Under the Moons of Mars: Adventure Generator

Here is an adventure generator for Mars that I put together.

1. VILLAIN
 
The villain is the main nemesis of the heroes. He is the spider at the center of the web and usually only encountered at the climax of the adventure. The villain should be a fully developed Wild Card, at least equal in power to individual heroes, if not the whole party.
 
d10 Result
1 Merchant
2 Priest
3 Noble
4 Scientist
5 Outlaw/Outcast
6 Psionicist
7 Mystic
8 Expert
9 Warrior
10 Roll twice. The first result is what the villain presents himself as. The second is what the villain actually is.
 
 
2. VILLAIN ADJECTIVE
 
d8 result
1 Bestial/Warped/Deformed
2 Bloodthirsty
3 Crafty
4 Delusional
5 Violent
6 Zealous
7 Rich
8 Filthy Rich
 
 
3. RACE
 
2d6 Result
2 Grey Martian
3-5 Green Martian
6-8 Red Martian
9-11 White Ape
12 Synthe or Robot
 
 
4. VILLAIN'S GOAL
 
The villain’s goal represents his primary motivation. His Hindrances should be chosen based on his nature (as determined on the previous tables) and his goal. A villain may have more than one goal, but there should always be a primary goal, which the other goals assist. Think of the others as sub-plots.
 
d10 Result
1 Conquer
2 Corrupt
3 Destroy
4 Discovery
5 Greed
6 Kidnap/Steal
7 Power
8 Revenge
9 Satisfy Honor
10. Subvert/Recruit
 
Conquer: The villain wants to conquer an area: a city, an oasis, or an entire kingdom.
 
Corrupt: This villain usually wants to replace one thing for another thing. He tends to work through subversion rather than brute force. For example, a cultist who wants to overthrow a Red Martian kingdom and reestablish worship of the old gods.
 
Destroy: The villain seeks to bring someone or something to a permanent end.
 
Discovery: The villain seeks to discover something of value. This may be a lost technology, a weapon, a Lost City, or even forbidden knowledge.
 
Greed: There’s more to greed than money. Seeking political favors, rare minerals, or knowledge can just as easily lead to villainous activities.
 
Kidnap/Steal: Kidnapping involves an abduction -- taking someone as a hostage or to interrogate them. Stealing usually involves an object rather than a person. The object the villain desires is usually a means to another goal. Roll again on the Goal table, ignoring any further kidnap/steal results.
 
Power: Gaining a political position or acquiring sensitive information can bring a villain power as easily as conquering a kingdom or discovering an ancient artifact.
 
Revenge: The villain seeks to avenge a perceived wrongdoing either against them personally or against their cause or beliefs. Revenge takes many forms, from simple humiliation to murder. It usually involves methods similar to one of the other goals, but is aimed at a specific target for a personal reason.
 
Satisfy Honor: The villain feels that he has been dishonored in some fashion. The goal usually calls for the death of whomever offended the villain.
 
Subvert/Recruit:  The villain hopes to undermine someone's allegiance or draw them to the villain's side.
 
 
5. HOOK
 
The Hook determines how the heroes get involved in the adventure.
 
d6 Result
1 Caught up in Events
2 Mistaken Identity
3 Motivation
4 Old Friend/Enemy
5 Patron
6 Rumor
 
Caught up in Events: Through no fault of their own, the heroes find themselves thrust into the action. Starting this way may leave the heroes confused as to what is happening, thus encouraging them to investigate.
 
Mistaken Identity: The heroes are mistaken for someone else (including the possibility of being accused of some crime they did not commit), or mistake someone else.
 
Motivation: Heroes have Hindrances and sometimes those Hindrances drag them into adventures. A villain might be a Foe of a PC.
 
Old Friend/Enemy: An old acquaintance seeks out the heroes, for good or ill.
 
Patron: Someone approaches the heroes with a job offer. The patron could even be the villain!
 
Rumor: Rumors circulate quickly on Mars. A rumor can come in the form of an overheard conversation or a piece of evidence.
 
 
6. HEROES' GOAL
 
What the heroes are trying to accomplish.
 
d12 Result
1. Assist/Gratitude
2. Destroy/Hunt
3. Discover/Solve Mystery
4. Escape/Rescue
5. Explore
6. Liberate
7. Money/Reward
8. Prevent/Protect
9. Retrieve/Steal/Acquire
10. Revenge/Thwart Villian
11. Survive
12. Win Battle/Contest
 
 
7. LOCALES
 
Exciting locales make interesting battlegrounds and scenic backdrops. Roll three to five times per episode.
 
1d12 Result
1  Small city
2 Villain’s Lair
3 Small Ruin (aerodrome, observatory, etc.)
4 Lost City
5 Isolated Building (laboratory, temple, tower, etc.)
6 Large City
7 Settlement or outpost
8 Exotic Land
9 Large Ruin (an abandoned city, a citadel, etc.)
10–11 Wilderness
12 The Dark Below
 
Exotic Land: An exotic land might the jungles of the north pole, the Dead Seas of the southern hemisphere, or a deep canyon full of exotic plant life.
 
Ruin, Small/Large: This is a building, or a complex of buildings, that had a single purpose. While the ruin might be inhabited, the people there no longer pursue the building's original reason for being built.
 
Lost City: Mars is a dying world, and there are countless lost cities.
 
Isolated Building: Like a ruin, but this building is occupied and still used for its original purpose.
 
Settlement: The adventure takes place among the comforts of civilization -- and where there are lots of innocents.
 
The Dark Below: The adventure takes place in the caverns below the surface of Mars.
 
