Quick Adventure Random Tables for a D&D One-Shot
One Shots

Quick Adventure Random Tables for a D&D One-Shot

Duncan Thomson

The characters are dramatic barbarians trying to infiltrate a cult. It involves shapechangers, starts with a funeral and at some point there is a romantic complication.

Random tables For Dungeons and Dragons 5th Edition

One Shots - characters | quick adventures | spooky

[Art by Patrick E. Pullen]

Quick Adventure Tables for One-Shot Adventures

A One-shot is a stand-alone adventure that takes one session. Or sometimes a few if things overrun.

The players get to play different characters, explore different genres and try out new rules or situations.

It's an opportunity for someone to try running a game or a regular DM to take a break or run an idea they've had in their head.

These tables are here to give a quick-start for an adventure.

Tables from available on DM's Guild along with similar tables. Inspired by One-shots random generator.

One Shots Random Tables on DM's Guild Quick Adventures Bundle on DM's Guild

The Characters Are...

1d20Quick Adventure Characters
1 young spellcasters
2 infamous gnomes
3 hungry bards
4 from the same village
5 troubled sages
6 powerful tieflings
7 cursed knights
8 shapechanging members of a ruling family
9 outcast paladins
10 elite spies
11 all ogres (or other monster)
12 despised monster hunters
13 penniless warriors
14 secretive guild artisans
15 chaotic folk heroes
16 members of the same crime family
17 dramatic barbarians
18 veteran instructors at an academy
19 imprisoned lords and ladies
20 heroic leaders of a temple

Trying to...

1d20Quick Adventure Objective
1 investigate why a spirit is not at rest
2 recover a legendary chariot
3 steal something from a vain storm giant
4 explore an elven shipwreck
5 find someone at festival where everyone is a shapechanger
6 investigate the history of a necromantic crown
7 slay a fiendish beholder
8 survive an elemental apocalypse
9 destroy a bejeweled artifact
10 infiltrate a cult
11 capture a famous awakened beast
12 protect a fortified tavern
13 collect a bounty on a flamboyant orc warchief
14 steal a herd of dinosaurs
15 escape from an arcane asylum
16 find a buyer for a cursed boat
17 put on a fashion show
18 befriend an honorable archmage
19 destroy a walled noble's estate
20 complete a ritual in a magical laboratory

It Involves...

1d20Quick Adventure Theme or NPC
1-2 snakes
3-4 a desperate apprentice who betrays them
5-6 a criminal organization
7-8 an attractive barbarian who falls in love with a character
9-10 the Shadowfell
11-12 a dangerous mercenary who has important information for them
13-14 giants
15-16 a talkative sage who turns out to be the villain
17-18 shapechangers
19-20 a young sorcerer who offers them aid

It Starts With....

1d20Quick Adventure Start
1-2 a chase scene
3-4 foes about to ambush them
5-6 a disrupted wedding
7-8 the group camped and about to be attacked
9-10 a local festival
11-12 a sinking vessel
13-14 the loan of a magic item
15-16 the characters in a fight
17-18 a funeral
19-20 the characters outside some ruins

At Some Point...

1d20Quick Adventure Partway Through
1-2 there is a fire
3-4 they uncover a secret stockpile
5-6 there is a romantic complication
7-8 someone betrays them
9-10 a ghost gives them aid
11-12 there is a planar portal
13-14 an old friend appears
15-16 they encounter a magical trap
17-18 there is an earthquake
19-20 a rival turns up

More Encounters

These tables and more like it are available on DM's Guild in One-Shot Adventures.

One Shots Random Tables on DM's Guild Quick Adventures Bundle on DM's Guild