Re: A Monday Miscellany of Links Pt. XVIII

On 5/21/2024 6:08 PM, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:

On Tue, 21 May 2024 13:13:22 +0200, Kyonshi <gmkeros@gmail.com> wrote:
 

ANother of my link collection posts. Enjoy.
>
Random Tables
(Weird) Fantasy world automated generator collection (Lizard Man Diaries)
http://lizardmandiaries.blogspot.com/2024/03/weird-fantasy-world-automated-generator.html
d20 Random Button and Lever Effects (Whose Measure God Could Not Take)
http://whosemeasure.blogspot.com/2024/04/d20-random-button-and-lever-effects.html
Grotesque Gains (Weird & Wonderful Worlds)
https://weirdwonderfulworlds.blogspot.com/2024/05/grotesque-gains.html
d100 Carousing (Luke Gearing)
https://lukegearing.blot.im/d100-carousing

 Does anyone really use these tables in actual gameplay?
 I enjoy them for the read, and sometimes peruse them for ideas while
generating an adventure... but I'd never, ever use them in actual
gameplay. But maybe that's just because I like consistency and reason
in my adventures. I don't like just dumping an event or item into the
world without first ensuring it fits with the style and setting of the
game.
 Plus, too many of the results of tables like these also seem to be
purpose-made to punish players for their curiosity. "Push button, roll
1d20... hmm, the entire room explodes with 2d6 fireballs. Because it
was completely random, there was no way you could figure that out
before hand; no warning runes, no nothing. Fuck you players!" And
that's just not the sort of game I like to run.
 

I think they are supposed to give you inspirations for your own game, not necessarily to allow you to do some straight rolls on them. I think most people just use them as inspirations, although it can be interesting to occasionally have a specific event be determined solely by tables.
In a lot of cases it's more about getting some ideas that you otherwise would not have had because you have your own frame of reference.
The carousing tables are supposed to be adventure generators though. The idea is that you overimbibe (fail a poison save when wasting your ill-gained gains) and get into all sorts of drunken shenanigans that you now have to deal with.