Villain’s Lair: This is the villain’s headquarters. Roll again to see where the base is located.
 
Wilderness: An adventure set in the red deserts or the dry sea bottoms of Mars.
 
 
8. Locale Modifiers
 
Each location has something that the heroes have to interact with to advance their goals.
 
1d12 Result
1 Beast
2 Robot
2 Trap/Ambush
3 Mystery
4 NPC - ally
5-6 NPC - neutral
7-9 NPC - hostile
10 NPC - Spy/Seducer
11 Natural Hazard
12  Farmers / Settlers / Innocents
 
 
9. VILLIANOUS HENCHMEN
 
Villains sometimes operate with henchmen. Roll once per adventure.
 
1d12 Result
1 Corrupted Hero
2 Robot/Synthe-Man
3 Beast
4 Combat Veteran
5 Mystic
6 Psionicist
7-8 Right -Hand Man
9 Mad Scientist
10 Spy/Seducer
11 Thugs/Criminals
12 Soldiers
 
Beast: The villain has one or more beasts at his disposal.
 
Combat Veteran: Combat veterans are masters of warfare andmight be able to take down any individual hero in a fair fight. They may not be capable in other areas, but they are deadly duelists.
 
Corrupted Hero: A former champion, now fallen.
 
Psionicist: The villain’s henchman is gifted with strange powers of the mind.
 
Right Hand Man: The villain’s most trusted lackey is usually a jack-of-all-trades. He can fight, talk, and get his way out of trouble. He is also fanatically loyal to his master.
 
Mad Scientist: The villain has a master of Weird Science at his disposal.
 
Soldiers: The villian has a group of trained soldiers at his disposal. These might be raiders mounted on jalfs or sky pirates on a skyship.
 
Spy/Seducer: The villain’s henchman is a master of deception. Blackmail, bribery, control, seduction, and secrets of all kinds are the tools of this servant.
 
Thugs/Criminals: Low-grade lackeys, a criminal gang, or smugglers.
 
 
10. GUEST STAR
 
1d12 RESULT
1 Criminal
2. Military Officer
3 Expert/Scholar
4 Explorer/Scout
5 Friend/Relative
6 Love Interest
7 Scientist
8 Warrior/Mercenary
9 Merchant
10 Official/Bureaucrat
11 Priest
12 Mystic
 
 
11. GUEST STARS GOAL
 
Roll once on the Heroes' Goals Table and once on the Villain's Goal Table. Pick the best one.
 
 
12. Victim
 
1 Soldier
2 Damsel or Dude in Distress
3 Decent Folk
4 Deserving
5 Hero associate/friend/family
6 Inanimate/Infrastructure
7 Innocents
8 Historian/archaeologist

9 Marginal Types
10 Politician/Bureaucrat
11 Noble
12 Roll twice on the Villain Table. The first result is what the victim presents himself as. The second is what the victim actually is
 
13. OBSTACLES
 
1d12 Result
1 Accused
2 Bandits/Criminals
3 Beast
4 Natural Disaster/Bad Weather
5 Rampaging Robot
6 Mystery
7 Official Opposition
8 Rival
9 Secrecy
10 Social Opposition
11 Trap
12 War
 
 
14. TWISTS AND TURNS
 
A good sword and planet adventure should have a few twists in it. Ideally, there should be one or two twists and turns per episode. To increase the length of an adventure, make extra rolls.
 
1d12 Result
1 Deadline/Ticking Clock
2 Double-Crossed
3 Unexpected Foe
4 Trap/Ambush
5 Rescue Ally
6 False Flag
7 Escalation
8 Beast
9 Natural Hazard
10 Unexpected Ally
11 Shock Revelation
12 Discovery
 
Beast: Some sort of creature makes a sudden appearance in the adventure at any unexpected time.
 
Deadline: The heroes discover that they are in race against time.
 
Discovery: Many secrets lie buried across Mars. Maybe the heroes find a document revealing the villain’s plan or discover an inscription that leads to another adventure.
 
Double-Crossed: At some point, a key figure in the adventure switches sides. This works both for and against the heroes, depending on who it is performing the double-cross.
 
Escalation: The villian escalates the situation. He might hire more thugs or he might decide to destroy the city instead of overthrowing the rightful king.
 
False Flag: Someone is not whom they seem.
 
Natural Hazard: At some point in the adventure, the characters are hampered by the forces of nature. Rockslides, sand storms, marsquakes, electrical storms.
 
Rescue Ally: At some point during the adventure, an ally of the heroes ends up in the villain’s clutches. Kidnapping the ally may be a distraction to cover the villain’s actions elsewhere, or it may advance the villain’s main goal directly.
 
Shock Revelation: Something important is revealed during the adventure. Such Shock Revelations do not have to be bad—though they often are! Perhaps an NPC declares her undying love for a hero or maybe the group discovers a clue that suggests an old and trusted friend is secretly in league with the villain.
 
Trap/Ambush: Traps range from simple pits to complex traps involving moving walls. This could be set by the villain, or merely an ancient device stumbled upon by the heroes. Ambushes are fairly self-explanatory (again, this may be an ambush completely unrelated to the villains plans).
 
Unexpected Ally: Maybe the natives rise up against the villain and join the heroes, or perhaps the old man they met earlier in the adventure turns out to be a retired swordsman who just can’t sit back and watch the villain get away with his foul plot. Either way, someone or something comes to the heroes’ aid at a crucial moment.
 
Unexpected Foe: Maybe the villain turns out in fact to be someone the heroes weren’t expecting (“The old man was the villain all along!”), extra henchmen join a desperate battle at a crucial time, or some innocent looking animal turns out to be a vicious killing machine.