Hi. Can someone recommend a list or framework of generic challenges / scene types I can use to make interesting scenarios / improve interesting things on the fly? There might even be an RPG system that somehow defines these. Something more systematic would be super helpful.

I tend to fall in to:

1. a combat where bad guys fight to the death and come straight at you
2. a situation where you have to convince someone of something;
I even forget to do (3) some kind of skill challenge or puzzle.

Great GMs, scenarios, and fiction change things up all the time - so that given an objective, all sorts of different and interesting things have to be overcome to hit that objective.  Thanks!

I don't know about a framework, but for #1, I almost never have enemies/monsters fight to the death, if they have superiority, the attack, if inferior, they retreat, and I'll morale check them during battle.

Quote from: PencilBoy99;894451Hi. Can someone recommend a list or framework of generic challenges / scene types I can use to make interesting scenarios / improve interesting things on the fly?

Oh dear, I remember answering to this thread with a few suggestions.

Anyway. I think that lists/tables of random encounters might be what you're looking for.

If so, Johnn Four wrote 1372 Roadside Encounter Ideas. Then, there are 650 Fantasy Encounter Hooks (available via same page), or a random encounter list compiled by SIF (massive stuff). I recall POSTMORTEM STUDIOS releasing a few books like "100 Adventure Seeds" which you might find useful too.

Other people have made similar statements, but I would say that one thing you really want to do is use a morale system.  Ideally, make it semi-random.

Pick a level of morale that you think reflects the guys attacking, somewhere between a 5 for a total coward, to an 11 for someone who will almost never panic.  An opponent that will literally NEVER stop attacking (a robot, golem, undead, etc) would count as a 12, but that basically means you can just ignore morale.

If the individual is hurt for the first time, roll 2d6; if you get a roll HIGHER than the morale value (so if the value is 7 and you roll a 9, for example), that person has failed their morale.  If they succeed, they saved their morale and will keep fighting.
Check morale again if the guy is injured enough to be half dead (for example, in D&D when they first get to less than half their hit points), and again if they get to one-third health. If they make both of these, they won't run from individual injuries.
If there's a GROUP of opponents, roll once for the whole group the first time one of the members of the group dies, runs away (from individual morale failure) or is completely incapacitated (unconscious, paralyzed, etc). Check again when half the members of the group are 'out' in similar fashion, and once more when they're down to one-third numbers.

If the morale rolls are successful, they just keep fighting.  If they fail, then the individual or the whole group will try to quit the combat.  Optionally, you can base the reaction by just how badly they failed the roll. If a roll is failed by one or two points, you might want the character or group to attempt an orderly retreat, while if its by more than that they might just break and flee in panic. If retreat is impossible for some reason (not just hard, but they literally have no where to run), you should judge that the opponents will either surrender (if they have a reasonable expectation that they might survive surrendering) or otherwise (if they have a code of honor that forbids surrender so much that death is a better alternative, or if they are absolutely sure that surrender means death) they will keep fighting but with a penalty to their combat abilities to represent that they're shaken.

You can wing it from there.

There was a RPGA writing manual back in the 2e days that recommended you mix the following encounters for an adventure:

Combat - hack & slash goodness
Decision - a moment of choosing Option A or Option B that defines the rest of the adventure
Roleplay - talky talky talk with NPCs to achieve some end
Trap - a problem that if not solved would result in damage/death
Trick - a non damaging trap, often involving sneaky NPCs or environmental obstacle.

1: These tend to work better when tailored to the current adventure. So a band of goblins works for one situation/locale and a group of bandits for another. In 5e you can more or less use the CR system to guage how much a challenge X number of Y will be for the party at their current level. Not a great system. But its good for a general idea.

2: This one is tough as it all depends on the PC skill and/or players oration/interaction skills and/or the targets skill. Again 5e has a more complex interaction system to back up talking. Other systems like BX for example just had you roll and add charisma bonus and see what happens on negotiation. Quick and gets the job done.

3: 5e has a nice list of traps. Puzzles you will likely have to search the net for good examples that fit what you want. Example: Is it a word puzzle? Or is it a lever choice puzzle? Is it a multi-stage puzzle? and so on.

Quote from: PencilBoy99;894451Hi. Can someone recommend a list or framework of generic challenges / scene types I can use to make interesting scenarios / improve interesting things on the fly? There might even be an RPG system that somehow defines these. Something more systematic would be super helpful.

The first thing I would focus on is: what might the PCs come across? Once you have some ideas for what they find or meet the potential interactions (fight / talk / investigate / explore) should flow more easily.

I brainstormed some ideas into a mind map here, splitting them between 'people', 'creatures' and 'features' of the terrain.