If you have felt daunted at the idea of running a riot in your game because there's just so much going on and you don't think you can come up with it all, well, here's a handy resource that provides a selection of incidential features to make that riot come to life! Who knows, maybe the party didn't even start it...

First up, a look at the environment around the riots, with a table of Riot Dressing. If you've ever seen a riot, it's those little touches of detritus that catch the eye - anything from 'A pot of stew bubbles over red-­‐hot coals, its contents burned and congealed into an inedible mess' to gruesome stuff like 'Severed ears litter the walkway, all of them pointed and non-human' - getting on for an hundred of them. Roll percentage dice or pick out a few that set the scene. Most will do nicely if you've decided to have the party find the aftermath of a riot rather than actually get caught up in one, too.

Next up, a table of Minor Events. These are small scenes the party might witness - it's up to them if they want to get involved. With an hundred of them to play with it's likely you will find something appropriate. If they do catch the party's attention, then you can develop them as you see fit. You might even end up with a completely new adventure on the back of it...

This is followed by a table of Rioters: thumbnail sketches of twenty-five NPCs. Some have a reason to be incensed enough to participate in or even start a riot, others are just innocent bystanders caught up in events (just like the party, right?). Interact with them, ignore them... rob them, it's up to the party what they do.

Finally, there's a collection of some twenty Hooks, Complications and Opportunities to throw into the mix. Again, any of these can lead the adventure in a new direction, provided the party pay attention rather than ignore them. This in particular is best used during preparation rather than mid-game, because you may want to be ready for whatever the party does...

If you have ever thought that it might be fun to have a riot in the middle of your game, perhaps disrupting whatever the party actually intended to do in town, this resource will give you plenty of ideas and, well, help your imagination run riot!

Return to Campaign Events: Urban Riot page.

Reviewed: 14 January 2017