Each issue Close Encounters of the Random Kind (CERK) features random encounter/event tables which the Game Master can simply drop into his current campaign. I will try to cover various genres of gaming and keep the information generic enough to be used with any system. Readers are encouraged to contribute to this column or suggest ideas and topics for future tables. Greetings! This issue's installment of CERK is a little different. I've become in enthralled with West End Games' new role-playing game, The World of Indiana Jones. Indy is part of their new MasterBook series of role-playing settings. Here's one movie tie-in worthy of the effort. I could hardly wait to crack the box and begin exploring fabulous ruins while Nazis followed close on my heels. So far, West End Games has only released the basic game and the first supplement, Rising Sun, which takes Indy to the land of the orient. I only have one complaint, however. The books are almost completely devoid of any material on ancient ruins or tombs in which the characters can don their pith helmets and khakis and get down to some serious dungeon crawling. West End Games has an excellent track record for supporting their game lines - so I'm quite certain such material is forthcoming. But what to do in the mean time? My major in college was Anthropology and Classical Culture so my personal library is predominantly books on culture and archaeology. Inspired by need, I set about to compile a list of ancient sites and ruins worthy of any intrepid explorer. While the following random tables were written with Indiana Jones in mind, the tables will be of use to virtually any gamesetting set in the real world. Thus fans of Call of Cthulhu, Chfll and other systems will not feel left out. As a bonus, we commissioned Ron Jacobs to produce a treasure map for the lost Tomb of Turases III. The GM can detail and equip the ruins to suit the feel of his campaign. Using the Tables I decided from the outset to keep things simple. The following tables allow the GM to instantly roll a few dice to determine what part of the world and what particular ruin or ancient site to place his next adventure. If the results do not appeal to you, Simply ignore the results and roll again. Alternatively, of course, the GM can use the tables as a handy reference of ancient sites. I've left it up to the GM research the ancient sites. Any decent library will have a horde of books on any of the sites I've listed and can provide much more detail and background then I could ever hope to do so here. One word of note - if any of you are inspired by these tables and actually generate adventures from them, send them on in and we will consider publishing them. Introduction Myth and Magic Villains, Relics, and Artifacts While the following tables were based on actual locales, what fun would it be if there weren't at least a few legendary sites or relics? Throughout the tables you will notice listings with an asterisk (*). These denote mythical sites or relics such as King Arthur's tomb, the ruins of Noah's Ark, etc. Geographical Region [1D20] 1 Africa 2 British Isles 3 France 4 Germany 5 Netherlands 6 Scandinavia 7 Eastern Europe 8 Iberia 9 Central Mediterranean 10 Greece and the Aegean 11 Anatolia/Soviet Armenia 12 Egypt 13 Mesopotamia/Arabia Gulf 14 Syria/Palestine 15 India 16 South East Asia 17 North America 18 Mesoamerica 19 South America 20 Undersea Africa [1d8] 1 Olduvai Gorge 2 Olorgesailie 3 Kalambo Falls 4 Ife 5 Zimbabwe 6 Tassili n'Ajjer 7 Drakensberg 8 King Solomon's Mines* British Isles [1D8] 1 Creswell Crags 2 Cheddar Gorge 3 Grime's Graves 4 Hetty Pegler's Turn 5 Avebury District 6 Stonehenge District 7 Maiden Castle 8 King Arthur's Tomb* France [1D8] 1 Les Eyzies 2 Lascaux 3 La Hougue Bie 4 Gavr'inis 5 Grotte des Febs 6 Carnac and Locmariaquer 7 Vix 8 Underground Paris* Germany [1D6] 1 Weinberghohlen bei Mauern 2 Rijckholt-Sint Geertruid 3 Toterfout-Halve Miji 4 The Heuneburg 5 Hitler's Eagles Nest (hey, could be fun) 6 Charlemagne's Tomb* Scandinavia [1D4] 1 Rock Scribings 2 Megalithic Tombs 3 Lindholm Hoje 4 Trelleborg Eastern Europe [1D8] 1 Mezhirich 2 Karanovo 3 Stara 4 Kujavian Megalithic Tombs 5 Biskupin 6 Zavist 7 Nowa Slupia 8 Sarmizegethusa Iberia (Spain) [1D6] 1 Altarnira/Cantabrian Caves 2 Los Millares/El Argar 3 Lower Tagus (Early Iron Age) 4 Tartessus 5 Ullastret 6 Citania of Briteiros Central Mediterranean [1D10] 1 Grotta Addaura 2 Matera 3 Val Comnica 4 Castello di Lipari 5 Pantalica 6 Gola del Sentino 7 Belverde 8 Lost Tomb of Augustus Caesar* 9 Tomb of St. Peter* 10 Catacombs of Rome Greece and the Aegean [1D10] 1 Dimini 2 Lema 3 Mycenae 4 Orchomenos and Gla 5 Tiryns 6 Pylos 7 Knossos 8 Tombs of Kamilari 9 Mallia 10 Kato Zakro Anatolia/Soviet Armenia [1D10] 1 Troy 2 Killtepe 3 Gordion 4 Catal Hoso 5 Beycesultan 6 Alaca Hilyak 7 Yazilikaya 8 Boghazkoy 9 Omis 10 Karmir-Blur Egypt [1D20] 1 Sakkara 2 Giza 3 Beni Hasan 4 Karnak 5 Western Thebes 6 Abydos 7 El-Amarna 8 Tanis 9 Abu Simbel 10 Edfu 11 Dendera 12 Aswan 13 Semna 14 Kerma 15 Meroe 16 Luxor 17 Philae 18 Valley of the Kings 19 Library of AJexandria* 