A while back, I recommended a technique for creativity that uses your natural ability to rationalize to inspire you to create adventure ideas. Mashing two things together that don’t naturally go together encourages you to fill in the gaps and come up with ideas that are more unusual.

So here is a table for rolling up just ideas. Roll a d6 to see which columns to roll on, then roll on the idea table as directed; reroll doubles. If you want to randomly decide if something is good or evil, use the other die roll (or one of the other dice rolls) to determine it: odd = evil; even = good.

1d6	Result
1	Roll twice on Idea 1 column.
2	Roll twice on Idea 2 column.
3	Roll once on each column.
4	Roll once on Idea 1 column and twice on Idea 2 column.
5	Roll twice on Idea 1 column and once on Idea 2 column.
6	Roll twice on each column.

d100	Idea 1	Idea 2
1	ooze	curse
2	bandit	desert
3	skeleton	graveyard
4	ghost	fog
5	nature spirit	copse of trees
6	lycanthropes	moonlight
7	troll	marsh
8	vampire	tomb
9	bizarre cult	sacrifice
10	bear	in stasis
11	necromancer	animating undead
12	clerics	raising the dead
13	rope	hanging
14	monolith	thieves
15	monument	broken
16	wizard	sleeping
17	witch	potion
18	trade goods	half-buried
19	treasure	buried
20	demon	summoning
21	manor house	flooded
22	snake	crawling
23	monkey	climbing
24	dungeon	secret
25	cavern	hidden
26	ruins	overgrown
27	ceremony	books
28	ritual	transformation
29	inn	spies
30	tavern	assassins
31	guildhall	city official
32	monastery	relic
33	monks	pirates
34	fae creature	tricky
35	fairy ring	legends
36	fairy	sparkling
37	insects	shrinking
38	flowers	growing
39	fruits	rotten
40	smoke	fire
41	mine	earth
42	breath	air
43	meat	water
44	food	eaten
45	drink	spilled
46	supplies	wasted
47	peasants	wedding
48	townsfolk	funeral
49	craftsmen	craftwork
50	trap	capture
51	captive	ransom
52	blanket	warmth
53	artist	painting
54	sinkhole	sand
55	cave	cold
56	moors	lonely
57	hills	angry
58	mountain	fearful
59	forest	fearsome
60	chest	stolen
61	battleground	bridge
62	tapestry	history
63	love	hatred
64	puzzle	ship
65	lock	key
66	council	rescue
67	gate	portal
68	door	secret
69	mimic	false
70	spider	murder
71	library	delivery
72	map	lost
73	pen & ink	parchment
74	wind	rain
75	wild magic	thunderstorm
76	anti-magic	enchanted
77	orcs	camp
78	goblins	lair
79	livestock	lure
80	jewelry	gold
81	armor	artifact
82	sword	blood
83	horse	army
84	tower	fallen
85	hunters	searching
86	bards	music
87	knights	fighting
88	bulette	destroying crops
89	gentlemen	gambling
90	gentlewomen	dancing
91	city	raiders
92	castle	defense
93	merchants	trade
94	elephant	travel
95	lion	hunting
96	kraken	submerged
97	giant	chalice
98	noble	scepter
99	king/queen	flying ship
100	dragon	crown

Examples

Fairy Ring & Defense

• A knight is cursed to defend a fairy’s ring of normal mushrooms.
• The mushrooms of a fairy ring are needed for a ceremony or ritual to defend a castle.
• A ring of giant mushrooms forms the defenses of a little fairy kingdom.
• A fairy’s silver jewelry ring must be defended from evil cultists.
• The ringing sound of a fairy’s bell is the only thing that can fend off a fearsome monster.

City, Portal, Bizarre Cult, & Stolen

• The key to a city’s ancient magic stone portal has been stolen by a bizarre cult.
• Steal the magic portal object of a bizarre cult that allows access to a fabled lost city.
• A bizarre cult is working on a portal that will allow them to steal the treasures of a city.
• An entire city has disappeared by the use of a bizarre cult’s magic portal.
• The people of a city have been induced by a bizarre cult to vanish thru its magic portal.

In Stasis & Buried

• The heroic Sir Baulfik was turned to stone and buried by his enemies, but clues remain. If he can be recovered before a year and a day are up, he can be returned to life.
• A town thought destroyed by earthquake was actually swallowed by a sinkhole and remains intact in a great cavern directly below its former site, its people held in stasis by the same curse.
• A shipwreck floated into a sea cavern and remains there today, the entrance now almost completely blocked. Some of its crew defend it as undead.
• Great patriarch of the church Father Linnayis was laid to rest in magical stasis to preserve the body centuries ago. The underground tomb remained open as a holy site for pilgrims, but after the ceiling crumbled, the location lost–along with its treasures.
• The flowering firethorn tree revered by druids grew on hillock deep in a great sinkhole. When the Dark Overlord arose, the firethorn went into hibernation. The sinkhole was boarded up, but now that the menace has been defeated, it might be revived….

Dungeon & Hills

• A crack in the rock of an abandoned quarry is said to lead to dark passages.
• A tangled gorge is pockmarked with the lairs of various creatures.
• A sinkhole on the rolling moors with a pool at the bottom is home to goblins.
• The spire on a rocky tor among the hills of the wasteland is the site of wyvern nests.
• The chalk downs hold an old watchtower with a dungeon where strange creatures lurk.

Mimic & Army

• A small army disappeared in the vicinity of the river ford. Investigation finds a fine, new stone bridge across the river. It’s made entirely of a colony of mimics, which ate the army. Bits of armor and weapons can be found here and there.
• An evil wizard has created a small army of mimics trained to sneak up to his rival’s castle in various disguises.
• A leader among a earl’s army has gone missing. He was eaten by his own writing desk.
• Deliver this “chest of gold” to the baron’s rival’s army as tribute.
• The battlefield full of fresh corpses seems to have an awful lot of large pieces of furniture sitting around….