Challenge: Quarter-Hour of Writing

Over at Weird & Wonderful Worlds, a five minute creative challenge was issued some three years ago, where you have just five minutes to jot down ideas as they come into your head. I like that. Sometimes it's nice to just write something down, post it and move on, rather than to keep rethinking and rewriting the perfect post.

However, I don't do so good with a completely free-form "Have an idea, now!", so I'd rather have a prompt to start the associations somewhere. And I will give myself 15 minutes, because I want to end up with something intelligible and publishable, and I write way too slow to sort my thoughts out in only 5 minutes. Yeah, that's not really the same challenge, is it?

Anyway, if someone would be interested in such a challenge, here are the rough rules:

1. Make yourself a nice cup of tea to get the brain juices flowing. This step is mandatory.
2. Use the generator below to get your prompt. You don't have to stick to it, it's here just for inspiration. Get more than one and combine them, if you'd like.
   
3. Have a sip of your tea. Think.
   
4. Start the timer and write for 15 minutes. It doesn't matter what you write - A monster stat block? Bullet points of concepts? A micro story or a poem? A stream of consciousness? - but stop when the timer runs out (or as soon as you can, stopping in the middle of a sentence would drive me crazy).
5. Post the result! The very point of this challenge is to have a post ready in one short sitting.
   

I will try to go for thirty prompts in thirty days and you are more than welcome to join me. If you decide to do this challenge, please let me know. I would love to read your creations.

Any new prompts or improvements to the challenge are also very much welcome.
 

 

3d100 Positive Traits

Here's a table to quickly make up competent characters. Just choose or roll for three traits and let your imagination do the rest.

From here.

d100	Adjective	Career	Skill
1	Agile	Actor	Acrobacy
2	Alert	Alchemist	Anatomy
3	Athletic	Animal Trainer	Animal Handling
4	Beautiful	Apothecary	Appraisal
5	Bloodthirsty	Archivist	Archeology
6	Brave	Arsonist	Archery
7	Brawny	Artist	Architecture
8	Calm	Assassin	Artillery
9	Careful	Bandit	Astrology
10	Charming	Barbarian	Astronomy
11	Clever	Barber-Surgeon	Axe Murder
12	Confident	Bard	Bluffing
13	Cunning	Beggar	Blunt Weapons
14	Deceitful	Black Marketeer	Botany
15	Defiant	Blacksmith	Brawling
16	Deft	Burglar	Brewing
17	Destructive	Butcher	Bushcraft
18	Determined	Cannibal	Calligraphy
19	Dextrous	Chirurgeon	Camouflage
20	Disciplined	Clerk	Carousing
21	Educated	Clockmaker	Carpentry
22	Erudite	Coachman	Cartography
23	Fast	Con Artist	Chariot Driving
24	Fearless	Contortionist	Climbing
25	Fierce	Cook	Close Quarters Combat
26	Flexible	Cultist	Cooking
27	Focused	Cutpurse	Dancing
28	Forceful	Deserter	Deciphering
29	Friendly	Diplomat	Delving
30	Furtive	Drug Dealer	Disguise
31	Gourmet	Drunkard	Deep Diving
32	Graceful	Exorcist	Dodging
33	Hardy	Faith Healer	Duelling
34	Healthy	Falconer	Dungeoneering
35	Helpful	False Prophet	Escaping
36	Heroic	Firefighter	Etiquette
37	Hulking	Forester	Evasion
38	Inconscpicous	Fortune Teller	Exotic Weapons
39	Indomitable	Gambler	Farming
40	Industrious	Gladiator	Fencing
41	Ingenious	Goldsmith	Fishing
42	Iron-Willed	Graverobber	Fisticuffs
43	Likable	Guard	Fletching
44	Limber	Haruspex	Foraging
45	Lithe	Herald	Forgery
46	Lucky	Herbalist	Gambling
47	Malicious	Hermit	Grappling
48	Manipulative	Hunter	Haggling
49	Mighty	Inquisitor	Hiding
50	Muscular	Inventor	History
51	Mysterious	Jailor	Husbandry
52	Nimble	Jester	Impersonation
53	Paranoid	Lawyer	Interrogation
54	Plucky	Librarian	Intimidation
55	Poised	Locksmith	Juggling
56	Pure	Lumberjack	Jumping
57	Quick	Marksman	Jury-Rigging
58	Quiet	Martial Artist	Kickboxing
59	Resilient	Mercenary	Knife Fighting
60	Resolute	Merchant	Larceny
61	Robust	Messanger	Leadership
62	Rugged	Miner	Linguistics
63	Sagacious	Monk/Nun	Long-Distance Running
64	Savage	Perfumer	Lying
65	Savvy	Philosopher	Medicine
66	Scary	Pirate	Mountaineering
67	Shifty	Plague Doctor	Music
68	Shrewd	Poacher	Navigation
69	Sinewy	Poisoner	Occultism
70	Slippery	Politician	Oration
71	Sly	Porter	Performance
72	Sneaky	Priest/ess	Pickpocketing
73	Sociable	Prisoner	Pole Weapons
74	Spiteful	Prostitute	Ranged Weapons
75	Spry	Pugilist	Riding
76	Spunky	Rat Catcher	Runecraft
77	Stalwart	Sailor	Sabotage
78	Statuesque	Scholar	Sailing
79	Steadfast	Scribe	Scouting
80	Stealthy	Shepherd	Searching
81	Stout	Slaver	Seduction
82	Streetwise	Smuggler	Shadowing
83	Strong	Soldier	Siege Weapons
84	Strong-Minded	Spy	Singing
85	Stubborn	Squire	Slaying
86	Sultry	Stalker	Sleight of Hand
87	Swift	Steward	Speleology
88	Tall	Storyteller	Sprinting
89	Tenatious	Street Magician	Stick Fighting
90	Tireless	Swashbuckler	Subterfuge
91	Tough	Tax Collector	Survival
92	Trustworthy	Taxidermist	Swimming
93	Underestimated	Thief	Swordplay
94	Versatile	Thug	Tactics
95	Vigilant	Torturer	Thievery
96	Violent	Trapper	Throwing
97	Well-Travelled	Trickster	Tinkering
98	Willowly	Undertaker	Tracking
99	Wise	Vagrant	Unarmed Combat
100	Zealous	Wet Nurse	Wrestling

Class: Random Advancement Vampire

Vampirism - You don't need to eat, sleep, or breath, but you must drink blood. Allergic to sunlight. Powers and weaknesses develop as you drink more people.

 
A character of mine in a Finders Keepers game currently has this trait. The question remains, what kind of powers and weaknesses will a vampire develop? You can use the generator below - once you drink enough blood, press the button and you will gain one random power and one random weakness.

While the powers and weaknesses were created with Finders Keepers* in mind, they can easily be used for vampiric characters in any Into the Odd-style game. To make it work as a GLOG class, you could grant Vampirism and one roll on the generator at template A, then one extra roll each level. Or just use it to inspire powers for your NPC vampires.

 
Dead blood is any blood removed from a living body for over an hour, or taken from a dead body that already started to grow cold.

To feed someone your blood, take d4 damage unless otherwise specified.

*) Some of the abilities are frankly stolen from there.

Far Over the Misty Mountains Cold

Do you need to name a place your players happened upon? A new location for your mapping efforts? An inspiration for a sword & sandals adventure?
  

  
To get the brain juices flowing, here are some pictures that were chilling in my folders for a quite a bit of time:
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What's on the Shelf

There should be more in a wizard's library than just their spellbook. What about more than 1500 books on magic?

Based on this thread and created using the cool button generator.