20 Lost Tomb of Turases III* (see map) Mesopotamia/Arabia Gulf [1D20] 1 Eridu 2 Uruk 3 Ur 4 Nippur 5 Kish 6 Mari 7 Babylon 8 Tell Harmal 9 Noah's Ark (Turkey)* 10 Nineveh 11 Hatra 12 Hasanlu 13 Pasargadae 14 Persepolis 15 Susa 16 Ashur 17 Nimrud 18 Bahrain 19 Choga Zanbil 20 Khorsabad Syria/Palestine [1D10] 1 Mount Carmel 2 Jericho 3 Byblos 4 Ras Shamra 5 Hazor 6 Qatna 7 Megiddo 8 Masada 9 Lachish 10 Jerusalem India [1D4] 1 Harappa 2 Mohenjo-Daro 3 Hastinapura 4 Tcuila South Fast Asia [1D6] 1 Pan-p'o-ts'un 2 Anyang 3 Great Wall of China 4 Nonakado Stone Circle 5 Toro 6 Ishibutai Kofun North America [1D8] 1 Desert Caves (Arizona) 2 Adena-Hopewell 3 Snaketown 4 Mesa Verde 5 Pueblo Bonito 6 Bandelier 7 Huff Village 8 Viking Settlement* Mesoamerica [1D10] 1 Teotihuacan 2 Cholula 3 Monte Alban 4 Mitla 5 Copan 6 El Taihuanaco 7 Tula 8 Tenochtitlan 9 La Quernada 10 Uxmal South America [1D6] 1 San Agustin 2 Chavin de Huantar 3 Tiahuanaco 4 Chan Chan 5 Machu Picchu 6 Cuzco Undersea Undersea sites can be determined by the GM. Possiblities include, Atlantis, Lyonesse, ancient shipwrecks etc. Villains The typical Indy adventure usually involves beating the bad guys to a major relic or treasure. The following is a brief list of possible villains to throw against your players. Nazi Germany. Indy has already run up against these guys and they fit the bill as the perfect villains. Various Nazi officials such as Goering and Hitler himself were avid collectors; of artwork and archaeological treasures. The players are likely to run across the paths of Nazi collectors around the world. Imperial Japan. Japan of the 1930s and 40s controls a broad area of the South Pacific and the archaeological sites that lay hidden there. West End Game's Rising Sun supplement for Indiana Jones is an excellent source book for adventures dealing with this part of the world. Various Cults. The players are likely to run up against various cult groups on their explorations. Certain relics and artifacts from ancient cultures would have religious significance to many cultists. Unethical Archaeolgists. The world is filled with private collectors and archaeolgists who seek fame and fortune rather than scholarly pursuits. Players with more noble intentions, may find themselves competing with such undesirables. Relics and Artifacts What would an Indiana Jones adventure be without a legendary artifact or two to spice things up? The following list should help inspire the GM when designing his adventures. Noah's Ark. For years rogue scientists and explorers have claimed the remains of the Ark lie high in the mountains of Turkey. The Ark could make a very interesting adventure - who knows what secrets it holds? Fountain of Youth. The Spanish conquistadors chased rumors of this elusive fountain throughout the Americas. Perhaps a fragment of a Mayan codex is uncovered containing clues to its hidden location. Seven Cities of Gold. A strange stellae is uncovered deep in the Brazillean jungriles which bears a remarkable inscription and map leading to the ruins of one or more of the fabled cities of gold. Excalibur. The players stumble upon proof that King Arthur actually existed and ruled ancient Britain. After stripping away the myth from the tale, it's obvious that King Arthur's tomb lays intact and beneath the streets of a modem English city. Furthermore, the clues seem to indicate that the legendary sword of Excalibur ties in the tomb. The magical sword has real powers and suddenly there is a race with several villianous factions to obtain the sword first. Holy Grail. This relic was handled nicely in the third Indiana Jones movie. No reason the GM couldn't rework the story as an adventure. Ark of the Covenant. Again, this relic was covered in the first movie. However, it now lies buried in the fabulous warehouses beneath the Smithsonian Institute where it is just crying out for an evil-doer to steal it away renewing the adventure. Christ's Robe. This mysterious purple garment was stolen from a Hungarian monastery where it was cared for and revered for nearly two thousand years. The players are called upon to retrieve the artifact by the monks who offer a valuable ancient document as a reward. King Arthur's Crown. This interesting relic is wanted by a private collector who will stop at nothing to retrieve it from its resting place. The players stumble upon the plot and set out to intercept the crown or to find it first. The Necronomicon. As mentioned before, this article can easily be used in Call of Cthulhu. The players locate a copy of the Mad Arab's original book which leads them into the world of Lovecraftian horror. Closing In closing, I'd like to point out that the random tables you find in CERK can easily be used in Wintertree Software's Tablemaster program. Permission is granted for readers to Input CERK tables into such programs. Tomb of Turases III (extremely slow: 419K) Back to Shadis #17 Table of Contents Back to Shadis List of Issues Back to MagWeb Master List of Magazines © Copyright 1995 by Alderac Entertainment Group This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com