Dungeon Master’s Guide Tables for Solo Gaming

Well-crafted random tables are useful tools for a GM, but for the solo gamer they can be worth their weight in gold. More often than not the absence of the Referee will be compensated for with random generators, the quality of which will directly affect the standard of play. Great tables tend to create verisimilitude. Slapdash ones can devolve a game into nonsense.

PLOTS & IDEAS

100 Adventure Ideas (D&D 3.0 DMG, p138-139; D&D 3.5 DMG, p44-45). This is an excellent resource for a quick Mythic starter.

Table 2-1: Plots (Pathfinder 1e GMG, p52).

Table 2-2: Plot Twists (Pathfinder 1e GMG, p53).

Table 2-3: Random Quest Items (Pathfinder 1e GMG, p53).

ENCOUNTERS

Encounter Distances Table (Rules Cyclopedia, p93).

Table 58: Encounter Distances (AD&D 2e DMG, p139).

Table 3-1: Spotting Distances (D&D 3.0 DMG, p60).

Random Encounter templates (AD&D 2e DMG, p133-134). A short discussion about Encounter Table formatting.

NPCs

Subtable 11: City Encounters (Rules Cyclopedia, p98). I primarily use this as a handy list of NPC occupations.

NPC Professions (AD&D 2e DMG, p144).

NPC Traits Tables (AD&D 1e DMG, p100-101).

Table 70: NPC Traits (AD&D 2e DMG, p156).

Table 5-5: NPC Traits (D&D 3.0 DMG, p150), repeated as Table 4-24 (D&D 3.5 DMG, p128).

Table 4-1: NPC Backgrounds; Table 4-2: NPC Goals; Table 4-3: NPC Physical Characteristics; Table 4-4: NPC Personality Characteristics; Table 4-5: NPC Occupations; Table 4-6: NPC Secrets (Pathfinder 1e GMG, p94-98).

Villain Schemes (D&D 5e DMG, p94).

Villain Methods (D&D 5e DMG, p95).

TREASURE

Table V-G: Random Treasure; Table V-H: Random Treasure Containers; Table V-I: Random Treasure Traps; Table V-J: Random Treasure Hiding Places (AD&D 1e DMG, p171).

DUNGEONS

Appendix I: Random Dungeon Dressing (AD&D 1e DMG, p217-219).

Table 4-5: Major Dungeon Dressing; Table 4-6: Minor Dungeon Dressing (D&D 3.0 DMG, p112-113), repeated as Tables 3-11 and 3-12 (D&D 3.5 DMG, p65-66).

Table 7-7: Random Dungeon Dressing (Pathfinder 1e GMG, p181).

Random Dungeon Dressing (D&D 5e DMG, p299-301).

Table 7-1: Places to Find Dungeons; Table 7-2: Types of Dungeons; Table 7-3: Dungeon Entrances (Pathfinder 1e GMG, p178-179).

Table 7-4: Dungeon Room Types (Pathfinder 1e GMG, p179).

Table 7-5: Mundane Dungeon Rooms; Table 7-6: Exotic Dungeon Rooms (Pathfinder 1e GMG, p180).

Random Dungeon Rooms by Type (D&D 5e DMG, p292-295).

Table 4-9: Random Doors (D&D 3.0 DMG, p119), repeated as Table 3-17 (D&D 3.5 DMG, p78).

Table 7-19: Random Portals (Pathfinder 1e GMG, p194).

It should also be pointed out that the 1e Dungeon Masters Guide has a random dungeon generator (Appendix A), but I omitted it from this list because I haven’t used it (yet).

TRAPS

Table VII: Random Tricks & Traps; Table VII-A (AD&D 1e DMG, p172).

Appendix G: Random Traps (AD&D 1e DMG, p216).

Sample Traps (D&D 3.0 DMG, p115).

Sample Traps (D&D 3.5 DMG, p70-74).

Random Traps: Tables 3-19 through 3-21 (D&D 3.5 DMG, p82).

Random Traps and Tricks (D&D 5e DMG, p297-298).

WORLDBUILDING

Table 3-19: Random Weather (D&D 3.0 DMG, p89), repeated as Table 3-23 (D&D 3.5 DMG, p94).

Table 7-56: Roadside Dressing (Pathfinder 1e GMG, p224).

Table 7-58: Random Wilderness Locations (Pathfinder 1e GMG, p225).

Table 4-40: Random Settlement Generator; Table 4-41: Settlement Power Centres; Table 4-42: Settlement Alignment (D&D 3.0 DMG, p137), repeated as Table 5-2 (D&D 3.5 DMG, p137-138).

Table 7-38: Random City Dressing (Pathfinder 1e GMG, p210).

Table 7-40: 100 Random City Locations (Pathfinder 1e GMG, p211).

Table 7-50: Random Islands; Table 7-51: Random Flotsam (Pathfinder 1e GMG, p216).

Table 7-54: Types of Boats and Ships (Pathfinder 1e GMG, p211).

Table 2-4: Cultural Titles (Pathfinder 1e GMG, p54).

Table 7-32: Tavern Traits; Table 7-33: Tavern Name Generator; Table 7-34: Tavern Menu Items (Pathfinder 1e GMG, p200-201).

MISCELLANEOUS

Fortification & Castle terminology (AD&D 1e DMG, p108). An informative glossary of terms.

Random Creature Generator (AD&D 1e DMG, p194-195). This is a brilliant set of tables. It’s designed to create Abyssal monstrosities, but it’s the perfect tool to generate all kinds of new and unique organisms.

Table 26: Random Horse Traits (AD&D 2e DMG, p55).