1d4 Encounter Motivations

Here's a short table I created to add motivations to random encounters with human, demihuman, and intelligent monsters. Each of these is intended to be used to modify a reaction roll, with different suggested interactions based on the reaction score. By adding a motivation to the encounter, new types of conflict (and in particular, non-violent conflict) emerge.

Using this table, an encounter with a caravan of gnome merchants on the road might turn into a scene of aggressive haggling over the value of the Magic-User's fancy hat. An encounter with a squad of orcs by the river might turn into a scene of the players becoming baptized into the faith of the orc god. These motivations are not intended to be prescriptive, and are best used to spark the imagination of your players. As always, observe how the players react to the situations you create and try to build off of their interest.

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When rolling a reaction roll, roll an additional 1d4 to determine a motivation.

1) Covetous - The encountered beings are obsessed with the most obviously valuable item in the adventuring party's possession.

• On a high reaction roll, they may seek to bargain or trade for this item, and they may not readily take "no" for an answer.
• On a low reaction roll, they may seek to take the item by force or subterfuge, perhaps by attempting to lead the party into an ambush or attacking them in the night.

2) Evangelical - The encountered beings belong to a faith or philosophical ethos, and they wish to make converts of the adventuring party.

• On a high reaction roll, they may seek to make a conversion through generosity and subtle coercion, sharing food, drink, and wisdom with the party, or even providing shelter and aid as a show of goodwill.
• On a low reaction roll, they may seek to make a conversion through force, employing violence and torture in an attempt to "correct the error of the party's ways." Religious characters may be singled out and given particularly harsh treatment until they recant their original beliefs.

3) Inquisitive - The encountered beings are seeking knowledge that they suspect the adventuring party may possess.

• On a high reaction roll, the curiosity these beings possess is genuine and benign. They may pose questions to the adventuring party about their origins, their experiences, or their current destination. They may be inclined to trade information, and can perhaps be persuaded to pursue a new line of research that might benefit the adventuring party.
• On a low reaction roll, they possess ill intentions, and any information they can obtain, whether freely given or extorted, will be put to use in the near or distant future to take advantage of or harm the adventuring party in some way.

4) Romantic - One (or more) of the encountered beings becomes enamored with a member of the adventuring party (presumably, though not necessarily, the individual with the highest Charisma score).

• On a high reaction roll, they act courteously (as much as they can muster), seeking to woe their paramour through poetry, song, acts of chivalry, or other well-intentioned displays of affection. If rejected, they may become sullen and abrasive, but would never think to harm the apple of their eye.
• On a low reaction roll, they become dangerously obsessed with obtaining their heart's desire, regardless of what anyone (including the individual in question) says or does. They may seek to "sweep them off their feet," abducting their heart's desire in the night, and will not think twice about bringing harm to anyone who gets in their way.

Mulldrifter (Magic Monday)

Lorwyn

First Printing: Lorwyn (October 2007)

Last Printing: Time Spiral Remastered (March 2021)

    Here's a fun one and a favorite of cube builders everywhere. Mulldrifter is some kind of flying carp from the whimsical fairy-tale plane of Lorwyn. I love that artwork. Eric Fortune manages to depict a creature both elegant and silly. But what really makes Mulldrifter such a standout is the versatility the card presents.

    For five mana you get a 2/2 flying elemental, a creature type with modest synergy potential in some formats, that draws you two cards when it enters the battlefield. An evasive body that replaces itself and draws you an additional card. That's a lot of utility for five mana, especially for a creature card printed at common. Sure, not necessarily a card that you play in most constructed formats, but a great card to pick when playing limited formats like cube draft. The fact that this card was printed at commons means it gets included in a wide-variety of cubes, including my personal favorites, pauper (all commons) and peasant (all commons and uncommons).

