressure
    The crew wants to salvage; the captain wants to keep schedule.
    Opportunity
    The chest belongs to someone who is expected to be alive.
  5. 5
    Situation
    A squall line builds faster than expected.
    Pressure
    Rigging must be made fast immediately.
    Opportunity
    A local hand's reading of the sky proves right, and earns respect.
  6. 6
    Situation
    A fishing fleet crosses the ship's bow.
    Pressure
    They warn of a patrol or blockade ahead.
    Opportunity
    They will guide the ship by a local passage, for a fee.
  7. 7
    Situation
    A crew member is caught stealing from stores.
    Pressure
    The crew wants punishment; the officers want order.
    Opportunity
    The thief is desperate for a reason worth hearing.
  8. 8
    Situation
    A ship of a rival nation hails and requests to inspect papers.
    Pressure
    Refusing may be read as hostility.
    Opportunity
    Their officer is bored and open to conversation.
  9. 9
    Situation
    A castaway is spotted on a rock or drifting boat.
    Pressure
    Recovering them costs time and risk.
    Opportunity
    They carry knowledge of a nearby event.
  10. 10
    Situation
    The Éterlumin regulator runs hot under strain.
    Pressure
    The engineer needs hands and a decision: vent reserve or reduce speed.
    Opportunity
    Getting it right keeps both the ship and the engineer's trust.
  11. 11
    Situation
    Large sea creatures surface near the hull and follow for a time.
    Pressure
    Crew superstition and fear spread.
    Opportunity
    An experienced sailor knows they mean shoal water or warm currents.
  12. 12
    Situation
    A message in a sealed bottle is hauled aboard in a net.
    Pressure
    Several people want to read it first.
    Opportunity
    It is recent, and addressed to someone real.

Regional encounter · d12

Sky / Airship Routes

Strategic and military air routes

Use with: Airship travel and Shadows of the Compañeros campaign scenes.

Airships are rare, strategic, state-held assets. These encounters happen around them: near an airship, aboard one on official business, or under one's shadow.

  1. 1
    Situation
    An airship passes low over the route; everyone below stops to watch.
    Pressure
    Locals fear what its presence means.
    Opportunity
    Its heading tells an observer where a government is paying attention.
  2. 2
    Situation
    Soldiers cordon a field where an airship is taking on supplies.
    Pressure
    Anyone nearby is questioned.
    Opportunity
    A supplier needs extra hands and asks few questions.
  3. 3
    Situation
    A sky crew member is on shore leave and drinking hard.
    Pressure
    His officers want him back aboard before dawn.
    Opportunity
    He talks too freely about where the ship has been.
  4. 4
    Situation
    A lift envelope shows a tear after a storm.
    Pressure
    The crew needs a skilled rigger immediately.
    Opportunity
    Helping earns a rare invitation aboard.
  5. 5
    Situation
    Aboard: an Éterlumin cell runs hot and the engineer calls for quiet.
    Pressure
    Heat and pressure are building; the watch wants to know how bad it is.
    Opportunity
    Calm help in a crisis is remembered in reports.
  6. 6
    Situation
    A state officer demands to see the characters' authorisation to be aboard.
    Pressure
    Their papers may not cover this leg.
    Opportunity
    The officer is open to a reasonable explanation, recorded properly.
  7. 7
    Situation
    A signal lamp from the ground flashes an unexpected message.
    Pressure
    The captain must decide whether to answer.
    Opportunity
    The message offers information in exchange for a landing.
  8. 8
    Situation
    A rival airship is sighted at a distance, matching altitude.
    Pressure
    Both crews are tense; no one wants an incident.
    Opportunity
    Careful signals may avoid a crisis and gather intelligence.
  9. 9
    Situation
    A mooring mast's ground crew argues with the airship's officers.
    Pressure
    Weather is closing and the mast must be secured.
    Opportunity
    The ground crew know the local winds better than the charts.
  10. 10
    Situation
    A passenger of rank is aboard under an assumed identity.
    Pressure
    Their escort is nervous and watching the characters.
    Opportunity
    They want a quiet word, away from the escort.
  11. 11
    Situation
    Downdrafts force an unscheduled landing in a remote place.
    Pressure
    Locals approach, curious and wary.
    Opportunity
    Goodwill here could make a future landing safe.
  12. 12
    Situation
    A crewman confesses he has been passing notes ashore.
    Pressure
    He wants protection before his officers find out.
    Opportunity
    The notes reveal who is watching this ship.

Regional encounter · d12

Jungle & Source-Zone Travel

Canula interior · Source-country travel

Use with: Later Shadows of the Compañeros campaign travel in Canula’s interior.

New World interior and ground near Fortera activity. Strange phenomena follow Fortera and Source behaviour, not magic.

  1. 1
    Situation
    A guide stops and refuses to go further along the path.
    Pressure
    The party is behind schedule and the patron is impatient.
    Opportunity
    The guide's reasons are practical, and there is another way.
  2. 2
    Situation
    A survey camp is found abandoned with instruments still set up.
    Pressure
    Rain is coming and will ruin the records.
    Opportunity
    The last readings show something moving.
  3. 3
    Situation
    A village asks outsiders to wait at its edge until its elders decide.
    Pressure
    Pushing in would be an insult.
    Opportunity
    Patience earns guides, food, and local knowledge.
  4. 4
    Situation
    Plants in a clearing grow in unnatural spirals and warm to the touch.
    Pressure
    Instruments drift; a companion feels dizzy.
    Opportunity
    Mapping the edge of the effect is valuable to the right scholar.
  5. 5
    Situation
    A river crossing is swollen after rain.
    Pressure
    Crossing now is risky; waiting costs a day.
    Opportunity
    Local boat people will ferry for trade goods.
  6. 6
    Situation
    A prospecting crew is digging where locals say they should not.
    Pressure
    Tension is rising; tools and guns are in hand on both sides.
    Opportunity
    A fair mediator could prevent bloodshed and learn why the site matters.
  7. 7
    Situation
    A large animal, altered in form, crosses the trail and pauses.
    Pressure
    It is unafraid, and the party is between it and its path.
    Opportunity
    Letting it pass reveals a route through dense ground.
  8. 8
    Situation
    A raw Éterlumin seam is exposed in a gully, shimmering with heat.
    Pressure
    Handling it risks burns, rupture, and volatile release.
    Opportunity
    A careful sample is worth a great deal, if carried properly.
  9. 9
    Situation
    A stretch of ground hums; compasses turn and the air feels heavy.
    Pressure
    Some of the party want to push through; others want to turn back.
    Opportunity
    Recording the resonance could explain earlier strange readings.
  10. 10
    Situation
    An injured traveller from another expedition staggers into camp.
    Pressure
    They need care, and they are being followed.
    Opportunity
    They know where their expedition went wrong.
  11. 11
    Situation
    Old stonework rises from roots, with worked lines no one here recognises.
    Pressure
    A patron wants it stripped and shipped.
    Opportunity
    Locals have their own account of the place worth hearing.
  12. 12
    Situation
    A strange light flickers in the canopy after dark, silent and moving.
    Pressure
    The camp's nerves fray; someone wants to shoot at it.
    Opportunity
    Watching patiently shows it follows the Fortera line underground.