Random Generators
The Random Episode Generator
Originally written by Michael Berkey at http://www.abillionmonkeys.com/trek
Stuck for an idea? Roll away. Bonus points if you can frame the resulting plot seed as a metaphor for a social issue. Warning: actual plots generated via this method not guaranteed to make any sense.
What happened? (1D100) (Plot Seed)
01-05 Crew member's body switched*
06-15 Space/time anomaly **
16-25 Federation outpost/colony attacked
26-35 Ship hijacked/captured
36-45 Ship attacked
46-55 While transporting an important individual somewhere... ***
56-62 New civilization discovered
63-72 Responding to a distress call
73-77 Potentially fatal plague with unpleasant side effects. ****
78-82 Monster loose on the ship.
83 Crew member's brain stolen.
84-87 Crew finds a Mysterious Alien Device (see Equipment section).
88-98 While on shore leave... (roll again to see what happens)
99-00 Roll twice.
* Roll 1d6: 1-2 Transporter malfunction switches brains, 3-4 Mirror universe selves, 5-6 Androids
** Roll 1d6: 1 Ship trapped, 2 Transporters the ship into the past, 3 Across the galaxy, 4 Alternate universe, 5 Alien artifact, 6 Warps reality in strange and surprising ways.
*** Purpose (Roll 1d6): 1-2 Negotiate peace treaty, 3 Attending a conference, 4 Transporting to a new post, 5-6 Protection. Roll on "By Who" to find out what this important individual is, rerolling insane results.
Roll again on the table above to see what happens while transporting the important individual.
**** Roll 1d8: 1-2 Rapid aging, 3-4 Drunken, evil behavior, 5-6 Reverse evolution, 7-8 Random hallucinations.
By Who? (1D100) (Actors)
Skip this step if it wouldn't make sense, otherwise keep rolling until you have enough actors to make things fun. Entries don't have to be taken literally either - a "space hippie" can just as easily represent a member of a pacifist environmentally-aware advanced alien species as it can a thinly-veiled group of 1960's counterculture stereotypes. A "space viking" would represent a war-like alien species with a love of plunder and loot.
01-03 Space Amazons
04-06 Space Hippies
07-09 Space Nazis
10-12 Space Romans
13-15 Gods
16-18 Gorn
24-33 Klingons
34-43 Romulans
44-48 Tholians
49-58 Cloud Monster
59-68 Robots or Computers
69-78 Relative/Old Acquaintance of a Random PC*
79-83 Member of Starfleet
84-95 Mysterious Advanced Species
96-00 Unscrupulous Merchant
* Roll 1d8: 1 Parent, 2 Sibling, 3 Mentor, 4 Classmate, 5 Clone, 6 Ex-Significant Other, 7 Old Drinking Buddy, 8 Roll Twice (Multiple individuals)
Roll 1d8 Again for gender, if desired: even = male, odds = female.
Plot Twist (1d20)
01-14 No plot twist - everything is as it seems
15-16 Good guys are bad.
17-18 Bad guys are good.
19 Bad guys are in league with another group of bad guys.*
20 Bad guys are actually another type of bad guy in disguise.*
* Roll again on the "by who?" table to find out who.
Actor Motivations (Optional, 1d20)
You can skip this if you already have an idea why an actor is in an episode or if the reason they are there is fairly obvious (or unnecessary for the plot).
01-02 Seeking revenge.*
03-04 Seeking payment.*
05-06 Seeking information.*
07-08 Protecting something.*
09-10 Protecting someone* and ** to determine who.
11 Irrational motivations.
12-13 Fulfilling a mission.
14-15 Meeting someone.**
16-17 Hiding from someone or something.*
18-19 Seeking treasure, loot, or other resource.
20 Roll twice.
* Roll 1d8: 1-2 from the PC's, 3-4 From another existing actor, 5-6 From a new group of actors (roll above), 7-8 From a set of actors from a previous episode/or acquaintance of the PC's.
** Roll 1d6: 1-3 Similar to the actors themselves (i.e. if Klingons, then protecting a Klingon), 4-6 another actor (roll above).
Roll 1d6 again for details: 1 Child/Young, 2 Royalty, 3 Important Scientist, 4 Diplomat, 5 Political Refugee, 6 Military importance.