    But this is all just a consideration of the card played for its full-cost. Lorwyn introduced the Evoke keyword mechanic, which is included on this card. Evoke functions as an alternate casting cost on permanents, with the stipulation that a card cast for its Evoke cost is "sacrificed when it comes into play." So for three mana you can "Evoke" Mulldrifter and draw two cards, but losing the creature in the process. Sure, drawing two cards for three mana is a bit overcosted, but the flexibility this can provide when you aren't hitting your land drops, particularly in limited formats where it's easy to stumble if you don't capitalize on the early turns, makes this is an excellent fail-case.

Llanowar Elves (Magic Monday)

Alpha

First Printing : Alpha (August 1993)

Last Printing: Core Set 2019 (July 2018)

    Arguably one of the most iconic cards in the history of the game, Llanowar Elves has been a staple card since the beginning. Graced by the unsettling illustration of Anson Maddocks, which typifies the unusual bizarro-fantasy stylings of early Magic the Gathering artwork, this simple creature card has managed to stay relevant across nearly thirty years of development.

    The elves of Llanowar reside on the plane of Dominaria. For all intents and purposes, this makes them a sort of vanilla interpretation of the typical fantasy race, which later planes would iterate upon and subvert.¹ They are noted for being fierce warriors and intensely xenophobic, attributes which are perhaps not adequately displayed in this card, but which would come to inform future cards depicting the elves of Llanowar.

    For one green mana you get a 1/1 Elf, the characteristic creature type of green.² More importantly, this creature can be tapped to produce one green mana. If the creature is not answered, it's owner can thus play a 3-CMC card on turn two, a 4-CMC card on turn three, and on and on. It's impossible to oversell the importance of this acceleration, or "ramp" as it's typically called, to many playing styles. Indeed, ramp is one of the strategic attributes that players often look for when incorporating green cards into their deck.

    Incidentally, when I first picked up Magic the Gathering I had a copy of Llanowar Elves. It was included in a green precon deck called "Custom Creatures," which was released during Ninth Edition.³ I recall very intentionally choosing green as my color of choice at the time, and in retrospect it's easy to see why. Green contains many powerful, if costly, creatures, and I would have absolutely been drawn to the artwork of gargantuan monsters and behemoths.

The copy I owned when I was 10.

    I was an entirely unexperienced player at the time, only ever able to play games against older kids at the local library. It's entirely plausible that I would have looked at this card and removed it, preferring to fill my deck with only the biggest baddies available to me. This, of course, would have been a significant error. You have to start off by playing Llanowar Elves if you want to be able to play those big beaters in the long-run.

¹ https://mtg.fandom.com/wiki/Elf

² https://mtg.fandom.com/wiki/List_of_Magic_slang#Iconic_and_characteristic

³ https://mtg.wtf/deck/9ed/custom-creatures

Tomb of the Serpent Kings (Session Report 1)

Session 1 (August 24th, 2021)

Game Time: August 26th to August 27th

Characters

Finn (werewolf 1) - A philologist from the suburbs of Karst, secretly a werewolf looking for a cure.

Hickory Wanderwood (elf 1) - A changeling from Colwick who dreams of adventures beyond his sleepy village home.

Quintus Livia (magic-user 1) - A snooty wizard from Karst sent on an unenviable research trip by his superiors.

Raesighn (specialist 1) - A young woman from the wilds who wears the pelt of a bear who was once her dear friend.

A few days travel south of Usk lies the village of Colwick. A relatively prosperous farming community enjoys a peaceful existence and the safety that proximity to the small city of Usk has provided. But other than the occasional traveller at the local public house, there is little that goes on in Colwick that interests Hickory Wanderwood(?). But this particular evening would prove to bring an unexpected offering to the auspicious child of the fae who had rarely set foot outside his small village.

For it was on this evening that three strangers would happen upon the Golden Pheasant pub, each for reasons of their own. A forlorn young man named Finn, who found himself stood up on a date. The misguided linguist decided an attempt at drowning his sorrows was in order, particularly considering the long distance he would need to travel to return to his home just outside of Karst.