Random Table PDFs and Books for Fantasy (Updated)
PDF Guides System Neutral Fantasy

Random Table PDFs and Books for Fantasy (Updated)

Duncan Thomson

Here we are looking at pdf and book titles for Fantasy RPGs on Drive Thru RPG.

PDF Guides -  all fantasy | city | dungeon | wilds | sea | hinterlands | otherworldly | all pdf guides

[Photo by Zoltan Tasi on Unsplash]

Disclaimer: Rand Roll is an affiliate for DriveThru RPG and DM's Guild.

Starting Points

titles - major | solo | worldbuilding | npcs | taverns | treasure | other

Well Fantasy is a pretty broad topic, but here we are.

We're specifically not looking at D&D, which has it's own guide. But most of these titles could be used in a Fantasy Setting.

Fantasy covers existing worlds such as Glorantha, Middle Earth and Westeros. Your own homebrews plus dungeon delves, hex crawls and fantasy soap opera. Using tools such as Pathfinder, D&D, Savage Worlds, OSR, Ironsworn, Warhammer or whatever takes your fantasy.

My most recent experiences have been Warlock!, Savage Worlds, Knave and D&D.

There is a Fantasy Tools guide for random tables and generators.

Major Titles

titles - major | solo | worldbuilding | npcs | taverns | treasure | other

Some PDFs are much larger and comprehensive.

  • From Dicegeeks there is the Great Book of Random Tables, combining 5 previous books of random tables. More focused is the Book of Random Tables: Quests.
  • The Tome of Adventure Design (revised) from Mythmere Games has over 500 pages of tables and guidance for various fantasy adventures. If you have the older version you don't need the updated one as it's mostly a formatting update.
  • Ken Wickham has something different with Grammar Fuel: Fantasy, giving 73 d100 lists of nouns, adjectives and adverbs for fantasy.
  • GM's Miscellany: the Thingonomicon is from Raging Swan Press has pdf and book versions. It contains many lists grouped around 26 themes such as "Bustling Marketplace", "Looting the Body", "Smugglers' Lair" and "Wilderness Camping".
  • GM Gems from Goodman Games is System Neutral and contains 80 pages of d100 random tables split into three broad sections. These are The Urban Experience, Getting There is Half the Fun and The Dungeon

Great Book of Random Tables Tome of Adventure Design (revised) Grammar Fuel: Fantasy Genre Thingonomicon GM Gems

Solo Titles

titles - major | solo | worldbuilding | npcs | taverns | treasure | other

For Fantasy Solo Play in Fantasy there are many options, including

  • The GamesMaster's Apprentice: Fantasy Deck from Larcenous Designs is an oracle and random generator in a deck of cards. With dice rolls, npc traits, event information, sights and sounds and other information.
  • Worlds Without Number from Sine Nomine Publishing is a full rpg, but also has a free edition and many random tables to detail your world.
  • Also from Sine Nomine Publishing is Scarlet Heroes, an old-school rpg for solo, either as a standalone rpg or as an overlay for another game.

1001 Encounter Generator - Fantasy Wilderness 1001 Encounter Generator - Fantasy Wilderness Scarlet Heroes

World Building

titles - major | solo | worldbuilding | npcs | taverns | treasure | other

Some GM's love worldbuilding in advance, and others let it develop through gameplay, or it fits and bursts.

Realm Fables: World Generator Castle Oldskull - Game World Generator Deluxe Sandbox Generator Pocket Lands: Kingdom 1d50 Tiered Encounters 100 Fantasy Kingdom Events

NPCs

titles - major | solo | worldbuilding | npcs | taverns | treasure | other

NPCs are the allies, friends, rivals and foes of the characters, to be hated and loved.

Swift NPC Builder 100 NPCs You Might Meet At The Tavern

Taverns and Inns

titles - major | solo | worldbuilding | npcs | taverns | treasure | other

Taverns and inns are a big part of fantasy, as places to relax or find new companions.

100 Random Taverns The Book of Random Tables: Inns and Taverns Fantasy Inn and Cuisine Generator 100 Fantasy Beverages for all Fantasy RPGs Infiniate Menus

Treasure and Items

titles - major | solo | worldbuilding | npcs | taverns | treasure | other

Treasures are why some adventurers are out there, representing thing of value, curious trinkets and enchanted items.

Infinite Trinkets Gothnog's Notorious Potions & Poisons - Fifth Edition The Gemerator 100 Less Than Useful Books to Find on a Fantasy Bookshelf Two Bit Tables: Potions with a Unique Flavour

Other Titles

titles - major | solo | worldbuilding | npcs | taverns | treasure | other

Things that don't fit in the other categories.

  • At 300 pages of tables for a dollar (last time I checked), the Fantasy Tome of Lists from JEN Games doesn't fit in Free / PWYW. It's tables are hit and miss, so it doesn't quite belong in Major Titles either. There is also a Fantasy Tome of Lists 2.
  • The d30 DM Companion from New Big Dragon Games Unlimited is designed with OSR (Old-School Revival) games in mind using the rare 30-sided die (or d30). It has many compact tables for dungeons, encounters, quick character creation, traps, treasure and magic items.
  • For encounters in city, wilderness or dungeon Untold Encounters of the Random Kind from Loke BattleMats has many d100 tables covering hundreds of encounter entries.
  • 100 Riddles for Fantasy from Grinning Skull Studios
  • For quick quests, Inkwell Ideas has Sidequest Decks: Monster Hunts, a deck of 70 sidequests around traditional fantasy monsters.

Fantasy Tome of Lists Fantasy Tome of Lists 2 Untold Encounters of the Random Kind 100 Riddles for Fantasy Sidequest Decks: Monster Hunts

Finishing Up

This will get updated in the future, but leave a comment with other titles if you have one to share.

If you liked these there are Generators at Chaos Gen and a monthly random tools Newsletter. Or find us on the Rand Roll Discord or an instagram of Random Tables.