As some of you may be aware, in the first edition of Mutants & Mastermind features some tables that would be familiar to anyone who played Villains & Vigilantes.
Familiar because they are basically an exact copy. (To expound, these were a set of event tables that, if you rolled a few times on them, would give you a series of events that sounded like a pretty compelling comic of the era.)
Steve Kenson apologized profusely, publicly to Jeff Grubb for the slip because he hand copied them out of V&V and had forgotten where he had gotten them later.
As silly as that sounds, I knew exactly where he was coming from. Because you see, I also hand-copied those exact same notes and put them in my supers-game binder to use with my preferred supers game (DC Heroes, if anyone cares.)
Another table that I ripped off out of a game I never used is the Mission and Motivation table out of Spacemaster. Though the game never took off for us, this table was a list of possible objectives (which can be turned into missions for the PCs or goals for NPCs), with different columns for different character types. Great for both generating adventure ideas and goals for NPCs in SF RPGs of all stripes; my SFRPG of the day was MegaTraveller.
So what other great tables are out there worthy of being yanked out of their RPG and used in other games?
The retard strength table from F.A.T.A.L. was a great way to link strength of body to weakness of mind....
The Rolemaster (2nd edition) critical hit tables. (Heck, using them in other games is what they were designed for in the first place.)
This might not qualify, but I kinda liked AEG's Toolbox book.
Other than that, I'm not really a table guy, especially when it comes to cut and paste from different games.
Gamma World - the Mysterious Ancient Artifact table.
Oh, here's another one: Empire of the Petal Throne (the original TSR version, not the Tri-Stat version by Guardians of Order) had a table which let you randomly pick a patron and a type of mission for the party. Pretty handy if you need to improvise something on the fly.
I just linked these tables (http://obscurearchives.stupidquestion.net/D&D.html) from AD&D. Mainly because it has the random harlot table. I know, it's vaguely (or not so vaguely) un-PC to focus on prostitutes, yet the language is just so funny and iconic. I can't read "brazen strumpet" without hearing a jazzy horn riff, or "slovenly trull" without imagining a 1e-style troll in a skimpy slip, high heels, excessive makeup, maybe a cigarette dangling from its...lips?
EDIT: I guess I should have added "(un?)intentionally evocative" to what I like about Gygax's language.
Off the top of my hat, two adventure-generating tables come to mind:
There's James Maliszewski's pulp adventure tables in Gear Krieg.
And there's Clinton Nixon's online fantasy oracle, which I've successfully used in the past:
http://www.crngames.com/oracle/index
Oh and on a different note, 77 Starship Quirks:
http://www.estarcion.com/kaleja/77quirks.html
(Bit too mundane overall, but Inappropriate Compuers and Tacky Decor have potential.)
Its not from an RPG, but then again neither are some of the others suggested:
Here's The RPGPundit's Random Alcoholic Beverage Name Table (http://www.xanga.com/RPGpundit/557632271/item.html)
RPGPundit
I used to use GURPS's crazy hit location table.
Then I bought a d12 that had hit locations on it.
The Smartass Smackdown Table from HackMaster. A GM's best friend, whether you use the 3rd edition version or the wimpified 4th edition version.
Quote from: joewolzI used to use GURPS's crazy hit location table.
Then I bought a d12 that had hit locations on it.
Heh... I have that one. Simple, but I rather like it.
Quote from: Caesar SlaadHeh... I have that one. Simple, but I rather like it.
I like simple in my games. It works GREAT for Zombie games...
Quote from: Caesar SlaadAs some of you may be aware, in the first edition of Mutants & Mastermind features some tables that would be familiar to anyone who played Villains & Vigilantes.
I'm not aware. Which tables?
I really love critical/damage tables, as in Rolemaster, Hârnmaster or The Riddle of Steel. I just love them. In this regard Rolemaster is the first one and the best.
Quote from: Dr Rotwang!I'm not aware. Which tables?
The randome event tables on pg 156 (I think) of M&M 1e.
Not sure where my Villians & Vigilantes book is right now to see where they are in that book.
Quote from: WarthurOh, here's another one: Empire of the Petal Throne (the original TSR version, not the Tri-Stat version by Guardians of Order) had a table which let you randomly pick a patron and a type of mission for the party. Pretty handy if you need to improvise something on the fly.
1110. INITAL ENCOUNTERS IN JAKALLA (http://home.earthlink.net/~djackson24/patrons.htm)
Yes, a handy way to start the game.
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It's not really a table but there is an AD&D adventure in Dragon #100 that takes the PCs through a portal into modern-day London. If the PCs should interact with any modern devices, the DM is instructed to consult a complicated flow chart (actually a state machine for your computer science geeks out there). The player is to roll a d20, modified by some arcane combination of stats, and follow the steps through the flow chart. Some of the end states included learning how the thing works, breaking it, or using it in a completely unintended way.
It was both over-elaborate and awesome.
Quote from: chaldfontIt's not really a table but there is an AD&D adventure in Dragon #100 that takes the PCs through a portal into modern-day London. If the PCs should interact with any modern devices, the DM is instructed to consult a complicated flow chart (actually a state machine for your computer science geeks out there). The player is to roll a d20, modified by some arcane combination of stats, and follow the steps through the flow chart. Some of the end states included learning how the thing works, breaking it, or using it in a completely unintended way.
It was both over-elaborate and awesome.
Sounds like it's straight out of the old gamma world game.
Quote from: Caesar SlaadThe randome event tables on pg 156 (I think) of M&M 1e.
Not sure where my Villians & Vigilantes book is right now to see where they are in that book.
p. 152, and HOW THE HELL DID I MISS THAT?!
The Random Encounter Table from CP2020, which gives you complete dangerous situations, not simply some enemies to throw at your players. Served a good purpose in my Shadowrun games when I hadn't an adventure prepared and simply assigned my players on a 08/15 courier job, spiced up with some random encounters.
Rolemaster is the true source of all table awesomeness.
One of these days I need to get back to building a supers version. It's a bit tricky because Rolemaster is pretty unforgiving and damage in supers tends to be a little understated.